Assessment of Deviation in Quality of Steel Reinforcing Bars Used in Some Building Sites in Cameroon

The present work evaluated the deviations in the quality of steel reinforcing bars in terms of markings, diameter, yield strength and ductility in order to facilitate the drawing up of a yield strength value for the Cameroon National Annex to Eurocode 2. The methodology of the work started with the collection of steel samples from various active building project sites in four different towns viz: Bamenda, Douala, Maroua and Yaoundé and testing their tensile strength and elongation using a Universal Testing Machine and also carrying out the bending test. Results show that bars without marked manufacturer’s name fell all the tests. Other results show that 52% of all the steel had yield stresses below 400 Mpa and the highest deviation in the yield strengths was 22.50%. The study recommends that properly marked grade 500 steel bars should be adopted in the Cameroon national annex to Eurocode 2.

基于Reinforcing Steel本构的高强钢筋混凝土柱纤维模型研究

为了研究HTRB630E级高强钢筋的基本力学参数和疲劳性能,本文进行了应变等幅低周疲劳性能试验,并将试验结果与HRB400级钢筋的结果进行了对比分析。首先,基于应变等幅低周疲劳试验数据点,对OpenSees程序中Reinforcing Steel材料本构的疲劳参数C f、C d和α进行拟合,然后采用拟合的Reinforcing Steel材料本构疲劳三参数,基于OpenSees软件对钢筋混凝土柱有限元纤维模型进行数值模拟,最后将数值结果与试验柱结果对比分析。结果表明:拟合的疲劳三参数对有限元纤维模型有优化效果,为配置HTRB630E级高强钢筋混凝土结构数值纤维模型提供参考。

Mechanical and low-cycle fatigue behavior of stainless reinforcing steel for earthquake engineering applications

Use of stainless reinforcing steel （SRS） in reinforced concrete （RC） structures is a promising solution to corrosion issues. However, for SRS to be used in seismic applications, several mechanical properties need to be investigated. These include specified and actual yield strengths, tensile strengths, uniform elongations and low-cycle fatigue behavior. Three types of SRSs （Talley S24100, Talley 316LN and Talley 2205） were tested and the results are reported in this paper. They were compared with the properties of A706 carbon reinforcing steel （RS）, which is typical for seismic applications, and MMFX II, which is a high strength, corrosion resistant RS. Low-cycle fatigue tests of the RS coupons were conducted under strain control with constant amplitude to obtain strain life models of the steels. Test results show that the SRSs have slightly lower moduli of elasticity, higher uniform elongations before necking, and better low-cycle fatigue performance than A706 and MMFX II. All five types of RSs tested satisfy the requirements of the ACI 318 code on the lower limit of the tensile to yield strength ratio. Except Talley 2205, the other four types of RSs investigated meet the ACI 318 requirement that the actual yield strength does not exceed the specified yield strength by more than 18 ksi （124 MPa）. Among the three types of SRSs tested, Talley S24100 possesses the highest uniform elongation before necking, and the best low-cycle fatigue performance.

Corrosion Measurements of Reinforcing Steel by Different Electrochemical Techniques

Electrochemical techniques of the corrosion measurements of reinforcing steeI in concrete have been evaluated. These techniques include half-cell potential measurements, impressed voltage method, impressed current method and potentiostatic polarization technique. The results of corrosion behaviour of the steel in both 5%NaCl and 5%MgSO4 show that each electrochemical technique provides some information about the condition of the steel bar or the corrosivity of the environment being evaluated, yet none provides a complete data regarding the corrosion resistance of reinforcing steel in aggressive media

Utilization of waste vehicle tires in concrete and its effect on the corrosion behavior of reinforcing steels

The mechanical and physical properties of concrete specimens obtained from replacing natural coarse aggregate with waste vehi- cle rubber tires at levels of 2vol%, 5vol%, 7vol%, and 10vol% were studied, and the corrosion behavior of reinforcing steels was investigated in these specimens. Corrosion rates were determined by measuring the galvanic current between steel-reinforced concrete specimens both with and without chloride addition. The change in electrode potential of reinforcing steels in these concrete specimens was measured daily for a period of 60 d in accordance with the testing method in ASTM C876. The results show that the use of waste vehicle tires in concrete instead of coarse aggregate decreases the mechanical strength of the specimens, and increases the corrosion rates of the reinforcing steels embedded in the concretes.

