• Computers and Concrete
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.179-190
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• 2015

An experimental program has been carried out to investigate the effect of edge-slope on compressive strength of concrete specimens. In this study, effect of such slope was investigated by testing 100 standard cylinder specimens and 40 standard cubes. When molds are put on a slanted place, wet concrete starts to flow through the open end of mold. It keeps flowing until it reaches to a parallel surface with the place over which it was placed. That creates a sloped surface over the loading area. Experimental results revealed significant relationships between failure loads and slope of loading surface for cylinders. Angled cracks occurred in sloped cylinder specimens. Tension cracks occurred in cube specimens. Fracture mechanisms were also evaluated by using finite element analyses approach. Experiments yielded an exponential curve with bandwidth for cylinders. Average value of curve is $y={\frac{\pi}{2}}e^{-cf}$ between slope and compressive strength. Inclination is much effective parameter for cylinders than cubes.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.125-140
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• 2015

This paper describes the numerical calculation of elastic properties of a simulated microstructure of cement paste from very early age, when most previous models fail to give accurate results. The development of elastic properties of tricalcium silicate pastes was calculated by discretising a numerical resolution-free 3D vector microstructure to a regular cubic mesh. Due to the connections formed in the microstructure as an artefact of the meshing procedure, the simulated elastic moduli were found to be higher than expected. Furthermore, the percolation of the solids was found to occur even before hydration started. A procedure to remove these artefacts, on the basis of the information available in the vector microstructures was developed. After this correction, a better agreement of the experimental results with calculations was obtained between 20% and 40% hydration. However, percolation threshold was found to be delayed significantly. More realistic estimates of percolation threshold were obtained if either flocculation or a densification of calcium silicate hydrate with hydration was assumed.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.67-97
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• 2015

This article presents a computing procedure developed to predict the torsional strength of axially restrained reinforced concrete beams. This computing procedure is based on a modification of the Variable Angle Truss Model to account for the influence of the longitudinal compressive stress state due to the axial restraint conditions provided by the connections of the beams to other structural elements. Theoretical predictions from the proposed model are compared with some experimental results available in the literature and also with some numerical results from a three-dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis. It is shown that the proposed computing procedure gives reliable predictions for the ultimate behaviour, namely the torsional strength, of axially restrained reinforced concrete beams under torsion.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.17-35
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• 2015

In this study, linear and non-linear response of a masonry wall that includes an opening was presented. The masonry wall was modeled with two-dimensional finite elements. Smeared crack model that includes the strain softening behavior was selected to the masonry wall material. For the numerical application, linear and non-linear analyses of the masonry wall were carried out using east-west and vertical components of the 1992 Erzincan and 2003 $Bing{\ddot{o}}l$ earthquake acceleration records. Linear and non-linear solutions were compared each other. The displacement and stress results at the selected points of the masonry wall and crack propagation in the masonry wall were presented for both earthquake acceleration records.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.21-33
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• 2012

This paper presents the numerical simulation of the rigid 12.6 mm diameter kinetic energy ogive-nosed projectile impact on plain and fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) targets with compressive strengths from 45 to 235 MPa, using a three-dimensional finite element code LS-DYNA. A combined dynamic constitutive model, describing the compressive and tensile damage of concrete, is implemented. A modified Johnson_Holmquist_Cook (MJHC) constitutive relationship and damage model are incorporated to simulate the concrete behavior under compression. A tensile damage model is added to the MJHC model to analyze the dynamic fracture behavior of concrete in tension, due to blast loading. As a consequence, the impact damage in targets made of plain and fiber reinforced concrete with same matrix material under same impact velocities (650 m/s) are obtained. Moreover, the damage distribution of concrete after penetration is procured to compare with the experimental results. Numerical simulations provide a reasonable prediction on concrete damage in both compression and tension.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2012

According to the results of three-point bending tests of rubberized concrete and plain concrete, the parameters such as total fracture energy ($G_F$), initial fracture energy ($G_f$), and tensile strength ($f_t$) are obtained for concrete material. Using ABAQUS software and a bilinear softening fictitious crack model, the crack propagation process was simulated and compared to the experimental results. It is found that the increase of AE hit count has a similar trend with the increase of energy dissipation in FEM simulation. For two types of concretes, both experimental results and numerical simulation indicate that the rubberized concrete has a better fracture resistance.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.63-79
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the behavior and strength of prestressed concrete deep beams using nonlinear analysis. By using a sophisticated nonlinear finite element analysis program, the accuracy and objectivity of the assessment process can be enhanced. A computer program, the RCAHEST (Reinforced Concrete Analysis in Higher Evaluation System Technology), was used for the analysis of reinforced concrete structures. Tensile, compressive and shear models of cracked concrete and models of reinforcing and prestressing steel were used to account for the material nonlinearity of prestressed concrete. The smeared crack approach was incorporated. A bonded or unbonded prestressing bar element is used based on the finite element method, which can represent the interaction between the prestressing bars and concrete of a prestressed concrete member. The proposed numerical method for the evaluation of behavior and strength of prestressed concrete deep beams is verified by comparing its results with reliable experimental results.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.97-115
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• 2014

Silica fume is a by-product of induction arc furnaces and has long been used as a mineral admixture to produce high-strength, high-performance concrete. Due to the pozzolanic reaction between calcium hydroxide and silica fume, compared with that of Portland cement, the hydration of concrete containing silica fume is much more complex. In this paper, by considering the production of calcium hydroxide in cement hydration and its consumption in the pozzolanic reaction, a numerical model is proposed to simulate the hydration of concrete containing silica fume. The heat evolution rate of silica fume concrete is determined from the contribution of cement hydration and the pozzolanic reaction. Furthermore, the temperature distribution and temperature history in hardening blended concrete are evaluated based on the degree of hydration of the cement and the mineral admixtures. The proposed model is verified through experimental data on concrete with different water-to-cement ratios and mineral admixture substitution ratios.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.117-133
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• 2014

This study presents a rapid method for determining the steady state migration coefficient of concrete by measuring the electric current. This study determines the steady state chloride migration coefficient using the accelerated chloride migration test (ACMT). There are two stages to obtain the chloride migration coefficient. The first stage, the steady-state condition was obtained from the initial electric current at the beginning of ACMT. The second stage, the average electrical current in the steady state condition was used to determine the steady state chloride migration coefficient. The chloride migration coefficient can be determined from the average steady state current to avoid sampling and analyzing chlorides during the ACMT.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.75-91
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• 2013

In this paper, a new approach for cable layout design of pre-stressed concrete slabs is presented. To account the cable profile accurately, it is modelled by B-spline. Using the convex hull property of the B-spline, an efficient algorithm has been developed to obtain the cable layout for pre-stressed concrete slabs. For finite element computations, tendon and concrete are modelled by 3 noded bar and 20 noded brick elements respectively. The cable concrete interactions are precisely accounted using vector calculus formulae. Using the proposed technique a two way prestressed concrete slab has been successfully designed considering several design criteria.