Abstract
Test results of 16 rectangular prestressed high-strength concrete beams subjected to the combined action of torsion and bending are presented. The major variables were the ratio of torsion to the bending moment (T/M) and the prestressing level. The beams were subjected to two levels of prestressing, corresponding to 0.05f
c
' and 0.10f
c
', where f
c
' is the compressive strength of concrete (about 90 MPa). Test results showed that the torque-twist relations for the test beams were approximately linear up to cracking and thereafter became nonlinear. Increasing the T/M ratio and the prestressing level increases both torsional stiffness and strength. Several theoretical methods available in the literature developed for normal-strength concrete were used to predict the torsional strength of the tested high-strength concrete beams. Interaction equations were used along with some other methods to predict the torsional capacity in the presence of a bending moment. Good agreement was observed between the experimental and theoretical results.Key words: beams (supports), bending, cracking, failure, high-strength concrete, interaction diagram, prestressed concrete, stiffness, torsion, torsional strength.