• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.735-757
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• 2022

The behavior of shear deficient under-balanced reinforced concrete beams with rectangular cross-sections, which were externally strengthened with CFRP composite along shear spans, was experimentally investigated under vertical load. One of the specimens represents a reference beam without CFRP strengthening and the other specimens have different width/strip spacing ratios (w_f/s_f). The optimum strip in terms of w_f/s_f, which will bring the beam behavior to the ideal level in terms of strength and ductility, was determined according to the regulations. When the w_f/s_f ratio exceeds 0.55, the behavior of the beam shifted from shear failure to bending failure. However, it has been observed that the w_f/s_f ratio should be increased up to 0.82 in order for the beam to reach sufficient shear reserve value according to the codes. It is also observed that the direction and weight of the CFRP composite are one of the most critical factors and 240 gr/m² CFRP strips experienced sudden ruptures in the shear span after the cracking of the concrete. It is considered as a deficiency that the empirical shear capacity formulas given for the beams reinforced with CFRP in the regulations do not take into account both direction and weight of CFRP composites.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.797-818
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• 2022

Steel-precast ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) composite beams with demountable high-strength friction-grip bolt (HSFGB) shear connectors can be used for accelerated bridge construction (ABC) and achieve excellent structural performance, which is expected to be dismantled and recycled at the end of the service life. However, no investigation focuses on the demountability and reusability of such composite beams, as well as the installation difficulties during construction. To address this issue, this study conducted twelve push-out tests to investigate the effects of assembly condition, bolt grade, bolt-hole clearance, infilling grout and pretension on the crack pattern, failure mode, load-slip/uplift relationship, and the structural performance in terms of ultimate shear strength, friction resistance, shear stiffness and slip capacity. The experimental results demonstrated that the presented composite beams exhibited favorable demountability and reusability, in which no significant reduction in strength (less than 3%) and stiffness (less than 5%), but a slight improvement in ductility was observed for the reassembled specimens. Employing oversized preformed holes could ease the fabrication and installation process, yet led to a considerable degradation in both strength and stiffness. With filling the oversized holes with grout, an effective enhancement of the strength and stiffness can be achieved, while causing a difficulty in the demounting of shear connectors. On the basis of the experimental results, more accurate formulations, which considered the effect of bolt-hole clearance, were proposed to predict the shear strength as well as the load-slip relationship of HSFGBs in steel-precast UHPC composite beams.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.269-287
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• 2023

The WGJ420 fire-resistant weathering (FRW) steel is developed and manufactured with standard yield strength of 420 MPa at room temperature, which is expected to significantly enhance the performance of steel structures with excellent fire and corrosion resistances, strong seismic capacity, high strength and ductility, good resilience and robustness. In this paper, the mechanical properties of FRW steel plates and buckling behavior of columns are investigated through tests at elevated temperatures. The stress-strain curves, mechanical properties of FRW steel such as modulus of elasticity, proof strength, tensile strength, as well as corresponding reduction factors are obtained and discussed. The recommended constitutive model based on the Ramberg-Osgood relationship, as well as the relevant formulas for mechanical properties are proposed, which provide fundamental mechanical parameters and references. A total of 12 FRW steel welded I-section columns with different slenderness ratios and buckling load ratios are tested under standard fire to understand the global buckling behavior in-depth. The influences of boundary conditions on the buckling failure modes as well as the critical temperatures are also investigated. In addition, the temperature distributions at different sections/locations of the columns are obtained. It is found that the buckling deformation curve can be divided into four stages: initial expansion stage, stable stage, compression stage and failure stage. The fire test results concluded that the residual buckling capacities of FRW steel columns are substantially higher than the conventional steel columns at elevated temperatures. Furthermore, the numerical results show good agreement with the fire test results in terms of the critical temperature and maximum axial elongation. Finally, the critical temperatures between the numerical results and various code/standard curves (GB 51249, Eurocode 3, AS 4100, BS 5950 and AISC) are compared and verified both in the buckling resistance domain and in the temperature domain. It is demonstrated that the FRW steel columns have sufficient safety redundancy for fire resistance when they are designed according to current codes or standards.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2023

