• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.509-525
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• 2020

Steel-concrete composite slabs with profiled steel sheeting are widely used in the execution of floors in steel and composite buildings. The rapid construction process, the elimination of conventional replaceable shuttering and the reduction of temporary support are, in general, considered the main advantages of this structural system. In slabs with the spans currently used, the longitudinal shear resistance commonly provided by the embossments along the steel sheet tends to be the governing design mode. This paper presents an innovative reinforcing system that increases the longitudinal shear capacity of composite slabs. The system is constituted by a set of transversal reinforcing bars crossing longitudinal stiffeners executed along the upper flanges of the steel sheet profiles. This type of reinforcement takes advantage of the high bending resistance of the composite slabs and increases the slab's ductility. Two experimental programmes were carried out: a small-scale test programme - to study the resistance provided by the reinforcing system in detail - and a full-scale test programme to test simply supported and continuous composite slabs - to assess the efficacy of the proposed reinforcing system on the global behaviour of the slabs. Based on the results of the small-scale tests, an equation to predict the resistance provided by the proposed reinforcing system was established. The present study concludes that the resistance and the ductility of composite slabs using the reinforcing system proposed here are significantly increased.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.419-429
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• 2018

The seismic vulnerability analysis of multi-span bridges can be based on the response of the piers, provided that deck, bearings and foundations remain elastic. The lateral response of an RC bridge pier can be affected by different mechanisms (i.e., flexure, shear, lap-splice or buckling of the longitudinal reinforcement bars, second order effects). In the literature, simplified formulations are available for mechanisms different from the flexure. On the other hand, the flexural response is usually calculated with a numerically-based Moment-Curvature diagram of the base section and equivalent plastic hinge length. The goal of this paper is to propose a simplified analytical solution to obtain the Moment-Curvature relationship for hollow circular RC sections. This based on calibrated polynomials, fitted against a database comprising 720 numerical Moment-Curvature analyses. The section capacity curve is defined through the position of 6 characteristic points and they are based on four input parameters: void ratio of the hollow section, axial force ratio, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, transversal reinforcement ratio. A case study RC bridge pier is assessed with the proposed solution and the results are compared to a refined numerical FEM analysis, showing good match.