• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.339-359
• /
• 2019

Pre-stressed concrete poles are among the supporting systems used to support transmission lines. It is essential to protect transmission line systems from harsh environmental attacks such as downburst wind events. Typically, these poles are designed to resist synoptic wind loading as current codes do not address high wind events in the form of downbursts. In the current study, the behavior of guyed pre-stressed concrete Transmission lines is studied under downburst loads. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first investigation to assess the behaviour of guyed pre-stressed concrete poles under downburst events. Due to the localized nature of those events, identifying the critical locations and parameters leading to peak forces on the poles is a challenging task. To overcome this challenge, an in-house built numerical model is developed incorporating the following: (1) a three-dimensional downburst wind field previously developed and validated using computational fluid dynamics simulations; (2) a computationally efficient analytical technique previously developed and validated to predict the non-linear behaviour of the conductors including the effects of the pretension force, sagging, insulator's stiffness and the non-uniform distribution of wind loads, and (3) a non-linear finite element model utilized to simulate the structural behaviour of the guyed pre-stressed concrete pole considering material nonlinearity. A parametric study is conducted by varying the downbursts locations relative to the guyed pole while considering three different span values. The results of this parametric study are utilized to identify critical downburst configurations leading to peak straining actions on the pole and the guys. This is followed by comparing the obtained critical load cases to new load cases proposed to ASCE-74 loading committee. A non-linear failure analysis is then conducted for the three considered guyed pre-stressed concrete transmission line systems to determine the downburst jet velocity at which the pole systems fail.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.169-182
• /
• 2013

One of the major benefits of the pre-stressed concrete pavements is the omission of tension in concrete that results in a reduction of cracks in the concrete slabs. Therefore, the life of the pavement is increased as the thickness of the slabs is reduced. One of the most important issues in dealing with the prestressed concrete pavement is determination of the magnitude of the pre-stress. Three dimensional finite element analyses are conducted in this research to study the pre-stress under various load (Boeing 777) and thermal gradient combinations. The model was also analyzed under temperature gradients without the presence of traffic loading and the induced stresses were compared with those from theoretical relationships. It was seen that the theoretical relationships result in conservative values for the stress.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.75-91
• /
• 2013

In this paper, a new approach for cable layout design of pre-stressed concrete slabs is presented. To account the cable profile accurately, it is modelled by B-spline. Using the convex hull property of the B-spline, an efficient algorithm has been developed to obtain the cable layout for pre-stressed concrete slabs. For finite element computations, tendon and concrete are modelled by 3 noded bar and 20 noded brick elements respectively. The cable concrete interactions are precisely accounted using vector calculus formulae. Using the proposed technique a two way prestressed concrete slab has been successfully designed considering several design criteria.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.79-85
• /
• 2012

This paper presents the differences in growth of time-dependent strain values in reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and pre-stressed concrete (PSC) flexural members through experiment. It was observed that at any particular age, the time-dependent strain values were less in RCC beams than in PSC beams of identical size and grade of concrete. Variables considered in the study were percentage area of reinforcement, span of members for RCC beams and eccentricity of applied pre-stress force for PSC beams. In RCC beams the time-dependent strain values increases with reduction in percentage area of reinforcement and in PSC beams eccentricity directly influences the growth of time-dependent strain. With increase in age, a non-uniform strain develops across the depth of beams which influence the growth of concave curvature in RCC beams and convex curvature in PSC beams. The experimentally obtained strain values were compared with predicted strain values of similar size and grade of plane concrete (PC) beam using ACI 318 Model Code and found more than RCC beams but less than PSC beams.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
• /
• v.10 no.5
• /
• pp.27-33
• /
• 2010

In this study, a monotonic loading test to estimate structural capacity of 12 meter long full scale precast pre-stressed concrete beam specimen was performed with a 2,000 kN dynamic actuator. A couple of embedded steel plate was installed at the ends of the beam and specimens were connected to steel girder frame with high tension bolts. Nominal compressive strength of pre-stressed concrete beam and slab were 50 MPa and 24 MPa respectively. Two HD25 tensile steel reinforcements were welded on vertical plate of embedded steel plate. Pre-stressed concrete beam specimen was loaded by displacement control method with a certain loading pattern which was repeated loading and unloading with 10mm increment displacement. About 88.34%, 86.97% and 66.83% of displacement restoration ratios were evaluated at elastic, inelastic and plastic behavior region of specimen respectively.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.191-201
• /
• 2017

