• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.165-176
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• 2017

Multi-Axial Testing System (MATS) is a 6-DOF loading system located at National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) in Taiwan for advanced seismic testing of structural components or sub-assemblages. MATS was designed and constructed for a large variety of structural testing, especially for the specimens that require to be subjected to vertical and longitudinal loading simultaneously, such as reinforced concrete columns and lead rubber bearings. Functionally, MATS consists of a high strength self-reacting frame, a rigid platen, and a large number of servo-hydraulic actuators. The high strength self-reacting frame is composed of two post-tensioned A-shape reinforced concrete frames interconnected by a steel-and-concrete composite cross beam and a reinforced concrete reacting base. The specimen can be anchored between the top cross beam and the bottom rigid platen within a 5-meter high and 3.25-meter wide clear space. In addition to the longitudinal horizontal actuators that can be installed for various configurations, a total number of 13 servo-hydraulic actuators are connected to the rigid platen. Degree-of-freedom control of the rigid platen can be achieved by driving these actuators commanded by a digital controller. The specification and information of MATS in detail are described in this paper, providing the users with a technical point of view on the design, application, and limitation of MATS. Finally, future potential application employing advanced experimental technology is also presented in this paper.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.309-312
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• 2008

This paper describes ultimate load tests which were performed to show the effects of prestress loss and tendon corrosion on the flexural strength of post-tensioned concrete beams and the occurrence of wire fracture. Five test specimens were fabricated in laboratory with the variations of the prestress of tendons and the loss of tendon area. For two specimens, small area of tendon at the center of the beam was exposed by using diameter 25mm drill and the exposed tendon was corroded using accelerated corrosion equipment. During the tests, deflections, crack width, and strain changes were measured and acoustic events were monitored with two acoustic sensors. Tests results show that the ultimate flexural strength of test specimens with corroded tendons is smaller than the predicted flexural strength which is calculated considering the loss of tendon area. It is considered that estimation of flexural strength of PSC beams with corroded tendons is very complicated just based on the loss of tendon area obtained by one-side visual inspection.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.745-757
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• 2018

The inclusion of a ductile steel bracing as means of repairing an earthquake-damaged bridge bent is evaluated and experimentally assessed for the purposes of restoring the damaged bent's strength and stiffness and further improving the energy dissipation capacity. The study is focused on substandard reinforced concrete multi-column bridge bents constructed in the 1950 to mid-1970 in the United States. These types of bents have numerous deficiencies making them susceptible to seismic damage. Large-scale experiments were used on a two-column reinforced concrete bent to impose considerable damage of the bent through increasing amplitude cyclic deformations. The damaged bent was then repaired by installing a ductile fuse steel brace in the form of a buckling-restrained brace in a diagonal configuration between the columns and using post-tensioned rods to strengthen the cap beam. The brace was secured to the bent using steel gusset plate brackets and post-installed adhesive anchors. The repaired bent was then subjected to increasing amplitude cyclic deformations to reassess the bent performance. A subassemblage test of a nominally identical steel brace was also conducted in an effort to quantify and isolate the ductile fuse behavior. The experimental data from these large-scale experiments were analyzed in terms of the hysteretic response, observed damage, internal member loads, as well as the overall stiffness and energy dissipation characteristics. The results of this study demonstrated the effectiveness of utilizing ductile steel bracing for restoring the bent and preventing further damage to the columns and cap beams while also improving the stiffness and energy dissipation characteristics.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.409-417
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• 2010

This paper discusses a series of experiments including material improvement in order to ensure quality of grouting for the post-tensioned structure. In prestressed concrete, grouting refers to the construction procedure of filling empty space of duct enclosing with strands using cementitious material, To date, adequate quality control of the grouting has not been established in Korea because the relationship between the grouting and durability of post-tensioned structure is not well-recognized. The Korean standard does not consider the important material characteristic, wick effect, which is caused by strands in the ducts and current standard testing method unlikely quantify reasonable material segregation. As a result, the grout material, which meets the current material standards, may exhibit excessive bleeding water or shrinkage during construction. In this study, international codes and standards related to grouting were surveyed. The ratio of constituents and novel admixtures were suggested to meet equivalently with these standards. Performance of this enhanced grout was compared to common domestic grout using the international standard testing method. A series of mock-up specimens considering geometry of PC beam was constructed and grout flow pattern was observed as the grout was injected. It was observed that the grouting performance was highly influenced by material properties and filling characteristic can be varied depending on geometry of ducts.