Ductility evaluation and flexural failure mode recognition of reinforced Ultra-High performance concrete flexural members

Although ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) exhibits material tensile ductility far in excess of that expected from conventional or high-strength concretes, structural UHPC members typically fail in flexure due to reinforcement rupture after crack localization, which may result in a low structural ductility. In the flexural design of reinforced UHPC (R-UHPC) members, attention should be paid to addressing the issue related to the low structural ductility due to crack localization. This study firstly develops a two-dimensional numerical model to simulate the flexural response of R-UHPC beams, and the numerical results agree well with the experimental results of the load-deflection curves as well as the failure modes. Parametric analyses are then carried out to examine the effect of the flexural reinforcement ratio, tensile strength of steel reinforcement, tensile behavior of UHPC and compressive strength of UHPC on the flexural failure mode and ductility behavior of R-UHPC members. The results indicate that when the failure is controlled by fracture of tensile steel bars after crack localization, higher reinforcing ratio, higher steel post-yield hardening strength, and lower steel fiber volume lead to more ductile behavior. When the failure is controlled by crushing of UHPC, however, higher reinforcing ratio and lower UHPC compressive strength lead to a lower ductility. In addition, a flexural failure mode recognition method is proposed for R-UHPC flexural members, whose accuracy is verified based on the available experimental results of 105 R-UHPC flexural members. Finally, a minimum flexural reinforcement ratio is proposed to avoid low structural ductility in R-UHPC flexural members.

Automated summary

This study develops a numerical model to simulate the flexural response of R-UHPC beams and investigates the effect of various factors on the flexural failure mode and ductility behavior of R-UHPC members. The results show that higher reinforcing ratio, higher steel post-yield hardening strength, and lower steel fiber volume contribute to better ductility when the failure is controlled by fracture of tensile steel bars after crack localization. However, higher reinforcing ratio and lower UHPC compressive strength lead to lower ductility when the failure is controlled by crushing of UHPC. A flexural failure mode recognition method is also proposed and a minimum flexural reinforcement ratio is recommended to avoid low structural ductility in R-UHPC flexural members.