Design-oriented stress–strain model for FRP-confined concrete

External confinement by the wrapping of FRP sheets (or FRP jacketing) provides a very effective method for the retrofit of reinforced concrete (RC) columns subject to either static or seismic loads. For the reliable and cost-effective design of FRP jackets, an accurate stress–strain model is required for FRP-confined concrete. In this paper, a new design-oriented stress–strain model is proposed for concrete confined by FRP wraps with fibres only or predominantly in the hoop direction based on a careful interpretation of existing test data and observations. This model is simple, so it is suitable for direct use in design, but in the meantime, it captures all the main characteristics of the stress–strain behavior of concrete confined by different types of FRP. In addition, for unconfined concrete, this model reduces directly to idealized stress–strain curves in existing design codes. In the development of this model, a number of important issues including the actual hoop strains in FRP jackets at rupture, the sufficiency of FRP confinement for a significant strength enhancement, and the effect of jacket stiffness on the ultimate axial strain, were all carefully examined and appropriately resolved. The predictions of the model are shown to agree well with test data.     

Stress–strain model for FRP-confined concrete under cyclic axial compression

One important application of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in construction is as FRP jackets to confine concrete in the seismic retrofit of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, because FRP confinement can enhance both the compressive strength and ultimate strain of concrete. For the safe and economic design of FRP jackets, the stress–strain behaviour of FRP-confined concrete under cyclic compression needs to be properly understood and modelled. This paper presents a stress–strain model for FRP-confined concrete under cyclic axial compression. The model consists of the following major components: (a) a monotonic stress–strain model for FRP-confined concrete developed by the authors in a previous study for predicting the envelope curve; (b) new algebraic expressions for predicting unloading and reloading paths; and (c) predictive equations for determining the permanent strain and stress deterioration, with the effect of loading history duly accounted for. The capability and accuracy of the proposed model in predicting the complete stress–strain history of FRP-confined concrete under cyclic axial compression are demonstrated through comparisons between predictions of the proposed model and test results.     

Tests on cyclic performance of FRP–concrete–steel double-skin tubular columns

Eight FRP–concrete–steel double-skin tubular columns were tested under constant axial load and cyclically increasing flexural loading. The main parameters in the tests are axial load level and number of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) layers. The influence of those parameters on the strength, ductility, stiffness, and energy dissipation was investigated. It was found that, in general, FRP–concrete–steel double-skin tubular columns exhibit high levels of energy dissipation prior to the rupture of the longitudinal FRP, but experience a sudden drop in the lateral load capacity after that. The ductility of the specimens can be improved to some extent due to the existence of the axial compressive load in current tests.     

Behavior of steel fiber–reinforced high-strength concrete at medium strain rate

Impact compression experiments for the steel fiber–reinforced high-strength concrete (SFRHSC) at medium strain rate were conducted using the split Hopkinson press bar (SHPB) testing method. The volume fractions of steel fibers of SFRHSC were between 0 and 3%. The experimental results showed that, when the strain rate increased from threshold value to 90 s^-1, the maximum stress of SFRHSC increased about 30%, the elastic modulus of SFRHSC increased about 50%, and the increase in the peak strain of SFRHSC was 2-3 times of that in the matrix specimen. The strength and toughness of the matrix were improved remarkably because of the superposition effect of the aggregate high-strength matrix and steel fiber high-strength matrix. As a result, under impact loading, cracks developed in the SFRHSC specimen, but the overall shape of the specimen remained virtually unchanged. However, under similar impact loading, the matrix specimens were almost broken into small pieces.     

Energy-based cyclic force–displacement relationship for reinforced concrete short coupling beams

For use in the inelastic analysis of coupled walls, the cyclic force–displacement relationship and energy dissipation of short coupling beams with various reinforcement layouts were studied. First, a nonlinear truss model analysis was performed to investigate the cyclic behavior of short coupling beams. The results of this numerical analysis showed that the hysteretic energy of the short coupling beams was dissipated mainly by the diagonal reinforcing bars rather than by the concrete and conventional longitudinal and transverse reinforcing bars. Based on this result, simplified methods for predicting the energy dissipation and force–displacement relationship of short coupling beams with various reinforcement layouts were developed. The hysteretic energy dissipation was calculated as the sum of the plastic energies dissipated by the diagonal reinforcing bars. The cyclic force–displacement relationship was defined in a manner such that the area enclosed by the cyclic curve was the same as the predicted hysteretic energy dissipation. For verification, the proposed method was applied to existing test specimens.     

