Post-earthquake assessment of moderately damaged reinforced concrete plastic hinges

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-321
Author(s):  
Kai Marder ◽  
Kenneth J. Elwood ◽  
Christopher J. Motter ◽  
G. Charles Clifton

Modern reinforced concrete buildings are often designed to dissipate energy during strong earthquakes by permitting the controlled formation of plastic hinges. Plastic hinges require assessment of residual capacity in post-earthquake situations. However, few past studies have investigated this topic, and results from experiments focused on undamaged structures are not always transferable to post-earthquake situations. Data from an experimental program, in which both cyclic and earthquake-type loadings were applied to nominally identical reinforced concrete beams, are used to investigate the relationship between residual crack widths and rotation demands. Assessment of the peak deformation demands incurred during a damaging earthquake is critical for post-earthquake assessments, but residual crack widths are shown to be dependent on several factors in addition to the peak rotation demand. Non-dimensional metrics capturing the distribution of cracking are proposed as a more informative alternative. The reduction in stiffness that occurs as a result of earthquake-induced plastic hinging damage was also investigated. A proposed model is shown to give a lower-bound estimate of the residual stiffness following arbitrary earthquake-type loadings.

Author(s):  
Aaron Kadima Lukanu Lwa Nzambi ◽  
Dênio Ramam Carvalho de Oliveira ◽  
Marcus Vinicius dos Santos Monteiro ◽  
Luiz Felipe Albuquerque da Silva

Abstract Some normative recommendations are conservative in relation to the shear strength of reinforced concrete beams, not directly considering the longitudinal reinforcement rate. An experimental program containing 8 beams of (100 x 250) mm2 and a length of 1,200 mm was carried out. The concrete compression strength was 20 MPa with and without 1.00% of steel fiber addition, without stirrups and varying the longitudinal reinforcement ratio. Comparisons between experimental failure loads and main design codes estimates were assessed. The results showed that the increase of the longitudinal reinforcement ratio from 0.87% to 2.14% in beams without steel fiber led to an improvement of 59% in shear strength caused by the dowel effect, while the corresponding improvement was of only 22% in fibered concrete beams. A maximum gain of 109% in shear strength was observed with the addition of 1% of steel fibers comparing beams with the same longitudinal reinforcement ratio (1.2%). A significant amount of shear strength was provided by the inclusion of the steel fibers and allowed controlling the propagation of cracks by the effect of stress transfer bridges, transforming the brittle shear mechanism into a ductile flexural one. From this, it is clear the shear benefit of the steel fiber addition when associated to the longitudinal reinforcement and optimal values for this relationship would improve results.


Reinforced concrete structures are subjected to deterioration due to many factors such as corrosion of reinforcing steel. Ultimate strengths of structural elements can be greatly affected by these deteriorating factors. There are numerous methods and techniques used to protect these structural elements. The mortar layer (Plastering) is considered the first defense line against all the deteriorating factors. The main goal of this research is to investigate to what extent the plastering layer can protect reinforced concrete beams against corrosion. The aim of the experimental program is to study the effect of plastering layer on corrosion resistance of reinforced concrete beams. Four reinforced concrete beams (1002001100 mms) and four Lollypop specimens (cylinders 100200 mms) were tested and described as follows: • A beam and a lollypop specimen without any plastering layer (control). • A beam and a lollypop specimen with traditional plastering layer (cement + sand + water). • A beam and a lollypop specimen with modified plastering (traditional plastering + waterproof admixtures). • A beam and a lollypop specimen with painted and modified plastering layer (traditional plastering + waterproof admixtures + external waterproof paint). These eight specimens were subjected to corrosion using accelerated corrosion technique, after that the four beams were tested in flexure under three point load arrangement while the four lollypops were used to calculate the total mass loss due to accelerated corrosion. The test results were used to figure out the effect of plastering layer on corrosion resistance of RC beams.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 2923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violetta K. Kytinou ◽  
Constantin E. Chalioris ◽  
Chris G. Karayannis ◽  
Anaxagoras Elenas

The use of fibers as mass reinforcement to delay cracking and to improve the strength and the post-cracking performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams has been well documented. However, issues of common engineering practice about the beneficial effect of steel fibers to the seismic resistance of RC structural members in active earthquake zones have not yet been fully clarified. This study presents an experimental and a numerical approach to the aforementioned question. The hysteretic response of slender and deep steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) beams reinforced with steel reinforcement is investigated through tests of eleven beams subjected to reversal cyclic loading and numerical analysis using 3D finite element (FE) modeling. The experimental program includes flexural and shear-critical SFRC beams with different ratios of steel reinforcing bars (0.55% and 1.0%), closed stirrups (from 0 to 0.5%), and fibers with content from 0.5 to 3% per volume. The developed nonlinear FE numerical simulation considers well-established relationships for the compression and tensional behavior of SFRC that are based on test results. Specifically, a smeared crack model is proposed for the post-cracking behavior of SFRC under tension, which employs the fracture characteristics of the composite material using stress versus crack width curves with tension softening. Axial tension tests of prismatic SFRC specimens are also included in this study to support the experimental project and to verify the proposed model. Comparing the numerical results with the experimental ones it is revealed that the proposed model is efficient and accurately captures the crucial aspects of the response, such as the SFRC tension softening effect, the load versus deformation cyclic envelope and the influence of the fibers on the overall hysteretic performance. The findings of this study also reveal that SFRC beams showed enhanced cyclic behavior in terms of residual stiffness, load-bearing capacity, deformation, energy dissipation ability and cracking performance, maintaining their integrity through the imposed reversal cyclic tests.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rizwan AZAM ◽  
Ahmed K. EL-SAYED ◽  
Khaled SOUDKI

