Experimental investigation of RC beams with rectangular spiral

reinforcement in torsion
Constantin E. Chalioris

, Chris G. Karayannis
Department of Civil Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi 67100, Greece
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 30 December 2012
Revised 21 March 2013
Accepted 2 May 2013
Available online 6 June 2013
Keywords:
Rectangular spiral reinforcement
Torsion
Reinforced concrete beams
Tests
a b s t r a c t
Recently, the use of continuous spiral reinforcement has been extended in reinforced concrete elements
with rectangular cross-sections. The behaviour of reinforced concrete beams with rectangular cross-sec-
tion and continuous rectangular spiral reinforcement as transverse reinforcement under pure torsion is
experimentally investigated. The presented experimental program comprises 11 beams. Test results of
this study clearly indicated that the use of rectangular spiral reinforcement provided enhanced torsional
capacity and improved post peak performance in the examined beams. Compared to beams with equal
quantity of the commonly used stirrups the measured increase of the torsional strength for the tested
beams under imposed twist that locks the spirals was 18%, 16% and 14% for the beams with transverse
reinforcement spacing at 200 mm, 150 mm and 100 mm, respectively. However, it is stressed that when
spirals are unlocked due to the direction of the external twist the torsional capacity of the beams is
decreased and considerable concrete spalling is observed compared to beams with equal quantity of
the commonly used stirrups.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The benecial effect of continuous steel spirals to the capacity,
the concrete connement and the ductility of Reinforced Concrete
(RC) elements with cyclic cross-section has long been recognised
[14]. Recently, the use of continuous spiral reinforcement has
been extended in RC elements with rectangular cross-sections.
RC subassemblages of external beam-column joints, columns and
inlled frames with rectangular members and Rectangular Spiral
Reinforcement (RSR) as shear reinforcement have been tested un-
der cyclic loading [5,6]. The experimental results of these tests re-
vealed that the application of RSR in many cases improved the
overall seismic performance of the examined specimens in com-
parison with the conventionally reinforced subassemblages [7,8].
The application of spiral transverse reinforcement in circular RC
elements under cyclic deformations with torsional effect has
extensively been investigated [911]. The inuence of the spirals
locking and unlocking on the concrete connement, the concrete
cover spalling and the overall hysteretic response of the RC ele-
ments has also been noted in these works. Further, the problem
of reverse cyclic torsional loading in circular concrete members
with spiral transverse reinforcement has been examined and a
new effective connement technique consisting of two opposing
and crossing spirals has been proposed [12]. Moreover, a shear
truss analytical model for evaluating the contribution of the spiral
transverse reinforcement in solid and hollow circular RC members
has recently been presented [13].
Furthermore, the use of RSR in shear-critical RC beams with
rectangular cross-section has been studied by Karayannis et al.
[14], whereas Yang et al. [15] examined the shear behaviour of
concrete T-beams that have been reinforced using spiral-type wire
rope as internal shear reinforcement.
The recent technical expansion for massive use of continuous
rectangular spiral reinforcement in rectangular reinforced concrete
elements gives the opportunity for wide using of this kind of rein-
forcement in beams under torsion. Concerning the issue of torsion
in concrete members, it is well-known that torsional cracks form a
spiral pattern due to the principal tensile stresses developing in the
diagonal concrete struts [1618]. Thus, steel spirals that cross
approximately orthogonal the torsional cracks consist one of the
most efcient transverse reinforcement against torsional action.
The ratio of the steel longitudinal and transverse reinforcement
along with the geometrical and mechanical properties of the RC
members inuence the angle of the diagonal cracking [19] and
therefore the optimum angle of the spiral links that should be pro-
vided has to be considered accordingly.
Further, it has been proved that the unlocking effect due to tor-
sion applied in the reversed direction comparing to the direction of
the spiral reinforcement amplies the occurrence of spalling and
also softens the core concrete resulting in a reduction of the overall
capacity of the reinforced concrete element [10]. Only a few
innovative spiral reinforcement techniques, such as crossing
spirals and spiral-type wire rope, have already been proposed in
0141-0296/$ - see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2013.05.003

Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +30 25410 79632.

