• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.201-218
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• 2018

In this study, the effects of magnesium sulfate on the mechanical performance and the durability of confined and unconfined geopolymer concrete (GPC) specimens were investigated. The carbon and basalt fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) fabrics with 1-layer and 3-layers were used to evaluate the performances of the specimens under static and cyclic loading in the ambient and magnesium sulfate environments. In addition, the use of FRP materials as a rehabilitation technique was also studied. For the geopolymerization process of GPC specimens, the alkaline activator has selected a mixture of sodium silicate solution ($Na_2SiO_3$) and sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) with a ratio ($Na_2SiO_3/NaOH$) of 2.5. In addition to GPC specimens, an ordinary concrete (NC) specimens were also produced as a reference specimens and some of the GPC and NC specimens were immersed in 5% magnesium sulfate solutions. The mechanical performance and the durability of the specimens were evaluated by visual appearance, weight change, static and cyclic loading, and failure modes of the specimens under magnesium sulfate and ambient environments. In addition, the microscopic changes of the specimens due to sulfate attack were also assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the macroscale behavior of the specimens. Results indicated that geopolymer specimens produced with nano-silica and fly ash showed superior performance than the NC specimens in the sulfate environment. In addition, confined specimens with FRP fabrics significantly improved the compressive strength, ductility and durability resistance of the specimens and the improvement was found higher with the increased number of FRP layers. Specimens wrapped with carbon FRP fabrics showed better mechanical performance and durability properties than the specimens wrapped with basalt FRP fabrics. Both FRP materials can be used as a rehabilitation material in the sulfate environment.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.41-53
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• 2024

Under constant and cyclic axial compression, square composite short columns reinforced with Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) added with scrap rubber infilled inside steel tubes and with different types of concrete were cast and tested. The test is carried out to find the effectiveness of utilizing an aggregate manufactured from industrial waste and to address the problems associated with the need for alternative reinforcements along with waste management. The main testing parameters are the type of concrete, the effect of fiber inclusion, and the significance of rubber-infilled steel tubes. The failure modes of the columns and axial load-displacement curves of the steel tube-reinforced columns were all thoroughly investigated. According to the test results, all specimens failed due to compression failure with a longitudinal crack along the loading axis. The fiber-reinforced column specimens demonstrated improved ductility and energy absorption. In comparison to the normal-weight concrete columns, the lightweight concrete columns significantly improved the axial load-carrying capacity. The addition of basalt fiber to the columns significantly increased the yield stress and ultimate stress to 9.21%. The corresponding displacement at yield load and ultimate load was reduced to 10.36% and 28.79%, respectively. The precision of volumetric information regarding the obtained crack quantification, aggregates, and the fiber in concrete is studied in detail through image processing using MATLAB environment.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.51-59
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• 2019

There is increasingly more research focusing on the application of FRP reinforcing bars as an alternative material for steel reinforcing bars, but most such research look at short term behavior of FRP reinforced structures. In this study, the microscopic analysis and tensile behavior of Basalt and Glass FRP bars under freezing-thawing and alkaline conditions were experimentally evaluated. After 100 cycles of the freezing and thawing, the tensile strength and elastic modulus of FRP bars decreased by about 5%. In the case of microstructure of FRP bars during the initial 20 days, no significant damages of FRP bar sections were found under $20^{\circ}C$ alkaline solution; however, the specimens immersed in $60^{\circ}C$ alkaline solution were found to experience resin dissolution, fiber damage and the separation of the resin-fiber interface. In the alkaline environment, the strength decrease of about 10% occurred in the environment at $20^{\circ}C$ for 100 days, but the tensile strength of FRPs exposed for 500 days decreased by 50%. At temperature of $40^{\circ}C$ and $60^{\circ}C$, an abrupt decrease in the strength was observed at 50 and 100 days. Especially, the tensile strength decrease of Basalt fiber Reinforced Polymer bars showed more severe degradation due to the damage caused by dissolution of resin matrix and fiber swelling in alkaline solution. Therefore, in order to improve the long-term performance of the surface braided FRPr reinforcing bars, surface treatment is required to ensure alkali resistance.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.93-102
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• 2010

Recently, FRP usage for strengthening RC structures in civil engineering has been increasing. Especially, the use of FRP to strengthen structures against blast loading is growing rapidly. To estimate FRP retrofitting effect under blast loading, blast tests with nine $1,000{\times}1,000{\times}150\;mm$ RC panel specimens, which were retrofitted with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), Polyurea, CFRP with Poly-urea and basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) have been carried out. The applied blast load was generated by the detonation of 15.88 kg ANFO explosive charge at 1.5 m standoff distance. The data acquisitions not only included blast waves of incident pressure, reflected pressure, and impulse, but also included central deflection and strains at steel, concrete, and FRP surfaces. The failure mode of each specimen was observed and compared with a control specimen. From the test results, the blast resistance of each retrofit material was determined. The test results of each retrofit material will provide the basic information for preliminary selection of retrofit material to achieve the target retrofit performance and protection level.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.153-160
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• 2020

Columns are one of the most critical parts of a structural system subjected to earthquake excitations. In this regard, extensive experimental studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) wrapping on the seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) columns. Among them, many studies focused on the behavior of circular or square RC columns strengthened with CFRP or GFRP sheets. Since the cross-sectional shape affects confinement by FRP wrapping, its strengthening effect and final damage pattern may differ with shapes. In this study, a series of cyclic tests was conducted to investigate the seismic behavior of rectangular reinforced concrete columns strengthened with basalt-based fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) sheets and composite fiber panels. The result shows that the effect of strengthening is not significant, and it implies a little increase of confinement by BFRP sheets and composite fiber panels, which is considered partly due to the cross-sectional shape of the columns.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.47-54
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• 2023

