• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.210-217
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• 2023

Various performances of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) applied with microplastics and expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads were evaluated. CompressIve and flexural strength, performance after ignition, flow-down in fresh state, and effective bond strength were evaluated. Designed weight of the cement panel with these mixtures was calculated based on the flexural strength. As a result of the experiments, it was confirmed that the EPS could reduce the density of UHPC with largest range. By maximum addition of EPS beeds, the density of UHPC decreased to 1300 kg/m³, and the compressive and flexural strengths for this mixtures were in ranges of 20-30 MPa and 15-20 MPa, respectively. On the other hand, lightest cement panel could be designed with UHPC having a density ranges about 2.0 g/cm³.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.1
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• pp.49-57
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• 2020

This paper presents a full-scale experimental test to investigate the flexural behavior of an innovative dovetail ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) joint designed for the 5^th Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. The test specimen had a dimension of 3600 × 1600 × 170 mm, in accordance with the real bridge. The failure mode, crack pattern and structural response were presented. The ductility and stiffness degradation of the tested specimens were explicitly discussed. Test results indicated that different from conventional reinforced concrete slabs, well-distributed cracks with small spacing were observed for UHPC joint slabs at failure. The average nominal flexural cracking strength of the test specimens was 7.7 MPa, signifying good crack resistance of the proposed dovetail UHPC joint. It is recommended that high grade reinforcement be cooperatively used to take full advantage of the superior mechanical property of UHPC. A new ductility index, expressed by dividing the ultimate deflection by flexural cracking deflection, was introduced to evaluate the post-cracking ductility capacity. Finally, a strut-and-tie (STM) model was developed to predict the ultimate strength of the proposed UHPC joint.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.605-617
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• 2020

In this study, the experimental tests for the direct tensile strength measurement of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) were numerically modeled by using the discrete element method (circle type element) and Finite Element Method (FEM). The experimental tests used for the laboratory tensile strength measurement is the Compressive-to-Tensile Load Conversion (CTLC) device. In this paper, the failure process including the cracks initiation, propagation and coalescence studied and then the direct tensile strength of the UHPC specimens measured by the novel apparatus i.e., CTLC device. For this purpose, the UHPC member (each containing a central hole) prepared, and situated in the CTLC device which in turn placed in the universal testing machine. The direct tensile strength of the member is measured due to the direct tensile stress which is applied to this specimen by the CTLC device. This novel device transferring the applied compressive load to that of the tensile during the testing process. The UHPC beam specimen of size 150 × 60 × 190 mm and internal hole of 75 × 60 mm was used in this study. The rate of the applied compressive load to CTLC device through the universal testing machine was 0.02 MPa/s. The direct tensile strength of UHPC was found using a new formula based on the present analyses. The numerical simulation given in this study gives the tensile strength and failure behavior of the UHPC very close to those obtained experimentally by the CTLC device implemented in the universal testing machine. The percent variation between experimental results and numerical results was found as nearly 2%. PFC2D simulations of the direct tensile strength measuring specimen and ABAQUS simulation of the tested CTLC specimens both demonstrate the validity and capability of the proposed testing procedure for the direct tensile strength measurement of UHPC specimens.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.49-56
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• 2015

Ultra-High Strength Concrete(UHPC) has ultra-high material performance including high strength and high flowability. On the other hand it is less ductile than high ductile fiber reinforced cementitious composite. This study investigated the effect of combination of steel fiber and micro fiber on the tensile behavior of UHPC. Four types of UHPC containing combination of steel fiber, polyethylene(PE), polyvinyl alcohol(PVA), and basalt fiber were designed. And then uniaxial tension tests were performed to evaluate the tensile behavior of UHPC according to combination of fibers. And density was measured to evaluate whether micro fiber induces unintentional high pore or not. From the test results, it was exhibited that PE fiber with high strength is effective to improve the tensile behavior of UHPC and basalt fiber is effective to increase the cracking and tensile strength of UHPC. Furthermore, it was also verified that micro fiber does not make high pore.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.336-341
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• 2018

