Displacement Capacity and

Ductility of Reinforced
Concrete Elements

Arsalan Niroomandi

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Displacement Ductility

∆𝑢 How can we calculate these values for a

𝜇∆ = reinforced concrete element using analytical
∆𝑦 methods and hand calculations?

Fig. 1: Typical load-displacement relationship for a 2

reinforced concrete element (Paulay and Priestley 1992)
 Strain Ductility

• Concrete

Based on FIB25 (2003), which is a modified version of

𝜀𝑐𝑢 the equation proposed by Paulay and Priestley (1992)
𝜇𝜀 =
𝜀𝑐𝑦

0.6𝜌𝑣 𝑓𝑦ℎ 𝜀𝑠𝑢

𝜀𝑐𝑢 = 0.004 +
𝑓𝑐𝑐′
𝜌𝑣 is the volumetric transverse reinforcement ratio
𝑓𝑦ℎ is the yield stress of the transverse reinforcement
𝜀𝑠𝑢 is the ultimate strain of the transverse reinforcement
𝑓𝑐𝑐′ is the concrete compressive strength of the confined section

𝑓𝑐′
𝜀𝑐𝑦 = 1.8
𝐸𝑐

Fig. 2: Stress-strain model for concrete in compression 3

(Priestley et al. 2007)
 Strain Ductility

• Steel Reinforcement • Can be limited to 0.06 if bar buckling is

expected to be considerable (e.g. columns,
boundary elements of walls).
𝜀𝑠𝑢 • Also, to take into account cyclic degradation.
𝜇𝜀 =
𝜀𝑦

Fig. 3: Reinforcing steel stress-strain characteristics Fig. 4: Cyclic stress-strain of reinforcing 4

(Priestley et al. 2007) steel (Paulay and Priestley 1992)
Curvature Ductility

𝜙𝑚
𝜇𝜙 =
𝜙𝑦

Fig. 5: Definition of curvature ductility

(Paulay and Priestley 1992)
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Curvature Ductility

• First yield Curvature

𝜀𝑠𝑦
𝜙𝑦′ =
𝑑 − 𝑐𝑦
𝜀𝑐𝑦
𝜙𝑦′ = If the section has a very high reinforcement
𝑐𝑦 ratio, or is subjected to high axial load

𝑓𝑦
𝜀𝑠𝑦 =
𝐸𝑠
𝑐𝑦 is the neutral-axis depth at first yield curvature
𝑓𝑐′
𝜀𝑐𝑦 = 1.8
𝐸𝑐

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Curvature Ductility

• Yield Curvature

𝑀𝑖 is the nominal moment capacity of the section (𝑀𝑁 )

𝑀𝑖
𝜙𝑦 = ′ 𝜙𝑦′
𝑀𝑖 𝑀𝑖′ is the yield moment capacity of the section, correspond
to first yield curvature (𝑀𝑦 )

Some equations to quickly estimate the yield curvature

based on Priestley et al. (2007) book:

2.25𝜀𝑦
𝜙𝑦 = Circular concrete column
𝐷
2.10𝜀𝑦
𝜙𝑦 = Rectangular concrete column
ℎ𝑐
2.00𝜀𝑦
𝜙𝑦 = Rectangular concrete wall
𝑙𝑤
1.7𝜀𝑦 7
𝜙𝑦 = Flanged concrete beam
ℎ𝑏
Curvature Ductility

• Maximum Curvature

𝜀𝑐𝑢
𝜙𝑚 =
𝑐𝑢
𝜀𝑠,𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝜙𝑚 =
𝑑 − 𝑐𝑢

0.6𝜌𝑣 𝑓𝑦ℎ 𝜀𝑠𝑢

𝜀𝑐𝑢 = 0.004 +
𝑓𝑐𝑐′
𝜀𝑠,𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 0.6𝜀𝑠𝑢 ≤ 0.06

𝑐𝑢 is the neutral-axis depth at ultimate curvature

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Displacement Ductility

∆𝑢
𝜇∆ =
∆𝑦

Fig. 6: Typical load-displacement relationship for a

reinforced concrete element (Paulay and Priestley 1992) 9
Displacement Ductility

• Yield Displacement

𝜙𝑦 𝑙2
Δ𝑦 = For cantilever elements (e.g. walls)
3
𝜙𝑦 𝑙2
Δ𝑦 = For double bending elements (e.g. beams and columns)
6

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Fig. 7: Moment, curvature, and deflection relationships for a
cantilever reinforced concrete element (Paulay and Priestley 1992)
Displacement Ductility

• Ultimate Displacement

Δ𝑢 = Δ𝑦 + 𝜙𝑢 − 𝜙𝑦 𝐿𝑝 𝑙

𝐿𝑝 = 𝑘𝐿𝑐 + 𝑙𝑠𝑝 ≥ 2𝑙𝑠𝑝 For beams and columns

𝐿𝑝 = 𝑘𝐿𝑐 + 0.1𝑙𝑤 + 𝑙𝑠𝑝 ≥ 2𝑙𝑠𝑝 For walls

𝐿𝑐 is the length from the critical section to the point of

contraflexure in the member

𝑓𝑢
𝑘 = 0.2 ൘𝑓 − 1 ≤ 0.08
𝑦

𝑙𝑠𝑝 = 0.022𝑓𝑦 𝑑𝑏

Based on Priestley et al. (2007) book

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