Resistance Behaviours of Clamped HFR-LWC Beam Using Membrane Approach

Beam-like members sustaining the combined action of transverse load and membrane force exhibit a special load response to progressive deflection. A theoretical model is therefore developed to depict the resistance behaviours of clamped reinforced concrete (RC) beams observed in tests. The support-induced membrane effects are simulated by a longitudinal spring and a rotational spring. The load responses to progressive deflection are obtained using the membrane approach, and the prediction accuracies of proposed method are validated by a series of four-point bending tests on hybrid fibre reinforced-lightweight aggregate concrete (HFR-LWC) beam. It is illustrated that the bearing capacities of clamped HFR-LWC beam are significantly enhanced by the membrane effect. Ultimate load of the clamped beam ranges from 64.0 to 184.0 kN, and the larger bearing capacity compared with simply supported beam is obtained. An ultimate load of 1.85 to 5.31 times the yield line value is achieved, and thereby, the ultimate resistance of the clamped beam might be seriously underestimated using yield line approach. A strong support constraint is beneficial for increasing the load-carrying capacity of clamped HFR-LWC beam, although the large longitudinal restraint stiffness would inevitably gives rise to brittle failure. The relative errors between predicted load and measured value are less than 7.23%, indicating that the presented model is a promising tool to estimate the ultimate load of clamped beam-like member.