• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.197-209
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• 2018

Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) is a material with increasing application in civil engineering. Here it is assumed that the material consists of a great number of rather small fibers embedded into the concrete matrix. It would be advantageous to predict the mechanical properties of FRC using nondestructive testing; unfortunately, many testing methods for concrete are not applicable to FRC. In addition, design methods for FRC are either inaccurate or complicated. In three-point bending tests of FRC prisms, it has been observed that fiber reinforcement does not break but simply pulls out during specimen failure. Following that observation, this work is based on an assumption that the main components of a simple and rather accurate FRC model are mechanical properties of the concrete matrix and fiber pullout force. Properties of the concrete matrix could be determined from measurements on samples taken during concrete production, and fiber pullout force could be measured on samples with individual fibers embedded into concrete. However, there is no clear relationship between measurements on individual samples of concrete matrix with a single fiber and properties of the produced FRC. This work presents an inverse model for FRC that establishes a relation between parameters measured on individual material samples and properties of a structure made of the composite material. However, a deterministic relationship is clearly not possible since only a single beam specimen of 60 cm could easily contain over 100000 fibers. Our inverse model assumes that the probability density function of individual fiber properties is known, and that the global sample load-displacement curve is obtained from the experiment. Thus, each fiber is stochastically characterized and accordingly parameterized. A relationship between fiber parameters and global load-displacement response, the so-called forward model, is established. From the forward model, based on Levenberg-Marquardt procedure, the inverse model is formulated and successfully applied.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.133-145
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• 2022

Steel fiber composite bar (SFCB) is a novel type of reinforcement, which has good ductility and durability performance. Due to the unique pseudo strain hardening tensile behavior of SFCB, different flexural behavior is expected of SFCB reinforced concrete (SFCB-RC) beams from traditional steel bar reinforced concrete (S-RC) beams and FRP bar reinforced concrete (F-RC) beams. To investigate the flexural behavior of SFCB-RC beam, four points bending tests were carried out and different flexural behaviors between S/F/SFCB-RC beams were discussed. An flexural analytical model of SFCB-RC beams is proposed and proved by the current and existing experimental results. Based on the proposed model, the influence of the fiber volume ratio R of the SFCB on the flexural behavior of SFCB-RC beams is discussed. The results show that the proposed model is effective for all S/F/SFCB-RC flexural members. Fiber volume ratio R is a key parameter affecting the flexural behavior of SFCB-RC. By controlling the fiber volume ratio of SFCB reinforcements, the flexural behavior of the SFCB-RC flexural members such as bearing capacity, bending stiffness, ductility and repairability of SFCB-RC structures can be designed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.459-477
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• 2011

Due to the low elastic modulus of FRP, concrete members reinforced with FRP rebars show greater deflections than members reinforced with steel rebars. Deflection is one of the important factors to consider the serviceability of horizontal members. In this study flexural test of AFRP reinforced concrete beams was performed considering reinforcement ratio and compressive strength as parameters. The test results indicated that flexural capacity and stiffness increase in proportion to the reinforcement ratio. The test results were compared with existing proposed equations for the effective moment of inertia including ACI 440. The most of the proposed equations were found to over-estimate the effective moment of inertia while the equation proposed by Bischoff and Scanlon (2007) most accurately predicted the values obtained through actual testing.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.545-568
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• 2015

High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites which are called HPFRCC, include cement matrices with strain hardening response under tension loading. In these composites, the cement mortar with fine aggregates, is reinforced by continuous or random distributed fibers and could be used for various applications including structural fuses and retrofitting of reinforced concrete members etc. In this paper, mechanical properties of HPFRCC materials are reviewed briefly. Moreover, a reinforced concrete beam (experimentally tested by Maalej et al.) is chosen and in different specimens, lower or upper or both parts of that beam are replaced with HPFRCC layers. After modeling of specimens in ABAQUS and calibration of those, mechanical properties of these specimens are investigated with different thicknesses, tensile strengths, tensile strains and compressive bars. Analytical results which are obtained by nonlinear finite analyses show that using HPFRCC layers with different parameters, increase loading capacity and ultimate displacement of these beams compare to RC specimens.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.239-248
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• 2018

This study developed and investigated a precast slab track system partially reinforced with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebars in the transverse direction, which mitigated the loss of track circuit current by reducing magnetic coupling between the rails and steel reinforcements. An electric analysis was conducted and the results of the analysis verified that the GFRP rebars mitigate the reduced current strength produced by electro-magnetic induction. In the study, a three-dimensional finite element method and flexural experiments were used to study the mechanical behavior of the proposed slab track.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.353-386
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• 2016

