Deformability design of high‐performance concrete beams

The use of high‐performance materials (HPMs) such as high‐strength concrete (HSC) and high‐strength steel (HSS) is becoming more popular in the construction of beams and columns of tall buildings. These HPMs not only increase the stiffness and decrease the strength‐to‐weight ratio, but also provide a more sustainable construction method by minimising the construction materials needed. However, HSC and HSS are more brittle than normal‐strength concrete and steel, respectively. Therefore, it will adversely affect the deformability of concrete beams. To evaluate the pros and cons of adopting HPM in beam design, the author will investigate the flexural strength and deformability of concrete beams made of HPMs. The deformability in this study is expressed in normalised rotation capacity and investigated by a parametric study using nonlinear moment–curvature analysis taking into account the degree of reinforcement, confining pressure, concrete and steel yield strength. From the results, it is evident that the deformability of concrete beams increases as the degree of reinforcement decreases or confining pressure increases. However, the effects of concrete and steel yield strength depend on other factors. For practical design purpose, charts and formulas are produced for designing high‐performance concrete beams to meet with specified flexural strength and deformability requirement. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic collapse analysis of high‐rise reinforced concrete frames under long‐period ground motions

Structural damages associated with buckling of longitudinal reinforcing steel and crushing of concrete induce strength and stiffness degradation in reinforced concrete (RC) beams and columns. This paper presents a numerical investigation on earthquake‐induced damages and collapse of typical high‐rise RC buildings model incorporating strength degradation (SD) effects. In a simple finite‐element analysis program with the generalized stress fiber discretization, hysteretic constitutive models primarily dominate the inelastic behavior. Buckling of reinforcing steel and crushing of confined concrete are taken into accounted to the stress–strain relationship of fiber elements. The SD effect in components with small hoop ratio tends to amplify the seismic responses high‐rise RC moment‐resisting frames when the intensity of ground motions exceeds the design level. Buckling of steel rebar and crushing of concrete should be fully considered together with the P‐Δ effect for collapse simulations.     

Seismic performance and cost‐effectiveness of high‐rise buildings with increasing concrete strength

The relationship between the seismic performance and economics of high‐rise buildings when designed to different material strengths is investigated in this paper. To represent the modern high‐rise construction, five 60‐story reinforced concrete buildings with varying concrete strengths, ranging from 45 MPa to 110 MPa, are designed and detailed to fine accuracy keeping almost equal periods of vibration. Detailed fiber‐based simulation models are developed to assess the relative seismic performance of the reference structures using incremental dynamic analyses and fragility functions. It is concluded that a considerable saving in construction cost and gain in useable area are attained with increasing concrete strength. The safety margins of high‐strength concrete in tall structures may exceed those of normal‐strength concrete buildings, particularly at high ground motion intensity levels. The recommendations of this systematic study may help designers to arrive at cost‐effective designs for high‐rise buildings in earthquake‐prone regions without jeopardizing safety at different performance levels. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic performance of Y‐type eccentrically braced frames combined with high‐strength steel based on performance‐based seismic design

In the Y‐type eccentrically braced frame structures, the links as fuses are generally located outside the beams; the links can be easily repairable or replaceable after earthquake without obvious damage in the slab and beam. The non‐dissipative member (beams, braces, and columns) in the Y‐type eccentrically braced frames are overestimated designed to ensure adequate plastic deformation of links with dissipating sufficient energy. However, the traditionally code design not only wastes steel but also limits the application of eccentrically braced frames. In this paper, Y‐type eccentrically braced steel frames with high‐strength steel is proposed; links and braces are fabricated with Q345 steel (the nominal yield stress is 345 MPa); the beams and columns are fabricated with high‐strength steel. The usage of high‐strength steel effectively decreases the cross sections of structural members as well as reduces the construction cost. The performance‐based seismic design of eccentrically braced frames was proposed to achieve the ideal failure mode and the same objective. Based on this method, four groups Y‐type eccentrically braced frames of 5‐story, 10‐story, 15‐story, and 20‐story models with ideal failure modes were designed, and each group includes Y‐type eccentrically braced frames with ordinary steel and Y‐type eccentrically braced frames with high‐strength steel. Nonlinear pushover and nonlinear dynamic analyses were performed on all prototypes, and the near‐fault and far‐fault ground motions are considered. The bearing capacity, lateral stiffness, story drift, link rotations, and failure modes were compared. The results indicated that Y‐type eccentrically braced frames with high‐strength steel have a similar bearing capacity to ordinary steel; however, the lateral stiffness of Y‐type eccentrically braced frames with high‐strength steel is smaller. Similar failure modes and story drift distribution of the prototype structures designed using the performance‐based seismic design method are performed under rare earthquake conditions.     

