• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.139-147
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• 2020

This paper reports the effect of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) in geopolymer concrete on strength, durability and microstructural properties under ambient curing at a room temperature of 25℃ and 65±5% relative humidity. Rice husk was incinerated at 800℃ in a hot air oven. and ground in a ball mill to achieve the required fineness. RHA was partially added in 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 percentages to fly ash with 10% of GGBS to produce geopolymer concrete. Test results exhibit that the substitution of RHA in geopolymer concrete resulted in reduced strength properties during initial curing. In the initial stage, workability of GPC mixes was affected by RHA particles due to the presence of dormant particles in it. It is evident from the microstructural study that the presence of RHA particles densifies the matrix reducing porosity in concrete. This is due to the presence of RHA in geopolymer concrete, which affects the ratio of silica and alumina, resulting in polycondensation reactions products. This study suggests that incorporation of rice husk ash in geopolymer concrete is the solution for effective utilization of waste materials and prevention of environmental pollution due to the dumping of industrial waste and to produce eco-friendly concrete.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.161-171
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• 2020

In this paper, an experimental study was conducted on the compressive behavior of steel tube confined concrete (STCC) and concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns with active and passive confinement. To create active confinement in the STCC and CFST specimens, an innovative method was used in this study, in which by applying pressure on the fresh concrete, the steel tube was laterally pretensioned and the concrete core was compressed simultaneously. Of the benefits of this technique are improving the composite column behavior, without the use of additives and without the need for vibration, and achieving high prestressing levels. To achieve lower and higher prestressing levels, short and long term pressures were applied to the specimens, respectively. Nineteen STCC and CFST specimens in three groups of passive, short-term active, and long-term active confinement were subjected to axial compression, and their mechanical properties including the compressive strength, modulus of elasticity and axial strain were evaluated. The results showed that the proposed method of prestressing the STCC columns led to a significant increase in the compressive strength (about 60%), initial modulus of elasticity (about 130%) as well as a significant reduction in the axial strain (about 45%). In the CFST columns, the prestressing led to a considerable increase in the compressive strength, a small effect on the initial and secant modulus of elasticity and an increase in the axial strain (about 55%). Moreover, increased prestressing levels negligibly affected the compressive strength of STCCs and CFSTs but slightly increased the elastic modulus of STCCs and significantly decreased that of CFSTs.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.173-181
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• 2020

Fracture properties of concrete depend on the mix proportions of the ingredients, specimen shape and size, type of testing method used for the evaluation of fracture properties. Aggregates play a key role for changes in the fracture behaviour of concrete as they constitute about 60-75 % of the total volume of the concrete. The present study deals with the effect of size and quantity of coarse aggregate on the fracture behaviour of steel fibre reinforced self compacting concrete (SFRSCC). Lower coarse aggregate and higher fine aggregate content in SCC results in the stronger interfacial transition zone and a weaker stiffness of concrete compared to vibrated concrete. As the fracture properties depend on the aggregates quantity and size particularly in SCC, three nominal sizes (20 mm, 16 mm and 12.5 mm) and three coarse to fine aggregate proportions (50-50, 45-55, 40-60) were chosen as parameters. Wedge Split Test (WST), a stable test method was adopted to arrive the requisite properties. Specimens without and with guide notch were investigated. The results are indicative of increase in fracture energy with increase in coarse aggregate size and quantity. The splitting force was maximum for specimens with 12.5 mm size which is associated with a brittle failure in the pre-ultimate stage followed by a ductile failure due to the presence of steel fibres in the post-peak stage.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제10권5호
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• pp.417-429
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• 2020

Waste glass is a global solid waste with huge reserves. The discarded waste glass has caused a series of problems such as resource waste and environmental pollution, so it is urgent to recycle waste glass with high replacement level. Glass powder (GP), as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM), used in cement-based materials has already become one of the important ways to recycle waste glass mainly attributed to its pozzolanic reaction and filling effect, especially to the suppressed ASR expansion. This paper demonstrates an overview of the properties of GP and its effect on the fresh and mechanical properties of cement-based materials. The study found that the influence of GP on the performance of cement-based materials mainly depends on its content, particle size, color and type, curing conditions, and other SCMs. Finally, based on the problems involved in the investigation of concrete containing GP, some corresponding suggestions and efforts are given to further guide the utilization of GP in cement-based materials.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제10권5호
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• pp.431-441
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• 2020

For the purpose of improving the properties of UHPC as well as the economic efficiency in production of the material, Availability of river sands as fine aggregate instead of micro silica sand were investigated. Four different sizes of river sands were considered. Using river sand instead of micro silica sand increased the flowability, and decreased the yield stress and plastic viscosity in rheological properties, and the effect was higher with larger particle size of river sand. It was demonstrated by analyses based on the packing density. In the results of compressive strength and elastic modulus, even though river sand was not as good as micro silica sand, it could provide high strength of over 170 MPa and elastic modulus greater than 40 GPa. The difference in compressive strength depending on the size of river sand was explained with the concept of maximum paste thickness based on the packing density of aggregate. The flexural performance with river sand also presented relatively lower resistance than micro silica sand, and the reduction was greater with larger particle size of river sand. The flexural performance was proven to be also influenced by the difference in the fiber orientation distribution due to the size of river sand.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제2권4호
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• pp.309-324
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• 2014

