The optimal design of any structural elements requires examining all environmental risks, emergency accidents, and standard load cases. Exposure to fire is one of the most common safety threats. Nowadays wide developments are achieved in the field of concrete technology, therefore, experimental and theoretical investigations should be performed on the characteristics of such developed materials under different loading conditions. This study investigates the impact of fire exposure on the mechanical characteristics of self-compacting concrete, specifically compressive and tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and stress-strain relation. The adopted fire exposure consisted of six steady-state temperatures (300, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800°C) for one hour and a sudden cooling method. Four glass fiber volume fractions were adopted: 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5%. The glass fiber volume fractions considered (0.5-1.5%) improved the mechanical properties investigated. Two states were detected for the effect of fire exposure. The effect of fire exposure was inversely proportional to fiber content in burning temperatures of 300-700°C, while the reduction in mechanical properties of 1.5% fiber content was greater than those of 0.5 and 1% when the temperature increased to 800°C. Furthermore, the addition of glass fiber changed the brittle mode stress-strain relation to semi-ductile for the non-burned and burned up to 600°C specimens, whereas a brittle behavior was detected when the temperature increased above 600°C. In general, a similar effect was noticed for all the glass fiber ratios considered regarding the slope of the stress-strain linear stage compared to the non-burned specimens, which was more salient when the burning temperature increased.
In this study, the response of ten composite post-tensioned concrete beams topped by a reinforced concrete deck with adequate reinforcing shear connectors is investigated. Depending on the concrete compressive strength of the deck slab (20, 30, and 40 MPa), beams are grouped into three categories. Seven of these beams are exposed to a fire attack of 700 and 800 °C temperature simultaneously with or without the presence of a uniformly distributed sustained static loading. After cooling back to ambient temperature, these composite beams are loaded up to failure, using a force control module, by monotonic static loading in a four-point-bending setup with two symmetrical concentrated loads applied in
The main objective of this study is to characterize the main factors which may affect the behavior of segmental prestressed concrete beams comprised of multi segments. The 3-D finite element program ABAQUS was utilized. The experimental work was conducted on twelve simply supported segmental prestressed concrete beams divided into three groups depending on the precast segments number. They all had an identical total length of 3150mm, but each had different segment numbers (9, 7, and 5 segments), in other words, different segment lengths. To simulate the genuine fire disasters, nine beams were exposed to high-temperature flame for one hour, the selected temperatures were 300°C (572°F), 500°C (932°F) and 700°C (1292°F) as recomm
... Show MoreThe present work is concerned with the investigation of the behavior and ultimate capacity of axially loaded reinforced concrete columns in presence of transverse openings under axial load plus uniaxial bending. The experimental program includes testing of twenty reinforced concrete columns (150 × 150 × 700 mm) under concentric and eccentric load. Parameters considered include opening size, load eccentricity and influence of the direction of load eccentricity with respect to the longitudinal axis of the opening. Experimental results are discussed based on load – lateral mid height deflection curves, load – longitudinal shortening behavior, ultimate load and failure modes. It is found that when the direction of load
... Show MoreUsing fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) could effectively improve the strength and endurance of reinforced concrete (RC) constructions. This study evaluated the flexural behavior of one-way concrete slabs with openings reinforced with glass fiber-reinforced polymers (GFRP) bars. It strengthened using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets around the openings. The experimental program of this study is adopted by casting and testing four one-way concrete slabs with dimensions of (150*750*2650) mm. These slabs are divided into two groups based on whether they were strengthened or un-strengthened. For each group, two different openings (either one rectangular or two square) measured 250*500 mm and 250*250 mm, respective
... Show MoreImproving the accuracy of load-deformation behavior, failure mode, and ultimate load capacity for reinforced concrete members subjected to in-plane loadings such as corbels, wall to foundation connections and panels need shear strength behavior to be included. Shear design in reinforced concrete structures depends on crack width, crack slippage and roughness of the surface of cracks.
This paper illustrates results of an experimental investigation conducted to investigate the direct shear strength of fiber normal strength concrete (NSC) and reactive powder concrete (RPC). The tests were performed along a pre-selected shear plane in concrete members named push-off specimens. The effectiveness of concrete compressiv
... Show MoreThe present investigation focuses on the response of simply supported reinforced concrete rectangular-section beams with multiple openings of different sizes, numbers, and geometrical configurations. The advantages of the reinforcement concrete beams with multiple opening are mainly, practical benefit including decreasing the floor heights due to passage of the utilities through the beam rather than the passage beneath it, and constructional benefit that includes the reduction of the self-weight of structure resulting due to the reduction of the dead load that achieves economic design. To optimize beam self-weight with its ultimate resistance capacity, ten reinforced concrete beams having a length, width, and depth of 2700, 100, and
... Show MoreIn the present work the Buildup factor for gamma rays were studied in shields from epoxy reinforced by lead powder and by aluminum powder, for NaI(Tl) scintillation detector size ( ×? ), using two radioactive sources (Co-60 and Cs-137). The shields which are used (epoxy reinforced by lead powder with concentration (10-60)% and epoxy reinforced by aluminum powder with concentration (10-50)% by thick (6mm) and epoxy reinforced by lead powder with concentration (50%) with thick (2,4,6,8,10)mm. The experimental results show that: The linear absorption factor and Buildup factor increase with increase the concentration for the powders which used in reinforcement and high for aluminum powder than the lead powder and decrease with inc
... Show MoreIn Australia, most of the existing buildings were designed before the release of the Australian standard for earthquake actions in 2007. Therefore, many existing buildings in Australia lack adequate seismic design, and their seismic performance must be assessed. The recent earthquake that struck Mansfield, Victoria near Melbourne elevated the need to produce fragility curves for existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in Australia. Fragility curves are frequently utilized to assess buildings’ seismic performance and it is defined as the demand probability surpassing capacity at a given intensity level. Numerous factors can influence the results of the fragility assessment of RC buildings. Among the most important factors that can affe
... Show MoreThis study investigated the shear performance of concrete beams with GFRP stirrups vs. traditional steel stirrups. Longitudinal glass fiber‐reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars were used to doubly reinforce the tested beams at both the top and bottom of their cross sections. To accomplish this, several stirrup spacings were provided. Eight beam specimens, measuring 300 × 250 × 2400 mm, were used in an experimental program to test under a two‐point concentrated load with an equal span‐to‐depth ratio until failure. Four beams in Group I have standard mild steel stirrups of 8 mm diameter, while four beams in Group II have GFRP stirrups with the same adopted diameter. The difference betwe
This study investigated the shear performance of concrete beams with GFRP stirrups vs. traditional steel stirrups. Longitudinal glass fiber‐reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars were used to doubly reinforce the tested beams at both the top and bottom of their cross sections. To accomplish this, several stirrup spacings were provided. Eight beam specimens, measuring 300 × 250 × 2400 mm, were used in an experimental program to test under a two‐point concentrated load with an equal span‐to‐depth ratio until failure. Four beams in Group I have standard mild steel stirrups of 8 mm diameter, while four beams in Group II have GFRP stirrups with the same adopted diameter. The difference betwe