Earthquake simulation test of circular reinforced concrete bridge column under multidirectional seismic excitation

Structures behave multi-directionally when subjected to earthquake excitation. Thus, it is essential to evaluate the effect of multidirectional loading on the dynamic response and seismic performance of reinforced concrete bridge columns in order to develop more advanced and reliable design procedures. To investigate such effects, a 1/4 scaled circular reinforced concrete bridge column specimen was tested under two horizontal and one vertical components of a strong motion that has long duration with several strong pulses. Damage progress of reinforced concrete columns subjected to strong excitation was evaluated from the test. The test results demonstrate that the lateral force response in the principal directions become smaller than computed flexural capacity due to the bilateral flexural loading effects, and that the lateral response is not significantly affected by the fluctuation of the axial force because the horizontal response and axial force barely reached the maximum simultaneously due to difference of the predominant natural periods between the vertical and the horizontal directions. Accuracy of fiber analyses is discussed using the test results.

Bond Property Test of Reinforced Concrete with All Soaking and Impressed Current Method Corrosion

In order to research the bond properties between corroded reinforcement bars and concrete,reinforcement bars with different diameters and different types and concrete with different strength levels were treated specially with all soaking and impressed current method,and the bond properties were measured with the pull-out test.The comparative analysis of the bond properties of corroded reinforcement bars was carried out.The results showed that the types of reinforcement bars and concrete had great influence on the bond strength.The corrosion and volume expansion of reinforcement bars made concrete in tensile condition,which tended to produce cracks in parallel reinforced direction.The typical bond failure of plain reinforcement bars was pull-out,while the typical bond failure of ribbed reinforcement bars was split.The bond strength between corroded reinforcement bars and concrete increased with the increase of concrete strength.The bond strength of plain and ribbed reinforcement bars showed a decreasing trend after the first increase with the increase of the extent of corrosion.Through the test,the coefficients of the bond strength of plain and ribbed reinforcement bars were given,respectively.

Earthquake simulator tests and associated study of an 1/6-scale nine-story RC model

Earthquake simulator tests of a 1/6-scale nine-story reinforced concrete frame-wall model are described in the paper. The test results and associated numerical simulation are summarized and discussed. Based on the test data, a relationship between maximum inter-story drift and damage state is established. Equations of variation of structural characteristics （natural frequency and equivalent stiffness） with overall drifts are derived by data fitting, which can be used to estimate structural damage state if structural characteristics can be measured. A comparison of the analytical and experimental results show that both the commonly used equivalent beam and fiber element models can simulate the nonlinear seismic response of structures very well. Finally, conclusions associated with seismic design and damage evaluation of RC structures are presented.

Flexural Fatigue Behavior of Layered Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete

In order to obtain the fatigue life of layered hybrid fiber reinforced concrete （LHFRC） at different stress levels, flexural fatigue tests were carried out on specimens. The relation between fatigue lives and stress levels was simulated using the two-parameter Weibull distribution. Furthermore, both single- logarithmic and double-logarithmic regressive equations of various reliabilities were derived. It is evident that LHFRC gets the advantage of longer fatigue life over common concrete.

Seismic Behaviour of Beam-Column Joints of Precast and Partial Steel Reinforced Concrete

A beam-column joint of precast and partial steel reinforced concrete( PPSRC) is proposed for precast reinforced concrete frames. The PPSRC consists of partial steel and reinforced concrete. The partial steel is located in the core joint region and the connections between concrete members. This paper presents an experimental study of a series of PPSRC specimens. These specimens are tested under low cyclic loading.Experimental results demonstrate that the bearing capacity of the PPSRC specimens is 3 times that of the ordinary reinforced concrete( RC) beam-column joints. The strength and stiffness degradation rates are slower compared with that of the RC beam-column joints. In addition,the strength of the core joint region and the connections is higher than other parts of the PPSRC specimens. Beam failure occurs firstly for the PPSRC specimens,followed by column failure and connections failure. The failure of the core joint region occurs finally.Test results show that the seismic performance of the PPSRC is better than that of the ordinary RC beam-column joints.

