Study of the mechanical behavior of reinforced concrete via computational modeling with the use of mesh fragmentation and coupling techniques

Abstract

Numerical analyses of steel reinforced concrete applying the mesh fragmentation and coupling techniques are proposed. The mesh fragmentation technique consists in the introduction of finite interface elements with high aspect ratio between the bulk elements of the mesh, enabling the simulation of crack formation process. In addition, the coupling technique enforces the displacement compatibility of two initially independent meshes, representing concrete and reinforcement, so that the coupling is governed by a bond-slip model. Damage constitutive models will be employed to represent the nonlinear behavior of concrete and the reinforcement steel bars yielding. Thus, the study intends to contribute to the development of a MEF based tool, which includes additional implementations that aim to represent the mechanical behavior of concrete reinforced with steel bars. This tool can be used to study the cracking, deflection, bearing capacity of different structural systems, allowing comparative studies of different design aspects as well as sensitivity to bond conditions between materials.