Title: Dilatational Response of Concrete Materials: Facts and Fiction

Author(s): Dilatational Response of Concrete Materials: Facts and Fiction

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 205

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 367-394

Keywords: confined concrete; dilatance; extended leon model

DOI: 10.14359/11648

Date: 1/1/2002

Abstract:
Confinement is the key to the performance of reinforced concrete structures when ductility demands are of primary interest. Hence dilatancy and restraining effects are critical for the behavior of reinforced concrete under seismic environments. In fact, restrained dilatancy is the determinant factor ensuring strength and ductility of reinforced concrete members in compression. In this paper, the issue of the dilatancy of concrete at different levels of active confinement is revisited. Experimental observations on 150x300 mm concrete cylinders, which were recently tested in a large capacity triaxial chamber, are presented. For the analysis of the dilatancy data, the elastoplastic concrete model known as the Extended Leon Model is applied. The study is focused on the volumetric behavior of concrete, which in plasticity terminlogy refers to inelastic dilatancy and the concomitant issue of normality. In particular, the test data is examined within the framework of the non-associated flow theory of plasticity. In this context, the origin of discontinuous failure mechanisms in the high confinement regime is questioned, where inelastic dilatancy together with the loss of axisymmetry are the primary reasons for localized failure in the form of discontinuous faulting.