• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.127-139
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• 2003

Reinforced concrete buildings with shearwalls are very efficient to resist earthquake disturbances. In general, reinforced concrete frames are governed by flexure and shearwalls are governed by shear. If a structure included both frames and shearwalls, it is generally governed by shearwalls. However, the ductility of ordinary reinforced concrete is very limited. To improve the ductility, a series of tests on framed shearwalls made of corrugated steel was performed previously and the experimental results were compared with ordinary reinforced concrete frames and shearwalls. It was found that ductility of framed shearwalls could be greatly improved if the thickness of the corrugated steel wall is appropriate to the surrounding reinforced concrete frame. In this paper, an analytical model is developed to predict the horizontal load-displacement relationship of hybrid reinforced concrete frame-steel wall systems according to the analogy of truss models. This analytical model is based on equilibrium and compatibility conditions as well as constitutive laws of corrugated steel. The analytical predictions are compared with the results of tests reported in the previous paper. It is found that proposed analytical model can predict the test results with acceptable accuracy.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2011

This paper presents the performance of anchor systems for reinforced concrete beams retrofitted with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. Nine simply-supported beams are tested with various anchor systems such as steel hooks, steel plates with anchor bolts, CFRP anchor plates, and near-surface mounted (NSM) CFRP strip. The effects of these anchors on the behavior of the retrofitted beams are discussed, including load-carrying capacity, failure modes, and ductility characteristics. Test results indicate that end-anchorage is an important parameter when a CFRP-retrofit design is conducted. Mechanical bolts and NSM CRFP anchors are recommended.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.53-62
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• 2020

Concrete is the most widely used substance in construction industry, so it's been required to improve its quality using new technologies. Nowadays, nanotechnology offers new frontiers for improving construction materials. In this paper, we study the stability analysis of the Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNT) reinforced concrete cylindrical shell embedded in elastic foundation using the Donnell cylindrical shell theory. In this regard, we propose a new explicit analytical formula of the critical buckling load which takes into account the distribution of SWCNT reinforcement through the thickness of the concrete shell using the U, X, O and V forms and the elastic foundation using Winkler and Pasternak models. The rule of mixture is used to calculate the effective properties of the reinforced concrete cylindrical shell. The influence of diverse parameters on the stability behavior of the reinforced concrete shell is also discussed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.383-401
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• 2014

Over the past years, hybrid building systems, consisting of reinforced concrete frames in bottom and steel frames in top are used as a cost-effective alternative to traditional structural steel or reinforced concrete constructions. Dynamic analysis of hybrid structures is usually a complex procedure due to various dynamic characteristics of each part, i.e. stiffness, mass and especially damping. In hybrid structures, one or more transitional stories with composite sections are used for better transition of lateral and gravity forces. The effect of transitional storey has been considered in no one of the studies in the field of hybrid structures damping. In this study, a method has been proposed to determining the equivalent modal damping ratios for hybrid steel-concrete buildings with transitional storey. In the proposed method, hybrid buildings are considered to have three structural systems, reinforced concrete, composite steel and concrete (transitional storey) and steel system. In this method, hybrid buildings are substituted appropriately with 3-DOF system.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.159-171
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• 2012

Reinforced concrete structures in cold coastal regions are subjected to coupled effects of service load, freeze-thaw cycles and seawater corrosion. This would significantly degrade the performance and therefore shorten the service life of these structures. In the current paper, the mechanical properties of concrete material and the structural behaviour of eccentrically loaded reinforced concrete columns under multiple actions of seawater corrosion, freeze-thaw cycles and persistent load have been studied experimentally. Results show that when exposed to alternating actions of seawater corrosion and freeze-thaw cycles, the compressive strength of concrete decreases with the increased number of freeze-thaw cycles. For reinforced concrete column, if it is only subjected to seawater corrosion and freeze-thaw cycles, the load resistance capacity is found to be reduced by 11.5%. If a more practical service condition of reinforced concrete structures in cold coastal regions is simulated, i.e., the environmental factors are coupled with persistent loading, a rapid drop of 15% - 26.9% in the ultimate capacity of the eccentrically loaded reinforced concrete column is identified. Moreover, it is observed that the increase of eccentric load serves to accelerate the deterioration of column structural behavior.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.289-298
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• 2019

