• Computers and Concrete
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.197-206
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• 2023

In this paper, the bending performance of a MSFRHPC (containing steel fiber, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber, and CW)-reinforced beam was studied for the first time. Introducing a multiscale fiber system increased the first crack load (up to 150%), yield load (up to 50%), and peak load (up to 15%) of reinforced beams. The multiscale fiber system delays cracking of the reinforced beam, reduces crack width of the reinforced beam in normal use, and improves the durability of the beam. Considering yield load and peak load, the reinforcing effect of multiscale fiber on the high-reinforcement ratio beam (1.00%) is better than that on the low-reinforcement ratio beam (0.57%). Introducing fibers slowed the development of cracks in the reinforced beam under bending. With the added hybrid fiber, the deformation concentration of reinforced beams after yield was more significant with concentration in 1 or 2 cracks. A model for predicting the flexural capacity of MSFRHPC-reinforced beams was proposed, considering the action of multiscale hybrid fibers. This research is helpful for structure application of MSFRHPC-containing CW.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.141-153
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• 2023

In order to develop and take full advantage of pasture fiber and waste concrete, this article studied how different amounts of pasture fiber influenced the toughness and pore structure of concrete with different replacement rates of recycled fine aggregate. Pasture fiber recycled concrete constitutive equations were established under idealized stiffness and toughness damage rate, based on fracture energy and damage mechanics theories. The relationship between pore structure and toughness was studied utilizing nuclear magnetic resonance and fractal theory. The toughness of text groups (0% (JZ), 10% (ZS10), 20% (ZS20)) first increased and then decreased with increasing amounts of pasture fiber, based on the damage rate of toughness. The toughness of concrete samples with recycled fine aggregate and pasture fiber is negatively correlated to the fractal dimension of small and medium-sized pores with a pore size of 0-500 nm. At a replacement rate of 10% of the recycled fine aggregate, the fractal dimension of the air voids (r: 500-9000 nm, i.e., Lg(r) ∈ [2.7, 3.9]) shows a gradual decrease with the increase of grass fiber dosage, indicating that with such a replacement rate of the recycled fine aggregate, the increase of pasture fiber can reduce the complexity of the pore structure of the air voids (500-9000 nm).

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.277-290
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• 2023

In order to study the mechanical properties of basalt fiber reinforced ultra-fine fly ash concrete (BFUFARC), the effects of ultra-fine fly ash (UFA) content, basalt fiber content, basalt fiber length and water reducing agent content on the compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength of the composite material were studied through experimental and theoretical analysis. Also, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was employed to analyze the mesoscopic structure in the fracture surface of composite material specimens at magnifications of 500 and 3500. Besides, the energy release rate (G_c) and surface free energy (γ_s) of crack tip cracking on BFUFARC in different basalt fiber content were studied from the perspective of fracture mechanics. Further, the cracking resistance, reinforcement, and toughening mechanisms of basalt fibers on concrete substrate were revealed by surface free energy of BFUFARC. The experimental results indicated that basalt fiber content is the main influence factor on the splitting tensile strength of BFUFARC. In case that fiber content increased from 0 to 0.3%, the concrete surface free energy at the tip of single-sided crack showed a trend of increased at first and then decreased. The surface free energy reached at maximum, about 3.59 × 10^-5 MN/m. During the process of increasing fiber content from 0 to 0.1%, G_C-2_γS showed a gradually decreasing trend. As a result, an appropriate amount of basalt fiber can play a preventing cracking role by increasing the concrete surface free energy, further effectively improve the concrete splitting tensile performance.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.63-86
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• 2024

Asphalt concrete (AC), is a mixture of bitumen and aggregates, which is very sensitive in the design of flexible pavement. In this study, the Marshall stability of the glass and carbon fiber bituminous concrete was predicted by using Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), and M5P Tree machine learning algorithms. To predict the Marshall stability, nine inputs parameters i.e., Bitumen, Glass and Carbon fibers mixed in 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, 0:100 percentage (designated as 100GF:0CF, 75GF:25CF, 50GF:50 CF, 25GF:75CF, 0GF:100CF), Bitumen grade (VG), Fiber length (FL), and Fiber diameter (FD) were utilized from the experimental and literary data. Seven statistical indices i.e., coefficient of correlation (CC), mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), relative absolute error (RAE), root relative squared error (RRSE), Scattering index (SI), and BIAS were applied to assess the effectiveness of the developed models. According to the performance evaluation results, Artificial neural network (ANN) was outperforming among other models with CC values as 0.9147 and 0.8648, MAE values as 1.3757 and 1.978, RMSE values as 1.843 and 2.6951, RAE values as 39.88 and 49.31, RRSE values as 40.62 and 50.50, SI values as 0.1379 and 0.2027 and BIAS value as -0.1 290 and -0.2357 in training and testing stage respectively. The Taylor diagram (testing stage) also confirmed that the ANN-based model outperforms the other models. Results of sensitivity analysis showed that the fiber length is the most influential in all nine input parameters whereas the fiber combination of 25GF:75CF was the most effective among all the fiber mixes in Marshall stability.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.6
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• pp.751-763
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• 2019

