Although considerable research has been conducted on the shear strength of
reinforced concrete members without web reinforcement, the debate as to the
effects of the major variables on the ultimate shear strength (v(u)) and c
racking shear strengths (v(c)) has yet to be unequivocally established. Pre
vious research on the subject has at times been unclear or often yielded co
ntradictory results. The intent of this paper is to shed some light and cla
rify some of the misconceptions regarding the effects of the compressive st
rength (f'c), tensile reinforcement ratio (rho), and shear span-to-depth ra
tio (a/d) on v(u), and v(c) of steel-reinforced concrete beams without web
reinforcement. The analysis uses extensive shear strength data retrieved fr
om existing literature for both normal strength and high strength concrete
members. Results show that a/d significantly affects v(u), whereas its effe
ct on v(c) is much less significant. The effect of f'c on v(c) is not negli
gible and should be accounted for in strength analysis. The impact of rho o
n v(c) is insignificant in the case of short beams (a/d < 2.5).