FIBPRO 0045 2018 E 12th PHD Symposium in Prague CzechRep

© fédération internationale du béton (fib). This document may not be copied or distributed without prior permission from fib.
ifb Proceedings of
The 12th International
This document was downloaded on 1st February 2022. For private use only.
PhD Symposium
in Civil Engineering
Czech Technical University in Prague
Prague, Czech Republic
August 29-31, 2018
Edited by
Alena Kohoutková, Jan L. Vítek, Michaela Frantová, Petr Bílý
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Symposium Sponsors
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BASF Construction Chemicals
http://careers.construction-chemicals.basf.com
VALBEK-EU, a.s.
http://www.valbek.eu/en/
BETOTECH, s.r.o.
http://www.betotech.cz/
Červenka Consulting s.r.o.

https://www.cervenka.cz/products/atena/
Metrostav a.s.
https://www.metrostav.cz/en/
Pontex Consulting Engineers, Ltd.

http://www.pontex.cz/

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Alena Kohoutková
Jan L. Vítek
Michaela Frantová
Petr Bílý
(Eds.)
Proceedings of
The 12th fib International
PhD Symposium

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Proceedings of
The 12th fib International
PhD Symposium

29-31 August 2018, Prague, Czech Republic
Edited by
Alena Kohoutková
Jan L. Vítek
Michaela Frantová
Petr Bílý

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Note by the editors
This book was carefully produced. However, no liability or responsibility of any kind (including
liability for negligence) is accepted by the editors, the authors, the Scientific Committee and the
Organizing Committee. Statements, data, illustrations or other issues may be inaccurate or incorrect.
This publication is available on Internet under the following Creative Commons license
Some rights reserved
Published: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Print on Demand
ISBN 978-80-01-06401-6
VI

Greetings
The fib is delighted to have its 12th International PhD Symposium in Civil Engineering hosted at
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the Czech Technical University in Prague in the Czech Republic.
This is a special event for the fib, which was masterminded by Honorary President György Balázs for
PhD students supervised by professors.
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The fib is at the forefront of scientific development at the international level. It focuses on the study of
scientific and practical matters capable of advancing the technical, economic, aesthetic and
environmental performance of concrete construction. Its objectives could be summarised in the
following ideas: Stimulation of research and synthesis of findings, transfer into design and
construction practice, dissemination by publications, conferences, etc., production of
recommendations and codes.
The International PhD Symposia in Civil Engineering fit perfectly in the mission and objectives of the
fib and were created intentionally with many differential and specific characteristics.
Research carried out by PhD students supervised by professors constitutes the forefront of the
scientific development. The fib International PhD Symposium in Civil Engineering provides a unique
forum to the participants, who have already started their scientific work but who have not yet
submitted their theses, to present their ongoing results to the international audience and to obtain
advice on how to continue and complete their dissertations. For this reason, the programme includes a
substantial compulsory discussion time for each presentation in order to guarantee exchanges between
the PhD students and the numerous professors, from all over the world, who participate in the
conference.
The PhD International Symposium in Civil Engineering was also created with the ambition to make
the fib known to younger engineers to include them in our fib activities. Young engineers, researchers,
designers and constructors will be the next leaders and, potentially, the next contributors to the fib
technical activities. The fib is a non-profit association based on voluntary work. Throughout its
history, it has benefitted from contributions from the most prominent engineers from all over the
world. The fib needs your contribution and leadership to maintain alive its objectives and high
technical level production. For this reason, the fib International PhD Symposium in Civil Engineering
has been organised, from the beginning, at a minimum cost to allow young engineers to participate
and to develop their professional network and to help expand the fib family with new members.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the organisers of the 12th fib International PhD
Symposium in Civil Engineering: The Faculty of Civil Engineering, The Klokner Institute of the
Czech Technical University in Prague and the ČBS – Czech Concrete Society (the Czech fib national
group). I would especially like to thank Prof. Jan Vítek.
Hugo Corres Peiretti
President of the International Federation for Structural Concrete (fib)
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Preface
A long-standing tradition of the fib, the PhD Symposia started in 1996. They were established by
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Prof. Balázs in Budapest to support young researchers and practitioners. Since then, the fib National
Groups have already organised eleven symposia. The PhD symposia have become highly-recognised
events, boasting the participation of international experts attending the symposia as PhD students'
supervisors or keynote speakers. A two-year interval between each symposium allows for a thorough
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preparation of the event and for a sufficient amount of new information. The symposia are exclusively
organised at universities. This allows for a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, which befits the young
generation.
The 12th fib Symposium will be held in Prague, again in Europe after two overseas symposia in
Quebec (2014) and Tokyo (2016). Two organisations are involved in the preparation: The Czech
Technical University in Prague and The Czech Concrete Society (representing the national fib group).
The symposium will take place at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University
in Prague.
The organisers were surprised by the high number of students interested in participating in the
symposium. The organisers received a lot of abstracts after the first deadline. The organisers were
unsure whether they would be able to organise the symposium as it usually is. However, we have
received less full papers than anticipated. We were thus able to organise the event as planned.
Nevertheless, there will be some differences in the organisation, as the number of papers is rather
high. The scientific committee decided to divide the papers into a group of oral presentations and
posters. This is new, as no poster session was organised at the past symposia. The scientific
programme is divided into 4 parallel sessions over three days.
It is also important to note that the scientific programme will be enriched by three excellent speakers
who will cover the current topics of civil engineering. Prof. E. Brühwiler from Lausanne will speak
about new materials. Prof. J. Strásky from Brno will show the effect of prestressing on structural
behaviour, and finally, Prof. H. Corres, president of the fib, will focus his presentation on conceptual
design. All three topics – new materials, new technologies and conceptual design – are crucial and
include the other recently-discussed phenomena like structural performance and safety, aesthetics,
economy, sustainability, etc.
The symposium, as a platform for sharing experience, cannot be organised without a social
programme. The welcome reception, as well as the informal conference dinner, will contribute to
facilitating networking between young participants. I am delighted that the fib Young Member Group
will participate in the organisation of the PhD Symposium for the first time in Prague. They will
contribute to evaluation of presentations and awarding the Best Paper Presentation.
Last but not least, it is a great pleasure for me to express my gratitude to all the sponsors who
contributed to the organisation of the symposium. Without their support, it would be very difficult to
keep the scientific level as well as the social standard of the previous symposia.
Finally, let me wish to all participants – especially PhD students – an interesting event. I hope that
this Symposium will remain in their memories as the beginning of their progress in scientific work
and perhaps also in the fib activities. The international environment may also help in developing
relations between participants and contribute to the mutual understanding of different cultures and
countries, which is also one of the roles and strengths of the fib.
Jan L. Vítek
Czech Technical University in Prague and Metrostav a.s., Prague
IX

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Scientific Committee
Jan L. Vítek (Czech Republic) – chair Akio Kasuga (Japan)
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Andrej B. Ajdukiewicz (Poland) Alena Kohoutková (Czech Republic)
Pedro A. de Oliveira Almeida (Portugal) Jiří Kolísko (Czech Republic)
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György L. Balázs (Hungary) Vladimír Křístek (Czech Republic)
Joseé Bastien (Canada) Xilin Lu (China)
Vladimír Benko (Slovakia) Koichi Maekawa (Japan)
Konrad Bergmeister (Austria) Riadh S Al-Mahaidi (Australia)
Hans-Dieter Beushausen (South Africa) Giuseppe Mancini (Italy)
Francesco Biasioli (Italy) Antonio Marí (Spain)
Petr Bílý (Czech Republic) Aurelio Muttoni (Switzerland)
Mikael Wimpffen Braestrup (Denmark) Harald S. Müller (Germany)
Abraham Sánches Corriols (Germany) Takafumi Noguchi (Japan)
Manfred Curbach (Germany) Josef Novák (Czech Republic)
Radim Čajka (Czech Republic) Tor Ole Olsen (Norway)
Avraham N. Dancygier (Israel) Alessandri Palermo (New Zealand)
Frank Dehn (Germany) Peter Paulík (Slovakia)
Wit Derkowski (Poland) Hugo Corres Peiretti (Spain)
Vyacheslav R. Falikman (Russia) Martin Petřík (Czech Republic)
Michael N. Fardis (Greece) Marco Di Prisco (Italy)
David Fernández-Ordóñez (Switzerland) Radomír Pukl (Czech Republic)
Ludovít Fillo (Slovakia) Koji Sakai (Japan)

Stephen Foster (Australia) Johan Silfwerbrand (Sweden)
Michaela Frantová (Czech Republic) Jiří Stráský (Czech Republic)
Hans-Rudolf Ganz (Switzerland) Alfred Strauss (Germany)
Fabrice Gatuingt (France) Fernando Stucchi (Brazil)
Petr Hájek (Czech Republic) Luc Taerwe (Belgium)
Jaroslav Halvonik (Slovakia) Jean-Michel Torrenti (France)
Steinar Helland (Norway) Lucie Vandewalle (Belgium)
Nico Herrmann (Germany) Sherif Yehia (United Arab Emirates)
Sung Gul Hong (Korea) Yamei Zhang (China)
Dick A. Hordijk (Netherlands) Bin Zhao (China)
Gintaris Kaklauskas (Lithuania) Miloš Zich (Czech Republic)
Milan Kalný (Czech Republic)
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Organizing Committee
Alena Kohoutková (Czech Republic) – chair
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Petr Bílý (Czech Republic)
David Čítek (Czech Republic)
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David Fernández-Ordóñez (Switzerland)
Michaela Frantová (Czech Republic)

Petr Hájek (Czech Republic)
Petra Johová (Czech Republic)
Jiří Kolísko (Czech Republic)
Šárka Nenadálová (Czech Republic)
Josef Novák (Czech Republic)
Martin Petřík (Czech Republic)

Michal Števula (Czech Republic)
Jiří Vích (Czech Republic)
Jan L. Vítek (Czech Republic)
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Participating Universities
University of Tebessa Technische Universität Darmstadt
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Algeria Germany
TU Wien Technische Universität Dresden
Austria Germany
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University of Innsbruck Technische Universität München
Austria Germany
University of Natural Resources and Life TU Dortmund University
Sciences (BOKU), Vienna Germany
Austria
Budapest University of Technology and
Ghent University Economics
Belgium Hungary
KU Leuven Széchenyi István University
Belgium Hungary
Vrije Universiteit Brussel Harbin Institute of Technology
Belgium China
Brno University of Technology Tongji University
Czech Republic China
Czech Technical University in Prague Tsinghua University
Czech Republic China
University of Pardubice Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Czech Republic India
VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Czech Republic India
Aalto University National Institute of Technology Rourkela
Finland India
Ecole Centrale de Nantes Politecnico di Milano

France Italy
Université de Nantes Politecnico di Torino
France Italy
Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour Roma Tre University
France Italy
University of Angers University of Bergamo
France Italy
University of La Rochelle University of Padova
France Italy
University of Toulouse University of Salerno
France Italy
RWTH Aachen University The University of Tokyo
Germany Japan
Technische Universität Braunschweig Yokohama National University
Germany Japan
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Universiti Sains Malaysia Technical University of Košice

Malaysia Slovakia
Norwegian University of Science and University of Žilina
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Technology (NTNU), Trondheim Slovakia
Norway
Seoul National University
University of Agder South Korea
Norway
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Ulsan National Institute of Science and
Cracow University of Technology Technology (UNIST)
Poland South Korea
Lodz University of Technology Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Poland Spain
Lublin University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology
Poland Sweden
Rzeszow University of Technology École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Poland Switzerland
Silesian University of Technology ETH Zurich
Poland Switzerland
Wrocław University of Science and Middle East Technical University
Technology Turkey
Poland
O.M. Beketov National University of Urban
University of Beira Interior Economy in Kharkiv
Portugal Ukraine
Technical University of Cluj-Napoca Imperial College London
Romania United Kingdom
Universitatea Politehnica Timișoara University of Cambridge
Romania United Kingdom
Singapore ETH Centre University of Leeds
Singapore United Kingdom
Slovak University of Technology in University of Arkansas

Bratislava United States
Slovakia
XIV

Table of Contents
Note by the editors ................................................................................................................VI
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Greetings ..............................................................................................................................VII
Preface ..................................................................................................................................IX
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Scientific Committee ..............................................................................................................XI
Organizing Committee ..........................................................................................................XII
Participating Universities .....................................................................................................XIII
List of Papers ................................................................................................................... XVII
Advanced materials ............................................................................................................ 1
Innovative structures and details .................................................................................... 177
Structural analysis and design ........................................................................................ 273
Strengthening and repair ................................................................................................ 837
Monitoring and structural assessment ............................................................................ 945
Durability and life assessment ...................................................................................... 1063
Sustainability and life cycle management ..................................................................... 1217
Index of Authors ............................................................................................................... 1275
Previous fib International PhD Symposia.......................................................................... 1279
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List of Papers
Advanced materials 1
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Effect of metakaolin on mechanical properties of cement paste exposed to elevated temperatures
Nabil Abdelmelek and Éva Lublóy .................................................................................................... 3
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Characteristics of cement pastes incorporating different amounts of unprocessed waste fly ash
(UWFA)
Mohammed Abed and Rita Nemes ................................................................................................ 11
Post-fire assessment of mechanical properties of polypropylene-fibered reactive powder concrete
using non-destructive testing methods
Muhammad Abid, Xiaomeng Hou, Wenzhong Zheng and Shuomang Shi ...................................... 19
Behaviour of concrete at elevated temperatures with respect to shear failure
Naser Alimrani and György L. Balázs ............................................................................................. 27
Opportunities for biodegradable straw-based thermal insulations
Dániel Csanády and Olivér Fenyvesi ............................................................................................. 35
Monotonic and cyclic pull-out behaviour of 3D and 5D hooked-end steel fibres from a concrete
matrix
Maure De Smedt, Kristof De Wilder, Els Verstrynge and Lucie Vandewalle ................................... 43
Tensile response of ultra-high performance steel fiber reinforced concrete under moderate strain
rates
Veronika Goglin, Götz Hüsken, Peter Wossidlo, Ralf Häcker, Hans-Carsten Kühne
and H.J.H. Brouwers ...................................................................................................................... 51
Influence of limestone addition to cement on rheological properties of mortars
Małgorzata Gołaszewska and Zbigniew Giergiczny ........................................................................ 59
Self-healing properties of sulfur composites with expansive agents
Seongwoo Gwon and Myoungsu Shin............................................................................................ 65
Experimental and numerical study of the behaviour of post installed anchors in FRC
Viktor Hlavička and Éva Lublóy ...................................................................................................... 71
The effect of the setting accuracy on the load bearing capacity of plate glass columns
András Jakab and Salem G. Nehme ............................................................................................. 79
Numerical modelling of cement-graphene composites
Małgorzata Krystek, Leszek Szojda and Marcin Górski .................................................................. 87
Lowering environmental impact from ultra high performance concrete, utilizing industrial by-
products
Ingrid Lande Larsen, Rein Terje Thorstensen and Katalin Vertes ................................................... 93
Effect of sodium hydroxide concentration and alkaline activator ratio on the mechanical
properties of fly ash-based geopolymer binders
Adrian Lăzărescu, Henriette Szilagyi, Adrian Ioani and Cornelia Baeră ........................................ 101
Influence of nanosilica on the mechanical properties and durability of cementitious materials
Gerlinde Lefever, Dimitrios G. Aggelis, Nele De Belie, Didier Snoeck
and Danny Van Hemelrijck ........................................................................................................... 109
Evolution of micro-mechanical properties of cement and fly-ash composite measured by
nanoindentation over one year period
Jiří Němeček, Veronika Koudelková and Jiří Němeček ................................................................ 117
A preliminary study into the effect of superplasticisers on the dispersion of graphene materials in
cement
Ioanna Papanikolaou, Chrysoula Litina and Abir Al-Tabbaa ......................................................... 123
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Experimental investigations on bond behavior of pre-tensioned carbon fiber reinforced polymer

tendons
Sophia Perse and Josef Hegger ................................................................................................... 131
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Some possibilities of the composition of ternary binders
David Pytlík, Markéta Bambuchová and Vlastimil Bílek ................................................................ 139
Strength and microstructure of tungsten mining waste-based hybrid alkaline material: Effect of
activators
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Naim Sedira and João Castro-Gomes .......................................................................................... 145
Comparitive study of bond behaviour for different FRP and steel bars
Sandor Solyom and György L. Balázs .......................................................................................... 153
Effect of the addition of polypropylene fibers on the rheological behaviour of fresh fluid
cementitious materials
Fariza Sultangaliyeva, Hélène Carré, Christian La Borderie and Nicolas Roussel ........................ 161
Experimental research on textile reinforced concrete for the development of design tools
Patrick Valeri, Miguel Fernández Ruiz and Aurelio Muttoni ........................................................... 169
Innovative structures and details 177

Modelling and experimental verification of flexural behaviour of textile reinforced
cementitious composite sandwich renovation panels
Matthias De Munck, Jolien Vervloet, Michael El Kadi, Svetlana Verbruggen, Jan Wastiels,
Olivier Remy and Tine Tysmans ................................................................................................... 179
Influence of head-size on concrete cone capacity: a comparison for two cast-in solutions
Giuseppe Di Nunzio, Angelo Marchisella and Giovanni Muciaccia................................................ 187
Push-out shear tests for timber-UHPC composite footbridge
Milan Holý and Lukáš Vráblík ....................................................................................................... 195
Numerical modeling of a composite wood-UHPFRC structure
Petr Kněž and Petr Bouška .......................................................................................................... 203
Diagrid structures as innovative retrofit solutions for existing reinforced concrete buildings
Simone Labò, Chiara Passoni, Alessandra Marini, Andrea Belleri and Paolo Riva ....................... 211
Experimental evaluation of concrete beam with corrugated section under four-point bending test
Chong Yong Ong, Kok Keong Choong and Mirzakhid Miralimov .................................................. 221
Deformation of a 3D printed polyurethane formwork during concrete pouring
Elodie Paquet, Philippe Poullain, Benoı̂ t Furet and Sébastien Garnier.......................................... 229
A study for an effective arrangement of shear reinforcements in pier cap designs
Jae-Hyun Park, Jun-Long An and Jae-Yeol Cho........................................................................... 237
Structural behaviour of carbon reinforced slab elements made of ultra-high performance concrete
Philipp Preinstorfer, Benjamin Kromoser and Johann Kollegger ................................................... 245
Kinked rebar: a novel configuration for improving the collapse resistances of the reinforced
concrete frame structures
Hanlin Qiang and Peng Feng ....................................................................................................... 251
Numerical analysis of bond between UHPC and steel reinforcement
Veronika Steinerová and Miroslav Černý ...................................................................................... 257
Composite glass – UHPC footbridge
Lucie Vošahlíková and Klára Machalická...................................................................................... 265
XVIII

Structural analysis and design 273

Investigations on influence factors on shear in structural components without shear reinforcement
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Viviane Adam and Josef Hegger .................................................................................................. 275
Bond slip parameters of RILEM beam specimen after exposure to fire
Mohammad Suhaib Ahmad, Pradeep Bhargava and N.M.Bhandari ............................................. 285
Evaluation of shear transfer capacity of reinforced concrete exposed to fire
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Subhan Ahmad, Pradeep Bhargava and N.M. Bhandari............................................................... 291
Three-dimensional nature of contact between fibre and cement matrix considering
the principles of contact mechanics
Anna Antonova, Marika Eik, Jouni Punkki and Jari Puttonen........................................................ 299
Punching shear resistance of flat slabs with openings – experimental testing
Tomáš Augustín, Ľudovít Fillo, Jaroslav Halvonik and Marián Marčiš .......................................... 305
Sustained load and time to failure of fastening systems
Ioannis Boumakis, Marco Marcon, Krešimir Ninčević and Roman Wan-Wendner ........................ 311
Multiphase simulations of experimental tests on the hygric behaviour of concrete
Andreas Brugger, Peter Gamnitzer and Günter Hofstetter ........................................................... 319
Analysis of selected adhesive joint types by FEM
Arkadiusz Bula, Jacek Hulimka and Marcin Kozłowski ................................................................. 327
Shear strength of thin-walled concrete members with micro-reinforcement
Daniel Busse and Martin Empelmann .......................................................................................... 337
Combining finite element analyses and mechanical models for the assessment of reinforced
concrete slabs
Raffaele Cantone, Miguel Fernández Ruiz, Beatrice Belletti and Aurelio Muttoni ......................... 345
Some developments in limit analysis of RC structures and structural elements
Elisa Conti and Pier Giorgio Malerba ........................................................................................... 353
Load-bearing capacity and deformation behaviour of carbon-textile reinforced concrete members
Redouan El Ghadioui, Tilo Proske and Carl-Alexander Graubner ................................................ 363
Fibre textile reinforced cementitious composites: experimental investigation and modelling

of three point bending tests on short beams
Michael El Kadi, S. Verbruggen, J. Vervloet, M. De Munck, J. Wastiels, D. Van Hemelrijck
and T. Tysmans ........................................................................................................................... 371
Semi-discrete analytical beam model for fibre reinforced concrete beams
Mária Erdélyiné Tóth and Anikó Pluzsik ....................................................................................... 379
Assessment of influencing parameters on transmission length of prestressed concrete

Nicola Fabris, Flora Faleschini, Mariano Angelo Zanini and Carlo Pellegrino ............................... 387
Design equations from empirical and semi-empirical resisting models: a reliability-based
approach
Diego Gino, Gabriele Bertagnoli, Paolo Castaldo and Giuseppe Mancini ..................................... 397
Comparison of modelling of hardness testing with DEM and FEM
Zoltán Gyurkó and Rita Nemes .................................................................................................... 405
Application of effective crack model in analysis of fracture response of chevron-notched

core-based concrete specimen
Petr Halfar, Petr Frantík, Iva Rozsypalová, Petr Daněk, Hana Šimonová
and Zbyněk Keršner..................................................................................................................... 413
Load-bearing performance of concrete beams with basalt fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP) rebars
Sebastian Hofmann, Carl-Alexander Graubner and Tilo Proske ................................................... 419
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Testing of multi-layer concrete-based structures loaded by contact blast

Alena Horska, Josef Fladr and Alena Kohoutkova ........................................................................ 427
The nexus of column stiffness and lateral displacement in seismic design
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Helga Iozan-Toth, Attila Puskás and Vasile Păcurar ..................................................................... 433
Numerical analyses of concrete composite T-shaped beams with variously arranged interface
Łukasz Jabłoński .......................................................................................................................... 441
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Evaluation of the (UHP)FRC slab contact blast resistance with numerical simulation using
LS-DYNA
Ondřej Janota and Marek Foglar .................................................................................................. 449
Diagonal cracking load of concrete members without shear reinforcement
Sara Javidmehr and Martin Empelmann ....................................................................................... 457
Development of non-uniform corroded RC member simulation based on rigid body spring model
Punyawut Jiradilok, Kohei Nagai and Koji Matsumoto .................................................................. 467
The influence of the composite bridge exploitation on the behavior of the structure subjected
to a dynamic load
Michał Jukowski, Ewa Błazik-Borowa, Janusz Bohatkiewicz, Jarosław Bęc
and Mateusz Hypki ....................................................................................................................... 477
A numerical insight on the behaviour of prestressed concrete members exposed to natural fires
Nataša Kalaba and Patrick Bamonte ............................................................................................ 485
FEA simulation and probability approach of the road barrier crash tests
Michal Kalinský and Jana Marková............................................................................................... 493
Numerical prediction of ballistic limit and failures of plain concrete slabs

Kamran Kamran and Mohammad Ashraf Iqbal ............................................................................. 503
Investigation of the bond properties between textile reinforced concrete and extruded
polystyrene foam
Panagiotis Kapsalis, Jolien Vervloet, Eleni Tsangouri, Svetlana Verbruggen,
Dimitrios Aggelis, Tine Tysmans and Thanasis Triantafillou ......................................................... 511
Influence of concrete cover thickness on shear strength of concrete glass fiber reinforced
polymer beams without stirrups
Monika Kaszubska and Renata Kotynia ....................................................................................... 521

Experimental investigation of the bond between SAS 670/800 reinforcement bars and high-
strength concrete in a pull-out test
Magda Kijania-Kontak and Andrzej Winnicki................................................................................. 529
Strain-based safety evaluations of nuclear spent-fuel transport casks in drop events
SeungPil Kim, Myoungsu Shin and Chanyoung Kim..................................................................... 537
Nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete elements of the example of the existing RC

two – way slab floor
Joanna Kujda, Izabela Skrzypczak and Lidia Buda-Ożóg ............................................................. 545
Numerical model of the approach slab with gap functionality
Kamil Laco and Viktor Borzovič .................................................................................................... 553
Experimental investigation of bond behaviour under repeated loading
Yasmin Lemcherreq and Thomas Vogel ....................................................................................... 561
Experimental verification of a method in development for predicting the punching shear
strength of flat slabs
Lukáš Lyčka and Petr Štěpánek .................................................................................................. 567
Comparison of post-installed and cast-in rebars under monotonic and cyclic loads
Angelo Marchisella and Giovanni Muciaccia ................................................................................. 575
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Bottle-shaped stress field solution for partially loaded reinforced concrete blocks
Tomislav Markić and Walter Kaufmann ........................................................................................ 583
On the criterion of the limit state for concrete
b
Hammoud Mohammad, Valeriy Shmukler, Petro Reznik and Olena Petrova ................................ 593
Numerical simulation for horizontal tunnels with vertical alignment affected by static and
dynamic loads
Jaafar Mohammed and Eva Hrubesova ...................................................................................... 601
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Development of three-dimensional strut-and-tie models for structural concrete components
Salma Mozaffari, Masoud Akbarzadeh and Thomas Vogel .......................................................... 609
Advanced reliability and sensitivity analysis of prestressed concrete girders failing in shear
Lukáš Novák, Lixia Pan, Ondřej Slowik and Drahomír Novák....................................................... 617
On the mechanical response of a fibre reinforced concrete redundant structure;
the redistribution factor
Ali Pourzarabi, Matteo Colombo and Marco di Prisco................................................................... 625
Assessment of existing shear strength models for reinforced concrete deep beams
Kondalraj Ramakrishnan and G. Appa Rao .................................................................................. 633
Numerical analysis of the partial collapse of a twin-tubes tunnel
Ahmed Rouili, Mabrouk Touahmia and Youcef Djerbib ................................................................ 641
Probabilistic models for shear bond strength of clay and fly ash bricks
Santosini Sahu, Pradip Sarkar and Robin Davis .......................................................................... 649
Analytical model verification for FRP and synthetic fibre reinforced concrete beams
Peter Schaul and György L. Balázs.............................................................................................. 657
Implementation of the critical shear crack theory to predict punching failure in the analysis of RC
layered-shells
Andri Setiawan, Robert Vollum and Lorenzo Macorini .................................................................. 665
Creep and shrinkage effects on reinforced concrete walls: Experimental study

Najeeb Shariff and Devdas Menon............................................................................................... 673
Influence of transverse reinforcement on the cracking behaviour of reinforced concrete
panels subjected to uniaxial tension

Muhammad K. Shehzad and John P. Forth.................................................................................. 681
Stochastic analysis of precast structural members failing in shear
Ondřej Slowik, Drahomír Novák, Alfred Strauss and Bernhard Krug ............................................ 689
Large scale tests on prestressed concrete beams subjected to bending, shear and torsion
Eva Stuppak and Reinhard Maurer .............................................................................................. 697
Safety concept for non-linear finite element analysis
Remus Tecusan and Konrad Zilch ............................................................................................... 705
Experimental study of elastic modulus using standard tests and optical measurements
Marcin Tekieli, Magda Kijania-Kontak and Andrzej Winnicki......................................................... 715
Modern experimental research techniques for a consistent understanding of aggregate interlocking
Max Tirassa, Miguel Fernández Ruiz and Aurelio Muttoni ............................................................ 723
Case study: Price comparison of three post-tensioned flat slabs beside classic flat slabs from
three existing structures/under construction
Iosif Tőrők, Attila Puskás and Jácint Virág ................................................................................... 731
Transfer length of GFRP rebars for pretensioned elements
Adrián Valašík, Vladimír Benko and Anton Sivčák........................................................................ 739
XXI

Overview and new insights into the modeling of the force transfer in the end zones of
pretensioned concrete girders
Kizzy Van Meirvenne, Wouter De Corte, Veerle Boel and Luc Taerwe ......................................... 747
b
Experimental Verification of Long-term Behaviour of Concrete Structures
Radek Vasatko and Jan L. Vitek ................................................................................................... 755
Design and experimental investigation of textile reinforced cement sandwich panel ends.
Jolien Vervloet, Petra Van Itterbeeck, Brendan Murray, Svetlana Verbruggen,
if
Michael El Kadi, Matthias De Munck, Jan Wastiels and Tine Tysmans ......................................... 763
Tests of shear capacity of deck slabs under concentrated load
Radoslav Vida and Jaroslav Halvonik ........................................................................................... 773
Numerical study on effect of steel fibres on the shear strength of reinforced concrete squat shear
walls with opening
Sivaguru Viswanathan and G. Appa Rao...................................................................................... 781
Design of concrete structures using structural optimization based on the stress field method
Qianhui Yu, Aurelio Muttoni and Miguel Fernández Ruiz .............................................................. 791
Impact behavior of RC beam considering various momentum of drop weight
Yong Jae Yu and Jae-Yeol Cho ................................................................................................... 799
Numerical simulation of concrete pumping pressure loss
Yong Yuan, Yaxin Tao and Weijiu Cui .......................................................................................... 807
A stochastic model for the capacity estimation of non-seismically designed beam-column joints
Özgür Yurdakul, Onur Tunaboyu, Ladislav Routil and Özgür Avşar .............................................. 813
Influence of basalt mesh induced by increase of heterogeneity of cement composites on its
resistance under near-field blast
Jakub Zíma and Marek Foglar ...................................................................................................... 821
Ultimate compressive strain in lightweight aggregate concrete beams
Jelena Zivkovic and Jan Arve Øverli ............................................................................................. 829
Strengthening and repair 837

Behaviour of torsionally strengthened reinforced concrete beam-column joints with carbon

fibre reinforced polymer dheets
Sarmad Ali and John Forth ........................................................................................................... 839
Shear resistance of concrete-to-concrete interface without reinforcement

Đorđe Čairović, Martin Zlámal, Petr Štěpánek, José Maria Raposo and Eduardo Júlio................. 847
Strengthening infilled RC frames against biaxial seismic action
İsmail Ozan Demirel, Ahmet Yakut and Barış Binici...................................................................... 855
Tensile behaviour of textile reinforced mortar composite systems with flax fibres
Giuseppe Ferrara and Enzo Martinelli .......................................................................................... 863
Post – installed shear reinforecement in flat slabs

Ondrej Keseli, Juraj Bilčík and Marián Marčiš ............................................................................... 871
Shear strengthening of structures with carbon reinforced concrete
Sebastian May, Alexander Schumann and Manfred Curbach ....................................................... 879
Behaviour of perforated rectangular columns wrapped with bi-directional glass fibre

reinforced polymer reinforcement
Darya Memon, Jayaprakash Jaganathan and Stijn Matthys.......................................................... 887
XXII

Technology of additional shear reinforcement for strengthening foundation slabs and its
long-term monitoring
Jan Novacek and Milos Zich ........................................................................................................ 895
b
Load transfer in horizontally prestressed masonry wall
Robin Peknik, Ladislav Klusacek, Zdenek Bazant, Michal Pozar and Petr Duchac....................... 901
Textile reinforced concrete composites for existing structures: performance optimization
via mechanical characterization
if
Marco C. Rampini, Giulio Zani, Matteo Colombo and Marco di Prisco .......................................... 907
Concrete screws as a post-installed punching reinforcement under static and cyclic loads
Matthias Spiegl, Rupert Walkner and Jürgen Feix ........................................................................ 915
Strengthening of reinforced concrete bridges by post-tensioning
Adam Svoboda and Ladislav Klusáček ........................................................................................ 923
Strengthening of hybrid steel-concrete shear walls using high performance steel fiber
reinforced cementitious composites
Viorel Todea, Valeriu Stoian, Sorin-Codruț Floruț, Dan Adrian Popescu....................................... 931
Evaluation for shear strength of biaxial RC slab-column connections with ultra high
performance fiber-reinforced concrete overlay
Hyun-Soo Youm, and Sung-Gul Hong.......................................................................................... 937
Monitoring and structural assessment 945

Effects of moisture contents on the diffusion of ultrasound in concrete
Eunjong Ahn and Myoungsu Shin ................................................................................................ 947
Performance analysis of distributed optical fiber sensors on reinforced concrete elements
under fatigue testing
António Barrias, Joan R. Casas and Sergi Villalba ....................................................................... 953
Experimental evaluation of longitudinal resistance of continuously welded rail on bridges
Filip Bláha and Marek Foglar ....................................................................................................... 961
Concept of repair and proposals for reconstruction of the vault structures of Liben Bridge
Marek Blank and Petr Bouška ..................................................................................................... 971

Influence of materials knowledge level on the assessment of the shear strength characteristic
value of existing RC beams
Angelo Forte, Silvia Santini, Gabriele Fiorentino, Davide Lavorato,
Alessandro Vittorio Bergami and Camillo Nuti .............................................................................. 979
Check of resistance to fatigue on existing prestressed concrete bridges by monitoring
Jens Heinrich and Reinhard Maurer ............................................................................................. 987
Assessment of one-way slab bridges with bent-up bars as shear reinforcement
Tobias Huber, Patrick Huber and Johann Kollegger ..................................................................... 995
Evaluation of fair-faced concrete surfaces using digital image processing
Kitti Károlyfi and Ferenc Papp .................................................................................................... 1003
Verification of in-use concrete bridge’s safety inspection methodology
with decommissioned bridges
Joo-Hyung Lee, Nankyoung Lee, Minyeong Kim and Jae-Yeol Cho........................................... 1011
Reliability of industrial chimneys affected by carbonation-induced corrosion
Jan Mlcoch and Miroslav Sykora ................................................................................................ 1019
Static and dynamic load tests of Libeň bridge over Vltava river in Prague with comparisson to
FEA model results
Jan Mourek and Petr Bouška ..................................................................................................... 1025
XXIII

Partial problems during long-term monitoring of concrete bridges after reconstruction

Martin Olsak, Ladislav Klusacek and Radim Necas .................................................................... 1033
Anchorage capacity of corroded smooth reinforcement bars in existing reinforced structures
b
Samanta Robuschi, Karin Lundgren, Ignasi Fernandez, Kamyab Zandi
and Mathias Flansbjer ................................................................................................................ 1039
Comparison of energy dissipation devices in response reduction of blast-induced
vibration of buildings
if
Deepak Kumar Sahu, Robin Davis, Pradip Sarkar and Sanjaya Ku. Patro ................................. 1047
SHM system of a cable styed bridge as a data source for probabilistic durability assessment
Marco Teichgraeber, Jan Biliszczuk and Paweł Hawryszków ..................................................... 1055
Durability and life assessment 1063

Numerical study of the effect of moisture on chloride and carbon dioxide transport in concrete
Mohamad Achour, Ouali Amiri, François Bignonnet and Emmanuel Rozière .............................. 1065
Corrosion of glass used for radioactive waste disposal influenced by environmental parameters
Ali Al Dabbas and Katalin Kopecskó........................................................................................... 1071
Specification of new sulfate resistant blended cements through performance testing

Sonia Boudache, Emmanuel Rozière, Ahmed Loukili and Horacio Colina .................................. 1079
Gas diffusivity test method development: effect of cement paste saturation degree
and concrete specimen thickness
Mouna Boumaaza, Bruno Huet, Philippe Turcry, Christoph Gehlen,
Abdelkarim Aït-Mokhtar and Detlef Heinz ................................................................................... 1087
Analysis of the influence of chloride exposure conditions and material properties
on the convection zone depth and the corresponding chloride content
A. El Farissi, Ph. Turcry, A. Younsi, A. Aït-Mokhtar, A. Aït-Alaïwa and Ph. Gotteland ................. 1095
The influence of concrete composition on its modulus of elasticity: comparison
of experiment and values from Eurocode 2
Romana Halamová, Dalibor Kocáb and Tomáš Vymazal ............................................................ 1103
Quantitative evaluation of effects of crack control methods for NATM tunnel lining
concrete by 3D finite element method
Keitai Iwama and Akira Hosoda.................................................................................................. 1111
The use of supplementary cementitious materials to reduce calcium oxychloride formation:

A review of the literature
Casey Jones and W. Micah Hale ................................................................................................ 1121
FEM and RBSM numerical analyses of concrete wall under long-term exposure
to neutron irradiation
Yuliia Khmurovska and Petr Stemberk ....................................................................................... 1129
Qualification methodology for durability of concrete subject to an environnement
with corrosion induced by carbonation
Nadare Matoiri Chaibati, Abdessamad Kobi, David Bigaud and Horacio Colina.......................... 1137
Effect of carbonation on dimensional change of cement paste
Kiyofumi Nakada and Takafumi Noguchi .................................................................................... 1145
Influence of through and surface cracks on transport of water vapor in concrete
Ryohei Ohara and Takumi Shimomura ....................................................................................... 1153
Multi-model approach to assess the ultimate flexural capacity of existing concrete bridges
Marco Proverbio and Ian F.C. Smith........................................................................................... 1159
XXIV

Bio-based self-healing concrete: A review

Hana Schreiberová, Alena Kohoutková, Petr Bílý and Pavla Ryparová ...................................... 1169
Effect of water contents of recycled concrete aggregates on carbonation kinetic
b
Marie Sereng, Assia Djerbi, Othman Omikrine-Metalissi, Patrick Dangla
and Jean-Michel Torrenti ........................................................................................................... 1177
Transformation of accelerated corrosion tests results for the prediction
of the reinforcement corrosion in practice
if
Miroslav Strieška, Peter Koteš and Miroslav Brodňan ................................................................ 1185
Effects of delayed ettringite formation on reinforced concrete structures
Yvan Thiebaut, Stéphane Multon, Alain Sellier, Laurie Lacarrière, Laurent Boutillon,
Djemal Belili, Lionel Linger, François Cussigh and Sofiane Hadji ............................................... 1193
Comparison of properties of recycled concrete aggregate with natural aggregate
Tomáš Trtík, Petr Bílý, Josef Fládr and Jitka Vašková................................................................ 1201
Numerical simulation of early age thermal stress in durable RC bridge slab utilizing blast
furnace slag concrete with expansive additive
Arifa Zerin, Akira Hosoda, Satoshi Komatsu and Kosuke Kashimura ......................................... 1207
Sustainability and life cycle management 1217

Variant design of concrete structure in relation to durability of the structure and
environmental impacts
Anna Horáková, Alena Kohoutková and Iva Broukalová............................................................. 1219
Efficiency investigation on electro-kinetic decontamination for concrete waste originated
from nuclear power plants
Chanyoung Kim, Sungyeol Choi, Seungpil Kim and Myoungsu Shin .......................................... 1227
Study on performance characteristics of pervious concrete made of various types
of locally available aggregate
Marek Kováč, Alena Sičáková and Karol Urbán ......................................................................... 1235
Experimental measurement of water absorption by model recycled concrete aggregates
immersed in a filler or cement paste
Houda Maimouni, Sébastien Remond, Florian Huchet, Patrick Richard, Vincent Thiery
and Yannick Descantes ............................................................................................................. 1243
Performance prediction of concrete torrent control structures in Austria
Roman Paratscha and Alfred Strauss ........................................................................................ 1251
Effect of PP fibres on flexural behaviour of concrete with RCAs – A preliminary study
Brecht Vandevyvere, Zeger Sierens, Miquel Joseph, Paul Jonckheere, Luc Decraemer
and Jiabin Li............................................................................................................................... 1259
Influence of cement replacement by admixture on mechanical properties of concrete
Roman Chylík and Karel Šeps ................................................................................................... 1267
XXV

ifb

Advanced materials
ifb

ifb

Effect of metakaolin on mechanical properties of

cement paste exposed to elevated temperatures
b
Nabil Abdelmelek and Éva Lublóy
Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME)
Muegyetem rkp. 3, 1111 Budapest, Hungary
if
Abstract
Concrete is a composite material consisting mainly of mineral aggregates bound by a matrix of
hardened cement paste. Strength reduction of high strength concrete during and after fire may be
different from that of normal strength concrete. Our intention was directed to evaluate effect of
metakaolin (MK) as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in cement paste on surface
cracking and residual compressive strength at elevated temperatures. An extensive experimental study
was carried out to analyze the post-heating characteristics of hardened cement paste subjected to
temperatures up to 900 °C with varied values of MK and water/binder (w/b) ratio. In the experiments
specimens were exposed to given maximal temperatures and then cooled down to room temperature.
Tests were carried out at room temperature. Present studies included analysis of surface cracking,
compressive strength.
1 Introduction
Concrete can be exposed to elevated temperatures during fire or when it is applied by furnaces and
reactors. The behaviour of a concrete structural members exposed to fire is dependent on physical,
thermal, and mechanical deformation properties of concrete of which the member is composed. The
deterioration processes influence the durability of concrete structures and may result in undesirable
structural failures. Therefore, preventative measures such as choosing the right materials should be
taken to minimize the harmful effects of high temperature on concrete. The high temperature
behaviour of concrete is greatly affected by material properties, such as the properties of the
aggregate, the cement paste, and the bond between the aggregate, as well as the thermal compatibility
of the aggregate and cement paste [1].
On the other hand, the related studies show that hardened cement paste plays a key role in this
deterioration process. Loss in structural quality of concrete, especially the strength and fracture
generally exhibits a complex dependency on the developed phase composition and pore structure of
hardened cement paste [2] [3].

The quest for the development of high strength (HSC) and high performance concretes has
increased considerably in recent times because of the demands from the construction industry. As a
relevant result, in the last three decades, (SCMs) such as fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF) and ground
granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) have been judiciously utilized as cement replacement materials
as these can significantly enhance the strength and durability characteristics of concrete in
comparison with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) [4].
2 Influence of metakaolin (MK)
2.1 MK at ambient temperatures

Recently, MK has been added to the list of commercial pozzolans, and thought of as being an
excellent material for producing high performance concrete. It is gaining popularity due to its
consistent composition and production, light colour, and rapid pozzolanic reaction [5]. In addition to
that, Poon et al [6]-[8] have shown a lot of interest in MK as it has been found to possess both
pozzolanic and micro filler characteristics. It has also been used successfully for the development of
HS self-compacting concrete using mathematical modelling [9]. In a related, MK or calcined kaolin
produced by calcinations has the capability to replace SF as an alternative material [10].
MK is a thermally activated aluminosilicate material obtained by calcining kaolin clay within the
temperature range of 700 – 850C [11]-[13]. It contains typically 50 – 55% SiO2 and 40 – 45% Al2O3
and is highly reactive. It has been reported that the replacement of cement by 5 –15% MK results in
Proc. of the 12th fib International PhD Symposium in Civil Engineering 3
Aug 29 to 31, 2018, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

12th fib International PhD Symposium in Civil Engineering
significant increases in compressive strength for high-performance concretes and mortars at ages of
up to 28 days, particularly at early ages [14] and [15]. The replacement also results in improved
concrete durability properties, including the resistance to chloride penetration, freezing and thawing,
and deicing salting scaling [14] and [16].
b
2.2 MK at high temperatures
Initially, MK concretes showed an increase in compressive strength at 200 °C. This increase may
probably be due to the hydration of unhydrated MK particles, which were activated as a result of the
if
temperature rise. Since the hydration in MK concrete is slowed down after 14 days due to the
blocking of capillaries [17].
Despite high losses during heating, the HSC showed better strength recovery as compared to the
normal strength concretes (NSC). For 600 °C, the HSC regained 66 – 93% of their original strength
after 56 days, while it was 61 – 85% for NSC. Similarly for 800 °C, these values were 34 – 79% for
HSC’s and 31 – 56% for NSC’s. Dinakar et al [10] investigated the effect of incorporating MK on the
mechanical and durability properties of HSC for a constant water/binder (w/b) ratio of 0.3. MK
mixtures with cement replacement of 5, 10 and 15 % were designed for target strength and slump of
90 MPa and 100 ± 25 mm. From the results, it was observed that 10 % replacement level was the
optimum level in terms of compressive strength. Beyond 10 % replacement levels, the strength was
decreased but remained higher than the control mixture. Compressive strength of 106 MPa was
achieved at 10 % replacement.
The compressive strength recovery was faster and more enhanced after water re-curing, as
compared to the air re-curing. On the average, the water re-cured specimens regained l5 – 20% more
strength than the air re-cured specimens. The compressive strength recovery was better after 600 °C
than 800 °C [18]. In a related context, the Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) test results highlight
pore structure coarsening, and show an increase in porosity at elevated temperatures, which are the
major reasons of strength and durability losses [19].
Despite the high strength loss, most MK concretes still had lower porosities as compared to the
corresponding SF, FA, and pure OPC concretes. The only exception was HS-MK20. The latter’s
sample dense microstructure at 20 °C (with the lowest porosity and smallest average pore size), was
changed to a relatively open one with the highest porosity and largest average pore size after heating
at 800 °C. The average pore diameters of most MK concretes (except HS-MK10) were larger than the
other concretes, which in combination with internal cracking might have caused more strength and
durability losses at all temperatures above 200 °C [18].
2.3 Previous studies

Poon [18] pointed out that NC and HSC mixes incorporating 0 – 20% MK were prepared and exposed
to a series of high temperatures till 800 °C. The residual compressive strength, porosity and pore size
distribution were determined. It was found that after an increase in compressive strength at 200 °C,
the MK concrete suffered a more severe loss of compressive strength and permeability-related
durability than the corresponding SF, FA, and pure OPC concretes at higher temperatures. Explosive
spalling was observed in both normal and high strength MK concretes, and the frequency increased
with higher MK contents.
Morsy et al [20] studied the effects of high temperatures up to 800 °C on the mechanical
properties and microstructure of cement mortars with nanometakaolin (NMK) and (w/b) ratio of 0.6.
It was found that after an initial increase in compressive strength at 250 °C for the mortar specimens,
the strength decreased considerably at higher temperatures. The replacement of OPC by 5% NMK in
cement mortar hydrated at ambient temperature increases the compressive and flexural strengths of
cement mortar and they pointed experimentally that the higher the compressive and flexural strengths
results were obtained from the specimens containing 15% NMK, as compared with other replacement
percentages considered in this study for all thermal treatment, with increase of temperature from 250
to 800 °C [20].
In context of spalling, Chan et a1 [21] found that moisture content and strength are the two main
factors governing thermally induced explosive spalling of concrete. The results showed that no
spalling would occur if either strength or moisture content is below a certain threshold value, which
was found to be 60 MPa or 62%.
4 Advanced materials

Effect of Metakaolin on mechanical properties of cement paste exposed to elevated temperatures
The results also indicate that MK concrete is highly prone to spalling as compared to SF, FA, and
pure OPC concretes.
The obvious reason is the dense pore structure, in particular, the small pore size of MK concretes,
which held the vapour pressure of steam and resulted in explosive spalling. It is interesting to note
b
that FA concrete showed no spalling at all, despite the moisture content and compressive strength of
the specimens exceeded the threshold values specified by Chan et al [21].
3 Experimental details
if
An experimental program was designed to analyse the post-heating characteristics of hardened
cement paste subjected to temperatures up to 900 °C. Major parameters of our study were the
different dosages (0, 3, 6, 9, 12 or 15 m %) of supplementary material (MK) of the binder (as
replacement of cement) and the value of maximum temperature (20, 50, 150, 300, 400, 500, 800, 900
°C). In the experiments specimens were exposed to the given maximal temperatures and then cooled
down to room temperature. Tests were carried out at the present study to analyse compressive
strength.
Table 1 Experimental matrix with detailed varied parameters.

Water to binder (w/b) ratio
Amount of
0.3 0.35 0.4
MK (m %)
0% Series 1 (S1): MK0% Series 2 (S2): MK0% Series 3 (S3): MK0%

12 % Series 7 (S7):MK12% Series 12 (S12):MK12% Series 17 (S17):MK12%
15 % Series 8 (S8):MK15% Series 13 (S13):MK15% Series 18 (S18):MK15%
3.1 Materials
Cement of the specimens was OPC (CEM I 42,5 N) and ordinary MK supplementary material was
used. Ratio of (w/b) were (0.3, 0.35, and 0.4) for each category in addition to 2 g/kg of liquid
superplasticizer was applied also for each. Cubic form cement paste specimens were used with the
size of 30 mm for compressive strength test.
3.2 Curing and heating regimes

The way of mixing was mixing of the dry binder (Cement + Metakaolin) during 30 seconds and
adding the water in two times after that the casting and compaction of specimens. The specimens
were demolded 24 h after the casting and placed in a water tank at 20 °C. After 7days of water curing,
they were transferred to an environmental chamber maintained at 20 °C and normal humidity. At an
age of 90 days, the specimens were heated in a furnace (20, 50, 150, 300, 400, 500, 800 and 900 °C).
Our experimentally applied heating curve was similar to the standard fire curve up to 800 °C.
Specimens were kept for three hours at the actual maximum temperature levels. Specimens were then
slowly cooled down in laboratory conditions for further observations. During the heat load a program
controlled electric furnace was used. Residual compressive strengths were measured for specimens
after cooled down to the room temperature, then the average values of the measurements were chosen
and analysed.
Nabil Abdelmelek and Éva Lublóy 5

4 Results and discussions

Residual compressive strength in function of temperature with varied ratio of MK is presented in
Figures (1, 2 and 3).
b
Relative residual compressive strength of cement paste specimens are shown in Figures (4, 5 and
6). Relating to the concrete composition and the maximum temperature of thermal load, following
conclusions can be drawn as following comments:
Concerning residual compressive strength of MK specimens, two different regions were observed
20-400 °C and 400 - 900 °C. Increasing of strength followed by decrease is the main feature describe
if
both regions. MK specimens showed a slight increase in compressive strength at normal temperature
up to 50°C for all amounts of MK (Fig 1, 2 and 3), however highest values were related to w/b = 0.3
(Fig. 1).
150,00
compressive strength
S1
100,00 S4
[N/mm2]
50,00 S5
S6
0,00
S7
0,00 200,00 400,00 600,00 800,00 1000,00
maximum temperature [°C] S8
Fig. 1 Effect of the amount of MK on compressive strength of concrete at elevated

temperatures with w/b=0.3.
100
80 S2
60 S9
[N/mm2]
40 S10
20 S11
0
S12
0,00 200,00 400,00 600,00 800,00 1000,00
Fig. 2 Effect of the amount of MK on compressive strength of concrete at elevated temperatures

with w/b= 0.35.
The strength starts to slightly decrease till the temperature reaches 150 °C attributed to loss of
moisture and evaporable water (intensive dehydration in the temperature interval between 60 and 180
°C). The strength increase again up to 300 °C which attributed to the hydration of unhydrated MK
grains in the microstructure particles as a result of the temperature rising. Unlike specimens contained
MK, all pure cement specimens with 0% MK showed continuous decrease.

100,00
80,00 S3
b
S14
[N/mm2]
60,00
40,00 S15
20,00 S16
if
0,00 S17
0,00 200,00 400,00 600,00 800,001000,00
S18
maximum temperature [°C]
Fig. 3 Effect of the amount of MK on compressive strength of concrete at elevated temperatures

with w/b= 0.4.
From 50 to 400 °C specimens with (w/b= 0.3) showed relatively higher strength than other specimens
with different (w/b) ratio. Most of the specimens maintained their original compressive strength for
the different (w/b) ratio, whereas compressive strength loss was observed in specimen S3 (MK0%-
0.4). Neither spalling nor cracking were observed at this temperature in specimens.
1,50
reletive compressive
S1
1,00
stregth [-]
S4
S5
0,50
S6
0,00 S7
0,00 200,00 400,00 600,00 800,00 1000,00
S8
maximum temperature [°C]
Fig. 4 Effect of the amount of MK on relative compressive strength of concrete at elevated

temperatures with w/b= 0.3.
After 400 °C, the MK specimens showed significant reduction in compressive strength for all of S1,
S2, S3, S4, S5, S9, S10, S14, and S18. For S1, S2 and S3 reduction related to these specimens with
MK= 0% can be attributed to decomposition of calcium hydroxide (CH). Specimens with MK
between 3% and 6% (S4, S5, S9, S10, S14, S18) behave slightly as MK= 0% indicating the small
effect of MK specimens that have MK ratio below 6% in increasing compressive strength. At
temperatures between 800 and 900 °C. The results showed that at high MK (15%) content, specimens
suffered more loss. This severe strength loss could be due to the very dense pore structure of MK
concrete which might enhance the build-up of vapour pressure upon heating and resulted in spalling
and cracking.

1,50
reletive compressive
S2
1,00
b
S9
stregth [-] 0,50 S10

S11
if
0,00
S12
0,00 200,00 400,00 600,00 800,00 1000,00
Fig. 5 Effect of the amount of MK on relative compressive strength of concrete at elevated

temperatures with w/b= 0.35.
1,50
compressive stregth [-]
S3
reletive residuel
1,00 S14
0,50 S15
S16
0,00
0,00 200,00 400,00 600,00 800,00 1000,00 S17
Fig. 6 Effect of the amount of MK on Relative compressive strength of concrete at elevated

temperatures with w/b = 0.4.
Best performances through all specimens that showed high compressive strength at low temperatures
and remain relatively stable at high temperatures were given by (MK= 12% for w/b= 0.35 and 0.4),
(MK= 9% for w/b= 0.3) and (MK=0% for w/b= 0.35). In case of cement stone prepared with MK
containing binder (to 12 m% related to the mass of cement) the strength increased due to the
temperature of 800 °C. Addition of MK was found to be unfavourable for fire resistance of concrete
at early ages (at age of 28 days). This could be explained by the different rate of pozzolanic reaction
of the SCMs.
100
50
[N/mm2]
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
the maximal temperature [°C]
M=0% M=3% M=6% M=9% M=12%
Fig. 7 The compressive strength for the different mixes as a function of maximum temperature
(averages of 5 measurements).

1,5
residual compressive
1
b
strength [-]
0,5
if
0 200 400 600 800 1000
the maximal temperature [°C]
M=0% M=3% M=6% M=9% M=12%
Fig. 8 Relative residual compressive strength for the different mixes as a function of maximum
temperature (averages of 5 measurements).
To conclude results for both compressive strength and relative compressive strength, each five
measurements were set as one value as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8.
5 Conclusions
The use of MK as a recent material in the construction industry, proves to be very useful to modify
the properties of concrete. An extensive experimental study was carried out to analyses the post-
heating characteristics of hardened cement paste subjected to temperatures up to 900 °C.
Two main regions were observed in results i.e. 20 - 400 °C and 400 - 900 °C. Increasing of
strength followed by decrease is general feature that describes both regions. At the first region,
specimens with MK ratio 9% and 12% showed relatively high compressive strength. All specimens
showed significant decrease in strength during heating after 400 °C, however both MK specimens
with 9% and12% showed slightly less decrease than others.
Relating to w/b ratio namely at 0.35, presence of MK ratio, except for lower than 6%, was
observed to keep its relative residual strength above 50% after temperatures reach 400 up to 900
whereas other w/b ratio do not generally kept their strength. From abovementioned results it could
mainly be concluded that specimens with MK 9% and 12% with (w/b) ratio equals 0.35 is the most
favorable.
Acknowledgements
Authors acknowledge the support by the Hungarian Research Grant NVKP_16-1-0019 “Development
of concrete products with improved resistance to chemical corrosion, fire or freeze-thaw”.This was
supported by the János Bolyai Resarch Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Siences.
References
[1] Abdelmelek, Nabil, and Éva Lublóy. 2017. “Improved fire resistance by using different
dosages of metakaolin.” 12th Central European Congress on Concrete Engineering 2017
Tokaj: 240–246.
[2] Bournazel, J. P., and M. Miranville. 1997. “Durability of concrete: the crossword between
chemistry and mechanics.” Cem. Concr. Res. 27:1629–1637.
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[7] Wild, S., and J. M. Khatib. 1997. “Portlandite consumption of metakaolin cement Pastes and
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Characteristics of cement pastes incorporating

different amounts of unprocessed waste fly ash
b
(UWFA)
Mohammed Abed and Rita Nemes
if
Department of Construction Materials and Technologies,
Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME),
Műegyetem rkp. 3, Budapest 1111, Hungary,
Abstract
Although modified fly ash is one of the most usable materials as a supplementary cementitious mate-
rial (SCM) however, unprocessed waste fly ash (UWFA) is rarely used for the same purpose. In the
literature, it proved its efficiency in certain aspects when it is used as a SCM in the desired amount. In
this study, different amounts of UWFA in cement paste as SCM have been investigated as an attempt
to produce green binder, which is useful for sustainable construction applications. From zero to up to
60% by mass replacement amounts of cement by UWFA has been conducted. Consistency, compres-
sive strength, and the activity index of UWFA from seven to ninety days old specimens have been
examined through 7, 28 and 90, where the optimum UWFA replacement was up to 30%, in which the
activity index still increased to the end of test period (90 days), also when up to 30% of UWFA used
instead of cement; a very close strength to the 100% cement paste have been getting.
1 Introduction
Global warming is a recognized phenomenon, whereas the construction industry is one of the most
industries that contribute to increased carbon emissions, especially production of Portland cement,
where production of one ton of Portland cement releases one ton of CO2 into the atmosphere. Since
cement is the major source of strength of concrete (which is the second highest used material in our
plant after fresh water) and the most expensive component as well, it is mandatory to minimize envi-
ronmental impact and carbon footprint by incorporating the use of wastes materials as a SCM, such as
fly ash, in building construction [1]-[5].
The term fly ash used is usually express the treated or modified fine fly ash. Fly ash is an indus-
trial by-product derived from coal combustion in thermal power plants, which considered one of the
most complex materials that can be characterized besides, it is one of the most abundant of anthropo-
genic materials [6]. In fact, it has been exhaustively discussed by researchers as SCM and in fact
served the most common SCM, therefore it has been widely used in modern concrete due to several
well-known effects on concrete. For instance, improving the workability, prolonging sitting time,
reducing the total heat generation, decreasing density, enhancing the durability more or less, and
consolidating long age mechanical properties in general. However, the degree of effect of fly ash on
the properties of concrete and the hydration products depend highly on the particle morphology and
differences of compositions of fly ash. Thus, the main reason of existence some differences in results
between researchers that they usually use different fly ash from different resource’s [7]-[10].
The worldwide utilization rate of fly ash in concrete is considered very little, and to improve the
properties of concrete, many investigations on incorporating large volume (>45%) of modified fly ash
in concrete have been done and named high volume fly ash (HVFA). HVFA concrete for structure
applications was developed by the Canadian Center for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANMET)
in 1985 concrete [11]. Regarding the literature, the inclusion of HVFA in the matrix has a positive
effect on some properties and a negative effect on others. It is therefore imperative to investigate and
develop a concrete incorporating large volumes of UWFA to increase considerably the utilization of
fly ash [12], [13].
Improper disposal has become an environmental concern and resulted in a waste of recoverable
resources like water and soil pollution, disrupt ecological cycles and pose environmental hazards.
Despite already aggressive efforts have been undertaken recently to recycle fly ash in road base con-
struction, soil amendment, zeolite synthesis, and use as a filler in polymers.


More than 300 individual minerals and 150 mineral groups have been identified in various coal ash
samples[14]-[16], so the European Standards set a number of requirements and process for treat
UWFA before its use to optimize its fineness, reduce its water demand or to improve other properties
in general. This process as classification, selection, sieving, drying, blending, grinding, or carbon
b
reduction often involves a series of costly and energy consuming mechanical and physical applica-
tions [17]. UWFA is not suitable for use in construction applications due to its high carbon content
and large particle size [18]. There is a very limited information about the utilization of UWFA, thus
[19]-[21] and the current literature as well suggest that incorporating UWFA as a replacement of
if
cement in paste, mortar or even concrete would improve its mechanical and durability properties. A
limited number of researchers has investigated UWFA, and they have been used different expressions
to express the raw fly ash without any modifications, those expressions like unprocessed fly ash, low
quality fly ash, reject fly ash, and waste fly ash. Here the basic methodologies and conclusions for a
number of researchers approached the UWFA topic:
1) Hamood et al [21] investigated the utilization of different replacement amounts of UWFA in-
stead of cement in mortar mixtures and concluded that the increasing of replacement amount
of UWFA reduced flowability, ultrasonic pulse velocity in the early age testing up to 28 days,
the compressive strength at early age up to 90 days, and the drying shrinkage. However, it
improves the long-term compressive strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity up to 30% re-
placement of cement by UWFA. They recommended utilizing the UWFA in different con-
struction and civil engineering applications like cement-based materials for road construction
and self-compacting concrete.
2) Poon et al [18] studied the pozzolanic properties of UWFA blended cement pastes and found
that the higher but not excessive water-to-binder (w/b) ratio can enhance the reactivity of
UWFA, the paste with a higher w/b ratio of 0.35 had higher strength values than a similar
paste prepared with a lower w/b ratio of 0.28. This can be attributed to the absorption of
UWFA compared with normal fine fly ash, that what they observed from scanning electron
microscope (SEM). Since SEM showed more hydration products and denser microstructure
for the paste prepared with higher w/b ratio. Under the same conditions, UWFA was difficult
to react than normal fine fly ash and requires a higher pH value to be activated little reaction
occurred between UWFA and cement at 7 days of hydration but Significant amounts of reac-
tion only appeared after 28 days of hydration.
3) Snelson and Kinuthia [19], [20] investigated the physical, mechanical and durability charac-
teristics of concrete and cement paste using UWFA by preparing reference mixtures made of
just Portland cement and others with different replacements amount by UWFA. They agreed
with the possibility of utilizing the UWFA in concrete works. They also mention that caution
should, however, be taken to avoid excessive cement replacement, as the excessive reduction
in strength may compromise sulfate resistance
According to the literature, the incorporating of UWFA in concrete is not discussed from all aspects
especially the activation behavior of the binder itself with time. This paper studied the effect of paste
by incorporating different amounts of UWFA on physical, fresh and hardened properties in different
ages, while special emphasis has been placed UWFA on determining the maximum replacement
amount that could be achieved ascending activation index.
2 Expermintal work
This experimental work was examined as an initial phase to PhD work for producing green self-
compacting high performance concrete using different waste materials and recycled concrete aggre-
gate, one of these waste materials is UWFA. Whereas the response of mortar systems and concrete
systems depend greatly on the properties of paste Materials especially the in self-compacting
ones[22], [23].
2.1 Materials
The performance of six groups of paste mixtures containing 0, 15, 30, 40, 50, and 60% by mass
UWFA of total binder weight were examined, with a w/b ratio of 0.35. A plain cement paste without
the addition of fly ash was prepared at the same w/b ratio as a reference. The composition of mixtures

Characteristics of cement pastes incorporating different amounts of unprocessed waste fly ash (UWFA)
shown in Table 1. Paste mixtures were tested for their fresh and engineering properties including
consistency and compressive strength.
b
Table 1 Mixtures proportions of cement paste.
Name of Weight (g) Percentage (%) Water w/b Superplasticizer

mixture Cement UWFA Cement UWFA (g) (%) (ml)
if
G0 1500 0 100 0 525 35 0
G15 1275 225 85 15 525 35 0.4
G30 1050 450 70 30 525 35 0.5
G40 900 600 60 40 525 35 1
G50 750 750 50 50 525 35 2
G60 600 900 40 60 525 35 4
The cement used throughout the experimental program was CEM I strength class 42.5 N that com-
plies with the requirements of EN 197-1:2000 to eliminate the effect of mineral admixtures on the test
[24]. The fly ash used in this experimental work was UWSF that was collected from a coal power
station in Hungary. The UWFA collected from Visonta coal-fired thermal power station and delivered
to the laboratory for use in the testing program. Table 2 shows the physical properties and chemical
composition of cement and UWFA in accordance with the EN standard [25], [26]. The mixing water
used for the reference was tap water that complies with the requirements of EN 1008:2002 [27]. To
achieve the same flowability for the mixtures and produce a workable paste with the same w/b ratio a
considerable amount of High range water reducing admixture (HRWRA) “Sika ViscoCrete-5 Neu”
superplasticizer was a modified polycarboxylates aqueous solution has been used in the present study.
This type of admixtures reduces the water dosage of a concrete mixture for the desired slump class.
Table 2 Chemical compositions and physical properties of cement and UWFA.

Measured property UWFA
CEM I 42.5 N
(Visonta)
Density (g/ml) 3.02 2.15
Physical
Specific surface area (cm2/g) 3326 4323
Loss on ignition 3 1.95
Insoluble part in dilute hydrochloric acid and
0.26 49.72
sodium carbonate
SiO2 19.33 43.02
CaO 63.43 15.07
Chemical MgO 1.45 3.14
(% by mass)
Fe2O3 3.42 14.17
Al2O3 4.67 15.6
SO3 2.6 3.56
Chloride content 0.04 0.02
Free CaO 0.71 0.37
Mohammed Abed and Rita Nemes 13

2.2 Mixing and method

Mixing was carried out in accordance with EN 196-1 [28], for a total mixing time of four and a
half minutes partitioned in three stages, using a KM250 Kenwood Chef Major mixer, between each
b
stage the mixture manually homogenized to achieve the highest homogeneity. The pastes were cast
and compacted to produce (40×40) mm specimens, which vibrated using a vibrating table, to make 18
paste specimen for each mixture type. Casted specimens were covered with plastic sheets and placed
in temperature room (20 °C ± 2 °C) for 24 h until demoulding. Thereafter, specimens were cured for
7, 28 and 90 days by wrapping them using cling film. 18 samples in each group were tested; average
if
values are reported. A total of 108 samples were prepared (6 samples × 3 ages × 6 mixtures). The
consistency of fresh mixtures was obtained using the flow table, then for each testing age, the com-
pressive strength for six specimens (40x40) mm have been examined.
3 Results and discussion
3.1 Consistancy
For achieving the same flowability for all the groups of pastes it was necessary to use superplasticiz-
er, whereas the workability decreased with increasing the UWFA amount, moreover decreased signif-
icantly when a high amount of UWFA. In the beginning, the flowability for G0 was determined and
recorded 235 mm, then for other mixtures superplasticizer added to achieve flowability in the same
range of the reference mixture. The reduction in flowability may be due to the high surface area and
high unburned carbon content of the UWFA, which absorbs hydration water resulting in less worka-
bility [21], [29]. Fig. 1 shows the increasing of superplasticizer demand with increasing UWFA
amount as a result of decreasing the flowability for the same w/b ratio.
Superplastisizer dosage
300 Flowability (mm) 5
Superplastisizer demand (ml)
Flowability (mm)
250 4
200
3
(ml)
150
2
100
50 1
0 0
G30 G40 G0 G15
G50 G60
Mixture group
Fig. 1 Impact of UWFA on flowability and superplasticizer dosage.
3.2 Density
The apparent density has been measured for all specimens during different ages and the average
values reported in fig. 2, it goes without reason that the density will be decreased by increasing the
amount of UWFA due to its lower density comparing to cement. Fig. 2 illustrated the decreasing of
density by increasing the dosage of UWFA.
2,500
Avergae density g/cm3
2,000
1,500
1,000
0,500
0,000
G0 G15 G30 G40 G50 G60
Mixture Group
Fig. 2 Impact of UWFA on average density

3.3 Compressive strength

Fig. 3 presents the compressive strength of the paste mixes at 7, 28 and 90 days the compressive
strength generally decreased when UWFA was included, and the greatest compressive strength was
b
achieved for the mortar mix with 0% UWFA. Nevertheless, the increase of strength with time for the
paste groups incorporated UWFA is higher than reference one, plus the strength up to 30% replace-
ment by UWFA are very close to the strength of the reference. It is an indication of the possibility of
increasing the long-term compressive strength for pastes incorporating up to 30% of UWFA to be
higher than the reference. That is exactly in accordance with what [21] observed in their study, which
if
his results after 365 days showed a significant improvement in the compressive strength for all mixes
that contained UWFA and this may be due to the positive impact of the pozzolanic activities of fly
ash particles on long-term strength development [30], [31].
100,0
Compressive strength
7 days 28 days 90 days

80,0
MPa
60,0
40,0
20,0
0,0
G0 G15 G30 G40 G50 G60
Mixture Group
Fig. 3 Impact of UWFA on compressive strength
3.4 Activity index

Activity index is expressed by the ratio of the strength of cement paste mixture containing SCM
replacement and strength of reference mixture with just cement, and it is express the hydration rate of
the SCM [32]. The activity indices are presented in fig. 4 for all mixtures groups in different ages. It
shows that with increasing the age of specimens incorporating UWFA the activity index increase,
thus the main reason for getting higher compressive strength for UWFA specimens. It is clear that the
most valuable replacement of cement by UWFA is up to 30% where the activity index is more than
0.9 after 90 days. It is clear the positive effect of increasing UWFA replacement up 30% in the activi-
ty index since the activity index increase with age. Whereas the behavior of activation for the pastes
with more than 30% UWFA show optimum activation index after 28 and the start to decrease.
1,20
7 days 28 days 90 days
1,00
Activity indecies
0,80
0,60
0,40
0,20
0,00
G0
G30 G15 G40 G50 G60
Mixture Group
Fig. 4 Impact of UWFA on activation index
4 Conclusion
Using unprocessed waste fly ash (UWFA) as a supplementary cementatious materials (SCM) will not
just decrease the cement consumption and its energy needed for production, but also will eliminate a
series of costly and energy consuming mechanical and physical applications generated to treat

UWFA. Based on the results of this paper for using UWFA as a SCM up to 60% for different aged up
to 90 days, the following conclusion could drown:
The density and consistency of paste decreased with increasing UWFA dosage while increas-
ing the UWFA dosage by more than 60% dramatically made worse consistency.
b
The compressive strength at 7, 28 and 90 days decreased when UWFA was included. Howev-
er, the activity index increased after 90 days when up to 30% of UWFA used with a very
close strength to the 100% cement paste.
The activation behavior is changing when the UWFA dosage being more than 30%, where the
if
relationship between the activation index and age turn from direct proportion to inverse pro-
portion. In case of 40% or higher replacement, the long-time strength is unfavorable. The ac-
tivation after 90 days was lower than the activation at 28 days of age.
The optimum UWFA dosage was up to 30%, the descending of compressive strength is not exceed
10%. This conclusion is calling for farther detailed investigation research to produce green self-
compacting high performance concrete while using different waste materials and recycled concrete
aggregate.
Acknowledgment
Authors are grateful to the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA) for the financial support of
the OTKA K 109233 research project. And special thanks to Duna-Dráva Cement Kft., SIKA
Hungária Kft., Betonpartner Kft. for providing the materials used in the experiments.
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[16] Vassilev, S. V. and C. G. Vassileva. 2005. “Methods for characterization of composition of
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fly ashes from coal-fired power stations: A critical overview.” Energy and Fuels 19(3):1084-
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ed cement pastes.” Cement and Concrete Research 33(11):1857-1865.
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verised fuel ash (PFA) to sulphate attack.” Cement and Concrete Composites 32(7):523-531.
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ifb

Post-fire assessment of mechanical properties of

polypropylene-fibered reactive powder concrete using
b
non-destructive testing methods
Muhammad Abid, Xiaomeng Hou, Wenzhong Zheng and Shuomang Shi
if
Key Lab of Structures Dynamic Behavior and Control, Ministry of Education,
Harbin Institute of Technology
Harbin 150090, China
Key Lab of Smart Prevention and Mitigation of Civil Engineering Disasters of the Ministry of
Industry and Information Technology
Harbin Institute of Technology
Harbin, 150090, China
Abstract
Reactive powder concrete (RPC) is an advanced generation of concrete having superior qualities than
traditional types of concretes. However, fire may severely affect its quality and strength. In this paper
mechanical properties of RPC containing polypropylene (PP) fibers were studied experimentally after
exposure to high temperature. The quality of concrete was also assessed by non-destructive testing
(NDTs) such as ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) method and resonance frequency (RF) method. Dy-
namic elastic modulus has been determined by available equation from NDTs measurements. The re-
sults show that an initial increase in strength was observed up to 300℃. However, a gradual decrease
in strength occurred for temperature higher than 300℃. Constitutive relationships have been proposed
for structural strength assessment through NDTs.
1 Introduction
Reactive powder concrete is the new generation of concrete. It is differentiated from ordinary concrete
by better particle size homogeneity, very small porosity and compact microstructure. These properties
are achieved due to removing the coarse aggregate and replacing the extra quantity of cement with fine
powder of mineral admixtures such as slag, silica fume and fly ash. The incorporation of fibers results
in an increase of ductility, toughness and tensile strength [1]. In many parts of the world, the production
of ultra-high strength concrete was a challenging task due to non-availability of good quality of coarse
aggregate. However, due to recent industrial revolution, these raw materials are available in abundant.
The commercial production of RPC has been started in many countries for a variety of engineering
applications such as skyscrapers, runways, bridges, nuclear structures and many other infrastructure
projects [2].
In spite of good performance at ambient temperature, RPC is very prone to spalling at high temper-
ature. Indeed, the pioneer investigations show that proper dosage of polypropylene fibers, specimen
preparation, heating methods etc. can prevent spalling of RPC [3]. However, fire is a devastating phe-
nomenon which results in damaging the strength and stiffness of concrete.
Non-destructive testing (NDTs) are the most common methods for determining the quality of con-
crete in structural applications. Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and resonance frequency methods are
most popular among all NDTs. These methods have been used to find flaws in concrete and most im-
portant to find the dynamic elastic modulus of concrete [4]. Furthermore, these techniques can be used
for post-fire assessment of concrete. However, very little work has been carried out till now for appli-
cation of NDTs for post-fire strength assessment of polypropylene fiber-reinforced reactive powder
concrete (PRPC).
The purpose of this study is to do the destructive and non-destructive testing of PRPC after exposure
to high temperature. Furthermore, various comparisons have been made between destructive and non-
destructive test parameters. Constitutive relationships have been proposed, which will be used for post-
fire strength assessment of PRPC structures.


2 Experimental methods
2.1 Materials, specimen preparation and heating regime
b
The Chinese standard normal hardening Portland cement (P.O. 42.5) was used having 28 days com-
pressive strength greater than 42.5 MPa. Silica fume was provided by Jinshi Building Materials Firm
Harbin, China. The specific surface area of silica fume was 20775 m2/Kg and its SiO2 percentage was
94.25%. The slag produced by Sanfa Building Materials Firm Harbin, China were used in this study.
The specific surface area of slag was 480 m2/Kg. Quartz sand of 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm sizes was used
if
with an equal percentage. Polycarboxylate liquid superplasticizer was used. PP fibers having a 45 µm
diameter and 18-20 mm length were used. The melting point and density of PP fibers are 165℃ and
0.91 Kg/m3.
The earlier mix design by the co-author was used [3]. The ratios of Cement: Silica fume: Slag:
Quartz: and superplasticizer are 1:0.3:0.15:1.2:0.04. The water to binder ratio (w/b) is 0.16. 2.73Kg/m3
PP fibers (0.3% volumetric dosage of concrete) was added to protect it from explosive spalling.
Initially, the dry materials were mixed in a horizontal pan type mixer for 3 minutes at a low speed
of 140 ± 10 r/min. The after proper mixing, water and superplasticizer were added and mixed for further
5 minutes at high speed of 280 ± 10 r/min. PP fibers were sprinkled and concrete was mixed for further
4 minutes to achieve a uniform and plastic consistency. The slow speed was effective for preventing
spilling of powder and high speed was good for proper dispersion.
The compression and split-tensile testing were carried out on cubic samples having dimension of
70.7×70.7×70.7 mm. Whereas for flexural strength and static elastic modulus, prismatic samples were
used having dimension of 70.7×70.7×220 mm. There are 6 temperature levels and for each target tem-
perature, 3 samples were casted, so a total of 18 samples were molded for each parameter. Therefore
the total number of specimens casted are 72. The plastic molds were used which were filled in 3 layers
and properly compacted on the vibratory table. The samples were demoulded on the next day and stored
in steam curing box for 3 days at a temperature of 90℃. These samples were stored in laboratory con-
ditions for 60 days and before heat testing, it was dried in an oven to protect it from spalling due to
moisture trapping phenomenon [5].
An electric furnace was used for heating samples up to target temperature of 20℃, 120℃, 300℃,
500℃, 700℃ and 900℃. The heating rate of 5℃/minute was used until the target temperature was
reached. However, the samples were kept at the same target temperature for further 3 hours to obtain a
steady state condition. After the steady state condition, the furnace was turned off and the gate was
opened to cool it naturally. The electric furnace with the attached controller is shown in Fig. 1 and the
schematic heating-time curve is shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 1 Electric furnace for high temperature Fig. 2 Schematic heating time plot.
test.

Post-fire assessment of mech. properties of polypylene-fibered reactive powder concrete using non-destructive testing methods
2.2 UPV and RF test procedure

The UPV and RF methods were used to find the quality of RPC after exposure to high temperature.
The experimental details are given in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. The UPV and RF tests were carried out accord-
b
ing to ASTM C597 [6]and C215-08 [7], respectively. For each test, two samples were tested. If the
difference between the two tests is more than 5%, then a third test is also performed and the deviated
result is discarded. Since the specimens are heated at once for each target temperature, therefore, the
result of two samples are consistent and seldom a third sample is being tested. The results obtained by
this method is statistically significant [8]. The final result is the arithmetic mean of two test data [9].
if
For RF testing, the samples were put on a polyurethane foam in order to vibrate it freely. The UPV test
method records the stress wave velocity whereas in RF testing method the resonance frequency of the
sample is measured. The specimens are tested in the longitudinal direction and the pre-measured length
and weight are given as input to their respective devices. The measured stress wave velocity and
resonance frequency are used for determination of dynamic elastic modulus as per Eq. 1 and Eq. 2,
respectively [6], [7].
ρ v 2 (1 + υ )(1 − 2υ )
Ed = (1)
(1 − υ )
Where:
Ed ~ is dynamic elastic modulus (in GPa),
υ ~ is Poisson’s ratio,
ρ ~ is the residual density (in Kg/m3), measured from the residual weight.
ν ~ is the UPV (in km/s)
Fig. 3 RF test setup. Fig. 4 UPV test setup.

Similarly, the dynamic elastic modulus can be determined from RF measurements. The equating is
given below [7];
4 LMn 2
Ed = (2)
bt
Where Ed is the dynamic elastic modulus (in GPa), L (in m) is the length of the sample, M (in kg) is the
residual mass of sample after cooling from the target temperature. n , b and t are the resonance fre-
quency (in Hz), width (in m) and depth (in m) of the sample.
2.3 Residual mechanical test

The mechanical properties of RPC were tested as per the relevant Chinese standard GB/T 50081-2002
[9]. The compressive strength and elastic modulus tests were conducted on YA-2000 electro-hydraulic
pressure testing machine. Whereas the flexure and split-tensile strength tests were conducted on the
computer controlled universal testing machine. Cube samples were used for compressive and split-
tensile strength tests. Whereas for flexural and elastic modulus tests prism samples were used. For each
target value, the average of a pair of tests was taken. However, if the deviation among the two tests
results was more than 5% then a third sample was tested and the deviated test was discarded. The
loading rate for compressive strength and elastic modulus are 0.3 mm/minute. Whereas for split-tensile
and flexural test 0.05 mm/minute loading rate was used [10]. The static elastic modulus is determined
Muhammad Abid, Xiaomeng Hou, Wenzhong Zheng, Shuomang Shi 21

from the slope of the stress-strain curve for 40% and 5% stress points to that of ultimate stress. The
experimental details are shown in Fig. 5.
ifb
(a) (b) (d)
(c)
Fig. 5 Experimental setup for mechanical strength tests: (a) compressive test, (b) split-tensile test, (c)
flexural test, and (d) elastic modulus test.
3.1 UPV and RF

The thermal damages can be effectively measured by non-destructive testing. UPV and RF are very
reliable methods for structural assessment and thermal damages of concrete. The UPV and RF values
for RPC has been plotted in Fig. 6. The relative values with respect to room temperature are also plotted
in Fig.7. The final results are the arithmetic mean of replicate tests, which differentiate from each other
by less than 5% [9].
The UPV and RF values at room temperature are 4.54 km/s and 9215 Hz, This indicates that PRPC
has very sound structure at ambient temperature. Initially, a little increase was seen in UPV and RF
values at 120 °C. This increase in strength is due to dry hardening and internal autoclave phenomenon
due to vapors. Which results in further hydration. Furthermore, additional hydration occurred after
cooling at room temperature [5]. However, above 120 °C, a gradual degradation occurred in NDTs
measurements. This decrease is due to the conversion of calcium hydroxide to calcium oxide, breakage
of C-S-H gel and volumetric conversion of quartz from α to β form [11]. Furthermore, thermal damages
also create crakes and voids in PRPC matrix, which decreases the velocity of stress waves and reso-
nance frequency [4]. The relative values at 500 °C for UPV and RF is 69% and 62%, whereas the
residual values at 900 °C are 28% and 30%.
Ultra sonic pulse velocity (Km/s)
Resonance frequency (Hz)
5.0 10000 1.2

1.02
1.02
Relative UPV and RF
4.5 9000 UPV

0.93
1
1
0.91
1.0
4.0
UPV RF
8000
RF 0.8
0.69
3.5 7000
0.62
3.0 6000 0.6

0.44
0.42
2.5
5000 0.4
0.28
0.3
2.0
4000
1.5 0.2
3000
1.0
20 120 300 500 700 900 0.0
20 120 300 500 700 900
Temperature (°C) Temperature (°C)
Fig. 6 UPV and RF values. Fig. 7 Relative change in UPV and RF values.
3.2 Residual mechanical properties

The after high temperature compressive, split-tensile and flexural strength of PRPC is shown in Fig. 8.
The relative values with respect to room temperature strength have been shown in Fig. 9. The residual

compressive, split-tensile and flexural strength at 20 °C are 102.72, 9.55 and 11.61 MPa, respectively.
It is evident that high temperature results in an increase in strength at 120 °C. The increase in compres-
sive, split-tensile and flexural strength is 13%, 4% and 14%, respectively. This increase is due to dry
hardening and internal steam curing [5]. However, at 300 °C the tensile strength relatively decreased
b
as compared to flexural and compressive strength. This might be due to the melting of PP fibers above
165 °C [3]. Above 300 °C, a sharp decrease in split-tensile and flexural strength occurred, whereas
compressive strength has a gradual loss up to 700 °C. This might be attributed to thermal shock
absorption due to capillary pores after melting of PP fibers [12]. However, above 700 °C the loss in
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compressive strength was more. This is due to thermal incompatibilities between cement paste and
aggregate [13]. The residual compressive, split-tensile and flexural strength are 32.90, 1.43, 1.91 MPa
at 900 °C, which is 32%, 15% and 16% to its room temperature strength.
Split-tensile strength (MPa)

14 1.4
Compressive strength (MPa)
120 10
1.21
Flexural strength (MPa)
1.18
1.14
1.13
1.2 Split-tensile strength
Relative strength
12
1.04
1.01
Flexural strength
100 8
1
1
1
1.0
0.88
10
0.77
80 6 8 0.8
0.49
0.6
0.48
6
60 4
0.32
4 0.4
0.26
0.24
0.16
0.15
40 2 0.2
Split-tensile strength 2
Flexural strength
20 0 0 0.0
20 120 300 500 700 900 20 120 300 500 700 900
Fig. 8 Residual mechanical properties vs. Fig. 9 Relative mechanical properties vs. tem-
Temperature. perature.
3.3 Static and dynamic elastic modulus

The static elastic modulus has been measured from the slope of the stress-strain curve, whereas, the
dynamic elastic modulus is determined from NDTs measurements through available equations. The
static and dynamic elastic modulus is shown in Fig. 10. The relative change with respect to room tem-
perature elastic modulus is also plotted in Fig. 11. The static elastic modulus at room temperature is
39.52GPa, whereas the dynamic elastic modulus from UPV and RF are 38.85 GPa and 37.12 GPa,
respectively. Both the static and dynamic elastic modulus is in close agreement and can be characterized
in two stages: (1) initial strength gain stage up to 120 °C and (2) final stage above 120 °C, where a
gradual decrease in elastic modulus was observed. At 900 °C, static elastic modulus, dynamic EMUPV
and dynamic EMRF are 9%, 7% and 8% to those of initial values at room temperature.
50 1.2
Elastic modulus (GPa)
1.06
Relative elastic modulus
1.03
1.02
45 Static EM Static EM
1
1
1
1.0 Dynamic EMUPV

0.88
Dynamic EM
0.86
40
0.84
UPV
Dynamic EM RF
35 Dynamic EMRF 0.8
30
0.52
25 0.6
0.43
0.38
20
0.4
15
0.19
0.18
0.16
10 0.2
0.09
0.08
0.07
5
0 0.0
20 120 300 500 700 900 20 120 300 500 700 900

Fig. 10 Elastic modulus vs. temperature. Fig. 11 Relative Elastic modulus vs. tempera-
ture.