E-mail address: chaliori@civil.duth.gr (C.E. Chalioris).
Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 286297
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order to eliminate the observed shortcomings due to the action of
torsion or/and shear [12,15].
The aforementioned review of literature reveals that most of
the experimental research conducted to investigate the behaviour
of spirally reinforced circular RC elements under predominant tor-
sion or shear. Moreover, the published work on the use of rectan-
gular spiral reinforcement as transverse reinforcement in RC
elements with rectangular cross-section is very limited, mainly
carried out by the authors and therefore this area is still an open
eld of study.
In this work, the behaviour of RC beams with rectangular cross-
section and RSR as transverse reinforcement under pure torsion
(11 specimens) is experimentally investigated. The inuence of
the RSR on the cracking and the post-cracking response is exam-
ined, whereas the locking and unlocking effect of the spirals due
to the direction of the imposed twist is also studied.
Both locking and unlocking effects of the RSR usually occur in
rectangular columns under cyclic torsional loading due to seismic
excitations imposed in asymmetrical RC structures [9,10]. Further-
more, although unlikely, the unlocking case might happen when
the spiral is wrongly placed. For these reasons, the case of the unfa-
vourable inuence of the imposed twist that unlocks the spirals is
also investigated herein. The contribution of the examined RSR on
the torsional capacity, the cracking patterns and the overall perfor-
mance of the tested beams is also reported and commented.
2. Experimental program
The experimental program reported in this research includes
eleven (11) beams with rectangular cross-section subjected to
monotonic action of pure torsion. The transverse reinforcement
of six specimens consisted of steel spirals with rectangular shape
(Rectangular Spiral Reinforcement RSR), whereas three speci-
mens had common closed stirrups. Two beams had no transverse
reinforcement and they were used as control specimens.
2.1. Characteristics of the tested beams
All eleven beams have the same total length (1.60 m), the same
examined length tested under pure torsion (600 mm) and the same
cross-sectional dimensions (200/100 mm), as shown in Fig. 1. The
longitudinal reinforcement of 10 specimens is also the same; four
deformed bars of diameter 8 mm (48) at the corners of the rect-
angular cross-section that correspond to a longitudinal reinforce-
ment ratio of q
l
A
sl
=A
c
1:0%. Only the control specimen with
the codied name P has no steel bars. The measured yield and
ultimate tensile strength of the longitudinal bars were f
sly
= 518 -
MPa and f
slu
= 656 MPa, respectively.
The transverse reinforcement of the beams in the examined
pure torsional region varies. The control specimens P and L
have no transverse reinforcement at all. The other nine beams
are sorted in three groups based on the spacing of the transverse
reinforcement in mm; 200, 150 and 100 mm(see also Fig. 1 and Ta-
ble 1). Each group consists of three beams; one with common
closed stirrups and two with RSR. Geometrical details and the incli-
nations of the applied spiral reinforcement are also presented in
Fig. 2. Further, the ratios of the provided longitudinal and trans-
verse reinforcement along with the values of the inclination of
the transverse reinforcement in respect to the longitudinal axis
of the beam are presented in Table 1.
Mild steel bars with diameter equal to 8 mm (8) form the stir-
rups and spirals. The yield and the ultimate tensile strength of the
transverse steel reinforcement were measured f
sty
= 365 MPa and
f
stu
= 536 MPa, respectively.
It is mentioned that although bars and stirrups of the tested
beams have the same diameter (8), different grades (deformed
and mild steel, respectively) have been selected in order to repre-
sent the common practice of the previous decades construction.
Furthermore, this way the ratio
q
l
f
sly
q
t
fsty
(see also Table 1) in the exam-
ined beams of Group-100 (with high transverse reinforcement) is
approximately equal to 1.0 and therefore the torsional cracking an-
gle is expected to be approximately 45.
Fig. 1 displays the steel reinforcement arrangements of the
beams. It is noted that the end parts of the beams are heavily rein-
forced with high volume of stirrups in order to bear without crack-
ing the imposed torsional loading.
Concerning the anchorages of the provided transverse rein-
forcement (stirrups and spirals), the links of the closed stirrups
are effectively anchored as shown in Fig. 1. Further, at each end
of the RSR one full spiral step is placed within the corresponding
Nomenclature
a inclination of the diagonal compression struts (cracking
angle), deg
a
exp
measured angle of the diagonal compression struts, deg
a
calc
calculated angle of the diagonal compression struts, deg
A
c
area of the cross-section of the beam, mm
2
A
sl
area of the total steel longitudinal reinforcement, mm
2
A
st
area of one legged steel stirrup or spiral, mm
2
b, h width and height of the cross-section of the beam, mm
f
cm
mean cylinder compressive strength of concrete, MPa
f
ctm
mean tensile splitting strength of concrete, MPa
f
sly
measured yield strength of the longitudinal steel bars,
MPa
f
slu
measured ultimate tensile strength of the longitudinal
steel bars, MPa
f
sty
measured yield strength of the transverse steel rein-
forcement (stirrups or spirals), MPa
f
stu
measured ultimate tensile strength of the transverse
steel reinforcement (stirrups or spirals), MPa
K initial pre-cracking torsional stiffness, kN m
2
/rad
p
st
perimeter of the steel stirrup, mm
p
o
perimeter of the centreline of the shear ow in space
truss analysis, mm
s uniform spacing of the steel transverse reinforcement
(stirrups or spirals), mm
t
d
effective thickness of the compression zone in the diag-
onal compression struts in space truss analysis, mm
2
T
cr
measured torsional moment at cracking, kN m
T
u
measured post-cracking ultimate torsional moment,
kN m
T
max
maximum torsional capacity, kN m
T
max,exp
measured maximum torsional capacity, kN m
T
max,calc
calculated maximum torsional capacity, kN m
#
Tcr
measured angle of twist per unit length at cracking, rad/
m
#
Tu
measured angle of twist per unit length at the post-
cracking ultimate torsional moment, rad/m
q
l
normalised ratio of the steel longitudinal reinforcement,
%
q
t
normalised ratio of the steel transverse reinforcement, %
u and u
0
angle (inclination) between transverse reinforcement
and the longitudinal axis of the beam, deg
C.E. Chalioris, C.G. Karayannis / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 286297 287
heavily reinforced end parts of the beam. This extra spiral step
works as an anchorage for the RSR.
The codied names of the torsional beams presented in Figs. 1
and 2 and Table 1 comprise the following two parts of digits. The

