ABSTRACT
If a reinforced concrete beam cross-section is subjected to a cyclic bending moment, the maximum value of which is greater than or equal to the bending moment of slippage or yielding of the reinforcement and lower than the concrete fracture bending moment, then a shake-down phenomenon due to steel plastic flow occurs. A Fracture Mechanics model is employed to analyze the above-mentioned phenomenon, which can be elastic, i.e. without energy dissipation, or plastic and dissipative. A numerical procedure follows the fatigue crack growth, and the energy dissipated during the cyclic loading and unloading processes is calculated from the hysteretic loops described in the moment–rotation diagram. Some experimental tests have been carried out in order to verify the reliability of the proposed theoretical model.
