Prediction of Cracking Response of Reinforced Concrete Tensile Members

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental and analytical study that was carried out to improve the understanding of the response of cracked concrete from a fracture mechanics point of view. Reinforced concrete panels made of normaland high-strength concrete were tested under uniaxial tension. A previously proposed fracture energy model was modified to predict the obtained tensile response of both normaland high-strength concrete panels. Steady crack growth was described with energy equilibrium during cracking. A new method is proposed to approximate the effective compliance for a member with multiple cracks. For a given cracking stage, the model can predict concrete and steel strains and entire load-deformation curves. The proposed fracture energy model is also capable of predicting the minimum reinforcement ratio of normaland high-strength concrete tensile members of different sizes.