Ductility and predictability in reinforced concrete sections

Abstract

Ductility in reinforced concrete sections under bending situations is a welcome property for the Ultimate Limit States (aparent cracking and huge deformation for nearby collapse). Nevertheless, predictability is a related property with ductil sections, specially interesting for doubtly execution or variable concrete properties (i.e. recycled aggregates). This paper aims to developing a theoretical justification for the case of bending rectangular sections and expressions for estimating variability of moment in diferent designs. This is a humble contribution to work done by the Joint Committe on Structural Safety (JCSS).