Pinching Mechanism of Reinforced Concrete Elements

철근콘크리트 부재의 핀칭 메커니즘에 대한 연구

The response of a reinforced concrete element under cyclic shear is characterized by the hysteretic loops of the shear stress-strain curves. These hysteretic loops can exhibit strength deterioration, stiffness degradation, and a pinched shape. Recent tests have shown that the orientation of steel grids in RC shear elements has a strong effect on the "pinching effect" in the post-yield hysteretic loops. When the steel grid was set at a 45 degree angle to the shear plane, there was no pinching effect and no strength deterioration. However, when the steel grid was set parallel to the shear plane, there was a severe pinching effect and severe strength deterioration with increasing shear strain magnitude. In this paper, two RC elements subjected to revered cyclic shear stresses are considered to study the effect of the steel grid orientation. The presence and absence of the pinching mechanism in the post-yield shear hysteretic loops is studied using the Rotating Angle Softened Truss Model (RA-STM) theory.