Calibration and Validation of the Concrete Damaged Plasticity Model for Nonlinear Finite Element Simulation of Reinforced Concrete Beams

Josué Villanueva Bazán H.; Luis Rodriguez Vazquez J. · Proceedings of the LACCEI international Multi-conference for Engineering, Education and Technology (2026) · DOI: 10.18687/laccei2026.1.1.2428

Resumen

Abastract: This study develops the calibration and validation of the Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) model for the nonlinear finite element simulation of reinforced concrete beams subjected to monotonic bending. The research integrates a constitutive formulation based on continuous damage plasticity, two-dimensional discretization under plane stress conditions, and an iterative parametric fitting procedure implemented in Abaqus/Standard. The methodology was structured in four stages: (i) geometric definition and reinforcement modeling using embedded region techniques, (ii) constitutive characterization of the concrete, including Hognestad-type compression curves and tensile softening regularized by fracture energy, (iii) calibration of critical parameters of the CDP model-dilatance angle, regularization viscosity, and damage parameters-and (iv) quantitative validation by comparison with experimental results reported in the literature. The results showed that the difference between the experimental ultimate load (192 kN) and the numerically predicted load (184 kN) was 4.2%, while the discrepancy in maximum deflection was less than 8%. The model adequately reproduced the transition from the elastic regime to the cracked state, capturing the onset of cracking at approximately 35% of the maximum load. The damage evolution showed DAMAGET values > 0.80 in the tension zone at 85% of the ultimate load and DAMAGEC values ≈ 0.45 prior to collapse, consistent with the flexural-compression failure mechanism. The sensitivity analysis confirmed that variations of ±5° in the dilatancy angle can generate changes of approximately 9% in the load capacity, while the incorporation of viscosity on the order of 1 × 10-4 improves numerical stability without significantly altering the overall response. Furthermore, the inclusion of fracture energy reduced mesh dependence to variations of less than 5%. It is concluded that the CDP model, when calibrated using rigorous quantitative criteria, constitutes a robust and objectively consistent tool for the nonlinear simulation of the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beams.

Instituciones: Universidad Privada del Norte