Improved Mechanical Properties of Textile Reinforced Concrete Thin Plate

Textile reinforced concrete （TRC） is especially suitable for the thin-walled and light-weight structural elements with a high load-bearing capacity. For this thin element, the concrete cover thickness is an important factor in affecting the mechanical and anti-crack performance. Therefore, the influences of the surface treatment of the textile and mixing polypropylene fiber into the concrete on the properties of the components with different cover thickness were experimentally studied with four-point bending tests. The experimental results show that for the components with the same cover thickness, sticking sand on epoxy resin-impregnated textile and adding short fiber into the concrete are helpful to improve their mechanical performance. The 2-3 mm cover thickness is enough to meet the anchorage requirements of the reinforcement fiber and the component has good crack pattern and mechanical behavior at this condition. Comparison between the calculated and the experimental Values of flexural capacity reveals satisfactory agreement. Finally, based on the calculation model of the crack spacing of reinforced concrete structures, the crack extension of this thin-wall component was qualitatively analyzed and the same results with the experimental were obtained.

Nonlocal thermal buckling and postbuckling of functionally graded graphene nanoplatelet reinforced piezoelectric micro-plate

This paper analyzes the nonlocal thermal buckling and postbuckling behaviors of a multi-layered graphene nanoplatelet(GPL)reinforced piezoelectric micro-plate.The GPLs are supposed to disperse as a gradient pattern in the composite micro-plate along its thickness.The effective material properties are calculated by the Halpin-Tsai parallel model and mixture rule for the functionally graded GPL reinforced piezoelectric(FG-GRP)micro-plate.Governing equations for the nonlocal thermal buckling and postbuckling behaviors of the FG-GRP micro-plate are obtained by the first-order shear deformation theory,the von Kármán nonlinear theory,and the minimum potential energy principle.The differential quadrature(DQ)method and iterative method are introduced to numerically analyze the effects of the external electric voltage,the distribution pattern and characteristic of GPLs,and the nonlocal parameter on the critical buckling behaviors and postbuckling equilibrium path of the FG-GRP micro-plate in thermal environment.

The ultimate strength of doubler plate reinforced Y-joints under compression loading

It is common practice in the offshore industry to solve the punching shear problem due to compression by using doubler plate. The finite-element method is a useful tool for studying this problem. The aim of this paper is to study the static strength of doubler plate reinforced Y-joints subjected to compression loading. The finite-element method is adopted in numerical parametric studies. The individual influences of the geometric parameters βand τd （doubler plate to chord wall thickness ratio） and ld/d1（dubler plate length to brace diameter ratio） on the ultimate strength are made clear. The results show the size of plate may have important effects on the strength of reinforced joints. It is found that the ultimate strength of Y-joints reinforced with appropriately proportioned doubler plates can be greatly improved nearly up tothree times to un-reinforced Y-joints.

Compressive Behavior of Steel Members Reinforced by Patch Plate with Welding and Bonding

Repair and reinformcement of aged civil steel structures is one of the important issues for maintaining and using them for a long term. For repair and reinforcement of deteriorated civil steel structures due to fatigue and corrosion, patch plate reinforcement is widely applied. Bolting is generally used because of easy quality control and many construction achievements. However, bolting has downsides including holes made and weight increase. Welding is considered to overcome these demerits but in reality the application of welding is unsatisfactory due to the possibility of fatigue crack occurring from the welded part. In this study, a patch plate strengthening system of welded joint assisted with bonding has been proposed. The compressive behaviors of weld-bond jointed specimen were investigated by a series of experiments and FE analysis. It was confirmed that use of welding and bonding was effective to enhance compressive strength of specimen, due to better load-carrying capacity of patch plate compared with sole use of welding.

