• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.9 no.2 s.32
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• pp.141-151
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• 2007

The current standards and specifications for the road pavement construction have been developed based on materials and construction methods. The pavements constructed in accordance with those specifications do not guarantee high performance of pavements since they do not consider long-term performance of pavements. Therefore, as part of the study to develop performance-based construction standards for pavements, the payment adjustment methods based on the pavement performance are currently being developed. This paper presents preliminary studies performed to develop the payment adjustment methods when there is deficiency in the concrete slab thickness that is one oi the most important factors for the pavement design and construction. First, the payment adjustment methods in USA were investigated. Then, the AASHTO failure equation, the relationship between slab thickness and stress, and the relationship between stress level and pavement life were employed to propose the payment adjustment concepts based on the pavement performance for the deficient slab thickness. The variation in the slab thickness according to measurement locations was investigated by taking cores. In addition, the measurement methods of slab thickness and the variation of measured thicknesses depending on performers were analyzed, and finally the methodology to develop the thickness deficiency ranges for the use in the payment adjustment methods was proposed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

In the construction of flat plate slabs, which are widely used for tall buildings but have relatively low flexural stiffness, serviceability problems such as excessive deflections and cracks are of great concern. To prevent excessive deflections at service load levels, current design codes require the minimum slab thickness, but the requirement could be unconservative because it is independent on loading and elastic modulus of concrete, both of which have significant effects on slab deflections. In the present study, to investigate the effects of the construction load of shored slabs, reduced flexural stiffness and moment distribution of early-age slabs, and creep and shrinkage of concrete on immediate and time-dependent deflections, numerical analysis was performed using the previously developed numerical models. A parametric study was performed for various design and construction conditions of practical ranges, and a new minimum permissible thickness of flat plate slabs was proposed satisfying the serviceability requirement for deflection. The proposed minimum slab thickness was compared with current design code provisions and numerical analysis results, and it agreed well with the numerical analysis results.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.257-262
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• 2017

This study aims to develop a signal processing scheme to accurately predict the thickness of concrete slab using air-coupled impact-echo. Air-coupled impact-echo has been applied to concrete non-destructive tests (NDT); however, it is often difficult to obtain thickness mode frequency due to noise components. Furthermore, apparent velocity in concrete is a usually unknown parameter in the field and the thickness of the concrete slab often cannot be accurately measured. This study proposes a signal processing scheme using guided wave analysis, wherein dispersion curves are drawn in both frequency-wave number (f-k) and phase velocity-frequency ($V_{cp}-f$) domains. The theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that thickness mode frequency and apparent velocity in concrete are clearly obtained from the f-k and $V_{cp}-f$ domains, respectively. The proposed method has great potential with regard to the application of air-coupled impact-echo in the field.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.3_4
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• pp.495-506
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• 2012

An elasto-dynamic model for pile-soil-pile interaction together with a simple plate model is used in this study to assess the effect of flexible foundation slabs on the dynamic response of pile groups. To this end, different pile configurations with various slab thicknessesare considered in two soil media with low and high elastic moduli. The analyses include dynamic impedances and seismic responses of pile-group foundations. The presented results indicate that the stiffness and damping of pile foundations increase with thickness of the foundation slab; however, the results approach those for rigid slab as the slab thickness approaches twice the pile diameter for the cases considered in this study. The results also reveal that pile foundations with flexible slabs may amplify the earthquake motions by as much as 10 percent in the low to intermediate frequency ranges.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.271-284
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• 2021

This study aims to trace the response of twelve one-way sustainable concrete hollow-core slabs made by reducing cement content and using replacement of coarse aggregate by plastic aggregate. The trial mixes comprise the 25, 50, 75, and 100% replacement of natural coarse aggregate. The compressive strength of the resulting lightweight concrete with full replacement of coarse aggregate by plastic aggregate was 28 MPa. These slabs are considered to have a reduced dead weight due to using lightweight aggregate and due to reducing cross-section through using voids. The samples are tested under two verticals line loads. Several parameters are varied in this study such as; nature of coarse aggregate (natural or recycled), slab line load location, the shape of the core, core diameter, flexural reinforcement ratio, and thickness of the slab. Strain gauges are used in the present study to measure the strain of steel in each slab. The test samples were fourteen one-way reinforced concrete slabs. The slab's dimensions are (1000 mm), (600 mm), (200 mm), (length, width, and thickness). The change in the shape of the core from circular to square and the use of (100 mm) side length led to reducing the weight by about (46%). The cracking and ultimate strength is reduced by about (5%-6%) respectively. With similar values of deflection. The mode of failure will remain flexural. It is recognized that when the thickness of the slab changed from (200 mm to 175 mm) the result shows a reduction in cracking and ultimate strength by about (6% and 7%) respectively.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.325-330
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• 2023

