The gradual formation of hinges throughout reinforced concrete beams

Abstract

The rotational capacity of reinforced concrete beams is of funda-mental importance to the collapse of reinforced concrete structures. Research that started in the eighties used numerical approaches to simulate the rotational behavior using discrete and independent blocks encompassed by adjacent cracks. In this paper, these numerical approaches are taken a stage further. A numerical procedure has been developed that: allows for the interaction between the blocks along the full length of concrete beams; can cope with any number of layers of reinforcing bars; automatically predicts the occurrence of flexural cracks; and automatically allows for slip of the reinforcing bars.