• Computers and Concrete
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.337-353
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• 2018

The present study focuses on examining the structural behaviour of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete (SFRC) beams under high rates of loading largely associated with impact problems. Fibres are added to the concrete mix to enhance ductility and energy absorption, which is important for impact-resistant design. A simple, yet practical non-linear finite-element analysis (NLFEA) model was used in the present study. Experimental static and impact tests were also carried out on beams spanning 1.3 meter with weights dropped from heights of 1.5 m and 2.5 m, respectively. The numerical model realistically describes the fully-brittle tensile behaviour of plain concrete as well as the contribution of steel fibres to the post-cracking response (the latter was allowed for by conveniently adjusting the constitutive relations for plain concrete, mainly in uniaxial tension). Suitable material relations (describing compression, tension and shear) were selected for SFRC and incorporated into ABAQUS software Brittle Cracking concrete model. A more complex model (i.e., the Damaged Plasticity concrete model in ABAQUS) was also considered and it was found that the seemingly simple (but fundamental) Brittle Cracking model yielded reliable results. Published data obtained from drop-weight experimental tests on RC and SFRC beams indicates that there is an increase in the maximum load recorded (compared to the corresponding static one) and a reduction in the portion of the beam span reacting to the impact load. However, there is considerable scatter and the specimens were often tested to complete destruction and thus yielding post-failure characteristics of little design value and making it difficult to pinpoint the actual load-carrying capacity and identify the associated true ultimate limit state (ULS). To address this, dynamic NLFEA was employed and the impact load applied was reduced gradually and applied in pulses to pinpoint the actual failure point. Different case studies were considered covering impact loading responses at both the material and structural levels as well as comparisons between RC and SFRC specimens. Steel fibres were found to increase the load-carrying capacity and deformability by offering better control over the cracking process concrete undergoes and allowing the impact energy to be absorbed more effectively compared to conventional RC members. This is useful for impact-resistant design of SFRC beams.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.823-833
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• 2012

An experimental method was suggested for obtaining fracture toughness ($K_{Ic}$) and the tensile strength (${\sigma}_t$) of chopped strand glass fiber reinforced polymer concretes (PC). Semi-circular bend (SCB) specimens subjected to three-point bending were used for conducting the experiments on the PC material. While the edge cracked SCB specimen could be used to evaluate fracture toughness, the tensile strength was obtained from the un-cracked SCB specimen. The experiments showed the practical applicability of both cracked and un-cracked SCB specimens for using as suitable techniques for measuring $K_{Ic}$ and ${\sigma}_t$ in polymer concretes. In comparison with the conventional rectangular bend beam specimen, the suggested SCB samples need significantly less material due to its smaller size. Furthermore, the average values of ${\sigma}_t$ and $K_{Ic}$ of tested PC were approximately 3.5 to 4.5 times the corresponding values obtained for conventional concrete showing the improved strength properties of PC relative to the conventional concretes.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.605-615
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• 2016

It is difficult to form a rational strut-tie model that represents a true load transfer mechanism of structural concrete with disturbed stressed region(s). To overcome the difficulty and handle numerous load cases with just one strut-tie model, a two-dimensional grid strut-tie model method was proposed previously. However, the validity of the method was not fully examined, although the incorporated basic concepts and new methods regarding the effective strength of concrete strut, load carrying capacity of struts and ties, and geometrical compatibility of grid strut-tie model were explained in detail. In this study, for accurate strength analysis and reliable design of reinforced concrete deep beams, the appropriateness of the two-dimensional grid strut-tie model method is verified. For this, the failure strength of 237 reinforced concrete deep beams, tested to shear failure, is predicted by the two-dimensional grid strut-tie model method, and the results are compared with those obtained by the sectional shear design methods and conventional strut-tie model methods of current design codes.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.697-703
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• 2017

This paper examines the flexure behavior of FRP-concrete composite structure that can replace conventional reinforced concrete structure types. In order to investigate the structural performance and behavioral characteristics in numerical analysis means, ABAQUS, a general purpose finite element analysis program, was utilized for nonlinear finite element analysis, and the various variables and their influences were analyzed and compared with experimental results to suggest values optimized to this composite structure. The concrete damage plasticity model and Euro code for concrete were used. In the implicit finite element analysis, the convergence was ambiguous when geometrical and material nonlinearity were large, so the explicit finite element analysis used in this study was deemed to be appropriate. From the comparison with the experiment about concrete damaged plasticity model, 20mm for the mesh size, $30^{\circ}$ for the dilation angle, $100Nmm/mm^2$ for the value of fracture energy, 0.667 for Kc value, and the consideration of damage parameter were suggested believed to be appropriate. The numerical model suggested in this study was able to imitate the ultimate load and cracking pattern very well; therefore, it is expected to be utilized in research of various new material composite structures.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.369-379
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• 2015

Friction in a post-tensioning system has a significant effect on the distribution of the prestressing force of tendons in prestressed concrete structures. However, attempts to derive friction coefficients using conventional electrical resistance strain gauges do not usually lead to reliable results, mainly due to the damage of sensors and lead wires during the insertion of strands into the sheath and during tensioning. In order to overcome these drawbacks of the existing measurement system, the Smart Strand was developed in this study to accurately measure the strain and prestressing force along the strand. In the Smart Strand, the core wire of a 7-wire strand is replaced with carbon fiber reinforced polymer in which the fiber Bragg grating sensors are embedded. As one of the applications of the Smart Strand, friction coefficients were evaluated using a full-scale test of a 20 m long beam. The test variables were the curvature, diameter, and filling ratio of the sheath. The analysis results showed the average wobble and curvature friction coefficients of 0.0038/m and 0.21/radian, respectively, which correspond to the middle of the range specified in ACI 318-08 in the U.S. and Structural Concrete Design Code in Korea. Also, the accuracy of the coefficients was improved by reducing the effective range specified in these codes by 27-34 %. This study shows the wide range of applicability of the developed Smart Strand system.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.59-68
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• 2009

