Interconnected microstructure and flexural behavior of Ti_(2)C-Ti composites with superior Young’s modulus

To enhance the Young’s modulus(E)and strength of titanium alloys,we designed titanium matrix composites with intercon-nected microstructure based on the Hashin-Shtrikman theory.According to the results,the in-situ reaction yielded an interconnected microstructure composed of Ti_(2)C particles when the Ti_(2)C content reached 50vol%.With widths of 10 and 230 nm,the intraparticle Ti lamellae in the prepared composite exhibited a bimodal size distribution due to precipitation and the unreacted Ti phase within the grown Ti_(2)C particles.The composites with interconnected microstructure attained superior properties,including E of 174.3 GPa and ultimate flexural strength of 1014 GPa.Compared with that of pure Ti,the E of the composite was increased by 55% due to the high Ti_(2)C content and interconnected microstructure.The outstanding strength resulted from the strong interfacial bonding,load-bearing capacity of interconnected Ti_(2)C particles,and bimodal intraparticle Ti lamellae,which minimized the average crack driving force.Interrupted flexural tests revealed preferential crack initiation along the{001}cleavage plane and grain boundary of Ti_(2)C in the region with the highest tensile stress.In addition,the propagation can be efficiently inhibited by interparticle Ti grains,which prevented the brittle fracture of the composites.

Experimental and numerical study on flexural behaviors of steel reinforced engineered cementitious composite beams

To investigate the flexural behaviors of steel reinforced engineered cementitious composite （ECC） beams, the behaviors of the steel reinforced ECC beam and the conventional steel reinforced concrete beam subjected to flexural load are experimentally compared. The experimental results show that the flexural strength and ductility of the steel reinforced ECC beam are 24.8% and 187.67% times larger than those of the steel reinforced concrete beam, and the substitution of concrete with ECC can significantly delay the propagation of cracks. Additionally, a simplified constitutive model of the ECC material is used to simulate the flexural behaviors of beams by the finite element analysis （FEA）. The results show a good agreement between the simulation and test results. The crack width of the steel reinforced ECC beam can be limited to 0.4 mm under the service load conditions. The application of ductile ECC can significantly increase the flexural performance in terms of flexural strength, deformation capacity and ductility of the beams.

Flexural behaviors of FRP strengthened corroded RC beams

The flexural behavior of eight FRP （ fiber reinforced polymer） strengthened RC （reinforced concrete） beams with different steel corrosion rates are numerically studied by Ansys finite element software. The influences of the corrosion rate on crack pattern, failure mechanism, ultimate strength, ductility and deformation capacity are also analyzed. Modeling results show that the beams with low corrosion rates fail by the crushing of the concrete in the compression zone. For the beams with medium corrosion rates, the bond slip between the concrete and the longitudinal reinforcement occurs after steel yielding, and the beams finally fail by the debonding of the FRP plates. For the beams with high corrosion rates, the bond slip occurs before steel yielding, and the beams finally fail by the crushing of the concrete in the compression zone. The higher the corrosion rates of the longitudinal reinforcement, the more the carrying capacity of FRP strengthened RC beams reduces. The carrying capacity of RCB-1 （the corrosion rate is 0） is 115 kN, and the carrying capacity of RCB-7 （the corrosion rate is 20% ） is 42 kN. The deformation capacity of FRP strengthened corroded RC beams is higher than that of FRP strengthened uucorroded RC beams. The ultimate deflection of RCB-1 and RCB-7 are 20 mm and 35 nun, respectively, and the ultimate deflection of RCB-5 （the corrosion rate is 10% ） reaches 60 ilUn.

