Ductility of reinforced concrete sections with confined compression zones

Abstract

onfinement of concrete in circular spiral steel binders imparts to it considerable ductility and also some increase in strength. This property can be utilized in designing concrete structures to withstand seismic forces where the members are required to possess not only strength but also energy absorbing capacity. Assuming the stress-strain behaviour of confined concrete as elastic-plastic, the ductility factor for strain and the strength factor (denoting increase in strength) have been determined for concrete confined to different degrees. Similarly, assuming the moment-curvature behaviour of reinforced concrete sections with confined compression concrete to be elastic-plastic, the ductility factor for curvature has been determined for such beams. The computed moment-curvature plots have been found to compare satisfactorily with tests on 18 beams. Ductility factors for curvature of singly and doubly reinforced concrete sections with compression concrete confined to different degrees have been determined and presented for certain typical cases. Such plots would be of use in designing reinforced concrete beam sections for required ductility.