Experimental study on the fracture of lightly reinforced concrete elements subjected to eccentric compression

The objective of this work is to study the structural response of lightly reinforced concrete elements under eccentric compression from an experimental perspective. Given the difficulty of testing elements of a large slenderness ratio, an experimental campaign was carried out on columns of reduced size to facilitate material control and specimen handling, as well as to minimize the data scattering. Fifty-four micro-concrete specimens were tested to study the influence of reinforcement amount, slenderness ratio and load eccentricity. The applied load and the horizontal displacement at mid-span of the specimen (the additional eccentricity) were measured during the entire loading process, including the post-peak stage. At the same time, independent coupon tests were conducted for material characterization. Based on this study, a brittle–ductile classification according to the slenderness ratio and the initial load eccentricity is proposed. Meanwhile a methodology to evaluate the minimum reinforcement amount for reinforced concrete elements subjected to eccentric compression is formulated. In addition, the experimental results provide a valid source for modeling the behavior of lightly reinforced concrete elements subjected to eccentric compression.

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