FATIGUE STRENGTH OF REINFORCED CONCRETE FLEXURAL MEMBERS

Abstract

It is well known that reinforced concrete flexural members subjected to cyclic loads behave differently compared with static bending and can collapse due to the fatigue of concrete, reinforcement or both when maximum fatigue stresses of concrete and steel are well below the corresponding static strengths. But up till now there are only very few methods of fatigue and serviceability limit calculations. Besides, even existing methods in many particular cases cannot be accepted because of poor agreements with experimental observation. Meanwhile with the rapid increasing interest in the use of reinforced concrete in various structural elements subjected to severe fatigue loadings the possibility to predict safe behaviour of these structures is becoming more and more vital.