• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.329-334
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• 2001

In this paper, the crack properties of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) structures for environment by experimental and analytical methods are discussed. The major role played by the steel fiber occurs in the post-cracking zone, in which the fibers bridge across the cracked matrix. Because of its improved ability to break crack, SFRC has better crack properties than that of reinforced concrete (RC). Crack properties are influenced by longitudinal reinforcement ratio, volume and type of steel fiber, strength of concrete.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.728-744
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• 2024

The presence of hydrogen absorbed by zirconium-based cladding materials during reactor operation can trigger degradation mechanisms and endanger the rod integrity. Ensuring the durability of the rods in extended time-frames like dry storage requires anticipating hydrogen behavior using numerical modeling. In this context, the present paper describes a hydrogen post-processing tool for Falcon - HYPE, a PSI's in-house tool able to calculate hydrogen uptake, transport, thermochemistry, reorientation of hydrides and hydrogen-related failure criteria. The tool extracts all necessary data from a Falcon output file; therefore, it can be considered loosely coupled to Falcon. HYPE has been successfully validated against experimental data and applied to reactor operation and interim storage scenarios to present its capabilities.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.131-136
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to investigate effects of microstructure control on hydrogen diffusivity, trap activation energy, and cracking behaviors of high-strength steel using a range of experimental techniques. Results of this study showed that susceptibility to hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) was significantly associated with hydrogen diffusivity and trap activation energy, which were primarily influenced by the microstructure. On the other hand, microstructural modifications had no significant impact on electrochemical polarization behavior on the surface at an early corrosion stage. To ensure high resistance to HIC of the steel, it is recommended to increase the cooling rate during normalizing to avoid formation of banded pearlite in the microstructure. However, it is also essential to establish optimal heat treatment conditions to ensure that proportions of bainite, retained austenite (RA), and martensite-austenite (MA) constituents are not too high. Additionally, post-heat treatment at below A₁ temperature is desired to decompose locally distributed RA and MA constituents.

• KCI Concrete Journal
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.181-189
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• 1999

An experimental study was performed on the Pull-out behavior of 90-deg standard hooks from the exterior beam-column connections. the effects of the number of hooked bars and fiber reinforcement of the joint area were investigated with the following conclusions : (1) Under the pull-out action of hooked bars. the damage and cracking of joint area the number of hooks pulling out from a joint increases; (2) Substitution of the transverse column (confining) reinforcement with steel fibers at the joint region effectively reduces the extent of cracking in exterior joints caused by the pull-out of hooked bars; (3) The pull-out strength and post-peak ductility of hooked bars are adversely influenced by the increase in number of hooks pulling out from an exterior joint. Current hooked bar anchorage design guidelines may be improved by considering the effect of the number of hooked bars on anchorage conditions at the exterior joints; and (4) The strength and ductility of hooked bars under pull-out forces are positively influenced by substituting the conventional confining reinforcement of exterior joints with steel fibers . The application of steel fibers to the exterior joints is an effective technique for improving the anchorage conditions of hooked bars, and also for reducing the congestion of reinforcement in the beam-column connections.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.607-622
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• 2018

A non-linear finite element model (FEM) was constructed using a three-dimensional software (ATENA-3D) to investigate the effect of strengthening on the behavior of prestressed hollow-core (PHC) slabs with or without openings. The slabs were strengthened using near surface mounted (NSM)-carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. The constructed model was validated against experimental results that were previously reported by the authors. The validated FEM was then used to conduct an extensive parametric study to examine the influence of prestressing reinforcement ratio, compressive strength of concrete and strengthening reinforcement ratio on the behavior of such slabs. The FEM results showed good agreement with the experimental results where it captured the cracking, yielding, and ultimate loads as well as the mid-span deflection with a reasonable accuracy. Also, an overall enhancement in the structural performance of these slabs was achieved with an increase in prestressing reinforcement ratio, compressive strength of concrete, external reinforcement ratio. The presence of openings with different dimensions along the flexural or shear spans reduced significantly the capacity of the PHC slabs. However, strengthening these slabs with 2 and 4 (64 and $128mm^2$ that represent reinforcement ratios of 0.046 and 0.092%) CFRP strips was successful in restoring the original strength of the slab and enhancing post-cracking stiffness and load carrying capacity.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.639-644
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• 2000

Prestressing steels are susceptible to corrosion, which is considered the major reason in the deterioration of prestressed concrete structures. To solve this problem, many research have been made to utilize new type of tendons. FRP tendons have many advantages compared to steel tendons. However, FRP tendons have some disadvantages, such as no plastic behavior. This study focused on the flexural behavior of prestresssed concrete beams which is fabricated by post-tensioning method with CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic) tendons. Th results drawn from the study, prestressed concrete beams with CFRP tendons have higher flexural cracking load, flexural yielding load, and flexural fracture load. While displacement at the fracture stage is lower compared to prestressed concrete beams with steel tendon. Excessive steel reinforcement lead lower ductility index. So, appropriate reinforcement guideline is needed. Further more, prestressed concrete beams with CFRP tendons can have sufficient ductility index when ruptured by crushing of concrete or used unbonded tendon. Therefore, the best design method for prestressed concrete beams with CFRP tendons is over-reinforcement, and use of unbonded tendon.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.861-864
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• 2008