Steel-concrete composition is widely used in the construction due to efficient utilization of materials. The service load behavior of composite structures is significantly affected by cracking, creep and shrinkage effects in concrete. In order to control these effects in concrete slab, an efficient and novel strategy has been proposed by use of fiber reinforced concrete near interior supports of a continuous beam. Numerical study is carried out for the control of cracking, creep and shrinkage effects in composite beams subjected to service load. A five span continuous composite beam has been analyzed for different lengths of fiber reinforced concrete near the interior supports. For this purpose, the hybrid analytical-numerical procedure, developed by the authors, for service load analysis of composite structures has been further improved and generalized to make it applicable for composite beams having spans with different material properties along the length. It is shown that by providing fiber reinforced concrete even in small length near the supports; there can be a significant reduction in cracking as well as in deflections. It is also observed that the benefits achieved by providing fiber reinforced concrete over entire span are not significantly more as compared to the use of fiber reinforced concrete in certain length of beam near the interior supports in continuous composite beams.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.361-373
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the engineering properties and mechanical behaviors of polymer-fibers treated sand. Para rubber (PR), natural fiber (NF), and geosynthetic fiber (GF) were used to reinforce poorly graded sand. A series of unconfined compressive and splitting tensile strength tests were performed to analyze the engineering behaviors and strength enhancement mechanism. The experiment results indicated that the PR-fibers mixture could firmly enhance the strength properties of sand. The stress-strain characteristics and failure patterns have been changed due to the increase of PR and fibers content. The presence of PR and fibers strengthened the sand and enhanced the stiffness and ductility behavior of the mixture. The stiffness of reinforced sand reaches an optimum state when both NF and GF are 0.5%, while the optimum PR contents are 20% and 22.5% for the mixture with NF and GF, respectively. An addition of PR and fiber into sand contributed to increasing interlocking zone and bonding of PR-sand interfacial.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.281-294
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• 2016

The increased awareness of electromagnetic wave hazards has prompted studies on electromagnetic shielding using conductive materials in the construction industry. Previous studies have explored the effects of the types of conductive materials and their mix proportions on the electromagnetic shielding performance; however, there has been insufficient research on the effect of the geometry of the conductive materials on the electromagnetic shielding performance. Therefore, in this study, the dependence of the electromagnetic shielding performance on the cross-sectional geometry, diameter and length of fibers was investigated. The results showed that the electromagnetic shielding performance improved when the fiber length increased or the diameter decreased, but the effect of the cross-sectional geometry of the fibers was smaller than the effect of the fiber spacing factor.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.189-200
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• 2015

The topic of this study is to investigate behaviors of masonry walls strengthened with reinforced fiber plaster under diagonal tensile loads. Full blend brick $100{\times}50{\times}30mm$ in dimensions were used to make masonry walls with dimensions of $400{\times}400{\times}100mm$. Three different samples were manufactured by plastering masonry walls with traditional style, with 3% polypropylene or with 5% steel fiber. All the samples were tested using ASTM 1391-81 standards. The propagation of damage on samples caused by diagonal tensile load was observed and load-displacement graphs were plotted for each sample. A finite element software (ABAQUS) was used to obtain numerical values for all samples and crack patterns and load-displacement responses were obtained. Experimental and numerical results were compared.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.80 no.5
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• pp.595-608
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• 2021

To investigate the mechanical behavior of large stud shear connector embedded in hybrid fiber-reinforced concrete (HFRC), a refined 3D nonlinear finite element (FE) model incorporating the constitutive model of HFRC was developed using ANSYS. Firstly, the test results conducted by the authors (He et al. 2017) were used to validate FE model of push out tests. Secondly, a total of 27 specimens were analyzed with various parameters including fiber volume fractions of HFRC, diameter of studs and HFRC strength. Finally, an empirical equation considering the contribution of steel fiber (SF) and polypropylene fiber (PF) was recommended to estimate the ultimate capacity of large stud shear connector embedded in HFRC.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.197-213
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• 2023

To investigate the static properties of large high strength bolt shear connector in hybrid fiber-reinforced concrete (HFRC) and normal concrete (NC), eight push-out test specimens with single/double nut and HFRC/NC slabs were designed and push-out tests were conducted. A fine 3D nonlinear finite element (FE) model including HFRC constitutive model was established by using ANSYS 18.0, and the test results were used to verify FE models of the push-out test specimens. Then a total of 13 FE models were analyzed with various parameters including fiber volume fractions of HFRC, bolt diameter and thickness of steel flange. Finally, the empirical equations considering the contribution of polypropylene fiber (PF) and steel fiber (SF) obtained from the regression of the test results and FE analysis were recommended to evaluate the load-slip curve and ultimate capacity of the large high strength bolt shear connector embedded in HFRC/NC.