ABSTRACT
This paper presents the application of a microplane based finite element approach for three-dimensional, nonlinear, reversed-cyclic analysis of reinforced concrete members. The constitutive relations and the finite element model used in the analysis are first described. The model’s performance is assessed by comparison with experimental work performed previously at the University of California, Berkeley. The method is shown to accurately represent global hysteretic behavior up to failure for cases with a limited number of cycles, while simultaneously providing information about local behavior such as concrete cracking and steel to concrete bond interaction. Issues related to the modeling of steel to concrete bond and the importance of accurate representation of boundary conditions for three-dimensional cyclic analysis are addressed.
