CRACKING IN REINFORCED-CONCRETE ANALYSIS

In most conventional methods of reinforced concrete analysis, cracks are formed in the principal stress direction and are not allowed to change direction with the change in state. This practice leads to crack directions inconsistent with the limit state. There is experimental evidence that the crack directions may change in the course of loading. A simple model of forming cracks in reinforced concrete is proposed. It is assumed that the cracks are formed in the direction of the major principal tensile strain and that the direction can change with the change in strains. The proposed model leads to crack directions which are consistent with the limit state. A numerical algorithm, based on the proposed model, which is suitable for step-by-step finite element analysis is also presented. The algorithm is applied to limited available experiments. © ASCE.