Effect of confinement on flexural ductility design of concrete beams

Seismic design of reinforced concrete (RC) structures requires a certain minimum level of flexural ductility. For example, Eurocode EN1998-1 directly specifies a minimum flexural ductility for RC beams, while Chinese code GB50011 limits the equivalent rectangular stress block depth ratio at peak resisting moment to achieve a certain nominal minimum flexural ductility indirectly. Although confinement is effective in improving the ductility of RC beams, most design codes do not provide any guidelines due to the lack of a suitable theory. In this study, the confinement for desirable flexural ductility performance of both normal- and high-strength concrete beams is evaluated based on a rigorous full-range moment-curvature analysis. An effective strategy is proposed for flexural ductility design of RC beams taking into account confinement. The key parameters considered include the maximum difference of tension and compression reinforcement ratios, and maximum neutral axis depth ratio at peak resisting moment. Empirical formulae and tables are then developed to provide guidelines accordingly.