• Computers and Concrete
• /
• 제3권5호
• /
• pp.301-312
• /
• 2006

Experimental research revealed that the spatial dispersion of aggregate grains exerts pronounced influences on the mechanical and durability properties of concrete. Therefore, insight into this phenomenon is of paramount importance. Experimental approaches do not provide direct access to three-dimensional spacing information in concrete, however. Contrarily, simulation approaches are mostly deficient in generating packing systems of aggregate grains with sufficient density. This paper therefore employs a dynamic simulation system (with the acronym SPACE), allowing the generation of dense random packing of grains, representative for concrete aggregates. This paper studies by means of SPACE packing structures of aggregates with a Fuller type of size distribution, generally accepted as a suitable approximation for actual aggregate systems. Mean free spacing $\bar{\lambda}$, mean nearest neighbour distance (NND) between grain centres $\bar{\Delta}_3$, and the probability density function of ${\Delta}_3$ are used to characterize the spatial dispersion of aggregate grains in model concretes. Influences on these spacing parameters are studied of volume fraction and the size range of aggregate grains. The values of these descriptors are estimated by means of stereological tools, whereupon the calculation results are compared with measurements. The simulation results indicate that the size range of aggregate grains has a more pronounced influence on the spacing parameters than exerted by the volume fraction of aggregate. At relatively high volume density of aggregates, as met in the present cases, theoretical and experimental values are found quite similar. The mean free spacing is known to be independent of the actual dispersion characteristics (Underwood 1968); it is a structural parameter governed by material composition. Moreover, scatter of the mean free spacing among the serial sections of the model concrete in the simulation study is relatively small, demonstrating the sample size to be representative for composition homogeneity of aggregate grains. The distribution of ${\Delta}_3$ observed in this study is markedly skew, indicating a concentration of relatively small values of ${\Delta}_3$. The estimate of the size of the representative volume element (RVE) for configuration homogeneity based on NND exceeds by one order of magnitude the estimate for structure-insensitive properties. This is in accordance with predictions of Brown (1965) for composition and configuration homogeneity (corresponding to structure-insensitive and structure-sensitive properties) of conglomerates.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• 제65권6호
• /
• pp.751-760
• /
• 2018

Damages in concrete structures due to aging and other factors could be a serious and immense matter. Making the best selection of the most viable and practical repairing and strengthening techniques are relatively difficult tasks using traditional methods of structural analyses. This is due to the fact that the traditional methods used for assessing aging structure are not fully capable when considering the randomness in strength, loads and cost. This paper presents a reliability-based methodology for assessing reinforced concrete members. The methodology of this study is based on probabilistic analysis, using statistics of the random variables in the performance function equations. Principles of reliability updating are used in the assessment process, as new information is taken into account and combined with prior probabilistic models. The methodology can result in a reliability index ${\beta}$ that can be used to assess the structural component by comparing its value with a standard value. In addition, these methods result in partial safety factor values that can be used for the purpose of strengthening the R/C elements of the existing structure. Calculations and computations of the reliability indices and the partial safety factors values are conducted using the First-order Reliability Method and Monte Carlo simulation.

• 한국콘크리트학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국콘크리트학회 2001년도 봄 학술발표회 논문집
• /
• pp.139-144
• /
• 2001

The objective of this study is to investigate the behavior of 1/12 scale upper-wall lower-frame reinforced concrete structure subjected to earthquake excitations. For this purpose, Taft N21E earthquake accelerogram was simulated by using 4m$\times$4m shaking table. When the input acceleration is compared to that of output, it was found that simulation of shaking table is satisfactory. From the test results with peak ground acceleration(PGA) 0.22g, which corresponds to 0.11g in prototype by the similitude law, it can be observed that the model responded in elastic behavior and that large interstory drift occurred at the lower part of the structure.

