Finite Element Analysis Of Large Reinforced Concrete Beams Without Web Reinforcement

The behavior of concrete structures has been studied for more than a century, and design of concrete plays the most important role in the world of construction. The construction industry has grown for a demand in designing of large reinforced concrete structures that can withstand large amounts of loading without damage. Here, the design of reinforced concrete structures depends on design specifications formulated for different purposes but in the case of the design for large reinforced concrete structures there is insufficient experimental data to base design codes. Therefore there is a need for a study on the topic of large reinforced concrete beams.The study focuses on the finite element analysis of large reinforced concrete beams without web reinforcement. Seven beams of depth ranging from 500mm to 1200 mm with variations on longitudinal reinforcement configuration were studied. The behaviors of reinforced concrete beams such as cracking shear strength and the ultimate shear strength, crack propagation and load deflection response were examined. And the size effect phenomenon of the specimens was observed. The study used the finite element analysis program VecTor2 for numerical analysis of the specimens.The study compared the results from the analysis with the results from a past test conducted on the same specimen sizes. Furthermore, it also compared results from design codes from ACI, Chinese design code and Canadian Standards Association codes.Different specimens performed differently in the comparison, beams of depth less than lm had showed a response closer to the test results that have been recorded, but for beams larger than lm the difference in results was much higher. The design codes also had some differences in the results. The Chinese design code showed a higher strength value than all the other methods used therefore it should be modified to consider large reinforced concrete beams without web reinforcement.The analysis concluded that there should be a modification in the design codes and the program although having much more realistic values than the codes also lacks the ability to predict for beams of size larger than lm. The objective of this study is to be used as a reference for future research on the topic of large reinforced concrete beams without web reinforcement.