ABSTRACT
Openings cause geometric and stiffness discontinuity in either shallow or deep beams. Nevertheless, the opening size and location influence the behavior of beams and hence their modeling. This chapter starts with the treatment of shallow beams with small openings, where the term small opening is defined followed by the strut-and-tie modeling of such a beam. Next, shallow beams with large openings are treated, where the term large opening is defined and the appropriate location, size, and reinforcement detailing of the opening zone are discussed. Strut-and-tie modeling of shallow beams with large circular or rectangular openings at different locations of the beam, within the span or depth, is discussed thoroughly. The appropriate locations of openings in deep beams, simply supported or continuous, are examined based on the flow of forces. The different schemes of modeling deep beams, simply supported or continuous, with web openings, small or large, with accounting for practical reinforcement detailing, are discussed.
