• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.81-100
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• 2006

To calculate the shear capacity of concrete beams reinforced with fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP), current shear design provisions use slightly modified versions of existing semi-empirical shear design equations that were primarily derived from experimental data generated on concrete beams having steel reinforcement. However, FRP materials have different mechanical properties and mode of failure than steel, and extending existing shear design equations for steel reinforced beams to cover concrete beams reinforced with FRP is questionable. This paper investigates the feasibility of using artificial neural networks (ANNs) to estimate the nominal shear capacity, Vn of concrete beams reinforced with FRP bars. Experimental data on 150 FRP-reinforced beams were retrieved from published literature. The resulting database was used to evaluate the validity of several existing shear design methods for FRP reinforced beams, namely the ACI 440-03, CSA S806-02, JSCE-97, and ISIS Canada-01. The database was also used to develop an ANN model to predict the shear capacity of FRP reinforced concrete beams. Results show that current guidelines are either inadequate or very conservative in estimating the shear strength of FRP reinforced concrete beams. Based on ANN predictions, modified equations are proposed for the shear design of FRP reinforced concrete beams and proved to be more accurate than existing equations.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.501-516
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• 2010

This paper is aiming to study the performances of reinforced high-strength concrete (HSC) short columns confined with aramid fibre-reinforced polymer (AFRP) sheets. An experimental program, which involved 45 confined columns and nine unconfined columns, was carried out in this study. All the columns were circular in cross section and tested under axial compressive load. The considered parameters included the concrete strength, amount of AFRP layers, and ratio of hoop reinforcements. Based on the experimental results, a prediction model for the axial stress-strain curves of the confined columns was proposed. It was observed from the experiment that there was a great increment in the compressive strength of the columns when the amount of AFRP layers increases, similar as the ultimate strain. However, these increments were reduced as the concrete strength increasing. Comparisons with other existing prediction models present that the proposed model can provide more accurate predictions.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.113-137
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• 2016

Extensive experimental studies on remarkable mechanical properties Polypropylene Fibre Reinforced Self-compacting Concrete (PFRSCC) have been executed, including different fibre volume fractions of Polypropylene fibers (0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, and 1%) and different water to cement ratios (0.21, 0.34, 0.38, and 0.41). The experimental program was carried out by using two hundred and sixteen specimens to obtain the impact resistance and mechanical properties of PFRSCC materials, considering compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength. Statistical and analytical studies have been mainly focused on experimental data to correlate of mechanical properties of PFRSCC materials. Statistical results revealed that compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strengths as well as impact resistance follow the normal distribution. Moreover, to correlate mechanical properties based on acquired test results, linear and nonlinear equations were developed among mechanical properties and impact resistance of PFRSCC materials.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.345-370
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• 2010

The paper presents a study on the numerical simulation of the behaviour of conventional reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened by thin fibre-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) jackets. The study covers the cases of retrofitting RC beams with or without stirrups with jackets reinforced with longitudinal and transverse steel reinforcement or with light wire mesh. The strengthened RC beams to be modelled were tested under static monotonic and fully reversing cyclic loading. The numerical results show that the numerical model used predicted quite well the experimental results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.877-889
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• 2020

This work features the outcomes of an empirical investigation into the characteristics of steel reinforced grout (SRG) composite - concrete interfaces. The parameters varied were loading rate, densities of steel fibres and types of load displacement responses or measurements (slip and machine grips). The following observations and results were derived from standard single-lap shear tests. Interfacial debonding of SRG - concrete joints is a function of both fracture of matrix along the bond interface and slippage of fibre. A change in the loading rate results in a variation in peak load (P_max) and the correlative stress (σ_max), slip and machine grips readings at measured peak load. Further analysis of load responses revealed that the behaviour of load responses is shaped by loading rate, fibre density as well as load response measurement variable. Notably, the out-of-plane displacement at peak load increased with increments in load rates and were independent of specimen fibre densities.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.573-592
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• 2018

