Recent attacks on a number of bridges demonstrate clear evidence of the vulnerability characterizing transportation systems to terrorist attacks. This vulnerability being further enhanced by the fact that the security measures implemented for the highway bridges are often not at par with those in place for the milestone bridges. This has necessitated studies to effectively characterize the response

The aim of this study is to develop a new eco‐friendly structural mortar for reducing the CO2 emissions inherent in the use of cement in concrete together with the extraction of the nonrenewable natural sand (NS). This clean production is achieved by fully replacing cement with glass powder (GP), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and fly ash (FA) as industrial by‐products, and NS with glass

The calibration of most analytical models that assess the shear strength of wide reinforced concrete members without shear reinforcement is based on simply supported beam tests, which may not be representative of slabs and wide members failing in shear. This paper addresses the knowledge on the shear strength of wide members, identification of their most important parameters, and an evaluation of the

Constraint forces are directly proportional to the stiffness of the system, so the size of the constraining force reduction depends on the ability of the system to reduce stiffness by the cracking of concrete, the plasticizing of reinforcement, or a time‐dependent process. Constraint forces can be differentiated in two cases: internal forces due to constraints that have the same or opposite action

P‐I diagrams are widely used for structures subjected to blast loads. In the same manner, structures subjected to vehicle impact load, such as bridge columns, could potentially take advantages of the P‐I diagram if the dynamic characteristics of vehicle impact load and bridge columns are well considered. In the paper, the performance of bridge columns and hence the use of P‐I diagram is evaluated under

Multiple cracks are extremely common in aged or partially damaged concrete structures. These cracks have a decisive influence on the safety of structures. In this study, a novel multiple‐crack‐length‐controlled method is presented for analyzing the cracking behavior of multiple cracks in concrete structures. This method introduces topological variables into the finite element calculation to identify

Recently it has been shown that the effectiveness factors used in the crack sliding theory are not well suited for predicting the shear strength of beams with large depths. Therefore, formulas for the effective concrete compression strength and the effective tensile strength have been reformulated by changing the size effect factor and adding a term to take into account the maximum aggregate size.

The knowledge on the effective long‐term behavior of large civil infrastructures, for example, bridges, is becoming highly desired by owners and concessionaires. Based on the case of the Lezíria Bridge in Portugal, one of the most comprehensive case studies available in the literature, a set of good practices to achieve reliable assessments on the long‐term behavior is outlined. Spanning the construction

The increasing demands of sustainable design and construction with economical sections, reduced cover, and more efficient time schedule require more flexibility in the design methodologies. The development of ultra‐high performance concrete (UHPC) have gained increasing interests as an attractive option for structural members with lightweight and superior performances. Concrete members reinforced with

Reinforced concrete structures constitute the basis of our infrastructure. Their functionality and structural safety is essential to maintain our mobility and the industrial performance of our societies. Unexpected maintenance can lead to serious economic consequences. Most industrial countries are faced with the fact that the reliability of their infrastructure has decreased over the past decades

The current study investigated the effect of geogrid reinforcement on the fatigue behavior of concrete beam specimens in terms of the development of strains at the compressive zone. The concrete beam specimens having the dimensions of 150 mm × 150 mm × 550 mm were either unreinforced, reinforced with one layer of triaxial geogrid or reinforced with two layers of triaxial geogrid. The strains at the

It is well known that control specimens used to assess the concrete strength of new structures have different casting and curing conditions than those of actual structures. Notably, after pouring of the concrete and before its hardening, a number of phenomena such as concrete bleeding and plastic settlement occur, influencing the in‐situ strength with respect to that of small and homogeneous control

Struts and stress fields with transverse tension and cracks parallel to the direction of compression lead to a reduction of compressive strength in reinforced concrete structures. Biaxial tests on fine‐grained ultra‐high performance concrete (UHPC) and ultra‐high performance fiber‐reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) panels additionally reinforced with steel bars show that this reduction in compressive strength

Zinc‐rich coating as a sacrificial anode provides cathodic protection for steel bars, so it can provide protection only for the steel bars for a certain period of time, and fundamentally cannot solve the problem of steel bar corrosion in magnesium oxychloride cement concrete (MOCC). However, the organic coating protects the steel by its own shielding. Therefore, organic coated reinforced MOCC (ORMOCC)

Designing a curved architectural envelope is a challenging task, as it requires a balance between structural efficiency, fabricability, and architectural requirements. In this article, we introduce a new conceptual design tool: Linear‐Weingarten membranes, with boundaries either simply supported or realized as funicular cables or arches. We present a generation method for these surfaces, with a focus

