Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Year: 2019
Volume: 14
Issue: 9
Page No. 2775 - 2782

The use of Swimmer Bars as Shear Reinforcement in Reinforced Concrete Structures

Authors : Moayyad Al-Nasra

Abstract: The use of swimmer bars in reinforced concrete structures represents new concept of shear reinforcement. The design of flat plates focuses on the punching shear strength of the flat plates while the design of reinforced concrete beams focuses on the flexural strength and the shear strength. The thickness of the flat plates is mainly controlled by the punching shear forces. The drop panels as well as the column capitals are used extensively in the design of flat plates to resist some of the applied punching shear force. Swimmer bars concept is new concept used mainly to take care of the excessive punching shear in flat plates and excess shear force in beams. The swimmer bars are inclined bars welded at both of their ends forming a rigid steel cage that has the capability of intercepting the punching shear in a plane. These swimmers bars form a shape similar to truncated pyramid in plates and shear plane interceptor in beams. These types are proven to be very effective in taking care of the applied shear forces. At the same time, the swimmer bars configuration, made of swimmer bars and longitudinal bars is proven to be economical. The generated shapes represents shear plane interceptors. Each plane acts as a crack plane that has the capability of resisting plane applied shear. The main advantage of this new concept is eliminating the need for the use of drop panels or any extra measure dictated by excessive applied shear forces. In this study, two different groups of flat plates are experimentally tested. Each group is of different concrete compressive strength. Each group is composed of at least three flat plates. Each flat plate is built with different swimmer bar diameter. The effect of the swimmer total steel area on the punching shear strength of flat plates is presented. The effect of different values of concrete compressive strength on the punching shear strength of flat plates is also discussed. Two different groups of beams were also tested. The first group uses the traditional shear reinforcement while the second group uses the swimmer bars as shear reinforcement. The deflection and deformation are monitored during the experimental test. The mode of failure is one of the main objectives of this study, especially, in slabs built with the new perimeter swimmer bars punching shear reinforcement system.

How to cite this article:

Moayyad Al-Nasra , 2019. The use of Swimmer Bars as Shear Reinforcement in Reinforced Concrete Structures. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 14: 2775-2782.

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