Concrete Bearing Strength—Support, Mix, Size Effect

Although the problem of large forces acting over limited contact areas of concrete is often encountered in engineering design, a theoretical rendering of the behavior and ultimate bearing strength of concrete is extremely difficult because of the overall complexity of the problem. Experimental studies are, therefore, imperative. The bearing strength of concrete is affected by several diverse factors. In this paper, the nature of bed (rigid or yielding) supporting the specimen, supported area of specimen, concrete properties, and size of specimen are considered as the principal variables, and their effect on the bearing strength ratio, i.e., the ration of ultimate local bearing stress to the concrete cube strength is presented on the basis of comprehensive tests.