• Computers and Concrete
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.425-443
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• 2011

Most previous studies have generally overlooked the contribution of thermal stresses generated within the concrete mass when subjected to microwave heating and reported on pore-pressure as being the dominant cause of surface spalling. Also, the variation in electromagnetic properties of concrete and its effects on the microwave heating process have not been studied in detail. In this paper, finite element modeling is used to examine the simultaneous development of compressive thermal stresses and pore-pressure arising from the microwave heating of concrete. A modified Lambert's Law formulation is proposed to estimate the microwave power dissipation in the concrete mass. Moreover, the effects of frequency and concrete water content on the concrete heating rate and pattern are investigated. Results show high compressive stresses being generated especially in concrete with a high water content when heated by microwaves of higher frequencies. The results also reveal that the water content of concrete plays a crucial role in the microwave heating process.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2019

Compressive ability is one of the most important mechanical properties of concrete material. The compressive failure process of concrete is pretty complex with internal tension, shear damage and friction between cracks. To simulate the complex fracture process of concrete at meso level, methodology for meso-structural analysis of concrete specimens is developed; the zero thickness cohesive elements are pre-inserted to simulate the crack initiation and propagation; the constitutive applied in cohesive element is established to describe the mechanism of crack separation, closure and friction behavior between the fracture surfaces. A series of simulations were carried out based on the model proposed in this paper. The results reproduced the main fracture and mechanical feature of concrete under compression condition. The effect of key material parameters, structure size, and aggregate content on the concrete fracture pattern and loading carrying capacities was investigated. It is found that the inner friction coefficient has a significant influence on the compression character of concrete, the compression strength raises linearly with the increase of the inner friction coefficient, and the fracture pattern is sensitive to the mesostructure of concrete.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.273-279
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• 2019

Corrosion of the rebar embedded in concrete has a fundamental role in the determination of life and durability of the concrete structures. Researches have demonstrated that artificial neural networks (ANNs) can effectively predict issues such as expected damage in concrete structures in marine environment caused by chloride penetration, the potential of steel embedded in concrete under the influence of chloride, the corrosion of the steel embedded in concrete and corrosion current density in steel reinforced concrete. In this study, data from different kind of concrete under the influence of chloride ion, are analyzed using the neural network and it is concluded that this method is able to predict the bond strength between the concrete and the steel reinforcement in mentioned condition with high reliability.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.267-272
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• 2019

In order to study the effect of moisture on the compressive strength of low-strength hollow concrete blocks, an experimental study was carried out on 96 samples of locally manufactured hollow concrete blocks collected from three different locations. Uniaxial compression tests were conducted on dry specimens and three types of saturated specimens with moisture contents of 30%, 50% and 80% respectively. The range of moisture content adopted covered the range within which the concrete block samples are saturated in the dry and monsoon seasons. The compressive strength of low-strength hollow concrete blocks decreases with increase in moisture content and the relationship between compressive strength of hollow concrete blocks and their moisture content can be considered to be linear. However, the strength degradation of 30% moist concrete blocks with respect to dry blocks is relatively low and can be considered to be comparable to dry concrete blocks. A formula indicating the relationship between the moisture content and compressive strength of low-strength hollow concrete blocks is also proposed.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.525-539
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• 2011

This paper describes the development of a fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) unit cell for analyzing concrete structures by executing a multiscale analysis procedure using the theory of homogenization. This was achieved through solving a periodic unit cell problem of the material in order to evaluate its macroscopic properties. Our research describes the creation of an FRC unit cell through the use of concrete paste generic information e.g. the percentage of aggregates, their distribution, and the percentage of fibers in the concrete. The algorithm presented manipulates the percentage and distribution of these aggregates along with fiber weight to create a finite element unit cell model of the FRC which can be used in a multiscale analysis of concrete structures.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.341-355
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• 2012

