Flexural Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Beam with Hollow Core at Various Depth

Nowadays research efforts are continuously looking for new, better and efficient construction material and method. In recent days the problem faced by the construction industry is acute shortage of raw materials. We have responsibility to reduce the effect of the application of concrete materials to environmental impact. The concrete should be used as efficiently as much as possible. In case of simply supported reinforced concrete beam, the region below neutral axis is in tension and above neutral axis is in compression. As concrete is weak in taking tension, steel reinforcements are provided in this zone. The concrete below the neutral axis act as a stress transfer medium between the compression and tension zone. Partial replacement of the concrete below the neutral axis is an idea that can create reduction in weight and savings in materials. This research focuses on structural material optimization by introducing hollow core using PVC pipe in tension zone of RC beams. By material optimization, we can reduce the dead loads which contribute to seismic effect in high rise structures. This paper presents details of the studies carried out on flexural behaviour of Hollow Core Sandwich RC Beams with different core depths. The experimental program consists of casting and testing of RC beams of size 2000mm x200mm x300mm with and without hollow core in tension zone. To study the flexural behaviour, all beams are tested by four point loading. The performance of Hollow Core Sandwich Beams under flexure shows better when compared with conventional solid beams