Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 1-8 (2015) DOI: 10.6180/jase.2015.18.1.

01

Analytical Approach of Tension Stiffening

Contribution of GFRP-Members
Khalfallah S.
Ecole Nationale Polytechnique, Ville Universitaire,
Ali Mendjali, 25000 Constantine, Algeria

Abstract
To calibrate the tension stiffening effect of reinforced concrete member subjected to tensile
forces, an analytical approach is presented. The tension stiffening behaviour is a primordial task in
reinforced concrete mechanic field. In this model, an analytical relationship of stress-strain law in the
cracking range is developed. The bi-linear relation used in CEB model doesn’t represent faithfully the
post-cracking behaviour of reinforced concrete structures. For this concern, a parabolic branch is
selected in the post-cracking phase possessing as asymptotic line to the stress-strain line of the bare bar
that minimizes the tension stiffening effect in ultimate load level. This assumption is taken into account
for many considerations: material nonlinearities, the bond character and the tension stiffening effect.
Analytical results are shown and compared with experimental data for direct tensile load. Obtained
results show a well concordance to ward experimental data. More, the influence of concrete strength,
reinforcement ratio and bar diameter on tension stiffening is studied and commented.

Key Words: Analytical Model, Tension Stiffening, Nonlinear Analysis, Tensile Members, Bar
Diameter, Reinforcement Ratio, Strength of Concrete

1. Introduction This effect occurs in the region characterized by the for-

The intact concrete between adjacent cracks can still
carry tensile stresses after cracking occurs in reinforced
concrete structures. This phenomenon known as the ten-
sion stiffening effect is generated due to the bond be-
tween reinforcing bars and surrounding concrete. Since
80s, the international organizations of structural mechanic
have recommended designers to consider tension stif-
fening effect in computing mechanics of serviceability
of reinforced concrete (RC) structure deflections.
The tension stiffening phenomenon depends on many
factors, such as: member dimensions, the reinforcement
ratio, re-bars diameter and mechanical properties of ma-
terials used Khalfallah [1] and Sooriyaarachchi et al.
[2]. This effect can provide a well representation of the
cracking effect of RC structures under monotonic loading.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: Khalfallah_s25@yahoo.com
mation of cracking of concrete and yielding of longitu-
dinal reinforcement of the structural behaviour. The in-
troduction of the tension stiffening contributes to stiff
the behaviour of RC structures and it becomes the main
objective of the cracked concrete contribution.
In literature, various models integrating tension stif-
fening effect have already been proposed in the design
of RC structures. In this case, we can distinct the model
of Branson [3] that the tension stiffening effect is incor-
porated using an equivalent moment of inertia of the
cracked beam section. This model is largely used by de-
signers to compute RC and FRP reinforced beam deflec-
tions. However, other models are presented using a mo-
dification on constitutive laws of steel or the sectional
area obtaining an effective area of the section. These mo-
dels have also been proposed to nonlinear analysis of
pull-out tests and bent beams, indifferently. In this scope,
we can illustrate various works published in the litera-
2 Khalfallah S.

