Fracture suppression at steel/concrete connection zones by ECC

In order to avoid brittle fracture failure, a ductile engineered cementitious composite （ECC） was attempted in steel/concrete connection zones to replace normal concrete. The influence of the ECC material ductility on connection failure modes and structural performance was investigated via the pushout test of stud/ECC connection, the pullout test of two-dimensional anchor bolt/ECC connection and the finite element modeling （FEM）. The experimental results suggest that the micromechanically designed ECC with a tensile ductility 300 times that of normal concrete switches the brittle fracture failure mode to a ductile one in steel connection zones. This modification in material behavior leads to higher load carrying capacity and structural ductility, which is also confirmed in FEM investigation. The enhancement in structural response through material ductility engineering is expected to be applicable to a wide range of engineering structures where steel and concrete come into contact.

Flexural behaviors of steel reinforced ECC/concrete composite beams

An engineered cementitious composite （ECC） is introduced to partially substitute concrete in the tension zone of a reinforced concrete beam to form an ECC/reinforced concrete （RC） composite beam, which can increase the ductility and crack resisting ability of the beam. Based on the assumption of the plane remaining plane and the simplified constitutive models of materials, the stress and strain distributions along the depth of the composite beam in different loading stages are comprehensively investigated to obtain calculation methods of the load-carrying capacities for different stages. Also, a simplified formula for the ultimate load carrying capacity is proposed according to the Chinese code for the design of concrete structures. The relationship between the moment and curvature for the composite beam is also proposed together with a simplified calculation method for ductility of the ECC/RC composite beam. Finally, the calculation method is demonstrated with the test results of a composite beam. Comparison results show that the calculation results have good consistency with the test results, proving that the proposed calculation methods are reliable with a certain theoretical significance and reference value.

Statistical Algorithm for Damage Detection of Concrete Beams Based on Piezoelectric Smart Aggregate

The functional piezoelectric ceramic smart aggregate(SA) sensors and actuators,based on piezoelectric ceramic materials such as lead zirconium titanate(PZT),were embedded into the reinforced concrete beams with three-point bending under static loading for purposes of damage detection.The SA actuators generated the desired sine sweep excitation signals online and the SA sensors received and detected real-time signals before and after damage.The wavelet analysis and statistical characteristics about damage signals were used as a signal processing and analysis tool to extract the optimal damage information and establish a statistical damage detection algorithm.The damage index-based wavelet analysis and damage probability-based probability and statistics were proposed by PZT wavebased theory and active health monitoring technology.The results showed that the existence of cracks inside largely attenuated the amplitude of active monitoring signal after the damage of beam and the attenuation was related to the severity degree of damage.The innovative statistical algorithm of damage pattern detection based PZT-SA can effectively determine damage probability and damage degree,and provide a prediction for the critical damage location of reinforced concrete structures.The developed method can be utilized for the structural health comprehensive monitoring and damage detection on line of various large-scale concrete structures.

Fatigue properties of special kind of reinforced concrete composite beams

The special reinforced concrete composite beam consists of a steel fiber reinforced self-stressing concrete composite layer and a reinforced concrete T-beam, and constructional bars are set up at their bonding interface. Fatigue properties of the composite beam under the action of negative moment were experimentally studied. Through inverted loading mode the load-beating state of a composite beam was simulated under the action of negative moment. With the ratios of constructional bars being 0, 0.082% and 0.164% respectively as parameters, the effects of constructional bars on the properties of composite beam, such as fatigue life, crack propagation, rigidity loss as well as damage behavior of bonding interface, were studied. The mechanism of the constructional bars on the fatigue properties of the composite beams and the restriction mechanism of crack widths and rigidity loss were analyzed. The test results show that the constructional bars can enhance the shear resistance of the bonding interface between composite layer and old concrete beam and restrict expanding of steel fiber reinforced self-stressing concrete, which are beneficial to synergistic action of composite layer and old concrete beam, to reducing the stress amplitude of bars and the crack width of composite layer, and to increasing the durability and fatigue life of the composite beam.