Compressive Strength (MPa)

Compressive Strength (MPa)
2
140  UPV   UPV  140 2
fcu = −35.57 + 68.71× 103   − 7.98 
2
 , R =0.90 (3)  RF   RF 
 1000   1000  fcu = −61.74 + 43.31  − 2.65 
2
 , R =0.93 (4)
 1000   1000 
120 120
b
100 100
80 80
if
60 60
40 Comp. strength vs. UPV Comp. strength vs. RF

40
Fitted line Fitted line
20 20
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
UPV (Km/s) RF (Hz)
(a) Compressive strength vs. UPV (b) Compressive strength vs. RF
Flexural and split-tensile strength
20
Flexural and split-tensile strength
20
2 2
 UPV  6  UPV   RF   RF 
f f = 0.96 − 227.11  + 0.64 × 10 
2
 , R =0.92 (5) f f = −2.70 + 1.36   + 0.04  1000  , R =0.93
2
(7)
 1000   1000   1000   
2 2
 UPV  6 UPV   RF   RF 
15 f t = 0.5 + 187   + 0.42 ×10 
2
 , R =0.98 (6) 15 ft = −1.93 + 1.07   + 0.02 
2
 , R =0.98 (8)
 1000   1000   1000   1000 
Split-tensile strength vs. RF
Split-tensile strength vs. UPV Flexure strength vs. RF
10 Flexural strength vs. UPV 10
Fitted line
Fitted line
5 5
0 0
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
UPV (Km/s) RF (Hz)

(c) Flexural and split-tensile strength vs. UPV (d) Flexural and split-tensile strength vs. RF
45
Static Elastic modulus (GPa)
45
Static Elastic modulus (GPa)
2
2  RF   RF 
40  UPV   UPV  E c = −11.50 + 5.02   + 0.06 
2
 , R =0.99 (10)
E c = −2.69 + 2.92 × 103   + 1.40 

2
 , R =0.99 (9) 40  1000   1000 
 1000   1000 
35 35
30 30
25 25
20 20
15 15
10 10
Static EM vs. UPV Elastic modulus vs. RF
5 Fitted line 5 Fitted line
0 0
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
UPV (Km/s) RF (Hz)
(e) Elastic modulus vs. UPV (f) Elastic modulus vs. RF
Fig. 12 Relationship between mechanical properties vs NDTs.
3.4 Relationship between mechanical strength and NDTs

In order to utilize the NDTs for structural strength assessment, both the UPV and RF values have been
plotted with residual compressive strength, split-tensile strength, flexural strength and static elastic
modulus (Fig. 12). The close relationships among the degradation of residual strength and NDTs meas-
urements proved that with increasing temperature structural quality has been suffered. Relationships

have been obtained between UPV and RF values with residual compressive strength ( ), split-tensile
strength ( ), flexural strength ( ) and static elastic modulus ( ) .The statistical models accuracy
is measured by coefficient of determination ( ), which shows a percentage of the sum of squares of
b
deviations in the response values [14]. However, is not the only best estimate for curve fitting. The
equations tabulated in Fig 12 (Eq.3 to Eq.10) can be used for structural strength assessment and thermal
damages to PRPC structures. But, the dimensions of real life structures are larger and the variation of
temperature in the cross section of structures varies, therefore a more comprehensive study is required
to investigate the thermal changes in big structural components.
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4 Conclusions
The experimental investigations about the NDTs and residual mechanical properties have been
presented in this paper. The comparisons have been made among the quality and strength assessment
of PRPC by both destructive and non-destructive testing methods. Following are the main conclusions
obtained.
PP fibers were very effective to protect RPC from explosive spalling.
The UPV and RF values for PRPC were increased initially up to 120 °C. However, above
120 °C, a sharp decrease was observed. Which shows that quality of concrete was damaged
severely.
The residual mechanical properties show an increase in strength up to 300 °C. However, above
300 °C a gradual decrease in compressive strength and a sharp decrease in split-tensile, flexural
static and dynamic elastic modulus were observed.
Second-degree polynomial equations were obtained for structural strength assessment and de-
gree of thermal damages of PRPC structures.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(No.51578184, No.51408167), the postdoctoral scientific research developmental fund of Heilongjiang
Province (No.LBH-Q15058) and the foundation of the key lab of structures dynamic behavior and con-
trol of the ministry of education, Harbin Institute of Technology. The author would also acknowledge
the School of International Education, Harbin Institute of Technology, China for the conference ex-
penditures.
References
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800 MPa compressive strength.” Special Publication 144:507-518.
[2] Zheng, W. and L.V. Xueyuan. 2015. “Literature review of reactive powder concrete.” Journal
of Building Structures 36:44-58 (in Chinese).
[3] Zheng, W., B. Luo and Y. Wang. 2014. “Microstructure and mechanical properties of RPC
containing PP fibres at elevated temperatures.” Magazine of Concrete Research 66(8):397-408.
[4] Wiggenhauser, H. 2009. "Advanced NDT methods for the assessment of concrete structures."
in: Alexander, et al., (Eds.), Concrete Repair, Rehabilitation and Refrofitting II.
[5] Sanchayan, S. and S.J. Foster. 2016. “High temperature behaviour of hybrid steel–PVA fibre
reinforced reactive powder concrete.” Materials and Structures 49(3):769-782.
[6] ASTM. 2016. ASTM C597-16 Standard Test Method for Pulse Velocity Through Concrete.
West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International..
[7] ASTM. 2014. ASTM C215-14 Standard Test Method for Fundamental Transverse,
Longitudinal, and Torsional Resonant Frequencies of Concrete Specimens. West
Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.
[8] IAEA. 2002. Guidebook on non-destructive testing of concrete structures. Vienna, Austria: Int.
Atomic Energy Agency.
[9] SAC. 2002. GB/T 50081 Standard for test method of mechanical properties on ordinary con-
crete. Beijing: SAC.

[10] Tai, Y.S., H.H. Pan and Y.N. Kung. 2011. “Mechanical properties of steel fiber reinforced
reactive powder concrete following exposure to high temperature reaching 800 C.” Nuclear
Engineering and Design 241(7):2416-2424.
[11] Abrams, M.S. 1971. “Compressive strength of concrete at temperatures to 1600 F.”
b
Temperature and concrete 25:33-58.
[12] Behnood, A. and M. Ghandehari. 2009. “Comparison of compressive and splitting tensile
strength of high-strength concrete with and without polypropylene fibers heated to high
temperatures.” Fire Safety Journal 44(8):1015-1022.
if
[13] Abid, M., X. Hou, W. Zheng et al. 2017. “High temperature and residual properties of reactive
powder concrete–A review.” Construction and Building Materials 147:339-351.
[14] Zheng, W., H. Li, and Y. Wang. 2013. “Compressive and tensile properties of reactive powder
concrete with steel fibres at elevated temperatures.” Construction and Building Materials
41:844–851.

Behaviour of concrete at elevated temperatures with

respect to shear failure
b
Naser Alimrani and György L. Balázs
Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME)
Muegyetem rkp. 3, 1111 Budapest, Hungary
if
Abstract
Most of the investigations related to the behaviour of concrete at elevated temperatures are focused on
the material characteristics as well as on the flexural and axial capacities of concrete elements. Never-
theless, in some cases loss of shear strength can be the cause of failure at elevated temperatures where
the shear capacity is dominant. In most of the tests small specimens were used especially push-off
specimens whereas few of them used full-scale specimens. The main emphasis of this PhD research is
to study the concrete behaviour at elevated temperatures in terms of shear failure. Two categories have
been studied in the literature hollow core slabs (as full scale) and push-off specimens. In addition, an
experiment with new variable parameters is proposed and developed in detail. The proposed experiment
will enable to study the influence of steel fibers on the shear behavior of concrete at elevated tempera-
tures using push-off specimens.
1 Shear failure mode at ambient temperature
1.1 Background
Although after the first initiatives taken by Mörsch, research on the behaviour of concrete members
loaded in shear has been carried out for more than 100 years, a consistent definition of shear failure of
reinforced concrete beams without shear reinforcement does not exist yet. A commonly accepted phe-
nomenological definition of shear failure is that it is a brittle failure occurring under a shear force, with
diagonal cracks developing in the span. Shear force and the diagonal cracks in the span are the most
critical elements at this type of failure [1].
Following Mörsch, several shear test results were presented and compared including bent-up bars
or stirrups or both, Kupfer proposed a modification of the Mörsch truss analogy by allowing the
compressive strut inclination even smaller than 45 degrees, Walther developed a generalized design
theory using Mohr circles, Kani supposed a new mechanism using the concept of “backbone of the
comb”, Leonhardt and Mönig published a textbook, acclaiming Mörsch model, on “Lectures about
reinforced concrete” which became very well known in several universities, and Thürlimann studied
the influence of prestressing of reinforcement [2].
Walraven [3] in his comprehensive experimental research studied the theoretical and experimental
analysis of the role of the roughness of cracks in concrete structures focusing on the so-called
“Aggregate interlock”. As a result of the rough structure the cracks can transmit forces, which means
increasing the capacity of shear resistance, if the crack faces are shifted in opposite directions.
Three mechanisms can contribute to this transmission i.e. interlock aggregate, dowel action and
axial forces, as shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 Shear transfer mechanisms (a) Aggregate interlock, (b) dowel action and (c) axial forces
[3].


1.2 Response of hollow core slabs

A hollow core slab is a precast, prestressed concrete member with continuous voids provided to reduce
weight and, therefore, cost. As a side benefit, voids can be used to conceal electrical or mechanical
b
runs. Primarily used as floor or roof deck systems, hollow core slabs also have applications as both
vertical and horizontal wall panels, spandrel members and bridge deck slabs [36]. They were developed
in the 1950s, when long-line prestressing techniques evolved, and for more than 30 years the type of
units produced changed little. The use of shear reinforcement is generally not feasible for hollow core
slabs and, therefore, the shear strength, particularly of deep slabs, may be limited to the shear strength
if
of the concrete [6].
Walraven and Mercx [4] determined four different failure modes in hollow core slabs at ambient
temperature‫ ؛‬flexure, anchorage (bond-slip), shear tension (web shear failure) and shear compression
(Fig. 2). The latter is sometimes referred to as flexural-shear failure.
Fig. 2 Hollow core slabs: cross sections of various hollow core elements (left), three failure modes
for hollow core slabs at ambient conditions (right) [35].
It was proven that these four failure modes can be described sufficiently accurate by analytical formu-
lations as in Eurocode 2. These formulations were validated by an extended comparison with the load
bearing capacity obtained from 257 (until 2005) tests on hollow core slabs at ambient conditions, car-
ried out in various laboratories over the world. Only 46 tests were related to flexural mode whereas all
of the rest were related to the other three modes which are relevant to shear failure [5]. Slabs should be
designed to resist the above possible modes of failure. Since hollow core slabs do not have shear rein-
forcement in addition to the fact that most of the failure modes, as above mentioned, were related to
shear, the designer should carefully check for the shear capacity of these slabs.
2 Shear in hollow core slabs at elevated temperatures
2.1 Introduction
Hollow core slabs have excellent fire resistance. Depending on thickness and strand cover, fire ratings
up to four hours can be achieved. The fire rating achieved depends on the equivalent thickness for heat
transmission, concrete cover over the prestressing strands (for strength in a high temperature condition),
and end restraint [36]. Nevertheless, the load bearing capacity decreases due to the degradation of the
mechanical properties of materials at elevated temperatures and due to damage caused by thermal
stresses. For structural members with a span to depth ratio, the vertical strains will be small and shear
strains will develop [5]. Therefore shear failure modes in hollow core slabs at elevated temperatures
have been noticed in many experiments [7], [8], [9], [10] and [11].
2.2 Evaluating shear failure in hollow core slabs

Design equations for evaluating shear capacity of hollow core slabs under ambient conditions are well
established and these equations are specified in different design codes and standards namely Eurocode
[12], FIP [13], ACI [14], and PCI [15].

In case of elevated temperatures, these equations are often modified taking into considerations
parameters and material characteristics that influence or being influenced through high temperature,
clearly shown in design standards such as in [12] that providing simplified methods in order to easily
meet fire resistance requirements, but they give rise to uncertainties and unexpected failures [16].
b
On the other hand, many researchers developed, theoretically and experimentally, approaches in
order to have equations that well define the capacity of shear in concrete [8], [17], [18] and [19]. Such
approaches provide convenient means of evaluating fire resistance of hollow core slabs, based on shear
failure. However, the accuracy of these approaches have not yet been properly established [20].
if
2.3 Influencing factors
As per previous studies showed, the critical parameters that influence the shear behaviour of hollow
core slabs are slab depth, load level, loading pattern, axial restraint, level of prestressing, concrete
strength, strength of strands, and fire scenario. To quantify the effect of these critical parameters on fire
resistance of slabs, Kodur and Shakya [21] analyzed a set of slabs by varying the range of parameters
utilizing a finite element based three dimensional numerical model. Further, results from parametric
study are utilized to propose a simplified approach, for evaluating shear capacity of PC hollow core
slabs exposed to fire [20].
In order to validate developed numerical model, response predictions from the model were
compared with data measured in fire tests. For this validation, fire resistance tests on three PC hollow
core slabs are selected (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 Comparison of measured and predicted sectional temperatures for hollow core slabs at el-
evated temperatures [20].
2.4 Force transfer of prestressing strands

In non-end-anchored pretensioned members, there are two types of bond: transfer bond and flexural
bond. Transfer bond is activated at transfer of prestress, whereas flexural bond is activated only when
the member undergoes loading with cracking and flexural failure. Since the concept of prestressed con-
crete was introduced to the construction technology in the late 1920s and was actually practiced in the
1930s, there have been great improvements in the field of prestressed concrete. The transformation
from bond-wise ineffective prestressing wire to seven-wire prestressing strand (Fig. 4) which has a
significant bonding capacity was a milestone [22].
The pretensioning technique relies on the bond (transfer bond) between steel strands and the
surrounding concrete to transfer the stresses from the prestressing strands to the concrete (Fig. 4). The
stronger the bond strength the shorter the length required to transfer a certain amount of stress between
the steel and the concrete. Therefore, the strand length required for transferring the effective
prestressing stress developing its ultimate strength should be carefully predicted, otherwise, the
prestressed member could fail prematurely due to splitting failure or pull-out failure [23].
The length over which the effective prestressing (ƒse) is developed by bond stresses is called the
“transfer length” (ℓt) (Fig. 4), whereas the largest slip observed at the free end of the transfer length is
called the “draw-in” [24].
Naser Alimrani and György L. Balázs 29

b
Fig. 4 Prestressed concrete elements: effective prestress (left) [25], seven-wire strand (right).
if
Fig. 5 Response of plain, reinforced and prestressed concrete to loading.
A number of factors control the transfer length in pretensioned members, including: type of prestressing
strands, strand diameter, effective stress (fse), strand surface condition, concrete strength, type of load-
ing, method of releasing the prestressing force, concrete cover around the strands, and strand spacing.
All of previous factors have been investigated in details through by many researchers [22]. Balazs mod-
ified Guyon formula to estimate the transfer length of prestressing strand as a function of draw-in and
initial prestress taking into account not only linear behaviour but also non-linear bondstress distribution
over transfer length [24].
However, this field of study needs more researches and experiments in order to expand our
understanding especially when the members are exposed to elevated temperatures which literature
significantly lack relevant researches and investigations.
3 Experimental investigations to study shear failure at elevated temperatures
3.1 Previous studies on shear using push-off specimens

Al-Owaisy [27] studied the influence of elevated temperatures on shear transfer strength. Three groups
of push-off specimens were fabricated (based on number of stirrups, 0, 2 and 4) each of four specimens
(based on varied temperature, 20, 150, 350, and 500 °C) respectively. During production of specimens,
after twenty-four hours, specimens were cured in water containers for twenty-one days. Then stored in
the laboratory environment for seven days. After twenty-eight days, specimens were tested using an
electrical furnace slowly at a constant rate of (2 C°/min) to avoid steep thermal gradient. Once the
required temperature was attained, the specimens were saturated thermally at that level for one hour
then cooled by air until testing (about 24 hours). The conclusions indicate that shear transfer strength
is affected significantly when exposed to elevated temperatures, the results also showed that shear
transfer strength of higher amount shear reinforcement specimens was higher than those of lower shear
reinforcement ones, both before heating and after exposure to each particular temperature.
Smith et al [28] constructed and tested series of shear blocks. Residual strength tests were conducted
on the specimens after cooling. Sixteen shear block specimens with dimensions 100*160*320 mm3
were cast. After removal from the moulds, the specimens were cured in a water tank for one week,
followed by seven weeks in a low humidity environment. The results demonstrated that the reduction
in shear performance depends upon the interaction of the concrete and the reinforcing steel. Tested
specimens suffered from increased cover separation (due to the reduced tensile strength) allowing
greater reinforcement debonding and hence less confinement, which in turn mobilize less aggregate
interlock shear.
Xiao et al [29] studied the influence of compressive strength of concrete in transferring shear across
a crack. Twenty two uncracked push-off specimens were casted and heated in an electrical furnace. The
dimensions of all specimens were 150*400*600 mm3. Four closed stirrups (diameter 8 mm) with a

spacing of 70 mm across the shear plane were used to simulate the lateral constraint for the shear plane.
All specimens had eight steel bars with a diameter of 14 mm as longitudinal reinforcements exposed to
temperatures 20, 200, 400 and 800 C°. Three thermocouples were used to investigate temperatures, at
5 mm, 33 mm and 75 mm depth from the concrete surface, respectively. Five LVDTs were set up to
b
record crack displacements, both width and slip. Through a comparison of the two types of concrete, a
higher compressive strength HSC results in more brittle shear failure, irrespective of the elevated
temperature. Nevertheless, the elevated temperature can reduce the shear brittleness of HSC (Fig. 6).
if
Fig. 6 Effect of elevated temperatures on shear transfer strength for different concrete strengths
(left), for concretes with different amounts of transvers reinforcement (right) [30]
Fig. 7 Effect of elevated temperatures on shear transfer strength: Naus et al and Smith et al (left),
Al-Owaisy and Yan et al (right).
All previous studies have been conducted to measure the residual strength or capacity due to complexity
and expensive cost in case experiments evaluating shear strength in push-off specimens during fire.
However, Naus et al. [31] conducted a test program to define the variations in mechanical properties of
a limestone aggregate concrete and a lightweight insulating concrete exposed to elevated temperatures.
One of the four tests was S-shaped (push-off), parallelepiped specimens used to determine the effects
of elevated temperature exposure on the shear strength of limestone aggregate concrete during fire.
Specimens were subjected to thermal stabilization at temperatures up to 894°K for 14 days.
Results (Fig. 7) illustrated that the shear strength was inversely proportional to the exposure
temperature showing that shear transfer strength of concrete during fire can drop to 48% of its ambient
strength showing also that light weight aggregate (LWA) concrete has better shear transfer performance
during fire.
LWA decreases concrete thermal diffusivity during a fire resulting the outer concrete layers to offer
a better protection to the core of the concrete and minimize the micro cracks thus offering better relative
shear transfer strength [30].

3.2 A proposed experiment with variable parameters

3.2.1 Influence of steel fibers
Significant influence of the steel fiber reinforcement was detected in the shear resistance of concrete
b
structures. Due to the increasing fiber content, considerable improvement of the failure load was ob-
served in beams without stirrup reinforcement independently of the type of the steel fibers [32] and
[34]. On the other hand, the failure mode changed from shear to simultaneous shear + bending failure
for the beam containing steel fibers and no stirrup. Strictly speaking, the higher fiber content led to
if
changing of the failure mode, from shear failure to bending failure. For using push-off specimens con-
taining steel fiber to study the impact on shear transfer mechanism at ambient temperature, Oviedo [32]
completed his PhD thesis at the same topic concluding the significant influence of steel fibers on en-
hancing concrete properties against shear stresses.
Fig. 8 Typical push-off specimen with reinforcements.
3.2.2 Dimensions
Table 1 Different dimensions of push-off specimens at different studies.
Dimensions Hofbeck et al. Pauly Walraven Al-Owaisy Cuenca This work
(mm) (1969) (1970) (1981) (2007) (2010) (2018)
H 511.8 457.2 600 440 670 600
W 254 304.8 400 200 400 400
B 127 152.4 120 100 120 120

Hs 254 190.5 300 200 250 300
Bs 127 114.3 120 200 110 120
3.3.3 Variable parameters

From above mentioned literature and to the author’s best knowledge, studying the influence of steel
fibers to the shear capacity in concrete exposed to elevated temperatures has not covered by study
before, although wide range of experiments were tested with respect to steel fiber influence in push-off
specimens at ambient temperatures [32] and [33], however careful considerations should be kept in
mind when dealing with push-off specimens since hollow core slabs do not usually fit with steel fibers.
In the same perspective, studying the influence of the type of the steel fibers is also of importance.
Thus the proposed main parameters in this study are ratio of steel fibers alongside with steel fibers type
at elevated temperatures in push-off specimens. For steel fibers length, 30 mm and 50 mm will be
chosen, whereas temperatures will be 20, 300, 600, and 900 C°. Ratio of the steel fibers were either 0%
(0 kg / mᵌ), 0.5% (40 kg / mᵌ) or 1% (80 kg / mᵌ). A fiber volume fraction under 0.25% was found [32]
to not significantly improve brittle concrete matrix behavior, whereas a fiber volume fraction over 2%
was deemed to reduce workability significantly.
Dimensions of specimens were chosen based on the work of Walraven as shown in Table 1.
Longitudinal bars will be Ø14 as permanent longitudinal reinforcement, whereas for stirrups, Ø8 steel
bars will be used for the reference specimens. Concrete will be normal type which resemble the type
used in hollow core slabs with compressive strength 30 MPa. Each specimen has a weight of about 70

kg. Four LVDTs will be used for every specimen, two each side, to evaluate the cracks’ displacement,
width and slip. Two thermal couples will be used also for each specimen (one at the surface and the
other at mid-depth of the specimen) to evaluate different thermal properties. See (Fig. 8).
Two specimens, for each grade of temperature, will be 0% steel fiber ratio, one with no other
b
stirrups whereas the other will be with 4 steel bars Ø8 both as reference points. With total number 24
specimens.
4 Conclusions
if
Constructions using hollow core slabs are very common in many countries around the world including
Europe. Studying the shear failure in hollow core slabs is of significant importance since shear failure
has been found to be the dominant failure in many experiments. Considering elevated temperatures in
testing hollow core slabs increases the significance of study since elevated temperatures alter the be-
haviour of concrete by shifting the mode failure from flexure to shear. Herein two categories have been
studied in the literature hollow core slabs (as full scale) and push-off specimens.
At elevated temperatures a number of critical parameters have been found to affect the shear
behaviour of hollow core slabs namely slab depth, load level, loading pattern, axial restraint, level of
prestressing, concrete strength, strength of strands and fire scenario. Since the process of construction
of hollow core slabs use mainly prestressed elements, the importance of transmission of prestress within
concrete has to be investigated however, a lack of study in the literature has been noticed in related
field at elevated temperatures even though many researches have been conducted at ambient
temperature.
An experiment with new variable parameters has been proposed in detail. The proposed experiment
will enable to study the influence of steel fibers on the shear behavior of concrete at elevated
temperatures using push-off specimens. Using push-off specimens is widely used to study the behaviour
of concrete in terms of shear failure.
Acknowledgements
Authors acknowledge the support by the Hungarian Research Grant NVKP_16-1-2016-0019 “Devel-
opment of conc. products with improved resistance to chemical corrosion, fire or freeze-thaw”.
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crete Institute.

Opportunities for biodegradable straw-based thermal

insulations
b
Dániel Csanády and Olivér Fenyvesi
Budapest University of Technology and Economics,
Műegyetem rkp., Budapest (1111), Hungary
if
Abstract
Biodegradable fibre thermal insulation has poor performance and high price today. The environmen-
tal footprint of artificial thermal insulations is significantly growing. In recent research straw-based
insulation boards was investigated. At first the optimal body density was examined. As the main
parameter thermal conductivity factor was measured in a completely dry condition and using vapour
barrier stocks. The thermal conductivity factor is stable with a relatively small number of sensors and
relatively short measuring time for all specimens. In case of straw the inaccuracies of production are
high because of the natural fibre length distribution. To study the behavior under fire the scorching
speed and temperature on the non-exposed site were measured. The specimens behave similarly to
wood, they has better resistance to the fire compared with commonly used artificial thermal insula-
tions.
1 Introduction and state of art

There are no biodegradable fibrous thermal insulation according to the state of the art today in the
market which is a real alternative compared to EPS or rock wool products. Plant fibre based thermal
insulation is dealt with before by many researchers, but those mainly focused on the direct apply of
straw bales in natural form [29].The most common apply of straw bales in natural form is the straw-
bale house building which are becoming more and more popular. The results of these researches
which are available are still incomplete. But fortunately there are some new study about durability
[26], [23] and mechanical behaviour [2], [13] of straw bales in buildings [21] which help to further
research of this material and make proposals for structural design. The anchorage of the bales is diffi-
cult and that structure provides the needed thermal diffusivity values above large thickness. This
makes the protection of insulation from the water more difficult because in most cases the overhang
of the roof over the insulation is not enough. The tearing of the ligament can cause another problem
because of the slackening of the bale. The durable bond of the plaster is not ensured in case of natural
straw material, its service life changes according to the average relative humidity or dry-wet cycles of
bales which phenomenon is well demonstrated by similar materials aging testing [5]. Lots of studies
dealt with biocomposites which are similar to plaster of straw bale walls [6], [7] and they have shown
that these materials are very sensitive to moisture. A few work aimed to measure the thermal conduc-
tivity of unfired clay or earth mixed with straw as an insulation material [1] [8]. These materials are
totally environmental concious but have relative high thermal conductivity. In some researches, agri-
cultural wastes are investigated as specifically rendered plaster, but not absolutely for straw bale
houses [11]. Some study reported an environmentally friendly pre-treatment which lead to an im-
proved bond interface between binder and the micro porous surface of straw [24]. These techniques
can improved the quality and durability of environmental friendly thermal insulations and decrease
the quantitiy of applyed binder material. Studies have shown that the treatments increase the tensile
strength of straw and increase porosity too [25]. During our research the solution for all these prob-
lems are investigated. Thereby natural insulations could be developed which could be a real and
profitable alternative of commonly used thermal insulation boards. Some work report the state of the
art of some building insulation products which made of agro-wastes such as cereal straw, hemp and
olive waste and use lime or clay binder material [12].The compressed plant fibres have to hold their
geometrical parameters. The bale string tying was avoided, because it has a local like impact and
there is a big risk of tearing and extension caused by the strings and straw high creep value [14], [10].


2 Experimental research
Defining a term used in article: Body density: mass of the porous material divided by the total volume
they occupy, if the elements constituting the fibres are bonded.
b
In the first research phase optimal body density was investigated. The tested small specimens
were cut out from large specimen boardsby hand because the specimens are sensitive to the direction
and speed of the cutting. The effect of the curled fibres at the edge of large specimens, can be exclud-
ed from measurements. Another reason for the use of cut-out specimens was to provide more uniform
body density (the results show that this is not absolutely ensuring the uniform body density). After
if
cutting the entire surface of specimens were coated thinly with the binder. The fibres were not treated.
The specimens with various body densities were investigated with constant binder dosage, compress-
ing and drying methods. The planned body densities were 100, 120, 140, 160, 180 kg/m3. Six speci-
mens were made from each tested body density, the measured sample was developed according to
MSZ EN 12667:2001 and MSZ EN 1946-2: 1999 [15], [17]. The thermal conductivity of specimens
was meaured in a completely dry state and covered with stocks made from aluminium foil (main
function vapor barrier) and EPS (protects against external environmental temperature). At choosing
the binder material it was also important to keep the eco-friendly nature of the insulation.
To test fire resistance scorching speed and temperatures on the non-exposed site of specimens
were measured applying unique technique. There are some experimental results whose main objective
was to investigate the effect of the treatment on thermal degradation and flammability of straw insula-
tions [4], [22]. These papers discuss the test results of flammability, TG-DSC analysis and Pyrolysis
Combustion Flow Calorimetre (PCFC). Almost all of the work mentioned has been studying the
thermal conductivity of materials or structures, but they should be further developed in the field of
environmentally friendly thermal insulation.
2.1 The investigated material

In present study specimens were made from straw (wheat) with silicate-based inorganic binder. In the
experimental phase specimens were made with natural fiber distribution. The used formworks are
developed by us specially for present researches. Large specimen boards with sizes of 500 mm x 200
mm x 50 mm (respectively width, length, thickness) were prepared in these formworks. The given
amount of straw and binder were mixed manually in a mixer box, on the one hand in the absence of
mature mixing technology and on the other hand the fibres remained relatively intact. The amount of
coating (made from the binder material) did not include in the binder content. The large boards to-
gether with formworks were cured in conventional drying oven. Previous research has shown that
80% of moisture content of straw was lost during the first 5 hours of drying at 20 °C and 68% relative
atmospheric humidity, [3].It can also be concluded that vapor permeabilityof strw based thermal
insulation is good.
2.2 Thermal conductivity

Thermal conductivity properties are given by the performance of different heat transfer components
(conduction, convection and radiation) in the material. In case of low body density, convection and
radiation are determinative, because of the less dense fibers. The growth of the radiation caused by
the filaments of the distant planes can also “see each other”. As the body density increases, the ratio
of all the heat transfer elements are constantly changing. If the fiber diameter is reduced at the same
body density it improves thermal insulation performance by preventing convection processes due to
the increased amount of fibres, and also heat radiation is reducing. In case of higher body density,
thermal conductivity of the solid particles will become increasingly important. So the thermal conduc-
tion factor, as a function of the body density, shows a specific characteristic, which has a minimum
value [28].
The specimens (150mm x 150 mm x 50 mm) were put in EPS stocks (with thickness of 75 mm)
covered with vapour barrier aluminium foil, (ensuring that the temperature or humidity in the lab do
not affect the results of the measurements) making it a standard 30 cm x 30 cm x 5 cm sample (Fig. 1)
[14]. During the test of thermal conductivity factor specimens were meaured in a completely dry
state. For the measurement of thermal conductivity, the standard MSZ EN 12667:2001 was taken into
consideration [15] [16] and type of Taurus TLP 300 DTX 0 equipment was used. Each specimen was
measured on three temperature steps, (10; 20 and 30 +/- 0.1-0.3 °C). In this paper thermal conductivi-
ty tested at 10 °C mean temperature is discussed [19].

ifb
Fig. 1 The EPS stocks with vapour barrier aluminum foil (left), straw specimen prepared for
measurement (in the middle), straw in the measuring device (right).
2.3 Fire resisrance

The test using a gaslamp a thermocouple and associated digital thermometer was applied (Fig.2).
Thermocouples were fixed to the centreline of the protected side of the specimen (one against a gas
burner flame, one 4 cm laterally away fromit). For each test, the specific performance of the gas lamp
was the same, and the distance, between the surface of specimen and the front of the gas lamp tube
was fixed (50 mm). The test ends when the measured temperature reaches 200 °C, because at this
temperature materials may melt, self-ignite. After the fire load, the tested specimen has to be cut in
half and the shape of the burned surface in the loaded cross section examined. During the experiments
the temperature of 2 sensors (thermocouple) were measured. The maximum temperature of the flame
of gaslamp was between 920-1100 °C. The obtained temperature values were represented as a func-
tion of time. The insulating performance of the tested material (like I-insulation) was also investigat-
ed.
Fig. 2 Components of the experimental set-up used for measure fire resistance (left): 1.: gas-
lamp, 2.: digital thermometer, 3.: thermocouples, 4.: thermocouples fixing plate, 5.: spec-
imen fixing stand, 6.: straw specimen. The specimen during the test (right).
3 Experimental results
3.1 Body density

The small specimens have lower body density than the designed value (Fig. 3). The deviation of the
body density was relatively high. The difference between the designed and real average densities is
about 5-20%. Therefore it can be also stated generally that precision of production needs to be in-
creased. This gives a chance to move a specimen from its original (designed) body density category to
an other which is closer to the real value. When examining thermal conductivity and fire resistance,
this opportunity was utilized. Additionally, this grouping reflects reality more accurately The binder
will have a strong influence on thermal conductivity in small quantities too, therefore the regrouping
does not pose any major problems in case of thermal conductivity results.
Dániel Csanády and Olivér Fenyvesi 37

ifb
Fig. 3 Divergence of designed body density (classified by category).

The measured thermal conductivity at different average temperatures are very close together, so the
slope of the approximating curve is very small (Fig 4). The results contain small inaccuracy.
Fig. 4 The thermal conductivity measured at given mean temperatures.
Some results of thermal conductivity are approaching the thermal conductivity of commonly used
artifical thermal insulation. These results can be further improved as shown by a series of ongoing
experiments.
Fig. 5 Thermal conductivity factors as a function body density, according real body density.
If the lambda value is displayed as a function of real body density, it can bee seen that lamba values
don't follow the change in the amount of straw per cubic meter. Almost all results fall to 0.045 and
0.055, almost irrespective of body density (Fig. 5).
3.3 Fire resistance

The specimens were well resist to the spread of heat and naked flame. The best result was 59 minutes
and the worst was 10 minutes (the time needed to reach 200 °C). The worst result is equal with the
time of evacuation of a larger building (about 10 minute) [27]. The lateral flame spread does not exist,
only the carbonization and temperature extended laterally, but their spread was slow (Fig. 6). At the
end of the tests, none of the specimens was burnt through completely, but almost all of the specimens
were charcoal in full cross-section. The shape of carbonization always was approximately truncated
cone (Fig. 6). Smoke generation was relatively low; a very clear, almost white smoke was leaving the

specimen. Based on the results and observations it can be concluded that the material belongs to the
fire resistance class B or C [9], [18](a standard test for categorization has not been carried out yet).
The material is self-extinguishing, after the flame has removed, the glowing will cease in about 5-10
seconds. During the fire resistance test two temperature values and time were measured. The high
b
deviation of the body density influenced the grouping of the results in this series of experiments too.
if
Fig. 6 Straw specimens after fire resistance test. Fire-exposed side (left), protected side (right).
The resulting time-temperature curves are more stepped in case of lower body density. On the other
hand the two curves do not follow each other so tightly, but also the temperature of Sensor2 has big-
ger shift from the temperature of Sensor1 (Fig. 7/a), (Fig .7/b).
a, b,
c, d,
Fig. 7 Time-temperature curves of fire resistance tests based on categorization of real body
density.
In case of higher body density the curves of two sensors fit better to each other. The gradation and
shifts are not as sharp as in the previous case (Fig. 7/c), (Fig .7/d). The body density of 140 kg/m3 is
where both of the different curve pairs appear. Generally, the temperature of the sensor 1 is higher
than the temperature of the sensor2 except for one case. The results of the test (the time needed to
reach 200 °C) also significantly differ within a class. In the 120, 140, 160 kg/m3 body density classes
(classified by real body density), the deviations range is between 30 and 50%. But in the 100 kg/m3
body density class, the difference was 70%. The summarized results are shown in Fig. 7. This shows
the need for improved mixing technology, which would also reduce these differences.

4 Discussion
4.1 Reason for the deviation of body density
b
All specimens contain fibres which naturally occurring in straw. In the case with natural straw, it can
not be ensured that the fibres are filled evenly over the available space, because shorter fibres can fit
among the longer fibres randomly. At the joints of the formwork parts, some of the fibres got outside
the formwork during pressing. During cutting, the teeth of the saw can pull fibres out from the inside
of the specimens.
if
According to our original hypothesis the diameter of fibres which naturally occurring in used straw,
has not been artificially influenced (the fibre diameter follows a normal distribution). The specimens
contain macro fibres with larger diameter, so convection and heat radiation have key importance in
the heat transfer. But since the range of fiber diameter does not change, the body density is the only
parameter which can truly influenced. As the body density increases, the significance of these two
components probably decreases, and the significance of conduction increases, but the experimental
results do not show the very same performance.
The assumption that the thermal conduction factor is strongly influenced by the body density is
probably incorrect in case of our investigated material. To give a precise description of the relation-
ship, several measurement results are required. From Fig. 5, it can be seen that only after a certain
threshold of changing of the density has effect on the lambda value. The binder content could influ-
ence the thermal conductivity factor. As a result, the lambda values don't follow the change in the
amount of straw. The binder content has stronger influence to the thermal conductivity than straw
content. Probably in the "binder frame", even with low binder content, the conduction is more signifi-
cant than in straw fibers. Further examination will take place with straw specimens without binder
material, to examine our hypothesis. In future, with different surface treatment methods the amount of
binder can be reduced and the binder have to be distributed more evenly on the surface of the speci-
mens. In this case the effect of straw dosage can be more significant and, with the same body densi-
ties, the differences in thermal conductivity can decreased. So the results are suitable for information-
al purposes, but production accuracy needs to be increased in order to have a concrete mathematical
relationship based on the results. It may be interesting to consider even smaller densities. The slope of
the fitted curve of thermal conductivity is very small. The average difference is 0.001 W/mK between
the measured thermal conductivity at 10 °C and 30 °C, which is compared to the results at 10 °C in
3% percent (Fig. 4). It is important that results in a completely dry state were measured. Thus the
temperature dependence of the material's thermal conductivity in the range of 10 °C to 30 °C is not

negligible but very small. This is important because in Hungary, the average temperature of external
thermal insulation is about 10 °C in the case of 20 cm thick thermal insulation [20]. This behavior
may be advantageous compared to other thermal-insulating materials, but it should be tested under
other conditions beside completely dry conditions.
4.3 Fire resistance

At present, the most common thermal insulation materials are plastic foams, including EPS and XPS
insulation. These materials are petroleum products, so they are very flammable and toxic gases are
generated during combustion. In contrast, the tested straw material is self-extinguishing, there is no
flame spread in the material but only carbonization due to external flame. Therefore, it may be suita-
ble for thermal insulation of a 2-3-storey building.
The time-temperature curves are stepped in case of lower body density. The flame and its heat
and also the carbonization can only intermittently progress, after a certain layer was pierced by flame
inside the straw. These layers are formed from combustion products accumulated on fiber, which
inhibit the spread of fire. This is a behavior similar to that of wood, where the carbonized layer also
protects the intact cross-section. At higher densities this stepped characteristic is not so significant.
Probably because here the different "straw planes" are very close to each other, so that after a break-
ing of a layer, fire and temperature can not suddenly expand. The body density of 140 kg/m3 is where
both of the different curve pairs appear. The border between two different behaviors is, in the vicinity
of this body density value. For lower body densities, the results of fire resistance experiments are
more scattered, because unevenness of the body density. In the case of small densities this unevenness

is important, because as a percentage this causes a greater material bugs inside the straw. In contrast,
if a specimen is placed into a new category, it contains different amount of binder than other members
of the group.
b
5 Conclusions
In a completely dry state the temperature dependence of the straw material's thermal conduc-
tivity in the range of 10 °C to 30 °C is not negligible but very small.
if
The thermal conductivity is not strongly influenced by the body density in case of investigat-
ed material, just after a certain threshold of changing of the body density has effect on the
lambda value.
In present researches the lowest thermal conductivity on straw material was λ=0.0446. Some
results are approaching the thermal conductivity of current used thermal insulations
(λ=0.0446-0.0536)..
The specimens were resist well to the spread of heat and naked flame and it is self-
extinguishing. The straw material has similar behavior like wood, the carbonized layer protect
the intact parts of the straw insulation.
The best fire resistance result was 59 minutes and the worst was 10 minutes. So it behaves
better against fire than the most common plastic foam thermal insulations.
Based on known properties of the material, along with the future developments it will be suit-
able for thermal insulation of adobe, stone and brick buildings. In the future properties of fi-
brous materials (glass wool, rock wool, mineral wool) will also have to be compared to the
straw thermal insulation. The researched material is best resembled to these fibrous thermal
insulation, so it is likely that the vapour permeability coefficient is also good.
Acknowledgements
the OTKA K 109233 research project.
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Monotonic and cyclic pull-out behaviour of 3D and 5D

hooked-end steel fibres from a concrete matrix
b
Maure De Smedt, Kristof De Wilder, Els Verstrynge and Lucie Vandewalle
Department of Civil Engineering,
KU Leuven,
if
Kasteelpark Arenberg 40 box 2448, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Abstract
This paper presents an experimental program investigating the fatigue behaviour of steel fibre rein-
forced concrete (SFRC). 30 monotonic and cyclic pull-out tests of hooked-end steel fibres, individual-
ly embedded in concrete, are performed. The three main investigated parameters are the type of end-
hook, the embedded length and the fibre’s inclination. The first two parameters have an effect on the
pull-out resistance, the influence of the third is less distinct. The pull-out tests are combined with two
advanced non-destructive testing (NDT) methods, namely the Acoustic Emission technique and X-ray
microfocus Computed Tomography. The displacements increase under cyclic loading with constant
load levels, with the rate and AE measurements depending on the load pattern. The NDT methods
lead to a better understanding of the pull-out behaviour and deviating results.
1 Introduction
Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) is a cementitious composite material, consisting of a concrete
matrix with discrete, randomly distributed steel fibres. SFRC is characterized by an enhanced post-
cracking tensile residual strength due to the fibres’ ability to bridge crack surfaces [1], [2]. Since the
first studies in the 1960s [3]-[5], SFRC has been optimized and numerous experiments have been
performed to describe and investigate the behaviour of the material. The advantages such as an im-
proved ductility, a higher energy absorption capacity and an increased flexural strength are generally
accepted nowadays [1], [6], [7]. Despite the wide research and the continuously increasing structural
applications of SFRC, the use is still restricted with respect to its potentials. This is caused by the
limited knowledge about some fundamental aspects, such as the fatigue behaviour under cyclic load-
ing, and thus, the lack of complete (international) building codes for SFRC structural elements [1],
[6], [8].
Structural elements are often subjected to repetitive cyclic loading, for example by machine
vibrations, sea waves, wind action and traffic loads [6], [9], [10]. The structure’s stiffness and
ultimate strength decrease due to the exposure to repeated loading, which may lead to fatigue failure
[9], [11]. Fatigue is a progressive process of permanent internal structural changes in a material. In
concrete, these changes are mainly associated with the initiation and propagation of microcracks,
leading to growing macrocracks until failure occurs [6], [9], [11]. The crack growth in plain concrete
can be retarded or inhibited by adding steel fibres [3], [5]. Several experiments have been undertaken
with SFRC to evaluate its fatigue performance. The mechanical properties such as ductility,
durability, energy absorption capacity and fatigue strength can be improved, depending on the fibre’s
type and dosage [6], [7]. SFRC achieves a higher deformation under tension compared to plain
concrete and fibres delay crack propagation, and thus increase the fatigue life [5], [12].
However, research on the fatigue behaviour of SFRC has been mainly focused on experimental
compressive or flexural fatigue testing of SFRC elements [6], [7]. To properly understand the propa-
gation mechanisms of fatigue damage, an analysis that starts from the material scale and includes
uniaxial tensile testing is required. Moreover, an in-depth investigation would benefit from the use of
advanced measurement methods, additional to the traditional ones. Therefore, this research aims to
investigate the uniaxial monotonic and cyclic pull-out behaviour of hooked-end steel fibres embedded
in a concrete matrix, by use of two advanced non-destructive testing (NDT) methods, namely acoustic
emission sensing [13]-[15] and X-ray microfocus Computed Tomography [16]-[18]. The first part of
this paper describes the experimental program, including the used specimens, the test setup and the
applied loading patterns. The second part presents the results of the (cyclic) pull-out tests and their
outliers, and discusses the investigations. Lastly, some conclusions are drawn.

2 Experimental program
The experimental research aims to obtain a dataset of monotonic and cyclic pull-out behaviour of
steel fibres embedded in concrete. To date, 30 pull-out tests are performed and the research is still
b
ongoing.
2.1 Test specimens

The monotonic and cyclic pull-out tests are performed on hooked-end steel fibres, individually and
if
partially embedded in a concrete cylinder, with 50 mm height and 30 mm diameter. The concrete
mixture has a W/C-ratio of 0.5 and belongs to concrete class C40/50. The composition exists of 350
kg/m³ CEM I 52.5 R HES, 835 kg/m³ sand 0/4, 1099 kg/m³ gravel 4/14, 175 kg/m³ water and 1 kg/m³
(0.3%) superplastizer Glenium 51. The mean cube compressive strength equals 59 MPa, measured
according to EN 12390-3 [19]. Two types of steel fibres are used in this research, namely Dramix 3D-
80/60-BG and Dramix 5D-65/60-BG. Their properties as given by the manufacturer are shown in
Table 1. The main investigated parameters of the specimens are (1) the fibre’s type of end-hook,
namely 3D or 5D, (2) the fibre’s embedded length, namely 10 or 30 mm, and (3) the fibre’s inclina-
tion, namely 0° or 30° with respect to the loading direction. These varying characteristics determine
the denotations of the tested specimens. Table 2 summarizes the 30 specimens with their name, char-
acteristics and loading pattern. Section 2.3 discusses the loading patterns.
Table 1 Properties of the steel fibres.

Steel fibre End Length Diameter Tensile strength Modulus of elasticity
hook [mm] [mm] [MPa] [GPa]
3D-80/60-BG 3D 60 0.75 1125 200
5D-65/60-BG 5D 60 0.92 2300 200
Table 2 Overview of the tested specimens. Section 2.3 explains the used letters in column ‘loading
pattern’. # stands for the number of tested specimens with these characteristics.
Name End-hook Embedded Inclination Loading #
length [mm] [°] pattern
3D1-0-1, 3D1-0-2, 3D1-0-3 3D 10 0 M 3
3D1-0-4, 3D1-0-5, 3D1-0-6 3D 10 0 CbP + M 3
3D1-30-1, 3D1-30-2, 3D1-30-3 3D 10 30 M 3
3D1-30-4, 3D1-30-5 3D 10 30 CbP + M 2

3D1-30-6 3D 10 30 CaP 1
3D3-0-1, 3D3-0-2 3D 30 0 M 2
3D3-0-3 3D 30 0 CbP + M 1
5D1-0-1, 5D1-0-3, 5D1-0-5 5D 10 0 M 3
5D1-0-2, 5D1-0-4, 5D1-0-6 5D 10 0 CaP + M 3
5D1-30-1, 5D1-30-3 5D 10 30 M 2
5D1-30-2, 5D1-30-6 5D 10 30 CaP + M 2
5D1-30-4 5D 10 30 CbP 1
5D1-30-5 5D 10 30 CaP 1
5D3-0-1, 5D3-0-2, 5D3-0-3 5D 30 0 M 3
2.2 Test setup and instrumentation

A universal testing machine (Shimadzu AG-XMST-X/X-Type, 100 kN maximum capacity) per-
formed the monotonic and cyclic pull-out tests. As shown in Fig. 1(left), the bottom side of a speci-
men is glued to a steel rod, which is clamped in the machine’s bottom grip system, and the fibre’s free
end is securely clamped by the top grip system. The pull-out load and displacement are measured by
the testing machine. Furthermore, two advanced NDT methods are adapted as well to obtain more
detailed data on the damage propagation mechanisms. Firstly, the acoustic emission (AE) technique
[13]-[15] is applied to detect concrete micro-cracking during the different stages of cyclic loading and
fibre pull-out, and to locate damage initiation and propagation. Four piezoelectric broadband sensors,

Monotonic and cyclic pull-out behaviour of 3D and 5D hooked-end steel fibres from a concrete matrix
with fixed positions in a 3D-printed cover (Fig. 1(right)), continuously measure AE waves reaching
the specimen’s surface. Each sensor is connected to the Vallen AMSY-5 acquisition system with a
preamplifier of 34 dB gain. A frequency filter of 230-850 kHz and an amplitude threshold of 36.2 dB
are applied. The sampling rate equals 10 MHz. Secondly, X-ray microfocus Computed Tomography
b
(micro-CT scans) is used to visualise the specimen’s microstructure in three dimensions [16]-[18].
Before testing, after applying cyclic loading and after complete pull-out, micro-CT scans are made
using a Phoenix Nanotom scanning machine. The used voltage and current of 130 kV and 200 µA
respectively lead to an obtained resolution of 14.9 µm. Furthermore, a diamond-tungsten target and a
if
0.1 mm Cu filter are applied.
Fig. 1 (left) Pull-out test setup, (right) detail of specimen with 3D-printed cover and AE sensors.
2.3 Loading patterns

Several loading patterns are used for the pull-out tests. Some of the specimens are subjected to mono-
tonic uniaxial pull-out, carried out in displacement control with a constant rate of 0.6 mm/min until
fibre pull-out or failure of the concrete specimen. The letter M indicates this loading pattern in Table
2. The other specimens are subjected to cyclic loading. A distinction is made between applying load
cycles before the maximum pull-out force is reached (letters CbP in Table 2) and applying load cycles
after the maximum pull-out force is reached (letters CaP in Table 2). The former simulates real cases
where cyclic loading normally occurs before reaching the maximal structural capacity. The latter is of
interest to investigate the fatigue behaviour after permanent damage has occurred. After cyclic load-
ing, a monotonic pull-out can be continued as well, indicated by CbP/CaP + M. The load cycles are
performed in load control with the rate dependent on the following characteristics: 1 to 2000 cycles, a
frequency of 0.2 to 1 Hz, a lower load limit of 35 to 45% of the maximum force and an upper load
limit of 65 to 90% of the maximum force. For the CbP loading pattern, the maximum force is taken
equal to the average of three monotonic pull-out tests within the same group of specimens. For the
CaP loading pattern, the maximum force is known from the test itself.
3.1 Pull-out tests

Fig. 2 presents the 30 pull-out curves (load versus displacement) according to the six main groups of
specimens (characteristics in Table 2). Remarkable or deviating results are discussed in Section 3.3.
The bond between fibre and matrix determines the force transmission and is provided by
(1) mechanical anchorage, (2) frictional resistance, (3) chemical adhesion, and (4) fibre-to-fibre
interaction in case of multiple fibres. The first three mechanisms influence the presented pull-out
curves. The debonding phase is the first stage, where chemical adhesion along the interface provide
pull-out resistance. Hooked-end fibres continue to the second stage due to the mechanical
contribution of the end-hooks. After reaching the maximal pull-out force, the fibre is completely
debonded and further fibre slipping causes a decrease of pull-out resistance. In the third stage, the
roughly straightened hook provides an almost constant residual pull-out strength due to frictional
sliding. Lastly, complete decay of pull-out force occurs in stage four when the embedded length is too
short for force transmission [20]-[22].
Maure De Smedt, Kristof De Wilder, Els Verstrynge and Lucie Vandewalle 45

ifb
(a) Specimens 3D3-0-i (d) Specimens 5D3-0-i
(b) Specimens 3D1-0-i (e) Specimens 5D1-0-i

(c) Specimens 3D1-30-i (f) Specimens 5D1-30-i

Fig. 2 Pull-out force vs. displacement curves for all the 30 tests, grouped by their characteristics.
Indicated outliers are discussed in Section 3.3.
The influence of the fibre’s type of end-hook on the maximal pull-out resistance, in case of 10 mm
embedment and 0° inclination, is as follows: the maximal pull-out force of the 3D fibre varies be-
tween 285-335 N (Fig. 2(b)), while the maximal pull-out force of the 5D fibre varies between 636-
851 N (Fig. 2(e), outliers are omitted in this calculation). This increase around 140% of a 5D fibre is
mainly based on the larger mechanical anchorage due to the additional hooks. Also in case of 30 mm
embedment and 0° inclination, the maximal pull-out force increases with around 140% from 328-397
N to 863-871 N (comparing Fig. 2(d) to (a) and omitting outliers).
An increased embedded length leads to an increased pull-out force. For both 3D and 5D fibres,
the pull-out resistance increases around 15% when the embedded length is increased from 10 to 30
mm (Fig. 2(b) compared to (a), and Fig. 2(e) compared to (d)). This is mainly attributed to the larger
surface for chemical adhesion in the first stage of pull-out. Independent of the embedded length, the
third stage starts around 5 mm. This frictional stage is elongated for a larger embedded length.

The influence of the fibre’s inclination with respect to the loading direction is less distinct due to
the small embedded lengths in combination with the inclination of the end-hooks. At this scale, the
inclination does not affect the maximal pull-out force. For the 3D fibre, the scatter is increased by an
increased inclination (Fig. 2(c) compared to (b)). However, the 5D fibre has the reversed result (Fig.
b
2(f) compared to (e)).
As a conclusion, a 5D hooked-end fibre leads to a larger maximal pull-out force compared to a
3D fibre, around +140%, due to a larger mechanical anchorage. An increased embedded length from
10 to 30 mm also increases the maximal pull-out force around +15%, due to a larger chemical
if
adhesion. The influence of the inclination is less distinct for the tested characteristics.
3.2 Cyclic pull-out behaviour

As described in Section 3.3, two different cyclic loading patterns were applied: cycles before or after
the peak load. Specimen 3D1-0-4 is an example of the former, specimen 5D1-30-2 of the latter. Fig. 3
presents two curves for both specimens, namely load-time with cumulative AE events and displace-
ment-time. Other specimens behave similarly.
(a) Pull-out force vs. time curve with AE events (c) Pull-out force vs. time curve with AE events
(b) Displacement vs. time curve (d) Displacement vs. time curve
Fig. 3 Cyclic pull-out behaviour of (a,b) specimen 3D1-0-4, and (c,d) specimen 5D1-30-2.
For specimen 3D1-0-4, 1000 load cycles with a frequency of 0.25 Hz and between 81% and 39% of
the peak load were applied before reaching the peak load. The applied loading pattern does not lead to
a distinct fatigue behaviour. On the one hand, no detectable damage has yet occurred as no AE activi-
ty is detected during the cyclic loading (Fig. 3(a)). This could indicate that no damage or permanent
deformations are induced yet. On the other hand, the corresponding displacement increases gradually
(Fig. 3(b)), although load levels are constant. This increasing displacement could indicate that the
loading pattern is located in the first, and possibly in the second phase, of the Paris’ law [23]. Howev-
er, the slope in Fig. 3(b) decreases to a nearly horizontal asymptotic behaviour, indicating a very low
fatigue damage rate. It is expected that much more cycles or higher load limits are required to obtain
significant fatigue damage in the second phase of the Paris’ law and fatigue failure in the third phase.

For specimen 5D1-30-2, 170 load cycles with a frequency of 0.2 Hz and between 80% and 52%
of the peak load were applied after the peak load. Before and after the load cycles, complete unload-
ing is applied. For this loading pattern, a low amount of AE activity is measured during the cyclic
loading, namely 184 events on the total amount of 2958 events (Fig. 3(c)). Furthermore, the dis-
b
placements increase under constant load levels (Fig. 3(d)). On the same scale as Fig. 3(b), a larger
increase of displacements can be observed, namely a displacement rate of 90·10-6 mm/s compared to
3·10-6 mm/s (based on the last 1000 s). This could indicate that the CaP loading pattern is located in
the second phase of the Paris’ law, with a high damage rate. The first phase does not occur in case of
if
cyclic loading after the peak load. Also here, it is expected that more cycles or higher load limits are
required to obtain fatigue failure in the third phase.
As a conclusion, the applied loading patterns do not lead to a distinct fatigue behaviour. AE
activity is not measured during the load cycles before the peak load, but displacements increase under
constant load levels, with a very low fatigue damage rate. Load cycles after the peak load lead to a
low amount of AE events and to increasing displacements, with a higher damage rate, immediately in
the second phase of the Paris’ law.
3.3 Outliers and micro-CT analysis

Not all the specimens in Fig. 2 have a similar pull-out behaviour. Two types of outliers will be dis-
cussed in this section, based on the NDT results.
Firstly, air voids can be formed around the steel fibre during the casting and hardening process.
Depending on the void’s size and position, the pull-out behaviour will deviate. The pull-out behaviour
of specimen 3D3-0-2 has not the typical four stages curve (as explained in Section 3.1). The maximal
pull-out force of 240 N is quite low, but the residual frictional resistance of 150-200 N is rather high
(Fig. 2(a)). Micro-CT scans of this specimen reveal a large air void at the fibre’s end-hook. Fig.
4(left) shows the outer surface of the fibre channel and connected air void. Therefore, the end-hook of
the fibre is not forced to straighten completely due to the absence of confining concrete, resulting in a
lower maximal pull-out force. Continuing the fibre pull-out, the frictional resistance is increased due
to the larger residual deformations of the hook. As such, the position of the air void, inspected by
micro-CT scans, explains the deviating pull-out behaviour of specimen 3D3-0-2. A similar behaviour
is observed for specimen 5D3-0-3.
Another possible air void’s position is around the top of the fibre. Specimen 5D1-0-1 has a deviat-
ing pull-out behaviour as well, as shown in Fig. 2(e). The maximum pull-out force equals only 354 N,
compared to the average of 755 N. Moreover, the pull-out force drops to 0 N around 5 mm, which is
about 2 mm before the average curve. As presented by the micro-CT scans in Fig. 4(right), a large air
void causes partial disconnection between fibre and concrete, over half of the embedded length. The
decrease of anchorage surface leads to the decrease of pull-out resistance. Furthermore, the early drop
of pull-out force occurs due to the lost anchorage surface in the last part of the frictional sliding
movement of the straightened fibre.
Fig. 4 Micro-CT images: (left) 3D surface of fibre channel and air void of specimen 3D3-0-2;
(right) horizontal and vertical plane through the centre of specimen 5D1-0-1.
Secondly, failure of the concrete specimen instead of fibre pull-out is an occurring failure mode for
the stronger 5D hooked-end fibre with a small anchorage length or an inclination with respect to the

loading direction, as part of the concrete is pushed off during fibre straightening. For the 5D1-0-i
group, one of the six specimens failed by concrete cracking (specimen 5). For the 5D1-30-i group,
this amount increases to three out of six (specimens 3, 4 and 5). Fig. 5(left) shows specimen 5D1-0-5.
The concrete part at the end-hook’s side has broken and the remaining fibre channel is visible at the
b
specimen’s centre. This failure mode is also detected by the AE measurements. Fig. 5(right) presents
a micro-CT image taken after failure of the specimen together wit the localisation of AE sources. The
remaining fibre channel and the connected fracture surface are dark coloured. Furthermore, the AE
localisation varies in colours between start and failure of the test. The first AE events are located near
if
the steel fibre, corresponding to fibre straightening. Thereafter, cracking at the left side of the hook is
detected. AE sources outside the specimen are due to reflections around the sensors. As expected, the
fracture surface continues in the cement matrix, passing over an aggregate (Fig. 5(left)).
Fig. 5 Specimen 5D1-0-5: (left) failure mode and (right) AE localisation of the concrete damage.
4 Conclusions
This paper discussed the monotonic and cyclic pull-out behaviour of single hooked-end steel fibres
from a concrete matrix, with variable characteristics. The 5D hooked-end fibre increased the maximal
pull-out force with around 140% compared to a 3D fibre, due to a larger mechanical anchorage. In-
creasing the embedded length from 10 to 30 mm also increases the maximal pull-out force around
+15%, due to a larger surface for chemical adhesion. The influence of the inclination is less distinct
for the characteristics tested in this research.
It is shown that the applied cyclic loading patterns do not lead to a distinct fatigue behaviour and
fatigue failure is not reached yet. When applying load cycles before the peak load (CbP), no AE
activity has been measured during the load cycles, whereas a low amount of AE events are detected
when applying the load cycles after the peak load (CaP). In both cases, displacements increase under
constant load levels. The displacement rate is larger for CaP than for CbP. This could indicate the
position of the load cycles in the three fatigue stages of the Paris’ law.
Lastly, it is shown that both acoustic emission technique and micro-CT scans provide a better
understanding of the pull-out behaviour. Two types of outliers with respect to the pull-out curve are
inspected and confirmed by these techniques. Air voids at the top or at the end of the steel fibre cause
a decrease of the pull-out resistance. Micro-CT scans visualise the position and the size of these
voids. In case of concrete failure, the fracture plane is determined by both the micro-CT scans and the
localisation of AE sources.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Research Foundation Flanders (FWO)
and they wish to express their gratitude to Bekaert nv for supplying the steel fibres used in this study.

References
[1] di Prisco, Marco, Giovanni Plizarri, and Lucie Vandewalle. 2009. “Fibre reinforced concrete:
new design perspectives.” Materials and Structures 42(9):1261-1281.
b
[2] Fédération Internationale du Béton (fib). 2013. fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010.
Berlin (Germany): Wilhelm Ernst und Sohn Verlag für Architektur.
[3] Romualdi, J.P., and G.B. Batson. 1963. “Mechanics of crack arrest in concrete.” ASCE Engi-
neering Mechanics Journal 89(3):147-168.
[4] Romualdi, J.P., and J.A. Mandel. 1964. “Tensile strength of concrete affected by uniformily
if
distributed closely spaced short lengths of wire reinforcement.” ACI Journal 61(6):657-671.
[5] Chang, D.I., and W.K. Chai. 1995. “Flexural fracture and fatigue behaviour of steel-fiber-
reinforced concrete structures.” Nuclear Engineering and Design 156(1-2):201-207.
[6] Parvez, A., and S.J. Foster. 2015. “Fatigue behaviour of steel-fiber-reinforced concrete beams.”
ASCE Structural Engineering Journal 141(4).
[7] Tang, X., X. An, and K. Maekawa. 2014. “Behavioral simulation model for SFRC and appli-
cation to flexural fatigue in tension.” Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology 12:352-362.
[8] Luo, J.W., and F.J. Vecchio. 2016. “Behaviour of steel fiber-reinforced concrete under re-
versed cyclic shear.” ACI Structural Journal 113(1):75-84.
[9] Lee, M.K., and B.I.G. Barr. 2004. “An overview of the fatigue behaviour of plain and fibre
reinforced concrete.” Cement & Concrete Composites 26(4):299-305.
[10] Ruiz, M.F., C. Zanuy, F. Natario, J.M. Gallego, L. Albajar, and A. Muttoni. 2015. “Influence
of fatigue loading in shear failures of reinforced concrete members without transverse rein-
forcement.” Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology 13:263-274.
[11] Barr, B.I.G., and M.K. Lee. 2002. “Report of subtaks 5.3: Test and design methods for steel
fibre reinforced concrete.” Brite-EuRam Project BRPR-CT98-0813 (DG12-BRPR).
[12] Germano, F., T. Tiberti, and G. Plizzari. 2016. “Post-peak fatigue performance of steel fiber
reinforced concrete under flexure.” Materials and Structures 49(10):4229-4245.
[13] Noorsuhada, M. 2016. “An overview on fatigue damage assessment of reinforced concrete
structures with aid of acoustic emission technique.” Construction and Building Materials 112.
[14] Wevers, M. 1997. “Listening to the sound of material: acoustic emission for the analysis of
material behaviour.” NDT&E International 30(2):99-106.
[15] Grosse, C., and M. Ohtsu. 2008. Acoustic emission testing. Springer.
[16] Verstrynge, E., C. Van Steen, J. Andries, K. Van Balen, L. Vandewalle, and M. Wevers. 2016.
“Experimental study of failure mechanisms in brittle construction materials by means of x-ray
microfocus computed tomography.” Paper presented at Ninth International Conference on
Fracture Mechanics of Concrete and Concrete Structures (FraMCoS 9), Berkeley, California,
USA.
[17] Landis, E., and D. Keane. 2010. “X-ray microtomography.” Materials Characterization
61:1305-1316.
[18] Wevers, M., G. Kerckhofs, G. Pyka, E. Herremans, A. Van Ende, R. Hendrickx, E. Ver-
strynge, A. Martin, E. Valcke, B. Pareyt, and E. Wilderjans. 2012. “X-ray computed tomog-
raphy for non-destructive testing.” Paper presented at International Conference on Industrial
Computed Tomography (ICT2012), Wels, Austria.
[19] CEN. 2009. NBN EN 12390-3: Testing hardened concrete – Part 3: Compressive strength of
test specimens.
[20] Alwan, J.M., A. E. Naaman, and P. Guerrero. 1999. “Effect of mechanical clamping on the
pull-out response of hooked steel fibers embedded in cementitious matrices.” Concrete Sci-
ence and Engineering 1(1):15-25.
[21] Pompo, A., P.R. Stupak, L. Nicolais, and B. Marchese. 1996. “Analysis of steel fibre pull-out
from a cement matrix using video photography.” Cement and Concrete Composites 18:3-8.
[22] Soetens, T. 2015. “Design models for the shear strength of prestressed precast steel fiber
reinforced concrete girders.” PhD thesis, Faculty of Engineering Science, UGent, Belgium.
[23] Pugno, N., M. Ciavarella, P. Cornetti, and A. Carpintera. 2006. “A generalized Paris’ law for
fatigue crack growth.” Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 54:1333-1349.

Tensile response of ultra-high performance steel fiber

reinforced concrete under moderate strain rates
b
Veronika Goglin1, Götz Hüsken1, Peter Wossidlo2, Ralf Häcker2, Hans-Carsten
Kühne1 and H.J.H. Brouwers3
1Division7.4 Technology of Construction Materials
if
Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung (BAM),
Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany
2
Division 9.1 Service Loading Fatigue and Structural Integrity,
Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung (BAM),
Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany
3Department of Built Environment,

Eindhoven University of Technology,
De Zaale, 5612 AJ Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Abstract
This study presents the stress-strain response of different ultra-high performance fiber reinforced
concretes (UHPFC) under direct tensile loading applied at moderate strain rates. Four UHPFC mixes
incorporating two straight steel fiber types with different fiber volume fractions and hybrid combina-
tions are tested under uniaxial tensile loading at a nominal strain rate of 0.000025 1/s and 0.01 1/s.
The tensile tests were accompanied by non-destructive measuring technique using digital image
correlation (DIC), in order to verify the obtained stress-strain information of the composite material.
The strain rate sensitive changes in the mechanical response of the material, including crack for-
mation and crack propagation are analyzed and described. Furthermore, relevant strain softening and
hardening parameters, such as first and post-cracking strength, strain capacity, energy absorption
capacity, as well as the dynamic increase factor (DIF) are determined and discussed to compose a
consistent experimental data-base for UHPFC under moderate strain rates.
1 Introduction
Concrete is the most commonly used material in construction. Structures made of conventional con-
crete and high-strength concrete show limited levels of protection, when it comes to high dynamic
mechanical impacts. Therefore, the application of ultra-high performance steel fiber reinforced con-
crete (UHPFC) becomes a suitable alternative, due to its improved properties regarding strength,
stiffness and energy absorption capacity [1]. The protective function of UHPFC is related to its duc-
tile behavior under tension, which is solely obtained by the addition of steel fibers and their working
mechanisms, i.e. crack formation and crack propagation, force transmission by micro-crack bridging
as well as fiber debonding and fiber pullout [2], [3]. Profound knowledge on the interactions between
steel fibers and high-strength concrete matrix, concerning the strain rate effect, is necessary, for a
reliable fracture mechanical model and numerical simulation of the material response of UHPFC
structures exposed to high dynamic loading scenarios e.g. caused by vehicular impact or seismic
events.
Numerous tests have been carried out to study the strain rate behaviour of fiber reinforced compo-
site materials under uniaxial tension evaluating their mechanical response. Ranade et. al. [4] investi-
gated the strain rate dependent effects in high strength-high ductile concrete containing polyethylene
fibers. They observed an increase of the average first crack strength by about 53 % and ultimate
tensile strength by 42 %, when the strain rate increased from 0.0001 1/s to 10 1/s. Xu and Wille [5]
investigated the direct tensile behaviour of UHP-FRC with different steel fiber types and fiber volume
fractions at strain rates ranging from 0.0001 1/s to 0.1 1/s. They reported a significant increase in
fracture energy with an increase in fiber volume fraction at almost any strain rate. In contrast, a fiber
type modification between straight, end-hooked, and twisted fibers showed little effects on the dissi-

pated energy for specimens with similar fiber factors (product of fiber volume fraction and fiber
slenderness) and given strain rate. Comparable tendencies were reported by Tran et. al. [6] for differ-
ent UHPFCs at strain rates of 5 1/s to 92 1/s. A summary of further previously published experimental
studies on the strain rate sensitivity of UHPC in tension can be found in the review of Thomas and
b
Sorensen [7].
The objective of this study is to obtain additional information on strain rate sensitive changes of
the mechanical response of different UHPFC mixtures under direct tensile loading. With regard to the
design and application of protective structural elements, the focus was laid on the energy absorption
if
capacity of the UHPFC material. Hence, two strain rates were applied to each UHPFC mixture, where
0.000025 1/s represents quasi-static testing conditions and 0.01 1/s was projected to represent an
induced shock (Fig. 1). Classical uniaxial tensile tests were conducted and compared with displace-
ment and strain informations obtained from digital image correlation (DIC), allowing for a detailed
analysis of crack formation and crack propagation during load application.
Fig. 1 Typical strain rates for concrete structure ranging from creep to explosive blast [7], [8].
An experimental program was designed to investigate the stress-strain response of four UHPFC mix-
tures at moderate strain rates. The following sections will give a brief description of materials, mix-
ture proportions, as well as test setup and procedure applied in this study.
2.1 Materials and mixtures

A high-strength concrete mixture was used for all UHPFC mixtures (Tab. 1), whereas the fiber rein-
forcement was realized by two types of straight smooth steel fibers added in different fiber volume
fractions and hybrid combinations. Fiber properties, such as diameter (df), length (lf), length-to-
diameter ratio (lf/df), as well as tensile strength of the incorporated steel fibers are given in Tab. 2.
Fiber variations and corresponding notation of the tested UHPFC mixtures are summarized in Tab. 3.
Table 1 Mix proportions in [kgm³].

CEM I 42.5 CEM I 52.5 Micro- Meta- Basalt Basalt Superplas-
Water
R-HS/NA R LA SR silica kaolin (0.125/2.0) (2.0/5.0) ticizer
625 125 37.5 75 916.7 550 180 20.25
Table 2 Properties of steel fiber Dx and Bl.
Notation Diameter df [mm] Length lf [mm] lf/df [-] Tensile strength [MPa]
Dx 0.20 13 65 > 2600
Bl 0.30 20 67 > 1200

Tensile response of ultra-high performance steel fiber reinforced concrete under moderate strain rates
Table 3 UHPFC fiber variations in [V.-%].

Notation F01_Bl F02_Dx F01_BlDx F02_BlDx
b
Dx 0.00 2.00 0.25 0.50
Bl 1.00 0.00 0.75 1.50
2.2 Test setup
if
The direct tensile tests were performed on small sized dumbbell shaped specimens at an age of 56
days or older. The geometry of the specimens was designed according to the suggestion of
Mechtcherine and Schulze [9], comprising a cross-section of 20x40 mm and a gauge length of 100
mm. Three specimens were tested for each strain rate and UHPFC mixture, resulting in a testing
matrix of four mixtures, two loading rates, and three specimens.
The uniaxial tensile tests were performed deformation controlled at nominal strain rates of
0.000025 1/s and 0.01 1/s using a servo hydraulic and a universal testing machine, respectively. In
order to generate a rigid connection, both ends of the specimens were glued into sample holders that
were fixed to the testing machine. The tensile load was recorded by a load cell attached to the top of
the specimen fixture, whereas the effective elongation was measured by two linear variable differen-
tial transformers (LVDTs) fixed at the sides of the specimen. Fig. 2 shows a schematic illustration of
the test setup for the direct tensile test at moderate strain rates.
In addition, the tensile test were accompanied by digital image correlation (DIC) measurements.
For the optical registration of two-dimensional displacement fields, a high-contrast stochastic pattern
was applied on the specimen front side. The pattern was realized by white chalk surface coating and
random distributed black graphite speckles. The photogrammetric registration was conducted by an
ARAMIS 5M-system supplied by Gesellschaft für optische Messtechnik mbh (GOM).
Fig. 2 Schematic illustration of the test setup for direct tensile testing at moderate strain rates.
3 Experimental outcomes
Material parameters, including the first cracking strength σcc, the post cracking strength σpc and the
associated strain capacity εpc, as well as the energy absorption capacity g are considered in this study.
It should be note that the first cracking strength σcc is characterized as the turning point between
Veronika Goglin, Götz Hüsken, Peter Wossidlo, Ralf Häcker, Hans-Carsten Kühne and H.J.H. Brouwers 53

elastic and plastic parts, and that the post cracking strength σpc represents the maximum strength
within the hardening phase. As proposed in Pyo et al. [10], the energy absorption capacity g was
defined as the area under the stress-strain curve up to σu = 0.95 x σpc. The parameter σu is an empiri-
cally determined value, which describes the turning point between hardening and consistent softening
b
behaviour [10]. Fig. 3 shows a typical interpretation of a stress-strain plot and associated tensile pa-
rameter.
Fig. 3
3.1
if
Typical interpretation of a stress-strain plot: first cracking strength σcc, first cracking
strain εcc, post cracking strength σpc, strain capacity at post cracking strength εpc, and en-
ergy absorption capacity g.
Strain rate effect

Fig. 4 shows the direct tensile stress versus strain curves of the different UHPFC mixtures tested at a
nominal strain rate of 0.000025 1/s and 0.01 1/s. The corresponding parameters were averaged and
summarized in Tab. 4. The strain rate effect was expressed by the dynamic increase factor (DIF),
describing the ratio between dynamic and quasi-static response. The associated DIF values are also
given in Tab. 4.
According to the tensile stress-strain response, UHPFC can be generally classified as being either
strain softening or strain hardening in its behaviour. Strain softening is related to a relative small
enhancement in mechanical properties, whereas a prospective high effort in energy absorption is
allied to strain hardening behaviour. As classified in Namman and Reinhardt [11], all tested speci-
mens of mixture F01_Bl (Fig. 4a) and F01_BlDx (Fig. 4c) maintained performance Level 1 for both
applied loading rates, whereas the specimens of mixture F02_Dx (Fig. 4b) and F02_BlDx (Fig. 4d)
retained performance Level 2. The stress-strain performance of Level 1 is described as deflection
softening or crack controlled behaviour, while Level 2 exhibited a deflection hardening function after
the formation of the first crack in the concrete matrix [12]. For both Level 1 and Level 2, the first
cracking strength σcc is higher than the post cracking strength σpc. Furthermore, it was observed that
the first cracking strength σcc and the corresponding strain εcc generally increase with an increase in
strain rate. The first cracking strength σcc of mixture F01_Bl, F01_BlDx, and F02_BlDx increased by
72 %, 49 % and 54 %, respectively, whereas the first cracking strength σcc of mixture F02_Dx dis-
played a relative slight increase of 5 % when the strain rate increase from 0.00025 1/s to 0.01 1/s. A
rate dependent increase in post cracking strength σpc and corresponding strain capacity εpc was only
obtained by mixture F01_Bl and F02_BlDx, incorporating at least one volume percent of the long
normal strength steel fibers Bl. Concerning the maximal strain rate effect on the strain capacity εpc,
mixture F02_BlDx exhibited a value of 1.03 ‰ at a strain rate of 0.000025 1/s and 1.30 ‰ at a strain
rate of 0.01 1/s, resulting in a DIF of 1.26. Although the mixture F01_BlDx showed the highest strain
capacity εpc with 1.39 ‰ at quasi-static testing conditions. Moreover, a relative high deviation of the
results was registered for mixture F01_Bl tested at 0.01 1/s and for mixture F01_BlDx at 0.000025

1/s, respectively. However, a general increase in energy absorption capacity g was obtained when the
fiber volume fraction increase from one to two percent. Relating to the energy absorption capacity g,
mixture F02_BlDx displayed the most significant strain rate sensitive behaviour. In this case, the
energy absorption capacity g increased from 9.55 kJ/m³ to 23.12 kJ/m³ when the strain rate changed
b
from quasi-static to dynamic testing conditions, resulting in a DIF of 2.42. In contrast, mixture
F02_Dx showed no actual strain rate dependence of the energy absorption capacity g.
Fig. 4
if
Stress-strain plots of the tested UHPFC mixes incorporating two straight steel fiber types
in different fiber volume fractions and hybrid combinations.
Table 4 Average tensile parameters of UHPFC mixtures tested at moderate strain rates.
Notation Strain First DIF Post DIF Strain DIF Energy DIF
rate crack- [-] crack- [-] capacity [-] absorp- [-]
[1/s] ing ing εpc tion
strength strength [‰] capacity
σcc σpc g
[MPa] [MPa] [kJ/m³]
F01_Bl 0.000025 6.46 ̶ 4.74 ̶ 1.07 ̶ 6.79 ̶

0.01 11.14 1.72 6.12 1.29 1.31 1.22 12.66 1.86
F02_Dx 0.000025 8.87 ̶ 8.67 ̶ 1.06 ̶ 13.42 ̶
0.01 9.31 1.05 7.34 0.85 1.18 1.11 13.28 0.99
F01_BlDx 0.000025 5.60 ̶ 5.37 ̶ 1.39 ̶ 9.08 ̶
0.01 8.35 1.49 4.78 0.89 1.16 0.83 11.38 1.25
F02_BlDx 0.000025 6.73 ̶ 6.26 ̶ 1.03 ̶ 9.55 ̶
0.01 10.36 1.54 8.99 1.44 1.30 1.26 23.12 2.42

3.2 Strain distribution

The obtained DIC informations were exemplary processed for a specimen tested under dynamic load.
Fig. 5 shows the characteristic evolution of strain distribution within the elastic part of mixture
b
F02_BlDx (Fig. 5a-d), as well as the strain status at first cracking and post cracking state (Fig. 5e and
Fig. 5f).
Comparable to the observations of Babski et al. [12] for UHPFC mixtures tested under quasi-
static conditions, it was registered that the formation of strain concentrations already start within the
elastic part, resulting in a specific microscopic strain pattern (Fig. 5a-d). However, the first strain
if
concentrations were indicated at a stress value of 8.15 MPa and an associated strain of 0.280 ‰ (Fig.
5a). The final microscopic strain pattern of six cracks in total was revealed within 0.14 seconds, re-
sulting in stress of 8.91 MPa and a strain of 0.307 ‰ (Fig. 5d). The first cracking state was reached
after a further load increase of 1.23 MPa in the elastic stadium. The first cracking strength σcc com-
prised 10.14 MPa, the corresponding strain εcc exhibited a value of 0.430 ‰ (Fig. 5e), respectively.
The maximum strength during hardening was achieved at a post cracking strength σpc of 8.14 MPa.
The corresponding strain capacity εpc was determined to 2.770 ‰ (Fig. 5f). After reaching the post
cracking state, a progressive crack opening was started in the centre area of the specimen.
Fig. 5 Characteristic strain distribution of mixture F02_BlDx obtained by DIC under dynamic
testing conditions.
4 Conclusion
The strain rate sensitive changes in the mechanical response of different UHPFC mixtures were inves-
tigated at a nominal strain rate of 0.000025 1/s and 0.01 1/s under direct tensile loading. The experi-
mental approach considered four UHPFC mixtures incorporating two straight steel fiber types in
different fiber volume fractions and hybrid combinations. The tests were accompanied by non-
destructive measuring technique using digital image correlation (DIC), in order to verify the obtained
stress-strain information of the composite material. Based on the obtained results in this study, the
following conclusions can be drawn:
The experimental results showed, as expected, a strong dependency of the stress-strain re-
sponse relative to the fiber volume fraction. Deflection softening behaviour was observed for
UHPFC mixtures with a fiber volume fraction of one percent, whereas the mixtures with a fi-
ber content of two volume percent revealed deflection hardening behaviour.
An increase in strain rate led general to an increase of the first cracking strength σcc and the
corresponding strain εcc.

