摘要

The ultimate strength of reinforced concrete (RC) rectangular members subjected to combined bending, shear and torsion is obtained from the limit analysis proposed in the present paper. Based on a warped failure surface determined by external loads, and a reasonable assumed stress distribution balancing external loads but not violating the yield condition, the bending-shear-torsion interaction can be derived from equilibrium conditions. According to the definition of lower-bound theorem in limit analysis, the calculated ultimate loads will be carried safely by the structure. The present method is a simple approach to obtain carrying capacities for RC elements under complex external loads. After comparing with the test results, a good agreement has been observed. The present method can be extended to explain the failure mechanism of RC members subjected to axial loads, and it is possible to develop a simple unified theory of RC members for engineering.