Structures 48 (2023) 736–753

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Structures
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Bending performance of dapped-end beams having web opening:

Experimental and numerical investigation
Ceyhun Aksoylu a, Yasin Onuralp Özkılıç b, *, Emrullah Çeledir a, Musa Hakan Arslan a
a
Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Department of Civil Engineering, Konya Technical University, Konya 42130, Turkey
b
Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya 42000, Turkey

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Reinforced concrete dapped-end (purlin) beams are frequently used in prefabricated industrial structures. The
Bending main task of these beams is to safely carry the loads on the roof. Considering the number of these purlin beams in
Beam industrial buildings, it is extremely important for manufacturers to product these beams with less concrete
Purlin
without reducing the load carrying capacity. Since these purlin beams are under the effect of bending and shear
Dapped-end beam
Opening
forces, controlled creating openings in beam span can have significant economic benefits for the manufacturer.
Experimental analysis Therefore especially economic design perspective, it is so crucial to determine the amount of openings that will
Numerical analysis not cause a significant change in the bending behavior. In this study, the behavior of dapped-end purlins with
openings was experimentally and numerically investigated. In the experimental step, seven purlin beams having
different opening configurations were tested under four-point loading to investigate the openings effects on beam
structural behavior. In this step opening length to total length varying between 0.075 and 0.325 was selected as a
main parameter. After test, the numerical models were created and verified using experimental findings. After
this step, in the parametric study part of the paper, the effects of shear span, depth of the opening and length of
opening and different opening configurations (such as segmentation) which were not tested in experiments, were
examined. The experimental outcomes revealed that increases in the opening did not provide a significant effect
on the load capacity. This can be explained by the fact that the openings are in the bending region. The numerical
findings showed that increasing shear span to depth ratio (av/d) ratio did not change rigidity but decreased the
load capacity. However, no effect was observed on the opening height provided that it is at least as far away from
the upper and lower longitudinal reinforcements bars as the concrete-cover margin. On the other hand,
increasing opening/purlin length (especially higher than 0.375) reduces the capacity. However, segmented
openings (multiple openings instead of single whole openings) did not reduce capacity even if total opening/
purlin length was 0.525.

1. Introduction [14–17]. For this reason, economic improvements to be made in the

sections of reinforced concrete structures, the most important of which
Reinforced concrete prefabricated structures are preferred especially is the reduction of the concrete raw material used, is of great importance
in large-span industrial structures because they are more economical in the global environment.
than other construction methods (conventional, steel, etc.). Rapid pro­ Although it is thought that one of the most effective ways in the
duction of prefabricated reinforced concrete structures, high material economical design of reinforced concrete sections is to increase the
quality, modularity and disassembly are important advantages [1–5]. strength of the material used and to reduce their cross-section, deflection
However, the biggest problem of the structures produced with concrete problems under vertical loads often do not make this possible in terms of
is the increasing demand for raw materials in the world in recent years, usage limits in especially wide-span beams and slabs. Similarly, the
and the price increase due to the gradual decrease of natural resources concern of sufficient horizontal stiffness in columns, especially under the
[6–13]. In addition, the damage caused by cement and aggregate pro­ effect of earthquakes, is a compelling factor for the column inertia to
duction to the environment is an important issue that is highly debated remain above a certain level. For this reason, designers want to reduce

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (Y.O. Özkılıç).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2022.12.110
Received 9 August 2022; Received in revised form 25 November 2022; Accepted 28 December 2022
Available online 5 January 2023
2352-0124/© 2022 Institution of Structural Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
C. Aksoylu et al. Structures 48 (2023) 736–753

Fig. 1. Openings created in prefabricated floor and roof beams.

Fig. 2. Purlin quantities used in simple and large-scale industrial structures.

were emphasized. It has been mentioned in the literature that it is

necessary to strengthen the section with an appropriate method (FRP,
steel wrap, etc.) [25], especially in order to eliminate the capacity loss
caused by the opening. In these studies, researches were also carried out
according to the geometry of the gap to be opened (circular, rectangular,
etc.) and the additional reinforcement arrangements around the gap
[26–29].
Especially in prefabricated reinforced concrete structures, it is
thought that the openings that will be created in the factory environ­
ment in the appropriate parts of the bending elements (beams, flooring,
etc.) will have significant returns in large-scale productions. For this
reason, prefabricated building manufacturers have made economic ap­
proaches by reducing the sections in the main roof beams and slabs of
the industrial structure, in the sections that are effective for bending,
and in the regions close to the neutral axis where the stress is close to
zero (Fig. 1a and 1b). The relatively limited span (5–8 m) of the slab in
Fig. 1a has made the use of hollow floors extremely common. However,
as shown in Fig. 1b, its application is limited due to the gap left in the
rafters, the difficulty of manufacturing, and the formation of compres­
sion and tension cracks at the joint points of the roof beams, especially
Fig. 3. Cross-sectional properties of the reference purlin beams (P-0). with large spans (15–25 m).
There is no research about openings in the literature on purlin
beams, which are other important members of prefabricated buildings.
concrete consumption to some extent by creating openings in reinforced
Although there are studies that include improvements on the dapped
concrete elements where the bearing capacity and inertia of the section
ends of purlins, which are particularly critical points [30–32],
are not needed much. Especially in beams under moment and shear
economical section design is an important gap in the literature. The rate
forces, these arrangements can be made more easily. Appropriate nar­
at which purlins affect the total cost of industrial buildings is variable.
rowing or creating openings (gaps) in sections (under the supervision of
For example, in a very small industrial structure (Fig. 2a), it is seen that
the designer and designed) in areas where the moment is effective can
the concrete used in the purlins constitutes 18 % of the concrete con­
give appropriate results without changing the bearing capacity and ri­
sumption in the building, while the share of the purlins in the total
gidity of the section [18,19,54].
concrete quantity can increase up to 35 % as the area of the facility
However, it has been stated in many studies in the literature that the
increases (Fig. 2b). This shows that limiting the use of concrete in purlin
openings, which are mostly opened in an unplanned manner and formed
elements in industrial facilities will have significant benefits in every
in the regions close to the support, cause a great decrease in the capacity
respect.
due to the reduction of the shearing capacity of the section. Experi­
As stated above numerous studies have been conducted on beams
mental studies on deep beams [20–23,52,53] and slender beams [24]
having different openings in the literature. There are basically-two

