• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.119-134
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• 1994

In order to assess the possibility of using steel fibers in the fissured ciays, uniaxial compression tests were performed on both unreinforced and reinforced clay samples containing a pre-existing crack. Test results showed that the steel fiber reinforcement increased resistance to cracks initiation and their propagation, and therefore increased both stress at crack growth initiation and peak stress at failure. The increase in resistance to cracks initiation and their propagation was related to the arresting or deflecting the crack propagation in clay samples by steel fibers. A theoretical interpretation of experimental results was made using fracture mechanics theory and pull-out mechanisms in fiber reinforced materials. It was revealed that the steel fibers had bridging effect through their pull-out action that caused an increased resistance to the propagation of the cracks in the samples. The predicted pull-out force based on theoretical analyses agreed reasonably well with the measured values obtained from pull-out tests.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.133-151
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• 2016

Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) has been originally developed in Japan to offset a growing shortage of skilled labors, is a highly workable concrete, which is not needed to any vibration or impact during casting. The utilizing of fibers in SCC improves the mechanical properties and durability of hardened concrete such as impact strength, flexural strength, and vulnerability to cracking. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the effect of steel fibers on mechanical performance of traditionally reinforced Self-Competing Concrete beams. In this study, two mixes Mix 1% and Mix 2% containing 1% and 2% volume friction of superplasticizer are considered. For each type of mixture, four different volume percentages of 60/30 (length/diameter) fibers of 0.0%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2% were used. The mechanical properties were determined through compressive and flexural tests. According to the experimental test results, an increase in the steel fibers volume fraction in Mix 1% and Mix 2% improves compressive strength slightly but decreases the workability and other rheological properties of SCC. On the other hand, results revealed that flexural strength, energy absorption capacity and toughness are increased by increasing the steel fiber volume fraction. The results clearly show that the use of fibers improves the post-cracking behavior. The average spacing of between cracks decrease by increasing the fiber volume fraction. Furthermore, fibers increase the tensile strength by bridging actions through the cracks. Therefore, steel fibers increase the ductility and energy absorption capacity of RC elements subjected to flexure.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.76-82
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• 2002

The rapid-set cement concrete causes high hydration temperature and nay result in a high drying shrinkage and shrinkage-induced cracking. This problem may be fixed by incorporating polypropylene fibers in rapid-set cement concrete, because of increased toughness, resistance to impact, corrosion, fatigue, and durability. A series of concrete drving shrinkage tests was peformed in order to investigate the shrinkage properties of polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete with experimental variables such as concrete types, fiber reinforcement, W/C ratio, with and without restraint. Uni-axially restrained bar specimens were used for the restrained shrinkage tests. The results were as follows; The dry shrinkage of rapid-set cement concrete was much lessor than that oi OPC, probably because of smaller weight reduction rate by early hydration and strength development. The constraint and bridging effects caused by polypropylene fibers were great for the rapid-setting cement concrete when compared with that of plain concrete, and this resulted In increased resistance against tensile stress and cracking.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.174-180
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• 2004

If Fiber Reinforced Metal Laminates(FRMLs) were delaminated, the decrease of stiffness and fiber bridging effect would result in the sudden aggravation of fatigue characteristics. It was reported that the delamination of FRMLs resulted from the crack of metal layers and that it depended on the crack growth. While cracks were made in FRMLs containing a saw-cuts under fatigue loading, cracks could be produced or not in FRMLs with circular holes under the same condition. When the FRMLs with the circular holes produce not the crack but the delamination, it is not possible to analyze it by the conventional fracture parameters expressed as the function of the crack. And so, this research suggests a new analytical model of the delamination to make the comparison of the delamination behavior possible whenever the cracks occur or not. Therefore, a new analytical model called Pseudo Crack Model(PCM) was suggested to compare the delaminations whether cracks were made or not. The relationship between the crack energy consumption rate( $E_{crack}$) and the delamination energy consumption rate( $E_{del}$) was discussed and it was also known that the effect of $E_{del}$ was larger than that of $E_{crack}$.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.200-207
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate experimentally the effects of type of superplasticizer on tensile behavior and cracking pattern of alkali-activated slag-based cementless composite. Three mixtures were prepared according to type of superplasticizer, and the compressive strength and tension tests were performed. Test results showed that differences of tensile strength, tensile strain capacity, and toughness of composites were up to 28.1%, 39.1%, and 66.2%, respectively, according to type of superplasticizer, although fiber balling or poor dispersion of fibers in fresh composites was not observed. It was also observed that the type of superplasticizer influenced number of cracks and maximum fiber bridging stress.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.433-442
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• 2023

This study presents the visually observed behavior of fibers embedded in concrete samples that were subjected to a flexural bending test. Three types of fibers such as macro polypropylene, macro polyethylene, and the hybrid of steel and polyvinyl alcohol were mixed with cement by a designated mix ratio to prepare a total of nine specimens of each. The bending test was conducted by following ASTM C1609 with a net deflection of 2, 4, and 7 mm. The X-ray computed tomography (XCT) was carried out for 7 mm-deflection specimens. The original XCT images were post-processed to denoise the beam-hardening effect. Then, fiber, crack, and void were semi-manually segmented. The hybrid specimen showed the highest toughness compared to the other two types. Debonding based on 2D XCT sliced images was commonly observed for all three groups. The cement matrix near the crack surface often involved partially localized breakage in conjunction with debonding. The pullout was predominant for steel fibers that were partially slipped toward the crack. Crack bridging and rupture were not found presumably due to the image resolution and the level of energy dissipation for poly-fibers, while the XCT imaging was advantageous in evaluating the distribution and behavior of various fibers upon bending for fiber-reinforced concrete beam elements.

• 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.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2006.05b
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• pp.329-332
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• 2006

This paper presents the experimental results for durability of an ECC designed with ground granulated blast furnace slag (BFS) through the test method of chloride ion resistance and freezing-thawing resistance. In order to compare with ECC, normal mortar was also tested. Test results showed that BFS ECC exhibited higher durability performance than ordinary mortar. These results suggest that by adding BFS in ECC, its matrix density is increased which results in decreased of deterioration and it also adds to the fiber bridging that contributes in control of cracking.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.198-202
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• 2004

An analytical model using expanded bridging model was proposed to predict the elastic properties and behaviors of stitched multi-axial warp knitted (MWK) fabric composites, The characteristics of MWK fabric composites are the assemblage of multi-layers of fiber bundles for in-plane reinforcement and stitch yams for the through-the-thickness reinforcement. In the analysis, a representative volume of the MWK fabric composite was identified, The geometric limitations, effects of stitching yams and design parameters of MWK fabric composites were considered in the model. Then, the elastic properties and behaviors of MWK fabric composites were predicted, Finally, the results of proposed model of the composites were verified through the experiments, The predicted results were in fair agreement with the experimental results

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.397-398
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• 2006

The advanced piezoelectric ceramic composite actuator, which is called LIPCA with the FRP and the optimization of the laminate configuration, was performed to maximize the stress transfer and the fiber bridging effect. This study evaluated the effect of variable electric fields on the PZT characteristic, laminate configuration and fatigue characteristics under the resonance frequency, which meant the largest performance range and the changes of its interlaminar phase were also evaluated by stages. In conclusions, Comparing with the fatigue lift of intact LIPCA, the fatigue life of LIPCA embedded by the artificial delamination was decreased up to 50%. The micro void growth and the coalescence of epoxy were actively made at the interlaminar phase subject to the large tensile stress.