Constitutive model for reinforced concrete

A numerical model is proposed for reinforced-concrete behavior that combines the commonly accepted ideas from modeling plain concrete, reinforcement, and interaction behavior in a consistent manner. The behavior of plain concrete is govern by fracture-energy-level-based formulation both in tension and in compression. In the presence of reinforcement, the fracture energy level is assumed to be distributed over a tributary area that belongs to a crack. The crack spacing is estimated using accepted CEB-FIB recommendations. The application of this model to reinforced-concrete panels and shear walls gives good simulations of the failure behavior. [23 Refs; In English]