Research on the Course of Principles of Concrete Structure Design

Nowadays,education and teaching have become a hot topic,and teaching in colleges and universities is facing a brand-new development direction.Principles of Concrete Structure Design,as one of the main courses,transmits professional knowledge for students,enhances the students’professional ability,and further carries out in-depth research on the course to bring a better teaching effect for students.The article mainly focuses on the research of the principles of concrete structure design course,conducts an analysis of the teaching characteristics of the principles of concrete structure design course,and reasonably sets the teaching content from the optimization of the course teaching objectives;innovative course teaching methods can deepen the effect of knowledge understanding;reform of experimental practice teaching can lay down the effect of the internalization of knowledge,etc.The in-depth description and discussion of the relevant aspects of the research aim to provide guidelines for related research.

Research on the Reform of the Course“Reading of Concrete Structure Plan and Construction Drawings”Under the Background of“Promoting Teaching and Learning Through Competitions”

The inherent teaching approach can no longer meet the demands of society.In this paper,current issues within the teaching landscape of architectural engineering technology in higher vocational colleges as well as the policies and teaching demands that formed the basis of this model were analyzed.The study shows the importance of the implementation of the teaching model“promoting teaching and learning through competitions.”This model puts emphasis on the curriculum and teaching resources,while also integrating the teaching process and evaluation with competition.These efforts aim to drive education reform in order to better align with the objectives of vocational education personnel training,while also acting as a reference for similar courses.

Piezoelectric-based Crack Detection Techniques of Concrete Structures:Experimental Study

Feasibility of a wave propagation-based active crack detection technique for nondestructive evaluations （NDE） of concrete structures with surface bonded and embedded piezoelectric-ceramic （PZT） patches was studied. At first, the wave propagation mechanisms in concrete were analyzed. Then, an active sensing system with integrated actuators/sensors was constructed. One PZT patch was used as an actuator to generate high frequency waves, and the other PZT patches were used as sensors to detect the propagating wave. Scattered wave signals from the damage can be obtained by subtracting the baseline signal of the intact structure from the recorded signal of the damaged structure. In the experimental study, progressive cracked damage inflicted artificially on the plain concrete beam is assessed by using both lateral and thickness modes of the PZT patches. The results indicate that with the increasing number and severity of cracks, the magnitude of the sensor output decreases for the surface bonded PZT patches, and increases for the embedded PZT patches.

Prediction of the Residual Strength for Durability Failure of Concrete Structure in Acidic Environments

According to the results of accelerated tests of acidification corrosion depth and compressive strength of concretes subjected to sulfuric acid environments,the acidification depth laws of concretes were predicted based on the grey system theory.Thus,the remaining compressive strength was calculated when the acidification depth reached the protection layer thickness of concrete structures,which indicates that the limit state of durability failure can be defined based on strength degradation,and the calculation process was illustrated by an example.The calculated results show that the remaining compressive strength values in the durability failure limit state for the concrete structures exposed to p H=2 and 3 sulfuric acid water environments and wet-dry cyclic sulfuric acid environment with p H=2 are 74%,72%,and 80% of initialstrength,respectively.The method provides references for the durability evaluation of concrete structure design under the acidic environments.

A Hybrid Local/Nonlocal Continuum Mechanics Modeling of Damage and Fracture in Concrete Structure at High Temperatures

This paper proposes a hybrid peridynamic and classical continuum mechanical model for the high-temperature damage and fracture analysis of concrete structures.In this model,we introduce the thermal expansion into peridynamics and then couple it with the thermoelasticity based on the Morphing method.In addition,a thermomechanical constitutive model of peridynamic bond is presented inspired by the classic Mazars model for the quasi-brittle damage evolution of concrete structures under high-temperature conditions.The validity and effectiveness of the proposed model are verified through two-dimensional numerical examples,in which the influence of temperature on the damage behavior of concrete structures is investigated.Furthermore,the thermal effects on the fracture path of concrete structures are analyzed by numerical results.

Analysis on Construction Technology of Concrete Structure in Civil Engineering

The rapid development of science and technology puts forward higher requirements for new building construction,especially in civil engineering construction.The construction quality of construction engineering is the core management and the testing link.The Concrete structure is an important safety and quality guarantee in the project and is the top priority in the civil engineering.In civil engineering,the concrete structure has an important social impact on the continuous research and development,and application of construction technology.This paper,discuss the advantage and disadvantage of using concrete in building construction.

