Determination of crack pattern in concrete structures using applied element method

Applied Element Method (AEM) is a relatively new method for structural analysis developed by Kimiro Meguro and Hatem Tagel Din in 1997. It can capture the behavior of structure up to failure. In this method, structure is discretized into rigid elements connected by springs. The stiffness matrix of the structure consists of that of springs only. Here, the method is used to find out the failure load and predict the crack propagation. Two methods are available to determine the crack pattern namely unloading-reloading method and residual force method. These approaches are used to maintain equilibrium during the process of cracking. In this paper, these methods are discussed and they are used for the analysis of plain concrete beams with different support conditions.