In this work we first review the statistical data on large fires in urban areas, presenting a detailed list of causes of fires, the type of damage to concrete and reinforced concrete structures. We also present the modern experimental approach for studying the fire-resistance of different structural components, along with the role of numerical modeling to provide more detailed information on quantifying the temperature and heat flux fields. In the last part of this work we provide the refined models for assessment of fire-induced damage in structures built of concrete and/or reinforced-concrete. We show that the refined models of this kind are needed to provide a more thorough explanation of damage and to complete the damage assessment and post-fire evaluations.

In this paper, we present a new finite Timoshenko beam element with a model for ultimate load computation of reinforced concrete frames. The proposed model combines the descriptions of the diffuse plastic failure in the beam-column followed by the creation of plastic hinges due to the failure or collapse of the concrete and or the re-bars. A modified multi-scale analysis is performed in order to identify the parameters for stress-resultant-based macro model, which is used to described the behavior of the Timoshenko beam element. The micro-scale is described by using the multi-fiber elements with embedded strain discontinuities in mode 1, which would typically be triggered by bending failure mode. A special attention is paid to the influence of the axial force on the bending moment - rotation response, especially for the columns behavior computation.

The paper describes localization of deformation in a bar under tensile loading. The material of the bar is considered as non-linear viscous elastic and the bar consists of two symmetric halves. It is assumed that the model represents behavior of the quasi-brittle viscous material under uniaxial tension with different loading rates. Besides that, the bar could represent uniaxial stress-strain law on a single plane of a microplane material model. Non-linear material property is taken from the microplane material model and it is coupled with the viscous damper producing non-linear Maxwell material model. Mathematically, the problem is described with a system of two partial differential equations with a non-linear algebraic constraint. In order to obtain solution, the system of differential algebraic equations is transformed into a system of three partial differential equations. System is subjected to loadings of different rate and it is shown that localization occurs only for high loading rates. Mathematically, in such a case two solutions are possible: one without the localization (unstable) and one with the localization (stable one). Furthermore, mass is added to the bar and in that case the problem is described with a system of four differential equations. It is demonstrated that for high enough loading rates, it is the added mass that dominates the response, in contrast to the viscous and elastic material parameters that dominated in the case without mass. This is demonstrated by several numerical examples.

We present a quadrilateral finite element with an embedded crack that can be used to model tensile fracture in two-dimensional concrete solids and the crack growth. The element has kinematics that can represent linear jumps in both normal and tangential displacements along the crack line. The cohesive law in the crack is based on rigid-plasticity with softening. The required material data for the concrete failure analysis are the constants of isotropic elasticity and the mode I softening curve. The results of two well known tests are presented in order to illustrate very satisfying performance of the presented approach to simulate failure of concrete solids.

Since its invention in the $19^{th}$ century, Reinforced Concrete (RC) has been widely used in the construction of a lot of different structures, as buildings, bridges, nuclear central plants, or even ships. The details of the mechanical response for this kind of structures depends directly upon the material behavior of each component: concrete and steel, as well as their interaction through the bond-slip, which makes a rigorous engineering analysis of RC structures quite complicated. Consequently, the practical calculation of RC structures is done by adopting a lot of simplifications and hypotheses validated in the elastic range. Nevertheless, as soon as any RC structural element is working in the inelastic range, it is possible to obtain the numerical prediction of its realistic behavior only through the use of non linear analysis. The aim of this work is to develop a new kind of Finite Element: the "Enhanced Solid Element (ESE)" which takes into account the complex composition of reinforced concrete, being able to handle each dissipative material behavior and their different deformations, and on the other hand, conserving a simplified shape for engineering applications. Based on the recent XFEM developments, we introduce the concept of nodal enrichment to represent kinematics of steel rebars as well as bonding. This enrichment allows to reproduce the strain incompatibility between concrete and steel that occurs because of the bond degradation and slip. This formulation was tested with a couple of simple examples and compared to the results obtained from other standard formulations.

This paper presents the physical formulation of a 1D material model suitable for seismic applications. It is written within the framework of thermodynamics with internal variables that is, especially, very efficient for the phenomenological representation of material behaviors at macroscale: those of the representative elementary volume. The model can reproduce the main characteristics observed for concrete, that is nonsymetric loading rate-dependent (viscoelasticity) behavior with appearance of permanent deformations and local hysteresis (continuum plasticity), stiffness degradation (continuum damage), cracking due to displacement localization (discrete plasticity or damage). The parameters have a clear physical meaning and can thus be easily identified. Although this point is not detailed in the paper, this material model is developed to be implemented in a finite element computer program. Therefore, for the benefit of the robustness of the numerical implementation, (i) linear state equations (no local iteration required) are defined whenever possible and (ii) the conditions in which the presented model can enter the generalized standard materials class - whose elements benefit from good global and local stability properties - are clearly established. To illustrate the capabilities of this model - among them for Earthquake Engineering applications - results of some numerical applications are presented.

From typical stress-axial strain curve and stress-volume strain curve of a concrete under uniaxial compression, the initiation and localization of microcracks within the interior of the specimen can be identified. The occurrence of random microcrack indicates the end of the linear elasticity, and the localization of microcrack implies formation of major crack, which triggers the onset of unstable crack propagation. The interval between initiation and localization of microcracks is characterized by a stable microcrack growth. Based on fracture behavior observed from a uniaxial compressive test of a concrete cylinder, a model has been developed to extract fundamental fracture properties of a concrete, i.e. the equivalent fracture toughness and the size of fracture process zone. The introduction of cracking Poisson's ratio accounts for tensile failure characteristics of concrete even under uniaxal compression. To justify the validity of the model proposed, tests on three-point bending have been performed to obtain the fracture toughness in accordance with two parameter fracture model and double-K fracture model. Surprisingly, it yields favorably comparable results and provides an encouraging alternative approach to determine fracture properties for concretes.