• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.577-594
• /
• 2023

Engineered cementitious composites with calcined clay limestone cement (LC³-ECC) as a kind of green, low-carbon and high toughness concrete, has recently received significant investigation. However, the complicated relationship between potential influential factors and LC³-ECC compressive strength makes the prediction of LC³-ECC compressive strength difficult. Regarding this, the machine learning-based prediction models for the compressive strength of LC³-ECC concrete is firstly proposed and developed. Models combine three novel meta-heuristic algorithms (golden jackal optimization algorithm, butterfly optimization algorithm and whale optimization algorithm) with support vector regression (SVR) to improve the accuracy of prediction. A new dataset about LC³-ECC compressive strength was integrated based on 156 data from previous studies and used to develop the SVR-based models. Thirteen potential factors affecting the compressive strength of LC³-ECC were comprehensively considered in the model. The results show all hybrid SVR prediction models can reach the Coefficient of determination (R²) above 0.95 for the testing set and 0.97 for the training set. Radar and Taylor plots also show better overall prediction performance of the hybrid SVR models than several traditional machine learning techniques, which confirms the superiority of the three proposed methods. The successful development of this predictive model can provide scientific guidance for LC³-ECC materials and further apply to such low-carbon, sustainable cement-based materials.

• Fibers and Polymers
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.187-197
• /
• 2004

The compressive and flexural properties of hemp fiber reinforced concretes (FRC) were examined in this paper. Natural hemp fiber was mixed using dry and wet mixing methods to fabricate the FRC. Mechanical properties of the FRC were investigated. The main factors affecting compressive and flexural properties of the FRC materials were evaluated with an orthogonal test design. Fiber content by weight has the largest effect. The method for casting hemp FRC has been optimised. Under the optimum conditions, compressive strength increased by 4 %, flexural strength increased by 9 %, flexural toughness increased by 144 %, and flexural toughness index increased by 214 %.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.52-59
• /
• 2015

The aim of the paper is to introduce the statistical definition of the specified compressive strength of the concrete to be used for safety evaluation of the existing structure in domestic practice and to present the practical method to obtain the specified strength by utilizing the non-destructive test data as well as the limited number of core test data. The statistical definition of the specified compressive strength of concrete in the design codes is reviewed and the consistent formulations to statistically estimate the specified strength for assessment are described. In order to prevent estimating an unrealistically small value of the specified strength due to limited number of data, it is proposed that the information from the non-destructive test data is combined to that of the minimum core test data. The the sample mean, standard deviation and total number of concrete test are obtained from combined test data. The proposed procedures are applied to an example test data composed of the artificial numerical values and the actual evaluation data collected from the bridge assessment reports. The calculation results show that the proposed statistical estimation procedures yield reasonable values of the specified strength for assessment by applying the non-destructive test data in addition to the limited number of core test data.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.48 no.5
• /
• pp.643-660
• /
• 2013

Reinforced concrete structures are vulnerable to high temperature conditions such as those during a fire. At elevated temperatures, the mechanical properties of concrete and reinforcing steel as well as the bond between steel rebar and concrete may significantly deteriorate. The changes in the bonding behavior may influence the flexibility or the moment capacity of the reinforced concrete structures. The bond strength degradation is required for structural design of fire safety and structural repair after fire. However, the investigation of bonding between rebar and concrete at elevated temperatures is quite difficult in practice. In this study, bond constitutive relationships are developed for normal and high-strength concrete (NSC and HSC) subjected to fire, with the intention of providing efficient modeling and to specify the fire-performance criteria for concrete structures exposed to fire. They are developed for the following purposes at high temperatures: normal and high compressive strength with different type of aggregates, bond strength with different types of embedment length and cooling regimes, bond strength versus to compressive strength with different types of embedment length, and bond stress-slip curve. The proposed relationships at elevated temperature are compared with experimental results.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.577-591
• /
• 2016

In this study, the transfer length of 2400 MPa, seven-wire high-strength steel strands with a 15.2 mm diameter in pretensioned prestressed concrete (PSC) beams utilizing high strength concrete over 58 MPa at prestress release was evaluated experimentally. 32 specimens, which have the variables of concrete compressive strength, concrete cover depth, and the number of PS strands, were fabricated and corresponding transfer lengths were measured. The strands were released gradually by slowly reducing the pressure in the hydraulic stressing rams. The measured results of transfer length showed that the transfer length decreased as the concrete compressive strength and concrete cover depth increased. The number of strands had a very small effect, and the effect varied with both the concrete cover depth and concrete strength. The results were compared to current design codes and transfer lengths predicted by other researchers. The comparison results showed that the current transfer length prediction models in design codes may be conservatively used for 2400 MPa high-strength strands in high-strength concrete beams exceeding 58 MPa at prestress release.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.41-55
• /
• 2015