The durability of alkali‐activated silico–manganese fume (SMF)‐based mortar specimens was investigated by immersing them in 5% Na2SO4 solution and water (controlled environment) for up to 40 weeks. The effect of blast furnace slag (BFS) content [R = BFS/(BFS + SMF) = 0 and 0.3] and alkali concentration (4 and 10 M NaOHaq) was studied. Visual appearance, variation in alkalinity, mass loss, compressive

This study represents the results of an empirical program investigating the behavior of square reinforced concrete (RC) columns retrofitted using longitudinal carbon fiber‐reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites under simulated seismic loading. The main challenges to tackle are the premature buckling and the debonding of the longitudinal FRP composites on the tension and compression sides of the columns

Premature failure of bridge components, caused by heavy trucks, is a major safety concern. Current studies well characterize the integral structural behavior of bridges under realistic stochastic traffic loading. However, there is little research on the differences in traffic loads over multiple lanes (a worldwide traffic phenomenon) and the resulting difference in the bridge component performance

An experimental study of the seismic performance of composite frames consisting of reinforced concrete (RC) columns and steel beams (S) is presented in this paper. Three frame specimens—one bare composite RCS frame without slab and two composite RCS frames with slab—were tested under cyclic loading. The test results indicate that two frame specimens with small‐scale steel beams exhibited better ductile

The influence of nano SiO2(NS) and CaCO3(NC) particles on the properties of class F fly ash based geopolymer mortar activated with different sodium ion concentrations have been investigated. Mortar mixture proportions were 1:3:0.3 for binder, sand, and water, respectively. Nano SiO2 and CaCO3 particles were replaced with a binder by weight basis at the ratios of 1, 2, and 3% in the mixtures. Sodium

Mass concrete (MC) is widely used in dam concretes due to their large aggregate grain diameters, low cement dosage, and low hydration temperatures. Monitoring of the hydration temperature and compressive strength is an important consideration during the casting of MC in the field. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the compressive strengths of cylindrical specimens with

This paper is integral part of the Special Issue on “Existing Concrete Structures: Structural Health Monitoring and Testing for condition assessment.” It deals with vibration‐based methods (VBMs) for damage localization that approach the problem of structural integrity management through the analysis of the dynamic response of the structure under ambient or forced vibrations. In the last years, these

The results of an extensive experimental program into the location of the neutral axis in cracked fiber‐reinforced concrete (FRC) are reported. In total, 74 prisms are tested in a monotonic (51 specimens) and cyclic (23 specimens) bending test in accordance with EN 14651. In the program, 13 different FRCs are considered with 9 different fiber types and dosages. A normal strength concrete with residual

A specially designed cleaning system was adopted to wash away mud but keep coarse particles and stone powders in quarry waste. Then the cleaned quarry waste was used as concrete fine aggregate. Size distributions of all concrete constituents were analyzed, and workability and compressive strength of concrete were determined to evaluate gradation effect of cleaned quarry waste to improve size distributions

In this study, the effects on high performance mortar (HPM) of synthetic wollastonite (SW) mineral were researched. Through this work, firstly, wollastonite was synthetically obtained by a particular production method. Secondly, SW was utilized as cement replacement material from 0 to 12% by 3% steps of increment in the production of HPM. After determination of slump flow diameters of HPMs, mechanical

Health monitoring and field‐testing have been two emerging technologies for investigating the real‐world behaviors of high‐rise buildings. The five primary motivations of the two monitoring‐oriented methods are first presented. The four fundamental steps of the data‐driven process are followingly discussed. Then, the state‐of‐the‐art structural health monitoring systems on four representative super‐tall

Degradation processes affecting structural materials, such as chloride ion ingress, concrete carbonation, and the subsequent corrosion of reinforcement, are limiting factors for the service life of reinforced concrete structures and/or structural elements. The objective of a structural condition assessment is to determine the current state and estimate the future performance of a structure with a maximum

The flexural cracking behavior of ultrahigh performance concrete (UHPC) beams was experimentally studied in this paper. Eight UHPC beams were tested and analyzed regarding their crack pattern, crack spacing and load‐crack width curves. The test variables included reinforcement ratio, reinforcement diameter and UHPC cover thickness. The results indicated that crack width of UHPC increased linearly with

In the early 1950s, the first‐generation of precast prestressed bridges was built in Europe. The prestressing technology was still relatively new and bridges were sometimes executed questionably. The consequences of poor detailing and inadequate maintenance are shown as a practical example of a 59‐years old road precast bridge in Slovakia that recently reached a near collapse state. The behavior of

Previous research of segmental joints are mainly based on experimental and theoretical methods; few studies have focused on refined numerical model. Therefore, a refined numerical model is established in which eight‐node solid element and three‐dimensional beam element are adopted to simulate joint structures and reinforcement, respectively, and bolt preload is considered. Then, the numerical model

