• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.19-26
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• 2001

Previously, an improved crack analysis technique based on Element-Free Galerkin Method (EFGM) which includes a discontinuity function and a singular basis function was presented. The technique needs neither addition of nodes nor modification of the model, but it shows some dependency on the formulation and modeling parameters such as the class of weight function, the size of compact support, dilation parameter and the range controlled by the singular basis function. For those parameters, a parametric study was performed on the calculation of a discrete error and then, a guideline for the choice of adequate parameters in the technique was proposed.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.251-258
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• 2003

The early -age behavior of base restrained reinforced concrete (RC) walls is analyzed using a three-dimensional finite element method in this study. After calculating the temperature and internal relative humidity variations of an RC wall, determination of stresses due to thermal gradients, differential drying shrinkage, and average drying shrinkage is followed, and the relative contribution of these three stress components to the total stress is compared. The mechanical properties of early-age concrete, determined from many experimental studies, are taken into consideration, and a discrete reinforcing steel derived using the equivalent nodal force concept is also used to simulate the cracking behavior of RC walls. In advance, to Predict the crack spacing and maximum crack width in a base restrained RC wall, an analytical model which can simulate the post-cracking behavior of an RC tension member is introduced on the basis of the energy equilibrium before and after cracking of concrete.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.189-197
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• 2018

A discrete element approach is used to investigate the effects of confining stress on the shear behaviour of joint's bridge area. A punch-through shear test is used to model the concrete cracks under different shear and confining stresses. Assuming a plane strain condition, special rectangular models are prepared with dimension of $75mm{\times}100mm$. Within the specimen model and near its four corners, four equally spaced vertical notches of the same depths are provided so that the central portion of the model remains intact. The lengths of notches are 35 mm. and these models are sequentially subjected to different confining pressures ranging from 2.5 to 15 MPa. The axial load is applied to the punch through the central portion of the model. This testing and models show that the failure process is mostly governed by the confining pressure. The shear strengths of the specimens are related to the fracture pattern and failure mechanism of the discontinuities. The shear behaviour of discontinuities is related to the number of induced shear bands which are increased by increasing the confining pressure while the cracks propagation lengths are decreased. The failure stress and the crack initiation stress both are increased due to confining pressure increase. As a whole, the mechanisms of brittle shear failure changes to that of the progressive failure by increasing the confining pressure.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.15 no.4 s.57
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• pp.250-263
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• 2005

Progressive and localized brittle failures around an excavated opening by the overstressed condition can act as a serious obstacle to ensure the stability and the economical efficiency of construction work. In this paper, the characteristics of the brittle failure around an circular opening with stress level was studied by the biaxial compressive test using sealed specimen and by the numerical simulation with $PFC^{2D}$, one of the discrete element codes. The occurring pattern and shape of the brittle failure around a circular opening monitored during the biaxial loading were well coincided with those of the stress induced failures around the excavated openings observed in the brittle rock masses. The crack development stages with stress level were evaluated by the detailed analysis on the acoustic emission event properties. The microcrack development process around a circular opening was successfully visualized by the particle flow analysis. It indicated that the scaled test had a good feasibility in understanding the mechanism of the brittle failure around an opening with a high reliability.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.169-177
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• 2011

In this study, an impact resistance of concrete segmented composites adopted shell's structures which have the excellent impact resistance was assessed. In order to enhance the performances of concrete segmented composite, the bond strength of mortar between the concrete blocks should be improved. Hence, in this study polymer mortars were applied to increase the bond strength of mortar. From the results of bond tests, the 15% latex mortar was selected and static and low-velocity impact tests were carried out for the specimens applied the plain and latex mortar. The concrete segmented composites, of which the bond strength of mortar was enhanced, showed improved low-velocity impact resistances. A Nonlinear finite element analysis using the discrete crack model showed similar energy dissipating capacities to the impact test's results. Consequently, by improving the analysis models for segmented composites, the impact resistances for manifold variables can be predicted and assessed.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.2 no.5
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• pp.345-366
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• 2005