Various efforts have been made to reduce the weight of concrete slabs while preserving their flexural strength. This will result in reducing deflection and allows the utilization of longer spans. The top zone of the slab requires concrete to create the compression block for flexural strength, and the tension zone needs concrete to join with reinforcing for flexural strength. Also, the top and bottom slab faces must be linked to transmit stresses. Voided slab systems were and are still used to make long-span slab buildings lighter. Eight slab specimens of (1000^*1000 (1000^*1000 mm²) were cast and tested as two-way simply supported slabs in this research. The tested specimens consist of one solid slab and seven voided slabs with the following variables (type of slab solid and voided), thickness of slab (100 and 125 mm), presence of steel fibers (0% and 1%), and the number of GFRP layers). The voids in slabs were made using high-density polystyrene of dimensions (200^*200^*50 mm) with a central hole of dimensions (50^*50^*50 mm) at the ineffective concrete zones to give a reduction in weight by (34% to 38%). The slabs were tested as simply supported slabs under partial uniform loading. The results of specimens subjected to monotonic loading show that the combined strengthening by steel fibers and GFRP sheets of the concrete specimen (V-125-2GF-1%) shows the least deflection, deflection (4.6 mm), good ultimate loading capacity (192 MPa), large stiffness at cracking and at ultimate (57 and 41.74) respectively, more ductility (1.44), and high energy absorption (1344.83 kN.mm); so it's the best specimen that can be used as a voided slab under this type of loading.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.5A
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• pp.503-510
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• 2009

Latex modified concrete (LMC) is a successful polymer-portland cement concretes, which have been developed and used for many years, in overlaying bridge decks and resurfacing industrial floors. The excellent bond strength to substrate, easy application and high resistance to impact, abrasion, wear, aggressive chemicals and freeze-thaw deterioration have made this material used widely. The objective of this study was to determine experimentally the load-deflection response and ultimate strength of reinforced RC beams. The cracking patterns and the mode of failure were observed. Because of excellent bond strength and repairing effects, the RC beams repaired by LMC at compression or tension zone showed over 100% recovery from damaged structures. The RC beams overlaid by LMC showed significant improvement at load carrying capacity as overlay thickness increases. However, the beams repaired of tension zone without shear stirrups almost showed no strengthen effect, and indicated an interfacial failures. The interfacial behavior was estimated by numerical method adopting the concept of shear flow.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.175-193
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• 2023

Stainless steel-concrete composite beam has become an attractive structural form for offshore bridges and iconic high-rise buildings, owing to the superior corrosion resistance and excellent ductility of stainless steel material. In a composite beam, stainless steel shear connectors play an important role by establishing the interconnection between stainless steel beam and concrete slab. To enable the best use of high strength stainless steel shear connectors in composite beams, high strength concrete is recommended. To date, the application of stainless steel shear connectors in composite beams is still very limited due to the lack of research and proper design recommendations. In this paper, a total of seven pushout specimens were tested to investigate the load-slip behaviour of stainless steel shear connectors. A thorough discussion has been made on the differences between stainless steel bolted connectors and welded studs, in terms of the failure modes, load-slip behaviour and ultimate shear resistance. In parallel with the experimental programme, a finite element model was developed in ABAQUS to simulate the behaviour of stainless steel shear connectors, with which the effects of shear connector strength, concrete strength and embedded connector height to diameter ratio (h/d) were evaluated. The obtained experimental and numerical results were analysed and compared with existing codes of practice, including AS/NZS 2327, EN 1994-1-1 and ANSI/AISC 360-16. The comparison results indicated that the current codes need to be improved for the design of high strength stainless steel shear connectors. On this basis, modified design approaches were proposed to predict the shear capacity of stainless steel bolted connectors and welded studs in the composite beams.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.6A
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• pp.853-859
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• 2008

