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Building fire is one of the most frequent disasters. The mechanical properties of concrete and steel will deteriorate to different degrees under fire exposure, thus weakening the bearing capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) members. Therefore, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to carry out research on the bearing capacity of RC members subjected to fire. To study the residual shear capacity of post-fire RC beams under indirect loading, static load tests were carried out on six full-scale RC beams to investigate the development of diagonal cracks and failure modes under an indirect load. Numerical models were established with ABAQUS to study the effect of the shear span-to-depth ratio and stirrup ratio on the residual shear capacity of the tested beams after fire exposure, and the shear capacity calculation method of indirectly loaded beams after high temperature is proposed. The results indicate that although the fire had no obvious affect on the failure mode of the beam under indirect loading, the fire aggravated the failure degree of the beams without additional transverse reinforcement. Moreover, the ultimate bending capacity of beams with additional transverse reinforcement decreased obviously after fire. The residual shear capacity of indirectly-loaded beams subjected to fire decreased compared with the directly-loaded beams due to the variation in the shear span-to-depth ratio and stirrup ratio. The shear capacity theoretical calculation results of the indirectly-loaded beam after high temperature were in good agreement with the tested results, and the average absolute error was 3.88%. Therefore, this calculation method for an indirectly loaded beam with a shear span-to-depth ratio less than 3.0 after fire as proposed in this paper was effective. The findings of this study are expected to provide a reference for the improved fire-resistant design of RC structures under indirect loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the shear capacity and failure mechanism of RC beams after fire exposure, fourteen full-scale beams without stirrups were tested at ambient temperature and after fire exposure. Three parameters, including the loading ratio, shear span-to-depth ratio and longitudinal reinforcement ratio, were considered in static load tests. The deterioration mechanism of the shear bearing capacity at the diagonal section of RC beams without stirrups after fire exposure was experimentally, numerically and theoretically revealed, and a calculation formula for the shear capacity of post-fire beams without stirrups was proposed. The results show that the shear capacity and stiffness of the specimens decreased after fire exposure, and the shear strength loss of the beams increased with fire exposure time. The shear capacity and stiffness of fire-damaged specimens decreased as the shear span ratio λ increased, and the shear strength loss of the beams decreased with λ. Compared with the theoretical calculation and experimental results of beams without stirrups, the average of the absolute errors was 10.48%. Therefore, this formula can better calculate the residual shear capacity of beam without stirrups after fire exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the shear capacity of indirectly loaded reinforced concrete beams under and after fire exposure, load tests were conducted on eight full-scale specimens exposed to fire testing in a furnace chamber, and the effects of additional transverse reinforcement in the junction region between the primary and secondary beams on the shear capacity, fire resistance, failure modes and deflection were analysed. The results indicate that the slopes of the diagonal cracks in post-fire tested reinforced concrete beams without additional transverse reinforcement were shallower than those of a similar reference beam not exposed to fire, and that the ultimate capacities of reinforced concrete beams with additional transverse reinforcement decreased obviously after fire exposure. However, beams with additional transverse reinforcement exhibited increased fire resistance times and reduced strains in their reinforcement, indicating the benefit of conservatively providing such reinforcement. The findings of this study are expected to provide a reference for the improved fire-resistant design of indirectly loaded beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]