• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.906-913
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• 2006

The failure mechanism of a hollow bridge deck which is made of glass fiber reinforced polymer(GFRP) is investigated using both experiments and analysis. While the load-displacement behavior of the deck in the transverse direction shows a strong nonlinearity even in its initial response with relatively small magnitude of loads. In order to imporve the structural behavior of the deck in the transverse direction, we suggested that the empty space of the bridge deck is filled with a foam and investigated experimentally the static behavior of the orthotropic bridge deck which is made from GFRP and polyurethane foam. It is found that although the elastic modulus of the foam compared to that of the GFRP is about the order of $10^{-3}$, the structural behaviors in the weak axis such as nominal strength, stiffness, etc. are greatly improved. Owing to the low mass density of the foam used in this study, the bridge deck is still light enough with the improved structural properties.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.281-303
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• 2009

The lack of safety of bridge deck structures causes frequent repair and strengthening of such structures. The repair induces great loss of economy, not only due to direct cost by repair, but also due to stopping the public use of such structures during repair. The major reason for this frequent repair is mainly due to the lack of realistic and accurate assessment system for the bridge decks. The purpose of the present research was to develop a realistic expert system, called Bridge Slab-Expert which can evaluate reasonably the condition as well as the service life of concrete bridge decks, based on the deterioration models that are derived from both the structural and environmental effects. The diagnosis assessment of deck slabs due to structural and environmental effects are developed based on the cracking in concrete, surface distress and structural distress. Fuzzy logic is utilized to handle uncertainties and imprecision involved. Finally, Bridge Slab-Expert is developed for prediction of safety and remaining service life based on the chloride ions penetration and fick's second law. Proposed expert system is based on user-friendly GUI environment. The developed expert system will allow the correct diagnosis of concrete decks, realistic prediction of service life, the determination of confidence level, the description of condition and the proposed action for repair.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.251-269
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• 2014

To investigate the seismic performance and to obtain quantitative parameters for the requirement of performance-based bridge seismic design approach, 12 reinforced concrete (RC) hollow rectangular bridge column specimens were tested under constant axial load and cyclic bending. Parametric study is carried out on axial load ratio, aspect ratio, longitudinal reinforcement ratio and transverse reinforcement ratio. The damage states of these column specimens were related to engineering limit states to determine the quantitative criteria of performance-based bridge seismic design. The hysteretic behavior of bridge column specimens was simulated based on the fiber model in OpenSees program and the results of the force-displacement hysteretic curves were well agreed with the experimental results. The damage states of residual cracking, cover spalling, and core crushing could be well related to engineering limit states, such as longitudinal tensile strains of reinforcement or compressive strains of concrete, etc. using cumulative probability curves. The ductility coefficient varying from 3.71 to 8.29, and the equivalent viscous damping ratio varying from 0.19 to 0.31 could meet the requirements of seismic design.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.147-157
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• 2018

The basis of capacity design has been explicitly or implicitly regulated in most bridge design specifications. It is to guarantee ductile failure of entire bridge system by preventing brittle failure of pier members and any other structural members until the columns provides fully enough plastic rotation capacity. Brittle shear is regarded as a mode of failure that should be avoided in reinforced concrete bridge pier design. To provide ductility behavior of column, the one of important factors is that flexural hinge of column must be detailed to ensure adequate and dependable shear strength and deformation capacity. Eight small scale circular reinforced concrete columns were tested under cyclic lateral load with 4.5 aspect ratio. The test variables are longitudinal steel ratio, transverse steel ratio, and axial load ratio. Eight flexurally dominated columns were tested. In all specimens, initial flexural-shear cracks occurred at 1.5% drift ratio. The multiple flexural-shear crack width and length gradually increased until the final stage. The angles of the major inclined cracks measured from the vertical column axis ranged between 42 and 48 degrees. In particular, this study focused on assessing transverse reinforcement contribution to the column shear strength. Transverse reinforcement contribution measured during test. Each three components of transverse reinforcement contribution, axial force contribution and concrete contribution were investigated and compared. It was assessed that the concrete stresses of all specimen were larger than stress limit of Korea Bridge Design Specifications.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.511-521
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• 2015

The thermal bridge occurring in a building influences its thermal performance and durability. The domestic typical multi-unit residential buildings suffer thermal losses resulting from thermal bridges of the balcony slab. To minimize the thermal loss between inside and outside of the balcony slab, thermal bridge breaker(TBB) systems have been developed and applied in building construction. Although thermal bridge breaker systems for reinforced concrete(RC) wall-slab joints can improve the thermal performance of a building, it is necessary to verify the structural performance of TBB systems whether they provide proper resistance for cyclic loading. In order to investigate the structural characteristics of TBB systems embedded in RC slabs, cyclic tests of wall-slab joints were performed by applying two reversed cycles at each up to 30 cycles. The test results show that the RC slabs embedding TBBS systems can present excellent structural performance and the maximum moment capacity, energy dissipation capacity and ductility of TBBs systems are enhanced compared to those of the typical RC slabs.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.17 no.4 s.88
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• pp.505-511
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• 2005

