• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.3
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• pp.315-335
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• 2023

Limited studies are available on the mathematical estimates of the compressive strength (CS) of glass fiber-embedded polymer (glass-FRP) compressive elements. The present study has endeavored to estimate the CS of glass-FRP normal strength concrete (NSTC) compression elements (glass-FRP-NSTC) employing two various methodologies; mathematical modeling and artificial neural networks (ANNs). The dataset of 288 glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements was constructed from the various testing investigations available in the literature. Diverse equations for CS of glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements suggested in the previous research studies were evaluated employing the constructed dataset to examine their correctness. A new mathematical equation for the CS of glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements was put forwarded employing the procedures of curve-fitting and general regression in MATLAB. The newly suggested ANN equation was calibrated for various hidden layers and neurons to secure the optimized estimates. The suggested equations reported a good correlation among themselves and presented precise estimates compared with the estimates of the equations available in the literature with R²= 0.769, and R² =0.9702 for the mathematical and ANN equations, respectively. The statistical comparison of diverse factors for the estimates of the projected equations also authenticated their high correctness for apprehending the CS of glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements. A broad parametric examination employing the projected ANN equation was also performed to examine the effect of diverse factors of the glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.229-240
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• 2022

The main objective of this work is presenting a mathematical model for the concrete slab with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) layer under the impact load. Impacts are assumed to occur normally over the top slab and the interaction between the impactor and the structure is simulated using a new equivalent three-degree-of-freedom (TDOF) spring-mass-damper (SMD) model. The structure is assumed viscoelastic based on Kelvin-Voigt model. Based on the sinusoidal shear deformation theory (SSDT), energy method and Hamilton's principle, the motion equations are derived. Applying DQM, the dynamic deflection and contact force of the structure is calculated numerically so that the effects of mass, velocity and height of impactor, boundary conditions, FRP layer, structural damping and geometrical parameters of structure are shown on the dynamic deflection and contact force of system. Results show that considering structural damping leads to lower dynamic deflection and contact force. In addition, increasing the impact velocity of impactor yields to increases in the maximum contact force and deflection while the contact duration is decreased. The result shows that the contact force and the central deflection of the structure decreases and the contact time decreases with assuming FRP layer.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.399-414
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• 1997

This paper presents an investigation into the seismic response characteristics of a proposed ligh-weight pedestrian cable-stayed bridge made entirely from Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics(GFRP). The study employs three dimensional finite element models to study and compare the dynamic characteristics and the seismic response of the GFRP bridge to a conventional Steel-Concrete (SC) cable-stayed bridge alternative. The two bridges were subjected to three synthetic earthquakes that differ in the frequency content characteristics. The performance of the GFRP bridge was compared to that of the SC bridge by normalizing the live load and the seismic internal forces with respect to the dead load internal forces. The normalized seismically induced internal forces were compared to the normalized live load internal forces for each design alternative. The study shows that the design alternatives have different dynamic characteristics. The light GFRP alternative has more flexible deck motion in the lateral direction than the heavier SC alternative. While the SC alternative has more vertical deck modes than the GFRP alternative, it has less lateral deck modes than the GFRP alternative in the studied frequency range. The GFRP towers are more flexible in the lateral direction than the SC towers. The GFRP bridge tower attracted less normalized base shear force than the SC bridge towers. However, earthquakes, with peak acceleration of only 0.1 g, and with a variety of frequency content could induce high enough seismic internal forces at the tower bases of the GFRP cable-stayed bridge to govern the structural design of such bridge. Careful seismic analysis, design, and detailing of the tower connections are required to achieve satisfactory seismic performance of GFRP long span bridges.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.215-231
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• 2020

In a reinforced concrete building different shapes of column are adopted depending on the structural orientation and the architectural aspect. When there is an increase in loading due to changes in usage or revision in the design codes these columns need to be strengthened for enhanced performance during their service life. Strengthening materials such as carbon fiber and glass fiber polymer has been successfully used however, due to high cost application other alternative materials need to be explore. Galvanized steel wire mesh (GSWM) is one of the suitable materials locally available. High tensile strength, low weight, corrosion resistance, easy installation, minimum change in dimensions of the sections and cost effectives are the advantages of GSWM. Therefore, in this paper, four different shapes of column such as circular, square, rectangular and L were wrapped with different layers GSWM and jacketed with mortar. All the specimens were tested under axial compression. The objective of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of GSWM as a confining material for strengthening of column having varying shape. Test results shows that the axial strength enhanced with wrapping of GSWM jacket and a circular column presented the highest load carrying capacity and ductility as compared to the others. From the study of 22 column specimens, it is found that axial load is increased upto 20% and 19% when circular and square column are strengthened with one wrap of GSWM respectively, while a rectangular and L column required a wraps of two and three layers respectively in order to achieved the same load capacity as that of a circular column. Based on the present study, it is concluded that GSWM can be effectively used for strengthening of different shapes of concrete columns economically.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.727-736
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• 2017

