Evaluation of Fire Damage to a Precast Concrete Structure Nondestructive, Laboratory, and Load Testing

This article discusses the use of nondestructive and laboratory testing techniques and load testing in evaluation of fire damage to precast prestressed concrete members in a parking structure. The in situ evaluation phase consisted of nondestructive testing of concrete using ultrasonic pulse velocity and radiographic exposures to locate tendons prior to the removal of cores. Flexural strength of concrete and dynamic Young’s modulus of elasticity and air permeability index of 25?mm (1?in.) thick disks sawed from the cores were determined in the subsequent laboratory testing phase. Analysis of concrete properties at small depth increments permitted assessment of whether a damage gradient was present and the nature of any gradient found, as expressed by changes in these properties. Based on the compromise in material properties indicated by nondestructive and laboratory testing, two affected double-tees were load tested. The deflection pattern observed during load testing confirmed the compromise indicated by the findings of the testing program.     

Assessment of Fire Damage to a Reinforced Concrete Structure during Construction

This article summarizes an engineering evaluation of the extent of fire damage to a concrete structure under construction. The fire occurred in a portion of the reinforced concrete structure and visibly damaged a load bearing exterior foundation wall. The purpose of the assessment was to promptly evaluate the in situ condition of the wall and recommend necessary repair or replacement options prior to commencement of backfilling and the concrete construction to be supported by the subject wall. The engineering assessment of the damaged wall included a nondestructive evaluation phase consisting of ultrasonic pulse velocity testing and a laboratory testing phase on the concrete cores removed from the damaged wall. Dynamic Young’s modulus of elasticity and an air permeability index of 25?mm (1?in.) thick disks sawed from the cores were determined. Analysis of properties of 25?mm (1?in.) concrete specimens permitted assessment of the presence and degree of any damage in smaller depth increments compared to the size of a compressive strength core. Significant differences were not indicated by compressive strength of cores, however, the in situ nondestructive testing and laboratory testing of the disks were effective in determining the depth of damage, as a result of the fire. The results of the nondestructive and laboratory evaluation indicated that the distressed zone of the concrete was limited to a near-surface layer. Repair recommendations were based on removal and replacement of the affected concrete sections identified by the testing program.     

Nondestructive and Laboratory Evaluation of Damage Gradients in Concrete Structure Exposed to Cryogenic Temperatures

This paper discusses the use of pulse velocity, dynamic Young’s modulus of elasticity, and air permeability of concrete to evaluate the extent of damage and damage gradients to a concrete structure exposed to thermal shock and subsequent cryogenic temperatures. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is maintained in liquid form at cryogenic temperatures typically below ?160°C (?260°F). The elevated concrete pedestal and precast concrete piles supporting a LNG storage tank were exposed to cryogenic temperatures following a leak of the LNG. The engineering assessment of the concrete structure consisted of a nondestructive evaluation phase using ultrasonic pulse velocity and a subsequent laboratory phase based on concrete cores. Dynamic Young’s modulus of elasticity and air permeability index of 25?mm (1?in.) thick disks sawed from the cores were determined. Analyzing concrete disks at 25?mm (1?in.) increments permitted assessment of changes in these properties with depth and enabled evaluation of depth of damage and damage gradients. The laboratory study confirmed that the distressed zone was limited to a near-surface area of concrete as suggested by the results of pulse velocity testing.     

Survey of Practice to Determine Strength of In Situ Concrete from Core Tests

Practitioners were invited to respond to a problem statement published in the November 2000 issue of the Journal of the Performance of Constructed Facilities asking for an estimate of the compressive strength of in situ concrete based on hypothetical results of compressive tests on ten cores. Responses were received from 23 persons. Several respondents provided more than one estimate. It was found that there were wide variations in practice for determination of compressive strength from cores. Estimates varied from 3,000?to?5,000?psi. The most frequent estimate was 4,000?psi. The paper presents background information on code provisions relating to core testing, summarizes and discusses the responses, and offers observations based on the responses regarding investigations where compressive strength of concrete in an existing structure is determined from test of cores.     