A rate dependent increase in post cracking strength σpc and corresponding strain capacity εpc
was only observed for mixture F01_Bl and F02_BlDx, incorporating at least one volume per-
cent of the long normal strength steel fibers Bl. Mixture F01_BlDx showed the highest strain
rate capacity εpc with 1.39 ‰ at quasi-static testing conditions.
b
A general increase in energy absorption capacity g was obtained when the fiber volume frac-
tion increase from one to two percent. The hybrid-reinforced mixture F02_BlDx displayed the
most significant strain rate sensitive behaviour. In this case, the energy absorption capacity g
increased from 9.55 kJ/m³ to 23.12 kJ/m³ when the strain rate changed from quasi-static to
if
dynamic testing conditions, resulting in a DIF of 2.42. In contrast, the single reinforced mix-
ture F02_Dx showed no actual strain rate dependence of the energy absorption capacity g.
The conduction of DIC measurement enabled a detailed analysis of crack formation and crack
propagation during load application. First formations of strain concentrations were registered
within the elastic part, resulting in a specific microscopic strain pattern. A progressive crack
opening was observed, after the maximum strength during hardening was reached.
References
[1] Millon, Oliver. 2014. “Analyse und Beschreibung des dynamischen Zugtragverhaltens von
ultra-hochfestem Beton.” PhD diss. Technische Universität Dresden.
[2] Banthia, Nemkumar, and Natarajan Nandakumar. 2009. “Crack growth resistance of hybrid
fiber reinforced cement composites.” Cement and Concrete Composites 25:3–9.
[3] Wille, Kay, Sherif El-Tawil, and Antoine E. Naaman. 2014. “Properties of strain hardening
ultra high performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHP-FRC) under direct tensile loading.”
Cement and Concrete Composites 48:53–66.
[4] Ranade, Ravi, Victor C. Li, and William F. Heard. 2015. “Tensile Rate Effects in High
Strength-High Ductility Concrete.” Cement and Concrete Research 68:94–104.
[5] Xu, Man, and Kay Wille. 2014 “Fracture energy of UHP-FRC under direct tensile loading
applied at low strain rates.” Composites Part B: Engineering 80:116–125.
[6] Tran, Ngoc T., Tuan K Tran, Joong K Jeon, Jun K. Park, and Dong J. Kim. 2016 “Fracture
energy of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete at high strain rates.” Cement and
Concrete Research 79:169–184.
[7] Thomas, Robert J., and Andrew D. Sorensen. 2017. “Review of strain rate effects for UHPC
in tension.” Construction and Building Materials 153:846–856.
[8] Hentz, Sébastian, V. Frédéric Donzé, Laurent Daudeville. 2004. “Discrete element modelling
of concrete submitted to dynamic loading at high strain rates.” Computers and Structures
82:2509–2524.
[9] Mechtcherine, Viktor, and Joachim Schulze. 2005. “Testing the behaviour of strain hardening
cementitious composites in tension.” Paper presented at the Int. RILEM Workshop on
HPFRCC in Structural Applications, Hawei, Honolulu.
[10] Pyo, Sukhoon, Kay Wille, Sherif El-Tawil, and Antoine E. Naaman. 2015. “Strain rate de-
pendent properties of ultra high performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHP-FRC) under ten-
sion.” Cement and Concrete Composites 56:15–24.
[11] Naaman, Antoine E., and Hans-Wolf Reinhardt. 2006. “Proposed classification of FRC com-
posites based on their tensile response.” Materials and Structures 39:547–555.
[12] Babski, Veronika, Götz Hüsken, Stephan Pirskawetz, Noah Ehlers, Hans-Carsten Kühne, and
H.J.H. Brouwers. 2016. “Characterization of ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete
(UHPFC) under tensile loading by acoustic emission and optical deformation analysis.” Paper
presented at the 4th International Symposium on Ultra-High Performance Concrete and High
Performance Construction Materials, Germany, Kassel, March 9.-11.

ifb

Influence of limestone addition to cement on

rheological properties of mortars
b
Małgorzata Gołaszewska and Zbigniew Giergiczny
Department of Building Materials and Process Engineering,
Silesian University of Technology,
if
Akademicka 5, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Abstract
In this paper, investigated was the influence of limestone in limestone Portland cement on the rheo-
logical properties of mortars. Two types of limestone of different origin and chemical composition
were investigated, each with two Blaine’s specific surface areas. Limestone Portland cement was
obtained by mixing 6, 10 and 20% mass of ground limestone with Portland cement CEM I 42,5R NA.
The Rheological properties - yield stress g and plastic viscosity h - were measured by viscometer
Viscomat NT after 5min and 60 min after mixing. The results show a clear difference between the
behaviours of two limestones, but do not indicate any influence of Blaine’s specific surface area on
the properties. Generally, the yield stress increases or stays the same with higher limestone addition,
while plastic viscosity drops or does not change.
1 Introduction
Portland-limestone cement CEM II / A, B-LL is widely used in many European countries, and lime-
stone itself is the most frequently used non-clinker constituent of cement in CEMBureau countries
[15].
Portland limestone cements have beneficial effect on many properties of concrete, causing lower
water demand and better workability than Portland cement, and in combination with other mineral
additives can even increase the durability of concrete [3], [10]. However, the knowledge of the influ-
ence of limestone on a few properties of limestone cements, such as rheological properties of mortars
and concrete mixes, remains rather ambiguous [4], [8].
Some research, such as [14], indicate a reduction of the yield stress and plastic viscosity together
with the increase in limestone content in cement, while the results of studies [6] indicate the opposite.
In turn, results of research [9] showed a decrease in the yield stress and an increase in plastic viscosity
with an increase in the limestone content. This discrepancy can stem from the fact that the results of
tests are usually only related to the chemical and physical properties of one limestone [5], [9].
The aim of presented research is to determine how different limestones and their specific surface
area affect the rheological properties (yield stress and plastic viscosity) of Portland limestone ce-
ments. In the experimental studies, one Portland cement CEM I 42,5 R NA was used, which was
mixed with two ground limestones of various origin and two specific surface areas each, in the
amount of 6%, 10%, 20% and 30% of the cement mass. Mortars from the Portland CEM II / A, B-LL
limestone cinders thus obtained have been subjected to rheological tests in a rheometer Viskomat NT
and tested after 5 and 60 minutes from the start of mixing.
2 Experimental details
2.1 Materials
In the research, two limestones were used, each ground to two Blaine’s specific surface areas. Lime-
stone B had the specific surface areas of 5630 cm2/g (marked as B5) and 9470 cm2/g (B9), while
limestone T had the specific surface areas of 4790 cm2/g (T5) and 8340 cm2/g (T9). Their chemical
composition is presented in table 1, and particle size distribution in fig.1.
One cement was used in the research, namely Portland cement CEM I 42,5 R NA. It’s phase
composition is presented in table 2, and its chemical composition in table 1.


Table 1 Chemical composition of limestones and cement used in the research.

Chemical composition Limestone Limestone CEM I 42,5R
[% of mass] B T NA
b
Loss on ignition 41.7 42.7 -
SiO2 4.58 1.4 20.55
Al2O3 0.75 0.4 4.67
if
Fe2O3 0.34 0.5 2.8
CaO 52.43 53.2 64.35
MgO 0.66 1.5 1.18
SO3 0.12 0.02 2.79
Cl- 0.022 0.007 0.015
Na2O - - 0.18
K2O - - 0.43
Na2Oeq - - 0.46
Fig. 1 Particle size distribution for limestones B and T and Portland cement CEM I 42,5R NA.
Table 2 Phase composition of CEM I 42,5 R NA used in the research.
Alumina modulus 1.67

Silica modulus 2.75
C3S 62.43
C2S 12.16
C3A 7.64
C4AF 8.51
CS2H 4.74
C-CaO, SiO2 – S, A – Al2O3, F - Fe2O3

Portland limestone cements were obtained by mixing the ingredients in homogenizator. Prepared
portland limestone cements contained 6%, 10%, 20% and 30% of limestone. The compositions of the
tested mortars were prepared according to EN 196 [16], however, due to consistency limitations
related to the rheometer, the water-cement ratio of the mortars was set as 0.55, instead of 0.50.
b
2.2 Methods
Rheological properties of mortars were tested in rheometer Viskomat NT after 5 and 60 minutes from
the moment of adding water to the mortar. The testing procedure itself lasted 5 minutes; between the
if
tests mortar was kept covered to prevent water evaporation, in temperature 20oC and humidity 65%.
Numerous research indicate that the mortars behave according to Bingham’s viscoplastic model,
therefore in the following research a simplified Bingham model was adopted to calculate the values of
rheological parameters [2], [11], [12].
M = g + hN (1)
Where: M – torque, N – rotational speed of probe or measuring cylinder, g – shear resistance relating
to yield stress τ0, h – plastic flow resistance relating to plastic viscosity ηpl. While it is possible to
calculate the true value of yield stress τ0 and plastic viscosity ηpl, in practice it poses many technolog-
ical problems, therefore the values of rheological properties are usually given in arbitrary units. This
approach was adopted in the following research [1].
3 Results
3.1 Yield stress g

The results of the tests of yield stress after 5 and 60 minutes after mixing are shown in fig. 2 and fig 3.
Fig. 2 Yield stress g of mortars with limestone T (left) and B (right) 5 minutes after mixing.
Fig. 3 Yield stress g of mortars with limestone T (left) and B (right) 60 minutes after mixing.
Małgorzata Gołaszewska and Zbigniew Giergiczny 61

Performed tests indicate that the two limestones have different effect on the yield stress g of mortars.
Addition of limestone T5 practically does not change the yield stress g after both 5 and 60 minutes
from mixing. The presence of limestone T9 initially slightly raises the yield stress value, however the
effect does not occur after 60 minutes from mixing, as the yield stress is practically identical to the
b
yield stress of cement without limestone addition.
Limestone B shows different effect on yield stress value of Portland-limestone mortars. Small (up
to 5%) addition of the limestone B slightly decreases or does not affect the yield stress g, however its
addition over 10% greatly increases the yield stress g, practically doubling its value for 30% of lime-
if
stone after 5 minutes after mixing.
It must be noted that while the type of limestone plays an important role for the yield stress g of
the mortars, the specific surface area of the limestone seems to have practically no effect on the tested
rheological behaviour. For mortars with limestone B the difference is non-existent, and the increase of
yield stress cause by the presence of limestone T9 is small.
It should be also noted, that the precision of the measurement is extremely high in case of meas-
urement after 5 minutes from mixing. After 60 minutes from mixing, obtained results can vary wide-
ly.
3.2 Plastic viscosity h

The results of the tests of plastic viscosity after 5 and 60 minutes after mixing are shown in fig.4 and
fig 5.
Fig. 4 Plastic viscosity h of mortars with limestone T (left) and B (right) 5 minutes after mixing.
Fig. 5 Plastic viscosity h of mortars with limestone T (left) and B (right) 60 minutes after mix-
ing.
Measurements of the plastic viscosity h of mortars show similar dependencies as in case of yield
stress. Two types of limestone exhibit different influence on the plastic viscosity h of mortars, while
the specific surface area of the limestone seems to have little effect on the measured rheological
properties.

The addition of limestone T does not significantly affect the value of plastic viscosity . Addition
of over 6% limestone B on the other hand causes a significant decrease in plastic viscosity h of mor-
tars both after 5 and 60 minutes from mixing. Values of plastic viscosity h for portland-limestone
cement with 30 % of limestone B are almost two times lower than for portland cement without an
b
addition of limestone.
Similarly to the yield stress g, plastic viscosity values are consistent after 5 minutes from mixing,
but after 60 minutes the spread of results is significantly higher.
if
3.3 Discussion
The cause of the different behaviour of the limestone B and limestone T may lie in the different parti-
cle size distribution of the two limestones.
Limestone T5 is generally similar in particle size distribution to portland cement CEM I used in
the research and almost perfectly fits its particle size distribution curve. Limestone T9 higher fineness
could be partially responsible for the slight inclease in the yield stress g.
Limestone B on the other hand differs significantly in terms of the particle size distribution, with
a higher content of particles over 100 µm. This can tie into the higher yield stress, as the higher
particle size can lead to to a higher yield stress.
It must be noted that limestones B are characterized by a higher specific surface area than
corresponding limestones T, what could cause an increase in yield stress g. This effect would be
consistent with the current state of knowledge, as numerous publications, such as [7], [12], [13],
linked the higher specific surface area of cements with an increased yield stress of the mortars and
concrete mix. However, seeing as there was practically no difference between the behaviour and yield
stress value between mortars T5 and T9, as well as B5 and B9, it can be deemed unlikely that the
specific surface area is responsible for different behavior of mortars with limestone T and mortars
with limestone B.
4 Conclusion
The research leads to following conclusions:
Addition of limestone in cement can affect the rheological properties of the mortars,
Different limestones can affect the yield stress and plastic viscosity differently,
Specific surface area of limestone did not exhibit an influence on the tested rheological prop-
erties, or the effect was insignificant next to the effect of the particle size distribution in lime-
stones,
In case of tested mortars, addition of limestone T to cement slightly increased or did not
change the yield stress and slightly increased or did not change the plastic viscosity of mor-
tars; addition of over 20% of limestone B significantly increased the yield stress and de-
creased the plastic viscosity of the mortars,
Different effect of limestones may be linked to their different particle size distribution.
References
[1] Banfill, Phillip F.G. 2003. “The rheology of fresh cement and concrete - a review” Proceeding
of 11th International Cement Chemistry Congress, Durban, South Africa: 50–63.
[2] Banfill, Phillip F.G. 2006. “Rheology Of Fresh Cement And Concrete”, Rheology Reviews
2006: 61–130.
[3] Boos, P., and R. Haerdtl. 2004. “Experience report Portland limestone cement”, Heidelberg
Cement Group.
[4] Courard, L., D. Herfort, and Y. Villagran. 2016. “Performances of limestone modified port-
land cement and concrete”, Supplementary Cementitious Materials Report, RILEM.
[5] Diederich, P., M. Mouret, A. de Ryck, F. Ponchon, and G. Escadeillas. 2012. “The nature of
limestone filler and self-consolidating feasibility—Relationships between physical, chemical
and mineralogical properties of fillers and the flow at different states, from powder to cement-
based suspension” Powder Technology: 90–101.
[6] Gesoğlu, M., E. Güneyisi, M.E. Kocabağ, V. Bayram, and K. Mermerdaş. 2012. “Fresh and
hardened characteristics of self compacting concretes made with combined use of marble
powder, limestone filler, and fly ash.” Construction and Building. Materials 37: 160–170.
Małgorzata Gołaszewska and Zbigniew Giergiczny 63

[7] Gołaszewski, Jacek. 2008. “Influence of cement properties on rheology of fresh cement mor-
tars without and with superplasticizer”, Architecture, Civil Engineering, Enviorment 4: 49–66.
[8] Hawkins, P., P.D. Tennis, and R. Detwiler. 2003. The Use of Limestone in Portland Cement:
A State-of-the-Art Review, Portland Cement Association, USA.
b
[9] Piechówka, and M., Z. Giergiczny. 2011. „Wpływ kamienia wapiennego na właściwości
reologiczne zaczynu cementowego.” Budownictwo, Technologie, Architektura 1: 58--61.
[10] Poitevin, P. 1999. “Limestone aggregate concrete, usefulness and durability.” Cement and
Concrete Composites 21: 89–97.
if
[11] Roussel, Nicolas. 2012. Understanding the rheology of concrete, Cabridge: Woodland.
[12] Szwabowski, Janusz. 1999. Reologia mieszanek na spoiwach cementowych, Gliwice:
Wydawnictwo Politechniki Śląskiej.
[13] Tattersall, G., and P.F.G Banfill. 1983. The Rheology of Fresh Concrete. Boston: Pitman
Books Limited.
[14] Yahia, A., M. Tanimura, and K.H. Khayat. 2005. “Experiment design to evaluate the effect of
mixture parameters on rheological properties of selfconsolidating concrete equivalent mortar”
Paper presented at Proc. 1st International Symposium on Design, Performance and Use of
SelfConsolidating Concrete, China, 26-28 May 2005.
[15] The European Cement Association. CEMBUREAU. Cements for a low-carbon Europe.

Self-healing properties of sulfur composites with

expansive agents
b
Seongwoo Gwon and Myoungsu Shin
School of Urban and Environmental Engineering,
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST),
if
50 UNIST-gil, Ulju-gun, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
Abstract
This study investigated the strength and microstructural characteristics of sulfur composites containing
several industrial wastes (such as sulfur and rubber) and binary cement (blend of Portland cement and
fly ash) as the major components, which revealed the feasibility of binary cement as self-healing agents
for cracked sulfur mortars. For a given amount of rubber powder, the replacement of 40% modified
sulfur by the binary cement caused the maximum compressive strength of sulfur composites. In order
to attest the self-healing performance, constant head permeability tests were performed for sulfur mor-
tars incorporating two expansive agents (e.g., superabsorbent polymer, calcium sulfoaluminate ce-
ment).
1 Introduction
Considerable amount of elemental sulfur has been generated from petroleum or gas refineries around
the world, since most refineries are equipped with desulfurization facilities as per environmental regu-
lations [1]. Considering negative environmental and economic concerns due to the surplus elemental
sulfur, many studies were conducted to modify the elemental sulfur into sustainable sulfur polymers
using chemical modifiers such as dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) [2]. Modified sulfur polymers exhibited
thermoplastic properties, which can exclude water in the production of sulfur composites [2]. Moreover,
most sulfur composites present early-age high strength as well as superior durability under aggressive
chemical and weathering conditions over ordinary cement concretes [3]. Thus, many attempts were
made to develop mix proportions by employing various industrial wastes (e.g., fly ash, rubber powder)
[4], [5]. One of the main findings of the foregoing studies was that the use of fly ash substantially
enhanced both mechanical and durability properties of sulfur composites.
Considering beneficial effects of supplementary materials on the properties of sulfur composites,
the authors investigated the strength and microstructural characteristics of sulfur composites containing
fly ash and rubber powder from waste tires [4]. Test results revealed that the use of fly ash more than
45% by volume caused a honeycomb-shaped morphology indicating superior compressive strength
with a smaller porosity compared to hardened modified sulfur polymer itself. In spite of inherent low
stiffness of rubber powder, the use of rubber powder of up to 5% by volume also contributed to increase
of compressive strength. Above all, there were no indications of new reaction products in the sulfur
composites, which implies perfect conservation of raw fly ash. In this regard, the authors adopted binary
cement (blend of Portland cement and fly ash) in the production of sulfur composites. Test results
showed that compressive strength primarily relied on the amount of binary cement as observed similarly
by the sole fly ash, of which mineral crystalline phases also remained unreacted.
Based on the intact conservation of binary cement in the sulfur composites, constant head
permeability tests were performed on two mixtures of sulfur mortars containing both Portland cement
and expansive agents (e.g., calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement, superabsorbent polymer (SAP)) as
self-healing materials. The samples for permeability tests were prepared by splitting tensile tests to
penetrate single artificial crack at the core of cylindrical section. By varying mixture proportions,
different degrees of healing performances were monitored with respect to crack widths once the
permeability tests commenced. Overall, all the raw materials used for the self-healing were firmly
affixed on the crack surfaces to undertake both early- and long-term age hydration.


In this study, DCPD-modified sulfur polymer, rubber powder (maximum particle size of 0.5 mm) from
waste tires, and binary cement (blend of Portland cement (about 32 wt. %) and Class F fly ash (about
b
68 wt. %)) were used to produce sulfur composites. A total of 24 mixture proportions of sulfur compo-
sites were developed as shown in Table 1. In addition, two mixture proportions of sulfur mortars were
designed including Portland and CSA cement, and SAP to testify the self-healing performance as shown
in Table 2. Among them, the use of CSA cement and SAP aims at facilitating a rapid hydration reaction.
Especially, expanded SAP can retain water that can be consumed for the hydration of surrounding ce-
if
mentitious materials (e.g., Portland and CSA cement) on the crack surfaces. In the mixture proportions,
SAP was added in a relative wt. % of the modified sulfur.
Table 1 Mixture proportions of sulfur composites.
Modified sulfur Binary cement

Mixture Rubber powder
(SPC)
label Portland cement Fly ash
vol. % kg/m3 vol. % kg/m3 vol. % kg/m3 vol. % kg/m3
B0-0 100 1910 - - - -
B0-10 90 1719 2.5 78 7.5 167
B0-15 85 1624 3.8 117 11.2 250
- -
B0-40 60 1146 10.0 314 30.0 666
B0-45 55 1051 11.3 352 33.7 749
B0-50 50 955 12.5 392 37.5 833
B5-0 95 1815 - - - -
B5-10 85 1624 2.5 78 7.5 167
B5-15 80 1528 3.8 117 11.2 250
5 56
B5-40 55 1051 10.0 314 30.0 666
B5-45 50 955 11.3 352 33.7 749
B5-50 45 860 12.5 392 37.5 833
B10-0 90 1719 - - - -
B10-10 80 1528 2.5 78 7.5 167
B10-15 75 1433 3.8 117 11.2 250
10 112
B10-40 50 955 10.0 314 30.0 666
B10-45 45 860 11.3 352 33.7 749
B10-50 40 764 12.5 392 37.5 833

B15-0 85 1624 - - - -
B15-10 75 1433 2.5 78 7.5 167
B15-15 70 1337 3.8 117 11.2 250
15 168
B15-40 45 860 10.0 314 30.0 666
B15-45 40 764 11.3 352 33.7 749
B15-50 35 669 12.5 392 37.5 833
Table 2 Mixture proportions of sulfur mortars (unit: vol. %).

Modified sul- Portland ce- SAP (wt. %
Mixture label CSA cement Sand
fur (SPC) ment of SPC)
E10 40 15 10 35 10
E15 40 10 15 35 10
The compressive strength tests were performed using a cubic specimen with each side of 50 mm under
a displacement control of 0.5 mm/min in accordance with ASTM C109 [5]. At least three identical
samples were fabricated for each mixture case. The microstructures of the raw materials and hardened
samples were probed using an ultra-high resolution field emission SEM (FE-SEM, Hitachi S-4800,
Japan) with EDS. Bulk-sectioned samples were encased by an epoxy resin at first. All the epoxy-

mounted samples were polished using 6 µm, 3 µm, and 0.25 µm diamond suspensions successively.
Prior to each SEM testing, all polished samples were coated by an osmium film to enhance the contrast
of scanned images. The XRD patterns of the raw materials and hardened samples were examined with
a Rigaku high-power X-ray diffractometer emitting an incident Cu-Kα radiation beam at room temper-
b
ature. A powder XRD measurement was conducted in this study. The oxide compositions of the raw
materials and composite samples were assessed using the XRF (Bruker S8 Tiger XRF spectroscope).
For constant head permeability tests, cylindrical disk specimens with an 100 mm diameter and 50
mm thickness were split at first. After then, split samples were tightened using two steel-bands by
if
inserting silicon sheets at both ends of crack to set the effective crack length of 70 mm, which allows
water flow. Finally, the tightened samples were mounted on an equipment for permeability test with a
constant water pressure head at 250 mm. The exact dimensions and set-up for the permeability test are
shown in Fig. 1. Two crack widths of 0.1 and 0.2 mm were arranged. Once the permeability tests
commenced, free water flow was permitted during initial 5 min. After then, the amount of water leakage
from the bottom of specimen was measured using a precise balance every one minute.
Fig. 1 Constant head permeability test: sample dimensions (left), entire testing device (right).
3 Test results and discussion
3.1 Characterization of raw materials

The XRD of modified sulfur reflected an elemental sulfur in orthorhombic structure (ICCD PDF no.
01-078-1888) (Fig. 2(a)). The XRD of binary cement encompassed several minerals such as quartz
(ICDD PDF no. 01-070-2517), alite (C3S, ICDD PDF no. 00-042-0551), belite (C2S, ICDD PDF no.
01-083-0460), mullite (ICDD PDF no. 01-079-1457), hematite (ICDD PDF no. 01-085-0599), gypsum
(ICDD PDF no. 00-033-0311), C4AF (ICDD PDF no. 01-070-2765), and C3A (ICDD PDF no. 98-015-
1369) (Fig. 2(b)). The XRD of rubber powder was mostly composed of amorphous carbon phase, man-
ifested as a large hump from 10 to 30° with a zincite (ICDD PDF no. 01-089-7102). The maximum
particle size of the binary cement is about 90 μm that is much smaller than that of rubber powder.
Fig. 2 XRD patterns: modified sulfur (left), binary cement (right).
Seongwoo Gwon and Myoungsu Shin 67


The use of more than 40% binary cement generally caused the decrease of compressive strength of the
sulfur composites (Fig. 3), although the mixtures with 10 and 15% rubber powder showed no distinct
b
trend of compressive strength with 40 to 50% binary cement ratio. In general, with a given rubber
powder ratio except for 15% rubber powder series, the inclusion of 40% binary cement led to the max-
imum compressive strength among the sulfur composites; Mixture B0-40 acquired the maximum
strength of 81.4 MPa. It is deemed that as to the compressive strength the optimal ratio of the binary
cement is approximately 40% by volume.
if
Fig. 3 Compressive strengths of the tested sulfur composites.
3.3 XRD
In Fig. 4(a), the XRD pattern of Mixture B15-0 was very similar to that of the raw modified sulfur only
(Fig. 2(a)) despite the inclusion of 15% rubber powder. Fig. 4(b) presents the XRD patterns of the
mixtures with 40% binary cement: B5-40, B10-40, and B15-40. All three mixtures reflected only the
mineral phases of raw modified sulfur and binary cement. This observation indicates that there were no
apparent reactions among the constituent materials including modified sulfur, binary cement, and rub-
ber powder. Therefore, it is concluded that the intact Portland cement and fly ash will undertake hydra-
tion and pozzolanic reactions, if exposed to a condition of cracking damage followed by water intrusion.
Fig. 4 Integrated XRD patterns of Mixtures: B15-0 (left), B5-40, B10-40, and B15-40 (right).
3.4 SEM BSE/EDS

Portland cement, fly ash, and rubber powder were categorized considering elemental compositions in
the morphologies; in Fig. 5, “A” stands for alite (C3S), “B” for belite (C2S), “M” for mullite, “G” for
gypsum, “Q” for quartz, and “H” for hematite. Overall, the crystalline phases of binary cement were
left unreacted in the sulfur composites, which can accept the hydration and/or pozzolanic reactions in
case of cracking damage followed by water intrusion. The microstructures of Mixture B0-40 (Fig. 5(a))

barely exhibited pores with compactly embedded grains of binary cement compared to the others with
less binary cement. Moreover, it seems that such an inclusion of binary cement rather than fly ash only
may explain the increase of compressive strength, which is deemed attributable to a larger average
indentation modulus of cement grain than fly ash [6]; 111.0 13.0 GPa and 66.1 14.2 GPa for Port-
b
land cement and fly ash, respectively. In Mixture B5-40 (Fig. 5(b)), however, the interfacial transition
zone (ITZ) between the sulfur-binary cement matrix and rubber powder drew the grains of binary ce-
ment, which deterred compact adhesion between the sulfur and rubber powder. This phenomenon likely
supports the smaller compressive strength of Mixture B5-40 than B0-40.
if
Fig. 5 Microstructures of Mixtures: B0-40 (left), B5-40 (right).
3.5 Permeability
Two mixtures were selected for the permeability tests to calculate a water flow rate per crack length.
All the tests were completed when there was no water outflow. A cement mortar mixture (w/c = 0.45)
was fabricated as a control mixture over the sulfur mortars. Regardless of types of mixtures (sulfur or
cement mortar), the crack width of 0.1 mm scarcely permitted water penetration through the crack. For
a crack width of 0.1 mm (Fig. 6(a)), Mixture E15 cut off the water flow about 5 min after the test
initiation, whereas cement mortar didn’t. For a crack width of 0.2 mm (Fig. 6(b)), Mixture E10 took
about 25 min to preclude any water flow. However, cement mortar didn’t block the water flow. Overall,
as shown in Fig. 7, both Mixtures E10 and E15 rapidly filled the cracks due to the hydration and ex-
pansion of incorporated raw Portland cement and expansive materials on the surfaces of crack. There-
fore, it is deemed that the use of Portland cement and expansive agents will facilitate the self-healing
performance of the sulfur mortars with crack width of up to 0.2 mm.
Fig. 6 Permeability test results of Mixtures: E15 and cement mortar (crack width 0.1 mm) (left)
E10 and cement mortar (crack width 0.2 mm) (right).
Seongwoo Gwon and Myoungsu Shin 69

ifb
Fig. 7 Top surface of sulfur mortar (Mixture E10) before (left) and after (right) permeability test
(crack width 0.2 mm).
4 Conclusions
In this study, 24 mixtures of sulfur composites were produced and tested by varying mixture propor-
tions. Based on the intact conservation of binary cement in the sulfur composites, two mixtures of sulfur
mortars containing Portland cement and expansive agents (e.g., CSA cement, SAP) were developed to
attest their self-healing performances through the constant head permeability tests. For the crack widths
of 0.1 and 0.2 mm, both sulfur mortars took less than 25 min to preclude the water flow, which was
confirmed by perfect closure of cracks after the permeability tests. Thus, it is concluded that the use of
Portland cement and expansive agents will effectively promote the self-healing of damaged sulfur mor-
tars under sudden cracking followed by a water intrusion. Future study aims at developing mixture
proportions that can fill the crack width of up to 0.3 mm.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a grant (No. 18SCIP-B103706-04) from the Construction Technology
Research Program funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport of the Republic of
Korea.
References
[1] Gallagher, Kelly Sims, and Hongyan He Oliver. 2005. "Providing Low-Sulfur Fuels for Trans-
portation Use: Policy Options and Financing Strategies in the Chinese Context." Paper
presented at the Conference of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University,
July 11.
[2] Mohamed, Abdel-Mohsen Onsy, and Maisa El-Gamal. 2010. Sulfur concrete for the construc-
tion industry: a sustainable development approach. J. Ross Publishing.
[3] Shin, Myoungsu, et al. 2014. "Durability of sustainable sulfur concrete with fly ash and recycled
aggregate against chemical and weathering environments." Construction and building materi-
als 69:167-176.
[4] Gwon, Seongwoo. 2017. "Sustainable sulfur composites with enhanced strength and light-
weightness using waste rubber and fly ash." Construction and Building Materials 135:650-64.
[5] ASTM C109/C109M-16a. Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Hydraulic Ce-
ment Mortars (Using 2-in. or [50-mm] Cube Specimens). ASTM International, West Cons-
hohocken, PA, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1520/C0109_C0109M-16A
[6] Hu, Chuanlin. 2014. "Microstructure and mechanical properties of fly ash blended cement pas-
tes." Construction and Building Materials 73:618-25.

Experimental and numerical study of the behaviour of

post installed anchors in FRC
b
Viktor Hlavička and Éva Lublóy
if
H-1111 Budapest, Muegyetem rkp 3, Hungary
Abstract
Our research mainly focuses on behaviour of post-installed anchors in fibre reinforced concrete (FRC)
mixtures. In our tests, two types of steel fibres were used as fibre reinforcement together with bonded
(epoxy resin) anchoring system. Results were evaluated and compared to the values given by the pro-
ducers for normal concretes.
1 Introduction
1.1 Fastening systems

Two types of anchors are used in fastenings: cast-in-place and post-installed anchors. There are several
types of cast-in-place anchors, for example pigtail and all-thread anchors, steel rebars, L-bolts, J-bolts,
headed studs, anchor channels, etc. These connections are installed at the same time as the base material
(concrete) is manufactured. Most of cast-in-place anchors have a special head, and placed into the con-
crete before it hardens [1]-[3]. In our study, only post-installed anchors with drill installation were
examined.
Several post-installed anchors are available with different ways of load-transfer. The commercially
available fastenings can transfer the load to the host material via the following mechanisms: mechanical
interlock, friction or bond (Fig. 1). Furthermore, the most recent techniques use combined bond and
friction (e.g. bonded expansion anchors). In case of expansion anchors the load is transferred by friction.
Generally, an expansion sleeve is expanded by an exact displacement or torque applied on the anchor
head during the installation process. The chemical fastenings are anchored by bond. Bonded anchors
can be divided into two subgroups: capsule or injection systems. The bond material can be either
organic, inorganic or a mixture of them. In this case he loads are transferred from the steel member
(normally a threaded rod, rebar) to the bonding material and are anchored by bond between the bonding
material and the sides of the drilled holes [2]-[4].
Fig. 1 Load transfer mechanisms [3].
Load bearing of fastenings can be determined by taking the minimum of the ultimate loads correspond-
ing to different failure modes. In case of tensioned anchors steel failure, concrete cone failure, pull-out
failure and splitting can occur (Fig. 2).
Steel failure depends on the tensile strength of the steel rod. Steel capacity can be calculated from
the ultimate steel strength (fu) and the cross-sectional area (As) [1], [2], [5].


ifb
Fig. 2 Failure modes.
Properties of concrete cone failure mostly depend on the embedment depth (hef) and on the concrete
strength (fc). Cone failure is the optimal failure type, because concrete strength is completely utilized.
It can be either full cone type or partial cone type. Ultimate tensile force corresponding to full cone
failure can be calculated as:
,
, = ∗ ∗ℎ (1)
where coefficient k depends on the type of the anchor.

Partial cone failure is a common failure type of bonded anchors, in this case the bond between the
bond material and the concrete is partly damaged. This means a transitional failure type between cone
failure and pull-out [1]-[5].
Pull-out failure has to be discussed separately for bonded and expansion anchors. Pull-out failure
of mortar bonded anchors means bond failure between mortar and concrete, while pull-out failure ex-
cluding mortar means bond failure between the steel fastening and the bonding material. The bond
strength (τu,k) depends on the certain product, but its value is included in the corresponding approvals
[1]-[5]. Pull-out failure in case of expansion anchors is possible under tension, including or excluding
the expansion sleeve (pull-out/pull-through).
Splitting failure is caused by the critical edge-, spacing distances. This failure mode is not within
the scope of this paper, since all the performed specimens failed by splitting were excluded during the
evaluation of the results [1]-[5].
Load bearing capacity can be influenced by distances from edges and by spacing distances, these
effects can be taken into account via reduction factors.
1.2 Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC)

Behaviour and properties of concrete can be amended by addition of fibres with different sizes and
materials. At first, addition of steel fibres became general that improves the properties of hardened
concrete mainly. It is widely applied for industrial floors because fibres improve the resistance against
dynamic effects of vehicles and machines. Steel fibres can also be applied in reinforced concrete struc-
tures to reduce the amount or fully replace shear reinforcement. They can be effectively used in bent
and tensioned structures because of their advantageous crack-bridging properties (Fig. 3) [6]. Based on
previous studies, higher steel fiber content can also increase the compressive strength of concrete and
the displacement and strain that correspond to the ultimate load. Fig. 4 shows that energy dissipation
(area below the stress-strain curve) increases as fiber content increases.

ifb
Fig. 4 Compressive strength of steel fibre rein-
Fig. 3 Crack propagation of fibres [7]. forced concretes with different fibre con-
tent [8].
2 Experiment
2.1 Materials
2.1.1 Tested anchors
One type of bonded anchor systems was tested (with epoxy resins). Both expansion and bonded anchors
were installed according to the MPII (Manufacturer`s Printed Installation Instructions). The embedment
depth was hef=50 mm (~6d, where d is the diameter of the anchor) in all cases, and the diameter of the
anchors and threaded rods was 8 mm, the strength class of bonded anchors was 10.9.
2.1.2 Tested fibres
In our tests two type of steel fibers were used, fiber content was different for the different cases.
First type of steel fibres (S1) had the following properties: length 50 mm, diameter 1.00 mm, tensile
strength 1000-1200 N/mm2. Steel fibres had hooked end and smooth surface. Four different fibre con-
tents were used in our concrete mixtures: 20, 30, 40, 80 kg/m3, which included the maximum and min-
imum suggested fibre content.
Second type of steel fibres (S2) had the following properties: length 12 mm, diameter 0.2 mm,
tensile strength 3000 N/mm2. Two different fibre contents were used in our concrete mixtures: 40,
80 kg/m3.
2.1.3 Concrete mixture
The composition of the tested concrete mixtures is shown in Table 1. The mixtures were made by
Portland cement (CEM I 42.5 N). The aggregates were natural quartz sand and quartz gravel. Super-
plasticiser BASF Glenium C323 Mix was also used. The specimens used for pull-out and compressive
strength tests were held under water for 7 days and then kept at laboratory temperature (20 ˚C) for
additional 21 days.
Compressive strength properties of each mixture were tested on 3 cubes of 150x150x150 mm. The
dimensions of concrete specimens for pull-out tests were the minimum dimensions that allowed the
occurrence of all potential failure modes during the tests. The minimum required sizes could be calcu-
lated as a function of the embedment depth.
Table 1 Composition of concrete mixtures.

Materials Type Density [kg/m3]
0/4 mm 833
Aggregate 4/8 mm 463
8/16 mm 556
Cement CEM I 42.5 N 290
Water 196
Fibre 20/30/40/80
Viktor Hlavička and Éva Lublóy 73

2.2 Pull-out test

Our unconfined test setup is shown in Fig. 5. The loading device was a displacement controlled test
apparatus, which allowed the recording of residual stress after the failure. This setup enabled the for-
mation of all possible failure modes, the results were not affected by the geometry of the investigated
b
samples (thickness of the test member, critical edge, placing). The measurement setup was capable to
measure, record and show the applied load and related displacement of the anchors in real-time. The
perpendicular pin-joints ensured the centrality of the acting force. Two electronic transducers measured
the displacement, while three additional independent displacement transducers were used to record the
if
deformation of the surface. The load was measured by a calibrated load cell. The tests were carried out
in accordance with the instructions given in [9]. The support distance was greater than 4 hef.
Fig. 5 Arrangement of pull-out test.
2.3 Results of experiments

2.3.1 Compressive strength test
Compressive strength is the primary parameter for the determination of capacity of anchors. Uniaxial
compressive strength tests were carried out on concrete cubes. The results were evaluated in accordance
with [10] (Fig. 6).
60
Compressive concrete strenght
50
40
[N/mm2]
30
20
10
0
Fig. 6 Compressive concrete strength (N = concrete whithoute fibres).
Based on the results of the compressive strength tests, it is visible that in case of fibre type S1, at lower
fibre content values (20-40 kg/m3), compressive strength slightly increased with higher fibre contents,

but decrease of compressive strength occurs in case of 80 kg/m3 fibre content. This can be a result of
the higher air content and higher porosity caused by the addition and mixing of high amount of fibres.
Similar effects are visible in case of fibre type S2. Compressive strength increases due to the addition
of fibres, but at 80 kg/m3 fibre content, strength decreases. This decrease in strength is smaller in case
b
of fibre type S2, probably because of the geometry of the fibre: less air is bonded on the surface of the
smaller fibres, therefore porosity can be lower.
2.3.2 Pull-out test
if
During pull-out tests if our specimens, partial cone failure occurred in all cases. In case of normal
concretes load bearing capacity can be calculated by Eq. (1). The calculated and measured resistance
values are shown in Fig. 7 and Table 2.
40
Calculated Measured
35
Tensile resistance [kN]
30
25
20
15
10
Fig. 7 Calculated and measured tensile resistance of anchors.
Table 2 Increase in tensile resistance.

Mixture Calculated tensile re- Measured tensile Nmeasured/Ncalc.

sistance [kN] resistance [kN] [-]
N 25.014 24.780 0.99
S1_ 20 kg/m3 25.893 25.670 0.99
S1_ 30 kg/m3 26.216 25.820 0.98
S1_ 40 kg/m3 26.662 28.310 1.06
S1_ 80 kg/m3 24.058 29.433 1.22
S2_ 40 kg/m3 25.893 32.140 1.24
S2_80 kg/m3 26.216 35.433 1.35
Based on Fig. 7 it can be stated that in case of fibre type S1 and fibre content 20 and 30 kg/m3 there is
no difference between the measured and calculated resistance values. Meanwhile if 40 and 80 kg/m3
fibre content are applied, then resistance increases with increasing fibre content. This increase in re-
sistance is even more significant in case of fibre type S2, than in case of fibre type S1.
Based on the test results, effect of addition of steel fibres on the resistance of tensioned anchors is
visible only in case of fibre contents that are high enough. The reason for this is the different amount
of effective fibres as the most effective fibres are oriented perpendicularly to the cracks and in case of
lower fibre content less, while in case of higher fibre contents more fibres can be effectively activated.
A further statement can be that application of smaller steel fibres is more advantageous compared
to application of bigger fibres with same fibre content, because smaller fibres can have better
distribution in the concrete which can lead to higher amount of effective fibres.

3 Numerical modelling
During modelling, fibres can be taken into account mainly in two ways. In the first case, fracture energy
can be modified as addition of fibres increase the toughness of the material. This means that crack
b
bridging property of fibres increase the deformations that correspond to failure, therefore energy con-
sumption increases. This can be taken into account by increasing the original fracture energy by an
additional amount of energy caused by the activation of the fibres (Fig. 8) [11].
if
Fig. 8 Fracture energy of concrete and increase in fracture energy caused by the fibres [11].
Advantage of this method that computational time is not increased significantly and the material model
can be calibrated base on CMOD test results. Its disadvantage is that concrete is models as an isotropic
material, therefore orientation and distribution of fibres are not taken into account. We could see (based
on the test results) that these effects can be significant.
Another technique can be that fibres are directly modelled in a numerical model. In this case,
orientation and position of each fibre can be separately modelled. Fig. 9 shows a CT scan image, by
which single fibres can be modelled numerically.
Fig. 9 CT scan image of a fibre reinforced concrete block.
Disadvantage of this method is the required computational capacity. On the other hand, in this way
fibre orientation that is typically significant at the zones closer to the surfaces can be modelled and
examined. Therefore, anchors with smaller embedment depth can also me effectively analysed.
4 Conclusions
Our research mainly focuses on behaviour of post-installed anchors in fibre reinforced concrete (FRC)
mixtures. In our tests, two types of steel fibres were used as fibre reinforcement together with bonded
(epoxy resin) anchoring system. Results were evaluated and compared to the values given by the pro-
ducers for normal concretes.
Based on our results, it can be stated that addition of steel fibres can increase the compressive
strength, but decrease of compressive strength occurs in case of 80 kg/m3 fibre content.
Based on the pull-out test results:

in case of fibre type S1 and fibre content 20 and 30 kg/m3 there is no difference between the
measured and calculated resistance values, meanwhile if 40 and 80 kg/m3 fibre content are
applied, then resistance increases with incresing fibre content,
in case of fibre type S2 the increase in resistance is even more significant,
b
the effect of addition of steel fibres on the resistance of tensioned anchors is visible only in case
of fibre contents that are high enough.
The reason for this results is the different amount of effective fibres as the most effective fibres are
if
oriented perpendicularly to the cracks and in case of lower fibre content less, while in case of higher
fibre contents more fibres can be effectively activated. A further statement can be that application of
smaller steel fibres is more advantageous compared to application of bigger fibres with same fibre
content, because smaller fibres can have better distribution in the concrete which can lead to higher
amount of effective fibres.
During modelling, fibres can be taken into account mainly in two ways:
In the first case, fracture energy can be modified as addition of fibres increase the toughness of
the material. Advantage of this method that computational time is not increased significantly
and the material model can be calibrated base on CMOD test results. Its disadvantage is that
concrete is models as an isotropic material, therefore orientation and distribution of fibres are
not taken into account. We could see (based on the test results) that these effects can be signif-
icant.
Another technique can be that fibres are directly modelled in a numerical model. In this case,
orientation and position of each fibre can be separately modelled. Disadvantage of this method
is the required computational capacity. On the other hand, in this way fibre orientation that is
typically significant at the zones closer to the surfaces can be modelled and examined. There-
fore, anchors with smaller embedment depth can also me effectively analysed.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank Szabolcs Kovács-Sebestény (Fischer Hungary LPs.) for providing the nec-
essary anchors and dr. Salem Georges Nehme (Department of Construction Materials and Technology,
BUTE) for designing the concrete mixtures and for the fibres.
References
[1] Eligehausen, Rolf, Rainer Mallée, and John F. Silva. 2006. Anchorage in Concrete Construc-
tion. Ernst&Sohn, New Jersey.
[2] Eligehausen, Rolf, Isabelle Hofacker, and Steffen Lettow. 2001. “Fastening technique – current
status and future trends.” Paper presented at the International Symposium on Connections be-
tween Steel and Concrete, Stuttgart, Germany, September 10-12.
[3] Fuchs, Werner. 2001. “Evolution of fastening design methods.” Paper presented at the Interna-
tional Symposium on Connections between Steel and Concrete, Stuttgart, Germany, September
10-12.
[4] Fischer. 2010. Technical Handbook. Stuttgart: fischerwerke GmbH
[5] fib. 2010. fib Model Code 2010. Ernst&Sohn, New Jersey.
[6] Falkner, Horts. 1998. „Innovatives Bauen.” Betonwerk-Vertigteil-Technik 64:42-5.
[7] Li, Victor, and Mohamed Maalej. 1996 "Toughening in Cement Based Composites, Part I: Ce-
ment, Mortar and Concrete." Cement and Concrete Composites 18:223-237
[8] Balázs, György L., László Erdélyi. 1996. A beton szívósságának növelése acélszálakkal. Bu-
dapest: Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
[9] ETAG 001., 2006. Guideline for European Technical Approval of Metal Anchors for use in
concrete. Annex A: Details of test.
[10] EN 12390-3:2009 “Testing hardened concrete” Part 3: Compressive strength of test specimens.
Brussels: European Committee for Standardization.
[11] Sajdlová, Tereza, Radomír Pukl, Károly P. Juhász, Lóránt Nagy, and Péter Schaul. 2017. “Fibre
reinforced concrete constituvive laws for numerical simulation” Paper presented at The 12th
Central European Congress on Concrete Engineering, Tokay, Hungary, August 31 – Septem-
ber 1.

ifb

The effect of the setting accuracy on the load bearing

capacity of plate glass columns
b
András Jakab and Salem G. Nehme
if
3. Műegyetem rkp., Budapest-1111, Hungary
Abstract
The setting accuracy is a key issue in the research on the load bearing behaviour of columns especial-
ly if there are stability problems. Glass structures are more sensitive to the stability issues and engi-
neers have to design safer than other construction materials due to the rigid behavior of glass. More
than 240 small scaled I-shaped glass columns were loaded until fracture under laboratory conditions.
The lateral buckling was investigated based on the individual experimental procedure. The effect of
the skewness was analyzed in case of different glasses. The initial imperfection was approached by
numerical calculation that must be known for the designing. The present article contains recommen-
dations for the applicable limits.
1 Introduction
The glass structures are going to be more popular and safe. The glass cannot substitute the main load
bearing construction materials such as concrete, steel and wood. However, the demand for the load
bearing structures out of glass increases. In fact, the glass is the means of expression for exclusivity,
modernity and transparency. The aim of the authors is to make the glass columns designing method
safer and also cost-efficient.
Looking at the investigations concerning glass columns, the most significant results have been
developed over the last decades. Andreas Luible investigated the basic stability issues of glass struc-
tures [1], [2]. Belis et al. [3] determined the initial imperfection for glass columns that has to be ap-
plied as a designing parameter. The values L/400 and L/300 were recommended for the initial imper-
fections of heat strengthened glasses (HSG) and fully tempered glasses (FTG).
Belis et al. investigated the overall bow and the sinus wave values. Furthermore, the values of the
specimens were measured by a new measurement methodology next to the standardised method [4],
[5]. The buckling curves were investigated by Feldmann et al. [6] and Bedon et al. [7]. The applica-
tion of the buckling curves in case of glass columns are similar to the steel structures. Feldmann et al.
[8] summerized the glass materials and glass structures specalities e.g. the glass column design as a
guidance or rather support for the Eurocode standard.
2 Experimental test set-up and parameters

In order to study the buckling behaviour of glass columns laboratory experiments were carried out in
the Laboratory of Department of Construction Materials and Technologies. The small-scaled speci-
mens were tested by the Instron testing machine (Fig. 1). The scales of the geometry of specimens
(height, thickness, width) were selected based on existing glass columns from realized projects in
Hungary. The applied test parameters of glass specimens can be seen in Table 1.
Support: Height of fixing: 95 mm; rubber plate (Shore A 80) was applied between the steel
supports and the glass. The interlayer material was Ethylene-Vinyl-Acetate copolymer (EVA) foil in
thickness of 0.38 mm.
Simplified designations are used to distinguish between the studied specimens, these are e.g.
F_3(4.4.4)_2_1000_100_1:
H, F: Type of glass: H – HSG; F – non heat-treated float glass (annealed);
3(4.4.4): Number of glass layers ex.: 4.4.4 mm 3 pcs laminated glass layers;
2: The number of specimen;
1000: Nominate height of specimen [mm];
100 : Nominate width of specimen [mm];
0.5: Rate of loading [mm/min].

Table 1 The test parameters of the laboratory experiments.

Constants Variables Unit
b
test arrangement the type of glass annealed / HSG -
support type height of specimens 1000, 920, 840 mm
interlayer material number and thickness 8, 12, 19; 4.4, 6.6, 8.4, 8.8, 10.10; mm
of glass layers 4.4.4
if
polished edgework width of specimens 80; 100; 120 mm
temperature (+23°C) rate of loading 0.5; 1.0 mm/min
The loading force, the vertical and horizontal (at three different heights) displacements were continu-
ously measured. Strains at center point on the surface of the glass panels were measured with HBM
LY11-10/120 strain gauges. At least three specimens were tested at each testing combination that is
called glass groups. The loading ended at the fracture of the specimens.
Until today more than 240 specimens were tested, and more than 300 tests were carried out on
these glasses including every type of tests. The basic examination is the axial vertical compressive
tests until fracture with 216 tested specimens (Fig. 1). In case of 22 specimens, the compressive test
was repeated after the first test has been reached the buckling phenomenon. Compressive tests were
carried out on 5 skew specimens (36 tests). Laminated and unlaminated specimens were tested by the
basic compressive test (8 – pcs). Vertical specimens were loaded in horizontal direction at two dif-
ferent heights (4 pcs – 16 tests) as simply supported beam.
Fig. 1 Laboratory test set-up.
3 Buckling groups
Several important basic statements that were investigated earlier accompany the results of the whole
research. Characteristic curves are presented in Fig. 2. as loading force versus displacement (vertical,
horizontal and deformations) diagrams to study the laboratory experimental results. The curves are
categorized in three separate groups according to the numerous experimental results. Variation can be
noticed in case of loading force vs. horizontal displacement diagrams. The characterization of the
specimens depends on the stages of their loading history. The names of the stages are [9]:
First stable stage
Unstable stage
Second stable stage

The first buckling group contains all of the previously mentioned stages. In this group the highest
buckling forces were determined when compared to the results of other groups. Force reduction can
be observed from the diagram that shows the vertical displacement in relation to the buckling moment
(in Fig. 2). Specific buckling point cannot be determined in case of the second buckling group, the
b
unstable stage disappears and the buckling is gradual after a stable section. Only one stable stage can
be observed concerning the third buckling group. Therefore, the ultimate force that is equal with the
critical buckling force according to Euler, can be easily observed. However, the force at the moment
of the loss of stability cannot be determined [10].
if
Fig. 2 Loading histories of the classified specimens according to the buckling groups.
4 Effects of the experimentally test set-up on the stability loss

The point of the loss of stability is been especially difficult to determine in case of the second Buck-
ling group, if it is only recorded the horizontal displacement of the middle of the specimens. Never-
theless, it is very important to determine the level of the force due to the serviceability limit state.
Therefore, the three measured points of the horizontally displacements were compared to each other.
In Fig 3. can be seen that the loss of stability starts by a local phenomenon along the length of the
specimen. The decisive point of the loss of stability is the last local failure which is often not the
middle point of the specimens. In most cases the upper part of the specimens loses its local stability at
the last moment. In 72 % of the specimens the last loss of stability occurred on the upper part. Only in
6 % of the specimens they lost their stability in the middle of the glass while in 22 % of cases the
lower part of the glass specimens failed due to buckling.
Fig. 3 The loss of stability in case of the 1st buckling group (left) and 2nd buckling group (right)
in the three measurement points.
The results present the effect of the experimental test set-up. The moving part of the testing machine
was only the upper cross-head, the lower cross-head was fixed. Probably the close position of the
upper cross-head influenced the bearing capacity of the specimen, so that its upper part could keep the
local stability. However, this phenomenon is significant considering the classification of the specimen
into the three different buckling groups. Most of the movements spread form the top of the building
down to the foundation e.g. roof movements, wind pressure. If there is given the need for more re-
András Jakab and Salem G. Nehme 81

sistance due to stability issues, the glass columns can be strengthened partly at the upper third by
glass lamination.
b
5 Effect of the skewness
In general, the engineers strive to increase the load bearing capacity. Therefore, it is important to
elimnate the factors which cause reduction in the load bearing capacity before the structures are
strengthened by e.g. lamination. A relevant reduction factor is the setting accuracy that was investi-
if
gated with the changing of the skewness. Few amounts of the whole experimental process (4 speci-
mens) were tested at minimum four positions: Skew to left and right by fixed support as well as verti-
cal position by pinned and fixed support. The tests were stopped after the loss of stability. In several
cases the actual position was repeated to analyse the force reduction when the loss of stability occurs
at the moment of the loss of stability. The skewness of the specimens depended on their thicknesses
and their heights. Therefore, the range of the left or right skewness was between 0.62° (thicker and
higher specimens) 1.13° degrees.
Fig. 4. shows the loading forces at the the loss of stability, including the results of the repeated
tests, in comparison with the maximal loads in case of the tested specimens depending on the support
and the skewness of the glass plates. Fig. 4. (left) contains the results of the specimen
F_1(8)_4_840_80_05, the Fig. 4. (right) shows the results of the specimen H_2(4.4)_7_840_80_05.
Despite of the high standard deviation in the values of the force at the loss of stablity (based on the all
tests of specimens), force reduction can be observed. The repeated measurements were performed
nine times in the same position and the force at the stability loss decreased in two thirds of cases. The
mean of the force reduction at the loss of stability was 17 %. Without of the highest decrease the
mean reduction 11,5 %.
Fig. 4 The loading force of the loss of stability in case of 4states (skew to left and right by fixed
support, vertical position pinned support and fixed support) and the maximal load; left di-
agram: annealed glass single layer 8 mm thickness, right diagram HSG laminated consist-
ed two glass plate with 4 mm thickness.
To summarize, in the Fig. 4. can be seen the forces of the “1st tests” of the positions increased as a
result of the fixing and the vertical position. Because of the small amount of specimens an evaluation
of these results by percentages cannot be conducted to draw final conclusions.
6 Numerical approach of the loading history

The measured loading histories of the tested specimens were approached by the secondary effects [8]
that divides the horizontally displacement by the loading force, as in (1). The horizontal displacement
was only measured during the experimental period. Therefore, the initial imperfection had to be de-
ducted from the calculated result. The applicable fixing factor was difficult to determine due to the
elastic support in the fixing. Consequently, the maximal load was applied instead of the critical buck-
ling force. However, the maximal load is smaller than the critical buckling force because this value is
only available for ideal rods.
(1)
1

with
w – displacement of the middle point of specimen [mm]
w0 – the initial imperfection [mm]
N – loading force [N]
b
Ncr – critical buckling force, calculated by Euler formula [N]
The measured horizontal displacement was approached by the calculated displacement, so that results
of the calculation are on the safe side, as you can see in Fig. 5. The characteristic curves are only
if
flatter in case of the 3rd buckling group when compared to the 2nd buckling groups member.
Fig. 5 The loading histories and the approach of the secondary effect of a member from the 1st
(left) and the 2nd (right) buckling groups.
The applicable initial imperfection w0 was calculated for each tested specimen with the ratio of the
structural length and a numerical factor (e.g. w0=L/400). The calculation considering the secondary
effect shows a good correlation to the real horizontal displacement.
6.1 The effect of the fixed and pinned support on the initial imperfection
The analysed supports were not totally fixed or pinned because of the elastic rubber that is obligatori-
ly applied as in the construction side. Therefore, the half of the whole support length was deducted
from the specimen length to receive the structural length that is needed to considerate the secondary
effect within the calculations when applying a fixed support. In case of the pinned support the whole
length of the specimen was applied in the calculation.
The calculated initial imperfection can be reduced by four times with applying the fixed support
compared to the pinned version. The initial imperfection was calculated and averaged for each type of
glasses bearing in mind the experimental variables. Table 2 shows the differencies between the type
of support in the values of the initial imperfection w0 and its numerical factor. The individual maxi-
mal and minimal values were averaged and given as “Mean values” in the table. Moreover, the indi-
vidual maximal values are shown in the last column of table, based on more than 240 tested speci-
mens. Regarding the experimental research the stiffest support has to be formed.
Table 2 The effect of the fixed and pinned support on the initial imperfection and the numerical
factor.
Type of Factors Mean values Individual maximal
support Minimal Maximal values
Fixed w0 [mm] 1.13 1.17 4.50

Numerical factor 798 528 201
Pinned w0 [mm] 5.45 8.34 16.00
Numerical factor 183 120 53

6.2 The initial imperfections of the buckling groups

The buckling groups do not influence the maximal or ultimate load of the glass columns. However,
the loading histories entail significant changes depending on the type of the buckling group. There are
b
limits for the initial imperfection w0 for each glass type: annealed glass – L/2000; HSG – L/400 and
FTG – L/300 [1], [3], [6], [11]. In table 3 the statistical approach is presented. There is shown how
many specimens have initial imperfection that is below the limits given from the total number of
samples depending on the buckling groups and the heat strengthening effect.
Furthermore, table 3. contains the amount of the whole sample compared to the specimens that
if
are below the initial imperfection limits for the different glass types. The relation is additionaly given
in percentage. The number of the specimens that are below limits increase from the 1st buckling group
until the 3rd group, where the ratio reaches 85%. The table 3. does not contain the results of the spec-
imens using the pinned support, where the amount of the suitable specimens decreases. These results
also mean that it is more appropriate if the glass columns are designed from HSG due to the initial
imperfection limit. With regard to the safety of the structure, it is preferred if the applicable initial
imperfection limits are determinated based on the 3rd buckling group results, because there the least
values can be reached.
Table 3 The number of the specimens that are below of the initial imperfection limits given from
the total number of samples depending on the buckling groups and the heat strengthening.
Type of glass 1st buckling group 2nd buckling group 3rd buckling group Sum
Below the Sum Below the Sum Below the Sum Below Sum
limits limits limits the limits
Annealed 4 7 29 32 8 8 41 47
[pcs]
HSG [pcs] 0 5 6 22 9 12 15 39
Annealed [%] 57 91 100 87
HSG [%] 0 27 75 38
Sum [pcs] 4 12 35 54 17 20 56 86
Sum [%] 33 65 85 65
6.3 The recommended limits of the initial imperfection

It can be noticed that the limits of initial imperfections have to be determined based on the results of
the 3rd buckling group. Table 4 shows the maximal, minimal and mean values plus the standard devia-
tion of the numerical factors per buckling group depending on the type of heat strengthening. The
values that are below the limits are signed in red as bold numbers. Moreover, the table shows that
except of the limits of annealed glass the HSG values are suitable, based on the 3rd buckling group
with more than 400 results. In contrast, the limits of the annealed glass need to decrease.
Despite the conclusions of table 4, a statistical investigation showed that the initial geometrical
imperfection w0 limits of annealed glass and HSG must be reduced. All of groups were considered in
the calculation to obtain a larger quantity results. The initial geometrical imperfection limits were
determined for 10 % quantile instead of 5 % because the latter general quantile results very small
limit values to optimize the cost-efficient aspects as well. The determined (recommended) initial
geometrical imperfection limit value is L/500 for annealed glass (based on 77 pcs specimens with
fixed support), and L/300 for HSG (based on 67 pcs specimens with fixed support). Moreover, the
original limit values mean about 80 % quantiles for annealed glass and 30 % quantiles for HSG.

Table 4 The numerical factors of the initial imperfection depending on the buckling groups and
the heat strengthening.
Buckling groups Type of glass Numerical factors of the initial imperfection
b
Max Min Mean Standard devia-
tion
1st Annealed 14900 411 3374 5683
if
HSG 1131 754 930 190
2nd Annealed 2828 383 1056 618
HSG 1444 318 687 325
3rd Annealed 1207 245 652 278
HSG 1293 221 459 303
6.4 The measured and the calculated initial imerpfections

The real and the calculated initial imperfections are quite distinct, as it is presented in table 5. In the
measurement methodology according to [12] it was only measured the overall bow of the specimens.
The negative result means that the measured overall bow was larger compared to the calculated initial
imperfection. The differencies are not that large if the maximal difference is compared to the values
of the international literature which recommends to add 3.0 mm to the limit values e.g. due to the
uncertainity of the setting accuracy (e.g. L/400+3.0mm). It is obvious that these applied values are too
high in aspect of the cost efficiency. Therefore, the additional values are not necessary to the recom-
mended limits of the initial imperfection (L/500; L/300). However, due to the uncertainty it is rec-
ommended but less than 3.0 mm.
Table 5 Differencies between the measured and calculated initial imperfections.
Type of glass The differencies of the initial imperfections [mm]
Max Min Mean Standard deviation

Annealed 1.576 -0.105 0.648 0.492
HSG 2.597 -0.015 0.875 0.722
7 Conclusions
The application of load bearing structures out of glass depends on the demand, the safe design method
and the cost-efficiency. The main goal of the authors was to present proposals for improvements of
designing parameters and factors.
In earlier studies conducted by the authors the experimentally tested specimens were classified in-
to different buckling groups based on the typical loading histories. The beginning of the loss of stabil-
ity has to be known regarding the serviceability limit state design, but in most of cases this decisive
point cannot be find in the middle of the specimens. The position of the entire stability failure of the
specimen depends on the experimental test set-up. In more than two-thirds of cases the entire loss of
stability occurred in the upper part of the specimen. The extra lamination of the upper third can in-
crease the buckling resistance, if the strengthening is necessary for the design.
The effects of the support and the setting accuracy are significant. More than 10 % force reduc-
tion at the loss of stability could occur if a plate column has a difference 1° degree from the vertical,
based on the small scaled experimental research. This phenomenon confirms the importance of the
setting accuracy of the glass structures that are built on-site.
As far as possible fixed support has to be applied in case of these glass columns because the ini-
tial imperfection can be reduced even four times, based on a numerical approach of the secondary
effect. The result of the buckling group effect on the initial imperfection shows that it is more appro-
priate if the glass columns are designed from HSG due to the initial imperfection limit. Considering

the safety, it is preferred if the applicable initial imperfection limits are determined based on the
results of the 3rd buckling group. The limit values of the numerical factors of the initial imperfection
must be reduced to L/500 in case of annealed glass and L/300 in case of HSG next to 10 % quantiles.
Considering the safety, the present designing method recommends plus 3.0 mm to the calculated
b
initial geometrical imperfection. Further investigation is required about the application of this safety
factor.
8 Acknowledgements
if
The euthors express their gratitude to Rákosy Glass Ltd. for providing the specimens. The authors are
thankful to the Department of Construction Materials and Technologies, BME for the technical sup-
port. The distortion measurement support is gratefully acknowledged to Balázs Petróczi, who is CAD
Development engineer of Salgglas Ltd.
9 References
[1] Luible, Andreas. 2004. “Stabilitat von Tragelementen aus Glas.“ PhD diss.,These EPFL 3014,
Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne.
[2] Luible, Andreas. 2005. “Plate Buckling of Glass Panels.” GPD – Glass Performance Days,
Tampere, Finland.
[3] Belis, Jan, Danijel Mocibob, Andreas Luible, and Marc Vandebroek. 2011. “On the size and
shape of initial out-of-plane curvatures in structural glass components.” Construction and
Building Materials 25:2700–2712.
[4] CEN. 2012. EN 1863-1:2012 Glass in building – Heat strengthened soda lime silicate glass –
Part 1: Definition and description. Brussels: CEN.
[5] CEN. 2013. EN 572-2:2013 Glass in building – Basic soda lime silicate glass products – Part
2: Float glass. Brussels: CEN.
[6] Feldmann, Markus and Katharina Langosch. 2010. “Buckling resistance and buckling curves
of pane-like glass columns with monolithic sections of heat strengthened and tempered glass.”
Conference on Architectural and Structural Applications of Glass, Delft, Netherlands:
Challenging Glass 2, pp. 319-330.
[7] Bedon, Chiara, and Claudio Amadio. 2016. “Design buckling curves for glass columns and
beams.” Structures and Buildings 168(7):514–526.
[8] Feldmann, Markus and Ruth Kasper. 2014. Guidance for European Structural Design of
Glass Components; Support to the Implementation, harmonization and further development of
the Eurocodes. Italy: European Comission, Joint Research Centre. ISSN 1831-9424
[9] Jakab, Andras, Kinga Nehme, and Salem G. Nehme. 2015. “Laboratory Experiments of Cen-
trally Loaded Glass Columns.” GPD – Glass Performances Days. Tampere, Finland, ISBN:
978-952-5836-03-5, pp. 117-121.
[10] Jakab, Andras, Kinga Nehme, and Salem G. Nehme. 2015. “Stability Questions of Centrally
Loaded Glass Columns,” METNET Annual Seminar in Budapest, Hungary, 8-17.
[11] Amadio, Claudio and Chiara Bedon. 2012. “Buckling Verification of Laminated Glass ele-
ments in Compression.” JCES 1(3):90–101.
[12] Jakab, Andras, Kinga Nehme, and Salem G. Nehme. 2016. “Classification of „I“-shaped glass
columns.” Procedia Engineering 164:180–187.


Małgorzata Krystek, Leszek Szojda and Marcin Górski
b
Department of Structural Engineering,
Faculty of Civil Engineering,
if
Akademicka Street 5, Gliwice 44-100, Poland
Abstract
Nowadays scientists from all over the world are in a continuous quest for improving the performance
of cementitious composites. One of the recent trends for enhancing the microstructure of cement paste
and thus its mechanical behaviour involves the application of nanotechnology. Although several
studies proved that the addition of nano-particles can enhance the performance of cementitious com-
posites, the development of guidelines for designing structural elements made of new material should
be preceded by establishment of the material model, which could be implemented in FEM software to
perform numerical analyses of the elements. Here we present numerical modelling of cement-
graphene composite. The main aim of the numerical analyses was to adapt existing material models
for cementitious materials to modelling cement mortar elements reinforced with graphene.
1 Introduction
Concrete, as the most consumed synthetic material, is being continuously studied by numerous re-
searchers worldwide. However, the major limitation of cementitious materials is still their quasi-
brittle nature leading to high vulnerability to cracking and therefore to the exposure to damaging
environmental impacts.
One of the possible solutions for enhancing the microstructure of cement paste and thus its me-
chanical behaviour involves the application of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology can be characterized
as the seeing, understanding, control and manipulation of materials at nanoscale to create new multi-
functional materials with improved properties and performance [1], [2]. Nano-engineering - one of
the main expressions used extensively regarding the application of nanotechnology in concrete struc-
tures - deals with the nano-level modification of concrete structure to obtain high performance com-
posites with novel, controllable properties, namely high strength and durability, limitation of cracking
or self-sensing, self-cleaning and self-healing capabilities [1]. One of the main trends in nano-
engineering is introducing nanoparticles and nano-reinforcement into concrete. Non-carbon particles,

such as nano-silica, nano-titania, nano-iron oxide, nano-alumina or nano-clay particles, and carbon
nanomaterials, including carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide can be distinguished. The addition of
nano-silica (nano-SiO2) promotes the pozzolanic reaction and results in more uniform and compact
concrete structure by reducing its porosity and filling the voids of C-S-H gel hydrates [3]-[5]. Cement
paste with nano-SiO2 is characterized by increased permeability to water [4] and higher compressive
strength, especially at the early stages of cement hardening [3]. The addition of nano-iron oxide
(nano-Fe2O3) can also result in the increase of the cement composite strength and the improvement of
its microstructure [6]. Nano-TiO2 (nano-titania) has been proven to enhance the compressive and
flexural strength and increase the modulus of elasticity. Nano-titania enables self-cleaning properties
of concrete [1], [7]. The studies on concrete incorporating nano-alumina (nano-Al2O3) [8], [9] indi-
cates that the addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles improve the pore structure of concrete and enhance not
only the compressive strength, but also the modulus of elasticity. Nano-clays, such as nano-
metakaolin or nano-montmorillonite, can, for instance, act as a promotor in hydration process, result
in the densification of the concrete microstructure and improve the composite strength [10], [11].
Special attention was paid to research conducted with the use of carbon nanotubes, which can greatly
influence the microstructure of composite resulting in particularly high stiffness and high compressive
and flexural strength. Carbon nanotubes decrease the porosity of cement mortar enhancing the pore
size distribution, improve the electrical resistivity and the pressure-sensitivity properties [12]-[14].
Described as a single, planar, two-dimensional honey-comb lattice carbon layer [15], graphene
possesses the unprecedented mechanical properties [16], which makes graphene one of the most


promising nanomaterials for construction applications. Although several studies proved that the addi-
tion of nano-particles, including also graphene derivates [17]-[19] can enhance the microstructure and
properties of cementitious composites, the studies were focused mostly on the alternations of the
microstructure and composition of composites, as well as the preliminary laboratory tests of the me-
b
chanical properties performed in the uniaxial stress state. Noteworthy, the development of guidelines
for designing structural elements made of new material should be preceded by establishment of the
material model, which could be implemented in FEM software to perform numerical analyses of the
elements. The development of a new material model is a highly complex task requiring extensive
if
laboratory tests and numerical simulations.
Here we present numerical modelling of cement-graphene composite. Mechanical properties of
cement mortars incorporating electrochemically exfoliated graphite were previously investigated at
the Silesian University of Technology. Composite with 0.05 wt.% dosage of graphene, which proved
to be the most beneficial, has emerged as a material with enhanced microstructure and, especially,
mechanical properties. The main aim of the numerical analyses presented in this paper was to adapt
existing material models for cementitious materials to modelling cement mortar elements reinforced
with graphene. Numerical calculations were performed in Atena software on the basis of laboratory
tests of the uniaxial compressive strength.
2 Laboratory tests
Numerical analyses were based on the laboratory tests performed previously at the Silesian University
of Technology. Mechanical tests were conducted on the graphene-cement composite made of Port-
land cement type I (Gorazdze S. A., product data sheet available on
https://www.gorazdze.pl/pl/cement_premium), distilled water, sand and graphene obtained by elec-
trochemical exfoliation of graphite foil. The water-to-cement ratio and the sand-to-cement ratio were
of 0.5 and 3.0, respectively. The dosage of graphene was equal to 0.05 wt.% (solid dosage and by
weight of cement). Cement was stirred with graphene prior to adding water and then mixing proce-
dure from PN-EN 196-1:2005 was adopted. Samples were demoulded after 24 h and afterwards cured
in water.
Mechanical tests were performed after 28 days on cylindrical samples with the diameter of 61 mm
and the height of 120 mm. Five samples were exploited to the uniaxial compressive strength test. The
tests were performed using MEGA 3-3000-100 compressive strength tester (Form+Test Prüfsysteme)
at a loading rate of 0.5 kN/s. Four linear strain gauges with the gauge factor of 2.13 (PFL-30-11,
Tokyo Sokki) were attached to each sample to measure axial and transverse strain to calculate the
Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio. In addition, the uniaxial tensile strength tests were performed
using ZD 10-90 tensile strength tester (Hecker) at a loading rate of 1.0 kN/m. The results of the com-
pressive strength tests are presented in Table 1. The Young’s modulus for stress equal to 40% of the
uniaxial compressive strength was of 28.90 GPa, the Poisson’s ratio was determined as 0.2 and the
uniaxial tensile strength as 5.0 MPa.
Table 1 The results of uniaxial compression tests.

Specimen Failure force [kN] Uniaxial compressive strength [MPa]
C-1 -144.98 -49.65
C-2 -124.57 -42.66
C-3 -121.65 -41.66
C-4 -135.52 -46.41
C-5 -134.82 -46.17
Average -132.31 -45.31
3 Numerical analyses
Numerical analyses were performed in GiD 12.0.7 and Atena Studio v5 software. The main aim of
the numerical simulations was to examine the applicability of the existing cementitious material

models available in the aforementioned software in the numerical modelling of cement-graphene

elements.
Cement mortar specimens were defined each time as volumes – cylinders with the diameter of 61
mm and the height of 120 mm. The material model called CC3DNonLinCementitious2User available
b
in Atena software was adopted in this study to demonstrate the behaviour of analysed specimens. The
CC3DNonLinCementitious2User material model is the combination of plastic behaviour in compres-
sion and fracturing behaviour in tension. The fracture model employs Rankine failure criterion and
exponential softening. Moreover, the hardening/softening plasticity model was determined on the
if
basis of Menétrey-William failure surface. In addition, these two models can be embodied separately
[20].
In addition, two plates, with defined SOLID Elastic material model, of the thickness of 0.5 mm
were introduced at the upper and lower surface of the sample to allow the uniform distribution of the
loads and supports in the model. The contact between the mortar sample and the elastic plates were
settled as fixed. The load in all samples were defined as increasing displacement with one interval of
0.1 mm. Five intervals divided into 50 steps were determined in interval data. The increasing dis-
placement was applied at the upper surface of the top plate, while the lower surface of the bottom
plate was fixed in all directions. The mesh was a structured mesh with triangle and tetrahedra ele-
ments with the size of 0.006 m. Two monitor points were defined in the model to follow the internal
forces and displacement in Z direction. The numerical model with its geometry, loads, support and
contact conditions, as well as mesh is presented in Figure 1.
Fig. 1 Left: the geometry, loads, support and contact conditions of the model. Right: the mesh of
the model.
The values of the Young’s modulus, the Poisson’s ratio and the tensile strength remained fixed during
the whole analysis, whereas the values of the uniaxial compressive were amended several times dur-
ing the analyses and the calculations were conducted until the failure load from the numerical model
was equal to the corresponding value from the laboratory tests.
Małgorzata Krystek, Leszek Szojda and Marcin Górski 89


According to the iterative analysis performed in Atena Software, the average uniaxial compressive
strength considering the failure forces obtained from the laboratory tests is equal to -46.08 MPa. The
b
exact results for all samples can be found in Table 2. The average value obtained from the experi-
mental tests amounted to -45.31 MPa. In comparison to the laboratory tests, the average results from
Atena software differs by 1.70%. It is worth to note that the higher strength of the sample, the lesser
difference between the results obtained from numerical analyses and laboratory tests. For the lowest
value of the compressive strength (41.66 MPa in laboratory tests) the divergence was equal to 2.35%,
if
whereas for the highest value (49.65 MPa in laboratory tests) it amounted to 1.05 MPa.
The maps of stresses and displacements preceding failure are plotted in Figure 2 and 3, respec-
tively.
Table 2 The results of the numerical simulations of uniaxial compression test in comparison with
the laboratory tests results.
Specimen Uniaxial compres- Uniaxial compres- The ratio between
sive strength from sive strength from the strength from
numerical simula- laboratory tests numerical simula-
tions [MPa] [MPa] tions and laboratory
tests [%]
C-1 -50.17 -49.65 101.05
C-2 -43.39 -42.66 101.71
C-3 -42.64 -41.66 102.35
C-4 -47.17 -46.41 101.64
C-5 -47.03 -46.17 101.86
Average -46.08 -45.31 101.70
Fig. 2 The maps of stresses preceding failure of compressed sample. Left: SXX stresses. Right:
SZZ stresses.

Fig. 3
ifb
The map of displacement preceding failure of compressed sample. Left: displacement in
X direction. Right: displacement in Z direction.
Conclusion
The numerical simulations of laboratory compressive strength tests of cement-graphene composites
were presented in this paper. The FEM analyses were executed using GiD 12.0.7 and Atena Studio v5
software. The basis of the numerical modelling were uniaxial compressive strength tests conducted at
the Silesian University of Technology. An attempt of adaptation of the existing material models
available in GiD and Atena software for FEM analyses of cement mortar incorporating graphene was
made in this study.
The average value of the uniaxial compressive strength determined during numerical simulations
in Atena amounted to -46.08 MPa and that was 1.70% more than the value obtained from laboratory
tests. The divergence is considered negligible thus making the available concrete material model
suitably for modelling the uniaxial compression tests of cementitious composites reinforced with
graphene.
The main aim of the continuing research conducted at the Silesian University of Technology is
the determination of the material model for novel cement-graphene composites. The appropriate
material model for new material is highly important in terms of the numerical analyses necessary for
designing structural elements. The next stage of the project should involve the laboratory tests in the
triaxial compression device leading to determination of the boundary surface meridians. The results
reported in this study indicate that the future cement-graphene material model may be introduced to
GiD and Atena software.
Acknowledgements
The research was performed in the framework of the BKM-504/RB6/2017 project.
Małgorzata Krystek, Leszek Szojda and Marcin Górski 91

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Lowering environmental impact from ultra high

performance concrete, utilizing industrial by-products
b
Ingrid Lande Larsen, Rein Terje Thorstensen and Katalin Vertes
Department of Engineering Sciences,

University of Agder,
if
Jon Lilletunsvei 9, 4879 Grimstad, Norway
Abstract
Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) is a material having some properties superior to ordinary
concrete, such as strength and durability. Production of UHPC often includes large amount of cement,
leading to high cost and environmental footprint. This study aimed at demonstrating the potential of
reducing both cost and environmental impact from production of UHPC, by reducing cement content
through substitution with inert materials. Locally available industrial by-products were utilized as ag-
gregates, as another mean to reduce cost and environmental impact. It has been proven possible to
substitute 40% of the cement with inert materials, without significantly reducing the compressive
strength. It has also been demonstrated how different superplasticizers strongly influence properties of
UHPC, and hence must be controlled in experiments aiming solely at measuring effects of variations
in cement content.
1 Introduction
Concrete has remained by far the most commonly used building material for decades. However, con-
crete industry is commonly accepted to produce 5-8% of the global CO2 emissions. This is mostly due
to the production of cement, understood as Portland clinker [1], [2].
A variety of industrial by-products has shown to be chemically active, able to not only successfully
substitute Portland clinker as binder in concrete, but also improving qualities of concrete [3]. Such
materials are often referred to as “Pozzolanic binders”, due to that special hardening process.
Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) is emerging as an advanced cementitious material with
high strength and durability properties [4], [5]. UHPC is suitable for substituting ordinary concrete for
some purposes and at the same time reducing cost and environmental impact [6]. Development of ma-
terial science, design rules, and application examples are rapidly ascending. Reasons for this are multi-
ple, including the struggle to reduce environmental impact from construction. UHPC is also expected
to reduce the weight of structures, still retaining the desirable properties of concrete.
Traditionally, production of UHPC includes a large amount of binders. It might seem as if a practice
of high binder content has emerged, without always putting effort into minimizing the binder content.
UHPC is typically characterized by high cement content and low water content, leading to large
amounts of unhydrated cement in the hardened product [7]. Particles of unhydrated cement have high
compressive strength, and will consequently work as filler in the particle skeleton. However, using
cement as filler represents both waste of resources, unnecessary environmental load, and high cost.
Recently, several investigations on UHPC has been published, where high amounts of cement have
successfully been substituted with pozzolanic binders, e.g. [8] and [9]. This will certainly reduce the
environmental footprint. However, it is questionable whether these high amounts of pozzolanic binders
will be able to react as binders, due to lack of other reactants. If pozzolanic materials remain as particles
in the concrete, the cement might rather be substituted with inert materials having a lower cost.
2 Research question and significance

Based on the assumption that UHPC often contains high amounts of unreacted particles from cement
and pozzolanic binders, this investigation aimed at demonstrating the potential for partly substituting
cement in UHPC with an inert material having the same morphology. The substituting material was
expected to replace unreacted binder particles in the particle skeleton, without reducing the creation of
the calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) phases in hardened UHPC.


