Building services often require openings in RCC deep beams, which can disrupt the internal load-transfer mechanism and adversely affect shear performance. This study experimentally and theoretically investigates the effect of circular web-opening location on the shear behavior and load-carrying capacity of RCC deep beams, with particular emphasis on openings positioned in the tension and compression zones. A total of 45 deep beam specimens representing 15 configurations, comprising solid deep beams (SDB), deep beams with openings in the compression zone (DB-C), and deep beams with openings in the tension zone (DB-T), incorporating crimped steel fibre (CSF) dosages of 0%, 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75% and 1.00%, were tested under two-point loading. The results showed that compression-zone openings caused less reduction in load-carrying capacity than tension-zone openings. At 0% CSF, the capacity loss relative to SDB was 2.4% for DB-C and 7.3% for DB-T, while at 1% CSF, the corresponding losses were 2.8% and 6.7%, respectively. At 1% CSF, the first-crack load increased by 35.1-41.9% and the ultimate load 9.4-10.5% compared with the corresponding specimens without CSF. DB-C exhibited 9.1% higher first-crack load and approximately 4.2% higher ultimate load than DB-T at 1% CSF. The theoretical predictions agreed reasonably well with the experimental results, with variation of approximately 0.6-10.8%.
