6.

2 DEFINITION OF SHEAR SPAN

For a laboratory specimen subjected to one or two point loads, the shear span is
simple to define. As defined by ACI 326 in 1962, the shear span is the distance
between the support and the point where the load is applied. For more complex load
cases, the shear span is more difficult to define. Leonhardt and Walther (1962)
chose to define the shear span of a beam with uniform load over its entire length as
one-fourth of the span. If a uniform load is replaced by statically equivalent
concentrated loads at L/4 and 3L/4, the maximum moment of the two load cases
will be equal. Their definition is practical only if the uniform load is applied
symmetrically to the entire span. If uniform load is applied only to a portion of a
span Leonhardt and Walthers definition is inadequate.
The AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specification defines a deep component as: [a
component] in which the distance from the point of 0.0 shear to the face of the
support is less than 2d or components in which a load causing more than one-third
of the shear at the support is closer than 2d from the face of the support.
The first clause of the AASHTO definition implies that the shear span is related to
the distance between the point of maximum shear and the point of zero shear. The
definition implied by AASHTO will be used in the remainder of this chapter for
comparing the behavior of all the specimens included in the database.
It should be noted that the definition of shear span implied by AASHTO results in the
same shear span as that given in the ACI Committee 326 (1962) report for beams
subjected to one or two concentrated loads. The implications of the definition of
shear span for other load configurations will be discussed in Section 6.4.1.