ture: Gilbert and Warner model [4], Choi and Cheung
[5] and the CEB manual design model [6]. And among
those that modify the sectional area, such as: ACI-440
[7] and Behfarnia [8]. Recently, many complex models
based on the bond-slip mechanisms between concrete
and reinforcing bars have been published: Khalfallah [1],
Gupta and Maestrini [9], Kwak and Song [10], Ferreti
and Savoia [11]. These models present some limitations
in applications because these approaches depend on the
distribution of bond along the reinforcement axis and it
follows series of complex integrations of the second dif-
ferential equation of bond.
Unlike, previous attempts have already been drawn
to represent more realistically tension stiffening effects as-
suming the modifications taken in the expression of steel
stresses. Based on this concept, this work introduces a
novel tension stiffening model applied to tensile mem-
bers. The proposed model uses a parabolic curve to de-
scribe the post-cracking region of tensile stress-strain re-
lationship of reinforcing bars improving the CEB-ten-
sion stiffening model [6]. This assumption is taken into
a consideration due to many parameters having an in-
fluence on the member response. Among these parame-
ters, we can tell: the nonlinear behaviour on concrete
due to the cracking of concrete, the relative motion be-
tween concrete and steel bars engendering a friction ef-
fect and the property of the tension stiffening pheno-
menon that stiff more the RC member. Finally, the in-
fluence of concrete strength, reinforcement ratio and bar
diameter on the tension stiffening is studied of glass fib-
ber-reinforced polymer reinforced concrete members.
of an average strain of un-cracked section and that of to-
tality cracked one, respectively.
The average strain of reinforcement is expressed in
the cracking region by:
(1)
With es2 is the strain of bare bar and Des is the difference
between the totality cracked section and the partially
cracked reinforced concrete one (Figure 1).
In the CEB manual design [4], the steel strain incre-
ment Des based on experimental results is proposed, as:
(2)
ss2 and ssr are stresses in bare bar and that correspond
to the cracked section level, respectively. The strain in-
crement Desmax is the maximum tension stiffening con-
tribution between strains es1 and es2, which occur at the
beginning of the cracking process.
An efficient tension stiffening model for nonlinear
analysis of reinforced concrete member has been pub-
lished by Stramandinoli et al. [12] in which the rela-
tionship (1) has been developed as a function of the un-
cracked section strain es1 and the full cracked of the mem-
ber es2.
(3)
The CEB model presents a consistent theory of the

2. The CEB Model [6]

The CEB-model developed for tensile RC mem-

bers uses the tension stiffening phenomenon through an
increase in reinforcement stiffness. The mechanism of
cracking of RC members subjected to monotonic tensile
loading is shown in Figure 1. The Figure 1 shows dif-
ferent ranges of the structural behaviour of RC mem-
bers: (I) un-cracking concrete, (II) cracking concrete and
(III) yielding of reinforcement. The CEB model adopts
a stress-strain relationship of reinforcing bars in terms Figure 1. The tension stiffening behaviour.
 Analytical Approach of Tension Stiffening Contribution of GFRP-Members
post-cracking behaviour of RC members under pure ten-
sion. The corresponding curve is characterized with a bi-
linear branch law selected in the cracking of concrete
region.
3. The Proposed Model
A novel expression that describes the tension stif-
fening behaviour for structural members is proposed in
this section. The model is based on the modification of
the stress-strain formula of reinforcing bars as shown
below.
The concrete is assumed to behave like a linear-elastic
material until the tensile strength of concrete is reached.
When the applied load, N, is relatively small, the strains
in steel and concrete maintain a single value and mate-
rials behave together. In this phase, the strain of each
component is then given by:
(4)
Es and Ec are elastic modulus of reinforcing bars and
concrete before cracking, of concrete, respectively. As
and Ac are the reinforcement area and member cross
section and N is the tensile applied load.
Until the formation of the primary crack of concrete,
components of the composite material change its beha-
viour due to the initiation and propagation of cracks. At
this point, the stress value of reinforcing bars is com-
puted based on the notion of the cracked section, where
the maximum stress in the concrete under tension re-
aches its strength one. The value of the un-cracked con-
crete range can be evaluated considering that concrete
and GFRP-bars behave together.
(5)
As E
r= is the reinforcement ratio, h = s and ft is the
Ac Ec
tensile strength of concrete.
The modification that can be added to the CEB model,
3
which is founded on the bi-linear law in the cracking
range, seems that this approach cannot represent well
the structural behaviour of RC tensile members. For this
raison, a novel expression improving the CEB model is
proposed. For many reasons, the nonlinearity made the
dominance on the structural response, to be aware: the he-
terogeneous composition of concrete and the interven-
tion of others phenomena, such as: the tension stiffening
effect, the bond adherence and the dowel action….et.
Basing on this concept, in the post-cracking region, a
polynomial expression is formulated until yielding of re-
inforcing bars takes place. The stress-strain relationship
of the bare bar is assumed as asymptotic straight of the
curve representing the expression developed minimizing
the tension stiffening in the cracking region of the mem-
ber behaviour. After cracking, the stress in the reinforce-
ment steel between the once cracking and the yielding of
reinforcement is then expressed using the mathematical
establishments of this concept by:
(6)
where ecr and esr are the cracking strain and the strain in
reinforcement in state II with totally cracked section
without any concrete contribution corresponding to the
stress ssr, respectively.
The corresponding strain can be drawn from the
equation (6) in the following form:
(7)
N
where es =
E s As
The tension stiffening contribution in the cracking
range of concrete can be evaluated by:
(8)
Particularly, the maximum tension stiffening can be
deduced as (Figure 1):
4 Khalfallah S.

