Long-term deformation of a steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) column is different from that of a reinforced concrete (RC) column due to the different moisture distribution. Wide-flange steel in an SRC column obstructs diffusion and makes long-term deformation slower. Previous studies analyzed the characteristics of long-term deformation of SRC columns. In this study, an additional experiment is conducted to more precisely investigate the effect of wide-flange steel on the long-term deformation of SRC columns. Long-term deformation, especially creep of SRC columns with various types of wide-flange steel, is tested. Wide-flange steel for the experiment is made of thin acrylic panels that can block diffusion but does not have strength, because the main purpose of this study is to exclusively demonstrate the long-term deformation of concrete caused by moisture diffusion, not by the reinforcement ratio. Experimental results show that the long-term deformation of a SRC column develops slower than that in a RC column, and it is slower as the wide-flange steel hinders diffusion more. These experimental results can be used for analytical prediction of long-term deformation of various SRC columns. An example of the analytical prediction is provided. According to the experimental and analytical results, it is clear that a new prediction model for long-term deformation of SRC columns should be developed in further studies.

In the recent decades, the application of composite materials, due to their desirable properties, has increased dramatically. In the present study, a quasi-encased trapezoidal section composite steel beam encased with concrete is thoroughly examined. Calculation of the load bearing capacity is carried out by finite element modeling of concrete and FRP beams with trapezoidal section under the effect of controlled displacement loading. The results are then validated comparing to the existing experimental results obtained from similar studies. Further on, the materials are changed to steel and concrete, and the section is de-signed in such a way that both concrete and steel reach a high percent-age of their load bearing capacity. In the last step, the parameters affecting the bending capacity and the behavior of the semi-confined composite beam are investigated. Results revealed that the beam diagonal web thickness plays the most effective role in load bearing capacity amongst other studied parameters. Furthermore, by analyzing the results on the effect of different parameters, an optimal model for primary beam section is presented, which exhibits a greater load bearing capacity compared to the initial design with the same amount of materials used for both sections.

Shear walls are one of the important structural elements for bearing loads imposed on buildings due to winds and earthquakes. Composite shear walls with high lateral resistance, and high energy dissipation capacity are considered as a lateral load system in such buildings. In this paper, a composite shear wall consisting of steel faceplates, infill concrete and tie bars which tied steel faceplates together, and concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) as boundary columns, was modeled numerically. Test results were compared with the existing experimental results in order to validate the proposed numerical model. Then, the effects of some parameters on the behavior of the composite shear wall were studied; so, the diameter and spacing of tie bars, thickness and compressive strength of infill concrete, thickness of steel faceplates, and the effect of strengthening the bottom region of the wall were considered. The seismic behavior of the modeled composite shear wall was evaluated in terms of stiffness, ductility, lateral strength, and energy dissipation capacity. The results of the study showed that the diameter of tie bars had a trivial effect on the performance of the composite shear wall, but increasing the tie bars spacing decreased ductility. Studying the effect of infill concrete thickness, concrete compressive strength, and thickness of steel faceplates also showed that the main role of infill concrete was to prevent buckling of steel faceplates. Also, by strengthening the bottom region of the wall, as long as the strengthened part did not provide a support performance for the upper part, the behavior of the composite shear wall was improved; otherwise, ductility of the wall could be reduced severely.

As the concept of "sponge city" is proposed, the pervious concrete for permeable pavement has been widely used in pavement construction. This paper aims at investigating the dynamic behavior and energy evolution of pervious concrete under impact loading. The dynamic compression and split tests are performed on pervious concrete by using split Hopkinson pressure bar equipment. The failure criterion on the basis of incubation time concept is used to analyze the dynamic failure. It is demonstrated that the pervious concrete is of a strain rate sensitive material. Under high strain rate loading, the dynamic strength increases while the time to failure approximately decreases linearly as the strain rate increases. The predicted dynamic compressive and split tensile strengths based on the failure criterion are in accordance with the experimental results. The total damage energy is found to increase with the increasing of strain rate, which means that more energy is needed to produce irreversible damage as loading rate increases. The fractal dimensions are observed increases with the increasing of impact loading rate.

Steel reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) components have been proposed for seismic structural applications, for example in coupling beams, infill panels, joints, columns, and flexural members. The development of strain in the steel reinforcement of cementitious components has been shown to vary based on both the steel reinforcement ratio and the applied deformation history. Strain in the steel reinforcement of reinforced ECC components is an important structural response metric because ultimate failure is often by fracture of the steel reinforcement. A recently proposed bond-slip model has been successfully calibrated to cyclically tested reinforced ECC beams wherein the deformation history contained monotonically increasing cycles. This paper reports simulations of two-dimensional finite element models of reinforced ECC beams to determine the appropriateness and significance of altering a phenomenological bond-slip model based on the applied deformation history. The numerical simulations with various values of post-peak bond-slip softening stiffness are compared to experimental results. Varying the post-peak bond-slip softening stiffness had little effect on the cracking patterns and hysteretic response of the reinforced ECC flexural models tested, which consisted of two different steel reinforcement ratios subjected to two different deformation histories. Varying the post-peak bond-slip softening stiffness did, however, affect the magnitude of strain and the length of reinforcing bar that strain-hardened. Overall, a numerical model with a constant bond-slip model represented well various responses in reinforced ECC beams with multiple steel reinforcement ratios subjected to different deformation histories.