Improvement of Concrete Properties and Reinforcing Steel Inhibition Using a Natural Product Admixture

The use of a natural white juice, taken from magrabe banana stem, as concrete admixture to improve mechanical and physicrvchemical properties of concrete has been studied. The compressive strength, bulk density the free lime liberated during hydration and the combined water content were determined. The results indicate that the admixture acts as a retarder in most cases and as accelerator in some ones. Also, the admixture effect on the corrosion resistance of the reinforcing steel against surrounding aggressive media has been investigated using galvanostatic polarization technique. The addition of 0.2% admixture leads to the more inhibition of the steel

Characterization of the Reinforcing Steel Corrosion by Potentialdynamic Scan Approach

Reinforcement corrosion is the major cause of damage and early failure of reinforced concrete structures worldwide with subsequent enormous costs for maintenance, restoration and replacement. Many methods used today for assessment of reinforcement corrosion are based on electrochemical techniques that determine the free corrosion potential or polarization resistance. Most of these methods always consider the B value in Stern-Geary equation as constant. However, B changes with different condition. In this paper, potentialdynamic method is used to characterize the corrosion of reinforcing steel. The corrosion rate of Q235 carbon steel is measured with concrete environment. B is calculated real-time. By this way, the error of reinforcement corrosion rate is minimized.

Effect of Steel Fiber on Concrete’s Compressive Strength

The general goal of this research is to investigate whether steel fiber has a significant “positive” or “negative” influence on concrete compressive strength, as well as the optimal steel fiber ratio that delivers best result. Manually, cement, fine aggregates, coarse aggregates, steel fibers, and water were mixed together properly. A slump test was carried on the mixed concrete. After determining the workability, the mixed concrete was poured into cubes dimension 150 mm × 150 mm × 150 mm and left for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the samples were removed from the mold and placed in a water tank to cure for 7 to 28 days. The cube was tested for compressive and flexural strength in a universal testing machine after the samples had cured for the required 7 - 28 days. This study focuses on how to obtain high strength concrete using with steel fiber in the Conventional mix ratio to enhance concrete strength. Concrete reinforcement using steel fibers alters the characteristics of the concrete, allowing it to withstand fracture and hence improve its mechanical qualities. This study reports on an experimental study that reveals the effect of steel fiber on concrete compressive strength and the optimal steel fiber ratio that produces the best results. Steel fiber reinforcing improved the compressive strength of concrete. The average compressive strength of normal M25 concrete with 0% steel fibers and curing ages of 7 and 28 days was determined to be 22.97 N/mm2 and 25.78 N/mm2, respectively. The steel fibers are then added in various concentrations, such as 1%, 2%, and 3%, with aspect ratios of 70. The compressive strength of concrete with 1%, 2%, and 3% steel fiber with an aspect ratio of 70 was examined at 7 days and found to be 23.96, 24.80, and 26.14 N/mm2 correspondingly.

Quantitative Detection of Corrosion State of Concrete Internal Reinforcement Based on Metal Magnetic Memory

Corrosion can be very harmful to the service life and several properties of reinforced concrete structures.The metal magnetic memory(MMM)method,as a newly developed spontaneous magnetic flux leakage(SMFL)non-destructive testing(NDT)technique,is considered a potentially viable method for detecting corrosion damage in reinforced concrete members.To this end,in this paper,the indoor electrochemical method was employed to accelerate the corrosion of outsourced concrete specimens with different steel bar diameters,and the normal components Bz and its gradient of the SMFL fields on the specimen surfaces were investigated based on the metal magnetic memory(MMM)method.The experimental results showed that the SMFL experimental Bz curves are consistent with the analytical results of the theoretical model.Furthermore,the crest-to-trough behavior on the Bz signal curve and its zero-point gradient spacing can more accurately indicate the corroded area’s extent.Then,a magnetic characteristic parameter W based on a large amount of experimental data was established to characterize the degree of corrosion of the steel bars.The magnetic characteristic parameter W is linearly related to the maximum cross-sectional area loss rate
of the corroded reinforcement.This paper will lay the foundation for future research on corrosion detection of reinforced concrete structures based on the MMM method and provide a feasible way for non-destructive detection of corrosion independent of the influence of reinforcement diameter and magnetization history.

Corrosion Behaviour and Chloride Attack of Reinforcing Steel in Presence of Concrete Admixtures

Corrosion and electrochemical behaviour of reinforcing steel embedded in cement pastes with and without concrete admixtures used in Egypt to modify concrete properties have been studied. The influence of the admixtures on the corrosion resistance of the steel against chloride attack has been studied by using impressed current and impressed voltage techniques. The results indicate that the type and concentration of the used admixture have an important effect on the extent of chloride induced corrosion of the steel. The mechanism of corrosion of steel due to chloride attack was discussed. (Edited author abstract) 16 Refs.

