• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.3-9
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• 2007

Fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete (FRSCC) is a new type of concrete mix that can mitigate two opposing weaknesses: poor workability in fiber-reinforced concrete and cracking resistance in plain SCC concrete. This study focused on early-age cracking of FRSCC due to restrained drying shrinkage, one of the most common causes of cracking. In order to investigate the effect of fiber on shrinkage cracking of FRSCC, ring shrinkage tests were performed for polypropylene and steel fiber-reinforced SCC. In addition, finite element analyses for those specimens were carried out considering drying shrinkage based on moisture diffusion, creep, cracking resistance of concrete, and the effect of fiber. The analysis results were verified via a comparison between the measured and calculated crack width. From the test and analysis results, the effectiveness of fiber with respect to reducing cracking was confirmed and some salient features on the shrinkage cracking of FRSCC were obtained.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 1999.04a
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• pp.543-546
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• 1999

The purpose of the present study is to identify the damage characteristics of concrete structures due to cracking by employing the acoustic emission techniques. A comprehensive experimental study has been done. The cracking damages under tensile and flexural loadings have been identified and the bond damage between steel and concrete have been also characterized. It is seen that the amplitudes and energy level of AE events is found to be smaller for bond cracking damages and larger for tensile cracking damages. The characteristic equations of the AE events for various cracking damages have been proposed based on the present test data. The internal microcracks are progressively developed ahead of a visible actual crack and the present study clearly exhibits thses damage mechanism for various types of cracking in concrete. The present study provides very useful data which can be used to identify the various types of cracking damages in concrete structures. This will allow very efficient maintenance of concrete structures through monitoring of internal cracking based on acoustic emission.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.107-116
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• 1999

The damage in concrete structures generally starts with microcracking and thus it is important to find and explore these microcracks in concrete in order to ensure appropriate safety and serviceability. The purpose of the present study is to identify the damage characteristics of concrete structures due to cracking by employing the acoustic emission techniques. A comprehensive experimental study has been done. The cracking damage under tensile and flexural loadings have been identified and the bond damage between steel and concrete have been also characterized. It is seen that the amplitudes and energy level of Acoustic Emission(AE) events are found to be relatively small for bond cracking damages and large for tensile cracking damages. The characteristic equations of the AE events for various cracking damages have been proposed based on the present test data. The internal microcracks are progressively developed ahead of a visible actual crack and the present study clearly exhibits these damage mechanism for various types of cracking in concrete. The present study provides useful data which can be used to identify the various types of cracking damages in concrete structures. This will allow efficient maintenance of concrete structures through monitoring of internal cracking based on acoustic emission.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.458-461
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• 2006

Early age cracking of concrete is a widespread and complicated problem, and diverse applications in practical engineering have focused on this issue. Since massive concrete base slab composes the infrastructure of other concrete structures such as pier, concrete dam, and high rise buildings, early age cracking of that is considered as a crucial problem. In this study, finite element analysis (FEA) implemented with the age-dependent microplane model was performed. For a massive concrete base slab, cracking initiation and propagation, and deformation variation were investigated with concrete age. In massive concrete slab, autogenous shrinkage increases the risk of early age cracking and it reduces reinforcement effect on control of early age cracking. Gradual crack occurrence is experienced from exterior surface towards interior of the slab in case of combined hydration heat and autogenous shrinkage. FEA implemented with enhanced microplane model successfully simulates the typical cracking patterns due to edge restraint in concrete base slab.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.587-592
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• 2002

Fiber reinforced concrete has been used for tunnel lining and rehabilitation of old structures. Recently, structural synthetic fiber was developed to overcome the corrosive properties of steel fibers. Fibers play a role to increase the tensile and cracking resistance of concrete structures. The Post cracking behavior must be clarified to predict cracking resistance of fiber reinforced concrete. The purpose of the present study is to develop a realistic analysis method for post cracking behavior of synthetic fiber reinforced concrete members.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.6
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• pp.693-700
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• 2017