Realistic assessment of the performance of reinforced concrete structural members like columns is needed for designing new structures or maintenance of the existing structural members. This assessment requires analytical capability of employing proper material models and cyclic rules and considering various load and displacement patterns. A computer application was developed to analyze the non-linear, cyclic flexural performance of reinforced concrete structural members under various types of loading paths including non-sequential variations in axial load and bi-axial cyclic load or displacement. Different monotonic material models as well as hysteresis rules, were implemented in a fiber-based moment-curvature and in turn force-deflection analysis, using proper assumptions on curvature distribution along the member, as in plastic-hinge models. Performance of the program was verified against analytical results by others, and accuracy of the analytical process and the implemented models were evaluated in comparison to the experimental results. The computer application can be used to predict the response of a member with an arbitrary cross section and various type of lateral and longitudinal reinforcement under different combinations of loading patterns in axial and bi-axial directions. On the other hand, the application can be used to examine analytical models and methods using proper experimental data.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.473-490
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• 2015

This paper presents the analysis of intermediate crack-induced (IC) debonding failure loads for reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with adhesively-bonded fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) plates or sheets. The analysis consists of the energy release and simple ACI methods. In the energy release method, a fracture criterion is employed to predict the debonding loads. The interfacial fracture energy that indicates the resistance to debonding is related to the bond-slip relationships obtained from the shear test of FRP-to-concrete bonded joints. The section analysis that considers the effect of concrete's tension stiffening is employed to develop the moment-curvature relationships of the FRP-strengthened sections. In the ACI method, the onset of debonding is assumed when the FRP strain reaches the debonding strain limit. The tension stiffening effect is neglected in developing a moment-curvature relationship. For a comparison purpose, both methods are used to numerically investigate the effects of relevant parameters on the IC debonding failure loads. The results show that the debonding failure load generally increases as the concrete compressive strength, FRP reinforcement ratio, FRP elastic modulus and steel reinforcement ratio increase.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.347-358
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• 2018

The main aim of this research was to investigate the shear strength of non-prismatic steel fiber reinforced concrete beams under monotonic loading considering different parameters. Experimental program included tests on fifteen non-prismatic reinforced concrete beams divided into three groups. For the first and the second groups, different parameters were taken into consideration which are: steel fibers content, shear span to minimum depth ratio ($a/d_{min}$) and tapering angle (${\alpha}$). The third group was designed mainly to optimize the geometry of the non-prismatic concrete beams with the same concrete volume while the steel fiber ratio and the shear span were left constant in this group. The presence of steel fibers in concrete led to an increase in the load-carrying capacity in a range of 10.25%-103%. Also, the energy absorption capacity was increased due to the addition of steel fibers in a range of 18.17%-993.18% and the failure mode was changed from brittle to ductile. Tapering angle had a clear effect on the shear strength of test specimens. The increase in tapering angle from ($7^{\circ}$) to ($12^{\circ}$) caused an increase in the ultimate shear capacity for the test specimens. The maximum increase in ultimate load was 45.49%. The addition of steel fibers had a significant impact on the post-cracking behavior of the test specimens. Empirical equation for shear strength prediction at cracking limit state was proposed. The predicted cracking shear strength was in good agreement with the experimental findings.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2014.11a
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• pp.11-12
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• 2014

In this study, fundamental properties of concrete mixed with fiber has been analysed. Compressive strength, tensile strength and plastic shrinkage has been tested to conduct the optimum addition ratio of fiber. Effect to control press concrete's cracking has been tested. The following results could be made as the conclusion. For the flowability, slump decreased about 41-79% when all types of fiber used in the concrete. When the addition ratio of fiber is 1.2%, the slump of concrete decreased about 45%. For the strength properties. all the specimens with different addition ratio of fiber shown higher compressive strength comparing with Plain. Comparing with Plain, cracking decreased when the fiber added. Especially, when NY fiber used in the concrete, the plastic shrinkage did not occurred. In addition, Latex modified concrete(LMC) has improved superior physical and chemical properties. The properties of latex, combined with the low water-cement ratio, produce a concrete that has improved flexural, tensile, and bond strength, lower modulus of elasticity, increased freeze-thaw resistance, and reduced permeability compared to conventional concrete of similar mix design.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.305-316
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• 2022

Externally bonded ultrahigh performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) is commonly used as a strengthening material for reinforced concrete (RC) structures. This study reports the results of an experimental program investigating the bonding behavior between concrete and prefabricated UHPFRC plates. The overall experimental program is consisting of five RC specimens, which are strengthened using the different lengths and widths of prefabricated UHPFRC plates. These specimens were analyzed using the pull-pull double-shear test. The performance of each strengthened specimen is presented, discussed and compared in terms of failure mode, maximum load, load-slip relationship, fracture energy and strain distribution. Specimen C-25-160-300 which bonded along the whole width of 160 mm recorded the highest maximum load (109.2 kN) among all the analysed specimens. Moreover, a 3D numerical finite element model (FEM) is proposed to simulate the bond behavior between concrete and UHPFRC plates. Moreover, this study reviews the analytical models that can predict the relationship between the maximum bond stress and slip for strengthened concrete elements. The proposed FEM is verified against the experimental program and then used to test 36 RC specimens strengthened with prefabricated UHPFRC plates with different concrete grades and UHPFRC plate widths. The obtained results together with the review of analytical models helped in the formation of a design equation for estimating the bond stress between concrete and prefabricated UHPFRC plates.