(9) obtained values of es2, the stress in concrete is then con-

sidered using the equation (13).
The applied load, N, can be divided between con-
crete and reinforcing bars: 4. Validation of the Model

(10) The proposed model has been compared to experi-

mental results of tensile RC members experimentally
With sct is the tensile stress in concrete. studied by Sooriyaarachchi et al. [2]. Geometries and
In the other manner, the equation (10) can be written material properties are reported in Tables 1 and 2, re-
as: spectively. Sooriyaarachchi et al. [2] tested RC mem-
bers strengthened by GFRP-bars and loaded with ten-
sile applied force. The experimental study is devoted to
(11)
analyse the influence of concrete strength, reinforcement
ratio and bar diameter on the RC member response.
Using equations (7) and (8), the relation (11) can be In the experimental work, Sooriyaarachchi et al. [2]
written as: have chosen GFRP-bars for the reinforcement presenting
relatively low stiffness compared with steel reinforce-
ment to make prediction of deflections and particularly
(12)
at service loads. This selection of type reinforcement ca-
tegory can deal an important deflection or strain of tested
ft is the tensile strength of concrete. members and more quantify the tension stiffening contri-
The novel expression of tensile concrete behaviour bution in the global response of members.
can be done with: Experimental study aims to analyze the influence of

Table 2. Material properties used in [2]

(13) Concrete
GFRP-Bar
strength
To trace the stress-strain of concrete taking into ac- Property
13 19 Grade Grade
count the tension stiffening behaviour, the value of es2 = mm mm 50 90
N Strength (MPa) 792 715 52.0 91.0
taken as a variable is computed by varying the
E s × As Stiffness (GPa) 42.90 41.90 36.2 48.3
Tensile strength (MPa) - - 02.9 05.2
applied load until the yielding of reinforcement. From

Table 1. Details of the test specimens [2]

