Slenderness effects on the simulated response of longitudinal reinforcement in monotonic compression

The influence of reinforcement buckling on the flexural response of reinforced concrete members is studied. The stress-strain response of compression reinforcement is determined computationally using a large-strain finite element model for bars of varied diameter, length, and initial eccentricity, and a mathematical expression is fitted to the simulation results. This relationship is used to represent the response of bars in compression in a moment-curvature analysis of a reinforced concrete cross section. The compression bar may carry more or less force than a tension bar at a corresponding strain, depending on the relative influence of Poisson effects and bar slenderness. Several cross-section analyses indicate that, for the distances between stirrups prescribed in modern concrete codes, the influence of inelastic buckling of the longitudinal reinforcement on the monotonic moment capacity is very small and can be neglected in many circumstances.