CUADERNOS [@) DE INVESTIGACION INVESTIGACIONES SOBRE SISMOLOGIA E INGENIERIA SISMICA EN EL JAPON JULIO, 1994 APPLICATION OF FEM (FINITE ELEMENT METHOD) TO RC (REINFORCED CONCRETE) STRUCTURES Hiroshi Noguchi A CENTRO NACIONAL DE PREVENCION DE DESASTRES1. Analytical Techniques of Shear in Reinforced Concrete Structures by Finite Element Method 1.1 Introduction Iwas fifteen years back when the reinforced concrete (RC) beams were first analyzed with the finite element method (FEM) by Ngo and Scordelis (1967). For these fifteen years, the objects of analysis have been made wider in the scale from members: beams, columns, beam-column joints, shear walls, footings and floor slabs, to overall frames including shear walls, box-shaped or cylindrical shear walls, bridges, shell structures, prestressed concrete atomic reactor vessels (PCRV) and atomic reactor buildings. For the loading conditions, the time dependent problems under the long-term loading like creep, shrinkage and temperature stress have been treated besides the problems under the short-time loading as the static analysis, while on the other hand the problems under the earthquake have been treated as the dynamic analysis. The state-of-the-art reports on how the analytical studies of RC structures by FEM had developed were written by Scordelis (1972), Kawamata (1974), Schnobrich (1976), Noguchi (1976), Wegner (1976), Scordelis (1978), Aoyama and Noguchi (1979), (1979), Gerstle (1981), Meyer (1981), Argyris (1981), Gergely (1981), Bibl (1981) and Okamura (1981). As the finite element idealization and the creation of the boundary condition are fairly free in FEM, the modelling of the shear behavior: the propagation of concrete cracking, the bond between reinforcing bars and concrete, the shear transfer across cracks and the dowel action of reinforcing bars are sufficiently possible. Therefore, FEM has developed into one of the most powerful instruments in the analysis of the strength and deformation of the shear dominant RC structures, using the appropriate constitutive laws and the failure criterion of concrete and reinforcing bars under multi-axial stresses. In this report, the previous studies on shear analysis of RC structures by FEM, were surveyed and the previous analytical models on the material behavior were introduced. The subjects of future investigation were also pointed out 1.2 Characteristics of Shear Analysis of RC Structures by Finite Element Method The previous studies on the shear problems of beams, the most basic members, were introduced and the characteristics of shear analysis of RC members by FEM were surveyed. In Ngo and Scordelis’ study (1967), FEM was first applied to the analytical method in RC structures to represent the bond behavior by a bond linkage element which consisted of two orthogonal springs, assuming the bond stress as the function of the bond slip. In this study, the simple beams with the pre-set inclined and flexural cracks between elements, as shown in Fi were analyzediran ens sran cracking Bait sess cacy canon asa ales omen x oe ( M ih TUN | wit > sree rt i J. a See Set Sat i ee Fig. 1.1 Analytical Model for Simple Fig. 1.2 Analytical Crack Pattern for Beam (Ngo, 1970) Simple Beam (Franklin, 1970) ms eye nA mOLIOAE MATER. ORECTENC CROK Tyo al Fig. 1.3. Finite Element Idealization Fig. 1.4 Comparison between Analytical for Analysis of Simple Beam Crack Pattern and Experimental (Ngo, 1970) Result (Isobata, 1971) a sain Ca Baa 12 Fe 1 Fig. 1.5 Principal Stress Distribution in Fig. 1.6 Analytical Crack Pattern for Simple Simple Beam (Isobata, 1971) Beam without Bond (Kokusho and Takiguchi, 1971)