• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.247-263
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• 2013

It is evident that torsional resistance of a reinforced concrete (RC) member is attributed to both concrete and steel reinforcement. However, recent structural design codes neglect the contribution of concrete because of cracking. This paper reports on the results of an experimental and numerical investigation into the torsional capacity of concrete beams reinforced only by longitudinal rebars without transverse reinforcement. The experimental investigation involves six specimens tested under pure torsion. Each specimen was made using a cast-in-place concrete with different amounts of longitudinal reinforcements. To create the torsional moment, an eccentric load was applied at the end of the beam whereas the other end was fixed against twist, vertical, and transverse displacement. The experimental results were also compared with the results obtained from the nonlinear finite element analysis performed in ANSYS. The outcomes showed a good agreement between experimental and numerical investigation, indicating the capability of numerical analysis in predicting the torsional capacity of RC beams. Both experimental and numerical results showed a considerable torsional post-cracking resistance in high twist angle in test specimen. This post-cracking resistance is neglected in torsional design of RC members. This strength could be considered in the design of RC members subjected to torsion forces, leading to a more economical and precise design.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1113-1134
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• 2016

A methodology using neural networks has been proposed for rapid prediction of inelastic bending moments in reinforced concrete continuous beams subjected to service load. The closed form expressions obtained from the trained neural networks take into account cracking in concrete at in-span and at near the internal supports and tension stiffening effect. The expressions predict the inelastic moments (considering the concrete cracking) from the elastic moments (neglecting the concrete cracking) at supports. Three separate neural networks are trained since these have been postulated to represent all the beams having any number of spans. The training, validating, and testing data sets for the neural networks are generated using an analytical-numerical procedure of analysis. The proposed expressions are verified for example beams of different number of spans and cross-section properties and the errors are found to be small. The proposed expressions, at minimal input data and computation effort, yield results that are close to FEM results. The expressions can be used in preliminary every day design as they enable a rapid prediction of inelastic moments and require a computational effort that is a fraction of that required for the available methods in literature.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.255-269
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• 1998

Second-order moments of considerable magnitude arise in tall and slender RC chimneys and towers subject to along-wind loading, on account of eccentricities in the distributed self-weight of the tower in the deflected profile. An accurate solution to this problem of geometric nonlinearity is rendered difficult by the uncertainties in estimating the flexural rigidity of the tower, due to variable cracking of concrete and the 'tension stiffening' effect. This paper presents a rigorous procedure for estimating deflections and second-order moments in wind-loaded RC tubular towers. The procedure is essentially based on a generalised formulation of moment-curvature relationships for RC tubular towers, derived from the experimental and theoretical studies reported by Schlaich et al. 1979 and Menon 1994 respectively. The paper also demonstrates the application of the proposed procedure, and highlights those conditions wherein second-order moments become too significant to be overlooked in design.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.419-444
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• 2014

In this study experimental result of a total of eight SCC and FRSCC slabs with the same cross-section were monitored for up to 240 days to measure the time-dependent development of cracking and deformations under service loads are presented. For this purpose, four SCC mixes are considered in the test program. This study aimed to compare SCC and FRSCC experimental results with conventional concrete experimental results. The steel strains within the high moment regions, the concrete surface strains at the tensile steel level, deflection at the mid-span, crack widths and crack spacing were recorded throughout the testing period. Experimental results show that hybrid fibre reinforced SCC slabs demonstrated minimum instantaneous and time-dependent crack widths and steel fibre reinforced SCC slabs presented minimum final deflection.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.687-704
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• 2014

A great number of moment-resisting steel structures collapsed due to ductile crack initiation at welded beam-column connections, followed by explosive brittle fracture in the Kobe (Hyogoken-Nanbu) earthquake in 1995. A series of experimental and numerical studies on cracking behaviors of beam-column connections in steel bridge piers were carried out by the authors' team. This paper aims to study the effect of post weld treatment on cracking behaviors of the connections during a strong earthquake event. Experiments of three specimens with different weld finishes, i.e., as-welded, R-finish, and burr grinding, were conducted. The experimental results indicate that the instants of ductile crack initiation are greatly delayed for the specimens with R-finish and burr grinding finishes compared with the as-welded one. The strain concentration effect in the connection is also greatly reduced in the specimens with post weld treatment compared with the as-welded one, which was also verified in the tests.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.605-619
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• 2009

