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The behavior of lightweight reinforced concrete deep beams (LRCDBs) under fire conditions is investigated in this study, with a specific focus on the effect of varying transverse reinforcement spacing. Four LRCDB specimens with transverse reinforcement intervals of 60 mm and 150 mm are constructed and subjected to four-point bending tests at both normal and elevated temperatures. The ultimate load-bearing capacity of the specimens is increased by 6.9% when the spacing of transverse reinforcements is reduced from 150 mm to 60 mm. Additionally, the load-bearing capacity of the specimens with 60 mm and 150 mm stirrup spacing is reduced after exposure to fire, with reductions of 16.8% and 23.6% respectively. The ultimate deflection of the mid-span of the beam is also diminished by the heat from the fire. The analysis of the specimens is performed using Abaqus software and the Finite Element Method. The obtained results exhibit a strong agreement with the experimental data, providing valuable insights into the behavior of LRCDBs during fire conditions. These insights highlight the critical importance of designing appropriate transverse reinforcement.

Sinusoidal corrugated web girders, which are in the focus of the current paper, have been increasingly used in the past years in civil engineering applications due to economical design. Recently, a number of experiments dealing with the particular behaviour of this girder type have been carried out at room temperature, while the structural behaviour at elevated temperature has not been widely analysed and requires further investigation and clarification. The current paper deals with the improved geometrically and materially nonlinear analysis with imperfections (GMNIA) of sinusoidal corrugated web girders under fire conditions. The developed finite element model, which is validated based on previous measurements during fire tests found in the international literature, is capable of modelling the specialties, e.g., the so‐called 'accordion effect', of corrugated web girders. The applicability of design formulae is also illustrated in the paper while an extensive numerical parametric study is also carried out to demonstrate the impact of different parameters on the stability behaviour and failure mode of corrugated web girders at elevated temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper aims to study the structural behavior of tubular KT-joints subjected to axial loading at fire induced elevated temperatures. At first, a finite element (FE) model was developed and validated against the data available from experimental tests. Then, a set of 810 FE analyses were performed to study the influence of temperature and dimensionless geometrical parameters ( β , γ , θ , and τ ) on the ultimate strength and initial stiffness. The joints were analyzed under two types of axial loading and five different temperatures (20 °C, 200 °C, 400 °C, 550 °C, and 700 °C). Up to now, there has not been any design formula available for determining the ultimate strength of KT-joints at elevated temperatures. Hence, after parametric study, a new equation was developed through nonlinear regression analyses, for calculating the ultimate strength of KT-joints subjected to axial loading at elevated temperatures. Highlights • The ultimate strength and failure modes of tubular KT-joints at fire-induced elevated temperatures were investigated. • Tubular KT-joints were subjected to two types of axial loading. • Results of 810 steady-state FE analyses were used for the parametric study. • A set of new design equations was derived to calculate the ultimate strength of KT-joints subjected to axial loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract: It is evident from a series of tests on simply supported reinforced concrete slabs that the failure of the slabs at large deflections is due to the formation of individual large cracks. This failure mode was also observed in the Cardington full-scale fire tests. Previous research indicates that the global behaviour of concrete slabs subject to large deflections can be well predicted by the smeared cracking model; however, the model cannot quantitatively predict the openings of individual cracks within the slabs at large deflections. For the discrete approach it is usually assumed that the cracks are formed along element edges, therefore continuous re-meshing is required during the analysis. Consequently, the results are mesh-dependent and the computing cost is high. In recent years, mesh independent finite element procedures, such as embedded (EFEM) and extended (XFEM) approaches, were widely used for modelling of the crack initiation and growth in structural members. However, most of the meshless models developed are either based on in-plane loading conditions or confined to thin shells with assumed full-depth cracks, which form apparent displacement jumps within an element. For a reinforced concrete slab, an out-of-plane load causes coupled stretching and bending of the slab, cracks are usually initiated at discrete positions and then propagated, until at last some individual full-depth cracks are formed. Pure stretching or assumed full-depth cracking is inadequate for modelling this kind of failure. Therefore, in this research, a non-linear layered procedure with embedded weak discontinuity is developed to quantitatively model the progressive tensile failure of reinforced concrete slabs subjected to large deflections. The current model inherits the advantage of the smeared approach, and at the same time, introduces the opening width of crack explicitly by taking the advantage of the better description of the kinematic characteristics of the EFEM approach. A series of validations have been conducted against test data at both ambient and elevated temperatures, and the research shows that the model developed in this paper is not sensitive to the FE mesh size and the aspect ratio of the slab. The results predicted by the model developed agreed well with the test data in terms of deflection and crack open width, also agreeing well with those modelled by the smeared model. Hence, this new approach provides a numerical method to predict the load capacity as well as identifying the occurrence and severity of crack failure in reinforced concrete slabs subjected to extreme loading conditions, such as fire. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]