In this study, the tensile behavior of concrete specimens reinforced with GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer), BFRP (Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer), and CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) bars was experimentally analyzed. The tensile strength of the FRP bars is appeared to be similar to the design strength, but the elastic modulus was somewhat lower. Additionally, the specimens for tension stiffening effect were manufacured using OPC (Ordinary Portland Cement) and SFRC (Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete), with dimensions of 150(W)×150(B)×1000(H) mm. The crack spacing of specimens was most significant for GFRP reinforcement bars, which have a lower elastic modulus and a smoother surface, while BFRP and CFRP bars, with somewhat rougher surfaces and higher elastic moduli, showed similar crack spacings. In the load-strain relationship, GFRP bars exhibited a relatively abrupt behavior after cracking, whereas BFRP and CFRP bars showed a more stable behavior after the cracking phase, maintaining a certain level of tension stiffening effect. The tension stiffening index was somewhat smaller as the diameter increased, and GFRP, compared to BFRP, showed a higher tension stiffening index.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.607-616
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• 2022

Corrosion and degradation of reinforced structures due to abnormal climates and natural disasters further accelerate the aging of structures. Coping with the decrease in structure performance, many old structures are being repaired and reinforced with low-weight and high-strength materials such as glass fiber composite material (GFRP). To further contribute, this paper focus on a more economical and eco-friendly material, basalt fiber composite (BFRP), which provide a more effective lateral constraint effect for seismic reinforcement. The main variables considered in this study are the curing temperature during the manufacturing of BFRP and the material characteristics of the target concrete member. The lateral constraint reinforcement effect was investigated through the evaluation of the performance of normal concrete and those with improved durability through fiber reinforcement. The reinforcement effect was 3.15 times for normal concrete and 3.72 times for fiber reinforced concrete, and the difference in reinforcement effect due to the improvement of the durability characteristics of the compression member was not significant. Lastly, the performance of the BFRP was compared with the results of the GFRP reinforcement from the previous study. The effect of the BFRP reinforcement was 1.18 times better than that of the GFRP reinforcement.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.135-138
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• 2004

Conventional piezoelectric lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) senor has high sensitivity, but it is very brittle. Recently polymer films such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and poly(vinylidene fluoride­trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) copolymer have been used as a sensor. The advantages of polymer sensor are the flexibility and mechanical toughness. Simple process and possible several shapes are also additional advantages. Polymer sensor can be directly embedded in a structure. In this study, nondestructive damage sensitivity of single basalt fiber/epoxy composites was investigated with sensor type and thermal damage using AE and oscilloscope. And AE waveform for epoxy matrix with various damage types was compared to each other. The damage sensitivity of two polymer sensors was rather lower than that of PZT sensor. The damage sensitivity of PVDF sensor did not decrease until thermal damage temperature at $80^{\circ}C$ and they decreased significantly at $110^{\circ}C$ However, the damage sensitivity of P(VDF-TrFE) sensor at $110^{\circ}C$ was almost same in no damage sensor. For both top and side impacts, the difference in arrival time increased with increasing internal and surface damage density of epoxy matrix.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.118-124
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• 2018

Social infrastructures and industrial complexes have been actively constructed in South Korea since the 1960 s as part of the economic development plan, resulting in rapid industrialization. However, side-effects due to the industrialization have occurred. An increase in industrial by-products or wastes is a typical problem. Although some industrial by-products are recycled in Korea as well as worldwide, some wastes are landfilled or dumped in the sea. Although many researchers have executed various technologies for the disposal of industrial wastes, economic and environmental technologies have not been developed. Thus, this study aims to activate paper and fly ashes during the crush process to overcome the drawback of simple concrete mixed with paper and fly ashes, which cause a reduction in workability and strength, derive an optimal content and replacement ratio of concretes mixed with Energetically Modified Material (EMM), and evaluate the material performance. In addition, the basalt fiber is mixed simultaneously to achieve the reduction of cracks and improve the tensile strength.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.735-742
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• 2017

Steel cables as the most important components are widely used in the certain types of structures such as cable-supported bridges, but the long-span structures may result in an increase in fatigue under high stress and corrosion of steel cables. The traditional steel cable is becoming a more evident hindrance. Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) cables with lightweight, high-strength are widely used in civil engineering, but there is little research in vibrational characteristics of FRP cables, especially on the damping characteristic. This article studied the two methods to evaluate dynamical damping characteristic of basalt FRP(BFRP) and glass FRP(GFRP) cables. First, the vibration tests of the B/G FRP cables with different diameter and different cable force were executed. Second, the cables forces were calculated using dynamic strain, static strain and dynamic acceleration respectively, which were further compared with the measured force. Third, experimental modal damping of each cables was calculated by the half power point method, and was compared with the calculation by Rayleigh damping theory and energy dissipation damping theory. The results indicate that (1) The experimental damping of FRP cables decreases with the increase of cable force, and the trend of experimental damping changes is roughly similar with the theoretical damping. (2) The distribution of modal damping calculated by Rayleigh damping theory is closer to the experimental results, and the damping performance of GFRP cables is better than BFRP cables.