Predicting the compressive strength of concrete is important to assess the load-carrying capacity of a structure. However, the use of blended cements to accrue the technical, economic and environmental benefits has increased the complexity of prediction models. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have been used for predicting the compressive strength of ordinary Portland cement concrete, i.e., concrete produced without the addition of supplementary cementing materials. In this study, models to predict the compressive strength of blended cement concrete prepared with a natural pozzolan were developed using regression models and single- and 2-phase learning ANNs. Back-propagation (BP), Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) and Conjugate Gradient Descent (CGD) methods were used for training the ANNs. A 2-phase learning algorithm is proposed for the first time in this study for predictive modeling of the compressive strength of blended cement concrete. The output of these predictive models indicates that the use of a 2-phase learning algorithm will provide better results than the linear regression model or the traditional single-phase ANN models.

The rehabilitation and strengthening of concrete structures using Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials have been widely investigated. As a priority issue, however, the effect of curing conditions on the bonding behavior between FRP and concrete structures is still elusive. This study aims at developing a prediction model to accurately capture the mode-II interfacial debonding between FRP strips and concrete under different curing conditions. Single shear debonding experiments were conducted on FRP-concrete samples with respect to different curing time t and temperatures T. The J-integral formulation and constrained least square minimization are carried out to calibrate the parameters, i.e., the maximum slip $\bar{s}$ and stretch factor n. The prediction model is developed based on the cohesive model and Arrhenius relationship. The experimental data are then analyzed using the proposed model to predict the debonding between FRP and concrete, i.e., the interfacial shear stress-slip relationship. A Finite Element (FE) model is developed to validate the theoretical predictions. Satisfactory agreements are obtained. The prediction model can be used to accurately capture the bonding performance of FRP-concrete structures.

Continuing from previous studies of sustainable concrete containing environmentally friendly materials and existing modeling approach to predicting concrete properties, this study developed an estimation methodology to predicting the strength of sustainable concrete using an advanced case-based reasoning approach. It was conducted in two steps: (i) establishment of a case database and (ii) development of an advanced case-based reasoning model. Through the experimental studies, a total of 144 observations for concrete compressive strength and tensile strength were established to develop the estimation model. As a result, the prediction accuracy of the A-CBR model (i.e., 95.214% for compressive strength and 92.448% for tensile strength) performed superior to other conventional methodologies (e.g., basic case-based reasoning and artificial neural network models). The developed methodology provides an alternative approach in predicting concrete properties and could be further extended to the future research area in durability of sustainable concrete.

Fiber reinforced concretes exhibit higher tensile strength depending on the percent and type of the fiber used. These concretes are used to reduce cracks and improve concrete behavior. The use of these fibers increases the production costs and reduces the compressive strength to a certain extent. Therefore, the use of fiber reinforced concrete in regions where higher tensile strength is required can cut costs and improve the overall structural strength. The behavior of fiber reinforced concrete and normal concrete adjacent to each other was investigated in the present study. The concrete used was self-compacting and did not require vibration. The samples had 0, 1, 2 and 4 wt% polypropylene fibers. 15 cm sample cubes were subjected to uniaxial loads to investigate their compressive strength. Fiber Self-Compacting Concrete was poured in the mold up to 0, 30, 50, 70 and 100 percent of the mold height, and then Self-Compacting Concrete without fiber was added to the empty section of that mold. In order to investigate concrete behavior under bending moment, concrete beam samples with similar conditions were prepared and subjected to the three-point bending flexural test. The results revealed that normal Self-Compacting Concrete and Fiber Self-Compacting Concrete may be used in adjacent to each other in structures and structural members. Moreover, no separation was observed at the interface of Fiber Self-Compacting Concrete and Self-Compacting Concrete, either in the cubic samples under compression or in the concrete beams under bending moment.

The post-tensioned (PT) flat plate slab system is commonly used in practice, and this simple and fast construction method is also considered to be a very efficient method because it can provide excellent deflection and crack control performance under a service load condition and consequently can be advantageous when applying to long-span structures. However, a detailed design guideline for evaluating the lateral behavior of the PT flat plate slab system is not available in current design codes. Thus, typical design methods used for conventional reinforced concrete (RC) flat plate slab structures have inevitably been adopted in practice for the lateral load design of PT flat plate structures. In the authors' previous studies, the unified equivalent frame method (UEFM) was proposed, which considers the combined effect of gravity and lateral loads for the lateral behavior analysis of RC flat plate slab structures. The aim of this study is to extend the concept of the UEFM to the lateral analysis of PT flat plate slab structures. In addition, the stiffness reduction factors of torsional members on interior and exterior equivalent frames were newly introduced considering the effect of post-tensioning. Test results of various PT flat plate slab-column connection specimens were collected from literature, and compared to the analysis results estimated by the extended UEFM.

In this research, seismic response of pipes is examined by applying nanotechnology and piezoelectric materials. For this purpose, a pipe is considered which is reinforced by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and covered with a piezoelectric layer. The structure is subjected to the dynamic loads caused by earthquake and the governing equations of the system are derived using mathematical model via cylindrical shell element and Mindlin theory. Navier-Stokes equation is employed to calculate the force due to the fluid in the pipe. Mori-Tanaka approach is used to estimate the equivalent material properties of the nanocomposite and to consider the effect of the CNTs agglomeration on the scismic response of the structure. Moreover, the dynamic displacement of the structure is extracted using harmonic differential quadrature method (HDQM) and Newmark method. The main goal of this research is the analysis of the seismic response using piezoelectric layer and nanotechnology. The results indicate that reinforcing the pipeline by CNTs leads to a reduction in the displacement of the structure during an earthquake. Also the negative voltage applied to the piezoelectric layer reduces the dynamic displacement.

