• Computers and Concrete
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.565-576
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• 2020

Experimental and discrete element methods were used to investigate the effects of angle of Y shape non-persistent joint on the tensile behaviour of joint's bridge area under brazilian test. concrete samples with diameter of 100 mm and thikness of 40 mm were prepared. Within the specimen, two Y shape non-persistent notches were provided. The large notch lengths were 6 cm, 4 cm and 2 cm. the small notch lengths were 3 cm, 2 cm and 1 cm. The angle of larger notch related to horizontal axis was 0°, 30°, 60°, 90°. Totally, 12 different configuration systems were prepared for Y shape non-persistent joints. Also, 18 models with different Y shape non-persistent notch angle and notch length were prepared in numerical model. The large notch lengths were 6 cm, 4 cm and 2 cm. the small notch lengths were 3 cm, 2 cm and 1 cm. The angle of larger notch related to horizontal axis was 0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150. Tensile strength of model materil was 1 MPa. The axial load was applied to the model by rate of 0.02 mm/sec. This testing showed that the failure process was mostly governed by the Y shape non-persistent joint angle and joint length. The tensile strengths of the specimens were related to the fracture pattern and failure mechanism of the discontinuities. It was shown that the tensile behaviour of discontinuities is related to the number of the induced tensile cracks which are increased by increasing the joint length and joint angle. The minimum tensile strength occurs when the angle of larger joint related to horizontal axis was 60°. Also, the maximum compressive strength occurs when the angle of larger joint related to horizontal axis was 90°. The tensile strength was decreased by increasing the notch length. The failure pattern and failure strength are similar in both methods i.e. the experimental testing and the numerical simulation methods.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.457-472
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• 2021

Reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in Taiwan have suffered failure from strong earthquakes, which was magnified by the non-ductile detailing frames. Inadequate reinforcement as a consequence of the design philosophy prior to the introduction of current standards resulted in severe damage in the column and beam-column joint (BCJ). This study establishes a finite element analysis (FEA) of the non-ductile detailing RC column, BCJ, and three-story building that was previously tested through a tri-axial shaking table test. The results were then validated to laboratory specimens having the exact same dimensions and properties. FEA simulation integrates the concrete damage plasticity model and the elastic-perfectly plastic model for steel. The load-displacement responses of the column and BCJ specimens obtained from FEA were in a reasonable agreement with the experimental curves. The resulting initial stiffness and maximum base shear were found to be a close approximation to the experimental results. Also, the findings of a dynamic analysis of the three-story building showed that the time-history data of acceleration and displacement correlated well with the shaking table test results. This indicates the FEA implementation can be effectively used to predict the RC frame performance and failure mode under seismic loads.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.467-482
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• 2020

This research focused on analyzing the post-fire behavior of high-performance concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns, with the concrete containing tire rubber and steel fibers, under axial compressive loading. The finite element (FE) modeling of such heated columns containing recycled aggregate is a branch of this field which has not received the proper attention of researchers. Better understanding the post-fire behavior of these columns by measuring their residual strength and deformation is critical for achieving the minimum repair level required for structures damaged in the fire. Therefore, to develop this model, 19 groups of confined and unconfined specimens with the variables including the volume ratio of steel fibers, tire rubber content, diameter-to-thickness (D/t) ratio of the steel tube, and exposure temperature were considered. The ABAQUS software was employed to model the tested specimens so that the accurate behavior of the FE-modeled specimens could be examined under test conditions. To achieve desirable results for the modeling of the specimens, in addition to the novel procedure described in this research, the modified versions of models presented by previous researchers were also utilized. After the completion of modeling, the load-axial strain and load-lateral strain relationships, ultimate strength, and failure mode of the modeled CFST specimens were evaluated against the test data, through which the satisfactory accuracy of this modeling procedure was established. Afterward, using a parametric study, the effect of factors such as the concrete core strength at different temperatures and the D/t ratio on the behavior of the CFST columns was explored. Finally, the compressive strength values obtained from the FE model were compared with the corresponding values predicted by various codes, the results of which indicated that most codes were conservative in terms of these predictions.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.483-495
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• 2020