Specimen Concrete strength (MPa) Diameter D (mm) Dimension b*d*l (mm) Reinforcement ratio r%
C50/13/100 52 12.70 100*100*1500 1.26
C50/13/150 52 12.70 150*150*1500 0.56
C50/13/200 52 12.70 200*200*1500 0.32
C90/13/100 91 12.70 100*100*1500 1.26
C90/13/150 91 12.70 150*150*1500 0.56
C50/19/150 52 19.10 150*150*1300 1.26
C50/19/200 52 19.10 200*200*1300 0.72
C90/19/150 91 19.10 150*150*1300 1.26
C90/19/200 91 19.10 200*200*1300 0.72
 Analytical Approach of Tension Stiffening Contribution of GFRP-Members
the reinforcement ratio; it’s very important to appreciate
how the area of concrete around bars contributes to cali-
brate tension stiffening effect. Figures (Figures 2-3) com-
pare the tension stiffening effect of different reinforce-
ment ratios tested in this study [2]. The experimental
work taken involved testing two grades of concrete and
obtained results are plotted in separate graphs (Figures 2
and 3) show for grade C50 concrete whilst Figures 4-5
show for grade C90 concrete.
It’s very clear from obtained results that the tension
stiffening increases with a decrease of reinforcement ratio.
For the same quality of concrete (C50) used, the ten-
sion stiffening effect is more quantified for under-rein-
forced concrete sections but it’s below-estimated for over-
reinforced concrete ones. The rebar stress at cracking con-
crete level is 100 MPa for r = 1.26% but it’s about 200
MPa for r = 0.32%. The quantity of reinforcement area
delays the apparition of cracks.
The previous remark is again verified when a con-
Figure 2. Rebar stress-strain of concrete C50 with r = 1.26%.
Figure 3. Rebar stress-strain of concrete C50 with r = 0.32%.
5
crete feature (C90) is so used. In addition, the amount of
steel used delays significantly the cracking phenomenon.
In this concept, moving r from 1.26% to 0.32%, the
rebar stress increases from 100 MPa to 230 MPa.
The rebar stress at cracking of concrete level is about
100 MPa for concrete class C50 but it’s evaluated to 250
MPa for concrete class C90.
It is absolutely clear that the quality of the concrete
affects the tension stiffening option. The quality of con-
crete is primordially characterized by its tensile strength.
The concrete strength delays the apparition of cracks that
are the main effect of the tension stiffening creation.
In explicitly, we can say that the diameter of the bar
has an influence on the tension stiffening. Figures (6, 7,
8, and 9) allow to show the influence of the bar diameter
on the tension stiffening contribution.
The Figure 10 shows the influence of reinforcment
ratio on the the tension stiffening option. Very clear that the
Figure 4. Rebar stress-strain of concrete C90 with r = 1.26%.
Figure 5. Rebar stress-strain of concrete C90 r = 0.56%.
6 Khalfallah S.
Figure 6. Rebar stress-strain of concrete C50 with f = 13 mm.
Figure 7. Rebar stress-strain of concrete C90 with f = 13 mm.
Figure 8. Rebar stress-strain of concrete C50 with f = 19 mm.
quantity of reinforcement ratio influes on the tension stif-
fening contribution. This influence is more pronounced
at the firstly cracking level and decreases as the loading
increases.
The Figure 11 plots strength concrete curves to quan-
tify the tension stiffening effect. The quality of concrete
Figure 9. Rebar stress-strain of concrete C90 with f = 19 mm.
Figure 10. Influence of reinforcement ratio on the tension
stiffening.
influes primirdially on the tension stiffening contribu-
tion. The influence remains considerably until the ulti-
mate load.
From Figure 12, the diameter of bars used to rein-
force GFRP-members hasn’t any significant effect of bars
size on the tension stiffening contribution.
5. Conclusions
In this study, a novel tension stiffening analytical
model for reinforced concrete members is presented. An
analytical expression is used to describe the concrete
tensile stress-strain curve in the cracking range of the
member behaviour. The work presented can be divided
in two parties. Firstly, the study presents the validity of
the analytical approach illustrated in above sections and
examines the influence of many parameters on the ten-
sion stiffening behaviour. In general, the model presents
an improvement compared with experimental data ob-
tained by Sooriyaarachchi and Pilakoutas [2].
 Analytical Approach of Tension Stiffening Contribution of GFRP-Members
Figure 11. Influence of concrete strength on the tension stif-
fening.
Figure 12. Influence of diameter bar on the tension stiffening.
Secondly, to calibrate the tension stiffening contri-
bution, the analysis appears the local behaviour of con-
crete between cracks. The reinforcing ratio, the concrete
strength and bar size of diameter are studied to present
their influence on the tension stiffening behaviour. Con-
clusions can be drawn from this analysis are:
1. Concrete strength and reinforcing ratio having an in-
fluence effect on the tension stiffening effect.
2. There is no significant influence on the tension stif-
fening behaviour using different bar diameter.
3. High concrete strength and bar size can provide an im-
portant ultimate load of reinforced concrete members.
4. The analysis requires the introduction of the bond
characterization between concrete and reinforcement
bars to more understand this aspect for accurate pre-
dictions of tension stiffening effect. The positivity of
this assumption can deal to quantify more tension
stiffening and bond effects on RC member response.
7
5. The proposed tension stiffening model can be easily
implemented in finite element analysis based on crack
models.
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Efficient Tension Stiffening Model for Nonlinear An- Accepted: Jan. 26, 2015