• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.647-659
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• 2018

Through extensive research, there exist a new type of connection between railway bridge girders and steel-concrete composite panels. In addition to conventional shear connectors, newly developed blind bolts have been recently adopted for retrofitting. However, the body of knowledge on their influence and application to railway structures has not been thoroughly investigated. This study has thus placed a particular emphasis on the application of blind bolts on the Sydney Harbour Bridge as a feasible alternative constituent of railway track upgrading. Finite element modeling has been used to simulate the behaviours of the precast steel-concrete panels with common types of bolt connection using commercially available package, ABAQUS. The steel-concrete composite track slabs have been designed in accordance with Australian Standards AS5100. These precast steel-concrete panels are then numerically retrofitted by three types of most practical bold connections: head studded shear connector, Ajax blind bolt and Lindapter hollow bolt. The influences of bolt connections on load and stress transfers and structural behaviour of the composite track slabs are highlighted in this paper. The numerical results exhibit that all three bolts can distribute stresses effectively and can be installed on the bridge girder. However, it is also found that Lindapter hollow bolts are superior in minimising structural responses of the composite track slabs to train loading.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2015

Prefabrication technologies are making bridge construction safer and less disruptive to the environment and traveling public, making bridge designs more constructible and, improving the quality and durability by shifting site work to a more controllable environment. Modular bridge substructures with concrete-filled steel tube (CFT) piers and composite pier caps were suggested to realize accelerated bridge construction. The precast segmental pier cap consists of a composite pier table and precast prestressed segments on the table. The pier table has embedded steel section to mitigate stress concentration at the connection by small tubes. Each bridge pier has four or six CFT columns which connect to the pier cap. Shear strength of the pier cap was obtained by extending vertical reinforcing bars from the table to the precast segment. Transverse prestressing was introduced to control tensile stresses by service loadings. Structural performance of the proposed modular system was evaluated by static tests. Design requirements of the composite pier cap were satisfied by continuous reinforcing bars and prestressing tendons. Standardized modular substructures can be effectively utilized for the fast replacement or construction of bridges.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.113-128
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• 2017

This paper highlights a study undertaken on the free vibration of a precast steel-concrete composite slab panel for track support. The steel-concrete composite slab track is an evolvement from the slab track, a form of ballastless track which is becoming increasingly attractive to asset owners as they seek to reduce lifecycle costs and deal with increasing rail traffic speeds. The slender nature of the slab panel due to its reduced depth of construction makes it susceptible to vibration problems. The aim of the study is driven by the need to address the limited research available to date on the dynamic behaviour of steel-concrete composite slab panels for track support. Free vibration analysis of the track slab has been carried out using ABAQUS. Both eigenfrequencies and eigenmodes have been extracted using the Lanczos method. The fundamental natural frequencies of the slab panel have been identified together with corresponding mode shapes. To investigate the sensitivity of the natural frequencies and mode shapes, parametric studies have been established, considering concrete strength and mass and steel's modulus of elasticity. This study is the world first to observe crossover phenomena that result in the inversion of the natural orders without interaction. It also reveals that replacement of the steel with aluminium or carbon fibre sheeting can only marginally reduce the natural frequencies of the slab panel.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.427-442
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• 2017

This paper presents unprecedented damped oscillation behaviours of a precast steel-concrete composite slab panel for track support. The steel-concrete composite slab track is an innovative slab track, a form of ballastless track which is becoming increasingly attractive to asset owners as they seek to reduce lifecycle costs and deal with increasing rail traffic speeds. The slender nature of the slab panel due to its reduced depth of construction makes it susceptible to vibration problems. The aim of the study is driven by the need to address the limited research available to date on the dynamic behaviour of steel-concrete composite slab panels for track support. Free vibration analysis of the track slab has been carried out using ABAQUS. Both undamped and damped eigenfrequencies and eigenmodes have been extracted using the Lancsoz method. The fundamental natural frequencies of the slab panel have been identified together with corresponding mode shapes. To investigate the sensitivity of the natural frequencies and mode shapes, parametric studies have been established, considering concrete strength and mass and steel's modulus of elasticity. This study is the world first to observe crossover phenomena that result in the inversion of the natural orders without interaction. It also reveals that replacement of the steel with aluminium or carbon fibre sheeting can only marginally reduce the natural frequencies of the slab panel.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.205-208
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• 2008

Steel-embedded composite piers can enhance the resistance of core concrete by confinement of the steel elements and also can strengthen the stability of the embedded steel elements by concrete parts, so that the resistance of the composite members and seismic requirements can be provided without increasing section dimensions and self-weight. While modular composite piers with single segment do not need prestressing, precast segment composite piers with multiple segments need to have prestressing to prevent excessive cracking at the joints. Initial stresses and deformation by the introduced prestress are changed by long-term properties of concrete and need to be considered in the design. This paper deals with the prestress losses by the measurement of load cells, strains of reinforcements, concrete and embedded steel tubes.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.501-510
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• 2015