The prestressing force introduced to the tendon in pretensioned concrete members is transferred by direct bond between tendon and concrete, which requires a proper estimation of stress transfer length. The use of pretensiond and/or precast members with UHPC (Ultra High Performance Concrete) may give many advantages in quality control. This paper presents an experiment to estimate the stress transfer length of UHPC for various compressive strength levels of UHPC, cover depths, diameters of tendons and tensioning forces. According to the result of this experiment, the stress transfer length of UHPC member is much reduced comparing that of normal strength concrete. The reduction in stress transfer length of UHPC may come from the high bond strength capacity of UHPC. The transfer lengths obtained from this experiment are compared to those in current design code and a new formula is proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.11
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• pp.4146-4158
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• 2022

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) has been widely utilized in military and civil protective structures to resist intensive loadings attributed to its excellent properties, e.g., high tensile/compressive strength, high dynamic toughness and impact resistance. At present, aiming to improve the defects of the traditional vertical concrete cask (VCC), i.e., the external storage facility of spent fuel, with normal strength concrete (NSC) shield, e.g., heavy weight and difficult to fabricate/transform, the feasibility of UHPC applied in the shield of VCC is numerically examined considering its high radiation and corrosion resistance. Firstly, the finite element (FE) analyses approach and material model parameters of NSC and UHPC are verified based on the 1/3 scaled VCC tip-over test and drop hammer test on UHPC members, respectively. Then, the refined FE model of prototypical VCC is established and utilized to examine its dynamic behaviors and damage distribution in accidental tip-over and end-drop events, in which the various influential factors, e.g., UHPC shield thickness, concrete ground thickness, and sealing methods of steel container are considered. In conclusion, by quantitatively evaluating the safety of VCC in terms of the shield damage and vibrations, it is found that adopting the 300 mm-thick UHPC shield instead of the conventional 650 mm-thick NSC shield can reduce about 1/3 of the total weight of VCC, i.e., about 50 t, and 37% floor space, as well as guarantee the structural integrity of VCC during the accidental drop simultaneously. Besides, based on the parametric analyses, the thickness of concrete ground in the VCC storage site is recommended as less than 500 mm, and the welded connection is recommended for the sealing method of steel containers.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.381-392
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• 2023

This study experimentally investigates the flexural behavior of steel-UHPC composite slabs composed of an innovative negative Poisson's ratio (NPR) steel plate and Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) slab connected via demountable high-strength bolt shear connectors. Eight demountable composite slab specimens were fabricated and tested under traditional four-point bending method. The effects of loading histories (positive and negative bending moment), types of steel plate (NPR steel plate and Q355 steel plate) and spacings of high-strength bolts (150 mm, 200 mm and 250 mm) on the flexural behavior of demountable composite slab, including failure mode, load-deflection curve, interface relative slip, crack width and sectional strain distribution, were evaluated. The results revealed that under positive bending moment, the failure mode of composite slabs employing NPR steel plate was distinct from that with Q355 steel plate, which exhibited that part of high-strength bolts was cut off, part of pre-embedded padded extension nuts was pulled out, and UHPC collapsed due to instantaneous instability and etc. Besides, under the same spacing of high-strength bolts, NPR steel plate availably delayed and restrained the relative slip between steel plate and UHPC plate, thus significantly enhanced the cooperative deformation capacity, flexural stiffness and load capacity for composite slabs further. While under negative bending moment, NPR steel plate effectively improved the flexural capacity and deformation characteristics of composite slabs, but it has no obvious effect on the initial flexural stiffness of composite slabs. Meanwhile, the excellent crack-width control ability for UHPC endowed composite members with better durability. Furthermore, according to the sectional strain distribution analysis, due to the negative Poisson's ratio effect and high yield strength of NPR steel plate, the tensile strain between NPR steel plate and UHPC layer held strain compatibility during the whole loading process, and the magnitude of upward movement for sectional plastic neutral axis could be ignored with the increase of positive bending moment.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.487-498
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• 2023

