• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.219-239
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• 2015

This paper discusses the suitability of producing concrete with 100 % recycled aggregate to meet durability and strength requirements for different applications. Aggregate strength, gradation, absorption, specific gravity, shape and texture are some of the physical and mechanical characteristics that contribute to the strength and durability of concrete. In general, the quality of recycled aggregate depends on the loading and exposure conditions of the demolished structures. Therefore, the experimental program was focused on the evaluation of physical and mechanical properties of the recycled aggregate over a period of 6 months. In addition, concrete properties produced with fine and coarse recycled aggregate were evaluated. Several concrete mixes were prepared with 100 % recycled aggregates and the results were compared to that of a control mix. SEM was conducted to examine the microstructure of selected mixes. The results showed that concrete with acceptable strength and durability could be produced if high packing density is achieved.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.3
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• pp.387-400
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• 2022

The practice of using encased steel-concrete columns in medium to high-rise structures has expanded dramatically in recent years. The study evaluates existing methodologies and codal guidelines for estimating the ultimate load-carrying characteristics of concrete-encased short columns experimentally. The present condition of composite column design methods was analyzed using the Egyptian code ECP203-2007, the American Institute of Steel Construction's AISC-LRFD-2010, Eurocode EC-4, the American Concrete Institute's ACI-318-2014, and the British Standard BS-5400-5. According to the codes, the axial load carrying characteristics of both the encased steel and concrete sections was examined. The effect of load-carrying capacities in different forms of encased steel sections on encased steel-concrete columns was studied experimentally. The axial load carrying capacity of twelve concrete-encased columns and four conventional reinforced columns were examined. The conclusion is that the confinement was not taken into account when forecasting the strength and ductility of the encased concrete, resulting in considerable disparities between codal provisions and experimental results. The configuration of the steel section influenced the confining effect. Better confinement is achieved with the laced and battened section than with the infilled steel tube reinforced and conventionally reinforced section. The ECP203-2007 code reported the most conservative results of all the codes used.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.69-88
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• 2015

Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is a stable and cohesive high consistency concrete mix with enhanced filling ability properties that reduce the need for mechanical compaction. Limited standards and specifications have been reported in the literature on the structural behavior of reinforced self-compacting concrete elements. The significance of the research presented in this paper stems from the need to investigate the effect of enhanced fluidity of SCC on the structural behavior of high strength self-consolidating reinforced concrete beams. To meet the objectives of this research, twelve reinforced concrete beams were prepared with two different generations of superplasticizers and designed to exhibit flexure, shear, or bond splitting failure. The compared beams were identical except for the type of superplasticizer being used (second generation sulphonated-based superplasticizer or third generation polycarboxylate-based superplasticizer). The outcomes of the experimental work revealed comparable resistance of beam specimens made with self-compacting (SCC) and conventional vibrated concrete (VC). The dissimilarities in the experimental values between the SCC and the control VC beams were not major, leading to the conclusion that the high flowability of SCC has little effect on the flexural, shear and bond strengths of concrete members.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.407-410
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• 1999

An experimental investigation to study the behavior of low rise structural walls using high strength concrete is presented. The test parameter included in the study were the level of constant axial load. The shear strength of walls is predicted by the design provision given in the current the American Concrete Institute Building Code ACI 318-95 and Architectural Institute Japan Code AIJ. The predictions are compared with the test results reported herein as well as those available in the literature.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.299-313
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• 2015

In this paper, an optimization process using Genetic Algorithm (GA) that mimics biological processes is presented for optimum design of planar frames with semi-rigid connections by selecting suitable standard sections from a specified list taken from American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). The stress constraints as indicated in AISC-LRFD (American Institute of Steel Construction - Load and Resistance Factor Design), maximum lateral displacement constraints and geometric constraints are considered for optimum design. Two different planar frames with semi-rigid connections taken from the literature are carried out first without considering concrete slab effects in finite element analyses and the results are compared with the ones available in literature. The same optimization procedures are then repeated for full and semi rigid planar frames with composite (steel and concrete) beams. A program is developed in MATLAB for all optimization procedures. Results obtained from this study proved that consideration of the contribution of the concrete on the behavior of the floor beams provides lighter planar frames.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.503-519
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• 2015