Experimental investigation on fatigue behavior of steel reinforced concrete composite beam-to-girder joints

Fatigue behavior and failure mechanism of steel reinforced concrete (SRC) beam-to-girder joints is discussed in this paper, which is intended for use in high-speed railway station structures due to their high stiffness and load capacity. Three identical SRC beam-to-girder joint specimens were designed and tested under static loading and two stages of fatigue loading. In the first stage of fatigue loading, the specimens were subjected to design fatigue load for 2 million cycles, while during the second stage, the specimens were loaded to failure under increased fatigue loading amplitude in order to know its fatigue strength and failure mechanism. The constructional details of SRC beam-to-girder joint specimen and the method of loading and testing are presented. The comparison in structural behavior of the joint is made between under static and fatigue loading. Fatigue failure characteristics of the joint are described in detail. It is found that the SRC beam-to-girder joints remained in their elastic range and the concrete surface crack did not exceed 0.1 mm when subjected to design static loading and 2 million cycles of design fatigue loading. There was no significant difference in structural behavior of each component of SRC composite beam between static and fatigue loading. Fatigue failure occurred after these joints were applied higher-level fatigue loading for another 0.70 to 0.91 million cycles. Fatigue crack was initiated at the tension flange of I-shape steel of beam connected by welding to the flange of I-shape steel of girder or at the hole in tension flange of I-shape steel of beam, and then the crack propagated along flange width and web height of the I-shape steel in beam until the I-shape steel lost loading capacity due to lack of enough cross section. The fatigue behavior of constructional detail of the I-shape steel played a key role in the fatigue strength of the SRC beam-to-girder joints. Discussions on improving the fatigue strength of SRC beam-to-girder joints and future research aspects are presented finally.     

高强螺栓端板连接钢梁-方钢管混凝土框架结构抗震性能研究

通过一榀高强螺栓端板连接的2层1跨半4∶7比例组合梁-方钢管混凝土模型框架的拟动力试验、拟静力试验和静力推覆试验,运用子结构方法,模拟了一榀10层3跨的平面框架,研究了钢管混凝土框架结构的破坏形态、位移响应、滞回特性和耗能等抗震性能。拟动力试验中,多遇烈度地震时,框架刚度降低很小;基本设计烈度地震时,框架刚度降低约13%;罕遇烈度地震时,框架刚度降低20%,框架层间位移角小于2.0%。拟静力试验中,最大层间位移角超过1.6%,部分构件出现初始局部屈曲,框架整体未出现强度退化。在静力推覆试验中,即使层间位移角超过6.0%,框架承载力仍未发生下降。高强螺栓端板连接节点能够满足抗震设计要求,在规范限定的按弹塑性设计的层间位移角限值范围内,经过合理设计的螺栓端板连接可视为刚性连接。试验结果验证采用螺栓连接的钢梁-方钢管混凝土框架具有良好的抗震性能,可在抗震设防区结构中推广使用。     

