Shear behavior of ultra-high-performance concrete beams prestressed with external carbon fiber-reinforced polymer tendons

The ultra-high-performance concrete(UHPC)and fiber-reinforced polymer(FRP)are well-accepted high-performance materials in the field of civil engineering.The combination of these advanced materials could contribute to improvement of structural performance and corrosion resistance.Unfortunately,only limited studies are available for shear behavior of UHPC beams reinforced with FRP bars,and few suggestions exist for prediction methods for shear capacity.This paper presents an experimental investigation on the shear behavior of UHPC beams reinforced with glass FRP(GFRP)and prestressed with external carbon FRP(CFRP)tendons.The failure mode of all specimens with various shear span to depth ratios from 1.7 to 4.5 was diagonal tension failure.The shear span to depth ratio had a significant influence on the shear capacity,and the effective prestressing stress affected the crack propagation.The experimental results were then applied to evaluate the equations given in different codes/recommendations for FRPreinforced concrete structures or UHPC structures.The comparison results indicate that NF P 18-710 and JSCE CES82 could appropriately estimate shear capacity of the slender specimens with a shear span to depth ratio of 4.5.Further,a new shear design equation was proposed to take into account the effect of the shear span to depth ratio and the steel fiber content on shear capacity.

Experimental study on ultimate flexural capacity of steel encased concrete composite beams

Based on the experimental study and inelastic theory, the ultimate flexuralcapacity of steel encased concrete composite beams are derived. The difference between steel encasedconcrete composite beams with full shear connection and beams with partial shear connection,together with the relationship between the inelastic neutral axis of steel parts and concrete parts,are considered in the formulae. The calculation results of the eight specimens with full shearconnection and the three specimens with partial shear connection are in good agreement with theexperimental data, which validates the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed calculationmethods. Furthermore, the nonlinear finite element analysis of the ultimate flexural capacity of thesteel encased concrete composite beams is performed. Nonlinear material properties and nonlinearcontact properties are considered in the finite element analysis. The finite element analyticalresults also correlate well with the experimental data.

Strengthening effects of BFRP on reinforced concrete beams

Reinforced concrete （RC） beams externally bonded with basalt fiber reinforced polymer （BFRP） are experimentally investigated by using different numbers of bonding plies, transverse anchorages as well as the initial conditions of strengthened beams. The performances of the BFRP strengthening are compared with those of the carbon fiber reinforced polymer （CFRP） and the glass fiber reinforced polymer （GFRP） under the same experimental condition. Experimental results indicate that the strength and ductility of the strengthened beam with two plies of the BFRP are improved remarkably than those with one ply. The strengthening effects of the BFRP lie between those of the CFRP and the GFRP. The BFRP strengthening is little influenced by pre-cracks of concrete. Most failures are caused by interfaciai debonding induced by flexural cracks in the experiment. Clamping of Uwraps along the whole beam is less efficient than endpoint anchorage for increasing the ultimate load of the strengthened beam. Finally, the models suggested by the five guidelines for predicting the debonding strain of the CFRP are extended to the BFRP and the conservative estimates of the debonding strain of the BFRP are given as well.

Durability of concrete beams reinforced with CFRP sheet under wet-dry cycles and loading

The test results of eight concrete beams reinforced with carbon fiber reinforced polymer （CFRP） sheets subjected to an aggressive environment under a sustained load are presented. The beams are 1 700 mm long with a rectangular cross-section of 120- mm width and 200-mm depth. The beams are precracked with a four-point flexural load, bonded CFRP sheets, and placed into wet-dry saline water（ NaCl） either in an unstressed state or loaded to about 30% or 60% of the initial ultimate load. The individual and coupled effects of wet-dry saline water and sustained bending stresses on the long term behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with the CFRP are investigated. The test results show that the coupled action of wet-dry saline water and sustained bending stresses appears to significantly affect the load capacity and the failure mode of beam strengthened with CFRP, mainly due to the degradation of the bond between CFRP and concrete. However, the stiffness is not affected by the coupled action of wet-dry cycles and a sustained load.

Ultimate load bearing capacity evaluation of concrete beams subjected to freeze-thaw cycles

A theoretical prediction method based on the change of concrete material is proposed to evaluate the ultimate bending moment of concrete beams which have undergone freeze-thaw cycles （PTCs）. First, the freeze-thaw damage on concrete material is analyzed and the residual compressive strength is chosen to indicate the freeze-thaw damage. Then, the equivalent block method is employed to simplify the compressive stress-strain curve of the freeze-thaw damaged concrete and the mathematical expression for the ultimate bending moment is obtained. Comparisons of the predicted results with the test data indicate that the ultimate bending moment of concrete beams affected by FTC attack can be predicted by this proposed method. However, the bond-slip behavior and the randomness of freeze-thaw damage will affect the accuracy of the predicted results, especially when the residual compressive strength is less than 50%.

