Effect of tension softening on the performance of concrete structures : experimental, analytical and computational studies

The tensile characteristics of concrete are usually neglected in the design of structures. The treatise discusses the important bearing these very characteristics have on the performance of different concrete structures. The investigations are supported by experiments, theoretical models and simulations by finite element methods. The following structures are studied: thick-walled concrete rings subjected to inner pressure, tensioned rebars embedded in concrete prisms and fullscale reinforced concrete beams under flexural loading. A hierarchic approach is adopted meaning that for the analysis of the beams, the results of the reinforced concrete prisms are used as constitutive law. In turn, for modelling the behaviour of the prism, the characteristics of the rebar and concrete are used as input. Being based on a mechanical foundation rather than empirical, this approach enables to consider how the behaviour of a structure will alter if its constituents are e g exposed to environmental effects. It offers great prospect for development of new materials and guidelines for design of durable reinforced concrete structures.Godkänd; 1998; 20061123 (haneit