• Composite Materials and Engineering
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.201-220
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• 2021

In this study, potential of three machine learning techniques i.e., M5P, Support vector machines and Gaussian processes were evaluated to find the best algorithm for the prediction of flexural strength of concrete mix with steel fibre. The study comprises the comparison of results obtained from above-said techniques for given dataset. The dataset consists of 124 observations from past research studies and this dataset is randomly divided into two subsets namely training and testing datasets with (70-30)% proportion by weight. Cement, fine aggregates, coarse aggregates, water, super plasticizer/ high-range water reducer, steel fibre, fibre length and curing days were taken as input parameters whereas flexural strength of the concrete mix was taken as the output parameter. Performance of the techniques was checked by statistic evaluation parameters. Results show that the Gaussian process technique works better than other techniques with its minimum error bandwidth. Statistical analysis shows that the Gaussian process predicts better results with higher coefficient of correlation value (0.9138) and minimum mean absolute error (1.2954) and Root mean square error value (1.9672). Sensitivity analysis proves that steel fibre is the significant parameter among other parameters to predict the flexural strength of concrete mix. According to the shape of the fibre, the mixed type performs better for this data than the hooked shape of the steel fibre, which has a higher CC of 0.9649, which shows that the shape of fibers do effect the flexural strength of the concrete. However, the intricacy of the mixed fibres needs further investigations. For future mixes, the most favorable range for the increase in flexural strength of concrete mix found to be (1-3)%.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.125-139
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• 2016

For seismic retrofitting of masonry walls, the use of fibre reinforced cement-based mortar for bonding the fibre grids can eliminate some of the shortcomings related to the use of resin as bonding material. The results of an experimental testing program on masonry walls retrofitted with fibre reinforced mortar and fibre grids are presented in this paper. Seven squat masonry walls were tested under unidirectional lateral displacement reversals and constant axial load. Steel anchors were used to increase the effectiveness of the bond between the fibre grids and the masonry walls. Application of fibre grids on both lateral faces of the walls effectively improved the hysteretic behaviour and specimens could be loaded until slip occurred in the horizontal joint between the masonry and the bottom concrete stub. Application of the fibre grids on a single face did not effectively improve the hysteretic behaviour. Retrofitting with fibre reinforced mortar only prevented the early damage but did not effectively increase deformation capacity. When the boundaries of the cross sections were not properly confined, midplane splitting of the masonry walls occurred. Steel anchors embedded in the walls in the corners area effectively prevented this type of failure.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.127-143
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• 2015

Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) is an anisotropic material due to the random orientation of the fibres within the cement matrix. Fibres under different inclination angles provide different strength contribution of a given crack width. For that the pull-out response of inclined fibres is of great importance to understand SFRC behaviour, particularly in the case of fibres with hooked ends, which are the most widely used. The paper focuses on the numerical modelling of the pull-out response of this kind of fibres from high-strength cementitious matrix in order to study the effects of different inclination angles of the fibres to the load-displacement pull-out curves. The pull-out of the fibres is studied by means of accurate three-dimensional finite element models, which take into account the nonlinearities that are present in the physical model, such as the nonlinear bonding between the fibre and the matrix in the early stages of the loading, the unilateral contact between the fibre and the matrix, the friction at the contact areas, the plastification of the steel fibre and the plastification and cracking of the cementitious matrix. The bonding properties of the fibre-matrix interface considered in the numerical model are based on experimental results of pull-out tests on straight fibres.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.631-643
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• 2018

The focus of this paper is given to the investigation of mechanical properties of steel fibre reinforced self-compacting concrete after being exposed to fire. The research programme covered tests of two sets of beams: specimens subjected to fire and specimens not subjected to fire. The fire test was conducted in an environment mirroring one of possible real fire situations where concrete surface for an extended period of time is directly exposed to flames. Micro-cracking of concrete surface after tests was digitally catalogued. Compressive strength was tested on cube specimens. Flexural strength and equivalent flexural strength were tested according to RILEM specifications. Damages of specimens caused by spalling were assessed on a volumetric basis. A comparison of results of both sets of specimens was performed. Significant differences of all tested properties between two sets of specimens were noted and analysed. It was proved that the limit of proportionality method should not be used for testing fire damaged beams. Flexural characteristics of steel fibre reinforced self-compacting concrete were significantly influenced by fire. The influence of fire on properties of steel fibre reinforced self-compacting concrete was discussed.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.503-514
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• 2015

Fibre-added concretes are frequently used in large site applications such as slab and airports as well as in bearing system elements or prefabricated elements. It is very difficult to determine the mechanical properties of the fibre-added concretes by experimental methods in situ. The purpose of this study is to develop an artificial neural network (ANN) model in order to predict the compressive and bending strengths of hybrid fibre-added and non-added concretes. The strengths have been predicted by means of the data that has been obtained from destructive (DT) and non-destructive tests (NDT) on the samples. NDTs are ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and Rebound Hammer Tests (RH). 105 pieces of cylinder samples with a dimension of $150{\times}300mm$, 105 pieces of bending samples with a dimension of $100{\times}100{\times}400mm$ have been manufactured. The first set has been manufactured without fibre addition, the second set with the addition of %0.5 polypropylene and %0.5 steel fibre in terms of volume, and the third set with the addition of %0.5 polypropylene, %1 steel fibre. The water/cement (w/c) ratio of samples parametrically varies between 0.3-0.9. The experimentally measured compressive and bending strengths have been compared with predicted results by use of ANN method.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.623-643
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• 2013

