A new similitude law for testing scaled RC structures

In a scaled model test for reinforced concrete (RC) structures, the stress-strain relationship of the concrete of the scaled model is often quite different from that of ordinary concrete which is used for the prototype, while that of the reinforcement is typically the same for both the prototype and scaled model. The difference in the material properties of the reinforcement and concrete affects the behavior of the scaled model, which needs to be properly considered in order to accurately predict the prototype’s response from the scaled model’s response. In this study, a new similitude law that can effectively consider the difference in material properties between the prototype and scaled model is proposed and verified through numerical simulations with RC columns. The simulation results clearly show that the new similitude law can predict the prototype’s response better than other similitude laws proposed in previous studies.