• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.115-129
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• 2019

The effectiveness of an innovative method for the earthquake-resistant rehabilitation of existing poorly detailed reinforced concrete (RC) structures is experimentally investigated herein. Eight column subassemblages were subjected to earthquake-type loading and their hysteretic behaviour was evaluated. Four of the specimens were identical and representative of columns found in RC structures designed in the 1950s-70s period for gravity load only. These original specimens were subjected to cyclic lateral deformations and developed brittle failure mechanisms. Three of the damaged specimens were subsequently retrofitted with innovative high-strength steel fiber-reinforced concrete (HSSFC) jackets. The main variables examined were the jacket width and the contribution of mesh steel reinforcement in the seismic performance of the enhanced columns. The influence of steel fiber volume fraction was also examined using test results of a previous work of Tsonos et al. (2017). The fourth earthquake damaged subassemblage was strengthened with a conventional RC jacket and was subjected to the same lateral displacement history as the other three retrofitted columns. The seismic behaviour of the subassemblages strengthened according to the proposed retrofit scheme was evaluated with respect to that of the original specimens and that of the column strengthened with the conventional RC jacket. Test results clearly demonstrated that the HSSFC jackets effectively prevented the development of shear failure mechanisms, while ensuring a ductile seismic response similar to that of the subassemblage retrofitted with the conventional RC jacket. Ultimately, an indisputable superiority in the overall seismic performance of the strengthened columns was achieved with respect to the original specimens.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.101-117
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• 2019

Structural strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams is becoming essential to meet the up-gradation of existing structures due to the infrastructure development. Strengthening is also essential for damaged structural element due to the adverse environmental condition and other distressing factors. This article reviews the state of the field on repair, retrofitting and rehabilitation techniques for the strengthening of RC beams. Strengthening of RC beams using various promising techniques such as externally bonded steel plates, concrete jacketing, fibre reinforced laminates or sheets, external prestressing/external bar reinforcement technique and ultra-high performance concrete overlay have been extensively investigated for the past four decades. The primary objective of this article is to discuss investigations on various strengthening techniques over the years. Various parameters that have been discussed include the flexural capacity, shear strength, failure modes of various strengthening techniques and advances in techniques over the years. Firstly, background information on strengthening, including repair, retrofitting, and rehabilitation of RC beams is provided. Secondly, the existing strengthening techniques for reinforced concrete beams are discussed. Finally, the relative comparisons and limitations in the existing techniques are presented.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.95-105
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• 2017

The use of superelastic shape memory alloys (SMAs) as reinforcements in concrete structures is gradually gaining interest among researchers. Because of different mechanical properties of SMAs compared to the regular steel bars, the use of SMAs as reinforcement in the concrete may change the response of structures under seismic loads. In this study, the effect of SMAs as reinforcement in concrete structures is analytically investigated for 3-, 6- and 8-story reinforced concrete (RC) buildings. For each concrete building, three different reinforcement details are considered: (1) steel reinforcement (Steel) only, (2) SMA bar used in the plastic hinge region of the beams and steel bar in other regions (Steel-SMA), and (3), beams fully reinforced with SMA bar (SMA) and steel bar in other regions. For each case, columns are reinforced with steel bar. Incremental Dynamic Analyses (IDA) are performed using ten different ground motion records to determine the seismic performance of Steel, Steel-SMA and SMA RC buildings. Then fragility curves for each type of RC building by using IDA results for IO, LS and CP performance levels are calculated. Results obtained from the analyses indicate that 3-story frames have approximately the same spectral acceleration corresponding with failure of frames, but in the cases of 6 and 8-story frames, the spectral acceleration is higher in frames equipped with steel reinforcements. Furthermore, the probability of fragility in all frames increases by the building height for all performance levels. Finally, economic evaluation of the three systems are compared.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.4A
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• pp.565-575
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• 2006

When concrete is confined, its strength is enhanced by confining stress. Thus, increasing confining stress makes concrete strength higher. But a brittle failure may occur in hollow RC(Reinforced Concrete) column although its concrete is confined by transverse reinforcements. This brittle failure results from the absence of internal confinement and it decreases the strength and the ductility of a hollow RC column. To overcome this brittle failure problem, a hollow RC column which has a internal steel tube was developed. In this study, an experiment was performed to investigate the existence of to internal confinement by a settled steel tube. Thirty six specimens were tested and test results show the existence of internal confinement by the increase of concrete strength.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.729-732
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• 1999

In this paper, the Mohr-Coulomb criterion was adopted to predict the bonding failure load of the reinforced concrete beams strengthened by the externally bonded steel plates. Based on this criterion, a nonlinear analysis program of APSB(Analysis Program for Strengthened Beams) and nonlinear finite element analysis program of RCSD-SB (Reinforced Concrete Structural Design - Strengthened Beams) were developed. Numerical results were then compared with experimental results and good agreements were obtained.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.430-433
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• 2006

