• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.121-130
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• 2007

To investigate the enhancement in strength and deformation capacities of concrete confined by FRP composites, tests under axial loads were carried out on three groups of thirty six short columns in circular section with diverse GFRP confining reinforcement. The major test variables considered include fiber content or orientation, wrap or tube type by varying the end loading condition, and continuous or discontinuous confinement depending on the presence of vortical spices between its two halves. The circumferential FRP strains at failure for different types of confinements were also investigated with emphasis. Various analytical models capable of predicting the ultimate strength and strain of the confined concrete were examined by comparing to observed results. Tests results showed that FRP wraps or tubes provide the substantial increase in strength and deformation, while partial wraps comprising the vertical discontinuities fail in an explosive manner with less increase in strength, particularly in deformation. A bilinear stress-strain response was observed throughout all tests with some variations of strain hardening. The failure hoop strains measured on the FRP surface were less than those obtained from the tensile coupons in all tests with a high degree of variation. In overall, existing predictive equations overestimated ultimate strengths and strains observed in present tests, with a much larger scatter related to the latter. For more accuracy, two simple design- oriented equations correlated with present tests are proposed. The strength equation was derived using the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, whereas the strain equation was based on entirely fitting of test data including the unconfined concrete strength as one of governing factors.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.45-49
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• 2008

For the development of superconducting fault current limiters (SFCLs), fault current limiting elements were fabricated out of Bi-2212 bulk tubes and tested. The SFCL elements consisted of tube shaped Bi-2212 bulks and metal shunts for the stabilizers. Firstly, the Bi-2212 bulk tubes were processed based on a design of monofilar coils in order to acquire large resistance and high voltage rating. 300 mm-long Bi-2212 tubes were designed to have the current path of 410 cm in length with 24 turns and 41 mm in diameter. The processed monofilar coil, as designed, had 300 A $I_c$ at 77 K. The fabricated superconducting monofilar coils were affixed to Cu-Ni alloy as that of stabilizers. The Cu-Ni alloys were processed to have the same shape of the superconducting monofilar coils. The Cu-Ni coil had resistivity of 32 ${\mu}{\Omega}$-cm at 77 K and 37 ${\mu}{\Omega}$-cm at 300 K. The metal shunts were attached to the outside of the Bi-2212 monofilar coil by a soldering technique. After the terminals made of copper were attached to both ends of the superconductor-metal shunt composite, the gap between the turns and the surface of the elements was filled with an epoxy and a dense mesh made of FRP in order to enhance the mechanical strength. The completed SFCL elements went through fault tests, and we confirmed that the voltage rating of 143 $V_{rms}$ (E =0.35 $V_{rms}$/cm) could be accomplished.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.43-52
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• 2007

There is a growing range of applications for concrete-filled steel tube (CFT) member because of its superior performance. But a CFT member may be uneconomical or has weight problems because it is fully filled with concrete. In this study, a new type of member, called internally confined hollow (ICH) CFT member, was developed to solve the high cost and weight problems of the CFT member. To determine stress-strain model of the concrete in an ICH CFT column, possible failure modes of an ICH CFT column were suggested and confining pressure was derived from equilibriums for each failure mode. From the derived equations, a computer program was coded and parametric studies were performed for some examples. Analytical results showed that internally confined concrete has enhanced strength and ductility compared with those of unconfined or biaxially confined concrete.