The thesis presents the process of designing reinforced concrete structural elements by the strut and tie\ud
method. The standard SIST EN 1992-1-1:2005 allows the implementation of this known, but rarely\ud
used dimensioning method. It can be used for dimensioning of both deep beam construction elements\ud
and certain sections of linear constructions where plane stress state is produced as a result of various\ud
reasons and the beam theory can no longer accurately describe the actual situation. The thesis provides\ud
insight into the basic idea of the method. The effectiveness of dimensioning by means of this method\ud
strongly depends on the predefined position of ties and struts. To this end, a large portion of the thesis\ud
deals with determining adequate alternate trusses for different construction elements and details, such\ud
as: deep beams, junctions of two linear construction elements, corbels, dapped beams, deep beams\ud
with openings, etc. The research was based on the existing literature containing established models,\ud
and topology optimisation. The latter was conducted by means of two open source computer\ud
programmes, i.e. ForcePad 2 and TopoStruct. The thesis also presents the results of topology\ud
optimisation for different examples. Alternate trusses calculated using topology optimisation are\ud
compared to the models suggested in the literature. The last part of the thesis presents three numerical\ud
examples for different constructions to illustrate the method in question. The examples determine\ud
adequate alternate trusses; individual truss elements are dimensioned (ties, struts and nodes) and all\ud
controls implemented in line with the standard SIST EN 1992-1-1:2005
