Path-dependent failure analysis of RC shell structures using volume control technique

To overcome the drawbacks of conventional load control method and displacement control method, the so-called volume control method was developed by utilizing a pressure node added into a finite shell element. The pressure node has an increment of pressure as an additional degree of freedom of the shell element. In this study, the so-called path-dependent volume control method which improves the volume control method for the analysis of path-dependent behaviors of RC shell structures subjected to cyclic loading is proposed. The path-dependent volume control method is a technique which calculates control-volume change of the RC structure subjected to the cyclic loading conditions like loading, unloading, reloading for nonlinear failure analysis of RC structures and overcomes the limitation of controlling path-dependent volume change of the RC structure according to the deformational history. For the finite element failure analysis of RC shell structures using the technique, each structure is discretized with multi-layered shell elements and in-plane two-dimensional constitutive equations for concrete and reinforcements are implemented for each layer of the shell elements. The results of failure analysis for RC slab, RC tank, RC box culvert, and RC hollow columns subjected to cyclic loading as well as reversed cyclic loading using the path-dependent volume control method are verified with experimental results.