Lifetime seismic performance assessment for chloride-corroded reinforced concrete buildings

The main aim of this paper was to build an estimating procedure based on the static nonlinear analysis (pushover analysis) such that structural engineers can evaluate the seismic performance of a deteriorating reinforced concrete (RC) building. For engineers' convenience, this paper suggests the probabilistic deterioration prediction model and the visual estimation of deterioration degree to evaluate corrosion-induced weight loss of reinforcing steel bars. In addition, flexural and shear capacity models for a corroded column or beam are proposed and verified by full-scale corroded beam specimens, allowing engineers to simulate its nonlinear mechanical behaviour. This paper incorporates these mechanical models of corroded members into the static nonlinear analysis to construct a procedure for assessing the seismic performance of a deteriorating RC building. An elementary school at Lanyu Island, Taitung, Taiwan, is used as an example and its lifetime seismic performance is identified utilising the proposed approach.     

钢管约束钢筋混凝土压弯构件滞回性能试验研究与分析

进行了4个圆钢管约束钢筋混凝土(CTRC)和4个方钢管约束钢筋混凝土(STRC)压弯构件滞回性能的试验研究,并进行了两个钢筋混凝土(RC)对比试件的试验研究。试验中的主要参数为轴压比(0.34、0.65和0.80)和混凝土强度等级(C30和C60)。试验结果表明,由于钢管对核心混凝土的有效约束,核心高强混凝土柱的承载力、延性和耗能能力得到了显著提高。随轴压比和混凝土强度的提高,CTRC压弯构件的受弯承载力提高;但轴压比和混凝土强度对试件的延性无明显影响。随轴压比和混凝土强度的提高,STRC压弯构件的受弯承载力提高,但延性下降。相同轴压比条件下,CTRC压弯构件的受弯承载力和延性明显优于STRC构件。根据试验结果,建议了钢管约束钢筋混凝土柱截面受弯承载力的计算方法。建立了钢管约束钢筋混凝土压弯构件的纤维模型数值计算方法,计算中采用随荷载的增加而不断增大钢管对核心混凝土的约束效应的方法,数值计算结果与试验结果吻合良好。     

Effects of strain hardening of reinforcement on flexural strength and ductility of reinforced concrete columns

In the evaluation of flexural strength of reinforced concrete (RC) columns, the elastic–perfectly plastic constitutive model is generally used for steel reinforcement, which ignores the strain hardening effect. While some engineers believe that the flexural strength so obtained is on the safe side, others are concerned that underestimation of member strength could lead to inaccurate prediction of overall structural behaviour especially under extreme events. In any case, better understanding of the possible over‐strength and its effects on flexural ductility and failure mechanism is necessary. In this paper, the effects of strain hardening of reinforcement on the flexural strength and ductility of reinforced normal‐ and high‐strength concrete columns are studied based on rigorous full‐range moment–curvature analysis. The study has identified if and how various parameters affect the strain hardening effect, which include axial load ratio, concrete strength, confining stress, reinforcement ratio and the tensile‐strength‐to‐yield‐stress ratio of steel. The effects of strain hardening can be quite significant for RC columns under relatively low axial load and relatively high confining stress. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using XFEM to model the effect of different axial compression on the hysteretic behaviour of the flexure‐dominant RC columns

The axial compression ratio has a significant effect on the strength and ductility of reinforced concrete (RC) columns subjected to seismic loads. However, limited numerical models have been found to be able to consider the effect of axial compression ratio in mesoscopic scale. To achieve a sound understanding of the hysteretic mechanism of RC columns with different axial compression ratios, a novel modelling method was developed by employing the following techniques: (a) the extended finite element method for modelling crack initiating and propagating in concrete; (b) the contact algorithm for modelling the crack closure; and (c) the Cartesian type “connector” for modelling the interaction between concrete and steel bars. The effectiveness of the proposed model was validated in macroscopic scale by the results of a previous experimental study. Further analysis indicates that the axial compression ratio controls the axial deformations of RC columns, thus leads to different performances of concrete and steel under seismic loads. Based on the individual flexural contributions of the concrete and the steel bars, the effect of the axial compression ratio and the pinching effect is explained in a finer scale. The analytical results shed some light on the seismic mechanism of RC columns with different axial compression ratios.     

