Search

Abstract Externally restraining volume changes of concrete, that is, thermal effects and shrinkage, may result in tensile stresses and eventually cracking. Such cracking risk is controlled/mitigated by the provision of steel reinforcement, which presumes a correct understanding of the cracking patterns under different types of restraint conditions. Reinforced concrete (RC) members may be restrained at their edges or end, or in many cases a combination of the two. Existing guidance on the subject is mostly based on end restrained members, however, it is applied to predict the behavior under edge restraint too. Researchers have identified that the mechanisms of cracking associated with edge and end restraints are quite different. To this purpose, findings from an experimental investigation aiming to understand the behavior of edge restrained RC walls were utilized to validate a finite element (FE) model. Subsequently, this FE model was used to parametrically study walls having different aspect ratios and subjected to different forms of restraint. Cracking patterns, widths, and extent appeared to greatly depend on the type of restraint and wall aspect ratio. The influence of combined restraint, for instance, was found to be more significant in walls with aspect ratio less than 4. The study provides clear evidence on why similar studies, are needed to support engineers in designing against cracking due to restraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the experimental and analytical behaviour of beam-column joints that are subjected to a combination of torque, flexural and direct shear forces, where different Carbon Fibre Polymer (CFRP) strengthening wraps have been applied only to the beam. These wrapping schemes have previously been determined by the research community as an effective method of enhancing the torsional capacities of simply supported reinforced concrete beams. In this investigation, four 3/4-scale exterior beam-column joints were subjected to combined monotonic loading; three different beam wrapping schemes were employed to strengthen the beam region of the joint. The paper suggests a series of rational formulae, based on the space truss mechanism, which can be used to evaluate the joint shear demand of the beams wrapped in these various ways. Further, an iterative model, based on the average stress-strain method, has been introduced to predict joint strength. The proposed analytical approaches show good agreement with the experimental results. The experimental outcomes along with the adopted analytical methods reflect the consistent influence of the wrapping ratio, the interaction between the combined forces, the concrete strut capacity and the fibre orientation on the joint forces, the failure mode and the distortion levels. A large rise in the strut force resulting from shear stresses generated from this combination of forces is demonstrated and leads to a sudden-brittle failure. Likewise, increases in the beams' main steel rebar strains are identified at the column face, again influenced by the load interactions and the wrapping systems used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The restraint of imposed strains in edge-restrained members was investigated. In particular, the influence of vertical steel reinforcement between the restrained member (wall) and the restraining member (base) on the mechanism of restraint development was experimentally examined. Real-scale reinforced concrete (RC) walls on RC bases were constructed and the investigation analysed why previous studies, which have mostly utilised steel members to restrain the imposed strain, are inappropriate for gaining an understanding of edge restraint as they fail to reflect the heat transfer between the wall and the base. The results of this study revealed that the degree of restraint increased in the presence of vertical steel reinforcement from 0·37 to 0·72. It was also found that restraint increased over time due to the steel reinforcement and decreased in its absence. A finite-element analysis of the walls was also conducted to highlight the significance of correctly incorporating real-time boundary conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An attempt is made to theoretically and experimentally verify the shrinkage curvature models presented in Eurocode 2 and BS 8110. These codes claim that the models originally derived and proven for uncracked sections are suitable, with modification, for predicting the behaviour of cracked sections, although this claim has never been proven experimentally. To achieve verification, an alternative theoretical approach is initially proposed in this paper. In this theoretical model, the effect of shrinkage, creep and the variation in the neutral axis position of the section are taken into account. The stresses developed in the steel and concrete at a cracked section according to this theoretical model are then applied to a finite-element (FE) model representing a portion of the beam from the crack to mid-way between the crack and an adjacent crack. Ultimately, the mean curvature is determined. Experimentally, pairs of beams were cast and subjected to a level of flexural loading to produce a stabilised crack pattern in the constant-moment zone. The behaviour of the beams was monitored for up to 180 days. For any pair of beams, one beam was cast using a high-shrinkage concrete and the other with a low-shrinkage concrete. Each concrete type, however, exhibits similar creep. Therefore, shrinkage curvature can be obtained by subtracting the long-term movements of one beam from the other. These experimentally defined curvatures were compared with the mean curvatures obtained from the FE analysis. The comparison showed reasonable agreement. The curvatures were also compared with uncracked and cracked curvatures predicted by the codes. The curvatures derived in this investigation fell within the boundaries of the uncracked and cracked curvatures predicted by the codes and, for the fully cracked case, the curvatures were closer to the uncracked boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to further the understanding of the interaction between reinforcement in tension and the surrounding cracked concrete. This is achieved using the elastic analysis of axisymmetric prisms reinforced with a single central bar. As a preliminary to the analyses, the behavior of axially reinforced prisms is described based on previous experiments. This preliminary analysis confirms that the elastic analysis adopted in this investigation is reasonable. Two analytical exercises are described: the first assumes no slip, plasticity, or internal cracking at the interface between the steel and the concrete; the second introduces internal cracking and debonding between ribs. The first analysis indicates that shear deformation of the surrounding concrete accounts for a substantial proportion of the surface crack width, and therefore that this form of deformation cannot be ignored in crack prediction formulae. The second analytical exercise shows that the internal cracking model described by Goto is appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of a seven storey reinforced concrete (RC) frame at the Building Research Establishment's Large Building Test Facility in Cardington, (the European Concrete Building Project) provided an ideal opportunity to obtain long-term movement data for a number of different standard and innovative concrete mix designs and to assess the accuracy of existing design methods for predicting elasticity, shrinkage and creep. The investigation involved monitoring the strain of a number of columns of the RC frame and carrying out creep and shrinkage tests on small concrete specimens over a period of nine months. The columns were made from concrete having grade strengths from 37 to 85 MPa and contained mineral and chemical admixtures. The actual movements were then compared with movements predicted from the corresponding small concrete prism measured test data using established prediction methods. The results of the analysis indicated that the movements of the columns within the RC frame were predicted to within the range of 10-20%. In addition, elastic, creep and shrinkage movements of the small concrete prisms can be predicted satisfactorily by the CEB-FIP Model Code 90. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]