台湾第一部钢骨钢筋混凝土构造(SRC)设计规范之设计理念与重点内容

本文主要阐述台湾第一部钢骨钢筋混凝土构造(SteelReinforcedConcrete,SRC)设计规范之发展过程与重点内容,包括SRC构造之建筑与力学特色、SRC构造之设计理念、SRC构造之强度计算方法、耐震设计与SRC梁柱接头之设计细则等。台湾“SRC构造设计规范”可以适用于由钢梁或包覆型SRC梁、包覆型SRC柱或钢管混凝土柱(CFT)共同组成之SRC建筑构造。过去多年以来,由于台湾的建筑设计规范并未明订SRC构造设计之规定,使得工程师在进行SRC构造设计时缺乏一套依循的标准。所幸在“内政部”建筑研究所推动之下,台湾SRC构造设计规范草案终于在2003年底经过“内政部”建筑技术审议委员会审查通过。“内政部”于2004年1月16日公布修正建筑法规中之“建筑技术规则”,增列“第七章:钢骨钢筋混凝土构造”,由第496条至520条明订SRC构造设计之相关规定。随后并公布“钢骨钢筋混凝土构造设计规范与解说”自2004年7月1日起正式施行。从此以后,台湾从事SRC构造设计之业者与相关审查机构将可以有明确的设计规范可以依循。由于台湾的钢骨构造(S)与钢筋混凝土构造(RC)设计规范主要是参考美国AISC及ACI规范而订定,为了使S、RC及SRC三种构造的设计规范能够具有一贯性,因此台湾“SRC构造设计规范”的研拟过程亦朝着结合AISC与ACI规范的方向进行。为了彰显SRC构造之设计理念,本文提出一个称为“SRC优生学”的新观念,并比喻说:“一个经过适当设计的SRC构造,就像是S构造与RC构造结婚生下来的‘优生宝宝’。”这正是一个成功的SRC构造设计所欲达成的目标。换言之,一个细心设计的SRC构造,不但可以享受到S构造与RC构造的优点,更可以利用这两种构造“互相截长补短”,达到更安全与更经济的双赢目标。     

Polymer concrete-filled steel tubes under axial compression

Concrete-filled steel tubular (CFT) structures are rapidly emerging as one of the inevitable structural systems for earthquake resistance, as they have been known to exploit the best attributes of both steel and concrete, resulting in higher stiffness, strength and ductility. However, the limitations imposed by certain drawbacks of cement concrete and which are not alleviated or moderated by the encasing steel tube, e.g. its high shrinkage, creep, brittleness, reactivity and low tensile strength, may be a hindrance to the rapid and diversified application of CFTs, in line with current emphasis on ductility-based seismic design. In this context, studies are presently being conducted on filled steel composite members, employing lighter, more ductile, high tensile strength and inert polymer-based fill materials for the steel tube. Findings of these studies relating to the elasto-plastic response of filled steel composite stub columns subjected to axial compression highlight the significant increase in strength and/or ductility of epoxy polymer concrete-filled steel columns.     

Experimental study on the seismic behavior of a shear wall with concrete‐filled steel tubular frames and a corrugated steel plate

Shear walls and core tubes in shear walls constitute the core anti‐earthquake vertical systems of high‐rise buildings. This paper proposes a new type of composite shear wall with concrete‐filled steel tubular frames and corrugated steel plates. The seismic behavior of the new shear wall is studied using a cyclic loading test and damage analysis. The failure mode, load‐carrying capacity, ductility, stiffness degradation, hysteresis behavior, and energy dissipating capacity exhibited in the test are studied. The test results show that when the proposed wall is broken, the tension side of concrete‐filled steel tubes is torn. The concrete at the bottom of the wall is detached and peels off along the through cracks. The energy dissipation capacity of concrete walls is more fully utilized. The proposed wall exhibits excellent deformability, energy dissipation capacity, and the stiffness degradation was slower than that of other walls. The use of corrugated steel plate significantly improved the seismic performance while simultaneously increasing the ductility and reducing the damage. In addition, this paper modified the energy dissipation factor in the Park & Ang model based on the situation of the specimen and experiment. It can be used to evaluate the damage degree of this new type of shear wall.     

