• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.547-557
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• 2020

This paper presents one of the demonstration projects undertaken during the FP7 EU-funded Anagennisi project (Innovative reuse of all tyre components in concrete-2014-2017) on a full-scale (30 m×40 m, thickness: 0.2 m) Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) slab-on-grade using a blend of manufactured steel fibres (MSF) and Recycled Tyre Steel Fibres (RTSF). The aim of the project was to assess the use of RTSF in everyday construction practice. The Anagennisi partners, Dulex Ltd in collaboration with Gradmont-Gradacac Ltd and University of Zagreb, designed, cast and monitored the long-term shrinkage deformations of the indoor slab-on-grade slab at Gradmont's precast concrete factory in Gradacac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A hybrid RTSF mix (20 kg/㎥ of MSF+10 kg/㎥ of RTSF) was used to comply with the design criteria which included a maximum load capacity of 20 kN/㎡. The slab was monitored for one year using surveying equipment and visual inspection of cracks. During the monitoring period, the slab exhibited reasonable deformations (a maximum displacement of 3.3 mm for both, horizontal and vertical displacements) whilst after five years in use, the owners did not report any issues and were satisfied with the construction methodology and materials used. This work confirms that RSTF is a viable and sustainable solution for slab-on-grade applications.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.7 no.4 s.26
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• pp.141-150
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• 2005

The behavior of the concrete slabs-on-grade considering the horizontal resistance at the slab bottom, which exists due to the shear resistance of the foundation and the friction between the slab and the foundation, has been investigated when the slabs-on-grade are subjected to the vertical load. Analytical formulations have been developed to include the effect of the horizontal resistance at the slab bottom, and the solutions have been obtained in the transformed field domain using the Fourier transform. Finite element formulations have also been developed using the plate bending elements and the flat shell elements. The solutions from the analytical and numerical models have been compared and showed very good agreement. The sensitivity of the horizontal resistance to the stresses of the concrete slab has been investigated with various values of the slab thickness, elastic modulus, and vertical stiffness of the foundation. The analysis results show that the horizontal resistance at the plate bottom can significantly affect the stresses of the slab.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.19 no.3 s.73
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• pp.271-282
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• 2006

The behavior of the concrete slabs on grade considering the horizontal resistance at the slab bottom, which exists due to the shear resistance of the foundation and the friction between the slab and the foundation, has been investigated when the slabs-on-grade are subjected to the thermal load. Analytical formulations have been developed to include the effect of the horizontal resistance at the slab bottom employing the thin plate on an elastic foundation that is widely used for the analysis of concrete slabs-on-grade and rigid pavement systems. Finite element formulations have then been developed using the plate bending elements and the flat shell elements. The solutions from the analytical and numerical models have been compared and showed very good agreement. The sensitivity of the horizontal resistance to the stresses of the concrete slab has been investigated with various values of the slab thickness, elastic modulus, and vortical stiffness of the foundation when subjected to the temperature gradient between the top and bottom of the slab and the uniform temperature drop throughout the slab depth. The analysis results show that the horizontal resistance at the plate bottom can significantly affect the stresses of the slab when the thermal loads are applied.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.271-271
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• 1999

A concentration change during grade transition operation in thin slab casting is investigated through computer simulation and the results are compared with experimental measurements. Fluid flow and mixing patterns in various tundish levers and flow rates were analysed by a three-dimensional mathematical model. Based on the contained results, a simple, efficient and accurate computational model is suggested to predict the concentration profile at the outlet of the tundish. Based on the model, mixing in and below the mold was analyzed considering electromagnetic braking force. The predicted concentration profiles show good agreements with the measured values. It is found that the lower vortices in the mold are suppressed by the electromagnetic field and a plug-like flow region develops, which decreases the intermixing of two different grades of steel and shortens the length of transition region.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.171-180
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• 2008

This study was conducted to analyze the curling behavior of concrete slabs on grade under temperature loading through the laboratory tests and to investigate the effects of the support conditions of underlying layers on the curling behavior of the slab on grade systems. For the laboratory tests, the concrete slabs were fabricated and the temperature measurement sensors were installed. The temperature loading was applied intentionally and the time histories of the vertical displacements of the slab at several different positions were measured. One-layered underlying layers were made using different materials and different thicknesses. Two-layered underlying layers were also made to have the same composite stiffness each other, but the material of the upper layer was designed to be different The experimental analysis results showed that the trend of the displacement time histories of the slab was basically the same as that of the temperature gradient time histories. The characteristics of the curling behavior of the slab were analyzed by separating the regions of curling up and curling down. The difference in the vertical displacements at the center and comer decreased as the stiffness of the underlying layer became larger, and the upper layer's material of the underlying layers affected the curling behavior of the slab.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.209-220
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• 2008