Concrete filled steel tubular members (CFST) become a popular choice for modern building construction due to their numerous structural benefits and at the same time aging of those structures and member deterioration are often reported. Therefore, actions like implement of new materials and strengthening techniques become essential to combat this problem. The application of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) with concrete structures has been widely reported whereas researches related to strengthening of steel structures using fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) have been limited. The main objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the suitability of CFRP to strengthening of CFST members under flexure. There were three wrapping schemes such as Full wrapping at the bottom (fibre bonded throughout entire length of beam), U-wrapping (fibre bonded at the bottom throughout entire length and extended upto neutral axis) and Partial wrapping (fibre bonded in between loading points at the bottom) introduced. Beams strengthened by U-wrapping exhibited more enhancements in moment carrying capacity and stiffness compared to the beams strengthened by other wrapping schemes. The beams of partial wrapping exhibited delamination of fibre and were failed even before attaining the ultimate load of control beam. The test results showed that the presence of CFRP in the outer limits was significantly enhanced the moment carrying capacity and stiffness of the beam. Also, a non linear finite element model was developed using the software ANSYS 12.0 to validate the analytical results such as load-deformation and the corresponding failure modes.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.437-459
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• 2015

An experimental investigation on the behaviour of geopolymer composite concrete beams reinforced with conventional steel bars and various types of fibres namely steel, polypropylene and glass in different volume fractions under flexural loading is presented in this paper. The cross sectional dimensions and the span of the beams were same for all the beams. The first crack load, ultimate load and the loaddeflection response at various stages of loading were evaluated experimentally. The details of the finite element analysis using "ANSYS 10.0" program to predict the load-deflection behavior of geopolymer composite reinforced concrete beams on significant stages of loading are also presented. Nonlinear finite element analysis has been performed and a comparison between the results obtained from finite element analysis (FEA) and experiments were made. Analytical results obtained using ANSYS were also compared with the calculations based on theory and presented.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.465-472
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• 2017

This paper presents an experimental study, investigating the compressive behavior of glass-fibre reinforced and unreinforced cementitious material-filled square steel tubular (GFCMFST and CMFST) columns. The specimens were manufactured by using high performance cementitious materials without using coarse aggregate. The influence of adding glass-fibres to the mix on the behavior of both axially and eccentrically loaded columns is considered. It was found that adding glass fibre improvesthe confinement behavior, the axial compressive strength, the stiffness and the toughness of both axially and eccentrically loaded columns. The compressive strength of axially loaded columns is compared with strength predictions according to EC4 and the AISC specification. It was found that the design predictions according to EC4 and the AISC codes provide conservative results for CMFST and GFCMFST columns. Alternatively, the axial load-bending moment interaction diagrams specified in theEC4 are conservative for the eccentrically tubular CMFST and GFCMFST tested columns.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 2022

The production of geopolymer is considered as a cleaner process due to much lower CO₂ emission than that from the production of Portland cement. This paper presents a study of the potential use of recycled steel fibre (RSF) coming from the recycling process of the old tires in geopolymer mortars. Ground expanded perlite (EP) is used as a source of alumino-silicate and sodium hydroxide (NaOH=5, 10, 15, and 20M) is used as alkaline medium for geopolymer synthesis. RSFs were added to the mortar mixtures in four different volume fractions (0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% of the total volume of mortar). The unit weight, ultrasound pulse velocity, flexural and compressive strength of expanded perlite based geopolymer mortar (EPGM) mixtures were determined. The microstructures of selected EPGMs were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analyses. The optimum molarity of sodium hydroxide solution was found to be 15M for geopolymer synthesis by EP. The test results revealed that RSFs can be successfully used for fibre-reinforced geopolymer production.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.587-613
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• 2013

A 3-node 3D co-rotational beam element using vectorial rotational variables is employed to consider the geometric nonlinearity in 3D space. To account for shape versatility and reinforced concrete cross-sections, fibre model has been derived and conducted. Numerical integration over the cross-section is performed, considering both normal and shear stresses. In addition, the derivations associated with material nonlinearity are given in terms of elasto-plastic incremental stress-strain relationship for both steel and concrete. Steel reinforcement is treated as elasto-plastic material with Von Mises yield criterion. Compressive concrete behaviour is described by Modified Kent and Park model, while tensile stiffening effect is taken into account as well. Through several numerical examples, it is shown that the proposed 3D co-rotational beam element with fibre model can be used to simulate steel and reinforced concrete framed structures with satisfactory accuracy and efficiency.