The design of reinforced concrete (RC) structures against fatigue failure due to shear loads is based on empirical approaches (refer to Eurocode 2). In particular, this unsatisfying status pertains to members without links such as bridge slabs or footings of wind energy plants. In terms of sustainability - for example, a longer service life of these structures - safe and exact calculation methods to determine their fatigue resistance are urgently needed. Therefore, the load-bearing behavior of RC elements without links under static and cyclic loads was studied theoretically, experimentally, and numerically at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH). Sixteen RC beams without shear reinforcement were tested under cyclic loads. The analysis of the time-consuming experimental investigations confirmed the EC2 approach to estimate the shear capacity of RC beams without links under fatigue loading, if the shear resistance under static loads is known from tests. The fib approach is too conservative. The specimens showed a high shear strength even after wide cracks had opened. Thus, the shear force is predominantly carried by the compression zone and not by crack friction.