The application of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) in steel structures primarily includes two categories, i.e., the bond-critical application and the contact-critical application. Debonding failure and buckling failure are the main failure modes for these two applications. Conventional electrometric techniques may not provide precise results because of the limitations associated with single-point contact measurements. A nondestructive full-field measurement technique is a valuable alternative to conventional methods. In this study, the digital image correlation (DIC) technique was adopted to investigate the bond behavior and buckling behavior of CFRP-steel composite members. The CFRP-to-steel bonded joint and the CFRP-strengthened square hollow section (SHS) steel column were tested to verify the suitability of the DIC technique. The stereo-DIC technique was utilized to measure continuous deformation. The bond-slip relationship of the CFRP-to-steel interface was derived using the DIC data. Additionally, a multi-camera DIC system consisting of four stereo-DIC subsystems was proposed and applied to the compressive test of CFRP-strengthened SHS steel column. The precise buckling location and CFRP delamination of the CFRP-strengthened SHS steel column were identified. The experimental results confirm that the stereo-DIC technique can provide effective measurements for investigating the behaviors of CFRP-steel composite members.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.333-348
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• 2023

Fast infrastructure development boosts the demand for shotcrete. Despite sand and stone being the most common coarse and fine aggregates for shotcrete, excessive exploration of these materials challenges the ecological environment. This study utilized an industrial solid waste, high-titanium heavy slag, blended with steel fibers to form Wet Shotcrete of Steel Fiber-reinforced High-Titanium Heavy Slag (WSSFHTHS). It investigated its workability, shotcrete performance and mechanical properties under different water-to-cement ratios, fly ash content, superplasticizer dosage, and steel fiber content. The tunnel excavation and support were investigated by conducting finite element numerical simulation analysis and was used in 3 tunnel lining pipes in Zhonggouwan tailing pond. The major findings are as follows: (1) The water-to-cement ratio (w/c ratio) significantly impacted the compressive strength of WSSFHTHS. The highest 28-day compressive strength of 60 MPa was achieved when the w/c ratio was 0.38; (2) Adding fly ash improved the workability and shotcrete performance and strength development of WSSFHTHS. The best anti-permeability performance was achieved when the fly ash constituted 15%, with the lowest permeability coefficient of 4.596 × 10-11 cm/s; (3) The optimum superplasticizer dosage for WSSFHTHS is 0.8%. It provided the best workability and shotcrete performance. Excessive dosage resulted in water bleeding and poor aggregate encapsulation, while insufficient dosage decreased flowability and adversely affected shotcrete performance; (4) The dosage of steel fibers significantly impacted the flexural and tensile strength of WSSFHTHS. When the steel fiber dosage was 45 kg/m³, the 28-day flexural and tensile strengths were 8.95 MPa and 6.15 MPa, respectively; (5) By integrating existing shotcrete techniques, the optimal lining thickness was 80 mm for WSSFHTHS per simulation. The results revealed that after using WSSFHTHS, the displacement of the tunnel surrounding the rock significantly improved, with no cracks or hollows, similar to the simulation results.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.335-349
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• 2019

To investigate the axial compressive performance of the recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) filled glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) tube and profile steel composite columns, static loading tests were carried out on 18 specimens under axial loads in this study, including 7 RAC filled GFRP tube columns and 11 RAC filled GFRP tube-profile steel composite columns. The design parameters include recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) replacement percentage, profile steel ratio, slenderness ratio and RAC strength. The failure process, failure modes, axial stress-strain curves, strain development and axial bearing capacity of all specimens were mainly analyzed in detail. The experimental results show that the GFRP tube had strong restraint ability to RAC material and the profile steel could improve the axial compressive performance of the columns. The failure modes of the columns can be summarized as follow: the profile steel in the composite columns yielded first, then the internal RAC material was crushed, and finally the fiberglass of the external GFRP tube was seriously torn, resulting in the final failure of columns. The axial bearing capacity of the columns decreased with the increase of RCA replacement percentage and the maximum decreasing amplitude was 11.10%. In addition, the slenderness ratio had an adverse effect on the axial bearing capacity of the columns. However, the strength of the RAC material could effectively improve the axial bearing capacity of the columns, but their deformability decreased. In addition, the increasing profile steel ratio contributed to the axial compressive capacity of the composite columns. Based on the above analysis, a formula for calculating the bearing capacity of composite columns under axial compression load is proposed, and the adverse effects of slenderness ratio and RCA replacement percentage are considered.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.4
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• pp.515-535
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• 2022