Finite Element Analysis of Concrete Pavements Over Culverts

Accelerated distress of Portland cement concrete pavements (PCCP) over structures such as culverts, pipes, and tunnels beneath roadways is a common occurrence. In this article, finite element analysis is employed to analyze the response of concrete pavements over such structures. The factors that influence the overlying pavement slabs include: (1) cover depth, (2) pavement slab thickness and length, (3) cement concrete elastic modulus, (4) foundation modulus, and (5) backfill soil modulus. The tensile stresses at the bottom and top of the slab induced by wheel loads are predicted. In the traditional pavement design only the tensile stress at the bottom of the slab is considered to be significant. However, this study shows that the tensile stress at the top surface of pavement slabs over culverts may also cause the concrete pavements to fail. A laboratory model was employed to study the mechanical characteristics of Portland cement concrete pavement slabs over culverts and to verify the theoretical analysis.     

Performance of Pile-Supported Bridge Approach Slabs

A large number of pile-supported bridge approach slabs in southeastern Louisiana were examined to identify the factors that affect their long-term performance. Design drawings and subsoil conditions at these sites as well as their traffic and maintenance records were compiled, and seven representative test sites were selected for thorough field investigation that included inspection of the approach slabs, bridge decks, bridge abutments, and roadway pavement. Field evaluation included walking profiler, falling-weight deflectometer (FWD), laser profiler, geodetic survey, soil borings, cone penetrometer, and nondestructive testing. Measurements made with the walking profiler agreed well with the geodetic survey. The FWD and nondestructive testing were effectively used to detect voids under the approach slab. Results of the study indicated that the current empirical methodology used by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development for design of pile-supported approach slabs yields inconsistent field performance. It was concluded that this inconsistent performance is primarily due to the differences in roadway embankment design and construction and in subsoil conditions, which in turn affect the negative skin friction (downdrag) loads imparted on the piles. Impact of other variables such as ramp type, speed limit, traffic volume, and so on was found to be insignificant. Results of the field study were used to develop a new rating system for approach slabs (IRIS) based on International Roughness Index (IRI) measurements obtained with the laser profiler.     

Comparison of Pulse Velocity and Impact-Echo Findings to Properties of Thin Disks from a Fire Damaged Slab

The engineering assessment of fire damage to a concrete slab provided the opportunity to compare the results of in situ, nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques and laboratory testing of specimens taken from cores extracted from the fire damaged slab. This paper discusses and compares results of in situ pulse velocity and impact-echo testing with dynamic elastic modulus and air permeability index test results of 25?mm (1?in.) thick disks sawed from concrete cores removed from selected areas of the damaged slab. Both the NDE techniques and the laboratory testing of thin disks identified the presence of damage as a result of the fire. Analysis of the relatively thin concrete specimens permitted assessment of the presence and degree of damage in thin layers, and provided important and useful data on concrete properties for engineering assessment which was not available from NDE alone. Compressive strength results were consistent with the results of other tests but largely inconclusive by themselves. Impact-echo testing was able to identify the presence of a severely deteriorated concrete layer but could not identify the extent or depth of damage or clearly identify less damaged areas. A distressed layer of concrete was found by subsequent laboratory testing to be limited to a near-surface zone in some areas as suggested by the pulse velocity evaluation, but pulse velocity based analysis resulted in an overestimate of the depth of the damage. The findings highlighted a shortcoming of using conventional strength testing alone on investigations involving relatively thin layers of damage and pointed out several key limitations in the use and interpretation of nondestructive evaluation and associated analysis in a field assessment project.     

Field and Laboratory Determination of Granular Subgrade Moduli

This paper presents a comparison study of the experimental results from the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) test, field rigid plate bearing load test, and laboratory resilient modulus test on granular subgrade materials in flexible pavements. The results showed that the average laboratory resilient moduli at optimum compacted conditions were 1.1 times higher than the average laboratory determined resilient moduli at in situ conditions. The FWD back-calculated moduli were about 1.6 times higher than the laboratory resilient moduli for the granular materials. The average laboratory determined maximum dry density was slightly higher than the average field measured in situ dry density. A hyperbolic model was proposed to represent the relationship of the load-deformation curve obtained from the field plate bearing load test. No significant relationship was found between the laboratory resilient modulus and the modulus of elasticity from the field plate bearing tests.     