Comparison study on calculation methods of bending behavior of Chinese reinforced concrete beams from 1912 to 1949

In order to study the calculation methods of bending behavior of Chinese reinforced concrete beams from 1912 to 1949, tests on the mechanical performance of 66 rebars from different modem Chinese concrete buildings, the concrete compressive strength of 12 modem Chinese concrete buildings, and the concrete cover thickness of 9 modem Chinese concrete buildings are carried out; and the actual material properties and structural conformations of modem Chinese concrete buildings are obtained. Then, the comparison on calculation methods of bending behavior including the original Chinese calculation method, the present Chinese calculation method, the present American calculation method and the present European calculation method is studied. The results show that the original Chinese calculation method of bending behavior is based on the allowable stress calculation method, and the design safety factors are 3.55 to 4. 0. In term of the calculation area of longitudinal rebars of reinforced concrete beams, without considering earthquake action, the original Chinese structural calculation method is safer than the present Chinese structural calculation method, the present European structural calculation method, and the present American structural calculation method. The results can provide support for the structural safety assessments of modem Chinese reinforced concrete buildings.

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.

Behavior of reinforced concrete beams and columns subjected to blast loading

In this study, the blast performance of steel reinforced concrete(RC) beams was experimentally and analytically investigated. The experiment consists of a total of 10 one-half-scale beams subjected to different levels of blast loading using live explosives. The reflected pressure-time histories were recorded and different damage levels and modes were observed. The blast resilience of the damaged beams was quantified by measuring the time-dependent displacements. Experiment results show that the damage in steel reinforced concrete beams with higher explosive mass is enhanced compared with that of the beams with smaller explosive mass at the same scaled distance. Based on the experiment data, an empirical expression is developed via dimensional analysis to correct the relationship between the midspan displacement and scaled distance. Besides, a complex single degree of freedom model(SDOF)incorporating complex features of the material behavior, high strain-rate effect and the column geometry was proposed and validated by test results.

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.

Experimental investigation of p-section concrete beams under contact explosion and close-in explosion conditions

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on explosive breaching of p-section concrete beams. Twenty three p-section concrete beams with a 100 cm length were tested. TNT charges were placed at three positions: contact detonation in the center, contact detonation above the web and close-in detonation in the center. The external and internal breach parameters of the panels were evaluated by measuring the diameter of the ejection crater, spalling crater and breach hole created by the charge detonation. The experimental results were compared to predict values obtained by the analytical models proposed by McVay, Morishita and Remennikov. A modified breach with crater limit line and breach without crater limit line were put forward based on the experimental results. The maximum cross-sectional destruction area ratio(MCDAR) values were used to evaluate the damage degree. The maximum value of MCDAR reached 0.331 corresponding to the C5 experimental condition, of which explosion occurred above the web.

Dynamic responses of reinforced concrete beams under double-endinitiated close-in explosion

The reinforced concrete(RC) structural component might suffer a great damage under close-in explosion.Different from distant explosions, blast loads generated by the close-in explosion are non-uniformly distributed on the structural component and may cause both local and structural failure. In this study,an experimental study was conducted to investigate the dynamic responses of RC beams under doubleend-initiated close-in explosions. The experimental results show that the distribution of blast loads generated by the double-end-initiated explosion is much more non-uniform than those generated by single-point detonation, which is caused by the self-Mach-reflection effects. A 3 D finite element model was developed and validated in LS-DYNA by employing the modified K&C model. Intensive numerical calculations were conducted to study the influences of the initiation way, scaled distance and longitudinal reinforcement ratio on the dynamic responses and failure modes of RC beams. Numerical results show that the RC beam suffers greater damage as the cylindrical explosive is detonated at its double ends than the scenario in which the cylindrical explosive is detonated at its central point. RC beams mainly suffer flexural failure and flexure-shear failure under the double-end close-in explosion, and the failure modes of RC beams change from the flexural damage to flexure-shear damage as the scaled distance or the longitudinal reinforcement ratio decreases. The direct shear failure mode is not usually observed in the double-end-initiated explosion, since the intense blast loads is basically concentrated in the midspan of RC beam, which is due to self-Mach-reflection enhancement.

Tensile Strength Characteristics of GFRP Bars in Concrete Beams with Work Cracks under Sustained Loading and Severe Environments

To investigate the effect of different environmental conditions of GFRP bars in concrete beams with work cracks subjected to sustained loads, the beams were exposed in indoor, freeze/thaw cycles and immersed in alkaline solution at elevated temperature. The bars were carefully extracted from the beams and tested in order to evaluate residual tensile properties. The results show that the tensile strength decreased significantly in the highly aggressive conditions but not in the natural conditions. The effect of GFRP bars casting in concrete beams demonstrated approximately 2.5% decrease of tensile strength caused by pore water environment in concrete beams on basis of those of the original bars. The effect of sustained loading plus work cracks demonstrated about 10.5% tensile strength decrease on basis of those of the bars only casted in concrete beams. The effect of environments under sustained loading plus work cracks demonstrated about 17% tensile strength decrease caused by a saturated solution of Ca（OH）2 and 60-2 ℃ tap water （pH=12-13） and about 8% tensile strength decrease caused by freezing and thawing cycle （F/T）, both on basis of those of the bars of the indoor beams only under sustained loading plus work cracks. The results demonstrate the effects of the tensile strengths under different environmental conditions of GFRP bars in concrete beams with work cracks subjected to sustained loads.