This experimental investigation was conducted to examine the seismic performance of reinforced concrete bridge columns. The columns were subjected to a constant axial load and a cyclic horizontal load-inducing reversed bending moment. The variables studied in this research were the volumetric ratios of transverse reinforcement (ps=0.96, 1.44 percent) and axial load ratios (P/Po=0.05, 0.1, 0.2) and concrete strengths (35, 60MPa). Test results showed that bridge columns with $44\%$ higher amounts of transverse reinforcement than that required by seismic provisions of ACI 318-02 showed ductile behavior. For bridge columns with axial load ratio(P/Po) less than 0.2, the ratio of $M_{max}\;over\;M_{ACI}$, nominal moment capacity predicted by ACI 318-02 provisions, was consistently greater than 1 with approximately a $20\%$ margin of safety.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.277-290
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• 2010

Internationally the load carrying capacity of bridges is decreasing due to material deterioration while at the same time increasing live loads mean that they are often exposed to stresses for which they were not designed. However there are limited resources available to ensure that these bridges are fit for purpose, meaning that new approaches to bridge maintenance are required that optimize both their service lives as well as maintenance costs. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) provide a tool that could support such an optimized maintenance program. In many situations WSNs have advantages over conventional wired monitoring systems in terms of installation time and cost. In order to evaluate the potential of these systems two WSNs were installed starting in July 2007 on the Humber Bridge and on a nearby approach bridge. As part of a corrosion prevention strategy, a relative humidity and temperature monitoring system was installed in the north anchorage chambers of the main suspension bridge where the main cables of the bridge are anchored into the foundation. This system allows the Bridgemaster to check whether the maximum relative humidity threshold, above which corrosion of the steel wires might occur, is not crossed. A second WSN which monitors aspects of deterioration on a reinforced concrete bridge located on the approach to the main suspension bridge was also installed. Though both systems have provided useful data to the owners, there are still challenges that must be overcome in terms of monitoring corrosion of steel, measuring live loading and data management before WSNs can become an effective tool for bridge managers.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.5 s.45
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• pp.29-40
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to investigate the inelastic behavior of precast segmental prestressed concrete bridge piers. A computer program, named RCAHEST (Reinforced Concrete Analysis in Higher Evaluation System Technology), for the analysis of reinforced concrete structures was used. Material nonlinearity is taken into account by comprising tensile, compressive and shear models of cracked concrete and a model of reinforcing steel. An unbonded tendon element based on the finite element method, that can represent the interaction between tendon and concrete of prestressed concrete member, is used. A joint element is newly developed to predict the inelastic behaviors of segmental joints. The proposed numerical method for the inelastic behavior of precast segmental prestressed concrete bridge piers is verified by comparison with reliable experimental results.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.11 no.1 s.53
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• pp.79-87
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• 2007

This paper presents an analysis procedures of Joints in precast segmental prestressed concrete bridge piers. A computer program, named RCAHEST (Reinforced Concrete Analysis in Higher Evaluation System Technology), for the analysis of reinforced concrete structures was used. Material nonlinearity is taken into account by comprising tensile, compressive and shear models of cracked concrete and a model of reinforcing steel. An unbended tendon element based on the finite element method, that can represent the interaction between tendon and concrete of prestressed concrete member, is used. A joint element is newly developed to predict the inelastic behaviors of segmental joints. The proposed numerical method for joints in precast segmental prestressed concrete bridge piers is verified by comparison with reliable experimental results.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.325-354
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• 2004

Slabs in buildings and bridge decks, which are restrained against lateral displacements at the edges, have ultimate strengths far in excess of those predicted by analytical methods based on yield line theory. The increase in strength has been attributed to membrane action, which is due to the in-plane forces developed at the supports. The benefits of compressive membrane action are usually not taken into account in currently available design methods developed based on plastic flow theories assuming concrete to be a rigid-plastic material. By extending the existing knowledge of compressive membrane action, it is possible to design slabs in building and bridge structures economically with less than normal reinforcement. Recent research on building and bridge structures reflects the importance of membrane action in design. This paper describes the finite element modelling of membrane action in reinforced concrete slabs through optimisation of a simple concrete model. Through a series of parametric studies using the simple concrete model in the finite element simulation of eight fully clamped concrete slabs with significant membrane action, a set of fixed numerical model parameter values is identified and computational conditions established, which would guarantee reliable strength prediction of arbitrary slabs. The reliability of the identified values to simulate membrane action (for prediction purposes) is further verified by the direct simulation of 42 other slabs, which gave an average value of 0.9698 for the ratio of experimental to predicted strengths and a standard deviation of 0.117. A 'deflection factor' is also established for the slabs, relating the predicted peak deflection to experimental values, which, (for the same level of fixity at the supports), can be used for accurate displacement determination. The proposed optimised concrete model and finite element procedure can be used as a tool to simulate membrane action in slabs in building and bridge structures having variable support and loading conditions including fire. Other practical applications of the developed finite element procedure and design process are also discussed.