Design of Concrete

Structures
Understanding the behaviour of
reinforced concrete behaviour
subjected to earthquake actions

Introduction: Eurocode 8
Ensure life safety - a large earthquake
Damage limitation more frequent events
Dissipative (ductile) behaviour
Non-dissipative (essentially elastic) behaviour
Ensure stable, reliable dissipative
performance in predefined critical region -reducing inertial forces on the other parts
Stringent layout and detailing requirements

Level of Ductility
Low (ductility class low (DCL)): no hysteretic
ductility is intended and the resistance to
earthquake loading is achieved through the
strength.
Medium (DCM): quite high levels of plasticity
are permitted ----- corresponding design
and detailing requirements are imposed
High (DCH): very large inelastic excursions
are permitted -- even more complex design
and detailing requirement.

Advantages
Properly detailed structures possess
excellent ductility.
Higher resistance to buckling.
Monolithic structure: a good
earthquake-resistant feature.
Higher internal damping than welded
steel structures.
Prevalent construction material in many
countries.

Disadvantages
Unfavourable mass-to-strength ratio.
Brittle shear failure.
Lack of ductility in inadequate
compression.
Highly non-linear, difficult to analyse.

Unconfined

Confined

Comparison

Strain rate
In general, the increase in strain rate
increases the strength of concrete.
In severe earthquakes, strain rates in
the concrete of plastic hinge zones in
a multi-storey building can be of the
order of 0.02s-1. This strain rate
enhances the strength of concrete by
about 20 percent.

Constitutive model of
reinforcement

Steel Reinforcement
The ultimate strain (u) of steel has to be
large so that sufficient ductility of the RC
structural member is ensured. -- u is 0.22
for steel grade 250 and 0.12 for steel
grade 460.
The actual yield stress (fy) of steel should
not significantly exceed its specified value,
--- avoiding the development of a shear
force higher than the one estimated during
the design.

Steel Reinforcement
Strain hardening should not start
prematurely, i.e., immediately after
yielding. Because in such a case there is a
risk of affecting the strength hierarchy
established by capacity design approach.
Steel bars should have sufficient bond
with concrete to ensure a composite
action, even in regions where significant
inelastic deformations develop as a result
of cyclic loading.

Cyclic inelastic behaviour

Behaviour of reinforced
concrete

Reinforced concrete frames

Reversing plastic hinges

The direction of the shear force in the beam
does not change when the plastic hinges have
formed.

aM

M B L wL / 2

Expected where the spans are short or where

the gravity loads on the beams are light.
Maximum bending moments are located at the
column faces.
The beam region between the plastic hinges
sustains little deformation and remains elastic.

Beams

Beams
To ensure that the plastic hinge zones in
beams have adequate rotational ductility,
design codes typically specify:
Lower and upper limits on the amount of
longitudinal flexural tension steel.
Limit on the ratio of the steel on one side of
the beam to that on the other side.
Minimum requirements for the spacing and
size of stirrups to restrain buckling of the
longitudinal reinforcement.

Shear

Unidirectional plastic hinges

This occurs when the following condition is
not satisfied:

MA MB

L wL / 2

Maximum positive bending moments occur

in the span some distance away from the
column face (at the point of zero shear).
As the positive and negative plastic hinges
are at separate locations, there is no way
that the inelastic rotations can decrease
during an earthquake.

Unidirectional plastic hinges