Sharif Digital Repository

This paper proposes probabilistic damage and collapse models for reinforced concrete poles in electric power distribution networks and investigates the damage and collapse pattern of poles under earthquake excitations. To this end, detailed finite element models of the H-type reinforced concrete poles are developed and verified using past experimental studies as well as the observed damage in previous earthquakes. The models are then subjected to nonlinear static analyses to study the effect of the loading pattern, loading direction, concrete strength, and failure criteria on the capacity and the collapse pattern of the pole. Next, incremental dynamic analysis is carried out to investigate... 

Fracture process of fiber-reinforced concrete notched beams is investigated here. Polypropylene macrosynthetic fibers are utilized for reinforcing concrete specimens, and a high-strength mix design is used to produce strong bonds between the embossed polypropylene fibers and the cementitious matrix of beams. Considering different locations for the notch, this study focuses on bridging mechanism under different conditions using both experimental and numerical approaches. First mode of fracture occurs due to opening of crack faces. This mode of failure is simulated by imposing symmetric boundary conditions on middle-notched beams. Inducing the notch with an offset from the middle, mixed-mode... 

This study introduces a simple and efficient method to determine the peak floor acceleration (PFA) at different performance levels for three types of plane reinforced concrete (RC) structures: moment-resisting frames (MRFs), infilled–moment-resisting frames (I-MRFs), and wall-frame dual systems (WFDSs). By associating the structural maximum PFA response with the deformation response, the acceleration-sensitive nonstructural components, and the building contents, can be designed to adhere to the performance-based seismic design of the supporting structure. Thus, the proposed method can accompany displacement-based seismic design methods to design acceleration-sensitive nonstructural elements... 

Usage of concrete-filled pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) tubes (CFPGT) as columns can increase the service life of structures. However, marine structures such as oil platforms are always prone to fire because of the low resistance to the elevated temperatures. The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the effects of concrete core strength (30 and 60 MPa), and exposure temperature (25, 100, 200, 300, and 400 °C) and time (60 and 120 min) on the compressive and bond behavior of CFPGTs. The properties of unexposed and exposed concrete core, pultruded GFRP hollow tubes, and CFPGTs were determined via compressive and disk-split tests. Also, the push-out test was used to... 

This paper focuses on the performance evaluation of several concrete models in reinforced concrete (RC) structures subjected to seismic loading. Despite many studies conducted on implementing different characteristics of concrete in constitutive models, there is an essential need for investigating the ability of these models in predicting the behavior of structures in seismic applications. In this paper, several developed plasticity-based constitutive models with the combination of fracture and continuum damage models are investigated for application in seismic loading conditions. Damage-based isotropic and anisotropic models and smeared cracking approach have been applied as complementary... 

In this paper, a comprehensive set of linear and nonlinear ultrasonic techniques was performed to investigate the properties of the interface between the roller-compacted concrete (RCC) layers. The effect of different time intervals between the pouring of each layer, cement content of concrete and bedding mortar, and various curing periods on RCC specimens were studied in this research. In linear methods, the interlayer led to velocity dispersion and attenuation phenomena except for the inherent inhomogeneity of specimens. The nonlinear parameters showed a general upward at the earlier ages, while the linear methods did not show an apparent regularity. The ultimate strength results were then... 

Seven half-scale reinforced concrete (RC) columns with supporting beam were experimentally studied under combined axial and lateral cyclic loading. The specimens were categorized in two groups based on reinforcement ratios. Three specimens were strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) sheets. Other specimens were strengthened using a high strength mortar reinforced with textile mesh (textile reinforced concrete (TRC)). Strengthening of specimens were carried out using a vertical layer and a horizontal layer of FRP sheet or two vertical and two horizontal layers of textile meshes for TRC specimens. Since the weight of each layer of... 

This paper aims at investigating the seismic behavior of strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls using a 3D finite element analysis. A series of four different configurations of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites and four different schemes of steel elements are utilized to compare the two methods of retrofitting RC shear walls with similar dimensions and reinforcement ratios. Nonlinear simulations of the RC shear walls are conducted under the action of lateral cyclic loading in ABAQUS Explicit software. In addition, the numerical modeling for RC walls strengthened by CFRP composites as well as steel elements are validated according to the previous experimental... 

Abstract. Structural collapse is the main concern for the existing structures which are built in the seismic-prone regions. Therefore, the primary goal of the seismic provisions in building codes is to prevent the global collapse. Iran is located in the Alpine-Himalayan belt, and has experienced some of the most destructive earthquakes in the past century. To evaluate the extent to which the Iranian building code provisions meet the abovementioned objective, the authors conducted a detailed assessment of collapse risk on a set of moderate moment resisting Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings. While many features might affect the seismic performance of the RC structures, this study considers... 

Corrosion of steel rebars in concrete can reduce the durability of concrete structures in coastal environments. The corrosion rate of these concrete structures can be reduced by using suitable concrete additives and coating on rebars. This paper investigates the corrosion resistance of steel rebars by the addition of pozzolanic materials including fly ash, silica fume, polypropylene fibers, and industrial 2-dimethylaminoethanol (FerroGard 901) inhibitors to the concrete mixture. Three different types of rebars including mild steel rebar st37, and two stainless steel reinforcements, AISI 304 and AISI 316, were used. Various types of primer and coating including alkyd based primer, hot-dip... 

Buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) have been spread widely, especially in high seismic hazard zones due to their excellent energy absorption capacity. BRBs are composed of a main load-carrying steel core restrained with other elements mostly made of concrete and steel casing to preserve it from buckling. Although BRBs provide excellent cyclic behavior, a problem is with their heaviness, which leads to difficulties such as installation and transportation. This study presents a numerical and experimental investigation on a BRB with a new proposed restraining system composed of concrete panels confined with partially carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips to reduce the weight of the... 

This paper aims to study the behavior of UPVC-confined columns reinforced with polypropylene fibers under axial compression. A sum of 42 column specimens has been tested, including 18 Unconfined Concrete Cylinders (UCC) and 24 confined Concrete-Filled UPVC Tube (CFUT) specimens. To investigate the sensitivity of these columns to various parameters, different levels of material volumes have been used, which include two concrete strengths of 40 and 50 MPa, two tube grades of PN6 and PN10, and three polypropylene fiber content of 0, 1 and 3 kg/m3 of the concrete mixture. The influence of each variable on the ultimate strength, ductility and confinement effectiveness of the specimens have been... 

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the stiffness and strength of damaged rectangular reinforced concrete shear walls after an earthquake using surface crack patterns. Assessing the damage severity of buildings after an earthquake is an important part of the emergency inspection operation of buildings. Expert inspectors tag buildings into two categories of safe or unsafe that are usually affected by subjective decisions, which may result in catastrophic events reported in previous earthquakes. In this research, an extensive database on the images of damaged rectangular reinforced concrete shear walls (RCSWs) is collected and used to develop predictive equations for updated stiffness and... 

We investigate the resistance of reinforced concrete panels (RCPs) due to explosive loading using nonlinear finite element analysis and surrogate models. Therefore, gene expression programming model (GEP), multiple linear regression (MLR), multiple Ln equation regression (MLnER), and their combination are used to predict the maximum deflection of RCPs. The maximum positive and negative errors, mean of absolute percentage error (MAPE), and statistical parameters such as the coefficient of determination, root mean square error (RMSE). Normalized square error (NMSE), and fractional bias are utilized to evaluate and compare the performance of the models. We also present a novel statistical table... 

Recently, to improve the dynamic behavior of Reinforced Concrete (RC) slabs under impact load, the methods of externally bonding Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) sheets to slab and internally reinforcing concrete by steel fibers have been proposed. Nevertheless, it is required to investigate the comparison between these two methods on response of RC slabs under impact loads. In this study, the influence of volume fraction of steel fibers, the number of GFRP sheet layers (one or two) and the arrangement of GFRP sheets (covering the whole or parts of surface), are examined. Performance of fourteen 1000 × 1000 × 75 mm concrete slabs including one plain slab, one steel RC slab, three steel... 

Impact loading leads to micro-crack formation that can compromise the performance of the concrete. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate plain concrete and fiber-reinforced concrete specimens using ultrasound methods under impact loading. These specimens were prepared and subjected to impact loading. Ultrasound tests were performed at different stages of impact loading on each specimen. The loading continued until cracks on the surface of the specimens were observed. Investigations were performed for both plain concrete and fiber-reinforced concrete to establish a correlation between ultrasound response characteristics, and the damage caused by impact loading due to the energy of blows... 

This paper investigated the combined utilization of recycled waste ceramic aggregate (RWCA) and waste carpet fibers (WCFs) in high strength concrete (HSC). Concrete mixes containing different percentages of RWCA including 20%, 40%, 60% (by weight) as partial replacement of natural coarse aggregate (NCA) were prepared. To enhance the tensile and flexural strength of concrete, 1.0% (by volume) WCF was added to the mixes. The slump and density of the fresh concrete were evaluated, both of which demonstrated a decreasing trend with incorporation of RWCA and WCF. With regard to the hardened concrete, replacing 40% of NCA with RWCA led to the optimum mechanical properties and increased the... 

This study proposes a response-based parameter for strong motion duration which is computed for structures and is the total time they are nonlinear during an earthquake. Correlation between structural response and duration for structures, subjected to a set of spectrum matched ground motions, is employed to examine the efficiency of the proposed method. The spectral matching procedure ensures that the influence of amplitude and frequency content of motions on structural response variability is significantly removed. Four concrete building type systems are studied and correlation coefficients of structural response with the proposed duration definition are examined. Comparison of the proposed... 

Reinforced concrete slabs are common structural elements that could be exposed to impact loading. Although use of reinforced concrete slabs and utilization of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) as alternative to traditional steel reinforcement slabs are growing, but the influence of various parameters on their response under impact loads is not properly evaluated. This study investigated the effect of rebar's material, amount and arrangement of reinforcements, concrete strength and slab thickness on dynamic behavior of reinforced concrete slabs using both laboratory experiments and numerical simulations. Performance of fifteen 1000 × 1000 mm concrete slabs, including two 75 mm thick plain slabs,... 

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the extent of damage of rectangular reinforced concrete shear walls after an earthquake using surface crack patterns. One of the most important tasks after an earthquake is to assess the safety and classify the performance level of buildings. This assessment is usually performed by visual inspection that is prone to significant errors. In this research, an extensive database on the images of damaged rectangular reinforced concrete shear walls is collected from the literature. This database includes more than 200 images from experimental quasi-static cyclic tests. Using the concept of fractal geometry, several probabilistic models are developed by...