Computer aided reinforcement design of RC structures

Abstract

In this study, a design process for reinforced concrete structures using the nonlinear FEMrnanalysis is developed. Instead of using the nonlinear analysis to evaluate the required performance afterrndesign process, the nonlinear analysis is applied before designing the reinforcement arrangement inside thernRC structures. An automatic reinforcement generator for computer aided reinforcement agreement is developedrnfor this purpose. Based on a nonlinear FEM program for analyzing the reinforced concrete structure, arnsmart fictitious material model of steel is proposed which can self-adjust the reinforcement to the requiredrnamount at the cracking location according to the load increment. Using this tool, the reinforcement ratiornrequired at design load level can be decided automatically. In this paper, an example of RC beam withrnopening is used to verify the proposed process. Finally, a trial design process for a real size undergroundrnRC LNG tank is introduced.rn