冻融循环对全尾砂固结体力学性能影响及无损检测研究

尾砂固结排放能有效解决尾砂的处置问题，然而固结后的尾砂堆体多处于地表，其性能受自然环境影响较大。我国北方地区存在广泛的冻融循环现象，冻融作用会影响固结体的强度和声电特性，为探究冻融循环条件下全尾砂固结体损伤状态和机制，以李楼铁矿全尾砂固结体为研究对象，对经历不同冻融循环次数的全尾砂固结体试样进行无侧限抗压强度试验、扫描电镜（SEM）试验、电阻率试验和超声波波速试验，借助Matlab软件二值化数字图像处理技术对试样的表面裂隙进行定量分析，并利用电阻率和超声波检测技术对固结体试样冻融循环损伤进行联合检测。结果表明:随冻融循环次数的增加，固结体的无侧限抗压强度呈指数型减小趋势，冻融循环早期（0～5次）固结体的强度减少量最多；冻融循环对固结体的损伤是逐渐累积的过程，全尾砂固结体表观劣化特征发展过程为:微裂隙萌生→裂隙延伸发展→外表层破坏→内部结构破坏；固结体初始强度越大，表面裂纹数越少；内部微观结构由密实状态向疏松状态转变；固结体无侧限抗压强度与电阻率、超声波纵波波速呈正相关，遵循对数函数关系，建立了强度?电阻率和强度?超声波波速无损检测模型；电阻率和超声波波速能准确全面地评价冻融循环条件下全尾砂固结体的损伤状态。      

Factors Affecting Portable Falling Weight Deflectometer Measurements

Lower cost and better quality evaluations of pavement characteristics require precise quality assurance/control programs that relate test results to design practice. Rapid in situ stiffness testing enables transportation agencies to conduct reliable and defensible quality assurance programs. This study explores the feasibility of using a portable falling weight deflectometer (PFWD) to characterize pavement layer moduli. Efforts were made to investigate factors that may influence PFWD results. Field dynamic cone penetrometer as well as laboratory California bearing ratio tests were performed and compared with results obtained from PFWD. One of the most important factors concerning the PFWD modulus is the size of the PFWD loading plate. Our testing suggests that an appropriate plate size can be chosen from the measured modulus. The effects of drop height on PFWD moduli were found to be small as the moduli remained about the same regardless of the drop heights. Considering the personnel and skills required for data collection, result interpretation, speed of testing, and the quality of data produced, the PFWD is preferred. PFWD is an ideal device for quality control during compaction monitoring because it enables a rapid stiffness assessment of individual pavement layers.     

Mechanical properties and density of bone in a case of severe endemic fluorosis

Mechanical properties of 25 standardized specimens of compact bone from a 45-year-old man with extreme endemic fluorosis were compared with similar specimens of nonfluorotic bone. Data from dry and wet tested specimens were compared. Tensile strength, strain, energy absorbed to failure, and modulus of elasticity were reduced in fluorotic specimens while compressive strength, strain and energy were increased in both wet and dry specimens. Compressive properties exceeded tensile properties. Drying increased tensile and compressive strength and modulus but decreased tensile and compressive strength and energy absorbed. Dry specimens tended to follow Hooke's Law but wet specimens exhibited visco-elastic behavior. Wet fluorotic specimens had lower tensile properties but higher compressive properties and were more dense than fresh human compact bone.     

地聚合物混凝土配比及力学性能研究

混凝土是巷道支护过程中的重要建筑材料,然而混凝土在巷道施工中常常出现质量问题,为了不影响正常生产,需要对其进行修补。地聚合物混凝土凝结时间快,早期强度高,界面结合能力强,耐高温性和抗冻性强,耐腐蚀性良好,具有用作修补材料的潜力。以粉煤灰和矿粉为原料,Na₂SiO₃溶液和NaOH为碱激发剂制备地聚合物胶砂,研究不同的碱激发剂模数（1.0、1.2、1.4）和掺量（10%、15%、20%）对不同龄期胶砂力学性能的影响。结果表明：当碱激发剂模数为1.2,碱掺量为15%时,胶砂强度达到最大值。设计正交试验,研究了不同水胶比（0.45、0.50、0.55）、粉煤灰掺量（30%、50%、70%）和砂率（30%、35%、40%）对不同龄期地聚合物混凝土的工作性能和力学性能的影响。结果表明：粉煤灰掺量对抗压强度影响最为显著,水胶比次之,而砂率对强度发展几乎没有影响。最优的配合比为水胶比为0.50,粉煤灰掺量为50%,砂率为35%。     

Effect of maturation and aging on material and ultrasonographic properties of equine superficial digital flexor tendon

