ABSTRACT
Radical Concrete Technology. Edited by R K Dhir and P C Hewlett. Published in 1996 by E & FN Spon, 2-6 Boundary Row, London SE1 8HN, UK. ISBN 0 419 21480 1. ABSTRACT. Concrete as a construction material dominated the 20th Century with its application ranging from ultra highrise buildings to structures in the deep oceans. Throughout this period the fundamental structural characteristic on which the design has been based is the compressive strength of concrete. The tensile strength of concrete is largely ignored in design, yet, it is evident that the structural behaviour of most concrete structures is governed by the tensile strength of the material. The failure of most of the concrete structures is led by the weakness of the material in tension. Conventional shallow beams, deep beams or panel walls in which the diagonal tension leads to failure are some of the examples. In highrise concrete shearwall structures the diagonal splitting in tension of the coupling beams governs the overall mode of failure and its ultimate strength under static lateral load.