The strength models for fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)-confined normal strength concrete (NC) cylinders available in the literature have been suggested based on small databases using limited variables of such structural members portraying less accuracy. The artificial neural network (ANN) is an advanced technique for precisely predicting the response of composite structures by considering a large number of parameters. The main objective of the present investigation is to develop an ANN model for the axial strength of FRP-confined NC cylinders using various parameters to give the highest accuracy of the predictions. To secure this aim, a large experimental database of 313 FRP-confined NC cylinders has been constructed from previous research investigations. An evaluation of 33 different empirical strength models has been performed using various statistical parameters (root mean squared error RMSE, mean absolute error MAE, and coefficient of determination R²) over the developed database. Then, a new ANN model using the Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) has been proposed based on the experimental database that portrayed the highest performance as compared with the previous models with R²=0.92, RMSE=0.27, and MAE=0.33. Therefore, the suggested ANN model can accurately capture the axial strength of FRP-confined NC cylinders that can be used for the further analysis and design of such members in the construction industry.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.217-238
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• 2023

In this study, a parametric study was performed considering material properties of concrete, material properties of steel, the number of longitudinal reinforcement (reinforcement ratio), CFRP ply orientations, a number of layers as variables by using ABAQUS. Firstly, the parameters used in the Hashin failure criteria were verified using four coupon tests of CFRP. Secondly, the numerical models of the beams strengthened by CFRP were verified using five experimental data. Finally, eighty numerical models and eighty analytic calculations were developed to investigate the effects of the aforementioned variables. The results revealed that in the case of using fibrous polymer to prevent shear failure, the variables related to reinforced concrete significantly affected the behavior of specimens, whereas the variables related to CFRP composite have a slight effect on the behavior of the specimens. As a result of numerical analysis, while the increase in the longitudinal tensile and compression reinforcement, load bearing capacity increases between 23.6%-70.7% and 5.6%-12.2%, respectively. Increase in compressive strength (29 MPa to 35 MPa) leads to a slight increase in the load-carrying capacity of the specimens between 4.6% and 7.2%. However, the decrease in the compressive strength (29 MPa to 20 MPa) significantly affected (between 6.4% and 8.1% decrease observed) the behavior of the specimens. As the yield strength increases or decreases, the capacity of specimens increase approximately 27.1% or decrease 12.1%. The effects of CFRP ply orientation results have been obtained as a negligible well approximately 3.7% difference. An increasing number of CFRP layers leads to almost no effect (approximately 2.8%) on the behavior of the specimen. Finally, according to the numerical analysis, the ductility values obtained between 4.0 and 6.9 indicate that the beams have sufficient ductility capacity.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.535-546
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• 2018

The objective of this study is to understand the behaviour of hollow core slabs strengthened with FRP and hybrid techniques through numerical and analytical studies. Different strengthening techniques considered in this study are (i) External Bonding (EB) of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) laminates, (ii) Near Surface Mounting (NSM) of CFRP laminates, (iii) Bonded Overlay (BO) using concrete layer, and (iv) hybrid strengthening which is a combination of bonded overlay and NSM or EB. In the numerical studies, three-dimensional Finite Element (FE) models of hollow core slabs were developed considering material and geometrical nonlinearities, and a phased nonlinear analysis was carried out. The analytical calculations were carried out using Response-2000 program which is based on Modified Compression Field Theory (MCFT). Both the numerical and analytical models predicted the behaviour in agreement with experimental results. Parametric studies indicated that increase in the bonded overlay thickness increases the peak load capacity without reducing the displacement ductility. The increase in FRP strengthening ratio increased the capacity but reduced the displacement ductility. The hybrid strengthening technique was found to increase the capacity of the hollow core slabs by more than 100% without compromise in ductility when compared to their individual strengthening schemes.