• 대한건축학회논문집:구조계
• /
• 제34권2호
• /
• pp.11-17
• /
• 2018

Concrete is the well-used material in many architectural and civil structures. The behavior of concrete does exhibit a different characteristic in compression and tension, and it also shows an inelastic-nonlinear behavior. In addition, the concrete properties vary slightly depending on the environmental factor and manufacturer. These properties of concrete make the modeling or simulation of concrete material difficult. In reinforced concrete, particularly, there is a difficulty in bond-slip relationship between concrete and steel. However, in this paper, reserving remainder of these limits the finite element analysis for reinforced concrete beams through ABAQUS simulation has been carried out with some assumptions. Assumptions include the perfect bond of steel and concrete as well as the concrete damaged plasticity (CDP) in concrete property. There is a reasonable agreement between the experimental and numerical results, although the analytical strength and external rod deformation are slightly overestimated. The average and standard deviation between two results are 1.05 and 0.05, respectively. And the models and the computations lead to the evolution of fracture in bending beam.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• 제1권4호
• /
• pp.289-304
• /
• 2013

A reliable concrete constitutive material model is critical for an accurate numerical analysis simulation of reinforced concrete structures under extreme dynamic loadings including impact or blast. However, the formulation of concrete material model is challenging and entails numerous input parameters that must be obtained through experimentation. This paper presents a damage scale analytical model to characterize concrete material for its pre- and post-peak behavior. To formulate the damage scale model, statistical regression and finite element analysis models were developed leveraging twenty existing experimental data sets on concrete compressive strength. Subsequently, the proposed damage scale analytical model was implemented in the finite element analysis simulation of a reinforced concrete pier subjected to vehicle impact loading and the response were compared to available field test data to validate its accuracy. Field test and FEA results were in good agreement. The proposed analytical model was able to reliably predict the concrete behavior including its post-peak softening in the descending branch of the stress-strain curve. The proposed model also resulted in drastic reduction of number of input parameters required for LS-DYNA concrete material models.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• 제8권4호
• /
• pp.269-276
• /
• 2019

The cracking and spalling caused by fracture of concrete lining have adverse impacts on serviceability and durability of the tunnel, and the subsequent maintenance work for damaged structure needs to be specific to the damaging causes. In this paper, a particular case study of an operational tunnel structure is presented for the serious cracking and spalling behaviours of concrete lining, focusing on the multi-factors inducing lining failure. An integrated field investigation is implemented to characterize the spatial distribution of damages and detailed site situations. According to results of nondestructive inspection, insufficient lining thickness and cavity behind lining are the coupled-inducement of lining failure bahaviors. To further understanding of the lining structure performance influenced by these multiple construction deficiencies, a reliable numerical simulation based on extended finite element method (XFEM) is performed by using the finite element software. The numerical model with 112 m longitudinal calculation, 100 m vertical calculation and 43 m vertical depth, and the concrete lining with 1450 solid elements are set enrichment shape function for the aim of simulating cracking behavior. The numerical simulation responses are essentially in accordance with the actual lining damaging forms, especially including a complete evolutionary process of lining spalling. This work demonstrates that the serious lining damaging behaviors are directly caused by a combination of insufficient thickness lining and cavity around the surrounding rocks. Ultimately, specific maintenance work is design based on the construction deficiencies, and that is confirmed as an efficient, time-saving and safe maintenance method in the operational railway tunnel.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• 제22권6호
• /
• pp.663-684
• /
• 2016

Conical vortices generated at the corner regions of large-span flat roofs have been investigated by using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. Mean and instantaneous vector fields for velocity, vorticity, and streamlines were measured at three visual planes and for two different flow angles of $15^{\circ}$. The results indicated that conical vortices occur when the wind is not perpendicular to the front edge. The location of the leading edge corresponding to the negative peak vorticity and maximum turbulent kinetic energy was found at the center of the conical vortex. The wind pressure reaches the maximum near the leading edge roof corner, and a triangle of severe suctions zone appears downstream. The mean pressure in uniform flow is greater than that under turbulent flow condition, while a significant increase in the fluctuating wind pressure occurs in turbulent streams. From its emergence to stability, the shape of the vortex cross-section is nearly elliptical, with increasing area. The angle that forms between the vortex axis and the leading edge is much smaller in turbulent streams. The detailed flow structures and characteristics obtained through FLUENT simulation are in agreement with the experimental results. The three dimensional (3-D) structure of the conical vortices is clearly observed from the comprehensive arrangement of several visual planes, and the inner link was established between the vortex evolution process, vortex core position and pressure distribution.

