• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.273-280
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• 2011

Ten high-strength concrete beam specimens, which have various combinations of different types of flexural reinforcement and short fibers were constructed and tested. Six beams were reinforced with two layers of steel, CFRP, and GFRP bar combinations. The other four beams were reinforced with two layers of single type CFRP and GFRP bars, with steel and synthetic short fibers. An investigation was performed on the influence of the parameters on the load-carrying capacity, post cracking stiffness, cracking pattern, deflection behavior, and ductility. The low post cracking stiffness, large deflection, deep crack propagation, large crack width, and low ductility of FRP bar-reinforced beams were controlled and improved by positioning steel bars in the inner layer of the FRP bar layer. In addition, the addition of fibers increased the first-cracking load, ultimate flexural strength, and ductility as well as the deep propagating cracks were controlled in the FRP bar-reinforced concrete beams. The increased ultimate concrete strain of fiber-reinforced concrete should be determined and considered when FRP bar-reinforced concrete members with fibers are designed.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2008

The end plates of fuel cell assemblies are used to fasten the inner stacks, reduce the contact pressure, and provide a seal between Membrane-Electrode Assemblies (MEAs). They therefore require sufficient mechanical strength to withstand the tightening pressure, light weight to obtain high energy densities, and stable chemical/electrochemical properties, as well as provide electrical insulation. The design criteria for end plates can be divided into three parts: the material, connecting method, and shape. In the past, end plates were made from metals such as aluminum, titanium, and stainless steel alloys, but due to corrosion problems, thermal losses, and their excessive weight, alternative materials such as plastics have been considered. Composite materials consisting of combinations of two or more materials have also been proposed for end plates to enhance their mechanical strength. Tie-rods have been traditionally used to connect end plates, but since the number of connecting parts has increased, resulting in assembly difficulties, new types of connectors have been contemplated. Ideas such as adding reinforcement or flat plates, or using bands or boxes to replace tie-rods have been proposed. Typical end plates are rectangular or cylindrical solid plates. To minimize the weight and provide a uniform pressure distribution, new concepts such as ribbed-, bomb-, or bow-shaped plates have been considered. Even though end plates were not an issue in fuel cell system designs in the past, they now provide a great challenge for designers. Changes in the materials, connecting methods, and shapes of an end plate allow us to achieve lighter, stronger end plates, resulting in more efficient fuel cell systems.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.697-704
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• 2017

High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Cement Composites (HPFRCC) has outstanding durability, and has attracted interest because of its ductility and development of strength, which allows a reduction of the self-weight of a structural member by substantially decreasing the cross section. Therefore, the present study aimed to improve the economic efficiency of HPFRCC by examining experimentally the flexural performance considering various characteristics of the steel fiber. To find an efficient fiber reinforcement method, the flexural performance was evaluated for different shapes, aspect ratios, and volume ratios of the steel fiber. Straight, hooked, and twisted fiber configurations were considered by adopting a fiber length longer than the usual 13 mm. The test results showed that HPFRCC reinforced by 19.5 nun-long straight fibers with a volume fraction of 1.5% shows better flexural performance than that reinforced by 13 mm-long straight fibers with a volume fraction of 2.0%. Consequently, HPFRCC with enhanced economic efficiency can be produced by adopting a reduced amount of steel fiber.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.173-181
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• 2021

Reinforced concrete structures are exposed to various environments, resulting in reinforcement corrosion due to moisture and ions penetration. Reinforced concrete corrosion causes a decrease in the durability performance of reinforced concrete structures. One solution to mitigate such issues is using FRP rebars, which offer several advantages such as high tensile strength, corrosion resistance, and light-weight than conventional rebars, in reinforced concrete instead of conventional steel rebars. The FRP rebar used should be examined at the limit state because FRP reinforced concrete has linear behavior until its fracture and can generate excessive deflection due to the low elastic modulus. It should be considered while designing FRP reinforced concrete for flexure. In the ultimate limit state, the flexural strength of FRP reinforced concrete as per ACI 440.1R is significantly lower than the flexural strength by applying both the environmental reduction and strength reduction factors accounting for the material uncertainty of FRP rebar. Therefore, in this study, the experimental results were compared with the deflection of the proposed effective moment of inertia referring to the local and international standards. The experimental results of GFRP and BFRP reinforced concrete were compared with the flexural strength as determined by ACI 440.1R and Fib bulletin 40. The flexural strength obtained by the experimental results was more similar to that obtained by Fib bulletin 40 than ACI 440.1R. The flexural strength of ACI 440.1R was conservatively evaluated in the tension-controlled section.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.449-459
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• 2011