Results of studies in human beings and other species have indicated that aging significantly influences the strength, modulus of elasticity, and energy storage ability of tendon. We wanted to determine the effects of aging on the material and ultrasonographic properties of equine superficial digital flexor (SDF) tendon. Ultrasonographic measurements of left forelimb SDF tendon cross-sectional area and mean echogenicity were made in 23 standing horses ranging in age from 2 to 23 years. All horses had not been in work for a minimum of 6 months prior to the study. After euthanasia, left forelimb bone-muscle-tendon-bone specimens were mounted in a materials testing system. The SDF tendon was cyclically loaded sinusoidally 100 times at 0.5 Hz from 1.5 to 5.0% strain, then was submitted to 10-minute creep-and-stress relaxation tests. Modulus of elasticity, load at 3% strain, and creep-and-stress relaxation were determined for each specimen. A significant positive correlation was found between elastic modulus and age. Correlation was not found between age and SDF tendon cross-sectional area or mean echogenicity. When 2-year-old horses were compared with older horses, the latter had tendons with a significantly (P = 0.007) greater modulus of elasticity. The authors conclude that increasing age through maturity is associated with a corresponding increase in equine SDF tendon elastic modulus.     

Residual Tensile Properties of GFRP Reinforcing Bars after Loading in Severe Environments

The long-term behavior of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforcing bars is one of the most critical issues for the acceptance of these materials as reinforcement for concrete structures. There is a high demand for experimental studies to investigate the stability of the tensile strength, ultimate elongation, and elasticity modulus. GFRP reinforcing bars inherently have a low elasticity modulus, which must not significantly decrease over time under loading or the serviceability behavior of the concrete element containing them will be jeopardized. This paper evaluates the residual tensile properties of three sizes of sand-coated GFRP reinforcing bars in alkaline and water environments combined with sustained loading and elevated temperature. Bar diameters of 15.9 (No. 5), 12.7 (No. 4), and 9.5?mm (No. 3) were loaded for different durations, then tested in axial tension for residual tensile properties. The test periods varied from 1?to?4?months under elevated temperature to hasten degradation and simulate extended service periods. The reduction in tensile strength was found to be 7–13% of the guaranteed strength for the three bar sizes under elevated temperature, which is at least 26% higher than the specified design strength as recommended by ACI 440.1R-03. More importantly, no significant change in the elastic modulus was observed.     

Forensic Investigation of Ultrathin Whitetopping Pavements in Florida

Developed in the early 1990s, ultrathin whitetopping (UTW) is a relatively new technique for asphalt pavement rehabilitation. To evaluate the applicability of UTW pavement in Florida, in 1997, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) constructed an experimental UTW pavement in a weigh station along I-10, located in north Florida. The performance of these test sections, however, was less than ideal, with the observation of some early cracking on the concrete surface, which developed into severe cracking with time. Therefore, a forensic investigation was conducted to determine the causes of the problems in these UTW sections, so that lessons could be learned from this experimental project, the use of UTW under Florida’s conditions could be adequately assessed, and UTW technology could be properly applied in the future. The scope of work consisted of field evaluation, laboratory testing, and pavement design evaluation. Field evaluation included a pavement condition survey, pavement temperature measurement, nondestructive load testing using a falling weight deflectometer, and slab thickness determination. Laboratory tests were performed to determine concrete and asphalt material properties. Other design and traffic data were also acquired from FDOT. Data collected from the field evaluation and laboratory testing were used in conjunction with a mechanistic UTW pavement design/evaluation procedure to determine the possible causes for premature failure. From this comprehensive evaluation, the primary cause for the failure was found to be inadequate UTW pavement design. The inadequacy of the combination of thickness and slab dimensions contributed to the early cracking of the UTW pavement.     

Experimental Study on the Performance of Approach Slabs under Deteriorating Soil Washout Conditions

In the U.S. bridge design practice, an approach slab is commonly provided to facilitate a smooth transition from the highway pavement to the bridge deck. Maintenance of bridge approaches often necessitates the repair or replacement of approach slabs owing to damage from heavy traffic loads, washout of fill materials, and settlement of the approach embankment. Approach slab damage because of embankment settlement is considered a more common problem and has been extensively investigated in the literature. In this paper, performance of the approach slab degraded by void formation underneath the slab is examined by load testing. Full-size approach-slab specimens were tested under increasing magnitude up to four times AASHTO HS20-44 design truck loads. The test matrix included four slab specimens with the following details: (1)?conventional steel reinforcement representative of current California design; (2)?steel reinforcement replaced by a double-layer pultruded fiber-reinforced polymer grating; (3)?steel reinforcement replaced by glass fiber-reinforced polymer rebars; and (4)?incorporation of steel and polyvinyl alcohol fibers in the concrete mix and removal of top longitudinal and transverse steel. Results indicated that the slabs show satisfactory performance under standard HS20-44 design truck load. Tests also revealed that these slabs exhibited similar performance in terms of stiffness, deformation, and crack pattern when fully supported, but registered noticeable difference in performance under deteriorating soil washout conditions. The fiber-reinforced concrete slab in general showed the best crack control and the smallest deflection and end rotation among the four slabs.     