Numerical studies are performed to predict the stress-strain behavior of rectangular RC columns confined by multi-spiral hoops under axial and eccentric compressions. Using the commercial finite element package ABAQUS, the Drucker-Prager criterion and the yield surface are adopted for damaged plasticity concrete. The proposed finite element models are compared with the published experimental data. Parametric studies on concrete grades, confinement arrangement, diameter and spacing of hoops and eccentricity of load are followed. Numerical results have shown good agreements with experimental values, and indicated a proper constitutive law and model for concrete. Cross-sectional areas and spacing of the hoops have significant effect on the bearing capacity. It can be concluded that rectangular RC columns confined by multi-spiral hoops show better performance than the conventional ones.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.4
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• pp.455-464
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• 2020

Reinforcement corrosion is one of the major problems in the durability of reinforced concrete structures exposed to aggressive environments. Deterioration caused by reinforcement corrosion reduces the durability and the safety margin of concrete structures, causing excessive costs in managing these structures safely. This paper aims to investigate the effects of reinforcement corrosion on the load bearing capacity deterioration of the corroded reinforced concrete structures. A new analytical method is proposed to predict the crack growth of cover concrete and evaluate the residual strength of concrete structures with corroded reinforcement failing in bond. The structural performance indicators, such as concrete crack growth and flexural strength deterioration rate, are assumed to be a stochastic process for lifetime distribution modelling of structural performance deterioration over time during the life cycle. The Weibull life evolution model is employed for analysing lifetime reliability and estimating remaining useful life of the corroded concrete structures. The results for the worked example show that the proposed approach can provide a reliable method for lifetime performance assessment of the corroded reinforced concrete structures.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.279-287
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• 2020

The practice of splicing reinforcing bars in reinforced concrete structures to manage insufficient bar length is a common approach, which is mainly due to transportation limitations on bar length. The splicing of reinforcing bars side by side offers a simple and economical solution to the problem of continuity. This paper examines the influence of different structural parameters such as concrete cover, lap splice length, shear links confinement and concrete strength on the lap splices based on an extensive experimental database of laps and anchorage. The current study shows that increasing the lap splices beyond 50Ø has no additional benefit for increasing its strength. The results also show that relative to the measured stress, specimens with larger concrete side covers shows higher splice stress compared to the samples with smaller concrete covers.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.75-90
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• 2002

Many existing concrete structures suffer from low quality of concrete and inadequate confinement reinforcement. These deficiencies cause low strength and ductility. Wrapping concrete by carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite sheets enhances compressive strength and deformability. In this study, the effects of the thickness of the CFRP composite wraps on the behavior of concrete are investigated experimentally. Both monotonic and repeated compressive loads are considered during the tests, which are carried out on strengthened undamaged specimens, as well as the specimens, which were tested and damaged priorly and strengthened after repairing. The experimental data shows that, external confinement of concrete by CFRP composite sheets improves both compressive strength and deformability of concrete significantly as a function of the thickness of the CFRP composite wraps around concrete. Empirical equations are also proposed for compressive strength and ultimate axial deformation of FRP composite wrapped concrete. Test results available in the literature, as well as the experimental results presented in this paper, are compared with the analytical results predicted by the proposed equations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.477-485
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• 2018

This study aims to investigate the influence of individual and hybrid fiber on the local bond-slip behavior of medium and high strength concrete after exposure to different high temperatures. Tests were conducted on local pullout specimens (150 mm cubes) with a reinforcing bar embedded in the center section. The embedment lengths in the pullout specimens were three times the bar diameter. The parameters investigated include concrete type (control group: ordinary concrete; experimental group: fiber concrete), concrete strength, fiber type and targeted temperature. The test results showed that the ultimate bond stress in the local bond stress versus slip curve of the high strength fiber reinforced concrete was higher than that of the medium strength fiber reinforced concrete. In addition, the use of hybrid combinations of steel fiber and polypropylene fiber can enhance the residual bond strength ratio of high strength concrete.