Title: How to Increase Ductile Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Structures

Author(s): Piotr Moncarz, Tea Visnjic, and Peter H. Feenstra

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 340

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 210-220

Keywords: concrete structures, post-ultimate behavior, gravity-based structure, OpenSees

DOI: 10.14359/51725814

Date: 4/1/2020

Abstract:
This paper presents a numerical study of novel configurations in reinforced concrete wall systems that exhibit large structural ductility and increased post-ultimate strength, leading to potentially better performing structures under large and sustained loads. A Gravity-Based Structure (GBS) under extreme ice loading is used as use-case to investigate various scenarios to increase post-ultimate ductility. It is shown that the largest increase in the out-of-plane toughness of the exterior reinforced concrete walls is gained using post-tensioned tendons and mild “core” steel placed at the center of the exterior wall cross section. These structural features show promise in improving the global post-ultimate behavior, which would make them desirable to use in structures that are deployed in locations where extreme ice feature impacts pose a foreseeable risk and where designing the structure to remain elastic under ice impact may not be economically feasible. Lessons-learned from the GBS evaluation can also be applied to various reinforced concrete structures.