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Table 1
Designed purlins.
Specimen Cross section (d ¼ 26.5 cm, av ¼ 95 cm, L ¼ 320 cm, av/d ¼ 3.58) Opening Size Opening/Total
(cmxcm) Length Ratio

P-0 – –/–

P-1 24 × 8 0.075

P-2 40 × 8 0.125

P-3 56 × 8 0.175

P-4 72 × 8 0.225

P-5 3x24x8 0.225

P-6 88x8 0.275

P-7 104x8 0.325

different situations in these studies. First situation; it is the case that the The motivation of this study is quite different from the situations
openings are drilled after the production of the beam. This situation is summarized above. First of all, the selected beams are geometrically and
frequently encountered especially in basement floor beams when the statically different from other beams. In addition, the reason for creating
installation gaps are passed through the beams. Therefore, in these an opening is to make the beams lighter. Because the lightness of these
studies, openings (generally circular holes) were chosen close to the beams on the roof of an industrial building will not only reduce the use
support area (within the shear opening) [26,33–35]. The second situa­ of materials (especially concrete), but also reduce the inertial forces that
tion is that the spaces are planned in a controlled manner during beam will occur during an earthquake. For testing optimum amount of the
production (cast in place opening). In this case, some measures are taken openings, the gaps were increased gradually in this study. The test series
to prevent damage around the openings. For example, additional re­ was terminated as soon as there was a considerable reduction in the load
inforcements are suggested around the openings [35]. In addition to this carrying capacity. The main difference is that the spaces are chosen as
situation, in the literature different opening geometry (such as circular, rectangular and segmented rectangles, unlike the literature. While the
rectangular, triangular etc.) margins have been considered [36,37]. behavior in the shear zone has been investigated in the literature, in this
However, in the important part of the studies, the circularity of the study, openings were created in the bending zone as it was aimed to
spaces was studied. lighten the beams. In this way, for purlins, especially for manufacturers,

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Fig. 4. Reinforcement details of the purlins.

Fig. 5. Four-point bending test setup.

which void ratio will not affect the purlin behavior, in other words, the results were generalized by considering three different (av/d), three
boundary condition in the void has been determined. different depth of openings and three different lengths of openings. In
In prefabricated buildings, purlins are connected to the roof supports addition, in order to compare the behavior of the specimen with 3 × 24
by means of steel pins due to the structure of the carrier system. They (72 cm) segmented openings, the case of three different segmented
transfer the snow, wind, coating loads on the roof and the distributed opening widths is also considered.
load consisting of their own weight to the beam supports. For this
reason, purlins have positive moments only in their openings, and the 2. Experimental program
shear force effects are greater in the support regions. In this respect, it
may be possible to narrow it (or manufacture it with a cavity) closer to 2.1. Test specimen details and preparation
the neutral axis region in opening sections where bending is more
effective in purlin sections. But the determination of the gap width is an 1/1 full scale dapped ended purlin beams with openings were pro­
important issue. duced in a prefab firm. One of these beams is a reference (without
In this study, openings were formed in the middle section of the opening) and the other seven purlins consists different opening sizes.
bending effect region of 320 cm length purlins produced in full sectional The lengths of the dapped ended beams were designed as 320 cm.
scale (1/1). The openings are same height of 8 cm and varying lengths Expanded Polystyrene Rigid Foam (EPS-26 kg/m3 density) was used to
(24, 40, 56, 72, 3x24, 88 and 104 cm). The changes in the load carrying create a void in the beams body. Rectangular spaces are formed in the
capacity, ductility and energy absorption capacities of purlins of a total beam bending zone at the center of the body and extending down from
of seven different sizes of openings were experimentally investigated. the upper head at a fixed height of 8 cm and a length of 24, 40, 56, 72, 3
For this purpose, a total of 8 purlins, one of which is without an openings × 24, 88 and 104 cm, respectively.
(reference), were subjected to bending tests at four points. The ratio of The geometric features of the cross-sections of the reference beam
shear span to effective depth (av/d) for bending damage was chosen to with no openings in its body and the beams with an opening are shown
be 3.58. Experimental load–displacement curves and progressive dam­ in Fig. 3 and the length sections are shown in Table 1. In Table 1, it was
ages types obtained from the study were also obtained with the ABAQUS ensured that the beams reached their maximum load carrying capacity
finite element program for similar load, support and material conditions. with bending damage according to these different opening areas. In
After the verification of the experimental study with numerical addition, the effect of the opening space on the load bearing capacity
modeling, a parametric study was carried out by creating purlin models and ductility of the beam can be examined, since the increasing gap
that were not tested in the experiments. In the parametric study, the length (space increase) in the horizontal direction of beams with a fixed