Flexural strengthening of RC beams using distributed prestressed high strength steel wire rope: theoretical analysis

Various strengthening techniques for structural elements using different materials have been investigated. Recently, a new, reliable and cost-effective strengthening technique with distributed prestressed high strength steel wire rope (P-SWR technique) was proposed. This paper mainly focuses on theoretical analysis of the flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with the P-SWR strengthening technique. First, mechanical properties of steel wire rope such as ultimate strength, ultimate tensile strain and relaxation were tested. Second, an evaluation method, including the prediction of cracking load and flexural capacity of RC beams strengthened with P-SWR, was proposed. Third, prestressed level of P-SWR, ratio of reinforcement, and bond strength of P-SWR and concrete responsible for short-term cross-sectional stiffness were studied and associated calculation equations are suggested. Finally, according to parametric studies, an entire evaluation system, including a modified Rao & Dilger code calculation method and hypothetical tension method, as well as a simplified method for predicting the maximum crack width, is proposed. All of these analytical procedures are based on experimental studies. A great similarity between the experimental and analytic results suggests that the proposed methods are highly accurate.     

Flexural ductility design of high‐strength concrete columns

In the seismic design of a structure, it is necessary to provide not only sufficient strength, but also a minimum level of flexural ductility for reinforced concrete (RC) columns. Eurocode EN1998‐1 directly specifies such minimum flexural ductility, while Chinese code GB50011 limits the normalized design axial force to achieve a nominal minimum flexural ductility. American code ACI 318‐08 uses the tension steel strain at peak resisting moment to control the failure mode. To provide the required flexural ductility, a much lower axial strength reduction factor is assigned to compression‐controlled failure than to tension‐controlled failure. To develop an effective strategy for flexural ductility design of RC columns, it is necessary to identify the essential parameters and control them properly. This is particularly important to those cast of high‐strength concrete that is inherently more brittle. The essential parameters identified include the maximum normalized axial force and maximum normalized neutral axis depth at peak resisting moment, as they help to guarantee various flexural ductility requirements. Their relationship with the flexural ductility is studied using a rigorous full‐range moment‐curvature analysis procedure. Empirical formulae and tables are also developed to facilitate flexural ductility design of RC columns. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

用界点分析法计算钢筋混凝土压弯构件的延性系数

本文分析了钢筋混凝土压弯构件的曲率分布规律,将两种工作状态在半跨长上的曲率简化为二段与三段直线分布,并推导出确定段与段之间分界点的公式,提出了适合于手算构件延性系数的方法。本文建议的公式与方法应用于24根钢筋混凝土压弯试件的分析,计算表明能获得满意的结果。本文还根据试验与理论分析对极限压应变的合理取值进行了论述,认为在非约束钢筋混凝土压弯构件的延性分析中取ε_u=0.003是合理的。     

Seismic behavior and strength of square tube confined reinforced-concrete (STRC) columns

A steel tube confined reinforced-concrete (STRC) column is an ordinary RC column where most of the lateral ties are in the form of a thin steel tube. Twenty-three square tube confined concrete stub columns were tested in this paper under cyclic or monotonic axial compression. A design equation to calculate the axial load strength of square tube confined concrete stub columns is proposed in this paper. A total of five beam-columns have been studied under combined axial compression and lateral cyclic loads. The test results indicate that the columns confined with square steel tubes exhibit much higher flexural strength, displacement ductility, and energy dissipation ability than common RC columns confined with lateral ties. Fiber models were also developed for STRC beam-columns in this paper.     

