Aggregate interlock in lightweight concrete continuous deep beams

There are very few, if any, available experimental investigations on aggregate interlock capacity along diagonal cracks in lightweight concrete deep beams. As a result, the shear design provisions including the modification factor of ACI 318-08 and EC 2 for lightweight concrete continuous deep beams are generally developed and validated using normal weight simple deep beam specimens. This paper presents the testing of 12 continuous beams made of all-lightweight, sand-lightweight and normal weight concrete having maximum aggregate sizes of 4, 8, 13 and 19 mm. The load capacities of beams tested are compared with the predictions of strut-and-tie models recommended in ACI 318-08 and EC 2 provisions including the modification factor for lightweight concrete. The beam load capacity increased with the increase of maximum aggregate size, though the aggregate interlock contribution to the load capacity of lightweight concrete deep beams was less than that of normal weight concrete deep beams. It was also shown that the lightweight concrete modification factor in EC 2 is generally unconservative, while that in ACI 318-08 is conservative for all-lightweight concrete but turns to be unconservative for sand-lightweight concrete with a maximum aggregate size above 13 mm. The conservatism of the strut-and-tie models specified in ACI 318-08 and EC 2 decreased with the decrease of maximum aggregate size, and was less in lightweight concrete deep beams than in normal weight concrete deep beams.