Shear Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Members under Uniform Loads

In nature, most loads act as uniformly distributed loads. However, during the last 60 years of experimental research on the shear behaviour of RC members, only a small number of tests involved beams subjected to uniform loads. Recent research on members subjected to uniform loading has shown that there is considerable difference in shear behaviour between uniformly and point loaded members. Furthermore, whether the uniformly distributed loading is applied on the tension or compression face of the member is important from the standpoint of shear design. This paper will present the results of an experimental program along with results from the literature and suggest analysis methods, which can accurately predict shear strength of RC members under uniform loads.