Influencing factors for fire performance of simply supported RC beams with implicit and explicit transient creep strain material models

Knowledge of the temperature dependent material properties of concrete and steel bars is important for understanding the fire-response of a reinforced concrete (RC) structure. At high temperatures, the total strain of concrete is for a large extent influenced by load dependent strains, including transient strain and creep strain, which is also called transient creep strain in literature. The transient creep strain is much larger than the instantaneous stress-related strain under elevated temperature, and can lead to large influences on the deformation of the RC structure. Computer simulations that study the behaviour of heated concrete structures should consider this transient creep strain parameter, otherwise the deformations will be slightly overestimated. This remark is especially necessary for columns, because of their large compression area. However most of the fire resistance simulations use the implicit material models of concrete, as presented by EN 1992-1-2, which is a viable tool in current design practice, but cannot be used whenever transient creep may have an effect on the behaviour of the structural members. So it is necessary to compare the difference of the fire performance of RC beams with implicit and explicit models and study the factors influencing the difference between the two models.To solve this problem, a simplified numerical model proposed by the authors is adopted in this paper, the difference between fire performance of simple supported members with implicit and explicit models are compared and validated by experimental results from previously executed fire tests. Three influencing factors are discussed by comparing the fire behaviour simulation results of RC rectangular beams. The parameters that may have an impact on the difference of fire behaviour of members with the two models studied in this paper are heating curves, reinforcement and the size effect of the cross-section. The conclusions of the parametric study may lead to a better use of material models and more precise simulations on fire behaviour of RC elements, which are required by performance-based fire-resistance design.     

A simplified method for flexural capacity assessment of circular RC cross-sections

A simplified method for the assessment of bending moment resistance for reinforced concrete (RC) members with circular cross-sections is presented. In the proposed method longitudinal rebars arrangement is replaced with a thin steel ring equivalent to the steel total area; moreover, according to modern codes, simplified stress-strain relationships for concrete and reinforcing steel are used.The performed analyses demonstrate that the value of flexural capacity determined by the proposed approach, is very close to the results obtained by applying rigorous methods based on analytical and numerical algorithms.The study also proves that in members subjected to bending moment without axial load, the flexural strength depends on the geometry of the section (i.e. radius and concrete cover) and on mechanical ratio of steel reinforcement by a very simple formula.     

Experimental study on flexural behavior of ECC/RC composite beams with U-shaped ECC permanent formwork

To enhance the durability of a reinforced concrete structure, engineered cementitious composite (ECC), which exhibits high tensile ductility and good crack control ability, is considered a promising alternative to conventional concrete. However, broad application of ECC is hindered by its high cost. This paper presents a new means to address this issue by introducing a composite beam with a U-shaped ECC permanent formwork and infill concrete. The flexural performance of the ECC/RC composite beam has been investigated experimentally with eight specimens. According to the test results, the failure of a composite beam with a U-shaped ECC formwork is initiated by the crushing of compressive concrete rather than debonding, even if the surface between the ECC and the concrete is smooth as-finished. Under the same reinforcement configurations, ECC/RC composite beams exhibit increases in flexural performance in terms of ductility, load-carrying capacity, and damage tolerance compared with the counterpart ordinary RC beam. Furthermore, a theoretical model based on the strip method is proposed to predict the moment-curvature responses of ECC/RC composite beams, and a simplified method based on the equivalent rectangular stress distribution approach has also evolved. The theoretical results are found to be in good agreement with the test data.     

Thickness of shear flow zone in a circular RC column under pure torsion

This study proposes a rational method capable of analyzing the behavior of circular reinforced concrete (RC) columns under pure torsion with or without axial compression. The developed method is based on the concept of the rotating-angle softened truss model (RA-STM) and incorporates the recently updated material models. In particular, the most important factor in estimating torsional capacity of RC structures-thickness of shear flow zone-is investigated in-depth for the circular RC column and discussed together with other mechanical aspects. The concept of thickness of shear flow zone for rectangular RC members is theoretically well established, while it is not clearly understood for circular RC members. This is due to the lack of existing experimental and analytical research work in this area. Recently, a circular RC column under pure torsion was tested at Missouri S&T. Test results of the column were used to validate the proposed method in terms of overall column behavior and local behavior of each component (concrete, both longitudinal and transverse reinforcement). The comparisons proved that the proposed method was in reasonable agreement with experimental results. In addition, the concept of the proposed method can be applied for any arbitrary section and is free from mechanical assumptions such as concrete cover spalling.     