A comparative experimental study of prestressed continuous steel-concrete composite beams was carried out. Two continuous composite beams were tested, one of which was plain continuous steel-concrete composite beam, while the other was a composite beam prestressed with external tendons. Cracking behavior and the load carrying capacity of the beams were investigated experimentally. Full plasticity was developed in the mid-span section each beam, the maximum moments attained at the internal support sections however were governed by local buckling which was related to the slenderness of composite section. It was found that in hogging moment regions, the ultimate resistance of an externally prestressed composite beam would be governed by either distortional lateral buckling or local buckling, or interactive mode of these two buckling patterns. The results show that exerting prestressing on a continuous composite beam with external tendons will increase the extent of internal force and moment redistribution in the beam. The influences of local and distortional buckling on the behaviors of the composite continuous beams are discussed. The Moment redistribution and the load carrying capacity of the prestressed continuous composite beams are evaluated, and it is found that at the ultimate state, the moment redistribution in the prestrssed continuous composite beams is greater than that in non-prestressed composite beams.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.900-909
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• 2002

Fibers play a role to increase the tensile strength and cracking resistance of concrete structures. The post cracking behavior must be clarified to predict cracking resistance of fiber reinforced concrete. The purpose of this study is to develop a realistic analysis method for the post cracking behavior of synthetic fiber reinforced concrete members. For this purpose, the cracked section is assumed to behave as a rigid body and the pullout behavior of single fiber is employed. A probabilistic approach is used to calculate effective number of fibers across crack faces. The existing theory is compared with test data and shows good agreement. The proposed theory can be efficiently used to describe the load-deflection behavior, moment-curvature relation, load-crack width relation of synthetic fiber reinforced concrete beams.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.51-69
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• 2016

A large number of welded steel moment-resisting framed (SMRF) structures failed due to brittle fracture induced by ductile fracture at beam-to-column connections during 1994 Northridge earthquake and 1995 Kobe (Hyogoken-Nanbu) earthquake. Extensive research efforts have been devoted to clarifying the mechanism of the observed failures and corresponding countermeasures to ensure more ductile design of welded SMRF structures, while limited research on the failure analysis of the ductile cracking was conducted due to lack of computational capacity and proper theoretical models. As the first step to solve this complicated problem, this paper aims to establish a straightforward procedure to simulate ductile cracking of welded joints under monotonic tension. There are two difficulties in achieving the aim of this study, including measurement of true stress-true strain data and ductile fracture parameters of different subzones in a welded joint, such as weld deposit, heat affected zone and the boundary between the two. Butt joints are employed in this study for their simple configuration. Both experimental and numerical studies on two types of butt joints are conducted. The validity of the proposed procedure is proved by comparison between the experimental and numerical results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.981-997
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• 2016

To avoid the cracks of cast-in-place concrete in shear pockets and seams in the traditional composite beam with precast decks, this paper proposed a new type of prefabricated steel truss-concrete composite beam (ab. PSTC beam) with pre-embedded shear studs (ab. PSS connector). To study the initial cracking load of concrete deck, the development and distribution laws of the cracks, 3 PSTC beams were tested under hogging moment. And the crack behavior of the deck was compared with traditional precast composite beam, which was assembled by shear pockets and cast-in-place joints. Results show that: (i) the initial crack appears on the deck, thus avoid the appearance of the cracks in the traditional shear pockets; (ii) the crack of the seam appears later than that of the deck, which verifies the reliability of epoxy cement mortar seam, thus solves the complex structure and easily crack behavior of the traditional cast-in-place joints; (iii) the development and the distribution laws of the cracks in PSTC beam are different from the conventional composite beam. Therefore, in the deduction of crack calculation theory, all the above factors should be considered.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.567-574
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• 2010

As a eco-friendly material, Hwangtoh(red clay) has been studied for a partial or complete replacement of portland cement. Most of existing studies focused on the mechanical properties of the Hwangtoh concrete including the compressive strength, drying shrinkage, creep. In the present study, the flexural capacity of the beams made with the Hwangtoh concrete was tested. One of the concrete tested consisted of activated Hwangtoh replacing 20% of the cement. The other consisted 100% activated Hwangtoh replacing all the cement. The simple beams were tested under two point static loading. The flexural strength, cracking moment, deflection, and ductility were compared with those of the beams made with ordinary portland cement concrete.