• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.617-627
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• 2018

After earthquakes FRP sheets are often used for the rehabilitation of damaged Reinforced Concrete (RC) beamcolumn connections. Connections with minor to moderate damage are often dealt with by applying FRP sheets after a superficial repair of the cracks using resin paste or high strength mortar but without infusion of thin resin solution under pressure into the cracking system. This technique is usually adopted in these cases due to the fast and easy-to-apply procedure. The experimental investigation reported herein aims at evaluating the effectiveness of repairing the damaged beam-column connections using FRP sheets after a meticulous but superficial repair of their cracking system using resin paste. The investigation comprises experimental results of 10 full scale beam-column joint specimens; five original joints and the corresponding retrofitted ones. The repair technique has been applied to RC joints with different joint reinforcement arrangements with minor to severe damage brought about by cyclic loading for the purposes of this work. Aiming at quantitative concluding remarks about the effectiveness of the repair technique, data concerning response loads, loading stiffness and energy absorption values have been acquired and commented upon. Furthermore, comparisons of damage index values and values of equivalent viscous damping, as obtained during the test of the original specimens, with the corresponding ones observed in the loading of the repaired ones have also been evaluated and commented. Based on these comparisons, it is deduced that the technique under investigation can be considered to be a rather satisfactory repair technique for joints with minor to moderate damage taking into account the rapid, convenient and easy-to-apply character of its application.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.735-757
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• 2015

Composite bonding steel plate (CBSP) is a newly developed type of structure strengthened technique applicable to the existing RC beam. This composite structure is applicable to strengthening the existing beam bearing high load. The strengthened beam consists of two layers of epoxy bonding prestressed steel plates and the RC beam sandwiched in between. The bonding enclosed and prestressed U-shaped steel jackets are applied at the beam sides. This technique is adopted in case of structures with high longitudinal reinforcing bar ratio and impracticable unloading. The prestress can be generated on the strengthening steel plates and jackets by using the CBSP technique before loading. The test results of full-scale CBSP strengthened beams show that the strength and stiffness are enhanced without reduction of their ductility. It is demonstrated that the strain hysteresis effect can be effectively overcome after prestressing on the steel plates by using such technique. The applied plates and jackets can jointly behave together with the existing beam under the action of epoxy bonding and the mechanical anchorage of the steel jackets. The simplified formulas are proposed to calculate the prestress and the ultimate capacities of strengthened beams. The accuracy of formulas was verified with the experimental results.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.329-348
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• 2011

Large-scale earthquakes pose serious threats to infrastructure causing substantial damage and large residual deformations. Superelastic (SE) Shape-Memory-Alloys (SMAs) are unique alloys with the ability to undergo large deformations, but can recover its original shape upon stress removal. The purpose of this research is to exploit this characteristic of SMAs such that concrete Beam-Column Joints (BCJs) reinforced with SMA bars at the plastic hinge region experience reduced residual deformation at the end of earthquakes. Another objective is to evaluate the seismic performance of SMA Reinforced Concrete BCJs repaired with flowable Structural-Repair-Concrete (SRC). A $\frac{3}{4}$-scale BCJ reinforced with SMA rebars in the plastic-hinge zone was tested under reversed cyclic loading, and subsequently repaired and retested. The joint was selected from an RC building located in the seismic region of western Canada. It was designed and detailed according to the NBCC 2005 and CSA A23.3-04 recommendations. The behaviour under reversed cyclic loading of the original and repaired joints, their load-storey drift, and energy dissipation ability were compared. The results demonstrate that SMA-RC BCJs are able to recover nearly all of their post-yield deformation, requiring a minimum amount of repair, even after a large earthquake, proving to be smart structural elements. It was also shown that the use of SRC to repair damaged BCJs can restore its full capacity.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.55-65
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• 2010

The purpose of this experimental study is to evaluate the seismic performance of a 2 story RC shear wall system by the static reversal loading test. The lower 2 stories of the prototype structure were selected, and the specimens of this study were comprised of a T-type wall with an opening. The specimens were reduced to about 60% of the full scale size and were constructed to measure the result of the experimental variable regarding the existence of a lintel beam. To perform this study, the static repeated loading test was performed. According to the existence or absence of a lintel beam, the structural capacities and behavioral differences of the shear wall system were compared. The test results of this study showed that the specimen with a lintel beam underwent the seismic performance with an ultimate strength and ductility capacity better than the specimen without a lintel beam.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.599-607
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• 2020

This paper deals with the experimental investigation on the behavior of RCS beam-column exterior joints. Two full-scale specimens of joints between reinforced concrete columns and steel beams are tested under cyclic loading. The objective of the test is to study the effect of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) on the seismic behavior of RCS joints. The load bearing capacity, story drift capacity, ductility, energy dissipation, and stiffness degradation of specimens are evaluated. The experimental results point out that the FRC joint is increased 20% of load carrying capacity and 30% of energy dissipation capacity in comparison with the RC joint. Besides, the FRC joint shown lower damage and better ductility than RC joint.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.205-208
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• 2008

