IMPACT OF EQUIVALENT ELEMENT LENGTH FOR REGULARIZATION IN DISPLACEMENT FORMULATION ON CAPACITY AND POST-PEAK BEHAVIOR OF R/C FRAME ELEMENT

Abstract

The evaluation method of equivalent element length was presented, and the effect of equivalent length on the response of RC columns was discussed with respect to three parameters and the mesh sensitivity index. The findings obtained are as follows;

1. When comparing the presented method to the conventional one, the presented method contributes to improve the accuracy of member capacity. For Lp = 0.5D, the accuracy with the presented one was improved by 9% .

2. The presented method contributes to improve the ductility. For Lp = 0.5D, the accuracy was improved by 15%.

3. The region beyond the drift of 2%, the impact of equivalent can be observed, and the presented method can alleviate the issue of size effect in the frame element by up to 17%.