RC (Reinforced Concrete) members are always subjected to loading conditions and have construction joints when constructed on a big scale. Service life for RC structure exposed to chloride attack is usually estimated through chloride diffusion test in sound concrete, however the test is performed without consideration of effect of loading and joint. In the present work, chloride diffusion coefficient is measured in concrete cured for 1 year. In order to evaluate the effect of applied load, cold joint, and mineral admixtures, OPC (Ordinary Portland Cement) and 40%-replaced GGBFS (Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag) concrete are prepared. The diffusion test is performed under loading conditions for concrete containing cold joint. Investigating the previous test results for 91 days-cured condition and the present work, changing diffusion coefficients with applied stress are normalized considering material type and cold joint. For evaluation of service life in RC continuous beam with 2 spans, non-linear analytical model is adopted, and service life in each location is evaluated considering the effects of applied stress, cold joint, and GGBFS. From the work, varying service life is simulated under various loading conditions, and the reduced results due to cold joint and tensile zone are quantitatively evaluated. The effect of various conditions on diffusion can provide more quantitative evaluation of chloride behavior and the related service life.

Increase in population and its daily increasing in our today society results in an increase in housing demand while traditional methods are not applicable. The project preparation and realization processes, based on theoretical and empirical studies, a creation of goods, services, and technologies, are the most important human activities. Selection of effective technological systems in construction is a complex multi-criteria decision-making task. Many decision-makers refuse innovations once faced with similar difficulties. Therefore, using modern materials and methods in this industry is necessary. Modern methods increase quality and construction speed in addition to decrease energy consumption and costs. One of the problems in the way of any project is selecting construction system compatible with the project needs and characteristics. In the present research, different concrete structures such as common reinforced concrete (RC) structure, prefabricated, Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF), 3D Panel and Tunnel Concrete Formwork (TCF) for buildings with limited floors in Iran are studied and compared from the viewpoint of different criteria like cost, time, applicability and technical characteristics with industrialization approach. Therefore, some questionnaires filled out by construction industry experts in order to compare criteria and sub-criteria in addition to evaluation of optimized structural systems. Then, results of the questionnaires ranked by Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the most effective alternative selected. The AHP results show that 3D Panel system 36.5%, ICF 21.7%, TCF 19.03%, prefabricated system 13.3% and common RC system 9.3% are the most and the least efficient systems respectively.

The present study focuses on examining the structural behaviour of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete (SFRC) beams under high rates of loading largely associated with impact problems. Fibres are added to the concrete mix to enhance ductility and energy absorption, which is important for impact-resistant design. A simple, yet practical non-linear finite-element analysis (NLFEA) model was used in the present study. Experimental static and impact tests were also carried out on beams spanning 1.3 meter with weights dropped from heights of 1.5 m and 2.5 m, respectively. The numerical model realistically describes the fully-brittle tensile behaviour of plain concrete as well as the contribution of steel fibres to the post-cracking response (the latter was allowed for by conveniently adjusting the constitutive relations for plain concrete, mainly in uniaxial tension). Suitable material relations (describing compression, tension and shear) were selected for SFRC and incorporated into ABAQUS software Brittle Cracking concrete model. A more complex model (i.e., the Damaged Plasticity concrete model in ABAQUS) was also considered and it was found that the seemingly simple (but fundamental) Brittle Cracking model yielded reliable results. Published data obtained from drop-weight experimental tests on RC and SFRC beams indicates that there is an increase in the maximum load recorded (compared to the corresponding static one) and a reduction in the portion of the beam span reacting to the impact load. However, there is considerable scatter and the specimens were often tested to complete destruction and thus yielding post-failure characteristics of little design value and making it difficult to pinpoint the actual load-carrying capacity and identify the associated true ultimate limit state (ULS). To address this, dynamic NLFEA was employed and the impact load applied was reduced gradually and applied in pulses to pinpoint the actual failure point. Different case studies were considered covering impact loading responses at both the material and structural levels as well as comparisons between RC and SFRC specimens. Steel fibres were found to increase the load-carrying capacity and deformability by offering better control over the cracking process concrete undergoes and allowing the impact energy to be absorbed more effectively compared to conventional RC members. This is useful for impact-resistant design of SFRC beams.