Numerical investigation of RC structural walls subjected to cyclic loading

This work is based on a nonlinear finite-element model with proven capacity for yielding realistic predictions of the response of reinforced-concrete structures under static monotonically-increasing loading. In it, the material description relies essentially on the two key properties of triaxiality and brittleness and, thus, is simpler than those of most other material models in use. In this article, the finite element program is successfully used in investigating the behaviour of a series of RC walls under static cyclic loading. This type of loading offers a more strenuous test of the validity of the proposed program since cracks continuously form and close during each load cycle. Such a test is considered to be essential
before attempting to use the program for the analysis of concrete structures under seismic excitation in order to ensure that the solution procedure adopted is numerically stable and can accurately predict the behaviour of RC structures under such earthquake-loading conditions. This is achieved through a comparative study between the numerical predictions obtained presently from the program and available experimental data.