Behaviour of tunnel lining strengthened by textile-reinforced concrete

In this paper, the effectiveness of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC), as a means of increasing the bending resistance of tunnel lining, was experimentally and analytically investigated. The short RC column strengthened by TRC on the side farthest from the axial load was designed to investigate the behaviour of tunnel lining strengthened by TRC. The parameters under study included the loading eccentricities, the number of textile layers and the preload ratio of the short RC columns. The experimental programme was composed of two control RC columns with different eccentricities. Five RC columns which were externally upgraded by TRC sheets were also analysed for their enhanced flexural capacity. Experimental responses of the reinforced concrete members strengthened in bending indicated that TRC substantially enhanced the bending resistance. Specifically, the gain increased with a concurrent increase in both the number of layers and eccentricity. The gain greatly worsened, however, with an increase in the preload ratio. An analytical method considering the non-linear behaviour of the materials was also proposed and validated through the test results. The study was extended analytically to include additional cases of TRC-strengthened specimens with some more parameters, including different concrete and steel types.     

Effect of small axial force on flexural ductility design of high‐strength concrete beams

Small axial forces may appear in beams in a reinforced concrete (RC) structure. The presence of compressive axial force, even at a low level, has an adverse effect on the flexural ductility of RC beams, which is a key attribute for seismic design. For example, Eurocode EN1998‐1 explicitly specifies such minimum flexural ductility, whereas Chinese code GB50011 limits the depth of equivalent rectangular stress block at peak resisting moment to achieve indirectly a certain nominal flexural ductility. Therefore, ignoring the presence of compressive axial force may be risky. In this study, the effect of small compressive axial force on the flexural ductility performance of both normal‐strength and high‐strength concrete beams is evaluated on the basis of a rigorous full‐range moment–curvature analysis. An effective strategy for flexural ductility design of RC beams with small compressive axial force is identified so that various flexural ductility requirements can be satisfied. The essential control parameter proposed is the maximum difference of tension and compression reinforcement ratios. Empirical formulae and tables are developed for convenient implementation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

钢管混凝土叠合柱轴压性能研究

为研究钢管混凝土叠合柱轴压性能,基于合理的钢材和混凝土本构关系模型,采用纤维模型法和有限元法分析方法计算叠合柱轴压荷载-变形关系曲线。将理论计算结果与试验结果进行对比,验证了理论分析模型的正确性。在此基础上,对叠合柱的破坏模态、轴向荷载分配以及组成钢管混凝土叠合柱的外围钢筋混凝土、钢管和钢管内部混凝土之间相互作用等进行分析,提出了叠合柱的轴压承载力简化计算式,简化计算结果与试验结果吻合较好。为保证外围钢筋混凝土和内部钢管混凝土较好地协同工作,建议外围钢筋混凝土中箍筋的约束指标与内部钢管混凝土的约束效应系数比值不应小于0.188。     

设防烈度8度(0.3g)区RC剪力墙结构抗震能力需求分析

实现RC剪力墙结构预期强震破坏模式的能力设计方法的不断改进,一直为工程师所关注。针对我国抗震设防烈度8度0.3g高烈度区RC剪力墙结构,设计了不同高度和整体性系数的结构模型,从而建立了预设延性破坏模式的分析模型。考虑大震变轴力对弯矩和剪力的影响,分析了剪力墙在大震作用的弯矩和剪力的实际需求沿结构高度的分布规律。结果表明,对于位于烈度8度0.3g区的剪力墙结构,考虑大震时轴力的变化对剪力墙受弯和受剪能力的需求影响较大;剪力墙的弯矩和剪力放大系数随结构的高度和整体性系数的增大而增大;现行规范规定的剪力墙受弯和受剪能力调整系数小于实际的需求,剪力墙中下部的弯矩和底部的剪力需求大,建议受弯能力调整沿高度采用三折线,提高剪力墙底部加强区的剪力放大系数或最小构造配筋率。     

Probabilistic response evaluation for RC flexural members subjected to blast loadings

The probabilistic responses of the maximum displacement and displacement ductility factor for a reinforced concrete (RC) flexural member against potential blast loadings are evaluated through a nonlinear dynamic analysis of its equivalent single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system. Monte-Carlo simulation is used in the analysis. Some differences are observed between the actual responses of the RC member and those of the equivalent SDOF system due to the complex behaviours of reinforced concrete structural members under blast conditions. Two non-dimensional indices are defined to quantify the differences and their expressions are generated through a large amount of numerical and statistical analyses. The approach of utilizing the indices into a probabilistic response assessment of RC flexural members accounting for different kinds of uncertainties is illustrated via four numerical examples which are verified through nonlinear dynamic finite element analysis. It is concluded that the probabilistic response of RC flexural members obtained from the developed approach have a similar distribution with those from probabilistic nonlinear finite element analysis.     

