EFFECT OF CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES ON REINFORCED-CONCRETE BEAMS

Due to construction limitations reinforced-concrete beams cannot be di rectly cast to their full depth. To evaluate the effect of a two-step casting procedure on the mechanical behavior of the reinforced-concret e beams, six 3.84-m-long, reinforced-concrete beams were tested. Three of the six beams were cast by the traditional method, and the remaini ng three by a two-step casting procedure to simulate the site conditio ns. It is found from the test results that the beams with the two-step casting procedure have 3% greater average concrete-crushing load than those with the traditional method, and the load-deflection relationsh ips for both groups are almost identical. In conclusion, the effect of two-step casting procedure on the mechanical behavior of reinforced-c oncrete beams is insignificant.