Physical modelling of reinforced concrete at a 1:40 scale using additively manufactured reinforcement cages

Global level assumptions of numerical models have received relatively less attention, but have been indicated to be a major source of error in numerical modeling of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures. In parallel, it has been stated that a statistical approach involving many virgin specimens and ground motions is necessary for model validation. Such an approach would require very small-scale testing. Then, the reinforcement fabrication becomes a major issue. This paper proposes using additive manufacturing to fabricate the reinforcement cage. It presents the results from cyclic tests on 1:40 RC cantilever members. The cages were manufactured using an SLM 3D printer able to print rebars with submillimeter diameters. Different longitudinal and transverse reinforcement configurations were tested. A numerical model using existing Opensees elements was built and its parameters were calibrated against material level small-scale tests. It captured the cyclic response of the RC members with a reasonable accuracy. The cyclic behavior of the RC members resembles the behavior of full-scale RC members indicating that such small-scale specimens can be used for the statistical validation of the global level assumptions of numerical models.