• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.243-253
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• 2018

In recent years, concrete-filled box or tubular columns have been commonly used in high-rise buildings. However, a number of fire test results show that there are significant differences between high strength concrete (HSC) and normal strength concrete (NSC) after being subjected to high temperatures. Therefore, this paper presents an investigation on the fire resistance of HSC filled steel tubular columns (CFTCs) under combined temperature and loading. Two groups of full-size specimens were fabricated to consider the effect of type of concrete infilling (plain and reinforced) and the load level on the fire resistance of CFTCs. Prior to fire test, a constant compressive load (i.e., load level for fire design) was applied to the column specimens. Thermal load was then applied on the column specimens in form of ISO 834 standard fire curve in a large-scale laboratory furnace until the set experiment termination condition was reached. The results demonstrate that the higher the axial load level, the worse the fire resistance. Moreover, in the bar-reinforced concrete-filled steel tubular columns, the presence of rebars not only decreased the spread of cracks and the sudden loss of strength, but also contributed to the load-carrying capacity of the concrete core.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.180-188
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• 2011

Recently a number of researches about mechanical splice have been studied to apply on a large diameter reinforcing steel bars of spliced sleeves. In this study the structural performance of large diameter reinforcing bars with spliced sleeves was evaluated. For the application of nuclear power plant structures, two different types of existing splices with #11, 14, 18 rebars were fabricated and static and dynamic test were performed on the basis of ASME SEC III DIV.2CC-4330.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.43-49
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• 2016

PURPOSES : The field application and performance of continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP), constructed by using the mechanical tube-feeding method, are evaluated in this study. METHODS: The location of the rebar was evaluated by using the MIRA system. The early-age CRCP performance was evaluated via visual survey, in which the crack spacing and crack width were examined. RESULTS: The location of longitudinal reinforcing bars was evaluated via MIRA testing and the results showed that the longitudinal rebars all lie within a given tolerance limit (${\pm}2.5cm$) of the target elevation. In addition, owing to the low temperature when the concrete was pured, the crack spacing in the Dae-Gu direction is slightly wider than that of the Gwang-Ju direction. Almost all of the crack spacings lay within the range of 1.0 m~3.0 m. A crack width of <0.3 mm was measured at the pavement surface. However, as revealed by the field survey, the crack spacing was not correlated with the crack width. CONCLUSIONS : In CRCP constructed by using the mechanical tube-feeding method, almost all of the longitudinal reinforcing bars lay within the tolerance limit (2.5 cm) of the target elevation. The concrete-placing temperature affects the crack spacing, owing to variations in the zero-stress temperature. Crack survey results show that there is no correlation between the crack spacing and crack width in CRCP.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.293-302
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• 2020

Connections play a significant role in strength of structures against earthquake-induced loads. According to the post-seismic reports, connection failure is a cause of overall failure in reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Connection failure results in a sudden increase in inter-story drift, followed by early and progressive failure across the entire structure. This article investigated the cyclic performance and behavioral improvement of shape-memory alloy-based connections (SMA-based connections). The novelty of the present work is focused on the effect of shape memory alloy bars is damage reduction, strain recoverability, and cracking distribution of the stated material in RC moment frames under seismic loads using 3D nonlinear static analyses. The present numerical study was verified using two experimental connections. Then, the performance of connections was studied using 14 models with different reinforcement details on a scale of 3:4. The response parameters under study included moment-rotation, secant stiffness, energy dissipation, strain of bar, and moment-curvature of the connection. The connections were simulated using LS-DYNA environment. The models with longitudinal SMA-based bars, as the main bars, could eliminate residual plastic rotations and thus reduce the demand for post-earthquake structural repairs. The flag-shaped stress-strain curve of SMA-based materials resulted in a very slight residual drift in such connections.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.329-348
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• 2011

Large-scale earthquakes pose serious threats to infrastructure causing substantial damage and large residual deformations. Superelastic (SE) Shape-Memory-Alloys (SMAs) are unique alloys with the ability to undergo large deformations, but can recover its original shape upon stress removal. The purpose of this research is to exploit this characteristic of SMAs such that concrete Beam-Column Joints (BCJs) reinforced with SMA bars at the plastic hinge region experience reduced residual deformation at the end of earthquakes. Another objective is to evaluate the seismic performance of SMA Reinforced Concrete BCJs repaired with flowable Structural-Repair-Concrete (SRC). A $\frac{3}{4}$-scale BCJ reinforced with SMA rebars in the plastic-hinge zone was tested under reversed cyclic loading, and subsequently repaired and retested. The joint was selected from an RC building located in the seismic region of western Canada. It was designed and detailed according to the NBCC 2005 and CSA A23.3-04 recommendations. The behaviour under reversed cyclic loading of the original and repaired joints, their load-storey drift, and energy dissipation ability were compared. The results demonstrate that SMA-RC BCJs are able to recover nearly all of their post-yield deformation, requiring a minimum amount of repair, even after a large earthquake, proving to be smart structural elements. It was also shown that the use of SRC to repair damaged BCJs can restore its full capacity.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.704-712
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• 2018

