Explosion resistance performance of reinforced concrete box girder coated with polyurea:Model test and numerical simulation

To study the anti-explosion protection effect of polyurea coating on reinforced concrete box girder,two segmental girder specimens were made at a scale of 1:3,numbered as G(without polyurea coating)and PCG(with polyurea coating).The failure characteristics and dynamic responses of the specimens were compared through conducting explosion tests.The reliability of the numerical simulation using LS-DYNA software was verified by the test results.The effects of different scaled distances,reinforcement ratios,concrete strengths,coating thicknesses and ranges of polyurea were studied.The results show that the polyurea coating can effectively enhance the anti-explosion performance of the girder.The top plate of middle chamber in specimen G forms an elliptical penetrating hole,while that in specimen PCG only shows a very slight local dent.The peak vertical displacement and residual displacement of PCG decrease by 74.8% and 73.7%,respectively,compared with those of specimen G.For the TNT explosion with small equivalent,the polyurea coating has a more significant protective effect on reducing the size of fracture.With the increase of TNT equivalent,the protective effect of polyurea on reducing girder displacement becomes more significant.The optimal reinforcement ratio,concrete strength,thickness and range of polyurea coating were also drawn.

Discussion on Detection and Evaluation of Simply Supported Prestressed Concrete Small Box Girder Bridge After a Fire

The article takes a simply supported prestressed concrete small box girder bridge project as an example for inspection and evaluation after a fire incident.This includes appearance detection,concrete color hardness detection,concrete strength detection,concrete surface damage layer detection,reinforcement protective layer detection,and concrete carbonation detection.It is hoped that this analysis can be used as a reference for the detection and evaluation of future bridge projects with fire incidents to smoothen its subsequent repair and maintenance.

Design and Preparation of High Elastic Modulus Self-compacting Concrete for Pre-stressed Mass Concrete Structures

Requirements of self-compacting concrete （SCC） applied in pre-stressed mass concrete structures include high fluidity, high elastic modulus, low adiabatic temperature rise and low drying shrinkage, which cannot be satisfied by ordinary SCC. In this study, in order to solve the problem, a few principles of SCC design were proposed and the effects of binder amount, fly ash （FA） substitution, aggregate content and gradation on the workability, temperature rise, drying shrinkage and elastic modulus of SCC were investigated. The results and analysis indicate that the primary factor influencing the fluidity was paste content, and the main methods improving the elastic modulusof SCC were a lower sand ratio and an optimized coarse aggregate gradation. Lower adiabatic temperature rise and drying shrinkage were beneficial for decreasing the cement content. Further, based on the optimization of mixture, a C50 grade SCC （with binder amount of only 480 kg/ m3, fly ash substitution of 40%, sand ratio of 51% and proper coarse aggregate gradation （Vs.~0 mm： V10-16 ram： V16.20 mm= 30%： 30%：40%）） with superior workability was successfully prepared. The temperature rise and drying shrinkage of the prepared SCC were significantly reduced, and the elastic modulus reached 37.6 GPa at 28 d.

A Statistical Analysis of the Modulus of Elasticity and Compressive Strength of Concrete C45/55 for Pre-stressed Precast Beams

Random behavior of concrete C45/55 XF2 used for prefabricated pre-stressed bridge beams is described on the basis of evaluating a vast set of measurements. A detailed statistical analysis is carried out on 133 test results of cylinders 150 ~ 300 mm in size. The tests have been running in laboratories of the Klokner Institute. A single worker took all specimens throughout the period, and the subsequent measurements of the static modulus of elasticity and the compressive strength of the concrete were performed. The measurements were made at the age of 28 days after specimens casting, and only one testing machine with the same capping method was used. Suitable theoretical models of division are determined on the basis of tests in good congruence, with the use of Z2 and the Bernstein criterion. A set of concrete compressive strength （carried out on 133 test results of cylinders 150 ~ 300 mm after test of static modulus of elasticity） shows relatively high skewness in this specific case. This cause that limited beta distribution is better than generally recommended theoretical distribution for strength the normal or lognormal. The modulus of elasticity is not significantly affected due to skewness because the design value is based on mean value.

Finite element failure analysis of continuous prestressed concrete box girders

In order to analyze the load carrying capacity of prestressed concrete box girders, failure behaviors of in-situ deteriorated continuous prestressed concrete box girders under loading are experimentally observed and a finite failure analysis method for predicting behaviors of box girders is developed. A degenerated solid shell element is used to simulate box girders and material nonlinearity is considered. Since pre-stressed concrete box girders usually have a large number of curve prestressed tendons, a type of combined element is presented to simulate the prestressed tendons of box girders, and then the number of elements can be significantly reduced. The analytical results are compared with full-scale failure test results. The comparison shows that the presented method can be effectively applied to the failure analysis of in-situ continuous prestressed concrete box girders, and it also shows that the studied old bridge still has enough load carrying capacity.

