Build-up virtual laboratory for reinforced concrete structures to enhance understanding design requirements

Abstract

In this paper, we are trying to provide a simulation tool to find the different failure behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) structures with various design conditions. For example, design code asked designers/students to make distribution of re-bars for several numbers rather than one re-bar in the designed beam. Students can estimate the total amount of reinforcement cross sectional area by simple calculation, but students have to distribute the total amount area of re-bars to several numbers of re-bars with small diameter. In this requirement of the code, the students who learn RC structure design at the beginning stage are not easy to understand from theoretical point of view. However, they can easily learn, if they have hands on experience like real experiments or numerical simulations. Here, the real experiments for RC structures are required a lot of time and cost. Therefore, if a realistic simulation tool, so-called ‘Virtual RC Structure Lab’, is provided for engineering educational purpose, students could have a chance to learn from virtual hands on experience for RC structure design.