The breakthrough and diffusion of chloride ions into reinforced concrete structures is the major contributing factor for inducing corrosion of the steel reinforcement. This work presents a study of the total chloride contents in concrete and the corrosion process by testing electrical resistivity and half‐cell potential of concrete samples. The novelty of this work in the use of a green inhibitor—orange

Application of concrete for pavement and barrier purposes demands ample energy absorption capacity and impact resistance characteristics. These attributes were investigated for concrete produced by using waste plastic shredded fibers (WPSF), which were obtained by shredding waste plastic bags. The WPSF were incorporated in concrete at an amount of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 5.0% by weight of concrete

Recently, the multiscale hybrid fiber reinforced cementitious composites (MSHyFRCC) with steel fibers, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers, and calcium carbonate whiskers had developed with improved mechanical properties under static load. Although, there is still a research gap to study its behavior and properties under the action of earthquake load. In this work, the properties of steel fibers, PVA fibers

Urban development, industrialization, and increasing population increase water consumption. Limited water resources, especially in an arid climate, are a challenging issue; therefore, water reuse is vital. A huge amount of treated wastewater is discharged to the rivers and groundwater daily. The construction industry, especially for producing concrete uses a huge amount of tap water. Hence, we studied

Confinement with fiber‐reinforcement polymer (FRP) materials is a technique, which can increase adequately the axial strain ductility of concrete. Plain and reinforced concrete columns, with circular, square and rectangular cross sections, confined with FRP materials, subjected to monotonic or cyclic compressive load, have been extensively studied over the last 35 years. Also, a lot of predictive expressions

The paper presents a review of testing methods, a proposal for classifying the strategies, and tools applied in the monitoring of concrete bridges, the required consistent taxonomy of defects, and also the degradation mechanisms that are typical for such structures. Two main strategies of bridge monitoring are distinguished and described: inspection‐based monitoring and device‐based monitoring. The

In this paper, the effect of macro nonmetallic fibers (i.e., polypropylene fibers and basalt fibers) on the impact response of basalt fiber‐reinforced polymer‐reinforced concrete (FRP‐RC) discs is experimentally investigated using a self‐developed drop‐weight impact test device. The plain concrete and conventional steel‐reinforced concrete samples are explored as references. The impact resistance and

The resistance of alkaline‐activated silico‐manganese fume (SMF) and blast furnace slag (BSF)‐based mortar, prepared by varying BFS and NaOHaq composition, during 20 weeks of exposure to 5% sulfuric acid (H2SO4aq) of initial pH = 0.24 and pure water (controlled) was studied. The deterioration was monitored by visual, alkalinity, mass, compressive strength and microstructural tests. The set of specimens

This article aims to present a procedure to take into account the variability of the time‐dependent behavior of concrete on its structural effects, evaluated from the study of creep and shrinkage based on experimental data obtained on‐site. For this purpose, the São João Bridge, a railway bridge built in Porto, Portugal in 1991, is presented as a case study. São João Bridge is a railway bridge crossing

Reinforced concrete buildings are typically braced with shear walls positioned around lift shafts and stairs. Vertical transfer of load from slab to walls leads to a concentration of shear stress in the slab at wall ends and corners, which needs to be considered in punching shear design. This issue is not addressed in EN 1992 (2004) and only partially addressed in fib Model Code 2010 leaving engineers

The effect of incorporation of recycled powder and CO2 absorption of concrete was not considered in the previous life cycle assessment studies. This study evaluated the carbon emission of recycled concrete with different replacement rate of recycled powder and recycled coarse aggregate, taking the carbon absorption in storage and service phase into consideration. The carbon absorption model of recycled

An effective approach to make better use of the salt‐brine resistance of magnesium oxychloride cement concrete (MOCC) and reduce “magnesium damage” (the concentrate of magnesium resources) that destroys the ecological balance in salt lake areas is to apply MOCC widely. However, the first problem is the high chloride ion content in MOCC, which corrodes reinforcement easily. Concrete cover depth, the

The redistribution of moment within a statically indeterminate reinforced concrete beam at the ultimate limit state occurs through variations in the flexural rigidities and through the formation of hinges. The phenomena of moment redistribution (MR) is used to increase the efficiency of reinforced concrete design by allowing moments to be transferred away from critical cross sections thereby resulting

In precast construction, standardized concrete elements are manufactured in a controlled environment followed by onsite installations. One such precast system is 3S building system (Strength, Safety, and Speed), which consists of RCC hollow columns with notches; RCC solid beams (“T” shape/“L” shape/Square Shape), RCC Stair flights, RCC shear walls, and Autoclave Aerated Concrete (AAC) or RCC precast

Fiber‐reinforced concrete exhibits a heterogeneous microstructure formed by aggregates, fibers and a matrix, where the stress from external forces can lead to cracking and fracture. This paper discusses the development of a computational measure for predicting the fiber's efficacy by means of the energy absorbed within the initiated area of the cracks. The analytical development was verified with experimental

