• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.5
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• pp.693-707
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• 2023

In order to deeply reveal the working mechanism of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) filled steel tubular columns (UHPCFSTs) under cyclic loading, a three-dimension (3D) macro-mesoscale finite element (FE) model was established considering the randomness of steel fibers and the damage of UHPC. Model correctness and reliability were verified based on the experimental results. Next, the whole failure process of UHPC reinforced with steel fibers, passive confinement effect and internal force distribution laws were comprehensively analyzed and discussed. Finally, a simplified and practical method was proposed for predicting the ultimate bending strengths of UHPCFSTs. It was found that the non-uniform confinement effect of steel tube occurred when the drift ratio exceeded 0.5%, while the confining stress increased then decreased afterwards. There was preferable synergy between the steel tube and UHPC until failure. Compared with experimental results, the ultimate bending strengths of UHPCFSTs were undervalued by the current code provisions such as AISC360-10, EC4 and GB50936 with computed mean values (MVs) of 0.855, 0.880 and 0.836, respectively. The proposed practical method was highly accurate, as evidenced by a mean value of 1.058.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.437-438
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• 2010

This study was carry out to evaluate the effect of flexural behavior according to using hybrid steel fiber in UHPC. The evaluation of the flexural behavior of UHPC using hybrid fibers showed that the admixing of hybrid steel fibers at a volumic ratio of 2% increased the flexural strength by more than 27% (maximum 50%) compared to the use of steel fibers only. A ratio of 1.5% was seen to provide flexural strength exceeding the current strength of UHPC.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2022.11a
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• pp.65-66
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• 2022

In this study, the setting characteristics of the high range water reducing agent to minimize the retardation of UHPC were confirmed to minimize the setting time in the hardening of UHPC. As a result of the study, there was a slight change depending on the difference in the type of Superplasticizer, K > P > D = S > E in the order of condensation promotion, and E > S = D = K > P on the 28th day.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 2017

Ultra high performance concrete is inevitably used in case of skyscraper and super long span bridge. In general, the flexural and the tensile strengths of concrete are lower than the compressive strength, so brittle cracks occur and energy absorption ability is lowered. In order to solve this problem, this study is intended to examine the effect of the steel fiber volume fraction and aspect ratio on the mechanical properties of ultra high performance concrete. In series I, 20-mm straight steel fiber was added with a volume fraction of 0, 1.0, 1.3, 1.5 and 2.0%. In series II, 16-mm steel fiber was added with a volume fraction of 0, 1, and 1.5%, and then mechanical properties were examined according to aspect ratio. In the results of experiment, a difference in compressive strength was insignificant. However, regarding the flexural strength and tensile strength, as the volume fraction and aspect ratio increased, flexural performance and tensile performance improved.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.71-79
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• 2020

Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is recognized as a promising material in future civil engineering projects due to its outstanding mechanical and durability properties. However, the lack of local UHPC materials and official standards, especially for prestressed UHPC structures, has limited the application of UHPC. In this research, a large-scale prestressed bridge girder composed of nonproprietary UHPC is produced and investigated. This work has two objectives to develop the mixing procedure required to create UHPC in large batches and to study the flexural behavior of the prestressed girder. The results demonstrate that a sizeable batch of UHPC can be produced by using a conventional concrete mixing system at any precast factory. In addition, incorporating local aggregates and using conventional mixing systems enables regional widespread use. The flexural behavior of a girder made by this UHPC is investigated including flexural strength, cracking pattern and development, load-deflection curve, and strain and neutral axis behaviors through a comprehensive bending test. The experimental data is similar to the theoretical results from analytical methods based on several standards and recommendations of UHPC design.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.603-617
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• 2017

