doi:10.3850/978-981-08-7920-4_S2-S21-cd

ABSTRACT

The proper determination of the amount of reinforcement for reinforced concrete deep beams (RCDBs) is essential for a safe and economical design. Generally, conventional design methods based on empirical equations and strut-and-tiemodels are used. These methods however do not take into account the redistribution of forces resulting from non linear materials’ behaviors, and hence do not result in economical designs. Indeed, it is a common belief that deep beams, shear walls and three-dimensional reinforced concrete structures are over-reinforced. To achieve a safe and economical design, non-linear finite element analysis that incorporates non-linear material behavior must be part of the design process itself, and must be applied before and during the design of the reinforcement. In this paper an optimized design technique using nonlinear finite element analysis is presented for the design of RCDBs. The technique uses the ABAQUS scripting interface and the Python programming language. The nonlinear finite element optimized design technique was used to design the reinforcement for two RCDBs. These two beams had already been designed using conventional methods and tested in the laboratory. The obtained designs are then compared to that obtained with conventional methods. It is observed that the developed optimization technique could save up to 39.94% of reinforcement by weight for the same target load.

Keywords: Nonlinear finite element, Design, Optimization, Reinforced concrete deep beam.

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