Field of application of high strength steel circular tubes for steel and composite columns from an economic point of view

This paper presents the results of a global comparison between high strength steel and normal steel circular tube used to build steel and composite columns submitted to static loading, as regards the economic aspects. The comparison is based on an optimum design taking into account the strength, stability and stiffness conditions of Eurocode 3 and 4. The automatic implementation of the algorithms allows achieving a high amount of case studies, covering the realistic possibilities of building columns. The investigations are realized on simple columns, columns included in braced or un-braced frames and whole frames. The field of application of high strength steel (vs normal steel), regarding the total cost of the member, is provided in a chart clearly indicating where the use of high strength steel becomes economic.     

Combination model for conventional pushover analysis considering higher mode vibration effects

This paper aims to propose a combination model for conventional pushover analysis with invariant lateral load patterns to consider the effects of higher mode vibrations on the seismic responses of high‐rise buildings. Rectangular concrete‐filled steel tubular (RCFT) structures having two types of deformation, namely, shear type RCFT frame structures and shear‐flexural type RCFT frame‐shear wall structures, are selected and investigated. Finite element models are created using Perform‐3D. Both pushover analysis with three conventional lateral loading patterns, namely, uniformly distributed loading, first‐mode vibration loading, and concentrated loading at the vertex, and time‐history analysis with 15–21 earthquake records chosen for each RCFT structure are performed. Regression analysis is used to fit the interstory drift ratios obtained by the pushover analysis with those from the time‐history analysis. Further, the relations between the partial regression coefficients and the structural fundamental periods under certain lateral loading patterns are analyzed. On this basis, using these conventional lateral loading patterns, combination models for high‐rise buildings with two types of deformation are proposed and verified. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can estimate the seismic responses of high‐rise buildings with a high accuracy and has the advantages of ease of implementation and operation.     

Steel encased polymer concrete under axial compressive loading: Analytical formulations

Composite structures and in particular steel encased concrete structures, are rapidly emerging as one of the inevitable structural systems for earthquake resistance, as they have been known to exploit the best attributes of steel and concrete, resulting in higher stiffness, strength and ductility. However, limitations imposed by the encased cement concrete, e.g., its brittleness, low tensile strength and diminished durability, further compounded by mounting environmental concerns since the 1997 Kyoto protocol and the need for sustainable development, dictate that novel ecologically benign construction materials be sought for the 21st century. In this context, experimental and analytical studies have been conducted on polymer-based materials (latex cement mortar and epoxy concrete) as supplementary and/or complementary materials to ordinary cement concrete in composite tubular systems. Results from experimental work on the compressive behaviour of steel encased polymeric materials reveal significant increase in strength and/or ductility of polymer and polymer concrete filled steel stub columns. In addition, polymer formulations were found to present an array of basic properties, which could be tailored to meet specific design requirements. In conjunction with the experimental results, existing models by several researchers are evaluated and found to generally underestimate the confined strength of the fill materials. A proposed model, taking into consideration key material properties such as shear and bulk moduli, is found to depict the confined strengths satisfactorily. Finally, force–strain models are developed for the composite stub columns that adequately capture the elastic stiffness and ultimate state, unlike existing models.     

Seismic behavior of T‐shaped steel reinforced concrete shear walls in tall buildings under cyclic loading

Shear walls are often used as the primary lateral load resisting elements in high‐rise buildings because of their large in‐plane stiffness and strength. It is a common practice to combine rectangular walls to form T‐shaped, I‐shaped and L‐shaped walls for functionality and esthetic reasons. Three relatively slender steel reinforced concrete (SRC) shear walls with T‐shaped cross‐sections were constructed and tested to failure under cyclic lateral loading. This research was conducted to assess the failure mechanism, hysteretic behavior, ductility and energy dissipating capacity of SRC T‐shaped walls under various axial load ratios. All the specimens exhibited a flexural mode characterized by crushing of the concrete and buckling of the steel at the free web boundary. The experimental results showed good hysteretic characteristics without pinching phenomena. The ductility coefficient varied from 2.3 to 4.1, and the deformation capability decreased with the increasing of axial load ratios. The stiffness, strength and ductility of T‐shaped walls are dependent upon the direction of the applied lateral loads. Higher stiffness and strength and lower ductility are achieved when the flange is in tension. The failure mechanism suggested that special attention should be paid to the design of the free web boundary to prevent premature failure under compression. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural design of high‐rise buildings using steel‐framed modules: A case study in Hong Kong

