The Influence of the Damage Placement in the Compressed Area of Concrete on the Deformability of Bent Reinforced Concrete Elements

The study of damaged reinforced concrete elements is difficult at a practical and theoretical level. The work of reinforced concrete elements requires taking into account their complex self-regulating system with a large number of factors. A significant number of these factors affect the operation of the element and come from the composite properties of reinforced concrete. In addition, new factors which directly affects the bearing capacity arise during the appearance of damage. Based on experimental data the article explores the effect of damage in the concrete compressed zone of a reinforced concrete beam, namely, elements with a defect (insufficient cross-section of the working reinforcement) and damage that occurred at a load level equal to 50% of the bearing capacity of the control samples. The choice of the damage load level is based on the fact, that the average operational level of an element is equal to 50–70% of its carrying capacity. Damaged beams are divided into two groups: the first group includes beams with damage in the central cross-section; the second group includes beams with damage that occurs between the central section and a point of applied load. As a result, the article compares and analyze the impact of damage location on the redistribution of stresses in the concrete compressed zone, the nature of the exhausting, and the impact of these factors on the bearing capacity.