Nonlinear finite element modeling of reinforced concrete beams

Amooie, Morteza; Sabbaghian, Mahdieh; Kheyroddin, Ali; Sabbaghian, Mohammadreza

doi:10.22034/cpj.2026.573959.1429

Nonlinear finite element modeling of reinforced concrete beams

10.22034/cpj.2026.573959.1429

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 08 January 2026

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Morteza Amooie ¹

Mahdieh Sabbaghian ²

Ali kheyroddin ³

Mohammadreza Sabbaghian ⁴

¹ Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Guilan, Guilan, Iran.

² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.

³ Faculty of Civil Engineering, Semnan University, Semnan.

⁴ Faculty of Civil, Water and Environmental Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Nonlinear behavior of reinforced concrete beams is complex due to the formation of multiple cracks and the interaction of various internal forces. Therefore, accurate prediction of this behavior requires experimental investigations and numerical modeling based on nonlinear finite element analysis. The objective of this study is to present effective and reliable approaches for modeling reinforced concrete beams in the software Vector2, as one of the widely used tools for concrete structural analysis. For this purpose, four rectangular reinforced concrete beams selected from existing experimental studies are simulated using Vector2. The influence of key modeling parameters on the accuracy of numerical results is investigated and their optimal values are identified. The analysis results indicate that the finite element model employed in Vector2 is capable of predicting load–displacement curves and cracking patterns with satisfactory accuracy. Moreover, the proposed approach is able to simulate beam behavior governed by both flexural and shear failure mechanisms.

Keywords

Reinforced concrete beams

Modified Compression Field Theory

Distributed Stress Field

Nonlinear finite element analysis

Vector2

Subjects