The present study investigated the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with an ultrahigh performance concrete (UHPC) panel having various thicknesses. Two fabrication methods were introduced in this study; one was the direct casting of UHPC onto the bottom surface of the RC beams (I-series), and the other was the attachment of a prefabricated UHPC panel using an adhesive (E-series). UHPC panels having thicknesses of 10, 30, 50, and 70 mm were applied to RC beams, and these specimens were subjected to four-point loading to assess the effect of the UHPC thickness on the flexural strengthening of RC beams. The test results indicated that the peak strength and initial stiffness were vastly enhanced with an increase in the thickness of the UHPC panel, showing an improved energy dissipation capacity. In particular, the peak strength of the E-series specimens was higher than that of I-series specimens, showing high compatibility between the RC beam and the UHPC panel. The experimental test results were comparatively explored with a discussion of numerical analysis. Numerical analysis results showed that the predictions are in fair agreement with experimental results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.659-674
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• 2024

Casting Ultra High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) on an orthotropic steel deck and forming a composite action by connectors could improve the steel deck fatigue performance. This study presents the mechanical performance of a proposed post-combination connection between UHPC and steel, which had a low constraint effect on UHPC shrinkage. A total of 10 push-out tests were conducted for static and fatigue performance investigations. And the test results were compared with evaluation methods in codes to verify the latter's applicability. Meanwhile, nonlinear simulation and parametric works with material damage plasticity models were also conducted for the static and fatigue failure mechanism understanding. The static and fatigue test results both showed that fractures at stud roots and surrounding local UHPC crushes were the main failure appearances. Compared with normally arranged studs, group arrangement could result in reductions of static stud shear stiffness, strength, and fatigue lives, which were about 18%, 12%, and 27%, respectively. Compared with the test results, stud shear capacity and fatigue lives evaluations based on the codes of AASHTO, Eurocode 4, JSCE and JTG D64 could be applicable in general while the safety redundancies tended to be smaller or even insufficient for group studs. The analysis results showed that arranging studs in groups caused obviously uneven strain distributions. The severer stress concentration and larger strain ranges caused the static and fatigue performance degradations of group studs. The research outcome provides a very important basis for establishing a design method of connections in the novel post-combination steel-UHPC composite deck.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.341-348
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• 2024

Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) has received remarkable attentions in civil infrastructure due to its unique mechanical characteristics and durability. UHPC gains increasingly dominant in essential structural elements, while its unique properties pose challenges for traditional inspection methods, as damage may not always manifest visibly on the surface. As such, the need for robust inspection techniques for detecting cracks in UHPC members has become imperative as traditional methods often fall short in providing comprehensive and timely evaluations. In the era of artificial intelligence, computer vision has gained considerable interest as a powerful tool to enhance infrastructure condition assessment with image and video data collected from sensors, cameras, and unmanned aerial vehicles. This paper presents a computer vision-based approach employing deep learning to detect cracks in UHPC beams, with the aim of addressing the inherent limitations of traditional inspection methods. This work leverages computer vision to discern intricate patterns and anomalies. Particularly, a convolutional neural network architecture employing transfer learning is adopted to identify the presence of cracks in the beams. The proposed approach is evaluated with image data collected from full-scale experiments conducted on UHPC beams subjected to flexural and shear loadings. The results of this study indicate the applicability of computer vision and deep learning as intelligent methods to detect major and minor cracks and recognize various damage mechanisms in UHPC members with better efficiency compared to conventional monitoring methods. Findings from this work pave the way for the development of autonomous infrastructure health monitoring and condition assessment, ensuring early detection in response to evolving structural challenges. By leveraging computer vision, this paper contributes to usher in a new era of effectiveness in autonomous crack detection, enhancing the resilience and sustainability of UHPC civil infrastructure.