Numerical simulation for the nonlinear behavior of laterally loaded barrettes

Full-scale lateral static load tests performed on rectangular barrette sections are commonly limited due to their large capacity and high testing cost. The soil–barrette system behaves nonlinearly, making it convoluted to understand its real behavior. In the present study, finite element analysis is utilized to simulate the soil–structure interaction of a full-scale lateral load test carried out on a large-section rectangular reinforced concrete barrette in Hong Kong. The effect of the tension cracking, in the reinforced concrete sections, on the flexural stiffness of the rectangular barrette under static lateral loading–unloading cycles is explored. A proposed approach of sequential decreasing the flexural stiffness, based on the ratio between the affecting and the cracking bending moment of the concrete section, to simulate the real concrete behavior resulting from the cracking effect, is applied in the developed numerical model for the case study. The conducted study showed that the proposed approach adopted to simulate the decrease in the concrete stiffness based on the bending moment level is reasonable to represent the actual response of the barrette to lateral loads and provides a practical alternative to the costly field loading tests.