Complete splitting process of steel fiber reinforced concrete at intermediate strain rate

The complete splitting process of steel fiber reinforced concrete （SFRC） at intermediate strain rate was studied by experiment. The basic information of a self-developed SFRC dynamic test system matching with lnstron 1342 materials testing machine was given, and the experiment principle and the loading mode of cubic split specimen were introduced. During the experiment, 30 cubes of 150 mm×150 mm×150 mm and 36 cubes of 100 mm×100 mm×100 mm, designed and prepared according to C20 class SFRC with different volume fractions of steel fiber （0, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%） were tested and analyzed. At the same time, the size effect of SFRC at intermediate strain rate was investigated. The experimental study indicates that SFRC size effect is not influenced by the loading speed or strain rate. When the steel fiber content increases from 0 to 4%, the splitting strength of SFRC increases from 100% to 261%, i.e. increasing by 161% compared with that of the common concrete. The loading rate increases from 1.33 kN/s to 80.00 kN/s, and the splitting tensile strength increases by 43.55%.

Small-scale multi-axial hybrid simulation of a shear-critical reinforced concrete frame

This study presents a numerical multi-scale simulation framework which is extended to accommodate hybrid simulation （numerical-experimental integration）. The framework is enhanced with a standardized data exchange format and connected to a generalized controller interface program which facilitates communication with various types of laboratory equipment and testing configurations. A small-scale experimental program was conducted using a six degree-of-freedom hydraulic testing equipment to verify the proposed framework and provide additional data for small-scale testing of shear- critical reinforced concrete structures. The specimens were tested in a multi-axial hybrid simulation manner under a reversed cyclic loading condition simulating earthquake forces. The physical models were 1/3.23-scale representations of a beam and two columns. A mixed-type modelling technique was employed to analyze the remainder of the structures. The hybrid simulation results were compared against those obtained from a large-scale test and finite element analyses. The study found that if precautions are taken in preparing model materials and if the shear-related mechanisms are accurately considered in the numerical model, small-scale hybrid simulations can adequately simulate the behaviour of shear-critical structures. Although the findings of the study are promising, to draw general conclusions additional test data are required.

A COMPACT AND HANDHELD SURFACE PENETRATING RADAR FOR THE DETECTION OF REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURES

Surface Penetrating Radar (SPR) is a recently developed technology for non-destructive testing. It can be used to image and interpret the inner structure of the reinforced concrete. This paper gives the details about a compact and handheld SPR developed recently for reinforced concrete structure detection. The center operation frequency of the radar is 1.6 GHz. Not only it has fast acquisition ability, but also it can display the testing result on the LCD screen in real-time. The testing results show that the radar has a penetrating range of more than 30 cm, and a lateral resolution better than 5 cm. The performance validates that the radar can meet the application requirements for reinforced concrete structure detection.

Structural Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete for Slabs on Ground

This paper aims to contribute to the classification and specification of glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) and to deal with the question if structural glass fiber reinforced concrete as a special kind of glass fiber reinforced concrete is suited for use in load-bearing members. Despite excellent material properties, the use of glass fibers in a concrete matrix is carried out so far only in non- structural elements or as a modification for the prevention of shrinkage cracks. The aim of re- search at the University of Applied Sciences in Leipzig is the use of alkali-resistant macro glass fibers as concrete reinforcement in structural elements as an alternative to steel fiber reinforcement. Slabs on ground, as an example for structural members, provide a sensible application for the new material because they can be casted as load bearing and non-load bearing and are mostly made of steel fiber reinforced concrete. In the future, structural glass fiber reinforced concrete shall provide a simple and visually appealing alternative to conventional steel bar or steel fiber reinforced concrete. The glass fibers can also be used in combination with conventional reinforcing bars or mat reinforcements. Initial investigations have announced some potential.

Experimental research on refractory performance of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with CFRP sheets bonded with an inorganic adhesive

To meet the requirement of fire endurance for concrete structures strengthened with CFRP sheets, this study develops an inorganic adhesive whose strength at 600 ℃ is not lower than that at normal room temperature. The inorganic adhesive is then used to bond CFRP sheets on reinforced concrete beams in order to strengthen them. The fire protection of the CFRP sheets is done using the thick-type fireproofing coatings for tunnel ( TFCT) and steel structure ( TFCSS) respectively. Four specimens are tested in the furnace together. Specimens are exposed to fire for 1. 5 h in according to the ISO834 standard fire curve,and then naturally cooled for 1 h. In the tests,the largest displacements at the mid-span positions of specimens are only from 1 /1400 to 1 /318 of actual span corresponding to the highest temperatures from 300 ℃ to 470 ℃. After the specimens are naturally cooled to the normal temperature and the fireproofing coatings are then removed,it can be seen that the CFRP sheets keep in a good state,which indicates that CFRP sheets can be tightly bonded on the concrete and work well together with the concrete beams during and after fire. Besides,the tests also verify that the fire performance of TFCT is superior to TFCSS for the strengthened beams.

