Application and evaluation of alternative steel wire for iron in concrete beams

Stirrups are widely used as transverse reinforcement to meet the shear stresses in reinforced concrete columns, shear walls and beams. They ensure the ductile behavior of reinforced concrete members and also they prevent the growth and expansion of cracks due to the principle tensile stresses caused by the shear effect. In this study, it was experimentally investigated whether steel wire can be used as an alternative to stirrups in reinforced concrete beams. For this purpose, 3 test beam specimens with a cross section of 200x320 mm, a length of 1800 mm and with the same properties were produced. For comparison, a control specimen designed in accordance with standard, with Ø8 diameter stirrup. Steel reinforcement of Ø4 and Ø6 diameter was used as transverse reinforcement in the other two specimens. The volumetric ratio of transverse reinforcement was kept the same in all specimens. Due to the reduction in the diameter of the transverse reinforcement, the spacing of the transverse reinforcement has also decreased. Thus, as the transverse reinforcement diameter decreased, the number of stirrups per unit length increased compared to the control specimen. Three beam specimens produced in this way were subjected to the four-point bending test and the effects of steel wire application alternative as transverse reinforcement on ductility and load carrying capacity have been investigated. The beam specimen using Ø4 diameter steel wire as a stirrup has shown the best performance and It was observed that it behaved 28% more ductile than the control beam sample.