18.1.2 Shear Retention Relations

Due to the cracking of the material the shear stiffness is usually reduced. This reduction is generally known as shear retention. DIANA offers two predefined relations for shear retention: full shear retention and constant shear retention.

18.1.2.1 Full Shear Retention

In case of full shear retention the elastic shear modulus G is not reduced: $\beta$ = 1 in Equation (18.19). This implies that the secant crack shear stiffness is infinite

$$\infty$$ (18.50)

18.1.2.2 Constant Shear Retention

In case of a reduced shear stiffness, the shear retention factor $\beta$ is less or equal to one, but greater than zero. The crack shear stiffness is then given by the general relation

$${\frac{{\beta}}{{1 - \beta}}}$$ (18.51)