This study was performanced to investigate the fractural and fatigue behavior of ultra-strength steel fiber reinforcement concrete. The tension softening diagram can describe the post-cracking behavior of concrete in tension. In this paper, Three points bending tests with a notch have been carried out to investigate tensile properties of the steel fiber reinforced concrete(SFRC) according to variation of the height. Poly-linear approximation method combined with FEM analysis is applied to the steel fiber reinforced concrete to determine the tension softening diagrams and also to certify the validity of the method. The simulated load-CMOD curves using the determined softening diagrams though the poly-linear approximation method completely agree with the measured ones.

• KCI Concrete Journal
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.85-93
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• 2000

Potentially significant mechanical improvements in tension can be achieved by the incorporation of randomly distributed, short discrete fibers in concrete. The improvements due to the incorporation fibers significantly influence the composite stress - strain ($\sigma$-$\varepsilon$) characteristics. In general incorporating fibers in a plain concrete has relatively small effect on its precracking behavior. It, however, alters its post-cracking behavior quite significantly, resulting in greatly improved ductility, crack controls, and energy absorption capacity (or toughness). Therefore, a thorough understanding the complete tensile stress - strain ($\sigma$-$\varepsilon$) response of fiber reinforced concrete is necessary for proper analysis while using structural components made with fiber reinforced concrete. Direct tensile stress applied to a specimen is in principle the simplest configuration for determining the tensile response of concrete. However, problems associated with testing brittle materials in tension include (i) the problem related to gripping of the specimen and (ii) the problem of ensuring centric loading. Routinely, indirect tension tests for plain concrete, flexural and split-cylinder tests, have been used as simpler alternatives to direct uniaxial tension test. They are assumed to suitable for fiber reinforced concrete since typically such composites comprise 98% by volume of plain concrete. Clearly since the post-cracking characteristics are significantly influenced by the reinforcing parameters and interface characteristics, it would be fundamentally incorrect to use indirect tensile tests for determining the tensile properties of fiber reinforced concrete. The present investigation represents a systematic look at the failure and toughening mechanisms and macroscopic stress - strain ($\sigma$-$\varepsilon$) characteristics of fiber reinforced concrete in the uniaxial tension test. Results from an experimental parametric study involving used fiber quantity, type, and mechanical properties in the uniaxial tension test are presented and discussed.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.273-280
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• 2011

Ten high-strength concrete beam specimens, which have various combinations of different types of flexural reinforcement and short fibers were constructed and tested. Six beams were reinforced with two layers of steel, CFRP, and GFRP bar combinations. The other four beams were reinforced with two layers of single type CFRP and GFRP bars, with steel and synthetic short fibers. An investigation was performed on the influence of the parameters on the load-carrying capacity, post cracking stiffness, cracking pattern, deflection behavior, and ductility. The low post cracking stiffness, large deflection, deep crack propagation, large crack width, and low ductility of FRP bar-reinforced beams were controlled and improved by positioning steel bars in the inner layer of the FRP bar layer. In addition, the addition of fibers increased the first-cracking load, ultimate flexural strength, and ductility as well as the deep propagating cracks were controlled in the FRP bar-reinforced concrete beams. The increased ultimate concrete strain of fiber-reinforced concrete should be determined and considered when FRP bar-reinforced concrete members with fibers are designed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.89 no.6
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• pp.617-626
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• 2024

The study investigated the behavior of plain and fibered Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) beams under varying loading conditions using integrated analysis of the flexure and acoustic emission tests. The loading rate of testing is -0.25 -2 mm/min. It is observed that on increasing loading rate, flexural strength increases, and toughness decreases. The acoustic emission testing revealed that higher loading rates accelerate crack propagation. Fiber effect and matrix cracking are identified as significant contributors to the release of acoustic emission energy, with fiber rupture/failure and matrix cracking showing rate-dependent behavior. Crack classification analysis indicated that the rise angle (RA) value decreased under quasi-static loading. The average frequency (AF) value increased with the loading rate, but this trend reversed under rate-dependent conditions. K-means analysis identified distinct clusters of crack types with unique frequency and duration characteristics at different loading rates. Furthermore, the historic index and signal strength decreased with increasing loading rate after peak capacity, while the severity index increased in the post-peak zone, indicating more severe damage. The sudden rise in the historic index and cumulative signal strength indicates the possibility of several occurrences, such as the emergence of a significant crack, shifts in cracking modes, abrupt failure, or notable fiber debonding/pull-out. Moreover, there is a distinct rise in the number of AE knees corresponding to the increase in loading rate. The crack mapping from acoustic emission testing aligned with observed failure patterns, validating its use in structural health monitoring.