Title: The Treatment of Ductility in the Analysis and Design of Reinforced Concrete Beams and Slabs

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Publication: CIA

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Date: 2/13/2011

Abstract:
This paper outlines the importance of ductility in the analysis and design of concrete structures and in the subsequent behaviour of the completed structure at the ultimate limit state. A critical assessment of the way ductility is treated in AS3600-2001 (1) is presented and the significant changes that have been made in the latest revision of the Standard (2) are discussed. Some of the factors that affect ductility are explored, including reinforcement quantity, reinforcement type and strain localization. The implications of the use of both normal-ductility and low-ductility reinforcement on the failure mode and ductility of reinforced suspended slabs are also discussed. The paper illustrates the issues using results obtained from a series of laboratory experiments on one-way and two-way slabs.