Nonlinear seismic response analysis of reinforced concrete tube in tube structure

Super-highly reinforced concrete tube in tube structure is a developing structure system of high-rise building. The more reasonable derivation process of the multi-vertical-line-element model stiffness matrix is given.On the premise of pointing out the problems of present multi-spring element model, combined with present multivertical-line-element model for analyzing on shear wall, the model is expanded to spatial one, and the stiffness matrix of which is derived. Combined with hysteretic axial model and hysteretic shear model, it is suitable for columns,wall limbs and beams with all kinds of section form. Some examples are calculated and compared with test results,which shows that the models have relatively good accuracy. On the base of the experimental phenomenon and failure mechanism for tube in tube structure specimen, nonlinear seismic responses analysis program on the basis of the advantaged element model for tube in tube structure is developed. Calculation results are in good agreement with those of the pseudo-dynamic tests and the failure mechanism can be well reflected.

A Fiber Pull-Out Based Model for Synthetic Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams under a Flexural Load

This work is intended to be a simple contribution to building a model able to implement theoretical results related to the random oriented fiber reinforced concrete in a procedure that could be used in structures analysis and design involving fiber reinforced elements. Here follows a short outline: In the introduction chapter the problem is presented together the work done. Section 2 develops some ancillary concepts of this material and its mechanical properties, while in Section 3, following the path of other researchers, the assumptions made to solve the problem are presented, together with the most relevant results related to presence of 3D randomly oriented fiber. In the following section a review of the mechanical process of fiber pull-out is done, and the results, mostly due to Victor Li researches, of a 3D randomly oriented synthetic fiber stress vs crack opening in a pull-out process from a cement matrix. In Section 5 the author, after making some assumptions about the configuration of the strain and crack geometry in the cross section where failure is assume to occur under flexural bending moment, the resultant stress is integrated to find the resultant internal moment vs increasing strain and crack width. In this analysis, the crack bridging law for synthetic fiber in FRC presented in the previous section is taken into account. In Section 6, a procedure to find a cross section configuration in equilibrium under external bending moment has been built. Under the assumption of a perfectly plastic collapse mechanism a numerical simulation is conducted on a specimen that undergoes a four-point bending test. A comparison with the trend of a similar test on a synthetic FRC sample has been done. The work is completed by the conclusions that could be inferred from this work.

Influence of erosion voids and traffic loads on buried large-diameter reinforced concrete pipes

Geotechnical centrifuge tests were conducted to examine the influence of invert voids and surface traffic loads on 1400 mm diameter reinforced concrete pipes buried with a shallow soil cover depth of 700 mm.Void formation beneath the pipe was simulated during centrifuge testing.The test results revealed that before void formation,the surface load directly above the middle of the pipe caused a significant increase in not only the circumferential bending moments but also the longitudinal bending moments,the latter of which was considerable and could not be ignored.Void formation beneath the middle of the pipe led to a reduction in both the circumferential bending moments and longitudinal bending moments at all measuring positions,i.e.,crown,springline,and invert.The most significant reduction occurred at the invert,and there was even a reversal in the sign of the invert longitudinal bending moment.A comparison was made between centrifuge tests with erosion voids and surface loads at different horizontal positions,which had a marked influence even when the positions differed by half a pipe length.Joint rotation played an important role in relieving large bending moments of pipe barrels in a jointed pipeline when the void and surface load were located at the joint.

Application of Geological Prospecting Radar to Detecting the Reinforced Concrete Blocks of East Runway of the Capital International Airport of China

The geological prospecting radar, a high-techuology rapidly developed in recent years, is used in the field of nondestructive testing and object detecting, in accordance with the reflection principle of high-frequency electromagnetic wave. It will be effective if there exists a large difference in the electromagnetic properties between an object body and its surroundings. The result of using the geological prospecting radar in detecting the concrete blocks with ber in the capital internatioual airport’s east runway is aualyed in detail herein. The introduction of the geological prospecting radar provides a new approach to nondotodive testing.