600
100
200
500 500
1600
P
pure torsion test region
600
L
8
48
ST200
100
200
SPL200
SPU200
200
T
T
T
ST150
SPL150
SPU150
ST100
SPL100
SPU100
100
100
150
150
150
200
8
8
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
Group-200
Control
Group-150
Group-100
80
80
80
80
80
80
Fig. 1. Geometry and steel reinforcements of the tested beams.
288 C.E. Chalioris, C.G. Karayannis / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 286297
rst part indicates the reinforcement; P for the control plain con-
crete beam without longitudinal or transverse reinforcement, L
for the control beam with longitudinal bars only, ST for the
beams with stirrups, SPL for the beams with rectangular spiral
reinforcement under favourably imposed action of the torsional
moment that causes spirals to be locked and SPU for the beams
with rectangular spiral reinforcement under unfavourably imposed
twist that causes spirals to be unlocked. It means that in the latter
case torsion is applied in the reversed direction comparing to the
direction of the spiral reinforcement. The last part denotes the
spacing of the steel transverse reinforcement in mm and appears
only for the specimens with stirrups or spirals.
The cement used in the beams of the presented experimental
program was locally-manufactured, general-purpose ordinary
Portland type cement (type 35IIa, Greek type pozzolan cement
containing 10% y ash). Sand with a high neness modulus and
coarse aggregates with a maximum size of 9.5 mm was used. The
concrete mixture was made using cement, sand, crushed stone
aggregates and water in a proportion 1:2.8:1.2:0.425, respectively.
Chemical admixtures were not used in the mix. The concrete com-
pressive and tensile strength have been measured from compres-
sion and splitting tests of standard cylinders and their mean
values are f
cm
= 23.0 MPa and f
ctm
= 2.67 MPa, respectively.
2.2. Test rig and instrumentation
The experimental setup of the torsional beams is a commonly
used torsional test rig, as it is shown in Fig. 3. The total length of
the specimens was 1600 mm. Beams were supported on two roller
supports 1300 mm apart. These supports ensured that the beam
was free to twist and to elongate longitudinally in both end direc-
tions during the test. The load was applied through a diagonally
placed steel spreader beam on the ends of two steel arms xed
at the end parts of each tested beam. The 500 mm long end parts
of the specimens were heavily reinforced with high volume of stir-
rups in order to bear without cracking the imposed torsional load-
ing (see also Fig. 1). The examined test region was the central part
(600 mm long) of the specimens. In all the examined cases during
the test procedure, torsional helical diagonal cracking and, nally,
failure were localised within this test region, whereas the heavily
reinforced end parts of the beams remained practically intact.
The load was imposed consistently in low rate (approximately
0.001 rad/min for the pre-cracking part and for the plain concrete
beams and 0.005 rad/min after the full cracking of concrete) and
was measured by a load cell with accuracy equal to 0.025 kN.
The average angle of twist per unit length of the tested beams
was estimated using the measurements of two linear variable dif-
ferential transducers (LVDTs) with high accuracy (0.001 mm).
These two LVDTs measured the opposite deformations of each
specimen as it rotates and were placed at the ends of the central
deformable part of the specimens 600 mm apart from each other
as shown in Fig. 3.
In order to acquire useful information about the failure modes
of the tested beams, the strains of the longitudinal and transverse
steel reinforcements were measured by electrical resistance strain
gauges. Two strain gauges were mounted on each longitudinal bar
and on the stirrups at midspan at the effective central span of the
beams. Measurements for load, deformations and steel strains
were read and recorded continuously through a data acquisition
system. The beams were tested in monotonically increasing torque
moment until the ultimate torsional strength and subsequently in
increasing twist until the total failure of the specimen.
3. Test results and discussions
The torsional behaviour of all the tested beams is presented in
Figs. 46 in terms of experimental curves of torsional moment ver-
sus angle of twist per unit length. Each Figure (Figs. 46) depicts
the torsional behaviour of the beams of each group (Group-200,
Group-150 and Group-100, respectively) and the measured tor-
sional responses of the control specimens (beam P without rein-
forcement and beam L without transverse reinforcement) for
comparison reasons.
The measured torsional moment at cracking, T
cr
, the angle of
twist per unit length at cracking, #
Tcr
, the initial pre-cracking tor-
sional stiffness, K, the post-cracking ultimate torsional moment,
T
u
, and the corresponding angle of twist per unit length, #
Tu
, of
the beams are presented in Table 1. It is noted that the control
Table 1
Test results.
Group Beam codied
name
q
l
(%)
q
t
(%)
u and u
0
(deg)
T
cr
(kN-m)
#
Tcr
(rad/m)
K (10
7
) pre-cracking
(kN m
2
/rad)
T
u
(kN-m)
#
Tu
(rad/m)
T
max
(kN-m)
Failure mode
Control P 1.934 0.009 3079 1.934 C
L 1.005 2.098 0.007 3558 2.098 L
Group-
200
ST200 1.005 0.613 90 2.171 0.008 3771 2.385 0.051 2.385 T
SPL200 1.005 0.672 66 and
114
*
1.997 0.007 3653 2.822 0.092 2.822 T
SPU200 1.005 0.672 66 and
114
*
1.924 0.007 3810 1.924 TSp
Group-
150
ST150 1.005 0.818 90 2.013 0.008 3084 2.649 0.074 2.649 T
SPL150 1.005 0.859 72 and
108
*
2.203 0.009 3617 3.068 0.065 3.068 CF
SPU150 1.005 0.859 72 and
108
*
1.944 0.007 3725 2.035 0.033 2.035 CFSp
Group-
c100
ST100 1.005 1.226 90 2.008 0.009 3229 3.254 0.099 3.254 CF
SPL100 1.005 1.253 78 and
102
*
2.406 0.010 3628 3.705 0.083 3.705 CF
SPU100 1.005 1.253 78 and
102
*
2.029 0.007 3650 2.582 0.067 2.582 CFSp
q
l

