Experimental Study on the Shear Strength of Dune Sand Concrete Beams

An experimental study was performed to investigate the shear strength of concrete beams made with dune sand (DS) from the Gurbantunggut Desert in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. The test consisted of 3 series of beams which explored the shear properties of dune sand concrete (DSC) beams. The failure mode, crack pattern, load deflection, and stirrup strain were investigated. Meanwhile, the effect of shear span-to-depth ratio (a/d), stirrup ratio, and dune sand replacement ratio on the shear strength of DSC beams was discussed. The results showed that the dune sand replacement ratio had insignificant influence on the failure mode of beams, so it was feasible to use DS to fabricate beams in regions of Xinjiang in China. Furthermore, the measured shear strengths of the DSC beams were compared with the calculated values of current design codes, and the results indicated that the shear strength of DSC beams was not precisely predicted by current design codes. Therefore, a modified formula was proposed to calculate the shear strength of DSC beams.