This paper proposes to apply machine learning to the process of predicting the slab thickness based on the structural analysis results or experience and subjectivity of engineers in the design of bridge data construction to enable digital-based decision-making. This study aims to build a reliable design environment by utilizing machine learning techniques to provide guide values to engineers in addition to structural analysis for slab thickness selection. Based on girder bridges, which account for the largest proportion of bridge data, a prediction model process for predicting slab thickness among superstructures was defined. Various machine learning models (Linear Regress, Decision Tree, Random Forest, and Muliti-layer Perceptron) were competed for each process to produce the prediction value for each process, and the optimal model was derived. Through this study, the applicability of machine learning techniques was confirmed in areas where slab thickness was predicted only through existing structural analysis, and an accuracy of 95.4% was also obtained. models can be utilized in a more reliable construction environment if the accuracy of the prediction model is improved by expanding the process

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.1A
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• pp.183-190
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• 2006

Minimizing the self weight of long-span deck slabs is one of the key factors for the practical and economic design of a composite two-girder bridge. In this paper, the minimum design thickness and rebar details of prestressed concrete deck slabs for composite two-girder bridges with girder span length from 4 m to 12 m are studied based on the safety and serviceability. The bridge deck slab with minimum thickness is designed as a one-way slab considering orthotropic behavior. Then fatigue safety of the deck slab is examined. Serviceability requirements for the deck slab such as deflection and crack width limits are also examined. The result shows that rebars with diameter less than 16 mm is recommended for the improved fatigue behavior, and, for the deck slab with span length longer than 8 m, the deflection limit governs the minimum design thickness. The result also shows that, for the deck slab with span length longer than 4 m, the distribution rebar requirement in the current Korea Highway Bridge Design Code is not sufficient to maintain the structural continuity in bridge axis as expected from the deck slab with span length shorter than 3 m.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.315-329
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• 2018

Recently, RC transfer slab systems have been used widely to construct high-rise wall-type apartments for securing parking space or public space. However, it is problem that the design method and structural performance evaluation method developed for thin RC flat slab are still used in the design of the transfer slab whose thickness is very thick and therefore structural behavior is expected to be different from RC flat slab. Thus, for the rational design of the transfer slab, the ultimate shear behavior of the RC transfer slab system is required to be analyzed properly. Accordingly, in the present study, the two-way shear behavior of the transfer slab was analyzed using nonlinear FEM according to various design parameters such as thickness of the transfer slab, strength of concrete, shear span ratio, and reinforcement ratio. In addition, the two-way shear strength evaluations of RC transfer slab by the existing evaluation methods were verified by comparing those with the results of nonlinear FEM analysis.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.459-473
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• 2012

Post-tensioned concrete voided slab girders are widely used in highway bridge constructions. To obtain greater section hollow rate and reduce the self-weight, the plate thickness of slab girders are designed to be small with the adoption of flat anchorage system. Since large prestress is applied to the anchor end section, it was found that longitudinal shear cracks are easy to occur along the voided slab girder. The reason is the existence of great shearing effect at the junction area between web and bottom (top) plate in the anchor end section. This paper focuses on the longitudinal anti-cracking problem at the anchor end of post-tensioned concrete voided slab girders. Two possible models for longitudinal anticracking analysis are proposed. Differential element analysis method is adopted to derive the solving formula of the critical cracking state, and then the practical analysis method for longitudinal anti-cracking is established. The influence of some factors on the longitudinal anti-cracking ability is studied. Results show that the section dimensions (thickness of bottom, web and top plate) and prestress eccentricity on web plate are the main factors that influence the anti-cracking ability. Moreover, the proposed method is applied into three engineering examples to make longitudinal anti-cracking verification for the girders. According to the verification results, the design improvements for these girders are determined.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.371-384
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• 2020

The steel-concrete double composite girder in the negative flexural region combines an additional concrete slab to the steel bottom flange to prevent the local steel buckling, however, the additional concrete slab may lower down the neutral axis of the composite section, which is a sensitive factor to the tensile stress restraint on the concrete deck. This is actually of great importance to the structural rationality and durability, but has not been investigated in detail yet. In this case, a series of 5.5 m-long composite girder specimens were tested by negative bending, among which the bottom slab configuration and the longitudinal reinforcement ratio in the concrete deck were the parameters. Furthermore, an analytical study concerning about the influence of bottom concrete slab thickness on the cracking and sectional bending-carrying capacity were carried out. The test results showed that the additional concrete at the bottom improved the composite sectional bending stiffness and bending-carrying capacity, whereas its effect on the concrete crack distribution was not obvious. According to the analytical study, the additional concrete slab at the bottom with an equivalent thickness to the concrete deck slab may provide the best contributions to the improvements of crack initiation bending moment and the sectional bending-carrying capacity. This can be applied for the design practice.