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C. Aksoylu et al. Structures 48 (2023) 736–753

Fig. 6. Test specimens.

height of 8 cm changes with the length of the beam (320 cm). Here, since [32]. The mechanical properties of the reinforcements in the study were
the top chord area is larger than the bottom chord area, the behavior taken into account in the previous study by the authors [40]. Fig. 4
change under load is investigated. shows the purlin beam reinforcement details tested in the experiments.
The average cylinder concrete compressive strength and splitting
tensile strength (splitting) of purlins were obtained as 39.7 MPa and
2.55 MPa, respectively, as a result of 3 cube (cylinder equivalent) and 3 2.2. Test set up
cylinder tests performed in the laboratory. According to TS 9967 [38]
and Concrete Prefabrication Handbook [39],the production was carried The experimental setup used for the tests under vertical load of
out considering 2 pieces of Ф8 suspension reinforcement (Ash) and the thinned-ended purlin beams with an opening is shown in Fig. 5. Four-
length of the tension reinforcement in the thinned region was 1.7 lb (476 point bending tests of beams under vertical load were performed by
mm, lb is embedment length). Therefore, the longitudinal reinforcement taking the shear span/effective height ratio (av/d) 3.58 to observe
B420c type 2Ф10 and 2Ф8 were considered in the tensile and bending damage in beams. Two LVDTs were placed 60 cm apart to
compressive regions of each beam, respectively. In addition, 3Ф6 sus­ perform displacement measurements under vertical load. With the hy­
pension reinforcements (Av), 1Ф10 shear friction reinforcement (Ah) draulic piston in the experimental setup, the load was first applied to the
and 1 U-shaped tensile reinforcement (As) in the thinned region, 2Ф8 simply supported spreader beam, and then the reactions of this beam
suspension reinforcements (Ash) and 2Ф8 Z type reinforcements. In were transferred to the reinforced concrete beam. The magnitude of the
addition, Z type reinforcement is a new type of reinforcement detail that applied load during the experiment was measured with a load cell with a
increases the shear capacity recommended in the study of Aksoylu et al. capacity of 300 kN. Loads were applied to the beams in 10 kN in­
crements until the moment of yielding (Mr), and after the yielding was

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C. Aksoylu et al. Structures 48 (2023) 736–753

Fig. 7. Damage history of P-0.

Fig. 8. Damage analysis of P-1.

Fig. 9. Damage analysis of P-2.

observed on the load–displacement curve, the displacement-controlled

loading was continued until the failure was reached. The bending
cracks formed in the beams during the experiment were marked. Fig. 6
shows the reference beam and the pre-experimental layout of purlins.

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Fig. 10. Damage analysis of P-3.

Fig. 11. Damage analysis of P-4.

3. Discussion of test results setup. At the end of the experiment, no damage was observed in the
shear zone and supports of the beam, and the beam reached its bending
3.1. Experimental test results capacity and exhibited ductile behavior. The first cracks (1), elastic
cracks up to the yield point (2), cracks at the yield point (3), the damage
In the experimental study, the P-0 reference (without opening) beam condition at the end of the test (4) of P-0 specimen are shown in Fig. 7.
was first tested. The first cracks in the P-0 beam were observed at the The first cracks on P-1 - P-7 beams were observed at a 67 % lower
load level of 30 kN in the tension region. As the load reached 40 kN, the load level (10kN) compared to P-0. Therefore, the gaps opened in the
number of cracks in the tensile zone increased and the crack elongation bending region of the beams have led to a decrease in the bending
proceeded towards the beam flange. With the vertical load of 47.6 kN stiffness of the beams within the elastic limits. When the P-1 beam
and the current displacement of 11.1 mm, yielding occurred. After this reaches a load level of 52 kN and a displacement of 12.2 mm, it begins to
stage, displacement controlled loading was started. The displacement yield. After this stage, displacement-controlled loading was continued
increments were applied as 10 mm. With the increasing displacements, with 10 mm increments until the end of the test displacement of 50.2
both new cracks started to form and the loading continued until the 62 mm. An increase of 5.4 % and 9.9 %, respectively, was observed in the
mm displacement was reached as the cracks in the tension zone load and displacement values at the time of yield of P-1 compared to P-0.
continued to expand. The experiment was terminated at this displace­ This situation led to an increase in vertical displacement as a result of the
ment value in order to prevent any deterioration in the experimental decrease in bending stiffness of the section (P-1) with decreasing

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Fig. 12. Damage analysis of P-5.

