• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.641-648
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• 2009

Concrete structures become more common in railway systems with an advancement of high speed train technologies. As the service life of concrete structures increases, structural strengthening for concrete structures may be necessary. There are several typical strengthening techniques using steel plate and fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials, which have their own inherent shortcomings. In order to enhance greater durability and resistance to fire and other environmental attacks, basalt fiber material attracts engineer's attention due to its characteristics. This study investigates bonding performance of basalt fiber sheet as a structural strengthening material. Experimental variables include bond width, length and number of layer. From the bonding tests, there were three different types of bonding failure modes: debonding, rupture and rip-off. Among the variables, bond width indicated more significant effect on bonding characteristics. In addition the bond length did not contribute to bond strength in proportion to the bond length. Hence this study evaluated effective bond length and effective bond strength. The effective bond strength was compared to those suggested by other researches which used different types of FRP strengthening materials such as carbon FRP.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.515-528
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• 2017

Since composite structures are widely used in structural engineering, delamination in such structures is an important issue of research. Delamination is one of a principal cause of failure in composites. In This study the electrical potential (EP) technique is applied to detect and locate delamination in basalt fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) laminate composite pipe by using electrical capacitance sensor (ECS). The proposed EP method is able to identify and localize hidden delamination inside composite layers without overlapping with other method data accumulated to achieve an overall identification of the delamination location/size in a composite, with high accuracy, easy and low-cost. Twelve electrodes are mounted on the outer surface of the pipe. Afterwards, the delamination is introduced into between the three layers (0º/90º/0º)s laminates pipe, split into twelve scenarios. The dielectric properties change in basalt FRP pipe is measured before and after delamination occurred using arrays of electrical contacts and the variation in capacitance values, capacitance change and node potential distribution are analyzed. Using these changes in electrical potential due to delamination, a finite element simulation model for delamination location/size detection is generated by ANSYS and MATLAB, which are combined to simulate sensor characteristic. Response surfaces method (RSM) are adopted as a tool for solving inverse problems to estimate delamination location/size from the measured electrical potential changes of all segments between electrodes. The results show good convergence between the finite element model (FEM) and estimated results. Also the results indicate that the proposed method successfully assesses the delamination location/size for basalt FRP laminate composite pipes. The illustrated results are in excellent agreement with the experimental results available in the literature, thus validating the accuracy and reliability of the proposed technique.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.69-84
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• 2017

Delamination is the most common failure mode in layered composite materials. The author have found that the electrical potential change (EPC) technique using response surfaces method is very effective in assessment delamination in basalt fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) laminate composite pipe by using electrical capacitance sensor (ECS). In the present study, the effect of the electrodes number on the method is investigated using FEM analyses for delamination location/size detection by ANSYS and MATLAB, which are combined to simulate sensor characteristic. Three cases of electrodes number are analyzed here are eight, twelve and sixteen electrodes, afterwards, the delamination is introduced into between the three layers [$0^{\circ}/90^{\circ}/0^{\circ}$]s laminates pipe, split into eight, twelve and sixteen scenarios for cases of eight, twelve and sixteen electrodes respectively. Response surfaces are adopted as a tool for solving inverse problems to estimate delamination location/size from the measured EPC of all segments between electrodes. As a result, it was revealed that the estimation performances of delamination location/size depends on the electrodes number. For ECS, the high number of electrodes is required to obtain high estimation performances of delamination location/size. The illustrated results are in excellent agreement with solutions available in the literature, thus validating the accuracy and reliability of the proposed technique.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.201-218
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• 2018

