This is the accepted manuscript.Due to the rapid advances in the development of techniques for monitoring and retrofitting concrete, there is a need to revisit and generalize classical theories in order to better assess the strength of existing reinforced concrete structures and to encompass strengthening systems. An improved understanding of concrete cracking taking into consideration local phenomena such as tensile and compressive concrete softening as well as the bond between the reinforcement and the concrete is required. In this paper, a fracture-based model is developed to describe the cracking process in reinforced concrete by integrating different local phenomena to more precisely describe the flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete beams. The model results show a good correlation with experimental data obtained by testing small scale concrete beams subjected to three-point bending. The beams exhibited mode I fracture propagation and during testing crack measurements were undertaken using a non-destructive digital image correlation technique. The stability of the cracking process was found to depend on the concrete strength, reinforcement properties and reinforcement ratio.The authors would like to thank the Yousef Jameel Foundation for their financial support of this research