A refined finite element method for bending analysis of laminated plates integrated with piezoelectric fiber-reinforced composite actuators

This research presents a finite element formulation based on four-variable refined plate theory for bending analysis of cross-ply and angle-ply laminated composite plates integrated with a piezoelectric fiber-reinforced composite actuator under electromechanical loading. The four-variable refined plate theory is a simple and efficient higher-order shear deformation theory, which predicts parabolic variation of transverse shear stresses across the plate thickness and satisfies zero traction conditions on the plate free surfaces. The weak form of governing equations is derived using the principle of minimum potential energy, and a 4-node non-conforming rectangular plate element with 8 degrees of freedom per node is introduced for discretizing the domain. Several benchmark problems are solved by the developed MATLAB code and the obtained results are compared with those from exact and other numerical solutions, showing good agreement.

Plate reinforced square hollow section X-joints subjected to in-plane moment

The static test of 13 square hollow section(SHS) X-joints with different β and different types of plate reinforcement under in-plane moment in brace was carried out. Experimental test schemes, failure modes of specimens, moment-vertical displacement curves, moment-deformation of the chord, and strain strength distribution curves were presented. The effect of β and plate reinforcement types on in-plane flexural property of SHS X-joints was studied. Results show that punching shear of chord face disappears, brace material fracture appears and concave and convex deformation of chord decrease when either collar plates or doubler plates were welded on chord face. Moment-vertical displacement curves of all specimens have obvious elastic, elastic-plastic and plastic stages. As β increases, the in-plane flexural ultimate capacity and initial stiffness of joints of the same plate reinforcement type increase, but ductility of joints decreases. With the same β, the in-plane flexural initial stiffness and ultimate capacity of doubler plate reinforced joints, collar plate reinforced joints, and unreinforced joints decrease progressively. Thickness of reinforcement plate has no obvious effect on in-plane flexural initial stiffness and ultimate capacity of joints. As thickness of reinforcement plate increases, the ductility of reinforced X-joints decreases. The concave and convex deformation of every specimen has good symmetry;as β increases, the yield and ultimate deformation of chord decrease.

Uplift of Symmetrical Anchor Plates by Using Grid-Fixed Reinforced Reinforcement in Cohesionless Soil

Uplift response of symmetrical anchor plates with and without grid fixed reinforced （GFR） reinforcement was evaluated in model tests and numerical simulations by Plaxis. Many variations of reinforcement layers were used to reinforce the sandy soil over symmetrical anchor plates. In the current research, different factors such as relative density of sand, embedment ratios, and various GFR parameters including size, number of layers, and the proximity of the layer to the symmetrical anchor plate were investigated in a scale model. The failure mechanism and the associated rupture surface were observed and evaluated. GFR, a tied up system made of fiber reinforcement polymer （FRP） strips and end balls, was connected to the geosynthetic material and anchored into the soil. Test results showed that using GFR reinforcement significantly improved the uplift capacity of anchor plates. It was found that the inclusion of one layer of GFR, which rested directly on the top of the anchor plate, was more effective in enhancing the anchor capacity itself than other methods. It was found that by including GFR the uplift response was improved by 29%. Multi layers of GFR proved more effective in enhancing the uplift capacity than a single GFR reinforcement. This is due to the additional anchorage provided by the GFR at each level of reinforcement. In general, the results show that the uplift capacity of symmetrical anchor plates in loose and dense sand can be significantly increased by the inclusion of GFR. It was also observed that the inclusion of GFR reduced the requirement for a large L/D ratio to achieve the required uplift capacity. The laboratory and numerical analysis results are found to be in agreement in terms of breakout factor and failure mechanism pattern.

Finite Element Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Plate Impacted by Block

A new concept of structurally dissipating rock-shed (SDR) was developed by the lab of Tonello IC and LOCIE-ESIGEC (France). To decide the dimension of the plate used in SDR, an ANSYS model which could simulate the impact of rock in the centre of the plate was established by Fabien Delhomme. By using this model, some finite element analyses are carried out in the present paper. Firstly, a plate impacted by a block is numerically simulated, the numerical results obtained from different mesh sizes are compared and the accuracy of the finite element model is verified. Then, the dynamic response of the plate impacted at the boundary and in the medium part is computed. By analyzing the stress in rebar, the most dangerous region of impact of plate was found. For a rectangular plate, the most dangerous region is at the corner of the plate when a block drops in. Finally, the whole deformation process of the plate under dropping block was simulated and a simplified definition (effect zone) to describe the deformation process in different positions of plate was given. From this study, it is found that the impact only affects heavily within the effect zone.