Experimental study on box shape steel reinforced concrete beam

Experimental study on the fundamental behavior of box shape steel reinforced concrete （SRC） beams was conducted. Seven 1 ： 3 scale model SRC beams were tested to failure. The experimental results indicate that the flexural strength increases with the increase of the ratio of flexural reinforcement and the thickness of flange of the shape steel; the shear strength increases with the increase in the thickness of the web of the shape steel. Concrete filled in the box shape steel can prevent the early failure of specimens due to the buckling of the box shape steel, and increase the ultimate load. Measures should be made to strengthen the connection and co-work between the shape steel and the concrete. Formulae for flexural and shear strength of the composite beams are proposed, and the calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental results. In general, the box shape SRC beam is a kind of ductile member, and it is suitable for extensive engineering application.

Experimental Study on Force Behavior of Steel Rein forced Concrete Transfer Beam Structure with Basement of Large Space

Based on comparative test of two transfer story models, in one of which the transfer beam and basement column is constructed of steel reinforced concrete, and the other is constructed of ordinary reinforced concrete, its force behavior, ductility and failure mechanism under vertical and horizontal loads are studied. The results show that loading bearing and seismic behavior of transfer story structure with steel reinforced concrete beam and basement column is good. The relative design suggestion is put forward.

Influence of mill scale and rust layer on the corrosion resistance of low-alloy steel in simulated concrete pore solution

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic potentiodynamic polarization measurements, and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to investigate the influence of mill scale and rust layer on the passivation capability and chloride-induced corrosion behaviors of conventional low-carbon（LC） steel and low-alloy（LA） steel in simulated concrete pore solution. The results show that mill scale exerts different influences on the corrosion resistance of both steels at various electrochemical stages. We propose that the high long-term corrosion resistance of LA steel is mainly achieved through the synergistic effect of a gradually formed compact, adherent and well-distributed Cr-enriched inner rust layer and the physical barrier protection effect of mill scale.

Experimental and analytical study on seismic behavior of steel-concrete multienergy dissipation composite shear walls

In this paper, a steel-concrete multi-energy dissipation composite shear wall, comprised of steel-reinforced concrete （SRC） columns, steel plate （SP） deep beams, a concrete wall and energy dissipation strips, is proposed. In order to study the multi-energy dissipation behavior and restorability after an earthquake, two stages of low cyclic loading tests were carded out on ten test specimens. In the first stage, test on five specimens with different number of SP deep beams was carried out, and the test lasted until the displacement drift reached 2%. In the second stage, thin SPs were welded to both sides of the five specimens tested in the first stage, and the same test was carried out on the repaired specimens （designated as new specimens）. The load-bearing capacity, stiffness, ductility, hysteretic behavior and failure characteristics were analyzed for both stages and the results are discussed herein. Extrapolating from these results, strength calculation models and formulas are proposed herein and simulations using ABAQUS carried out, they show good agreement with the test results. The study demonstrates that SRC columns, SP deep beams, concrete wall and energy dissipation strips cooperate well and play an important role in energy dissipation. In addition, this study shows that the shear wall has good recoverability after an earthquake, and that the welding of thin SP＇s to repair a deformed wall is a practicable technique.

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.

Seismic performance of steel reinforced ultra high-strength concrete composite frame joints

To investigate the seismic performance of a composite frame comprised of steel reinforced ultra high-strength concrete （SRUHSC） columns and steel reinforced concrete （SRC） beams, six interior frame joint specimens were designed and tested under low cyclically lateral load. The effects of the axial load ratio and volumetric stirrup ratio were studied on the characteristics of the frame joint performance including crack pattern, failure mode, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, strength degradation and rigidity degradation. It was found that all joint specimens behaved in a ductile manner with flexural-shear failure in the joint core region while plastic hinges appeared at the beam ends. The ductility and energy absorption capacity of joints increased as the axial load ratio decreased and the volumetric stirIup ratio increased. The displacement ductility coefficient and equivalent damping coefficient of the joints fell between the corresponding coefficients of the steel reinforced concrete （SRC） frame joint and RC frame joint. The axial load ratio and volumetric stirrup ratio have less influence on the strength degradation and more influence on the stiffness degradation. The stiffness of the joint degrades more significantly for a low volumetric stirrup ratio and high axial load ratio. The characteristics obtained from the SRUHSC composite frame joint specimens with better seismic performance may be a useful reference in future engineering applications.

