Stress-Strain Relationship of Reinforced Concrete Subjected to Biaxial Tension

Abstract

This paper summarizes results from a research study on the tensile stress-strain relationship of reinforced concrete (RC) membrane elements. Extensive tests of RC panels with varying reinforcement ratios were performed to derive a reasonable constitutive law of the tensile stress-strain relationship of RC. Test results show that concrete carries substantial tensile stress even after initial cracking. The stress-strain relationship of concrete in biaxial tension was derived using the behavior and theory of RC members subjected to uniaxial tension. However, the application of this proposed stress-strain relationship for concrete is limited to cases where the direction of reinforcement coincides with the direction of the applied principal stresses.