Investigation on Plastic Hinge in Non-prismatic Beam with Circular Openings

Non-prismatic beams are widely used in the construction practice to optimize the structural behavior in the aspect of architecture and functionality requirements. In practice, the beams are drilled and damaged for the service requirements which will affect the load carrying capacity of the beam. The effect of openings in the tapered section of a non-prismatic beams is studied under monotonic loading. The opening is given in the tapper portion of the beam. Non-prismatic beam is modeled with the tapered section of 200, 300, and 400 mm with three different circular openings of 80, 100, and 120 mm. A total of nine non-prismatic beams are modeled and analyzed using ABAQUS V.14. The effect of tapered portion, the effect of circular openings, strain behavior of tension and compression zone of concrete and steel, plastic hinge length, and location are assessed. The plastic hinges are intended to occur in the opening area of the beam, and the hinge length and location depends upon the diameter of the opening.