Strength deterioration of reinforced concrete beam–column joints subjected to cyclic loading

This paper proposes a method to predict the ductile capacity of reinforced concrete beam–column joints failing in shear after the development of plastic hinges at both ends of the adjacent beams. After the plastic hinges occur at both ends of the beams, the longitudinal axial strain at the center of the beam section in the plastic hinge region is expected to increase abruptly because the neutral axis continues to move toward the extreme compressive fiber and the residual strains of the longitudinal bars continue to increase with each cycle of additional inelastic loading cycles. An increase in the axial strain of the beam section after flexural yielding contributes to a widening of the cracks in the beam–column joints, thus leading to a reduction in the shear strength of the beam–column joints. The proposed method includes the effect of longitudinal axial strain of a beam in the plastic hinge region of the beam on the joint longitudinal strain and the strength deterioration of the joint. In order to verify the shear strength and the corresponding deformability of the proposed method, test results of RC beam–column assembly were compared. Comparisons between the observed and calculated shear strengths and their corresponding deformability of the tested assemblies showed reasonable agreement.     

Behavior and strength of steel reinforced concrete beam–column joints with single-side force inputs

Five large-scale beam–column subassemblies were fabricated and tested under cyclic loading to investigate the behavior of SRC Type I exterior and Type II corner beam–column joints. In addition, the applicability of strength superposition method on joint shear strength was assessed. It was found that: (1) the strength superposition method was able to estimate the SRC beam–column joint shear strength with reasonable accuracy; (2) the anchorage position of beam longitudinal bars has an obvious influence on the joint shear strength and crack pattern; (3) increased depth of cross-sectional steel leads to a higher shear strength for the beam–column joint; and (4) a combination of corner stirrups and shaped steel cross-sections was able to provide sufficient lateral support to longitudinal steel bars and adequate confinement to the concrete in the joint to replace the need for closed hoops.     

Numerical parametric investigation of infiltration in one-dimensional sand–geotextile columns

Geotextiles are routinely used in separation and filtration applications. Design of these systems is currently based on saturated properties of the geotextiles and the surrounding soils. However, in the field, soil and geotextile can be in an unsaturated state for much of their design life during which they are essentially hydraulically non-conductive. Periodic wetting and drying cycles can result in rapid and large changes in hydraulic performance of soil–geotextile systems. The writers have reported the results from physical water infiltration tests on sand columns with and without a geotextile inclusion. The geotextile inclusions were installed in new and modified states to simulate the influence of clogging due to fines and to broaden the range of hydraulic properties of the geotextiles in the physical tests. This paper reports the results of numerical simulations that were undertaken to reproduce the physical tests and strategies adopted to adjust soil and geotextile properties from independent laboratory tests to improve the agreement between numerical and physical test results. For example the paper shows that the hydraulic conductivity function of the geotextile must be reduced by up to two orders of magnitude to give acceptable agreement. The lower hydraulic conductivity is believed to be due to soil intrusion that is not captured in conventional laboratory permeability tests. The calibrated numerical model is used to investigate the influence of geotextile and soil hydraulic conductivity and thickness as well as height of ponded water at the surface on wetting front advance below the geotextile and potential ponding of water above the geotextile due to a capillary break mechanism. A simple analytical model is also developed that predicts the maximum ponding height of water above the geotextile based on two-layer saturated media and 1-D steady state flow assumptions. The analytical model is used to generate a design chart to select geotextiles to minimize potential ponding of water above the geotextile. Ponding can lead to lateral flow of water along the geotextile in reinforced wall, slope, embankment and road base applications.     