This study analyzed working postures using the Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS) to improve work clothes for construction workers. A video taken at a construction work site was stopped at regular intervals and the postures of relevant body parts proposed by OWAS was recorded. Additionally, based on analysis of the working postures code, the level of work action for each postures was classified from stage I to IV. General workers frequently straightened or bent forward at the waist, and used their legs to stand, bend, or walk. Wood workers moved extensively from the waist, keeping their legs relatively straight and their arms held below their shoulders, repeatedly tapping with a hammer weighing less than 10.0kg. Rebar bending workers mainly bent forward at the waist, with both legs bent or standing with one leg bent. Rebar transport and fixing workers walked with the waist straight, and occasionally one or both hands held above the shoulders. Their work also involved holding a hook, which weigh less than 10.0kg, in their hands, and the difficult task of lifting and placing long rebars, which weigh from 10.0 to 20.0kg or more. Concrete pouring workers bent or twisted their back to the side. Therefore, this study suggests that design goals should be different when developing workwear for each type of worker.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.91-99
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• 2019

The push-out tests have been conducted on the specimens which consist of the steel beam with U-shape section and the continuous cap-type shear connector. Existing formulas for the elevation of shear connector capacity were investigated on the basis of test results. The shear capacities of continuous cap-type shear connectors distinctly declined as the diameters of side-hole in the shear connector increased. The rebars through side-hole for the transverse reinforcement improved the shear capacity of continuous cap-type connector by 20 to 30 percent. It was not feasible to obtain the appropriate capacity values of continuous cap-type shear connectors made of thin steel plate like those of in this study, using the existing formulas. The new formula for reflecting the shear strength of penetrative bars was proposed based on the shear equation of Eurocode 4. The slip capacities of continuous cap-type shear connectors were shown to exceed the limit value of 6mm for the sufficiently ductile behavior.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.231-251
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• 2019

In the present study, a numerical and experimental investigation has been carried out on the seismic behavior of RC columns of a bridge which damaged under corrosive environments and retrofitted by various techniques including combined application of CFRP sheets and steel profiles. A novel hybrid retrofitting procedure, including the application of inner steel profiles and outer peripheral CFRP sheets, has been proposed for strengthening purpose. Seven large-scale RC columns of a Girder Bridge have been tested in the laboratory under the influence of simultaneous application of constant axial load and the lateral cyclic displacements. Having verified the finite element modeling, using ABAQUS software, the effects of important parameters such as the corrosion percentage of steel rebars and the number of CFRP layers have been evaluated. Based on the results, retrofitting of RC columns of the bridge with the proposed technique was effective in improving some measures of structural performance such as lateral strength degradation and higher energy absorption capability. However, the displacement ductility was not considerably improved whereas the elastic stiffness of the specimens has been increased.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.123-130
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• 2018

U-flanged truss beam is composed of u-shaped upper steel flange, lower steel plate of 8mm or more thickness, and connecting lattice bars welded on the upper and lower sides. The hybrid beam with U-flanged steel truss is made in the construction site through pouring the concrete, and designated as U-flanged truss hybrid beam. In this study the structural experiments on the 4 hybrid beams with the proposed basic shapes were performed, and the flexural capacities from the tests were compared with those from the theoretical approach. The failure modes of each specimen were quite similar. The peak load was reached with the ductile behavior after yielding, and the failure occurred through the concrete crushing. The considerable increasement of deformation was observed up to the concrete crushing. The composite action of concrete and steel member was considered to be reliable from the behavior of specimens. The flexural strength of hybrid beam has been evaluated exactly using the calculation method applied in the boubly reinforced concrete beam. The placement of additional rebars in the bottom instead of upper side is proposed for the efficient design of U-flanged truss hybrid beam.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.43-54
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• 2019

Existing reinforced concrete frame buildings designed for only gravity loads have been seismically vulnerable due to their inadequate column detailing. The seismic vulnerabilities can be mitigated by the application of a column retrofit technique, which combines high-strength near surface mounted bars with a fiber reinforced polymer wrapping system. This study presents the full-scale shaker testing of a non-ductile frame structure retrofitted using the combined retrofit system. The full-scale dynamic testing was performed to measure realistic dynamic responses and to investigate the effectiveness of the retrofit system through the comparison of the measured responses between as-built and retrofitted test frames. Experimental results demonstrated that the retrofit system reduced the dynamic responses without any significant damage on the columns because it improved flexural, shear and lap-splice resisting capacities. In addition, the retrofit system contributed to changing a damage mechanism from a soft-story mechanism (column-sidesway mechanism) to a mixed-damage mechanism, which was commonly found in reinforced concrete buildings with strong-column weak-beam system.