• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.33-45
• /
• 2014

Use of geotextile as reinforcement material to improve the weak soil is a popular method these days. Tensile strength of geotextile and the soil-geotextile interaction are the major factors which influence the improvement of the soil. Change in fine content within the sand can change the interface behavior between soil and geotextile. In the present paper, the bearing capacity of unreinforced and geotextile-reinforced sand with different percentages of fines has been studied. A series of model tests have been carried out and the load settlement curves are obtained. The ultimate load carrying capacity of unreinforced and reinforced sand with different percentages of fines is compared. The interface behavior of sand and geotextile with various percentages of fines is also studied. It is observed that sand having around 5% of fine is suitable or permissible for bearing capacity improvement due to the application of geosynthetic reinforcement. The effectiveness of the reinforcement in load carrying capacity improvement decreases due to the addition of excessive amount of fines.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.273-283
• /
• 2018

Previous experimental researches indicate that reinforced concrete beam-column joints play an important role in the mechanical properties of moment resisting frame structures, so as to require proper design. In order to get better understanding of the beam-column joint performance, a rational model needs to be developed. Based on the former considerations, two typical models for calculating the shear carrying capacity of the beam-column joint including the inelastic reinforced concrete joint model and the softened strut-and-tie model are selected to be introduced and analyzed. After examining the applicability of two typical models mentioned earlier to interior beam-column joints, several adjustments are made to get better predicting of the test results. For the softened strut-and-tie model, four adjustments including modifications of the depth of the diagonal strut, the inclination angle of diagonal compression strut, the smeared stress of mild steel bars embedded in concrete, as well as the softening coefficient are made. While two adjustments for the inelastic reinforced concrete joint model including modifications of the confinement effect due to the column axial load and the correction coefficient for high concrete are made. It has been proved by test data that predicted results by the improved softened strut-and-tie model or the modified inelastic reinforced concrete joint model are consistent with the test data and conservative. Based on the test results, it is also not difficult to find that the improved beam-column joint model can be used to predict the joint carrying capacity and cracks development with sufficient accuracy.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
• /
• 1996.04a
• /
• pp.202-211
• /
• 1996

A number of typical type of steel-box pedestrian bridges are constructed in the metropolitan highway or heavy traffic urban area. Although it has the advantage of speedy construction because of its simple structural form and prefabricated erection method, it has been reported that many of these bridges are deteriorated or damaged and thus are in the state such that it would give unsafe and uncomfortable feeling to pedestrians. In the paper, for the realistic assessment of safety and residual earring-capacity of deteriorated and/or damaged steel box pedestrian bridges, an interactive non-linear limit state model are formulated based on the von Mises' combined stress yield criterion. It is demonstrated that the proposal model is effective for the reliability-based safety assessment and residual carrying-capacity evaluation of steel-box pedestrian bridges. In addition, this study suggests an effective and practical field load test method for pedestrian bridges.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.431-452
• /
• 2014

The present study focuses on the mechanical behaviour of concrete filled double skin steel tubular (CFDST) stub columns confined by fiber reinforced polymer (FRP). A series of axial compression tests have been conducted on two CFDST stub columns, eight CFDST stub columns confined by FRP and a concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) stub column confined by FRP, respectively. The influences of hollow section ratio, FRP wall thickness and fibre longitudinal-circumferential proportion on the load-strain curve and the concrete stress-strain curve for stub columns with annular section were discussed. The test results displayed that the FRP jacket can obviously enhance the carrying capacity of stub columns. Based on the test results, a new model which includes the effects of confinement factor, hollow section ratio and lateral confining pressure of the outer steel tube was proposed to calculate the compressive strength of confined concrete. Using the present concrete strength model, the formula to predict the carrying capacity of CFDST stub columns confined by FRP was derived. The theoretically predicted results agree well with those obtained from the experiments and FE analysis. The present method is also adapted to calculate the carrying capacity of CFST stub columns confined by FRP.

