This thesis reports the results of research conducted to establish a state-of-the-art database of shear-friction studies to be turned over to ACI Committee 445-0D as a living document, utilize a subset of the established database to examine the effectiveness of the ACI 318 Code (2014), PCI Design Handbook (2010), AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specification (2016) and CSA A23.3 Design of Concrete Structures Standard (2014) provisions to predict shear transfer strength, and examine the effective coefficient of friction (microe) approach allowed in the PCI Design Handbook (2010).The shear friction design concept is applicable in conditions where direct shear must be transferred across a structural concrete plane or interface, such as an existing crack or an interface between dissimilar materials or concretes cast at different times (cold joint condition).

The results of the study suggest that the four design provisions examined in this thesis work have their respective strengths and weaknesses depending on the concrete type and interface condition. Overall, the AASHTO LRFD (2016) provision proved to establish a best-fit relationship with the test data for all concrete types and interface conditions. The ACI 318 Code (2014) and PCI Design Handbook (2010) Eq. 5-32a provisions tend to establish conservative (i.e., test values larger than calculated values) predictions for all concrete types and interface conditions. The test data illustrated a clear clamping stress threshold for which values of clamping stress above this threshold had no positive effect on the shear transfer strength. The examination of the microe approach in the PCI Design Handbook concluded that the provision produces unconservative (i.e., test values less than calculated values) values for a moderate percentage of tests.