Search results for "concrete"
showing 10 items of 262 documents
Effects of circular openings on the compressive behaviour of R.C. columns
2014
Core-drilling technique is nowadays always more frequently performed in existing reinforced concrete (RC) structures in order to investigate on the mechanical properties of concrete and for structural health monitoring purposes. Even if the engineering practice discourages to drill columns, this can be often unavoidable. In this last case the presence of the circular opening influences the compressive behavior of the column in terms of load-carrying capacity and axial deformability. The goal of this investigation was the experimental evaluation of the effects induced by circular openings on the behavior of RC columns. Twenty-four reinforced and plain concrete prisms in presence of circular …
Experimental test results vs. analytical prediction of welded joint strength in hybrid steel trussed concrete beams (HSTCBs)
2013
The aim of the paper is to provide practical guidelines for the design of welded joints of steel truss for encased composite steel–concrete beams. The results of experimental tests are presented and interpreted. The steel truss is made of a steel plate acting as the bottom chord, made of S355 structural steel, coupled with steel rebars which form the upper chord, and steel inclined web rebars (V-reverse) welded to the two chord elements, both of them made of steel B450C. Butt welded joints of web bar to bottom steel plate and fillet welding joints of inclined web bars to top chord bars were tested, as they are different from the ones which are normally used due to the coupling of different …
Adjustable prestressing for construction stages of incrementally launched bridges
2014
Incrementally launched bridges, which are generally built with the static scheme of a continuous beam on supports, change their scheme several times during launching. In these different configurations, internal forces vary and bending moments of opposite signs occur in the same sections for different positions of deck during advancement. In these bridges, two different kinds of prestressing are necessary: a temporary one during launching and a definitive one in service life. In this study, the possibility of implementing automatic adjustable prestressing for the launching stages is investigated; the launch prestressing is partially supplied by a system which can change the tension value in …
Getting into the groove: Opportunities to enhance the ecological value of hard coastal infrastructure using fine-scale surface textures
2015
Concrete flood defences, erosion control structures, port and harbour facilities, and renewable energy infrastructure are increasingly being built in the world’s coastal regions. There is, however, strong evidence to suggest that these structures are poor surrogates for natural rocky shores, often supporting assemblages with lower species abundance and diversity. Ecological engineering opportunities to enhance structures for biodiversity conservation (and other management goals) are therefore being sought, but the majority of work so far has concentrated on structural design features at the centimetre–meter scale.\ud \ud We deployed concrete tiles with four easily-reproducible fine-scale (m…
Frictional effects in structural behavior of no-end-connected steel-jacketed RC columns: Experimental results and new approaches to model numerical a…
2017
Steel jacketing of reinforced concrete (RC) columns is a common retrofitting technique used to restore bearing and deformation capacity of buildings presenting structural deficiencies. For practical reasons, steel angles are in several cases arranged leaving a gap with the end beams or slabs. Despite this disconnection, the angles are still able to support a non-negligible portion of load because of the frictional forces developed along the column-angle contact interface. In these cases, the definition of computational numerical and analytical models for the assessment of reinforced cross sections becomes more complex and must be handled with care. The actual load-carrying capacity of the a…
Fundamental period of infilled reinforced concrete frame structures
2016
AbstractThe fundamental period of vibration appears to be one of the most critical parameters for the seismic design and assessment of structures. In the present paper, the results of a large-scale analytical investigation on the parameters that affect the fundamental period of reinforced concrete structures are presented. The influence of the number of storeys, the number of spans, the span length, the infill wall panel stiffness and the percentage of openings within the infill panel on the fundamental period of infilled RC frames was investigated. Based on these results, a regression analysis is applied in order to propose a new empirical equation for the estimation of the fundamental per…
Failure by corrosion in PC bridges: A case history of a viaduct in Italy
2016
Purpose The paper illustrates a viaduct collapse due to corrosion phenomena. Moreover, a contribution to the issues related to both the control of existing structures and design methods to be followed for the construction of new buildings is provided. Design/methodology/approach The objectives were achieved by in situ observations and numerical analyses. The effects of corrosion phenomena are investigated, and the progressive collapse analysis is provided to be helpful in this case. Findings The damages induced by corrosion phenomena have caused the collapse of the viaduct taken in to account. The performed numerical analyses were able to reproduce the effects of corrosion in terms of redu…
Incremental dynamic based fragility assessment of reinforced concrete structures: Stationary vs. non-stationary artificial ground motions
2017
Abstract Artificial and natural records are commonly employed by researches and practitioners to perform refined seismic assessments of structures. The techniques for the generation of artificial records and their effectiveness in producing signals which are significantly representative of real earthquakes are still debated as well as results of the consequent seismic assessment to expect from their application. The paper presents an in-depth comparative study highlighting the effect of employing different typologies of artificial ground motion records on seismic assessment results, especially addressing seismic fragility curves. Three sets of 50 stationary, nonstationary evenly modulated a…
Analytical model for high-strength concrete columns with square cross-section
2008
In the present paper a mechanical model to predict the compressive response of high strength short concrete columns with square cross-section confined by transverse steel is presented. The model allows one to estimate the equivalent confinement pressures exercised by transverse steel during the loading process taking into account of the interaction of the stirrups with the inner core both in the plane of the stirrups and in the space between two successive stirrups. The lateral pressure distributions at hoop levels are obtained by using a simple model of elastic beam on elastic medium simulating the interaction between stirrups and concrete core, including yielding of steel stirrups and dam…
Strengthening of steel-reinforced concrete structural elements by externally bonded FRP sheets and evaluation of their load carrying capacity
2014
Abstract The paper proposes a preliminary design tool for reinforced concrete (RC) elements strengthened by fiber-reinforced-polymer (FRP) sheets to be used in civil engineering applications and in particular in medical buildings. The design strategy is based on limit analysis theory and utilizes a numerical procedure which provides a direct method to determine peak load, failure mode and critical zones of the structural elements of interest.