Steel‐framed modular buildings afford certain advantages, such as rapid and high‐quality construction. However, although steel‐framed modules have been adopted in several countries, most of them are limited to low‐to‐medium‐rise structures; modular high‐rise buildings are rare. This study proposes a feasible structural design solution for high‐rise buildings using a steel‐framed modular system. A 31‐story student hostel building in Hong Kong is redesigned as a steel‐framed modular building and used as a case study. The finite element models of the building are formulated, and the structural behaviors under wind and earthquake load scenarios are compared. Moreover, the structural design process used for the 31‐story building is applied to design a hypothetical 40‐story modular building to further examine the proposed design solution. The numerical analysis results indicate that the roof lateral displacements and interstory drift ratios of the redesigned modular building are within the allowable limits of design codes; moreover, the modular connections behave elastically under the most adverse loading scenarios. Accordingly, the proposed solution can be used to design steel‐framed modular buildings of up to 40 stories, while complying with relevant wind and seismic codes.     

Projekt Steel Earthquake Design (SEQD) – Erdbebenresistentes Stahlbausystem für Wohnhäuser

The SEQD – Steel Earthquake Design – project for earthquake‐resistant residential buildings. The construction material steel is currently mostly applied in highly‐engineered structures like bridges, industrial halls or high‐rise buildings. The SEQD – Steel Earthquake Design – project had the aim of developing a safe and economic solution for small residential buildings in earthquake regions. The basic idea of the system is to combine an engineered steel frame as primary structure with non load‐bearing infill walls from local materials. The new design includes innovative connections between frame elements and special uniaxial couplings between walls and steel frame. Reinforcement of the infill walls is achieved by applying grids from synthetic materials. In October 2004 experimental tests on a prototype structure were carried out in an assembly hall of the Rudolstädter Stahlbau GmbH.     

Integrated aerodynamic load determination and stiffness design optimization of tall buildings

Modern tall steel buildings are wind sensitive and are prone to dynamic serviceability problems. Although wind tunnel techniques have emerged as valuable tools in providing reliable prediction of the wind‐induced loads and effects on tall buildings, current design practice normally considers the wind tunnel‐derived loads as constant static design loads. Such practice does not take into account the change in wind‐induced structural loads while the dynamic properties of a building are modified during the design synthesis process. This paper presents a computer‐based technique that couples together an aerodynamic wind tunnel load analysis routine and an element stiffness optimization method to minimize the cost of tall steel buildings subject to the lateral drift design criteria, while allowing for instantaneous prediction and updating of wind loads during the design synthesis process. Results of a full‐scale steel building framework with the same geometric shape of the Commonwealth Advisory Aeronautical Research Council (CAARC) standard building indicate that not only is the proposed technique able to produce the cost‐effective element stiffness distribution of the structure satisfying the serviceability wind drift design criteria, but a potential benefit of reducing the design wind loads can also be achieved by the stiffness optimization method. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic response of multi-storey steel buildings with flexible connections