This paper presents investigation into the behavior of beam-column joints, with the joint region concrete being replaced by steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) and by ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). A total of ten beam-column joint specimens (BCJ) were tested experimentally to failure under monotonic and cyclic loading, with the beam section being subjected to flexural loading and the column to combined flexural and axial loading. The joint region essentially transferred shear and axial stresses as received from the column. Steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) were used as an innovative construction and/or strengthening scheme for some of the BCJ specimens. The reinforced concrete specimens were reinforced with longitudinal steel rebar, 18 mm, and some specimens were reinforced with an additional two ties in the joint region. The results showed that using SFRC and UHPC as a replacement concrete for the BCJ improved the joint shear strength and the load carrying capacity of the hybrid specimens. The mode of failure was also converted from a non-desirable joint shear failure to a preferred beam flexural failure. The effect of the ties in the SFRC and UHPC joint regions could not be observed due to the beam flexural failure. Several models were used in estimating the joint shear strength for different BCJ specimens. The results showed that the existing models yielded wide-ranging values. A new concept to take into account the influence of column axial load on the shear strength of beam-column joints is also presented, which demonstrates that the recommended values for concrete tensile strength for determination of joint shear strength need to be amended for joints subject to moderate to high axial loads. Furthermore, finite element model (FEM) simulation to predict the behaviour of the hybrid BCJ specimens was also carried out in an ABAQUS environment. The result of the FEM modelling showed good agreement with experimental results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.103-118
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• 2020

The static behavior of grouped large-headed studs (d = 30 mm) embedded in ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) was investigated by conducting push-out tests and numerical analysis. In the push-out test, no splitting cracks were found in the UHPC slab, and the shank failure control the shear capacity, indicating the large-headed stud matches well with the mechanical properties of UHPC. Besides, it is found that the shear resistance of the stud embedded in UHPC is 11.4% higher than that embedded in normal strength concrete, indicating that the shear resistance was improved. Regarding the numerical analysis, the parametric study was conducted to investigate the influence of the concrete strength, aspect ratio of stud, stud diameter, and the spacing of stud in the direction of shear force on the shear performance of the large-headed stud. It is found that the stud diameter and stud spacing have an obvious influence on the shear resistance. Based on the test and numerical analysis results, a formula was established to predict the load-slip relationship. The comparison indicates that the predicted results agree well with the test results. To accurately predict the shear resistance of the stud embedded in UHPC, a design equation for shear strength is proposed. The ratio of the calculation results to the test results is 0.99.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.111-121
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• 2020

There has been increasing interest in UHPC (Ultra-High Performance Concrete) materials in recent years. Owing to the superior mechanical properties and durability, the UHPC has been widely used for the design of various types of structures. In this paper, machine learning based compressive strength prediction methods of the UHPC are proposed. Various regression-based machine learning models were built to train dataset. For train and validation, 110 data samples collected from the literatures were used. Because the proportion between the compressive strength and its composition is a highly nonlinear, more advanced regression models are demanded to obtain better results. The complex relationship between mixture proportion and concrete compressive strength can be predicted by using the selected regression method.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.413-421
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• 2020

For steel-concrete girders made composite using shear studs, initial damage on studs induced by weld defect, unexpected overloading, fatigue and others might degrade the service performance and even threaten the structural safety. This paper conducted a numerical study to investigate the static behavior of damaged stud shear connectors that were embedded in ultra high performance concrete (UHPC). Parameters included damage degree and damage location. The material nonlinear behavior was characterized by multi-linear stress-strain relationship and damage plasticity model. The results indicated that the shear strength was not sensitive to the damage degree when the damage occurred at 2/3d (d is the stud diameter) from the stud root. An increased stud area would be engaged in resisting shear force as the distance of damage location from stud root increased and the failure section becomes inclined, resulting in a less reduction in the shear strength and shear stiffness. The reduction factor was proposed to consider the degradation of the shear strength of the damaged stud. The reduction factor can be calculated using two approaches: a linear relationship and a square relationship with the damage degree corresponding to the shear strength dominated by the section area and the nominal diameter of the damaged stud. It was found that the proposed method is preferred to predict the shear strength of a stud with initial damage.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.459-467
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• 2020

Mechanical and thermal properties of composite sandwich wall panels are affected by changes in their external environment. Humidity and temperature changes induce stress on wall panels and their core connectors. Under the action of ambient temperature, temperature on the outer layer of the wall panel changes greatly, while that on the inner layer only changes slightly. As a result, stress concentration exists at the intersection of the connector and the wall blade. In this paper, temperature field and stress field distribution of UHPC-RW-RC (Ultra-High Performance Concrete - Rock Wool - Reinforced Concrete) wall panel under high temperature-sprinkling and heating-freezing conditions were investigated by using the general finite element software ABAQUS. Additionally, design of the connection between the wall panel and the main structure is proposed. Findings may serve as a scientific reference for design of high performance composite sandwich wall panels.