Fig. 13. Damage analysis of P-6.

moment of inertia. Damages in P-1 are shown in Fig. 8. Bending damages occurred in the bottom chord as opening area increased in the P-2
in P-1 occurred similarly to P-0. However, the damage was observed not (Fig. 9).
only between the loading points under the spreader beam, but also in The opening area created in the P-3 was 133 % (2.33 times)
shear area. Crack propagation has been observed especially due to stress compared to P-1 and 40 % (1.44 times) more than P-2 (Fig. 10). This
concentrations around the opening. In addition, crack widths under the resulted in an increase of 29 % and 10 %of the displacement value at the
loading points increased and more damage was observed in the bottom time of yield of P-3 compared to P-1 and P-2, respectively. It also caused
chord under the opening in the beam center (Fig. 8). Finally, with the a 14 % decrease in the stiffness value of P-3 at yielding compared to P-0.
beam reaching its bending capacity, crushing occurred below the The damages occurred in P-3 at the end of the experiment are quite
spreader beam’s right support loading point in the beam compression similar to P-1 and P-2. However, the increase in the void area acceler­
region (Fig. 8). ated the pressure damage at the support points under the spreader beam.
As soon as the P-2 reached a load of 47 kN and a displacement of 13 Cracks formed under the left support of the spreader beam towards the
mm, it started to yield. The yield moment for P-2 occurred at the same end of the test draw attention as shear bending cracks. In other words,
load level as for P-0. However, the displacement value of P-2 at the time the increase in the opening has led to a change in the location of the
of yield was 17 % higher than P-0 and 6.5 % higher than P-1. This sit­ damage. In addition, since the cross-sectional area of the bottom chord
uation caused the stiffness value of P-2 to decrease by 17 % compared to decreases, the damages are concentrated around the opening with the
P-0. At the end of the experiment, the damages in P-2 are quite similar to increase in tensile stresses. Since the cross-sectional area of the beam in
P-1. The damage to the P-2 is concentrated in the bending zone and the the compression region (top chord) is larger, the stresses are observed
support points under the spreader beam. However, more cracks less and the crack density is also lower (Fig. 10).

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For beam P-4, when the load reached 10 kN, vertical cracks initiated
in the concrete below the web opening, and these cracks were known as
“elastic cracks”. As the load increased 40.3 kN (in other words, the loads
reached 50.3 kN), bending cracks initiated from the web opening top
chord and propagated towards the spreader beam supports on the left
and right side; these cracks were known as “plastic cracks”. The opening
area created in the P-4 is 200 % (3 times) more than P-1, 80 % (1.8
times) compared to P-2 and 28.5 % (1.28 times) more than P-3. This
resulted in an increase of 37 %, 24.5 %, 16.9 % and 6.2 % of the
displacement value of P-4 of yielding stage compared to P-0, P-1, P-2
and P-3, respectively. As the opening area increased, more cracks
occurred in the bottom chord. In addition, the gap height decreased with
the increase of the load. This situation was caused by the deterioration of
the stability of the bottom chord and the crushing of the concrete in the
compression zone. Finally, the concrete at the top of the beam was
crushed, triggering the test specimen to lose its load-bearing capacity
(Fig. 11). Before the test beam fractured, the component presented an
intense deflection, evident signs of damage, and promising ductility.
Fig. 12 shows the damage history for the test specimen with three
openings (beam P-5). Vertical cracks first emerged in the concrete below
the three web openings, and then the concrete in the top of the left and
right web opening cracked as the load increased. Later, the main crack
Fig. 14. Damage analysis of P-7.
extended through the beam, and a concrete crack expansion was
observed under the spreader beam left support. Compared to beam P-4,
beam P-5 contained fewer cracks and reached same ultimate load level.
Besides, the stiffness of P-5 at yielding is 14.5 % less than P-0. The

Fig 15. Comparison of specimens.

Table 2
Experimental test results.
Test Pmax Pu δy δu Ductility Rigidityat Decrease in the Rigidity ratio of the Rigidity Increase in the Rigidity ratio of
specimens (kN) (0.85Pmax) (mm) (mm) Ratio yielding specimens at 0.85Pmax at max. the specimens at Pmax
(kN) (δu/ δy) (0.85Pmax) load
(Pmax)
(kN/mm)

P-0 48.00 40.80 9.00 62.29 6.92 4.53 …. 0.89 ….

P-1 55.68 47.32 14.50 50.18 3.46 3.26 0.28 1.12 0.26
P-2 52.33 44.48 11.78 53.44 4.53 3.77 0.17 1.04 0.17
P-3 51.57 43.84 11.25 50.89 4.52 3.89 0.14 1.08 0.21
P-4 53.48 45.46 9.64 52.63 5.45 4.71 ….. 1.21 0.36
P-5 53.82 45.74 11.82 60.50 5.11 3.87 0.15 0.91 0.02
P-6 57.22 48.63 11.73 73.43 6.26 4.14 0.09 0.83 ….
P-7 54.04 45.94 13.07 70.55 5.39 3.51 0.23 0.92 0.03

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Fig. 16. Parameters considered in the evaluation of the dapped-end beams.

