Abstract
Shear bending cyclic tests of reinforced concrete flexural failure beam were carried out in order to clarify the failure mechanism under reversed cyclic loading, in which axial strain and lateral strain in the plastic hinge region were measured in detail. On the basis of the experimental results, “Reversed cyclic loading failure” was proposed. This failure mode is caused by the change of shear resistance mechanism which occurs under reversed loading when accumulated strain in the plastic hinge region becomes large. This change is closely connected with the stiffness deterioration of cracked concrete in the plastic hinge region. The deterioration of strength is produced during the recovery process of stiffness under reversed loading. This failure mode does not occur without reversed loading and this means the proposed failure mode is peculiar to reversed cyclic loading.
