• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.485-497
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• 2024

Ring beam is the main anchorage zone of the tendons in the nuclear power prestressed concrete containment vessel (PCCV). Its safety is crucial and has a great influence on the overall performance of PCCV. In this paper, two half-scale ring beams were tested to investigate the mechanical performance of the anchorage zone in the PCCV under multidirectional pressure. The effect of working condition with different tension sequences was investigated. Additionally, a half axisymmetric plane model of the containment was established by the finite element simulation to further predict the experimental responses and propose the local reinforcement design in the anchorage zone of the ring beam. The results showed that the ultimate load of the specimens under both working conditions was greater than the nominal ultimate tensile force. The original reinforcement design could meet the bearing capacity requirements, but there was still room for optimization. The ring beam was generally under pressure in the anchorage area, while the splitting force appeared in the under-anchor area, and the spalling force appeared in the corner area of the tooth block, which could be targeted for local strengthening design.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.820-828
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• 2003

Recent research has indicated that the current ACI shear provision provides unconservative predictions for large slender beams and beams with low level of longitudinal reinforcement, and conservative results for deep beams. To modify some problems of ACI shear provision, ultimate shear strength equation considering size effect and arch action to compute shear strength in high-strength concrete beams without stirrups is presented in this research. Three basic equations, namely size reduction factor, rho factor, and arch action factor, are derived from crack band model of fracture mechanics, analysis of previous some shear equations for longitudinal reinforcement ratio, and concrete strut described as linear prism in strut-tie model deep beams. Constants of basic equations are determined using statistical analysis of previous shear testing data. To verify proposed shear equation for each variable, effective depth, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, concrete compressive strength and shear span-to-depth ratio, about 300 experimental data are used and proposed shear equation is compared with ACI 318-99 code, CEB-FIP Model code, Kim &Park's equation and Zsutty's equation. The proposed shear equation is not only simpler than other shear equations, it is but also shown to be economical predictions and reasonable safety margin. Hence proposed shear strength equation is expected to be applied to practical shear design.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.65-78
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• 2012

An experimental study was carried out to evaluate fresh properties of a moderately high-strength (high-flowing) self-compacting concrete (SCC) and to investigate shear behavior and performance of deep beams made with SCC. Fresh and hardened properties of normal concrete (NC) and SCC were evaluated. The workability and compacting ability were observed based on casting time and number of surface cavities, respectively. Four-point loading tests on four deep beams (two made with SCC and two with NC) were then conducted to investigate their shear behavior and performance. Shear behavior and performance of beams having two different web reinforcements in shear were systematically investigated in terms of crack pattern, failure mode, and load-deflection response. It was found from the tests that the SCC specimen having a normal shear reinforcement condition exhibited a slightly higher load carrying capacity than the corresponding NC specimen, while the SCC specimen having congested shear reinforcement condition showed a similar load carrying capacity to the corresponding NC specimen. In addition, a comparative study between the present experimental results and theoretical results in accordance with ACI 318 (Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete (ACI 318-89) and Commentary-ACI 318R-89, 1999), Hsu-Mau's explicit method (Hsu, Cem Concr Compos 20:419-435, 1998; Mau and Hsu, Struct J Am Concr Inst 86:516-523, 1989) and strut-and-tie model suggested by Uribe and Alcocer (2002) based on ACI 318 Appendix A (2008) was carried out to assess the applicability of the aforementioned methods to predict the shear strength of SCC specimens.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.101-110
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• 2015

Recently, nine $1397{\times}1397{\times}178mm$ RC panels were tested under in-plane pure-shear monotonic loading condition using the Panel Element Tester by Hsu (1997, ACI). By combining the equilibrium, compatibility, and the softened stress-strain relationship of concrete in biaxial state, Modern Truss Model (MCFT, RA-STM) are capable of producing the nonlinear analysis of RC membrane panel through the complicated trial-and-error method with double loop. In this paper, an efficient algorithm with one loop is proposed for the refined Mohr compatibility Method based on the strut-tie failure criteria. This algorithm can be speedy calculated to analyze the shear history of RC membrane element using the results of Hsu test. The results indicate that the response of shear deformation energy at Big Bang of shear strain significantly influenced by the principal compressive stress-strain (crushing failure).

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.217-224
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• 2020

In this study, a framework for optimizing the opening in an outrigger wall is proposed. To solve a constrained bounded optimization problem, an in-house finite element program and SQP algorithm in Python SciPy library are utilized. The openings of the outrigger wall are located according to the strut-tie behavior of the outrigger wall deep beam. A linear interpolation method is used to obtain differentiable continuous functions required for optimization, whereas a database is used for the efficiency of the optimization program. By comparing the result of the two-variable optimization through the moving path of the search algorithm, it is confirmed that the algorithm efficiently determines the optimized result. When the size of each opening is set to individual variables rather than the same width of all openings, the value of the objective function is minimized to obtain better optimization results. It was confirmed that the optimization time can be effectively reduced when using the database in the optimization process.

