INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

Volume 3, No 2, 2012
© Copyright 2010 All rights reserved Integrated Publishing services
Research article ISSN 0976 – 4399

Optimizing the use of swimmer bars as shear reinforcement in the

reinforced concrete beams
Naiem M. Asha1, Moayyad M. Al-Nasra1, Abdelqader S. Najmi2
1 - Department of Civil Engineering, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
2- Department of Engineering Technology, West Virginia University
Institute of Technology, Montgomery, WV 25136
[email protected]
doi:10.6088/ijcser.201203013030

ABSTRACT

The sudden failure of the reinforced concrete beams due to shear made it necessary to explore
more effective ways to design these beams. The reinforced concrete beams show different
behavior at the failure stage in shear compare to the bending, which is considered to be
unsafe mode of failure. The shear failure of beams is usually sudden without sufficient
advanced warning, and the diagonal cracks that develop due to excess shear forces are
considerably wider than the flexural cracks. The cost and safety of shear reinforcement in
reinforced concrete beams led to the study of other alternatives. Swimmer bar system is a
new type of shear reinforcement. It is a small inclined bars, with its both ends bent
horizontally for a short distance and welded to both top and bottom flexural steel
reinforcement. Regardless of the number of swimmer bars used in each inclined plane, the
swimmer bars form plane-crack interceptor system instead of bar-crack interceptor system
when stirrups are used. Three different shapes of swimmer bar system were explored in this
study. The main purpose is to identify the most efficient shape to carry shear forces at the
lowest cost. Several reinforced concrete beams were carefully prepared and tested in the lab.
The results of these tests will be presented and discussed. The deflection of each beam is also
measure at a given applied load. The propagation of shear cracks was also closely monitored.

Keywords: Swimmer bar, Deflection, Shear, Crack, Stirrup

Introduction

Beams are structural members used to carry loads primarily by internal moments and shears.
In the design of a reinforced concrete member, flexure is usually considered first, leading to
the size of the section and the arrangement of reinforcement to provide the necessary
resistance for moments. For safety reasons, limits are placed on the amounts of flexural
reinforcement to ensure ductile type of failure. Beams are then designed for shear. Since
shear failure is frequently sudden with little or no advanced warning, the design for shear
must ensure that the shear strength for every member in the structure exceeds the flexural
strength. The shear failure mechanism varies depending upon the cross-sectional dimensions,
the geometry, the types of loading, and the properties of the member.

Reinforced concrete beams must have an adequate safety margin against bending and shear
forces, so that it will perform effectively during its service life. At the ultimate limit state, the
combined effects of bending and shear may exceed the resistance capacity of the beam
causing tensile cracks. The shear failure is difficult to predict accurately despite extensive

Received on September 2012 Published on November 2012 313

 Optimizing the use of swimmer bars as shear reinforcement in the reinforced concrete beams
Naiem M. Asha, Moayyad M. Al-Nasra, Abdelqader S. Najmi

experimental research. Retrofitting of reinforced concrete beams with multiple shear cracks
is not considered an option (Al-Nasra and Wang, 1994)

Diagonal cracks are the main mode of shear failure in reinforced concrete beams located near
the supports and caused by excess applied shear forces. Beams fail immediately upon
formation of critical cracks in the high-shear region near the beam supports. Whenever the
value of actual shear stress exceeds the permissible shear stress of the concrete used, the
shear reinforcement must be provided. The purpose of shear reinforcement is to prevent
failure in shear, and to increase beam ductility and subsequently the likelihood of sudden
failure will be reduced.

Normally, the inclined shear cracks start at the middle height of the beam near support at
approximately 450 and extend toward the compression zone. Any form of effectively
anchored reinforcement that intersects these diagonal cracks will be able to resist the shear
forces to a certain extent. In practice, shear reinforcement is provided in three forms; stirrups,
inclined bent-up bars and combination system of stirrups and bent-up bars.

In reinforced concrete building construction, stirrups are most commonly used as shear
reinforcement, for their simplicity in fabrication and installation. Stirrups are spaced closely
at the high shear region. Congestion near the support of the reinforced concrete beams due to
the presence of the closely spaced stirrups increase the cost and time required for installation.

