Annular reinforced concrete(RC) members are commonly used in bridge structures and offshore platforms. These RC members often fail under the combined actions of axial force, bending moment, shear force and torsion load in hazards of earthquake and wind. It is very important to study the failure mechanism of annular RC members under combined actions. This study proposes a model to analyze the ultimate strength of annular RC members under combined actions using limit failure theory. A new method is established to determine the geometric parameters of the warped failure surface, and the new calculation model for the ultimate strength is obtained using the equilibrium conditions based on the geometric parameters and the stress distribution on the failure surface. The proposed model calculations are compared with a series of experimental results of annular RC members, and they correspond well with the experimental results. The proposed model is feasible for engineering application.
The ultimate strength of reinforced concrete(RC) rectangular members subjected to combined bending,shear and torsion is obtained from the limit analysis proposed in the present paper. Based on a warped failure surface determined by external loads, and a reasonable assumed stress distribution balancing external loads but not violating the yield condition, the bending-shear-torsion interaction can be derived from equilibrium conditions.According to the definition of lower-bound theorem in limit analysis, the calculated ultimate loads will be carried safely by the structure. The present method is a simple approach to obtain carrying capacities for RC elements under complex external loads. After comparing with the test results, a good agreement has been observed. The present method can be extended to explain the failure mechanism of RC members subjected to axial loads, and it is possible to develop a simple unified theory of RC members for engineering.
