Visualization of Distributed Plasticity in Concrete Piles Using OpenSeesPy

Lumped plasticity models available in commercial software offer a limited resolution of damage distribution along structural members. This study presents an open-source workflow that combines force-based fiber elements in OpenSeesPy with automated 3D post-processing for visualizing distributed plasticity in reinforced concrete piles. A 60 cm diameter pile subjected to monotonic lateral loading is analyzed using both SAP2000’s default plastic hinges and OpenSeesPy fiber sections (Concrete02/Steel02). Although the fiber model incurs a runtime approximately 2.5 times greater, it captures the gradual spread of yielding and deterioration with improved fidelity. The presented workflow includes Python routines for interactive stress–strain visualization, facilitating the identification of critical sections and verification of strain limits. This approach offers a computationally feasible alternative for performance-based analysis with enhanced insight into member-level behavior. Because the entire workflow—from model definition through post-processing—is fully scripted in Python, any change to geometry, materials, or loading can be re-run in seconds, dramatically reducing the time taken to execute sensitivity analyses.