**Abstract**

In this chapter an experimental investigation is carried out on high strength concrete beams without transverse reinforcement and with transverse reinforcement. The beams were tested in bending under two concentrated loads using the technique of digital image correlation. In the test setup, the shear zone which is defined by the area of beam between the support point and the loading point was studied by the camera of high resolution. The Gom-Aramis software was used to record and analyse the numerical images by determination of the deformation of concrete in the compressed zone of the beam, to calculate the opening, the spacing and the length of the diagonal cracks. The experimental shear strength of the beams was compared with the theoretical values predicted by the different design codes, such as the American ACI 318, the British Standard BS 8110, the European Eurocode 2, the New Zealand NZS 3101 and the Indian Standard IS456. The results show that all the design codes underestimate the contribution of high strength concrete to the shear resistance of reinforced concrete beams, and greatly overestimate the contribution of transverse reinforcement. The European Eurocode 2 is the only one among the four code models that gives the best prediction of the ultimate shear strength of high strength concrete.

**Keywords:** beam, high strength concrete, shear capacity, cracking, digital image correlation