Crack detection for wading-concrete structures using water irrigation and electric heating

Cracking in wading-concrete structures has a worse impact on structural safety compared with conventional concrete structures.The accurate and timely monitoring of crack development plays a significant role in the safety of wading-concrete engineering.The heat-transfer rate near a crack is related to the flow velocity of the fluid in the crack.Based on this,a novel crack-identification method for underwater concrete structures is presented.This method uses water irrigation to generate seepage at the interface of a crack;then,the heat-dissipation rate in the crack area will increase because of the convective heat-transfer effect near the crack.Crack information can be identified by monitoring the cooling law and leakage flow near cracks.The proposed mobile crack-monitoring system consists of a heating system,temperature-measurement system,and irrigation system.A series of tests was conducted on a reinforcedconcrete beam using this system.The crack-discrimination indexψwas defined,according to the subsection characteristics of the heat-source cooling curve.The effects of the crack width,leakage flow,and relative positions of the heat source and crack onψwere studied.The results showed that the distribution characteristics ofψalong the monitoring line could accurately locate the crack,but not quantify the crack width.However,the leakage flow is sensitive to the crack width and can be used to identify it.

Fe_(2)O_(3)-MWNTs Composite with Reinforced Concrete Structure as High-performance Anode Material for Lithium-ion Batteries

A Fe_(2)O_(3)-MWNTs(multi-walled carbon nanotubes)composite with a reinforced concrete structure was fabricated employing a two-step method which involves a sol-gel process followed by high-temperature in situ sintering.This Fe_(2)O_(3)-MWNTs composite,intended to be used as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries,maintained a reversible capacity as high as 896.3 mA·h/g after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA/g and the initial coulombic efficiency reached 75.5%.The rate capabilities of the Fe_(2)O_(3)-MWNTs composite,evaluated using the ratios of capacity at 100,200,500,1000,2000 and 100 mA/g after every 10 cycles,were determined to be 904.7,852.1,759.0,653.8,566.8 and 866.3 mA·h/g,respectively.Such a superior electrochemical performance of the Fe_(2)O_(3)-MWNTs composite is mainly attributed to the reinforced concrete construction,in which the MWNTs function as the skeleton and conductive network.Such a structure contributes to shortening the transport pathways for both Li+and electrons,enhancing conductivity and accommodating volume expansion during prolonged cycling.This Fe_(2)O_(3)-MWNTs composite with the designed structure is a promising anode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

The Compatibility in Optic Fiber Smart Concrete and Structure

The compatibility between a fiber optical sensor and concrete structure in the optic fiber smart concrete is studied.The methods of improving the compatibility are proposed based on theory analysing, and a novel fiber optical sensor was developed. The experimental results show that the novel structure of fiber optical sensor and the scheme of the protecting layer of epoxy resin bed composite not only enable the sensor to be applied in strict environment, but also can monitor the beginning propagation and breaking of concrete cracks. The results also indicate that the sensor will maintain its properties in the case of large deformation and that it has the high compatibility with concrete structure and can meet special needs of the intelligent materials and structure.

Research on Service Life Prediction Model of Concrete Structure of Sea-crossing Bridge

According to the chloride corrosion environment,service life prediction model of concrete structure of sea-crossing bridge was built using modified Fick's second law and the whole probability calculation method,which was suitable for China. Furthermore,a visual service life prediction program of concrete structure was developed by optimized Monte Carlo method. Meanwhile,Life 365 program was compared,indicating reliability of the prediction program. Finally,the validity of prediction model was verified in JinTang Bridge of Zhoushan Island Mainland Linkage Project.

Effects of Temperature Variations on Safety of Reinforced Concrete Structures During Construction

Since 1960s, many research works on the reinforced concrete structure have been published and some concise and practical calculation methods for safety control during construction have been achieved. The reinforced concrete structure during construction is a time-dependent structure which consists of a partly completed structure and a formwork-shore system. Experience shows that the most critical condition of the time-dependent structure may happen when the formwork-shore system is partly removed or reset and accidents may occur. In the present paper, effect of ambient temperature variation between day and night is considered, new structural models for reinforced concrete frames, slab-column systems and shear wall structures are proposed, and a new software named Safety Analysis During Construction Considering Temperature(SACT) is also introduced. Compared with on-site measurements, the software SACT is validated for application on construction site.

Application of Strut-and-Tie Model for Design of Interior Anchorage Zone in Post-tensioned Concrete Structure

This paper presents an application of strut-and-tie model(STM) to design the interior anchorage zone(IAZ) in the post-tensioned concrete structure.The STM theory and range of IAZ are introduced.Then,based on the finite element analysis,a series of simplified equations to calculate internal forces in IAZ are presented.Finally,the STM model for IAZ is given.In the proposed STM model,internal forces in ties vary with the dimension ratio and the eccentricity of load.The U-turn of internal forces is suggested to allocate rebar to resist bearing flexural tensile force.Compared with the FIP(International Federation for Prestressing) model,the proposed STM model is more reasonable and applicable.

