Effect of Construction Procedures on Reinforced-Concrete Beams

Abstract

Due to construction limitations reinforced-concrete beams cannot be directly cast to their full depth. To evaluate the effect of a two-step casting procedure on the mechanical behavior of the reinforced-concrete beams, six 3.84-m-long, reinforced-concrete beams were tested. Three of the six beams were cast by the traditional method, and the remaining three by a two-step casting procedure to simulate the site conditions. It is found from the test results that the beams with the two-step casting procedure have 3% greater average concrete-crushing load than those with the traditional method, and the load-deflection relationships for both groups are almost identical. In conclusion, the effect of two-step casting procedure on the mechanical behavior of reinforced-concrete beams is insignificant.