Behaviour of GFRP R.C. Slabs in Flexure in Localenvironment An Experimental Study

A variety of new materials in the field of concrete technology have been developed during the past three decades with the ongoing demand of construction industry to meet the functional, strength, economical and durability requirements. Though reinforced concrete has high strength and is most widely used construction material it suffers from disadvantages like corrosion of steel, susceptibility to chemical and environmental attack. In order to overcome the above deficiencies of reinforced concrete new materials （special concrete composites） have been developed over the past three decades. Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer （GFRP） is one such material with wide range of applications. Based on the preliminary investigations on GFRP bars, an optimum fiber/resin ratio of 7：3 was arrived. The tensile strength of GFRP bars is comparable to that of the mild steel as per the tests carried out, but the modulus of elasticity is about 25-30 percentage of that of steel bars. This paper deals with the experimental investigations carried out on small slab panels supported on all four edges with effective spans of 0.9 m ~ 0.45 m, which is a part of large research problem undertaken with different ratios of 10ng span to short span with different support conditions. The test results are compared with similar slab panels reinforced with conventional mild steel bars.

Bending behaviour of lightweight aggregate concrete-filled steel tube spatial truss beam

A lightweight aggregate concrete-filled steel tube(LACFST) spatial truss beam was tested under bending load. The performance was studied by the analysis of the beam deflection and strains in its chords and webs. According to the test results, several assumptions were made to deduce the bearing capacity calculation method based on the force balance of the whole section. An optimal dimension relationship for the truss beam chords was proposed and verified by finite element analysis. Results show that the LACFST spatial truss beam failed after excessive deflection. The strain distribution agreed with Bernoulli-Euler theoretical prediction. The truss beam flexural bearing capacity calculation results matched test evidence with only a 3% difference between the two. Finite element analyses with different chord dimensions show that the ultimate bearing capacity increases as the chord dimensions increase when the chords have a diameter smaller than optimal one; otherwise, it remains almost unchanged as the chord dimensions increase.

Bond Strength of Bamboo Reinforcement in Light Weight Concrete

Bamboo reinforced concrete as a building material is expected to be an alternative to steel reinforced concrete. Due to the fact that steel is not renewable and polluting steel mills are fairly high. The bond strength is a major concern for the natural fiber used as reinforcement in structural composites. This paper reports study on the bond strength of bamboo reinforcement in concrete, to determine the adhesion reinforcement in concrete often do by the pull-out test. The research objective was bond strength of lightweight concrete and bamboo reinforcement. The test used light weight concrete with foam additives klerak. Bamboo slats were coated with paint and sprinkled with sand. The results obtained showed that the bond strength bamboo 60% of the bond strength steel.

Innovative Application of Scrap-Tire Steel Cords in Concrete Mixes

Many researchers have investigated the use of recycled tire products in several traditional civil engineering materials. This research is exploring the use of steel cords, a by-product of the tire recycling process, in concrete mixes. Different concrete specimens were fabricated and tested in uniaxial compression and splitting tensile strength. The steel cords were substituted into the concrete mix in volumetric percentages of various ratios. Results show that mechanical properties of concrete made with steel cords are improved compared with concrete mix made with the traditional scrap-tires recycled material. Also, results show that even though the compressive strength is reduced when using steel cords, this reduction is minimal. When 2% of steel cords are used there is 18% increase in ductility. Moreover, splitting tensile tests show that concrete mixtures with any steel cords content have much greater toughness than control mixture. This mechanical property mix indicates an excellent potential application of modified concrete mix in structures that absorb large amount of energy.

Experimental study on slender reinforced concrete columns wrapped with CFRP

By axial compression tests on 6 reinforced concrete slender columns wrapped with carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP),with slenderness ratio(SR) from 4.5 to 17.5,the results show that when SR increases the retrofitting effect declines. In the case of same SR,the stability coefficient (SC) for the reinforced concrete(RC) columns with CFRP is much less than that without CFRP. There is 20% increase of stable bearing capacity to the former as compared with the latter when the SR in less than 17.5. The study summarized the simplified formula for SC,which provides a reference for engineering designers.

A Hybrid Device for Anchoring FRP Sheets Aimed to Enhance the Flexural Capacity of RC Elements