Reinforced concrete can be considered as a heterogeneous material consisting of coarse aggregate, mortar mix and reinforcing bars. This paper presents a two-dimensional mesoscopic analysis of reinforced concrete beams using a simple two-phase mesoscopic model for concrete. The two phases of concrete, coarse aggregate and mortar mix are bonded together with reinforcement bars so that inter force transfer will occur through the material surfaces. Monte Carlo's method is used to generate the random aggregate structure using the constitutive model at mesoscale. The generated models have meshed such that there is no material discontinuity within the elements. The proposed model simulates the load-deflection behavior, crack pattern and ultimate load of reinforced concrete beams reasonably well.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.203-214
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• 2018

Deflection control in tall buildings is a challenging issue. Connecting of the towers is an interesting idea for architects as well as structural engineers. In this paper, two reinforced concrete core-wall towers are connected by a truss bridge with buckling restrained braces. The buildings are 40 and 60-story. The effect of the location of the bridge is investigated. Response spectrum analysis of the linear models is used to obtain the design demands and the systems are designed according to the reliable codes. Then, nonlinear time history analysis at maximum considered earthquake is performed to assess the seismic responses of the systems subjected to far-field and near-field record sets. Fiber elements are used for the reinforced concrete walls. On average, the inter-story drift ratio demand will be minimized when the bridge is approximately located at a height equal to 0.825 times the total height of the building. Besides, because of whipping effects, maximum roof acceleration demand is approximately two times the peak ground acceleration. Plasticity extends near the base and also in major areas of the walls subjected to the seismic loads.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.329-338
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• 2022

This work addresses the optimization controller design problem combining the AI evolution bat (EB) optimization algorithm with a fuzzy controller in the practical application of a reinforced concrete frame structure. This article explores the use of an intelligent EB strategy to reduce the dynamic response of Lead Rubber Bearing (LRB) composite reinforced concrete frame structures. Recently developed control units for plant structures, such as hybrid systems and semi-active systems, have inherently non-linear properties. Therefore, it is necessary to develop non-linear control methods. Based on the relaxation method, the nonlinear structural system can be stabilized by properly adjusting the parameters. Therefore, the behavior of a closed-loop system can be accurately predicted by determining the behavior of a closed-loop system. The performance and durability of the proposed control method are demonstrated by numerical simulations. The simulation results show that the proposed method is a viable and feasible control strategy for seismically tuned composite reinforced concrete frame structures.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.679-694
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• 2014

The selected carrier systems of reinforced concrete frame buildings are quite important on structural damages. In this study are examined comparatively nonlinear behaviours of reinforced concrete frames which having different stiffening members under a horizontal load. In that respect, the study consists of six parametric models. With this purpose, nonlinear structural analyses of reinforced concrete frames which having different stiffening members were carried out with LUSAS which uses the finite element method. Thus, some conclusions and recommendations to mitigate the damage of reinforced concrete buildings in the future designs are aimed to present. The obtained results revealed that in terms of performance, the x-shaped diagonal elements can be used as an option to shear walls. In addition, it was found that frame-2, frame-3 and frame-4 showed a better performance than traditional frame system (frame-1).

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.173-184
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• 2019

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the true fracture energy and monitor the damage progression in steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) specimens using acoustic emission (AE) features. Four point bending test is carried out using pre-notched plain and fibre reinforced (0.5% and 1% volume fraction) - concrete under monotonic loading. AE sensors are affixed at different locations of the specimens and AE parameters such as rise time, AE energy, hits, counts, amplitude and duration etc. are obtained. Using the captured and processed AE event data, fracture process zone is identified and the true fracture energy is evaluated. The AE data is also employed for tracing the damage progression in plain and fibre reinforced concrete, using both parametric- and signal- based techniques. Hilbert - Huang transform (HHT) is used in signal based processing for evaluating instantaneous frequency of the acoustic events. It is found that the appropriately processed and carefully analyzed acoustic data is capable of providing vital information on progression of damage on different types of concrete.