Research on Flexural Behavior of Coral Aggregate Reinforced Concrete Beams

Through the flexural behavior test of coral aggregate reinforced concrete beams(CARCB) and ordinary Portland reinforced concrete beams(OPRCB), and based on the parameters of concrete types, concrete strength grades and reinforcement ratios, the crack development, failure mode, midspan deflection and flexural capacity were studied, the relationships of bending moment-midspan deflection, load-longitudinal tensile reinforcement strain, load-maximum crack width were established, and a calculation model for the flexural capacity of CARCB was suggested. The results showed that with the increase in the reinforcement ratio and concrete strength grade, the crack bending moment(Mcr)and ultimate bending moment(Mu) of CARCB gradually increased. The characteristics of CARCB and OPRCB are basically the same. Furthermore, through increasing the concrete strength grade and reinforcement ratio, Mcr/Mu could be increased to delay the cracking of CARCB. As the load increased, crack width(w) would also increase. At the beginning of the loading, w increased slowly. And then it increased rapidly when the load reached to the ultimate load, which then led to beam failure. Meanwhile, with a comprehensive consideration of the effects of steel corrosion on the loss of steel section and the decrease of steel yield strength, a more reasonable calculation model for the flexural capacity of CARCB was proposed.

Improvement of Cracking-resistance and Flexural Behavior of Cement-based Materials by Addition of Rubber Particles

By ring test and bend test, the improvement of waste tire rubber particles on the crack- resistance and flexural behaviors of cement-based materials were investigated. Test results show that the cracking time of the ring specimens can be retarded by the incorporation of rubber particles in the cement paste and mortar. The improvement in the crack-resistance depended on the rubber fraction. When the rubber fraction was 20% in volume, the cracking time was retarded about 15 h for the paste and 24 d for the mortar respectively. Flexural properties were evaluated based on the bend test results for both mortar and concrete containing different amount of rubber particles. Test results show that rubberized mortar and concrete specimens exhibit ductile failure and significant deformation before fracture. The ultimate deformations of both mortar and concrete specimen increase more than 2-4 times than control specimens.

Flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beams with high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites

This article presents an experimental study on the flexural performance of reinforced concrete(RC)beams with fiber reinforced cementitious composites(FRCC)and hybrid fiber reinforced cementitious composites(HFRCC)in the hinge portion.Beam specimens with moderate confinement were used in the study and tested under monotonic loading.Seven diverse types of FRCC including hybrid composites using fibers in different profiles and in different volumes are employed in this study.Companion specimens such as cylindrical specimens and prism specimens are also used to study the physical properties of composites employed.The moment?curvature,stiffness behavior,ductility,crack pattern and modified flexural damage ratio are the main factors considered in this study to observe the efficacy of the employed hybrid composites.The experimental outputs demonstrate the improved post yield behavior with less rate of stiffness degradation and better damage tolerance capacity than conventional technique.

Influence of steel corrosion to flexural behavior of coral aggregate concrete beam

To study the flexural behavior and calculation model,8 coral aggregate concrete(CAC)beams with different types of steel were designed.The flexural behavior of CAC beam was tested.The failure mode,bearing capacity,the maximum crack width(ws)and average crack spacing(lm)were studied.A calculation model for the bearing capacity of CAC beam was proposed.The results indicated that with the steel strength increased,the cracking moment(Mcr)and ultimate moment(Mu)of CAC beam increased,and the development of the ws gradually slowed,which effectively inhibited the formation of cracks and improved the flexural behavior of CAC beam.For CAC structures in the ocean engineering,it is recommended to use organic new coated steel to extend its effective service life.In addition,considering the influence of steel corrosion,a calculation model for the Mcr,Mu,lm and ws of CAC beam was established.

Flexural behavior of steel reinforced engineered cementitious composite beams

In order to enhance the durability of steel encased concrete beams, a new type of steel reinforced engineered cementitious composite(SRECC) beam composed of steel shapes, steel bars and ECC is proposed. The theoretical analyses of the SRECC beam including crack propagation and stress-strain distributions along the depth of the composite beam in different loading stages are conducted. A theoretical model and simplified design method are proposed to calculate the load carrying capacity. Based on the proposed theoretical model, the relationship between the moment and corresponding curvature is derived. The theoretical results are verified with the finite element analysis. Finally, an extensive parametric study is performed to study the effect of the matrix type, steel shape ratio, reinforced bar ratio, ECC compressive strength and ECC tensile ductility on the mechanical behavior of SRECC beams. The results show that substitution concrete with ECC can effectively improve the bearing capacity and ductility of composite beams. The steel shape and longitudinal reinforcement can enhance the loading carrying capacity, while the ductility decreases with the increase of steel shape ratio. ECC compressive strength has significant effects on both load carrying capacity and ductility, and changing the ultimate strain of ECC results in a very limited variation in the mechanical behavior of SRECC beams.