An analytical methodology for the calculation of the flexural and the shear capacity of concrete members with Fibre-Reinforced-Polymer (FRP) bars as tensional reinforcement is proposed. The flexural analysis is initially based on the design provisions of ACI 440.1R-15 which have properly been modified to develop general charts that simplify computations and provide hand calculations. The specially developed charts include non-dimensional variables and can easily be applied in sections with various geometrical properties, concrete grade and FRP properties. The proposed shear model combines three theoretical considerations to facilitate calculations. A unified flexural/shear approach is developed in flow chart which can be used to estimate the ultimate strength and the expected failure mode of a concrete beam reinforced with longitudinal FRP bars, with or without transverse reinforcement. The proposed methodology is verified using existing experimental data of 138 beams from the literature, and it predicts the load-bearing capacity and the failure mode with satisfactory accuracy.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.43-57
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• 2011

Force-deformation modelling of cracked reinforced concrete is essential for a displacement-based seismic assessment of structures and can be achieved by fibre-element analysis of the cross-section of the major lateral resisting elements. The non-linear moment curvature relationship obtained from fibre-element analysis takes into account the significant effects of axial pre-compression and contributions by the longitudinal reinforcement. Whilst some specialised analysis packages possess the capability of incorporating fibre-elements into the modelling (e.g., RESPONSE 2000), implementation of the analysis on EXCEL is illustrated in this paper. The outcome of the analysis is the moment-curvature relationship of the wall cross-section, curvature at yield and at damage control limit states specified by the user. Few software platforms can compete with EXCEL in terms of its transparencies, versatility and familiarity to the computer users. The program has the capability of handling arbitrary cross-sections that are without an axis of symmetry. Application of the program is illustrated with examples of typical cross-sections of structural walls. The calculated limiting curvature for the considered cross-sections were used to construct displacement profiles up the height of the wall for comparison with the seismically induced displacement demand.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.115-125
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• 2020

To reduce the damage of concrete in fire, a new type of lightweight cinder aggregate concrete was developed due to the excellent fire resistance of cinder. To further enhance its fire resistance, Polypropylene (PP) Fibers which can enhance the fire resistance of concrete were also used in this type of concrete. However, the bond behavior of this new type of concrete after fire exposure is still unknown. To investigate its bond behavior, 185 specimens were heated up to 22, 200, 400, 600 or 800℃ for 2 h duration respectively, which is followed by subsequent compressive and tensile tests at room temperature. The concrete-rebar bond strength of C30 PP fiber-reinforced cinder concrete was subsequently investigated through pull-out tests after fire exposure. The microstructures of the PP fiber-reinforced cinder concrete and the status of the PP fibre at different temperature were inspected using an advanced scanning electron microscopy, aiming to understand the mechanism of the bonding deterioration under high temperature. The effects of rebar diameter and bond length on the bond strength of PP fiber-reinforced cinder concrete were investigated based on the test results. The bond-slip relation of PP fiber-reinforced cinder concrete after exposure at different temperature was derived based on the test results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.149-166
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• 2012

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the performance of 2.5 m long reinforced concrete (RC) T-beams strengthened in shear using epoxy bonded glass fibre fabric. Eighteen (18) full scale, simply supported RC T-beams are tested. Nine beams are used as control beam specimens with three different stirrups spacing without glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) sheet and rest nine beams are strengthened in shear with one, two, and three layers of GFRP sheet in the form of U-jacket around the web of T-beams for each type of stirrup spacing. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness, the cracking pattern and modes of failure of the GFRP strengthened RC T-beams. The test result indicates that for RC T-beams strengthened in shear with U-jacketed GFRP sheets, increase the load carrying capacity by 10-46%.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.377-390
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• 2009

In this paper an improved one-dimensional frame element for modelling of reinforced concrete beams and columns subjected to impact is presented. The model is developed in the framework of a flexibility fibre element formulation that ignores the shear effect at material level. However, a simple shear cap is introduced at section level to take account of possible shear failure. The effect of strain rate at the fibre level is taken into account by using the dynamic increase factor (DIF) concept for steel and concrete. The capability of the formulation for estimating the element response history is demonstrated by some numerical examples and it is shown that the developed 1D element has the potential to be used for dynamic analysis of large framed structures subjected to impact of air blast and rigid objects.