This paper presents an optimization process using Genetic Algorithm (GA) for minimum weight by selecting suitable standard sections from a specified list taken from American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). The stress constraints obeying AISC-LRFD (American Institute of Steel Construction-Load and Resistance Factor Design), lateral displacement constraints being the top and inter-storey drift, mid-span deflection constraints for the beams and geometric constraints are considered for optimum design by using GA that mimics biological processes. Optimum designs for three different space frames taken from the literature are carried out first without considering concrete slab effects in finite element analyses for the constraints above and the results are compared with the ones available in literature. The same optimization procedures are then repeated for the case of space frames with composite (steel and concrete) beams. A program is coded in MATLAB for the optimization processes. Results obtained in the study showed that consideration of the contribution of the concrete on the behavior of the floor beams results with less steel weight and ends up with more economical designs.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.183-191
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• 2013

Prestress losses assumed for bridge girder design and deflection analyses are dependent on the concrete modulus of elasticity (MOE). Most design specifications, such as the American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) bridge specifications, contain a constant value for the MOE based on the unit weight of concrete and the concrete compressive strength at 28 days. It has been shown in the past that that the concrete MOE varies with the age of concrete. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a time-dependent and variable MOE on the prestress losses assumed for bridge girder design. For this purpose, three different variable MOE models from the literature were investigated: Dischinger (Der Bauingenieur 47/48(20):563-572, 1939a; Der Bauingenieur 5/6(20):53-63, 1939b; Der Bauingenieur, 21/22(20):286-437, 1939c), American Concrete Institute (ACI) 209 (Tech. Rep. ACI 209R-92, 1992) and CEB-FIP (CEB-FIP Model Code, 2010). A typical bridge layout for the Dallas, Texas, USA, area was assumed herein. A prestressed concrete beam design and analysis program from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) was utilized to determine the prestress losses. The values of the time dependent MOE and also specific prestress losses from each model were compared. The MOE predictions based on the ACI and the CEB-FIP models were close to each other; in long-term, they approach the constant AASHTO value. Dischinger's model provides for higher MOE values. The elastic shortening and the long term losses from the variable MOE models are lower than that using a constant MOE up to deck casting time. In long term, the variable MOE-based losses approach that from the constant MOE predictions. The Dischinger model would result in more conservative girder design while the ACI and the CEB-FIP models would result in designs more consistent with the AASHTO approach.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.249-262
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• 2019

In this study, high strength aluminum alloys (AA) plates are proposed as a new construction material for strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) beams. The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate AA plate's suitability as externally bonded reinforcing (EBR) materials for retrofitting shear deficient beams. A total of twenty RC beams designed to fail in shear were strengthened with different spacing and orientations. The specimens were loaded with four-points loading till failure. The considered outcome parameters included load carrying capacity, deflection, strain in plates, and failure modes. The results of all tested beams showed an increase up to 37% in the load carrying capacity and also an increase in deflection compared to the control un-strengthened beams. This demonstrated the potential of adopting AA plates as EBR material. Finally, the shear contribution from the AA plates was predicted using the models available in the ACI440-08, TR55 and FIB14 design code for fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) plates. The predicted results were compared to experimental testing data with the ratio of the experimentally measured ultimate load to predicted load, range on the average, between 93% and 97%.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.153-173
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• 2023

Rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular (RCFST) column, a type of concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST), is widely used in compression members of structures because of its advantages. This paper proposes a robust machine learning-based framework for predicting the ultimate compressive strength of RCFST columns under both concentric and eccentric loading. The gradient boosting neural network (GBNN), an efficient and up-to-date ML algorithm, is utilized for developing a predictive model in the proposed framework. A total of 890 experimental data of RCFST columns, which is categorized into two datasets of concentric and eccentric compression, is carefully collected to serve as training and testing purposes. The accuracy of the proposed model is demonstrated by comparing its performance with seven state-of-the-art machine learning methods including decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), support vector machines (SVM), deep learning (DL), adaptive boosting (AdaBoost), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and categorical gradient boosting (CatBoost). Four available design codes, including the European (EC4), American concrete institute (ACI), American institute of steel construction (AISC), and Australian/New Zealand (AS/NZS) are refereed in another comparison. The results demonstrate that the proposed GBNN method is a robust and powerful approach to obtain the ultimate strength of RCFST columns.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.874-879
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• 2000

A prototype expert system for normal concrete mix design was developed using an technical consulting system development tool, EXSYS Professional. The knowledge contained in the system was obtained from the standard specifications of Korea Concrete Institute, American Concrete Institute and from the related British Standards. The knowledge base and user interface will be expanded to cover wider scopes of the problems. If the system is successfully developed as an operational system, it will produce a great deal of economic benefits by reducing the time and money needed to obtain an expert's judgement and experience in decision making for repetitive tasks related to concrete mix proportions.