• Computers and Concrete
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.43-64
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• 2006

A tendon model that can effectively be used in finite element analyses of prestressed concrete (PSC) structures with bonded tendons is proposed on the basis of the bond characteristics between a tendon and its surrounding concrete. Since tensile forces between adjacent cracks are transmitted from a tendon to concrete by bond forces, the constitutive law of a bonded tendon stiffened by grouting is different from that of a bare tendon. Accordingly, the apparent yield stress of an embedded tendon is determined from the bond-slip relationship. The definition of the multi-linear average stress-strain relationship is then obtained through a linear interpolation of the stress difference at the post-yielding stage. Unlike in the case of a bonded tendon, on the other hand, a stress increase beyond the effective prestress in an unbonded tendon is not section-dependent but member-dependent. The tendon stress unequivocally represents a uniform distribution along the length when the friction loss is excluded. Thus, using a strain reduction factor, the modified stress-strain curve of an unbonded tendon is derived by successive iterations. The validity of the proposed two tendon models is verified through correlation studies between analytical and experimental results for PSC beams and slabs.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.349-359
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• 2024

This study aims to investigate the effect of restraint configuration on crack formation due to shrinkage-and-creep-induced volumetric change in unbonded post-tensioned slabs. The first part of this study focuses on the comparison of existing shrinkage and creep calculation models that are used to predict the volume-changing behavior of concrete. The second part of this study presents the finite element analysis of a series of architectural configuration prototypes subjected to shrinkage and creep, which comprise unbonded post-tensioned slabs with various restraint configurations. The shrinkage and creep effects were simulated in the analysis by imposing strains obtained from one selected calculation model. The results suggest that a slab up to 300 ft. (90 m) in length does not require a closure strip if it is unrestrained by perimeter walls, and that the most effective restraint crack mitigation strategy for a slab restrained by perimeter walls is a partial wall release.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1336-1349
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• 2018

Generally, a precast prestressed concrete (PSC) beam is used as girders for short-to-medium span (less than 30 m) bridges due to the advantages of simple design and construction, reduction of construction budget, maintenance convenience. In order to increase the span length beyond 50 m of precast PSC girder, PSC hollow box girder with unbonded prestressed H-type steel beam placed at the compressive region is proposed. The unbonded compressive prestressing in the H-type steel beams in the girder is made to recover plastic deflection of PSC girder when the pre-stressing is released. Also, the H-steel beams allow minimization of depth-to-length ratio of the girder by reducing the compressive region of the cross-section, thereby reducing the weight of the girder. A quasi-static 3-point bending test with 4 different loading steps is performed to verify safety and plastic deflection recovery of the girder. The experimental results showed that the maximum applied load exceeded the maximum design load and most of the plastic deflection was recovered when the compressive prestressing of H-type steel beams is released. Also using prestressed H-type steel as compression reinforcements in the upper part of cross section, repair and restoration difficulty and cost of PSC girders should be significantly reduced. The study result and analysis are discussed in detail in the paper.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.5
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• pp.631-642
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• 2019

The objective of the present study is to examine the flexural behavior of two-span post-tensioned lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) beams using unbonded tendons and the reliability of the design provisions of ACI 318-14 for such beams. The parameters investigated were the effective prestress and loading type, including the symmetrical top one-point, two third-point, and analogous uniform loading systems. The unbonded prestressing three-wire strands were arranged with a harped profile of variable eccentricity. The total length of the beam, measured between both strand anchorages, was 11000 mm. The test results were compared with those compiled from simply supported LWAC one-way members, wherever possible. The ultimate load capacity of the present beam specimens was evaluated by the collapse mechanism of the plasticity theorem and the nominal section moment strength calculated following the provision of the ACI 318-14. The test results showed that the two-span post-tensioned LWAC beams had lower stress increase (Δf_ps) in the unbonded tendons than the simply supported LWAC beams with a similar reinforcement index. The effect of the loading type on Δf_ps and displacement ductility was less significant for two-span beams than for the comparable simply supported beams. The design equations for Δf_ps and Δf_ps proposed by ACI 318-14 and Harajli are conservative for the present two-span post-tensioned LWAC beams, although the safety decreases for the two-span beam, compared to the ratios between experiments and predictions obtained from simply supported beams.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.489-499
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• 2009

It is quite difficult to predict the flexural strength of post-tensioned members with unbonded tendons (unbonded posttensioned members, UPT members) because of debonding behavior between concrete and prestressing tendons, which is different from that with bonded tendons. Despite many previous researches, our understanding on the flexural strength of UPT members is still insufficient, and thus, national codes use different methods to calculate the strength, which quite often give very different results. Therefore, this paper reviews various existing methods, and aims at proposing an improved rational strength model for UPT flexural members having better accuracy. Additionally, a database containing a large number of test data on UPT flexural members has been established and used for verification of the proposed flexural strength model. The analysis results show that the proposed method provides much better accuracy than many existing methods including the rigid-body model that utilizes the assumption of concentrated deformation and plastic hinge length, and that it also gives proper consideration on the effects of primary parameters such as reinforcement ratio, loading pattern, concrete strength, etc. Especially, the proposed method also well predicts the ultimate stress of unbonded tendons of over-reinforced members, which are often possible in construction fields, and high strength concrete members.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.75-85
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• 1995

