A trilinear stress-strain model for confined concrete

For reaching large inelastic deformations without a substantial loss in strength, the potential plastic hinge regions of the reinforced concrete structural members should be confined by adequate transverse reinforcement. Therefore, simple and realistic representation of confined concrete behaviour is needed for inelastic analysis of reinforced concrete structures. In this study, a trilinear stress-strain model is proposed for the axial behaviour of confined concrete. The model is based on experimental work that was carried out on nearly full size specimens. During the interpretation of experimental data, the buckling and strain hardening of the longitudinal reinforcement are also taken into account. The proposed model is used for predicting the stress-strain relationships of confined concrete specimens tested by other researchers. Although the proposed model is simpler than most of the available models, the comparisons between the predicted results and experimental data indicate that it can represent the stress-strain relationship of confined concrete quite realistically.