Deflections of reinforced concrete beams with web openings

Abstract

Describes analysis at service load of reinforced concrete beams that contain large rectangular openings in the webs. In the analytical modeling, the beams are treated as structural members comprising several segments, and an equivalent stiffness has been derived for the segments traversed by the openings. The beams are then analyzed by the direct stiffness method. Results from tests of 22 beams available in the literature are compared with the calculated deflections and support reactions under service load. In general, a good agreement has been obtained.