Asl
Ac
and q
t

Ast p
st
Ac s sinu
.
u and u
0
: angle (inclination) between transverse reinforcement and the longitudinal axis of the beam (u 6 90, u
0
> 90 and u + u
0
= 180).
*
It refers to the spiral reinforcement links where two inclination angles are measured.
C.E. Chalioris, C.G. Karayannis / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 286297 289
specimens P and L along with beam SPU200 did not exhibit
increasing post-cracking response, as also shown in Fig. 4. Thus,
their maximumtorsional moment capacities were equal to the cor-
responding torsional moment at cracking: T
max
= T
cr
. For all the
other specimens: T
max
= T
u
. The values of the maximum torsional
moments are also presented in Table 1.
200
150
600
600
100
600
SPL100 & SPU100
SPL150 & SPU150
SPL200 & SPU200
70
172
72
70 30
30
66
200
114
172
72
72
150
22
53
53
22
108
172
72
78
100
15
35
15
35
102
Fig. 2. Details of the spiral reinforcement.
290 C.E. Chalioris, C.G. Karayannis / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 286297
From the values of the elastic torsional stiffness and the
slopes of elastic parts of the behavioural curves it is deduced
that the initial pre-cracking torsional rigidity remained practi-
cally unaffected by the amount of the reinforcement used. Fur-
ther, the values of the cracking torsional moment and the
corresponding angle of twist per unit length of the tested beams
reveal that the initial torsional response till the point of the con-
crete cracking is characterised by high value of torsional stiff-
ness. In this elastic stage till the rst cracking the percentage
of steel has a minor importance and a reinforced concrete beam
behaves more or less as a homogeneous plain concrete member
[20,21].
P
1
6
0
0
load cell
LVDT
LVDT
steel spreader beam
steel arm
tested beam
roller support
Fig. 3. Test rig and instrumentation.
200
200
T
T
200 T
T
T
o
r
s
i
o
n
a
l

