Granular material pressure to reinforced concrete walls of cylindrical slender silos: Analysis and Experimental studies according to Eurocodes

A wide range of reinforced concrete (RC) wall performance was observed following the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes, with most walls performing as expected, but some exhibiting undesirable and unexpected damage and failure characteristics. A comprehensive research programme, funded by the Building Performance Branch of the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and involving both numerical and experimental studies, was developed to investigate the unexpected damage observed in the earthquakes and provide recommendations for the design and assessment procedures for RC walls. In particular, the studies focused on the performance of lightly reinforced walls; precast walls and connections; ductile walls; walls subjected to bi-directional loading; and walls prone to out-of-plane instability. This paper summarises each research programme and provides practical recommendations for the design and assessment of RC walls based on key findings, including recommended changes to NZS 3101 and the NZ Seismic Assessment Guidelines.

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Experimental Studies on Creep and Shrinkage Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Walls

ACI Structural Journal ◽

10.14359/51721376 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (3) ◽

Keyword(s):

Reinforced Concrete ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Concrete Walls ◽

Reinforced Concrete Walls ◽

Creep And Shrinkage ◽

Shrinkage Behavior

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Seismic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Walls With Granular Infill

Volume 8: Seismic Engineering ◽

10.1115/pvp2006-icpvt-11-93610 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

Greg Mertz ◽

Thomas Houston

Keyword(s):

Reinforced Concrete ◽

Granular Material ◽

Seismic Response ◽

Lateral Pressure ◽

Seismic Analysis ◽

Soil Pressure ◽

Concrete Walls ◽

Friction Forces ◽

Breathing Mode ◽

Reinforced Concrete Walls

Reinforced concrete walls sandwiching granular infill may be used to enhance missile protection of selected facilities. Two behaviors complicate the seismic response of the assemblage of granular material contained by the two concrete wall elements. First, the granular material tends to settle when the walls pull apart in a breathing mode. This settling increases the lateral pressure acting on each wall, generating a set of forces that acts to spread the walls apart. Settling of the granular material combined with spreading of the walls results in breathing mode deformations that can occur in a ratcheting behavior, with the walls moving progressively further apart with each cycle of strong ground motion. Second, friction forces develop between the two walls and granular material. These forces may cause partial flexural coupling of the two walls (i.e., partial composite action). Soil mechanics solutions for lateral soil pressure acting in trenches are adapted to predict the lateral pressure of granular infill. The granular material is represented by a bilinear lateral response representing the active flow regime. The seismic response of granular infill concrete walls is studied using nonlinear finite element analysis. Simple structural models appropriate for routine seismic analysis that capture important aspects of the seismic response are proposed.

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Temperature and shrinkage cracking in reinforced concrete walls

10.32920/ryerson.14644584 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Dylan James Matin

Keyword(s):

Reinforced Concrete ◽

Temperature Drop ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Shrinkage Strain ◽

Moisture Loss ◽

Structural Element ◽

Shrinkage Cracking ◽

Concrete Walls ◽

Reinforced Concrete Walls ◽

Formation Of Cracks

Concrete cracking due to restrained thermal and shrinkage strain is a widespread problem that could happen to any structural element including base restrained walls. This type of crack usually occurs in structures with rigidly interconnected parts cast after their adjacent parts are hardened. As concrete undergoes volumetric deformations right after casting, the developing strains due to temperature drop and moisture loss get restrained by neighboring parts which causes stress development and could lead to formation of cracks. Cracking could reduce the structure’s integrity and serviceability, cause deterioration which could also lead to esthetical concerns. Therefore, structures should be designed to limit cracks to an acceptable level depending on the functionality requirements of the structure and its exposure conditions. Although it has been proven that it is almost impossible to completely eliminate cracking, providing an adequate amount of appropriately positioned reinforcement can reduce the width of cracks significantly. This study aims to investigate the behavior of base restrained reinforced concrete (RC) walls under volumetric changes due to thermal and shrinkage strains and providing a procedure to determine the amount of reinforcement needed to control the width of cracks. The ABAQUS finite element (FE) program is used to simulate the structures used in this study. The models are verified by comparing the results with previous experimental studies. Based on the performed parametric study, a procedure is suggested to determine the amount of steel reinforcement required to satisfy the cracking limitations based on major parameters that affect the crack width.

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Temperature and shrinkage cracking in reinforced concrete walls

10.32920/ryerson.14644584.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Dylan James Matin

Keyword(s):

Reinforced Concrete ◽

Temperature Drop ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Shrinkage Strain ◽

Moisture Loss ◽

Structural Element ◽

Shrinkage Cracking ◽

Concrete Walls ◽

Reinforced Concrete Walls ◽

Formation Of Cracks

Concrete cracking due to restrained thermal and shrinkage strain is a widespread problem that could happen to any structural element including base restrained walls. This type of crack usually occurs in structures with rigidly interconnected parts cast after their adjacent parts are hardened. As concrete undergoes volumetric deformations right after casting, the developing strains due to temperature drop and moisture loss get restrained by neighboring parts which causes stress development and could lead to formation of cracks. Cracking could reduce the structure’s integrity and serviceability, cause deterioration which could also lead to esthetical concerns. Therefore, structures should be designed to limit cracks to an acceptable level depending on the functionality requirements of the structure and its exposure conditions. Although it has been proven that it is almost impossible to completely eliminate cracking, providing an adequate amount of appropriately positioned reinforcement can reduce the width of cracks significantly. This study aims to investigate the behavior of base restrained reinforced concrete (RC) walls under volumetric changes due to thermal and shrinkage strains and providing a procedure to determine the amount of reinforcement needed to control the width of cracks. The ABAQUS finite element (FE) program is used to simulate the structures used in this study. The models are verified by comparing the results with previous experimental studies. Based on the performed parametric study, a procedure is suggested to determine the amount of steel reinforcement required to satisfy the cracking limitations based on major parameters that affect the crack width.

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