The modified compression field theory (MCFT) is a general model for the load-deformation behaviour of two-dimensional cracked reinforced concrete subjected to shear.
The concrete stress-strain behaviour was derived originally from Vecchio's tests and has since been confirmed with about 250 experiments performed on two large special purpose testing machines at the University of Toronto.
Similar machines have been built in Japan and the United States, providing additional confirmation of the quality of the method's predictions.
Frank J. Vecchio defined the original form of MCFT in 1982 from the testing of 30 reinforced concrete panels subjected to uniform strain states in a specially built tester.
The definitive description of the MCFT is in the 1986 American Concrete Institute paper "The Modified Compression Field Theory for Reinforced Concrete Elements Subjected to Shear".