Cement is expensive, constituting price as one barrier towards the widespread application of UHPC.
Hence, from a cost perspective, it would be favourable to reduce the content of cement. The potential
for substitution of cement by pozzolanic binders has been successfully demonstrated by several re-
searchers. However, the cost of pozzolanic binders is often higher than that of cement, making this
b
substitution irrelevant from a cost perspective.
CO2 emissions from the production of cement is high. Pozzolanic binders are often by-products
from other industrial processes. Even if the industrial processes in which the pozzolanic by-products
are created cause CO2 emissions, this environmental load is usually allocated to the primary product.
if
The by-product is thus considered to be carbon neutral. Hence, according to standardized LCA-models,
substituting cement with pozzolanic binders will lower carbon footprint. However, as by-products are
established as commercial products, the LCA-model should be altered to distributing the CO2-burden
between the primar product and the now commercialized by-product – corresponding to the distribution
of economic surplus.
If the pozzolanic materials remain as particles in the hardened UHPC, the cement might rather be
substituted with an inert material. Pozzolanic materials should then be spared to replace cement in sit-
uations where the binding properties are utilized. Hence, also from an environmental perspective, sub-
stituting cement with the inert material is favourable – and more favourable than substituting with poz-
zolanic binders, even if the latter is not visualized through today’s LCA-models.
Reducing cost and environmental impact will contribute to further widespread of UHPC.
3 Materials and methods
3.1 Experimental design

A reference mix for UHPC was composed, utilizing surplus sand from local production of machined
gravel, as aggregate. This aggregate was included “as is”, without manipulating particle size distribu-
tion to optimize properties of UHPC through particle packing. Controlling particle packing is an essen-
tial step for optimizing properties of UHPC, however not the scope of this investigation. It is also un-
desirable from a cost perspective.
To obtain the high performance properties characterizing UHPC, it is generally accepted that the
water content must be kept low; typically having water/binder ratio (W/B-ratio) of 0.2 [4].
Other characteristics of UHPC are keeping particle size down, and use large amounts of microsilica
(MS) [10]. Achieving workability at these low water levels in mixtures exclusively containing fine
particles, is only achievable through high dosages of superplasticisers (SP) [10].
To reduce variations due to choose of SP, a limited investigation was performed on impact of dif-
ferent brands of SP commercially offered. Four different brands (MAP1-4) were tested in the reference
UHPC-mix. Dosages were chosen on basis of earlier investigations, and are shown in Table 1. The
resulting average level and in-series variability of compressive strength were taken as indicators for
selecting which SP to use in the main investigation; striving for highest level and lowest in-series var-
iation. All series include three test specimens.
Table 1 Superplasticizers.
Material Properties Solid content Density SP/C-ratio Dry mass in
[%] [g/cm3] [%] mix [kg/ m3]
MAP1 Modified acrylic polymers 19.5 1.05 5.4 % 8.1
As a third indicator for identifying the best performing SP, a visual control of specimen surfaces was
applied. The level of entrapped air is influenced by workability. The vital point is to keep the content
of entrapped air low and stable. It is anticipated that content of entrapped air is revealed also in the
quality of the surfaces of specimens.

Lowering environmental impact from ultra high performance concrete, utilizing industrial by-products
After concluding on the choice of SP, five mixes were composed, by stepwise substitution of ce-
ment with an ultrafine, inert filler (UF): 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% by mass, compared to that of the
reference mix. All other variables were kept constant through all mixes; MS, W/B-ratio, aggregate,
retarder, and SP. W/B-ratio was kept 0,29 for all mixes, leading to different amounts of added water
b
corresponding to the reduction of binder content. The W/B-ratio was kept relatively high, (and higher
than that for evaluating brand of SP) to get acceptable workability even for the mixes containing least
water. Table 2 shows the reference mix and the four substitution mixes (R1-5), investigated in the study.
if
Table 2 UHPC mix designs.
ID Substitution OPC UF A MS SP R W W/B

level
% kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3 -
R1
(ref) 0 766.3 0 1204.3 191.7 41,4 0.77 239.7 0.29
R2 10 689.7 76.7 1204.3 191.7 41,4 0.69 220.3 0.29
R3 20 613.0 153.3 1204.3 191.7 41,4 0.61 201.3 0.29
R4 30 536.3 230.0 1204.3 191.7 41,4 0.54 182.0 0.29
R5 40 436.0 306.7 1204.3 191.7 41,4 0.46 163.0 0.29
OPC – Ordinary Portland cement, UF – Ultrafine inert filler, MS – Microsilica, A- crushed sand, SP
– Superplasticizer (MAP3), R – Retarder (R/C=0.1%), W – Water, W/B – Water-to-binder-ratio
3.2 Materials
Table 3 shows the materials used. UF is a filter harvested dust, which is collected in the cleaning process
from production of gravel. All materials are locally available.
Table 3 Material specification.
Material Characteristics
Ordinary Portland cement Rapid hardening Portland cement, CEM I 52,5 N
Microsilica (MS) Undensified silica fume SiO2>90%, D0.45<1.5%
Ultrafine filler (UF) Filter harvest (dust) from production of gravel

Aggregate (A) Surplus sand from local production of machined gravel, fraction 0-2
mm
Retarder (R) Based on sodium gluconate, 20 % dry content
Superplasticizer (MAP3) Modified acrylic polymers, 18,5 % dry content
The particle size distribution (PSD) of the cement (OPC) and the ultrafine inert filler (UF) used to
substitute cement, is shown in Fig. 1. The two materials are close to identical in particle size distribu-
tion. The PSD for MS is shown to have D50 around 1/100 of that of OPC and UF. The PSD for all
materials are determined by laser diffraction.
Ingrid Lande Larsen, Rein Terje Thorstensen and Katalin Vertes 95

Particle distribution curve [%]

8
7
6
b
5
4
3
if
2
1
0
0,01 0,1 1 10 100 1000
Particle size [µm]
Ordinary Portland cement Ultrafine Filler Microsilica
Fig. 1 Particle size distribution obtained by laser diffraction of the used Cement (OPC), Ultrafine
inert filler (UF) used to substitute cement, and lastely the Microsilica (MS) (having the
smallest particle size).
3.3 Mixing procedure

The UHPC was mixed in a planetary mixer (according to ASTM C305 [11]) at standard laboratory
condition. For each batch, three litres of UHPC was mixed, using the following procedure:
1. Mixing all dry constituents for 30 seconds at low speed
2. Adding water, superplasticizer and retarder
3. Mixing for 30 seconds at low speed
4. Stopping the mixer for 90 seconds
5. Mixing for two minutes at medium speed
6. Mixing for 15 to 30 seconds at high speed
3.4 Mechanical properties

The UHPC was cast in cubes of 50 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm, by filling the forms halfway, manually
compacting with ten strokes, completing filling, and finally compacting manually with another ten
strokes. All specimens where demoulded 18 hours after casting. The test specimens were cured for 48
hours at 90 degrees Celsius in water bath. Testing of compressive strength was performed by ASTM
C109/C109M [12].
4 Experimental results and discussion
4.1 Impact of variations in superplasticizer

The scope of the experiment was to investigate the impact on compressive strength when cement was
gradually substituted with an inert material. However, air is always entrapped in UHPC, heavily influ-
encing the compressive strength of specimens. The amount of entrapped air is closely associated to the
workability of the fresh UHPC because variations in workability influence the quality of placement of
UHPC in moulds. If the amount of entrapped air in hardened specimens is varying, changes in com-
pressive strength cannot be claimed to be sole results of different cement content.
Producers of SP claim that different brands have an unequal impact on fresh and hardened proper-
ties, even when all are based on modified acrylic copolymers.
Impacts of alternative brands of SP were investigated, based on the assumption that different brands
work differently in UHPC. The SP best fitted for this investigation, was identified by specimens having
the highest average value in compressive strength and simultaneously lowest in-series variability. Re-
sults are shown in Fig. 2.

160
Compressive strength [MPa]

140
b
120
100
80
if
60
40
20
0
MAP1 MAP2 MAP3 MAP4
Fig. 2 Average results and in-series variability in compressive strength, for 50 mm x 50 mm x 50

mm cubes for the reference recipe using four different superplasticizers. In-series variability
is characterized by standard deviation (SD), indicated on top of each column.
The average level of compressive strength varies up to 5.3% between series. Serie with MAP3 have the
highest resulting compressive strength; 155.4 MPa. For evaluating brands of SP, the W/B-ratio was
0.23 leading to higher compressive strength than for the test results in Fig. 4.
The standard deviations between series are in the range 0.4 – 5.2, again leaving MAP3 as the one
giving the best result.
As a third indicator for low and stable content of entrapped air, a visual inspection of the specimen
surfaces was applied. In contradiction to average level and in-series variation of compressive strength,
visual inspection of surfaces is a qualitative measure; only ranged – not quantified. Fig. 3 shows photos
of the specimen surfaces. Also, this indicator concludes that MAP3 has the best result.
Fig. 3 Photos of specimen surfaces resulting from the use of four different SPs (MAP1-4) in the
same UHPC mix (R1), for visual evaluation of content of entrapped air.
The chemistry regarding SP is complicated, and it is not unambiguously that variations in compressive
strength is fully explained by the content of the entrapped air. However, porosity is known to influence
compressive strength, and visual inspections of surfaces indicate that this is at least a part of the expla-
nation. The importance of keeping such variation under control is demonstrated, e.g., in [2].
Both average level of compressive strength, in-series variations and visual apparent entrapped air
identify MAP3 to be the best fit for this project. Conclusively, MAP3 was used in all mixes for the
main investigation on the impact of cement substitution.

4.2 Impact on mechanical properties, from cement substitution

Following the fundamental work of Power and Brownyard [13], w/c-ratio above 0.42 is required for all
cement to theoretically be able to hydrate. Thus, UHPC – being partly defined by having w/c-ratio far
b
below this value, will comprise unhydrated cement particles in the hardened product.
The aggregate phase of conventional concrete is normally dominated by particles in the size range
2-30 mm. UHPC is typically constituted exclusively by particles <2 mm. A thin layer of water (2-3
molecules thick) is physically adsorbed on all surfaces, making this water unavailable for cement hy-
dration. The specific surface of particle materials grows exponentially inversely proportional with par-
if
ticle size. Thus, the share of water in UHPC being available for cement hydration can be anticipated
significantly less than that in ordinary concrete. High dosages of MS strengthen this effect, as MS
particles are very small – in the range of 1/100 of the smallest of other particles present (Fig. 1). Further
strengthening the water adsorbing mechanism is that MS usually is not in the state of «saturated, surface
dry» (SSD), which usually aggregate is in controlled laboratory experiments. Thus, the aggregate will
compete with cement hydration on available water.
Conclusively, a considerable share of cement particles can be expected to remain unhydrated in
hardened UHPC. These cement particles will still contribute to strength and durability, due to their
strength and role in particle packing [7]. A dense and strong particle skeleton is vital for strength and
durability of UHPC [14].
Cement particles have normally higher compressive strength than the calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-
S-H) created from both cement hydration and pozzolanic reactions [7], constituting the «glue» in con-
crete. The size of cement particles is smaller than most other particles present in concrete, making them
valuable members of a dense particle skeleton. Conclusively, the presence of unhydrated cement parti-
cles in hardened UHPC is advantageous for strength and durability. However, it is disadvantageous for
cost and environment.
The scope of this study is to investigate the potential for substituting cement with an inert material,
having low cost and environmental impact. Hence, when aiming at substituting cement without chang-
ing its role in particle packing, it is vital that the substituting material has as close to the morphology
of the substituted material as possible. The substituting material used in this investigation is dust from
the crushing of stone, harvested in filters for air cleaning. The PSD of this material is near identical to
that of cement, as visualized in Fig. 1.
Cement was partly substituted stepwise by 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% (by mass). The resulting re-
duction of compressive strength was measured to be limited within the range of 10%, according to Fig.
4 (left).
Fig. 4 Left: Measured values for compressive strength during up to 40% cement substitution.
Right: Compressive strength calibrated for variations in air entrapped in specimens.

Achieving only 10% reduction in compressive strength when substituting up to 40% of the cement by
an inert material, demonstrates high potential for economic and environmental gaining. However, it
remains unexplained why the reduction in compressive strength for 40% substitution is less (5%) than
for 30% substitution (9%).
b
The density of all specimens was measured before measuring compressive strength. The workabil-
ity of the fresh UHPC varied through the levels of cement substitution. Variations in workability might
influence placing of mortar in moulds, leading to more air voids entrapped as a consequence of low
workability. Variations in density between specimens from different series (R1-R5) can be considered
if
a measure on variations in the entrapped air. As shown in Fig. 4 (left), the amount of entrapped air was
found to increase up to 2.4% of specimen mass, compared to the reference mix R1.
Entrapped air in concrete is known to reduce compressive strength significantly. A conservative
estimate is that each 1% entrapped air reduce compressive strength by 3%. Fig. 4 (right) shows the
resulting compressive strength when this model is applied to the measured results. The procedure of
calibrating compressive strength due to variations in entrapped air, is corresponding to that utilized in
[2]. When calibrated for variations in amount of entrapped air, the impact on compressive strength is
found to be less than 3%, when up to 40% of cement is substituted with an inert material.
Still, there are some unexplained variations in results, where the impact of 40% cement substitution
seems to be slightly less than from 20% to 30% substitution. However, the number of test specimens in
the series are small, and small variations might be caused by uncertainty in the method. Variations in
results due to uncertainty should not be understood as significant impact of variations designed in the
experiment.
A very simplified statistical handling is applied: The largest in-series deviation from average com-
pressive strength is 8%. Hence, results varying less than 8% should not be understood as statistically
significant. In Fig. 4 (right), limitation lines showing +/-8% from compressive strength of the reference
mix are shown. All variations in compressive strength within these limitations, is explained by uncer-
tainty in method rather than being statistical significant results of the experimental substitution of ce-
ment.
Conclusively, it has been shown possible to reduce content of cement in UHPC from an ordinary
used level 766 kg/m3, down 40% to 460 kg/m3 – by substituting with inert filler. Previous studies have
also obtained low cement contents of about 400 to 600 kg/m3, but by using pozzolanic or hydraulic
binders for substitution, e.g. [8] and [9].
5 Conclusion
This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the effects of partly substituting cement
with a locally available inert material having morphology close to that of the cement. The study showed
that:
1. Brand of SP influences both level and in-series variability of compressive strength of UHPC,
and porosity visible on specimen surfaces.
2. It is possible to make UHPC of local materials, using unmanipulated sand and achieving aver-
age compressive strength of 122 MPa. The sand used for aggregate was by-product from pro-
duction of gravel. An inert filter dust stemming from corresponding process, was used to sub-
stitute cement (40%).
3. The workability was affected by the substitution of cement even if the morphology of these two
materials were close to identical. This indicates that the water amount is sensitive to the type of
materials used.
4. The compressive strength of UHPC where not significantly reduced, when substituting cement
up to 40% (by mass) with an inert material having the corresponding PSD.
6 Further investigation
The further experimental investigations concerning this study should be done, including:
1. Finding the optimize microsilica content, as much of it may be unreacted when the amount of
cement is decreased.
2. Investigate the amount of superplasticiser needed in each recipe.
3. Experimentally investigate if the durability properties are affected by the reduced binder con-
tent.

Acknowledgement
This work was supported by two funding bodies: The Research Council of Norway (NFR) and Sør-
landets Kompetansefond, through the project MEERC (More Efficient and Environmental friendly
b
Road Construction).
References
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[2] Thorstensen, R. T., and P. Fidjestol. 2015. "Inconsistencies in the pozzolanic strength activity
index (SAI) for silica fume according to EN and ASTM,". Materials and Structures. Journal
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[3] Malhotra, V. M., and P. K. Mehta. 2005. High-performance, High-volume Fly Ash Concrete:
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Ottawa, Canada: Supplementary Cementing Materials for Sustainable Development.
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report for the bridge community".
[5] Yu, R., P. Spiesz, and H. J. H. Brouwers. 2015. "Development of Ultra-High Performance Fibre
Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC): Towards an efficient utilization of binders and fibres,"
Construction and Building Materials, Article vol. 79, pp. 273-282.
[6] Thorstensen, R. T., I. L. Larsen, A. Heimdal, and H. A. Hansen. 2016. "LCC and carbon
footprint of bridge made from locally produced UHPC, compared to standard concrete," in
Ultra-High Performance Concrete and High Performance Construction Materials: Kassel
University Press.
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concrete," Construction and Building Materials, vol. 63, pp. 150-160, 2014/07/30/.
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Performance Concrete (UHPC) with efficient cement and mineral admixtures uses," Cement
and Concrete Composites, Article vol. 55, pp. 383-394.
[9] Randl, N., T. Steiner, S. Ofner, E. Baumgartner, and T. Mészöly. 2014. "Development of
UHPC mixtures from an ecological point of view," Construction and Building Materials,
Article vol. 67, no. PART C, pp. 373-378.
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[11] ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA. 2014. ASTM, "C305-14, Standard Practice for
Mechanical Mixing of Hydraulic Cement Pastes and Mortars of Plastic Consistency"
[12] ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA. 2008. ASTM, "C109 / C109M-08, Standard
Test Method for Compressive Strength of Hydraulic Cement Mortars (Using 2-in. or [50-mm]
Cube Specimens)".
[13] Powers, T., and T. Brownyard. 1948. "Studies of the physical properties of hardened Portland
cement paste," Journal of the American Concrete Institute, vol. Bulletin 22.
[14] Arora, A., and et al.. 2017. "Microstructural packing- and rheology-based binder selection and
characterization for Ultra-high Performance Concrete (UHPC)," Cement and Concrete
Research, Article in Press.

Effect of sodium hydroxide concentration and alkaline

activator ratio on the mechanical properties of fly ash-
b
based geopolymer binders
Adrian Lăzărescu1,2, Henriette Szilagyi1, Adrian Ioani2 and Cornelia Baeră3
1N.I.R.D.
if
URBAN-INCERC,
Cluj-Napoca Branch, Romania
2Technical University of Cluj-Napoca,

Faculty of Civil Engineering, Romania
3N.I.R.D.URBAN-INCERC,
Timișoara Branch, Romania
Abstract
Environmental problems associated with Portland cement production are well known and represent an
issue that worldwide is carefully monitored. Alkaline activation of the fly ash represents a procedure
able to generate the solidification of fly ash powder by mixing it with a certain type of alkaline activa-
tor, creating a new binding material and consequently a new building material when incorporating
aggregate, as an alternative to traditional concrete and cement based composites. Preliminary results
obtained on fly ash-based geopolymer paste, developed using Romanian local raw materials, open
new perspectives on the global existing research in the Geopolymer Concrete topic. The aim of this
paper is to report the results of the laboratory tests conducted to investigate some parameters affecting
the mechanical properties of this geopolymer binder. Experiments were performed by varying both
the NaOH solution concentration (8M and 10M) and also the Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio (from 0.5 to 2.5).
Results indicate that the compressive strength improved by increasing the NaOH concentration and
also by increasing the Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio.
1 Introduction
The concept of Alkali Activated Materials (AAM) as an alternative to Portland cement binders has
been known since 1908, but only in the last decades it was identified a proper application niche for
the material, more as a complementary solution to the cement based materials and not as a complete
replacement for them. However, there are sufficient arguments why this new technology is not so
appealing for the construction industry, at least for the time being. First of all, the limestone, as raw
material for Portland Cement production, is a resource worldwide available, this leading to accessible
Portland Cement production. ; on the contrary, the fly ash, as essential raw material for the geopoly-
mer materials, represents a by-product or waste material with limited availability, depending on the
industry generating it. Consequently, there can be identified real issues regarding the ensuring of
homogeneity of material characteristics, distribution logistics, etc. This makes pretty obvious that the
current production of alkali-activated materials still needs to be subjected to careful and complex
analyze, considering the particularities of material, its domain of the direct and indirect use, its intrin-
sic beneficial characteristics (ecological, pollution reducing effects, etc.) and also its flaws and possi-
bility of neutralizing or converting them into manageable, positive factors. One of the key factors to
support the general interest for the Geopolymer concrete is the universal urge for reducing the carbon
dioxide emissions, well known as responsible for the environmental problems associated with the
Portland cement production. . The European and also the worldwide legislation continuously becomes
more restrictive with respect to the amount of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, thus
creating a promising framework for encouraging the interest, the research and the corresponding
Technological Transfer in the topic of alkali activated fly ash-based materials.
The reaction of a solid material, with high content of Aluminum (Al) and Silicon (Si), combined
with an alkaline liquid, to form a solid material, comparable to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
concrete was first patented by Kulh, a German chemist and engineer [1]. Since the ‘90’s, the research

concerning the alkali-activated materials has grown considerably across the globe. Most of the re-
search in the topic was mainly focused on developing alkali-activated materials with concrete like
performance, by the use of local raw materials, easily available in the area. As expected, any new and
unconventional technology is difficult to be translated to the usual practice, as the existing standards
b
and regulations established for concrete production and use do not cover the particular aspects for
Geopolymer materials regular production [2]. Standards usually regulate products that are already
implemented in the industry, providing specific performance criteria which make them easy to evalu-
ate, in terms of quality control and specific product characteristics [3].
if
In case of using fly ash as a source material in the production of alkali activated fly ash-based ge-
opolymer concrete, a careful consideration is needed when choosing the primary materials used for
the mix. They must have certain chemical properties so that the geopolymerisation reaction can
properly occur [4]. When producing alkali-activated systems, the solid part (the alumino-silicate
elements) and the liquid part (the alkaline activator) should not be considered as additions, as they
represent the main constituents of the geopolymer binder [5].
The mix design of the alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymer binder needs to be carefully ana-
lyzed and controlled in order to obtain a material with good mechanical properties, therefore, the
source materials used in the production of this binder need to be carefully selected [6]. Besides the
chemical composition of the fly ash used in the production of the geopolymer binder, two of the most
important parameters affecting the mechanical strength of the material are the concentration of the
sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH solution) and the Na2SiO3/NaOH solution ratio in the mix [7].
Investigations on the production and development of fly ash based alkali-activated materials conclud-
ed that for a Na2SiO3/NaOH solution ratio ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 [8] and a molar concentration of
the NaOH raging from 8M to 16M [9], materials with similar or even better properties than Ordinary
Portland Cement concrete can be obtained. Previous studies also show that using an alkaline activator
composed of sodium hydroxide solution and sodium silicate solution leads to better mechanical prop-
erties [10]-[12]. The sodium silicate solution in the alkaline activator has an important effect since it
favors the geopolymerisation process by adding more Silicon (Si) atoms in the product’s composition,
this leading to improved compressive performance [13].
Considering the preliminary results obtained on alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymer paste
developed by using Romanian local raw materials [12], the aim of this paper was to experimentally
evaluate the potential of the materials used in mixes and to offer a comparative analyze of both ef-
fects, of the Na2SiO3/NaOH solution ratio and of the molar concentration of the NaOH solution as
well, on the compressive strength of the paste.
2 Materials and methods – Experimental method

This chapter summarizes both the state-of-the art about the materials used to produce alkali-activated
fly ash-based geopolymer paste and also the methods used in the experimental procedures, the mix
design, molding methods, curing and testing methods for the compressive strength evaluation.
2.1 Materials
2.1.1 Fly ash
Fly ash (FA) represents a by-product obtained by electrostatic or mechanical precipitation of the
pulverized particles resulting from the coal-fired combustion gases of the furnaces in power plants.
Fly ash is a fine powder, consisting mainly of spherical shaped glass particles [14], [15]. Despite
some certain characteristics proved to be common to all fly ash types, due to some factors like coal
type as raw material for FA production and the burning process as well, fly ash powders prove im-
portant differences when coming to their chemical composition, sometimes even in the same produc-
tion batch. The raised variation of the chemical composition, leading to different performance of FA
as binding material, concrete addition or raw material for Geoplymer concrete binding paste, repre-
sents an essential aspect for the general development of the concept: the constant of quality material
proves to be difficult to maintain [16]. For instance, the loss of ignition (L.O.I), representing the
measure for the unburned carbon content in fly ash and one important characteristic regarding the
material performance, may easily and significantly vary from one lot to another.

Effect of sodium hydroxide concentration and alkaline activator ratio on the mechanical properties of fly ash-based
geopolymer binders
Considering the differences in the FA chemical compositions, several FA classes were estab-
lished. The Class F fly ash, used for the present experimental study, is characterized as follows [17]:
SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3> 70%, SO3 <5% and L.O.I. <6%.
The low-calcium fly ash used in the current experimental study for development and comparative
b
analyze of FA based geopolymer paste [12], was produced by a Romanian power plant, and its chem-
ical composition, established by X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF analysis), presented in Table 1,
shows that it complies with the Class F fly ash specifications.
if
Table 1 XRF analysis data for the fly ash batch.
Oxides %
SiO2 53.61
Al2O3 26.16
Fe2O3 7.58
CaO 2.42
MgO 1.49
SO3 0.26
Na2O 0.59
K2O 2.60
P2O5 0.12
TiO2 1.04
Mn2O3 0.08
L.O.I. 3.57
2.1.2 Alkaline liquid
When the components of the geopolymer material, namely the reactive solids and the alkaline solu-
tion, react a hard, water-resistant material forms due to formation of an alumino-silicate network [18].
The geopolymerisation process begins when the fly ash is mixed with the alkaline liquid, resulting the
dissolution of the silicon and aluminum atoms of the ash and the forming of a matrix [19].
Fig. 1 Materials used in the production of alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymer paste.
Class F fly ash (left), sodium hydroxide flakes (center) and sodium silicate (right).
The alkaline activator used in this experimental study was a combination of sodium silicate solution
(Na2SiO3) and sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH). The sodium silicate solution was purchased from
the market and its chemical composition is SiO2=30%, Na2O=14% and H2O=56%. The sodium hy-
droxide solution was prepared by dissolving the NaOH flakes, 98% purity, into water until the desired
concentration of the solution was achieved. Two NaOH solutions, of 8M and 10M, were prepared for
the alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymer paste mixes currently developed. The 8M NaOH solu-
tion was prepared by dissolving 320g of NaOH flakes into water, for 1 liter: 40g x 8 = 320g
NaOH/liter, where 40g is the molecular weight of NaOH. It was determined that for a mass of 1 kg of
Adrian Lăzărescu, Henriette Szilagyi, Adrian Ioani and Cornelia Baeră 103

NaOH solution, the mass of NaOH flakes was 262 g, resulting the proper proportion: 1 kg of NaOH
solution, 8M = 26.2% NaOH + 73.8% water. The same algorithm was used to obtain 10M NaOH
solution.
b
2.1.3 Mix design, molding and curing treatment
Preliminary results obtained on alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymer paste by using Romanian
local raw materials, indicate that an alkaline activator/fly ash ratio of 0.5 provides the geopolymer
binder good workability [12]. Consequently, the 0.5 specific alkaline activator to fly ash ratio was
if
used for the current study, as well. The Na2SiO3/NaOH solution ratios ranged between 0.5 and 2.5,
for a comparative analyze of the effect of this parameter variation on material behavior. Table 2
summarizes the fly ash-based geopolymer paste mixes evaluated in the current experimental work.
The alkaline activator was prepared 24 hours prior to the mixing, by combining the sodium sili-
cate solution with the sodium hydroxide solution. The sodium hydroxide solution was prepared 24
hours prior to the preparation of the alkaline activator, as well. The fly ash and alkaline activator were
then mechanically mixed together for ten minutes, until a homogeneous paste was obtained. The
mixtures were then placed in 40mm x 40 mm x 160 mm molds and heat cured at 70°C for 24 hours. A
glass film was applied on top of the molds to prevent excessive water release from the mixtures. After
demolding, the fly ash-based geopolymer paste prismatic specimens were cured in the climatic cham-
ber at the temperature T (20±1)°C and relative humidity RH (60±5)% until the age of 7 days, when
they were test in compression the age of the compressive strength test (7 days age).
Table 2 Mixture details for the alkali activated fly ash-based geopolymer paste.
Alkaline
Na2SiO3 / NaOH
Mix liquid/ Fly
NaOH molarity
ash
1 0.5
2 1.0 8M
3 0.5 1.5 and
4 2.0 10M
5 2.5
2.1.4 Testing methods

The compressive testing at the age of 7 days was performed using 3 prismatic specimens for each
type of alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymer paste and the mean value as considered relevant for
the interpretation. The testing method was in accordance to SR EN 196-1:2006, namely the standard
testing methodology for Cement mortars. The early age testing (7 days) was considered relevant for
the comparative evaluation in the current study, as previously experiments proved that the geopoly-
mer pasted reach most of their compressive potential by this age [12].
Fig. 2 Molding, curing and testing alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymer paste. Fresh state
specimens (left), hardened state prismatic specimens (center) and specimen after com-
pressive strength (rigth).

geopolymer binders
The influence of both the NaOH solution concentration and the Na2SiO3/NaOH solution ratio is pre-
sented, evaluated in terms of compressive strength values determined on the alkali-activated fly ash-
b
based geopolymer paste, at the age of 7 days.
3.1 Ratio of sodium silicate solution to sodium hydroxide solution

The effect of sodium silicate solution to sodium hydroxide solution, by mass, on the compressive
if
strength of the alkali-activated fly ash based geopolymer paste has been observed by analyzing this
parameter for each of the molar concentration of the sodium hydroxide solution presented in Table 2.
The results are presented in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, both proving that the best compressive results were
obtained for a Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio of 2.5.
The alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymer paste batches prepared with different
Na2SiO3/NaOH ratios (by mass), emphasize similar compressive strength evolution. The ratios that
induced low compressive strength generally generate the poorest geopolymerisation reaction. The
compressive strength evolution strongly depends the complexity of the geopolymerisation reaction
and the concentration of the alkaline activator constituents.
3.2 Concentration of sodium hydroxide solution

Both Figure 3 and Figure 4 illustrate the effect of sodium hydroxide solution concentration on the
compressive strength of the alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymer paste. Test results demonstrate
that the compressive strength of the geopolymer binder increases with the increase in the concentra-
tion of the NaOH solution.
In terms of geopolymer synthesis, the concentration of the sodium hydroxide solution is signifi-
cantly affecting the compressive strength and also the micro structure of the alkali-activated geopol-
ymer binder [20]. In the aqueous phase of the geopolymeric system, the sodium hydroxide acts main-
ly on the dissolution process, but as well on the bonding of the solid particles of the final geopolymer
matrix. Using a higher concentration of sodium hydroxide solution leads to a greater dissolution of
the initial solid material (fly ash) by increasing the geopolymerisation process, hence a higher com-
pressive strength being achieved.
Influence of the Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio on the

compressive strength (8M NaOH)
30
25
20
[N/mm2]
15
8M
10 NaOH
5
0
0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5
Na2SiO3 / NaOH ratio
Fig. 3 Effect of Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio on the compressive strength (8M NaOH solution).

Influence of the Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio on the

40 compressive strength (12M NaOH)
b
35
Compressive strength 30
[N/mm2] 25
20
if
15 12M
10 NaOH
5
0
0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5
Na2SiO3 / NaOH ratio
Fig. 4 Effect of Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio on the compressive strength (10M NaOH solution).
4 Conclusions
The present investigation refers to analyzing the effect of both, the NaOH solution concentration and
the Na2SiO3/NaOH solution ratio of the alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymer paste, produced by
using Romanian local raw materials. The experimental procedures were performed in controlled
laboratory conditions regarding the temperature, the relative humidity, the pressure and the air flow
velocity, in order to collect proper data and pertinent conclusions that would be used for future studies
in the topic of geopolymer paste and further on, geoplymer concrete. Careful investigation of specific
ratio variations within the paste provides important conclusions regarding further approaches of the
mix design. Optimal dosage of the geopolymeric paste for superior compressive performance would
be used in geopolymer mortar design.
The results emphasized that the specific evaluated parameters, namely the NaOH concentration
and the Na2SiO3/NaOH solution ratio have, as expected, a dramatic effect on compressive strength
evolution. The best results were obtained on samples designed with 2.5 Na2SiO3/NaOH solution ratio
and 8M NaOH concentration: 25.33 N/mm2, respectively 10M NaOH concentration: 27.32 N/mm2.
Further similar studies will be performed using different types of fly ash, in order to obtain the
desired confirmation of present first conclusion. The influence of fly ash chemical composition on
geopolymer paste matrix with respect to already evaluated NaOH concentration and the
Na2SiO3/NaOH solution ratio represent the near future challenge.
Acknowledgements
The current experimental program was carried out in the framework of the PhD. Research Program of
the first author at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. All the experimental work has been car-
ried out in the laboratory of N.I.R.D. URBAN-INCERC, Cluj-Napoca Branch, Romania.
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Research Report, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.

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[7] Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri, A, Omar A.K.A. Abdul Kareem, and S. Myint, Study. 2009. “On
The Effect Of Alkaline Activators Ratio In Preparation Of Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer.”
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Zarina, and A. R. Rafiza. 2013. “Design, Processing and Characterization of Fly Ash-Based
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[9] Hardjito, D., and B. V. Rangan. 2005. “Development and properties of low-calcium fly ash-
if
based geopolymer concrete.” Research report GC1, Faculty of Engineering Curtin University
of Technology, Perth, Australia.
[10] Palomo, A., M. W. Grutzek, and M. T. Blanco. 1999. “Alkali-activated fly ashes. A Cement
for the future.” Cem Concr Res. 29: 1323-1329
[11] Fernandez-Jimenez, A., and A. Palomo. 2003. “Characterization of fly ashes potential reactiv-
ity as alkaline cement.” Fuel 2003 82:2259-2265.
[12] Lăzărescu A., H. Szilagyi, C. Baeră, and A. Ioani. 2017. “The Effect of Alkaline Activators
Ratio on the Compressive Strength of Fly Ash Based Geopolymer Paste.” IOP Conf. Series:
Materials Science and Engineering, doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/209/1/012064.
[13] Criado, M., A. Palomo, and A. Fernandez-Jimenez. „Alkali activation of fly ashes, part 1:
Effect of curing conditions on the carbonation of the reaction products.” Fuel 84: 2048-2054.
[14] EN 450-1:2012: Fly ash for concrete. Definition, specifications and conformity criteria.
[15] EN 197-1:2011: Cement. Composition, specifications and conformity criteria for common
cements.
[16] Lăzărescu, A. 2016. “Characteristics of the constituent materials of the geopolymer concrete.”
PhD. Research Report, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.
[17] Davidovits, J. 1994. “Properties of geopolymer cements.” Alkaline Cements and Concretes,
Kiev, Ukraine, pp.131-149.
[18] Duxon, P., J.L. Provis, G.C. Lukey, and J.S.J. van Demeter. 2007. “The role of inorganic
polymer technology in the development of ‘green concrete.” Cement Concr. Res. 37:1590-
1597.
[19] Pacheco-Torgal, F., J. Castro-Gomez, and S. Jalali. 2008. “Alkali-activated binders: A review
Part 1. Histrorical background terminology, reaction mechanisms and hydration products.” J.
Constr. Build. Mater 22:1305-1314.
[20] Somna, K., C. Jaturapitakkul, P. Kajitvichyanukul, P. Chindaprasirt. 2011. “NaOH-activated
ground fly ash geopolymer cured at ambient temperature.” Fuel 90:2118-2124.

ifb

Influence of nanosilica on the mechanical properties

and durability of cementitious materials
b
Gerlinde Lefever1, Dimitrios G. Aggelis1, Nele De Belie2, Didier Snoeck2 and
Danny Van Hemelrijck1
1Department of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions,
if
Vrije Universiteit Brussel,
Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
2Magnel Laboratory for Concrete Research, Department of Structural Engineering,

Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University,
Tech Lane Ghent Science Park, Campus A, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 904, 9052 Gent,
Belgium
Abstract
Nanotechnology is gaining more and more attention over the past decade, leading to an increased use
of nanomaterials for construction industry as well. The nanomaterial used in this research is nanosilica
in solution or: colloidal silica. This silica is used as a binder material and will replace cement particles.
A characterization of mortar mixtures containing different amounts of silica is done by using ultrasonic
waves, acoustic emission, mechanical strength tests, etc. and a comparison is made with respect to a
reference mixture. Results point out the difference in mechanical behaviour and the increase of the
mortar’s durability as nanosilica is added.
1 Introduction
Concrete is world’s most used construction material and it seems that in the near future nothing will
change about that. High compressive strength together with a low cost make this material by far the
ideal candidate for building purpose. However, durability issues deteriorate the material, mainly in-
duced by ingress of substances through interconnected pores.
By using small addition of nanosilica, this durability problem can be solved [1]. These particles
have a relatively small volume, so that they can fill up pores. Moreover, they are characterized by a
large surface area, which makes them highly reactive. The silica particles will react with Ca(OH)2,
forming additional C-S-H. Both features influence the final properties of the concrete material.
Over the last decade, several researches have been conducted on the replacement of cement by
nanosilica. Concerning the durability, most studies agree on the decrease of the pore size and the pen-
etrability. Rapid chloride permeability tests were performed on concrete mixtures containing colloidal
silica in a study by Said et al. [2]. It was concluded that using colloidal silica, the penetration depth of
chloride ions lowered, leading to a shift in penetrability class (according to ASTM C 1202) from low
to very low. On the other hand, no straightforward conclusion can be drawn regarding the evolution in
mechanical properties. Yu et al. [3] studied both the flexural and the compressive strength of ultra-high
performance concrete where percentages of cement weight were replaced by nanosilica. Both flexural
and compressive strength were increased and an optimum amount of nanosilica replacement was found
to be around 3.7% of binder weight. Also, the replacement of cement by this optimum amount showed
a denser microstructure compared to a lower or larger amount of nanosilica added. A study on the
addition of colloidal silica in cementitious mortars was performed by Ltifi [4]. In this research, com-
pressive strength tests at different ages were conducted on mortar samples with a replacement of cement
by 3% nanosilica. At a curing age of 28 days the compressive strength was lowered compared to the
reference samples, while for three and 14 days the strength was comparable. The effect of nanosilica
on the mechanical properties could thus not clearly be determined.
In this paper, cement is replaced by small percentages of colloidal silica. Two series of test speci-
mens are made. On the first one, a full characterization is done by measuring the workability, the com-
pressive strength, the E-modulus and the heat of hydration. On the second series, bending tests are
performed together with acoustic emission in order to identify differences in fracture behaviour.

2 Materials
For both series under test, three different mortar mixtures were made: a reference mixture that contains
no colloidal silica and two mixtures containing 0.5% and 1% of colloidal silica by mass of cement,
b
respectively. The cement type that was used for all mixtures is CEM I 52.5N produced by Diamur,
Belgium. This is a Portland cement that consists of Portland clinker as a main component with a max-
imum of 5% of other additives. The colloidal silica used was Ludox® HS-40, delivered by GRACE®,
USA. The solution of colloidal silica contains 40% of nanosilica particles, with a nominal size of 12
nm. Some important properties of the colloidal silica are summarized in the table below.
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Table 1 Properties of Ludox® HS-40.
Density 1.3 /
pH (25°C) 9.2 − 9.9
Specific surface area 198 − 258 ²/
Stabilizing counter ion sodium
A superplasticizer is added to increase the workability of the mortar, being MaterGlenium 51 (conc.
35%) from BASF. The composition of all mixtures can be summarized as following: a water-to-binder
ratio of 0.35, a superplasticizer-to-cement ratio of 0.004 and the proportion of sand to binder being 2:1.
For the first series, six small beam elements were cast. The beams measured 40 mm x 40 mm x 160
mm. Following mixing procedure was used:
Mixing of dry powders for 60 s;
Adding water and superplasticizer;
Mixing for 180 s;
Colloidal silica was placed in an ultrasonic bath for five minutes to obtain a better dispersion of the
particles within the solution. In case nanosilica was added to the mortar mixtures, it was poured onto
the dry material after 30 s of mixing. The samples were kept in plastic foil and at 20 ± 1°C to maintain
the humidity until the age of testing.
3 Testing techniques
3.1 Flow table test

An indication on the workability can be obtained by means of a flow table test. The consistency of the
mortar is measured by following the European standard EN 1015-3 [5]. The diameter of the mortar
cone is measured in two perpendicular directions, allowing us to compare the flow of the reference
mortar with the mortars containing nanosilica.
3.2 Ultrasonic testing

After three and seven days, the beams were unwrapped and tested by means of an ultrasonic wave
passing through the material. The velocity of the wave, which can be calculated by means of the travel
time obtained from the test, can be converted into the E-modulus of the material.

The compressive strength of the mortar samples is measured by means of a compression test on half of
the beams. The standard followed for this tests is ASTM C 349-14 [6]. These tests were performed at
three and seven days, identically as for the ultrasonic testing.
3.4 Three-point bending combined with acoustic emission

At an age of seven days, three-point bending tests (following ASTM C 348-14 [7]) are performed on
the beam specimens of the second series. A notch of 5 mm is made in the middle of the beams to be
exactly sure of the fracture position. To obtain acoustic emission (AE) information, four piezoelectric
sensors were placed on these beams while performing the bending tests. AE is a non-destructive testing

method. The sensors pick up elastic sound waves that are emitted when the samples are subject to stress
or cracks are induced. The lay-out of the sensors on the specimen can be found in figure 1.
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Fig. 1 Lay-out of the AE sensors in the three-point bending test.
Differences in the behaviour under flexural loading between the reference specimens and the nanosilica
mortars are identified by means of an analysis of the waveforms obtained from AE.
3.5 Isothermal calorimetry

Isothermal calorimetry tests were performed on cement pastes, representing the three different mortar
mixtures. The same composition was kept, but the sand was left out. The samples were then placed in
a TAM-AIR isothermal calorimeter at a constant temperature of 20°C for seven days. The generated
thermal power was measured, indicating the heat of hydration of the cement pastes.
3.6 Porosity
To determine the volume of permeable pores, a type of absorption test is performed on the mortar
samples at seven days. Standard ASTM C 642-97 [8] is followed, but the size of the samples is slightly
adapted to 40 mm x 40 mm x 80 mm as the standard is normally used for concrete samples.
4.1 Flow table test

The flow was measured twice for the three different mortar mixtures and the average diameters are
indicated in table 2. The workability of the mortars significantly decreases when more cement is replace
by nanosilica, although the water/binder ratio was kept constant. This can be explained by the very
large surface area of the nanoparticle, retaining larger amounts of water than the cement particles.
Table 2 Results of the flow table test (n=2).
Reference 0.5% HS40 1% HS40

Flow (mm) 157 ± 2 140 ± 4 124 ± 3
4.2 Ultrasonic testing

At three and seven days of curing, the travel time of an ultrasonic wave to pass through the beams is
measured. The test is repeated once. Using the density of the beams, the E-modulus could be deter-
mined. It should be noted that a Poisson’s coefficient of 0.2 is assumed for the calculations. Figure 2
shows the evolution of the E-modulus between both measuring moments.
For all mortar mixtures, the E-modulus increases over time. This is as expected, since hydration of
the cement particles is ongoing. Comparing the nanosilica specimens with the reference ones, it can be
seen that the E-modulus is higher for a replacement of 1%, while it is lowered for 0.5%. The cause of
this phenomenon is unclear, but it can have something to do with the compacting of the samples, as the
samples with 1% showed a better compaction.
Gerlinde Lefever, Dimitrios G. Aggelis, Nele De Belie, Didier Snoeck and Danny Van Hemelrijck 111

ifb
Fig. 2 Evolution of the E-modulus.

Results of the compressive strength of all three mixtures are shown in figure 3; six samples per mixture
are tested. When nanosilica is present in the mixtures, the compressive strength is lowered compared
to the reference. Also, the standard deviation becomes very large when adding more nanosilica. Due to
the low flowability, sample casting becomes difficult, resulting in a larger variance on the beam’s qual-
ity.
Fig. 3 Evolution of the compressive strength.
4.4 Three-point bending combined with acoustic emission

The second series of specimens were subjected to an acoustic emission experiment, while performing
a three-point bending test. The analysis of the AE data will focus on the moment of fracture, i.e. at the
moment of reaching the flexural strength, and will be compared with the mechanical results.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 detail the load evolution of the bending test and the accumulative AE energy (the
amount of hits received by the sensors) over time. For each mixture, a representative specimen is taken.
The AE activity is shown as a variation of zero to one, one being the total amount of hits.
Fig. 4 Reference: load curve of three-point bending test and AE activity over time.

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Fig. 5 HS40 0.5%: load curve of three-point bending test and AE activity over time.
Fig. 6 HS40 1%: load curve of three-point bending test and AE activity over time.
Looking at the moment of fracture, the largest difference in activity is seen between reference specimen
and nanosilica specimens. For the reference specimen, the hits are increasing in a fairly linear trend
over the duration of the three-point bending test, while for the nanosilica specimens, a very large pro-
portion of the hits occurs at the moment of fracture. This indicates a higher amount of cracks at the
moment of fracture for the nanosilica specimens in comparison to fewer, but likely larger cracks for the
reference.
4.5 Isothermal calorimetry

Figure 7 depicts a zoom on the normalized heat flow over time for the three different mixtures. Only
the first hour are shown, because afterwards the hydration evolves similarly for all samples. When more
nanosilica is present in the mixture, the hydration of the mortar is accelerated as the peak in released
energy comes earlier compared to the reference. This confirms our expectations, as nanosilica promotes
the formation of C-S-H and is highly reactive due to the large surface area.
Fig. 7 TAM-AIR results: normalized heat flow over time.

4.6 Porosity
All different obtained properties from the absorption test are listed in table 3.
b
Table 3 Results of the absorption test (n=3).
Reference 0.5% HS40 1% HS40

Absorption after immersion (%) 6.80 ± 0.07 6.70 ± 0.07 6.30 ± 0.03
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Absorption after immersion and boiling (%) 4.60 ± 0.15 4.58 ± 0.06 4.37 ± 0.10
Dry bulk density (g/cm³) 2.07 ± 0.02 2.00 ± 0.04 2.07 ± 0.02
Apparent density (g/cm³) 2.29 ± 0.03 2.21 ± 0.05 2.27 ± 0.02
Volume of permeable voids (%) 9.52 ± 0.36 9.17 ± 0.16 9.05 ± 0.15
The most interesting value to compare is the volume of permeable voids. Replacing more cement by
nanoparticles, this volume seems to decrease. This confirms the idea that nanosilica acts as a filler due
to the small particle size. It should however be noted that not a very large, significant difference can be
seen and that the standard deviations of all three mixtures overlap. A more precise test will be necessary
to conclude on this feature, but the results can be used as a first indication.
4.7 Conclusions and future research

Cement was replaced by nanosilica in amount of 0.5% and 1% with respect to the mass of the binder.
These small additions cause large difference in the mortar’s properties. Concerning the fresh properties
of the material, it was concluded that nanosilica decreased the workability of the mortar as the particles
retain more water from the mixture as cement particles are able to hold. Also, the behaviour of the
hardened mortar showed some changes compared to the reference. Thanks to an acoustic emission test
during three-point bending, the difference in flexural behaviour was identified, giving us an indication
on the amount and size of cracks: a high amount of small cracks for the nanosilica systems and the
opposite for the reference.
The E-modulus and compressive strength of the mortars were also measured, but no clear conclu-
sion could be drawn except for the fact that the compressive strength lowers when silica is added to the
mixture. Compaction problems and large standard deviations could be the cause.
Further research will allow us to gather more information about this decrease in mechanical prop-
erties. As the colloidal silica is stabilized by sodium, an alkali-silica reaction could occur although it is
very unlikely at this age. In this case, another type of nanosilica, where none or less sodium is present,
can be a possible solution. Moreover, a more precise determination of the porosity should be performed,
using, for example, mercury intrusion porosimetry. Finally, a SEM analysis could be helpful to assist
these results and to show the equal dispersion of the nanosilica inside the mortar specimens.
Acknowledgements
The authors want to express their gratitude to the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) for the fi-
nancial support of this research (G.0A28.16).
References
[1] Singh, L., S. Karade, S. Bhattacharyya, M. Yousuf, and S. Ahalawat. 2013. “Beneficial role of
nanosilica in cement based materials – A review.” Construction and Building Materials
47:1069-1077.
[2] Said, A.M., M.S. Zeidan, M.T. Bassuoni, and Y. Tian. 2012. “Properties of concrete incorpo-
rating nano-silica.” Construction and Building Materials 36:838-844.
[3] Yu, R., P. Spiesz, and H.J.H. Brouwers. 2014. “Effect of nano-silica on the hydration and mi-
crostructure development of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) with a low binder
amount.” Construction and Building Materials 65:140-150.
[4] Ltifi, M., A. Guefrech, P. Mounanga, and A. Khelidj. 2011. “Experimental study of the effect
of addition of nano-silica on the behaviour of cement mortars.” Procedia Engineering 10:900-
905.

[5] CEN. 1999. European standard EN 1015-3. Brussels: Comité Européen de normalisation
(CEN).
[6] ASTM. 2014. ASTM Standard C 349-14 Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of
Hydraulic-Cement Mortars. West Conshohocken: ASTM International.
b
[7] ASTM. 2014. ASTM Standard C 348-14 Standard Test Method for Flexural Strength of Hy-
draulic-Cement Mortars. West Conshohocken: ASTM International.
[8] ASTM. 1997. ASTM Standard C 642-97 Standard Test Method for Density, Absorption, and
Voids in Hardened Concrete. West Conshohocken: ASTM International.
if

ifb

Evolution of micro-mechanical properties of cement

and fly-ash composite measured by nanoindentation
b
over one year period
Jiří Němeček, Veronika Koudelková and Jiří Němeček
if
Czech Technical University in Prague,
Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague 6, Czech Republic
Abstract
This study shows an application of nanoindentation in characterization of micro-mechanical response
of two cementitious composites at the age of 28 days and 1-year. Pure Portland cement and Portland
cement with 50 vol.% fly-ash replacement pastes were studied. Grid nanoindentation, statistical de-
convolution and scanning electron microscopy were used for characterization of their main hydration
products at microscale. About 700 indents were performed on each sample. Similar mechanical re-
sponse was found for 28 days on both composites while a progress in reaction and mechanical matur-
ing was found for one year old samples. Additional stiffening was produced by delayed reaction of
fly-ash in the composite leading to higher elastic modulus for the main reaction phase.
1 Introduction
Fly-ash is a by-product of combustion of coal and is often used as an admixture for concrete produc-
tion. Concrete with fly-ash differs from Portland cement concrete in several characteristics such as
lower hydration heat, lower vulnerability to alkali-silica reaction, however, higher rate of carbona-
tation [1]. One of the biggest problem of using fly-ash is its diverse chemical and structural quality.
Rough fly-ash gives more porous and less quality mixture. Finer particles and/or spherical particle
shapes are advantageous for mixture workability and smaller water/binder ratio can be used. Com-
pressive strength is lower for young age fly-ash concretes compared to Portland cement ones, but it
increases over the time and can possibly overcome the strength of Portland cement concretes [2]. It is
due to delayed kinetics of fly-ash reaction and due to reaction mechanism of fly-ash with cement
compounds, such as C3A and C3S. The pozzolan reaction was described by Takemoto and Uchikawa
[3]. The reactivity of fly-ash is affected mostly by its chemical and mineralogical composition, fine-
ness and the amount of glass phase [4]. Also, adding chemical activators significantly accelerates the
chemical reaction. Adding small amount of Na2SO4 or K2SO4 together with Ca(OH)2 leading to reac-
tion acceleration was reported e.g. by Poon et al. [5].
The motivation of this work is to identify reason of higher stiffening behaviour of fly-ash concrete
on micro-structural level and compare micromechanical response with concrete from Portland cement
at an early age of sample and at advanced stage of hydration.
1.1 Material and sample preparation

Two types of cement pastes were prepared for the testing purposes. The first paste was made from
Portland cement CEM I 42.5R (Mokra, Czech Republic). Second paste was mixed with 50 volume
percent of CEM I 42.5R and 50 volume percent of fly-ash from Opatovice power station, Czech
Republic [6]. Both pastes were mixed with water/binder ratio of 0.4 and cast into cylindrical moulds
with height of 30 mm and diameter of 10 mm. Samples were demoulded after three days and then
stored in water at laboratory temperature. In this work, two different ages 28 days and one year of
cement pastes were tested. The samples made just from Portland cement are labelled C1 for one year
old and C28 for 28 days old. The pastes with fly-ash are marked as F1 and F28, correspondingly.
Samples were cut and polished to prepare surfaces for nanoindentation and electron microscopy
with a standard procedure. Firstly, the sample was precisely cut to 4-6 mm thick slice and dried at
50 °C for one day. Secondly, samples were polished with SiC papers with grit sizes from #2000 to
#4000. Thirdly, polishing cloth and diamond spray 0.25 µm were used. Finally, samples were put to
ethanol in ultrasonic cleaner to remove all dust particles.

1.2 Nanoindentation
Nanoindentation based on pressing Berkovich diamond tip into the samples was used to evaluate
elastic and hardness properties at small material scale. Hysitron Tribolab TI-700 system was used for
b
testing. On each sample a few grids of 10 x 10 indents with spacing of 10 µm were prescribed. In
order to cover heterogeneity of the samples over the 700 of usable indents on each sample were
measured. Trapezoidal loading diagram was prescribed, starting with loading speed 40 mN/min for 3
seconds until the force of 2 mN was reached. The force was held for 20 seconds followed with un-
loading lasting for 3 seconds. The indentation curves were measured during the indentation. The
if
examples of typical curves are shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 Loading diagrams of C28 (left) and F28 (right).
Elastic properties for each individual indent were evaluated using Oliver and Pharr theory [7]. The
method is based on analytical solution of punching elastic half-space by rotational bodies proposed by
Sneddon [8]. The reduced (combined) modulus of elasticity of the sample and the tip is defined by
√
, (1)
2
where S = dP/dh is elastic unloading stiffness, defined as slope of the tangent of the unloading curve,
Ac is the contact area of the tip for maximum force. Coefficient β specifies different geometry of the
indentation tip (for Berkovich tip β = 1.304). Reduced modulus is considered, due to elastic defor-
mation in indentation tip and the sample. Modulus of elasticity E is calculated from equation
1 1 1
, (2)
where Ei is modulus of elasticity of the indentor, νi is Poisson’s ratio (for diamond tip Ei = 1141 GPa
and νi = 0.07), E is modulus of elasticity of the sample and ν is Poisson’s ration of the sample for the
cement pastes (it was assumed as 0.2).
1.3 Microstructural characteristics

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to identify chemical phases of cementitious compo-
sites. The samples C28 and C1 (Fig. 2 a) are created with four main phases: Calcium-Silica-Hydrate
(C-S-H) gels, crystalline calcium hydroxide (CH), anhydrous clinker and porosity. C-S-H is the main
hydration product which fills most of the composite matrix. Also, it is well known that C-S-H is
present in two significant packing densities called high density C-S-H (HD C-S-H) and low density
C-S-H (LD C-S-H). The gels are spatially distributed around anhydrous clinker grains and together
with other hydrates form so called inner and outer hydration products. The phases are highlighted in
Fig. 2a. The cement/fly-ash samples contain all phases listed above plus partially reacted and unreact-
ed fly-ash particles (Fig. 2 b-d). Due to variable chemical composition of fly-ash different chemical
species can be found. Some of the phases were detected by energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy,
such as Alumina-Silica-Hydrate and ettringite (only found in F1 sample). The fly-ash particles com-
pose of silica, alumina, Na, Ca, Mg, K, Fe and other elements.

Evolution of micro-mechanical properties of cement and fly-ash composite measured by nanoindentation over one year
period
ifb
Fig. 2 SEM images of cement composites.
1.4 Statistical deconvolution

Statistical deconvolution was used to evaluate and separate mechanical response of the individual
phases in cementitious composites. This method is frequently used for blind separation of the phases
in heterogeneous systems, e.g. [9]-[11], based on evaluation of a large number of indents performed
over a statistically representative sample area and is briefly reviewed here.
Fig. 3 Scheme of indents position (left), histogram with bin size b (middle), individual PDF
functions (right) [9], [11].
Histogram of experimental data is put together from the total number of measured data Nexp, with
uniform layout of intervals Nbins and bin size b, see Fig. 3. Frequency density fiexp is calculated in each
interval. The probability density function (PDF) is calculated as a set of discrete values
Jiří Němeček, Veronika Koudelková and Jiří Němeček 119

1
∙ . (3)
The task of statistical deconvolution is to find a given number of phases j = 1..M considering j-phase
b
PDF expressed as
1 $ % &
# ,
2" (4)
!2 "
if
where µj is mean value and sj is standard deviation of the j-th phase computed for nj values defined by
*+ *+
1 1
% ( ) , " ($ ) % & , (5)
' ' 1
),- ),-
where x is in this case modulus of elasticity E and the overall PDF which includes all phases, M is
expressed by
/
. ( , (6)
,-
and fj is the volume fraction of a single phase written as

'
. (7)
Individual phase distributions are found by minimization of the error function according to [9]
89:;<
min ( 345 . 65 7 , (8)

,-
where the difference of quadratic deviations between experimental and theoretical PDFs is calculated
for the set of discrete points.
The number of phases M is recommended to know in advance to make calculation smoother and
to preserve physical meaning of the results [10]-[11].

The measured mechanical response is connected to finite indentation volume in which measured
phases correspond to combination of chemical phases. Individual mechanical phases were divided
using statistical deconvolution according to characteristic peaks in histograms of modulus of elasticity
and each phase has been assigned by the most probable chemical composition.
The samples C28 and C1 (Fig. 4) were separated to three mechanical phases, where the most
dominant #1 includes C-S-H gel, CAH and small amount of CH, #2 contains mostly CH and small
particles of unhydrated clinker and #3 include larger particles of clinker. In the samples F28 and F1
(Fig. 4) four mechanical phases were found: #0 is mainly porous hydrated material containing
particles of fly-ash. The main hydration phase is #1 with C-S-H gel, CAH, reacted fly-ash and minor
part of CH. Phases #3 and #4 have the same composition as samples C28 and C1. The results of
Elastic modulus and volume fractions calculated by statistical deconvolution are shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Elastic modulus and fraction calculated by statistical deconvolution.

C28 F28 C1 F1
Phase E [GPa] fj [-] E [GPa] fj [-] E [GPa] fj [-] E [GPa] fj [-]
#0 -- 0.000 13.2±3.2 0.118 -- 0.000 15.9±3.2 0.018

#1 33.5±7.3 0.777 32.6±6.5 0.774 35.4±5.4 0.825 39.2±6.8 0.778
#2 70.3±22.9 0.220 55.9±8.5 0.103 59.1±16.5 0.160 59.9±4.3 0.106
#3 155.6±1.6 0.003 138.1±13.6 0.005 138.6±12.9 0.013 86.4±16.2 0.098

Evolution of micro-mechanical properties of cement and fly-ash composite measured by nanoindentation over one year
period
The comparison of younger samples shows the almost the same modulus of elasticity of the most
dominant phase for C28 (E = 33.5 ± 7.3 GPa) and F28 (E = 32.6 ± 6.5 GPa) and even their fraction is
similar, for that could be marked as mechanical equivalent phases. That applies also for unhydrated
clinker whose fraction is however less than one percent and thus neglectable. The major difference
b
between C28 and F28 is that sample F28 contains also phase #0 corresponding to fly-ash with E =
13.2 ± 3.2 GPa and with volume fraction of 11.8 %. It is partly activated, porous, hydrated fly-ash.
The values of elasticity modulus are similar to values to N-A-S-H gel (E = 17-18 GPa) created by
alkali activation of the fly-ash [6]. This phase does not exist in the sample C28 and is responsible for
if
reduced stiffness and possibly also compressive strength of young cement – fly-ash composites com-
pared to Portland cement ones.
Fig. 4 Histogram of experimental and theoretical PDFs for the samples.

Fig. 5 Histogram of probability density of the samples.
According to mechanical results further reaction evolution is observed on samples C1 and F1. For C1
the peak of the main phase #1 increases to E = 35.4 ± 5.4 GPa with volume fraction of 82.5 %. The
same trend is observable on sample F1 where the modulus of elasticity increases to E = 39.2 ± 6.8
GPa with almost the same volume fraction. The fraction of phase #0 significantly decreases from 11.8
% to only 1.8 % on F samples. It is assumed that over the period of one year fly-ash reacts (marked
Jiří Němeček, Veronika Koudelková and Jiří Němeček 121

purple in Fig. 2) and fills the space inside the pores. This makes the sample stiffer. To support this
statement an image analysis was applied to SEM images to evaluate percentage of pores in fly-ashes
samples. The total examined area was 10 mm2 on each sample. For the sample F28 the fly-ash porosi-
ty is 3.48 % while for F1 it is only 2.46 %. The comparison of PDFs of all samples is shown in Fig.
b
5. Phase #2 of C1 shows decrease of E and even volume fraction compared to C28. This is caused
probably by some influence of clinkers contributing to higher modulus of phase #2 in 28 days. The #2
phase which is formed mostly by CH (according the literature E = 43.9 GPa, [6], [11]) and the
clinkers. The effect of clinkers diminishes in time as they react. Mechanical phases in this case do not
if
agree with chemical ones since they share the same material volume tested in nanoindentation [9].
3 Conclusions
Nanoindentation was used to evaluate mechanical response of two samples: pure Portland cement
CEM I 42.5 R and CEM I 42.5 R with 50 vol.% of fly-ash at two stages of reaction. Similar mechani-
cal response of cement and fly-ash based composites was found in 28 days characterized by C-S-H
gel, CAH and CH (C samples) and reacted fly-ash (F samples) with similar elasticity modulus and
volume fraction. The major difference in mechanical response in early age is given by the phase of
porous and partly activated fly-ash. It is assumed that this phase is responsible for smaller modulus of
elasticity and compressive strength of young cement – fly-ash composites.
The advancement of reaction was observable for the one-year old samples. The phase of hydrated
fly-ash in F samples largely reacted and decreased its volume fraction from 11.8 % to 1.8 %. Also, the
reacted fly-ash filled the space inside the pores and as a result particle porosity in one year old sample
decreased by 1% compared to 28 days old sample. Mechanically, the sample F1 showed higher
stiffness for individual mechanical phases than the sample F28 and this evolution was superior to C
samples.
Acknowledgements
Financial support of the Czech Science Foundation (project 17-05360S) and the Grant Agency of the
Czech Technical University in Prague (SGS18/114/OHK1/2T/11) is gratefully acknowledged.
References
[1] Sakai, Etsuo, Shigeyoshi Miyahara, Shigenari Ohsawa, Seung-Heun Lee, and Masaki Daimon.
2005. “Hydration of fly ash cement.” Cement and Concrete Research 35:1135-1140.
[2] Thomas, Michael. 2007. Optimizing the Use of Fly Ash in Concrete. Portland Cement Associ-
ation. http://www.cement.org/docs/default-source/fc_concrete_technology/is548-optimizing-
the-use-of-fly-ash-concrete.pdf.
[3] Takemoto, Kunio, and Hiroshi Uchikawa. 1980. “Hydration of pozzolanic cement.” Proceed-
ings of 7th International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement, Paris, France, 1980.
[4] Ramezanianpour, A. Ali. 2014. Cement Replacement Materials. Springer edition.
[5] Poon, Chi Sun, Xiu Chen Qiao, and Zong Shou Lin. 2003. “Pozzolanic properties of reject fly
ash in blnded cement pastes.” Cement and Concrete Research 33:1857-1865. Accessed July
30, 2003. doi:10.1016/S0008-8846(03)00213-8.
[6] Nemecek, Jiri, Vit Smilauer, and Lubomir Kopecky. 2009. “Characterization of Alkali-
Activated Fly-Ash by Nanoindentation.” Nanotechnology in Construction 3:337–343.
[7] Oliver, C. Warren, and M. George Pharr. 1992. “An improved technique for determining
hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments.”
Journal of Materials Research 7(6):1564–1583. Accessed January 01, 2011.
doi:10.1557/JMR.1992.1564.
[8] Sneddon, N. Ian. 1965. “The relation between load and penetration in the axisymmetric Bous-
sinesq problem for a punch of arbitrary profile.” International Journal of Engineering Science
3:47-57. Accessed February 27, 2003. doi:10.1016/0020-7225(65)90019-4.
[9] Nemecek, Jiri. 2010. “Nanoindentation of Heterogenous Structural Materials.” Habilitation
Thesis, Czech technical university in Prague.
[10] Constantinides, Georgios, and Franz Joseph Ulm. 2007. “The nanogranular nature of C-S-H.”
Journal oft he Mechanics and Physics of Solid 55:64–90.
[11] Nemecek, Jiri, Vlastimil Kralik, and Jaroslav Vondrejc. 2013. “Micromechanical analysis of
heterogeneous structural materials.” Cement & Concrete Composites 36:85–92.

A preliminary study into the effect of superplasticisers

on the dispersion of graphene materials in cement
b
Ioanna Papanikolaou, Chrysoula Litina and Abir Al-Tabbaa
Department of Engineering,
University of Cambridge,
if
Trumpington Street, Cambridge (CB2 1PZ), UK
Abstract
This research investigates an emerging material – graphene – that can be used to strengthen and increase
the durability of the cement matrix. Graphene/cement composites are considered to improve the me-
chanical strength, rate of hydration, resistance to chloride attack and aggressive environments and to
instigate a self-sensing mechanism. The key challenge addressed in this research, is the dispersion of
two graphene materials – graphene oxide (GO) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) - in the cement
matrix. Superplasticisers, ultrasonication and magnetic stirring are all trialled as potential dispersion
methods. The findings suggest that using a polycarboxylate superplasticiser is the most efficient dis-
persion method for both materials. This is confirmed through rheology testing, zeta potential, compres-
sive strength tests and microidentation.
1 Introduction
The durability of concrete structures is a great challenge for the industry. At least half of the annual
construction budget is spent on repair and maintenance rather than new assets whilst these repairs are
usally ineffective, and more than half of the elements will fail within 10 years. At the same time, the
sustainability of concrete is in the spotlight; cement production is a very carbon intensive process (Port-
land cement has 913 kg of embodied CO2 per cement tonne) and there are additional emissions associ-
ated with repairs and maintenance. The possibility of using nanomaterials in concrete to create a
stronger and more durable material that could also have biomimetic characteristics such as self-diag-
nosing properties is therefore investigated in this research.
Graphene materials are explored as a potential additive in the cement matrix that could help
strengthen and protect the material. Graphene was isolated in 2004 by Geim and Novoselov who won
the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. It is called a wonder material because it is 200 times stronger than
structural steel; the thinnest possible material; transparent; flexible yet very tough; it is the most
conductive material and it also acts as a perfect barrier [1].

An extensive literature review has revealed that graphene materials can reinforce the cement matrix,
improve its durability performance and also generate a self-sensing/ self-diagnosing mechanism.
However, graphene dispersion in concrete is a key challenge faced by many researchers as graphene
particles have strong attractive forces that cause them to agglomerate. This results in contradictions
around the resulting performance of the graphene/cement composites. This paper explores the effect of
superplasticisers on the dispersion of graphene materials.
2 Graphene/cement composites
A graphene/cement composite is an emerging advanced material that could be optimised in several
construction applications. Graphene comes in different forms as shown in Figure 1. The graphene types
most commonly researched for cement composites are Graphene Oxide (GO) - a monolayer material
with a high oxygen content that allows it to mix well with water - and graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs)
– a sheet-like material that consists of a small number of well-defined graphene layers [1].

ifb
Fig. 1 Different graphene structures [2].
For graphene reinforced cement materials, there is an overall agreement in the literature as to which
properties are improved [3]. All publications report reduction in fluidity (workability) when graphene
materials are introduced. Setting times also decrease whilst there are various contradictions about the
rate of hydration. It is generally agreed that both GO and GNPs lead to a more compact microstructure
with less needle shaped crystals and more compact polyhedron-like crystals as shown in Figure 2. This
compact microstructure, also helps in reducing porosity and increasing compressive, tensile and flex-
ural strengths – which is confirmed by various authors.
Fig. 2 Improved mictrosturcture with increasing Functionalised Graphene Nanoplatelet (FGN)

dosage from 0% to 0.05% [4].
The addition of graphene materials is reported to not only improve the mechanical properties, but also
the durability properties of the cement composites. The crack propagation arrest increases as the mate-
rial hardness and Young’s modulus increase, the chloride attack resistance increases and the water pen-
etration depth decreases [3]. Another interesting effect is the increase in electrical conductivity (GNPs
are more effective than GO for this) which can lead to the development of self-sensing/self-diagnosing
materials.
Despite the overall agreement in the above properties, there are certain contradictions between the
authors that mainly result from the different dispersion methods and also differences in the graphene
properties (for example GNPs can be of varying thicknesses and lateral sizes). Ultrasonication (duration
(ranging from 1 minute – 4 hours), high speed shear mixing, magnetic stirring, dry mixing and various
superplasticisers have been used to disperse graphene materials. Also, there is no clear agreement on
the optimum graphene dosage. GO dosage generally ranges from 0.01% to 1% by weight of
cementitious material whilst GNP dosages are usually much higher, ranging from 0.1% to 10% by
weight of cementitious material.

A preliminary study into the effect of superplasticisers on the dispersion of graphene materials in cement
Most authors have tried different superplasticisers to better disperse graphene materials.
Superplasticisers are water soluble organic polymers that act either as high range water reducers (for
reducing the water/cement ratio and increasing the strength) or act as plasticisers (for maintaining the
water/cement ratio but improving workability). There are three types of superplasticisers trialled in this
b
work ; polycarboxylates, sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde and lignosulphonates. Naphthalene
based superplasticisers along with lignosulphonates work by electrostatic repulsion. This means that
the negatively charged molecules of the superplasticisers attach to the cement particles that are
positively charged and make them repel each other. On the contrary, polycarboxylates adsorb on to the
if
cement particles and create a physical barrier between them so they prevent agglomeration, hence they
work primarily by steric hindrance.
3 Research methodology and mix design

This research aims to establish the optimum dispersion method for GO and GNPs and the effect of the
superplasticisers. For GO, magnetic stiring and sonication are trialled as dispersion methods along with
a constant dosage of a polycarboxylate superplasticiser. After the effect of supeprlasticisers is con-
firmed, sonication is used to disperse GNPs and four different superplasticisers at three dosages each
are trialled.
The materials used in this research are Portland cement, graphene oxide, graphene nanoplatelets
paste and superplasticiser admixtures. Portland Cement CEM I 52,5R was supplied by Hanson Cement
(particle density 2.7–3.2 g/cm3, specific surface area 0.30–0.40 m2/g). Graphene oxide (GO) in powder
form (supplied by Sigma Aldrich) with a thickness of 15-20 sheets and 4-10% edge-oxidised was used.
Graphene nanoplatelets in paste (G2NanPaste) were supplied by Nanesa and have an average flake
thickness of 14 nm (40 layers), D50 of 25 microns and a specific surface area of 30 m2/g. The
superplasticisers were provided by BASF and are MasterPozzolith 324N (lignosulphonate),
MasterRheobuild 1000 (napthalene-based), MasterEase 3820 (polycarboxylate) and MasterGlenium
C315 (polycarboxylate). The two graphene materials used are shown in Figure 3.
Fig. 3 Graphene oxide (GO) powder (left) and Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) paste (right).
The water/cement ratio of the cement paste was kept constant for every mix at 0.45. Magnetic-stirring
of the solution took place at room temperature for 30 minutes at a low-medium speed (380 rpm) in a
magnetic stirrer IKA C-MAG HS10 digital. For sonication, a Fisherbrand FB11203 ultrasonic cleaning
unit was used (37 Hz frequency). GO was sonicated for 30 minutes at room temperature whilst for the
GNPs, this ranged from 60-110 minutes.
3.1 Graphene Oxide (GO)

For the dispersion of GO, a polycarboxylate (PCE) superplasticiser at a dosage of 0.4% was used. A
single dosage of 0.03% GO by weight of cement was tested as this is often reported as the optimum in
the literature. The PCE was added in water first followed by the GO. The solution was then either
sonicated or magnetic stirred for 30 minutes at room temperature. It was then added to the cement in a
bowl and stirred for 4 minutes using a benchtop mixer at medium speed and for 1 minute at high speed.
Following the mixing, a vibrating table was used for 25 seconds to reduce the entrapped air and compact
the mix. For curing, the specimens were left in the moulds for 24 hours protected with a polyethylene
film and after the moulds were removed, the specimens were cured in water at a temperature of 20°C
± 2 until testing. The mixes prepared are shown in Table 1. Rheology, compressive strength and mi-
croidentation testing were used to assess the dispersion of GO in the cement matrix.
Ioanna Papanikolaou, Chrysoula Litina and Abir Al-Tabbaa 125

Table 1 Summary of the mixes prepared to test the effect of superplasticisers and dispersion method
on the dispersion of GO.
Mix designation Mix components GO dispersion method
b
GC1 Water + cement (control paste) None
GC2 Water + PCE + cement (control) None
GC3 Water + GO + cement Magnetic stirring of GO in water
if
GC4 Water + PCE + GO + cement Magnetic stirring of PCE+GO in water
GC5 Water + GO + cement Sonication of GO in water
GC6 Water + PCE + GO + cement Sonication of PCE+GO in water
3.2 Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs)

To test the dispersion of GNPs (G2NanPaste), zeta-potential testing was used (for dispersion in an
aqueous solution) and then rheology testing for dispersion in the cement matrix. For zeta-potential, a
single dosage of 0.3% of G2NanPaste was tested. The four superplasticisers used were all trialled at
three different dosages (minimum, median and maximum as recommended by the manufacturer) as
shown in Table 2. For rheology testing, four different dosages of GNPs were trialled; 0.3%, 0.6%, 1%
and 2% by weight of cement. The solids content of the superplasticisers was considered to keep the w/c
= 0.45 whilst the water content of the G2NanPaste was not taken into account. Triplicate samples were
tested for rheology.
Superplasticiser (SP) type and designa- Product SP dosage (minimum –
tion median – maximum)
SPA - Lignosulphonate MasterPozzolith 324N 0.20% - 0.40% - 0.60%
SPB – Sulphonated Napthalene MasterRheobuild1000 0.70% - 0.95% - 1.2%
SPC – Polycarboxylate ether MasterEase 3820 0.30% - 1.15% - 2.0%
SPD – Modified polycarboxylic ether MasterGlenium C315 0.2% - 1.6% - 3.0%

This section presents and discusses the test results for the dispersion of GO and GNPs.
4.1 Graphene Oxide (GO)

The results of rheology testing (Fig. 4) showed that when PCE is added in the mix there is an increase
in fluidity (the curves shift downwards for GC2), whilst when GO is added the curves shift upwards,
indicating a reduction in fluidity. The upward shift in the curves means that for the same shear rate, a
higher shear stress is generated (the paste is stiffer).

ifb
Fig. 4 Rheology testing of GO/cement pastes showing the effect of the GO+PCE addition on the
shear stress and shear rates curves.
The compressive strength testing of the GO-reinforced cement pastes at 3 and 7 days has produced
varying results (Table 3). GC3 has resulted in lower strengths than the controls which indicates that
dispersion was not effective whilst GC5 at both test ages yielded better results. GC4 and CC6 both
show an increase in compressive strength at 3 days, hence the dispersion of GO was effective when
using a polycarboxylate superplasticiser. However, at 7 days, both mixes have a compressive strength
of approximately 5% less than GC2. A slight long-term retrogression of strength is not a prohibiting
factor for using the composite in construction, however, the actual long-term strength performance must
be established through further experimentation. The results indicate that a polycarboxylate superplasti-
ciser aids the dispersion of GO.
Mix 3d (MPa) % change to % change to % change to % change to

7d (MPa)
GC1 GC2 GC1 GC2
GC1 26.41 - - 28.67 - -

GC2 21.90 -17% - 27.18 -5% -
GC3 24.57 -7% - 24.98 -13% -
GC4 25.70 - 17% 25.95 - -4%
GC5 26.21 -1% - 31.46 10% -
GC6 24.08 - 8% 25.24 - -7%
Microidentation testing showed that at all indentation forces (5, 8 and 10N) there is a distinct increase
in hardness and elastic modulus (elastic modulus results shown in Figure 5) from 3 to 7 days, however,
for GC4 the increase is negligible, which is in accordance with the compressive strength test results.
Overall, in terms of dispersion, at all forces the results show that GC3 and GC5 have not mixed well
and their hardness is less than the control mix.

ifb
Fig. 5 Elastic modulus for 5, 8 and 10 N indentation forces at 3 d and 7 d testing.
4.2 Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs)

The positive effect of adding a superplasticiser is confirmed for the dispersion of hydrophilic GO, hence
superplasticisers are required for the dispersion of the hydrophobic GNPs.
Zeta potential testing was used to test the dispersion of the G2NanPaste in an aqueous dispersion
with different superplasticisers. The lower the value of zeta-potential, the more likely the dispersion is
to agglomerate, especially for zeta-values of less than 30 [5]. As shown in Figure 6 the zeta value of
0.3% G2NanPaste in water with no superplasticiser is approximately -2, hence the particles would ag-
glomerate strongly. When the MasterPozzolith 324N (lignosulphonate) is added, the zeta potential of
G2NanPaste solution changes slightly with increasing dosage whilst for MasterRheobuild1000 (naph-
thalene) the value does not change at all irrespective of the dosage. For both MasterEase 3820 and
MasterGlenium C315 (polycarboxylates), the zeta potential increases, however it is still low, so aggre-
gation is expected. At all 3 dosages, MasterGlenium C315 performs better than MasterEase 3820.
Therefore, with all superplasticisers, aggregation of the G2NanPaste is expected after some time so the
solution should be added in the cement as soon as possible.
Fig. 6 Zeta potential (mV) values of G2NanPaste dispersion in water with different superplasti-
cisers.
Rheology testing was then undertaken to establish the best superplasticiser and dosage to disperse the
G2NanPaste. The Bingham model has been used to calculate the viscosity of the cement pastes. The
results for each superplasticiser are shown in Figures 7-10. The results indicated the the lignosulphonate
and naphthalene-based superplasticisers are not very effective in dispersing the G2NanPaste as the vis-
cosity of the material remains very high.

ifb
Fig. 7 Rheology results for MasterPozzolith 324N (lignosulphonate).
Fig. 8 Rheology results for MasterRheobuild 1000 (naphthalene based).
Fig. 9 Rheology results for MasterEase 3820 (polycarboxylate).


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Fig. 10 Rheology results for MasterGlenium C315 (polycarboxylate).
The two polycarboxylates appear to work better than the first two superplasticsiers. The MasterGlenium
C315, produces consistently low viscosity which is close to the control, meaning that GNPs are well
dispersed. Because of steric hindrance, the polycarboxylates create a physical barrier between the gra-
phene particles and they cannot agglomerate, so the fluidity improves. MasterGlenium C315 at a me-
dian dosage (1.6% by weight of cement) seems to disperse G2NanPaste the best.
5 Conclusions and future work

The effect of superplasticsiers for the dispersion of Graphene Oxide (GO) and Graphene Nanoplatelets
(GNPs) has been tested in this work. Firstly, the hydrophilic GO was tested, and it was confirmed that
the addition of a polycarboxylate superplasticiser aids the dispersion. Magnetic stirring and sonication
were trialled as dispersing methods for the solution and sonication yielded better results.
Expanding on the findings from GO testing, four different superplasticisers were tested to establish
their efficiency in dispersing the hydrophobic GNPs, whilst all solutions were sonicated. The results
show that polycarboxylates are more efficient in dispersing GNPs compared to lignosulphonates and
naphthalene-based superplasticisers. Future work will focus on establishing the effect of the varying
sonication times and will also test high speed shear mixing as dispersion methods. The conductivity of
the composites will also be explored for self-sensing concrete applications.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC CDT
Grant No. EP/L016095/1) and Costain Group for funding this research as well as BASF and Nanesa
for providing materials and technical advice.
References
[1] The University of Manchester. 2018. “Graphene: first ‘wonder material’ products hit the
market,”. [Online]. Available: http://www.physics.manchester.ac.uk/our-research/research-
impact/graphene/. [Accessed: 12-May-2017].
[2] Amieva, E. J., J. López‐Barroso, A. L. Martínez‐Hernández, and C. Velasco‐Santos. 2016.
“Graphene‐Based Materials Functionalization with Natural Polymeric Biomolecules,”
intechopen.
[3] Yang, H., H. Cui, W. Tang, Z. Li, N. Han, and F. Xing. 2017. “A critical review on research
progress of graphene/cement based composites,” Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf., vol. 102,
pp. 273–296.
[4] Cao, M., H. Zhang, and C. Zhang. 2016. “Effect of graphene on mechanical properties of
cement mortars,” J. Cent. South Univ., vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 919–925.
[5] Salopek, B., D. Krasic, and S. Filipovic. 1992. “Measurement and application of zeta-
potential,” Rud. Zb., vol. 4, pp. 147–151.