Self-centering seismic retrofit scheme for reinforced concrete frame structures:SDOF system study

This paper presents the results of a parametric study of self-centering seismic retrofit schemes for reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings. The self-centering retrofit system features flag-shaped hysteresis and minimal residual deformation. For comparison purpose,an alternate seismic retrofit scheme that uses a bilinear-hysteresis retrofit system such as buckling-restrained braces (BRB) is also considered in this paper. The parametric study was carried out in a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system framework since a multi-story building structure may be idealized as an equivalent SDOF system and investigation of the performance of this equivalent SDOF system can provide insight into the seismic response of the multi-story building. A peak-oriented hysteresis model which can consider the strength and stiffness degradation is used to describe the hysteretic behavior of RC structures. The parametric study involves two key parameters -the strength ratio and elastic stiffness ratio between the seismic retrofit system and the original RC frame. An ensemble of 172 earthquake ground motion records scaled to the design basis earthquake in California with a probability of exceedance of 10% in 50 years was constructed for the simulation-based parametric study. The effectiveness of the two seismic retrofit schemes considered in this study is evaluated in terms of peak displacement ratio,peak acceleration ratio,energy dissipation demand ratio and residual displacement ratio between the SDOF systems with and without retrofit. It is found from this parametric study that RC structures retrofitted with the self-centering retrofit scheme (SCRS) can achieve a seismic performance level comparable to the bilinear-hysteresis retrofit scheme (BHRS) in terms of peak displacement and energy dissipation demand ratio while having negligible residual displacement after earthquake.

Full－range nonlinear analysis of fatigue behaviors of reinforced concrete structures by finite element method

The offshore reinforced concrete structures are always subject to cyclic load, such as wave load.In this paper a new finite element analysis model is developed to analyze the stress and strain state of reinforced concrete structures including offshore concrete structures, subject to any number of the cyclic load. On the basis of the anal ysis of the experimental data,this model simplifies the number of cycles-total cyclic strain curve of concrete as three straight line segments,and it is assumed that the stress-strain curves of different cycles in each segment are the same, thus the elastoplastic analysis is only needed for the first cycle of each segment, and the stress or strain corresponding to any number of cycles can be obtained by superposition of stress or strain obtained by the above e lastoplastic analysis based on the cyclic numbers in each segment.This model spends less computer time,and can obtain the stress and strain states of the structures after any number of cycles.The endochronic-damage and ideal offshore concrete platform subject to cyclic loading are experimented and analyzed by the finite element method based on the model proposed in this paper. The results between the experiment and the finite element analysis are in good agreement,which demonstrates the validity and accuracy of the proposed model.

Development of a new connection for precast concrete walls subjected to cyclic loading

The Industrialized Building System （IBS） was recently introduced to minimize the time and cost of project construction. Accordingly, ensuring the integration of the connection of precast components in IBS structures is an important factor that ensures stability of buildings subjected to dynamic loads from earthquakes, vehicles, and machineries. However, structural engineers still lack knowledge on the proper connection and detailed joints o fiBS structure construction. Therefore, this study proposes a special precast concrete wall-to-wall connection system for dynamic loads that resists multidirectional imposed loads and reduces vibration effects （PI2014701723）. This system is designed to connect two adjacent precast wall panels by using two steel U-shaped channels （i.e., male and female joints）. During casting, each joint is adapted for incorporation into a respective wall panel after considering the following conditions： one side of the steel channel opens into the thickness face of the panel; a U-shaped rubber is implemented between the two channels to dissipate the vibration effect; and bolts and nuts are used to create an extension between the two U-shaped male and female steel channels. The developed finite element model of the precast wall is subjected to cyclic loads to evaluate the performance of the proposed connection during an imposed dynamic load. Connection performance is then compared with conventional connections based on the energy dissipation, stress, deformation, and concrete damage in the plastic range. The proposed precast connection is capable of exceeding the energy absorption of precast walls subjected to dynamic load, thereby improving its resistance behavior in all principal directions.