• Journal of Applied Reliability
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.241-252
• /
• 2013

Because of financial and safety concerns, there are needs for more accurate prediction of bridge behavior. Underestimation of the bridge load carrying capacity can have serious economic consequences, as deficient bridges must be repaired or rehabilitated. Therefore, the knowledge of the actual bridge behavior under live load may lead to a more realistic calculation of the load carrying capacity and eventually this may allow for more bridges to remain in service with or without minor repairs. The presented research is focused on the reliability evaluation of the actual load carrying capacity of existing bridges based on the field testing. Seventeen existing bridges were tested under truck load to confirm their adequacy of reliability. The actual response of existing bridge structures under live load is measured. Reliability analysis is performed on the selected representative bridges designed in accordance with AASHTO codes for bridge component (girder). Bridges are first evaluated based on the code specified values and design resistance. However, after the field testing program, it is possible to apply the experimental results into the bridge reliability evaluation procedures. Therefore, the actual response of bridge structures, including unintentional composite action, partial fixity of supports, and contribution of nonstructural members are considered in the bridge reliability evaluation. The girder distribution factors obtained from the tests are also applied in the reliability calculation. The results indicate that the reliability indices of selected bridges can be significantly increased by reducing uncertainties without sacrificing the safety of structures, by including the result of field measurement data into calculation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.15-21
• /
• 2010

Structural analysis used to evaluate the load carrying capacity of a bridge should implement behavioral characteristics similar to the actual behaviors of the structure through loading tests, but it is not feasible in many cases due to the behavioral characteristics of points, inadequate modeling method in structural analysis, errors in loading tests, changes in strength and rigidity resulting from cross-sectional damage, etc. This problem can be more serious if bridge bearings have been damaged or were not installed and, consequently, the bearings do not function properly. This study produced results similar to actual behaviors using a structural analysis model built with support moment derived from the difference $\Delta{\delta}$ between measured deflection obtained by confining the cantilever segment of a solid beam and calculated deflection under a unrestrained condition. When the load carrying capacity of a bridge in operation was evaluated in consideration of the confinement condition of supports, the result was 15~19% lower than load carrying capacity calculated by the existing method.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.35-43
• /
• 2012

In general, load carrying capacity, one of the load & resistance capacities in bridges, has more margins than the load carrying capacity evaluated with theoretical methods, unless there are severe damages, defects or material deterioration phenomena that can have a great impact on the behavior of bridges. However, errors have been already included in the current processes of loading tests and structural analysis for measuring load carrying capacity, thus devaluing the reliability of response adjustment factor. Therefore, this study found out the problems of existing electric resistance strain and displacement sensors in sensor suite to solve the problems with sensors and the errors in the appropriateness of structural analysis model, thereby leading to the changes into an optical fiber smart sensor with excellent performance. Besides, the study attempted to ensure the accuracy of response adjustment factor by selecting the optimal models through the interpretation of various structural analysis models.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
• /
• 2001.04a
• /
• pp.275-282
• /
• 2001

In this paper, nonlinear analyses of RC (Reinforced Concrete) columns are conducted, and an improved criterion to estimate the design load carrying capacity of slender RC columns is proposed. To simulate the material nonlinearty including the cracking of concrete, the layer model is adopted, and the initial stress matrix is considered for the simulation of P- effect. After correlation studies with previous numerical results to verify the efficiency of the developed numerical model, many parameter studies are followed, and a regression formula which can give more exact resisting capacity of slender RC columns is introduced on the basis of the obtained numerical results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.277-293
• /
• 2012

The interaction between steel tube and concrete core is the key design considerations for concrete-filled steel tube columns. In a concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) column, the steel tube provides confinement to the concrete core which permits the composite action among the steel tube and the concrete. Due to construction faults and plastic shrinkage of concrete, the debonding separation at the steel-concrete interface weakens the confinement effect, and hence affects the behaviour and bearing capacity of the composite member. This study investigates the axial loading behavior of the concrete filled circular steel tube columns with debonding separation. A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model of CFST composite columns with introduced debonding gap was developed. The results from the finite element analysis captured successfully the experimental behaviours. The calibrated finite element models were then utilized to assess the influence of concrete strength, steel yield stress and the steel-concrete ratio on the debonding behaviour. The findings indicate a likely significant drop in the load carrying capacity with the increase of the size of the debonding gap. A design formula is proposed to reduce the load carrying capacity with the presence of debonding separation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.25 no.11
• /
• pp.75-86
• /
• 2009

This paper presents the results of a numerical investigation on load carrying capacity of geogrid-encased stone columns to use as load carrying column(s) supporting a foundation load. A validated 3D stress-pore pressure coupled model that can effectively show rapid drainage capability of stone columns and encasement effect of geogrid was adopted and a parametric study was carried out on a number of influencing factors. It is shown that the geogrid encased stone columns can be effectively used as foundation load supporting columns in soft ground. The results of numerical investigation were presented so that the relationship between the load carrying capacity of geogrid-encased stone columns and the influencing factors can be identified. Practical implications of the findings are also discussed.