The paper studied the behavior of reinforced\nconcrete triangular and T-beams. Three reinforced concrete\nbeams were tested experimentally and analyzed analytically\nusing the finite element method. Their reliability was\nalso assessed using the reliability index approach. The\nresults showed that the finite element vertical displacements\ncompared well with those obtained experimentally.\nThey also showed that the vertical displacements obtained\nusing the finite element method were larger than those\nobtained experimentally. This is a strong indication that the\nfinite element results were conservative and reliable. The\nresults showed that the triangular beams exhibited higher\nductility at failure than did the T-beam. The plastic\ndeformations at failure of the triangular beams were higher\nthan that of the T-beam. This is a strong indication of the\nhigher ductility of the triangular beams compared to the\nT-beam. Triangular beams exhibited smaller cracks than\ndid T-beams for equal areas of steel and concrete. The\ndesign moment strengths Mc computed using the American\nConcrete Institute (ACI) design formulation were safe and\nclose to those computed using experimental results. The\nexperimental results validated the reliability analysis\nresults, which stated that the triangular beams are more\nreliable than T-beams for equal areas of steel and concrete.
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