Phase-field anisotropic damage with bond-slip model for reinforced concrete beam under the service load

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Concrete, as a quasi-brittle material, undergoes a latent damage accumulation preceding macroscopic crack formation, which is further complicated by the intricate interaction between steel reinforcements and concrete in reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Traditional approaches inadequately capture these nuances, especially when it comes to the seamless transition from numerous micro cracks to a visible macro cracks. Phase-field damage theory stands out as a sophisticated tool, integrating sharp cracks into a continuous damage field representation and detailing the entire process of micro-to-macroscopic cracking evolution. In this work, a phase-field damage model that accounts for bond-slip behavior is proposed, grounded in the principle of stress space decomposition to address the inherent tension–compression anisotropy. Newton’s method with a viscosity coefficient of 0.001 enhances simulation accuracy and robustness through optimal convergence. The comparison between rigid bond and bond slip mechanisms indicates a significant difference in their impact on crack modes, revealing the necessity of considering bond slip. As the steel reinforcement ratio increases, the RC beam’s load-bearing capacity increases incrementally, concurrently exhibiting a reduction in macroscopic cracks, steel reinforcement stress, and overall damage severity. However, the comparative advantage of rigid bond in improving RC beam’s resistance against cracking begins to wane as the reinforcement proportion rises. This study thus sheds light on the nuanced interplay between bond characteristics and the cracking behavior of RC beams, providing a comprehensive and advanced perspective.