• Advances in nano research
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.467-484
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• 2023

Despite the significant features of fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (FRCCs), including better mechanical, fractural, and durability performance, their high content of cement has restricted their use in the construction industry. Although ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) is considered the main supplementary cementitious material, its slow pozzolanic reaction stands against its application. The addition of nano-sized mineral modifiers, including nano-silica (NS), is an alternative to address the drawbacks of using GGBFS. The main object of this empirical and numerical research is to examine the effect of NS on the strain-hardening behavior of cementitious composites; ten mixes were designed, and five levels of NS were considered. This study proposes a new method, using a four-point bending test to assess the use of nano-silica (NS) on the flexural behavior, first cracking strength, fracture energy, and micromechanical parameters including interfacial friction bond strength and maximum bridging stress. Digital image correlation (DIC) was used for monitoring the initiation and propagation of the cracks. In addition, to attain a deep comprehension of fiber/matrix interaction, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis was used. It was discovered that using nano-silica (NS) in cementitious materials results in an enhancement in the matrix toughness, which prevents multiple cracking and, therefore, strain-hardening. In addition, adding NS enhanced the interfacial transition zone between matrix and fiber, leading to a higher interfacial friction bond strength, which helps multiple cracking in the composite due to the hydrophobic nature of polypropylene (PP) fibers. The findings of this research provide insight into finding the optimum percent of NS in which both ductility and high tensile strength of the composites would be satisfied. As a concluding remark, a new criterion is proposed, showing that the optimum value of nano-silica is 2%. The findings and proposed method of this study can facilitate the design and utilization of green cementitious composites in structures.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.39-50
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• 2024

Bitumen and high-quality subangular aggregates, the two principal materials used for asphalt concrete construction, are finite and expensive materials. The general availability of crumb rubber and naturally occurring aggregates of different shapes, especially flat and elongated shapes, indicates that they are feasible alternative materials for expanding the volume of bitumen and utilizing a wider range of aggregate shapes for the development of asphalt concrete, with an associated environmental benefit. The study investigated the effect of adding up to 15% crumb rubber and aggregates sorted into different groups, i.e., rounded, elongated, flat, and their combinations, on the rheological and mechanical properties and durability of 50/70 of hot-mix asphalt pavement. The addition of crumb rubber decreased ductility and penetration but increased the softening point. For a 5.5% bitumen content, asphalt concrete briquettes consisting of 7% crumb rubber and three types of aggregate shapes, i.e., 100% rounded, a mix of 75% rounded and 25% elongated, and a mix of 75% rounded, 15% elongated and 10% flat, were associated with high Marshall stability and indirect tensile strength as well as low lateral deformation due to their high solidity and moderate angularity ratio. Also, the addition of 7% crumb rubber resulted in a significant improvement in the tensile strength ratio and rebound strain of briquettes consisting of 75% rounded and 25% elongated aggregates and those with 75% rounded, 15% elongated and 10% flat aggregates. In relation to the parameters investigated, the three groups of briquettes met some of the local (South Africa) requirements for the surface course and base course of low traffic volume roads.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.411-418
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aims to develop brand new bolt fastening type of seismic retrofit using high tensile alloy materials for existing reinforced concrete columns. Method: A T-type cross-sectional seismic retrofit made of SUS304 and SS275, and the high-tensile bolt of SCM435 was analyzed for the effect of material properties on seismic performance through bending test. Result: The experiment using SUS304 shows a 7% higher maximum strength and 22% higher yield strength and shows a higher compressive stress of 360MPa. In addition, the change in the neutral axis is also smaller. Conclusion: Seismic retrofit using SUS304 is considered to be better in terms of yield strength, tensile strength, neutral axis change, and ductility, and it is considered necessary to experiment with RC column real experiments in future studies.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.13 no.1 s.53
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• pp.195-204
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• 2009

