| Infrastructure commonly built today incorporates very thick reinforced concrete members that serve as critical elements in the load-carrying system of the structure. Certain design codes specify that members such as mat foundations and transfer slabs in high-rise buildings can be designed without shear reinforcement, allowing for more economical constructability. Omission of shear reinforcement results in structures being susceptible to the well-established size effect, and thus prone to brittle shear failures. The research comprised in this thesis focuses on investigating the applicability of international design codes in predicting the shear strength of very thick concrete members. To this end, a specimen representing a 4 m thick slab strip and a 300 mm thick companion strip were constructed and tested to failure. Results from the experimental program support the recommendation to use at least minimum shear reinforcement in large-scale structures to yield safe designs. |
