Splitting Failure of Reinforced Concrete Columns

Abstract

Many earthquake reconnaissance studies have revealed a unique splitting failure mode of reinforced concrete (RC) columns that has yet to be fully elucidated. Most available shear strength models in the current codes are established based on the concept of a diagonal shear plane through which shear force must be transferred; this concept might not be as applicable to RC columns that failed by vertical cracks, or via splitting failure from an earthquake. In this study, an alternative load-transferring path is proposed that not only explains the failure mechanism, but also allows the estimation of shear strength of the test specimens. Experimental observations from 17 RC columns that underwent splitting failure were used to validate the proposed model. To enhance the applicability of the model, it was corroborated further with 89 short columns screened from existing literature. The validations showed that, while simple to apply, the proposed model can give better predictions of shear strength for RC short columns than other shear strength models available in the literature.