• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.407-421
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• 2022

Prefabricated hybrid wind turbine towers (WTTs) are promising due to height increase. This study proposes the use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) to develop a new type of WTT without the need to use reinforcement. It is demonstrated that the UHPC WTT structure without reinforcing bars could achieve performance similar to that of reinforced concrete WTTs. To simplify the design of WTT, a design approach for the calculation of stresses at the horizontal joints of a WTT is proposed. The stress distribution near the region of the horizontal joint of the WTT structure under normal operating conditions and different load actions is studied using the proposed approach, which is validated by the finite element method. A further parametric study shows that the degree of prestressing and the bending moment both significantly affect the principal stress. The shear-to-torsion ratio also shows a significant influence on the principal tensile stress.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.1A
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• pp.155-163
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• 2008

On the construction site with trends of large scale, high rise and specialization, testing construction of high performance concrete, superior to conventional concrete, is continued to increase. For bridge construction, application of full staging method is gradually decreasing due to noise, dust, and prolonged construction period. Recently, precast construction, which is optimized to urban environment and shorter work period, gains popularity significantly. In bridge structure, overcrowding arrangement of bar is used to ensure its safety. For the manufacturing of overcrowding arrangement of bar, High flowing self-compacting concrete, which is superior to conventional concrete in flowability and compacting property, should be implemented. In this study, the application of blast-furnace slag and fly ash to binary and ternary blended system on the High flowing self-compacting concrete for bridge structure with overcrowding arrangement of bar is evaluated by flowability in accordance with the first class regulations of Japan Society of Civil Engineering (JSCE).

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.571-585
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• 2023

The application of relatively low volumes of fibres in normal strength concrete has been shown to be of significant benefit when applied to composite slabs with profiled sheet decking. This paper reports on an experimental study aimed at quantifying further potential benefits that may arise from applying ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete. To assess performance six simply supported beams were tested under hogging and sagging loading configurations along with three two span continuous beams. Fibre contents are varied from 0% to 2% and changes in strength, deformation, crack width and moment redistribution are measured. At the serviceability limit state, it is shown that the addition of high fibre volumes can significantly enhance member stiffness and reduce crack widths in all beams. At the ultimate limit state it is observed that a transition from 0% to 1% fibres significantly increases strength but that there is a maximum fibre volume beyond which no further increases in strength are possible. Conversely, member ductility and moment redistribution are shown to be strongly proportional to fibre volume.

• Magazine of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.189-200
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• 1996

The permeability of concrete influences the durability of concrete remarkably. The conventional test method for permeability is very difficult to apply to high strength concrete because of its very low permeability. The present study employs a resonable and realistic test method for permeability of concrete and proposes a very low permeability concrete. To this end, comprehensive tests have been conducted and major test variables include the types and amount of cement. the types and amount of admixtures, and the size of aggregates. The present test results indicate t h a t the permeability decrease with the increase of strength and that the concrete with certain mineral admixtures exhibits very low permeability. The permeability of those high performance concrete is about 1/100 of conventional normal concrete. The present study provides a firm base for the use of very low permeable and hence very durable concrete.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.405-417
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• 2023

While ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is commonly reinforced with micro straight steel fibers in existing applications, studies have indicated that the use of deformed steel macro-fibers leads to enhanced ductility and post-peak responses for UHPC structural elements, which is of particular importance for earthquake-resistant structures. However, there are potential concerns regarding the use of UHPC reinforced with macro-fibers due to the issues of workability and fiber distribution. The objective of this study was to address these issues by extensively investigating the restricted and non-restricted deformability, filling ability, horizontal and vertical velocities, and passing ability of UHPC containing macro hooked-end steel fibers. A new approach is suggested to examine the homogeneity of fiber distribution in UHPC. The influences of ultra-fine fillers and steel macro-fibers on the workability of fresh UHPC and the mechanics of hardened UHPC were examined. It was found that although increasing the ratio of quartz powder to cement led to an improvement in the workability and tensile strain hardening behavior of UHPC, it reduced the fiber distribution homogeneity. The addition of 1% volume fraction of macro-fibers in UHPC improved workability, but reduced its compressive strength, which is contrary to the effect of micro-fiber inclusion in UHPC.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.103-118
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• 2020

