Experimental Study on Stress-Strain Curve of Concrete Considering Localized Failure in Compression

Abstract

One of the important factors for compressive stress-strain curves of concrete is the localization of failure. The stress-strain curve of concrete strongly depends on the aspect ratio of the concrete specimen; therefore, a unique stress-strain curve is not adequate to express the softening behavior of concrete. To overcome the problem related to the localization of failure, a series of uniaxial compressive tests of concrete specimens was conducted. From the measured energy distribution, the failed specimen was assumed to be composed of 2 or 3 zones. Then, an equation for an envelope curve involving a characteristic of compressive strength of concrete was formulated so as to match the experimental curve of each zone. Combining 2 or 3 proposed equations considering the extent of each zone could express the experimental stress-strain curve of the specimen regardless of the aspect ratio.