Experimental investigations on bond behavior of pre-

tensioned carbon fiber reinforced polymer tendons
b
Sophia Perse and Josef Hegger
Institute of Structural Concrete,
RWTH Aachen University,
if
Mies-van-der-Rohe-Str.1, 52072 Aachen, Germany
Abstract
A modular footbridge system without steel reinforcement is developed. The application of non-corro-
sive carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) reinforcement is suitable for building slender construc-
tions, which are durable and long-lasting. For the elements of the modular bridge system CFRP rein-
forcement is applied as mesh fabrics and pre-tensioned rebars. For an economic and safe design of the
superstructure, the bond behavior of CFRP members in high strength concrete has to be investigated.
In a first step, pull-out tests are carried out to investigate the bond strength of different surfaces of the
CFRP tendons. Additionally experiments are performed to determine the minimum concrete cover and
tendon spacing to avoid splitting cracks and the transfer length in small scale beam tests. With the
information of bond tests, the final cross section of the modular footbridge is defined.
1 Introduction
In-situ casted reinforced concrete is commonly used for road and pedestrian bridges due to simple con-
struction and versatility in design. Nevertheless, the formwork and casting on site causes great eco-
nomic effort. Due to corrosion issues, the installed steel reinforcement requires thick concrete covers
resulting in massive members [1],[2]. However, corrosion damages, e.g. caused by chloride penetration,
often cannot be excluded. The related loss of bearing capacity as well as visual effects require expensive
and elaborate refurbishment or even reconstruction. Thus, a modular footbridge system without steel
reinforcement is developed, that provides the basis for sustainable and economical footbridges with
high load capacity. Due to its corrosion resistance the application of carbon fiber reinforced polymer
(CFRP) reinforcement is suitable to realize this project. Since only bond requirements have to be ful-
filled, the required concrete cover can be minimized leading to a slender and lightweight construction.
To enhance the durability and reduce costs, a high strength concrete (HSC) with high density is applied.
Hence, no additional asphalt surface is needed.
A pilot project was started in 2010 in Albstadt, Germany to build a footbridge with a superstructure
made of precast textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) elements [3],[4]. The bridge with a total length of
97 m consists of six precast bridge elements with a maximum length of 17.2 m and spans of 15 m. The
cross-section of the superstructure is a T-beam with a total width of 3.21 m and seven webs (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Cross-section of the TRC superstructure of the footbridge in Albstadt, Germany [3], [4].
The footbridge is reinforced with textile reinforcement (AR-glass) and prestressed with steel strands
(unbonded post-tensioning). As a result of the required minimum concrete cover for the steel strands, a
web width of 120 mm is necessary. The concrete cover of the textile reinforcement is only 15 mm. The
tensile strength of the used textile reinforcement made of AR-glass is approx. 1100 N/mm2. Due to
durability requirements the tensile strength had to be reduced by 40 %. To overcome these restrictions

CFRP reinforcement is applied as mesh fabrics and pre-tensioned rebars for the superstructure of the
new bridge system. The application of non-corrosive CFRP tendons allows for a reduction of the web
number or web width because the required concrete cover can be minimized. Furthermore the CFRP
reinforcement has higher tensile strength (approx. 3000 N/mm2) and is not subject to restrictions re-
b
garding durability. Thus, a further reduction of required resources and consequently of the environmen-
tal impact is possible.
2 Pre-design
if
In Germany, current guidelines do not yet provide standards for the design of concrete structures pre-
stressed with FRP tendons. Thus, the presented pre-design is based on own considerations in compli-
ance with EC 2 and assumed material characteristics based on EC 2 [1],[2] and experience. The relevant
parameters are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1 Assumed material characteristics.
fcm fck fcd Ecm

[MPa] [MPa] [MPa] [MPa]
concrete 78 70 39.7 41,000
ftm ftk ftd Etm
CFRP mesh 3000 2400 1600 180,000
fpm fpk fpd Epm
CFRP tendons 3000 2400 1600 180,000
fcm: mean concrete compressive strength according to [1],[2]; fck: characteristic concrete compressive strength according to
[1],[2]; fcd: design concrete compressive strength according to [1],[2]; ftm: mean textile tensile strength; ftk: characteristic textile
tensile strength; ftd: ftk / γt with γt = 1.5; design textile tensile strength; fpm: mean tendon tensile strength; fpk: characteristic tendon
tensile strength; fpd: fpk /γt with γt = 1.5; design tendon tensile strength; Ecm, Etm, Epm: respective modulus of elasticity.
In a first step, the requirements regarding cross-sections, spans and level of prestressing were defined
based on loading and natural conditions. As a result, two concepts with short (C1) and long (C2) spans
were selected to explain the pre-design exemplarily. The dimensions of the cross-sections were deter-
mined considering the recommendations of current guidelines [5],[6] and limitations due to fabrication
and transport. The spans of the presented concepts were chosen as 12.0 m and 25.0 m to cover a wide
range of possible spans. A width of 3.00 m was defined uniformly for both concepts. Following the
footbridge in Albstadt [3],[4], a T-beam cross-section with a reduced number of four webs was chosen
for both concepts. Later on, the web widths need to be adjusted with respect to the number of required
CFRP tendons. The total height of the superstructure was set to 430 mm and 900 mm, respectively,
resulting in a slenderness of H/L = 1/28 for both constructions.
For pre-designing, the following loads were considered in compliance with Eurocode 1 [7],[8]:
dead loads, live loads due to pedestrians and wind, a service vehicle (5.0 ton) and an unplanned presence
of vehicle for accidental situation (12.0 ton). According to Eurocode 2, the level of prestressing for
footbridges with steel tendons is determined by verification of decompression for the frequent load
combination [1],[2].Using non-corrosive CFRP tendons, there are no specifications because the crack
formation does not have to be limited due to durability reasons. Thus, the level was defined by
verification of decompression for the quasi-permanent combination. Assuming a permissible tendon
stress σpm0 immediately after tensioning of 1500 MPa and prestressing losses of αcsr = 15 %, four
tendons (A = 51 mm2) for C1 and ten tendons for C2 are needed.
Because of the brittle material behavior of the CFRP reinforcement, the flexural capacity of a cross-
section for the ultimate limit state (ULS) has to be determined iteratively. In a first step, the strain
distribution of the cross-section is assumed. Regarding the concepts presented in this paper, the strain
distribution for the ULS is given by the maximum potential strain increase ∆εp,max of the bottommost

Experimental investigations on bond behavior of pre-tensioned carbon fiber reinforced polymer tendons
CFRP layer. This is specified by the difference of design fracture strain εpud of the tendons and the strain
due to pre-tensioning σpmt. Subsequently, the respective stresses of the CFRP reinforcement and the
concrete can be calculated. In a second step, the horizontal equilibrium of the resulting forces is
b
checked. The strain distribution has to be adjusted iteratively until equilibrium is achieved. With the
final strain distribution, the flexural load capacity of the cross-section can be calculated. If the resulting
bending capacity is higher than the bending action due to applied loads, the pre-design of the footbridge
is complete in terms of bending. For concepts C1 and C2, the flexural capacity had to be increased by
providing more tendons. Fig. 2 shows the resulting cross-sections for C1 and C2.
Fig. 2
if
Final cross-section of C1 (top) and C2 (bottom).
3 Experimental investigations
For an economic and safe design of the superstructure, the bond behavior of CFRP members in high-
strength concrete has to be investigated. In a first step, pull-out tests are carried out to investigate the
bond strength of different surfaces of the CFRP tendons. By this, the tendon surface with the highest
bond strength is identified and selected for further investigations. To avoid splitting cracks in the trans-
mission zone, minimum concrete cover and tendon spacing have to be provided. Thereby, the dimen-
sions of the bond anchorage zone are defined. To verify the assumptions for the pre-design, small scale
beam tests are conducted to investigate the required minimum concrete cover c and tendon spacing s.
Furthermore the transfer lengths of the CFRP tendons are determined.
3.1 Materials
The applied concrete is a self-compacting concrete mixture of class C70/85 developed by project part-
ner MAX BÖGL. As tendons, CFRP bars with a smooth surface (P0) and various profiled surfaces (P1 -
P4) and a diameter of 10 mm were used (Fig. 3 ). By the profiling of the surface, the bond properties
of the tendons are enhanced compared to the smooth bars. The CFRP tendons are produced by project
partner CG TEC. The material characteristics of concrete and tendons are in the same range as assumed
for the pre-design (cf. Table 1).
Sophia Perse and Josef Hegger 133

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Fig. 3 CFRP tendons with surface P0 to P4.
3.2 Pull-out tests

3.2.1 Test program and setup
In total, ten pull-out tests, two tests per surface profile P0 – P4, were tested. As test specimens, concrete
cubes with an edge length of 150 mm and a centrically arranged CFRP bar were used, resulting in a
concrete cover of c/dp = 7,0. Following the investigations of [9] and [10], the bond length was set to
2·dp = 20 mm for all specimens to achieve a nearly constant bond stress over the bond length. The tests
were conducted after one day of concrete hardening. In Table 2 the parameters of all tests are summa-
rized.
Table 2 Parameter variation and test results of pull-out tests.

Specimen Profile fcm,cyl,1d τmax s(τmax)
[-] [MPa] [MPa] [mm]
PO-1 P0 0,81 0,12
PO-2 P0 1,04 0,05
50,0
PO-3 P1 7,09 0,33
PO-4 P1 6,82 0,95
PO-5 P2 11,85 0,41

PO-6 P2 12,82 0,43
PO-7 P3 9,57 0,86
52,5
PO-8 P3 10,12 1,86
PO-9 P4 0,86 1,35
PO-10 P4 1,18 2,02
In Fig. 4 (left), the test set-up and measuring equipment according to RILEM [11] used for all tests are
shown. After one day of concrete hardening, the test specimens were removed from the formwork and
placed in the test frame with the bond zone at the upper side. The lower end of the CFRP tendon was
molded in a sleeve with epoxy resin which was clamped in the testing machine. During the test, the slip
at the upper end of the CFRP tendon is continuously measured by a linear variable displacement trans-
ducer (LVDT). The test speed was set to 0,5·dp2 = 50 N/s following the recommendation of [11].
3.2.2 Test results
The resulting bond stress-slip relationships of the pull-out tests are shown in Fig. 4 (right). The maxi-
mum bond stresses τmax measured in the tests and the related slips s(τmax) are summarized in Table 2.
The lowest bond stresses τmax were measured for test specimens with the smooth tendon P0 and the

profiled tendon P4, which shows a very low profiling. The profilings of the CFRP tendons P1, P2 and
P3 are higher developed resulting in higher bond stresses. The highest bond stresses τmax were reached
using tendon P2 and are more than ten times higher than the bond stresses of the tests with smooth
tendons. Based on these test results the tendon P2 was selected for further investigations.
Fig. 4
3.3
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Test set-up and measuring equipment of pull-out tests (left) and bond stress-slip relation-
ships of the pull-out tests (right).
Tests on transfer length

3.3.1 Test program and setup
In total, nine small scale beam tests with different cross-sections were tested. The first group consisted
of seven beams pre-tensioned with two tendons with varying concrete covers (c/dp = 2.5 – 5.0) and
tendon spacings s/dp = 3.5 – 10.3). With these tests, the required minimum dimensions of the bond
anchorage zone to avoid splitting cracks were to be identified. Based on the results of the first test
group, two specimens pre-tensioned with four tendons were tested to verify the determined minimum
concrete cover and tendon spacing for tendon groups. In Table 3 the parameters of all tests are summa-
rized.
Table 3 Parameter variation and test results of small scale beam tests.
Specimen Concrete Tendon Number fcm,cyl,1d Cracks Average transfer length
cover spacing of tendons LT
c/dp [-] s/dp [-] [-] [MPa] S1 S2 S1 [mm] S2 [mm]
TL1 4.0 8.0 2 51.4 245 222
TL2 3.0 5.75 2 205 285
TL3 2.5 5.75 2 54.8 X - 283
TL4 5.0 10.3 2 207 210
TL5 3.0 3.5 2 52.5 X X - -
TL6 3.0 5.75 2 39.9 266 292
TL7 3.0 5.75 2 271 333
263 279
TL8 3.0 5.75 4 47.7
280 269
276 259
TL9 3.0 5.75 4 47.7
321 284

In Fig. 5, the test set-up and measuring equipment used for all tests are shown. The test specimens were
casted in a stiff rig using a tensile testing machine to apply the pre-tensioning force. The pre-tensioning
force of the CFRP tendons was chosen according to the pre-design (approx. 75 kN). During jacking,
the forces were monitored by load cells installed at the passive end of the tendons and by the sum of
b
forces monitored by the testing machine. Subsequently, the test specimens were casted using the self-
compacting concrete. After one day of concrete hardening, the jacking force was slowly released in five
steps. At each load step, the concrete compression strains were determined using DEMEC (Demount-
able Mechanical) strain gauges. The DEMEC points were mounted on the concrete surface at the level
if
of tendons with a gauge length of 100 mm. The configuration of DEMEC points is shown in Fig. 5
(bottom right). The end slip of tendons was continuously measured by LVDTs.
Fig. 5 Test set-up and measuring equipment of small scale beam tests.
3.3.2 Test results

To ensure a proper load transfer, a crack free anchorage zone of the CFRP tendons is necessary. Thus,
the objective of the first test group was to determine the minimum concrete cover c/dp and tendon
spacing s/dp to avoid splitting cracks in the test specimen. For test specimens with a concrete cover of
c/dp = 3.0 and a tendon spacing of s/dp ≥ 5.75 (TL2, TL6 and TL7), no splitting cracks were observed
during the release of jacking force. A further reduction of concrete cover to c/dp = 2.5 (see TL3) leads
to a crack initiation at release of 80 % of the jacking force. At 100 % release, splitting cracks along the
full beam length were observed at the top and side of the beam (Fig. 6 (left)).
The same observation was made for test specimen TL7 with a concrete cover of c/dp = 3.0 and a
reduced tendon spacing of s/dp =3.5. During the release of the final load step a sudden failure due to
splitting cracks along both sides of the beam occurred (Fig. 6 (right)). For beams with a tendon spacings
s/dp ≥ 5.75, for example TL1, TL2, TL4, TL6 and TL7, no crack formation was observed throughout
full release of pre-tensioning force. A more detailed investigation of tendon spacings between 3.5 and
5.75 would be necessary, but was not yet possible due to boundary conditions of the test set-up.
Fig. 6 Failure modes for test specimens TL3 (left) and TL7 (right).

To verify the results of the first test group, two beams (TL8 and TL9) with a group of four tendons were
tested. For both beams, the concrete cover and tendon spacing were set to 3.0 and 5.75, respectively.
For both beams, the full pre-tensioning force was released without crack formation. In conclusion, the
required minimum concrete cover of the used CFRP tendons should be c/dp = 3.0 and the minimum
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tendon spacing s/dp = 5.75 to ensure a proper load transfer of the pre-tensioning force. Based on the test
results, the assumptions for the pre-design (c/dp = 2.5 and s/dp = 5.0) were adjusted. The resulting
dimensions of the cross-sections are indicated in parentheses in Fig. 2.
Besides the required minimum dimensions of the anchorage zone, the transfer length of the CFRP
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tendons was investigated. The transfer length LT is defined as the length, which has to be utilized to
transfer the full pre-tensioning force from tendon to concrete. The transfer length of the uncracked
beams were determined following a notification of DIBt [12]. Even though the guideline had been
derived for steel tendons, previous applications for CFRP tendons showed good results [9],[10]. Ac-
cording to DIBt [12], at first the average maximum strain at 100 % release max ε100 is calculated. Next,
the length L80 is determined, specified as the length where 80 % of max ε100 are reached. The transfer
length LT is calculated by multiplication of L80 with a factor of 1.35.
Fig. 7 Concrete compression strains and transfer length for the tests TL7 and TL8.
Fig. 7 shows the development of concrete compression strains and the resulting transfer lengths for test
specimens TL6 and TL9. The vast majority of the measured transfer lengths for all test specimens with
c/dp = 3.0 and s/dp = 5.75 varies between 260 and 300 mm with an average value of LT = 277 mm.
Significantly positive or negative deviations were observed only in a few tests, for example TL2 and
TL7. An increase of concrete cover and tendon spacing as for test specimens TL1 and TL4 leads to a
reduction of the transfer lengths.
4 Conclusions
The development of a modular footbridge system without steel reinforcement enables the construction
of durable and economical footbridges that provide high load capacity. Due to the corrosion resistance
of the applied CFRP reinforcement, the required concrete cover can be minimized leading to a slender
and light-weight superstructure. Based on requirements by loading and natural conditions, initial drafts
of two concepts were determined in a first step. In a second step, the flexural pre-design of the two
concepts was explained exemplarily in compliance with EC 2 [1],[2]. Because of the brittle behavior
of the CFRP reinforcement, the flexural capacities for the ultimate limit state (ULS) were determined
in an iterative process. Next, the level of pre-tensioning and the cross-sections were adjusted regarding
the required load capacities.
Furthermore, to verify the assumptions concerning the dimensions of the bond anchorage zone for
the pre-design, experimental investigations on the bond behavior of CFRP tendons were conducted. In
a first step, pull-out tests were conducted to identify the tendon surface with the highest bond strength
(P2). Afterwards small scale beam tests were carried out to investigate the required minimum concrete
cover c and tendon spacing s. The experimental investigations indicated a required minimum concrete
cover of c/dp = 3.0 and a minimum tendon spacing s/dp = 5.75 to ensure a proper load transfer of the
pre-tensioning force. Furthermore the transfer lengths of the CFRP tendons were determined. For the

required minimum dimensions, an average transfer length of 277 mm was measured. Based on the test
results, the cross-sections of the pre-design were updated.
Acknowledgements
b
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support received by Federal Ministry of Education and Re-
search (BMBF) of Germany and VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH (project CFC-SYS; support code:
13N13536), as well as by the project partners CG TEC GmbH, Max Bögl Bauservice GmbH & Co. KG
and solidian GmbH.
if
References
[1] DIN EN 1992-1-1. 2011. Eurocode 2: Design of concrete structures: Part 1-1: General rules
and Rules for Buildings. Berlin: Beuth Verlag.
[2] DIN EN 1992-1-1/NA. 2011. National annex – National determined parameters – Eurocode 2:
Design of Concrete Structures: Part 1-1: General Rules and Rules for Buildings. Berlin: Beuth
Verlag.
[3] Hegger, J., C. Goralski, and C. Kulas. 2011. “Schlanke Fußgängerbrücke aus Textilbeton (A
pedestrian bridge made of textile reinforced concrete)”. Beton und Stahlbetonbau 106: 64-71.
[4] Kulas, C., J. Hegger, C. Goralski, and R. Karle. 2012. “Design and sustainability of a pre-
stressed and precast pedestrian bridge made of textile-reinforced concrete”, Paper presented at
the PCI Convention and National Bridge Conference, Nashville, USA, September 29 - October
3.
[5] Forschungsgesellschaft für Straßen- und Verkehrswesen. 2002. Empfehlungen für Fußgänger-
verkehrsanlagen. Köln: FGSV.
[6] International Federation for structural concrete. 2005. Guidelines for the design of footbridges.
Lausanne: fib.
[7] DIN EN 1991-2. 2010. Eurocode 1: Actions on structures – Part 2: Traffic loads on bridges.
Berlin: Beuth Verlag.
[8] DIN EN 1991-2/NA. 2010. National annex – National determined parameters – Eurocode 1:
Actions on structures – Part 2: Traffic loads on bridges. Berlin: Beuth Verlag.
[9] Stark, A., and J. Hegger. 2013. „Bond behaviour of pre-tensioned CFRP tendons in UHPFRC“.
Beton- und Stahlbetonbau 108:701−10.
[10] Stark, A., S. Perse, and J. Hegger. 2016. „Test on the Transfer Length of CFRP Tendons in
UHPC”, In: Fehling, E.; Middendorf, B; Thiemicke, J. (Eds.): Proceedings of HiPerMat 2016,
4th International Symposium on Ultra-High Performance Concrete and High Performance Con-
struction Materials, Kassel.

[11] RILEM. 1983. RC6: Bond test reinforcing steel, 2. Pull-out test. International Union of Labor-
atories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures.
[12] DIBt. 1980. Richtlinien für die Prüfung von Spannstählen auf ihre Eignung zur Verankerung
durch sofortigen Verbund. Berlin: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Instituts für Bautechnik.

Some possibilities of the composition of ternary

binders
b
David Pytlík, Markéta Bambuchová and Vlastimil Bílek
VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava,
if
Ludvíka podéště 1875/17, Ostrava-Poruba (708 33), Czech Republic
Abstract
Ternary binders are considered a very promising class of binders. They can be prepared from Portland
cement, limestone and other mineral admixtures which contain aluminate ions. This last compound can
be thermally activated clay but also some secondary materials – fly ash, slag, etc. The presented paper
focusses on the replacement of ground limestone with recycled concrete powder, the replacement of fly
ash of a high quality with fly ash of a worse quality or with bad ash. Experiments were performed with
these materials with different finenesses and different dosages. The target was to find an optimum com-
position of ternary binders. Especially, the replacement of limestone with recycled concrete powder
seems to be very promising.
1 Introduction
Concrete and cement production is increasing every year, especially in the developing countries. This
fact has a considerable effect on our environment. To get enough materials to produce cement, huge
volumes of raw materials are used which are extracted from quarries. Moreover, Portland cement pro-
duction requires a large amount of energy and together with carbon oxide from limestone decomposi-
tion, the manufacture of Portland cement emits a high amount of CO2.
The replacement of ordinary Portland cement by mineral admixtures represents a promising way
of changing traditonal concrete technology. On the other hand, we need to make sure that this kind
of concrete will be durable enough to last and maintain its designed strength. However,
one of the potential drawbacks is the lower early strength of mixtures with mineral admixtures. One
way to increase the initial strengths is to use ternary binders. They are often considered the most
promising binders [1], [2], [3], [4]. They consist of Portland cement, ground limestone and fly ash
or ground granulated blast furnace slag or other sources of alumina (burned clays). An optimum
composition of ternary binder can modify hydration reaction in a positive way and bring a synergic
effect. Mortars with ternary binders show higher early and sometimes also late strengths than
corresponding mortars with binary binders [1], [3], [4].
In this paper we present and discuss the replacement of ground limestone with recycled concrete
powder and the replacement of fly ash of a high quality (EN 450) with bottom ash of a worse quality.
Recycled concrete contains some part of calcium carbonate as a result of carbonation of concrete -
especially as a result of carbonation of portlandite. This calcium carbonate can act similarly as calcium
carbonate from limestone. The possibility of a replacement of ground limestone with ground recycled
concrete was verified earlier [5], [6]. The use of bottom fly ash has been evoked by a big amount of
this material in deposits and also by the nitrification of fly ash which cuts down on the possibility of
their use in concrete. Different fractions of both of the mentioned materials were tested in order to find
the right combination in terms of both the dosage of compounds and granulometry.
2 Materials and experimental procedure

Some important properties of compounds are shown in Tab 1. CEM I 42.5 R from Mokra cement plant
was used to prepare mortars. The composition of mortars is shown in Tab. 2. It is clear that 25 % of
cement was substituted with concrete filler and/or bottom ash. Mortars were mixed in a laboratory
mixer in accordance to EN 196-1. The workability was measured with a truncated cone, low base di-
ameter 100 mm, upper base diameter 60 mm and height 60 mm. The cone flow was measured on a jolt-
ing table after 15 jolts in two perpendicular directions. The average values are shown in the graphs -
Fig. 2, 4, 6, 8. After mixing the mortars were put into moulds (40 x 40 x 160) mm and compacted

in accordance to EN 196-1. At the age of 1 day the specimens were demoulded and 2 prisms were tested
for 24 hours strength. Other prisms were stored in water (20 ± 3) °C up to the time to testing at the ages
of 7 and 28 days. Also at the age of 7 and 28 days were tested 2 prisms for strength. Together with
mortars with the substitution of cement with admixtures, also comparative prisms were made with ce-
b
ment only – in accordance to EN 196-1. The strengths of mortars with admixtures are expressed as
relative strengths, which means as a ratio of the strength of a beam with admixture to the strength of
mortar with cement only.
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Table 1 Some properties of used admixtures.
specific
Chapelle CaCO3 Activity index - 28 days
surface
test content EN 450
area
[%]
[m2/kg] [mgCaO/g] [%]
compressive Flexural
bottom ash BA 250 250 255,6 75 84
bottom ash BA 450 450 233,2 94 108
concrete filler P250 241 83 99
18,8 7,8
concrete filler P450 487 74 80
concrete filler S250 259 68 101
56 14,2
concrete filler S450 501 80 95
Table 2 Composition of mortars in kg/m3.

Sign 0 6,5 12,5 18,7 25 CEM
CEM I 42.5 R 338 338 338 338 338 450
bottom ash 0 28 56 84 112 0
concrete filler 112 84 56 28 0 0
water 225 225 225 225 225 225

normalized sand PG 1 450 450 450 450 450 450

Some results of compressive strengths as well as workability are presented for different combinations
of BA and S or P. Difference between S and P is that filler P is made from concrete railway sleeper and
filler S is standart building concrete. Also concrete filler P contains 7.8 % of CaCO3 and 18.8 mgCaO/g
but concrete filler S contains 14.2 % of CaCO3 and 56 mgCaO/g.
3.1 Fine bottom ash and fine concrete filler

An insignificant synergy at the age of 24 hours can be observed for the combination
of BA 450 and S 450. The interesting thing is that the mixture with 6.3 % of bottom ash has the highest
strength at the age of 24 hours. The mortar with 12.5 % of bottom ash shows the highest strength
at 7 days and the mortar with 18.7 % of bottom ash shows the highest strenth at 28 days. Probably,
at the start of hydration, a modification of hydratation takes place and the pozzolana activity of BA ap-
parently becomes more and more important. Of course, the comparative mortar with CEM only has the

highest strengths - all activity idexes are lower than 100 % as we can see in Figure 1. This can apparently
be due to a pozzolanic reaction.
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Fig. 1 Activity index of compressive strength, BA 450, supplement to 25 % is concrete filler S
450.
The workabilities of all mixtures are similar and they are shown in Figure 2. This is probably due to the
similar surface properties of all of the components. The best workability is shown by mortar with CEM
only, which is probably the consequence of silicon acid gel which arises after the mixing of cement
with water. The absorbtivity of concrete filler is probably another reason for worse workability. Another
influence on workability could have shape of particle.
Fig. 2 Workability of mortars, BA 450, supplement to 25 % is concrete filler S 450.
Similar results were obtained for the combination of BA 450 and concrete filler P 450; see Figures 3
and 4. In this case, the synergy at the age of 24 hours is more pronounced. As we can see, the activity
index of ternary binder in compressive strenths at 24 hours reaches up to 85%. The workability of ter-
nary binder mortars is worse than that of cement mortars, Figure 4, which was also mentioned in the
previous figure. Workability decreased together with the content of concrete filler – the absorbtivity of
concrete filler probably plays an important role.
David Pytlík, Markéta Bambuchová and Vlastimil Bílek 141

ifb
Fig. 3 Activity index of compressive strength, BA 450, supplement to 25 % is concrete filler P
450.
Fig. 4 Workability of mortars, BA 450, supplement to 25 % is concrete filler P 450.
3.2 Fine bottom ash and coarse concrete filler

The combination of fine bottom ash BA 450 and coarse concrete filler shows a relatively strong syn-
ergy with the composition 6.3 % of bottom ash and 18.7 % of concrete filler. The activity index
at the age of 24 hours is relatively high - 98 %, which means that this composition has nearly the
same strength as the comparative mixture. This mortar also has a good workability.

250.

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3.3 Coarse bottom ash and coarse concrete filler

250.
David Pytlík, Markéta Bambuchová and Vlastimil Bílek 143

The combination of coarse bottom ash - BA 250 m2/kg and coarse concrete filler P 250 did not provide
any promising results. In this case, synergy was not achieved and all activity indexes are low. This
combination is probably not very promising.
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4 Conclusions
The presented results show that it is possible to prepare a good ternary binder from waste materials -
bottom ash and concrete filler. The recorded results are quite well in line with the results of other papers
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[1], [3], [7] where the ground limestone was used. In those cases, only a small part of the limestone
(about 5%) of the admixtures shows the best result. Since concrete filler P contains 7.8 % of CaCO3
and concrete filler S contains 14.2 % of CaCO3, the results are in a relatively good qualitative corre-
spondence.
Results also show that not only composition of ternary binder, but also their granulometry affects
significantly values of mechanical properties. So further research should concentrate on influence of
granulometry and other mechanical and physical properties.
The results are important from the point of view of the sustainability of building structures. An
application of the above mentioned ternary binders means a reduction of Portland cement consumption
and a more reasonable application of secondary materials. But bottom ash grinding is a relatively costly
process, which is likely to exclude the use of bottom ash in practice. However, these results can serve
as an explanation for the effect of the different fineness of fly ash (bottom ash being similar) on the
development of synergies. This was the reason for testing bottom ash for this report.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the project SGS SP 2018/182 granted by Faculty of Civil Engineering
VŠB-TU Ostrava.
References
[1] Antoni, M., J. Rossen, F. Martirena, and K. Scrivener. 2012. “Cement substitution by a combi-
nation of metakaoline and limestone.” Cement and Concrete Research 42:1579–1589.
[2] Bohac, M., M. Palou, R. Novotny, J. Másilko, D. Vsiansky, and T. Stanek. 2014. “Investigation
on early hydration of ternary Portland cement-blast- furnace slag- metakaolin blends.”
Construction and Building Materials 64:333–341
[3] De Weerdt, K., K.O. Kjellsen, E. Sellevold, and H. Justnes. 2011. “Synergy between fly ash
and limestone powder in ternyry cements.” Cement & Concrete Composites 33:30–38.
[4] Sánchez, Berriel S., A. Favier, Rosa E. Domínguez, Sánchez I. R. Machado, U. Heierli, K.
Scrivener, Martirena F. Hernández, and G. Habert. 2016. “Assessing the environmental and
economicpotential of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement in Cuba.” Journal of Cleaner Produc-
tion 124:361–369
[5] Bilek, V. 2013. “Development and properties of concretes with ternary binders.” Cement,
Wapno, Beton 6:343–352.
[6] Bilek, V. 2012. “The use of concrete filer as mineral admixture in concrete.” Paper presented
at the 8th Int. Conf. Concrete in the Low Carbon Era, Dundee (Scotland), July 9-11.
[7] Bilek, V. 2012. “Development of concrete with ternary binders.” Paper presented at the Twelfth
Int. Conf. on Recent Advances in Concrete Technology and Sustainability Issues, Prague,
Czech Republic, 30 October - 2 November.

Strength and microstructure of tungsten mining waste-

based hybrid alkaline material: effect of activators
b
Naim Sedira and João Castro-Gomes
Centre of Materials and Building Technologies (C–MADE/UBI),
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture,
if
University of Beira Interior (UBI),
6201–001 Covilhã, Portugal
Abstract
This work experimentally investigated the effects of different alkaline activators (sodium silicate, so-
dium hydroxide, and potassium hydroxide), when used with varying proportions and concentrations
with tungsten mining waste mud (TMW) and grounded granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) as a
precursors to produce hybrid alkaline materials. The compressive strength development and the micro-
structure was studied. The precursors used in this study are a combination of TMW (90 vt.%) and
GGBFS (10 vt.%). After preparing the mixtures and molding, the samples were placed in an oven at a
temperature of 60°C for 24 hours. After the hardened specimens were cured in laboratory condition,
after (7, 14 and 28 days) the samples explored by compressive strength tests, also by scanning electron
microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) were measured to the microstructure.
1 Introduction
The carbonate decomposition is the third-largest source of anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide
to the atmosphere, and the global manufacturing of Portland cement (PC) is the main source of CO2
emissions from decomposition of carbonates [1]. In order to reduce the CO2 and greenhouse gas
emissions an alternative cement to PC have been proposed [2]. Alkali-activated blended Portland
cement is an innovative material which is under developing nowadays; named also as “hybrid cement”.
These cementitious materials use industrial by-products wastes such as fly ash or granulated grounded
blast furnace slag (GGBFS) with a minority of PC or clinker as precursors and use different alkali
activation solutions [3]–[7]. By combining PC or slags with industrial by-products under the alkali
activation reaction, these hybrid cementitious materials have better mechanical and proved durability
properties even at early ages [6], [8], [9]. Different sources of aluminosilicate materials used as
precursors, the mine tailings is waste generated from mining activities which have been used in various
previous studies alkali–activated materials development. Tungsten tailing is waste generated from a
tungsten mine. It can lead to environmental risk, like contamination of soil, pollution of water and air
in the surrounding areas, only in Panasquera mine in Portugal approximately 37000 tonnes per year
[10]. Many studies nowadays focus on the valorisation and re-use the mine tailing waste in the
construction sector as technical-artistic value [11], as a binder by combining the mining waste with
other mineral wastes to produce alkali-activated binders with high performances [12], [13]. In the other
hand researchers use tungsten mining waste in other innovative application [14], [15]. The hydration
products resulted in such cementitious composites are different in nature and composition from those
that are traditionally obtained from PC and are dependent on the type of industrial by-products wastes
or aluminosilicate precursors used [16]. The hybrid cementitious materials contain different gels, which
formation depends on the precursors used as raw materials. The gels produced in hybrid materials
include the following: calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) due to the normal hydration of PC or slags
(calcium and silicate rich materials); sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (N-A-S-H), which is the main
product of the alkaline activation of aluminosilicate (also present in industrial waste by-products); and
calcium aluminosilicate hydrate (C-A-S-H) and (N, C)-A-S-H gels, which are dependent on the pH and
the calcium/ silicate (Ca/Si) and silicate/alumina (Si/Al) contents of the system [3]. So, in synthesis,
and hybrid alkaline material contains either PC or slags (such us blast furnace slag and phosphorous
slag), blended with other aluminosilicate rich materials (such us fly-ash or similar). Garcia-Lodeiro et
al. [17] made an hybrid cement by blending 70% fly ash (FA) and 30% of PC as precursors, and using
different alkaline activating solutions of different pH values. The hybrid cement resulted from the study
corroborated the presence of different gels, such us N-A-S-H, C-A-S-H, and (N, C)-A-S-H.

In this study, we evaluated the feasibility to produce hybrid materials by blending tungsten mining
waste (TMW) and grounded granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) activated with a composition of
sodium silicate, sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. This research work is part of REMINE
research program (H2020 RISE-Marie Curie Action) that aims to the reuse of mining waste into
b
innovative geopolymeric-based structural panels, precast, ready mixes and in-situ applications.
2.1 Materials
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The materials used in this work are (non-calcinated, i.e. natural) tungsten mining waste (N-TMW) and
grounded granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). The mud waste was collected from Panasqueira mine
located in Covilhã, Portugal. The mud was dried in an oven at 60°C temperature for 24 hours.
Afterwards, the dried mud was mechanically disaggregated using a crushing machine and sieved under
500 µm particle size. The GGBFS was obtained from the cement plant Ain El Kebira located in Algeria.
Prior to mixing the GGBFS was sieved to obtain size particles under 250 µm.
The particle size distribution of N-TMW and GGBFS are shown in Fig. 1 were determined using
laser diffraction (Mastersizer 2000, Malvern Instruments). This indicates a mean particle size of
approximately 4.35 µm for N-TMW and 2.55 µm for GGBFS, a d50 (50% of volume less than this
size) of 5.43 µm for N-TMW and 3.12 µm for GGBFS, a d10 value of 11.1 µm for N-TMW and 8.05
µm for GGBFS.
The bulk powder densities of N-TMW and GGBFS were determined using a helium gas
displacement pycnometer (model AccuPyc 1340, Micromeritics, Norcross, Georgia) and were
determined as 3.03 and 2.92 g/cm3, respectively. The Blaine fineness of the different powders was
determined according to EN 196-6, by using a Blaine air permeability apparatus (model ACMEL
BSA1) and were determined as 3339 and 3115 cm²/g, respectively.
The physical characteristics and the element chemical compositions of the N-TMW and GGBFS
materials are presented in Table 1.
Particle size distribution curve of N-TMW and GGBFS.

Strength and microstructure of tungsten mining waste-based hybrid alkaline material: Effect of activators
Table 1 Physical characteristics and chemical composition (% mass) of N-TMW and GGBFS.
Materials
Chemical compound/Properties
b
GGBFS N-TMW
SiO2 34.09 46.67
Al2O3 7.79 17.05
TiO2 0.37 0.6
if
SO3 1.27 7.9
K2O 0.51 4.9
CaO 48.71 0.69
Fe2O3 0.4 15.47
MgO 5.09 4.8
Na2O 0.5 0.85
ZnO - 1.09
MnO 1.23 –
Density [g/cm3] 2.7339 3.0319
Blaine specific area [cm²/g] 2954 3339
For the alkaline activators, the sodium hydroxide solution was prepared by dissolving sodium
hydroxide pellets (98% purity, obtained from Fisher Scientific, Schwerte, Germany) in deionized water
and allowed to cool before use. For the preparation of potassium hydroxide (98% purity, obtained from
Quimialmel Chemical Minerals Ltd., Portugal) solution was adopted the same process used for sodium
hydroxide solution.
Sodium silicate (obtained from Solvay SA, Póvoa de Santa Iria, Portugal) presented the following
chemical composition: SiO3/Na2O = 3.23 (8.60% by weight Na2O, 27.79% by weight SiO2, 63.19% by
weight H2O, and 0.4% by weight Al2O3).
N-TMW and GGBFS X-ray diffractograms are presented in figure 2. The X–ray diffractogram of
the N-TMW indicates it has a crystalline nature and is consists mainly of muscovite and quartz, which
were identified by their characteristic, as follows: muscovite (Ref. PDF#46–1409), quartz (Ref.
PDF#46–1045) and clinochlore (ref. PDF#29–0701) [18].
a) N-TMW b) GGBFS
X–ray diffractograms of a) N-TMW and b) GGBFS - phases identified are Quartz (Q),
Muscovite (M), Clinochlore (C), Calcite (Cl), Akermanite (AK).
X–ray diffractogram spectra of GGBFS reveals a mixture of poorly crystalline phases with
compositions resembling gehlenite (2CaO·Al2O3·SiO2) and akermanite (2CaO·MgO·2SiO2) and
depolymerized calcium silicate glasses [19]. It confirms that Blast furnace slag is a predominantly an
amorphous product, containing small amounts of crystalline phases like Akermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7), or
Naim Sedira and João Castro-Gomes 147

Quartz (SiO2). It offers hydraulic properties similar to those of Portland Cement and hence may partly
substitute the clinker component in cement blends [20].
2.2 Mixing and curing conditions
b
The N-TMW hybrid alkaline mixes were produced by mixing N-TMW and GGBFS as precursors, with
different alkaline activator solutions (NaOH-sodium hydroxide 8M, KOH-potassium hydroxide 8M
and 10M). For each concentration, the activating solutions were mixed with sodium silicate (SS) using
a 2:1 mass ratio. For the precursors/activators (P/A) mass ratios both 2:1 and 3:1 ratios were adopted,
if
as shown in the Table 2.
Table 2 Proportion of N-TMW hybrid alkaline material mixes.

Mixture Activator Activators combinations (A) Precursors (P) Ratio
N-TMW - TM (P/A)
NaOH KOH KOH GGBFS - S
SS 8M 8M 10M
MAH1 Na-1 0.67 0.33 - - 90%TM+10%S 2:1
MAH2 Na-2 0.67 0.33 - - 90%TM+10%S 3:1
MAH3 K-1 0.67 - 0.33 - 90%TM+10%S 2:1
MAH4 K-2 0.67 0.33 90%TM+10%S 3:1
MAH5 K-3 0.67 - - 0.33 90%TM+10%S 3:1
Thus, the blended mixtures were activated with a combination; of different solutions, namely (Na
group) SS+NaOH and (K group) SS+KOH. Before beginning to prepare the mixtures, the two activators
were first mixed together. Afterwards, the liquid activating solution was mixed with the precursors and
poured in the curing moulds. Then, the filled moulds were placed in an oven at a temperature of 60°C
for 24 hours, for synthesis. To avoid water evaporation the N-TMW hybrid alkaline materials during
curing, the filled moulds were wrapped with plastic film during the oven curing synthesis. After the
initial 24 hours oven curing period, the specimens were demoulded and were left to cure in laboratory
conditions (about 20 ºC) placed inside sealed plastic bags, for 7, 14 and 28 days.
3 Result and Discussion

3.1 Strength development using different parameters

The compressive strength tests were performed on 3000 kN electro–hydraulic mechanical testing ma-
chine ‘ADR Touch 3000 BS EN Compression Machine with Digital Readout and Self Centring Platens',
in accordance with EN 196-1. Compressive strength data was obtained using 25 mm cubic size speci-
mens. The compressive strength results of N-TMW hybrid alkaline materials (average of testing 5 spec-
imens per each mixture) were obtained at the ages of 7, 14 and 28 days. Figure 3 shows the development
of compressive strength in terms of the curing time for different N-TMW hybrid alkaline mixes.
3.1.1 Effect of the type of alkaline activator
To study the effect of the type of alkaline activator on the development of the strength of the hybrid
materials the concentration solution and P/A ratio were kept constant. Thus, the comparison was made
between MHA1 and MHA3 pair, and between MAH2 and MAH4 pair. MAH1 and MAH3 mixes ob-
tained the same compressive strength results. Besides, the samples with a 3:1 P/A ratio present different
results at 28 days; i.e. MAH2 produced with “Na group” obtained 24.5 MPa at 7 days, and 25.5 MPa
at 28 days; MAH4 prepared using “K group” obtained 20.8 MPa at 7 days and 28.3 MPa after 28 days
of curing. The sample made with “K group” (MAH4) obtained higher compressive strength that the
pair made with “Na group”.
3.1.2 Effect of Precursor/Activator (P/A) ratios
It is clear that the ratio of precursors to activators had a great influence on the development of the
compressive strength, for all samples. In the first 7 days of curing, the samples with 2:1 P/A ratio

(MAH1 and MAH3) obtained a compressive strength of 17.2 MPa and 18.3 MPa, while MAH2 and
MAH4 samples (3:1 P/A ratio) obtained a compressive strength of 24.5 MPa and 20.8 MPa, respec-
tively. The same difference (of about 42% and 16%) is found at the ages of 14 and 28 days.
b
3.1.3 Effect of activators concentration
The effect of alkaline activator concentration on the compressive strength development was made by
comparison between MAH4 and MAH5 samples (both made with SS+KOH alkaline activator and the
same P/A ratio). MAH4 (SS+KOH 8M) specimens showed a slight compressive strength increase, of
if
about 1%, when comparing to MAH5 (SS+KOH 10M), at all tested ages.
Compressive strength of N-TMW hybrid alkaline materials activated with different com-
bination of activators in 7,14 and 28 days.
3.1.4 Effect of curing time

The effect of development of strength along time was made for different type of alkaline activators,
concentration and P/A ratio. MAH1 and MAH3 specimens gave the lowest results at all the curing ages;
in the first 7 days gave 17.2 MPa and 18.3 MPa.Afterwards, it slowly developed to 22 MPa and 21.8
MPa at 28 days, respectively. The MAH3 specimen presented highest results after 7 days of curing of
about 24.5 MPa. Afterwards its compressive strength did not increase significantly; i.e. 25.0 MPa at 14
days and 25.5 MPa at 28 days. During the same period of study, from 7 to 28 days, the highest increase
in compressive strength was found out for samples MAH4 and MAH5; i.e. about 39% increase, starting
from 20,8 and 21 MPa and reaching to 28.3 and 29.2 MPa, respectively. As a synthesis, the N-TMW
hybrid alkaline made with SS+NaOH 8M gave the highest result at 7 days without further development
for later ages, while the materials made with SS+KOH 10M presented the highest compressive strength
at 28 days of curing.
3.2 Microstructure
Fig. 4 show the microstructures of the hybrid alkaline N-TMW/GGBFS 90/10 at curing age of 28 days,
studied with an Hitachi S-4800 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) in the Optical Centre of the Uni-
versity of Beira Interior. All hybrid materials produced (Na-1, Na-2, K-1, K-2 and K-3) were studied.
For the SEM analysis, specimens were mounted in epoxy, polished, and Au coated.

ifb
(a) MAH1 (b) MAH2
(c) MAH3 (d) MAH4

(e) MAH5
SEM images of N-TMW hybrid alkaline materials: (a) MAH1;(b) MAH2; (c) MAH3; (d)
MAH4; (e) MAH5.
The main synthesis products that were found in the SEM image analysis were the (N,C)–A–S–H gels
and C2ASH8 hydrates, coagulated around the N-TMW and GGBS particles [see point 1]. A gel with a
high silicon and aluminium content and smaller amounts of calcium and sodium, which the authors
believe might be a N–A–S–H gel containing a certain amount of calcium (N,C)–A–S–H is shown in
point 2 [21], [22]. Some spongy particles are observed in the N-TMW hybrid materials made with all
different alkaline activator solutions, and these spongy particles are considered to be gehlenite hydrates
C2ASH8 [Point 3] [23]. The mixes made with 2:1 P/A ratio present more cracks comparing with the
samples made with the 3:1 P/A ratio, which could be caused by the evaporation of the excess of acti-
vator solution which in turn caused an high drying-shrinkage. Thus, the precursor/activator ratio can

have a major impact on the cracks formed in N-TMW hybrid alkaline materials. Nevertheless, much
more cracks were observed in SS+NaOH than in SS + KOH specimens. This last specimen only shows
small cracks that can be formed due to its rapid synthesis period. However, SS+NaOH alkaline activated
slag cements suffer of such cracking behaviour as in the case of this study [16]. It was also noted that
b
the compressive strength is related to the cracking degree found by SEM studies of the N-TMW hybrid
alkaline materials.
4 Conclusions
if
This research has reported experimental results and analyses on the effect of the type of activators, the
activators molarity and P/A ratios on the hybrid alkaline binders based on GGBFS and N-TMW. The
following conclusions can be drawn from the strength testing and SEM analyse:
The N-TMW+GGBFS hybrid alkaline materials made with SS+NaOH 8M with 3:1 P/A ratio
present higher compressive strength results in the first curing 7 days. However, the hybrid made
with SS+KOH 10M with 3:1 P/A ratio gave lowest compressive strength results in the first 7
days. However, the same hybrid material (made with SS+KOH 10M with 3:1 P/A ratio) reached
the highest compressive strength, at 28 days curing.
The N-TMW+GGBFS hybrid (made with SS+KOH 10M with 3:1 P/A ratio), cured for 28 days
yielded a compressive strength of 29.2 MPa, which can be compared with commercial Portland
cements.
The scanning electron microscopy study showed that the N-TMW+GGBFS hybrid alkaline ma-
terial (made with SS+KOH 10M with 3:1 P/A ratio) has a fairly compact structure due to the
presence of N-A-S-H and gehlenite hydrate, which are characteristic of this type of materials.
In addition, small cracks form due to the rapid hydration/synthesis that occurs in these SS+KOH
alkali-activated materials; this phenomenon must be controlled.
The overall results of this study show that the type and the molarity of alkaline activators to-
gether with the precursor/activator ratio has highly beneficial influence on N-TMW+GGBFS
hybrid alkaline materials strength and microstructure development.
Acknowledgements
This research was partially supported by European Commission under Horizon 2020, Marie Skłodow-
ska-Curie Actions, Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE), by REMINE “Reuse of Mining
Waste into Innovative Geopolymeric-based Structural Panels, Precast, Ready Mixes and Insitu Appli-
cations”. Project no 645696 (https://reminemsca.wordpress.com).
This work was also partially financed by Portuguese national funds through FCT - Foundation for
Science and Technology, IP, within the research unit C-MADE, Centre of Materials and Building Tech-
nologies (CIVE-Central covilhã-4082), University of Beira Interior, Portugal.
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Comparitive study of bond behaviour for different FRP

and steel bars
b
Sandor Solyom and György L. Balázs
if
Muegyetem rkp.3, H-1111 Budapest, Hungary
Abstract
Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bars provide an alternative solution to that of steel reinforcement,
especially whenever the corrosion resistance is of high importance. To ensure the composite behaviour
between FRP bar and concrete, adequate interaction must be mobilized. Bond behaviour of FRP bars
in concrete can be significantly different from that of steel due to the different material properties and
surface profiles. Force transfer between FRP bars and concrete can mobilize different mechanisms
compared to steel bars. Furthermore, bond failure modes can vary as well owing to the significant
differences between the surface profiles of FRP and steel bars, respectively. During the PhD studies of
the first author an extensive experimental work has been carried out concerning the influence of several
factors on the bond behaviour of FRP bars, including: compressive strength of concrete; modulus of
elasticity, surface profile and diameter of FRP bars. Furthermore, to be able to compare these results to
the commonly used steel bars, the experimental study was widened with pull-out bond tests of steel
bars.
1 Introduction
Steel reinforced concrete is the most widely used structural material in construction. However, under
certain environmental conditions, the corrosion of steel reinforcement can lead to the deterioration or
even to the collapse of structural elements, which require expensive repair or strengthening processes.
In worst cases demolition and rebuilding are needed. This detrimental property of the steel reinforce-
ment was the main reason to develop alternative reinforcing materials, among them, FRP is being the
most promising one [1–10].
FRP bars are produced by embedding several thousands of fibres (glass, carbon, aramid or basalt)
in thermosetting or thermoplastic resins. Resin binds together the fibres, making it possible to transfer
the stresses among them, as well as to protect the load carrying fibre component of the FRP composite.
The most commonly used resins are: epoxy, polyester and vinyl ester. Mechanical properties as well as
surface profiles of FRP bars can be considerably different than that of conventional steel reinforce-
ments. Such nonferrous bars are expected to have numerous advantageous properties like: high tensile
strength, resistance to electrochemical corrosion and to provide excellent resistance to environmental
conditions such as freeze-thaw cycles, chemical attack etc.
Tensile strength and elastic modulus of FRP bars are governed mainly by the type of fibre, the
volumetric ratio of fibres (usually 60-70 V%) and the angle between the fibres and the longitudinal axis
of the bar. Tensile strengths of FRP bars are in the range of 450 to 3 500 N/mm2; Young's moduli are
between 35 000 and 580 000 N/mm2 while failure strains are in range of 0.5 to 4.4% [11]. Furthermore,
the mechanical and physical properties of FRP bars can be tailor made to fit the best specific applica-
tions. The most important difference between FRP and steel bars is that FRP bars have linear elastic
behaviour up to failure without any plasticity and considerable release of elastic energy [11].
The bond stress transfer between reinforcement and the surrounding concrete is the basis of the
theory of reinforced concrete [11]. Without an adequate stress transfer between concrete and bars, com-
posite behaviour of reinforced concrete elements would not be possible [11,12]. However, due to the
differences in mechanical properties and surface profiles the composite behaviour, between concrete
and FRP bars, is realized through different bond mechanisms than in case of steel bars.
In the next chapter those factors, are listed and briefly discussed which can have different influenc-
ing effect in case FRP bars, than that of steel and present lack of data in literature, and hence limits the
applicability of the available predictive bond strength equations and bond stress-slip models.

There are many other parameters (e.g. embedment length, concrete cover to avoid splitting cracks,
etc.) which are important, however, present work includes only those parameters where the information
was limited and research seemed to be urgently necessary. The pull-out test [12–15] is commonly used
for comparing the bond behaviour of different reinforcing bars. However, for anchorage length
b
definition, larger scale tests might be necessary. Furthermore, to avoid splitting cracks, the pull-out test
specimens were designed to fail by pulling out from the concrete block without visible cracks at the
surface.
if
2 Essential factors influencing the bond behaviour of FRP bars
Bond is a key structural property of reinforced concrete and it refers to the interaction between rein-
forcing bars and the surrounding concrete [11,16]. Bond stresses are transferred by physiochemical
(adhesion) and mechanical (friction and bearing) actions, which are activated at different relative dis-
placements (slips) between concrete and reinforcement. These actions primarily depend on the surface
texture and geometry of the reinforcing bars. Adhesion is due to chemical bond between reinforcing
bar surface and surrounding concrete, bearing is due to mechanical interlock between reinforcing bar
surface deformation and concrete, while friction arises at the actual bond surface.
FRP bars have different bond behaviours compared to that of steel, which is mainly attributed to:
differences in material properties (anisotropic, non-homogeneous and linear elastic), generally lower
modulus of elasticity, different surface texture and profiles.
2.1 Surface profiles of FRP bars

FRP bars are manufactured with different surface deformations, such as ribs, indentations, sand coating,
helically wrapping or sand coating and helically wrapping in order to enhance the bond strength of FRP
bars. Most of these surface types differ significantly from the traditional ribbed surface of the steel bars.
Furthermore, the surface deformations of the FRP bars usually have lower axial shear strength than the
ribs of steel bars, making the surface profile an important bond influencing factor.
Up to this date the effect of surface profiles on the bond strength creates debates among researchers.
An overview of the related literature is presented in Ref. [15]. For instance, ACI 440.1R-15 [17] claims
that the surface profile of the FRP bar plays an important role in bond mechanism to concrete, still there
is no specific parameter included in the existing ACI guideline to directly account for this contribution.
Contrary, in CSA S806-12 [14] there is a parameter to take into consideration the effect of surface
profiles (i.e., 1.0 for surface roughed or sand coated or braided surface; 1.05 for spiral pattern surfaces
or ribbed surfaces; 1.8 for indented surfaces), however these values seem to be too general.
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h)

Fig. 1 Commercially available FRP bars: (a) GFRP SC “fine”; (b) GFRP SC “rough”; (c) BFRP
SC “fine”; (d) BFRP SC “rough”; (e) GFRP SC+HW type 1; (f) GFRP SC+HW type 2;
(g) GFRP indented; (h) GFRP HW; Note: SC - sand coated; HW - helically wrapped.
A previous experimental work was carried out by the authors and the results are presented in [18] in
order to study the effect of the surface profiles on the bond behaviour of FRP bar. FRP bars with various,
commercially available, surface types (Fig. 1) have been studied. Results of pull-out tests are presented

in terms of bond stress-slip relationships in Fig. 2 while in terms of bond strength values (average of
four identical specimens) in Fig. 3. Failure of bond always occurred by pulling out of FRP bars and no
splitting, rupture of the bar or anchorage failures were recorded. In general, the bond stress-slip re-
sponses are characterized by a linear part of the ascending branch, when the bond surface is still not
b
totally damaged, followed by a nonlinear part up to peak bond stress (bond strength) due to the accu-
mulated damage on bar surface and in the concrete surrounding the bar. Contrary to the typical curves
for steel bars, no plateau is observed at peak bond stress. The slope of post peak phase (descending
branch) varies depending on bar type. Both the bond strength and corresponding slip depend on the
if
surface profile of the bars (Fig. 2).
BFRP_fine
20 GFRP_fine
BFRP_rough
GFRP_rough
Bond stress [MPa]
15 GFRP_HW
GFRP_HW+SC_1
GFRP_HW+SC_2
10 Steel
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Loaded end slip [mm]
Fig. 2 Bond stress-slip relationships for bars (Ø6) with different surfaces.
Note: SC - sand coated, “fine” and “rough” stand for sand grain sizes, HW - helically
wrapped, HW+SC - HW and SC [18].
20,71
18,78
17,90
16,22
13,97
Bond strength (MPa)
12,91 13,58 13,06
SC "fine" B SC "fine" G SC "rough" B SC "rough" G HW HW+SC_1 HW+SC_2 Steel

Bar type
Fig. 3 Bond strength (MPa) of Ø6 bars in C1 (~35 MPa) concrete mix with different surfaces.
Note: B - basalt FRP, G - glass FRP [18].
It can be noticed, when sand coated FRP bars are considered, that higher bond strength values are
reached by the “rough” sanded bars (Fig. 3). Sand with maximum grain size of 0.4-0.8 mm and
0.5-1.2 mm were applied for “fine” and “rough” coating, respectively. Furthermore, in the post-peak
phase, SC (sand coated) “fine” G (GFRP) bars have a gradual bond stress reduction and the bond failure
is always ductile, reaching high slip values. Contrary, a sudden reduction is visible in the case of SC
Sandor Solyom and György L. Balázs 155

“rough” G bars, which is followed by either a ductile or brittle failure. The outcomes of HW+SC (hel-
ically wrapped and sand coated) type 1 bars (Fig. 1 (e)) are similar to those observed for SC “fine” G
(Fig. 1 (a)) bars when considering the bond strength and the shape of bond stress-slip curves. This can
be explained with the relatively small diameter of the wire used to helically wrap the HW+SC_1 bars.
b
The diameter of the wire is similar in size to the thickness of the “fine” sand coating, yielding compa-
rable surface profile performances. For comparison, bond stress-slip curve for steel bar is also presented
(Fig. 2). It is important to notice, that all the studied FRP bars present higher bond strength values than
those of steel bars (Fig. 3).
if
The main observation in Fig. 3 is that the bond strength values can significantly vary even when
the same surface category is considered (such as SC or HW+SC). This behaviour is not accounted for
in standards when the factors describing the effect of surface type on bond strength are recommended.
For example, when SC surface finishing is considered, pull-out test results show 18.78 and 20.71 MPa
for “rough” GFRP and BFRP bars respectively, while only 13.97 and 12.91 MPa for “fine” bars.
Similarly, there is considerable difference when HW+SC bars are observed, bond strength is 16.22 MPa
for type 1 and 13.58 MPa for type 2. These observations underline that the method defined by [19] to
determine the surface factor for bond strength seems more accurate to capture the effect of various
surface types. Namely, the bar surface factor, is the ratio of the bond strength of the FRP bar to that of
a steel deformed bar with the same cross-sectional area as the FRP bar, however, this method limits this
ration to be not greater than 1.0, which seems to be conservative according to the test results (Fig. 3).
2.2 Modulus of elasticity of FRP bars

FRP bars can be manufactured having a wide range of modulus of elasticity [11], it can be higher than
that of steel bars, however, owing to economical reasons, most of the FRP bars used in civil engineering
are GFRP bars with a modulus of elasticity somewhere around a quarter of that of steel. Due to the
relatively low modulus of elasticity, the relative displacement at the loaded end of the bonded part of
FRP bars, during pull-out tests, is larger than in case of steel bars, resulting in more damage at the bond
surface. Owing to the accumulated damage the average bond strength value decreases, making the
modulus of elasticity of FRP bar an important factor to take into consideration.
Similarly to the effect of surface profiles, ACI 440.1R-15 [17] states that the modulus of elasticity
of the FRP bars plays an important role in bond strength to concrete, still there is no specific parameter
included to directly account for this contribution. In CSA S806-12 [14] there is a parameter to take into
consideration of the effect of modulus of elasticity of FRP bars, although the same values are proposed
both for GFRP and CFRP bars, which is in contradiction with available test results [20,21].
The authors found in a previous study [22] that the modulus of elasticity of FRP bars has an effect
on bond behaviour of FRP bars. Pull-out test were performed on CFRP and GFRP sand coated bars to
study this effect. FRP bars had similar properties (such as same diameter and sand coated surface,
moreover, they were fabricated by the same producer) only the moduli of elasticity differed due to the
different fibres (CFRP: 127 GPa, GFRP: 42.5 GPa).
19,31
15,57 15,95 16,30
Bond strength (MPa)
14,11
13,03
10,97
9,16
CFRP
GFRP
C1 C2 C3 S1
Concrete mix
Fig. 4 Effect of modulus of elasticity of FRP bars (CFRP: 127 GPa, GFRP: 42.5 GPa, with same
diameter, surface pattern and producer) on bond strength in concrete. C1, C2 and C3 - con-
ventional concrete, S1 - self-compacting concrete.

Bond failure always happened by “pull-out” of the FRP bars, no splitting cracks were observed. The
bond failure in most of the cases was brittle, at low slip values, by interlaminar shear failure at the
surface between fibres and sand coating. However, in case of concrete composition with higher concrete
strengths, bond failure happened through gradual pull-out of the bars, reaching high slip values, in case
b
of GFRP bars.
In Fig. 4 it can be observed that CFRP bars have higher bond strength values regardless the concrete
mix or type. The ratio between bond strength of CFRP and GFRP bars varies between 1.22 and 1.70
[22]. Furthermore, the bond stiffness of CFRP bars are always higher (about double) than in case of
if
GFRP bars. The bond stiffness is defined by calculating the inclination of the ascending branch of the
bond stress-slip diagram (which was assumed to be linear) considering the loaded end slip [22]. This
can be particularly important in Serviceability Limit State (SLS) design, since crack opening is depend-
ent on the slip value associated with the bond stress level.
2.3 Diameter of FRP bars

According to several studies [5,12,23,24], the bar diameter appears to play an important role in bond
behaviour of FRP bars to concrete. Larger diameter bars develop less average bond strength than
smaller diameter bars [5,12,23,24], as possible reasons authors claim the Poisson effect, the “shear lag
effect” and the fact that the bond length is defined by multiplying the bar diameter with a given value
(being this value 4 in case of [14] and 5 in case of [13]) which results longer bond lengths (thus less
uniform bond stress distribution along it) in case of larger diameters. However, in more recent studies
[18,25] there is no obvious trend observed. Possible explanation could be the probable increase in FRP
properties and better quality control during fabrication process.
20,71 Ø6 Ø12
Bond strength (MPa)
16,38
15,17
12,91 12,87 13,58 13,04
SC "fine" B SC "rough" B HW+SC_2 Indented

Bar type
Fig. 5 Bond strength of FRP bars with diameters of 6 and 12 mm [18]. Note: SC - Sand Coated,
HW+SC - helically wrapped and SC, B - basalt FRP, G - glass FRP.
24,9
8 mm 12 mm
19,9
18,4
Bond strength (MPa)
16,7 15,8 15
5Φ 10Φ 20Φ
Bond length (Φ - bar diameter)
Fig. 6 Influence of bar diameter on the maximum average bond stress [25].

Based on the findings in the two papers cited in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 it can be concluded that the diameter
seem to not have obvious effect on the bond strength of FRP bars in the studied range, which is rather
small 6 to 12 mm. Hence, further studies are necessary to solve this contradiction.
b
2.4 Compressive strength of concrete
The strength of concrete can also influence the bond strength and behaviour of FRP bars, assuming that
bond failure does not occur due to the bar surface. Generally, concrete with higher strength provides
better confinement for FRP bars, which leads to higher bond strength values. Owing to the relatively
if
low shear strength of the FRP bar surface (compared to the conventional steel bar surface) researchers
[12,15,23,26,27] found that above a certain concrete compressive strength level (approx. 30 MPa) the
bond failure happens in the bar surface, thus concrete strength increase will not result in an increase of
bond strength. Since, the bond failure of steel bars always happens by crushing the concrete in front of
the bar ribs, the concrete strength is a factor which has different effects in case of FRP and steel bars.
In a previous study [21] of the authors of present work, it was observed that increasing the concrete
compressive strength, even above 30 MPa, has a positive effect on the bond strength. To verify this
observation an additional experimental series was performed [18]. In this study, FRP bars with different
surface profiles and diameters have been used to study the effect of concrete strength (in addition to
numerous other effects) on the bond behaviour of FRP bars. The previous observation of the authors
has been confirmed (Fig. 7) concrete strength has a significant effect bond strength values. Results of
the experimental study show an increase of 44% to 95% in bond strength with concrete strength in-
creasing from ~35 MPa (C1) to ~66 MPa (C2) (Fig. 7).
26,88 C1 C2
25,17
21,86
20,10
Bond strength (MPa)
16,38 15,17
12,87 13,04
SC "fine" B SC "rough" B HW+SC_2 Indented

Bar type
Fig. 7 Bond strength of FRP bars with concrete compositions of C1 (~35 MPa) and C2 (~66 MPa)
[18]. Note: SC - Sand Coated, HW+SC - helically wrapped and SC, B - basalt FRP, G -
glass FRP.
3 Conclusions
In this paper results of several experimental studies are presented that investigates the effect of different
factors on the bond behaviour of FRP bars in concrete. For comparison literature data is presented as
well. Experimental parameters include: surface, modulus of elasticity and diameter of bars as well as
the concrete strength. These factors present lack of information in literature, and limits the applicability
of the available predictive bond strength equations and bond stress-slip models. Wide range of available
FRP bars have been used, with different surface profiles (sand coated, helically wrapped, indented and
helically wrapped together with sand coated), moduli of elasticity (42.5 GPa to 127 GPa) and diameter
(6 to 12 mm). For comparison, ribbed steel bars were also tested. To cover the strength range typical
for concrete structures different concrete mix designs were used (compressive strength of ~35 MPa and
~66 MPa).
Studied parameters show that bond behaviour of FRP bars is significantly different than that of
steel. FRP bars have various surfaces which differ considerably from the surface profile of traditional
steel bars, both in geometry and material properties. Furthermore, results show that the modulus of
elasticity of the reinforcing bar affects the bond strength. Modulus of steel bars are usually much higher

than that of FRP bars (GFRP and BFRP). Additionally, the bond failure mode of FRP bars are different
(in most cases) than in case of steel bars (crushing of concrete in front of the ribs).
Based on experimental results the following conclusions can be drawn:
The surface profile can significantly affect the bond behaviour of FRP bars
b
All the studied FRP bars presented higher bond strength values than those of steel
The most accurate method to define the bar surface factor is to calculate the ratio of the bond
strength of the FRP bar to that of a steel deformed bar with the same cross-sectional area as the
FRP bar, however limiting it to the bond strength of the steel bar is too strict (as it is visible in
if
previous conclusion as well)
Contrary to the typical bond stress-slip diagrams of steel bars, no plateau is observed at peak
bond stress in case of FRP bars
It was observed that the bond strength values can considerably vary within the same surface
category, this observation is based on the results of sand coated and helically wrapped and sand
coated bars
FRP bars with higher moduli of elasticity have higher bond strengths as well as bond stiffness’s
In the studied range (6 to 12 mm) of diameters of FRP bars, the diameter seemed to have no
obvious effect on the bond behaviour
Contrary to literature date, authors found that, increasing the concrete compressive strength,
even above 30 MPa, has a positive effect on the bond strength.
Present study intended to indicate the influence of some major parameters in comparison of bond of
different FRP bars. Pull-out test setup was chosen. It is a perfect tool to compare the effect of different
parameters on bond behaviour. Larger scale tests might be necessary to study other properties, such as
the anchorage capacity.
Acknowledgements
Authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of European Union by Marie Curie ITN: Euro-
pean Network for Durable Reinforcement and Rehabilitation Solutions (endure), Grant: PITN-GA-
2013-607851. FRP bars were provided by several producers: Schöck Germany, PMB Composite, For-
tius (Hughes Brothers) and Prefa Kompozity, which is much appreciated. Special thanks to: Dr. André
Weber (Schöck) and Boris Miller (PMB).
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Effect of the addition of polypropylene fibers on the

rheological behaviour of fresh fluid cementitious
b
materials
Fariza Sultangaliyeva1, Hélène Carré1, Christian La Borderie1 and Nicolas
Roussel2
if
1Universitéde Pau et des Pays de l’Adour
Allée du Parc Montaury, Anglet 64600, France
2IFSTTAR, Laboratoire Navier

14-20 Boulevard Newton, Champs-sur-Marne 77420, France
Abstract
Polypropylene fibers are accepted in the literature as an efficient preventative measure for concrete
spalling due to fire. Use of the high dosage of fibers enhances this effect but drastically reduces the
workability of concrete. A lack of the literature on the rheological behavior of fresh cementitious
materials with flexible fibers prevents from the identification of an optimal fiber dosage and geome-
try. This work is aimed at studying the influence of fiber dosage and geometry on the rheological
behavior of fresh fluid cementitious materials. Slump flow tests conducted on cement pastes contain-
ing fibers allowed to determine the influence of fiber dosage and geometry on the yield stress of fresh
cement pastes. It is concluded that the rheology of cement pastes with flexible fibers is more complex
in comparison to the rheology of cement pastes with rigid fibers due to their bending.
1 Introduction
It is widely known that self-compacting concrete outperforms other types of concrete for the casting
of thin and/or densely reinforced concrete structural elements [1]-[4]; however, due to its high matrix
volume fraction, its resistance to fire is considered as weak [5], [6]. Numerous studies conducted by
the researchers have indicated a positive effect produced by polypropylene fibers in terms of the
concrete spalling risk reduction due to fire [5], [7]-[10]. Higher fiber dosage has been proven to be
more efficient in terms of spalling prevention [7-10]; however, it has a negative effect on the flowa-
bility of self-compacting concrete.
The information about the influence of flexible fibers on the rheology of fresh cementitious mate-
rials is not abundant, the effect of rigid fibers on the rheology is far better studied. The difference
between both types of fibers is the ability of flexible fibers to bend. Several studies have been con-
ducted on cementitious materials containing flexible fibers identifying a negative effect on the work-
ability at the high dosage of fibers [11]-[17]. Researchers have stated a decrease in the slump for the
dosage of 0.2% vol. of fibers [16], [18]. It is peculiar to note that even with a decrease in the worka-
bility with the use of 0.1% vol. of fibers, concrete mix could still meet the flowability criterion for
self-compacting concrete [11].
In search of the compromise between fire resistance and fresh concrete requirements, it is essen-
tial to identify potential optimal fire dosage and geometry. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to
understand the effect of flexible fibers on the rheology of fresh concrete. First, we study the influence
of fiber dosage on the yield stress of cement paste. Then, we conclude on the fact that the curvature of
flexible fibers in cementitious material depends on the nature of consecutive paste. Following this, we
study the influence of the diameter and the length of fibers on the yield stress. The results show that
the rheological behaviour of cementitious materials with flexible fibers is different from cementitious
materials with rigid fibers.
2 Rheology of cement-based materials

A common model used to describe the flow of cementitious materials is Bingham model. It allows
determining the yield stress of the cementitious material from the following equation:

τ = τ 0 + γµ
ɺ 0 (1)
where τ is the total stress, τ0 is the yield stress, is the shear rate and µ0 is the viscosity of the fluid.
b
The yield stress is the threshold value of the stress which is necessary to apply on the solid body
to initiate a flow of a viscous fluid. In the rheology, the biphasic approach for describing concrete is
used. This approach suggests that concrete is composed of a continuous phase of the suspending fluid
(a cement paste which we assume to be homogeneous) and a dispersed phase (the inclusions such as
if
sand, gravel and fibers) [19]. Using the extrapolation for Krieger-Dougherty relation for apparent
viscosity, the yield stress of concrete is presented as the yield stress of the suspending fluid and the
function of the ratio of the volume fraction of its inclusions and the dense packing fraction of the
inclusions [20]:
concrete paste φ 
τ 0
≈τ 0 f 
 φm 
(2)
where τ0concrete is the yield stress of concrete, τ0paste is the yield stress of cement paste, ϕ is the volume
fraction of the inclusions, ϕm is the dense packing fraction of the inclusions. The dense packing frac-
tion is the packing regime which is achieved through an exertion of a large amount of energy. During
dense packing regime, direct friction between the aggregates is a dominant force. A comprehensive
explanation of spherical inclusions packing regimes is given in [19].
A reduction of the inclusions’ contribution to the development of the yield stress of cementitious
material cannot simply turn regular concrete into fluid one [19]. In order to design fluid concrete, it is
necessary to ensure first that cement paste is fluid. Therefore, we start by designing fluid cement
paste. Our experimental protocol is based on a simple and fast characterization method developed by
Roussel et al.[21] which allows calculating the yield stress of cement paste from the slump flow tests.
This test is suitable for cement pastes with flexible fibers as the material flow is too short to impose a
preferential orientation of fibers. The equation which calculates the yield stress of cement paste from
a material spread radius is a follows:
225 ρ gV 2
τ 0
=
128π 2 R 5
(3)
where τ0 is the yield stress of cement paste, ρ is the density of cement paste, V is the volume of
cement paste tested, g is the gravity and R is the radius of cement paste spread.
3 Distinction between rigid and flexible fibers

As it mentioned earlier, the influence of flexible fibers on the rheology of cementitious materials is
less understood compared to the influence of the rigid fibers. Both types of fibers, rigid and flexible,
behave in a different manner when mixed in concrete. Rigid fibers can move the aggregates that are
relatively large if compared with fiber length thus increasing the void space. Flexible fibers tend to
bend and to occupy the empty spaces between the aggregates [22].
The rigidity criterion for fibers in cementious materials was developed by Martinie et al. [20]. She
has identified a set of parameters that influence the deflection of fibers in fresh cementitious materi-
als. The order of magnitude of the deflection of fibers is then presented as:
τ DL4
f ≅
0
(4)
EI
where f is the order of the deflection, τ0 is the yield stress of the fresh cementitious material, D is
the diameter of fiber, L is the length of fiber, E is Young’s modulus of fiber and I is the second mo-
ment of area.
Depending on mechanical and geometrical properties of fiber and the nature of the suspending
fluid, different flexure responses can be obtained. For example, in case of steel fibers with an aspect
ratio (a ratio between the length and the diameter of fiber) of 50, the Young’s modulus of 210 GPa in
SCC mix (the yield stress of approximately 50 Pa) this value is around 0.03%, whereas for carbon
fibers of the aspect ratio of 500 and the Young’s modulus of 190 GPa in regular concrete mix (the
yield stress of 1000 Pa), the magnitude of deflection is around 66% [20].

Effect of the addition of polypropylene fibers on the rheological behaviour of fresh fluid cementitious materials
4 Prediction of the yield stress

Martinie et al. [19] has found that the yield stress of fiber reinforced cementitious material is a func-
tion of two parameters: the ratio of fiber dosage and dense packing fraction (ϕ/ϕm) and the aspect ratio
of fibers R (ratio of the length and the diameter). Dense packing fraction of rigid fibers is obtained
b
experimentally. In her work, Martinie [19] used Philipse’s approach for slender bodies (with an aspect
ratio higher than 1) that allowed representing maximum packing fraction of rigid fibers as inversely
proportional to the aspect ratio of fibers. She has found the coefficient of proportionality to be equal
to 4 (ϕm =4/R).
if
Unfortunately, it is impossible to measure experimentally the dense packing fraction for flexible
fibers due to the fact that their flexure depends on the suspending fluid. As we have concluded that
two parameters are sufficient for the yield stress prediction in case of the paste with rigid fibers (fiber
volume fraction ϕ and aspect ratio R), we shall apply this predictive framework for the yield stress in
order to verify if flexible fibers behave as rigid fibers in fresh cementitious mix.
5 Materials and experimental protocol
5.1 Materials
In the first part of the experimental program we have two objectives: to study the influence of the
dosage of fibers on the rheology of cement pastes and identify that the flexure of fibers changes de-
pending on the nature of cement paste.
Cement pastes with two different water-to-cement ratios (w/c= 0.47 and w/c=0.5) are tested with
a single geometry of fibers at various dosages (0 %, 0.25 %, 0.5 %, 1 %, 2 % and 3 % vol. of cement
paste). All cement pastes for experiments were prepared using Portland cement CEM I 52.5 N Brest.
The dimensions of the polypropylene fibers are: the length is 12 mm, the diameter is 34 µm and
aspect ratio is 353.
In the second part of the experiment, our aim is to study the influence of fiber geometry on the
yield stress. In order to accomplish this, cement paste with w/c=0.5 is chosen as our reference paste
and then tested with nine different geometries of fibers at several dosages (0 %, 0.25 %, 0.5 %, 1 %, 2
% and 3 % vol. of cement paste). Fiber geometry is presented in Table 1.
Table 1 Polypropylene fiber geometries tested.
Aspect ratio (R) Length (L), mm Diameter (D), µm

176 6 34
188 6 32
300 6 20
333 6 18
353 12 34
400 6 15
529 18 34
588 20 34
706 24 34
5.2 Experimental protocol

Water is added to cement and mixed by the machine for 2 minutes. Then, cement paste is left for the
rest during 20 minutes and remixed for 2 minutes by the machine. Then, polypropylene fibers are
added into the formed cement paste and mixed by hand for 2 minutes. Paste with fibers is poured on
the plate and spread diameter and volume of paste tested are recorded. An isotropic flow of material is
assumed as a flow of the material is too short to impose any direction. Protocol was kept the same for
all the mixes and for each dosage of fibers a new sample was prepared. Samples which showed signs
of instability were discarded from consideration.
Fariza Sultangaliyeva, Hélène Carré, Christian La Borderie and Nicolas Roussel 163

6.1 Influence of the dosage of fibers
b
In this part, we study the influence of the dosage of fibers on the yield stress of the cement paste. We
present the results in the form of the relative yield stress (a ratio of the yield stress of cement paste
with fibers and without fibers) in order to account for the effect of fibers as inclusions. The results
were obtained from the slump flow test on cement pastes of two different w/c ratios that contained
single fiber type. Fig.1 presents the relative yield stress of the fresh cement paste with fibers as a
if
function of the dosage of fibers. The error of 11% was found through the repetition of the experiment
five times on 1% vol. fibers. This value is assumed as an error bar for all the experimental results
presented in this paper. It can be seen from the results that the yield stress of the cement paste with
fibers increases with an increase of fiber dosage. This result corresponds to the literature [20, 22].
16
14
12
Relative yield stress
10
8 w/c=0.5
w/c=0.47
6
4
2
0
0 1 2 3 4
Dosage in %
Fig. 1 Relative yield stress (a ratio of the yield stress with fibers and the yield stress without
fibers) as a function of the dosage of fibers.
6.2 Influence of the rheology of paste

We plot our data from Fig. 1 on the log scale in the Fig 2. We use our data from Fig.2 in order to
examine whether the flexible fiber flexure depends on the nature of the cement paste.
10
w/c=0.5
w/c=0.47
1
0,1 1 10
Dosage in %
Fig. 2 Relative yield stress plotted on the log scale as a function of the dosage of fibers and the
yield stress of reference paste.

We therefore introduce the yield stress of the reference paste, i.e. paste without fibers, in x-axis as
shown in the Fig. 3. The results confirm the idea that the rheology of the cement paste influences the
flexure of fibers. This means that under highly viscous cement paste fibers tend to flex more and vice
versa. To compare with rigid fibers, regardless of the cement paste their flexural response is negligi-
b
ble (less than 1%).
if
10
w/c=0.5
w/c=0.47
1
0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8
Dosage x Yield stress
Fig. 3 Relative yield stress plotted on the log scale as a function of the dosage of fibers and the
yield stress of reference paste.
6.3 Influence of the geometry of fibers

Various fiber geometries listed in Table 1 were tested with a cement paste of w/c=0.5 using the same
protocol. The results for different aspect ratios are presented in the Fig.4. It can be seen that the yield
stress does not increase with the increase of aspect ratio of fibers as it is generally accepted in the
literature. Fig. 5 and Fig.6 present the effect of the diameter and the length of fibers on the relative
yield stress respectively. It is hard to conclude on the influence of the increase of the diameter on the
yield stress. It appears that in general, the diameter increase promotes a decrease in the yield stress.
The increase of the length of fibers, on the contrary leads to the increase of the yield stress.
16
R=176
14
R=188
12
R=300
10 R=333
8 R=353
6 R=400
R=529
4
R=588
2
R=706
0
0 1 2 3 4
Dosage in %
Fig. 4 Relative yield stress plotted as a function of the dosage of fibers of various aspect ratios.

8
D=15 microns
7
b
6
Relative yield stress D=18 microns
5
if
4 D=20 microns
3
D=32 microns
2
1 D=34 microns
0
0 1 2 3 4
Dosage in %
Fig. 5 Relative yield stress plotted as a function of the dosage of fibers. Diameter of fibers is 34
microns and lengths are 6, 12, 18, 20 and 24 mm accordingly.
16
14 L=6 mm
12
L=12 mm
10
8 L=18 mm
6
L= 20 mm
4
2 L=24 mm
0
0 1 2 3 4
Dosage in %
Fig. 6 Relative yield stress plotted as a function of the dosage of fibers. Length of fibers is 6 mm
and diameters are 15, 18, 20, 32 and 34 microns accordingly.
6.4 Comparison with rigid fibers

As we can predict the rheology of materials with rigid fibers using the dosage and the aspect ratio of
fibers, we have plotted in Fig.7 the results using the predictive scheme for rigid fibers. It can be seen
that the scheme is not appropriate for flexible fibers. It works well at low dosages of fibers when the
yield stress of the material with fibers is dictated by the yield stress of the cement paste. With an
increase of the fiber dosage, after formation of a connected network, direct frictional contacts start to
be dominant in the system. Therefore, it is logical after connection of fibers the data on the graph is
far more scattered. From the analysis using predictive scheme for the yield stress of rigid fiber rein-
forced materials we can conclude that the influence of the flexible fibers is far more complex due to
their bending.

14
R=176
12
b
R=188

10 R=300
R=333
8
if
R=353
6
R=400
4 R=529
2 R=588
R=706
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Dosage x Aspect ratio
Fig. 7 Relative yield stress plotted as a function of the scaling for rigid fibers.
7 Conclusion
This work is aimed at understanding the influence of flexible polypropylene fibers on the rheology of
the fiber reinforced cementitious materials. Simple slump flow tests were realized on cement paste in
order to study the effect of the dosage and geometry of fibers on the yield stress of cement paste. It
was possible to conclude from the tests that:
Rheology of fiber reinforced cement based materials is influenced by the nature of the sus-
pending fluid.
Rheology of the polypropylene fibers cannot be characterized the same way as one of the rig-
id fibers due to flexure of fibers.
Acknowledgements
This work is carried out using the financial assistance from the program of the Investments for the
Future of the French government managed by ANDRA.
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[2] Okamura, Hajime, and M. Ouchi. 2003. “Self-Compacting Concrete.” Journal of Advanced
Concrete Technology 1:5-15.
[3] Okamura, Hajime, and M. Ouchi. 1999. “Self-Compacting Concrete development, present use
and future.” Paper presented in the 1st RILEM Symposium on Self-Compacting Concrete,
Stockholm, Sweden, September 13-14.
[4] Domone, P.L. 2006. “Self-compacting concrete: An analysis of 11 years of case studies.”
Cement and Concrete Composites 28:197-208. Accessed February 21, 2018. doi:/10.1016/
j.cemconcomp.2005.10.003.
[5] Persson, Bertil. 2004. “Fire resistance of self-compacting concrete, SCC.” Materials and
Structures 37:575-584. Accessed June 5, 2017. doi:/10.1007/BF02483286.
[6] Jansson, Robert. 2013. “Fire spalling of Concrete. Theoretical and Experimental Studies.”
PhD diss., KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
[7] Kalifa, Pierre, Grégoire Chéne Grégoire, and Christophe Gallé. 2001. “High-temperature
behaviour of HPC with polypropylene fibres: From spalling to microstructure.” Cement and
Concrete Research 31:1487-1499. Accessed February 21, 2018. doi:/10.1016/S0008-
8846(01)00596-8.