In the limit states design of steel building frames, usually simplifying assumptions are made with regard to the behaviour of beam-to-column connections. The Canadian standard for steel buildings recognizes three such sets of assumptions. One of them is the ‘special simple construction’ in which the beam-to-column connections are assumed to be completely free (pinned) to resist gravity loads and are assumed to be ‘rigid’ to resist the lateral loads due to earthquake or wind. Such connections are then designed for moments due to lateral loads only, and thus they are usually flexible. This paper is concerned with the influence of the connection flexibility and the strength on the overall strength and stiffness of steel building frames. The study considers 10 storey and 20 storey office buildings. The first part of the paper illustrates the analysis and design of the 10 storey building on the basis of ‘special simple construction’. By using realistic connection behaviour, the frames were subjected to equivalent static loads due to wind or earthquake and El Centro, 1940 earthquake excitation. In the nonlinear static analysis the building frames were subjected to specified gravity loads and incremental lateral loads until failure. In the nonlinear dynamic analysis the buildings were subjected to specified gravity loads and 70% of El Centro, 1940 earthquake excitation. For comparison purposes the frames were analysed twice, first assuming rigid connections and then with flexible connections. The static analyses results show that the connection flexibility increases the building deflections at specified loads, but the strength is only marginally affected. The dynamic analyses results show an increase in deflections and also generally an increase in column bending moments due to connection flexibility and the associated strength.     

Experimental study and design of a new hybrid RC frame system with stiffened masonry wall subjected to cyclic loading

This paper experimentally investigates the hysteresis behavior of a hybrid reinforced concrete (RC) frame system with stiffened masonry wall to enhance the seismic performance of existing RC buildings subjected to cyclic loading. The influences of the depth of the columns section, the length of masonry walls, and the grouting ratio of reinforced masonry were evaluated by designing a series of orthogonal quasi‐static tests on a half‐scale specimen. Test results indicated that the grouting ratio played the most significant role on the maximum strength, energy dissipation capacity, and the relative stiffness degradation rate of the hybrid structural system, whereas the length of masonry walls tends to dominate the deformation capacity. A trilinear analytical model and design recommendations are proposed to estimate the cyclic behavior based on force‐displacement hysteresis law that takes account of the effects of the post‐peak strength and unloading stiffness degradation.     

Seismic behavior analysis for composite structures of steel frame‐reinforced concrete infill wall

The composite structure of steel frame–reinforced concrete infill wall (CSRC) combines the advantages of steel frames and reinforced concrete shear walls. Reinforced concrete infill walls increase the lateral stiffness of steel frames and reduce seismic demands on steel frames thus providing opportunities to use partially restrained connections. In order to study seismic behavior and load transfer mechanism of CSRC, a two‐story one‐bay specimen was tested under cyclic loads. With that, the main characters such as, strength, stiffness, ductility, energy dissipation, load distribution, performance of steel frames, partially restrained connections and studs, are analyzed and evaluated. The experimental results show that the structure has adequate strength redundancy and sufficient lateral stiffness. The CSRC system has good ductility and energy dissipation capability. Partially restrained connections could enhance ductility and avoid abrupt decreases in strength and stiffness after the failure of infill walls. The composite interaction is ensured by headed studs, which have failed because of low‐cycle fatigue. Steel frames bear 80%–100% of overturning moments, and the remainder is undertaken by infill walls; steel frames and infill walls resisted 10%–20% and 80%–90% of lateral loads, respectively. Furthermore, relevant design recommendations are presented. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Incremental collapse threshold for pushout resistance of circular concrete filled steel tubular columns

This paper presents the results of a series of pushout tests using static loading (SL) and variable repeated loading (VRL) on concrete filled steel tubular (CFT) circular stub columns. The main parameters examined in this paper were the strength and age of concrete and the loading protocol. Under SL tests, the interface bond strength in CFT columns filled with normal strength concrete was found to be higher than that with high strength concrete. The SL test results showed that the interface bond strength varied from 0.41 to 0.85 MPa but from 0.33 to 0.66 MPa under VRL tests. A lower bound for the incremental collapse threshold of the pushout resistance of 70% of the static collapse load was empirically derived. Also an expression of the average growth of slip per loading cycle was empirically derived and recommended for design purposes. A comparison between the bond strength of the columns obtained from the present and previous test results, and available design codes is presented. Two newly derived bond strength limits were experimentally obtained and proposed for the design of structures subjected to either predominantly static or predominantly cyclic loading.