Application of steel plates is one of widely used methods for shear strengthening of reinforced concrete beams that are insufficient of shear capacity. While the existing method applying solid steel plates provides good shear rigidity, however, it is concerned by brittle bond failure patterns, inefficient material usage, and low constructability. The use of strap type steel plates has also shortcomings of low strenthening effect due to small interface bonding area and ununified behavior between plates and main body. Therefore, this study aims to introduce the shear strengthening method using slit type steel plate, which can solve out the problems aforementioned, and to verify its strengthening effects on shear capacity. A total of 13 specimens strengthened by slit type steel plates were fabricated with primary test parameters of plate width, slit spacing, and plate thickness. The test results from this study were also compared to those from the existing research on RC beams strengthened by strap type steel plates, and the strengthening effects on shear capacity of specimens having bonded slit type steel plates were quantitatively analyzed. The test results showed that the RC beams strengthened by slit type steel plates had greater shear capacities than those with strap type steel plates, which is considered to be the effects of improved composite behavior and larger interface bonding area in the RC beams strengthened by the slit type steel plates.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.16 no.1 s.79
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• pp.61-69
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• 2004

The bridge piers under service suffered a brittle failure due to the deterioration of lap-spliced longitudinal reinforcement without developing its flexural capacity or ductility. The earthquake induced lateral force results in tension which causes bond-slip failure at the lap-spliced region in circular bridge piers. In this case, such a brittle failure can be controlled by the seismic retrofit using FRP laminated circular tube. The retrofitted piers using FRP laminated circular tube showed significant improvement in seismic performance due to FRP's confinement effect. This paper presents the analytical results on the seismic strengthening effect of circular bridge piers with poor lap-splice details and strengthened with FRP laminated circular tube. FRP's confinement effect is predicted by the classical elasticity solution for the laminated circular tube manufactured with several layers. The FRP laminated circular tube induces the flexural failure instead of a bond-slip failure of the circular reinforced concrete piers under seismic induced lateral forces. To investigate the correctness and effectiveness of analytical solution derived in this study, the analytical results were compared with the experimental data and it was confirmed that the results were correlated well each other, The effects on the confinement of FRP laminated circular tube, such as the number of layers, the fiber orientations, and the mechanical properties, were investigated. From the parametric study, it was found that the number of layers, the fiber orientations, and the major Young's modulus (E11) of the FRP laminated circular tube were the dominant parameters affecting the confinement of reinforced concrete circular bridge piers.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1-10
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• 2012

This paper presents an experimental result and suggests the confinement effect of headed cross tie in reinforced concrete(RC) columns subjected to cycling horizontal loads under constant axial load. Five RC columns specimens were manufactured, taking confined type of transverse reinforcement, whether or not using cross tie, end detail of cross tie (hooked or headed), and axial stress in column as major variables, Cyclic horizontal load applied to the columns under constant axial stress and the effect of cross tie to structural capacity of column was evaluated from the test. The column without cross tie failed showing bending deformation of hoop with crack in core concrete at low horizontal load while the column with cross tie showed quite improved strength and ductility by suppressing bending deformation of hoop as well as buckling of longitudinal bar at once even after crack in core concrete. At high lateral displacement, the column with hooked cross tie showed the failure pattern loosing the confining force of cross tie since the $90^{\circ}$ hooked part of cross tie was stretched out and the cracked core concrete lumps were came off. However, the column with headed cross tie showed very stable behavior since the head of cross tie effectively confined the hoop and longitudinal bars even at high lateral displacement.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.667-675
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• 2012

Flat plate are being used more in buildings requiring a high level of technical installations or in buildings needing changeable room arrangements during their life time such as office buildings. The main problem in flat plate is its weak resistance against a punching failure at its slab-column connections. Therefore, in this research, an experimental study on full-scale interior slab-column connection was performed. Three types of shear reinforcements were tested to prevent brittle punching shear failure that could lead to collapse of the structure. A series of four flat plate specimens including a specimen without shear reinforcement and three specimens with shear reinforcements were tested. The slabs were tested up to failure using monotonic vertical shear loading. The presences of the shear reinforcements substantially increased punching shear capacity and ductility of the interior slabcolumn connections. The test results showed that a slab that did not have enough bond length failed before shear reinforcement yielded due to anchorage slip. Also, FEM analyses were performed to study an effect of slab thickness and concrete compressive strength on the flat plate slab. The analytical study results were used to propose a method to calculate performance capacity of shear reinforcement in slab-column connection.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.207-216
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• 2017

