Significance of ductility on aseismic design of flexural members for normal to high strength concrete

Abstract

The standards or codes of practice of different countries set limits on the minimum and maximum longitudinal reinforcement in beams. On evaluation of the design parameters of these limiting sections, behavior of all sections in flexure can be assessed, as they will lie within the domain of these two conditions. The present study has been directed towards assessment of the behavior of flexural members up to and beyond limit states in accordance with the provision of different standards. IS:456-2000 being more than twenty-four years old seems to be outdated w.r.t the present-day material properties and design provisions whereas these have been covered in a befitting manner in IRC:112-2020 which is in line with international standards. Load based prescriptive method of design ends at design load levels and cannot provide any solution for design beyond the design loads either due to overloading or due to larger deformations which can lead to considerable damage or even actual collapse. For this the damage level of the sections at different performance-based limit states beyond the limit state of collapse need to be assessed as per the provisions of Performance Based Design (PBD). In the present work a comprehensive study on the curvature ductility and deformation levels of sections in flexure as per IRC:112-2020 have been performed and compared with the acceptance criteria as per international guidelines and standards.