Using the recycled aggregate can reduces the landfill space, the demand for natural raw material for new construction. Some investigations have been carried out to study the shear behaviors of RC beams with recycled aggregates. But these have some limitation due to the use of low quality recycled aggregates and small-scale specimens in the laboratory. In this study, four full-scaled RC beams were tested to evaluate the effects of replacement level (0,30, 60, and 100%) of recycled fine aggregate on shear behavior of RC beams. The results showed that the beams with recycled fine aggregates show similar crack pattern and failure mode compared with the beam with natural aggregate. Also, the beams with recycled fine aggregates present the similar shear strength except the one with the replacement level of 100% recycled fine aggregates. Shear strength were compared with the provisions in current code (KCI2007) and the equation proposed by Zsutty. The KCI equations were conservative and subsequently can be used for the shear design of recycled aggregate concrete beam.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.43-54
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• 2019

Existing reinforced concrete frame buildings designed for only gravity loads have been seismically vulnerable due to their inadequate column detailing. The seismic vulnerabilities can be mitigated by the application of a column retrofit technique, which combines high-strength near surface mounted bars with a fiber reinforced polymer wrapping system. This study presents the full-scale shaker testing of a non-ductile frame structure retrofitted using the combined retrofit system. The full-scale dynamic testing was performed to measure realistic dynamic responses and to investigate the effectiveness of the retrofit system through the comparison of the measured responses between as-built and retrofitted test frames. Experimental results demonstrated that the retrofit system reduced the dynamic responses without any significant damage on the columns because it improved flexural, shear and lap-splice resisting capacities. In addition, the retrofit system contributed to changing a damage mechanism from a soft-story mechanism (column-sidesway mechanism) to a mixed-damage mechanism, which was commonly found in reinforced concrete buildings with strong-column weak-beam system.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.37-57
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• 2012

The behavior of beam-column joints in moment resisting frame structures is susceptible to damage caused by seismic effects due to poor performance of the joints. A good number of researches were carried out to understand the complex mechanism of RC joints considered in current seismic design codes. The traditional construction detailing of transverse reinforcement has resulted in serious joint failures during earthquakes. This paper introduces a new design philosophy involving the use of additional diagonal bars within the joint particularly suitable for low to medium seismic effects in earthquake zones. In this study, ten full-scale interior beam-column specimens were constructed with various additional reinforcement details and configurations. The results of the experiment showed that adding additional bars is a promising approach in reinforced concrete structures where earthquakes are eminent. In terms of overall cracking observation during the test, the specimens with additional bars (diagonal and straight) compared with the ones without them showed fewer cracks in the column. Furthermore, concrete confinement is certainly an important design measure as recommended by most international codes.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.33-41
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• 2016

Concrete is inherently a good fire-resistance material among all other constrcution materials and protects the reinforcing steel inside. This study investigates the material characteristics of concrete and steel bar inside the full scale reinforced concrete(RC) beam exposed to fire test. The fire test specimen was 4 m long and the test was conducted under no loading condition following KS F 2257. Fire source is simulated by ISO 834 and number of thermocouples were installed to measure temperature variation of surfaces and inside of the beam. The measured compressive strength of cored specimen, which was exposed to fire test, was 11 MPa, about 66% lower than the strength before exposure. The yielding strength of steel bar also decreased about 75 MPa, about 17% lower. The measured temperature of protected steel bar was around $649^{\circ}C$, the critical limit, after 4 hour exposure.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.123-132
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• 2021

Deficient beam-column joints of reinforced concrete (RC) structures designed to older practices and codes often lead to destructive local or global failures. A strengthening technique for these joints based on the use of the new and innovative Carbon-FRP (C-FRP) ropes is presented and investigated. The C-FRP ropes are diagonally placed in superficial notches on the two sides of the joint. Two full scale external substandard joint subassemblages with the same characteristics, one unstrengthened and one strengthened with diagonally applied C-FRP ropes, are constructed and tested in cyclic loading. Special attention has been given to the elaboration of the acquired test measurements. The extracted conclusions are based on the comparative study of the hysteretic responses of the specimens, the observed maximum load envelopes, the comparisons of the joint body shear deformations as measured using diagonally mounted LVTDs, the calculated nominal principal stresses developed in the joint regions, the assessed joint damage as expressed by the damage index by Park and Ang and finally the calculated values of the equivalent damping ratio. From these comparisons it is concluded that application of diagonally mounted C-FRP ropes on the two sides of the joint body of exterior connections is an efficient easy-to-apply technique for the strengthening of substandard RC joints.