• Magazine of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.201-211
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• 1996

It is expected that recent development of the mechanical model will replace previous empirical methods of detailing. In this study, a mechanical model is proposed to analyze the behavior of the anchorage zone of prestressed concrete members. Main characteristics of the proposed model lies on its rational consideration of material properties, and concrete strength in biaxial stress state and that of local zone reinforced by spirals. Shear friction strength of concrete surrounding spirals are also considered. The results of' the proposed method as well as the known Strut-and-Tie method and nonlinear finite element analysis are compared with some typical experimental results. We get good agreement to the failure mode as well as the failure load from test results. And it can be shown that three dimentional failure mechanism, which cannot be expected by the method based on 2D analysis, can be explained by proposed model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.1
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• pp.49-57
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• 2020

This paper presents a full-scale experimental test to investigate the flexural behavior of an innovative dovetail ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) joint designed for the 5^th Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. The test specimen had a dimension of 3600 × 1600 × 170 mm, in accordance with the real bridge. The failure mode, crack pattern and structural response were presented. The ductility and stiffness degradation of the tested specimens were explicitly discussed. Test results indicated that different from conventional reinforced concrete slabs, well-distributed cracks with small spacing were observed for UHPC joint slabs at failure. The average nominal flexural cracking strength of the test specimens was 7.7 MPa, signifying good crack resistance of the proposed dovetail UHPC joint. It is recommended that high grade reinforcement be cooperatively used to take full advantage of the superior mechanical property of UHPC. A new ductility index, expressed by dividing the ultimate deflection by flexural cracking deflection, was introduced to evaluate the post-cracking ductility capacity. Finally, a strut-and-tie (STM) model was developed to predict the ultimate strength of the proposed UHPC joint.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.493-517
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• 2003

Attempts at improving beam-column joint performance has resulted in non-conventional ways of reinforcement such as the use of the crossed inclined bars in the joint area. Despite the wide accumulation of test data, the influence of the crossed inclined bars on the shear strength of the cyclically loaded exterior beam-column joints has not yet been quantified and incorporated into code recommendations. In this study, the investigation of joints has been pursued on two different fronts. In the first approach, the parameters that influence the behaviour of the cyclically loaded beam-column joints are investigated. Several parametric studies are carried out to explore the shear resisting mechanisms of cyclically loaded beam-column joints using an experimental database consisting of a large number of joint tests. In the second approach, the mechanical behaviour of joints is investigated and the equations for the principal tensile strain and the average shear stress are derived from joint mechanics. It is apparent that the predictions of these two approaches agree well with each other. A design equation that predicts the shear strength of the cyclically loaded exterior beam-column joints is proposed. The design equation proposed has three major differences from the previously suggested design equations. First, the influence of the bond conditions on the joint shear strength is considered. Second, the equation takes the influence of the shear transfer mechanisms of the crossed inclined bars into account and, third, the equation is applicable on joints with high concrete cylinder strength. The proposed equation is compared with the predictions of the other design equations. It is apparent that the proposed design equation predicts the joint shear strength accurately and is an improvement on the existing code recommendations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.6
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• pp.675-684
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• 2020

An innovative retrofit method using pre-stressed steel strips and externally-bonded steel plates was presented in this paper. With the aim of exploring the seismic performance of the retrofitted RC interior joints, four 1/2-scale retrofitted joint specimens together with one control specimen were designed and subjected to constant axial compression and cyclic loading, with the main test parameters being the volume of steel strips and the existence of externally-bonded steel plates. The damage mechanism, force-displacement hysteretic response, force-displacement envelop curve, energy dissipation and displacement ductility ratio were analyzed to investigate the cyclic behavior of the retrofitted joints. The test results indicated that all the test specimens suffered a typical shear failure at the joint core, and the application of externally-bonded steel plates and that of pre-stressed steel strips could effectively increase the lateral capacity and deformability of the deficient RC interior joints, respectively. The best cyclic behavior could be found in the deficient RC interior joint retrofitted using both externally-bonded steel plates and pre-stressed steel strips due to the increased lateral capacity, displacement ductility and energy dissipation. Finally, based on the test results and the softened strut and tie model, a theoretical model for determining the shear capacity of the retrofitted specimens was proposed and validated.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.31-48
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• 2024

In order to get a better understanding of seismic performance of exterior beam-column joint, reciprocating loading tests with variable loading speeds or axial forces were carried out. The main findings indicate that only few cracks exist on the surface of the joint core area, while the plastic hinge region at the beam end is seriously damaged. The damage of the specimen is more serious with the increase of the upper limit of variable axial force. The deflection ductility coefficient of specimen decreases to various degrees after the upper limit of variable axial force increases. In addition, the higher the loading speed is, the lower the deflection ductility coefficient of the specimen is. The stiffness of the specimen decreases as the upper limit of variable axial force or the loading speed increase. Compared to the influence of variable axial force, the influence of the loading speed on the stiffness degradation of the specimen is more obvious. The cumulative energy dissipation and the equivalent viscous damping coefficient of specimen decrease with the increase of loading speed. The influence of variable axial force on the energy dissipation of specimen varies under different loading speeds. Based on the truss model, the biaxial stress criterion, the Rankine criterion, the Kent-Scott-Park model, the equivalent theorem of shearing stress, the softened strut-and-tie model, the controlled slip theory and the proposed equations, a calculation method for the shear capacity is proposed with satisfactory prediction results.