Micro–macro fracture relationships and acoustic emissions in concrete

In this work we are interested in how micromechanical phenomena affect bulk mechanical properties. Specifically we are interested in microfracture characteristics and how they influence damage evolution and fracture toughness. Toward this end, quantitative acoustic emission techniques were used to measure microfracture properties in an array of cement-based materials of varying microstructure. Microcracks were modeled using a seismic moment tensor, which could be estimated through deconvolution of the measured acoustic emission waveforms. Results of the experiments indicate that materials with higher bulk fracture toughness had larger numbers of sliding mode microcracks, while materials with lower bulk fracture toughness had fewer numbers of tensile mode microcracks.     

Robustness of corroded reinforced concrete structures – a structural performance approach

The aim of this work is to provide new contributions in order to define more accurately the structural robustness concept, particularly when applied to corroded reinforced concrete (RC) structures. To fulfil such a task, several robustness indicators are analysed and discussed with special emphasis on structural-performance-based measures. A new robustness definition and a framework are then proposed for its analysis, based on the structural performance lost after damage occurrence. The competence of the proposed methodology is then tested comparing the robustness of two RC foot bridges under corrosion. The damage considered is the longitudinal reinforcement corrosion level, and load carrying capacity is the structural performance evaluated. In order to analyse corrosion effects, a finite element (FE) based on a two-step analysis is adopted. In the first step, a cross-section analysis is performed to capture phenomenons such as expansion of the reinforcement due to the corrosion products accumulation; damage and cracking in the reinforcement surrounding concrete; steel–concrete bond strength degradation; effective reinforcement area reduction. The results obtained are then used to build a 2D structural model, in order to assess the maximum load carrying capacity of the corroded structure. For each foot bridge, robustness is assessed using the proposed methodology.     

Impact tests on steel–concrete–steel sandwich beams with lightweight concrete core

This paper studies the impact performance of Steel–Concrete–Steel (SCS) sandwich beams consisting of a lightweight concrete core sandwiched between two face plates that are connected by J-hook connectors. Impact tests were carried out by dropping free weights on to sandwich beams to investigate their structural response against impact loads. Test results revealed that the proposed J-hook connectors provide an effective means to interlock the top and bottom steel face plates, preventing them from separation during impact. The use of fibres in concrete core and J-hook connectors for composite action enhances the overall structural integrity of the sandwich beams when compared with those without such enhancement. An elastic–plastic analysis method is developed to predict the force-indentation relationship of sandwich sections subjected to local impact. Dynamic analysis based on the local force-indentation relationship is carried out to predict the impact force and global response behavior of the sandwich beams. The predicted results are compared with those obtained from the tests to validate their accuracy so that they can be used to evaluate the performance of sandwich beams under low velocity hard impact.     

Ultimate load behaviour of webs in steel–concrete composite plate girders

The paper is concerned with the tension field action in webs of steel–concrete composite plate girders. A three-dimensional finite element model has been used to carry out nonlinear analyses on composite plate girders. The results obtained from the finite element analyses are compared with those from experiments. It is observed from the comparative study that the proposed nonlinear finite element model is capable of predicting the ultimate load behaviour of steel–concrete composite plate girders to an acceptable accuracy. Results are presented to explain the development of the tension field action in the webs and to illustrate a measure of the contribution by the concrete slab acting compositely with the girder to the changes in tension field compared to a plain steel girder.     

Response of steel beam–columns exposed to fire

Steel beams when exposed to fire develop significant restraint forces and often behave as beam–columns. The response of such restrained steel beams under fire depends on many factors including fire scenario, load level, degree of restraint at the supports, and high-temperature properties of steel. A set of numerical studies, using finite element computer program ANSYS, is carried out to study the fire response of steel beam–columns under realistic fire, load and restraint scenarios. The finite element model is validated against experimental data, and the importance of high-temperature creep on the fire response of steel beam–columns is illustrated. The validated model is used to carry out a set of parametric studies. Results from the parametric studies indicate that fire scenario, load level, degree of end-restraint and high-temperature creep have significant influence on the behavior of beams under fire conditions. The type of fire scenario plays a critical role in determining the fire response of the laterally-unrestrained steel beam within a space subframe. Increased load level leads to higher catenary forces resulting in lower fire resistance. Rotational restraint enhances the fire resistance of a laterally-unrestrained steel beam, while the axial restraint has detrimental effect on fire resistance.     

