• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제47권2호
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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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• 제33권3호
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• pp.301-308
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• 2024

This paper proposes a numerically-based methodology to implicitly model irreversible deformations in concrete through a damage model. Plasticity theory is not explicitly employed, although resemblances are still present. A scalar isotropic damage model is adopted and the damage variable is split in two: one contributing for stiffness degradation (cracking) and other contributing for irreversible deformations (plasticity). The proposed methodology is thermodynamically consistent as it consists in a damage model rewritten in different terms. Its Finite Element coding is presented, indicating that minor changes are necessary. It is also demonstrated that nonlinear algorithms are unnecessary to model concrete cracking and plasticity. Experimental data from direct tension and four-point bending tests under cyclic loading are compared to the proposed methodology. A numerical case study of a low-cycle fatigue is also presented. It can be concluded that the model is simple, feasible and capable to capture the essentials concerning cracking and plasticity.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제26권5호
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• pp.429-438
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• 2020

To shorten the construction times of nuclear facility structures, three high-strength concrete mixtures were developed with specific consideration given to their curing temperatures, their economic efficiency, and the practicality of their quality control. This study was conducted to examine the temperature rise profiles of these three concrete mixtures and the potential for early-age thermal cracking in the primary containment vessel of a nuclear reactor with a wall thickness of 1200 mm. The one-layer placement height of the concrete for the primary containment vessel was increased from the conventional 3 m to 3.5 m. A nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted using the thermal properties of concrete determined from the isothermal hydration and adiabatic hydration tests, and tuned through comparisons made with temperature rise profiles obtained for 1200-mm-thick mock-up wall specimens cured at temperatures of 5, 20, and 35℃. The hydration heat performance of the three concrete mixtures and their potential to produce thermal cracking in nuclear facilities indicate that the mixtures have considerable potential for practical application to the primary containment vessel of a nuclear reactor at various curing temperatures, fulfilling the minimum requirements of the ACI 301 and minimizing the likelihood of the occurrence of thermal cracks.

• KCI Concrete Journal
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.11-21
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• 2000

It is not easy to correctly predict deflections of reinforced concrete beams and one-way slabs due to the variability of parameters involved in the calculation of deflections. Monte Carlo simulation is used to assess the variability of deflections with known statistical data and probability distributions of variables. A deterministic deflection value is obtained using the layered beam model based on the finite element approach in which a finite element is divided into a number of layers over the depth. The model takes into account nonlinear effects such as cracking, creep and shrinkage. Statistical parameters were obtained from the literature. For the assessment of variability of deflections, 12 cases of one-way slabs and T-beams are designed on the basis of ultimate moment capacity. Several results of a probabilistic study are presented to indicate general trends indicated by results and demonstrate the effect of certain design parameters on the variability of deflections. From simulation results, the variability of deflections relies primarily on the ratio of applied moment to cracking moment and the corre-sponding reinforcement ratio.

• 한국전산구조공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국전산구조공학회 2003년도 가을 학술발표회 논문집
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• pp.599-606
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• 2003

An analytical model which can simulate the post-cracking nonlinear behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) members such as bars and panels subjected to uniaxial and biaxial tensile stresses is presented. The proposed model includes the description of biaxial failure criteria and the average stress-strain relation of reinforcing steel. Based on strain distribution functions of steel and concrete after cracking, average response of an embedded reinforcement, a criterion to consider the tension-stiffening effect is proposed using the concept of average stresses and strains. The validity of the introduced model is established by comparing the analytical predictions for reinforced concrete tension members with results from experimental studies. Finally, correlation studies between analytical results and experimental data from biaxial tension test are conducted with the objective to establish the validity of the proposed models and identify the significance of various effects on the response of biaxially loaded reinforced concrete panels.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제31권2호
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• pp.151-161
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• 2023

This paper presents an investigation of variables that cause spurious cracking in numerical modeling of concrete fracture. Spurious cracks appear due to the approximate nature of numerical modeling. They overestimate the dissipated energy, leading to divergent results with mesh refinement. This paper is limited to quasi-static loading regime, homogeneous models, cracking as the only nonlinear mode of deformation and cracking only due to tensile loading. Under these conditions, some variables that can be related to spurious cracking are: mesh alignment, ductility, crack band width, structure size, mesh refinement and load increment size. Case studies illustrate the effect of each variable and convergence analyses demonstrate that, after all, load-increment size is the most important variable. Theoretically, a sufficiently small load increment is able to eliminate or at least alleviate the detrimental influence of the other variables. Such load-increment size might be prohibitively small, rendering the simulation unfeasible. Hence, this paper proposes two alternatives. First, it is proposed an algorithm that automatically find such small load increment size automatically, which not necessarily avoid large computations. Then, it is proposed a double simulation technique, in which the crack is forced to propagate through the localization zone.