[8] Bilodeau A., V. K. R. Kodur, and G. C. Hoff. 2004. “Optimization of the type and amount of
polypropylene fibres for preventing the spalling of lightweight concrete subjectedto hydrocar-
bon fire.” Cement and Concrete Composites 26:163-174. Accessed December 15, 2017.
doi:10.1016/S0958-9465(03)00085-4.
b
[9] Shuttleworth, Peter. 2001. “Fire protection of precast concrete tunnel linings.” Paper
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[10] Han, Cheon-Goo, Yin-Seong Hwang, Seong-Hwan Yang, and N. Gowripalan. 2005. “Per-
if
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head Publishing Limited. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing Limited.

Experimental research on textile reinforced concrete

for the development of design tools
b
Patrick Valeri, Miguel Fernández Ruiz and Aurelio Muttoni
IBETON, Structural Concrete Laboratory,
École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne,
if
Route Cantonale, Station 18, Lausanne (CH-1015), Switzerland
Abstract
Due to the limited construction experiences as well as to the absence of clear and consolidated design
provisions for design of Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC), the application of this material in practice
is still very limited. In this paper, the results of an experimental programme are presented, with the aim
of contributing to generate basic knowledge for development of consistent design tools. In particular,
tensile tests on single textile strands and on the composite material have been performed. The experi-
mental work is completed by structural tests on full-scale composite beams in simple bending. Finally,
the experimental observations of the material behaviour and structural response are used to investigate
on the pertinence of some simple mechanically-based models, reproducing TRC response based upon
the key parameters of the material.
1 Introduction
At its early developments and in the last century, reinforced concrete was used to build thin-walled
elements and lightweight structures, as shells or ferrocement laminar members. These applications have
largely been abandoned during the last decades despite their high structural perfomance. This has been
motivated both by durability (corrosion) issues and by construction needs. Current codes of practice
recommend for instance minimal concrete covers between 25 and 55 mm to ensure durability. These
cover requirements, as well as compacting needs, yield that RC structures are nowadays being associ-
ated to relatively heavy and massive works.
A possible approach to reduce the cover thickness to promote the use of light concrete structures
has been identified by the use of non-corrosive reinforcement materials. In this sense, one of the most
promising solutions is to embed textile reinforcement grids within a fine grained mortar. This is a rela-
tively new composite material, commonly known as Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC). The cementi-
tious matrix is reinforced with several layers of a bidirectional, semi-flexible and high-performance
fabric (carbon, basalt, glassfibers etc.). Currently, many different textile fabrics with varying properties
are available on the market, giving large freedom to designers. With the potential to use various con-
struction (pouring) techniques, very thin structural elements can be produced (generally with thick-
nesses lower than 20mm). Combined to the foldability of the reinforcement fabric, this composite be-
comes very attractive when it comes to double-curved structures or folded members.
Since the 1970’s [1] and more intensively since the 1990’s [2-6], several research centers have been
investigating the new building material. Despite the previous research efforts, the state of knowledge
of TRC is not yet sufficient to allow for a generalized use of it in structural engineering. Within this
frame, the present research focuses on the material and structural behaviour of TRC by means of an
experimental programme investigating the mechanical properties of a fine grained mortar and the fabric
reinforcement as well as the structural behaviour in tension and simple bending. Finally, design ap-
proaches based on simple mechanical principles are outlined for the design of structural TRC-me-
mebers.
2 Material behaviour
2.1 High performance cementitious mortar

For suitable casting of thin TRC elements, the concrete mix requires to have high flowability and a
small aggregate size. For this research, a tailored mortar mix satisfying these requirements was used.
The mortar was composed of nearly 40 % binder with low carbon blast furnace cement (CEM III/B)
and a low amount of high quality micro silica and nearly 60 % aggregate (quartz powder and various

quartz sands). The low value of the mximum aggregate size (1.60 mm) ensures the penetration of the
mortar in-between the reinforcement grid even for higher reinforcement ratios. A very low water-to-
cement ratio was also used (w/c ≈ 0.25) and combined with a superplasticizer to ensure high mechanical
performance. The response of the mortar in compression was characterized on cylinders:
b
D = 70 × H = 120 mm. At 28 days, an average compressive strength (fcm) of 110 MPa and a modulus
of elasticity (Ecm) of 31.0 GPa were measured.
2.2 Textile Reinforcement
if
The textile reinforcement is composed by yarns (or filaments) grouped into rovings (bundles of
yarns/strands) arranged in two directions to create a grid or fabric, see Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 Fabric Reinforcement: the textile strcure and typical dimensions (left), the structure of the
multifilament yarn and typical dimensions (right).
Yarns are made of the pure raw material (carbon, glass, basalt etc..) and have a very small diameter (∅fil
≈ 5 – 30 µm), presenting thus high tensile strengths (for instance ffil ≈ 5’000 MPa for carbon fibres).
Normally, a first primary coating is applied on the yarns (single filaments) in order to enhance their
mechanical and durability properties.
With respect to the rovings, they are groups of hundreds or thousands of filaments, bundled
together. Due to the large number of binding techniques of the yarns, it exists a wide spectrum of
rovings with varying properties [7-8]. In addition, a secondary coating can also be applied at the surface
of the roving or full impregnation of the filaments in order to enhance its properties (e.g., tensile
strength, bond, etc…). The fineness of the rovings is typically measured in tex: 1tex = 1 g/km. Thus the
active cross-section of a roving is calculated by means of the material density, as follows:

g
linear density tex = $
= = km
volumetric density kg (1)
% '
m&
As shown in Fig. 1, the cross-section of a roving is not completely filled by filaments and consequently
the net cross-section is in general lower than the geometrical one. Rovings are eventually woven
together to form the textile fabric, that is mostly bidirectional. The mechanical performance of textile
reinforcement is thus usually characterized by its tensile strength in the two principal directions
(longitudinal: dir.00° and transversal: dir.90°), provided per unit width of the fabric. Due to the fact
that the tensile response is usually measured on single rovings, the unitary tensile strength is calculated
as follows:
kN roving strength (), kN
(),+,-. % ' = =
m grid spacing 2+,-. m
(2)
Within this research project, 13 commercially available textile fabrics have been tested in their
longitudinal and transversal directions. The seven more promising fabrics in terms of their mechanical
properties are presented in Fig. 2, where it can be observed that carbon fibre fabrics (CF) have in general
higher strength and stiffness than glass fibre fabrics (GF).

ifb
Fig. 2 Mechanical characterization of selected textiles: test set-up and tensile response in longitu-
dinal (00°) and transversal (90°) directions.
Due to it’s relatively better bond properties, resulting from an additional sand coating, the S&P ARMO-
mesh® 200/200 has been selected for more detailed investigations. Further properties of this product
are given in Table 1.
Table 1 Experimentally measured, mechanical properties of the S&P Armo-mesh® 200/200.
Property Long. dir 00° Transv. dir 90° Unit

Linear density of strand: λRov 2 ⨯ 800 1600 [tex]
Net roving cross-section: aRov 0.85 0.85 [mm2]
Roving resistence: Fu,Rov 1450 1700 [N]
Roving strength: fRov 1700 2000 [MPa]
Roving modulus of elasticity: ERov 230 210 [GPa]
Grid spacing: egrid 20 20 [mm]
Textile resistance: Fu,tex = Fu,Rov / egrid 72.5 85 [kN/m]
2.3 Bond behaviour

In order to characterize the composite behaviour, several pull-out tets on sigle rovings have been per-
formed (Fig. 3). These experiments are instrumental to understand the tensile behaviour of the investi-
gated composite. In detail, single yarns have been embed in a short cylindrical segment. Within the
experimental campaign, different embedment lengths were investigated, showing similar results (Fig.
3).
Fig. 3 Bond behaviour: test layout (left); specimen dimensions (center); experimental results for
the longitudinal direction (right).
Patrick Valeri, Miguel Fernández Ruiz and Aurelio Muttoni 171

As shown in Fig. 3, the pull-out behaviour can be devided in three stages [9]: at first, the multifilament
yarn exhibits a roughly linear response. After reaching the peak bond strength τb,max , the bond exhibits
a linear softening response until only a frictional bond component τb,f remains available. Furthermore,
it was observed that SBR (Styrene Butadiene Rubber)-coated strands without additional sand-coating
b
have significantly lower bond properties (for instance τb,max ≈ 1.3 MPa and τb,f ≈ 0.3 MPa), which
can result in much longer anchorage lengths.
3 Tensile behavior of TRC
if
The tensile behaviour of TRC has been investigated on thin plates that can be considered representative
of tensile zones in a structural member. To achieve a realistic reinforcement ratio, test specimens have
been reinforced with several layers of the carbon textile fabric, aligned to the loading direction of the
specimen (Figs. 4 and 5).
Fig. 4 Reinforcement layout (left), crack pattern and failure crack (right).
An instance of a tension specimen tested in this research is shown in Fig. 5, whose respose is charac-
teristic for TRC-composites [10-13] and can be divided into three main different stages:
Stage I: Uncracked response, when the stresses in the mortar are below its tensile strength;
Stage II: Crack development stage, characterized by an increasing number of cracks develop-
ing for increasing load (or deformation);
Stage III: Crack opening stage, characterized by a constant number of cracks in the element,
whose widths increase for increasing load (or deformation).
Failure (Fig. 4), occurs within the Stage III in a sudden and brittle manner, and is mainly governed
by the response of the reinforcement textile. As shown in Fig. 4, Detailed DIC (Digital Image
Correlation) measurements reveal narrow crack spacing and low crack openings (up to 0.2 mm) at
failure, showing good cracking performance for the investigated composite.
Fig. 5 Tensile response of Textile Reinforced Concrete reference specimen. Stress-strain curves,
left, and specimen, right.

In Stage III, the response of the tie can be reproduced in a simple manner by considering the experi-
mentally measured bond-slip law and by integrating the equilibrium (second order differential) equation
govering bond:
3 4 ;
b
= 67 849 ∙ (3)
35 < ∙ => ∙
Where URov refers to the perimenter of a roving, ERov to its modulus of elasticity, aRov to the net roving
cross section and ηA is an efficiency factor to account for the non-uniform distribution of stresses in the
if
filaments of a roving. As shown in Fig. 5, the numerical integration of the elastic-cracked model gives
satisfactory results.
With respect to the cracking (Nr) and failure (NR) loads, they can be calculated as follows:
<
?, = @A ∙ BCA,DE + ∙ => ∙ C G ≅ @A ∙ CA (4)
<A
? = => ∙ =I ∙ C ∙@ (5)
Where ηf is the efficiency factor of the embedded fabric reinforcement (damage of crack lips on the
filaments of a roving).
4 Flexural behaviour
The structural response in bending and shear has been investigated on TRC linear members. To that
aim, an experimental programme consisting of two full-scale beams, tested on a 3–point-bending set-
up has been carried out. Similar tests on smaller scale specimens have been previously carried out in
other research centers [14-16]. The two test beams have been cast in the same formwork, resulting in
the same geometry in terms of length and cross-section. As shown in Fig. 6, the first beam (BV1) has
been reinforced with several layers of carbon textile fabrics and was designed to fail in bending. In
order to avoid a flexural failure, the second beam (BV2) presents an additional metallic reinforcement
in the bottom (tension) flange. This reinforcement was composed of seven, high strength, stainless-steel
corrugated bars.
Fig. 6 Cross-section and reinforcement-layout of tested beams. Beam BV1, left: reinforced with
fabric reinforcement only. Beam BV2, right: fabric and additional concentrated bottom re-
inforcement.
The flexural response of the tested beams, in terms of moment curvature at mid-span, is shown in Fig. 7.
Beam BV1 failing in simple bending at mid-span at a moderate level and beam BV2 failing in shear
(web-flange delamination) before attaining its maximum bending capacity. In fact, the higher bending
resistance with respect to BV1, is to be attributed to the metallic reinforcement in the bottom flange,
which presents a significantly larger cross-section than the textile (As,l>>ARov,l).

ifb
Fig. 7 Three-point-bending test set-up (right). Measured and calculated structural response in
terms of moment curvature relation at mid-span (left).
Consistently with the behaviour in pure tension, a narrow crack pattern could be observed for both
beams. As shown in Fig. 8 (pictures at 99% of the failure load), several closely-spaced bending cracks
developed for beam BV1, whereas a typical shear crack pattern, with inclined cracks developed for
beam BV2.
Fig. 8 Measured (DIC) crack patterns (principal tensile strains, ε1) close to failure of the elements
in the three-point-bending test. Beam BV1, top. Beam BV2, bottom.
In order to determine the resisting bending moment of linear members (MR), the brittle nature of fabric
reinforcement needs to be accounted for. In general, the fabric (and metallic) reinforcement might be
distributed at different static depths. To account for the contribution of each layer (i) on the bending
resistance, the stress in each layer (σi) is calculated by means of the Bernouilli’s assumption (plane
section remain plane) and computing their corresponding lever arm (zi). Failure is reached when the
fabric reaches its maximum strength (σRov = fRov) or by steel yielding (σs = fy,0.2):
J , = KL=>- ∙ =I- ∙ M - ∙ C- ∙ N- O (6)
In addition, due to its limited deformation capacity, the contribution of textile reinforcement can be
neglected in presence of an additional ductile reinforcement.
T T
J ,P = K L@Q,R. ∙ CP ∙ NP O (7)
P
Differently to bending, the shear behaviour in terms of failure load and kinematics is more difficult to
reproduce. Numerical tools can thus become very helpful when it comes to understand a flexural

problem governed by shear. To that aim, it has been used in this research the Elasic-Plastic Stress Field
approach (EPSF [17]), consistently used to investigate failures in shear in structural concrete members
[18-19]. To apply this technique to TRC, the behaviour of the textile has to be considered as perfectly
elastic until failure, whose limiting strain can be derived from the uniaxial tension response). This
b
approach (Fig. 9) yields consistent results and is a promising approach for modelling of TRC cracked
elements.
if
Fig. 9 Beam BV2: measured (DIC) crack patterns (principal tensile strains, ε1), top-left; inclina-
tion of the compression field (principal strains ε3), top-right. EPSF-model of the symmetric
structure (compression field and reinforcement stresses), bottom.
5 Conclusions
This paper presents the results of an experimental programme designed to allow for development of
consistent design tools for Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) as well as some potential modelling
strategies for this material. Its main conclusions are:
The bond conditions of the investigated TRC ensure low crack spacing and are associated to
limited crack-opening for the tensile zones. Consistent modelling aproaches have been devel-
oped to characterize members in tension accounting for equilibrium and compatibility (bond-
slip) conditions.
With respect to bending on beams only reinforced with textile fabric, the strength is governed
by the tensile strength of the TRC and failures happen in a brittle manner. A manner to enhance
the strength and deformation capacity of beams consists of combining TRC with embed metal-
lic (stainless steel) reinforcement. Consistent design methods can be used accounting for equi-
librium and compatibility (Bernouilli’s) conditions.
Shear failures have a more complex nature, implying different potential phenomena, such as
textile rupture, flange delamination and concrete crushing. The use of Elastic-Plastic Stress
Fields (EPSF) as a general frame for modelling of TRC elements is a promising approach, ac-
counting again for the equilibrium and compatibility conditions of the material.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to sincerely acknowledge the support given by the association of the swiss
cement producers: cemsuisse (research project #201407) for their financial support, providing the con-
crete mix and technical discussions.
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Innovative structures
b
and details
if

ifb

Modelling and experimental verification of flexural

behaviour of textile reinforced cementitious composite
b
sandwich renovation panels
Matthias De Munck1, Jolien Vervloet1, Michael El Kadi1, Svetlana
Verbruggen1, Jan Wastiels1, Olivier Remy2 and Tine Tysmans1
if
1VrijeUniversiteit Brussel, Department Mechanics of Materials and Constructions,
Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussel, Belgium
2CRH Structural Concrete Belgium nv, Marnixdreef 5, 2500 Lier
Abstract
To enable the use of sandwich panels with Textile Reinforced Cementitious Composite faces for the
renovation of existing dwellings, a proper understanding of the structural behaviour of such panels is
indispensable. In this paper, the influence of the cementitious matrix on the global flexural behaviour
of the sandwich beams was quantified experimentally. Four-point bending tests were performed to
evaluate the stiffness and structural capacity of the sandwich beams. Results show that the flexural
behaviour of the beams is strongly dependent on the behaviour of the TRC faces. A numerical model
was developed and is able to give a close prediction of the experimental results.
1 Introduction
Due to the increasing demands of energy and insulation regulations a strong need exists for low-energy
building solutions. These demands do not only involve new building projects but also renovation pro-
jects. An additional factor for renovation projects is the inconvenience for the current resident of the
dwelling, which needs to be minimised. Using large, lightweight, prefabricated sandwich wall panels
will greatly facilitate the installation process. Placing panels with the dimensions of one floor in front
of an existing dwelling to renovate them will reduce the renovation time to a few days. Due to the thick
insulation core their use leads to an increase of the insulation value and thus to better energy perfor-
mance of dwellings.
Sandwich panels with faces made from Textile Reinforced Cementitious Composites (TRCs) offer
large possibilities in this context. TRCs are made from a cementitious matrix reinforced with technical
textiles, resulting in very slender elements of only a few milimeters. Different types of fibres can be
used as tensile reinforcement (carbon, basalt, glass, natural fibres). Among them, alkali-resistant (AR)
glass fibres are the most economical choice. Several research teams performed studies on this material
combination. Hegger et al. [1] used TRCs to design cladding panels. Colombo et al. [2] focused on an
application for the renovation market. The loadbearing behaviour of TRC composite sandwich panels
was the topic of different investigations. The behaviour was quantified by experiments [3]-[6] and pre-
dictive models were established, both numerically [7]-[9] and analytically [10], [11].
Up to now, all research was performed on one specific material combination at a time. To evaluate
the influence of the composition and the structural charachteristics of the TRC, a comparitive study is
necessary. To do so, two different series of sandwich beams with a different TRC composition, i.e.
different mortar, for the faces were fabricated. In total seven beams with a span of 2.20 m were fabri-
cated by combining an expanded polystyrene (EPS) core with TRC faces, all reinforced with a low cost
bidirectional AR glass textile. The mechanical behavior of the beams is investigated numerically
through a finite element model and experimentally by means of four-point bending tests. Comparison
of numerical with experimental load-displacement results is performed to evaluate the level of accuracy
of the numerical model to predict the observed behaviour.

2 Materials
2.1 Expanded polystyrene (EPS)
b
For the insulating core, different materials are possible [12]. Among them expanded polystyrene (EPS),
was chosen. EPS does not have the most advantageous mechanical properties but is characterised by a
low cost and low density (15-20 kg/m³), which are important parameters for the desired application.
Table 1 summarizes the properties of the EPS used in this research.
if
Table 1 Properties of EPS 200 [13].
Density (kg/m³) E-modulus (MPa) Bending strength (kPa)
20 10 250
2.2 TRC
For the matrix of the TRC two different commercially available mortars were used. Both of them were
modified mortars to which additives were added in order to have a shrinkage reduced mortar. To prepare
the mortars only water needs to be added. After 5 minutes of mixing they were ready to use. The prop-
erties of both mortars are listed in Table 2. They have a comparable grain size, but mortar A is clearly
more structurally efficient than mortar B. It is denser and has a larger E-modulus and bending and
compressive strength.
Table 2 Properties of the used mortars.
Mortar Density E-modulus Bending Compressive Grain Size

(kg/m³) (GPa) Strength (kPa) Strength (MPa) (mm)
Mortar A [14] 2200 25 8 65 0-1
Mortar B [15] 1750 12.5 5.5 30 0.5
The mortars are reinforced an orthogonal alkali-resistant (AR) glass textile with a mesh size of 6 mm
by 6 mm (Fig. 1). It has a surface density of 200 g/m² and a nominal tensile force of 2500 N per 50 mm
[16].
Fig. 1 An AR glass textile with a mesh size of 6 mm was used.

The tensile behaviour of the two TRC compositions was identified by means of uniaxial tests. The
specimen geometry and test set-up were based on RILEM TC 232-TDT [17] (Fig. 2(a)). Per TRC, three
specimens were tested, and the average tensile behaviour was calculated. The (efficient) fibre volume
fraction of the tested specimen was chosen equal to the one applied on the beams, 1.30% for TRC A
1.14% (see section 3).
In Fig. 2(b) one can see that both TRCs had the typical tensile behaviour of TRC [18], showing
three distinct stages. The first stage is a linear stage, charachterised by an E-modulus strongly dependant
on the matrix’ stiffness. Once the matrix reaches its tensile stress a first crack is formed. Across this
point, the first cracking stress, the load is redistributed and new cracks are formed. This multiple
cracking stage continues until the the matrix is fully saturated with cracks. A third and last stage is the
post-cracking stage, where the loads are entirely carried by the fibres. The stiffness in this third stage
is only dependant on the stiffness of the fibres and on the volume fraction. All tested specimens failed
by tensile rupture of the textile.
From the the stress-strain curves on Fig. 2(b), one can observe that TRC A outperforms TRC B.
The initial stiffness of TRC A equalled 30 GPa, while TRC B had an initial stiffness of 11.25 GPa.
180 Innovative structures and details

Modelling and experimental verification of flexural behaviour of textile reinforced cementitious composite sandwich
renovation panels
Morevoer, TRC B cracked at a lower stress level (2 MPa) compared to TRC A (4 MPa). TRC A failed
at 8.30 MPa, TRC B had an ultimate tensile strength of 6.60 MPa.
ifb
Fig. 2 Uniaxial tensile behaviourof the used TRCs; test set-up [17] (left), stress-strain curve (av-
erage properties of three tensile tests) (right).
3 Experimental program: specimen geometry and test set-up

The structural (flexural) behaviour of the sandwich panels was studied by performing four-point bend-
ing tests on sandwich beams, with a span of 2.20 m. The sandwich beams were made of an insulating
core, 20 cm thick, cladded at both sides with TRC. The TRC was applied using a hand lay-up technique.
First a layer of mortar was spread out on the core, afterwards a textile was impregnated in the mortar.
The beams weer stored at ambient temperature (approximately 20 °C) and a relative humidity between
45% and 60% for at least 28 days.
For the faces, two different configurations were considered by varying the type of mortar and the
face thickness. Two beam specimens were reinforced with a TRC face of 3 mm thick, using mortar A,
resulting in a fibre volume fraction of 1,30% along the loading direction. For five other beams, a TRC
face of 5 mm was applied using mortar B. The fibre volume fraction in this case was 1.14% in the
loading direction.
The four-point bending tests are performed on an Instron test bench 5885, displacement controlled
with a rate of 1 mm/min. Local stress concentrations were avoided by using distribution plates at the
supports and at the loading areas. To accurately measure the displacement in the middle of the beam a
LVDT (Linear Variable Differential Transducer) was used. A schematic overview of the test set-up is
shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 Schematic overview of four-point bending test.
4 Results
As the load-displacement curves in Fig. 4 show, all tested beams demonstrate a similar non-linear be-
haviour. The average of the characteristic properties, typifying this behaviour, was calculated per series
and displayed in Table 3. Between both series, a difference of more than 20% was observed in the initial
stiffness. The stiffer behaviour of the beams of series A in the first stage had a direct effect of the tensile
behaviour of the TRC used for the faces. TRC A had an E-modulus of 30 GPa, almost three times
higher, compared to the initial E-modulus of TRC B (11.25 GPa). However, this difference is less
M. De Munck, J. Vervloet, M. El Kadi, S. Verbruggen, J. Wastiels, O. Remy and T. Tysmans 181

pronounced in the behaviour of the sandwich beams since a thicker face was applied on the beams of
series B.
After the first linear zone, all beams experienced a considerable loss in stiffness. This loss in stiff-
ness and deflection in the load-displacement curve is initiated by a crack within the TRC face. The
b
correspending load to this first crack was higher for series A than for series B, an elevation of more
than 20 % was observed. This difference was attributed to the larger first cracking stress of TRC A,
which was twice as large as the one of TRC B. Like for the initial stiffness, this difference was com-
pensated partly by applying a thicker face.
if
A comparable stiffness in the last branch of the load-displacement curve was observed for all
beams. The stiffness in this zone is related to the amount of textile reinforcement, which was the same
for both series (one textile layer), with the the ultimate load also related to this reinforcement ratio.
From the averages of both series, the ultimate load of series A is comparable to that of series B. Both
beams of series A failed by tensile rupture of the fibres of the lower face. For series B, two different
failure modes were observed. Two beams failed by tensile rupture of the fibres, failure of the other
three beams was induced by local crushing of the upper face, near the loading area.
Fig. 4 Load-displacement curves of the four-point bending experiments.
Table 3 Average characteristic properties load-displacement curves.

Initial stiffness Stiffness last Cracking Load Ultimate Load

Series
(kN/mm) branch (kN/mm) (kN) (kN)
A 0.4501 0.0997 0.8871 4.3935
B 0.3590 0.0966 0.7306 4.5146
5 Numerical modelling of load-bearing behaviour
5.1 Implementation
To predict the structural behaviour of the sandwich elements a numerical model was elaborated in the
finite elements software Abaqus 6.14 (Standard/Explicit model) [19]. The core was modelled as a solid
using C3D8R elements, which are 8-node linear bricks with reduced integration and hourglass control.
Since the thickness of the faces is small compared to the other dimensions, shell theory could be applied.
To partition the faces a 4-node S4R element, suitable for doubly curved thin or thick shells, reduced
integration, hourglass control and finite membrane strains was chosen. Over the thickness of the shell,
five integration points and the Simpson integration rule were used. To determine an adequate mesh size
a convergence study was performed, resulting in a mesh seed of 0.02 m. Since the geometry, boundary
conditions, and load are symmetric, only one quarter of the beam was modelled to reduce the compu-
tation time. Two symmetry planes were used, one along the length of the beam, and another along the
width (Fig. 5).

renovation panels
ifb
Fig. 5 By using two symmetry planes the computation time was reduced.
The core and the faces are connected by means of a tie constraint, which implies that there is a perfect
bond between core and faces. This assumption is valid since no detachment was observed during the
experimental tests. Boundary conditions were imposed using plate-shaped rigid bodies (infinitely stiff),
simulating the experimental conditions. The interaction between the support and the sandwich beam
was modelled as a default hard contact. The support was restriced in all translational directions and
rotations. These conditions did not exactly match the boundary conditions of the experiments, but a
preliminary comparative study showed that this did not influence the outcome.
Instead of an actual load, the load was applied as a displacement induced by a rigid body to have a
realistic representation of the experiments. By using rigid bodies, possible stress concentrations (arising
when applying single line loads) are avoided [20]. The self-weight of the beam itself was neglected.
The material behaviour of EPS was implemented as a linear elastic material with an E-modulus of
10 MPa and a Poisson’s ratio of 0.12. To model TRC, Wozniak [21] demonstrated that among all
nonlinear concrete models available in Abaqus, the Concrete Damage Plasticity model (CDP) delivers
the most accurate prediction of the actual material behaviour. Basis of this CDP model is the yield
surface, a modified Drucker-Prager function. The elastic-plastic response is defined by the effective
stress and the strain hardening variables, assuming two possible failure modes (tensile cracking and
compressive-crushing). The values of the different model parameters are shown in Table 4. For the
tensile behaviour, the experimental uniaxial data was inserted (Fig. 2(b)). For compression, a linear
behaviour until the compressive strength (Table 2) was considered. Both for compression as for tension
an artificial softening strain was added to enable the simulation of failure [20].
Table 4 Inserted CDP model parameters.

Dilation angle 36°
eccentricity 0.1
*
fb0/fc0 1.0
Kc 0.667
Viscosity parameter 0.001
* the proportion of the ultimate compressive stress in a biaxial test to the ultimate uniaxial compres-
sive stress
** coefficient determining the shape of the deviatoric cross-setion in the flow surface

5.2 Verification
The predicted and the experimental load–displacement curves are plotted in Fig. 6 for series A and in
Fig. 7 for series B. Overall, the numerical model provides a close approximation of the experimentally
b
measured flexural behaviour, with the non-linear behaviour being captured well.
The stiffness of the sandwich beams was accurately calculated by the numerical model, for the
initial stage as well as for the last branch in the curve. For both series A and B the stiffness in the first
zone was slightly underestimated, leading to larger displacements than actually measured. This stiffness
is strongly dependent on the E-modulus of the TRC. An accurate measurement of the E-modulus of the
if
TRC is necessary to have a valid prediction of the stiffness of the beams. Processing of the uniaxial
tensile tests revealed that there is a large scatter on the value of the E-modulus. Thus, the stiffness in
the first zone should be looked at with caution. With an eye on design regulations, this underestimation
would result to a conservative and thus more safe design.
Concerning the ultimate load, the model failed to give an accurate prediction for series A. The
ultimate load was underestimated by 19%. This would mean that the attained stresses in the flexural
tests were higher than the stresses measured during the uniaxial tests. This could be attributed to the
different anchorage length of the textiles. The anchorage length of the textiles in the faces of the beams
is larger compared to the one in the rectangular specimens, leading to higher reached stresses. The
numerically determined ultimate load of series B matched the experiments. Numerically, the beams
failed after reaching the maximum tensile stress of the TRC faces, which was broadly in accordance
with the experiments.
Fig. 6 Comparison of load-displacement curve predicted by numerical model with experimental

results (Serie A).
Fig. 7 Comparison of load-displacement curve predicted by numerical model with experimental

results (Serie B).

renovation panels
6 Conclusions
This paper presented an experimental and numerical study of the load-bearing behavior of sandwich
panels, built out of EPS insulating core and cladded with TRC faces. Two different mortars were used
b
and compared. Results showed that the flexural behaviour of the sandwich beams is strongly dependent
on the the tensile behaviour of the applied TRC. The increased tensile capacity of TRC A was refelected
in the bending behaviour of the sandwich beams, an increase of more than 20 % for the initial stiffness
and the cracking load was observed. However, applying a thicker TRC layer for the beams of series B,
led to a partial compensation of using an inferior face material. The stiffness in the last zone and the
if
ultimate load were comparable for both series, explained by the same amount of textile reinforcement.
Failure occurred by tensile failure of the textile reinforcement in the lower face or by local crushing
near the loading area. A numerical model was established to predict the structural capacity of the sand-
wich elements. Comparison with the experimental data proved that the numerical model gave a close
approximation. The overall non-linear flexural behaviour was well captured. The initial stiffness was
slightly underestimated for all the beams (for one of the series the ultimate load was underestimated by
19 %). The numerical failure mode matched the experimental observations, namely after reaching the
ultimate strength of the TRC and thus by tensile rupture of the TRC.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge Agentschap voor Innovatie en Ondernemen (VLAIO) and CRH
Structural Concrete Belgium nv for funding the research of the first author through a Baekeland man-
date.
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Montréal, Canada, July 28 - August 2.

Influence of head-size on concrete cone capacity: a

comparison for two cast-in solutions
b
Giuseppe Di Nunzio, Angelo Marchisella and Giovanni Muciaccia
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Politecnico di Milano,
if
Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, Milan 20133, Italy
Abstract
The request of flexibility coupled with the complexity of modern buildings has gradually moved the
construction practice toward post-installed fasteners. However, there are structural applications, in
which cast-in place anchors are still preferred. Headed studs are a common cast-in solution, which
transfers the applied load to the base material mainly by bearing. In literature, it was found how in-
creasing of the head-size leads to an increasing of the ultimate load but with reduced displacement
capacity. Within this context, the influence of the head-size on concrete cone capacity was investigat-
ed for two cast-in solutions. Experimental tests and numerical analyses are discussed, accounting for
the differences in the strain gradient in correspondence of the bearing head.
1 Introduction
Nowadays, different solutions for anchorage in concrete are available on the market. Relatively recent
development of drilling and hammering technique introduced efficient post-installed fastening sys-
tems, which represent an advantageous solution in the design of new building and in the strengthening
of existing structures. Nevertheless, there are structural details, in which cast-in place anchoring
systems are still the most used. Headed studs are a common cast-in solution, which transfers applied
load to the base material mainly by mechanical interlock [1].
A comprehensive summary on the pull-out behaviour of headed studs is available in Eligehausen
et al [1]. When loaded in tension, an anchor bolt located far from free edges or sufficiently spaced
from other anchors, exhibits a failure mechanism characterized from a cone-shaped fracture surface in
the concrete. As anchors employ the local tensile capacity concrete, it was found that concrete cone
failure is affected by size-effect [2]. From experimental pull-out tests and numerical analyses, other
authors found how increasing the anchor-head size leads to an increasing of the ultimate load but with
reduced displacement capacity [3][4]. By analysing numerical models available in literature, it can be
noticed how they correctly predicted the load capacity but, generally, they did not reproduce the real
stiffness of the load-displacement curve. Tensile behaviour of concrete is mainly responsible of the
crack development and the ultimate load capacity. However, a hydrostatic stress-strain field is estab-
lished in a very small zone under the head of the stud [1]. In this zone, concrete could be severely
crushed increasing the displacement at the peak load. Available constitutive models are not able to
reproduce this phenomenon, since only minor volume deformations correspond to tri-axial compres-
sive field near the bearing head. It is possible to state that constitutive models, which base the com-
pressive behaviour on plasticity theory, are affected by volume locking.
Within this context, the influence of the head-size on concrete cone capacity for very large head-
size was investigated. Experimental tests and numerical analyses were carried out for two anchoring
plates composed by a single stud welded in the centre of the steel plate. The first one is more classic,
and it is composed by a single headed stud (small head-size), while the second one is more innova-
tive, and it is composed by a piece of IPE profile (large head-size). For the investigated solutions,
experimental and numerical results are discussed, accounting for the effects of different head-size.
An experimental campaign for the assessment of anchoring plates under seismic action was carried
out at Politecnico di Milano[5][6]. When subjected to flexural or tensile load, a concrete member is
expected to crack. Furthermore, a loaded anchor causes local stress concentration and acts like a
discontinuity in the continuum, thus it is reasonable to suppose that cracks forming in concrete will

intersect anchors [1]. Under quasi-permanent loads, crack width ranges from 0.3mm to 0.4mm [1] but
seismic action could significantly increase the expected value of crack width. After performing rain-
flow counting of the curvature histories extracted from nonlinear history analyses of a suite of build-
ing models, Wood et al. found a maximum crack width of 0.8mm at 90th percent fractile [7]. This
b
value was assumed as reference for Ultimate Limit State under seismic conditions in most of the
qualification protocols for post-installed anchors [8][9]. Due to the lack of specific protocols for
seismic qualification of cast-in anchors, the same value of reference crack width for post-installed
anchors was assumed in the experimental tests.
if
This section summarizes results from pull-out tests in “widely” cracked concrete, focusing on the
differences in the structural response as function of the head-size. Investigated anchoring plates will
be indicated as “small head-size” solution and “large head-size” solution, hereinafter. For the large
head-size solution only, two pull-out tests in non-cracked concrete were carried out.
2.1 Materials and methods

2.1.1 Test program
The complete tests program of tensile tests is summarized in Table 1. It comprises reference mono-
tonic tests, step-wise increasing cyclic tests and step-wise increasing crack varying tests with com-
pression in load reversals. Cyclic tests and crack varying tests are not addressed in the present paper.
However, no capacity reduction was detected for both anchoring plates after the cyclic part of the
tests, thus the residual capacity is accounted in further evaluations.
Table 1 Complete test program of tensile tests.
Test series Crack width Anchoring plate No. tests

Reference test in low strength concrete. 0.8mm Small head-size 12
Large head-size 10
Reference test in high strength concrete. 0.8mm Small head-size 10
Large head-size 10
Step-wise increasing cyclic test. 0.5-0.8mm Small head-size 11
Large head-size 10
Step-wise increasing crack varying test with 0.0-0.8mm Small head-size 17
compression in load reversals. Large head-size 10

Reference test in uncracked concrete. Uncracked Large head-size 2
2.1.2 Headed anchors

Anchor plates are a common solution adopted to fasten equipment to reinforced concrete structures in
Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). Classic solutions for anchoring plate are often composed of four or
more headed studs welded on the steel plate. Thousands of anchoring plates are installed in a NPP;
hence difficulties could arise when supporting structures have a huge amount of reinforcement.
Electricité de France (EDF) developed new anchoring plate with only one fastener to be used un-
der such design conditions. They are designed to transfer load to the base material also in presence of
eccentricity. Two anchoring plates were investigated (Fig. 1): the former is composed of a single
headed stud of 22mm diameter and 200mm length (small head-size solution, the bearing area is equal
to 580mm2), the latter is composed of a piece of IPE140 profile with the side of the bottom flange
equals to 73mm (large head-size solution, the bearing area is of 4985mm2).

ifb
Fig. 1 Mono-stud anchoring plates: small head-size solution (left) and large head-size solution
(right) (courtesy of EDF-SEPTEN Company).
2.1.3 Concrete slabs

Anchoring plates were installed in concrete specimens specifically designed to develop cracked con-
ditions. The development of crack intercepting the anchors was ensured by applying tensile load to
slabs via four M20 threaded rods and by placing crack inducers prior the casting of concrete. In order
to avoid superimposition of cone-shaped failure surfaces, two anchoring pates were installed per each
slab. Nominal concrete class C20/25 was selected for the tests. Compressive strength was measured
on 150mm side cubes according to EN 12390-3 [10]. Unreinforced slabs of 1250×1250×500mm3
geometry were used for tests in uncracked concrete.
2.1.4 Test apparatus
Experimental tests were carried out using a test apparatus designed to develop cracked conditions into
the base material and to apply tensile load to the anchoring plate (Fig. 2). A machine composed of
two reactive frames is fixed to the strong floor of the laboratory and it is designed to develop cracked
plans into concrete specimens. During crack varying tests, the same machine can apply compression
to concrete specimens. A mobile frame equipped with a hydraulic jack of 300kN capacity applies
tensile load to the anchoring plate in displacement control. Crack width is monitored using linear
displacement transducers at the surface of concrete specimens and in correspondence of the effective
embedment depth. Vertical displacements of anchoring plates are measured by four transducers sym-
metrically disposed with respect to the anchor.
Fig. 2 Scheme of test apparatus.
2.2 Test results and discussion

The small head-size solution showed two different failure modes: concrete cone breakout (Fig. 3 left)
and concrete blow-out failure. Although it is strictly related to the bearing pressure, discussion of tests
in which concrete blow-out was detected is out of the scope of the present paper. Conversely, the
large head-size solution always showed concrete cone breakout (Fig. 3 right).
Giuseppe Di Nunzio, Angelo Marchisella and Giovanni Muciaccia 189

ifb
Fig. 3 Concrete cone breakout: small head-size solution (left) and large head-size solution
(right).
Load capacities obtained from pull-out tests in “widely” cracked concrete are reported in Table 2,
where Nu,cr is the mean value of tensile capacity normalized with respect to the concrete compressive
strength [8], σ is the standard deviation and CV is the coefficient of variation.
Table 2 Results from experimental pull-out tests.

Solution Nu,cr (kN) σ (kN) CV (%)
Stud solution 153.8 21.8 14.1
IPE solution 90.4 6.8 7.6
In order to remove the influence of the different embedment depth, capacity curves are normalized by
calculating the “k” coefficient according to Concrete Capacity Design (CCD) method [11]:
, ⁄ .
∙ .
(1)
Where: kcr is the “k” coefficient of CCD in cracked concrete, fcc is the concrete compressive strength
measured on cubes, hef is the effective embedment depth, which is equal to 212mm for the small
head-size solution and to 155mm the large head-size solution [12]
Permanent displacements measured for the small head-size solution are approximately one order
of magnitude greater than the same measured for large head-size solution (Fig. 4 left). This is in
accordance with results from literature, in which the increasing of the head-size leads to a reduction in
the displacement capacity [1][4][13] (Fig. 4 right).
Fig. 4 Comparison between experimental curves (left) and Experimental results from literature
(After Nilforoush et al. [13], where S, M and L are Small head-size, Medium head-size
and Large head-size, respectively).
The calculation of “k” coefficient (1) yields to 9.88 and 9.36 for the small head-size and the large
head-size solutions, respectively.

Calculated “k” coefficients are lower than the value suggested by Eligehausen et al. [1], which is
equal to 11.5 for headed studs in cracked concrete. However, the authors obtained this value as the
average from the ratio between failure loads in cracked and non-cracked concrete by considering a
crack width ∆w = 0.3mm to 0.4mm. Since the experimental tests were carried out with an initial crack
b
width of 0.8mm, calculated “k” coefficients are less of 15% due to “widely” cracked concrete condi-
tions.
As demonstrated by other researchers, lower bearing pressure of larger head-size anchors could
lead to an increasing in the load capacity [3][4][13]. Nevertheless, measured pull-out capacity for the
if
large head-size solution is lower that CCD and it is comparable to the small head-size solution. Prob-
ably, specimen’s geometry and the presence of steel reinforcement subjected to high tensile strains
influenced the development of the concrete cone.
3 Finite element modelling

Preliminary numerical simulations were performed with the following objectives: simulation of pull-
out tests in cracked concrete conditions and prediction of the behaviour in plain concrete.
3.1 Calibration of constitutive laws

The correct calibration of constitutive laws for concrete material, was performed with the definition
of the parameters involved in the mathematical model by inverse analysis of results from three-points
bending tests on notched beams according to RILEM[14]. The tensile strength obtained in a flexural
test needs to be converted in an equivalent uniaxial tensile strength by means of the following equa-
tion[15]:
1.5 ∙ ⁄ .
,
1 + 1.5 ∙ ⁄ . (2)
Where: fct,fl is the peak stress obtained in two different tests, hb is the depth of concrete beam speci-
men and h0 is the depth of concrete specimen reduced by the notch’s length.
As result of the averages in two different three-point bending tests, 35N/m for fracture energy and
1.57MPa for mean tensile strength were obtained. Computed fracture energy and tensile strength of
the concrete were used in a three-dimensional finite element model in ABAQUS environment for the
validation.
3.2 Numerical simulations in cracked concrete

In cracked concrete, the dimensionality of the investigated solutions resulted in different modelling
strategies. In particular, the small head-size anchor is axisymmetric and it develops high hydrostatic
pressure at the bearing head, as consequence it was tri-dimensional modelled. Conversely, the geome-
try of the IPE anchor allows the assumption of plane stress condition.
3.2.1 Small head-size
Tri-dimensional numerical simulation for the small head-size solution was performed in ABAQUS
environment. Concrete is characterized by material parameters computed from inverse analysis as
described in subsection 3.1. The compressive stress-strain law is non-linear with the mean strength
equal to 28.0MPa, the tensile behaviour is defined by a tension stiffening with the fracture energy
equal to 35N/m and the peak tensile strength equal to 1.57MPa with a bilinear stress-crack opening
law. The model combines isotropic damaged elasticity with isotropic tensile and compressive plastici-
ty. A continuous scalar variable is introduced to model the damage as isotropic. The range of the
scalar damage variable is from zero (not damaged material) to unity (open of a macro-crack). Steel is
characterized by material parameters from producer. In order to simulate cracked conditions for con-
crete specimen, the crack plan is modelled as physical discontinuity of 0.8mm spacing. Non-linear
incremental analysis is performed, taking as load condition an imposed step displacement for the top
plate of the anchor. The step displacement is automatically fixed by the algorithm in the range 0.001-
0.01mm/step. Model’s mesh is made of linear bricks with the mesh size range from 6mm to 16mm;
some mesh refinement is defined near the bearing head of the stud.
By comparing the numerical model with experimental results, it can be noticed how numerical
simulation did not reproduce the real stiffness of the anchoring solution (Fig. 5 left). Since classic

constitutive theories implemented in FE codes are based on plasticity theory, the model could be
affected by volume locking phenomenon. Hence, the model could not reproduce the volume defor-
mations (pulverization of cement mortar) associated with the hydrostatic stress field under the head of
the stud.
ifb
Fig. 5 Numerical simulation in cracked concrete for the small head-size solution: comparison
with experimental results (left) and tensile damage variable plot at the peak load (right).
3.2.2 Large head-size

The geometry of the anchor allows the assumption of plane stress condition: two-dimensional state of
stress is achieved in two different planes. Since the shape of the bottom flange is flat, it can be as-
sumed that the stress-strain field induced by the contact with the concrete is two-dimensional with
negligible value of third component of stress.
Numerical model was performed in ATENA (2D) environment. Concrete is characterized by the
material parameters as for the small head-size solution but with a linear strain-crack opening law in
tension. Non-linear static incremental analyses are performed, taking as load condition an imposed
step displacement for the top plate of the anchor. Based on convergence considerations, 0.01 mm/step
is chosen as target step displacement however some reduction is needed for crucial steps.
Due to lower bearing pressure, modelling of large head anchors does not suffer of volume locking
issues. Hence, numerical simulation reproduces also the stiffness of experimental curves (Fig. 6 left).
It can be noticed how the crack pattern is mainly influenced by the presence of the top reinforcement,
which plays the role of a tie (Fig. 6 right).
Fig. 6 Numerical simulation in cracked concrete for large head-size solution: comparison with
experimental results (left) and crack pattern at the peak load (right).
3.3 Numerical simulations in non-cracked concrete

For large head-size solution only, experimental tests were carried out also in non-cracked concrete.
Welding failure was achieved during experimental tests with the separation of the top plate with
respect to the top flange of IPE profile. Therefore, numerical simulations were performed in order to
study the behaviour of the two anchoring plates in plain concrete without suffering limitations due to

steel failure. Non-linear tri-dimensional incremental analyses were carried out in ABAQUS environ-
ment with the same material parameters of simulations in cracked concrete. To improve computation-
al cost efficiency, only one quarter of the domain was modelled. Anchors are modelled as indefinitely
elastic to avoid steel failure. Model’s mesh is made of linear tetrahedrons with a mesh size from 2mm
b
to 30mm with refinement in proximity of the anchor head.
Comparison between crack patterns shows that the difference in bearing significantly affects the
shape of extraction cone (Fig. 7). In particular, the ratio between the projection of the cone in the
horizontal plan and the effective embedment depth yields 1.5 and 2.0 for small head-size solution and
if
large head-size solution, respectively. Fig. 8 shows the comparison of capacity curves in terms of “k”
coefficient in non-cracked concrete (equation (1)). Obtained “k” coefficient was 14.45 for the small
head-size solution, while it was 16.95 for the large head-size solution. Suggested value for k coeffi-
cient from literature is 15.5[1], hence it can be notice how increasing of anchor head-size leads to
higher capacity with respect to CCD previsions. This is in accordance with experimental results, in
which steel failure is the dominant mechanism in non-cracked concrete conditions (Fig. 8 right).
Fig. 7 Crack patterns in plain concrete as equivalent tensile plastic strains: small head-size solu-
tion (left) and large head-size solution (right).
Fig. 8 Comparison between numerical capacity curves (left) and comparison between experi-
mental and numerical results for large head-size solution in plain concrete (right).
Presented work reported the first phase of numerical analyses carried out for mono-stud anchoring
plates. Further developments are needed in order to simulate the stress-strain field around the bearing
head for small-head size cast-in anchors.
4 Conclusions
The following conclusions can be drawn:
The head-size dimension has a strong influence on the concrete cone pull-out capacity for
cast-in anchors. Generally, larger head-size yields to lower permanent displacements and to
greater load capacities with respect to CCD previsions. Nevertheless, results from experi-
mental tests in cracked concrete suggest that concrete specimens’ geometry and reinforcement

has non negligible influence for large head-size anchors. Since almost all concrete structures
have a minimum amount of reinforcement, this aspect needs to be further investigated;
For small head-size anchors, Finite Element modelling with continuum approach could pro-
vide not realistic pull-out behaviour. As for stiffness, this is probably due to volume locking
b
phenomenon associated with constitutive models based on plasticity theory.
Acknowledgements
EDF DIPNN Company, Civil Engineering, Villeurbanne is acknowledged for the financial support, in
if
particular Mr. T. Roure is warmly thanked for authorizing the use of experimental data. The authors
would also like to thank all the members of technical staff of LPMSC, sector Structural Anchors.
References
[1] Eligehausen, Rolf, Rainer Mallèe, and John Silva. 2006. Anchorage In Concrete
Construction. Berlin: Ernst & Sohn
[2] Ožbolt, Joško, Rolf Eligehausen, and Hans-Wolf. Reinhardt. 1999. “Size effect on the
concrete cone pull-out load.” International Journal of Fracture. 95:391–404
[3] Ožbolt, Joško, Rolf Eligehausen, G. Periškić, and U. Mayer. 2007. “3D FE analysis of anchor
bolts with large embedment depths.” Engineering Fracture Mechanics. 74(1–2):168–178
[4] Nilforoush, Rasoul., Martin Nilsson, Lennert Elfgren, Joško Ožbolt, Jan Hofmann, and Rolf
Eligehausen. 2017. “Tensile capacity of anchor bolts in uncracked concrete: Influence of
member thickness and anchor’s head size.” ACI Structural Journal. 114(6):1519–1530
[5] Muciaccia, Giovanni., Giuseppe Di Nunzio, and Andrea Consiglio. 2018. “High Tech
Concrete: Where Technology and Engineering Meet.” Maastricht, The Netherlands.
[6] Muciaccia, Giovanni., Giuseppe Di Nunzio, and Andrea Consiglio. 2017. “Effect Of Crack
Opening On The Behaviour Of Mono-stud Plates Under Seismic Conditions.” 3rd
International Symposium on Connections between Steel and Concrete, Stuttgart, Germany.
[7] Wood, Richard L., and Tara C.Hutchinson. 2013. “Crack protocols for anchored components
and systems.” ACI Structural Journal. 110(3):391–401.
[8] European Organisation for Technical Approvals. 2013. ETAG001: Guideline for European
Technical Approval of metal anchors for use in concrete - Annex E: Assessment of metal
anchors under seismic action. April. Brussels: EOTA
[9] ACI Committee 355. 2007. 355.2-07 Qualification of Post-Installed Mechanical Anchors in
Concrete & Commentary. Farmington Hills: American Concrete Institute
[10] CEN/TC 104., 2009. EN 12390-3: Testing hardened concrete - Part 3: Compressive strength
of test specimens. 3-1. CEN
[11] Fuchs, Werner., Rolf Eligehausen, and John E. Breen. 1995. “Concrete Capacity Design
(CCD) Approach for Fastening to Concrete.” ACI Structural Journal 92(23).
[12] CEN/TC250. 2015. EN 1992-4 Eurocode 2 Design of concrete structures - Part 4 Design of
fastenings for use in concrete. CEN
[13] Nilforoush, Rasoul., Martin Nilsson, and Lennart Elfgren. 2018. “Experimental Evaluation of
Influence of Member Thickness, Anchor-Head Size, and Orthogonal Surface Reinforcement
on the Tensile Capacity of Headed Anchors in Uncracked Concrete.” Journal of Structural
Engineering (United States) 144(4).
[14] RILEM TC 162-TDF. 2002. “Recommendations of RILEM TC 162-TDF: Test and design
methods for steel fibre reinforced concrete: bending test.” Materials and Structures.
35(253):579–582
[15] fib., 2012. Model Code 2010 - Volume 1. International Federation for Structural Concrete
(fib)

Push-out shear tests for timber-UHPC composite

footbridge
b
Milan Holý1,2 and Lukáš Vráblík1
1 Department of Concrete and Masonry Structures,
CTU Prague, Faculty of Civil Engineering,
if
Thákurova 7, 166 29 Praha, Czech Republic
2 KloknerInstitute,
CTU Prague,
Šolínova 7, 166 08 Praha, Czech Republic
Abstract
This paper deals with the development of structural system for the timber-UHPC composite light-
weight bridges and summarizes the results and evaluation of part of the short-term push-out shear
tests of the special timber-precast concrete composite connection. Specimens for the push-out shear
test are composed of two identical precast UHPC slabs and timber beam placed in the middle between
them. The shear connection is carried out by notch made of steel plates embedded in the timber beams
supplemented with welded headed studs. Some parameters of the shear connection are varied and
their influence on the mechanical behaviour of the connection is discussed. The executed experiments
are supplemented with numerical simulation and compared with analytical calculation.
1 Introduction
Very subtle and aesthetical structures can be designed by combining of timber and UHPC. Moreover,
this structural system could effectively meet the requirements of sustainable material management for
the construction of lightweight bridges and could very efficient shorten the construction time.
2 Bridge system
Currently, the development of an innovative technology for the timber-precast UHPC composite
pedestrian and cyclist footbridges is running at the Klokner Institute of CTU in Prague. The bridge
system is designed for span range approximately 10-30 m and is established for pedestrians, cyclists
and possibility of passage of vehicles weighting up to 3.5 tones. The bridge is designed with an ele-
vated vertical alignment, the water drainage will be realized in the longitudinal direction, because the
transverse gradient is designed 0% for production reasons, see Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 Side view of the bridge.
2.1 Load-bearing structure

The timber-concrete composite structure consists of two glulam beams coupled with a precast bridge
deck made of UHPC segments, see Fig. 2 (at the top). The precast bridge deck segments are designed
as a thin slabs made of UHPC of a constant thickness with slots for connectors, without any ribs and
without any reinforcement. Only steel fibres are used as a scattered reinforcement.

The shear connection in the most stressed parts of bridge will be carried out by steel plate with
welded headed studs, see Fig. 2 (at the bottom). The complete timber beams will be fitted with con-
nectors in the workshop, transported and placed on the construction side. Then, the prefabricated
bridge deck segments provided with slots for coupling elements will be put onto timber beams. The
b
joints between segments and the slots with headed studs will be poured with UHPC grouting. The
application of UHPC to joints has already been successfully proved by the steel-concrete composite
structures, see [15]. In the slots, the UHPC grouting will be applied in the area over the steel plate, the
fresh concrete mix will therefore not be in a direct contact with the timber. This type of connection
if
allows to tolerate minor inaccuracies by the positioning of the deck segments on site. It is possible to
use the connectors with the different load bearing capacity along the beam according to the shear
force distribution.
Fig. 2 At the top: Composite cross-section of load-bearing structure – glulam beams connected
with UHPC deck segments and ground plan of the segment with 4 slots for connectors. At
the bottom: Schema of the connection system using steel plate with headed studs.
2.2 Design
The structural behavior of timber-concrete composite structures is essentially influenced by the shear
connection between timber and concrete, e. g. according [3]. The connection of conventional types of
timber-concrete structures cannot be regarded as rigid because of slip between timber beam and con-
crete slabs. This behavior is referred to as “partial composite action”. The connection characteristics
are absolutely essential for the load-bearing capacity or for the development of deflections. Some
short time push out shear tests were designed in order to determine of the connection characteristics,
see below.
The bridge deck segments are subjected to the combination of compression and bending in the
longitudinal direction and to pure bending in the transverse direction. The transverse direction is
crucial for design of the slab thickness. Actually, there are no standards for UHPC in the Czech
Republic yet, AFGC Recommendation are used for preliminary design [1]. The UHPC deck segments
are subtle, it is therefore recommended to take into account the influence of formwork shape and
pouring of concrete for derivation of the flexural strength [10], because the fibres are usually distri-
buted and oriented in dependence on the pouring of concrete and on the shape of the structural ele-
ment. The various bending tests for determining flexural strength of UHPC were executed, also on
special test specimens - slab strips under similar boundary conditions as designed bridge deck seg-
ments. The evaluation and comparison of the bending tests will be addressed in more detail in other
paper. Experience with experimental testing and design of bridge structures author obtained partici-
pating on several tasks detaily published in articles [16-19].

2.3 Material UHPC

The Ultra-High Performance Concrete is very promising material and its very favourable material
properties allow to design very thin structures. For example, some interesting structures of footbridg-
b
es using UHPC were already designed and tested at the Klokner Institute: footbridge with double
curvature [9] and cable stayed footbridge [2]
Developed UHPC mixture consists of the cement CEM II 52,5 N, fine aggregate with maximum
size of 2 mm, slag, silica fume and steel fibres (0.2 mm thick and 13 mm long). Volume of the fibres
is 2%. The volume of water and superplasticizer depends on the temperature conditions with regard to
if
the workability. Some laboratory tests were executed on cubes, cylinders and beams to determine the
basic material properties of UHPC. Some material properties at the age of 28 days are summarized in
Table 1.
Table 1 Material properties of UHPC at the age of 28 days.

Density 2450 kg/m3
Compressive strength (cubes a = 100 mm) 144.2 MPa
Compressive strength (cylinder Ø150 mm) 131.0 MPa
Compressive strength (cylinder Ø100 mm) 141.7 MPa
Modulus of elasticity 49.6 GPa
Bond characteristics between connectors and UHPC are also important. This issue is addressed in
more detail in [11-13].
3 Push out shear tests

The test specimens for short time push out shear tests were designed in several variants so that differ-
rent types of failure could occur. In the case of this connection system made of steel plates with weld-
ed headed studs, more types of failure can occur, namely: shear failure of the wood, which results in
splitting of the wooden key, compression failure of the wood on the head of the wooden key, com-
pression failure of concrete in the area of the headed studs, tension separation of the UHPC slab. Nine
test series with a total number of 27 samples were designed. The first two and yet only tested K10 and
K11 series were designed for shear failure of headed studs, see Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 Photos from push-out shear test – on the left side specimen K10-1 before loading, on the
right side the same specimen after shear failure of headed studs.
Milan Holý and Lukáš Vráblík 197

3.1 Test set up

Specimens for the push-out shear test were composed of two identical precast UHPC slabs with slots
for headed studs and timber beam with connectors placed in the middle between them. The same
b
geometry of specimens and the same shear connectors were used for both test series K10 and K11.
The specimens K10 and K11 varied only in the age of the UHPC grouting. The K10 serie was tested 1
day after pouring, the K11 serie 1 week after pouring. It was tested a compressive strength of UHPC
grouting on beams with dimensions 40 x 40 x 160 mm. The measured compressive strength was 55
MPa for 1 day old UHPC grouting and 128.5 MPa for 7 days old. Geometry and static schema of the
if
push out shear test is shown in Fig. 4. The timber beams were loaded at the top with hydraulic cylin-
der. The specimens were supported on the UHPC slabs and the lateral displacement in bottom part of
specimens was avoided.
Fig. 4 Geometry of test specimens K10 and K11 with static schema of push-out shear test fig-
ured in section 2-2.
The push-out shear tests were controlled by displacement in order to obtain also descending part of
the stress-strain diagram. The force was measured on the hydraulic cylinder and the vertical dis-

placement of timber beam was monitored with 2 additional point sensors placed in the area of con-
nectors on both sides of timber beam.
3.2 Results of experiments
b
Headed studs failured first on the one side by all specimens. On the second side, some specimens
showed also shear failure of studs with a little delay. In other case, a compression failure of timber
occurred on the second side. Headed studs after failure are shown in Fig. 5.
if
Fig. 5 Headed studs after failure, on the left side: concrete surface, on the right side: steel plate
surface with welding parts of studs and with six sided heads of wood screws.
Test outputs are records of the force measured on the cylinder depending on the displacement of the
timber beam in the area of embedded connectors. The results are more discussed in chapter 6. The test
records are shown in Fig. 7.
4 Analytical calculation
Design rules in Eurocode 4 [7] can be used for calculation of the load bearing capacity of headed
studs. However, this design model is derived for steel-concrete composites with normal strength
concrete. Calculation of the load bearing capacity of headed studs according Eurocode depends in
case of shear failure only on the strength of steel of studs fu and on the diameter of the shaft d, see (1).
1
∙ 0.8 ∙ ∙ (1)
4
ϒv is partial safety factor for studs. In the case of high strength concrete, the headed studs behave
differently, this difference is shown in Fig. 6.
Fig. 6 Structural behaviour of headed studs in ULS for normal strength (on the left) and high
strength concrete (on the right), according [8].
In the first phase of loading, most of the shear force is transferred in the area of the weld at the base of
the headed stud (Fw in Fig. 6). With an increase of load, the normal strength concrete is locally plas-
ticified in the area in front of the base of the stud and the load is redistributed to the shaft of the stud
(Fs in Fig. 6). The stud is subsequently stressed and deformed by bending moment. The deformation

of the stud causes the compressive force (C in Fig. 6) in the concrete between the steel flange and the
head of the stud, the stud is then stressed by the corresponding tensile force (T in Fig. 6). Friction
forces (Fr in Fig. 6) are then activated due to the compression between the concrete and the steel
flange. The collaps of the studs occurs when the load-carrying capacity for combination of tension
b
and shear is reached.
In the case of high strength concrete, the stud is firmly fixed in concrete, due to its higher
strength. With an increase of load, only the concrete in the wedge before the weld at the base of the
headed stud is plasticified. As a result of the stiff fixation of the stud in concrete, the whole part above
if
weld is moved over the plasticified wedge as rigid body and friction is activated in the wedge area (Fr
in Fig. 6). The stud is plastically deformed only in the area directly above the weld. The failure of the
stud occurs essentially by shear. The studs exhibit generally higher load-bearing capacity and more
brittle behaviour with an increasing concrete strength. Döinghaus [6] modified the formula for
calculation of the load bearing capacity of headed studs for high strength concrete, the contribution of
concrete in the weld area is in formula included (bw width of weld, hw height of weld, fck char.
cylinder strength), see (2).
1
∙ (0.85 ∙ ∙ + 1.5 ∙ ℎ ∙ ∙ ) (2)
4
Simon [14] demostrated, that the behaviour of studs with steel plates for the timber-concrete compo-
site structures with normal strength concrete is similar to the steel-high performance concrete compo-
sites, because timber is much less stiff than steel, its plastic deformations allow to push the steel plate
in the timber beam.
5 Numerical simulation
Using the program ATENA (Červenka Consulting s.r.o.) [4], a 3D model for nonlinear numerical
simulation of the push-out shear test was developed. Due to the symmetry of the test specimens, only
quarter of the test specimen was modelled. It allowed a significant reduction of number of finite
elements. A failure in the area of the concrete slab can be simulated very pregnant in the program
ATENA. Sofisticated fracture plastic material model “Nonlinear Cementitious 2 User” [5] was used
for simulation of UHPC material. Material parameters for UHPC were derived from other experi-
ments. Much more complicated situation is, when the failure occurs in wood, but it was not the case
of the K10 and K11 test series. The elastic material model is used for timber beam and steel plate.
The bilinear material model “Steel von Mises 3D” is used for studs. Because this material model has
no limit deformation, it is necessary to monitor strain in the stud for determining of moment of failure
(elongation 20%). Due to the complexity of test specimen, tetrahedra elements are used for mesh.
Meshed model in program ATENA is shown in Fig. 7.

From the results of the short time push-out shear tests, it is evident that the specimens with a 7 days
old grouting (K11) show on average about 20% higher load-bearing capacity than the specimens with
a 1 day old grouting (K10). In the load-displacement diagram, a higher stiffness can be observed by
the K11 specimens. According to the general principles for shear connections in Eurocode 4 [7], the
connectors should have slip deformation capacity 6 mm and it was fulfilled. Numerical simulation in
program ATENA simulated quite accurately experimental results, see Fig. 7. However, the numerical
simulation naturally does not include a start-up inclination of the record diagram caused by pushing
of supports.
The shear load bearing capacity is calculated according (2) with mean values of strengths (tensile
strength of studs, compressive strength of UHPC grouting) and without partial safety factor to
approximate the actual shear load bearing capacity of the test specimens. Because the area of head of
the wood screws contributes to the shear load bearing capacity (but only partly, wood screws are in
oval openigs, which should allow little longitudal movement), the calculation is then supplemented by
contribution of screws, which is calculated analogically to weld contribution with width and height of
head of screws. The results of analytical calculations are compared with experimental results and
results of numerical simulation in the following Table 2.

500
K10-1
F [kN]
K10-2
b
400
K10-3
300 K11-1
if
K11-2
200
K11-3
100 ATENA
K10
ATENA
K11
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 u [mm]
Fig. 7 On the left: 3D FEM model meshed with tetrahedra elements in program ATENA, On the
right: L-D diagram of short time push-out shear tests supplemented with curves from sim-
ulation with program ATENA.
Table 2 Comparison of results.

Mean value of shear load-bearing capacity of studs
type of calculation or test serie studs weld screws total K11/K10
[kN] [kN] [kN] [kN]
calculation according (2) * K10 146.9 10.7 157.6
calculation according (2) * K11 146.9 25.0 171.8 109%
calc. (2) + area of screw heads ** K10 146.9 10.7 39.3 196.9
calc. (2) + area of screw heads ** K11 146.9 25.0 91.4 263.2 134%
calculation ATENA 3D (aproxim.) K10 295
calculation ATENA 3D (aproxim.) K11 350 119%

average of push-out tests K10 307.0
average of push-out tests K11 367.2 120%
* Mean value of tensile strength fu (550 MPa according to certificate of producer), ϒv = 1, fcm
** Ad * + area of screw heads added to formula (2), contribution of screws analogically to weld
It is evident from the Table 2, that results of analytical calcution are markedly underestimated in case
of the timber-UHPC composite structures. It is therefore appropriate to make further adjustments to
the formula for the calculation of the shear load bearing capacity of headed stud by this connection
system for timber-UHPC composite structures.
7 Conclusion
An innovative structural system for timber-UHPC composite footbridges was introduced in this pa-
per. It was verified by the push-out shear tests, that the shear load-bearing capacity of the studs is in
this case also dependent on the compressive strength of the concrete. The modified formula for calcu-
lating the shear load-bearing capacity of studs by high-strength concrete [6] quite accurately predicts
this fact. However, results of analytical calcution are markedly underestimated in case of this connec-
tion system for the timber-UHPC composite structures. It is therefore appropriate to make further
adjustments to the formula for the calculation of the shear load bearing capacity of headed stud by
this connection system for the timber-UHPC composite structures. Numerical simulation in program

ATENA simulated quite accurately experimental results. Presently, some other test specimens for
push-out shear tests, which are designed for other types of failure, are prepared.
Acknowledgements
b
Theoretical basis for the presented results were obtained under the support of the research project
TH02020730 of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR).
References
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[11] Pokorný, P., P. Tej, and M. Kouřil. 2017. “Evaluation of the impact of corrosion of hot-dip
galvanized reinforcement on bond strength with concrete - A review”, Construction and
Building materials 132: 271-289.
[12] Pokorný, P., P. Tej, and P. Szelag. 2016. “Chromate conversion coatings and their current
application.” Metalurgija 55:253-256.
[13] Pokorný, P., P. Tej, and P. Szelag. 2016. “Discussion about magnesium phosphating.” Meta-
lurgija 55: 507-510.
[14] Simon, A. 2008. “Analyse zum Trag- und Verformungsverhalten von Straßenbrücken in
Holz-Beton-Verbundbauweise.” PhD diss., Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.
[15] Vítek, J. L., D. Čítek, and R. Coufal. 2017. “Joints of Precast Structures Using UHPC”, Solid
State Phenomena, 259: 164-169, DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/SSP.259.164.
[16] Čech, J., P. Tej, J. Kolísko, and J. Král. 2017. “Structural condition assessment of the bridge
in Ostrava.” MATEC Web of Conferences 107, doi: 10.1051/matecconf/201710700001.
[17] Kněž, P., J. Čech, P. Tej, and M. Blank. 2017. “Assessment of structural condition of Liben
Bridge.” MATEC Web of Conferences 107, doi: 10.1051/matecconf/201710700002.
[18] Mourek, J., P. Tej, J. Kral, and J. Kolisko. 2017. “Assesment of structural condition of steel
bridge in Brandys nad Orlici.” MATEC Web of Conferences 107, doi:
10.1051/matecconf/201710700003.
[19] Tej, P., J. Kral, A. Tejova, and J. Markova. “Long-Term Monitoring of a Composite Steel-
Concrete Bridge on the Prague Ring Road.” Applied Mechanics and Materials, doi:
10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.617.13.

Numerical modeling of a composite wood-UHPFRC

structure
b
Petr Kněž and Petr Bouška
Klokner institute,
if
Šolínova 7, Prague 160 00, Czech Republic
Abstract
This article deals with the numerical modeling of a composite wood-UHPFRC structure. The basic
point is the setting of the material model to capture the specific properties of the UHPFRC so it will
correspond with the results of the laboratory tests of the material. Another important part is finding a
suitable method of connecting of the elements, for the maximum utilization of the advantages of both
materials and maintaining the simplicity of the design. On the numerical model will be paid attention
to finding the weak points of construction and secure them. Based on the findings, a footbridge will
be designed and it will be presented at the conference.
1 Introduction
The connection of wood and classical concrete has been used in building practice for a long time.
UHPFRC as a relatively new material should bring weight reduction to these composite structures and
making them more efficient due to its unique properties [1]-[4]. These properties include, in particu-
lar, high durability and resistance, very high compressive strength (> 150 MPa) and high tensile
strength [5] - [6], [9].
In this paper I will focus primarily on setting up the UHPFRC material models in the computa-
tional programs used for subsequent assessments. These programs are Atena 3D and Ansys. Atena
will mainly deal with problems related to the concrete part of the structure – deformation and crack
development [7] – [8]. In the Ansys program, wood and coupling elements assessment and the possi-
bility of its connection to concrete will be performed. From subsequent assessments will be presented
results of the proposed design of coupling options, the choice of the arrangement of the wooden
beams and the UHPFRC slab thickness.
The aim of my research is to design a construction system for a bridge with a span up to 10 m
with a passing width of 1.5 m. Load considered in the design is only by pedestrians and cyclists.
Experience with experimental testing and design of bridge structures author obtained participating on
several tasks detaily published in articles [20] – [22].
2 Numerical modeling of UHPFRC bending tests
2.1 Test samples and its setup

Sections of thicknesses of 60 and 80 mm were tested in the four-point bend. The sample width was
250 mm and the length was 2000 mm. The test setup is shown in Fig. 1. For the UHPC mixture we
have used experience from our previous experiments as in [10] – [11].
Fig. 1 Test setup for four-point bending of samples.

2.2 Numerical models of experimental test

2.2.1 Models in Atena software
A total of 4 nonlinear models for tested samples were created in Atena program. Two for each thick-
b
ness of the UHPFRC slab. The models are in all cases made up of a tested sample of the correspond-
ing dimensions, supporting elements and load transferring elements including the steel profile. The
model is shown in Fig. 2, 3. Friction joints are created between the concrete and the supporting ele-
ments to prevent these parts from contributing to the overall load capacity. The loading is accom-
if
plished by a forced displacement of 0.1 mm in the center of the steel beam and the reaction caused by
this load is measured here. Deflection is measured on the lower surface of the concrete sample at its
center. L-D diagrams are created from these data. The model is supported over the lower surface of
the support elements.
The reason for creating two models for each thickness is testing different types of macroelements.
In one case, standart macroelements are used, and in the other, the Isoshell slab macroelements with a
10-layer partition over the element thickness.
The material model for UHPFRC was modified 3D Variable nonlinear cementitious 2 [8]. Modi-
fied properties were modulus of elasticity after cracking, tensile strength and fracture energy. The
other elements of the model are standart or shell (steel beam) elastic elements with a modulus of
210 GPa.
The finite element mesh is another difference between the models.
The variant with standart macroelement has a mesh of a concrete element made of linear hexago-
nal finite elements with an edge length of 12 mm, a model (60 mm slab) with a mesh is shown in
Fig. 2. The Isoshell model is meshed with a quadratic hexagonal mesh with an edge length corre-
sponding to the thickness of the slab - i.e. 60 or 80 mm, the model (60 mm slab) with the mesh is
shown in Figure 3. The steel beam has a mesh formed by quadratic hexagonal elements with an edge
length of 30 mm. The remaining elements have a mesh formed by tetrahedra finite elements with a
15 mm edge length.
Fig. 2 Model with mesh for a 60 mm thick concrete slab consisting of standart element.
Fig. 3 Model with mesh for a 60 mm thick concrete slab consisting of isoshell element.

2.2.2 Test model in Ansys software

Two nonlinear models for tested samples were created in Ansys program. For each thickness of the
UHPFRC slab one. The model consists of a concrete sample of the corresponding dimensions and
b
load transferring elements including the steel profile. The model is shown in Fig. 4. Friction joints are
created between the concrete and the other elements to prevent these parts from contributing to the
overall load capacity. The load is carried out by a forced displacement of 0.1 mm in the center of the
steel beam. Deflections and reactions are measured by program postprocessor tools. L-D diagrams are
created from these data. The model is supported in the place of real support with support enabling
if
rotation and one of them also displacement in direction of the length of concrete sample.
The material model for UHPFRC in this case was a microplane model that is available for this
program and is supplemented by the dependence of the tensile stress value on the plastic strain of the
material. Other model elements are from a linear material model for structural steel with properties
corresponding to the S235 grade steel.
The finite element mesh of the model is made up of a hexagonal mesh with a 10 mm edge lenght,
with the exception of a steel beam and a plate having a mesh edge lenght of 20 mm. The model (60
mm slab) with the mesh is shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4 Model with mesh for a 60 mm thick concrete slab.
2.3 Results
The results of the numerical analysis of the test showed a different behaviour of the different model
approaches chosen in the Atena software. For 60 mm and 80 mm thickness slabs, different material
parameters had to be chosen for the same topology of the model and the models for the same thick-
nesses also showed different behaviour, especially with respect to stiffness. Ultimate tensile strength
was 12.5 MPa for 60 mm thick slab and 8.25 MPa for 80 mm thick slab. Modulus of elasticity after
cracking was 5 GPa (9.5 GPa for isoshell) for 60 mm thick slab and 15.5 GPa (14 GPa for isoshell)
for 80 mm thick slab. Fracture energy was 3.8 kN/m for 60 mm thick slab and 1.54 kN/m for 80 mm
thick slab. For a slab thickness of 60 mm demonstrating more accurate behaviour model with standart
macroelements for panels with thickness of 80 mm then model with isoshell elements. Differences in
L-D diagram between different models for slab 60 mm thick was very small and mostly in position of
load peak. The ansys model has shown consistency with the results of the experimental analysis for
both thicknesses without the need for additional material model modifications. The resulting curves of
the Load-Deflection diagrams are shown in Fig. 5, 6. For subsequent analyses, it is planned to use a
UHPFRC slab with a thickness of up to 50 mm. The Athena software will therefore use the access
and material characteristics of a 60 mm thick slab variant of a standart macro element.
Petr Kněž and Petr Bouška 205

L-D diagram - slab 60 mm

9
b
8
7
6
Load [kN]
if
5
4 Experiment
3 Atena standart
2 Atena Isoshell
1
Ansys
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Deflection [mm]
Fig. 5 L-D diagram for 60 mm thick slab.
L-D diagram - slab 80 mm

16
14 Experiment
Atena standart
12
Atena Isoshell
10 Ansys
Load [kN]
8
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Deflection [mm]
Fig. 6 L-D diagram for 80 mm thick slab.
3 Numerical modelling of connection options in Asnsys software
3.1 Model description

In the ansys software, two models for shear tests were developed to design the optimal coupling
method [12]-[13]. The model consisted of a wooden beam and two UHPFRC slabs of 50 mm thick-
ness. The first coupling variant using 10 steel coupling elements of 10 mm diameter, depth of element
in concrete 30 mm, in wood 100 mm, axial distance 100 mm. In the second variant, the number of
steel elements is reduced to 3 pieces and they are replaced by a shear stop with a depth of 25 mm and
a length of 200 mm. For steel elements were taken into account the possibility of anti-corrosion
treatments and their impact on cohesion with UHPC, as in [16] – [19].

For concrete is used the material model obtained in bending tests. For steel elements is used bilin-
ear model with hardening and tensile ultimate strength of 500 MPa and a tensile yield strength of
300 MPa. The wooden element is modeled as a linear element with stress limits corresponding to the
C24 wood class [14]-[15]. For both steel and wood, the rule of damage development is used depend-
b
ing on the material strength limit.
The model is supported over the lower surfaces of the concrete slabs and the load is applied by
forced displacement of the upper surface of the wooden beam in steps of 0.05 mm.
The model mesh is made up of hexagonal elements with 10 mm mesh edge length for wood and
if
concrete and 4 mm for steel elements.
Fig. 7 Meshed model with steel elements (left) and mesched model with shear stop (right).
3.2 Results
For both variants there is a failure due to wood pruning. The locations where the failure occurs are
shown in the Fig. 8. The total shear load capacity of the models is 235 kN for the variant with steel
coupling elements and 200 kN for the model with the combination of steel caoupling elements and the
shear stop. The load capacity is similar for both variants.
Fig. 8 Damage for model with steel elements (left) and model with shear stop (right).
4 Numerical modeling of footbridge section in Atena software

4.1.1 Model description
For designing the thickness of the UHPFRC slab, a meter of the proposed footbridge layout has been
modeled. Two variants of the arrangement of wooden beams for a walkway of a width of 1.5 m were
modeled, the total width of the footbridge is 1.7 m. The overhangs are used to anchor the railing. The
first variant of the wooden beams are two beams in the third of the width of the footbridge, fig. 9. The
second variant is the central beam in the center of the footbridge, Fig. 10. The slab thickness of 40
and 50 mm was tested.
Material model used was prepared in accordance with the results of bending tests of slabs 60 mm
thick formed by standart macroelement.

The model is supported on the lower surface of the wooden beams and only the bending of the
UHPFRC slab is examined. Contacts between slab and beams are modeled as friction to prevent co-
operation. The load is considered by its own weight, the pedestrian load of 5 kN/m2 and the linear
load replacing the forces from the railing (a total of 3 kN/m to reach the corresponding moment on the
b
cantilever). The safety factors are not considered in the calculation.
The structure is meshed with linear hexagonal finite elements with a mesh edge length of 12.5
mm for a 50 mm thick slab and a 10 mm mesh edge length for a 40 mm thick slab. The finite element
mesh is shown in Figure 9,10 and 12 (50 mm slab)
if
Fig. 9 Model with beams in thirds including the mesh.
Fig. 10 Model with a central beam including the mesh.
4.2 Results
In the case of a 50 mm thickness slab, no cracks appeared for any of the variants in concrete element.
For a 40 mm thick slab, cracks appeared for variant with central beam. Crack width was 0,001 mm.
The variant with beams in thirds showed lower tension stress over the support beams and lower de-
flection of cantilevers for both slab thicknesses.
Fig. 11 The stress for the slab thickness of 40 mm, variant with two beams (left), the maximum
stress is 5.97 MPa, variant with the central beam (right), the maximum stress is 6.53 MPa.

ifb
Fig. 12 The deflection for the slab thickness of 40 mm, variant with two beams (left), the maxi-
mum deflection is 1.42 mm, variant with the central beam (right), the maximum deflec-
tion is 2.10 mm.
Fig. 13 The stress for the slab thickness of 50 mm, variant with two beams (left), the maximum
stress is 3.91 MPa, variant with the central beam (right), the maximum stress is 5.24 MPa.
Fig. 14 The deflection for the slab thickness of 50 mm, variant with two beams (left), the maxi-
mum deflection is 0.83 mm, variant with the central beam (right), the maximum deflec-
tion is 1.18 mm
5 Conclusion
In the research of wood-UHPFRC composite structures, a numerical material models were set up in
the Atena and Ansys software for slab thicknesses of 60 and 80 mm. Based on these results, two
variants of the possible combination of these different materials were proposed at the numerical level.
One option is to use only steel joining members of diameter 10 mm, the second option is to replace
part of these members with a concrete stopper in a milled depression in a wooden beam of depth 25
mm and length 200 mm. The load capacity is similar for both variants. Experimental analysis for the
validation of the calculated values is planned in the first half of 2018. For the design of the thickness
of the UHPFRC slab, calculations were made for two possible variants of the arrangement of wooden
beams - one central beam or beams in thirds of width of footbridge with a considered footbridge
width of 1.5 m. According to these calculations, it is possible to use a 40 mm thick slab, but from a
technological point of view, it will probably be used a slab of 50 mm thickness for the final design of
the platform. Based on the results of the coupling tests, a footbridge design will be made for a span of
a range of 5-10 m. In the second half of 2018 it is envisaged to implement it and to perform the load
tests on the real construction to compare the results with the results of the nonlinear models.

Acknowledgements
Theoretical basis for the presented results were obtained under the support of the research project
TH02020730 of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR) and
b
SGS17/161/OHK1/2T/31.
References
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[9] Fib. 2013. Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010. Ernst & Sohn.
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bridge with Deck Made of UHPC.” MATEC Web of Conferences 77, doi:
10.1051/matecconf/20167708005.
[12] Kuklík, P., A. Kuklíková, A. Gregorová. 2016. “Timber-concrete composite structures with
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[13] Ceccotti, A. 1995. Timber-concrete Composite Structures. Timber Engineering STEP2. Cent-
rum Hout NL.

[14] 2006. EN 1995-1-1: Eurocode 5: Design of Timber Structures - Part 1-1: General - Common
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[15] 2010. EN 338: Structural Timber - Strength Classes. Comité European de Normalisation,
Bruxelles, Belgium.
[16] Pokorny, P., P. Tej, and M. Kouřil. 2017. “Evaluation of the impact of corrosion of hot-dip
galvanized reinforcement on bond strength with concrete - A review.” Construction and Buil-
ding materials 132:271-289.
[17] Pokorny, P., P. Tej, and P. Szelag. 2016. “Chromate conversion coatings and their current
[18] Pokorny, P., P. Tej, and P. Szelag. 2016. “Discussion about magnesium phosphating.” Me-
talurgija 55: 507-510.
[19] Brozek, V., J. Kolisko, et all. 2015.“Boronized stainless steels with zirconia coatings”, Metal
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in Brandys nad Orlici.” MATEC Web of Conferences 107, doi:
10.1051/matecconf/201710700003.