Experimental Study on Flexural Behavior of Corroded Channel Steel Beams

In order to study the mechanical behavior of corroded channel steel beam,experiment on five corroded channel steel beams is carried out. Test results show that the bending failures may occur under the ultimate load carrying capacity of members,compared with the calculating results of non-corrosion channel steel beam,and the bearing capacity of corroded channel steel beam is reduced,while the deflection is increased. With the increase of shear-span ratio,the bearing capacity of corroded channel steel beam reduces and the deflection increases gradually; with the increment of heightspan ratio, the bearing capacity increases and the deflection decreases gradually; with the enhancement of width-height ratio,the bearing capacity reduces and the deflection-span ratio increases gradually. The measured results indicate that the load-deflection relationship curves of corroded channel steel beam may be divided into four sections: the exfoliated rust layer stage,the elastic stage,the yielding stage and the descending stage. The load-strain relationship curves include two sections: the elastic stage and the yielding stage. The strain measurement of web proves that the average strains agree well with the assumption of plane section. This paper could provide some scientific bases for the maintenance and reinforcement of the corroded steel structure.

Characterization of the Flexural Behavior of Bamboo Beams

Bamboo is a renewable and environmentally friendly material often used for construction.This study investigates the flexural behavior of bamboo beams through theoretical and finite element(FE)analyses.Considering the material’s nonlinearity,a method of calculating load-deflection curves is proposed and validated via FE analysis.The interfacial slippage dominated by the shear stiffness of the interface between two bamboo poles significantly influences the flexural behavior of double-pole bamboo beams.Thus,the load-deflection curves for different shear stiffnesses can be obtained via theoretical and FE analyses.Subsequently,a novel configuration using diagonal steel bands to avoid slippage is presented.An inclination angle of 45°is suggested to adequately develop the stiffness and bearing capacity of the steel band.

Flexural Fatigue Behavior of Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Segment Concrete

The influence of polypropylene fiber on the flexural fatigue performance of high-strength concrete (HSC), which could be used as cover of reinforcement of segment, was investigate by three-point load bending tests. Also, the flexural fatigue equations of high-strength concrete with and without polypropylene fiber were established through test analysis. The experimental results indicate that the addition of polypropylene fiber can improve the static bending strength of segment concrete, and the important is that it can markedly increase the flexural fatigue performance of the HSC subjected to cyclic bending load. Especially when with 1.37 kg/m3 addition of the fiber was corporate with silica fume and slag powder, the fatigue life of the HSC can be increased by 43.4% compared to that of the segment concrete without fiber, silica fume and slag.

Experimental Study on Flexural Behavior of Post-Tensioning Bonded Partially Prestressed Ultra-High Strength Concrete Beams

This paper presents the results of four partially prestressed ultra-high strength concrete beams in flexure. The test results are used to evaluate the effects of prestressing tendon depth and area on flexure behavior of specimen beams. The test results indicate that: the cracking load,yielding load,peak load and stiffness postcracking of specimen beams are enhanced by reducing prestressing tendon depth or increasing prestressing tendon area, and the flexural ductility is improved by increasing prestressing tendon depth or reducing prestressing tendon area. The effect of complex reinforcement index considering the strength of the equivalence principle and the reinforcement position on loading levels under serviceability limit state,flexural strength and displacement ductility factor are studied. The influence coefficient of prestressing tendon kpis introduced in the complex reinforcement index. As the complex reinforcement index increases, the loading levels under serviceability limit state and flexural strength increases linearly,and the displacement ductility factor decreases linearly. The test results also verify the conventional beam flexural theory based on the plane cross-section assumption for predicting ultimate flexural strength of partially prestressed ultra-high strength concrete beams is valid. After the introduction of the coefficient kp,the calculation method of cracks in code for design of concrete structure in china are appropriated for the specimen beams.