This paper presents the differences in the analysis results according to the underlying layer modeling methods when analyzing the curling behaviors of the concrete slabs on grade under environmental loads. The models of the slab on grade system considered in this study included a three-dimensional(3D) model, a model composed of 3D slab and springs for underlying layers, and a model composed of 2D slab and springs for underlying layers. First, when the underlying layer consisted of one layer, the curling behaviors according to the different models were compared. Then, the underlying layers that consisted of two different materials and thicknesses were considered. The results of this study showed that the tensionless spring model for the underlying layer gave very accurate results when the underlying layer consisted of one layer. However, when the underlying layers consisted of two layers, the spring model for the underlying layers could overestimate the displacements and underestimate the maximum stress with a large elastic modulus of upper underlying layer, a small elastic modulus of under underlying layer, and thick underlying layers.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.319-330
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• 1999

The design of composite space trusses is a demanding task that involves taking several decisions on the truss depth, number of panels, member configuration, number of chord layers and concrete slab thickness and grade. The focus in this paper is on the design of top concrete slabs of composite space trusses, and in particular their thickness. Several effects must be considered in the process of designing the slab before an optimum thickness can be chosen. These effects include the inplane forces arising from shear interaction with the steel sub-truss and the flexural. and sheer effects of direct lateral slab loading. They also include a constructional consideration that the thickness must allow for sufficient cover and adequate space for placing the reinforcement. The work presented in this paper shows that the structural requirements on the concrete slab thickness are in many cases insignificant compared with the constructional requirements.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.895-905
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• 2022

Composite flooring systems consisting of cold-formed steel joists and reinforced concrete slabs offer an efficient, lightweight solution. However, utilisation of composite action to achieve enhanced strength and economical design has been limited. In this study, finite element modelling was utilised to create a three-dimensional model which was then validated against experimental results for a composite flooring system consisting of cold-formed steel joists, reinforced concrete slab and steel bolt shear connectors. This validated numerical model was then utilised to perform parametric studies on the performance of the structural system. The results from the parametric study demonstrate that increased thickness of the concrete slab and increased thickness of the cold formed steel beam resulted in higher moment capacity and stiffness of the composite flooring system. In addition, reducing the spacing of bolts and spacing of the cold formed steel beams both resulted in enhanced load capacity of the composite system. Increasing the concrete grade was also found to increase the moment capacity of the composite flooring system. Overall, the results show that an efficient, lightweight composite flooring system can be achieved and optimised by selecting suitable concrete slab thickness, cold formed beam thickness, bolt spacing, cold formed beam spacing and concrete grade.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.735-748
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• 2018

In this paper, the cyclic behavior of steel beam-concrete encased steel (CES) column joints was investigated experimentally and numerically. Three frame middle joint samples with varying concrete slab widths were constructed. Anti-symmetrical low-frequency cyclic load was applied at two beam ends to simulate the earthquake action. The failure modes, hysteretic behavior, ultimate load, stiffness degradation, load carrying capacity degradation, displacement ductility and strain response were investigated in details. The three composite joints exhibited excellent seismic performance in experimental tests, showing high load-carrying capacity, good ductility and superior energy dissipation ability. All three joint samples reached their ultimate loads due to shear failure. Numerical results from ABAQUS modelling agreed well with the test results. Finally, the effect of the concrete slab on ultimate load was analyzed through a parametric study on concrete strength, slab thickness, as well as slab width. Numerical simulation showed that slab width and thickness played an important role in the load-carrying capacity of such joints. As a comparison, the influence of concrete grade was not significant.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.5
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• pp.515-524
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• 2019

The present study deals with the simulation of low velocity impact on prestressed and reinforced concrete (RC) slabs supported with different end conditions. The prestress is pre-applied on the RC slab in an analytical approach for the prestressed slab. RC slabs with dimensions $500{\times}600{\times}60mm$, $500{\times}600{\times}80mm$ and $500{\times}600{\times}120mm$ were used by changing support condition in two different ways; (i) Opposite sides simply supported, (ii) Adjacent sides simply supported with opposite corner propped. Deflection response of these specimens were found for the impact due to three different velocities. The effect of grade of concrete on deflection due to the impact of these slabs were also studied. Deflection result of $500{\times}500{\times}50mm$ slab was calculated numerically and compared the result with the available experimental result in literature. Finite element analyses were performed using commercially available ANSYS 16.2 software. The effectiveness of prestressing on impact resistant capacity of RC slabs are demonstrated by the way of comparing the deflection of RC slabs under similar impact loadings.