A new structure named reinforced concrete grid moment‐resisting frame (RC‐GMRF) have been adopted in high‐rise buildings in China. However, complex construction due to numerous beam‐column joints restricts the application of this structure. A novel precast reinforced concrete GMRF (PC‐GMRF) is proposed in this paper to solve this problem. Three specimens, including one traditional reinforced concrete

The present research is focused on developing efficient, durable flexural members by combining the use of lightweight concrete (LWC), fiber‐reinforced polymer (FRP) bars, and prestressing. The use of LWC reduces the structural weight while providing suitable thermal insulation whereas using FRP bars instead of steel reinforcement provides corrosion resistance, light weight, high tensile strength, and

Deep beams with shear span‐to‐depth ratios a/d ≤ 2.5 are used to resist large shear forces due to their ability to develop direct strut action. To further enhance the shear strength and crack control of such members, researchers have studied the use of fiber‐reinforced concrete (FRC). However, while this solution is promising, there is a need for rational mechanical models capable of predicting the

The mechanical behaviors of the self‐stressing steel slag aggregate concrete filled steel tubular (SSSACFST) stub column are investigated for practical structural applications. Twelve specimens under axial and eccentric compression are tested. The influences of different parameters, such as the eccentricity, the diameter–thickness ratio of the steel tube and the expansion rate of the steel slag aggregate

A new lateral confining method is proposed for reinforced concrete columns in this study. The new scheme incorporates additional lateral confinements that are placed outside conventional lateral reinforcements within cross section of a column. Stainless steel wires or glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) rings have been employed as the additional confinement. A total of seven reinforced concrete column

Aluminum alloys (AAs) possess various advantageous properties such as good corrosion resistance and high ductility and have recently gained interest in strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) structures. This paper investigates the potential application of AA bars as the near‐surface mounted (NSM) reinforcement in flexure strengthening of RC beams. A total of seven RC beams including one reference specimen

Traditional methods for durability design of marine concrete structures usually select and estimate durability design parameters according to engineering experience due to lack of quantitative design model. In order to deal with this problem, a probabilistic durability design method was developed to determine the allowable values of durability design parameters for marine concrete structures. The characteristic

In order to study the seismic behavior of precast concrete walls with different connection types for vertical reinforcements, the quasi‐static test on five concrete shear walls, including precast shear walls and cast‐in‐place shear wall was carried out. Test results showed that the failure mode of precast concrete walls was nearly the same as that of the cast‐in‐place concrete shear wall: in boundary

Anchorage systems have been proven to efficiently prevent or postpone debonding of reinforced concrete structures strengthened in flexure with fiber‐reinforced polymer (FRP) laminate or sheet. Although extensive studies on the effect of anchorage systems on intermediate crack debonding and end debonding of strengthened members have been performed, the effect of U‐shaped anchorages on commonly faced

In this paper, seven specimens were designed to study the influence of the height (h), width (b), and reinforcement ratio (ρ) of ring beam on the failure mode, bearing capacity, deformation, and equivalent stress–strain relation of joint core reinforced with ring beam for connection of polyvinyl chloride fiber‐reinforced polymer confined concrete column and reinforced concrete beam. The experimental

Punching shear capacity of deteriorated reinforced concrete slab is experimentally investigated in this study. Since horizontal crack near the upper side rebar is often observed in deteriorated reinforced concrete bridge deck slabs due to rebar corrosion, horizontal crack propagation behavior was investigated by accelerated electric corrosion test. Then, in order to evaluate the influence of the horizontal

Structures made of structural concrete are designed to withstand different time‐dependent or time‐independent influences during their expected service lifetime. Most of these influences can be considered in a sufficient manner by mathematical and statistical approaches, while some do appear combined with certain structural, environmental, and material boundary conditions. These can, in most cases,

This paper presents the influence of overly stiff rail fasteners, which are used to stabilize rails on a ballastless track structure, on the mechanism of the occurrence of defects in concrete baseplates. During the analysis, there was a series of field tests performed on a real track, the purpose of which was the assessment of the technical condition of the ballastless track, the assessment of concrete

The paper presents a review of testing methods and a classification of strategies and tools in terms of technologies and techniques applied to the monitoring of tunnels. In particular, the topic is contextualized through a brief introduction in Chapter 1, followed by defect taxonomy and degradation mechanisms in Chapters 2 and 3, respectively. Chapters 4 and 5 are related to monitoring strategies and

An experimental investigation was carried out to enhance the properties of two‐stage concrete, also known as preplaced aggregate concrete (PAC), by adding ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and silica fume (SF) as partial replacement of cement at different proportions. PAC was produced using the gravity process by first placing the coarse aggregates into the formwork and then injecting a grout