Diagrid structures as innovative retrofit solutions for

existing reinforced concrete buildings
b
Simone Labò, Chiara Passoni, Alessandra Marini, Andrea Belleri and Paolo
Riva
University of Bergamo,
if
Via Salvecchio 19, Bergamo 24129, Italy
Abstract
In recent years the redevelopment of the post-World War II reinforced concrete heritage has become
an essential action to meet energy-saving and to foster safety and resilience of European communi-
ties. In order to overcome the major barriers to the renovation, new solutions should follow a holistic
approach, thus solving the structural, energy and architectural deficiency at the same time. The inter-
ventions should be carried out from outside the building, so as to leave the building use unaltered,
with no need of user relocation, and Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) principles should be addressed. In
this paper, these main pillars are translated into an innovative technology, the steel diagrid exoskele-
ton, for which a proportioning criterion is proposed, besides the assessment of its effectiveness as a
seismic risk mitigation measure. Among possible structural typologies, diagrids are particularly inter-
esting for their remarkable architectural potential and for the possible standardization of the compo-
nents.
1 Introduction
A serious action must be undertaken for a deep renovation of the existing building stock. Earthquakes
have caused millions of victims in the last 100 years, and the improvements in the design codes have
only slightly reduced the dead toll. From a structural point of view, 40% of the European buildings
have already exhausted their nominal structural service life of 50 years. Moreover, having been built
before the 1970s, such buildings were often built without any seismic regulation and furthermore, the
building collapse after a natural disaster has a great impact on the environment in terms of waste
production and CO2 emission [1]. Additionally, the existing building stock is liable for 40% of the
EU energy consumption, it features obsolete envelopes and technologies, and is characterized by poor
housing condition and living discomfort. The existing building stock is therefore obsolete, energy
consuming and seismic vulnerable.

However, although the civil engineering community agrees on the necessity to develop a new ap-
proach for the building design and for preventing unnecessary future loss, only an average renovation
rate of 1% [2] characterizes the building sector. In this context, the major barriers to the renovation
are the inhabitants’ relocation and the long downtime of the building, the high cost of the interven-
tions and the lack of adequate business models fostering the renovation [3]. To overcome these barri-
ers, integrated retrofit techniques are required to solve all the building deficiencies at one time. The
intervention should be carried out from outside, avoiding the inhabitants’ relocation and the building
downtime [4]. Finally, in order to favor a sustainable retrofit solution, Life Cycle Thinking (LCT)
principles should be considered. To this aim, prefabricated components, easily demountable, repaira-
ble and adaptable technologies using recyclable/reusable material should be preferred to increase the
sustainability throughout the entire building life-cycle.
These considerations lead to a holistic and integrated approach that could be achieved with the in-
novative technology of the steel diagrid exoskeleton [5], which integrates the structural elements for
the seismic upgrading with the new insulation and architectural layers. The diagrid structure is as-
sembled from outside the building; standardization of the connections and light pre-fabrication of its
components are compliant with LCT principles and may be conveniently adopted in incremental
rehabilitation plans. On the basis of these considerations, a design method for diagrid structure as a
retrofit solution for reinforced concrete buildings is proposed.

2 Diagrid design method

The structural design of buildings is becoming a very complex process, in which different criteria are
taken into account, such as the structural interactions between the existing building and the additional
b
retrofit structures, the use of eco-compatible materials, demountable technology, among many others.
In the diagrid design method proposed hereafter focus is paid to 1) the geometry, which must meet
architectural and aesthetic aspects; 2) the minimum stiffness guaranteeing the existing building safety;
and 3) the maximum axial force in the diagrid diagonal elements as to avoid their buckling.
if
2.1 Geometry and loads
The optimal diagrid geometry is influenced by several parameters related to the existing structure
layout and features and to the diagrid performances. As far as the existing building is concerned, the
retrofitting diagrid has to comply with architectural and aesthetic needs, as well as its layout must
enable possible envisioned living spaces expansion. The diagrid performances, instead, are strictly
related to the inclination of the diagonal elements and, in general, the optimal angle is a function of
the building height [6]; for example, past researches carried out on the use of diagrid structural sys-
tems in new high-rise buildings [7] show that 90° is the optimal angle, which ensures maximal flexur-
al stiffness and 35° to provide maximum shear stiffness. Accordingly, for the integrated retrofit of
low-medium rise buildings, an optimal reference angle of 35° should be considered, while also ac-
counting for the geometry and the characteristics of the reference building.
The geometry of the module plays a fundamental role in the definition of the load pattern and the
internal forces [8]. The module is composed of two diagonal and one horizontal elements. First of all,
as far as the load pattern is concerned, horizontal loads and vertical loads are analyzed separately.
Assuming that the system behavior is governed by the external diagrid, a linear distribution of the
seismic loads is considered. The gravity loads are represented by vertical loads at each node of the
diagrid [6], [7]. In the particular case of use of diagrids as retrofit measure, diagrid exoskeletons are
subject to their self-weight, while they do not withstand the existing building vertical load. Finally, by
decoupling bending and shear and by assuming that the bending moment is resisted by the diagrid
facades orthogonal to the seismic action (“flange” facades), whilst the shear force is counteracted by
the diagrid facades parallel to the seismic action (“web” facades), the diagrid internal forces can be
evaluated as shown in Fig. 2 [9].
Fig. 2 Diagrid module: effect of gravity load P (associated with the diagrid self weight), over-
turning moment M and shear force V. Where Fp,k, Fm,k, and Fv,k are the forces in the k-th
module due to vertical load, overturning moment and the shear force, respectively; and
Np,k, Nm,k and Nv,k are the correspondent internal actions.
When the diagrid is subject to gravity and seismic loads, the axial force in the diagonal elements of
the k-th module at the m-th floor can be calculated as follow:

Fp , k ⋅ sin(ϑ ) M m d k sin(ϑ ) Vm cos(α ) k cos(ϑ )

N k = N p , k + N m, k + N v , k = ± nk
⋅ ± n ⋅
2 2 k 2
∑ ∑
(1)
di 2
cos(α )i
b
i =1 i =1
Where, di is the distance of the i-th module from the whole diagrid centroid axis (Fig. 2) and nk is the
total number of the modules in the whole diagrid.
Once the geometry and load pattern of the diagrid are defined, it the definition of the design tar-
if
gets is of fundamental importance.
2.2 Stiffness constraint

The design procedure is aimed at identifying the diagonal element cross-section that satisfies all the
imposed targets. In order to set the stiffness constraint, the limit target related to the existing building
features and then the required minimum stiffness is identified.
In particular, in the case of post-world war RC buildings, starting from the limit inter-story drift
allowed by the existing structure, the limit top displacement of the reference MDOF system can be
derived as shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Correlation between the drift allowed and the top displacement.
Limit Drift Inter-story displacement TOP displacement Limit Drift
[mm] [mm]
θ δi=θ*hi δTOT=δi*n°floors θ
Subsequently, in order to evaluate the retrofitted structure stiffness, as suggested by Baker [10] for the
structural design of tall buildings, the whole system is modeled as a cantilever beam. In the case of
shear buildings subjected to seismic loads, the top displacement is equal to:
8 pL2 11 pL4
y (0) = + (2)
24 As Gk 120 EI
where p is the distributed triangular load on the cantilever beam; E, I and As are the elastic module,
the inertia momentum and the cross-section area of the diagonal elements, respectively; k is the Ti-
moshenko shear coefficient, and L is the building height. Furthermore, in order to take into account
the discrete nature of the diagrid [11]:
 As = 2nW Ad ,W 1 cos(ϑ )
 (3)
 I = n f Ad , f 1 sin(ϑ )l
2
where, nW and nf are the number of diagonals on the web façade and on the flange façade, respective-
ly. Ad,W1 and Ad,f1 are the area of the diagonal elements on the web and flange façade; l is the plan
direction of the building parallel to the considered seismic direction.
Therefore, by imposing the maximum displacement y(0) equal to the limit top displacement, the
minimum cross-section areas - Ad,W1 and Ad,f1 - that satisfy the stiffness target can be obtained.
To summarize, the first design target is to prevent excessive damage to the existing structure,
thereby avoiding the long disruption of the building activities and the relocation of the inhabitants.
This target represents an essential step in the design procedure and should be calibrated as a function
of the reference building features. Finally, it is worth noting that the seismic load pattern is not exact-
ly represented by a point load on each floor but with a triangular distributed load. However, this
distribution simplifies the procedure considerably and does not introduce significant errors in the
diagrid design.
Simone Labò, Chiara Passoni, Alessandra Marini, Andrea Belleri and Paolo Riva 213

2.3 Strength constraint

As mentioned above, the diagonal elements of the diagrid are subjected to compressive stresses and
buckling may occur. Buckling is characterized by a sudden sideways deflection of the structural
b
element and in the case of diagrid as a retrofit solution, this behavior has to be avoided.
In order to introduce the axial limit force for the diagonal elements in the design procedure, the
limit axial force NiLIM of each commercial profile (NTC, 2008) is compared with the calculated
internal actions N k . In particular, it yields:
if
Ai ⋅ σ LIM
N k ≤ N iLIM = (4)
ω
where Ai is the cross-section area of the i-th commercial profile, σLIM is the maximum axial stress
allowed and the coefficient ω is a function of the profile slenderness.
The choice of the boundary condition of the diagrid modules and, consequently, the effective
length of the diagonal elements plays a very important role in this step of the design procedure. For
this reason, different configurations of the boundary conditions should be analyzed in order to opti-
mize the diagrid solution.
Finally, the maximum cross-section area obtained from the comparison between (b) and (c) repre-
sents the final dimension of the diagrid elements. In particular, if diagonal elements of the web and
the flange facades are different between, it yields:
Ad ,W = max( Ad ,W1, Ad ,W 2 )
(5)
Ad , f = max( Ad , f 1, Ad , f 2 )
where, Ad,W, and Ad,f are the area of the diagonal elements in the web and in the flange facades, re-
spectively, as obtained from the 2 steps.
3 Application to a reference building

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the design procedure, the procedure has been applied to a
reference building. The reference structure is a post-World War II reinforced concrete building. Main
features and structural details are described in [12], [13].
The structure is a five-story rectangular building (24x11mq) featuring three one-way longitudinal
frames and two infilled lateral frames. The inter-story height is 3.15 m, and the structural system is
made of R.C. frames in the longest direction. From a structural point of view, the building is made of
a reinforced concrete structural frame designed to withstand static loads only. Beams are designed to
withstand the vertical loads. Floors are made of composite RC beam and clay block system featuring
a 2.5 cm RC overlay. On the basis of previous studies, it has been assumed that floors can withstand
horizontal loads (i.e. they behave like floor diaphragms) by developing an in-plane tied-arch resistant
mechanism up to their ultimate capacity [12], [13]. The staircase core is not designed to withstand
seismic loads; accordingly, the staircase walls are not considered as RC seismic walls, but rather as
stiff walls with low ductility. Geometry and materials of the main frame are reported in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 Geometry and materials of the main frame.


3.1 Existing building model

The finite element model was developed with MidasGen 2015. In the existing building model, atten-
tion has been paid to the correct representation of both structural and non-structural components.
b
Non-linear static analyses were performed in order to evaluate the structural performance of the refer-
ence building in the As-Is conditions.
Infilled walls were modeled as two non-linear equivalent trusses. In particular, for the infill
panels, the cracking and peak forces were evaluated according to Decanini et al. [14], while the se-
lected cracking and peak drifts are in accordance to the traditional values of 0.5% drift for moderate
if
damage and 1.5% drift for the infill collapse [15]. As a result, the equivalent truss dimensions are
1.372m x 0.13m for the shorter and 1.4m x 0.13m for the longer infill walls.
Once the model has been defined, non-linear static analyses were performed. The reference build-
ing was supposed to be located in L’Aquila, with C soil category and T1 topography. The capacity
curve of the reference building and the displacement demands are plotted in Fig. 4.
1200
3 4
5
1000
Base shear [kN]
2
800
1
600
400
200
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
TOP Displacement [mm]
Fig. 4 Capacity curve of the existing building: 1. Infills Cracking; 2. Infills Failure; 3. Stair core
limit strength; 4. Plastic hinges in the lateral columns; 5. Plastic hinges at the base of all
columns. Dot line: the displacement demands at the Life Safety Limit State and Collapse
Limit State; Red line: equivalent stiffness of the existing building.
As shown in Fig. 4, the existing building does not satisfy L’Aquila displacement demands [16] and
for this reason, the renovation of the existing building is required.
3.2 Diagrid design method: application

As already specified, the retrofit is carried on from outside, in order to avoid inhabitants’ relocation
and it is designed with a Life Cycle Thinking approach.
In order to achieve the retrofit objectives, specific design targets were set. In particular, a maxi-
mum inter-story drift equal to 0.5% (to avoid damage) and a maximum base shear flow equal to
300 kN/m (guaranteeing feasibility of the foundation systems) were considered. Moreover, a maxi-
mum inter-story shear action of 625 kN [12], [13] was adopted to avoid retrofit of the floors (the
value is evaluated based on the in-plane capacity of the floors), and beyond this limit, either the retro-
fit of the existing floors or external diaphragms are needed. Based on the design target choice, geome-
try and loads and through the stiffness and strength constraints, the design procedure led to the pro-
portioning of the diagrid.
3.2.1 Geometry and loads
As far as the diagrid geometry is concerned, the diagrid was conceived to be in close proximity to the
existing building and a module angle equal to 48° has been set. The resulting diagrid layout and ge-
ometry is shown in Fig. 5. It is worth noting that the selected angle compared to the optimal angle
suggested by Moon et al [5, 6] implies a 13% reduction of the diagrid module lateral stiffness; how-
ever, it is a compromise between the architectural features and the optimal angle of 35°.

ifb
Fig. 5 Geometry and Module. In red the diagrid and in grey the existing building.
In this case, S355 tubular profiles were considered.

Once the existing building performance and diagrid features were determined (Fig. 5), the seismic
load pattern and the diagrid module internal forces were derived. In particular, according to Eq. (1),
the axial forces in each module of the diagrid were calculated:
M m d k sin(ϑ ) Vm cos(α )k cos(ϑ )
N k = N M , k + NV , k = nk
⋅ ± n ⋅
2 k 2
∑ ∑
(6)
di2 cos(α )i
i =1 i =1
It should be pointed out that, in this case, the vertical loads of the diagrid were neglected because their
magnitude was negligible.
Fig. 6 Forces in the diagrid module (left), load pattern of the whole system (right).
The maximum base shear of the diagrid and, consequently, pi were derived by setting the target dis-
placement for the equivalent SDOF system uN, in accordance with Mehrabi and Shing[17]:
T
M e = {1} M {Φ}
4π 2 M e
kE = (7)
(T ) 2
V = kE ⋅ uN
where M is the mass matrix of the whole system, kE and T are the effective stiffness and the effective
period of the system, respectively, and V1 is the total base shear.

Is it worth mentioning that, in order to derive the diagrid base shear, an equivalent stiffness of the
structure was taken into account according to the limit target set (Fig. 5) and an iterative procedure
was adopted in order to take into account the real mass of the external diagrid.
b
3.2.2 Maximum stiffness
As mentioned, the stiffness constraint objective is to avoid extended damages on the existing build-
ing. For this reason, an inter-story drift limit of 0.5% was adopted. Therefore, supposing that the
system behaves like a cantilever beam subjected to a distributed triangular load, the maximum dis-
if
placement of the retrofitted structure was calculated as indicated in (2) and (3):
8 pL2 11 pL4  As = 2nW Ad ,W cos(ϑ )
y (0) = +
24 As Gk 120 EI
 ,
 I = n f Ad , f sin(ϑ )l
2
where, for the reference structure:

p = 2 ⋅ VD / L
L = 15.75[m]
ϑ = 48°
nW = 4
n f = 10
l = 11.34[m]
By imposing y(0) equal to the target displacement:
8 pL2 11 pL4
0.5 ⋅ L = + (8)
24 As Gk 120 EI
the cross-section area of the diagonal element of the diagrid (As) has been calculated. In addition, by
imposing a tubular thickness of 10 mm, the element diameter could be determined. Therefore, the
enforcement of the stiffness constraint results in:
Φ1 = 108.41 mm

 s1 = 10.0 mm
3.2.3 Maximum axial load

Finally, in order to avoid buckling of the elements and to meet the strength limit constraint, the sec-
ond minimum profile has been determined by combining the maximum axial force of the elements
and the maximum capacity of the commercial profiles as shown in Fig. 7.
Fig. 7 Green line: Target; Blue line: Commercial profile ratio A/ω, Circles represent the ratio
A/ω changing the profile thickness.

In this case:
Φ 2 = 193.7 mm

 s2 = 12.5 mm
b
At this point, the design profile diameter was derived as the maximum between Φ1 and Φ2:
Φ Fin = 193.7 mm

if
 sFin = 12.5 mm
3.2.4 Time history analysis

In order to validate the diagrid design procedure for shear-type buildings, 7 non-linear Time History
analyses were carried out. Accelerograms compatible with the code spectrum were determined by
adopting the software Rexel 2.2beta [18]. A maximum scale factor equal to 2 and an upper and lower
tolerances equal to 10% and 15% were imposed. It is worth noting that for the selected accelerograms
the lower tolerance limit imposed by the Eurocode [19] is not met. However such a requirement is not
always satisfied in the case of high seismicity areas; for this reason, a lower tolerance limit was ob-
tained by increasing the value by 5% starting from the limit suggested by the code until a compatible
set was identified [20]. Time History results, expressed in terms of total base shear, base shear at the
base of the diagrid, maximum axial force in the diagonal element and top displacement are reported in
Table 2.
Table 2 VMAX[kN]: Total base shear; V’MAX[kN]: Base shear at the base of the diagrid (no ex
Building); FMAX[kN]: Maximum axial force in the diagonal element; DTOP[m]: Top dis-
placement.
Accelerograms VMAX[kN] V’MAX[kN] FMAX[kN] DTOP[m]

000133_xa 6643.4 6096.5 1553.2 0.054
000355_ya 8375.7 8079.2 2077.8 0.075
000592_xa 4751.2 4262.3 1002.7 0.033
000600_xa 8528.7 7637.2 1959.1 0.072
000879_ya 7510.8 6686.3 1691.9 0.063
001726_xa 10085.7 9183.1 2374.5 0.085

001726_ya 10954.0 9766.7 2531.0 0.090
Average 8172.86 7387.33 1884.31 0.067
Results show that both the limit top displacement target of 0.0785 (m) and the maximum inter-story
drift target are met, shown in Fig. 9 (left), except in the case of the accelerograms 001726_xa and
001726_ya. These results are reasonable because of the values of the pseudo-acceleration of those
two accelerograms in correspondence of the retrofitted building period (0.5 s) are significantly higher
than the target spectrum (1.22 times).
Finally, hand-calculation predictions, evaluated in accordance with the design procedure de-
scribed, are very close to the model results as shown in Table 3; therefore, the value of the maximum
axial force of the diagonal element derived in the first step of the design procedure is accurate and the
commercial profile choose can satisfy the demand.
The total base shear of the diagrid of 7387 kN corresponds to a base shear flow of 325 kN/m; this
result could be considered acceptable because only slightly higher than the imposed limit value. Fi-
nally, concerning the inter-story shear the adopted limit value is exceeded, therefore external dia-
phragms should be introduced, as shown in Fig. 9 (right).

Table 3 VMAX[kN]: total base shear; V’MAX[kN]: Base shear at the base of the diagrid (no ex
Building); FMAX[kN]: Maximum axial force in the diagonal element; DTOP[m]: Top dis-
placement.
b
Accelerograms VMAX[kN] V’MAX[kN] FMAX[kN] DTOP[m]
Average 8172.86 7387.33 1884.31 0.0670
Hand C. 8169.70 7249.30 1876.80 0.0787
if
δ_error - -1.87% -0.6% +15%
5 001726_ya
5
001726_xa
4 000879_ya
4
000600_xa
Floor
3 000592_xa
3
000335_ya
2
2 000133_xa
1
Avg.
1 625 kN
0
0 0.5 1 0 1000 2000 3000
Inter-story Drift Ratio [%] Shear [kN]
Fig. 9 Average inter-story drift and (left), floor shear along the building height for different
solutions (right).
4 Concluding remarks
This work is part of an ongoing research on the holistic renovation of the post-WWII RC buildings. In
particular, a design procedure for the proportioning of diagrid exoskeletons to be adopted as seismic
mitigation measures was proposed in this paper. The procedure takes into account both the existing
building and the diagrid performances, limits and features. Starting from the geometry and loads
criterion, through the minimum stiffness requirement and to the maximum allowable axial force, the
minimum profile for the diagrid can be obtained. The effectiveness of the method was assessed
through the application of the procedure to a reference building. The study showed that the maximum
strength limit governs the procedure in the case of the reference shear-type building.
In the future step of the research, a much wider range of buildings, having different characteristics
and features, will be examined and a sensitivity analysis will be carried out to detect the most critical
parameters influencing the diagrid proportioning.
References
[1] Belleri, A., and A. Marini, A. 2016. "Does seismic risk affect the environmental impact of
existing buildings?" Energy and Buildings 110:149-158. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2015.10.048.
[2] Economidou, M., J. Lausten, P. Ruyssevelt, and D. Staniaszek. 2011. Europe's Buildings
Under the Microscope(Rep.). Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE).
[3] FEMA398. 2004. “FEMA 398 Incremental Seismic Rehabilitation of Multifamily Apartment
Buildings. Risk management series.”
[4] European Climate Foundation. 2010. Roadmap 2050: a practical guide to a prosperous, low-
carbon Europe Volume I: technical and economic assesment 1:1-387.
https://doi.org/10.2833/10759.
[5] Labò, S., C. Passoni, A. Marini, A. Belleri, G. Camata, P. Riva, and E. Spacone. 2017.
“Prefabricated Responsive Diagrids for Holistic Renovation of Existing Mid-Rise Rc
Buildings.” In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computational Methods in
Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering (COMPDYN 2017), Rhodes island, Greece,
June 15-17 June.

[6] Moon, K. S. 2008. Practical Design Guidelines for Steel Diagrid Structures. Aei.
doi:10.1061/41002(328)34.
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buildings: Characteristics and methodology for preliminary design. ” The Structural Design of
b
Tall and Special Buildings 16(2):205-230. doi:10.1002/tal.311.
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[9] Montuori, G. M., E. Mele, G. Brandonisio, and A. D. Luca. 2013. “Design criteria for diagrid
tall buildings: Stiffness versus strength.” The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings
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[11] Mele, E., M. Fraldi, G. M. Montuori, and G. Perrella. 2016. “Non-conventional Structural
Patterns for Tall Buildings : from Diagrid to Hexagrid and Beyond Non-conventional
Structural Patterns for Tall Buildings : from Diagrid to Hexagrid and Beyond.” In Fifth
International Workshop on Design in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sapienza
University of Rome Representative, October6-8.
[12] Feroldi, F. 2014. “Sustainable renewal of the post WWII building stock through engineered
double skin, allowing for structural retrofit, energy efficiency upgrade, architectural restyling
and ur-ban regeneration. ” PhD Thesis, University of Brescia (In Italian).
[13] Passoni, C. 2016. “Holistic renovation of existing RC buildings: a framework for possible
integrated struc-tural interventions.” PhD Thesis, University of Brescia.
[14] Decanini, L., F. Mollaioli, A. Mura, and R. Saragoni. 2004. “Seismic Performance of
Masonry Infilled R/C Frames.” 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering 165.
[15] Mehrabi, A. B., P. B. Shing, M. P. Schuller, and James L. Nolan, “Experimental Evaluation
of Masonry-Infilled RC Frames.” Journal of Structural Engineering 122(3):228–237.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9445(1996)122:3(228).
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Ufficiale, n. 29 del 14/02/2008, Supplemento ordinario n.30. (in Italian).
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concrete frames.” Masonry Soc. J :81–94.
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for code-based seismic structural analysis.” Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering 8(2):339-362.
doi:10.1007/s10518-009-9146-1.
[19] CEN. 2004. EN 1998-2005 Eurocode 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance’,
European Committee for Standardization, Brussels, Belgium.

[20] Iervolino, I., C. Galasso, and E. Cosenza. 2008. “REXEL 2.2 beta: uno strumento per la
selezione di accelerogrammi naturali per le NTC e l’Eurocodice 8.” XVII Congresso CTE.

Experimental evaluation of concrete beam with

corrugated section under four-point bending test
b
Chong Yong Ong1, Kok Keong Choong1 and Mirzakhid Miralimov2
1School of Civil Engineering, Engineering Campus,
Universiti Sains Malaysia,
if
14300, Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
2Road Construction Department Tashkent Automobile and Road Institute,

Movaraunnachr Street 20, 100060, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Abstract
Solid section, I section, T section, inverted-T section and U section are commonly used in precast
concrete beam bridge systems. Behaviour of these sections have been well-studied by researchers. A
new corrugated section which possesses higher stiffness to self-weight ratio has been introduced and
designed for precast concrete closed spandrel arch bridge system in Malaysia. Since corrugated sec-
tion is an open section and is a relatively new section to researchers, a four point bending test on a full
scale corrugated section beam was carried out. 7.5m length of corrugated section beam was designed
at ultimate limit state (ULS) bending moment which was determined based on the maximum capacity
of hydraulic jack testing machine. Strain gauges were attached to compression reinforcement, tension
reinforcement, and concrete tension and compression surfaces. The two loading points are 1m apart
from each other, whereas the distance between two supports is 4.5m. LVDT was positioned at the mid
span of the beam. The test specimen was subjected to 2 loading phases. The first loading phase con-
sists of few cycles of 0 kN to 10 kN loading for the purpose of sitting of test specimen. For the second
loading phases, the specimen is tested at serviceability limit state, ultimate limit state and the loading
was continued until failure of the specimen was observed. Deflection and strain gauges readings
recorded in real-time using data-logger. 3D non-linear analysis model was carried out using LUSAS
software in order to verify the experimental results. The results of strain gauges showed a good
agreement with the LUSAS analysis results with the errors of within 20%. The testing results showed
that the capacity of the specimen is higher than the designed capacity at ULS.
1 Introduction
Nature is a major source of inspiration. Efficient structural shapes with high flexural stiffness and
minimal self-weight are often exhibited in natural forms. This statement is particularly true in our
tropical rainforest context where a variety of plants exist in unique structural forms. Buttress roots to
provide anchorage to supporting soil and strengthen the tree trunk [1], channel branches or leaves to
channel or direct water [2], are commonly found in the parks and jungles. These natural forms do
exist to serve the respective functional needs to reach out to the sunlight for photosynthesis and sur-
vival. In doing so, the plants could have utilized fully its limited resources, alike to our engineering
approach to use minimum energy for maximum outputs. The results are exhibited in the structural
efficient forms of tree roots, trunks, branches or leaves. With the inherent material properties, these
shapes have acquired sufficient rigidities to support the plant structures.
From the engineering viewpoint, palm tree branches, banana and pineapple leaves etc., have simi-
lar characteristics of approximate ‘U’ or ‘V’ shapes to possess the required flexural stiffness. Geomet-
rically the leave or branch is cantilevering upwards with its tip sagging down by its own self-weight,
forming a half arch structure. These shapes were sources of inspiration towards conceptualization of
this new folded plate section in corrugated form for the precast arch panels. A detailed study which
shown in Fig. 1 was carried out to assess the weight reduction percentage by comparing the folded
plate to equivalent solid rectangular section of the same stiffness. The comparison study was based on
the actual dimension of concrete arch span and thickness adopted commercially [3]. A folded plate
section of equivalent stiffness was then approximated accordingly with the respective weight plotted
in Figure 5. Weight saving of 40 % to 50% of was computed for arch span 40m and 16m respectively

(data for span beyond 25.6m was extrapolated) [4]. This substantial weight saving can be translated
into higher load carrying capacity, instead of carrying own self-weight for more economical designs.
ifb
Fig. 1 Weight comparison of folded plate vs solid section.
In comparison with solid and closed cross-sectional shape, corrugated shape is an open section. In
order to verify the design principles and real structural behavior of the corrugated reinforced concrete
section, a four-point flexural test has been carried out in Heavy Structure Laboratory of School of
Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
1.1 Description of test specimen

Fig 2 shows the dimension of the 7.5m precast reinforced concrete corrugated beam specimen. The
transformed section properties considering the rebar are illustrated in Table 1. Concrete materials and
reinforcement materials were tested in laboratory in order to simulate the actual behaviour in LUSAS
3D analysis model. The test results of concrete and reinforcement materials are shown in Table 2.
Fig. 2 Dimension details for corrugated reinforced concrete beam.
Table 1 Transformed section properties of corrugated reinforced concrete beam specimen.

Transformed Transformed Sec-
Values Units Values Units
Section Properties tion Properties
Moment of Iner-
0.01939 m4 Shear Area, Ax 0.15639 m2
tia, Ixx
Moment of Iner- Shear Area, Ay
0.10007 m4 0.10971 m2
tia, Ixx
Torsional, J 7.39 x 10-4 m4 Plastic Modulus, Zx 0.03759 m3
Shear Area, Ax 0.15639 m2 Plastic Modulus, Zx 0.07488 m3

Table 2 Materials properties of concrete and reinforcement tested in laboratory.

Concrete Materials Reinforcement Materials
b
Properties Values Units Properties Values Units
Young Modulus 27.8 GPa Tensile Strength (T10) 729 MPa
Poisson Ratio 0.296 - Tensile Strength (T16) 681 MPa
if
Tensile Splitting
4.067 MPa Tensile Strength (T20) 672 MPa
Strength
Tensile Strength 7.9 MPa Tensile Strength (T25) 683 MPa
Compressive
59.6 MPa
Strength
2 Test set up
Schematic diagram of testing set-up is shown in Fig. 4 and 5. The two loading points are 1m apart
from each other, whereas the distance between two supports is 4.5m. LVDT was positioned at the mid
span of the beam. Strain gauges were attached to compression reinforcement, tension reinforcement,
and concrete tension and compression surfaces as illustrated in Fig. 3.
4 7 6 5 6
8 4
3 7
9 3
2 8
10
2
11 1
1 9
Legend:
External Strain Gauges
Internal Strain Gauges
Fig. 3 Location of strain gauges in the mid-span corrugated section.
Fig. 4 Overall test set up.
Chong Yong Ong, Kok Keong Choong and Mirzakhid Miralimov 223

ifb
Fig. 5 Schematic diagram of testing set up.
3 Testing procedures
Load P as shown in Fig. 5 was applied using a 1500kN hydraulic cylinder. Load applied was meas-
ured using a 1000kN load cell. Central vertical deflection at mid-span of the tested RC corrugated
beam specimen was measured using LVDT. Apart from the central LVDT, lateral displacement near
to each support was also measured using LVDT. A data-logger was used to record all the measure-
ments of load and displacement.
The test specimen was subjected to 2 loading phases. The first loading phase consists of few
cycles of 0 to 10 kN loading for the purpose of sitting the test specimen in the test set-up and
removing any initial unevenness which is present prior to actual testing. In the second loading phase,
the specimen was subjected to the loading up to load level of 314kN corresponding to serviceability
limit state (SLS). The load level was sustained for observation of crack. Then, the specimen was
further loaded up to 474kN corresponding to the load at ultimate limit state (ULS) of the test
specimen. This load level was sustained in order to check for any structural distress in the specimen.
After loading to ULS, loading was continued until failure of the specimen was observed. The
specimen was considered to have attained the failure load when further application of hydraulic
cylinder resulted in drop of load recorded. During the whole loading process, deflections were
recorded in real-time using data-logger. Fig. 6 summarizes the loading sequence used during the test.
Fig. 6 Loading sequence.


4 LUSAS 3D non-linear analysis model

LUSAS 3D non-linear analysis is carried out in order to compare the experimental results. Since the
model is 3D solid element and the model is symmetrical, the model is modelled as half span model.
b
Reinforcement bars (longitudinal and transverse) are modelled in non-linear behaviour as shown in
Fig. 7 in order to simulate the actual behaviour as in experimental work.
Transverse reinforcement
if
Longitudinal reinforcement
Fig. 7 Corrugated section in LUSAS modelling considering transverse and longitudinal rein-
forcement
With non-linear analysis, researchers will be able to understand the actual behavior of the corrugated
section in which materials are considered to behave elastoplastically. The short term stress-strain non-
linear bahaviour curve for concrete material and steel reinforcement material is shown in Fig.8.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 8 Short term stress-strain behaviour curve; (a) Concrete materials; (b) Steel reinforcement
material [5]


The test results for the 7.5m corrugated RC beam are shown in Table 3. It was found that the maxi-
mum capacity of the specimen is 1.20 times higher than the designed capacity at ULS. Load-
b
deflection curve for mid-span point recorded during the test is represented in Fig. 9. Strain which
were obtained from strain gauges are converted to stress by applying the equation (1).
= (1)
if
where σ = Stress of reinforcement
Es = Young Modulus of steel
ε = Strain of reinforcement (measured from strain gauges)
Stress distribution within the corrugated section under maximum load is shown in Fig. 10. Com-
parision stress concrete and stress reinforcement between experimental bending test and LUSAS 3D
non-linear analysis model are presented in Table 4.
Table 3 Test results for corrugated reinforced concrete beam specimen.

Load Level Load (kN) Bending Moment Crack width Deflection
(kNm) (mm) (mm)
SLS of RC Corrugated Beam 314 283 0.04 12.1
ULS of RC Corrugated Beam 474 423 0.04 19.5
Maximum Failure Load 570 506.8 1.00 25.5
Fig. 9 Load-deflection curve for corrugated reinforced concrete beam
Fig. 10 Stress distribution within the corrugated section at mid-span under maximum failure load

Table 4 Comparison results between experimental and LUSAS Analysis for corrugated reinforced
concrete beam specimen
Stress (MPa)
b
Structure
Experimental Analysis Model % Error
Compression Bar, a -315.1 -328.7 4.1
Tension Bar, b 140.2 129.0 8.7
if
Tension Bar, c 590.5 560.4 5.4
Tension Bar, d 688.3 700.0 1.7
Tension Bar, e 742.5 723.1 6.1
Compressive Concrete Face, A -22.50 -26.3 14.4
Note: Negative value represents compression.
From the results of strain gauges attached to web, it was found that the actual compression zone of
tested corrugated section beam is in range to the analysis model which is between 88mm to 169mm
and 151mm, respectively. The compression zone of the tested corrugated section beam showed pa-
rabola curve which meant, the beam behaved non-linear when tested to maximum load.
In the stress distribution of reinforcement aspect, the experimental results showed good agreement
with the analysis model which has the error of less than 20%. This was due to the reason that in anal-
ysis model, all material properties, loading position and support conditions were modelled as closed
to the actual specimen properties. The slight different of results may due to the small temperature
change in concrete materials.
Table 5 summarizes the cracking pattern and its location at different load level. At maximum
load, the specimen failed in tension failure at bottom flange. Besides, hairline cracks were observed at
the corner between top flange and web near to support. This is due to the reasons that corrugated
section is an open section. This observation was supported by the slight movement of LVDT placed at
sideway of bottom flange near to support which shows 2mm reading. The tested specimen at maxi-
mum load is shown in Fig. 11.
Table 5 Actual Cracks description at different load level

Load Level Cracks Description

SLS of RC Corrugated Beam -Flexure crack happened at mid span
-No crackline at cantilever part
ULS of RC Corrugated Beam -Flexure crack propagated to support and led to flexure shear
cracks near to support.
-No crackline at cantilever part
Maximum Load -Flexure shear cracks at support.
-No crackline at the cantilever part
-Hairline cracks at the corner between top flange and web
Fig. 11 Tested specimen at maximum load


6 Conclusion and further recommendation

Flexural test of new corrugated section beam has been described in this paper. Strain gauges were
placed on the concrete surface and reinforcement surface in order to understand the actual behaviour
b
of corrugated section. Concrete material tests and reinforcement material tests were carried out in
order to simulate the actual materials behaviour in LUSAS 3D non-linear analysis models. Experi-
mental results showed good agreement with the results of analysis model. The testing results also
showed that the maximum capacity of the specimen is 1.20 times higher than the designed capacity at
ULS. It is hope that further experimental work to be carried out on an actual arch panel with corrugat-
if
ed section which will be subjected to axial and bending behaviour.
References
[1] Butler, Rhett. 2012. “Rainforest Tree Root System.” mongabay.com.
[2] Thomas, Paul A. 2016. “Tropical Morphology, How Plants Adapt Rain Forest.” The Univer-
sity of Georgia. USA.
[3] Hume Bebo Arch. 2005. Product Brochure. Hume Concrete.
[4] Tan, G.E., T.B. Ong, K.K. Choong and C.Y. Ong. 2013. “A new form of precast closed span-
drel arch bridge system.” 7th International Conference of Arch Bridges:195-202. Trogir-Split,
Croatia.
[5] British Standards Institute. BS5400-2:1978: Steel, Concrete and Composite Bridges, Specifi-
cation for Loads, London

Deformation of a 3D printed polyurethane formwork

during concrete pouring
b
Elodie Paquet1, Philippe Poullain2, Benoı̂ t Furet1 and Sébastien Garnier1
1University
of Nantes
LS2N UMR CNRS 6004 - 2 Avenue du Professeur Jean Rouxel
if
44475 Carquefou - France
2University
of Nantes
GeM UMR CNRS 6183 - 58 rue Michel Ange
44606 Saint Nazaire CEDEX - France
Abstract
The University of Nantes has developed a 3D printing technique dedicated to the construction of
building walls. This technique lays on the deposition of two layers of expansive foam used as a
formwork (FW) for a third concrete layer. It allows to build at the same time the structure and the
insulation. However polyurethane (PU) foam has weak mechanical properties. The filling with con-
crete can thus yield high deformations and even failure of the FW. First, we present the experimental
set up used to determine a filling procedure able to limit the deformations at 5mm. The results show
that spacers are needed and that the height of concrete poured must not exceed 50cm. Then we pre-
sent different phases of the construction of YhnovaTM, a 95m² social dwelling, for which this filling
procedure has been used.
1 Introduction
The burgeoning technology of large scale additive manufacturing could be a tool for a new impulse in
the construction industry.
ASTM standards define additive manufacturing as a process of joining materials to make objects
from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer [1]. It englobes various manufacturing techniques like
binder jetting, direct energy deposition, material extrusion, powder bed fusion…
Large scale additive manufacturing presents potentially many advantages in comparison with oth-
er construction technologies, as it is supposed to:
Reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing industry as the amount of used ma-
terial is adjusted to the need (no losses) or the shape of the object fits exactly the need (top-
ologic optimization [2]),
Produce complex parts or objects without increase in the cost of the process [3–6],
Increase building rates [4],
Reduce the arduousness for workers on construction plants [5, 7],
Give the opportunity to architects to release creativity [7],
Allow the functionalization of the printed parts of the building (acoustic or thermal proper-
ties) [8].
As shown by Labonnote et al. [5] large scale additive manufacturing has known a growing interest
since the development of the first 3D printing technique by Khoshnevis in the middle of the 1990’s,
the so-called Contour Crafting [9], and especially since five years. Among the various projects, we
can cite for example Contour Crafting [9–11], WinSun [12], Loughborough University [13–15], D-
Shape [15], Skanska [16], 3D-Construction [17], XTreeE [8, 18], Apis Core [19], Cazza Construction
[20], BatiPrint3DTM [7, 21], Total Kustom [22], MIT [23], CyBe [24], BET Abram [25], 3D
Printhuset [26]...
The existing technologies divide into three types : binder jetting (a thin bed of sand is deposited
and a binder is sprayed on it layer by layer [15]), material extrusion (a material – cementitious or
clayey – is deposited and stiffens after deposition enough to support the upper layers [8–15, 17–19,
22, 24–26]), filled formwork (a formwork – FW – is 3D printed and a material is poured into it [7, 21,
23]).

We developed a new technique of filled formwork in the project Batiprint3DTM. It is based on the
deposition by a nozzle of polyurethane foam that expanses and stiffens rapidly. The deposition of two
parallel layers of polyurethane (PU) foam creates a FW in which the concrete is poured. During the
pouring of concrete, the pressure exerted by the concrete on the FW provokes the deformation of this
b
latter. In order to assess the ability of our pouring process to limit the deformations at 5mm, we set an
experimental device to study the deformations of the FW.
First, we give a short description of the technique Batiprint3DTM, i.e. the material used, the robot-
ics and the process. Then we present the experimental device used to study the deformations of the
if
FW and the results obtained. Finally, we present the implementation of this filling procedure in the
case of YhnovaTM, a 95m² social dwelling built in Nantes by means of the technology Batiprint3DTM.
2 Technique and experimental device
2.1 Composition of the wall

The wall created by the technique Batiprint3DTM is composed of a layer of self-compacting concrete
between two layers of polyurethane (PU) foam (figure 1). The layers of PU are first deposited to
create a FW in which the concrete is cast with a short time delay to ensure that the foam has acquired
sufficient stiffness.
2.2 Polyurethane foam

The polyurethane is a polymer obtained by mixing together isocyanate and polyol. Mixing is per-
formed in a dynamic mixer and the compound is then deposited on the surface of the lower concrete
slab or on the sublayers (figure 1-a). The material then expands (3seconds) and acquires stiffness in a
few seconds (45s).
The density of the foam is 35kg/m3, its thermal conductivity is 0.027W/m.K and the Young mod-
ulus is 7MPa. Because of the low thermal conductivity of PU, the thermal resistance of the wall (PU
foam+concrete) is equal to approximately 6.5m2.K/W.
b)
a)
Fig. 1 a) Wall – vertical cut – b) 3D Scan of the polyurethane foam surface showing the irregu-
lar shape of the surface.
The mean width of a PU wall is 80mm obtained by adjusting the flow rates of isocyanate and polyol,
the height and the speed of displacement of the nozzle. Figure 1-b shows the 3D scan of the surface
acquired on a 300×300mm2 sample extracted from a larger wall to ensure the representativeness of
the sample. The height of each layer is 35mm (10 layers for 350mm). The sample shows foam cush-
ions distributed on the whole surface. The analysis of the surface shows that the mean height of the
cushions is 15.7mm with a standard deviation of 3.7mm. The space periodic analysis of the cushions
– obtained by a technique of picture autocorrelation – shows that the surface is periodic in the direc-
tion:
Perpendicular to the displacement of the nozzle corresponding to the height of a foam layer
Parallel to the displacement of the nozzle. This periodic scheme is due to instabilities in the
deposition as well as in the expansion of the foam.

ifb
b)
a)
Fig. 2 a) Different phases for the erection of the wall. – b) Experimental device.
2.3 Concrete
The concrete is a self-compacting concrete (SCC) with a slump flow property SF=600mm. It is com-
posed of cement CEM III 42.5, limestone filler, sand (0-4mm), gravel (4-10mm), water and set accel-
erator. The composition of the concrete allows it to be pumped and to flow in the FW in order to fill it
with a plane horizontal free surface without the need of vibrations.
As the FW is made of an insulation material, the concrete is designed in such a way that the heat
of hydration liberated yields a low temperature increase. Indeed, if the cure temperature is too high,
long term pathologies can arise and lower the life time of the wall.
2.4 Robotics
The robotic part is composed of a poly-articulated arm by Staübli (PAA) and an Automatic Guided
Vehicle by BA Systèmes (AGV). The PAA deposits the polyurethane foam and is equipped with a
dynamic mixer linked by ducts to the isocyanate and polyol containers. It is carried by the AGV that
can then move the PAA to different locations. The inaccurate positioning of the PAA due to defaults
in the flatness of the slab is corrected by first playing the deposition paths and measuring the true
position of the nozzle.

A laser beam guidance system composed of a laser, a sensor and a set of 11 targets allows the
AGV to track its position with an accuracy of 1mm on the construction site.
2.5 Process
The process Batiprint3DTM is dedicated to the construction of the walls only and requires the casting
of the lower concrete slab prior to the installation of the equipment.
As mentioned in the ASTM standards [1], the 3D printing of the building requires the 3D model
data relative to the project. They are obtained from the Building Information Model (BIM). These
data are then converted into trajectories defining the displacements of the AGV and the deposition
procedures of the PAA. This phase is performed at desk.
The dynamic mixer and the nozzle mounted on the PAA are linked to the polyol and isocyanate
containers. The AGV and the PAA deposit the polyurethane foam according to the deposition path.
The number Nlayer of deposited layers depends on different parameters: stiffness of the foam, set time
of the SCC, density of the SCC, class of fluidity of the SCC, time necessary to drop down Nlayer of
foam depending on the geometry of the building. Indeed, as the polyurethane foam exhibits weak
mechanical properties, the height of concrete deposited must be determined in order to keep the de-
formation of the FW under 5mm. Once the Nlayer layers are deposited, the PAA is equipped with a
duct linked to a concrete pump and the concrete is poured into the FW up to the predefined height.
Then, the AGV together with the PAA, go on depositing the next Nlayer.
At the end of the whole casting, the polyurethane FW is kept in place as the external and internal
insulation of the building.
Elodie Paquet, Philippe Poullain, Benoı̂ t Furet and Sébastien Garnier 231

The final rendering of the outer surface is obtained by applying a traditional coating like those
used for external insulation techniques. For the inner surface, plaster boards are used.
Figure 2-a presents the different phases necessary to build the wall.
b
2.6 Experimental device
The aim is to determine the deformations of the PU FW during the filling. In order to carry out these
measurements, a BatiPrint3DTM FW (height 3000mm, length 2500mm, width 80mm+150mm+80mm)
is 3D printed on a concrete slab and a framework composed of aluminium bars is mounted around the
if
PU FW. One horizontal bar is equipped with 10 aligned laser sensors (Keyence IL-300) able to de-
termine the distance between the sensors and the FW in the range [160mm; 440mm], with a repeata-
bility of 30µm. The sensors are located according to the positions defined on figure 2-b.
Prior to the testing of the filling procedure with concrete, we carried out a filling test with water in
order to determine the order of magnitude of the deformations with a purely hydrostatic pressure. The
FW is filled from the bottom where a duct equipped with a manometer passes through the PU wall.
Another transparent polyethylene tube is placed alongside the FW to check for the height of water.
Different heights of water are tested. For each height of water, the bar equipped with the laser sensors
is displaced at different heights and the distance between the sensors and the surface of the FW is
measured. The deformation of the FW is obtained by subtracting this distance from the initial distance
(empty FW).
The test is also performed on a reinforced FW comprising spacers between the PU walls to limit
the deformations. The number and the position of the spacers are determined by means of a finite
element mechanical simulation. The concrete is delivered from the concrete plant by a concrete router
and the set accelerator is added on site. The concrete is mixed again during 10 minutes and is progres-
sively poured into the concrete pump. It is then pumped to the nozzle. The inner diameter of the duct
is 55mm and its length is 20m. The nozzle is placed at the top of the FW and the concrete is cast from
a height of 3m. The concrete is poured in 4 steps, at different heights [200mm; 500mm; 850mm;
1000mm] and the deformations are measured.

Figures 3 and 4 present the deformation of the FW obtained in the different experimental tests.
3.1 FW filled with water

During the filling with water, the formwork exhibits important deformations due to the hydrostatic
pressure exerted by the water. This pressure depends on the height of water in the formwork. The
deformations of the FW have initially been zeroed (blank map for a height of 0cm). The deformation
maps show that the deformation is small when the height of water is low and increases for higher
water heights. We can see that the whole FW is influenced by the increase in the height of water and
that the deformations occur on the whole FW. The FW presents a maximum deformation at the centre
because of its symmetric shape. Moreover, the point at which the deformation is the highest is ap-
proximately located at 50cm from the slab. This deformation is equal to10mm for a height of water of
40cm and can reach values as high as 25mm for a height of 60cm. These deformations were visible to
the naked eye.

Fig. 3
ifb
Deformations of the simple formwork for different heights of water (same colour scale)
– the numbers on each picture correspond to the deformation of the FW (mm) – the dot
indicates the position and the value of the greatest deformation.
During the filling of the FW with water, water leaks were observed at certain locations. We also heard
crunches during the filling. For these reasons, we decided not to fill the FW higher than 60cm, be-
cause of the risk of rupture.
This test shows that it is not possible to fill in full-height the FW with water, a fortiori with con-
crete of greater density than water, and to maintain the deformations at values lower than 5mm. To
solve this problem, we decided to reinforce the FW with spacers, which maintain the distance be-
tween the two walls of the FW.
The position of the spacers has been first calculated by means of the software Autodesk Robot
Structural Analysis Professional. The calculation has been performed by prescribing the mechanical
properties of the PU foam and by then applying the mechanical load assuming a purely hydrostatic
pressure of the concrete. The computation of the deformations allowed us to place the spacers (con-
sidered as simple supports) by hand until obtaining deformations lower than 5mm.
Then we filled the FW with water in the same manner than in the previous experiment. The re-
sults (not presented here) show that whereas we first obtained deformations as high as 25mm with a
water height of 100cm in the non-reinforced FW, we observe in the present case deformations limited
to 4mm for a height of 100cm, in compliance with the value of 5mm.

3.2 Reinforced FW with concrete

To check for the validity of the reinforcement positioning in the case of filling with concrete, we
carried out a test on the same FW and with the same position of the spacers. The results are presented
b
on figure 4. During these tests, we chose to fill in the FW as high as possible, avoiding failure of the
FW. We filled the FW continuously, just stopping the concrete pouring to measure the deformations.
The self-compacting concrete did not have enough time to stiffen and as a consequence, it imposed a
nearly hydrostatic pressure during the duration of the test.
The maximum deformation obtained is of 20mm for a height of concrete of 100cm. This defor-
if
mation is of the same order of magnitude than those obtained with the non-reinforced FW despite the
use of spacers. Actually, for a height of 100cm, we heard crunches and decided to stop the filling.
Due to the high pressure exerted by the concrete on the FW, the spacers punctured the PU foam and
penetrated it. In order to avoid failure of the FW on the construction site and important losses of
materials, the height of concrete that can be poured into the FW must be lower than 50cm. As a con-
sequence, the delivery of concrete must be planned by taking into account the time necessary to de-
posit a height of PU corresponding to the maximum height of concrete. For example, if the wall is
2,50m high, we will pour the concrete in 5 phases each of which consisting in the filling of a height of
50cm. Following this procedure will ensure the limitation of the deformations. Nevertheless, the fact
that the concrete is poured in different phases implies that the cohesion between the different layers of
concrete has to be evaluated. It has also been studied but is not presented here.
Fig. 4 Deformations of the formwork for different heights of concrete (same colour scale) – the
numbers on each picture correspond to the deformation of the FW (mm) – the dot indi-
cates the position and the value of the highest deformation.

3.3 Use on YhnovaTM

We applied the pouring procedure in September 2017 to build the wall of a real scale demonstrator:
YhnovaTM (see figure 5). This social dwelling is now owned by the social landlord Nantes Métropole
b
Habitat. The house is established in a classified wooded area. It has the shape of a Y in order not to
impinge on the roots of the trees. It is a single-storey house of 95m2 of living area with 5 rooms (4
bedrooms+1 living room). The total circumference is 55m length. The height of the highest wall is
4,10m, corresponding to 8 steps for the concrete pouring. To build the walls, the robots worked dur-
ing 54 hours spread on two weeks. The time between two pouring of concrete was greater than 7
if
hours. This time was necessary to let the concrete stiffen and maintain the upper layers. During the
construction, we checked for the deformation of the FW after each concrete pouring. We also verified
the verticality of the walls. No deviation from the predicted deformations was observed, which vali-
dated the procedure.
a) b)
Fig. 5 a) Robots at work (AGV+PAA). – b) Picture of YhnovaTM without coating.
4 Conclusion
We presented Batiprint3DTM a technique of additive manufacturing based on the deposition of polyu-
rethane foam to make a formwork in which SCC is cast. The structure of the building is made of
concrete and its insulation by the formwork that is kept in place. This technique has recently been
implemented on site to build YhnovaTM, a social dwelling for the social landlord Nantes Métropole
Habitat. This house has a surface of 95m² and is located in Nantes (France). This house will be occu-
pied by a family as soon as July 2018.
The on-site implementation of the technique required preliminary experiments in order to deter-
mine the optimal parameters for the printing process. In particular, we had to determine a suitable
procedure for the filling of the FW with a self-compacting concrete. Thus, we measured the defor-
mations of the FW during the filling by means of laser sensors in order to determine deformation
maps of the FW. The filling with water and concrete allowed us to validate the filling procedure that
permits to limit the deformations at values lower than 5mm. This procedure has been used to build the
demonstrator YhnovaTM in September 2017 [7]. During the construction, we verified that the defor-
mations remained lower than 5mm.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the project’s research engineers who worked hard to make the project
a success: Laurence Guiheneuf, Nicolas Houssais, Thomas Bressac and Romain Ponson.

References
[1] ASTM International. 2013. F2792-12a – standard terminology for additive manufacturing
technologies.
b
[2] Jared, Bradley H., Miguel A. Aguilo, Lauren L. Beghini, Brad L. Boyce, Brett W. Clark,
Adam Cook, Bryan J. Kaehr, and Joshua Robbins. 2017. “Additive manufacturing: Toward
holistic design“. Scripta Materialia 135:141–147, 2017.
[3] Friedman. T. 2013. When complexity is free. The New York Times.
[4] Krimi, Imane, Zoubeir Lafhaj, and Laure Ducoulombier. 2017. “Prospective study on the
if
integration of additive manufacturing to building industry—case of a french construction
company”. Additive Manufacturing 16:107 – 114.
[5] Labonnote, Nathalie, Anders Rønnquist, Bendik Manum, and Petra Rüther. 2016. “Additive
construction: State-of-the-art, challenges and opportunities”. Automation in Construction
72:347– 366.
[6] Hager, Izabela, Anna Golonka, and Roman Putanowicz. 2016. “3D printing of buildings and
building components as the future of sustainable construction”. Procedia Engineering
151:292 – 299.
[7] Poullain, Ph., B. Furet, E. Paquet, and S. Garnier. 2017. “Batiprint and yhnova : Open
innovation projects in the context of large scale additive manufacturing”. In ACE Workshop –
Lille 2017.
[8] Gosselin, C., R. Duballet, Ph. Roux, N.Gaudillière, J. Dirrenberger, and Ph. Morel. 2016.
“Large-scale 3d printing of ultra-high performance concrete – a new processing route for
architects and builders”. Materials and designs 100:102–109.
[9] Khoshnevis, Behrokh. 2004. “Automated construction by contour crafting—related robotics
and information technologies”. Automation in Construction 13(1):5–19.
[10] Contour crafting. 2018. http://contourcrafting.com/
[11] Zhang, Jing, and Behrokh Khoshnevis. 2013. “Optimal machine operation planning for
construction by contour crafting”. Automation in Construction 29:50–67.
[12] Win sun. 2018. http://www.yhbm.com/
[13] Loughborough university. 2018. http://www.lboro.ac.uk/enterprise/case-studies/3d-concrete-
printing/
[14] Lim, S., R.A. Buswell, T.T. Le, S.A. Austin, A.G.F. Gibb, and T. Thorpe. 2012.
“Developments in construction-scale additive manufacturing processes”. Automation in
Construction 21:262–268.
[15] D-shape. 2018. https://d-shape.com/
[16] Skanska. 2018. http://www.skanska.co.uk/about-skanska/innovation-and-digital-

engineering/innovation/3d-printing/
[17] 3d-construction. 2018. https://www.constructions-3d.com/
[18] Xtreee the large scale 3d. 2018. http://www.xtreee.eu/
[19] Apis cor - we print buildings. 2018. http://apis-cor.com/en/
[20] Cazza construction. 2018. https://cazza.co/
[21] Batiprint3d. 2018. http://www.batiprint3d.fr
[22] Total kustom. 2018 http://www.totalkustom.com/
[23] MIT. 2018. http://news.mit.edu/2017/3-d-printing-buildings-0426
[24] Cybe. 2018. https://www.cybe.eu
[25] Bet abram. 2018. betabram.com
[26] 3dprinthuset. 2018. https://3dprinthuset.dk

A Study for an effective arrangement of shear

reinforcements in pier cap designs
b
Jae-Hyun Park, Jun-Long An and Jae-Yeol Cho
Seoul National University,
1, Gwanak-ro, Seoul (08826), Korea
if
Abstract
The design method for bridge pier caps in a domestic pier cap design has been changed from strength-
based design method to limit state design method. Thus, a new approach with different perspectives is
needed for the pier cap design. In current pier cap design, details of shear reinforcement are presented
ambiguously, and shear reinforcements are placed excessively and it makes bad constructability,
degerioration of quality, and uneconomical design. It is necessary to propose a proper regulation for
shear reinforcements in a pier cap based on the results of pier cap behaviour evaluation with shear
reinforcement details. This study grasps a current bridge pier cap design status and limits with exami-
nation of design codes to propose a proper strut-and-tie model for bridge pier cap.
1 Introduction
When constructing bridge pier caps, work environment for the construction is quite bad. The con-
struction site is located above pier columns, and it makes risk of falling accidents increased. Further-
more, interference between column reinforcements and pier cap shear reinforcements and excessive
arrangement of shear reinforcement lower workability. Thus, shear reinforcement should be placed
effectively in bridge pier cap designs.
Fig. 1 Examples of reinforcement arrangement in a bridge pier cap.
In 2012, Korean Highway Bridge Design Code was revised from strength based design method to
limit state design method. In the changed design method, there is a rack in details of shear reinforce-
ment arrangements.
For instance, unlike other design codes, KHBDC does not consider the width of deep components
such as bridge pier cap in a design of distributed reinforcement. Also, horizontal shear reinforcement
details in rebar spacing and location are not provided in the design code.
This research compares the design codes from various countries with regards to bridge pier cap.
By comparing differneces in bridge pier cap design, the state of current design trends and limits in
bridge pier cap is understood.

2 Comparison of bridge pier cap designs in various design codes

Pier caps in highway bridges in Korea are designed today with Korean Highway Bridge Design Code
(2016) and Korea Structural Concrete Design Code (2012). The domestic design methods are based
b
on the foreign design codes. Specifically, design context in KHBDC (2016) is similar to Eurocode 2
and that of KSCDC (2012) follows ACI 318. To understand the status and limits of bridge pier cap
design, design procedures for pier cap in various design codes are compared. They include KHBDC
(2016), KSCDC (2012), ACI-318 (2014), AASHTO LRFD (2014), CSA A23.3 (2014), and Euro-
codes 2 (2004).
if
2.1 Design of D-regions
Bridge pier cap belongs to a stress discontinuity regions (deep components) where the plane sections
assumption of flexural theory is not valid. Each design code addresses a design method for the stress
discontinuity regions. Table 1 shows the design guides for the stress discontinuity regions in various
design codes.
Table 1 Comparison in designs of a stress discontinuity region.
Design Code Contents Obligation
KHBDC For stress discontinuity regions, additional local anlaysis

Advice
(2016) such as strut-tie model in 5.6.4.4 is needed.
KSCDC Structural concrete members or D-regions shall be permit- Advice

(2012) ted to be designed by using an idealized truss model.
A member or region shall be permitted to be analyzed and
ACI 318
designed using the strut-and-tie method in accordance with Advice
(2014)
Chapter 23.
Where the plane sections assumption of flexural theory is
AASHTO LRFD
not valid, regions of members shall be designed for shear Mandatory
(2014)
and torsion using the strut-and-tie model.
Regions of members in which the plane sections assump-
CSA A23.3
tion of flexural theory is not applicable shall be propor- Mandatory
(2014)
tioned for shear and torsion using the strut-and-tie model.
Where a non-linear strain distribution exists (e.g. supports,
Eurocode 2
near concentrated loads or plain stress) strut-and-tie models Advice
(2004)
may be used (see also 5.6.4).
As shown in the Table 1, all design codes advise for stress discontinuity regions to be designed with
strut-and-tie model. In AASHTO LRFD and CSA A23.3, use of strut-and-tie model in discontinuity
region is mandatory.
2.2 Definition of deep beam

Type T bridge pier cap can be regarded as a kind of cantilever beam member, and the beam has rela-
tively short span compared to depth. Thus, type T bridge pier cap is defined as deep beam. Each
design code has a different definition of deep beam as shown in Table 2.
Contrary to other design codes, AASHTO LRFD defines deep components using shear force and
effective depth, d, in the member. Other codes define deep components with clear span and depth of
the member, h. As shown in Table 2, KHBDC, KSCDC, and ACI 318 have same two definitions for
deep beam. Another definition of deep beam in KHBDC, KSCDC, and ACI 318 uses a distance from
the face of the support to concentrated loads and h.

A Study for an effective arrangement of shear reinforcements in pier cap designs
Table 2 Comparison in definitions of deep beam.

Design Code Contents Note
1. Bemas with a clear span, ln , not exceeding four
b
times the member depth
KHBDC
(2016) 2. Beams where the concentrated force is applied with-
in two times the member depth from the face of the
Defines deep
if
support
beam:
1. Members with a clear span, ln , not exceeding four
times the member depth 1. clear span
KSCDC
(2012) 2. Region between concentrated load and support,
where the concentrated force is applied within two 2. distance from
times the member depth from the face of the support support to load
1. Clear span does not exceed four times the overall
ACI 318 member depth h
(2014) 2. Concentrated loads exist within a distance 2h from
the face of the support
Defines deep
1. The distance from the point of 0.0 shear to the face beam:
AASHTO LRFD of the support is less than 2d
(2014) 2. Load causing more than 1/3 of the shear at a support shear force and
is closer than 2d from the face of the support. d
CSA A23.3
1. Clear span to overall depth ratios less than 2 Defines deep
(2014)
beam:
Eurocode 2 1. The span is less than 3 times the overall section
clear span
(2004) depth
2.3 Design of orthogonal reinforcement mesh in deep beam

For crack control in service load state, there is a rule for the amount and spacing of distributed rein-
forcement.
Table 3 Comparison in the designs of distributed reinforcement at deep component.

Vertical Horizontal
Design Code Rebar spacing bw
reinforcement reinforcement
KHBDC Near each face: Near each face: Lesser of
Not consider
(2016) 0.001Ac 0.001Ac 2b or 300 mm
Perpendicular to Parallel to
KSCDC longitudinal axis: Lesser of
longitudinal axis: Consider
(2012) d / 5 or 300 mm
0.0025bws 0.0015bws
Perpendicular to Parallel to
ACI 318 Lesser of
longitudinal axis: longitudinal axis: Consider
(2014) d / 5 or 300 mm
0.0025bws 0.0025bws2
AASHTO
In vertical: In horizontal: Lesser of
LRFD Consider
0.003bwsv 0.003bwsh d / 4 or 12 in.
(2014)
CSA A23.3 In each direction: In each direction: Less than
Not consider
(2014) 0.002Ac 0.002Ac 300 mm
Eurocode 2 Near each face: Near each face: Lesser of
Not consider
(2004) 0.001Ac 0.001Ac 2b or 300 mm
Jae-Hyun Park, Jun-Long An and Jae-Yeol Cho 239

Shown in the Table 3, code regulations for distributed reinforcements in KHBDC, Eurocode 2, and
CSA A23.3 are analogous to each other. In KHBDC and Eurocode 2, orthogonal reinforcement mesh
should be provided near each face, with a minimum of 0.001Ac, and that rule has a same meaning
with the minimum mesh rule, 0.002Ac in each direction. All design codes limit the rebar mesh spacing
b
less than 300 mm. Additional limits using thickness, b, is given in KHBDC and Eurocode 2. Effective
depth, d, is used for limiting the spacing in KSCDC, ACI 318, and AASHTO LRFD. KSCDC, ACI
318, and AASHTO LRFD consider the member width, bw, when placing the mesh in the member, so
they can arrange the mesh reinforcment evenly througth the width.
if
2.4 Design of bracket and corbel
Bridge pier cap also can be regarded as brackets and corbels. Brackets and corbels are a type of short
cantilever beam so they are governed by shear behavior. Table 4 shows how various design codes
give details in the design of bracket and corbel.
Table 4 Comparison in the designs of bracket and corbel.
Depth at
Design Design Vertical Horizontal Location
outside edge of
Code range shear rebar shear rebar of Ah
bearing area
If 0.5 and If 0.5 :
KHBDC No No
a<z0 , : ,
(2016) regulation regulation
0.5 / 0.25 ,
KSCDC More than Less than
av<d No regulation 0.5
(2012) 0.5d 2/3 d
ACI 318 More than Less than
av<d No regulation 0.5
(2014) 0.5d 2/3 d
AASHTO
More than Less than
LRFD av<d No regulation 0.5
0.5d 2/3 d
(2014)
CSA
More than Less than
A23.3 av<d No regulation 0.5
0.5d 2/3 d
(2014)
If 0.5 and
0.5 :
Eurocode
No ! " , : If No
a<z0
#% ,
2
regulation , , regulation
(2004)
#$ ! /
KHBDC and Eurocode 2 define bracket and corbel using moment arm z0, different to other design
codes. Both KHBDC and Eurocode 2 do not set the rules for depth at outside edge of bearing area and
placing location of horizontal shear reinforcement. Other codes limit the region of Ah less than 2/3d.
Also, the depth at outside edge of bearing area should be more than 0.5d.
In KHBDC and Eurocode 2, horizontal shear reinforcement shall be provided more than 25% of
main tension reinforcement, but other design codes provide more conservative horizontal shear
reinforcement, twice amount of that in KHBDC and Eurocode 2. Exept KHBDC and Eurocode 2,
there is no regulation for the vertical shear reinforcement.
2.5 Design of strut strength

When designing with strut-and-tie model, strength of strut member should be checked after the proper
strut-and-tie model shape is set. Each design code shows different definition of strength of strut which
is indicated in the Table 5.
The properties in strength formula of strut are analyzed and the codes show difference in details.
First, reduction factors in various design codes are different. The range of reduction factor varies from
0.65 to 0.75.
Second, consideration of lateral tensile reinforcement effects in strength of strut varies according
to the design code. All design codes classify the strength formula with existence of lateral tension.
Also, KHBDC and Eurocode 2 include the affect of brittle property for high-strength concrete in
the stregnth formula. Both codes reduce the rate of increase, with the term 1 /250 , in the

effective design strength of strut when the strength of concrete is high. Other codes do not consider
that brittle property of concrete in the formula.
When the strut has additional compressive reinforcement parallel to the strut direction which is
called a reinforced strut, the design strength of the strut may increase. Therefore, design codes except
b
KHBDC and Eurocode 2 add the term indicating a strength increase in the reinforced strut.
Table 5 Comparison in the designs of strut strength.

Design Amount and
if
Brittleness of
Design Reduction strength of orientation of Reinforced
high strength
Code factor strut without lateral rein- struts
concrete
lateral tension forcement
KHBDC 0.85( Consider Not
( ) 0.65 1 /250
(2016) ) 0.5525 & direction enhance
KSCDC 0.85( Consider Less than
( ) 0.75 Not consider
(2012) ) 0.6375 with . 2/3 d
ACI 318 0.85( Consider Less than
( ) 0.75 Not consider
(2014) ) 0.6375 with . 2/3 d
AASHTO
0.85( Consider Less than
( ) 0.70
with 0%
LRFD Not consider
) 0.5950 2/3 d
(2014)
CSA A23.3 0.85( Consider Less than
( ) 0.65
with 0%
Not consider
(2014) ) 0.5525 2/3 d
Eurocode 2 2 /1 Consider Not
1 ) 1.5 1 /250
(2004) ) 0.6667 only existence enhance
80
No transverse tension
60 Least conservative
40
20 Most conservative
0
0 20 40 60 80
fc' (MPa)
Fig. 2 Effective design compressive strength of strut without lateral tension.
As shown in the Table 5, effective design strength of strut is defined with two formulas depending on
presence of lateral tension. The form of two formulas is same as equation (2) in KHBDC and Euro-
code 2 and equation (1) in other design codes. The coefficient A changes as the amount and orienta-
tion of lateral tensile reinforcement vary.
f cd = A ⋅ φ ⋅ f c ' (1)
f cd = A ⋅ φ ⋅ (1 − f c' / 250 ) ⋅ f c ' (2)

As shown in Fig. 2, strength of strut without lateral tension is proportional to compressive strength of
concrete. Eurocode 2 designs strut strength most unconservatively among the design codes. And
KHBDC and CSA A23.3 show most conservative effective design strength of strut.
Fig. 3
ifb
Effective design compressive strength of strut with sufficient lateral tensile reinforcement.
Fig. 3 indicates the effective design compressive strength of strut where lateral tensile reinforcement
is sufficient. Contrary to the case of no lateral tension, Eurocode 2 shows most conservative results
compared to other design codes. KHBDC and Eurocode 2 is not directly proportional to the compres-
sive strength of concrete because the formulas have the term 1
increase in design strength reduces as compressive strength get higher.
/250 . In that, the rate of
Fig. 4 Effective design compressive strength of strut with deficient lateral tensile reinforcement.
Fig. 4 indicates the effective design compressive strength of strut where lateral tensile reinforcement
is deficient. Contrary to the case of sufficient lateral tension, there are narrow variations in the design
strength. After the compressive strength of 40 MPa, brittle properties of high strength concrete make
design strength conservative.
2.6 Design of tie strength

Each design code shows different definition of tie strength which is indicated in the Table 6.

Table 6 Comparison in the designs of tie strength.

Reduction Design strength Design strength Bonded
Design Code
factor of tie with rebar of tie with PS strands or Unbonded
b
)( )(
KHBDC
( ) 0.90 3 3 Not consider
(2016)
( ) ( 3 4 35 6 Δ 3 8
( )(
KSCDC Bonded: 420
( ) 0.85
(2012) Δ 3 ) 420 ;< 70 => Unbonded: 70
( ) ( 3 4 35 6 Δ 3 8
if
( )(
ACI 318 Bonded: 420
( ) 0.75
(2014) Δ 3 ) 420 ;< 70 => Unbonded: 70
AASHTO
LRFD ( ) 0.90 (> ) ( (> ) ( 3 4 35 6 8 Not consider
(2014)
(
CSA A23.3
( ) 0.85 (3 3 4 3? 6 4008 Not consider
(2014)
) /1 ) /1
Eurocode 2
1 ) 1.15 3 3@.% Not consider
(2004)
The form of equations for design strength of tie is same where only reinforcement is applied. The
difference in the equations is just the coefficient the codes used. In where PS strands exist in the tie
member, all design codes consider the effect of PS strands with the additional term shown in the
Table 6. KSCDC and ACI 318 take into account whether the PS strands are bonded or unbonded.
2.7 Design of strength in node region

Each design code shows a different nodal region strength formula which is indicated in the Table 7.
Table 7 Comparison in the designs of strength in node region.

Design Reduction Design strength Design strength Design strength
Code factor for CCC node for CCT node for CTT node
KHBDC DEF DEF
( ) 0.65 A1 B( 0.85C1 H( 0.75C1 H(
(2016) 250 $G@ $G@
KSCDC 0.85(. 0.85(. 0.85(.
( ) 0.75
(2012) . ) 1.0 . ) 0.8 . ) 0.6

ACI 318 0.85(. 0.85(. 0.85(.
( ) 0.75
(2014) . ) 1.0 . ) 0.8 . ) 0.6
AASHTO
LRFD ( ) 0.70 0.85( 0.75( 0.65(
(2014)
CSA A23.3 0.85( I 0.75( I 0.65( I
( ) 0.65
(2014) I ) J $ / % K 2.0 I ) J $ / % K 2.0 I ) J $ / % K 2.0
DEF DEF DEF
C1 H /1 H /1 H /1
Eurocode 2
1 ) 1.5 $G@
0.85C1
$G@
0.75C1
$G@
(2004)
Design strengths for the node region are classified according to type of node. CCC node represents
the node region with no tie member. In CCC node, design strength is not reduced with reduction
factor. In CCT node and CTT node, however, the reduction factors with the value of 0.85 and 0.75,
respectively, are used to consider the effects of strength decrease in node with tension tie.
Also, additional reduction factors are given with 1 /250 in KHBDC and Eurocode 2, 0.85
in KSCDC and ACI 318. Contrary to other design codes, CSA A23.3 have a increase factor, m, which
indicates the increase in strength by confinement effect of concrete. Thus, the strength is able to be up
to twice the value as shown in Fig. 5.

ifb
Fig. 5 Effective design compressive strength of CCC nodal region.
3 Conclusions
The current design codes for the bridge pier cap were compared and analysed. Although the flow of
general design procedure is same for all design codes, the details are different in each design code and
that makes difference in design results. The differnces in details of following categories are enumer-
ated.
1. Bridge pier caps are able to be classified as discontinuity regions. All design codes recom-
mend using strut-and-tie model for designing stress discontinuity regions.
2. AASHTO LRFD defines deep beam using shear force and effective depth, d, and other codes
define deep beam with clear span and depth of the member, h.
3. Minimum amount and spacing of orthogonal rebar mesh vary in different design codes.
KHBDC, Eurocode 2, and CSA A23.3 do not consider the member width, bw, when placing
the mesh rebar. Thus, the rebar mesh leans to one side.
4. Design codes except KHDBC and Eurocode 2 set the rules for depth at outside edge of
bearing area and placing location of horizontal shear rebar. KHBDC and Eurocode 2 give
unconservative horizontal shear reinforcement compared with other design codes.
5. For high-strength concrete, design strengths of strut have variation with the design code
because some codes consider the reduction of strength with brittleness of high-strength
concrete.
6. Design strengths of tie in design codes shows similar and only the coefficients are different.
7. CSA A23.3 considers the confinement effect of concrete in the design of nodal region
strength.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by Korea Expressway Corporation (0583-20170046).
References
[1] ACI Committee 318. 2015. Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318M-
14) and Commentary (ACI 318RM-14). 519 pp. Farmington Hills.
[2] American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. 2014. AASHTO LRFD
Bridge Design Specifications. 1704 pp. Washington, D.C.
[3] CSA Standard A23.3-14. 2014. Design of concrete structures. 137 pp. Mississauga
[4] Eurocode 2. 2004. Design of Concrete Structures.
[5] Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. 2016. Korean Highway Bridge Design Code.
[6] Korea Concrete Institute. 2012. Korea Structural Concrete Design Code.

Structural behaviour of carbon reinforced slab

elements made of ultra-high performance concrete
b
Philipp Preinstorfer1, Benjamin Kromoser2 and Johann Kollegger1
1Instituteof Structural Engineering,
TU Wien,
if
Karlsplatz 13, 1040 Vienna, Austria
2
Institute of Structural Engineering,
University of Natural resources and Life Sciences,
Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Abstract
A research program launched at TU Wien is combining ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) and
textile reinforcement made of carbon fibres to develop sustainable, material fitting building construc-
tions. As a result the overall concrete mass can be reduced significantly and the durability of the
structural members can be increased. In this context, the authors of this paper designed a hollow slab
element exclusively reinforced with carbon textile reinforcement. To investigate the structural behav-
iour of this hollow slab elements, a test series was planned and carried out including 3-point bending
tests and 4-point bending tests. While the bearing capacity is high and a good utilization of the mate-
rial properties could be reached, failure modes like delamination, which are not well known from
ordinary RC beams, could be observed.
1 Introduction
Major innovations have taken place in the field of concrete engineering in the last decades. As an
integral part, high performance materials such as textile reinforcement [1] and UHPC [2, 3] are men-
tioned here. These materials are characterised by their good properties, allowing to break new ground
in structural concrete [4-7]. Considering the good properties a research program launched at TU Wien
is combining both materials ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) and textile reinforcement made
of carbon fibres to develop sustainable, material fitting structural elements. As a result the overall
concrete mass can be reduced significantly and the durability of the structural members can be in-
creased. In comparison to ordinary concrete beams, the reduction of the dead weight by using high
performance materials leads to larger possible span ratios. In this context, the authors of this paper
designed a hollow slab element exclusively reinforced with carbon textile reinforcement. The textile
reinforcement therefore serves as shear and bending reinforcement. The manufacturing process of
textile reinforcement enables a high stiffness of carbon textiles [8], making it possible to fulfil the
requirements of the serviceability limit state without prestressing. Additionally the high durability of
the material combination allows reducing the concrete cover to a minimum.
For the design of the hollow slab elements the main goal was to create a structure as lightweight
as possible, utilizing the good material properties of UHPC and carbon textile reinforcement. The
material therefore is gathered where it is needed, creating similarities to steel structures with wide
flanges and narrow webs. The width of the flanges is limited to 2.40 m (in accordance to transporta-
tion restrictions in Austria). By arranging several elements next to each other the whole slab can be
created. As for a length of 8.0 m the slab system is shown in Fig. 1. First numerical calculations with
loadings for typical building constructions showed very good results, satisfactorily fulfilling the re-
quirements in the serviceability limit state and in the ultimate limit state [9].
To investigate the structural behaviour of these hollow slab elements, a test series was planned
and carried out. In the following chapters a comprehensive overview of the material specification
therefore, the planning and the testing is given. With this contribution the authors strive to further
increase the knowhow and the acceptance of high performance materials in civil engineering.

ifb
Fig. 1 Slab Element made of textile reinforced UHPC [9].
2 Material specification
UHPC is characterised by a high packing density, giving the hardened concrete an outstanding com-
pressive strength and durability. This high packing density can be achieved by a proper material
composition, trying to reduce voids, and a reduced water binder ratio (~0.20) [10]. In fact not the
whole cementitious material is hydrated, whereas the remaining particles serve as filler material in
between the concrete [11]. For the production of the test specimens a proper mixing design was com-
piled, aiming to use locally available resources, allowing to reduce the ecological footprint of the
concrete. A good workability of the concrete was a major requirement, while the mixing should be
done with a conventional mixing unit available at the prefabrication plant of the industrial partner.
The material properties of the hardened concrete are listed in Table 1.
Table 1 Material Properties of UHPC (mean values after 28 days).

fcm Ecm εc2
[MPa] [GPa] [mm/m]
UHPC 154.7 53.7 2.89
Textile Reinforcement on the other side is also characterised by its high strength (in case of carbon
~3000 MPa), though having a comparatively low self weight (about one fourth of steel). By using non
metallic materials like carbon there is no risk of rusting, making it possible to reduce the necessary
concrete cover to a minimum. Preliminary investigations in form of uniaxial tensile tests [12] were
carried out to test the material behaviour of textile reinforcement embedded in UHPC. Different mesh
sizes and reinforcement ratios had been tested, while for the fibre material only textiles out of carbon
fibres (Solidian GmbH from Germany) had been used. The material properties therefore are listed in
Table 2.
Table 2 Material Properties of textile reinforcement (mean values).

Solidian Grid ftex,u Etex εtex,u
[MPa] [GPa] [mm/m]
Q95/95-CCE-38 2,824 230.5 12.25
Q142/142-CCE-25 2,799 176.5 15.86
Q142/142-CCE-38 2,620 213.9 12.43
3.1 Test specimens and test setup

To investigate the structural behaviour of the novel slab element a test series was planned and carried
out. Taking into account the symmetric structure, a simplified test setup was developed, with a width
of 750 mm and a height of 300 mm. In accordance to the size of the testing frame, the length of the
test specimens was limited to 5.00 m. The simplified cross section is shown in Fig. 2. As reinforce-

ment mesh, two C-shaped carbon textiles were placed symmetrically in the web, also ranging into the
flanges. This reinforcement therefore serves as shear as well as bending reinforcement. Additionally
flat textile reinforcement meshes were placed at the top/bottom of the structure, serving as bending
reinforcement. The test specimens were varied either in the bending reinforcement ratio or in the
b
mesh size of the bending reinforcement (see Table 3).
if
Fig. 2 Simplified cross section.
Table 3 Types of Test Specimens.

ρw ρl
Type C-shaped Textile Flat Textile
[%] [%]
D 95 E38 Q95/95 CCE38 Q95/95 CCE38 0.63 0.63
D 142 E25 Q95/95 CCE38 Q142/142 CCE25 0.63 0.79
D 142 E38 Q95/95 CCE38 Q142/142 CCE38 0.63 0.79
As first test setup a 4-point bending test (see Fig. 3 bottom) was chosen, generating a constant bend-
ing moment in between the load introductions. This section provides additional information particu-
larly regarding the cracking behaviour of the structure. The load introduction therefore took place at a
length of one third of the length of the test specimens. Furthermore also 3-point bending tests (see
Fig. 3 top) were carried out, generating maximum bending moments and minimum shear forces. The
load introduction therefore took place right in the middle of the test specimens. For both test setups
three test specimens according to Table 3 were produced.
Fig. 3 Different test setups for the experimental program.
Philipp Preinstorfer, Benjamin Kromoser and Johann Kollegger 247

3.2 Test results

The monitoring system for the test series consisted of linear variable differential transformers
(LVDT’s) for measuring the deflections. Besides this the compression at the top respectively the
b
elongation at the bottom were also measured with LVDT’s. The strains got averaged over a length of
20.0 cm. For measuring the loadings redundant measurements with load cells on the one hand were
compared by measurements of the hydraulic pressure in the system.
if
Fig. 4 Moment-curvature diagram (left) 3-point bending test (right) 4-point bending test.
Fig. 5 Moment-elongation diagram (left) 3-point bending test (right) 4-point bending test.
In dependency of the test setup, different failure mechanisms occurred. As for the four-point bending
tests, the failure occurred brittle, by a crushing of the compressive strut in the web. Although the
failure occurred brittle here, there was a pronounced failure announcement. Huge deformations and
noisy sounds due to rupture of individual filaments in the rovings indicated a failure in the ultimate
limit state. In comparison, the 3-point bending tests failed due to a delamination of the concrete cover
at the bottom flange. First longitudinal cracks occurred at high load levels straight underneath the load
introduction. By increasing the loadings this cracks processed further towards the supporting, until
wide areas of the concrete cover got detached. At this time deformations increased continuously,
while loadings were constant, thus the failure was not happening brittle in this case.
In Fig. 4 the moment-curvature diagrams of all test specimens are shown. The bearing behaviour
can be compared to ordinary RC beams, beginning with a stiff section where the specimen is
uncracked. Cracking is induced quite early, but is well pronounced. As expected the behaviour of the
specimens with a higher reinforcement ratio is a bit stiffer, thus there is a lot of scattering in the
Youngs modulus of the textile reinforcement, also affecting the stiffness of the structure.