In this paper, a model for the evaluation of shear strength of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP)-reinforced concrete beams is given. The survey of literature indicates that the FRP reinforced beams tested with shear span to depth ratio less than or equal to 1.0 is limited. In this study, eight concrete beams reinforced with GFRP rebars without stirrups are cast and tested over shear span to depth ratio of 0.5 and 1.75. The concrete compressive strength is varied from 40.6 to 65.3 MPa. The longitudinal reinforcement ratio is varied from 1.16 to 1.75. The experimental shear strength and load-deflection response of the beams are determined and reported in this paper. A model is proposed for the prediction of shear strength of beams reinforced with FRP bars. The proposed model accounts for compressive strength of concrete, modulus of FRP rebar, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, shear span to depth ratio and size effect of beams. The shear strength of FRP reinforced concrete beams predicted using the proposed model is found to be in better agreement with the corresponding test data when compared with the shear strength predicted using the eleven models published in the literature. Design example of FRP reinforced concrete beam is also given in the appendix.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.739-760
• /
• 2016

This paper reports on punching shear behavior of reinforced concrete panels, investigated experimentally and through finite element simulation. The aim of the study was to examine the punching shear of high strength concrete panels incorporating different types of aggregate and silica fume, in order to assess the validity of the existing code models with respect to the role of compressive and tensile strength of high strength concrete. The variables in concrete mix design include three types of coarse aggregates and three water-cementitious ratios, and ten-percent replacement of silica fume. The experimental results were compared with the results produced by empirical prediction equations of a number of widely used codes of practice. The prediction of the punching shear capacity of high strength concrete using the equations listed in this study, pointed to a potential unsafe design in some of them. This may be a reflection of the overestimation of the contribution of compressive strength and the negligence of the role of flexural reinforcement. The overall findings clearly indicated that the extrapolation of the relationships that were developed for normal strength concrete are not valid for high strength concrete within the scope of this study and that finite element simulation can provide a better alternative to empirical code Equations.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2017

PURPOSES : The objective of this study is to develop an optimized method of mix design for rapid-set lightweight-formed mortar mix. To achieve this objective, the workability, setting time, and compressive strength of mixes under various conditions of mix design were evaluated. METHODS : The water-bonder ratio, fly-ash substitution ratio, and forming agent injection amount were selected as design variables in the study. The fluidity, setting time, density, and strength of the mortar mix were considered as major evaluation criteria of the mixture, and were subsequently utilized to evaluate the characteristics of the mortar mix under various conditions. RESULTS : The observations made from the mix design process are as follows: 1) the air content and fluidity increase as the forming agent ratio and forming agent ratio increase, respectively; 2) the maximum air content is approximately 20%; 3) the accelerating agent decreases the fluidity of the mortar mix by 15% on average; 4) the forming agent injection ratio and fly-ash substitution ratio yield significant effects on the initial and final set times of the mortar mix; 5) as the forming agent injection ratio and fly-ash substitution ratio increase, the compressive strength of the mortar mix decreases; and 6) the 28-day compressive strengths of the forming agent injection ratio and fly-ash substitution ratio yield the most significant effects. CONCLUSIONS : It is concluded that the governing design variables for the rapid-set lightweight-formed mortar mix are the forming agent injection ratio and fly-ash substitution ratio.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
• /
• 1995.04a
• /
• pp.8-13
• /
• 1995

High strength ready-miced concrete with delivering time of about 90 minutes is successfully produced at ready-mixed concrete plant and placed columns and retaining walls of a tall building without any problems. The design strength of the concrete is 450 kgf/$\textrm{cm}^2$ and the required average compressive strength is 540 kgf/$\textrm{cm}^2$ according to ACI 363R-84 report with assumed coefficient of variation of 12% For the producing of good quality concrete, many laboratary and field tests are carried out. As the results of this study, the slump loss of high strength concrete is largely influenced by kinds of superplasticizer. The measured pump pressure of high strength concrete with slump of 22cm is higher than that of normal strength concrete with slump of 18cm by about 20~30% The measured average 28-day compressive strength of the concrete is 551 kgf/$\textrm{cm}^2$ and the coefficient of variation is 2.3%

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.151-162
• /
• 2013

The performance characteristics of high-strength and high-performance concrete are discussed in this review. Recent developments in the field of high-performance concrete marked a giant step forward in high-tech construction materials with enhanced durability, high compressive strength and high modulus of elasticity particularly for industrial applications. There is a growing awareness that specifications requiring high compressive strength make sense only when there are specific strength design advantages. HPC today employs blended cements that include silica fume, fly ash and ground granulated blast-furnace slag. In typical formulations, these cementitious materials can exceed 25% of the total cement by weight. Silica fume contributes to strength and durability; and fly ash and slag cement to better finish, decreased permeability, and increased resistance to chemical attack. The influences of various mineral admixtures such as fly ash, silica fume, micro silica, slag etc. on the performance of high-strength concrete are discussed.