Tests were conducted on five reinforced concrete T-beams subjected to combined load of bending and torsion. Elastic stress field in conjunction with Nielsen's 2D yield criterion for reinforced concrete subjected to in-plane forces were used in the Direct Design Method for the design of reinforcement. The beam dimensions were: flange width = 600mm, flange thickness = 150mm, web width = 200mm, total depth = 600mm and beam length = 5.2m. Required reinforcement calculated using the Direct Design Method was compared with the ACI and BSI codes. It was found that the Direct Design Method requires longitudinal reinforcement similar to the ACI code but less than the BSI code. In the transverse direction, the Direct Design Method requires much less reinforcement than both codes. The main variable studied was the ratio of the maximum twisting moment to the bending moment which was varied between 0.6 and 1.5. Good agreement was found between the design and experimental failure loads. Most of the longitudinal and transverse steel yielded or reached near yield stress when the design load was approached. All beams failed near the design loads and undergone ductile behaviour until failure. The results indicate that the Direct Design Method can be successfully used to design reinforced concrete T-beams for the combined effect of bending and torsion loads.

Tests were conducted on five reinforced concrete T-beams subjected to combined load of bending and torsion. Elastic stress field in conjunction with Nielsen's 2D yield criterion for reinforced concrete subjected to in-plane forces were used in the Direct Design Method for the design of reinforceme...