Analytical Study of Reinforced Concrete Horizontally Curved Beam of Rectangular Hollow Section

Abstract

This research is devoted to study the behavior of Horizontally Curved Reinforced Concrete Beam (HCRCB) of hollow and solid section theoretically by finite element method, the 20-node isoparametric brick element has been used to represent the concrete and the reinforcement idealized as an axial members imbedded within the concrete elements, a parametric study of 210 beams with different cross sections had been done included the effect of wall thickness, and the effect of flange depth on the behavior of HCRCB as well as two techniques of rearrangement the concrete in the hollow core to strengthen the beam. From the analytical results it was concluded that rearranging the core area improved the ultimate load capacity for beams with shear span to effective depth ratio (a/d) more than 2 and the effect is reversed for beams with (a/d) less than 2. Also the technique of adding the hollow core area to the top and bottom flange represent the optimal and produce the maximum increment in the ultimate load which equal to 57%. While the technique of adding the hollow core area to the outside perimeter produced 20% increase in the ultimate load.

Keywords: Three Dimensional Analysis, Reinforced Concrete Horizontally Curved Beam, Hollow Section