The contribution of steel wallposts to out-of-plane behavior of non-structural masonry walls

For years,non-structural masonry walls have received little attention by code developers and professional engineers.Recently,significant efforts have been made to shed more light on out-of-plane(OOP)behavior of non-structural masonry walls.In updated provisions of the Iranian seismic code,bed joint reinforcements(BJRs)and steel wallposts have been suggested for use.BJRs are horizontal reinforcements;steel wallposts are vertical truss-like elements intended to provide additional OOP restraints for a wall.The contribution of BJRs has previously been investigated by the authors.This study is devoted to investigating the contribution of steel wallposts to the OOP behavior of non-structural masonry walls.Using pre-validated 3D finite element(FE)models,the OOP behavior of 180 non-structural masonry walls with varying configurations and details are investigated.The OOP pressure-displacement curve,ultimate strength,the response modification factor,and the cracking pattern are among the results presented in this study.It is found that steel wallposts,especially those with higher rigidity,can improve the OOP strength of the walls.The contribution of wallposts in the case of shorter length walls and walls with an opening are more pronounced.Results also indicate that masonry walls with wallpost generally have smaller modification factors compared to similar walls without wallpost.

Investigation of the Flexural Properties and Failure Behavior of Unidirectional CF/Nylon 6 and CF/Epoxy Composites

In this work, flexural properties and failure behavior of unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 6 (CF/Nylon 6) and epoxy resin (CF/ Epoxy) laminates were investigated through three-point bending test. The mechanical properties and failure behavior of 0 and 90 degree CF/Nylon 6 and CF/Epoxy laminates were discussed based on the fiber volume fraction, fiber distribution, void content, interfacial properties, transversal tensile strength and fracture toughness. The effects of fiber volume fraction, fiber distribution, void content and their hybrid effect on the flexural properties were investigated. Step-by-step observation and scanning electron microscope observation of laminates after flexural tests were employed to analyze the fracture process.

Flexural Behavior of Laterally Loaded Tapered Piles in Cohesive Soils

In this paper, the flexural behavior of laterally loaded tapered piles in cohesive soils is investigated. The exact solution for the governing differential equation of the problem is obtained based on the beam-on-elastic foundation approach in which the soil reaction on the pile is related directly to the pile lateral deflection. In this investigation, the modulus of subgrade reactions is assumed to be constant along the pile depth. Parametric study through numerical examples is carried out to prove the validity and accuracy of the obtained results. In general, the derived displacement field can be used to study pile response in multilayered soil profiles by subdividing the pile into a number of elements. It is found that tapered piles show stiffer behavior than that for prismatic ones having the same material volume with an optimum stress distribution along the pile depth. Accordingly, tapered piles are more efficient and economic than those having the same material volume. Verification is also carried out for the obtained results through finite element analysis and the selected number of elements gives a very good agreement for lateral deflection and a larger number of elements is required to obtain better results for bending moment because of moment loss resulting from the lack of shear diagram.

Flexural Bond Behavior of Rebar in Ultra-High Performance Concrete Beams Considering Lap-Splice Length and Cover Depth

This study intends to find out the correlation between the cover depth and the bond characteristics of UHPC through pull-out tests of UHPC specimens with different cover depths and bond tests of rebar using flexural members. In this experimental study, specimens are fabricated with the lap-splice length as test variable in relation with the calculation of the lap-splice length for 180- MPa UHPC. Moreover, specimens are also fabricated with the cover depth as test variable to evaluate the effect of the cover depth on the UHPC flexural members. The load-displacement curves are analyzed for each of these test variables to compute the lap-splice length proposed in the K-UHPC structural design guideline and to evaluate the influence of the cover depth on the flexural members. As a result, the stability of the structural behavior can be significantly enhanced by increasing slightly the cover depth specification of the current UHPC Structure Design Guideline from the maximum value between 1.5 times of rebar diameter and 20 mm to the maximum value between 1.5 times of rebar diameter and 25 mm.