Bending and stress analysis of polymeric composite plates reinforced with functionally graded graphene platelets based on sinusoidal shear-deformation plate theory

The bending and stress analysis of a functionally graded polymer composite plate reinforced with graphene platelets are studied in this paper.The governing equations are derived by using principle of virtual work for a plate which is rested on Pasternak’s foundation.Sinusoidal shear deformation theory is used to describe displacement field.Four different distribution patterns are employed in our analysis.The analytical solution is presented for a functionally graded plate to investigate the influence of important parameters.The numerical results are presented to show the deflection and stress results of the problem for four employed patterns in terms of geometric parameters such as number of layers,weight fraction and two parameters of Pasternak’s foundation.

The effect of initial geometric imperfection on the nonlinear resonance of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite rectangular plates

The purpose of the present study is to examine the impact of initial geometric imperfection on the nonlinear dynamical characteristics of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite(FG-CNTRC) rectangular plates under a harmonic excitation transverse load. The considered plate is assumed to be made of matrix and single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs). The rule of mixture is employed to calculate the effective material properties of the plate. Within the framework of the parabolic shear deformation plate theory with taking the influence of transverse shear deformation and rotary inertia into account, Hamilton’s principle is utilized to derive the geometrically nonlinear mathematical formulation including the governing equations and corresponding boundary conditions of initially imperfect FG-CNTRC plates. Afterwards, with the aid of an efficient multistep numerical solution methodology, the frequency-amplitude and forcing-amplitude curves of initially imperfect FG-CNTRC rectangular plates with various edge conditions are provided, demonstrating the influence of initial imperfection,geometrical parameters, and edge conditions. It is displayed that an increase in the initial geometric imperfection intensifies the softening-type behavior of system, while no softening behavior can be found in the frequency-amplitude curve of a perfect plate.

钢板混凝土墙-钢筋混凝土楼板连接节点抗剪性能

模块化技术正在推动新一代核电厂的设计和发展,兼具优良工作性能和工业化施工性能的钢板混凝土(SC)结构在模块化结构具有广泛应用前景。SC墙-RC楼板连接节点作为SC模块结构与RC结构之间的典型传力构件,其结构设计必须既要保证荷载的有效传递,又要考虑模块化施工的可行性。为研究SC墙-RC楼板连接节点抗剪性能,设计并完成了2个“薄墙厚板型”SC墙-RC楼板连接节点循环加载试验,包括GB/T 51340—2018建议的钢筋连接器连接、附加抗剪键等两种连接方式。试验结果表明:在剪跨比1.50下试件均发生RC楼板弯剪破坏,节点主要传力破坏路径为加载端至楼板根部的斜压杆区域,说明节点结合面不配置抗剪键仍满足抗剪要求;试验过程中,直螺纹钢筋套筒无滑脱、未发生钢筋或焊缝拉断,延性系数均大于4,说明钢筋连接器连接的传力性能良好,可作为SC墙-RC楼板连接节点的有效连接方式;该节点核心区仍属于抗剪薄弱区域,若要满足“全强度连接”设计准则,核心区对拉筋体积含钢率应不低于0.59%。

Experimental study and analysis on fatigue stiffness of RC beams strengthened with CFRP and steel plate

The objective of this work is to investigate the fatigue behavior of reinforced concrete(RC) beams strengthened with externally bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymer(CFRP) and steel plate. An experimental investigation and theoretical analysis were made on the law of deflection development and stiffness degradation, as well as the influence of fatigue load ranges. Test results indicate that the law of three-stage change under fatigue loading is followed by both midspan deflection and permanent deflection, which also have positive correlation with fatigue load amplitude. Fatigue stiffness of composite strengthened beams degrades gradually with the increasing of number of cycles. Based on the experimental results, a theoretical model by effective moment of inertia method is developed for calculating the sectional stiffness of such composite strengthened beams under fatigue loading, and the calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Experimental Study on Tensile Properties of Steel Plate Bonded by CFRP

