As I discussed in this blog article Strut-and-tie A to Z, STM is a useful method in the

analysis of the D regions in concrete structures. Todays case study is using STM to
design a deep beam. This case is from Prof. James K. Wights paper Strut-and-tie model
for deep beam design. First of all, I repeated the STM model of Prof. Wight, but
converted all the English units into metric units. It is a practice for me. Secondly, I
choose a different STM model and try to figure about whether this simpler triangle STM
model could work. Thirdly, I used traditional beam theory to design this deep beam and
compared the result with the STM models. The calculation is based on Chinese code GB
50010-2010. Finally, I used SAP2000 to analyze the same deep beam and made
a comparison with results of STM.
1. REPEAT PROF. WIGHTS STM MODEL IN

METRIC UNITS

2. TRY ANOTHER VERSION OF STM

MODEL

Compared with former STM model, the longitudinal reinforcement is a bit larger, but the
vertical reinforcement in this model is much small. However, there are some issues. The
inclined angle is very small and is very near to the lower limit. Considering the decrease
in the amount of reinforcement and the smaller inclined angle, maybe a better solution is
to make the height of the beam a little higher. Thus, the angle could be a bit bigger and
the amount of reinforcement will not increase significantly.
3. DESIGN THE SAME DEEP BEAM FOLLOWING CHINESE GB 50010-2010

Compared with STM models, the longitudinal reinforcement is similar. However, the
required amount of vertical reinforcement is much larger. The traditional beam theory is
much more conservative in the shear design of STM models.
4. ANALYZE THE SAME DEEP BEAM WITH SAP2000

The required amount of longitudinal reinforcement in the left part is larger than the right
part. Only the first STM model reflects this characteristic. The second STM model and
the calculation based on GB 50010-2010 has the same required amount of reinforcement
in the whole span. Thus, Prof. Wights STM model is more rational.

In this image, we can see the two zones which required larger amount of vertical
reinforcement. They are the locations of Struts in STM models. Also, the Tie 3-4 in Prof.
Wights model is reflected in this image.

We can see the two bottle-shaped concrete struts very clearly. The stress in the left strut
is larger than the right strut. This corresponds with the analysis of the STM model.
References:

Wight, J.K., and Parra-Montesinos, G. Strut-and-tie model for deep beam

design, ACI Concrete International, Vol. 25, No. 5, 2003, pp. 63-70

Wight, J.K. Keynote Development of the Strut-and-Tie Method for Appendix A of

the Building Code (ACI 318-08), 2008