• Computers and Concrete
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.533-546
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• 2020

The prediction of spall response of reinforced concrete members like columns and slabs have been attempted by earlier researchers with analytical solutions, as well as with empirical models developed from data generated from physical or numerical experiments, with different degrees of success. In this article, compared to the empirical models, more versatile and accurate models are developed based on model-free approach of artificial neural network (ANN). Synthetic data extracted from the results of numerical experiments from literature have been utilized for the purpose of training and testing of the ANN models. For two concrete members, namely, slabs and columns, different sets of ANN models were developed, each of which proved to have definite advantages over the corresponding empirical model reported in literature. In case of slabs, for all three categories of spall, the ANN model results were superior to the empirical models as evaluated by the various performance metrics, such as correlation, root mean square error, mean absolute error, maximum overestimation and maximum underestimation. The ANN models for each category of column spall could handle three variables together: namely, depth, spacing of longitudinal and transverse reinforcement, as contrasted to the empirical models that handled one variable at a time, and at the same time yielded comparable performance. The application of the ANN models for spall prediction of concrete slabs and columns developed in this study has been discussed along with their limitations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.6
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• pp.705-720
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• 2021

Reinforced concrete (RC) columns are the primary type of vertical support used in building structures that sustain vertical loads. However, their strength may be insufficient due to fire, earthquake or volatile environments. The load demand may be increased due to new functional usages of the structure. The deformability of concrete columns can be greatly reduced under high axial load conditions. In response, a novel steel encasement that distinguishes from the traditional steel jacketing that is assembled by welding or bolt is developed. This novel strengthening method features easy installation and quick strengthening because direct fastening is used to connect the four steel plates surrounding the column. This new connection method is usually used to quickly and stably connect two steel components by driving high strength fastener into the steel components. The connections together with the steel plates behave like transverse reinforcement, which can provide passive confinement to the concrete. The confined column along with the steel plates resist the axial load. By this way, the axial load capacity and deformability of the column can be enhanced. Eight columns are tested to examine the reliability and effectiveness of the proposed method. The effects of the vertical spacing between adjacent connections, thickness of the steel plate and number of fasteners in each connection are studied to identify the critical parameters which affect the load bearing performance and deformation behavior. Lastly, a theoretical model is proposed for predicting the axial load capacity of the strengthened RC columns.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.6
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• pp.789-798
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• 2022

The stud shear connector is the main force transfer member in the steel-concrete composite member, and the mechanical behavior is very complicated in the concrete. The concrete around the stud is subjected to the pry-out local pressure concentration of the stud, which can easily produce splitting mirco-cracks. In order to solve the problem of pry-out local splitting of stud shear connector, a kind of stud shear connector with constraint measure is proposed in this paper. Through the push-out test, the interface shear behavior of the new stud shear connector between steel and concrete flange plate was studied, and the difference between the new stud shear connector and the traditional stud connector was compared. The results show that the stud shear connector with constraint measure can effectively avoid the adverse effect of local pressure splitting by relying on its own constraint measure. The shear stiffness of the interface between steel and concrete flange plates is greatly improved, which provides a theoretical basis for the design of strong connection coefficient of steel-concrete composite structures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.2
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• pp.147-161
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• 2023

Based on the ideas of variational differential quadrature (VDQ) and finite element method (FEM), a numerical approach named as VDQFEM is applied herein to study the large deformations of plate-type structures under static loading with arbitrary shape hole made of functionally graded graphene platelet-reinforced composite (FG-GPLRC) in the context of higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). The material properties of composite are approximated based upon the modified Halpin-Tsai model and rule of mixture. Furthermore, various FG distribution patterns are considered along the thickness direction of plate for GPLs. Using novel vector/matrix relations, the governing equations are derived through a variational approach. The matricized formulation can be efficiently employed in the coding process of numerical methods. In VDQFEM, the space domain of structure is first transformed into a number of finite elements. Then, the VDQ discretization technique is implemented within each element. As the last step, the assemblage procedure is performed to derive the set of governing equations which is solved via the pseudo arc-length continuation algorithm. Also, since HSDT is used herein, the mixed formulation approach is proposed to accommodate the continuity of first-order derivatives on the common boundaries of elements. Rectangular and circular plates under various boundary conditions with circular/rectangular/elliptical cutout are selected to generate the numerical results. In the numerical examples, the effects of geometrical properties and reinforcement with GPL on the nonlinear maximum deflection-transverse load amplitude curve are studied.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.131-143
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• 2023

The CFRP bar was used to achieve more ductile and durable headed-stud shear connectors in composite components. Three series of push-out tests were firstly conducted, including specimens reinforced with pure steel fibers, steel and CFRP bars. The distributed stress was measured by the commercial PPP-BOTDA (Pre-Pump-Pulse Brillouin optical time domain analysis) optical fiber sensor with high spatial resolution. A series of numerical analyses using non-linear FE models were also made to study the shear force transfer mechanism and crack response based on the test results. Test results show that the CFRP bar increases the shear strength and stiffness of the large diameter headed-stud shear connection, and it has equivalent reinforcing effects on the stud shear capacity as the commonly used steel bar. The embedded CFRP bar can also largely improve the shear force transfer mechanism and decrease the tensile stress in the transverse direction. The parametric study shows that low content steel fibers could delay the crack initiation of slab around the large diameter stud, and the CFRP bar with normal elastic modulus and the standard reinforcement ratio has good resistance to splitting crack growth in headed stud shear connectors.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.81-88
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• 2022