Besides, the stiffness of P-6 at maximum loading is 6.7 % less than P-0.
Table 3 Fig. 14 shows the crack profile of the P-7 at the stage of different load
Energy dissipation values of experimental test results.
levels, which are initial, elastic, yielding, and collapse. P-7 specimens
Test Total energy Energy Elastic Plastic have got the most significant web opening ratio compared to others. The
specimens dissipation dissipation energy energydissipation
first cracks emerged in a narrow and vertical at the mid-span of the
(kj) (Pmax) (kj) dissipation (kj)
(0,85Pmax) beam. As the beam continued to deflect, flexural cracks kept propa­
(kj) gating until 49.9 kN where a crack initiated multiway from the tensile
fibers and reached the compression chord, which had caused a splitting
P-0 2.73 2.34 0.21 2.52
P-1 2.40 2.39 0.50 1.89 in the concrete, and consequently, the beam collapsed as bending. The
P-2 2.39 2.26 0.32 2.07 results clearly suggest that increasing the openings no significantly
P-3 2.27 2.12 0.47 1.79 changes the beam’s load-bearing capacity.
P-4 2.49 2.07 0.28 2.21
For all beams with 4-point bending, load versus displacement curves
P-5 2.82 2.74 0.82 1.99
P-6 3.73 3.48 0.34 3.38 are plotted in Fig. 15. It is revealed that all beams had approximately the
P-7 3.36 2.86 0.36 3.00 same behavior in terms of ultimate mode of failure and load–displace­
ment characteristics. It is clear that the introduction of openings does
not alter the load-carrying mechanism as long as the openings are
crushing damage observed in the concrete compression zone in P-4 and located within the tension zone of the beam because concrete there
P-3 was not observed in P-5 because opening the gaps in three parts has would have cracked anyway at ultimate flexure. Consequently, the
ensured a more stable behavior. strength of the beam is not affected. Therefore, it can be concluded that
P-6 specimen, in which the cracking pattern and damage analysis are locating openings with larger sizes within the bending zone may result
shown in Fig. 13, resisted more load than other specimens. In other in similar behavior as for smaller openings within zones of bending.
words, there is no loss in load-carrying capacity despite increasing the Table 2 shows the test results of the eight specimens in terms of
web opening ratio. With loading progress, cracks propagated at the critical parameters of load–displacement curves. It should be noted that
bending region and from the bottom chords of opening towards the the ultimate state used in Table 2 is defined as the state where the post-
support. This resulted in more curvature. Subsequently, a crushing of the peak load decreases to 85 % of its peak value. In Table 2, there was no
top layer chord of concrete has taken place. Unlike the other samples, significant decrease in the maximum load carrying capacity of the
the damage in P-5 was caused by concrete crushing in the top chord part. reference (P-0) and purlins with different opening sizes (P-1 - P-7). In
This may be attributed to the increase web opening. Because more fact, increases in load carrying capacity were observed with increases in
weakness are available top and bottom chord in the opening zone. opening size. Similarly, it is important to determine the change in

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Fig. 17. Analytical calculation procedure.

a ductile beam indicates that sufficient ductility condition is met. Except

for the P-1 in Table 2, it is seen that sufficient ductility is provided. It
should be known that if the loading could be continued without
exceeding the LVDT capacity for the P-1 specimen, sufficient ductility
would be achieved. Therefore, when considered for all specimens, it is
clearly seen that the gaps opened to the beams are sufficient for the
ductility ratios. Yield and maximum stiffness were calculated by
dividing each specimen’s load at yield and maximum (0.85Pmax and
Pmax) to the current displacement value. When the specimens in Table 2
are examined, it is observed that the stiffness at the yield point decreases
with the increase in the opening areas. On the other hand, in the stiffness
Fig. 18. Force and moment balance on the beam.
values at the maximum load, a maximum increase of 26 % was observed
in P1 specimen. When this situation is compared with P-0, the increase
ductility, stiffness and energy dissipation capacities for each specimen. in the opening areas caused an increase of 3–26 % in the stiffness values
For this, the parametric values shown in Fig. 16 are calculated and given at the moment of maximum load. Therefore, it has been observed that
in Tables 2 and 3. the openings do not cause any loss on rigidity.
The ultimate load, rigidity, and ductility values of the specimens are Table 3 indicates the test results regarding energy dissipation ca­
compared in order to evaluate the effects of web opening ratio on beam pacities. The total energy consists of elastic and plastic energy. Elastic
behavior. Table 2 presents the ultimate load (Pmax) values of the speci­ energy is the type of energy temporarily stored in the linear elastic
mens and the rigidity values corresponding to Pmax and 0.85Pmax. The behavior of a system. Plastic energy is consumed after the building
increases in the ultimate load and rigidity of each beam with respect to system’s yield point (elastic limit). The total energy consumption ca­
the reference specimen are also indicated in the table. According to the pacities of the tested specimens were calculated from the cumulative
majority of structural codes (Euroceode8) [41], the ultimate displace­ sum of the areas under the load displacement curves. Here, at the end of
ment corresponds to the displacement at 85 % of the ultimate load the experiment, the energy values consumed at the total, maximum
(0.85Pmax) in the descending branch of the load–displacement curve. load, yield and plastic level were calculated. When the energy con­
Therefore, the rigidity and energy dissipation values corresponding to sumption capacities, which are directly proportional to the ductility, are
0.85Pmax in addition to the respective values corresponding to Pmax examined, the increase in the opening ratios had a positive effect on the
are adopted in the present study for the sake of comparing the behavior specimens. This situation also shows that the energy that needs to be
of different specimens. These values were also considered in different consumed in the event of an earthquake will not be affected by the
studies [42,43]. openings. Especially the increase in the plastic energy capacity
Furthermore, the deformation ductility ratio was calculated by consumed after the yield supports this situation.
dividing this ultimate displacement, i.e. the displacement at 0.85Pmax, to 3.2. Estimation Bending Capacity by Traditional Design Approach.
the yielding displacement. The yielding displacement represents the In this part of the study, purlin bending capacity was determined by
displacement value at which the slope of the load- displacement curve traditional analysis methods before modeling with ABAQUS. Obtained
decreases significantly beyond the initial elastic linear portion (Fig. 18). results were compared with experimental data.
The ductility ratio, total energy dissipaiton and energy dissipation at In the case of pure bending, if the opening or gap is in a region close
Pmax and 0.85Pmax values of the specimens are tabulated in Table 2 and to the neutral axis, there is no change in the ultimate moment capacity.
Table 3 together with the ratio of each value to the respective value of In other words, the gap has no importance in the ultimate moment ca­
the related reference specimen. The fact that this ratio is around 4 ~ 5 in pacity of the beam. For this, the most important condition is that the