For safe and economical design to provide strong earthquake resistance, the moment redistribution and plastic rotation of structures and their members needs to be evaluated. To achieve this, an earthquake design method was developed using secant stiffness analysis. To address the variation of member stiffness due to plastic rotation and moment redistribution, a structure was modeled with a beam-column element with non-rigid end connections (NREC element). Secant stiffness for the NREC element was determined based on the ductility demands of the structure and members. By performing a conventional linear analysis for the secant stiffness model, redistributed moments and plastic rotations of the members were computed. The proposed method was applied to a moment frame and two dual systems. The design results were verified using detailed nonlinear analyses.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.97-105
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• 1984

We have, at present, found some studies on the optimum design of reinforced concrete about the simple slab but very few about the multi-story and multi-span slab. The aim of this study is to make a optimum design of coalesced beam and column slab constructure. Some results of the evaluation by using the optimalized algorithm that was developed in this study are as follows. 1. Slab was mainly restricted by the constraint of effective depth, bending moment, and minimum steel ratio; especially the effective depth was the preceding crifical constraint. In the optimum design of slab, therefore, the constraint about the minimum thickness should be surely considered. 2. This optimum design is good economy as much as some 3.4&~6.2% compared with the conventional design method. 3. In most case, it was converged by 3 to 6 iteratin regardless of the highest or lowest value and only in case of N=1 and case 1, there is a little oscillation after the 3rd iteration but it makes no difference in taking either the highest or lowest value because the range of oscillation is low as much as about 1.2% of the total construction cost. 4. In this study the result seeking for constraints that make no difference in the least cost design shows that shear stress and maximum steel ration may not be considered in it. 5. Bending moment was converged by one time iteration regardless of the initial value, while steel ratio, in most case, by two times because both bending moment and steel ratio are the fuction of effective depth.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.51-68
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• 2007

High-strength concrete (HSC) is becoming increasingly attractive for various construction projects since it offers a multitude of benefits over normal-strength concrete (NSC). Unfortunately, current design provisions for shear capacity of RC slender beams are generally based on data developed for NSC members having a compressive strength of up to 50 MPa, with limited recommendations on the use of HSC. The failure of HSC beams is noticeably different than that of NSC beams since the transition zone between the cement paste and aggregates is much denser in HSC. Thus, unlike NSC beams in which micro-cracks propagate around aggregates, providing significant aggregate interlock, micro-cracks in HSC are trans-granular, resulting in relatively smoother fracture surfaces, thereby inhibiting aggregate interlock as a shear transfer mechanism and reducing the influence of compressive strength on the ultimate shear strength of HSC beams. In this study, a new approach based on genetic algorithms (GAs) was used to predict the shear capacity of both NSC and HSC slender beams without shear reinforcement. Shear capacity predictions of the GA model were compared to calculations of four other commonly used methods: the ACI method, CSA method, Eurocode-2, and Zsutty's equation. A parametric study was conducted to evaluate the ability of the GA model to capture the effect of basic shear design parameters on the behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) beams under shear loading. The parameters investigated include compressivestrength, amount of longitudinal reinforcement, and beam's depth. It was found that the GA model provided more accurate evaluation of shear capacity compared to that of the other common methods and better captured the influence of the significant shear design parameters. Therefore, the GA model offers an attractive user-friendly alternative to conventional shear design methods.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2011

In this study, ultimate strengths of 51 continuous reinforced concrete deep beams were evaluated by the ACI 318M-08's strut-tie model approach implemented with the presented indeterminate strut-tie model and load distribution ratio of the companion paper. The ultimate strengths of the continuous deep beams were also estimated by the shear equations derived based on experimental results, conventional design codes based on experimental and theoretical shear strength models, and current strut-tie model design codes. The validity of the presented strut-tie model and load distribution ratio was examined through the comparison of the strength analysis results classified according to the primary design variables of shear span-to-effective depth ratio, flexural reinforcement ratio, and concrete compressive strength. The present study results of ultimate strengths obtained using the indeterminate strut-tie model and load distribution ratio of the continuous deep beams agree fairly well with those obtained using other approaches. In addition, the present approach reflected the effect of the primary design variables on the ultimate strengths of the continuous deep beams consistently and accurately. Therefore, the present study will help structural designers to conduct rational and practical strut-tie model designs of continuous deep beams.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.199-208
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• 2010

In order to substitute FRP bar for steel bar in new structures, it is necessary to establish a reliable design code. But relatively little research has been conducted on the material in Korea. So, a total of 22 beam specimens (18 GFRP reinforced concrete and 4 conventional steel reinforced concrete) were constructed and tested. In the first phase of the experiment, it was carried out to observe flexural behavior, and collect deflection and crack data. In order to eliminate of the uncertainty by the shear reinforcements and induce flexural failure mode, any stirrup were not used and only shear span-depth ratio were adjusted. However, almost beams were broken by shear and the ACI 440.1R, CSA S806, which were used to design test beams, showed considerable deviation between prediction and test results of shear strengths. Therefore in the second phase of the study, shear failure modes and behavior were observed. A standard specimen had dimensions of 3,300 mm long ${\times}$ 800 mm wide ${\times}$ 200 mm effective depth. Clear span and shear span were 2,800 mm, 1,200 mm respectively. Control shear span-depth ratio was 6.0. Four-point bending test over simple support was conducted. Variables of the specimens were concrete compressive strength, type and elastic modulus of reinforcement, shear span-depth ratio, effective reinforcement ratio, the effect of bundle placing method and cover thickness.