Upscaling of three-dimensional reinforced concrete representative volume elements to effective beam and plate models

Abstract Two-scale models for reinforced concrete, where the large-scale problems are defined in terms of Euler-Bernoulli beam and Kirchhoff-Love plate models, are constructed. The subscale problem on the Representative Volume Element (RVE) is correspondingly outlined as finding the response of the three-dimensional RVE comprising plain concrete continuum, reinforcement bars and the bond between them. The boundary region of the periodic mesh is modelled with special solid elements, which allow for prescribing the macroscopic input via strongly periodic boundary conditions in an effective way. The effective response of the reinforced concrete RVEs of different sizes subjected to tension and pure bending is investigated for both effective beam and plate models. A series of experiments on reinforced concrete panels subjected to bending and membrane loads is simulated, and the effective moment–curvature response is studied. Within the developed framework, an arbitrary macroscopic loading in terms of membrane strains and curvatures can be prescribed on the RVE, and the corresponding effective response is obtained, making the proposed formulation feasible for future use in an FE2 scheme.