Effect of inclination on the strength of struts

What is it about?

Typically the diagonal struts in deep beams behave as bottle-shaped struts. Their strengths are known to be significantly influenced by their inclination with the adjoining ties (a/d ratio). An inclination factor derived on the basis of strain compatibility which conservatively accounts for the effect of inclination on the strength of struts is proposed.

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Why is it important?

This analytical investigation indicates that for strut inclination angles lower than 54 degrees, the strength predictions in current design codes such as ACI 318-08 and Eurocode 2 could be unconservative. The proposed inclination factor takes the form of a linear scaling parameter and has been incorporated into the efficiency factor model suggested by these authors in an earlier study on the basis of isolated strut tests.