The reinforced concrete column confined by square steel tubes(RCST) is a reinforced column (RC) confined by thin steel tubes which cover over the full length of the column but terminates 15mm from the column's ends. The steel tube is in uniaxial tension stress state and won't buckle when the column sustains axial load. This will highly increase the bearing capacity and ductility of the columns. The hysteretic behavior of four square RCST columns and one square RC column were experimentally studied under constant axial load and lateral cyclic load. The wide-to-thickness (D/t) ratio of RCST columns employed in this research is 75. The main variables of the experiment were axial load ratio and compressive strength of the concrete. Based on the findings in this research, RCST columns exhibits high lateral strength, ductility, and energy dissipation ability.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.847-866
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to experimentally investigate the bond-related tension stiffening behavior of flexural reinforced concrete (RC) beams made with lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) under various high-cycle fatigue loading conditions. Based on strain measurements of tensile steel in the RC beams, fatigue-induced degradation of tension stiffening effects was evaluated and was, compared to reinforced normal weight concrete (NWC) beams with equal concrete compressive strengths (40 MPa). According to applied load-mean steel strain relationships, the mean steel strain that developed under loading cycles was divided into elastic and plastic strain components. The experimental results showed that, in the high-cycle fatigue regime, the tension stiffening behavior of LWAC beams was different from that of NWC beams; LWAC beams had a lesser reduction in tension stiffening due to a better bond between steel and concrete. This was reflected in the stability of the elastic mean steel strains and in the higher degree of local plasticity that developed at the primary flexural cracks.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.225-231
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• 2002

Severe cracks on Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures caused by structural displacement can be often one of the main reasons for the degradation of tensile and flexural rigidities of RC structures and for the deterioration of durability and serviceability of RC structures through accelerated steel corrosion. These combined factors adversely affect the performance of RC concrete, leading to shortened life time of RC structures. In consideration of these problems, we conducted 3 point bending experiments by employing three different types of concrete specimens: fiber-net reinforced concrete (FNRC), polypropylene-fiber reinforced concrete (PFRC), and plain concrete (PC). FNRC is well known for its strong corrosion resistance, light self-weight, and excellent tensile strength, while PFRC is known to be effective in crack control. FNRC was found to have the best first and final crack resistances followed by PFRC and PC, as evidenced by the highest initial crack load and the smallest final crack width, respectively. The FNRC specimens with various tensile strength of fiber net exhibited greater ultimate strengths than those for PFRC and PC. Furthermore, the crack widths of FNRC specimens were smaller than those calculated by the crack-width estimation equation of the KCI and ACI code. Therefore, we conclude that fiber net reinforcement is effective not only on crack control, but also on loading share.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.343-353
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• 2021

In this study, in order to improve the seismic performance of existing reinforced concrete (RC) framed structures, various external attachment of corner steel frame configurations was considered as a user-friendly retrofitting method. The external steel frame is designed to contribute to the lateral stiffness and load carrying capacity of the existing RC structure. A six-story building was taken into account. Four different external corner steel frame configurations were suggested in order to strengthen the building. The 3D models of the building with suggested retrofitting steel frames were developed within ABAQUS environment using solid finite elements and analyzed under horizontal loadings nonlinearly. Horizontal top displacement vs loading curves were obtained to determine the overall performance of the building. Contributions of steel and RC frames to the carried loads were computed individually. Load/capacity ratios for the ground floor columns were presented. In the study, 3D rendered images of the building with the suggested retrofits are created to better visualize the real effect of the retrofit on the final appearance of the façade of the building. The analysis results have shown that the proposed external steel frame retrofit configurations increased the lateral load carrying capacity and lateral stiffness and can be used to improve the seismic performance of RC framed buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.92 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2024

The current study examines the experimental and numerical performance of reinforced concrete (RC) channel slabs made of ferrocement that have been reinforced with fiber glass, expanded steel mesh, and welded steel mesh. As part of the testing program, ten RC channel slabs with dimensions of 500 mm×40 mm×2500 mm were loaded flexibly. The three main factors that can be altered are the mesh layer count, the type of reinforcing materials, and the reinforcement volume fraction. The main objective is to assess the effects of fortifying composite RC channel slabs with novel inventive materials. ANSYS-16.0 Software was used to simulate the behavior of composite channel slabs using nonlinear finite element analysis (NLFEA). It also shows how parametric analysis can be used to pinpoint variables like variations in slab dimensions that could significantly affect the mechanical behavior of the model. The obtained experimental and numerical results showed that finite element (FE) simulations had a tolerable degree of accuracy in estimating experimental values. It is crucial to show that specimens strengthened with fiber glass meshes gained about 12% lessstrength than specimens strengthened with expanded or welded steel meshes. In addition, RC channel slab reinforcement made of welded steel meshes has a 24% higher strength than expanded steel meshes. Tested under flexural loads, ferrocement specimens outperform conventional reinforced concrete specimens in terms of ultimate loads and energy absorption.