Relationship between Texas Cone Penetrometer Tests and Axial Resistances of Drilled Shafts Socketed in Clay Shale and Limestone

Modern methods for designing drilled shafts in soft rock require knowledge of the compressive strength and modulus of the rock. However, rock jointing at many sites prohibits the recovery of samples of sufficient length and integrity to test rock cores in either unconfined or triaxial compression tests. Since rational design procedures usually require values of compressive strength, surrogate methods must be employed to estimate the compressive strength of the rock. The surrogate methods considered in this study was Texas cone penetrometer tests, and performed at several sites in North Central Texas. In order to develop the relationships between Texas cone penetrations and side and base resistances of rock socketed drilled shafts, three field load tests were conducted. Based on the field study and literature reviews, a relationship between Texas cone penetration tests and axial resistances of rock socketed drilled shafts was proposed.     

Capacity Evaluation of a Severely Distressed and Deteriorated 50-Year-Old Box Beam with Limited Data

In 2005, 15 adjacent box-beam bridges were randomly selected and inspected to document their performance with consideration of the evolving design procedures. Longitudinal cracking along the soffit of several fascia beams was documented. After evaluating inspection data, the bridge engineer recommended the replacement of a severely distressed fascia beam from the Hawkins Road Bridge in Jackson County, Michigan. The beam was salvaged and the capacity was evaluated through load testing. The remaining prestress was 75% of the initial prestress, which is 5% less than the final prestress used for the design. Concrete modulus of elasticity was evaluated as 35.4?GPa and the nominal compressive strength as 54.4?MPa. Analysis of load test data indicated that a bridge with the beam in this distressed state is safe to operate. This is assuming that the transverse connectivity between the beams is sufficient for load distribution as envisioned in the design. The importance of identifying concealed corrosion, and quantifying material properties and load distribution is highlighted in this paper.     

Optimizing the Prediction Accuracy of Concrete Compressive Strength Based on a Comparison of Data-Mining Techniques

This study attempts to optimize the prediction accuracy of the compressive strength of high-performance concrete (HPC) by comparing data-mining methods. Modeling the dynamics of HPC, which is a highly complex composite material, is extremely challenging. Concrete compressive strength is also a highly nonlinear function of ingredients. Several studies have independently shown that concrete strength is determined not only by the water-to-cement ratio but also by additive materials. The compressive strength of HPC is a function of all concrete content, including cement, fly ash, blast-furnace slag, water, superplasticizer, age, and coarse and fine aggregate. The quantitative analyses in this study were performed by using five different data-mining methods: two machine learning models (artificial neural networks and support vector machines), one statistical model (multiple regression), and two metaclassifier models (multiple additive regression trees and bagging regression trees). The methods were developed and tested against a data set derived from 17 concrete strength test laboratories. The cross-validation of unbiased estimates of the prediction models for performance comparison purposes indicated that multiple additive regression tree (MART) was superior in prediction accuracy, training time, and aversion to overfitting. Analytical results suggested that MART-based modeling is effective for predicting the compressive strength of varying HPC age.     

Role of Learning Algorithm in Neural Network-Based Backcalculation of Flexible Pavements

Nondestructive testing (NDT) methods are widely used for the performance evaluation of flexible pavements. Falling weight deflectometer (FWD), which measures time-domain deflections resulting from applied impulse loads, is the most popular technique among all NDT methods. The evaluation of the FWD data requires the inversion of mechanical pavement properties using a backcalculation tool that includes both a forward pavement response model and an optimization algorithm. Neural networks (NNs) have also emerged as alternative tools that can be employed for pavement backcalculation problems relative to their real-time processing abilities. However, there have been no comprehensive analyses in previous studies that focus on the learning algorithm and the architecture of a NN model, which considerably affect backcalculation results. In this study, 284 different NN models were developed using synthetic training and testing databases obtained by layered elastic theory. Results indicated that both the learning algorithm and network architecture play important roles in the performance of the NN based backcalculation process.