ABSTRACT
In Chapter 5, methods were presented for the determination of the strains and stresses normal to a cross-section caused by the longitudinal prestress and the bending moment acting at the cross-section. Procedures for calculating the flexural strength of beams were discussed in Chapter 6. In structural design, shear failure must also be guarded against. Shear failure is sudden and difficult to predict with accuracy. It results from diagonal tension in the web of a concrete member produced by shear stress in combination with the longitudinal normal stress. Torsion, or twisting of the member about its longitudinal axis, also causes shear stresses, which lead to diagonal tension in the concrete and consequential inclined cracking.