Hysteretic behavior of special shaped columns composed of steel and reinforced concrete(SRC)

This paper describes a series of experimental investigations on seventeen specimens of steel reinforced concrete special shaped(SRCSS) columns under low cyclic reversed loading using parallel crosshead equipment. Nine T-shaped SRC columns, four L-shaped SRC columns and four +-shaped SRC columns were tested to examine the effects of shape steel confi guration, loading angle, axial compressive ratio and shear-span ratio on the behavior(strength, stiffness, energy dissipation, ductility, etc.) of SRCSS column specimens. The failure modes and hysteretic performance of all the specimens were obtained in the tests. Test results demonstrate that the shear-span ratio is the main parameter affecting the failure modes of SRCSS columns. The specimens with small shear-span ratio are prone to shear failure, and the primary failure planes in SRCSS columns are parallel to the loading direction. As a result, there is a symmetry between positive and negative loading directions in the hysteretic curves of the SRCSS columns. The majority of displacement ductility coeffi cients for all the specimens are over 3.0, so that the SRCSS columns demonstrate a better deformation capacity. In addition, the equivalent viscous damping coeffi cients of all the specimens are greater than 0.2, indicating that the seismic behavior of SRCSS columns is adequate. Finally, the superposition theory was used to calculate the limits of axial compressive ratio for the specimens, and it is found that the test axial compressive ratio is close to or smaller than the calculated axial compressive ratio limit.

Mechanical Properties of Layered Steel Fiber and Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete

To explore a new structure form of fiber reinforced concrete, namely, the layered steel fiber and layered hybrid fiber reinforced concrete （LSFRC and LHFRC）, the mechanical properties of LSFRC and LHFRC, such as compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, fatigue and durability were focused on. The experimental results show that LSFRC and LHFRC can improve the flexural strength of concrete by 20%-50%. In the aspect of improving the flexural strength of concrete, adulterant rate has more obvious effect than length/diameter ratio. Double logarithmic fatigue equation considered liveability was founded. The impermeability of LHFRC is superior to LSFRC and plain concrete （C）. However, the porosity of LHFRC is lower than LSFRC and C. The shrinkage of LHFRC at every age is obviously lower than C. The antifreeze durability of LHFRC is also better than C.

Effect of Acid Rain Erosion on Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Acid rain can deteriorate the performance of reinforced concrete structure.Combined with the characteristics of acid rain in China,the properties of steel fiber reinforced concrete subjected to acid rain were studied.The effects of steel fiber content and pH value of acid rain on the mass loss,erosion depth,neutralization depth,and splitting tensile strength of tested concrete were investigated.The mercury intrusion pore（MIP） test was used to analyze the influence of steel fiber on the acid rain resistance of concrete matrix.The results show that the corrosion of steel fiber reinforced concrete subjected to acid rain results from the combined effect of H^＋ and SO4^2- in the acid rain,and steel fiber can improve the acid rain resistance of the tested concrete by improving the pore structure and enhancing the tie effect of the concrete matrix.The experiment further indicates that the optimum content of steel fiber is 1.5%compared to the various mixing proportion in this tests.The tested concrete mass loss and splitting tensile strength decrease followed by increasing as a function of corrosion time when the pH value of the simulation solution is 3 or 4,while they decrease continuously in the simulation solution at pH 2.Thanks to the tie effect of steel fiber,the spalling of concrete matrix is significantly improved,and the erosion depth and neutralization depth are less than those of conventional concrete.

Charactersitics of Stress-strain Curve of High Strength Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete under Uniaxial Tension

A whole of 110 specimens divided into 22 groups were tested with varying the volume fraction of steel fibers and the matrix strength of these specimens. The stress-strain behaviors of four types of steel fiber reinforced concrete （SFRC） under uniaxial tension were studied experimentally. When the matrix strength and the fiber content increase, the tensile stress and tensile strain vary differently according to the fiber type. The mechanisms of reinforcing effect for different types of fiber were analyzed and the stress-strain curves of the specimens were plotted. Some experimental factors for stress or strain of SFRC were given. A tensile toughness modulus Re0.5 was introduced to evaluate the toughness characters of SFRC under uniaxial tension. Moreover, the formula of the tensile stress-strain curve of SFRC was regressed. The theoretical curve and the experimental ones fit well, which can be used for references in construction.