Using Radial Neural Network to Predict the Ultimate Moment of a Reinforced Concrete Beam Reinforced with Composites

This article is intended as a proposal for a numerical model for the prediction of the ultimate moment of a reinforced concrete beam reinforced with composite materials based on neural networks, which are classified in the artificial intelligence method. In this work, a RBF network or radial basis function type model was created and tested. The validation of the RBF architecture consists in judging its predictive capacity by using the weights and biases computed during the training, to apply them to another database which did not participate to the training and testing of the model. So, with Bayesian regularization, a maximum error of 0.0813 Tm in absolute value was found between the targets and predicted outputs. The value of the mean square error MSE = 1.1106 * 10-4 allowed us to quantify and justify the prediction performance of this network. Through this article, RBF network model was justified perform and can be used and exploited by our engineers with a high reliability rate.

Experimental and numerical study on cyclic behavior of a UHPC-RC composite pier

Conventional reinforced concrete piers are vulnerable to severe compressive damage under strong earthquake conditions and are difficult to quickly rehabilitate.This paper develops a new type of composite pier,consisting of ultra-high-performance concrete(UHPC)and reinforced concrete(RC).This UHPC-RC composite pier uses a UHPC cover outside of an RC core to achieve a high load-carrying capacity and mitigate compressive damage.An experiment is performed to evaluate the performance of the UHPC-RC composite pier under cyclic deformation.The crack development,ultimate failure modes,and load-carrying capacities of the pier are observed.Because of the extraordinary compressive strength of UHPC,the composite pier suffers little compressive damage under large lateral deformations.The composite pier fails as a result of fracturing of the reinforcement.A numerical model is developed to reproduce the cyclic behavior of the composite pier.On the basis of the verified numerical model,a parametric analysis is used to investigate the influence of the thickness of the UHPC cover and the axial load ratio.Finally,an approach is recommended for designing composite piers.

VIV analysis of pipelines under complex span conditions

Spans occur when a pipeline is laid on a rough undulating seabed or when upheaval buckling occurs due to constrained thermal expansion. This not only results in static and dynamic loads on the flowline at span sections,but also generates vortex induced vibration (VIV),which can lead to fatigue issues. The phenomenon,if not predicted and controlled properly,will negatively affect pipeline integrity,leading to expensive remediation and intervention work. Span analysis can be complicated by:long span lengths,a large number of spans caused by a rough seabed,and multi-span interactions. In addition,the complexity can be more onerous and challenging when soil uncertainty,concrete degradation and unknown residual lay tension are considered in the analysis. This paper describes the latest developments and a'state-of-the-art' finite element analysis program that has been developed to simulate the span response of a flowline under complex boundary and loading conditions. Both VIV and direct wave loading are captured in the analysis and the results are sequentially used for the ultimate limit state (ULS) check and fatigue life calculation.

Degradation process assessment of prestressed concrete continuous bridges in life-cycle

To accurately evaluate the degradation process of prestressed concrete continuous bridges exposed to aggressive environments in life-cycle,a finite element-based approach with respect to the lifetime performance assessment of concrete bridges was proposed.The existing assessment methods were firstly introduced and compared.Some essential mechanics problems involved in the degradation process,such as the deterioration of materials properties,the reduction of sectional areas and the variation of overall structural performance caused by the first two problems,were investigated and solved.A computer program named CBDAS(Concrete Bridge Durability Analysis System) was written to perform the above-metioned approach.Finally,the degradation process of a prestressed concrete continuous bridge under chloride penetration was discussed.The results show that the concrete normal stress for serviceability limit state exceeds the threshold value after 60 a,but the various performance indicators at ultimate limit state are consistently in the allowable level during service life.Therefore,in the case of prestressed concrete bridges,the serviceability limit state is more possible to have durability problems in life-cycle;however,the performance indicators at ultimate limit state can satisfy the requirements.