Approach for analyzing the ultimate strength of concrete filled steel tubular arch bridges with stiffening girder

A convenient approach is proposed for analyzing the ultimate load carrying capacity of concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) arch bridge with stiffening girders. A fiber model beam element is specially used to simulate the stiffening girder and CFST arch rib. The geometric nonlinearity, material nonlinearity, influence of the construction process and the contribution of prestressing reinforcement are all taken into consideration. The accuracy of this method is validated by comparing its results with experimental results. Finally, the ultimate strength of an abnormal CFST arch bridge with stiffening girders is investigated and the effect of construction method is discussed. It is concluded that the construction process has little effect on the ultimate strength of the bridge.

Temperature gradients in concrete box girder bridge under effect of cold wave

The temperature distributions of a prestressed concrete box girder bridge under the effect of cold wave processes were analyzed. The distributions were found different from those under the effect of solar radiation or nighttime radiation cooling and should not be simplified as one dimensional. A temperature predicting model that can accurately predict temperatures over the cross section of the concrete box girder was developed. On the basis of the analytical model, a two-dimensional temperature gradient model was proposed and a parametric study that considered meteorological factors was performed. The results of sensitivity analysis show that the cold wave with shorter duration and more severe temperature drop may cause more unfavorable influences on the concrete box girder bridge. Finally, the unrestrained linear curvatures, self-equilibrating stresses and bending stresses when considering the frame action of the cross section, were derived from the proposed temperature gradient model and current code provisions, respectively. Then, a comparison was made between the value calculated against proposed model and several current specifications. The results show that the cold wave may cause more unfavorable effect on the concrete box girder bridge, especially on the large concrete box girder bridge. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the thermal effect caused by cold wave during the design stage.

Temperature distributions in concrete box girders due to heat of concrete hydration

Based on heat transfer theory,a two-dimensional complex exponential function was used to compute heat of concrete hydration.A concrete box girder consisting of a single box with two cells used on Harbin Songpu Bridge was measured on site.The two coefficients in the complex exponential function were determined to best fit the field measured data.ABAQUS program was used to simulate the heat transfer and determine the temperature distribution in the concrete box girders during concrete setting.The calculated temperature distribution in the box girders were compared with the field measured data and good agreement was observed.The temperature distribution and gradient in the entire box section,webs and bottom slab were analyzed using the measured and calculated results during the course of concrete hydration.

Health monitoring and comparative analysis of time-dependent effect using different prediction models for self-anchored suspension bridge with extra-wide concrete girder

The structural health status of Hunan Road Bridge during its two-year service period from April 2015 to April 2017 was studied based on monitored data.The Hunan Road Bridge is the widest concrete self-anchored suspension bridge in China at present.Its structural changes and safety were evaluated using the health monitoring data,which included deformations,detailed stresses,and vibration characteristics.The influences of the single and dual effects comprising the ambient temperature changes and concrete shrinkage and creep(S&C)were analyzed based on the measured data.The ANSYS beam finite element model was established and validated by the measured bridge completion state.The comparative analyses of the prediction results of long-term concrete S&C effects were conducted using CEB-FIP 90 and B3 prediction models.The age-adjusted effective modulus method was adopted to simulate the aging behavior of concrete.Prestress relaxation was considered in the stepwise calculation.The results show that the transverse deviations of the towers are noteworthy.The spatial effect of the extra-wide girder is significant,as the compressive stress variations at the girder were uneven along the transverse direction.General increase and decrease in the girder compressive stresses were caused by seasonal ambient warming and cooling,respectively.The temperature gradient effects in the main girder were significant.Comparisons with the measured data showed that more accurate prediction results were obtained with the B3 prediction model,which can consider the concrete material parameters,than with the CEB-FIP 90 model.Significant deflection of the midspan girder in the middle region will be caused by the deviations of the cable anchoring positions at the girder ends and tower tops toward the midspan due to concrete S&C.The increase in the compressive stresses at the top plate and decrease in the stresses at the bottom plate at the middle midspan will be significant.The pre-deviations of the towers toward the sidespan and pre-lift of the midspan girder can reduce the adverse influences of concrete S&C on the structural health of the self-anchored suspension bridge with extra-wide concrete girder.

