hich the Profession at large is invited to
adopt." In the first point sharp bends in reinforcing rods are condemned
and curves recommended. Absolutely nothing is said of "a reinforced
concrete beam arranged in the shape of a rod, with separate concrete
blocks placed on top of it without being connected."

In reply to Professor Ostrup, it should be stated that the purpose of
the paper is not to belittle the importance of the adhesion or grip of
concrete on steel, but to point out that the wonderful things this grip
is supposed to do, as exhibited by current design, will not stand the
test of analysis.

Professor Ostrup has shown a new phase of the stress in shear rods. He
says they are in bending between the centers of compressive resultants.
We have been told in books and reports that these rods are in stress of
some kind, which is measured by the sectional area of the rod. No hint
has been given of designing stirrups for bending. If these rods are not
in shear, as stated by Professor Ostrup, how can they be in bending in
any such fashion as that indicated in Fig. 12?

Professor Ostrup's analysis, by which he attempts to justify stirrups
and to show that vertical stirrups are preferable, merely treats of
local distribution of stress from short rods into concrete. Apparently,
it would work the same if the stirrups merely touched the tension rod.
His analysis ignores the vital question of what possible aid the stirrup
can be in relieving the concrete between stirrups of the shear of the
beam.

The juggling of bending moments in beams is not compensating. The
following is a concrete example. Some beams of a span of about 20 ft.,
were framed into double girders at the columns. The beams were
calculated as partly continuous, though they were separated at their
ends by about 1-1/2 or 2 ft., the space between the girders. The beams
had 1-1/8-in. tension rods in the bottom. At the supports a short
1/4-in. rod was used near the top of the beam for continuity. Does this
need any comment? It was not the work of a novice or of an inexperienced
builder.

Professor Ostrup's remarks about the shifting of the neutral axis of a
beam and of the pressure line of an arch are based on theory which is
grounded in impossible assumptions. The materials dealt with do not
justify these assumptions or the hair-splitting theory based thereon.
His platitudes about the danger of misplacing reinforcement in an arch
are hardly warranted. If the