Finite Element Simulation of Damage In RC Beams

A concrete damage model has been incorporated in finite element code ABAQUS as concrete damaged plasticity model to examine the sensitivity of the damage, as ABAQUS has the model that is capable of stiffness degradation in cracking which is the basis of fracture mechanics. Nonlinear constitutive relationships for concrete and steel have been incorporated in the model. The static and dynamic response of the structure at 10 different damage levels is studied and the sensitivity of the damage model towards the presence of non-linearity has been discussed. The concrete damaged plasticity model is capable of predicting formation of cracks in concrete beams against any kind of loads, as the results match with the experimental results. It can be concluded that the concrete damaged plasticity is a versatile tool for modeling RC structures and careful choice of solution procedures for dynamic analysis can lead to accurate modeling of concrete using a few routine laboratory test results of the materials.