Average stress-average strain tension-stiffening relationships based on provisions of design codes

This research was aimed at deriving average stress-average strain tension-stiffening relationships in accordance with the provisions of design codes for reinforced concrete (RC) members. Using a proposed inverse technique, the tension-stiffening relationships were derived from moment-curvature diagrams of RC beams calculated by different code methods, namely Eurocode 2, ACI 318, and the Chinese standard GB 50010-2002. The derived tension-stiffening laws were applied in a numerical study using the nonlinear finite element software ATENA. The curvatures calculated by ATENA and the code methods were in good agreement.