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Fig. 19. Mesh configuration and reinforcement details.

hc < As xfy /(0.85 x fc x b) (1)

where As is the area of flexural reinforcement in beam, fy is the yield

strength of flexural reinforcement, fc is the compressive strength of
concrete and b is the beam width, Ac is the compression zone area (b ×
hc). Since the upper flange of the beam considered in this study is
rectangular, the b value is constant. If the compression zone had
descended to the region of the body, that is, the variable cross-section,
an average value (baverage) would have to be considered instead of b
(Fig. 17).
The most important assumption made for the above equation to be
written is that the sections that were plane before bending remain plane
after bending, as put forward by Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. If the void
rate is too high, this theory will lose its validity. Tan et al. [44] suggested
that the amount of opening not exceeding 40 % of the total cross-section
is the limit. In this study, the classical bending theory will be valid since
the designed cavity height is in this order. In other words, in such a case,
beam behavior may be assumed to prevail. In this case, moment carrying
capacities can be found by writing the equilibrium equations for the
Fig. 20. Stress strain curve of steel reinforcements. beams tested in the experimental study. For the equilibrium equations,
the forces Fc and Fs will need to be calculated as shown in Fig. 18 and
compressive stress block height does not go down to the region where then multiplied by the moment arm (j × d = d-(hc/2))
the void is located. The case observed in the experiments that was Mr = As x fy x (d − (hc /2) ) = As x fy x j x d = 0.85 x fc x hc x b (2)
conducted in this study confirms this statement. Similar results had also
supported in the literature by Tan et al. [44] and Mansur et al. [45]. In The load carrying capacity of the beam will also be found from the
pure bending, the minimum depth of the compression chord, hc (=k1 × moment carrying capacity (Mr) obtained. In the equation (3), av is shear
c) (the depth of the stress block can be obtained by multiplying the span. Applied load (Vr) since the beam was subjected to a four-point
distance from the extreme compression fiber to the neutral axis by the bending test in the experiments.
coefficient k1), is greater than or equal to the depth of the ultimate
P = Mr /av ; Vr = 2P (3)
compressive stress block given in Equation (1);
In this case, since it is known that the yield strength of 2ϕ10

747
C. Aksoylu et al. Structures 48 (2023) 736–753

Fig. 21. Verification of the numerical model.

reinforcement in the tensile zone is fy = 427 MPa and the ultimate there is a slight increase in the Mr moment capacity. In this case, the
strength is 550 MPa, hc = 2.16 cm can be calculated. Since the following Equation (4) can be written for the moment carrying capacity
compressive strength of the concrete used in the purlin beams is 397 kg/ of beams with openings. Here Mr is the moment carrying capacity found
cm2, the value of jxd, which is the force arm, is calculated as 26 cm. from the above equation. Mt and Mb are the moments resulting from
Based on this degree, the moment carrying capacity of the purlin beam, additional hinges in the upper and lower cords, respectively.
Mr, is divided by the shear span (av = 0.95 m) to obtain the force P and
(4)
′

the load carrying capacity of the beam, 2P, can be calculated as 47.5kN. Mr + Mt + Mb = Mr
From the experiments described in Section 3.1, 48kN was found for P-0. However, the limited depth of the upper and lower chords (12.5 cm
In this respect, the results obtained are in good agreement with the ca­ upper chord and 7.5 cm lower chord) also limits the contribution of Mt
pacity of the purlins without opening. and Mb. Since the chord dimensions are the same in P-1/P-7 specimens,
However, as a result of the gap formation in the purlins, hinges Mt and Mb contribution will not change. The contribution of Mt and Mb is
occurred in the upper and lower chords. As a result of the plastic hinges,

