Analysis of curved reinforced concrete slab bridges by the spline finite strip method

A layered spline finite strip model for the analysis of reinforced concrete slab bridges is presented in this paper. The natural coordinates ξ–η are adopted to make the method suitable for arbitrary curved slab bridges. A material model based on orthotropic nonlinear elasticity is employed to represent the property of plain concrete. Reinforcement is modeled as an elastoplastic strain-hardening material. The Newton–Raphson method and relaxation techniques are used to solve the nonlinear stiffness equation. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the model. Key words: spline finite strip method, curved slab bridges, reinforced concrete, nonlinear analysis.