If you have any access to Abaqus, you can find a thorough document about how to analyse RC elements through FEM. Just click on its help and search the word "concrete" in its offline-browser.

If you have access to SAP or even ETABS, you can find some comments about multilayered shell elements that are useful for RC walls. Do not use SAP or ETABS if you expect large plastic strains.

There are some Macro-models for RC walls which can be simply modeled even by a simple Matlab's M-file. Just google "Macro-model shear wall".

If you want to study structural collapse, you need to use Applied Element Method (AEM) rather than FEM. Valuable comments about this new technique can be found by googling "applied element method".

Thank you for useful information. You're very kind. But I do not have access to SAP or ETABS now :(. In addition, where can I find Matlab's M-file which you mentioned above?

It seems you haven't already worked with Matlab's M-file. If it its, it would be time consuming for you to model RC macro-models in Matlab. In any case, Matlab's M-file is nothing but a scripting program by which you can write your codes similar to Fortran or C++, of course with different details.

Following FE software can be used to model RC elements,

Abaqus, ATENA, IDARC, OpenSees, ANSYS.

Still if you have no access to above software, you can download IDARC-2D through this website for free,

http://civil.eng.buffalo.edu/idarc2d50/

In this website you can also find a useful Manual in PDF about analysis of RC elements by FE technique. Note that currently, IDARC has no graphical interface just like OpenSees.

Good Luck in your RC FE analysis.

Many thanks Seyed Amin Mousavi

Have a nice weekend :)

Author:

Günter Axel Rombach

Title:

Finite Element Design of Concrete Structures:

Practical Problems and Their Solutions

Pulisher:

Thomas Telford, 2004

ISBN:

0727732749

9780727732743

A FEM commonly used in engineering practice is called SOFISTIK .For some research issues, you can also use this software.

http://www.sofistik.de/en/packages/

A well established and powerful FEM Software is ATENA:

http://www.cervenka.cz/

This FEM code is used in many publications regarding the physical non-linear analysis of reinforced concrete structures. In addition, it can be used for the simulation of prestressed concrete structures.

http://www.cervenka.cz/products/atena/

Yeah, great!! Thank Bastian Jung a lot

Have a nice weekend

Thank Sadjad very much. Now, I just use 2D models for slabs and columns. And I need a basic code (matlab or C++ or fortran) for those.

Dear Sadjad,

Yes, sure. I just read and I am searching some useful documents. I have recently begun to research about concrete structures (2D rigid floor and columns). Are you researching those?

Dear Phung-Van Phuc,

If you look for FEM Nonlinear Analysis, then ADINA Structures would be of great help. http://www.adina.com/index.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd8IXjVSMJo

And ADINA900 Node version is available for fee.

Many thanks Ramesh Kannan

Good luck

Powerful FEM Software ATENA:

ATENA is registered trademark of Vladimir Cervenka.

Cervenka Consulting Ltd.

In the following Help you can find a lot of information...

http://www.cervenka.cz/assets/files/atena-pdf/ATENA_Theory.pdf

about:

1 CONTINUUM GOVERNING EQUATIONS

2 CONSTITUTIVE MODELS

3 FINITE ELEMENTS

4 SOLUTION OF NONLINEAR EQUATIONS

5 CREEP AND SHRINKAGE ANALYSIS

6 TRANSPORT ANALYSIS

7 DYNAMIC ANALYSIS

8 EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS ANALYSIS

9 GENERAL FORM OF DIRICHLET BOUNDARY CONDITION

Many thanks again, Bastian Jung

This is a useful document for me

Thank you so much, Aria Tsam and Vassilis Papanikolaou

Great :)

the useful document, thanks a lot, Aria Tsam

Best wishes

You can check my articles.. Many on them used FEM to analysis and design of reinforced concrete structures..

- Hussam Ali Mohammed, "Experimental and Nonlinear Analysis of Non-Prismatic Double Tee Prestressed Concrete Beams", PhD Thesis, Baghdad University, 2005.

- Hussam Ali Mohammed, "Nonlinear Analysis of Flanged Reinforced Concrete Beams Using Three-Dimensional Finite Element Model", MSc Thesis, Saddam University, 2000.

- Hussam Ali Mohammed, "Finite Element Analysis of Non-Prismatic Prestressed Concrete Double Tee Beams" Journal of Kerbala University, Vol.8, No.1, 2010

- Hussam Ali Mohammed, "The Effect of Web Opening on Prestressed Concrete Double Tee Beams under Flexure", The Second Annual Scientific Conference of the College of Engineering /Babylon University 24-25, Iraq, March 2010.

- Hussam Ali Mohammed, Ihsan A. Shaarbaf, Khild S. Mahmod, " Finite Element Analysis of Prestressed Concrete Double Tee Beams", Journal of Babylon University for Engineering Science, Vol.12, No.5, 2006

- Hussam Ali Mohammed, "Behavior of Prestressed Concrete Non-Prismatic Double Tee Beams", Journal of kerbala University, Vol.8, No.1, 2010

- Al-Shaarbaf, I. A. S., “Three-dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis of reinforced concrete beams in Torsion”, Ph.D. Thesis, University Of Bradford, 1990.