The load - deflection behaviour of reinforced concrete beams is calculated using a specifically designed Finite Element method. The beams are discretized into multi - layered short elements. The Moment - Curvature diagram of each element is calculated applying the…
The load - deflection behaviour of reinforced concrete beams is calculated using a specifically designed Finite Element method. The beams are discretized into multi - layered short elements. The Moment - Curvature diagram of each element is calculated applying the assumptions that plane sections remain plane and that the strain in the reinforcement is the same as that in the surrounding concrete. Any stress - strain diagram can be used for the compressed concrete and for steel. It may be defined either according to experimental curves or using analytical laws. The calculation method consists of defining successive equilibrium states, increasing step by step the maximum concrete strain. This process allows us to get the entire moment - curvature diagram, including the softening branch. Up to now, the effects of shear are not taken into account. The global deformations such as rotations and deflections are deduced from a numerical integration of curvatures.