Concrete cover cracking due to the corrosion of steel reinforcing bars is one of the main causes of deterioration in Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures. The oxidation level of the bars causes varying levels of expansion. The rebar expansions could lead to through-thickness cracking of the concrete cover, where depending on the cracking characteristics, the service life of the structures would be affected. In this paper, the effect of geometrical and material parameters, i.e., concrete cover thickness, reinforcing bar diameter, and concrete tensile strength, on the required pressure for concrete cover cracking due to corrosion has been investigated through detailed numerical simulations. ABAQUS finite element software is employed as a modeling platform where the concrete cracking is simulated by means of eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM). The accuracy of the numerical simulations is verified by comparing the numerical results with experimental data obtained from the literature. Using a previously proposed empirical equation and the numerical model, the time from corrosion initiation to the cover cracking is predicted and then compared to the respective experimental data. Finally, a parametric study is undertaken to determine the optimum ratio of the rebar diameter to the reinforcing bars spacing in order to avoid concrete cover delamination.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.355-362
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• 2001

This study deals with cracking control of concrete deck in steel-concrete composite bridges according to the concrete slab casting sequences. In correlation studies between casting sequences, time dependent effects of concrete creep and shrinkage are implemented in the analytical model. Finally, the methods of cracking control in terms of concrete slump and relative humidity are suggested to prevent early transverse cracking of concrete slab.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.17 no.4 s.88
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• pp.631-635
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• 2005

Aggregate gradation effects on cracking-related displacements of concrete are investigated in the laboratory using the German cracking frame. Concrete workability was assessed by use of the slump and drop tests for two different concrete mixtures consisting of gap-graded and dense-graded aggregates. Shrinkage strain, cracking frame strain, and concrete strain were measured and used to compare to strength gain and creep development. The measured and calculated strains of the different aggregate gradations were compared each other. Gradation effects on strength and stress development relative to tensile cracking at saw-cut tip were also investigated. Test results revealed that the gap-graded concrete has indicated larger shrinkage and creep strains than dense-grade concrete perhaps because of its higher volume concrete of cement mortars in the mixture.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.369-376
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• 2001

As many studies have performed to reduce thermal cracking in mass concrete, it is already prepared against thermal cracking, we can find many plans against thermal cracking in several reference book. But it needs practical guidelines to be available in construction site. In this study to establish control method of thermal cracking in mass concrete, tests which have factors of placing thickness and curing method of concrete are performed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.749-769
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• 2003

The structural deterioration of concrete structures due to reinforcement corrosion is a major worldwide problem. Service life of the age-degraded concrete structures is governed by the protective action provided by the cover concrete against the susceptibility of the reinforcement to the corrosive environment. The corrosion of steel would result in the various corrosion products, which depending on the level of the oxidation may have much greater volume than the original iron that gets consumed by the process of corrosion. This volume expansion would be responsible for exerting the expansive radial pressure at the steel-concrete interface resulting in the development of hoop tensile stresses in the surrounding cover concrete. Once the maximum hoop tensile stress exceeds the tensile strength of the concrete, cracking of cover concrete would take place. The cracking begins at the steel-concrete interface and propagates outwards and eventually resulting in the through cracking of the cover concrete. The cover cracking would indicate the loss of the service life for the corrosion-affected structures. In the present paper, analytical models have been developed considering the residual strength of the cracked concrete and the stiffness provided by the combination of the reinforcement and expansive corrosion products. The problem is modeled as a boundary value problem and the governing equations are expressed in terms of the radial displacement. The analytical solutions are presented considering a simple 2-zone model for the cover concrete viz. cracked or uncracked. A sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to show the influence of the various parameters of the proposed models. The time to cover cracking is found to be function of initial material properties of the cover concrete and reinforcement plus corrosion products combine, type of rust products, rate of corrosion and the residual strength of the cover concrete. The calculated cracking times are correlated against the published experimental and analytical reference data.