Application of Particle Methods to Static Fracture of Reinforced Concrete Structures

Particle methods for modeling reinforced concrete are described. The reinforcements are modeled by finite elements and are coupled to the particle method by Lagrange multipliers. The method is applicable to nonlinear problems, problems with moderate to severe cracking and deformable interfaces. Applications to the static response of reinforced concrete structures where the concrete is discretized with particles and the reinforcement with elements are described. The method is also tested for several static problems where no relative displacements between the concrete and the reinforcement are allowed.