External pre-stressing is often used in strengthening or retrofitting of steel-concrete composite beams. In this way, a proper numerical model should be able to trace the completely nonlinear response of these structures at service and ultimate loads. A three dimensional finite element model based on shell elements for representing the concrete slab and the steel beam are used in this work. Partial interaction at the slab-beam interface can be taken into account by using special beam-column elements as shear connectors. External pre-stressed tendons are modeled by using one-dimensional catenary elements. Contact elements are included in the analysis to represent the slipping at the tendon-deviator locations. Validation of the numerical model is established by simulating seven pre-stressed steel-concrete composite beams with experimental results. The model predictions agree well with the experimental results in terms of collapse loads, path failures and cracking lengths at negative moment regions due to service loads. Finally, the accuracy of some simplified formulas found in the specialized literature to predict cracking lengths at interior supports at service loading and for the evaluation of ultimate bending moments is also examined in this work.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.343-356
• /
• 2016

As the common cast-in-place construction works fails to meet the enormous construction demand under rapid economic growth, the development of prefabricated structure instead becomes increasingly promising in China. For the prefabricated structure, its load carrying connection joint play a key role in maintaining the structural integrity. Therefore, a novel end plate bolt connecting joint between fully prefabricated pre-stressed concrete beam and high-strength reinforcement-confined concrete column was proposed. Under action of low cycle repeated horizontal loadings, comparative tests are conducted on 6 prefabricated pre-stressed intermediate joint specimens and 1 cast-in-place joint specimen to obtain the specimen failure modes, hysteresis curves, skeleton curves, ductility factor, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation capacity and other seismic indicators, and the seismic characteristics of the new-type prefabricated beam-column connecting joint are determined. The test results show that all the specimens for end plate bolt connecting joint between fully prefabricated pre-stressed concrete beam and high-strength reinforcement-confined concrete column have realized the design objectives of strong column weak beam. The hysteretic curves for specimens are good, indicating desirable ductility and energy dissipation capacity and seismic performances, and the research results provide theoretical basis and technical support for the promotion and application of prefabricated assembly frames in the earthquake zone.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.73-82
• /
• 2022

The study presents a three-dimensional approach to simulate the nonlinear behavior of a 72 m long Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) pre-stressed box girder for a pedestrian bridge in Busan, South Korea. The concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model is adopted to model the non-linear behavior of the UHPFRC material, in which the material properties are obtained from uniaxial compressive and tensile tests. The simulation model based on the proposed stress-strain curve is validated by the results of four-point bending model tests of a 50 m UHPFRC pre-stressed box girder. The results from the simulation models agree with the experimental observations and predict the flexural behavior of the 50 m UHPFRC pre-stressed box girder accurately. Afterward, the validated model is utilized to investigate the flexural behavior of the 72 m UHPFRC pre-stressed box girder. Here, the load-deflection curve, stress status of the girder at various load levels, and connection details is analyzed. The load-deflection curve is also compared with design load to demonstrate the great benefit of the slender UHPFRC box girder. The obtained results demonstrate the applicability of the nonlinear finite element method as an appropriate option to analyze the flexural behavior of pre-stressed long-span girders.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.121-133
• /
• 2012

Structures suffer from damages in their lifetime due to time-dependant effects, such as fatigue, creep and shrinkage, which can be expressed by concrete strains. These processes could be seen in the context of strain estimation of pre-stressed structures in two phases by using numerical methods. Their aim is checking and validating existing code procedures in determination of deformations of pre-tensioned girders by solving a system of nonlinear equations with strains as unknown parameters. This paper presents an approach based on the Newton-Raphson method for obtaining the stresses and strains in middle span section of pre-stressed girders according the equilibrium state.

• Cement
• /
• s.14
• /
• pp.31-39
• /
• 1966