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RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS

Analysis of Three Dimensional Horizontal Reinforced Concrete

Curved Beam Using Ansys
T. Subramani1, M. Subramani2, K. Prasath3
1
Professor & Dean, Department of Civil Engineering, VMKV Engineering College, Vinayaka Missions
University, Salem, India.
2
PG Student of Structural Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, VMKV Engineering College,
Vinayaka Missions University, Salem.
3
PG Student of Irrigation Water resources and management Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering,
VMKV Engineering College, Vinayaka Missions University, Salem.

ABSTRACT
Reinforced concrete horizontally curved beams are extensively used in many fields, such as in the construction
of modern highway intersections, elevated freeways, the rounded corners of buildings, circular balconies,….etc.
In some of these cases, large depths are needed for curved beams in order to resist high loads or to fulfill some
aesthetic purposes. The analytical analysis of such members is very complex due to the fact that those members
are subjected to combined action of bending, shear and torsion. Furthermore, non homogeneous nature of the
materials involved contributes to the complexity of the problem. Therefore, it becomes necessary to employ
numerical analysis procedures, such as the finite element method, to satisfy the safety and the economy
requirements.A horizontally curved beam, loaded transversely to its plane, is subjected to torsion in addition to
bending and shear. Furthermore, in deep beam the plane section does not remain plane after bending because of
high stresses and warping occurs. Therefore, special features of analysis and design for horizontally curved deep
beams is necessary to include the effect of above mentioned factors. Several methods of collapse analysis
(Khalifa 1972, Jordaan et al. 1974, Badawy et al. 1977, Hsu et al. 1978, and Abul Mansur and Rangan 1981. )
were proposed for analysis of specific cases of reinforced concrete curved beams. However, till yet studies
concerning reinforced concrete horizontally curved deep beams are rare. At present, with the application of
digital computers beside the development of numerical methods, the mathematical difficulties associated with
curved deep beam have been largely overcome. One of the most effective numerical methods utilized for
analyzing reinforced concrete members is the finite element method. Using this method, many aspects of the
phenomenological behaviour of reinforced concrete structures can be modelled rationally. These aspects include
the tension-stiffening, non-linear multiaxial material properties, modelling of cracking and crushing, and many
other properties related to the behaviour of reinforced concrete members under stresses. An important utilization
of the finite element method is the modelling of the degradation of concrete compressive strength in the
presence of transverse tensile straining as happens in members subjected dominantly to torsion or shear
stresses. Therefore, the present study adopted a three dimensional non-linear finite element model to investigate
the behaviour and the load carrying capacity of reinforced concrete horizontally curved deep beams.
KEYWORDS: Analysis , Three Dimensional, Horizontal Reinforced Concrete, Curved Beam, Ansys
material and solution parameters that affect the
I. INTRODUCTION structure behaviour are studied. These include the
In this study, a nonlinear three dimensional slab thickness, support condition, compressive
finite element analysis has been used to conduct an strength of concrete and the percentage of steel across
analytical investigation on the behaviour of curved in the interface between the stem and the slab of the
plan composite concrete-concrete beam using the composite beam. This article contains the results of a
analysis system computer program (ANSYS v.9.0 study aimed at examining the stress analysis of a
2004). Various types of beams, with available curved beam with a rectangular cross section with a
experimental results are chosen to check the validity neutral-line which is contained in a plane π. The
and the accuracy of the adopted models. In general forces that load the beam are located in the plane π.
good agreement is obtained. The maximum Bending moments have pseudo-vectors perpendicular
percentage difference in ultimate load carrying to the same plane. These kinds of loads do not stress
capacity is 12%. Parametric studies are carried out to the beam with any torsion effect. Bending moment M,
study the influence of the curvature (L/R ratio of 0, shear force T and axial force N are available at each
0.1, 0.15 and 0.2) on the behaviour of the curved in point P of the beam. Stresses and are obtained
plan composite concrete beams. Also, some important without calculating the deformed line (today,

