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Plane or solid elements are the most commonly used elements for finite element analysis (FEA), especially for predicting the behaviour of reinforced concrete structures in engineering practices. However, there are some limitations in the continuum model built with plane or solid elements. Traditional FEA with the continuum model is not only time consuming due to numerous degrees of freedom but also difficult to predict crack propagation. Properly replacing the continuum model with micro-truss elements in the analysis could be cost effective, especially for automatically generating the strut-and-tie model (STM), which is an ideal tool for analysis and design of the distributed region (D region). In this paper, a micro-truss element consisting of four nodes, using horizontal, vertical and diagonal members only hinged at both ends of the element is proposed to replace the plane elements. The equivalence formulas between the micro-truss element and the plane element are derived. The result was validated by comparing the solution of three cases modelled by Abaqus standard element. Moreover, the feasibility of combining with other types of element was studied by modelling a simply supported beam with reinforcements.

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