In this study, the effects of magnesium sulfate on the mechanical performance and the durability of confined and unconfined geopolymer concrete (GPC) specimens were investigated. The carbon and basalt fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) fabrics with 1-layer and 3-layers were used to evaluate the performances of the specimens under static and cyclic loading in the ambient and magnesium sulfate environments. In addition, the use of FRP materials as a rehabilitation technique was also studied. For the geopolymerization process of GPC specimens, the alkaline activator has selected a mixture of sodium silicate solution ($Na_2SiO_3$) and sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) with a ratio ($Na_2SiO_3/NaOH$) of 2.5. In addition to GPC specimens, an ordinary concrete (NC) specimens were also produced as a reference specimens and some of the GPC and NC specimens were immersed in 5% magnesium sulfate solutions. The mechanical performance and the durability of the specimens were evaluated by visual appearance, weight change, static and cyclic loading, and failure modes of the specimens under magnesium sulfate and ambient environments. In addition, the microscopic changes of the specimens due to sulfate attack were also assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the macroscale behavior of the specimens. Results indicated that geopolymer specimens produced with nano-silica and fly ash showed superior performance than the NC specimens in the sulfate environment. In addition, confined specimens with FRP fabrics significantly improved the compressive strength, ductility and durability resistance of the specimens and the improvement was found higher with the increased number of FRP layers. Specimens wrapped with carbon FRP fabrics showed better mechanical performance and durability properties than the specimens wrapped with basalt FRP fabrics. Both FRP materials can be used as a rehabilitation material in the sulfate environment.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.199-220
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• 2018

In this study, the effects of sulphuric acid on the mechanical performance and the durability of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) specimens were investigated. The carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) fabrics were used to evaluate the performances of the confined and unconfined ECC specimens under static and cyclic loading in the acidic environment. In addition, the use of CFRP and BFRP fabrics as a rehabilitation technique was also studied for the specimens exposed to the sulphuric acid environment. The polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber with a fraction of 2% was used in the research. Two different PVA-ECC concretes were produced using low lime fly ash (LCFA) and high lime fly ash (HCFA) with the fly ash-to-OPC ratio of 1.2. Unwrapped PVA-ECC specimens were also produced as a reference concrete and all concrete specimens were continuously immersed in 5% sulphuric acid solution ($H_2SO_4$). The mechanical performance and the durability of specimens were evaluated by means of the visual inspection, weight change, static and cyclic loading, and failure mode. In addition, microscopic changes of the PVA-ECC specimens due to sulphuric acid attack were also assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the macroscale behavior of the specimens. Results indicated that PVA-ECC specimens produced with low lime fly ash (LCFA) showed superior performance than the specimens produced with high lime fly ash (HCFA) in the acidic environment. In addition, confinement of ECC specimens with BFRP and CFRP fabrics significantly improved compressive strength, ductility, and durability of the specimens. PVA-ECC specimens wrapped with carbon FRP fabric showed better mechanical performance and durability properties than the specimens wrapped with basalt FRP fabric. Both FRP materials can be used as a rehabilitation material in the acidic environment.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.379-388
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• 2018

This study aims to identify the effect of both longitudinal reinforcement details and damage level on making a decision of repairing pre-damaged bridge columns using basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) jackets. Two RC bridge columns with improper details of the longitudinal and/or transverse reinforcement were tested under the effect of a constant axial load and increasing lateral cyclic loading. Test results showed that the lap-splice column exhibited an inferior performance where it showed rapid degradation of strength before achieving the theoretical strength and its deformation capacity was limited; however, quick restoration is possible through a suitable rehabilitation technique. On the other hand, expensive repair or even complete replacement could be the decision for the column with the confinement failure mode. After that, a rehabilitation technique using external BFRP jacket was adopted. Performance-based design details guaranteeing the enhancement in the inelastic performance of both damaged columns were addressed and defined. Test results of the repaired columns confirmed that both reparability and the required repairing time of damage structures are dependent on the reinforcement details at the plastic hinge zone. Furthermore, lap-splice of longitudinal reinforcement could be applied as a key design-tool controlling reparability and restorability of RC structures after massive actions.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.93-102
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• 2010