Bent up bars are also used along with stirrups the past to carry some of the applied shear
forces. In case where all the tensile reinforcement is not needed to resist bending moment,
some of the tensile bars where bent-up in the region of high shear to form the inclined legs of
shear reinforcement. The use of bent-up bars is not preferred nowadays. Due to difficulties in
construction, bent-up bars are rarely used. In beams with small number of bars provided, the
bent-up bar system is not suitable due to insufficient amount of straight bars left to be
extended to the support as required by the code of practice.

In this study, four reinforced concrete beams were tested using new shear reinforcement
swimmer bar system and the traditional stirrups. Several shapes of swimmer bars are used to
study the effect of swimmer bar configuration on the shear load carrying capacity of the
beams. The first beam, B1, is used as a reference beam where no shear reinforced of any kind
is provided. The other three beams were reinforced by swimmer bars in one side and the
other side is reinforced by stirrups. Extra stirrups were used to make sure that beam will fail
by shear in the swimmer bars side. In this investigation, all of the beams are supposed to fail
solely in shear, so adequate amount of tension reinforcement were provided to give sufficient
bending moment strength. This study aims at investigating a new approach of design of
shear reinforcement through the use of swimmer bars provided in the high shear region. The
main advantages of this type of shear reinforcement system are: flexibility, simplicity,
efficiency, and speed of construction.

Piyamahant (2002) showed that the existing reinforced concrete structures should have
stirrup reinforcement equal to the minimum requirement specified the code. The theoretical
analysis shows that the amount of stirrup of 0.2% is appropriate. The paper concluded that
small amount of web reinforcement is sufficient to improve the shear carrying capacity. The
study focused on the applicability of the superposition method that used in predicting shear
carrying capacity of reinforced concrete beam with a small amount of web reinforcement at

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 Optimizing the use of swimmer bars as shear reinforcement in the reinforced concrete beams
Naiem M. Asha, Moayyad M. Al-Nasra, Abdelqader S. Najmi

the shear span ratio of 3. Also the failure mechanisms were considered when small amount of
stirrup used.

Sneed, and Julio (2008) discussed the results of experimental research performed to test the
hypothesis that the effective depth does not influence the shear strength of reinforced
concrete flexural members that do not contain web reinforcement. The results of eight simply
supported reinforced concrete beam tests without shear and skin reinforcement were
investigated. The beams were designed such that the effective depth is the variable while the
values of other traditionally-considered parameters proven to influence the shear strength
(such as the compressive strength of concrete, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, shear span-to-
depth ratio, and maximum aggregate size) were held constant. The values selected for the
parameters held constant were chosen in an attempt to minimize the concrete shear strength.

Noor (2005) presented several results of experimental investigation on six reinforced

concrete beams in which their structural behavior in shear was studied. The research
conducted was about the use of additional horizontal and independent bent- up bars to
increase the beam resistance against shear forces. The main objectives of that study were
studying the effectiveness of adding horizontal bars on shear strength in rectangular beams,
the effectiveness of shear reinforcement, and determining the optimum amount of both types
of shear reinforcement to achieve a shear capacity similar to that of a normal links system.
From experimental investigation of the system it was found that, the use of independent
horizontal and bent-up bars as shear reinforcement were stronger than conventional shear
reinforcement system.

Swimmer bars

A swimmer bar is a small inclined bar, with its both ends bent horizontally for a short
distance, welded at the top and the bottom of the longitudinal bars. There are three major
standard shapes; single swimmers, rectangular shape, and rectangular shape with cross
bracings. Several additions to these standard shapes can be explored, such as addition of
horizontal stiffener bars in the rectangular shapes, dividing the large rectangle horizontally
into smaller rectangles. Additional swimmer bars can also be used. By adding one more
swimmer bar to the rectangular shape, the large rectangular shape will be divided vertically
into two rectangles. Addition of two more swimmer bars will divide the large rectangle
vertically into four small rectangles. A combination of horizontal bars and additional
swimmer bars may also be explored. This swimmer bar system is integrated fully with the
longitudinal steel bars. Several options of the swimmer bar systems are used in order to
improve the shear performance of the reinforced concrete beams, reduce the amount of cracks,
reduce the width and the length of cracks and reduce overall beam deflection. Different bar
diameters can be used in order to add stiffness to the steel cage, and increase shear strength of
the reinforced concrete beam.