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
k
N
-
m
)
Angle of twist per length (rad/m)
SPL200
ST200
SPU200
L
P
Fig. 4. Experimental behaviour of the beams of Group-200 and the control beams.
150
150
T
T
150 T
T
T
o
r
s
i
o
n
a
l

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
k
N
-
m
)
Angle of twist per length (rad/m)
SPL150
ST150
SPU150
L
P
Fig. 5. Experimental behaviour of the beams of Group-150 and the control beams.
C.E. Chalioris, C.G. Karayannis / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 286297 291
The post-cracking torsional response and the values of the ulti-
mate torsional moment of the beams indicate that the transverse
reinforcement strongly affects the torsional capacity and the over-
all behaviour, as it was expected [22]. The increase of the amount
of the steel stirrups provided causes signicant increase in the tor-
sional capacity and ductility of the examined beams.
Further, from the test results of Figs. 46 and Table 1 it is veri-
ed that beams with RSR under favourable imposed twist (spirals
are locked) exhibit substantially improved torsional performance
with respect to the corresponding beams with stirrups at the same
spacing. On the contrary, the beams with RSR under unfavourable
imposed twist (spirals are unlocked) show considerably reduced
torsional capabilities. Thus, the crucial effect of locking and unlock-
ing of the spirals on the torsional response of the examined beams
is clearly identied. When spirals are locked they resist more effec-
tively to the imposed torsional action and contribute more to the
connement of the concrete core compared to equal quantity of
the commonly used stirrups. On the contrary in the case where spi-
rals are unlocked which means that torsion is applied in the re-
versed direction comparing to the direction of the spiral
reinforcement beams resist less effectively to the imposed torsion
than the corresponding ones with equal quantity of the commonly
used stirrups. In these cases increased spalling and reduced con-
nement of the concrete core are also observed.
Figs. 710 display the crack patterns of the torsional beams at
failure. Based on the cracking formation of each beam, the inclina-
tion of the diagonal compression struts is also marked in these g-
ures. From these photographs it can be observed that the control
specimen P without bars and stirrups showed an abrupt collapse
by failure of concrete and separation in two parts (Fig. 7a), whereas
the control specimen L without transverse reinforcement also
failed in a similar manner exhibiting brittle torsional failure; it
developed an intense single helical crack whereas the bars pre-
vented the splitting of the specimen in two parts (Fig. 7b). Further,
beams with longitudinal and transverse steel reinforcement
showed an increasing post-cracking behaviour along with the for-
mation of a number of helical and diagonal cracks that became
excessively wide as the imposed twist increased (Figs. 810).
Beams with spirals that were locked during the imposed twist
(favourable torsion) exhibited helical and diagonal cracks that
crossed approximately vertical the spiral links (Figs. 8b, 9b, and
10b). On the contrary, cracking of beams with spirals that were un-
locked during imposed twist (unfavourable torsion) was almost
parallel to the spiral links and severe concrete spalling was ob-
served (Figs. 8c, 9c, and 10c).
Based on the crack patterns and the measurements of the
strains of the longitudinal and transverse steel reinforcement the
following failure modes have been observed (the failure mode of
each tested beam is also denoted in Table 1):
C Concrete failure (absence of steel reinforcement)
CF Concrete failure before steel longitudinal or transverse
reinforcement yielding
CFSp Concrete failure along with severe spalling of concrete
cover before steel longitudinal or transverse
reinforcement yielding
L Longitudinal steel reinforcement yielded before nal
concrete failure (absence of transverse steel
reinforcement)
T Transverse steel reinforcement yielded before concrete
failure, whereas longitudinal reinforcement did not
yield
TSp Transverse steel reinforcement yielded before concrete
failure along with severe spalling of concrete cover,
whereas longitudinal reinforcement did not yield
T
T
100
100
T
T
100
T
o
r
s
i
o
n
a
l