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however, the Finite Element Method demands this references some arbitrary point of area element dA on
kind of calculation). In fact, non standard stress the cross section.
analysis allows to calculate all the strains and stresses
whilst only knowing the values of M, N, T and of the III. CURVED BEAM AND FRAME
bending-radius ρn of the neutral-line at a given point ANALYSYS
in the neutral-line. 3.1 Stress in curved beams
Deformation analysis stress and strain distribution
II. CURVED BEAMS
One of the assumptions of the development of
the beam bending relations is that all longitudinal
elements of the bean have the same length, thus
restricting the theory to initially straight beams of
constant cross section. Although considerable
deviations from this restriction can be tolerated in real
problems, when the initial curvature of the beams
becomes significant, the linear variations of strain
over the cross section is no longer valid, even though
the assumption of plane cross sections remaining
plane is valid.
A theory for a beam subjected to pure bending
having a constant cross section and a constant or  Any transverse plane section (containing C)
slowly varying initial radius of curvature in the plane

remain plane
of bending is developed as follows. Typical examples A neutral surface must exist in the
of curved beams include hooks and chain links. In member(Rq=R’q’)
these cases the members are not slender but rather  Elongation of the arc JKàJ’K’, d=r’q’-rq
have a sharp curve and their cross sectional 
dimensions are large compared with their radius of
curvature. 3.2 Curved Beam Stress Analysis

 Show ri, ro, Area

1) Draw a very good picture.

 Show the applied Force, F

2) Calculate the centroidal radius, R, based on the

section type. (Hamrock § 4.5.3)

Fig 2.1 Curved beam element with applied

moment, M
3) Compute the neutral radius, rn, based on the
Fig is the cross section of part of an initially section type.
curved beam. The x-y plane is the plane of bending
and a plane of symmetry. Assumptions for the
analysis are: cross sectional area is constant; an axis
of symmetry is perpendicular to the applied moment;
4) Compute the eccentricity, e = R - rn
M, the material is homogeneous, isotropic and linear
5) Compute the moment about the centroidal radius,
elastic; plane sections remain plane, and any R. Here M = F x L, not F x R,
distortions of the cross section within its own plane
because the force is not through the center of
are neglected. Since a plane section before bending
curvature.
remains a plane after bending, the longitudinal
6) Calculate the distances from the neutral axis to the
deformation of any element will be proportional to
inner and outer surfaces:
the distance of the element from the neutral surface.
ci = rn – ri and co = ro – rn.
In developing the analysis, three radii, extending 7) Calculate the stresses at the inside and outside
from the center of curvature, O’, of the member are
surfaces:
shown in Fig 4.1. The radii are: r that references the
location of the centroid of the cross sectional area; R
that references the location of the neutral axis; and r

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Table 4.1 Shape functions of the quadratic 20-

node brick element.(Cook,1974, Carlos, 2004)

8) Add or subtract any P/A stresses (using

superposition).

9) As a check, compare the answer to MC / I for a

straight beam with neutral axis on the centroid and
see if it makes sense.

IV. FINITE ELEMENT MODEL

The 20-node isoparametric brick element shown
in Fig.1 is used in the current study to model the
concrete. Each node of this element has three degrees Fig 4.1 20-node brick element
of freedom (u, v, and w) in the (x, y, and z)
directions, respectively. The isoparametric definition V. NUMERICAL STUDY OF

u  , ,     Ni  , ,  ui ,
of the brick element is(Al- Shaarbaf, 1990): REINFORCED CONCRETE
20 HORIZONTALLY CURVED DEEP BEAMS.
This section illustrates a numerical study that

v , ,     Ni  , ,  vi
i 1
was carried out on reinforced concrete horizontally
20
curved beams with different depths to investigate the
,
i 1
effect of some important parameters on the load-