ACI code provision for shear design

According to the ACI Code (ACI 2011), the design of beams for shear is to be based on the
following relation:

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International Journal of Civil and Structural Engineering
Volume 3 Issue 2 2012
 Optimizing the use of swimmer bars as shear reinforcement in the reinforced concrete beams
Naiem M. Asha, Moayyad M. Al-Nasra, Abdelqader S. Najmi

Where: Vu is the total shear force applied at a given section of the beam due to factored loads
and Vn = Vc + Vs is the nominal shear strength, equal to the sum of the contribution of the
concrete and the web steel if present. Thus for vertical stirrups

and for inclined bars

Where: Aʋ is the area of one stirrup, α is the angle of the stirrup with the horizontal, and S is
the stirrup spacing.
The nominal shear strength contribution of the concrete (including the contributions from
aggregate interlock, dowel action of the main reinforcing bars, and that of the un-cracked
concrete) can be simplified as shown in Eq. 4.

Where: bw and d are the section dimensions, and for normal weight concrete, λ = 1.0. This
simplified formula is permitted by the ACI code expressed in metric units (Nawy, 2009).

Tested beams

The study was based on experimental investigation of four beams. All specimens were of the
same size and reinforced with identical amount of longitudinal steel. The beams were tested
to fail due to two point loads by shear given the ratio of a shear span to effective depth of 2.5.
The compressive strength of concrete is measured according to ASTM C 192-57. Fifteen
concrete samples were prepared. The compressive strength of concrete is measured at the 28th
day. The concrete compressive strength results range between 34.9 N/mm2 to 37.2 N.mm2.
The variables in these specimens are the shear reinforcement systems.

Four reinforced concrete beams were prepared for the test, B1 through B4. All of the same
dimension 2000 mm length, 200 mm width and 250 mm depth. The effective length was also
kept at constant value of 1800 mm. Summary of shear reinforcement system for each
specimen is given in Table 1. All tested beams were designed with 3ø14 top steel and 4ø16
bottom steel reinforcement. The reference beam, B1, was designed with 10ø8 mm at 600 mm
spacing vertical stirrup at either side without any stirrups at the high moment zone between
the two concentrated loads. New type of shear reinforcement called swimmer bars were used
in beams, B2, B3, and B4. The swimmer bars were used as independent bent-up bars and
welded with ø14 mm steel piece. The swimmer bars used in beams B2, B3, and B4 are of ø10
mm and spaced of 200 mm apart as shown in Figure 1. The weight of each steel cage is also
listed in Table 1. The weight of each steel cage is almost the same.

Figure 2 shows the steel cage used in beam B2. Beam B3 and beam B4 are very similar, but
in beam B3 three vertical swimmer bars were used, and in beam B4 four vertical swimmer
bars were used.

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International Journal of Civil and Structural Engineering
Volume 3 Issue 2 2012
Optimizing the use of swimmer bars as shear reinforcement in the reinforced concrete beams
Naiem M. Asha, Moayyad M. Al-Nasra, Abdelqader S. Najmi

Table 1: Summary of Steel Reinforcement Used in the Beams

Beam Shear Reinforcement Steel Cage
No. Vertical Bent-up Weight
stirrup Bars (N)
10ø 8 mm @ - 255
B1 600mm at both side
only
Two swimmer with 260
B2 - cross ø 10 mm @ 200
mm
Three swimmer with 255
B3 - cross ø 10 mm @ 200
mm
Four swimmer with 260
B4 - cross ø 10 mm @ 200
mm

Figure 1: Reinforcement details of B2, B3, and B4

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 Optimizing the use of swimmer bars as shear reinforcement in the reinforced concrete beams
Naiem M. Asha, Moayyad M. Al-Nasra, Abdelqader S. Najmi

Figure 2: Steel cage reinforcement of Beam B2

Test procedure

Prior to testing, the surface of the specimens was painted with white emulsion so that the
detection of the cracks during the test was easier and their making become clearer. At age 28
days reinforced concrete beams were prepared for testing. The lines position of point load,
support and the middle of beam span were marked to ease the installation of beam in testing
frame. The test was carried out with the specimen placed horizontally in a simple loading
arrangement. The beam was supported by solid round steel on their two edges as simply
supported member. All the beams were designed to ensure the beams will only fail in shear
rather than in flexure.

