Towards mixed-type modelling of structures with slender and deep beam elements

Concrete frame structures often include both slender and deep beams. Deep beams possess a large shear capacity, and thus are typically used as transfer girders to carry heavy loads over large spans. The overloading of such members due to extreme events such as earthquakes may result in the collapse of the entire structure. To evaluate the resilience of large frame structures under extreme loading, it is necessary to model the interaction between the deep girders and the rest of the structure in an accurate and computationally effective manner. To address this issue, this paper proposes a mixed-type modelling framework by formulating an innovative 1D macro deep-beam element and coupling it with 1D slender elements. The new macro element aims to combine the accuracy of 2D micro finite elements with the simplicity of 1D macro elements. The paper summarizes the formulations of this element, based on the three-parameter kinematic theory, and integrates it into an existing global nonlinear analysis procedure to create a mixed-type modeling framework. The verification study, including a frame structure with a deep transfer girder, has shown that this approach captures the response of the frame with an accuracy similar to that of 2D micro finite elements, while requiring approx. 20% of the analysis time.