w , ,     Ni  , ,  wi
deflection response of curved beams and the ultimate
20
load resisted by those beams. The parameters
(1) included in this study were the total depth of the
i 1 beam, subtended angle, boundary conditions, amount
where Ni (ξ, , ) is the shape function at the i-th of transverse steel reinforcement ,use additional
node and ui, vi, wi are the corresponding nodal longitudinal bars, besides change the location of load.
displacements. The shape functions for the 20 node The reinforced concrete horizontally curved beam
brick element which are adopted to map the element tested by (Jordaan et al., 1974), subjected to single
are given in Table. point load was adopted in this numerical study.
The Gauss-Legender quadrature numerical
integration scheme has been found to be accurate and 5.1 The Influence of the Depth of the Beam
a convenient technique to carry out the finite element The effect of increasing the total depth (h) on the
analysis. The integration rule, which has been used in load-deflection response and the ultimate load was
this study , is the 15-point rule. The weights and investigated. In this section the total depth (h) was
abscissa of the sampling points are listed in Table.4.1 increased from (305 mm) to (400 mm), (500 mm),
.The relative distribution of the Gaussion points over (600 mm), (700 mm), and (750 mm). The result of
the element is given fig 4.1 this study leads to the conclusion that increasing the
total depth has a significant rule on load-deflection
and ultimate load of curved beams. This effect of
increasing the total depth becomes more significant
when the total depth exceeds 600 mm.

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Table shows the results of the ultimate load for

different total depths with their ratios of the shear
length (length of curved segment of beam)to the
effective depth (a/d). Calculation of shear length for
curved beams is shown in Fig.

Table 5.1 Effect of increasing depth (h) on the

ultimate load

Fig 5.2 Effect of depth (h) on load deflection

behaviour

VI. ANALYSIS RESULTS

Analysis results shown in Fig.6.1, Fig.6.2,
Fig.6.3, Fig.6.4 & Fig.6.5

Fig 6.1 MESHING ELEMENT

Fig 5.1 Shows the calculation of shear length (a)

Fig. 5.1 shows the influence of total length (h)

increasing on the load-deflection response for the
curved beams. This figure reveals that both initial and
post cracking stiffness and the ultimate load are
significantly increased as the total depth increased.
This can be attributed to the fact that when the total
depth is increased, the internal lever arm between the
compression force in the concrete and the tensile
force in tension reinforcement is significantly Fig 6.2 NODAL SOLUTION
increased. Also , the capacity of the curved beam
cross section in shear and torsion is increased as the
area enclosed by the centerline of stirrups legs
increases.
Fig. 5.2 shows the influence of the ratio of (a/d)
on the ultimate load of curved beam. It can be
concluded according to this figure that the ultimate
load resisted by curved beams increases with
decreases (a/d). For values of (a/d) lower than two (h
>600 mm), the ultimate load increasing at a sharp
slope with decreasing (a/d). This can be attributed to
the effect of arch action on the behavior of the
reinforced concrete curved beams. Fig 6.3 VONMISES
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ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 4, Issue 6( Version 6), June 2014, pp.156-161

affected by this requirement could be equal to its

depth.
6 Vertical reinforcement placed in the core of shear
walls, irrespective of this being nominal or not,
must be included in the assessment of the
ultimate flexural strength, at its true yield
strength, to ensure that the shear strength
provided is not exceeded. Apart from improving
crack control and providing dowel resistance,
vertical web reinforcement in shear walls is not
likely to contribute towards shear strength.