To ensure that shear cracks will occur near the support, two point loads were applied
symmetrically to the beam with av less than 2.5d. In this testing, av ≈ 550 mm, where av is
shear span ( the distance from the point of the applied load to the support), and d is the
effective depth of a beam.

A loading jack was placed at the mid-span position above the beam. The load was applied by
jacking the beam against the rig base member at a constant rate until the ultimate load
capacity of the beam was reached. A universal column section was used to transfer the load
to the beam at two point loads via transfer girder. A reasonable time interval was allowed in
between 20.0 kN load increments for measuring deflections, marking cracks, measuring the
shear reinforcement strain and recording the ultimate load. Each beam took about two hours
to complete the test.

Test results

The beam B1 showed typical mode of failure by shear at the ultimate load of 200 kN. Beam
B2 showed several micro-cracks early in the loading process. These cracks were extended
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 Optimizing the use of swimmer bars as shear reinforcement in the reinforced concrete beams
Naiem M. Asha, Moayyad M. Al-Nasra, Abdelqader S. Najmi

and widened as the load increases. These cracks became visible at the load of about 100 kN.
As the loading was increased more cracks developed. More flexure cracks appeared at a load
of 100 kN at the moment region. These cracks increased by increasing the applied load, and
new cracks developed but at relatively slower paste. Figure (3) shows the beam at failure
stage. Similarly beams B3, and B4 went into several stages up to the failure stage.

Figure 3: Beam B2 at failure stage.

Figure 4 shows the maximum applied load the beam carried just before failure. All of the
tested beams in this study failed by shear. Vertical swimmers bars proved to me more
effective in carrying the shear forces in reinforced concrete beams. The cross bracing used in
beam B2 did not improve its performance compared to the vertical swimmers bars used in
beam B3, and beam B4.

Figure 5 shows the maximum recorded deflection just before failure. No major difference in
the load deflection relationship was observed in the tested beams. Beams deflection increased
with the increase in load up to the failure load.

Beam Failure Load

300
Max Load (kN)

250
200
150
100
50
0
B1 B2 B3 B4
Beam

Figure 4: Failure loads

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 Optimizing the use of swimmer bars as shear reinforcement in the reinforced concrete beams
Naiem M. Asha, Moayyad M. Al-Nasra, Abdelqader S. Najmi

Beam Deflection at Failure

20

Max. Deflection (mm)

15

10

0
B1 B2 B3 B4
Beam

Figure 5: Maximum beam deflection at failure.

Conclusion

This study presented a new type of shear reinforcement called swimmer bar system. This type
of shear reinforcement can be formed in many shapes such a single swimmer, rectangle with
cross bars, and multiple swimmer bars. The use of swimmer bar system improved the shear
load carrying capacity in the reinforced concrete beams. The width and length of the cracks
were observed to be less using swimmer bars compared to the traditional stirrups system.
Also it can be noticed that multiple swimmer bars performed better that the swimmer bars
system with cross bracings.

References

1. Al-Nasra, M.M., and Wang, L.R.L., (1994), Parametric study of slab-on-grade

problems: Due to initial warping and point loads. ACI structural journal, 91(2),
http://www.concrete.org/PUBS/JOURNALS/OLJDetails.asp?Home=SJ&ID= 4596
2. Piyamahant, (2002), Shear behavior of reinforced concrete beams with small amount
of web reinforcement, M. Eng. Dissertation, Kochi university of technology, Japan

3. Lesley H. Sneed and Julio A., (2008), Effect of depth on the shear strength of
concrete beams without shear reinforcement, USA Portland and cement association.
http://www.cement.org/exec2/11-03-08.htm

4. Noor Hamid (2005), The use of horizontal and inclined bars as shear reinforcement,
Master thesis, university of technology, Malaysia, http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/
record/B26643352.
5. ACI 318-11, (2011), Building code requirements for structural concrete Commentary.
http://www.concrete.org/pubs/newpubs/31811.htm

6. Edward G.Nawy, (2009), Reinforced concrete: A fundamental approach, Prentice

hall international, US, PP 120-315, ISBN 0132417030, 9780132417037

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