As a new system of steel pipe pile cap reinforcement, the application of perforated flat bar bolted to the steel pipe pile head was suggested for the improvement of structural performance of footing structure. This study investigates the structural characteristics of perforated flat bar shear connectors according to shape and diameter of hole, number of rebars passing through the hole and the depth of settlement. The result shows several requirements to ensure sufficient pull-out resistance and ductility such as that the hole diameter excluding diameter of rebar should exceed the size of aggregates; the hole should be perforated with diameter as the half of plate height; and the adequate depth of settlement should be ensured for the optimal performance.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.135-142
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the effect of water-binder ratio and fiber type on the compressive strength and tensile performance of fiber reinforced highly ductile composites. To achieve this, four different mixtures were prepared by varying the water-binder ratio and fiber type, and compression and tension tests were conducted. The test results showed that the influence of fiber type on compressive strength was minimal, however, the WB50 series mixture exhibited a 29 % lower strength compared to the WB40 series mixture, indicating a significant effect of the water-binder ratio. On the other hand, the effect of fiber type on tensile properties was found to be more significant than that of the water-binder ratio. Tensile strain capacity ranged from 2.9 % to 6.2 %, with PE series mixtures showing 1.63 to 2.14 times higher performance compared to PVA series mixtures. Additionally, the crack patterns of the PE series mixtures were superior than those of the PVA series mixtures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.3
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• pp.313-323
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• 2024

Most of existing buildings in Mexico City are made of reinforced concrete (RC), however, it has been shown that they are very susceptible to narrow-band long duration ground motions. In recent years, the use of dual systems composed by Buckling Restrained Braces (BRB) has increased due to its high energy dissipation capacity under reversible cyclical loads. Therefore, in this work the behavior of RC buildings with BRB is studied in order to know their performance, specifically, the energy distribution through height and response transformation factors between the RC and simplified systems are estimated. For this propose, seven RC buildings with different heights were designed according to the Mexico City Seismic Design Provisions (MCSDP), in addition, equivalent single degree of freedom (SDOF) systems were obtained. Incremental dynamic analyses on the buildings under 30 narrow-band ground motions in order to compute the relationship between normalized hysteretic energy, maximum inter-story drift and roof displacement demands were performed. The results shown that the entire structural frames participate in energy dissipation and their distribution is independent of the global ductility. The results let propose energy distribution equations through height. Finally, response transformation factors between the SDOF and multi degree of freedom (MDOF) systems were developed aimed to propose a new energy-based approach of BRB reinforced concrete buildings.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.243-260
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• 2024

Thirteen self-compacting recycled concrete filled aluminium tubular (SCRCFAT) columns were tested under concentric compression loads. The effects of the replacement ratio of the recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) and steel fibre (SF) reinforcement on the structural performance of the SCRCFAT columns were studied. A control specimen (C000) was cast with normal concrete without SF to be reference for comparison. Twelve columns were cast using RCA, six columns were cast using concrete incorporating 2% SF while the rest of columns were cast without SF. Failure mode, ductility, ultimate load capacity, axial deformation, ultimate strains, stress-strain response, and stiffness of the SCRCFAT columns were studied. The results showed that, the peak load of tested SCRCFAT columns incorporating 5-100 % RCA without SF reduced by 2.33-11.28 % compared to that of C000. Conversely, the peak load of tested SCRCFAT columns incorporating 5-100% RCA in addition to 2% SF increased by 21.1-40.25%, compared to C000. Consequently, the ultimate axial deformation (Δ) of column C100 (RCA=100% and SF 0%) increased by about 118.9 % compared to C000. The addition of 2% SF to the concrete mix decreased the axial deformation of SCRCFAT columns compared to those cast with 0% SF. Moreover, the stiffness of the columns cast without SF decreased as the RCA % increased. In contrast, the columns stiffness cast with 2% SF increased by 26.28-89.7 % over that of C000. Finally, a theoretical model was proposed to predict the ultimate loads tested SCRCFAT columns and the obtained theoretical results agreed well with the experimental results.