Fig 6.4 Y- COMPRESSIVE STRESS

Fig 6.5 CURVED BEAM

VIII. CONCLUSION
VII. DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the finite element analysis carried out
1 From the foregoing discussion certain design in the present research on the behaviour of reinforced
recommendations, with respect to the shear concrete horizontally curved deep beams, the
strength of shear walls, suggest themselves following conclusions can be drawn:
2 The careful consideration of shear strength 1. The three-dimensional nonlinear finite element
should not distract from the attention to be paid model, adopted in the present work, is suitable to
to flexure. The strength and the postelastic predict the behaviour of the reinforced concrete
performance of shear wall must be governed by curved deep beams. Application of this model is
flexure. In this respect walls with H/D larger than beneficial in spite of the difficulties arising due
2 are likely to behave as large doubly reinforced to the difference in representation of data
concrete beams with ample ductility. between the polar coordinate system and
3 The benefit that may be derived in deep beams Cartesian coordinate system. The numerical
from arch action, as a major shear resistant results are in good agreement with available
mechanism after cracking, should be disregarded. experimental load-deflection results throughout
The shear resistance of various mechanisms , the entire range of behaviour.
other than the web reinforcement, should be 2. The ultimate load resisted by curved beams
assessed as in an ordinary beam, i.e. V c = increased as the shear length to effective depth
2bd>/f^. Web (horizontal) reinforcement should ratio (a/d) decreased. This increase of ultimate
be provided for the remainder of the seismic load becomes more effective when the shear
shear. length to effective depth ratio (a/d) was lower
4 The combined shear resistance, i.e. V u = V c + than two.
Vs , should be larger than the shear generated at 3. Varying the central subtended angle (curvature)
the attainment of the maximum moment. of curved beams, while the length of these beams
Yielding of the web reinforcement should not is kept constant, affects the ultimate load
occur. significantly. Decreasing the central subtended
5 Where diagonal cracks could open, as a angle is found to cause an increase the ultimate
consequence of yielding in the flexural load resisted by curved beams. There is no clear
reinforcement, the whole of the seismic shear effect for changing the (a/d) ratios on the
should be resisted by suitable shear increase of ultimate load due to decrease of
reinforcement. The height of the shear wall curvature.

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4. The effect of internal torsion, acting in the cross [7]. Chen, 1982, W.F., and Saleeb, A.F.,
section of curved beams, on the ultimate load "Constitutive Equations for Engineering
decreased as the (a/d) ratio decreased. The Materials: Elasticity and Modeling", Vol.1,
ultimate load resisted by curved beams decreases John Wiley and Sons, New York, U.S.A.
due to releasing the torsional restraint at one [8]. Cook, R.D.,1974, "Concept and Application
curved beam ends by 22% for (a/d= 4.36 ), while of Finite Element Analysis", John Wiley and
the decrease is 12% for (a/d= 1.75 ). Sons, Inc., New York, U.S.A.
5. The increase in the amount of transverse [9]. Hsu, T.T.C., Inan, M., and Fonticiella, L.,
reinforcement causes a corresponding increase in 1978, "Behavior of Reinforced Concrete
the ultimate load resisted by curved beams. The Horizontally Curved Beams", ACI Journal,
effect of the amount of transverse reinforcement Vol. 75, No. 4, April, pp. 112-123.
on the ultimate load have been reduced when the [10]. Jordaan, I.J., Khalifa, M.M.A., 1974, and
(a/d) ratio is less than two. The increase in the McMullen, A. E., "Collapse of Curved
ultimate load resisted by curved beams, due to Reinforced Concrete Beams", Proceedings,
varying the stirrup's diameter from 6.35 mm to ASCE, Vol. 100, ST11, November, pp.
12 mm, decreases from 9.1% for (a/d= 2.51 ) to 2255-2269.
5.2% for (a/d= 1.75 ). [11]. Khalifa, M.M.A., "Collapse of Reinforced
6. Using additional longitudinal bars as a horizontal Concrete Beams Curved in Plan", thesis
shear reinforcement leads to increase in the presented to the University of Calgary, at
ultimate load of curved beams. This effect of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1972, in partial
using additional longitudinal bars is increase fulfillment of requirements for the degree of
with decreasing of (a/d) ratio. The increase in the Master of Science.
ultimate load resisted by curved beams, due to
using four additional longitudinal bars(diameter
12 mm), increases from 3.77% for (a/d= 4.36 ) to
10.5% for (a/d= 1.75 ).

REFERENCES
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Dimensional Non-Linear Finite Element
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[3]. Al-Mahiadi. R.S.H., 1979, "Non-linear
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[6]. Cervenka, V., 1985, "Constitutive Model for
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