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
k
N
-
m
)
Angle of twist per length (rad/m)
SPL100
ST100
SPU100
L
P
Fig. 6. Experimental behaviour of the beams of Group-100 and the control beams.
(a) Beam P
(b) Beam L
26
Fig. 7. Cracking patterns at failure of the control beams.
292 C.E. Chalioris, C.G. Karayannis / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 286297
4. Simplied analytical approach
The softened space truss theory [23] is a well-known analytical
model for the problemof torsionin RC beams with bars and stirrups.
The spacetruss analysis assumes that the external torsional moment
T is resisted by an internal torque resulting from the shear ow q,
which is developed in the centre of a shear ow zone with an effec-
tive wall thickness t
d
(see also notationinFig. 11a). Further, basedon
the stresses equilibrium, the following known relationships are de-
rived for the calculation of the inclination of the diagonal compres-
sion struts (cracking angle), a, and the torsional components T
L
and
T
T
, due to the longitudinal and the transverse steel reinforcement
(bars and vertical stirrups), respectively (Fig. 11b) [23,24]:
tana

A
st
f
st
p
o
A
sl
f
sl
s
s
1
T
L

2A
sl
f
sl
A
o
p
o
tana and 2a
T
T

2A
st
f
st
A
o
s
cot a 2b
where p
o
is the perimeter of the centreline of the shear ow; A
o
is
the area enclosed by the centreline of the shear ow; A
sl
is the total
area of steel longitudinal bars; A
st
is the area of one legged steel stir-
rup; s is the spacing of steel stirrups; f
sl
and f
st
are the stresses of the
longitudinal and the transverse steel reinforcement, respectively.
In the case of beams with spiral reinforcement as transverse
steel reinforcement, instead of the Eqs. (1), (2a), and (2b) that hold
for stirrups, the following relationships can be obtained from the
equilibrium of a section of the vertical wall of the beam, as dis-
played in Fig. 11c and d:
For the case of rectangular spiral reinforcement with locking
effect (favourably imposed twist that locks the spirals) the fol-
lowing equations are derived (see also Fig. 11c):
Force equilibrium along the longitudinal axis results to the
relationship:
F
L
F
T;l
qp
o
cot a 3
The force triangle of Fig. 11c in the perpendicular direction gives:
F
T;t
qs tana 4
(a) Beam ST200
(b) Beam SPL200
(c) Beam SPU200
38 38
54
38 47
42
Fig. 8. Cracking patterns at failure of the beams of Group-200.
C.E. Chalioris, C.G. Karayannis / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 286297 293
Substituting the shear ow, q, in Eqs. (3) and (4) with the equation
of Bredt: q
T
2Ao
, it can be derived:
T
L

2F
L
F
T;l
A
o
p
o
tana and 5a
T
T

2F
T;t
A
o
s
cot a 5b
Further, in order to determine the value of the cracking angle, a,
based on the amount of the longitudinal and the transverse rein-
forcement, Eqs. (5a) and (5b) are combined and therefore it is
deduced:
tana

F
T;t
p
o
F
L
F
T;l
s
s
6
where F
L
= A
sl
f
sl
; F
T,l
= A
st
f
st
cos u; F
T,t
= A
st
f
st
sin u; u < u
0
;
u + u
0
= 180.
For the case of rectangular spiral reinforcement with unlocking
effect (unfavourably imposed twist that unlocks the spirals) the
following equations are derived (see also Fig. 11d):
Force equilibrium along the longitudinal axis results to the
relationship:
F
L
F
T;l
qp
o
cot a 7
The force triangle of Fig. 11d in the perpendicular direction also
gives Eq. (4).
In the same way, substituting the shear ow, q, in Eqs. (7) and
(4) with the equation of Bredt:
T
L