Acoustic emissions evaluation of the dynamic splitting tensile properties of steel fiber reinforced concrete under freeze-thaw cycling

This study empirically investigated the influence of freeze-thaw cycling on the dynamic splitting tensile properties of steel fiber reinforced concrete(SFRC).Brazilian disc splitting tests were conducted using four loading rates(0.002,0.02,0.2,and 2 mm/s)on specimens with four steel fiber contents(0%,0.6%,1.2%,and 1.8%)subjected to 0 and 50 freeze-thaw cycles.The dynamic splitting tensile damage characteristics were evaluated using acoustic emission(AE)parameter analysis and Fourier transform spectral analysis.The results quantified using the freeze-thaw damage factor defined in this paper indicate that the degree of damage to SFRC caused by freeze-thaw cycling was aggravated with increasing loading rate but mitigated by increasing fiber content.The percentage of low-frequency AE signals produced by the SFRC specimens during loading decreased with increasing loading rate,whereas that of high-frequency AE signals increased.Freeze-thaw action had little effect on the crack types observed during the early and middle stages of the loading process;however,the primary crack type observed during the later stage of loading changed from shear to tensile after the SFRC specimens were subjected to freeze-thaw cycling.Notably,the results of this study indicate that the freeze-thaw damage to SFRC reduces AE signal activity at low frequencies.

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.

Experimental study on concrete columns hybrid reinforced by steel and FRP bars under seismic loading

In order to study the dynamic behavior of hybrid reinforced concrete columns, shaking table tests of three concrete columns with equal initial stiffness were conducted.The longitudinal reinforcements include an ordinary steel bar,a steel-fiber reinforced polymer（FRP） composite bar（SFCB）, and hybrid reinforcement（steel bar and FRP bar, CH）. Test results show that the peak ground acceleration（PGA） responses of different columns are similar to each other. For an ordinary reinforced concrete（RC） column, the plastic strain of the steel bar develops rapidly after the PGA of the input ground motion reaches 100 cm / s^2, and the corresponding residual strain develops dramatically. For a SFCB column, even after the peak strain reaches 0. 015, the residual strain is below 5 × 10^- 4. For the hybrid column C-H,the residual strain of the FRP bar is similar to that of the SFCB column. In general, concrete columns with hybrid steel and FRP bar reinforcement can achieve smaller residual deformation, and the SFCB reinforced columns can be constructed in extreme environments, such as offshore bridges, due to good anti-corrosion performance.

Shear-flexural strength mechanical model for the design and assessment of reinforced concrete beams subjected to point or distributed loads

A mechanical model recently developed for the shear strength of slender reinforced concrete beams with and without shear reinforcement is presented and extended to elements with uniformly distributed loads, specially focusing on practical design and assessment in this paper. The shear strength is considered to be the sum of the shear transferred by the concrete compression chord, along the crack, due to residual tensile and frictional stresses, by the stirrups and, if they exist, by the longitudinal reinforcement. Based on the principles of structural mechanics simple expressions have been derived separately for each shear transfer action and for their interaction at ultimate limit state. The predictions of the model have been compared to those obtained by using the EC2, MC2010 and ACI 318-08 provisions and they fit very well the available experimental results from the recently published ACI-DAfStb databases of shear tests on slender reinforced concrete beams with and without stirrups. Finally, a detailed application example has been presented, obtaining each contributing component to the shear strength and the assumed shape and position of the critical crack.

A precise solution for prediction of fiber-reinforced concrete behavior under flexure

This paper presents a precise solution to predict the behavior of steel fiber reinforced concrete(SFRC) under the four point bending test(FPBT).All the force components at the beam section(before and after cracking) are formulated by applying these assumptions:a realistic stress-strain model is used for concrete behavior in compression,a linear response is considered for the uncracked tension region in a concrete constitutive model,and an exponential relationship is proposed as a stress-crack opening in the crack region which requires two parameters.Then the moment capacity of the critical cracked section is calculated by using these forces and satisfying equilibrium law at the section.Parametric studies are done on the behavior of SFRC to assess the sensitivity of the solution.Finally,this solution is validated with some existing experimental data.The result shows the proposed solution is able to estimate the behavior of SFRC under FPBT.

Experimental and numerical study on structural performance of reinforced concrete box sewer with localized extreme defect

An experimental and numerical investigation into the structural performance of reinforced concrete box sewers with typical corrosion-related extreme defects localized at the ceiling was conducted.Firstly,during the large-scale laboratory test,some key struc-tural responses were captured and evaluated,including the crack width development process(via digital image correlation measurement),ceiling deflection,and material strains of both complete and typical defective boxes.The failure modes and load-carrying mechanism throughout the specimen loading phases were analyzed.Furthermore,the specimen failure process was simulated using a damage-basedfinite element method,and a related parameter sensitivity analysis was performed.The results indicate that the defective ceiling cracked at mid-span under a low load value,but the bending capacity loss can be substituted by two shoulders and carry three tofive times more load before completely collapsing.The simulation matched the lab test qualitatively,and with the suggested set strategy of material parameters,the load-deflection feature curve could provide a practical prediction of the ultimate bearing capacity of the defec-tive sewers,with a 10–15%error on the safe side.