Determination of tensile membrane effects by segment equilibrium

摘要

This paper presents a segment equilibrium method to determine the tensile membrane effects of concrete slabs at large displacements. This model considers the tensile membrane action that is provided by the vertical component of reinforcement tensile forces after the formation of the mechanism of the plastic hinge line. The model can predict the tensile membrane effects of both rectangular and square concrete slabs with orthotropic and isotropic reinforcement, and can interpret why for similar reinforcement the square slabs always fail at a lower vertical displacement compared with the rectangular slabs, and the reason of fracture of reinforcement along the short span. Comparison between the developed model and test results shows good correlation.