There are many experimental evidence on the existence of the size effects in concrete and reinforced concrete (RC) structures. It is difficult to derive a general size effect formula that would cover complete size range and all structural geometries. However,…
There are many experimental evidence on the existence of the size effects in concrete and reinforced concrete (RC) structures. It is difficult to derive a general size effect formula that would cover complete size range and all structural geometries. However, it may be useful to classify structures and related size effect formulas into two typical classes: (1) for structures which exhibit unstable crack growth and (2) for structures which before failure show a stable cracking. In the present paper the size effect on the nominal strength for beams and columns is discussed. Furthermore, some additional important aspects of the size effect are also considered: rmmmum reinforcement requirement, influence and importance of the distributed reinforcement, ductility and contribution of the concrete tensile resistance to the overall resistance of RC beams.