Dams are vital infrastructures that are expected to maintain their stability during seismic excitations. Accordingly, cemented material dams are an emerging type, which are being increasingly used around the world owing to benefiting from advantages of both earth-fill and concrete gravity dams, which should be designed safely when subjected to strong ground motion. In the present paper, the seismic performance of a cemented sand and gravel (CSG) dam is assessed using incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) method by accounting for two failure modes of tension cracking and base joint sliding considering the dam-reservoir-foundation interactions. To take the seismic uncertainties into account, the dam is analyzed under a suite of ground motion records and then, the effect of friction angle for base sliding as well as deformability of the foundation are investigated on the response of dam. To carry out the analyses, the Cindere dam in Turkey is selected as a case study, and various limit states corresponding to seismic performance levels of the dam are determined aiming to estimate the seismic fragilities. Based on the results, sliding of the Cindere dam could be serious under the maximum credible earthquake (MCE). Besides, dam faces are mostly to be cracked under such level of intensity. Moreover, the results indicate that as friction angle increases, probability of sliding between dam and foundation is reduced whereas, increases tensile cracking. Lastly, it is observed that foundation stiffening increases the probability of dam sliding but, reduces the tensile damage in the dam body.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.547-563
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• 2020

In this paper, the influence of axial compression ratio on the mechanical properties of new type joints of side span of rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular column-H-type steel beam is studied. Two new types of side-span joints of rectangular concrete-filled steel tubular column-H-type steel beam are designed and quasi-static tests of five new type joints with 1:2 scale reduction ratios are performed. The axial compression ratio of joint JD1 is 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5, and the axial compression ratio of joint JD2 is 0.3 and 0.5. In the joint test, different axial forces were applied to the top of the column according to different axial compression ratios, and low-cyclic reciprocating load was applied on the beam. The stress and strain distribution, beam and column deformation, limit state, failure process, failure mechanism, stiffness degradation, ductile deformation and energy dissipation capacity of the joint were measured and analyzed. The results show that: with the increase of axial compression ratio, the ultimate bearing capacity of the joint decreases slightly, the plastic deformation decreases, and the stiffness and ductility decrease. According to the energy dissipation curve of the specimen, the equivalent damping coefficient also increases with the increase of axial compression ratio in a certain range, indicating that the increase of axial compression ratio can improve the seismic performance of the joint to a certain extent. The finite element method is used to simulate the joint test, and the test results are in good agreement with the simulation results.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.417-435
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• 2021

The optimal distribution of steel fibers over different layers of concrete can be considered as an appropriate method in improving the structural performance and reducing the cost of fiber-reinforced concrete members. In addition, the use of waste tire rubber in concrete mixes, as one of the practical ways to address environmental problems, is highly significant. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the flexural behavior of functionally graded steel fiber-reinforced concrete containing recycled tire crumb rubber, as a volume replacement of sand, after exposure to elevated temperatures. Little information is available in the literature regarding this subject. To achieve this goal, a set of 54 one-, two-, and three-layer concrete beam specimens with different fiber volume fractions (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 1.25%), but the same overall fiber content, and different volume percentages of the waste tire rubber (0, 5, and 10%) were exposed to different temperatures (23, 300, and 600℃). Afterward, the parameters affecting the post-heating flexural performance of concrete, including flexural strength and stiffness, toughness, fracture energy, and load-deflection diagrams, along with the compressive strength and weight loss of concrete specimens, were evaluated. The results indicated that the flexural strength and stiffness of the three-layer concrete beams respectively increased by 10 and 7%, compared to the one-layer beam specimens with the same fiber content. However, the flexural performance of the two-layer beams was reduced relative to those with one layer and equal fiber content. Besides, the flexural strength, toughness, fracture energy, and stiffness were reduced by approximately 10% when a 10% of natural sand was replaced with tire rubber in the three-layer specimens compared to the corresponding beams without crumb rubber. Although the flexural properties of concrete specimens increased with increasing the temperature up to 300℃, these properties degraded significantly with elevating the temperature up to 600℃, leading to a sharp increase in the deflection at peak load.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.99-109
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• 2021

Experimental and discrete element methods were used to investigate the effects of echelon non-persistent joint on the failure behaviour of joint's bridge area under uniaxial compressive test. Concrete samples with dimension of 150 mm×100 mm×50 mm were prepared. Uniaxial compressive strength and tensile strength of concrete were 14 MPa and 1MPa, respectivly. Within the specimen, three echelon non-persistent notches were provided. These joints were distributed on the three diagonal plane. the angle of diagonal plane related to horizontal axis were 15°, 30° and 45°. The angle of joints related to diagonal plane were 30°, 45°, 60°. Totally, 9 different configuration systems were prepared for non-persistent joint. In these configurations, the length of joints were taken as 2 cm. Similar to those for joints configuration systems in the experimental tests, 9 models with different echelon non-persistent joint were prepared in numerical model. The axial load was applied to the model by rate of 0.05 mm/min. the results show that the failure process was mostly governed by both of the non-persistent joint angle and diagonal plane angle. The compressive strengths of the specimens were related to the fracture pattern and failure mechanism of the discontinuities. It was shown that the shear behaviour of discontinuities is related to the number of the induced tensile cracks which are increased by increasing the joint angle. The strength of samples increase by increasing both of the joint angle and diagonal plane angle. The failure pattern and failure strength are similar in both methods i.e. the experimental testing and the numerical simulation methods.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.283-295
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• 2021