Recently, FRP usage for strengthening RC structures in civil engineering has been increasing. Especially, the use of FRP to strengthen structures against blast loading is growing rapidly. To estimate FRP retrofitting effect under blast loading, blast tests with nine $1,000{\times}1,000{\times}150\;mm$ RC panel specimens, which were retrofitted with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), Polyurea, CFRP with Poly-urea and basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) have been carried out. The applied blast load was generated by the detonation of 15.88 kg ANFO explosive charge at 1.5 m standoff distance. The data acquisitions not only included blast waves of incident pressure, reflected pressure, and impulse, but also included central deflection and strains at steel, concrete, and FRP surfaces. The failure mode of each specimen was observed and compared with a control specimen. From the test results, the blast resistance of each retrofit material was determined. The test results of each retrofit material will provide the basic information for preliminary selection of retrofit material to achieve the target retrofit performance and protection level.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.51-59
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• 2019

There is increasingly more research focusing on the application of FRP reinforcing bars as an alternative material for steel reinforcing bars, but most such research look at short term behavior of FRP reinforced structures. In this study, the microscopic analysis and tensile behavior of Basalt and Glass FRP bars under freezing-thawing and alkaline conditions were experimentally evaluated. After 100 cycles of the freezing and thawing, the tensile strength and elastic modulus of FRP bars decreased by about 5%. In the case of microstructure of FRP bars during the initial 20 days, no significant damages of FRP bar sections were found under $20^{\circ}C$ alkaline solution; however, the specimens immersed in $60^{\circ}C$ alkaline solution were found to experience resin dissolution, fiber damage and the separation of the resin-fiber interface. In the alkaline environment, the strength decrease of about 10% occurred in the environment at $20^{\circ}C$ for 100 days, but the tensile strength of FRPs exposed for 500 days decreased by 50%. At temperature of $40^{\circ}C$ and $60^{\circ}C$, an abrupt decrease in the strength was observed at 50 and 100 days. Especially, the tensile strength decrease of Basalt fiber Reinforced Polymer bars showed more severe degradation due to the damage caused by dissolution of resin matrix and fiber swelling in alkaline solution. Therefore, in order to improve the long-term performance of the surface braided FRPr reinforcing bars, surface treatment is required to ensure alkali resistance.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.93-104
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• 2020

Basalt fiber is an eco-friendly fiber and comparatively newer to the world of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. A limited number of studies have been reported in the literature on the strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams with basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP). The present experimental work explores the feasibility of using the BFRP strips for shear strengthening of the RC beams. The strengthening schemes include full wrap and U-wrap. A simple mechanical anchorage scheme has been introduced to prevent the debonding of U-wrap as well as to utilize the full capacity of the BFRP composite. The effect of varying shear span-to-effective depth (a/d) ratio on the behavior of shear deficient RC beams strengthened with BFRP strips under different schemes is examined. The RC beams were tested under a four-point loading system. The study finds that the beams strengthened with and without BFRP strips fails in shear for a/d ratio 2.5 and the enhancement of the shear capacity of strengthened beams ranges from 5% to 20%. However, the strengthened beams fail in flexure, and the control beam fails in shear for a higher a/d ratio, i.e., 3.5. The experimental results of the present study have been compared with the analytical study and found that the latter gives conservative results.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.307-325
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• 2014

A newly developed method based on energy is presented to study the damage pattern of FRP material. Basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) is employed to monitor the damage under fatigue loading. In this study, acoustic emission technique (AE) combined with scanning electronic microscope (SEM) technique is employed to monitor the damage evolution of the BFRP specimen in an approximate continuous scanning way. The AE signals are analyzed based on the wavelet transform, and the analyses are confirmed by SEM images. Several damage patterns of BFRP material, such as matrix cracking, delamination, fiber fracture and their combinations, are identified through the experiment. According to the results, the cumulative energy (obtained from wavelet coefficients) of various damage patterns are closely related to the damage evolution of the BFRP specimens during the entire fatigue tests. It has been found that the proposed technique can effectively distinguish different damage patterns of FRP materials and describe the fatigue damage evolution.