2F
L
F
T;l
A
o
p
o
tana and 8a
T
T

2F
T;t
A
o
s
cot a 8b
Further, the combination of Eqs. (8a) and (8b) gives:
tana

F
T;t
p
o
F
L
F
T;l
s
s
9
It is noted that the aforementioned analysis is a rst simplied ap-
proach that takes into account the inclination of the RSR and the
locking or unlocking effect of the spirals. The proposed approach
can be initially used for the estimation of the inclination of the tor-
sional cracking. Furthermore it is stressed that the locking effect of
the RSR provides extra connement in concrete that has an active
character that works beyond the known passive conning effect
of the common stirrups. In further investigation and towards taking
into account the active connement of the spiral reinforcement
(a) Beam ST150
(b) Beam SPL150
(c) Beam SPU150
43 43
43
42
42
Fig. 9. Cracking patterns at failure of the beams of Group-150.
(a) Beam ST100
(b) Beam SPL100
(c) Beam SPU100
48
48 48
37
53
Fig. 10. Cracking patterns at failure of the beams of Group-100.
294 C.E. Chalioris, C.G. Karayannis / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 286297
with favourably imposed twist that locks the spirals triaxial model
of concrete strength might be implemented.
5. Comparisons of analytical and experimental results
5.1. Inclination of torsional cracking
The values of the cracking angle for the specimens with com-
mon stirrups (ST200, ST150 and ST100), RSR with locking effect
(SPL200, SPL150 and SPL100) and RSR with unlocking effect
(SPU200, SPU150 and SPU100) can be calculated based on the
Eqs. (1), (6), and (9), respectively. The calculated and the experi-
mentally measured cracking angles of the tested specimens are
presented in Table 2.
5.2. Ultimate torsional moment
The experimentally observed torsional behaviour of a typical RC
beam comprises two distinct regions; the elastic till the rst crack-
ing part and the after cracking part. The different character of the
response in these regions reveals the different nature of the load
resisting mechanism in each case. Based on this observation, the
combination of two different models to evaluate the pre-cracking
and post-cracking behaviour has recently been proposed [22].
Analytical predictions for the beams of the present study are
based on this combined approach. The estimation of the elastic re-
sponse till the rst cracking and the calculation of the torsional
moment at cracking are achieved using the smeared crack analysis
for plain concrete in torsion [20], whereas for the evaluation of the
ultimate torsional moment at the post-cracking response the mod-
ied softened truss model [23] is used. It is noted that the greater
value from these two aforementioned torsional moments is the
calculated maximum torsional capacity of the beam, T
max,calc
.
The analytical predictions of the ultimate torsional moment for
the examined specimens with stirrups along with the observed val-
ues fromthe tests are presented in Table 2. In the same table the ob-
served ultimate torsional moments for the specimens with the
spiral reinforcement are also presented for comparison reasons.
Fig. 11. Simplied torsional analysis based on the space truss theory.
C.E. Chalioris, C.G. Karayannis / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 286297 295
6. Contribution of the Rectangular Spiral Reinforcement (RSR)
Test results of this study clearly indicate that the use of RSR pro-
vides enhanced bearing capacity and improved performance in the
examined beams. However, it is stressed that the locking and
unlocking effects of the RSR in the torsional beams are very impor-
tant parameters that strongly inuence the overall behaviour.
When spirals are locked due to the direction of the external
twist the torsional capacity of the beams is increased, whereas
when they are unlocked the ultimate strength is decreased, the
post peak behaviour deteriorates and considerable concrete
spalling is observed compared to beams with equal quantity of
the commonly used stirrups. The measured increase of the
torsional strength is 18%, 16% and 14% for the tested beams un-
der favourably imposed twist that locks the spirals and trans-
verse reinforcement spacing at 200 mm, 150 mm and 100 mm,
respectively.
On the contrary, the measured decrease of the torsional
strength is 19%, 23% and 21% for the tested beams under unfavour-
ably imposed twist that unlocks the spirals and transverse rein-
forcement spacing at 200 mm, 150 mm and 100 mm, respectively.
Further, it is noted that in the case of the beams under loading
that unlocks the spirals, slippage of spiral reinforcement has not
been observed. This observation could lead to the conclusion that
spirals under unlocking effect continue to properly work as trans-
verse torsional reinforcement. However, due to the inclination of
the cracking angle as developed in the cases of RSR with unlocking
effect, the effectiveness of the spiral reinforcement is decreased
since in these cases torsional cracking inclination and spiral links
direction are far from normal to each other. This is in contrast with
the case of RSR with locking effect where cracking and spiral links
are approximately normal.
Moreover, in Fig. 12 the inuence of the steel transverse rein-
forcement ratio on of the torsional behaviour of the tested beams
with stirrups and RSR with locking and unlocking effect is evalu-
ated. From Fig. 12a it is deduced that the increase of the amount
of the provided stirrups from 0.613% to 0.818% and from 0.613%
to 1.226% causes a torsional capacity increase of 11% and 36%,
respectively. From Fig. 12b it is further concluded that the propor-
tional increase of the provided RSR ratio with locking effect from
0.672% to 0.859% and from 0.672% to 1.253% also signicantly in-
creases the maximum torsional moment per 9% and 31%, respec-
tively, as it was expected. The same more or less conclusion
holds for the increase of the provided RSR ratio with unlocking ef-
fect and the proportional increases of the maximum torsional mo-
ment can also be observed in Fig. 12c.
However, a remarkable observation about the negative inu-
ence of the RSR under unfavourably imposed twist (unlocking ef-
fect) has clearly been revealed by the comparison of the tested
beams SPU100 and ST150 (see also Fig. 12a and c). The behaviour
of beam SPU100 with RSR per 100 mm (q
t
= 1.253%) under unfa-
vourably imposed twist that unlocks the spirals (Fig. 12c) is very
close to the response of the beam ST150 with stirrups per
150 mm (q
t
= 0.818%) and signicant lower transverse reinforce-
ment ratio (Fig. 12a). More or less the same observation can be ob-
tained for the maximum torsional capacity by the comparison of
the beams SPU150 and SPU100 with the beams ST200 and
ST150, respectively (see the values of T
max
in Table 1).
Table 2
Predictions and experimental values of the torsional cracking angle and the maximum capacity.
Group Beam codied name a
calc
(deg) a
exp
(deg) T
max,calc
(kN-m) T
max,exp
(kN-m)
Group-200 ST200 33 38 2.633 2.385
SPL200 31 42 and 54 2.822
SPU200 33 38 and 47 1.924
Group-150 ST150 37 43 2.775 2.649
SPL150 36 42 3.068
SPU150 37 43 2.035
Group-100 ST100 43 48 2.923 3.254
SPL100 42 37 and 53 3.705
SPU100 43 48 2.582
(a) Beams with stirrups
T
o
r
s
i
o
n
a
l

