A damage-based sectional constitutive model for beams: Application to one-way textile-reinforced concrete slabs

Journal article, 2026

Accurate modeling of structures exhibiting nonlinear response due to progressive damage, such as cracking, re mains a major challenge, as resolving the subscale leads to computationally intensive simulations. To address this, we propose an effective constitutive damage model formulated directly at the sectional level. By expressing the response in terms of generalized sectional quantities, the model eliminates the need for through-thickness integration and evaluation of local material behavior, improving computational efficiency. The formulation is thermodynamically consistent, employs global damage variables in the cross-section, and accounts for the cou pling between normal force and bending moment. Calibration and validation are performed against representative volume element-based simulations of textile-reinforced concrete that resolve yarn-matrix slip and matrix soft ening. Despite its simplicity, the model accurately reproduces axial force and bending moment responses under non-proportional strain and curvature histories. Compared with a fully resolved simulation of a one-way textile-reinforced concrete slab, the model achieves a two-order-of-magnitude reduction in computational cost, with an error below 5 %. The framework captures nonlinear behavior arising from stiffness degradation, making it suit able for textile-reinforced concrete structures in which the structural response is governed by concrete cracking and crushing, as well as bond-degradation. It is, however, also applicable to other beam-like structures exhibiting damage-dominated behavior.