An experimental study was performed to evaluate the applicability of current design code to the class B splice of SD600 reinforcing bars. Twelve simply supported beam and slab specimens with re-bar splices were tested under monotonic loading. Parameters for this test were re-bar diameter, concrete cover thickness, concrete strength, and stirrup spacing. Concrete strengths ranged 24.7~55.3 MPa. Most of the specimens were designed to satisfy the class B splice length specified by current design code. Average bar stresses resulting from this test were compared with the predictions by the KCI code provisions. Based on the result, the applicability of the current design code to SD600 re-bars were evaluated. The re-bar splices gave satisfactory performance for all D13 re-bar splices and for D22 and D32 splices with transverse reinforcement. On the basis of the test result, for D22 and the greater diameter bars, the use of either transverse reinforcement of the thicker concrete cover was recommended.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.157-178
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• 1996

Current design methods for reinforced earth structures take no account of the magnitude of the strains induced in the tensile members as these are invariably manufactured from high modulus materials, such as steel, where straits are unlikely to be significant. With fabrics, however, large strains may frequently be induced and it is important to determine these to enable the stability of the structure to be assessed. In the present paper internal design method of analysis relating to the use of fabric reinforcements in reinforced earth structures for both stress and strain considerations is presented. For the internal stability analysis against rupture and pullout of the fabric reinforcements, a strain compatibility analysis procedure that considers the effects of reinforcement stiffness, relative movement between the soil and reinforcements, and compaction-induced stresses as studied by Ehrlich 8l Mitchell is used. I Bowever, the soil-reinforcement interaction is modeled by relating nonlinear elastic soil behavior to nonlinear response of the reinforcement. The soil constitutive model used is a modified vertsion of the hyperbolic soil model and compaction stress model proposed by Duncan et at., and iterative step-loading approach is used to take nonlinear soil behavior into consideration. The effects of seepage pressures are also dealt with in the proposed method of analy For purposes of assessing the strain behavior oi the fabric reinforcements, nonlinear model of hyperbolic form describing the load-extension relation of fabrics is employed. A procedure for specifying the strength characteristics of paraweb polyester fibre multicord, needle punched non-woven geotHxtile and knitted polyester geogrid is also described which may provide a more convenient procedure for incorporating the fablic properties into the prediction of fabric deformations. An attempt to define improvement in bond-linkage at the interconnecting nodes of the fabric reinforced earth stracture due to the confining stress is further made. The proposed method of analysis has been applied to estimate the maximum tensions, deformations and strains of the fabric reinforcements. The results are then compared with those of finite element analysis and experimental tests, and show in general good agreements indicating the effectiveness of the proposed method of analysis. Analytical parametric studies are also carried out to investigate the effects of relative soil-fabric reinforcement stiffness, locked-in stresses, compaction load and seepage pressures on the magnitude and variation of the fabric deformations.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 2012

This paper is a report about lap splice performance of rebar embedded in the strain-hardening cement-based composites (SHCCs) under monotonic and repeated tension loading. Ten mix proportions of cement-based composites such as SHCCs and normal concrete were investigated. The study parameters are comprised of (1) types of reinforcing fibers (polyethylene and steel fiber), (2) replacement levels of expansive admixture (EXA, 0% and 10%), and (3) compressive strength (30 and 100 MPa) of cement-based composites. Lap splice lengths (ld) of rebars in SHCC materials and normal concrete were 60% and 100% of splice length calculated by code requirements for structural concrete, respectively. Test results indicated that SHCCs materials can lead to enhancements in the lap splice performance of embedded rebar. All of the fiber reinforcement conditions (PE-SHCC and PESF-SHCC) considered in this study produced considerable improvements in the tensile strength, cracking behavior, and bond strength of lap-spliced rebar. Furthermore, adding EXA to SHCC matrix improved the tensile lap splice performance of rebar in SHCC materials. However, for controlling crack behavior, the performance of PE-SHCC was better than that of PESF-SHCC due to its mechanical properties. This study demonstrated an effective approach for reducing required development length of lap spliced rebar by using SHCC materials.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.191-200
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• 2017