Mode-I fracture and durability of FRP-concrete bonded interfaces

In this study, a work-of-fracture method using a three-point bend beam （3PBB） specimen, which is commonly used to determine the fracture energy of concrete, was adapted to evaluate the mode-I fracture and durability of fiber-reinforced polymer （FRP） composite-concrete bonded interfaces. Interface fracture properties were evaluated with established data reduction procedures. The proposed test method is primarily for use in evaluating the effects of freeze-thaw （F-T） and wet-dry （W-D） cycles that are the accelerated aging protocols on the mode-I fracture of carbon FRP-concrete bonded interfaces. The results of the mode-I fracture tests of F-T and W-D cycle-conditioned specimens show that both the critical load and fracture energy decrease as the number of cycles increases, and their degradation pattern has a nearly linear relationship with the number of cycles. However, compared with the effect of the F-T cycles, the critical load and fracture energy degrade at a slower rate with W-D cycles, which suggests that F-T cyclic conditioning causes more deterioration of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer （CFRP）-concrete bonded interface. After 50 and 100 conditioning cycles, scaling of concrete was observed in all the specimens subjected to F-T cycles, but not in those subjected to W-D cycles. The examination of interface fracture surfaces along the bonded interfaces with varying numbers of F-T and W-D conditioning cycles shows that （1） cohesive failure of CFRP composites is not observed in all fractured surfaces; （2） for the control specimens that have not been exposed to any conditioning cycles, the majority of interface failure is a result of cohesive fracture of concrete （peeling of concrete from the concrete substrate）, which means that the cracks mostly propagate within the concrete; and （3） as the number of F-T or W-D conditioning cycles increases, adhesive failure along the interface begins to emerge and gradually increases. It is thus concluded that the fracture properties （i.e., the critical load and fracture energy） of the bonded interface are controlled primarily by the concrete cohesive fracture before conditioning and by the adhesive interface fracture after many cycles of F-T or W-D conditioning. As demonstrated in this study, a test method using 3PBB specimens combined with a fictitious crack model and experimental conditioning protocols for durability can be used as an effective qualification method to test new hybrid material interface bonds and to evaluate durability-related effects on the interfaces.

The Application of Neural Network in Lifetime Prediction of Concrete

There are many difficulties in concrete endurance prediction, especially in accurate predicting service life of concrete engineering. It is determined by the concentration of S042-/ Mg2+ / Cl- /Ca2+ , reactionareas , the cycles of freezing and dissolving, alternatives of dry and wet state, the kind of cement, etc. . In general , because of complexity itself and cognitive limitation, endurance prediction under sulphate erosion is still illegible and uncertain, so this paper adopts neural network technology to research this problem. Through analyzing , the paper sets up a 3 - levels neural network and a 4 - levels neural network to predict the endurance undersulphate erosion. The 3 - levels neural network includes 13 inputting nodes, 7 outputting nodes and 34 hidden nodes. The 4 - levels neural network also has 13 inputting nodes and 7 outputting nodes with two hidden levels which has 1 nodes and 8 nodes separately. In the end the paper give a example with laboratorial data and discussion the result and deviation. The paper shows that deviation results from some faults of training specimens; such as few training specimens and few distinctions among training specimens. So the more specimens should be collected to reduce data redundancy and improve the reliability of network analysis conclusion.

Mitigation of the blast load effects on a building structure using newly composite structural configurations

In this study,a nonlinear three-dimensional hydrocode numerical simulation was carried out using AUTODYN-3D to investigate the effect of blasting of a high explosive material(TNT)against several configurations of the composite structure.Several numerical models were carried out to study the effect of varying the thickness of the walls and the effect of adding an air layer or aluminum foam layer inside two layers of concrete in mitigating the effect of blast waves on the structure walls.The results showed that increasing the thickness of walls has a good effect on mitigating the effect of blast waves.When a layer of air was added,the effect of blast waves was exaggerated,while when a layer of aluminum foam was added the blast wave effects were mitigated with a reasonable percentage.

Effect of Silica Fume on Compressive Strength of Oil-Polluted Concrete in Different Marine Environments

In the present research, effect of silica fume as an additive and oil polluted sands as aggregates on compressive strength of concrete were investigated experimentally. The amount ofoil in the designed mixtures was assumed to be constant and equal to 2% of the sand weight. Silica fume accounting for 10%, 15% and 20% of the weight is added to the designed mixture. After preparation and curing, concrete specimens were placed into the three different conditions： fresh, brackish and saltwater environments （submerged in fresh water, alternation of exposed in air ＆ submerged in sea water and submerged in sea water）. The result of compressive strength tests shows that the compressive strength of the specimens consisting of silica fume increases significantly in comparison with the control specimens in all three environments. The compressive strength of the concrete with 15% silica fume content was about 30% to 50% higher than that of control specimens in all tested environments under the condition of using polluted aggregates in the designed mixture.

Quantitative approach for damage detection of reinforced concrete frames

The objective of this paper is to provide an analytical basis for the quantitative evaluation of damage to a reinforced concrete structure based on the vibration data obtained by using the damage detection technique. A partial reinforced concrete system of a weak beam/strong column moment frame is chosen as an example. A pushover analysis is carried out in order to numerically examine both the story shear-relative displacement characteristics and the associated damage level. In the analysis, a two dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis is employed considering several constitutive models. As a result, the degradation of the stiffness at the damaged story is characterized in association with the story relative displacement. It is also pointed out that the rotation angle of the column-base is highly correlated with the story relative displacement. Based on the analytical findings, quantitative approaches for a structural health monitoring system are suggested considering both the current sensor technologies and those available in the future. Keywords nonlinear FEM analysis - structural health monitoring - reinforced concrete structure - story stiffness - rotation angle of column-base Supported by: Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Base Research (c) (1), Research No. 14550555)