Concurrent flexural strength and ductility design of RC beams via strain‐gradient‐dependent concrete stress–strain curve

The authors have previously conducted an experimental study that showed that strain gradient would improve the maximum concrete stress and strength of reinforced concrete (RC) members under flexure. As a continued study, the authors herein will extend the investigation of strain gradient effect on flexural strength and ductility of RC beams to higher strength concrete up to 100 MPa by theoretical analysis. In this study, the flexural strength of RC beams is evaluated using nonlinear strain‐gradient‐dependent stress–strain curves of concrete applicable to both normal‐strength and high‐strength concrete. On the basis of this, a parametric study is conducted to investigate the combined effects of strain gradient and concrete strength on the flexural strength and ductility of RC beams. It was evident from the results that both the flexural strength and ductility of RC beams would be improved with strain gradient considered. From the results, two formulas are proposed for the strain‐gradient‐dependent concrete stress block parameters α and β. A constant value of 0.0032 is proposed for the ultimate concrete strain in flexural strength design with strain gradient effect considered. Lastly, for practical engineering design purpose, design formulas and charts have been presented for flexural strength and ductility of RC beams incorporating strain gradient effect. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

圆钢管约束钢筋混凝土短柱抗震性能试验研究

进行了3个剪跨比为1.5的圆钢管约束钢筋混凝土短柱和1个钢筋混凝土对比试件的拟静力试验研究,试验中的主要参数为轴压比(0.35,0.45和0.55)。试验结果表明：钢筋混凝土短柱的破坏模式为剪切破坏,延性和变形能力很差;圆钢管约束钢筋混凝土短柱的破坏模式为弯曲破坏,延性和变形能力优越。外包钢管对核心混凝土的约束作用限制了核心混凝土的受剪开裂,改变了钢筋混凝土短柱的破坏模式,显著提高了钢筋混凝土短柱的受剪承载力、延性、变形能力和耗能性能。随轴压比的提高,圆钢管约束钢筋混凝土短柱的水平承载力提高,延性系数降低,但轴压比对圆钢管约束钢筋混凝土短柱的极限变形能力无明显影响。对钢管的弹塑性应力分析结果表明：水平荷载施加过程中,钢管并未受剪屈服。根据试验结果建立了圆钢管约束钢筋混凝土短柱的荷载-位移恢复力模型,提出了设计建议,可为工程实践提供参考。图10表2参12     

Predicting the response of continuous RC deep beams under varying levels of differential settlement

This paper investigates the effect of differential support settlement on shear strength and behavior of continuous reinforced concrete (RC) deep beams. A total of twenty three-dimensional nonlinear finite element models were developed taking into account various constitutive laws for concrete material in compression (crushing) and tension (cracking), steel plasticity (i.e., yielding and strain hardening), bond-slip at the concrete and steel reinforcement interface as well as unique behavior of spring-like support elements. These models are first validated by comparing numerical predictions in terms of load-deflection response, crack propagation, reaction distribution, and failure mode against that of measured experimental data reported in literature. Once the developed models were successfully validated, a parametric study was designed and performed. This parametric study examined number of critical parameters such as ratio and spacing of the longitudinal and vertical reinforcement, compressive and tensile strength of concrete, as well as degree (stiffness) and location of support stiffness to induce varying levels of differential settlement. This study also aims at presenting a numerical approach using finite element simulation, supplemented with coherent assumptions, such that engineers, practitioners, and researchers can carry out simple, but yet effective and realistic analysis of RC structural members undergoing differential settlements due to variety of load actions.