Title:
Failure Mode Transitions in Reinforced Concrete Beams—Part 2: Experimental Tests
Author(s):
Alberto Carpinteri, Jacinto Ruiz Carmona, and Giulio Ventura
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
108
Issue:
3
Appears on pages(s):
286-293
Keywords:
brittle-to-ductile failure transition; critical crack; crushing failure; shear strength
DOI:
10.14359/51682344
Date:
5/1/2011
Abstract:
This paper presents the results of an experimental research program validating a recently developed mechanical model connecting failure modes with cracking processes in reinforced concrete (RC) beams. In the analysis of the experimental results, special emphasis is given to the shape, extension, and initial location of the main tensile or shear crack and their relation to the rupture mode of the RC beam. The experimental program investigated five different reinforcement percentages with four samples each, for a total of 20 beams subjected to a three-point bending test. The experimental results are discussed with the help of the bridged crack model. The model unifies the theoretical treatment of yielding, shear, and crushing failures to predict collapse mode transitions and related size effects, and the experimental program is focused on validating and discussing the choice of some model parameters.