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
k
N
-
m
)
Angle of twist per length (rad/m)
ST150
(0.818%)
ST100
(1.226%)
ST200
(0.613%)
+11%
+36%
Angle of twist per length (rad/m)
SPL150
(0.859%)
SPL100
(1.253%)
SPL200
(0.672%)
+9%
+31%
Angle of twist per length (rad/m)
SPU150
(0.859%)
SPU100
(1.253%)
SPU200
(0.672%)
+7%
+35%
Fig. 12. Inuence of the steel transverse reinforcement ratio on of the torsional behaviour of the tested beams.
296 C.E. Chalioris, C.G. Karayannis / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 286297
7. Concluding remarks
The behaviour of RC beams with rectangular cross-section and
Rectangular Spiral Reinforcement (RSR) as transverse reinforce-
ment under pure torsion is experimentally investigated. The inu-
ence of the RSR on the cracking and the post-cracking response is
examined, whereas the locking and unlocking effect of the spirals
due to the direction of the imposed twist is also studied. The re-
sults of this study indicate the following concluding remarks:
The overall torsional behaviour is strongly inuenced by the
locking or the unlocking effect of the spiral reinforcement. The
use of RSR with locking effect provides enhanced torsional
capacity and improved post peak performance. Compared to
beams with equal quantity of the commonly used stirrups the
measured increase of the torsional strength for the tested
beams under imposed twist that locks the spirals was 1418%.
In the cases that the direction of the external twist unlocks
the spirals, the torsional capacity of the beams is decreased
1923% and considerable concrete spalling is observed com-
pared to beams with equal quantity of the commonly used
stirrups. Although in this case slippage of spiral reinforcement
is not observed, it can be clearly observed that due to the
inclination of the cracking angle as developed in the cases of
RSR with unlocking effect, the effectiveness of the spiral rein-
forcement is decreased since in these cases torsional cracking
inclination and spiral links direction are far from normal to
each other.
The increase of the amount of the provided stirrups from 0.613%
to 0.818% and from 0.613% to 1.226% causes a torsional capacity
increase of 11% and 36%, respectively. Further, the proportional
increase of the provided RSR ratio with locking effect from
0.672% to 0.859% and from 0.672% to 1.253% also signicantly
increases the maximum torsional moment per 9% and 31%,
respectively. The same conclusions more or less hold for the
increase of the provided RSR ratio with unlocking effect and
the proportional increases of the maximum torsional moment.
Observations based on the comparisons of the experimental
results reveal similarities between the torsional behaviour or
the ultimate capacity of the tested beams with RSR with unlock-
ing effect and the beams with stirrups with less quantity trans-
verse reinforcement of common stirrups.
A simplied analysis approach that takes into account the incli-
nation of the RSR and the locking or unlocking effect of the spi-
rals has been developed. This approach can also be used for the
estimation of the inclination of the torsional cracking in these
cases.
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