Search results for "Structural engineering"

Binder design of high RAP content hot and warm asphalt mixture wearing courses

2015

Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) has shown great potential for being used in the construction or maintenance of roads. However, RAP is usually downgraded to lower pavement layers and the percentage of RAP used in wearing courses is still moderate (≤30%). The research and results contained in this paper focus on the definition of binder recipes aimed at increasing the percentage of RAP in hot and warm mix asphalt wearing courses. A review of current internationally used blend design methodologies is presented followed by case studies aimed at defining binder recipes for high RAP content asphalt mixture wearing courses to be further used for mix design and production in asphalt plants. Binder…

The coffee-house: Upcycling spent coffee grounds for the production of green geopolymeric architectural energy-saving products

2023

This study investigates a possible alternative reuse of spent coffee grounds (SCG), the major residue of the brewing process, to manufacture green geopolymeric materials for innovative building applications in energy-saving construction, in line with the European Green Deal towards zero-energy building. Specimens were prepared by a combination of biomass fly ash from the Kraft paper-pulp process, as raw material (70 wt%), and SCG (up to 17.5 %), as filler. The high amount of reused bio-wastes makes the material fit the requirements for the Minimum Environmental Criteria (MEC) certification, in light of the Circular Economy (CE) approach. Sustainability is also boosted by the manufacturing p…

Active Single-Blade Installation Using Tugger Line Tension Control and Optimal Control Allocation

2020

One-dimensional heterogeneous solids with uncertain elastic modulus in presence of long-range interactions: Interval versus stochastic analysis

2013

The analysis of one-dimensional non-local elastic solids with uncertain Young's modulus is addressed. Non-local effects are represented as long-range central body forces between non-adjacent volume elements. For comparison purpose, the fluctuating elastic modulus of the material is modeled following both a probabilistic and a non-probabilistic approach. To this aim, a novel definition of the interval field concept, able to limit the overestimation affecting ordinary interval analysis, is introduced. Approximate closed-form expressions are derived for the bounds of the interval displacement field as well as for the mean-value and variance of the stochastic response.

Convolution-based ensemble learning algorithms to estimate the bond strength of the corroded reinforced concrete

2022

Reinforced concrete bond strength deterioration is one of the most serious problems in the construction industry. It is one of the most common factors impacting structural deterioration and the major cause of premature decadence of reinforced concrete structures. Therefore, developing an accurate model with the lowest variance and high reliability for the bond strength of corroded reinforced concrete is very important. The current work evaluates the efficiency of convolution-based ensemble learning algorithms. To address these issues, convolution-based ensemble learning models are developed using a database collected from the previous experimental studies of relative bond strength for corro…

Steel-concrete bond in lightweight fiber reinforced concrete under monotonic and cyclic actions

2005

Experimental results of the local bond stress-slip relationship of reinforcing bars embedded in lightweight fiber reinforced concrete with expanded clay aggregates are presented. The effect of the following parameters were investigated: - dimension of specimens; - anchorage length; - percentages of hooked steel fibers; - geometrical ratio of transverse reinforcement; - confinement external transverse pressure. Prismatic specimens with deformed steel bars embedded for a fixed length equal to five and eight equivalent diameters were tested under both monotonic and cyclic reversal imposed displacements at the tip of the bars, in controlled displacement tests. The influence of the above mention…

Tsunami Vulnerability Evaluation for a Small Ancient Village on Eastern Sicily Coast

2022

The Ionian sea is prone to tsunamis due to its proximity to the Calabrian subduction zone, which is one of the major tsunamigenic areas of the Mediterranean. The tsunami disaster risk is, nowadays, significantly higher due to the increased exposure of buildings as a result of the economic and touristic growth of the Mediterranean coastal areas. This study focuses on Marzamemi, a small village in the western coast of Sicily, since its morphology and human presence amplify the need to assess its buildings’ vulnerability. The main objective of this research is to quantify the building vulnerability to tsunami hazards using a physical and realistic tsunami scenario. For this purpose, the relati…

Shakedown Analysis by Elastic Simulation

2000

Shakedown analysis of elastic plastic structures is widely credited as a valuable analytical/numerical tool for design purposes. For complex structures and loading conditions, e. g. for fast breeder nuclear reactor plants, full inelastic analysis is rarely performed, practically never within the early stages of the design advancement and the inherent decision process. The essential information therein needed can in fact be obtained, at moderate computational costs, by application of the shakedown methods and rules, at least within some limits related to the present developments of shakedown theory and its applicability to practical engineering problems, see e. g. Ponter et al. (1990), Carte…

Recent progress in developing a feasible and integrated conceptual design of the WCLL BB in EUROfusion project

2019

The water-cooled lithium-lead breeding blanket is in the pre-conceptual design phase. It is a candidate option for European DEMO nuclear fusion reactor. This breeding blanket concept relies on the liquid lithium-lead as breeder-multiplier, pressurized water as coolant and EUROFER as structural material. Current design is based on DEMO 2017 specifications. Two separate water systems are in charge of cooling the first wall and the breeding zone: thermo-dynamic cycle is 295–328 °C at 15.5 MPa. The breeder enters and exits from the breeding zone at 330 °C. Cornerstones of the design are the single module segment approach and the water manifold between the breeding blanket box and the back suppo…

Use of fiber-section beam elements for modelling the monotonic flexural response of RC jacketed columns

2021

Abstract The use of reinforced concrete (RC) jacketing is a common technique for retrofitting existing RC columns with poor structural performances. Literature studies highlighted that the relative slip occurring at the interface between the new and the old concrete can affect substantially the flexibility and the strength of the retrofitted member. For this reason, several interface treatments are usually applied, aiming to induce a monolithic behaviour to the column. However, despite the commonness of RC jacketing, a limited number of studies investigated numerical modelling strategies for including these phenomena, especially with reference to the development of numerical models for desi…