The paper introduces an experimental program for the newly developed vertical joints between Precast Concrete (PC) walls to improve their in-plane shear capacity. Compared to the existing vertical joints, two types of vertical joints were developed by increasing the transverse reinforcement ratio and improving frictional force at the joint interface. A total of four specimens including the Reinforced Concrete (RC) wall and PC walls with developed vertical joints were designed and constructed. The constructed specimens were experimentally investigated through monotonic shear tests. The observed damage, load-deformation relationship, strain and strength are investigated and compared with the cases of RC wall specimen. Experimental results indicate that the maximum force and initial stiffness of the PC wall with proposed vertical joints were decreased by comparing with those of RC wall. However, the ultimate displacement increased by up to 217.30% compared to the RC wall specimen. In addition, brittle failure did not occurred and relatively few cracks and damages occurred.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.109-123
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• 2023

Headed studs welded to steel beams and embedded within the concrete of deck slabs are vital components of modern composite floor systems, where safety and economy depend on the accurate predictions of the stud shear resistance. The multitude of existing deck profiles and the complex behavior of studs in deck slab ribs makes developing accurate and reliable mechanical or empirical design models challenging. The paper addresses this issue by presenting a machine learning (ML) model developed from the natural gradient boosting (NGBoost) algorithm capable of producing probabilistic predictions and a database of 464 push-out tests, which is considerably larger than the databases used for developing existing design models. The proposed model outperforms models based on other ML algorithms and existing descriptive equations, including those in EC4 and AISC 360, while offering probabilistic predictions unavailable from other models and producing higher shear resistances for many cases. The present study also showed that the stud shear resistance is insensitive to the concrete elastic modulus, stud welding type, location of slab reinforcement, and other parameters considered important by existing models. The NGBoost model was interpreted by evaluating the feature importance and dependence determined with the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method. The model was calibrated via reliability analyses in accordance with the Eurocodes to ensure that its predictions meet the required reliability level and facilitate its use in design. An interactive open-source web application was created and deployed to the cloud to allow for convenient and rapid stud shear resistance predictions with the developed model.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2024

The current study investigates the seismic performance of shear-dominant RC columns retrofitted with iron-based shape memory alloy (Fe SMA). Three RC columns with insufficient transverse reinforcement were designed and fabricated for lateral cyclic loading tests. Before testing, two specimens were externally confined with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets and self-prestressed Fe SMA strips. The test results showed that both CFRP and Fe SMA performed well in preventing severe shear failure exhibited by the unretrofitted control specimen. Furthermore, the two retrofitted specimens showed ductile flexural responses up to the drift ratios of ±8%. In terms of damage control, however, the Fe SMA confinement was superior to CFRP confinement in that the spalling of concrete was much less and that the rupture of confinement did not occur.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.57-76
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• 2024

The management of waste tire rubber has become a pressing environmental and health issue, requiring sustainable solutions to mitigate fire hazards and conserve natural resources. The performance of waste materials in structural components needs to be investigated to fabricate sustainable structures. This study aims to investigate the behavior of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforced rubberized concrete (GRRC) compressive components under compressive loads. Nine GRRC circular compressive components, varying in longitudinal and transverse reinforcement ratios, were constructed. A 3D nonlinear finite element model (FEM) was proposed by means of the ABAQUS software to simulate the behavior of the GRRC compressive components. A comprehensive parametric analysis was conducted to assess the impact of different parameters on the performance of GRRC compressive components. The experimental findings demonstrated that reducing the spacing of GFRP stirrups enhanced the ductility of GRRC compressive components, while the addition of rubberized concrete further improved their ductility. Failure in GRRC compressive components occurred in a compressive columnar manner, characterized by vertical cracks and increased deformability. The finite element simulations closely matched the experimental results. The proposed empirical model, based on 600 test samples and considering the lateral confinement effect of FRP stirrups, demonstrated higher accuracy (R² = 0.835, MSE = 171.296, MAE = 203.549, RMSE = 195.438) than previous models.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.87-98
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• 2009

It is well known that reinforcement details in the plastic hinge region of bridge piers give the most important effects on the seismic performance of bridges, from investigations of bridge failures in many earthquake events and in laboratory tests. Longitudinal reinforcement details give larger effects than lateral reinforcement details do. The lap-spliced longitudinal steel shows slip during earthquake events, which results in low ductility and inadequate seismic performance. However, before the issue of the earthquake design code, a considerable number of bridge piers were constructed with lap-spliced longitudinal steel in the plastic hinge region. Therefore, a large amount of research has been conducted on the seismic performance and retrofit of circular and rectangular shaped bridge columns with lap-spliced longitudinal steel. However, research on wall type piers is very limited. This paper investigates the seismic performance of a pier wall by a quasi-static test in the weak axis direction and proposes a retrofit method. From the test with variables being the longitudinal steel detail and the transverse steel amount, it is shown that the currently used definition of yield displacement is not adequate. Therefore a new definition of yield displacement for the ductility investigation for a pier wall is proposed. In addition, a retrofit method by steel plates and bolts is proposed to improve ductility, and test results show that slip of the longitudinal steel is prevented by up to a considerably large displacement.