The static behavior of grouped large-headed studs (d = 30 mm) embedded in ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) was investigated by conducting push-out tests and numerical analysis. In the push-out test, no splitting cracks were found in the UHPC slab, and the shank failure control the shear capacity, indicating the large-headed stud matches well with the mechanical properties of UHPC. Besides, it is found that the shear resistance of the stud embedded in UHPC is 11.4% higher than that embedded in normal strength concrete, indicating that the shear resistance was improved. Regarding the numerical analysis, the parametric study was conducted to investigate the influence of the concrete strength, aspect ratio of stud, stud diameter, and the spacing of stud in the direction of shear force on the shear performance of the large-headed stud. It is found that the stud diameter and stud spacing have an obvious influence on the shear resistance. Based on the test and numerical analysis results, a formula was established to predict the load-slip relationship. The comparison indicates that the predicted results agree well with the test results. To accurately predict the shear resistance of the stud embedded in UHPC, a design equation for shear strength is proposed. The ratio of the calculation results to the test results is 0.99.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2008.11b
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• pp.918-927
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• 2008

The problems associated with constructing high-speed concrete track embankments over soft compressible soil has lead to the development and/or extensive use of many of the ground improvement techniques used today. Drains, surcharge loading, and geosynthetic reinforcement, have all been used to solve the settlement and embankment stability issues associated with construction on soft soils. Geosynthetic-reinforced embankment supporting piles method consist of vertical columns that are designed to transfer the load of the embankment through the soft compressible soil layer to a firm foundation and one or more layers of geosynthetic reinforcement placed between the top of the columns and the bottom of the embankment. In the paper, the evaluations of a seismic performance of geosynthetic-reinforced embankment piles for a ultra soft ground during earthquake were studied. the equivalent linear analysis was performed by SHAKE for soft ground. A seismic performance analysis of Piles was performed by GROUP PILE and PLAXIS for geosynthetic-reinforced embankment piles. Guidelines is required for pile displacement during earthquake. Conclusions of the studies come up with a idea for soil stiffness, conditions of pile cap, pile length and span.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.123-136
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• 2015

The proposed techniques to repair concrete members such as steel plates, fiber-reinforced polymers or concrete have important deficiencies in adherence and durability. The use of ultra high performance fiber concrete (UHPFC) can overtake effectively these problems. In this paper, the possibility of using UHPFC to strengthen reinforced concrete beams under torsion is investigated. Seven specimens of concrete beams reinforced with longitudinal and transverse reinforcements. One of these beams consider as control specimen while the others was strengthened by UHPFC on four, three, and two sides. This study includes experimental results of all beams with different types of configurations and thickness of UHPFC. As well as, finite element analysis was conducted in tandem with experimental test. Results reveal the effectiveness of the proposed technique at cracking and ultimate torque for different beam strengthening configurations, torque - twist graphs and crack patterns. The UHPFC can generally be used as an effective external torsional reinforcement for RC beams. It was noted that the behavior of the beams strengthen with UHPFC are better than the control beams. This increase was proportional to the retrofitted beam sides. The use of UHPFC had effect in delaying the growth of crack formation. The finite element analysis is reasonably agreement with the experimental data.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.263-273
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• 2017

In this paper, a finite element model (FEM) in ATENA-3D software was constructed to investigate the behavior of circular ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) filled steel tube stub columns (UHPC-FSTCs) under concentric loading on concrete core. The "CC3DNonLinCementitious2User" material type for concrete in ATENA-3D software with some modifications of material laws, was adopted to model for UHPC core with consideration the confinement effect. The experimental results obtained from Schneider (2006) were then employed to verify the accuracy of FEM. Extensive parametric analysis was also conducted to examine the influence of concrete compressive strength, steel tube thickness and steel yield strength on the compressive behavior of short circular UHPC-FSTCs. It can be observed that the columns with thicker steel tube show better strength and ductility, the sudden drop of load after initial peak load can be prevented. Based on the regression analysis of the results from parametric study, simplified formulae for predicting ultimate loads and strains were proposed and verified by comparing with previous analytical models, design codes and experimental results.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.363-373
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• 2023

A novel type of steel fiber with a rounded-end shape is presented to improve the bonding behavior of fibers with Carbon Nanotubes (CNT)-reinforced Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) matrix. For this purpose, by performing a parametric study and using the nonlinear finite element method, the impact of geometric characteristics of the fiber end on its bonding behavior with UHPC has been studied. The cohesive zone model investigates the interface between the fibers and the cement matrix. The mechanical properties of the cohesive zone model are determined by calibrating the finite element results and the experimental fiber pull-out test. Also, the results are evaluated with the straight steel fibers outcomes. Using the novel presented fibers, the bond strength has significantly improved compared to the straight steel fibers. The new proposed fibers increase bond strength by 1.1 times for the same diameter of fibers. By creating fillet at the contact area between the rounded end and the fiber, bond strength is significantly improved, the maximum fiber capacity is reachable, and the pull-out occurs in the form of fracture and tearing of the fibers, which is the most desirable bonding mode for fibers. This also improves the energy absorbed by the fibers and is 4.4 times more than the corresponding straight fibers.