Modeling of physically non-linear behavior becomes more and more important for the analysis of SFRC structures in practical applications. From this point of view we will present an effective, three-dimensional constitutive model for SFRC, that is also easy to implement in commercial finite element programs. Additionally, the finite element analysis should only require standard material parameters which can be gained easily from conventional experiments or which are specified in appropriate building codes. Another important point is attaining the material parameters from experimental data. The procedures to determine the material parameters proposed in appropriate codes seem to be only approximations and are unsuitable for precise structural analysis. Therefore a finite element analysis of the test itself is used to get the material parameters. This process is also denoted as inverse analysis. The efficiency of the proposed constitutive model is demonstrated on the basis of numerical examples and their comparison to experimental results. In the framework of material parameter identification the idea of a new, indirect tension testing procedure, the "Modified Tension Test", is adopted and extended to an easy-to-carry-out tension test for steel fiber reinforced concrete specimens.

Over the past years techniques for non-linear analysis have been enhanced significantly via improved solution procedures, extended finite element techniques and increased robustness of constitutive models. Nevertheless, problems remain, especially for real world structures of softening materials like concrete. The softening gives negative stiffness and risk of bifurcations due to multiple cracks that compete to survive. Incremental-iterative techniques have difficulties in selecting and handling the local peaks and snap-backs. In this contribution, an alternative method is proposed. The softening diagram of negative slope is replaced by a saw-tooth diagram of positive slopes. The incremental-iterative Newton method is replaced by a series of linear analyses using a special scaling technique with subsequent stiffness/strength reduction per critical element. It is shown that this event-by-event strategy is robust and reliable. First, the model is shown to be objective with respect to mesh refinement. Next, the example of a large-scale dog-bone specimen in direct tension is analyzed using an isotropic version of the saw-tooth model. The model is capable of automatically providing the snap-back response. Subsequently, the saw-tooth model is extended to include anisotropy for fixed crack directions to accommodate both tensile cracking and compression strut action for reinforced concrete. Three different reinforced concrete structures are analyzed, a tension-pull specimen, a slender beam and a slab. In all cases, the model naturally provides the local peaks and snap-backs associated with the subsequent development of primary cracks starting from the rebar. The secant saw-tooth stiffness is always positive and the analysis always 'converges'. Bifurcations are prevented due to the scaling technique.

This investigation presents an analysis procedure for simulating the compressive behavior of a rectangular concrete column confined by fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) under uniaxial load. That is, the entire stress-strain curve can be drawn through the present analysis procedure. The modified Mander's stress-strain model (Mander, et al. 1988) and finite element method are adopted in this analysis procedure. The numerical analysis results are compared with the experimental results to verify the accuracy of the analysis procedure. This study offers a useful analysis procedure of researching the compressive behavior of rectangular concrete columns confined by FRP. Two main parameters, the number of FRP layers and the radius of the round corners of a rectangular column, are investigated. The numerical results show that non-uniform stresses occur and reduce the sectional effective area owing to the geometry of the confined rectangular column. The stresses are concentrated at the corners of the rectangular column. Compressive strength of a rectangular column increases greatly because the number of FRP layers increase. The maximum predicted compressive stress of the rectangular column has approximately 10% error as compared to the experimental results. Comparing the numerical and experimental results demonstrates that the accuracy of this analysis procedure is credible. Besides, the stress-strain curves of the R30 models, which are rectangular concrete column with large radius of round corners, are almost bilinear. This calculated results conform to the expectation and show the present analysis procedure are more suitable than Mander's model (1988) to analyze the compressive behavior of the rectangular concrete column confined by FRP.

Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) in the fresh state is known for its excellent deformability, high resistance to segregation, and use, without applying vibration, in congested reinforced concrete structures characterized by difficult casting conditions. Such a concrete can be obtained by incorporating either mineral or chemical admixtures. This paper presents the results of an investigation to asses the applicability of Abram's law in predicting the compressive strength of SCC to any given age. Abram's law is based on the assumption that the strength of concrete with a specific type of aggregate at given age cured at a prescribed temperature depends primarily on the water-to-cement ratio (W/C). It is doubtful that such W/C law is applicable to concrete mixes with mineral or chemical admixtures as is the case for SCC where water to binder ratio (W/B) is used instead of W/C as the basis for mix design. Strength data of various types of SCC mixtures is collected from different sources to check the performance of Abram's law. An attempt has been made to generalize Abram's law by using various optimization methodologies on collected strength data of various SCC mixtures. A set of generalized equations is developed for the prediction of SCC strength at various ages. The performance of generalized equations is found better than original Abram's equations.

The flexural behaviour of symmetrically reinforced concrete (RC) columns cast of normal- and high-strength concrete under both monotonic and cyclic loading is studied based on an analytical procedure, which employs the actual stress-strain curves and takes into account the stress-path dependence of concrete and steel reinforcement. The analysis is particularly extended into the post-peak stage with large inelastic deformation at various applied axial load level. The effect of axial load on their complete flexural behaviour is then identified based on the results obtained. The axial load is found to have fairly large effect on the flexural behaviour of RC columns under both monotonic and cyclic loading. Such effects are discussed through examination of various aspects including the moment-curvature relationship, moment capacity, flexural ductility, variation of neutral axis depth and steel stress.