The tensile properties of five groups of composite specimens, which consist of steel plate bonded by CFRP,were experimentally researched. The failure types, performing characteristics and failure mechanism of the composite specimens were investigated in detail. The influence of different ratio of CFRP on bearing capacity, loading-strain curves, compound modulus, rigidity and ductility of the composite specimens was analyzed. The experimental results indicate that the composite specimen can work harmonically and the steel plate does not break in tension. Comparing with steel plate, the bearing capacity and the rigidity of the composite specimens increase and ductility decreases. The bearing capacity increases sharply with the increase in the number of layers of CFRP. With the increase in CFRP, the yield strength increases slightly and ductility decreases. The experimental researches can provide a theoretical basis for engineering application of combination strengthening.

Experimental study on mechanical property of stiffening-ribbed-hollow-pipe cast-in place reinforced concrete girderless floor

Stiffening-ribbed-hollow-pipe cast-in place reinforced concrete girderless floor is a new-style hollow girderless floor system. Model experimental researches of simply-supported floor and four-corners bearing floor have been done on this new kind of floor system in this paper. The experiment results show that the floor system has good mechanical property such as high bearing capacity, big rigidity and good tensility. A theoretical method is presented in this paper that the stiffening-ribbed-hollow-pipe girderless floor can be analyzed by being converted equivalently to orthotropic solid slab. It is indicated that the method is correct and reasonable according to the contrast between theoretical calculated results and experimental measured results. The theoretical results coincide with the measured results well.

Reinforcement Method of the Tubular Joints under Combined Loads Based on ANSYS Software

The jacket offshore platform structures working in the environment are subjected to various external conditions,such as wave loads,wind loads and corrosion of sea water.Therefore,the research on reinforcement of tubular joints has great practical value for the safety of offshore platforms.In this article,the finite element(FE)models of T-type tubular joint(T-joint)and K-type tubular joint(K-joint)are established by ANSYS software.Triangular rib reinforcement and collar plate reinforcement are used to reinforce the tubular joints.The reinforcement effects are assessed through the ultimate bearing capacity,and the influences of parameters of the rib and the collar plate on the ultimate capacity are analyzed.Besides,the effects of the two reinforcement methods are compared under the combined loads,and the results show that the reinforcement of the ribbed plate is more effective in resisting the deformation caused by bending moment,while the reinforcement of the collar plate is more effective to avoid the plastic damage caused by the axial pressure.

Tailoring microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminum matrix composites reinforced with novel Al/CuFe multi-layered core-shell particles

Aluminum matrix composites(AMCs), reinforced with novel pre-synthesized Al/Cu Fe multi-layered coreshell particles, were fabricated by different consolidation techniques to investigate their effect on microstructure and mechanical properties. To synthesize multi-layered Al/Cu Fe core-shell particles, Cu and Fe layers were deposited on Al powder particles by galvanic replacement and electroless plating method, respectively. The core-shell powder and sintered compacts were characterized by using X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDX), pycnometer, microhardness and compression tests. The results revealed that a higher extent of interfacial reactions, due to the transformation of the deposited layer into intermetallic phases in spark plasma sintered composite, resulted in high relative density(99.26%), microhardness(165 HV0.3) and strength(572 MPa). Further, the presence of un-transformed Cu in the shell structure of hot-pressed composite resulted in the highest fracture strain(20.4%). The obtained results provide stronger implications for tailoring the microstructure of AMCs through selecting appropriate sintering paths to control mechanical properties.

Reinforcement and numerical analysis on the corbel of a halfthrough arch bridge

Corbels support the crossbeams of half-through arch bridges. They are prone to cracking easily due to their characteristics and complicated loading conditions. Based on a practical diagnosis of a bridge crossbeam, we bonded steel plates onto bridge corbels to strengthen them. We carried out a numerical analysis on the effectiveness of the reinforcement by using the commercial sof^are ANSYS. The numerical analysis shows that the stresses near the section break increased slightly, but the variation amplitude was small and all the stresses were within an allowable range. The loading test indicates that it is feasible to strengthen the corbel with vertical bonded steel plates. Therefore, the reinforcement is effective and economical. This reinforcement method is suitable for this type of corbel and can be applied in similar cases.