Cone-shaped hollow flexible reinforced concrete foundation (CHFRF) – Innovative for mountain wind turbines

This paper presents an innovative type of mountain wind turbine foundation, namely, the cone-shaped hollow flexible reinforced concrete foundation (CHFRF). It consists of a top plate, a base plate and a side wall that are made of reinforced concrete. The cavity of the CHFRF is filled with rubble and soil directly from the excavation for the CHFRF, which means that it can absorb the spoil. A rubber layer is placed beneath the CHFRF to increase the foundation flexibility to resist cyclic and dynamic loadings and to increase the bearing capacity. The great advantages of the CHFRF are the reduction in the usage of concrete and steel and the protection of the vegetation around the wind turbine, compared with conventional mountain wind turbine foundations that are solid structures. It is verified through model tests and a numerical simulation that the CHFRF can provide higher lateral bearing capacity in comparison to the regular circular gravity-based foundation under the same foundation diameter and height, and that the bearing capacity is increased by approximately 33.5% accordingly. It is also found that the rubber layer can effectively reduce the accumulated rotation of the CHFRF under cyclic loading. The accumulated rotation of the CHFRF with a rubber layer having a thickness of 4 mm is decreased by about 50% compared to that of the CHFRF with a rubber layer having a thickness of 2 mm. In addition, the volume of concrete used for the CHFRF is only one-fifth of that used for the circular gravity-based foundation. Therefore, the CHFRF outperforms regular mountain wind turbine foundations.     

Evaluation of prestress losses in prestressed concrete specimens subjected to freeze–thaw cycles

Prestressed concrete structures are considered to be reliable and durable. However, their long-term performance when subjected to frost attack is still unclear. In this work, experiments were carried out to evaluate the prestress losses in post-tensioned prestressed concrete specimens subjected to freeze–thaw cycles (FTCs). Two cases were considered: in one case, a series of specimens were prepared and tested in a freeze–thaw chamber; in the second case, the same series of specimens were tested in an indoor environment (outside the chamber). The difference between the prestress losses of the specimens inside the freeze–thaw chamber and those outside the chamber equalled the prestress losses due to FTCs. When using mathematical models to predict the prestress losses due to the FTCs, it was found that they were relatively small when the concrete was slightly damaged. However, they increased rapidly when the FTCs were repeated. The eccentricity of the prestress wires led to larger prestress losses when subjected to FTCs. Moreover, the same cross section and eccentricity resulted in similar prestress losses due to the FTCs, and the relatively high-strength concrete could withstand more FTCs.     

Structural fire performance of earthquake-resistant composite steel–concrete frames

Seismic and fire design of a building structure may be two very demanding tasks, especially if included in a performance based design philosophy. For the time being, the necessary harmonization on the regulations concerning these two design fields is almost missing, thus preventing the effective possibility of an integrated design. Besides, while many countries have already moved towards the use of performance-based codes for seismic design, the application of such methodologies for the fire design of structures is still limited in scope. Within this framework, the development of suitable procedures introducing structural fire performance issues for a comprehensive design methodology is needed.In this paper, a numerical investigation for the assessment of the structural fire performance of earthquake resistant composite steel–concrete frames is presented. With reference to a case study defined in the framework of a European Research Project, a great effort was devoted to the identification of the key structural parameters allowing for a possible correlation between the predictable performances under seismic and fire loadings, when these two are considered as independent actions.At the conceptual design level, the most suitable structural solution with respect to both design actions was chosen, including composite beams and circular steel concrete-filled columns. The frame was designed in order to resist severe seismic action according to the ductile design approach provided by Eurocode 8; the parameters affecting members’ sizing were outlined in this phase. Afterwards, the seismic performance of the designed frame was investigated by means of non-linear static analyses; once the seismic performance objectives were met, in order to evaluate the structural fire performance of the whole frame a set of criteria was defined. To this purpose, thermo-mechanical analyses under different boundary conditions were developed and in order to identify the possible mechanisms leading to structural failure, the state of stress at the critical cross-sections at different times of fire exposure was investigated. Another point of main concern was represented by the assessment of the influence of different restraining conditions on the achieved fire resistance rating and kind of structural failure.Moreover, the proposed methodology allowed making an estimate of the amount of axial restraint provided to the heated beams by the surrounding structure; in this view, the importance of choosing column elements in function of their flexural stiffness was revealed, in order to correlate it with the predictable performances under both seismic and fire loadings.     

