Evaluation of Shear-Critical Reinforced Concrete Beam Blended with Fly Ash

Results of an experimental investigation on shear-critical responses of small-scale reinforced concrete beams fabricated with normal concrete (NC) and concrete blended with supplementary materials using Class F fly ash (SMFA) are presented. The beams were reinforced with adequate stirrups as per requirement specified in design specifications. The beams were tested using Ohno beam testing setup to induce direct shear mechanisms across the shear plane. It was also intended to evaluate the shear capacity of a disturbed region (D-region) where the flexural moment was negligible. It was found that all beams fail in brittle shear manner, showing a significant increase of shear forces with a subtle increase in beam deflection. It was also found that the use of adequate stirrups could cease the localised crack formation. In overall results, it was found that the use of Class F fly ash as cement replacement was applicable because the response did not differ significantly.