Strengthening of Concrete Box Girder Bridges under Close-in Detonations

The response of a bridge superstructure under blast loading might depend largely on the extent of the local damage experienced due to close-in explosion threats. This paper investigates the local and structural response of box girder bridge decks strengthened using CFRP （carbon fiber reinforced polymers） under close-in detonations. Due to the lack of experimental research on this topic, the study is conducted using the explicit finite element computer program LS-DY-NA. The numerical study will be verified using the results of strengthened reinforced concrete slabs under field detonations. The blast load was assumed to be detonated above the bridge deck. The key parameters investigated are the charge size, and the strengthening location on the deck. This paper will present the results of this investigation and provides recommendations for predicting the local damage level based on the CFRP strengthening design under blast threat.

Dynamic finite element model updating of prestressed concrete continuous box-girder bridge

The dynamic finite element model （FEM） of a prestressed concrete continuous box-girder bridge, called the Tongyang Canal Bridge, is built and updated based on the results of ambient vibration testing （AVT） using a real-coded accelerating genetic algorithm （RAGA）. The objective functions are defined based on natural frequency and modal assurance criterion （MAC） metrics to evaluate the updated FEM. Two objective functions are defined to fully account for the relative errors and standard deviations of the natural frequencies and MAC between the AVT results and the updated FEM predictions. The dynamically updated FEM of the bridge can better represent its structural dynamics and serve as a baseline in long-term health monitoring, condition assessment and damage identification over the service life of the bridge .

Full-scale model tests and nonlinear analysis of prestressed concrete simply supported box girders

Full-scale model tests were carried out on a 30 m span prestressed concrete box girder and a 20 m span prestressed concrete hollow slab. Failure models were prestressed reinforcement tensile failure and crashing of roof concrete, respectively. The ductility indexes of the box girder and hollow slab were 1.99 and 1.23, respectively, according to the energy viewpoint. Based on the horizontal section hypothesis, the nonlinear computation procedure was established using the limited banding law, and it could carry out the entire performance analysis including the unloading, mainly focusing on the ways to achieve the unloading curves computation through stress-strain, moment-curvature and load-displacement curves. Through the procedure, parameters that influence on the bearing capacity, deformation performance and ductility of the structures were analyzed. Those parameters were quantity of prestressed reinforcement and tension coefficients of prestressed reinforcement. From the analysis, some useful conclusions can be obtained.

Weakening effect of vertical prestress ducts on web sections in prestressed concrete box girder bridges

Based on experimental study result of two simply supported beams,which were prestressed by vertical tendons,the research on the weakening effect of vertical prestress ducts on web sections of prestressed concrete box girder was carried out. The test result shows that in the condition without grouting into the ducts,the cracking load is evidently lower than that with full grouting,and stirrup stress and principal tension stress at the surface of concrete will increase obviously. Meanwhile,the finite element analysis has been done to the test beams. The research is consistent with the analysis of finite element. The research tells that strengthening the detection and management for the vertical prestress grouting quality have an important meaning to prevent cracking of the prestressed concrete box girder bridge and provide one theoretical and testing basis for analyzing the cracking reason of such bridges.

Simulation of Temperature Field in Original Segment of Concrete Box-Girder Bridge

Temperature field and its variation with time are necessary for analyzing the thermo-mechanical performance of mass concrete structures at their early ages. This paper carries out a temperature field simulation analysis for an original segment of a real box girder bridge with the finite element software ANSYS. Two representative exothermic rate models are used to describe the heat- releasing process caused by the cement hydration in concrete. The exothermic rate model that conforms to reality more closely is recognized by comparing the simulation results with the data gathered from the optical fiber temperature sensors pre-embedded in the original segment. The air temperature and wind velocity that constitute thermal boundary conditions are determined in the light of the local meteorological department and correlative research achievements of recent years. Moreover, the consideration for the steel formwork acting as a barrier to heat loss is also proved to be beneficial to improve the simulation effect.

MODIFICATON AND RESEARCH ON BENDING RIGIDITY FORMULA OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAM

Beam stiffness degrades with its age in service and its service performance is weakened.According to the fundamental characteristics of the reinforced concrete,the influence of stiffness degradation caused by different kinds of damage is obtained.Among them,the crack is the most direct and obvious factor.Furthermore,according to the analysis of bending rigidity formula presented in current standard,an influence parameter of crack development on the stiffness degradation,i.e.,nonuniformity coefficient of tensile steel strain φ,is extracted.Average crack distance and crack depth are taken as crack statistic parameters.Based on analysis and modeling with ANSYS,the modified bending rigidity formula related to crack is obtained.

