Truss Modeling of Reinforced Concrete Shear-Flexure Behavior

Keywords: Reinforced concrete. Bridge columns. Beam columns. Theoretical crack angle. Modeling. Column shear analysis. Column shear strength. Stiffness analysis. Strength analysis. Truss models. Steel yielding. Concrete tensile strength. Axial load effect.

Abstract: This reports details the development of retrofit procedures, verified by experimental testing, for reinforced concrete bridge columns and their connections. The report describes the development of a comprehensive theory for analyzing the inelastic shear force versus shear deformation behavior of columns. To achieve this, two concrete shear truss mechanisms (constant angle truss and variable angle truss) were investigated and as a result, new truss models based on numerical integration schemes were suggested and analyzed. These models will enable structural engineers to quantitatively as well as qualitatively understand the flow of forces at any instance of column deformation. They are suitable for had (design office) analysis. However, more sophisticated truss models can easily be incorporated with comprehensive computational model-based techniques (such as DRAIN-2DX).