• 한국건축시공학회지
• /
• 제11권4호
• /
• pp.379-386
• /
• 2011

Durability of concrete is an important issue, and one of the most critical aspects affecting durability is chloride diffusivity. Factors such as water.cement ratio, degree of hydration, volume of the aggregates and their particle size distribution have a significant effect on chloride diffusivity in concrete. The use of polypropylene fibers(particularly very fine and well dispersed micro fibers) or mineral additives has been shown to cause a reduction in concrete's permeability. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the manner in which the inclusion of fiber(in terms of volume and size) and blast furnace slag(BFS) (in terms of volume replacement of cement) influence the chloride diffusivity in concrete by applying 3D computer modeling for the composite structure and performing a simulation of the chloride penetration. The modeled parameters, i.e. chloride diffusivity in concrete, are compared to the experimental data obtained in a parallel chloride migration test experiment with the same concrete mixtures. A good agreement of the same order is found between multi.scale microstructure model, and through this chloride diffusivity in concrete was predicted with results similar to those experimentally measured.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• 제30권5호
• /
• pp.619-645
• /
• 2008

This study presents the efficiency of simulating structural systems using a method that combines a simplified component model (SCM) and rigorous component model (RCM). To achieve a realistic simulation of structural systems, a numerical model must be adequately capturing the detailed behaviors of real systems at various scales. However, capturing all details represented within an entire structural system by very fine meshes is practically impossible due to technological limitations on computational engineering. Therefore, this research develops an approach to simulate large-scale structural systems that combines a simplified global model with multiple detailed component models adjusted to various scales. Each correlated multi-scale simulation model is linked to others using a multi-level hierarchical modeling simulation method. Simulations are performed using nonlinear finite element analysis. The proposed method is applied in an analysis of a simple reinforced concrete structure and the Reuipu Elementary School (an existing structure), with analysis results then compared to actual onsite observations. The proposed method obtained results very close to onsite observations, indicating the efficiency of the proposed model in simulating structural system behavior.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• 제46권1호
• /
• pp.53-73
• /
• 2023

Man-made structure materials like concrete usually contain inclusions. These inclusions affect the mechanical properties of concrete. In this investigation, the influence of inclusion length and inclination angle on three-dimensional failure mechanism of concrete under uniaxial compression were performed using experimental test and numerical simulation. Approach of acoustic emission were jointly used to analyze the damage and fracture process. Besides, by combining the stress-strain behavior, quantitative determination of the thresholds of crack stress were done. concrete specimens with dimensions of 120 mm × 150 mm × 100 mm were provided. One and two holes filled by gypsum are incorporated in concrete samples. To build the inclusion, firstly cylinder steel tube was pre-inserting into the concrete and removing them after the initial hardening of the specimen. Secondly, the gypsum was poured into the holes. Tensile strengths of concrete and gypsum were 2.45 MPa and 1.5 MPa, respectively. The angle bertween inclusions and axial loadind ary from 0 to 90 with increases of 30. The length of inclusion vary from 25 mm to 100 mm with increases of 25 mm. Diameter of the hole was 20 mm. Entirely 20 various models were examined under uniaxial test. Simultaneous with experimental tests, numerical simulation (Particle flow code in two dimension) were carried out on the numerical models containing the inclusions. The numerical model were calibrated firstly by experimental outputs and then failure behavior of models containing inclusions have been investigated. The angle bertween inclusions and axial loadind vary from 0 to 90 with increases of 15. The length of inclusion vary from 25 mm to 100 mm with increases of 25 mm. Entirely 32 various models were examined under uniaxial test. Loading rate was 0.05 mm/sec. The results indicated that when inclusion has occupied 100% of sample thickness, two tensile cracks originated from boundaries of sample and spread parallel to the loading direction until being integrated together. When inclusion has occupied 75% of sample thickness, four tensile cracks originated from boundaries of sample and spread parallel to the loading direction until being integrated together. When inclusions have occupied 50% and 25% of sample thickness, four tensile cracks originated from boundaries of sample and spread parallel to the loading direction until being integrated together. Also the inclusion was failed by one tensile crack. The compressive strength of samples decease with the decreases of the inclusions length, and inclusion angle had some effects on that. Failure of concrete is mostly due to the tensile crack. The behavior of crack, was affected by the inclusion length and inclusion number.