This paper presents the experimental investigations on the compressive strength and permeation properties of geopolymer concrete prepared with low calcium fly ash as the primary binder activated with different percentage of Alccofine. The durability aspect was investigated by performing permeable voids and water absorption tests since permeability directly influences the durability properties. The test results show that Alccofine significantly improves the compressive strength and reduces the water permeability thus enhances the durability of geopolymer concrete at ambient curing regime which encourages the use of geopolymer concrete at ambient curing condition thus promising its use in general construction also.

The paper presents experimental and numerical investigations of prefabricated composite structural building reinforced concrete slabs with the insulating material for a residential building construction. The building slabs were composed of concrete and expanded polystyrene. In experiments, the slabs in the full-scale 1:1 were subjected to vertical concentrated loads and failed along a diagonal shear crack. The experiments were numerically evaluated using the finite element method based on two different constitutive continuum models for concrete. First, an elasto-plastic model with the Drucker-Prager criterion defined in compression and with the Rankine criterion defined in tension was used. Second, a coupled elasto-plastic-damage formulation based on the strain equivalence hypothesis was used. In order to describe strain localization in concrete, both models were enhanced in the softening regime by a characteristic length of micro-structure by means of a non-local theory. Attention was paid to the formation of critical diagonal shear crack which was a failure precursor.

The effectiveness of mineral additives in suppressing alkali-silica reactivity has been studied in this work. Experimentation has been performed in accordance with the procedures prescribed in ASTM C 1567. In the scope of the investigation, a quarry aggregate which was reactive according to ASTM C 1260 was tested. In the experimental program, prismatic mortar specimens measuring $25{\times}25{\times}285mm$ were produced. Ten sets of production, three specimens for each set, were made. Length changes were measured at the end of 3, 7, 14 and 28 days and then expansions in percentage have been calculated. Fly ash, silica fume, and metakaolin have been used as cement replacement in different ratios for the testing of the alkali-silicate reactivity of the aggregate. In the mixes performed, the replacement ratios were 20%, 40%, and 60% for the fly ash, and 5%, 10%, and 15% for the silica fume, and 5%, 10%, and 15% for the metakaolin. Mixes without mineral additives were also produced for comparison. The beneficial effect in suppressing alkali-silica reactivity is highly noticeable as the replacement ratios of the mineral additives increase regardless of the type of the mineral additive used. Being more concise, the optimum concentrations of using silica fume and metakaolin in mortar in suppressing ASR is 10%, respectively, while it is 20% for fly ash.

Nanotechnology is a new filed in concrete structures which can improve the mechanical properties of them in confronting to impact and blast. However, in this paper, a mathematical model is introduced for the concrete models subjected to impact load for wave propagation analysis. The structure is simulated by the sinusoidal shear deformation theory (SSDT) and the governing equations of the concrete model are derived by energy method and Hamilton's principle. The silicon dioxide ($SiO_2$) nanoparticles are used as reinforcement for the concrete model where the characteristics of the equivalent composite are determined using Mori-Tanaka approach. An exact solution is applied for obtaining the maximum velocity of the model. In order to validate the theoretical results, three square models with different impact point and Geophone situations are tested experimentally. The effect of different parameters such as $SiO_2$ nanoparticles volume percent, situation of the impact, length, width and thickness of the model as well as velocity, diameter and height of impactor are shown on the maximum velocity of the model. Results indicate that the theoretical and experimental dates are in a close agreement with each other. In addition, using from $SiO_2$ nanoparticles leads to increase in the stiffness and consequently maximum velocity of the model.

A considerable research is available on the seismic response of Reinforced Concrete (RC) shear wall-frame buildings, but the studies on the reliability of such buildings, with the consideration of human error, are limited. In the present study, a detailed procedure for reliability assessment of RC shear wall-frame building subjected to earthquake loading against serviceability limit state is presented. Monte Carlo simulation was used for the reliability assessment. The procedure was implemented on a 10-story RC building to demonstrate that the shear walls improve the reliability substantially. The annual and life-time failure probabilities of the studied building were estimated by employing the information of the annual probability of earthquake occurrence and the design life of the building. A simple risk-based cost assessment procedure that relates both the structural life-time failure probability and the target reliability with the total cost of the building was then presented. The structural failure probability (i.e., the probability of exceeding the allowable drift) considering human errors was also studied. It was observed that human error in the estimation of total load and/or concrete strength changes the reliability sharply.

Reinforced concrete flat plates consist of slabs supported directly on columns. The absence of beams makes these systems attractive due to advantages such as economical formwork, shorter construction time, less total building height with more clear space and architectural flexibility. Punching shear failure is usually the governing failure mode of flat plate structures. Punching failure is brittle in nature which induces more vulnerability to this type of structure. To analyze the flat plate behavior under punching shear, twelve finite element models of flat plate on a column with different parameters have been developed and verified with experimental results. The maximum range of variation of punching stress, obtained numerically, is within 10% of the experimental results. Additional finite element models have been developed to analyze the influence of integrity reinforcement, clear cover and column reinforcement. Variation of clear cover influences the punching capacity of flat plate. Proposed finite element model can be a substitute to mechanical model to understand the influence of clear cover. Variation of slab thickness along with column reinforcement has noteworthy impact on punching capacity. From the study it has been noted that integrity reinforcement can increase the punching capacity as much as 19 percent in terms of force and 101 percent in terms of deformation.