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.

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.

Crack elongation and its width of large depth reinforced concrete beams

In order to meet the requirement of structural inspection,the crack spacing and crack width at various heights in the tensile zone of six large depth reinforced concrete beams were measured under several loading levels of serviceability state.The effects of the depth of normal section beams on the crack spacing and crack width were analyzed,and the modified model is proposed for calculating the average crack spacing by thinking about the depth of normal section,the reinforcement arrangement and the effective reinforcement ratio.The relationships of crack widths at any position in the tensile zone and at the reinforcement level on the side surface of beam were studied.By theoretical and statistical analysis,a method is proposed to calculate the ratios of crack widths between any position and the reinforcement level on the side surface of large depth reinforced concrete beams.

Fatigue Damage Modeling for Partially Prestressed Concrete Beams under Repeated Loadings with Variable Amplitude

A full-range nonlinear analysis method for fatigue damage in prestressed concrete beams is presented. New damage accumulation models are proposed to describe the fatigue damage evolution in concrete and reinforcement respectively. Based on the stress analysis for cross section, the stress redistrbution in the fatigue damage process, due to the different damage mechanisms of concrete and reinforcement, is considered. The nonlinear damage analysis is achieved by means of piecewise linearity, and it is applicable on the condition of repeated loadings with variable amplitude. Fatigue damage modeling of a beam is implemented to illustrate that the proposed method can preferably fit the experimental results.

Behavior of Corrosion-Repaired Concrete Beams Reinforced by Epoxy Mortar

The performance of concrete beams repaired with epoxy mortar was investigated by constructing twelve beam specimens.All the beam specimens were subjected to a constant current for accelerated corrosion.Six specimens were corroded without subsequent reparation as a control group,and the other six beam specimens were corroded and repaired utilizing epoxy mortar.All specimens were tested to failure.During test process,we focused on the failure pattern of beam specimens,structural cracks,mid-deflections,bearing capacity,and probed into the influence of corrosion degree and repair of epoxy mortar on the performance of beam specimens.It was observed that corrosion-repaired beams in the loading test were in a bending failure pattern.It is obvious that cracking loads and bending stiffness of repaired beams and corrosion-repaired beams were larger than those of unrepaired beams and secondly-corroded beams.When the mass loss of main steel bars was smaller than 10%,the bearing capacity of the repaired beams was similar to that of the unrepaired beams.When the mass loss of main steel bars was larger than 10%,the bearing capacity of the repaired beams increased significantly compared with that of the unrepaired beams.

Performance of Epoxy-Repaired Corroded Reinforced Concrete Beams

Reinforcement corrosion has a serious impact on the durability and safety of reinforced concrete structures.Six reinforced concrete(RC)beam specimens are constructed.After beam specimens are subjected to accelerated corrosion with the constant current,beam specimens are repaired with epoxy mortar and the flexural test of beams is investigated.Then the behaviors of repaired corroded reinforced concrete beams are evaluated.The experimental results show that cracking and ultimate loads of corroded RC beams are enhanced after being repaired.And the strain distributions measured across sections of beam specimens still obey the assumption of plane section.After being repaired,the number of cracks decreases and the crack spacing increases.

Stress redistribution of simply supported reinforced concrete beams under fire conditions

This study presents experimental and numerical investigations of simply supported steel reinforced concrete(RC)beams under fire.The temperature field of cross sections,the vertical deflection at mid-span,and specifically the axial expansion displacement at beam-ends were measured during the fire tests.A novel finite element(FE)model of a RC beam under fire was developed,in which the water loss in the heat transfer analysis and the concrete transient strain in the mechanical analysis were considered.Based on the validated FE model proposed in this study,parametric studies were conducted to investigate the effects of the beam type,the protective layer thickness,and the load ratio on the thermal and mechanical behavior of simply supported RC beams.It was found that greater fire resistance and fire performance of girder beams in comparison to secondary beams contributed to the non-structural reinforcements,which effectively compensated for the reduced tensile capacities of structural reinforcements because of the degradation of the material properties.In addition,the history of normal stress distributions of concrete under fire can be divided into three phases:expansion,stress redistribution and plateau phases.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of High-Strength Concrete Beams Including Steel Fibers and Large-Particle Recycled Coarse Aggregates

In order to study the performances of high-strength concrete beams including steel fibers and large-particle recycled aggregates,four different beams have been designed,tested experimentally and simulated numerically.As varying parameters,the replacement rates of recycled coarse aggregates and CFRP(carbon fiber reinforced polymer)sheets have been considered.The failure mode of these beams,related load deflection curves,stirrup strain and shear capacity have been determined through monotonic loading tests.The simulations have been conducted using the ABAQUS finite element software.The results show that the shear failure mode of recycled concrete beams is similar to that of ordinary concrete beams.The shear carrying capacity of high-strength concrete beams including steel fibers and large-particle recycled coarse aggregates grows with an increase in the replacement rate of recycled coarse aggregates.Reinforcement with CFRP sheets can significantly improve the beam’s shear carrying capacity and overall resistance to deformation.