In the design of reinforced concrete structural walls, in order to ensure adequate inelastic displacement behaviour and to sustain deformation demands imposed by strong ground motions, special reinforcement is considered while designing. However, these would lead to severe reinforcement congestion and difficulties during construction. Addition of randomly distributed discrete fibres in concrete improves the flexural behaviour of structural elements because of its enhanced tensile properties and this leads to reduction in congestion. This paper deals with effect of addition of steel fibres on the behavior of high performance fibre reinforced cement concrete (HPFRCC) slender structural walls with the different volume fractions of steel fibres. The specimens were subjected to quasi static lateral reverse cyclic loading until failure. The high performance concrete (HPC) used was obtained based on the guidelines given in ACI 211.1 which was further modified by prof.Aitcin (1998). The volume fraction of the fibres used in this study varied from 0 to 1% with an increment of 0.5%. The results were analysed critically and appraised. The study indicates that the addition of steel fibres in the HPC structural walls enhances the first crack load, strength, initial stiffness and energy dissipation capacity.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제2권4호
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• pp.281-300
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• 2014

This study presents the experimental results of twenty three reinforced concrete beams with rectangular web openings externally strengthened with Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) composites bonded around openings. All tested beams had the same geometry and reinforcement details. At openings locations, the stirrups intercepted the openings were cut during fabrication of reinforcement cage to simulate the condition of inclusion of an opening in an existing beam. Several design parameters are considered including the opening dimensions and location in the shear zone, the wrapping configurations, and the amount and the type of the FRP composites in the vicinity of the openings. The wrapping configurations of FRP included: sheets, strips, U-shape strips, and U-shape strips with bundles of FRP strands placed at the top and sides of the beam forming a fan under the strips to achieve closed wrapping. The effect of these parameters on the failure modes, the ultimate load, and the beam stiffness were investigated. The shear contribution of FRP on the shear capacity of tested beams with web openings was estimated according to ACI Committee 440-08, Canadian Standards S6-06, and Khalifa et al. model and examined against the test results. A modification factor to account for the dimensions of opening chords was applied to the predicted gain in the shear capacity according to ACI 440-08 and CSA S6-06 for bonded Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) around openings. The analytical results after incorporating the modification factor into the codes guidelines showed good agreement with the test results.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제2권4호
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• pp.261-280
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• 2014

In many parts of the world, reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, designed and built in accordance with older codes, have suffered severe damage or even collapse as a result of recent near-fault earthquakes. This is particularly due to the deficiencies of most of the older (and even some of the recent) codes in dealing with near fault events. In this study, a tested three-storey frame designed for gravity loads only was selected to represent those deficient buildings. Nonlinear time history analyses were performed, followed by damage assessment procedures. The results were compared with experimental observation of the same frame showing a good match. Damage and fragility analyses of the frame subjected to 204 pulse-type motions were then performed using a selected damage model and inter-storey drifts. The results showed that the frame located in near-fault regions is extremely vulnerable to ground motions. The results also showed that the damage model better captures the damage distribution in the frame than inter-storey drifts. The first storey was identified as the most fragile and the inner columns of the first storey suffered most damage as indicated by the damage index. The findings would be helpful in the decision making process prior to the strengthening of buildings in near-fault regions.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제1권4호
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• pp.341-358
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• 2013

Due to fast growth in urbanisation, a highly developed infrastructure is essential for economic growth and prosperity. One of the major problems is to preserve, maintain, and retrofit these structures. To meet the requirements of construction industry, the basic information on all the mechanical properties of various concretes is essential. This paper presents the details of development of various concretes, namely, normal strength concrete (around 50 MPa), high strength concrete (around 85 MPa) and ultra high strength concrete (UHSC) (around 120 MPa) including their mechanical properties. The various mechanical properties such as compressive strength, split tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, fracture energy and tensile stress vs crack width have been obtained from the respective test results. It is observed from the studies that a higher value of compressive strength, split tensile strength and fracture energy is achieved in the case of UHSC, which can be attributed to the contribution at different scales viz., at the meso scale due to the fibers and at the micro scale due to the close packing of grains which is on account of good grading of the particles. Micro structure of UHSC mix has been examined for various magnifications to identify the pores if any present in the mix. Brief note on characteristic length and brittleness number has been given.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제1권4호
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• pp.319-340
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• 2013

This paper presents a comparative study on the double-K fracture parameters of concrete obtained using four existing analytical methods such as Gauss-Chebyshev integral method, simplified Green's function method, weight function method and simplified equivalent cohesive force method. Two specimen geometries: three point bend test and compact tension specimen for sizes 100-500 mm at initial notch length to depth ratios 0.25 and 0.4 are used for the comparative study. The required input parameters for determining the double-K fracture parameters are derived from the developed fictitious crack model. It is found that the cohesive toughness and initial cracking toughness determined using weight function method and simplified equivalent cohesive force method agree well with those obtained using Gauss-Chebyshev integral method whereas these fracture parameters determined using simplified Green's function method deviates more than by 11% and 20% respectively as compared with those obtained using Gauss-Chebyshev integral method. It is also shown that all the fracture parameters related with double-K model are size dependent.