748
C. Aksoylu et al. Structures 48 (2023) 736–753

reinforcements. Fig. 19 illustrates mesh configuration and the rein­

forcement details for P-4. The mesh size is important for accuracy of
numerical modeling [46,47]. Therefore, a mesh optimization study was
conducted to obtain high accuracy with optimum computational time.
Mesh size of 10 mm, 20 mm and 30 mm was investigated. Decreasing
mesh size to 10 mm significantly increased the computational time but a
slight difference was detected on load–displacement curves. On the
other hand, using mesh size as 30 mm resulted in low accuracy.
Therefore, mesh size shown in Fig. 19 was determined based on the
mesh-sensitive analyses.
All degrees of freedom were restrained below the steel supports.
Frictional surfaces between the steel supports and purlin were defined. A
friction coefficient of 0.7 between the supports and purlin was selected
based on the previous studies [11,32,48]. The embedded option was
utilized for interaction between concrete and reinforcements.
Fig. 22. Load-displacement curves depending on av/d ratios. For modeling reinforced concrete, the concrete damaged plasticity
model (CDPM) was adapted [31,49]. The dilation angle, the flow po­
based on the contribution of reinforcement (1) (2ϕ8) and (2) (2ϕ10) tential eccentricity, the ratio of initial biaxial compressive yield stress to
given in Fig. 4, respectively. In this case, reinforcement (1) contributes initial uniaxial compressive yield stress, the ratio of the second stress
5.2 kNm and reinforcement (2) contributes 4.0 kNtm. In this case, the invariant on the tensile meridian to that on the compressive meridian,
load carrying capacity (2P) of beams with opening can be calculated by and the viscosity parameter were defined as 31, 0.1, 1.16, 0.667 and
writing Equation (5) according to Mr’ value. From this, Vr value is ob­ 0.0001 respectively. These parameters were suggested by Dere [49] to
tained as 66.8 kN. obtain shear and flexural cracks. Using low value of viscosity parameter
https://www.DeepL.com/Translator leads to accurate results and but may result in convergence problems;
therefore, this parameter was used as minimum as possible. The
(5)
′
P = Mr /av ; Vr = 2P
compressive strain and stress curve is obtained from the following Eq.
The fact that this value is slightly higher than the experimental
values also means that damage occurred in the chords before reaching
capacity (crushing of the concrete before the reinforcement yields). It is
seen that the Mr’ moment value obtained is independent of the opening
length. This is supported by the fact that the values obtained from the
purling with opening are close to each other.

4. Numerical study

4.1. Modeling assumptions

Numerical analyses were performed in ABAQUS environment. The

aim of the numerical study was (i) to examine the effects of the a/d ratio
and to investigate the effects of large openings which did not be studied
in the experiments. Pursuant to these goals, three-dimensional numeri­
cal models were constructed. Concrete and steel supports were modeled
using C3D8R elements whereas T3D2R was chosen for the Fig. 24. Load-displacement curves depending on depth of opening.

Fig. 23. Crack patterns depending on av/d ratios.

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C. Aksoylu et al. Structures 48 (2023) 736–753

Fig. 25. Crack patterns depending on depth of opening.

(6):
( )
σc n εεcoc
= ( )n (6)
fc (n − 1) + εεcoc

where σc is compressive stress, εc is a compressive strain, fc is uniaxial

compressive strength and εco is a uniaxial compressive strain. n is ob­
tained from following Eq. (7):
n = 0.058fc + 1.0 (7)
For tensile behavior of the concrete, the tension stiffening model was
utilized based on the model proposed by Nayal and Rasheed [50]. The
tensile stress and strain relationship are defined by Eq.8 and Eq.9,
respectively.

(8)
′
σ t = 0.3fc(2/3)
Fig. 26. Load-displacement curves depending on length of opening.
where
′
σt
εcr = (9)
Ec
where Ec is the slope of the initial tangent of compressive stress and
strain curve.

Fig. 27. Crack patterns depending on length of opening.

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C. Aksoylu et al. Structures 48 (2023) 736–753

indicate that the numerical models are able to capture the behavior of
the experimented specimens. The finite element models slightly resulted
in stiffer behavior. The reason for high stiffness can be attributed to that
the numerical models can not model micro-cracks and perfect bonding
between the reinforcements and concrete. Moreover, the reason for
difference between the capacities of numerical and experimental find­
ings can be attributed the material modeling of concrete and steel
reinforcement. There may be slight difference in steel reinforcements
and concrete during the production and also material models can be
exact with the materials utilized in the experiments.

4.3. Parametric numerical study

Firstly, the effects of av/d were investigated in Specimen P-7 since

Fig. 28. Load-displacement curves depending on the number of Specimen P-7 is the most critical section. For this aim, the av/d ratios of
small openings.
3.58, 3.96, 4.33 and 4.72 were investigated by keeping all experimental
parameters are constant. Fig. 22 demonstrates load–displacement curves
Two damage parameters are defined in CDPM: concrete compression for Specimen P-7 depending on different av/d ratios. The results show
damage parameter (dc) and concrete tension damage parameter (dt). that no strength degradation is observed due to increasing av/d ratios.
These parameters can take values from zero to one depending on the This indicates that the purlins with openings can perform successfully
severity of the damage. The value of 0 stands for the undamaged ma­ regardless of av/d ratios. Furthermore, Fig. 23 illustrates the cracking
terial while the value of 1 stands for fully damaged material. These patterns occurred on the models. As the ratio of av/d increases, the
parameters are defined in Eq. (10) and Eq. (11): occurrence of the shear cracking are less pronounced. The cracking
σc Ec− 1 around the openings is very similar.
dc = 1 − pl
(10) The effects of the depth of opening were examined in Specimens P-7
ε c (1/bc − 1) + σc Ec− 1
due to the aforementioned reason. The depth of 80 mm, 100 mm and
120 mm was selected by keeping all experimental parameters are con­
σ t Ec− 1
dt = 1 − pl
(11) stant for this purpose. Fig. 24 shows the load–displacement curves of
εt (1/bt − 1) + σt Ec− 1
these models. It is seen that a very slight effect on the behavior is
For modeling steel reinforcements, tensile tests of these bars used in observed. Moreover, the crack patterns observed in the models are
the experimental study were utilized. According to tensile test results, depicted in Fig. 25. Although all models demonstrated similar perfor­
average of 427 MPa was obtained. The stress–strain curve utilized in the mance, increasing depth of the opening up to longitudinal re­
numerical models is shown in Fig. 20. inforcements should not be performed. For instance, when the depth of
This study is part of comprehensive experimental and numerical opening is 120 mm, a total of concrete cover (20 mm + 20 mm) is 40
study on prefabricated purlins [31,32,40,51]. The authors carried out mm. When inadequate workmanship is performed, a catastrophic effect
several parametric numerical studies on these purlins and the parame­ may arise.
ters utilized in this study were previously verified in these studies. The effects of the length of opening were examined using three
Therefore, modeling assumptions used in these studies [31,32,40,51] different lengths. The opening lengths of 1200 mm, 1600 mm and 2000
were adopted. mm were selected by keeping all experimental parameters are constant.
The opening length was 1040 mm in the experimented Specimen P-7.
Load-displacement curves of these models are shown in Fig. 26.
4.2. Verification of numerical model Increasing the opening length from 1040 mm to 1200 mm resulted no
adverse effect. However, when the opening lengths were 1600 mm and
In order to verify the assumptions in the numerical models, the 2000 mm, significant decreases in the capacity were observed after
experimental findings in terms of load–displacement curves and reaching the maximum load level. Fig. 27 demonstrates the cracking
cracking patterns were utilized for this purpose. Fig. 21 demonstrates pattern observed in the models. It is seen that the bottom chord of the
the comparison of the experimental and numerical results. The results models with 1600 mm and 2000 mm moved upward, which indicates