Existing meso-scale models of concrete need to refine the mesh grids of aggregate and cement mortar, which may greatly reduce the computational efficiency. To overcome this problem, a novel meso-scale modeling strategy, which is based on rigid body spring method and Voronoi diagram, is proposed in this study to establish the meso-scale model of concrete. Firstly, establish numerical aggregate models according to user-defined programs. Circle aggregates are adopted due to their high efficiency in generation and packing process, and the grading of aggregate are determined according to the distribution curve proposed by Full and Thompson; Secondly, extract the centroids of aggregates, and then develop the Voronoi diagram in which aggregate centroids are defined as initial scatters; Finally, establish the rigid body spring model for concrete based on the Voronoi diagram. Aggregates are represented by rigid blocks, and assumed to be unbreakable. Cement mortar is concentrated into the interface between adjacent blocks and represented by two uniform springs. The number of grids is consistent with that of aggregates in specimens, and no mesh-refinement of aggregates and cement mortar is required. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed modeling strategy are firstly identified by comparing the numerical results with the experimental ones, and then the applicability of the proposed strategy with different volume percentage occupied by aggregates is investigated.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.241-252
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• 2021

An experimental program was conducted to investigate the fresh properties, mechanical properties and durability characteristics of the self-compacting mortars (SCM) produced with pumice powder and Artificial Lightweight Fine Aggregate (aLWFA). aLWFA was produced by using fly ash. A total of 16 different mixtures were designed with a constant water-binder ratio of 0.37, in which natural sands were partially replaced with aLWFA and pumice powder at different volume fractions of 5%, 10% and 15%. The artificial lightweight aggregates used in this study were manufactured through cold bonding pelletisation of 90% of class-F fly ash and 10% of Portland cement in a tilted pan with an ambient temperature and moisture content. Flowability tests were conducted on the fresh mortar mixtures beforehand, to determine the self-compacting characteristics on the basis of EFNARC. To determine the conformity of the fresh mortar characteristics with the standards, mini-slump and mini-V-funnel tests were carried out. Hardened state tests were conducted after 7, 28 and 56 days to determine the flexural strength and axial compressive strength respectively. Durability, sorptivity, permeability and density tests were conducted at the end of 28 days of curing time. The test results showed that the pumice powder replacement improved both the fresh state and the hardened state characteristics of the mortar and the optimum mixture ratio was determined as 15%, considering other studies in the literature. In the aLWFA mixtures used, the mechanical and durability characteristics of the modified compositions were very close to the control mixture. It is concluded in this study that mixtures with pumice powder replacement eliminated the negative effects of the aLWFA in the mortars and made a positive contribution.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.163-173
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• 2021

In this paper, the parameters of haunch height, reinforcement ratio and site condition were evaluated for the influence on the seismic performance of a composite precast fabricated utility tunnel by shaking table test and numerical simulation. The dynamic response laws of acceleration, interlayer displacement and steel strain under unidirectional horizontal seismic excitation were analyzed through four specimens with a similarity ratio of 1:6 in the test. And a numerical model was established and analyzed by the finite element software ABAQUS based on the structure of utility tunnel. The results indicated that composite precast fabricated utility tunnel with the good anti-seismic performance. In a certain range, increasing the height of haunch or the ratio of reinforcement could reduce the influence of seismic wave on the utility tunnel structure, which was beneficial to the structure earthquake resistance. The clay field containing the interlayer of liquefied sandy soil has a certain damping effect on the structure of the utility tunnel, and the displacement response could be reduced by 14.1%. Under the excitation of strong earthquake, the reinforcement strain at the side wall upper end and haunches of the utility tunnel was the biggest, which is the key part of the structure. The experimental results were in good agreement with the fitting results, and the results could provide a reference value for the anti-seismic design and application of composite precast fabricated utility tunnel.