Using element-embedded rebar model in ANSYS for the study of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures

ANSYS is a software well accepted by professionals and academics, since it provides a variety of finite elements, material constitutive models, and linear and nonlinear analysis of structures in general. For the concrete material, for instance, the software uses an elastoplastic model with the Willam-Warnke surface of rupture (1975). However, this model is only available for finite elements that do not offer the possibility of use of the element-embedded model for rebars, demanding a much larger amount of elements to discretize structures, making numerical solutions less efficient. This study is, therefore, about the development of a computational model using the Finite Element Method via ANSYS platform for nonlinear analysis of reinforced and prestressed concrete beams under plane stress states. The most significant advantage of this implementation is the possibility of using the element-embedded rebar model in ANSYS with its 2D eight-node quadratic element PLANE183 for discretization of the concrete together with element REINF263 for discretization of rebars, stirrups, and cables, making the solutions faster and more efficient. For representation of the constitutive equations of the steel and the concrete, a proposed model was implemented with the help of the UPF customization tool (User Programmable Features) of ANSYS, where new subroutines written in FORTRAN were attached to the main program. The numerical results are compared with experimental values available in the technical literature to validate the proposed model, with satisfactory results being found.