This study investigated the effects of the addition of Zn, Ca, and SiC on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Al alloys. The tensile properties of homogenized Mg-xAl (x = 6, 7, 8, and 9 wt.%) alloys increased with increasing Zn content by the solid-solution strengthening effect. However, when the added Zn content exceeded the solubility limit, the strength and ductility of the alloys decreased greatly owing to premature fracture caused by undissolved coarse particles or local melting. Among the Mg-xAl-yZn alloys tested in this study, the AZ74 alloy showed the best tensile properties. However, from the viewpoints of the thermal stability, castability, and tensile properties, the AZ92 alloy was deemed to be the most suitable cast alloy. Moreover, the addition of a small amount (0.17 wt.%) of SiC reduced the average grain size of the AZ91 alloy significantly, from $430{\mu}m$ to $73{\mu}m$. As a result, both the strength and the elongation of the AZ91 alloy increased considerably by the grain-boundary hardening effect and the suppression of twinning behavior, respectively. On the other hand, the addition of Ca (0.5-1.5 wt.%) and a combined addition of Ca (0.5-1.5 wt.%) and SiC (0.17 wt.%) increased the average grain size of the AZ91 alloy, which resulted in a decrease in its tensile properties. The SiC-added AZ92 alloy exhibited excellent tensile properties (YS 125 MPa, UTS 282 MPa, and EL 12.3%), which were much higher than those of commercial AZ91 alloy (YS 93 MPa, UTS 192 MPa, and EL 7.0%). The fluidity of the SiC-added AZ92 alloy was slightly lower than that of the AZ91 alloy because of the expansion of the solid-liquid coexistence region in the former. However, the SiC-added AZ92 alloy showed better hot-tearing resistance than the AZ91 alloy owing to its refined grain structure.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.399-407
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• 2010

The flexural behaviors of two types of beam members exposed to freeze-thaw cycles were evaluated. This study aims to examine the effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the behavior characteristics of reinforced concrete (RC) beams. For the purpose, a part of the beam specimens were damaged until yielding of tension reinforcement was reached, before they were exposed to 150 and 300 cycles of freeze-thaw. Cyclic tests, as well as monotonic tests, were conducted to evaluate the stiffness degradation characteristics when same cycle is repeated. The material tests showed that relative dynamic modulus of concrete exposed to 300 cycles of freeze-thaw moderately decreased to 86.8% of normal concrete, indicating that concrete used in this study has good durability against freeze and thaw damage. The results of monotonic tests showed reduction of flexural strength, ductility and stiffness of the beam specimens exposed to freeze-thaw cycles compared with those of the control speciments. In particular, BDF13 specimens, which had been subjected to artificial cracking damage, did not showed enough flexural strength to satisfy nominal moment required by current concrete structure design code. In the monotonic tests results, BF75 specimens exposed to freeze-thaw cycles showed 10% or more cyclic stiffness degradation. Therefore, it was thought that deformation of concrete in compression have to be considered in design process of members under cyclic load, such as seismic device.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.796-803
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• 2002

T-shaped walls have different strength, stiffness and ductility in the two opposite directions parallel to the web when subjected to horizontal in-plane loads. When the flange is in tension, the extent that the flange reinforcement contributes to the flexural strength will be subjected to shear-lag effect. Because of this shear-lag effect, the flange may not participate fully in the action with the web, and the effective flange width is needed for predicting the actual strength and stiffness of structures. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effective flange width and actual strength of the T-shaped wall with Korean code specified detailing of the wall web. Three specimens were tested with cyclic lateral loading applied at top of the wall. A constant axial load of approximately 0.1f$\_$ck/$.$A$\_$g/ is maintained during the testing. Test results show that the effective flange width increases with increasing drift level, such that the entire overhanging flange of h/3 is effective at the maximum strength level. Therefore, the use of PCI or KBC(Korean Building Code) value of h/10 is unconservative with respect to detailing at the wall web boundary.