Self-adjustment of Carrying Capacity of Concrete Embedded with CFRC

By heating up the embedded carbon fiber reinforced cement based material （CFRC）, the carrying capacity and deformation of concrete member could be adjusted. The relationship between temperature difference and expansion strain of CFRC was demonstrated, and the temperature-deformation-load effect of concrete embedded with CFRC was studied. Heating the CFRC up to different temperatures resulted in different degree of inner pre-stress in concrete. Thus, the load capacity of concrete could be regulated owing to counteracting the pre-stress.

Experimental study on seismic behavior of circular RC columns strengthened with pre-stressed FRP strips

Bonding fiber reinforced polymer （FRP） has been commonly used to improve the seismic behavior of circular reinforced concrete （RC） columns in engineering practice. However, FRP jackets have a significant stress hysteresis effect in this strengthening method, and pre-tensioning the FRP can overcome this problem. This paper presents test results of 25 circular RC columns strengthened with pre-stressed FRP strips under low cyclic loading. The pre-stressing of the FRP strips, types of FRP strips and longitudinal reinforcement, axial load ratio, pre-damage degree and surface treatments of the specimens are considered as the primary factors in the tests. According to the failure modes and hysteresis curves of the specimens, these factors are analyzed to investigate their effect on bearing capacity, ductility, hysteretic behavior, energy dissipation capacity and other important seismic behaviors. The results show that the initial lateral confined stress provided by pre-stressed FRP strips can effectively inhibit the emergence and development of diagonal shear cracks, and change the failure modes of specimens from brittle shear failure to bending or bending-shear failure with better ductility. As a result, the bearing capacity, ductility, energy dissipation capacity and deformation capacity of the strengthened specimens are all significantly improved.

Flexural Capacity Formula of Diaphragm-Through Joints of Concrete-Filled Square Steel Tubular Columns

Finite element analysis and parametric studies were performed to investigate the flexural capacity of the panel zone of diaphragm-through joints between concrete-filled square steel tubular columns and H-shaped steel beams. Through the comparisons of failure modes, load–displacement curves, and bearing capacity, it was found that the flexural capacity of the panel zone of diaphragm-through joints was determined by the tensile action and influence of the web of H-shaped steel beams, and the axial load should be taken into account. The steel tube and the diaphragm were the major parts of the joint that resisted the bending moment. The contribution of in-filled concrete had little influence on the flexural capacity of the panel zone of the joint and could be neglected. According to the results of these numerical studies, a formula that considered the influence of the web of H-shaped steel beams and the axial load was developed based on the yield lines in the diaphragm and the steel tube. The results of the proposed formula were in good agreement with the numerical data of this investigation. © 2017, Tianjin University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Influence of concrete differential aging time on the construction phases analysis of the Fenghua River Bridge

The Fenghua River Bridge is a major structure on the highway between Hengzhang and Guojiachi, which is to be built with a four-span prestress concrete (PC) box girder and symmetrical cantilever castings. In this paper, a finite element method (FEM) model is set up to study the effects of concrete differential aging time on the construction phases of the Fenghua River Bridge by calculating the vertical displacement of the folding segment of the middle span and the longitudinal bending moment of Pier 12#. In the model, the girders are classified into 150 changing sections based on the desgn scheme, and their construction is to be carried in 16 phases respectively to build 12 blocks connected by a side folding segment and a middle folding segment, covered with a second dead load and in completion for 20 years. It is found that the internal forces and deformations of the concrete structures at the aging time of 60 d are quite different from those of 0 d aging time while the behaviors of the structures of 120 d aging time is nearly the same as those of 60 d aging time― the differences are so small that can be neglected, suggesting that the creep develops obviously about one month after the cement is hardened and the development fades later on.

Connection between Concrete Layers with Different Strengths

As part of a research intending to develop steel-concrete hybrid girder using ultra high performance concrete with compressive strength of 80 MPa, this study conducts loading test on this girder to investigate the methods for its composition with a slab using 30 MPa-concrete and the corresponding interfacial behavior. Prior to the loading test, the design formula of the Eurocode for the shear resistance developed in concrete-to-concrete interface is examined for the interface between concrete layers of different strengths. The effect of the surface roughness on the shear resistance is examined using this formula and finite element analysis to verify the applicability of the formula. Based upon the results, loading test is conducted on girder specimens to evaluate the actual behavior with respect to the interfacial surface condition. The test results reveal that the specimen with rough interface could not develop perfectly composite behavior and experienced adhesive failure. In case of simultaneous action of flexure and shear, it appears that conservative design should be applied without consideration of the interfacial condition when determining the arrangement of shear reinforcement.