Composite construction of precast concrete and cast-in-place concrete is currently used for the modular construction. In this case, the use of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) could be beneficial for precast concrete. However, the shear strength of such composite members (SFRC and cast-in-place concrete) is not clearly defined in current design codes. In the present study, steel fiber composite beam tests were conducted to evaluate the effect of steel fibers on the composite members. The test variables are the area ratio of SFRC and shear reinforcement ratio. The test results showed that when minimum horizontal shear reinforcement was used, the shear strength of composite beams increased in proportion to the area ratio of steel fiber reinforced concrete. However, because of the steel fiber, the composite beams were susceptible to horizontal shear failure. Thus, minimum horizontal shear reinforcement is required for SFRC composite beams.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.2352-2366
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• 2024

Reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls with precast steel-concrete composite modular (PSCCM) are strongly recommended in the structural design of nuclear power plants due to the need for a large number of process pipeline crossings and industrial construction. However, the effect of the PSCCM on the mechanical behavior of the whole RC shear wall is still unknown and has received little attention. In this study, three 1:3 scaled specimens, one traditional shear wall specimen (TW) and two shear wall specimens with the PSCCM (PW1, PW2), were designed and investigated under cyclic loadings. The failure mode, hysteretic curve, energy dissipation, stiffness and strength degradations were then comparatively investigated to reveal the effect of the PSCCM. Furthermore, numerical models of the RC shear wall with different PSCCM distributions were analyzed. The results show that the shear wall with the PSCCM has comparable mechanical properties with the traditional shear wall, which can be further improved by adding reinforced concrete constraints on both sides of the shear wall. The accumulated energy dissipation of the PW2 is higher than that of the TW and PW1 by 98.7 % and 60.0 %. The failure of the shear wall with the PSCCM is mainly concentrated in the reinforced concrete wall below the PSCCM, while the PSCCM maintains an elastic working state as a whole. Shear walls with the PSCCM arranged in the high stress zone will have a higher load-bearing capacity and lateral stiffness, but will suffer a higher risk of failure. The PSCCM in the low stress zone is always in an elastic working state.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.537-565
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• 2016

Australian railway networks possess a large amount of aging timber components and need to replace them in excess of 280 thousands $m^3$ per year. The relatively high turnover of timber sleepers (crossties in a plain track), bearers (skeleton ties in a turnout), and transoms (bridge cross beams) is responsible for producing greenhouse gas emissions 6 times greater than an equivalent reinforced concrete counterparts. This paper presents an innovative solution for the replacement of aging timber transoms installed on existing railway bridges along with the incorporation of a continuous walkway platform, which is proven to provide environmental, safety and financial benefits. Recent developments for alternative composite materials to replace timber components in railway infrastructure construction and maintenance demonstrate some compatibility issues with track stiffness as well as structural and geometrical track systems. Structural concrete are generally used for new railway bridges where the comparatively thicker and heavier fixed slab track systems can be accommodated. This study firstly demonstrates a novel and resilient alterative by incorporating steel-concrete composite slab theory and combines the capabilities of being precast and modulated, in order to reduce the depth, weight and required installation time relative to conventional concrete direct-fixation track slab systems. Clear benefits of the new steel-concrete composites are the maintainability and constructability, especially for existing railway bridges (or brown fields). Critical considerations in the design and finite element modelling for performance benchmarking of composite structures and their failure modes are highlighted in this paper, altogether with risks, compatibilities and compliances.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.331-340
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• 2017

This study was performed in order to develop of the new modular construction system. For the modular construction method that is currently applied in the country, it is very expensive in terms of material costs and fire resistance because it uses only the steel C-type beam. In order to overcome this, and the practical application of new steel-PC hybrid module construction system. Improvement and development of the cross-section of the structural beam member in order to be carried out first. An experiment was carried out by making three specimens. Experiment result, the composite beam was dominated by the horizontal shear failure. It was evaluated through a nonlinear analysis and experimental & theoretical for the structural performance the composite beam member.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.53-54
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• 2009

Steel-embedded composite piers provide flexible design alternatives to satisfy the required performance due to various design parameters of composite sections. For the fast construction of composite piers, bolt connection can be utilized for small size piers and post-tensioning to the pier segments for the large size piers. In this paper, experimental results on composite piers were investigated to evlauate the effects of design parameters on the behavior of composite piers. Appropriate sections and their integration methods were suggested according to the design conditions. For the modular construction of bridge piers, pier segments need to be divided considering their weight and careful considerations on details to adjust fabrication and construction error. Connection details for the pier cap were also proposed.