Performance of structural-concrete members under sequential loading and exhibiting points of inflection

The article reports data on, and numerical modelling of, beams exhibiting points of inflection and subjected to sequential loading. Both tests and analysis point to inadequacies in current codes of practice. An alternative design methodology, which is strongly associated with the notion that contraflexure points should be designed as "internal supports", is shown to produce superior performance even though it requires significantly less secondary reinforcement than that advocated by codes.