Fig. 29. Crack patterns depending on the number of small openings.

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C. Aksoylu et al. Structures 48 (2023) 736–753

that bottom and upward chords act indepently. 6. Conclusion and Final Remarks
In order to mitigate the problems observed in the models with large
openings, the approach utilized in the experimented Specimen P-5 In the light of the results obtained the behavior of purlin beams
adopted. Instead of using large openings, small openings with high having different openings (gaps) studies have been reached by experi­
numbers were utilized. In this way, top and bottom chords act together. mentally and numerically. The most important result obtained from this
In Specimen P-5, three small openings of 240 mm (total of 720 mm) study, especially in reinforced concrete prefabricated structures, which
were utilized. In order to further increase the total length of the opening, are frequently preferred in industrial buildings, limited opening (espe­
the models with 5 (total of 1200 mm) and 7 (total of 1680 mm) small cially opening length / purlin length ratio is lower than 0.375) in pur­
openings were analyzed by keeping all experimental parameters are lin’s bending zones will not have a negative effect on the bearing
constant. It is seen in Fig. 28 that no strength degradation was observed capacity, but it will cause a considerable decrease in the use of concrete
in any models. This reveals that when the proper interaction between materials. This can be explained by the fact that the openings are in the
top and bottom chords was preserved, no strength degradation was bending region. Also the numerical findings showed that increasing
utilized. Small openings may provide this opportunity. The displace­ shear span to depth ratio (av/d) ratio did not change rigidity but
ments observed in Fig. 29 also prove this concept. decreased the load capacity. However, no effect was observed on the
opening height provided that it is at least as far away from the upper and
5. Results lower longitudinal reinforcements bars as the concrete-cover margin. On
the other hand, increasing opening/purlin length (higher than 0.375)
In this study, different web openings were applied to understand the reduces the load carrying capacity. However, segmented openings
bending behavior of dapped-end RC purlin beams using experimental (multiple openings instead of single whole openings) did not reduce
and analytical approaches. Eight full scale purlin beams were tested capacity even if total opening/purlin length was 0.525. In addition, no
under four point loading. The following results were obtained from from additional reinforcement arrangement was made around the opening
experimental part: borders. Moreover, among the opening length stirrups were not used. It
is obvious that there factors will also cause a decrease in the cost of the
• The increase in the opening area did not provide a significant effect reinforcement. Therefore, all these obtained results have encouraging
on the capacity. This can be explained by the fact that the openings clues in purlin design for prefabricated building manufacturers. In
are in the bending region. practice, it is obvious that the purlins will not bend from four points as in
• All the specimens failed in a flexural mode associated with the web the experiments in this study, and that the purlins will be under the
openings. The P-5 specimen improved the efficiency of web effect of shear force as well as the bending moment. However, since the
openings. certainty of the shear will not have such a damaging effect as bending
• Compared with the reference P-0 beam, the bending capacity of the after a critical region, it is seen that the gaps to be opened after a certain
dapped-end beams with web openings were increased by between distance (2.h) to the supports will be beneficial in this sense.
7.4 % and 19.2 %, respectively. The bending capacity and ultimate
deflection of the dapped-end beams did not lose as the web opening
ratio increased. Declaration of Competing Interest
• The internal stress of the beams was redistributed after bending
cracking. The failure mechanism differed from that of the reference The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
beam P-0 for the web opening beams under sustained load. In interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
practical applications, to improve the structural behaviors and the work reported in this paper.
economical gain of dapped-end beams, the RC beams can be used
with web opening and do not require any strengthening. Acknowledgements
• P-5 specimen reveals a more stable structure compared to other
specimens. Exceptionally, proper interaction between top and bot­ This study was supported by Konya Technical University Research
tom chords was preserved. Therefore, it is recommended to create Projects Coordination Unit (Project Number: 211004018).Authors also
openings similar to the P-5 specimen. would like to thank Yardımcı Prefabricated Building Components Inc.for
helping producing purlins.
After verifying experimental results with the aid of ABAQUS, a
parametric study was performed. ABAQUS models were utilized to
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