TREATMENT OF TORSION OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS IN CURRENT STRUCTURAL STANDARDS

Structural standards and codes of practice are reviewed continuously and improvements are implemented as research findings reveal more accurate methods of design. Design for torsion unlike design for shear, bending, and axial force, which have been perfected over the years, has not attracted as much attention and is in a rather weaker state. This paper reviews the provisions of the current standards in relation to torsion of reinforced concrete beams and highlights their weaknesses and strengths. A couple of important parameters are introduced and some limits on them are proposed outside of which methods of current standards are better not to be used.