Impact resistance and weight are important features for ballistic materials. Kevlar fibres are the most widely reinforcement for military and civil systems due to its excellent impact resistance and high strength-to-weight ratio. Kevlar fibres or spectra fiber composites are used for designing personal body armour to avoid perforation. In this study, the ballistic impact behaviour of Kevlar/filled epoxy matrix is investigated. Three different fillers, nanoclay, nanocalcite and nanocarbon, were used in order to increase the ballistic impact performance of Kevlar-epoxy composite at lower weight. The filler, nanoclay and nanocalcite, content employed was 1 wt.% and 2 of the epoxy resin-hardener mixture while the nanocarbon were dispersed into the epoxy system in a 0.5%, 1% and 2% ratio in weight relating to the epoxy matrix. Specimens were produced by a hand lay-up process. The results obtained from ballistic impact experiments were discussed in terms of damage and perforation. The experimental tests revealed a number of damage mechanisms for composite laminated plates. In the ballistic impact test, it was observed whether the target was perforated completely penetrated at the back or not. The presence of small amounts of nanoclay and nanocalcite dispersed into the epoxy system improved the impact properties of the Kevlar/epoxy composites. The laminates manufactured with epoxy resin filled by 1 wt.% of nanoclay and 2 wt% nanocalcite showed the best performance in terms of ballistic performance. The addition of nanocarbon reduced ballistic performance of Kevlar-epoxy composites when compared the results obtained for laminates with 0% nanoparticles concentration.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.211-218
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• 2013

Cyclic wet and dry conditions in the marine environment structures corrosion is known to be the fastest rising. For that reason, accelerated corrosion test methods for the reproduction of tidal environment has been actively conducted. However, many studies have estimated threshold value for steel corrosion or concentrated in chloride penetration analysis. In this study, cyclic wet and dry conditions to reproduce the structure of the environment in accelerated corrosion and chloride penetration test analysis was performed. Corrosion was determined by the result of reinforcement corrosion monitoring based on galvanic potential measurement and half-cell potential method. Accelerated corrosion test results for each formulation was different corrosion periods, the order OPC> FA> BS> High-strength concrete. FEM durability interpretation program DuCOM was conducted under the same conditions as in accelerated corrosion test. The experimental RCPT tests demonstrated the validity of the result.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.633-646
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• 2017

The compressive behavior of special-shaped concrete filled tube (CFT) mega column coupled with multiple cavities is studied by testing six columns subjected to cyclically uniaxial compressive load. The six columns include three pentagonal specimens and three hexagonal specimens. The influence of cavity construction, arrangement of reinforcement, concrete strength on failure feature, bearing capacity, stiffness, and residual deformation is examined. Experimental results show that cavity construction and reinforcements make it possible to form a combined confinement effect to in-filled concrete, and the two groups of special-shaped CFT columns show good elastic-plastic compressive behavior. As there is no axial bearing capacity calculation method currently available in any Code of practice for special-shaped CFT columns, values predicted by normal CFT column formulas in GB50936, CECS254, ACI-318, EC4, AISCI-LRFD, CECS159, and AIJ are compared with tested values. The calculated values are lower than the tested values for most columns, thus the predicted bearing capacity is safe. A reasonable calculation method by dividing concrete into active and inactive confined regions is proposed. And high accuracy shows in estimating special-shaped CFT columns either coupled with multiple cavities or not. In addition, a finite element method (FEM) analysis is conducted and the simulated results match the test well.