Fracture mechanism of 2D-C/C composites with pure smooth laminar pyrocarbon matrix under flexural loading

Using natural gas as carbon source, 2D needle felt as preform, 2D-C/C composites were prepared by thermal gradient chemical vapor infiltration. Their microstructures were observed under polarized light microscope （PLM） and scanning electron microscope （SEM）, and the flexural behaviors before and after heat-treatment were studied with a universal mechanical testing machine. The fracture mechanism of the composites was discussed in detail. The results show that, carbon matrix exhibits pure smooth laminar （SL） characteristic including numerous wrinkled layered structures and some inter-laminar micro-cracks. With the decreasing density, the strength of the composites decreases and the toughness increases slightly; after 2500 °C heat-treatment, the inter-laminar micro-cracks in matrix increase, the strength decreases, and the toughness obviously increases. The fracture mode of the composites changes from brittle to pseudo-plastic characteristic due to more crack deflections in SL matrix.

Flexural response of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with post-poured ultra high toughness cementitious composites layer

Four-point bending tests were conducted up to failure on eleven reinforced concrete (RC) beams and strengthening beams to study the effectiveness of externally pouring ultra high toughness cementitious composites (UHTCC) on improving the flexural behavior of existing RC beams.The strengthening materials included UHTCC and high strength grade concrete.The parameters,such as thickness and length of strengthening layer and reinforcement in post-poured layer,were analyzed.The flexural behavior,failure mode and crack propagation of composite beams were investigated.The test results show that the strengthening layer improves the cracking and ultimate load by increasing the cross section area.Introducing UHTCC material into strengthening not only improves the bearing capacity of the original specimens,but also disperses larger cracks in upper concrete into multiple tightly-spaced fine cracks,thus prolonging the appearance of harm surface cracks and increasing the durability of existing structures.Compared with post-poured concrete,UHTCC is more suitable for working together with reinforcement.The load?deflection plots obtained from three-dimensional finite-element model (FEM) analyses are compared with those obtained from the experimental results,and show close correlation.

Properties and calculation of normal section bearing capacity of RC flexural beam with skin textile reinforcement

In order to overcome the wide crack of ordinary reinforced concrete (RC) at service stage which affects the service performance and durability of structures,a kind of concrete structure with skin textile reinforcement is proposed,namely a part of concrete cover of RC members is replaced by textile reinforced concrete (TRC).The flexural experimental results indicate that when the reinforcement ratios of steel bars are constant,compared with control beams,the average value of crack loads of the beams,whose reinforcement ratios of textile are 0.018%,0.036% and 0.055%,increases by 15.5%,20.4% and 31.1%,respectively,the average value of yield loads respectively increases by 12.5%,19.9% and 21.1% and the average value of ultimate loads respectively increases by 8.5%,26.0% and 44.0%,respectively.Considerable reduction in cracks width and spacing is observed for specimens with a TRC layer,and when the beams yield,the maximum crack width of the beam with textile stuck no sand and the beam with textile stuck sand is reduced by around 60% and 70%,respectively.Surface treatment of textile and mixing polypropylene fiber into fine grained concrete contribute to enhance the service performance of the flexural element.Embedding U-shaped hoop has almost no effect on the control of the crack width.Finally,the calculation method of ultimate bearing capacity of this flexural component with TRC layer was presented.Comparison between the calculated and the experimental values reveals satisfactory agreement,and the maximum error is no more than 6%.

Flexural failure experiment on cracked PC simply supported box girders

Long-term load and flexural failure experiments are carried out on two prestressed concrete(PC) simply supported box girders. In the long-term load experiment, girder-1(G1) is in an elastic state, while girder-2(G2) is in a cracking state. To investigate the influence of cracking on the flexural behaviors of PC simply supported box beams, the experiment results are analyzed from many aspects, such as load–deflection, load–strain, and failure mode. Experiment results show the following: 1) the shrinkage and creep of concrete have considerable influences on the long-term deflection and strain of the two girders; 2) in the flexural failure experiment, the cracks and ultimate loads of the two girders are close. The rigidity degeneration of G2 is significantly faster than that of G1, and thus G2 shows nonlinear characteristics earlier; 3) to prove the validity and rationality of the current code, the cracking load and ultimate load of the two girders are calculated according to the current code.