The potential of externally applied FRP （fiber-reinforced plastic） sheets, being employed in retrofitting schemes aimed to repair and strengthen RC （reinforced concrete） structural elements damaged by prototype strong earthquakes, is presented and discussed in this study. The limitation of the debonding mode of failure of these FRP sheets is highlighted and the necessity to develop efficient anchoring devices for these FRP sheets is underlined. The behavior of such a novel HAD （hybrid anchoring device） capable of anchoring CFRP （carbon fiber reinforcing plastic） sheets to RC structural elements, is presented and discussed. The behavior of the device itself was studied through a 3D non-linear numerical simulation at the preliminary design stage in order to establish certain desired features such as the ductile behavior of the device itself as well as the satisfactory performance of the FRP sheets wrapped around this device. This HAD was next applied as part of a strengthening scheme aimed to upgrade the flexural capacity of an RC bridge-type pier specimen subjected to a cyclic seismic-type loading sequence. The obtained results demonstrated an increase in the specimen＇s flexural capacity by 100% as well as a similar increase in its capability of dissipating energy in a ductile manner during the cyclic load sequence. Moreover, the employed 3D non-linear numerical simulation yielded reasonably good agreement between the measured and the predicted cyclic response of this specimen strengthened by CFRP layers, which were anchored by the novel HAD. The successful behavior of this novel HAD, which has been patented with No. WO2011073696, is currently being tried with a number of other retrofitting schemes employing FRP sheets externally attached on RC structural elements.

Artificial Stone in France （1830-1930）： A Materialbetween Modernity and Tradition

1920s and 1930s architecture has often been associated with the use of modern materials, such as reinforced concrete, glass and steel, mainly thanks to the role given them by the historiography of the modern, of presenting a break with former tradition and of spreading the need of architectural renewal. The study of architecture from the point of view of construction techniques evidences, instead, how architectural renewal started earlier, during the 19 century and involved the whole realm of building, even tradition-associated materials, such as wood and stone. Indeed, artificial stone （which appeared in early 19 century） represents--above all in France--a link between traditional construction in stone and the newborn reinforced-concrete technique, so as to underline the gradual shift from 19 century construction codes to the new industrial construction techniques, which in the 1920s and 1930s tend to overlap and blend, in this way determining a material continuity of modern and 19 century architecture.

Infilled Reinforced Concrete Beams for Sustainable Construction

This paper presents a study carried out on infilled reinforced concrete beams for sustainable construction. In reinforced concrete beams, less stressed concrete below neutral axis can be replaced by some light weight material to reduce the weight of the structure and also achieve the economy. The used infilled material is brick. Sustainability can be achieved by replacing the partially used concrete. By saving concrete, the authors save cement, which reduces the green house gases emissions. So it is considered as environment friendly. Since infilled beam acts like a layered member, there needs a theory to analyze it. Method of initial functions is used for the analysis of the infilled RC （reinforced concrete） beams. This method is successfully applied on infilled beam. Results show that physical conditions are verified for infilled beam.

Numerical study on flexural behaviors of steel reinforced engineered cementitious composite(ECC) and ECC/concrete composite beams

Engineered cementitious composite(ECC)is a class of high performance cementitious composites with pseudo strain-hardening behavior and excellent crack control capacity.Substitution of concrete with ECC can largely reduce the cracking and durability problems associated with brittleness of concrete.In this paper,a simplified constitutive model of the ECC material was applied to simulate the flexural behaviors of the steel reinforced ECC and ECC/concrete composite beams with finite element method.The simulation results are found to be in good agreement with test results,indicating that the finite element model is reasonably accurate in simulating the flexural behaviors of the steel reinforced ECC flexural members.The effects of the ECC modulus,ECC tensile ductility,ECC thickness and ECC position on flexural behaviors in terms of ultimate moment,deflection and the maximum crack width of the steel reinforced ECC or ECC/concrete composite beam are hence evaluated.

Axial compressive behavior of GFRP-timber-reinforced concrete composite columns

This paper investigated the compressive behavior of a novel glass fiber reinforced polymer(GFRP)-timber-reinforced concrete composite column(GTRC column),which consisted of reinforced concrete with an outer GFRP laminate and a paulownia timber core.The axial compression tests were performed on 13 specimens to validate the effects of various timber core diameters,slenderness ratios,and GFRP laminate layers/angles on the mechanical behaviors.Test results indicated that with the increase in the timber core diameter,the ductility and energy dissipation ability of the composite column increased by 52.6%and 21.6%,respectively,whereas the ultimate load-bearing capacity and initial stiffness showed a slight decrease.In addition,the GFRP laminate considerably improved the ultimate load-bearing capacity,stiffness,ductility and energy dissipation capability by 212.1%,26.6%,64.3%and 3820%,accordingly.Moreover,considering the influence of timber core diameter,an ultimate load-bearing capacity adjustment coefficient was proposed.Finally,a formula was established based on the force equilibrium and superposition for predicting the axial bearing capacity of the GTRC columns.