Structural Performance of Smart CFRP-FBG Reinforced Steel Beams

Many beam structures suffer from gradual performance degradation with the increase of service life.To recover the bearing capacity of these beams,carbon fiber reinforced polymer(CFRP)plates are developed to attached on the beam bottom.To check the structural performance of the CFRP reinforced beams,smart CFRP plate with FBGs in series is designed and LVDTs are adopted to measure the deformations.The deflection of the reinforced beam is given based on the elastic conversion cross-section method.The experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.The study shows that the CFRP reinforced zone has a larger flexural rigidity than the pure steel beam zone.The general distribution of the deflection along the span of the CFRP reinforced beam can be described by the proposed formula.It provides a scientific design guidance for the deflection control of CFRP reinforced structures.

Strengthening of Sewerage Systems with Composites Plates:Numerical Optimization

Sewerage systems are subject to many types of degradation. In France, an estimated 10% of the total systems length requires work due to structural degradation. At present, there is no method to localised rehabilitation of man-entry sewers. Laboratory tests have validated localised methods that involve bonding composite plates to the sewer. Those tests were performed on pre-damaged (multi-cracked) ovoid test pieces. The degradation observed was a longitudinal crack opened at the crown. The tests were performed under vertical loading. Our Study concerns the application of partial lining of sewer with composites plates. The composite strengtheners used were 1.2 mm thick pultruded carbon plates. A series of experiments were carried out on reinforced-concrete ovoids (T180) strengthened and unstrengthened by carbon plates in the keystone. After this test, a vertically-loaded ovoid was subjected to three-dimensional modelling in order to determinate its structural behavior and collapse mechanism. Knowledge of the latter make it possible to limit the areas in need of strengthening. An ovoid strengthened by composite plates adhered to the damaged areas was also modelled. Using real case data, modelling was carried out using a finite-element computational software program. This program allows cracking to be monitored until the structure collapses. Many conventional approaches using intensity factors k and contour integrals J have already been reported in the literature. We used methods for restituting energy G. Because nonlinear elasticity was being calculated, the constitutive laws of the various materials had to be taken into account. These constitutive laws describe the evolution of the materials. Moreover, those laws are subject to deformation limits. The simulated models were homogeneously meshed with physically nonlinear, triangular elements. The test results were then compared to those of the digital models. Partial lining of a sewer with composite plates, compared to a traditional reinforced-concrete lining, achieves a cost reduction of about 55%.

波纹板加固技术在铁路病害涵洞中的应用研究

涵洞是铁路的重要组成部分,也是日常管养中最容易忽略的铁路设备,涵洞结构的劣化状况和受力性能直接影响线路的安全与稳定。针对提速改造条件下重载铁路涵洞出现的承载能力不足、沉降过大、错位和耐久性降低等诸多问题,基于有限元分析、试验检测和工程应用等方法,开展拼装波纹板加固涵洞机理分析、波纹板关键参数加固涵洞性能与敏感性分析,以及波纹板加固涵洞实际工程应用技术研究。研究结果表明:既有涵洞采用波纹板加固技术后,涵洞结构整体刚度显著提高,涵洞顶板受力和变形明显降低,加固效果较好;同样尺寸条件下,相对于矩形和三角形波纹板结构,采用圆弧形波纹板加固涵洞后,其顶板跨中最大竖向位移和最大应力值均能减小20%及以上,圆弧形波纹板具有更好的加固效果;主力组合荷载作用下,随波纹板波高和波距增加,波纹板Mises应力表现为逐渐减小趋势,且Mises应力与涵洞跨度基本成反比关系。16座涵洞现场实测结果表明,采用波纹板加固后,不同跨径盖板涵和框构涵受力和变形显著降低,跨中挠度及动应变较加固前降低幅度均超过40%,波纹板技术在重载铁路病害涵洞中具有较好的加固效果。