The effect of corrosion on the structural behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) beams without stirrups was experimentally investigated. A total of seven medium-scale RC beams without stirrups were constructed. The beams measured 150 mm wide, 250 mm deep and 1700 mm long. The test variables included: three different longitudinal reinforcement ratios (0.91%, 1.21%, and 1.82%) and two different corrosion levels (3% and 10%). Four beams were subjected to artificial corrosion whereas three beams acted as control un-corroded. Following the corrosion phase, all beams were tested to failure in three point bending. Corrosion crack widths and cracking patterns were recorded at different stages of corrosion. The effect of different longitudinal reinforcement ratios on the rate of corrosion was observed. Test results revealed that the beams with higher reinforcement ratios experienced slower corrosion rate compared to beams with lower reinforcement ratios. All control beams failed in shear whereas corroded beams failed in bond. There was a significant reduction in the load carrying capacity of the corroded beams without stirrups compared to the control beams.


2019 ◽  
pp. 4-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. V. Bardakov ◽  
A. I. Sagaydak ◽  
S. V. Elizarov

The paper presents the results of the conducted experimental studies on three-point bend testing of over-reinforced concrete beams with incremental cyclic load, up to destruction, using the acoustic emission method. In total 3 RC beams differ from each other in reinforcement type, concrete composition and ultimate load were tested. Special attention is paid to the investigation of the relationship between destructive processes occurring during the testing of reinforced concrete beams and the evolution of acoustic emission data registered during the test. The analysis described in the article makes it possible, on the basis of acoustic emission data, recorded during the tests, to distinguish the stages corresponding to the different technical state of over-reinforced concrete structures.


2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidmantas Jokūbaitis ◽  
Linas Juknevičius

The width of normal cracks at the level of tensile reinforcement was calculated according to various methods using the data obtained from experimental tests on reinforced concrete beams (without reinforcement pre-stress), pre-cast reinforced concrete slabs and ribbed roof slabs. Th e numerical results were compared to actual crack widths measured during the experimental tests. Also, the crack widths of pre-stressed reinforced concrete beams were calculated according to various methods and compared with each other. Th e following conclusions were reached based on the analysis of numerical and experimental results: 1) Design stresses in tensile reinforcement calculated according to [STR] and [EC] design codes are very similar, although the calculation of such stresses is more logical and simple according to [EC]. Design stresses calculated according to [RU] are greater due to the estimation of the plastic deformations of concrete in the compressive zone. Th e method proposed by Rozenbliumas (Розенблюмас 1966) estimates tensile concrete above the crack peak, and thus allows a more accurate calculation of stresses in tensile reinforcement (Fig 3). Therefore, the latter stresses in pre-stressed RC beams may be decreased by 10–12 %, when height hct ≠ 0 (Fig 1, c) and ratio M/MRd varies between 0,65 and 0,75; 2) The widths of normal cracks in conventional RC beams (subjected to load that corresponds approx. 70 % of their carrying capacity) calculated according to [STR] and [EC] design codes are almost equal to the experimentally obtained crack widths. When beams and slabs are loaded by approximately 52 % of their carrying capacity, design crack widths wk [EC] are approximately 12 % less than wk [STR], although the design crack width wk [RU] is signifi cantly greater. Here, ratio β in the beams and slabs is equal to 2 and 3.3 respectively. Th erefore, the design code [RU] ensures higher probability that the crack width will not reach the limit value (for environmental class XO and XC1) equal in all design codes mentioned in this article; 3) In case of loaded prestressed reinforced concrete beams, the calculated increases of crack widths wk [EC], wk [RU] and w [5] are greater if compared to wk [STR] (Fig 6). Th e increased reinforcement ratio ρ has more signifi cant infl uence on the increases of crack widths calculated according to other design codes if compared to wk [STR]. Tensile concrete above the crack peak has signifi cant infl uence on the design crack width when pre-stressed RC beams are lightly reinforced (ρ ≤ 0,008); 4) During the evaluation of the state of fl exural RC members, expression (5) could be used for calculating the crack width or a position of the neutral axis when the heights of the crack and the tensile zone above the crack are known (calculated or measured experimentally). Design crack widths w (5) are very similar to the experimentally obtained results.


This paper presents a study of shear behaviour of reinforced concrete beams. The major parameters used were type of shear reinforcement, namely stirrups alone, wire mesh alone and combination of both wire mesh and stirrups as shear reinforcement. The replacement of wire mesh was done on the basis of weight with stirrups. The experimental program includes four beams. All the beams were tested using two point loading system. It is evident from the result that the use of wire mesh enhanced improved shear performance and bearing capacity in the examined beams. Beams with wire mesh as shear reinforcement and combination of both wire mesh and stirrups exhibited some amount of increase in shear capacity with respect to the beams with stirrups alone as shear reinforcement. Furthermore beams with wire mesh and combination of wire mesh and stirrups as reinforcement exhibited less number of crack patterns compared beams with stirrups.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyyednezameddin Bozorgzadeh

In this study the leakage of pressurized water through direct tension cracks in reinforced concrete (RC) panels is investigated experimentally. The results of the experiment can contribute to the field from different aspects since not many experimental studies of this kind have been reported in the literature. In this experimental program, three RC panels are subjected to direct tension force in order to form a major crack. The leakage test is then performed on the cracked specimens and the leakage of water through the crack is measured for different crack widths. The collected data consists of reinforcement strains, crack widths and the leakage rate through the cracks. Related theoretical models are compared against the experiment results. These results indicate that the leakage of water through a crack depend on the pressure of the water, cube of the crack width and crack width gradient.


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