This work presents an assessment of the computational performance of a vector-parallel implementation of probabilistic model for concrete cracking in 3D. This paper shows the continuing efforts towards code optimization as reported in earlier works Paz, et al. (2002a,b and 2003). The probabilistic crack approach is based on the direct Monte Carlo method. Cracking is accounted by means of 3D interface elements. This approach considers that all nonlinearities are restricted to interface elements modeling cracks. The heterogeneity governs the overall cracking behavior and related size effects on concrete fracture. Computational kernels in the implementation are the inexact Newton iterative driver to solve the non-linear problem and a preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) driver to solve linearized equations, using an element by element (EBE) strategy to compute matrix-vector products. In particular the paper analyzes code behavior using OpenMP directives in parallel vector processors (PVP), such as the CRAY SV1 and CRAY T94. The impact of the memory architecture on code performance, and also some strategies devised to circumvent this issue are addressed by numerical experiment.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.5
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• pp.585-595
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• 2019

Foundations are a vital part of structures. Over time, the foundations can deteriorate due to unforeseen overloads and/or settlements, resulting in the appearance of cracks in the concrete. These cracks produce changes in the static and dynamic behavior of the affected foundation, which alter its load carrying capacity. In this work, non-destructive techniques of relative simplicity of application are presented for the detection, location, and quantification of damage, using numerical models, solved with the finite element method and Power Series. For this, two types of parameters are used: static (displacement and elastic curvature) and dynamics (natural frequencies). In the static analysis, the damage detection is done by means of a finite elements model representing a beam supported on an elastic foundation with a discrete crack that varies in length and location. With regard to dynamic analysis, the governing equations of the model are presented and a method based on Power Series is used to obtain the solution for a data set, which could be the Winkler coefficient, the location of the crack or the frequency. In order to validate the proposed methodologies, these techniques are applied to data obtained from laboratory tests.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.440-448
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• 2014

Hydraulic fracturing technique has been applied in various fields in order to improve the recovery of energy resources such as gas, oil and geothermal energy and research about finding out hydraulic fracturing mechanism and application has been steadily proceeded. In this study, for effective hydraulic fracturing, a scale modeling was progressed to simulate similarly with the actual site. In order to analyze the development aspect of surface crack initiation pressure during hydraulic fracturing followed by different conditions, the number of guide holes hydraulic fracturing test was carried out by setting up a hydraulic fracturing test equipment. Also, through the result, we tried to derive reliable results by comparing and analyzing the value of numerical modeling which is obtained based on the physical properties and mechanical properties with 3DEC, a three-dimensional discrete element method program. As a result, it is considered possible to generate effective crack using the guide hole.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.3
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• pp.379-386
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• 2018

The present study addresses the direct and indirect methods of determining the mode-I fracture toughness of concrete using experimental tests and particle flow code. The direct method used is compaction tensile test and the indirect methods are notched Brazilian disc test, semi-circular bend specimen test, and hollow center cracked disc. The experiments were carried out to determine which indirect method yields the fracture toughness closer to the one obtained by the direct method. In the numerical analysis, the PFC model was first calibrated with respect to the data obtained from the Brazilian laboratory test. The crack paths observed in the simulated tests were in reasonable accordance with experimental results. The discrete element simulations demonstrated that the macro fractures in the models are caused by microscopic tensile breakages on large numbers of bonded particles. The mode-I fracture toughness in the direct tensile test was smaller than the indirect testing results. The fracture toughness obtained from the SCB test was closer to the direct test results. Hence, the semi-circular bend test is recommended as a proper experiment for determination of mode-I fracture toughness of concrete in the absence of direct tests.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2009.03a
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• pp.58-63
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• 2009

Biaxial compression test was conducted on a transversely isotropic synthetic jointed rock model for the understanding of the fracture behaviors of a sedimentary or metamorphic rocks with well developed bedding or foliation in uni-direction. The joint angles employed for the model are 30, 45, and 60 degrees to the horizontal, and the synthetic rock mass was made of early strength cement. From the biaxial compression test, initiation propagation of tensile cracks at norm to the joint angle was found. The propagated tensile cracks eventually developed rock blocks, which was dislodged from the rock mass. Furthermore, the propagation process of the tensile cracks varies with joint angle: lower joint angle model shows more stable and progressive tensile crack propagation. The experiment results were validated from the simulation by using discrete element method PFC 2D. From the simulation, as has been observed from the test, a rock mass with lower joint angle produces wider damage region and rock block by tensile cracks. In addition, a rock model with lower joint angle shows a progressive tensile cracks generation around the opening from the investigation of the interacted tensile cracks.