• 한국콘크리트학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국콘크리트학회 2001년도 가을 학술발표회 논문집
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• pp.1041-1044
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• 2001

This study was performed to evaluate the effect of non-uniform corrosion distribution on the analysis of concrete cover failure. A series of experiments have been undertaken to measure the corrosion rate of reinforcement according to the concentration of chloride ion so as to suggest a relationship between the reinforcement corrosion rate and chloride ion density. The corrosion induced pressure depending on the density of chloride ion has been derived. And nonlinear analysis assuming nonlinear corrosion distribution for cover cracking was achieved and compared with other experimental results to verify the accuracy of the model. Analysis was also performed for various parameters to compare their effects.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.443-498
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• 2013

A detailed finite element modeling is presented for the simulation of the nonlinear behavior of reinforced concrete structures which manages to predict the nonlinear behavior of four different experimental setups with computational efficiency, robustness and accuracy. The proposed modeling method uses 8-node hexahedral isoparametric elements for the discretization of concrete. Steel rebars may have any orientation inside the solid concrete elements allowing the simulation of longitudinal as well as transverse reinforcement. Concrete cracking is treated with the smeared crack approach, while steel reinforcement is modeled with the natural beam-column flexibility-based element that takes into consideration shear and bending stiffness. The performance of the proposed modeling is demonstrated by comparing the numerical predictions with existing experimental and numerical results in the literature as well as with those of a commercial code. The results show that the proposed refined simulation predicts accurately the nonlinear inelastic behavior of reinforced concrete structures achieving numerical robustness and computational efficiency.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.17-37
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• 2016

This paper compares the arc-length and explicit dynamic solution methods for nonlinear finite element analysis of prestressed concrete members subjected to monotonically increasing loads. The investigations have been conducted using an L-shaped, prestressed concrete spandrel beam, selected as a highly nonlinear problem from the literature to give insight into the advantages and disadvantages of these two solution methods. Convergence problems, computational effort, and quality of the results were investigated using the commercial finite element package ABAQUS. The work in this paper demonstrates that a static analysis procedure, based on the arc-length method, provides more accurate results if it is able to converge on the solution. However, it experiences convergence problems depending upon the choice of mesh configuration and the selection of concrete post-cracking response parameters. The explicit dynamic solution procedure appears to be more robust than the arc-length method in the sense that it provides acceptable solutions in cases when the arc-length approach fails, however solution accuracy may be slightly lower and computational effort may be significantly larger. Furthermore, prestressing forces must be introduced into the finite element model in different ways for the explicit dynamic and arc-length solution procedures.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.1-14
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• 2024

The design of disturbed regions in reinforced concrete structures usually applies the well known Strut and Tie Method (STM). As an alternative, the Stringer-Panel Method (SPM), an intermediate model between STM and the Finite Element Method (FEM), consists in dividing a structure into two distinct elements: the stringers (which carry axial forces) and panels (which carry shear forces). SPM has already showed good applicability in manual calculations and computer implementations, and its most known application was SPanCAD, an AutoCAD plugin for linear and nonlinear analysis by SPM. Unfortunately, SPanCAD was discontinued by the developers, and it's not compatible with the most recent versions of AutoCAD. So, this paper aims to present a computer program that was developed as an upgrade to the latter: the Stringer Panel Modelling Tool (SPMTool), which is intended to be an auxiliary design tool and it presents improvements, in comparison to SPanCAD. It is possible to execute linear and nonlinear analysis by three distinct formulations: Modified Compression Field Theory (MCFT), Disturbed Stress Field Model (DSFM) and Softened Membrane Model (SMM). The nonlinear results were compared to experimental data of reinforced concrete elements that were not designed by SPM; these elements were also analyzed in SPanCAD. On overall, SPMTool made more realistic predictions to the behavior of the analyzed structures than SPanCAD. Except for DSFM predictions for corbels (1.24), in overall average, the ultimate load predictions were conservative (0.85 to 0.98), which is a good aspect for a design tool. On the other hand, the cracking load predictions presented overestimations (1.06 to 1.47) and higher variations (25.59% to 34.25%) and the post-cracking behavior could not be accurately predicted; for this use case, a more robust finite element software is recommended.