The purpose of the present study is to develop a computer program which can be used to analyze prestressed concrete structures containing either bonded or unbonded tendons. To accomplish this, first, the concrete, nonprestressed, and prestressed steels are modeled with cyclic constitutive laws to take into account the various loading effects. Then, the hybrid-type element method is derived to improve the computations capability of stresses and strains, especially for the unbonded tendon. Since it allows one to determine the cross-sectional deformations in an element without any assumptions for its deformed shape, the element length can be much longer than that of the conventional finite element method. In order to achieve such a long element, various integral schemes are examined to implement them into the program. Then, the computational method for prestressing effects is developed consistently with the analytical method for the structure. Finally, analytical studies for actual tests were carried out to verify the program developed in this study.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.229-245
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• 2017

Post-earthquake observations revealed that seismic performance of beam-column connections in precast concrete structures affect the overall response extensively. Seismic design of precast reinforced concrete structures requires improved beam-column connections to transfer reversed load effects between structural elements. In Turkey, hybrid beam-column connections with welded components have been applied extensively in precast concrete industry for decades. Beam bottom longitudinal rebars are welded to beam end plates while top longitudinal rebars are placed to designated gaps in joint panels before casting of topping concrete in this type of connections. The paper presents the major findings of an experimental test programme including one monolithic and five precast hybrid half scale specimens representing interior beam-column connections of a moment frame of high ductility level. The required welding area between beam bottom longitudinal rebars and beam-end plates were calculated based on welding coefficients considered as a test parameter. It is observed that the maximum strain developed in the beam bottom flexural reinforcement plays an important role in the overall behavior of the connections. Two additional specimens which include unbonded lengths on the longitudinal rebars to reduce that strain demands were also tested. Strength, stiffness and energy dissipation characteristics of test specimens were investigated with respect to test variables. Seismic performances of test specimens were evaluated by obtaining damage indices.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.3
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• pp.363-375
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• 2022

Flexural capacity prediction is a challenging problem for externally prestressed concrete beams (EPCBs) due to the unbonded phenomenon between the concrete beam and external tendons. Many prediction equations have been provided in previous research but typically ignored the differences in deformation mode between internal and external unbonded tendons. The availability of these equations for EPCBs is controversial due to the inconsistent deformation modes and ignored second-order effects. In this study, the deformation characteristics and collapse mechanism of EPCB are carefully considered, and the ultimate deflected shape curves are derived based on the simplified curvature distribution. With the compatible relation between external tendons and the concrete beam, the equations of tendon elongation and eccentricity loss at ultimate states are derived, and the geometric interpretation is clearly presented. Combined with the sectional equilibrium equations, a rational and simplified flexural capacity prediction method for EPCBs is proposed. The key parameter, plastic hinge length, is emphatically discussed and determined by the sensitivity analysis of 324 FE analysis results. With 94 collected laboratory-tested results, the effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed, and comparisons with the previous formulas are made. The results show the better prediction accuracy of the proposed method for both stress increments and flexural capacity of EPCBs and the main reasons are discussed.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.33-52
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• 1997

A three dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis is used to study the influence of various design decisions for tieback walls. The numerical model simulates the soldier piles and the tendon bonded length of the anchors with beam elements, the unbonded tendon with a spring element, the wood lagging with the shell elements, and the soil with solid 3D nonlinear elements. The soil model used is a modified hyperbolic model with unloading hysteresis. The complete sequence of construction is simulated including the excavation, and the placement and stressing of the anchors. The numerical model is calibrated against a full scale instrumented tieback wall at the National Geotechnical Experimentation Site (NGES) on the Riverside Campus of Texas A&M University. Then a parametric study is conducted. The results give information on the influence of the following factors on the wall behavior : location of the first anchor, length of the tendon unbonded zone, magnitude of the anchor forces, embedment of the soldier piles, stiffness of the wood lagging, and of the piles. The implications in design are discussed.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.18 no.4 s.70
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• pp.335-345
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• 2005

This paper concentrates on the nonlinear analysis of prestressed concrete (PSC) containment structures. Unlike a commercialized program which adopts the perfect bond assumption between concrete and tendon in the analysis of PSC structures, a numerical algorithm to consider the slip effect, simultaneously with the use of commercialized programs such as DIANA and ABAQUS, is introduced in this paper For bonded tendons, the apparent yield stress of an embedded tendon is determined from the bond slip relationship. And for unbonded tendons, Correction for the strength and stiffness of unbonded internal tendons is achieved on the basis of an iteration scheme derived from the slip behavior of tendon along the entire length. Finally, the developed algorithm is applied to two PSC containment structures of PWR and CANDU to verify its efficiency and applicability in simulating the structural behavior of large complex structures, and the obtained result shows that both containment structures represent the ultimate pressure capacity larger than about 3 times of the design pressure.