Experimental Validation of Finite Element Models for Reinforced Concrete Beams with Discontinuities That Form Dowel-Type Joints

Abstract

Earthquakes have the highest rate of mortality among the natural disasters and regularly lead to collapsed structures with people trapped inside them. When a reinforced concrete building collapses due to an earthquake, many of the concrete elements (i.e., beams and columns) are damaged and there are large sections where the concrete is missing and the steel reinforcement is exposed (i.e., concrete discontinuities). The prediction of vibration transmission in collapsed and severely damaged reinforced-concrete buildings could help decisions when trying to detect trapped survivors; hence there is need for experimentally validated finite element models of damaged concrete elements. This paper investigates the dynamic behaviour of damaged reinforced concrete beams using Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA) and Finite Element Methods (FEM). FEM models are assessed using two beams with one or more concrete discontinuities that form dowel-type joints. These models used either beam or spring elements for the exposed steel bars and were experimentally validated against EMA in terms of eigenfrequencies and mode shapes. Improved agreement was achieved when using springs instead of beam elements in the FEM model. The comparison of mode shapes used the Partial Modal Vector Ratio (PMVR) as a supplement to the Modal Assurance Criterion (MAC) to confirm that spring elements provide a more accurate representation of the response on all concrete parts of the beams.