Near–surface sensors for condition monitoring of cover-zone concrete

With more demands being made on reinforced concrete, 100-year guarantees of durability will become a necessity. Lifetime calculations, and prediction of the residual service-life of structures, require quantitative information on cover-zone properties and threshold values for corrosion initiation. It is clear that there exists a need to determine quantitatively those near-surface characteristics of concrete which promote the ingress of gases and/or liquids containing dissolved contaminants. In addition, in-situ monitoring of the temporal change in such properties could assist in making realistic predictions as to the in-service performance of the structure; likely deterioration rates for a particular exposure condition or compliance with the specified design life. This paper details covercrete sensor arrangements; format of data presentation and information that can be obtained from embedded sensors. Such sensors could, ultimately, form part of a high-level monitoring strategy and should be considered at the design stage.     

Axisymmetric alternating direction explicit scheme for efficient coupled simulation of hydro-mechanical interaction in geotechnical engineering—Application to circular footing and deep tunnel in saturated ground

Explicit solution techniques have been widely used in geotechnical engineering for simulating the coupled hydro-mechanical (H-M) interaction of fluid flow and deformation induced by structures built above and under saturated ground, i.e. circular footing and deep tunnel. However, the technique is only conditionally stable and requires small time steps, portending its inefficiency for simulating large-scale H-M problems. To improve its efficiency, the unconditionally stable alternating direction explicit (ADE) scheme could be used to solve the flow problem. The standard ADE scheme, however, is only moderately accurate and is restricted to uniform grids and plane strain flow conditions. This paper aims to remove these drawbacks by developing a novel high-order ADE scheme capable of solving flow problems in non-uniform grids and under axisymmetric conditions. The new scheme is derived by performing a fourth-order finite difference (FD) approximation to the spatial derivatives of the axisymmetric fluid–diffusion equation in a non-uniform grid configuration. The implicit Crank-Nicolson technique is then applied to the resulting approximation, and the subsequent equation is split into two alternating direction sweeps, giving rise to a new axisymmetric ADE scheme. The pore pressure solutions from the new scheme are then sequentially coupled with an existing geomechanical simulator in the computer code fast Lagrangian analysis of continua (FLAC). This coupling procedure is called the sequentially-explicit coupling technique based on the fourth-order axisymmetric ADE scheme or SEA-4-AXI. Application of SEA-4-AXI for solving axisymmetric consolidation of a circular footing and of advancing tunnel in deep saturated ground shows that SEA-4-AXI reduces computer runtime up to 42%–50% that of FLAC's basic scheme without numerical instability. In addition, it produces high numerical accuracy of the H-M solutions with average percentage difference of only 0.5%–1.8%.     

Plug and play type joints in steel and steel–concrete composite constructions: Development guide and design considerations

Traditionally, for countries in Western Europe, joints in steel frame structures are realised using bolts and welds. In the workshop, the components are made using welding end plates and attachments and drilling of the bolt holes. On site, these structural components are connected together using bolts and nuts. The activities on site mean a large physical effort of the steel construction workers who are not free from danger. Measures needed to ease the work and to make it safer for workers are increasingly expensive. There is a need to develop the so-called ‘plug and play’ connections which can be realised using remotely controlled techniques. The development of plug and play type joints is not only important to ease the work on site, but it can also reduce overall costs of the construction if the joint characteristics are taken into account at the design stage. Of the total costs of a steel structure, 50% of that amount is related to the joints whereas almost 90% of the total costs are already decided upon in the construction detailing phase. Optimisation in weight will not result in an optimal cost-efficient structure. Even semi-rigid and partial strength joints that result after the erection phase could lead to cost reduction. Some considerations are given to optimise the joint with respect to overall structural behaviour from a technical and economical point of view. Fast and safe construction methods with plug and play joints are required for the future. Structures need to be designed such that they are fit to be demounted and rebuilt easily. For these types of joints no specific design rules are available in Eurocode 3, Part 1.8: ‘Design of joints’ or in chapter 9 of Eurocode 4, Part 1.1: ‘Composite joints’. This article describes the basis of design for these joints.