Shear resisting mechanism and shear strength equation for full and open sandwich beams

The aim of this study is to eliminate the limitation of existing shear design equations and to send forth a complete set of rational as well as computationally efficient shear design equations. On this goal, a macro physical model, based on 2D nonlinear FEM analysis, for both open and full sandwich beams are developed which can clearly visualize the contributions of different parts of the beam in shear resisting mechanism, to develop a satisfactory correlation between the experimental and the analytical results. A series of analytical specimens in connection with experimental ones are analyzed by using 2D-FEM program and a complete set of shear strength equations are derived with the help of that proposed model. The equations for a full sandwich beam show a good agreement with experimental and analytical results, whereas equations for an open sandwich beam require further investigation to increase their level of accuracy and are not presented here.