By calculating the compressive strains at the top respectively the tensile strains at the textile rein-
forcement (see Fig. 5), a good utilization of the material properties is indicated. The tensile strains in
the textiles are ranging from 11.4-15.2 mm/m, which roughly corresponds to the breaking strains (see
Table 2). In terms of stresses this means an average stress level of about 3,000 MPa. On the other
b
hand strains in the concrete are limited to about 1.1 mm/m. By assuming validity of Bernoulli Hy-
pothesis the height of the concrete zone x is calculated in all cases with smaller values than 30 mm.
So even with a thickness of only 30 mm the compression zone is not reaching into the web, making
the design well proportioned.
if
Fig. 6 Crack pattern of test specimen D 142 E38 (4-point bending test).
The finished crack patterns varied in dependency of the mesh size and roving geometry. As for short-
er center distances of the rovings a smaller crack width and crack distance could be observed. For the
four-point bending tests, where measurements had been carried out in between the load introduction,
where constant bending moment occurs, mean values of the crack width reached from 0.23 mm
(D142 E25) to 0.40 mm (D142 E38). Same relationship was seen in the crack distance, where mean
values reached from 61.0 cm (D142 E25) up to 79.0 cm (D142 E38). While there were differences in
the crack pattern, in general the cracks were very fine distributed, with small crack widths also in the
ultimate limit state (see Fig. 6).
4 Conclusions
In a research project at TU Wien UHPC and carbon textile reinforcement are combined, to create
efficient, long lasting structural elements. To utilize the good properties of the materials a proper
design for a slab element is introduced. To investigate the structural behaviour of the slab elements,
an experimental program was launched. Following conclusions can be drawn from the experimental
investigations:
Structural behaviour: In general the structural behaviour of the investigated slab elements is
similar to ordinary RC beams (state I – cracking – state II). But going further in detail there
are some differences. As for example cracking occurs quite early and is well pronounced. Al-
so new failure modes occurred, which are not known from ordinary RC-beams yet. Due to the
material behaviour no yielding is happening at the ultimate limit state. As for the 3-point
bending tests, failure occurred due to delamination of the concrete cover, leading to a loss of
bond between the reinforcement and the concrete.
Failure announcement: Although the material behaviour of both materials is linear elastic
with a brittle failure, in this test series a failure announcement of the test specimens could be
observed. This failure announcement can either be the high deformations and the big crack
widths in the ultimate limit state, or the noisy rupture of individual filaments before a failure
of the specimens occurs.
High Performance: The material properties can be utilized satisfactorily. As for the textile
reinforcement, the stresses reach up to 3000 MPa and even more, partly exceeding the break-
ing strength provided by the producer. Also the stresses in the UHPC reach up to 60 MPa.
Due to the high strength of the concrete, the concrete zone is completely in the flange, even
though the flange is only 30 mm thick.
Philipp Preinstorfer, Benjamin Kromoser and Johann Kollegger 249

Fine Cracking: Cracking is well pronounced as it can be seen in the measurements (wide
plateau). The finished crack pattern is characterised by cracks in narrow spaces with small
crack widths. In general the reinforcement ratio and the roving distance is influencing the
crack distance and the crack width. While higher reinforcement ratios lead to bigger crack
b
widths, a smaller center distance of the rovings seems to lower the crack widths.
Acknowledgements
The authors want to express their sincere gratitude to the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)
if
for the financial support. They also want to thank the companies solidian GmbH for providing the
textile reinforcement, the company SW Umwelttechnik AG for the production of the test specimens
and the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK) at the University of
Stuttgart for the good cooperation.
References
[1] Scheerer, Silke. 2015. "Was ist Textilbeton?" Beton‐und Stahlbetonbau 110:4-7.
[2] de Larrard, François, and Thierry Sedran. 1994. “Optimization of ultra-high-performance
concrete by the use of a packing model.” Cement and Concrete Research 24: 997-1009.
[3] Richard, Pierre, and Marcel Cheyrezy. 1995. “Composition of reactive powder concretes.”
Cement and Concrete Research 25:1501-11.
[4] AItcin, Pierre-Claude, et al. 1998. “The Sherbrooke reactive powder concrete footbridge.”
Structural Engineering International 8:140-44.
[5] Hegger, Josef, et al. 2011. “Schlanke Fußgängerbrücke aus Textilbeton.” Beton‐ und
Stahlbetonbau 106:64-71.
[6] Preinstorfer, Philipp, and Johann Kollegger. 2017. “Doppelwand aus
Ultrahochleistungsbeton.” Beton- und Stahlbetonbau 112:346-54.
[7] Rempel, Sergej, et al. 2015. “Filigrane Bauwerke aus Textilbeton.” Beton‐und Stahlbetonbau
110:83-93.
[8] Kirsten, Martin, et al. 2015. “Carbonfasern, der Werkstoff des 21. Jahrhunderts.” Beton‐und
Stahlbetonbau 110:8-15.
[9] Kromoser, Benjamin , et al. 2018. “Building lightweight structures with CFRP-reinforced
UHPC: research approach, construction materials, and conceptual design of three building
components.” Structural Concrete - In review.
[10] Shi, Caijun, et al. 2015. “A review on ultra high performance concrete: Part I. Raw materials
and mixture design.” Construction and Building Materials 101:741-51.
[11] Wang, Dehui, et al. 2015. “A review on ultra high performance concrete: Part II. Hydration,
microstructure and properties.” Construction and Building Materials 96:368-77.
[12] Hartig, J, et al. 2012. “Influence of experimental setups on the apparent uniaxial tensile load-
bearing capacity of textile reinforced concrete specimens.” Materials and structures 45:433-
46.

Kinked rebar: a novel configuration for improving the

collapse resistances of the reinforced concrete frame
b
structures
Hanlin Qiang and Peng Feng
if
Tsinghua University,
Haidian district, Beijing (100084), China
Abstract
Lateral collapses due to earthquakes and progressive collapses due to the sudden destruction of the
columns are two of the most commonly encountered failure mechanisms for buildings. To simultane-
ously improve the seismic performance and the progressive collapse resistance of reinforced concrete
(RC) frame structures, this paper presents a novel kinked rebar configuration. Kinked rebar has a
large deformability because it can be gradually straightened under a tension force, and it can be used
near the inflection points in beams under uniform vertical loads in RC frame structures. Tensile test of
kinked rebar, tests of kinked rebar in beam sections, cyclic tests of RC sub-frames with kinked rebar
and numerical analysis for frame structures are presented in this paper.
1 Introduction
As one of the most widely used structural systems, reinforced concrete (RC) frames may be exposed
to various hazards during their service lives, such as earthquakes, explosions and impacts. Lateral
collapses due to earthquakes and progressive collapses are two of the most typical failure mechanisms
[1]. The failure modes of the RC frame should be effectively controlled, including realizing the beam
sway mechanism and avoiding progressive collapse. However, according to an investigation of a past
earthquake, an RC frame cannot easily achieve a strong column-weak beam failure mechanism, even
when applying “strong column-weak beam seismic design” [2], [3]. Furthermore, the existing design
methods for seismic and progressive collapse resistance address only individual collapse modes, but
recent studies have revealed that in some cases, the interactions between these two collapse modes are
negative [4]–[6]. Based on the above, in this paper, a novel method is presented to provide an eco-
nomical solution to the contradiction between the seismic design and progressive collapse design of
RC frames and simultaneously improve the seismic performance and the progressive collapse re-
sistance of RC frame structures.
(a) (b)
Fig. 1 Kinked rebar applied in frame structures: Kinked rebar (a), Application of the kinked
rebar near the column-beam joints (b).
Kinked rebar (Fig. 1(a)) has a lower initial yield strength and much larger deformability without
decreasing its ultimate strength capacity compared with that of the traditional straight bar because it
can be gradually straightened under tension. The conceptual structural configuration that describes the

application of kinked rebar is illustrated with column-beam joints in Fig. 1(b). The kinked rebar is
located at or near the inflection point in beams under a uniform gravity load. Potentially, an RC frame
structure with a local kinked rebar configuration has three major mechanical advantages:
Achieving plastic hinge relocation as well as the strong column-weak beam mechanism -
b
Due to the lower initial yielding moment capacity compared with that of a section reinforced
by a traditional straight bar, the beam section with kinked rebar will yield first to protect the
column and beam-column joint when a seismic lateral load is applied to the frame structure.
Increasing the lateral seismic collapse resistance - With the lateral deformation develop-
if
ment to the ultimate collapse of the frame structure, the kinked rebar can be straightened un-
der tension to obtain a large deformation and thereby increase the plastic hinge moment ca-
pacity compared to the initial yield in the beams. This will help the frame to maintain a cer-
tain lateral load resistance even at large deformation.
Increasing the progressive collapse resistance - When the structure fails due to sudden col-
umn collapse, the beam section with kinked bars can provide a larger rotation deformability
without decreasing the tensile force during the process of catenary action compared with that
in the section reinforced by a traditional straight bar. Then, the vertical progressive collapse
resistance from the tensile force can be increased.
2 Tensile test of kinked rebar

Tensile tests were conducted to investigate the large deformability and bearing capacity of kinked
rebar compared with traditional rebar. Therefore, two separate groups of kinked rebar specimens were
tested, group 1 and group 2. The nominal diameter of all the steel bars was 10 mm. Each specimen
type had 3 steel bars, and the average values are reported. Three parameters were introduced to de-
scribe the geometric shape of the kinked rebar (see Fig. 1(a)): bending angle θ, rise h and equivalent
length 2b, two of which are independent parameters. The details of the test specimens are shown in
Table 1. The design values of the rise h for group 1 and group 2 were 50 mm and 70 mm, respectively.
The values of the “bending angle θ” and “rise h” in Table 1 are the measured values. The material
properties of the original bars used for the kinked rebar are also presented in Table 1.
For group 1, 6 kinked bars were completely deformed from a curved shape into a straight line,
while 3 kinked bars were not due to the insufficient ductility of the original bars. For group 2, all the
tested kinked rebar specimens deformed from the curved shape into a straight line.
Table 1 Details and test results of the kinked rebar specimens and the original rebar.
Bending Rise Yield Ultimate

Group Grade of 2b Elongation
Specimen angle h strength strength fu
no. rebar (mm) (%)
θ (°) (mm) fy (MPa) (MPa)
Original — — — 441 686 9
F10-30 33 55 169 — 712 34
1 HRB400a
F10-45 44 42 89 — 713 50
F10-60 59 49 60 — 672 106
Original — — — 338.1 470 22
S10-30 33 70 216 — 457 39
2 HRB335a
S10-45 45 70 140 — 486 60
S10-60 64 78 78 — 454 139
Two critical parameters are defined here: the equivalent stress is calculated by dividing the obtained
load by the cross-sectional area of the steel bar; the equivalent strain is calculated by dividing the
obtained displacement by the equivalent length 2b because deformation is mainly concentrated in the
kinked segment. The typical equivalent stress-equivalent strain relationship curves of the specimens
and those of the original bars are given in Fig. 2(a) (b); the relationships for the kinked bars are very
different from the relationship of the traditional straight steel bar, which can be called “two-step”
tensile behavior. The test results show that the kinked rebar has greater deformability but the same
ultimate bearing capacity as the traditional rebar. Furthermore, the specific values of these four criti-
cal points can be controlled by varying the geometry of the kinked rebar.

Kinked rebar: a novel configuration for improving the collapse resistances of the reinforced concrete frame structures
ifb
(a) (b)
Fig. 2 Equivalent stress-equivalent strain relations. (a) Group 1. (b) Group 2.
3 Tests of kinked rebar in beam sections

To study the behavior of the kinked rebar in RC beam sections, bending tests were carried out on
beams with kinked rebar. Two beams were constructed and tested under four-point bending with the
span of 2400 mm and the shear span of 900 mm. Geometry and dimensions are presented in Fig. 3.
The rise h of all kinked rebar was 60 mm. Fig. 4 and 5 compare the load-deflection relationship and
failure mechanism of beam S1 with those of beam S7-1, respectively. Very different from control
beam S7-1, the failure mechanism of beam S1 can also be described in steps. (1) First, a small num-
ber of wide flexural cracks were concentrated in the small mid-span region where the kinked rebar
was located. (2) Second, the bottom kinked rebar began to straighten. (3) Third, the top reinforcement
changed from compression to tension because the compression height of the concrete was even small-
er than the thickness of the top concrete cover due to the large tensile deformation of the kinked rebar.
(4) Fourth, concrete crushing occurred, and the top concrete cover gradually failed; thus, the com-
pressive force was increasingly transferred from the concrete to the top reinforcement, which changed
from tension to compression. (5) Fifth, during the subsequent loading process, the bottom bar was
gradually straightened; finally, the top reinforcement and concrete were unable to withstand the pres-
sure, indicating the failure of the beam, and the load reached its peak. The load-deflection response of
the beam, which can also be called the “two-step” behavior, is plotted in Fig. 4. Four critical points
are also defined: the first yielding point, the hardening point, the second yielding point and the ulti-
mate point.
(a) (b)
Fig. 3 Details of the reinforcement in beams (units: mm). (a) Specimen S7-1. (b) Specimen S1.
Hanlin Qiang and Peng Feng 253

The results show that the initial yielding capacity of the beam section with kinked rebar is relatively
low. In addition, as the kinked rebar straightens, the loading capacity of the beam gradually increases
and becomes close to that of an ordinary beam.
ifb
Fig. 4 Load-deflection relationships of beams S-1 and S7-1.
Fig. 5 Failure process of beam S1 compared with that of beam S7-1.
4 Cyclic tests of RC sub-frames with kinked rebar

A one-story, one-bay frame is the basis element of a multiple floor structure, which plays an im-
portant role on the seismic behavior of the structure. Thus, the low frequency cyclic loading experi-
mental program consists of two one-bay and one-storey 1/2 scaled spatial RC frames: specimens RCF,
and WB-RCF2. RCF is the conventional frame. WB-RCF2 was designed applying a local kinked
rebar at 1/4 of the beam length. It should be noted that the materials properties, cross-sectional dimen-
sions of the members and the reinforcement details (except the kinked rebar configuration) are the
same for all the frames. Fig. 6 shows the failure modes of the two RC frames. For the frame RCF, the
obvious flexural hinges formed at all columns ends and the failure pattern was the typical “weak
column-strong beam” mode. For the frame WB-RCF2, the obvious hinges formed at the bottom
column bases and beam ends. The failure pattern of this RC frame was the typical “strong column-
weak beam” mode. Fig. 7 shows the load-deformation relationship of the two RC frames.
5 Numerical analysis for frame structures

To verify the validity of relocating the plastic hinges and increasing the progressive collapse re-
sistance using kinked rebar in RC frame structures, Finite element (FE) analysis was conducted for a

Kinked rebar: a novel configuration for improving the collapse resistances of the reinforced concrete frame structures
typical two-dimensional RC frame [7]. The RC frame structure studied here had six stories. The
height of each story was 3.6 m, and the length of each span was 6.0 m. The bottom ends of the first
story columns were fixed to the ground, and the unit weight of the RC was 25 kN/m3. Three frame
models were constructed: Frame SB-WC was designed to simulate a strong beam-weak column frame
b
with a large amount of reinforcement in the beams; Frame SB-WC+KB was designed applying a local
kinked rebar on Frame SB-WC; and Frame WB-SC was designed to simulate a weak beam-strong
column frame with a small amount of reinforcement in the beams. All three frames kept the other
design parameters (e.g., elevation, sectional size, and materials) unchanged.
if
(a) (b)
Fig. 6 Failure modes of specimens RCF and WB-RCF2 (+85mm). (a) Specimen RCF. (b)
Specimen WB-RCF2.
Displacement (mm) Displacement (mm)

-111 -74 -37 0 37 74 111 -111 -74 -37 0 37 74 111
180 180
RCF WB-RCF2
120 120
Lateral load (kN)
Lateral load (kN)
60 60
0 0
-60 -60
-120 -120
-180 -180
-0.06 -0.04 -0.02 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 -0.06 -0.04 -0.02 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06
Drift ratio Drift ratio
(a) (b)
Fig. 7 Load-deformation curves of specimens RCF and WB-RCF2. (a) Specimen RCF. (b)
Specimen WB-RCF2.
Simulation analyses of the three models under seismic load were performed based on a nonlinear
static pushover analysis. The loads considered in the pushover analysis were lateral inverted triangle
distribution loads and vertical gravity loads. Fig. 8(a) shows the base reaction-top displacement rela-
tion curves of the three RC frames, and the capacity of SB-WC+KB shows an interesting increase at
very large deformation that can be beneficial for lateral seismic collapse resistance.
The nonlinear static pushdown method was used in this study to analyze the collapse mechanisms
and the progressive collapse resistance of the three frames. When the beams exhibit beam action at
small deformations, the vertical resistance of SB-WC+KB is smaller than that of SB-WC due to the
lower initial capacity of the kinked rebar. However, when the beams exhibit catenary action at large
deformations, the vertical resistance corresponding to the peak load condition of SB-WC+KB is
approximately 20% greater than that of SB-WC. This result is because the large deformability of the
Hanlin Qiang and Peng Feng 255

kinked rebar in SB-WC+KB contributes to the large rotation capacity of the collapse section in the
beams (Fig. 8(b)).
ifb
(a) (b)
Fig. 8 Load-displacement curves of the frames from the FE analysis. (a) Pushover analysis. (b)
Pushdown analysis.
6 Conclusions
This paper presents a novel configuration of kinked rebar that can be gradually straightened under
tension. Compared with traditional steel rebar, the kinked rebar has greater deformability and the
same ultimate strength. The mechanical behavior of the RC beam section with kinked rebar differs
from that with ordinary rebar. The initial bending yield capacity of the beam section with kinked
rebar is low. However, as the kinked rebar gradually straightens, the loading capacity of the beam
section could gradually increase to approximately that of ordinary rebar. The deformability of the
beam section with kinked rebar was greatly improved. The mechanical behavior of the kinked rebar
can simultaneously improve the seismic performance of RC frame structures and improve the pro-
gressive collapse resistance.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51778330
and 51522807) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No.
2017YFC0703001).
References
[1] Jaimes, Miguel A., Eduardo Reinoso, and Luis Esteva. 2015. “Risk analysis for structures
exposed to several multi-hazard sources.” Journal of Earthquake Engineering 19(2):297–312.
[2] Lu, Xin-Zheng., Lie-Ping Ye, Yu-Hu Ma, and Dai-Yuan Tang. 2012. “Lessons from the
collapse of typical rc frames in xuankou school during the great wenchuan earthquake.” Ad-
vances in Structural Engineering 15(1):139-153.
[3] Ye, Lieping, Zhe Qu, Xinzheng Lu, Qianli Ma, Xuchuan Lin, and Peng Pan. 2008. “Study on
ensuring the strong column-weak beam mechanism for RC frames based on the damage anal-
ysis in the wenchuan earthquake.” Journal of Building Structure 38(11):52-53 [in Chinese].
[4] Li, Menglu, and Mehrdad Sasani. 2015. “Integrity and progressive collapse resistance of RC
structures with ordinary and special moment frames.” Engineering Structures 95:71-79.
[5] Livingston, Elisa, Mehrdad Sasani, Marlon Bazan, and Serkan Sagiroglu. 2015. “Progressive
collapse resistance of rc beams.” Engineering Structures 95:61-70.
[6] Lin, Kaigi, Yi Li, Xinzheng Lu, and Hong Guan. 2016. “Effects of seismic and progressive
collapse designs on the vulnerability of RC frame structures.” Journal of Performance of
Constructed Facilities, 31(1).
[7] MSC Software Corporation. 2007. User documentation volume A: theory and User infor-
mation. Los Angeles, CA: MSC Software Corporation;.

Numerical analysis of bond between UHPC and steel

reinforcement
b
Veronika Steinerová and Miroslav Černý
Klokner institute,
if
Šolínova 7, Prague 6 16600, Czech Republic
Abstract
The paper presents an analysis of the influence of the overall anchor length on the evaluation of the
bond between the UHPC and the steel reinforcement. UHPC properties are very good known and
described [1] - [4]. The smooth and ribbed steel reinforcement has been explored. In the context of
finding recommendations for determining the anchoring length of steel reinforcement in UHPC, a
number of experiments have been carried out. Through numerical analysis, the bond of both types of
reinforcement with UHPC was simulated. Based on the comparison of the experiments in the pull-out
tests and the results of the numerical analysis, recommendations were made on the anchor length of
the individual types of steel reinforcement.
1 Numerical modelling
1.1 Model description

The numerical model of the Cohesion Test arrangement was created in Atena 3D software. The model
was made up of four macro elements and one linear element (representing the reinforcing rod). Two
of macroelements formed test cube dimensions 150/150/150 mm (from UHPC or C30 / 37). One part
consisted of a section of a reinforced rod (60 mm) and the other part with a hole around the reinforc-
ing rod simulated the separation of the member in the concrete cube. The other two were auxiliary
cube macroelements in which were stored both ends of the reinforcing bar (request of program). The
arrangement of the model is shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 Model arrangement.
1.2 Materials
The concrete test cube was generated material by Atena as a typical UHPC based on a 150 MPa crush
strength or selected from material library as concrete C30/37. For the two auxiliary macroelements,
the 3D Elastic isotropic material was selected from the Atena program catalog. The concrete coheren-
cy model with the steel reinforcement surface was generated based on the relevant parameters of the
tested rod (ribbed, smooth) and the test cube material (UHPC, C30/37). Experience with UHPC is
based on design and experimental work done at the author's workplace, which has been published in
articles [5-6] and [16-19].
1.3 Supports and loads

The individual macroelements (the test cube and the auxiliary) were supported as shown in Figure 2
so that the support contained a test arrangement. The reinforcing bar was loaded by shifting, and the

monitors for shifting tracking and corresponding forces were defined from which the L-D diagram
was compiled during the calculation. This diagram was compared to the L-D diagram from the exper-
imental test at the end of the calculation.
ifb
Fig. 2 Supports of model.
1.4 Mesh
Macroelements were meshed with linear tetrahedra finite elements with an edge size of 10 mm to
achieve an optimal ratio of computational difficulty and accuracy of results. Resulting mesh is shown
at Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 Finite elements mesh.
1.5 Bond material model

Numerous approaches are available for numerical analysis of the coherence between steel reinforce-
ment and concrete [7] - [11]. The reinforcement may be provided with various surface coatings to
increase the resistance to environmental effects as detailed published in [12-15]. We focused on two
material models of cohesion - the CEB-FIP model code and the Bigaj 1999 cohesion model. These
material models are inserted into the Atena program and are described in [20].
1.5.1 CEB-FIP Model Code model

CEB-FIP Model Code Cohesion Model is defined for closed and non-closed concrete. These condi-
tions are defined by the conditions of coherence - good or other cases. For these, the size of the rein-
forcement shedding and the resulting shear stress on the concrete are determined. The values are
shown in Table 1. These values are fully taken over [20]. Dependence of stress and slip for the CEB-
FIP Model Code Cohesion Model is shown at Fig. 4. The mathematical relationships used to create
the graph are (1) - (4)
Table 1 Cohesion Model CEB-FIP Model Code [15].
Non – closed concrete Closed concrete

conditions of coherence Good Others Good Others
S1 0,6 mm 0,6 mm 1,0 mm
S2 0,6 mm 0,6 mm 3,0 mm
S3 1,0 mm 3,0 mm the clear distance of the ribs
α 0,4 0,4
τmax 2∙ 1∙ 2,5 ∙ 1,25 ∙
τf 0,15 ∙ 0,4 ∙
258 Innovative structrues and details

ifb
Fig. 4 Dependence of stress and slip for the CEB-FIP Model Code Cohesion Model.
= ,0 ≤ ≤ (1)
= , ≤ ≤ (2)
= −( − )∙ , ≤ ≤ " (3)
!
= , " ≤ (4)
1.5.2 BIGAJ 1999 model

The BIGAJ 1999 Cohesion Model is divided according to the concrete compressive strength for
concrete with a strength lower of higher than 60 MPa. These sections are further divided according to
the quality of cohesion to excellent, good and bad. The slip values, the diameter of the reinforcement,
the shear stress on the concrete reinforcement interface and the compressive strength of the concrete
on the cube are used in this model. The values are shown in Table 2. These values are fully taken over
[20] Dependence of stress and slip for the CEB-FIP Model Code Cohesion Model is shown at Fig. 5.
Table 2 Cohesion Model BIGAJ 1999 [15].

Concrete Cohesion
Point 1 Point 2 Point 3 Point 4
strenght quality
s/D 0 0,02 0,044 0,48
Excellent
τb/√0,8*fcu 0,5 3,0 0,7 0
s/D 0 0,03 0,047 0,48

fc < 60 Good
τb/√0,8*fcu 0,5 2,0 0,7 0
s/D 0 0,04 0,047 0,48
Bad
τb/√0,8*fcu 0,5 1,0 0,7 0
s/D 0 0,012 0,03 0,34
Excellent
τb/√0,88*fcu 0,6 2,5 0,9 0
s/D 0 0,02 0,03 0,34
fc > 60 Good
τb/√0,88*fcu 0,6 1,9 0,9 0
s/D 0 0,025 0,03 0,34
Bad
τb/√0,88*fcu 0,6 1,1 0,9 0
Veronika Steinerová and Miroslav Černý 259

ifb
Fig. 5 Dependence of stress and slip for the BIGAJ 1999 Cohesion Model.
2 Analysis results
Numerical analysis was performed to validate the usability of the above mentioned models (CEB-FIP
and BIGAJ 1999) for UHPC concrete. Nnumerical analysis results are compared with experimentally
measured data. Experimentally was measured the slip and shear stress for a smooth or ribbed rein-
forcement of 12 mm in concrete C30 / 37 and UHPC and the same possibilities were also investigated
by numerical analysis. The results are shown in the graphs in Fig. 6-9.
Ribbed reinforcement + UHPC

35
30
25
Average shear stress [MPa]
20
15 Experimental
data
10
0
0 0,05 0,1 0,15 0,2
Displacement of reinforcement end surface [mm]
Fig. 6 Ribbed reinforcement in UHPC (CEB-FIP cohesion, good, with closed concrete).

Smooth reinforcement + UHPC

16
b
Average shear stress [MPa] 14
12
if
10
8
Experimental
6 data
0
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8
Fig. 7 Smooth reinforcement in UHPC (BIGAJ 1999 cohesion, bad, reinforcement diameter
12 mm).
25
Ribbed reinforcement + C30/37
Experimental
data
20
15
10
0
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4
Fig. 8 Ribbed reinforcement in C30/37 (CEB-FIP cohesion, good, with closed concrete).

7
Smooth reinforcement + C30/37
b
6
5
Experimental data
if
4 Numerical model
0
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4
Fig. 9 Smooth reinforcement in C30/37 (BIGAJ 1999 cohesion, bad, reinforcement diameter
12 mm).
3 Conclusion
The aim of this analysis was to adapt the known material models of the coherence between steel
reinforcement and concrete so that they are usable for UHPC concrete to fully exploit their specific
properties. UHPC and reference concrete C30/37 with smooth and ribbed reinforcement were tested.
For modeling the cohesion of the 12 mm steel rod with UHPC or C30/37 concrete, were chosen
cohesion models CEB-FIP Cohesion Material Model and BIGAJ 1999 model. Based on the
calculations, experiments and comparisons, it is possible to say that cohesive model for the ribbed
reinforcement is preferable the CEB-FIP Cohesion Material Model. The material cohesive model by
BIGAJ 1999 is more suitable for the smooth reinforcement.
For cohesive model for the UHPC with ribbed reinforcement, the maximum values of the
cohesion stress (in points 2 and 3, see Fig 5) must be reduced by a factor of 0.75. For cohesion model
for the C30/37 with ribbed reinforcement, the reduction factor of 0,6 is recommended. This reduction
relates to a generated (or calculated) plot of the dependence between stresses and the slip of
reinforcement for good cohesion with the closed concrete. For cohesive model for the UHPC and
smooth reinforcement, it is necessary to reduce the calculated stress values in the first three points by
a factor of 0.4. For cohesive model for concrete C30/37 and smooth reinforcement is reduction factor
also 0.4. This adjustment refers to the generated (or calculated) plot of the dependence between
stresses and the slip of reinforcement for poor cohesion and the profile of 12 mm.
Acknowledgements
This research was developed with the support of the GAČR project No. 17-22796S.

References
[1] Graybeal, B. 2011. "Ultra-High Performance Concrete," FHWA Report HRT-11-038.
[2] AFGC/SETRA. 2013. Bétons fibrés à ultra-hautes performances. Recommandations.
b
Documents scientifiques et techniques. Association Française de Génie Civil, Setra, Bagneux
Codex.
[3] JSCE-USC. Recommendations for Design and Construction of Ultra-High Strength Fiber-
Reinforced Concrete Structures – Draft.
[4] Schmidt, M., T. Teichmann. 2007. "Ultra-High Performance Concrete: Basis for Sustainable
if
Structures." Central Europe Towards Sustainable Building, CESB07, Prague.
curvature made of UHPC.” IOP Conference Series-Materials Science and Engineering 246,
doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/246/1/012009.
10.1051/matecconf/20167708005.
[7] International Federation for Structural Concrete (fib). 2000. "Bond of reinforcement in con-
crete, State of art report," FIB Bulletin 10, Switzerland.
[8] ACI Committee 408. 2003. Bond and Development of Straight Reinforcing Bars in Tension
(ACI408R-03). American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA.
[9] Hadi, M. N. S. 2008. "Bond of Hgh Strength Concrete with High Strength Reinforcing Steel."
The Open Civil Engineering Journal 2008:143-147.
[10] Abrishami, H., and D. Mitchell. 1992. "Simulation of Uniform Bond Stress," ACI Material
Journal 89( 2):161-168.
[11] Bartos, P. 1982. Bond in Concrete. Applied Science, Paisley, Scotland.
[12] Pokorny, P., P. Tej, and M. Kouřill. 2017. “Evaluation of the impact of corrosion of hot-dip
galvanized reinforcement on bond strength with concrete - A review.” Construction and Buil-
ding materials 132:271-289.
[13] Pokorny, P., P. Tej, and P. Szelag. 2016. “Chromate conversion coatings and their current
application.” Metalurgija 55: 253-256.
[14] Pokorny, P., P. Tej, and P. Szelag, P. 2016. “Chromate conversion coatings and their current
application”, Metalurgija 55:507-510.
[15] Brozek, V., J. Kolisko, et all. 2015.“Boronized stainless steels with zirconia coatings.” Metal
2015:24th International Conference on Metallurgy and Materials, Tanger Ltd, p. 1069-1074
[16] Knez, P., P. Tej, D. Citek, and J. Kolisko. 2017. “Design of footbridge with double curvature
made of UHPC.”, IOP Conference Series-Materials Science and Engineering 246, doi:
10.1088/1757-899X/246/1/012042.
[17] Kolisko, J., J. Cech, P. Tej, and P. Knez. 2017. “UHPC panels utilized as permanent form-
work of in-situ cast reinforced concrete deck bridges.” IOP Conference Series-Materials Sci-
ence and Engineering 246, doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/246/1/012043.
[18] Tej, P., J. Kolisko, P. Knez, and J. Cech. 2017. “ The Overall Research Results of Prestressed
I-beams Made of Ultra-high Performance Concrete.” IOP Conference Series-Materials Sci-
[19] Tej, P., P. Kněž, J. Kolísko, and L. Vráblík. 2017. “Modal analysis of cable-stayed UHPC
bridge.” MATEC Web of Conferences 107, doi: 10.1051/matecconf/201710700007.
[20] Červenka, V., L. Jendele, and J. Červenka. 2016. Atena Program documentation. Theory,
http://cervenka.cz/assets/files/atena-pdf/ATENA_Theory.pdf.

ifb


Lucie Vošahlíková and Klára Machalická
b
Klokner Institute,
CTU in Prague, Czech Republic,
Šolínova 7, 166 08 Praha 6 – Dejvice, Czech Republic
if
Abstract
This paper focuses on a description of an interaction of glass and cement-composite material UHPC
(Ultra Hight Performance Concrete) when applied to a footbridge construction. If we know, the appli-
cation of the connection between the glass and the UHPC has not been investigated for the structure
of the footbridge. The use of UHPC material improves static properties of these structures, allows
them to extend their servis life, saves materials and reduces maintenance costs. The UHPC has a high
resistence to environmental influences. Glass is characterized by a combination of high stiffness and
compressive strength with a relatively low density. In terms of these properties, glass is suitable for
the production of lightweight structures with high strength and durability. The proposed footbridge is
a new opportunity to make effective use of the properties of both materials. The paper translates a
development of the design system and it’s testing on numerical models together with possibilities of
solving a detail of the glass-UHPC connection.
1 Introduction
UHPC is a new cement-composite material with dispersed fibers. At present, many institutions study
this new material, and there are no uniform rules for design and practical applications yet in the Czech
Republic. UHPC is a new opportunity to desing an effective brigde strukcture. This material was
developed in the Klokner Institute laboratory and is patented. This unique high-strength material has a
compressive strength higher than 150 MPa and direct tension strength higher than 10 MPa. UHPC
allows produce strong, lightweight, highly durable and maintenance-free constructions. UHPC has a
high resistance to environmental influences.
Glass is characterized by a combination of high stiffness and compressive strength with a
relatively low density. In terms of these properties, glass is suitable for lightweight structures with
high strength and durability. Glass as a transparent material is often a searchable material for a new
architectural solution. Its low fracture strength and fragile breaking behavior can by solved by
combining glass with other material. The result of this combination is higher residual strength. UHPC
has excellent adhesion properties. Therefore, it is suitable for the glass-UHPC composite structures.
There is no need for a glued joint that has limited environmental resistance (temperature and
humidity). The unique mechanical properties of UHPC and the optical properties of glass enable the
development of subtle, lightweight and highly durable elements with a high degree of transparency.
The basic principle of the construction system is the use of a coupled concrete slab with glass
parapet beams. This project assumes the development of the construction system and its testing on
numerical models. In this numerical model will be created the foobridge structure with a span of 10
m. The next step will be to examine the possibilities of solving the detail of the glass-UHPC joint.
The possibilities of surface treatment of glass, which influence the adhesion forces in the joint, will be
examined. The joints will be tested numerically.
This design system will allow new architectural and static solutions. It will be used for the design
of new lightweight bridge structures, such as indoor footbridges, etc. Experience with design of
UHPC structures is based on previous experimental work done at the author's workplace, which has
been detaly published in articles [13-18]. Experience with experimental testing and design of bridge
structures author obtained participating on several tasks detaily published in articles [20-23].
2 Current status
Since the late 1980s, glass has been increasingly used as a material for supporting elements, which
has to reliably transfer all loads. So far, there are no normative regulations and sufficient experience
with the design of such structures.

Due to the peculiarities of glass, like the brittle behaviour and the randomness of the strength,
glass structures require a design process different from the approach used for traditional building
materials [14].
For each application of glass, the problem of the connection between the glass pane and another
b
part of another material or between the two glass elements must be solved. Moreover, there are many
types of hybrid structures that combine glass and different materials to achieve safe failure behaviour
and high degree of transparency at the same time. Connection of brittle glass and reinforcing material
is an essential part of these structures, where connection between two parts is secured by a glued joint
if
[1].
In the case of combination of glass and UHPC, there is no bonding required. We can create a
carrier element with a high durability and an environmental resistance.
The aplication of combination of glass and UHPC to the bridge structure has not been
investigated yet, as far as we know. There is no experimental and numerical verification of the
behavior of these structures. There is also no data from long-term monitoring of these structures and
degradation monitorin, which does not allow the design details to be modified in order to maximize
the life of the structure.
3 Glass
A glass is an inorganic product of fusion, which has been cooled to a rigid condition without
crystallization. Most of the glass used in construction is soda lime silica glass (SLSG). The most
important physical properties of SLSG are summarized in Table 1 [2].
Table 1 Physical properties of SLSG.

Physical properties Signification Dimension Value
Density ρ [kg/m3] 2 500
Young´s modulus E [MPa] 70 000
Coefficient of thermal expansion αT [K-1] 9 · 10-6
Thermal conductivity λ [W/mK] 1
Poisson´s ratio ν [-] 0.23
Glass shows an almost perfectly elastic and isotropic behaviour. The mechanical behaviour of glass
is very brittle without any plastic deformation capacity. Under loading the strain respon to the stress is
perfectly linear with sudden failure. Glass has a high compressive strength, but a small tensile
strength. The theoretical tensile strength (based on molecular forces) of glass is exceptionally high
and may reach 32GPa. It is, however, of no practical relevance for structural applications. The actual
tensile strength, the relevant property for engineering, is much lower. The reason is that as with all
brittle materials, the tensile strength of glass depends very much on mechanical flaws on the surface.
Such flaws are not necessarily visible to the naked eye. Fig. 1 shows stress/strain curves for steel and
glass. While the surface of glass panes generally contains a large number of relatively severe flaws,
the surface of glass fibres contains less and less deep surface flaws. This explains the much higher
strength of glass fibres when compared to glass panes [3].
A glass element fails as soon as the stress intensity due to tensile stress at the tip of one flaw
reaches its critical value. Flaws grow with time when loaded, the crack velocity being a function of
several parameters and extremely variable. The tensile strength of glass is not a material constant, but
it depends on many aspects, in particular on the condition of the surface, the size of the glass element,
the action history (intensity and duration), the residual stress and the environmental conditions. The
higher the load, the longer the load duration and the deeper the initial surface flaw, the lower the
effective tensile strength. As surface flaws do not grow or fail when in compression, the compressive
strength of glass is much larger than the tensile strength. Nevertheless, the compressive strength is
irrelevant for virtually all structural applications. Tensile stresses develop because of buckling in the
case of stability problems and because of the Poisson’s ratio effect at load introduction points. In both

cases, an element’s tensile strength is exceeded long before it is loaded to its compressive strength
[3].
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Fig. 1 Stress/strain curves for steel and float glass [14].
4 Ultra high performance conctrete – UHPC

UHPC is a new cementitious composite material, which is mainly used for reducing or optimizing a
weight and dimensions of structures. Its outstanding features, mainly high compressive strength
(>150 MPa), high tensile strength (>10MPa) and high durability, are generally known. Designing
structures made from UHPC, which is not a standardized material yet, is a complex problem because
it is necessary to hold general principles and rules.
UHPC is a homogenous material whose mixture consists of very fine aggregates, cement, fine
fillers (silica fume, dly ash), superplasticizers and randomly distributed fibers (steel, glass, polymer).
A very low water-cement ratio and a fine grained mixture provide extremely low porosity. Existing
applications were designed individually, because there is not enough experience to enable the design
procedure could be standardized as it is common in structures made from ordinary concrete [4].
High strength and durability is ansured by high density of the material and its low porosity.
UHPC mix design begins with the selection of materials. This step is very important. Because of very
high amount of cement and low water-cement ratio (0.18 – 0.22), all grains of cement cannot hydrate
and they work like a fine aggregate. One of the most important material is a cement. Its quality
influences the strength and also development of the heat of hydration, shrinkage strain (especially
autogeneous shrinkage). Also the interaction of constituents with superplasticizers is important for the
strength development as well as for the workability. The most physical properties of UHPC are
summarized in Table 2.
Table 2 Physical properties of UHPC

Physical properties Signification Dimension Value
Density ρ [kg/m3] 2 500
Young´s modulus E [MPa] 40 000
Coefficient of thermal expansion αT [K-1] 11 · 10-6
Poisson´s ratio ν [-] 0.2
Lucie Vošahlíková and Klára Machalická 267

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Fig. 2 Schema cross-section of structure.
5 Computer analysis
The first numerical model is created in the program Scia Engineer 15.3. The slab-wall spatial model is
developed to determine the internal forces, stresses and linear deformations on the structure. The
material characteristics are defined in the program according to the values given in Tables 1 and 2.
The footbridge is considered to be a simple beam span 10 m.
The cross-section is shown in the Figure 2. The thickness of the UHPC slab is 50 mm. The edges
of the slab are expanded for the additional anchoring of glass beams and for lead prestressing rein-
forcement. This detail will be subject to further investigation.
The footbridge is loaded with a dead load and live load. The own weight of the footbridge is con-
sidered as dead load. The footbridge is without surface finish. The live load is considered according to
ČSN EN 1992-2 [6]. For footbridges is the recommended value of live load 5.00 kN/m2. The plate of
the bridge was loaded with whole surface of live load.
The footbrige is located in the interior. There is no temperature and vehicle load.
Railing was loaded with a force corresponding to 1.0 kN/m at the top edge and vertical force 1.2
kN/m at the top. The load is considered according to TP 258 [7].
The strains on the footbridge are shown in the Fig. 3 and Fig. 4.
Fig. 3 Strain on the footbridge σx+ (left) and σy+ (right).

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Fig. 4 Strain on the footbridge σx- (left) and σy- (right).
6 The bonding connection between glass and UHPC

The connection between glass and other material (eg. steel) are mostly realized with the help of an-
other material such as glue. There is no need for any other material in case of glass and UHPC con-
nection. This makes UHPC a suitable option for combining these two materials. It stands out in terms
of high compression strength, adhesive power and durability. The connection can be done in the
following ways: adhesion, interlocking, friction [8].
The advanced form of coupling is interlaying of reinforcement in gaps through glass panels,
which will provide a better connection than just glass-to-UHPC-based simple bond. Very important is
also the impact of the steel reinforcement in contact zone between the UHPC and glass. Bond
between UHPC and steel reinforcement and their possible coatings is detaly described in [9-12].
6.1 Adhesion
In general, adhesion is chemically definited as the strength of adhesion, intermolecular attractive
chemichal and psysical forces at the interace surface in the rouhness and pores of material.
A shrinkage of UHPC, which always occurs during hardening of concrete, has extra relevance in
glass-UHPC composite connections. The reason is the large linear dimension of the connection.
Cracks in the contact arise within a few hours. These cracks become an origin for stress in the
interface and the materials try to separate each other. It is shown in Fig. 5. Relative slip of UHPC is
reduced considerably by roughening the surface. Thus a substantial part of the adhesion strength can
be maintained.
The surface roughness of the glass edges can be ensured by matt finishing (sandblasting, acid
treatmant) and coating procedures (enamelling) [8].
The surface roughening options will be investigated.
Fig. 5 Adhesion.
6.2 Friction
The friction component is activated by an active compression force, which is induced by the
shrinkage of the concrte part. The magnitude of the active compression force depends on the
geometry and on the mechanical properties of UHPC and glass. On Fig. 6 is shown the embedding

depth he of the glass pane in a concrete border, open gap and active compression force FACF. Due to
shrinkage an open gap comes into being.
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Fig. 6 Detail of connection (left) and Transmittable loads (right) [8].
The focus of this work will be the examination of frictional connections which can transmit the forces
diagrammed in Figure 6. It is also possible to connect a glass pane without pre-treatment; in this case,
though, only compression forces ny and bending moments mx can be transmitted, which limits the
possible applications [8].
6.3 Interlocking
The interlocking mechanism works due to from closure. It needs neither intermolecular attraction nor
active compression force in the contact surface. In the interlocking mechanism is considered by
means of a global coefficient of friction µglobal. The global coefficient of friction depends on the tooth
inclination α as well as on the local coefficient of friction µlocal, which acts in the inclined surface of
single teeth [8]. It is shown on Fig. 7.
Fig. 7 Detail of friction model.
7 Conclusions
The paper presents the development of the footbridge made of the combination of glass and UHPC.
The footbridge consists of the UHPC slab and the glass parapet beams.
In currently, a numerical model has been developed to determine internal forces and stress. In
future, a detailed computational model of construction will be created. The connection between
UHPC and glass will be examined the possible solution and calculated these solutions. Surface form
of the glass and shape of the joint will be investigated.
This design system will allow new architectural and static solutions. It will be used for the design
of new lightweight bridge structures, such as indoor footbridges, etc.
Acknowledgements
This project is financially supported by the Czech Technical University in Prague, project
SGS18/165/OHK1/2T/31 (Composite glass – UHPC footbridge).

References
[1] Machalická, K., I. Pravdová, and M. Eliašová. 2015. “Shear Adhesive Connections for Glass
Structures.” United Kingdom, Bristol.
b
[2] Haldimann, M., A. Luible, and M. Overrend. 2008. “Structual Use of Glass.” Switzerland,
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[3] The Institution of Structural Engineers. 2014. “Structural use of glass in building (second
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[4] Čítek, D., P. Tej, J. Kolísko, P. Kněž, P. Pokorný, and J. L. Vítek. In review. “Experimental
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analysis of bond behavior between steel reinforcement and Ultra High Performance Concrete
(UHPC).”
[5] ČSN EN 1991-2. Eurokód 1: Zatížení konstrukcí: Část 2: Zatížení mostů dopravou. 2005.
[6] TP 258. Technické podmínky: Mostní zábradlí. Červen 2015.
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Made of Glass and Ultra Hight Performance Concrete. TU Delft.” The Netherlands.
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[10] Pokorný, P., P. Tej, and P. Szelag. 2016. “Chromate conversion coatings and their current
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[12] Brozek, V, J. Kolisko, et all. 2015. “Boronized stainless steels with zirconia coatings”, Metal
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Structural analysis
b
and design
if

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Investigations on influence factors on shear in

structural components without shear reinforcement
b
Viviane Adam and Josef Hegger
Institute of Structural Concrete
RWTH Aachen University
if
Mies-van-der-Rohe-Str. 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Abstract
Most of knowledge on shear is based on tests on simple beams under single loads. However, structur-
al components most often feature continuous supports and loads are usually uniformly distributed.
Also, the majority of members without shear reinforcement is represented by slabs instead of beams.
The larger widths of slabs compared to beams is assumed to have a positive effect on shear capacity.
To investigate the influence of several parameters on shear, 28 large scale tests without shear rein-
forcement were carried out. The width, support conditions, longitudinal reinforcement, shear slender-
ness and loading were varied. The investigations were intensified and revised via numerical simula-
tions and evaluations of databases. The most substantial results of the experimental studies are pre-
sented in this paper.
1 Introduction and background

Despite decades of research (e.g. [1]-[10]), open questions still remain regarding shear in RC mem-
bers. Within Eurocode 2 (EC2), the current code provisions in Europe, a distinction is made in shear
design between members with and without shear reinforcement. While beams must be provided with
minimum shear reinforcement, slabs may be realised without shear reinforcement [11]. From a practi-
cal point of view, an omission of shear reinforcement in cast-in-place concrete slabs is convenient
since placing of shear reinforcement in slabs takes a lot of effort. The current approach for the shear
design of reinforced concrete members without shear force reinforcement according to EC 2 is based
on a semi-empirical approach, which was calibrated using a database consisting almost exclusively of
shear tests on simply supported beams under concentrated loads [12]. Favourable influences on shear
capacity resulting from more realistic structural systems or loading conditions are not taken into
account. Furthermore, the tests in the database were mainly carried out on beam-shaped specimens.
Due to the small width of beams, it is possible that favourable influences from the large component
width of slabs are not taken into account in shear design. In the National Annexes to EC 2 of some
countries, such as Belgium or France, the shear capacity of slabs without shear reinforcement was
increased to take into account a possible load transfer due to the larger component width [13], [14]. In
Germany, however, the calculated shear capacity was reduced by adjusting the minimum load-bearing
capacity vR,min for large component thicknesses and the empirical coefficient of CRk,c,EC2 = 0.18 to
CRk,c,NA(D) = 0.15 [15], which corresponds to a reduction of almost 17 %. For this reason, it is often
necessary to increase the member’s depth in order to provide a sufficient calculated shear capacity in
order to avoid the installation of shear reinforcement. A significant part of the built in concrete vol-
ume is used for slab structures. A modified shear design approach which considers the different and
mostly unspecified influences on shear resistance of RC members more precisely and therefore allows
for capacity increasing influences, would result in a more economical and resource-efficient design
and construction of cast-in-place RC slabs. To investigate the shear capacity of members without
shear reinforcement, theoretical and experimental investigations were carried out. For this purpose,
various influencing factors were systematically investigated: Component width, longitudinal rein-
forcement ratio, static system, degree of rotational restraint / position of the point of inflection of the
moment curvature in continuous systems and type of loading.

2 Inducement and goals

2.1.1 Investigations on slab action
The main object of shear tests on slabs normally is the influence of an effective slab width in case of
b
single loads (e.g. [16]-[19]) for example to design bridge deck slabs under wheel loads more accurate-
ly. Pure investigations on a load transfer mechanism resulting from the larger width of slabs in com-
parison to beams and a concomitant disproportionate increase in capacity are rare, though. Shear tests
on slabs and reference beams can for instance be found in [20]-[24]. These investigations revealed no
if
disproportionate increase in shear capacity due to the larger width.
Fig. 1 Specimen of the tests according to [25] (left) and test setup and principal moment curva-
ture of the tests according to [28] (right).
Experimental investigations in [25] indicated that slabs are capable of load shifting once they locally
reach the shear capacity. The test program included five slabs with a width b = 2.50 m that were
tested in two partial tests, each. The specimens with a span L = 3.6 m were subjected to a load along
the entire width which was located at a centre distance of a = 0.6 - 0.8 m from one support. While two
specimens featured a constant low or high strength concrete, respectively, three slabs were realised
with alternating strips with high and low strength (Fig. 1, left). A comparison of the ultimate loads
showed that the shear capacities of the tests with alternating concrete strength did not conform the
low strength concrete. Instead, the load level corresponded to the average strength of the two types
concrete. Accordingly, stress redistributions must have taken place inside the slabs between the alter-
nating strips. Nevertheless, all of the above mentioned test series substantiate a linear correlation
between shear capacity and component width. Since all investigations are based on tests on simply
supported members, it is unclear if this also applies to continuous slabs. The experimental program
presented in this paper therefore includes tests on slabs with a continuous support. Each test configu-
ration was applied to a slab and a reference beam. Except for the width, the slabs and beams had the
same properties in each case to achieve maximum comparabiliy of the results. Besides the investiga-
tion on the influence of the component width, the comparison of the test results intends to indicate
whether results from shear tests on beams are transferable to slabs.
2.1.2 Investigations on support conditions
In addition to the possibly favourable influence of the component width, the positive influence of a
small shear slenderness dependend on the structural system was also investigated. Therefore, the
support conditions were varied and several tests were carried out with a continuous support in order to
obtain more detailed information about shear behaviour with a shifting moment within the system.
The shear slenderness λ is defined as the ratio of applied moment M and shear force V depending on
the effective depth d, which results in λ = M / (V·d). While this corresponds to the ratio of the load
distance a to effective depth d for simple beams with concentrated loads, this simplification does not
apply for continuous systems. Tests on continuous beams generally have significantly higher failure
loads than tests on simply supported beams. This is attributed to the moment-shear-interaction.
Shear tests on continuous RC members have been carried out in various test series (e.g. [17], [19],
[25]-[30]). Particularly worth emphasizing is the test series in [28] comprising a total of 25 tests
reinforced concrete slab strips (b x h = 0.15 x 0.25 m²). The aim was to investigate the influence of
the concrete strength and the position of the point of inflection of the moment curvature (P.I.). For
276 Structural analysis and design

this purpose, five groups of five specimens each were prepared. All slab strips had the same geometry
and reinforcement, whereby the five groups were distinguished by different concrete strengths. All
specimens were simply supported and featured cantilevers beyond both supports. In the field, two
concentrated loads P were applied while a load Pk was applied to each cantilever (Fig. 1, right). The
b
ratio between P and Pk was used to vary the rotational restraint at the supports. In this way, the P.I.
was successively shifted in the area between the load P in the field and the support from test to test. In
the first test of each series, the ratio between P and Pk was set to position the P.I. at the supports while
it was adjusted to obtain the P.I. at the loads P during the last test of each series. During the interme-
if
diate tests, the P.I. was located in the quarterpoints of a. For the evaluation, the length a was divided
into two areas, a1 and a2 depending on the position of the P.I. (acc. Fig 1, right). In all five test series,
a distinct influence of the moment curvature on shear capacity could be determined, independent of
the concrete strength: The lower max{a1/a2}, the higher the ultimate shear load. Thus, the shear slen-
derness λ for continuous beams under single loads can be defined as an expression depending on the
load distance a as λ = Mmax / (Vmax / d) = max{a1/a2}/d [26].
In terms of the tests presented in this paper, the location of the P.I. within the load distance a was
varied to investigate the influence of the shear slenderness on shear resistance in RC members. There-
fore, the degree of rotational restraint dr = Mclamp/Mtest at the support close to the load was adjusted in
the tests, beeing dr = 0 % for simple beams and dr = 100 % for a fully clamped support.
2.1.3 Investigations on loading conditions
A large part of the results of shear force tests available in literature is based on experimental investi-
gations with single loads, even though distributed loads represent a more realistic case. Therefore, it
should be evaluated to what extent the shear behaviour of members under distributed loads differs
from that of concentrated loads. Since the influence of the sturctural system should still be the focus
of such investigations, particular importance was attached to the results of tests on continuous beams.
Reasearch revealed a little more than 100 shear tests ([2], [31]-[36]). There were only twelve tests
on continuous systems, although this represents the most common combination of load and support
conditions. Thirteen experiments were carried out on cantilevers. A comparison of the results with
regard to the ultimate load and critical shear crack formation indicates that the shear behaviour of
members under distributed loading differs from that of tests with concentrated loads. However, the
data volume is not large enough for a reliable evaluation of the tests, especially regarding continuous
beams. The small number of shear tests with uniformly distributed loads reflects the need for. Deeper
insights into the shear resistance of continuous systems under uniform loading conditions are abso-
lutely necessary in order to allow for realistic shear design.
3.1 Specimens
3.1.1 Dimensions and materials
All specimens were realised with a total depth of h = 28 cm. For the longitudinal reinforcement, high-
strength steel bars with a diameter of Ø = 15 mm, a 0.2 % strain limit fy ≈ 970 N/mm2 and a tensile
strength of ft ≈ 1190 N/mm2 were used to increase flexural capacity. Nuts were applied to the bar ends
for anchoring. Stirrups were arranged as spacers and to increase shear force capacity outside the test
areas. Transverse reinforcement bars were placed within the test areas where shear crack formation
was expected. For the stirrups and transverse reinforcement, class B 500 with diameter Ø = 10 mm
was used. The yield strength was measured to fy ≈ 590 N/mm2 and the tensile strength to ft ≈ 670
N/mm2. The distances between the stirrups or transverse bars were s = 15 cm. The concrete cover was
20 mm on all sides. This resulted in a top and bottom effective depth of d = 242.5 mm. For some
specimens, the longitudinal reinforcement ratio was chosen as ρl =0.97 % (23.56 cm2/mm) based on
the usual values within investigations on the shear capacity of reinforced concrete bridge deck slabs
(e.g. [37]). For other specimens, a lower value of ρl = 0.49 % (11.78 cm2/m) was selected in order to
take into account the usual degrees of reinforcement in building construction and as a minimum value
to ensure shear failure before bending failure.
Detailed information on the specimens is currently provided in [38] and [39]. The concrete had a
cylinder compressive strength of about fc,cyl = 32-41 N/mm². A CEM I 52 R was used for the concrete
Viviane Adam and Josef Hegger 277

composition. The maximum aggregate size was 16 mm. The specific cylinder compressive strengths
are listed in Table 1. They were measured on cylinders with a diameter of Ø = 150 mm and a height
of h = 300 mm. The indicated values correspond to the concrete strength at the day of the respective
test. After casting the concrete (Fig. 2 (a) and (b)), it was compacted by a needle vibrator. Then, the
b
surface was screeded. During initial curing, the specimens were covered by a plastic foil to avoid
drying-up. The samples were stored according to the specimens to obtain most realistic material
properties.
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Fig. 2 Fabrication of specimens and assembled specimens: reinforcement cage (a), concreting
(b), simple beam (c), simulated continuous beam (d).
3.1.2 Test setups

Fig. 3 gives an overview of the different test series presented in this paper. Series 1 comprises eight
tests on four slab strips with a width b = 0.3 m and concentrated loads. In the first partial tests, the
specimens were simply supported (Fig. 2 (c)) while a continuous support was realized at the support
which was close to the load in the second partial tests (Fig. 2 (d)). Therefore, the specimens were
placed in a way that a cantilever was realised beyond the support which was loaded by an additional
load within a distance of 1.0 m of the continuous support. The cantilever load was controlled propor-
tionally to the load in the field in order to achieve a constant rotational restraint during the entire test.
Within series 1, a full clamping was realised. By placing the field load at a distance of either
a = 0.7 m or 1.0 m, different shear slendernesses were investigated. The tests in series two were con-
ducted on slabs with a width of b = 2.4 m which corresponds to eight times the width of the slab strips
of series 1. Except for the width, all test parameters were similar in series 1 and 2. Series 3 comple-
ments series 1. Here, all tests featured a continuous support, but the rotational restraint was set to
values which are lower than 100 % (full clamping). Within series 4, tests under uniformly distributed
loads in the field were conducted. Two tests were realised as simply supported beams while the re-
maining six tests of series 4 had a continuous support. The cantilever load was set to achieve compa-
rable values for the location of the P.I. to the tests of series 1 and 3.
Fig. 3 Overview of the test configurations.

The distributed load was applied using multiple single loads. The loads closest to the supports were
set at a clear distance av which corresponds to the effective depth. Fig. 4 shows the different test
setups.

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Fig. 4 Side views of the test setup for simple and continuous support of the specimens: tests with
single loads (left) and tests with distributed loads (right).
The supports in all tests were arranged to have a distance of L = 3.75 m from each other with an
exeption in the tests on specimens S9 and S10, where the span was chosen as L = 2.8 m to obtain
more data for the shear slenderness λ for distributed loads. In longitudinal direction, the supports and
load distribution panels for the single loads had a width of 0.08 m. In lateral direction, the specimens
were loaded and supported along their widths in all configurations.
3.2 Execution of the tests and results

The loads were applied displacement-controlled and step-wise. The crack formation was documented
at each load step. The crack pattern and load-deflection behaviour are documented in [38] and [39].
Table 1 gives an overview of the properties and results of all tests.
The structural system is named S for simply supported and C for continuous support while the
loading is indicated by S for single and D for distributed load. The shear slenderness is calculated
based on the location of the P.I. The value of the ultimate load corresponds to the shear force. For
values marked with *, the loads in the vicinity of the supports were reduced by β = av/d according to
EC2.
In Fig. 5, the ultimate shear loads depending on the shear slenderness λ of the tests are illustrated.
The capacities are normalised in relation to the specimens’ third radical of the concrete compressive
strengths and longitudinal reinforcement ratio as well as the width. The shear slenderness is calculat-
ed by the ratio of max{a1;a2} and the effective depth d, while max{a1;a2} was set to a’ for distributed
loads, which corresponds to the distance between the P.I. and the continuous support. The tests show
an increase in shear capacity with decreasing shear slenderness.
Fig. 5 Normalised ultimate shear strengths of the tests depending on the shear slenderness: tests
with single loads (left) and tests with distributed loads (right).
From the evaluation of the tests results the following main conclusions can be drawn:
Shear capacity increases proportionally to the member width. A linear correlation between the
ultimate load and the width is reasonable. Also, conclusions from tests on beams can be trans-
ferred to slabs.
Shear capacity increases exponentially with decreasing shear slenderness. The positive influ-
ence of small shear slendernesses on shear capacity seems to be most pronounced with beams
under single loads.
Tests under uniformly distributed loads tend to have a higher shear capacity than reference
tests under concentrated loads.

Table 1 Overview of conducted tests.
Longitudinal rein-
Shear slenderness
forcement ratio
Compressive
Rotational
shear load
Ultimate
b
Loading
restraint
strength
System
Width
Span
Test
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b dr L fcm,cyl S D ρl [%] λ Vu
[m] [%] [m] [MPa] 0.97 0.49 [-] [kN]
S1-1 0.3 S 0 3.75 39.4 X X 2.9 79
S1-2 0.3 C 100 3.75 39.3 X X 2.2 137
S2-1 0.3 S 0 3.75 37.2 X X 4.1 86
S2-2 0.3 C 100 3.75 37.4 X X 2.9 87
S3-1 0.3 S 0 3.75 39.4 X X 2.9 73
S3-2 0.3 C 100 3.75 39.5 X X 2.2 114
S4-1 0.3 S 0 3.75 37.1 X X 4.1 61
S4-2 0.3 C 100 3.75 37.5 X X 2.9 77
P1-1 2.4 S 0 3.75 41.6 X X 2.9 647
P1-2 2.4 C 100 3.75 42.7 X X 2.2 857
P2-1 2.4 S 0 3.75 30.4 X X 4.1 641
P2-2 2.4 C 100 3.75 31.8 X X 2.9 609
P3-1 2.4 S 0 3.75 38.6 X X 2.9 527
P3-2 2.4 C 100 3.75 39.9 X X 2.2 817
P4-1 2.4 S 0 3.75 32.4 X X 4.1 515
P4-2 2.4 C 100 3.75 34.2 X X 2.9 548
S5-1 0.3 C 61 3.75 39.5 X X 1.4 161
S5-2 0.3 C 26 3.75 36.9 X X 2.2 127
S6-1 0.3 C 61 3.75 32.7 X X 1.4 134
S6-2 0.3 C 26 3.75 38.4 X X 2.2 119

S7-1 0.3 S 0 3.75 35.2 X X - 90 / 78*
S7-2 0.3 C 100 3.75 35.4 X X 3.9 86 / 74*
S8-1 0.3 C 74 3.75 36.2 X X 2.9 130 /112*
S8-2 0.3 C 37 3.75 36.1 X X 1.4 114 / 98*
S9-1 0.3 S 0 2.8 37.1 X X - 95 / 76*
S9-2 0.3 C 100 2.8 37.2 X X 2.8 104 / 83*
S10-1 0.3 C 76 2.8 37.2 X X 2.2 153 / 103*
S10-2 0.3 C 55 2.8 37.5 X X 1.4 141 / 113*
4 Discussion and prospects

Within the scope of the presented research, it was investigated, among other things, whether the
results of tests on beam-shaped components can be transferred to slabs. The conducted tests on slabs
and reference beams, which only differ in the width showed that there is a linear correlation between
component width and shear capacity. Conclusions regarding shear capacity of RC slabs can therefore
be obtained from shear tests on slab strips. However, in the case of ceilings in building construction,
system influences like compressive membrane action which can have a positive influence on shear
capacity, are not represented in the condurcted tests. In addition, floor slabs are usually stressed by
surface loads instead of concentrated loads, which is the common case in experimental investigations.
The presented tests on beams under uniformly distributed loads show that this type of loading has a

positive effect on shear behaviour. However, only very few such tests have been carried out and those
speceimens were mainly tested as simple beams. Therefore, the favourable influence of distributed
loads could not be conclusively investigated. In particular, it has to be investigated how the shear
slenderness of continuous components under uniform line load is usefully defined and can be taken
b
into account in shear design. In the tests on components under individual loads and a parallel database
evaluation, a significant influence of shear slenderness on shear capacity could be determined. Cur-
rently. an engineer model to describe shear behaviour of RC members is developed, which aims at
accurately representing different load types and system influences.
if
Acknowledgements
The authors greatfully acknowledge the support received in order to realise the presented work, which
was part of a research project from the Research Association of the Deutscher Beton- und Bautechnik
Verein E.V. at the Institute of Structural Concrete of RWTH Aachen University. The research project
was funded as part of the programme for Sponsorship by the German Federation of Industrial Re-
search Associations (AiF, IGF number 17732 N/1) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic
Affairs and Energy (BMWi) on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag and the DAfStb
(Deutscher Ausschuss für Stahlbeton).
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ifb

Determination of bond slip parameters after exposure

to fire using RILEM beam specimen
b
Mohammad Suhaib Ahmad, Pradeep Bhargava and N.M. Bhandari
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee,
Roorkee,
if
District Haridware,Uttarakahnd,247667, India
Abstract
The objective of this study is to determine the bond slip parameters when it is exposed to fire.Since fire
can ocurr in any building/structure, and steel to concrete interface is affected the most.For this purpose
rilem beam specimens were cast and heated to a steady state temperature of 350 ºC and 650 ºC.Soon
after cooling, the specimens were tested under Rilem recommendation RC6 part I.The results shows
that bond behaviour changes after exposure to elevated temperatures and the parameters defining the
bond slip models are evolved from the test data.
1 Introduction
Bond between concrete and steel is responsible for the composite action in reinforced concrete ele-
ments. It not only influences the width of the crack in flexural zone of the beam but also the stiffness
and ultimate capacity of the beam. The bond slip studies have been conducted extensively in past to
study the bond behaviour between reinforcing steel and concrete. The standard bond slip curve is shown
in figure1. Equation 1 represents the ascending part upto slip s1 which refers to the local crushing of
concrete in front of ribs due to rib penetration in cement mortar where maximum bond strength τbmax is
mobilized. Further if τbmax is sustained crushing and shearing of concrete between the ribs advances and
the slip increases from s1 to s2.This phenomenon is possible only in well confined concrete and mathe-
matically can be represented in equation 2. Later upon total shearing of concrete between the lugs the
bond stress decreases almost linearly up to slip s3 as shown in equation 3.The bond stress observed after
this point is the residual bond stress τbf.
τb = τbmax . (s/s1)α ………………….. (1)

τb = τbmax …………………… (2)
τb = τbmax – (τbmax - τbf).(s-s1)/(s2-s3) ......(3)
τb = τbf ……………………………… (4)
Fig .1 Typical bond stress vs slip relationship.

Although the determination of bond parameters have been done by many researchers from earlier times
but the models available in the literature are very few. The bond parameters proposed by FIB Model
code 1990 and Huang et al (1996) are widely used in literature for modelling the bond slip between
steel and concrete.The values of the parameter for normal strength concrete are shown in the table.
Table 1 Bond slip parameters proposed by CEB-FIB model 1990 and Huang et al (1996)
S.no Author/Agency s1 (mm) s2 (mm) s3 (mm) α τbmax (MPa) τbf (MPa)
1. FIB MC 1990 1 3 Rib spacing 0.40 2.5√fcm 0.4 Ꞇbmax
2. Huang (1996) 1 3 Rib spacing 0.3 0.4 fcm 0.9 Ꞇbmax

Bond behaviour depends on several factors most importantly strength and age of the concrete, bar di-
ameter its surface properties and temperature.Since upon exposure to elevated temperature the mechan-
ical properies of concrete and steel decreases [3], [4] hence the bond slip behaviour changes. Though
the available studies shows that due to elevated temperature bond properties decreases but the studies
b
are limited [5], [6] and no bond slip model is available after exposure to fire .Also the most of the
available studies were conducted mostly on the rilem pull out specimens [7], which are not the true
representative condition of bond in flexure because during testing the concrete is in compression while
steel is in tension. Hence this study aims to determine the bond slip parameters using rilem beam spec-
if
imen [8] and to propose a model which can accurately predict the bond slip behaviour after exposure
to fire.
2 Experimental programme
Rilem recommends two type of beam specimens [8] depending upon the diameter of the bar viz type I
upto 16 mm diameter bars and type II for bars greater than 16 mm diameter. The beam specimen type
I recommended by rilem was heated and tested for the study on bond slip behaviour.The beam specimen
consists of two halves joined with a steel hinge in compression zone.In the tension zone the bar under
consideration was embedded in the two halves upto the length 10 times the diameter of the bar.The
specimen have a dimension of 180 x 100 x 800 mm.The specimen was confined by 6 mm dia stirupps
at a spacing of 50 mm center to center to avoid shear failure of the beam specimen as well as to ensure
pull out mode of failure figure 2 (a).Three specimens were cast for the three temperatures with normal
strength concrete of grade M 35.The cement used was OPC 43 confirming to IS 8112 [9]bearing a
consistency of 30% and Blaine’s finness of 355 m2/kg.The coarse aggregate used was 12 mm down
naturally available calcareous aggregate having a specific gravity of 2.46. Also the river sand having
the finess modulus of 2.89 and specific gravity of 2.4 was used to achieve the desired mix. The mix
proportioning and the quantity of the materials used are shown in the table 1. The steel bar used for
main reinforcement was 12 mm diameter TATA TISSCON SD bar of yield strength 540 MPa where
as the yield strength of the secondary reinforcement was 268 MPa. The surface details are shown in the
table 2. For the purpose of monitering the temperature during heating and cooling, the specimens were
instrumented with K type chromel-alumel thermocouples in both the halves at the middle section at
three different location figure 2 (b).
Fig. 2 (a) Loading arrangments and cross-sectional details.

(b) auxiliary reinforcements and position of thermocouples.

Determination of bond slip parameters after exposure to fire using RILEM beam specimen
Table 2 Mix proportion of the M 35 concrete.

Cement Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate Super plasticizer W/C Mix propor-
kg/m3 kg/m3 kg/m3 % tion
b
400 800 1000 0.02 0.42 1:2:2.5
Table 3 Bar surface properties.

Diameter Rib height Rib width Rib spacing Rib face
if
mm mm mm mm angle
1. 12 0.70 1.43 7.28 45º
a a
Fig. 3 Temperature profile inside the beam specimen during heating inside the furnace.
Mohammad Suhaib Ahmad, Pradeep Bhargava and N.M. Bhandari 287

All the specimen were cast in a single batch, the specimens were cured in water for 28 days after casting.
The cubic compressive strength of the specimen was found to be 36.5 MPa.Later the specimens were
heated at the rate of 5 ºC/min in the beam furnace.The specimens were heated from three faces till the
desired temperature was achived in the furnace.The specimens were then soaked for a period of 1- 3
b
hours till the temperature in the two halves at all location reached the same target temperature figure
3(a-b).The specimens were then allowed to cool down in closed furnace itself upto the surrounding
temperature outside the furnace to avoid any thermal shock to the specimen.
After cooling down to the ambient temperature the specimens were tested under four point
if
bending.The specimens were loaded at a constant rate corresponding to an increase in stress of 30
N/mm2/min in reinforcing steel. During the test two lvdts were attached on the projected reinforcing
bars of both the halves to capture the slip.The test were continued till the slip in both the halves reached
equal to the rib spacing of the reinforcing bar i,e 7.28 mm.

All the heated specimens failed in pull out mode and no crack was observed at the reinforcement level
of the beam specimen.
The stress in the bar of the specimen can be calculated by the load obtained during the
experimentation using the relationship σ = 1.25P/A where σ is the stress in the steel, P is the load
obtained and A is the cross-sectional area of the bar.The bond stress τ along the bar is assumed to be
constant and can be calculated by equating force in the bar to the resistance offered by the surface of
the bar embedded to the length Ld as τ = σ.db/4.Ld where db is the diameter of the bar. The bond stress
to slip behavour of the specimen at ambient and heated specimens are shown in the figure 4 (a-c).The
figure suggests that the stiffness of the acsending branch of the bond slip curve does not change
significantly upon heating upto 350 ºC however decreases after exposure to 650 ºC. Also the peak bond
stress reduced by 28 % and 48 % after heating to 350 ºC and 650 ºC respectively figure 4(d).
While comparing the bond slip models of Haung et al.1996 [2] and fib model code 1990 [1] with
the experimental data of the beam specimen at ambient temperature figure 4 (a) it can be observed that
the ascending branch predicted by the model proposed by Haung et al.1996 [2] is almost equal to the
experimental result where as the fib model code 1990 [1] model shows larger deviation. However the
bond strength was predicted more accurately by fib model code 1990 [1] model when compared to
Huang et al. 1996 [2]. Larger deviation from the experimental data is observed in the decending branch
from both the models. Moreover the residual bond stress is accurately predicted by both the models.
Since there is no existing model available in the literature for predicting bond slip after exposure to
fire as mentioned earlier. Keeping the view in mind that bond strength is the fuction of compressive
strength and compressive strength of concrete decreases after exposure to elevated temperature.The
models proposed by Haung et al. 1996 [2] and fib model code 1990 [1] are used in conjuction with the
residual compressive strength model proposed by Chang et al. 2006 [3].
= 1.008 + ≥ 0.0 ; 20°C < T ≤ 800°C (5.1)

∗ ( ⁄ )
= 1.01 − 0.00055T ; 20°C < T ≤ 200°C (5.2)
= 1.15 − 0.00125T ; 200°C ≤ T < 800°C (5.3)
When comparing the modified bond models of Haung et al.1996 [2] and fib model code 1990 [1] with
the experimental data at 350 ºC temperature figure 4 (b) it can be observed that both the models is on
the conservative side. However the bond strength predicted by Haung et al.1996 [2] is almost equal
where as fib model code 1990 [1] model over predicts.This can be explained on the basis that the equa-
tion of the bond strength proposed by Haung et al.1996 [2] is directly propotional to the compressive
strength of concrete table 1 and the magnitude of reduction in the experimental bond strength is same
as in the compressive strength of concrete shown in figure 4(d). However the fib model code 1990 [1]
equation is propotional to the square root of the compressive strength.
The figure 4 (c) shows that the ascending branch and the bond strength is very well predicted by
modified fib model code 1990 [1] model after exposure to 650 ºC. Where as the modified Huang et
al.1996 [2] model seemed to be highly conservative.The reason can be explained since the reduction in
the exprerimental bond strength is not proptional to the reduction in the concrete compressive strength
after exposure to 650 ºC hence Huang et al.1996 [2] model is highly conservative. However the bond

Determination of bond slip parameters after exposure to fire using RILEM beam specimen
strength may be propotional to the square root of concrete after exposure to 650 ºC hence the fib model
code 1990 [1] model have predicted it very closely.
From the above discussion it can be concluded that since the modified models are not consistant in
predicting the bond slip behaviour after exposure to elevated temperature hence a model is proposed in
b
table 4 which can predict the bond slip behaviour with more accuracy specialy the ascending branch as
well as bond strength.The factor 2.5 of the bond strength model fib model code 1990 [1] is reduced to
2.0 and 1.85 and the factor α responsible for the ascending branch is reduced to 0.30 and 0.25 for the
temperature 350 ºC and 650 ºC.The proposed model is compared with experimental data which shows
if
closer predictions for all temperatures figure 4 (a-c). However it is assumed that the slips proposed by
Huang et al.1996 [2] and fib model code 1990 [1] remains the same.
Fig .4 Comparision of proposed model to various bond slip models at (a) Ambient (b) 350 ºC (c) 650 ºC.
(d) Reduction of bond strength with compressive strength of concrete.
a
c
Mohammad Suhaib Ahmad, Pradeep Bhargava and N.M. Bhandari 289

Table 4 Proposed model.

Temperature S1 S2 S3 Ꞇmax α Ꞇ2
(mm) (mm) (mm) (MPa) (MPa)
b
25 ºC 1 3 Rib spacing 2.5√fck 0.4 0.4 Ꞇmax
350 ºC 1 3 Rib spacing 2.0√fck 0.30 -
650 ºC 1 3 Rib spacing 1.85√fck 0.25 0.4 Ꞇmax
if
4 Conclusions
The study on bond slip behaviour using rilem beam specimen at three different temperatures viz 25 ºC,
350 ºC and 650 ºC which comprises of experimentation and validation of a proposed model has the
following conclusions.
The exposure of the beam specimens upto 650 ºC does not change the mode of failure of the
specimen
The bond slip model proposed by Huang et al.1996 [2] and fib model code 1990 [1] can predict
the bond slip behaviour of rilem beam specimen at ambient temperature accurately.
The bond slip model of Huang et al.1996 [2] in conjuction with Chang et al. 2006 [3] model
can predict the bond behaviour of beam specimen at 350 ºC only.
However the Bond slip behaviour at 650 ºC can be predicted precisely using fib model code
1990 [1] in conjuction with Chang et al. 2006 [3]
The parameters defining the bond slip behaviour after exposure to 350 ºC and 650 ºC are deter-
mined from the experimentation and the model is proposed .However more experimentation is
needed to assess the reliability and the robustness of the proposed model.
References
[1] CEB-FIP. 1990. Model Code 1990. Lausane, France: Comité Euro-International du Béton.
[2] Huang, Z., B. Engström, and J. Magnusson. 1996. Experimental investigation of the bond and
anchorage behaviour of deformed bars in high strength concrete. Report 94:4, Chalmers Uni-
versity of Technology, Chalmers.
[3] Chang, Y.F., Y.H. Chen, M.S. Sheu, and G.C. Yao. 2006. ”Residual stress–strain relationship
for concrete after exposure to high temperatures”. Cement and Concrete Research 36:1999–
2005.
[4] Ahmad, M S. 2017. ”Effect of sustained elevated temperature on the mechanical behaviour of
reinforcing steel”. Procedia engineering 173:905-909.

[5] Haddad, R.H., R.J. Al-Saleh, and N.M. Al-Akhras. 2008. ”Effect of elevated temperature on
bond between steel reinforcement and fiber reinforced concrete”. Fire Saf. J. 43:334–343.
[6] Ahmad, Mohammad Suhaib et al. 2018. “Study on bond behaviour exposed to fire using beam
specimen“. IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 140:012149.
doi :10.1088/1755-1315/140/1/012149
[7] RILEM. 1973. Technical recommendations for the Testing and Use of Construction Materials:
RC6, Bond Test for Reinforcing Steel: 2. Pull-out Test, Materials and Structures.
[8] RILEM. 1973. Technical recommendations for the Testing and Use of Construction Materials:
RC6, Bond Test for Reinforcing Steel: 1. Beam Test, Materials and Structures.
[9] IS 8112-1989. 2000. Specification for 43grade ordinary portland cement. New Delhi, India:
Bureau of Indian Standards.

Evaluation of shear transfer capacity of reinforced

concrete exposed to fire
b
Subhan Ahmad, Pradeep Bhargava and Navaratan Mal Bhandari
Indian Institute of Technology,
if
Haridwar Road, Roorkee, 247667, India
Abstract
In this paper shear transfer capacity (STC) of reinforced concrete (RC) push-off specimens with
uncracked shear planes is investigated after exposure to elevated temperatures. Amount of clamping
steel and compressive strength of concrete was kept constant. Specimens were heated up to 250°C and
500°C in an electric furnace and tested for shear transfer capacity after cooling. STC of reinforced
concrete was not affected after 250°C of heating but reduced significantly when the exposure temper-
ature was increased to 500°C. Stiffness of the load slip response was found to be reduced at both the
elevated temperatures. Post ultimate shear strength of the specimens was not affected by the elevated
temperatures. Analysis on 175 specimens with uncracked shear planes is also done to identify the most
suitable prediction model of STC. Furthermore, the most suitable prediction model was used along with
the residual material properties to predict the STC of twenty specimens after exposure to elevated tem-
peratures.
1 Introduction
There are several situations in which shear must be transferred across a definite plane. This may be a
plane of potential crack such as in corbels and precast beam bearings, an interface between the concretes
casted at different times such as at the junction of a precast girder and cast in place deck slab in a bridge
or a construction joint in a shear wall. In these cases a failure may occur due to relative slip of the two
planes even before flexural or diagonal tension failure [1]. This area has attracted the attention of re-
searchers since 1960s and several equations have been proposed for the prediction of STC. Equations
are developed for the uncracked, cracked and cold jointed shear planes [2]-[7]. This study is limited to
the uncracked shear planes therefore well-known prediction models for the STC of uncracked shear
planes are briefed in the subsequent discussion.
Loov (1978) [3] was the first researcher to introduce the compressive strength of concrete in
calculating the STC and proposed the following parabolic equation for uncracked and cracked shear
planes.
=0.5 (1)
Mattock (1988) [5] proposed a linear equation for predicting the STC of uncracked and cold jointed
shear planes in which the cohesion term was considered as a function of concrete strength. The proposed
equation was in the following form
.
= 0.467 + 0.8( + ) ≤ 0.3 (2)
Mau and Hsu (1988) [6] proposed equation for the prediction of STC across an uncracked shear plane
similar to the one proposed by Loov (1978). They proposed a constant of 0.66 against 0.5 chosen by
Loov (1978).
=0.66 (3)
Kahn and Mitchell (2002) [7] on the basis of his extensive experimental study proposed the following
equation for the prediction of STC across an uncracked or cold jointed plane for normal and high
strength concrete.
= 0.05 + 1.4 ≤ 0.2 (4)
is the cylindrical compressive strength of concrete, is the clamping stress due to transverse steel
provided across the shear plane and is the external stress acting perpendicular to the shear plane.

Reinforced concrete (RC) structures are exposed to elevated temperatures in case of building fires,
nuclear reactors and furnaces in industries. STC of reinforced concrete mainly depends on the
mechanical properties of concrete and steel [8]. Exposure of concrete and steel to elevated temperature
results in the reduction of their mechanical properties. Therefore, STC will also be affected by the
b
elevated temperatures. Smith et al. (2011) [9] tested RC specimens for shear transfer capacity with a
concrete of compressive strength 29 MPa and confining stress of 2.93 MPa. It was found that residual
shear transfer strength was reduced due to exposure of RC to elevated temperature. Xiao et al. (2014)
[10] studied the shear transfer behaviour of RC specimens prepared with high strength concrete after
if
exposure to elevated temperatures. It was observed that shear transfer capacity and shear brittleness
decreased as the exposure temperature was increased.
In this study push-off specimens with uncracked shear planes exposed to fire were tested for shear
transfer capacity (STC). Further, analysis is done on 175 specimens with uncracked shear planes using
Eqns 1-4. Equation yielding the best prediction results is used along with residual material properties
of concrete and steel to predict the STC of twenty specimens with uncracked shear planes tested after
elevated temperatures. Two specimens were tested in this study and the other eighteen were obtained
from the researches of Smith et al. (2011) [9] and Xiao et al. (2014) [10].
2.1 Preparation of specimens

Normal strength concrete (NSC) with a target compressive strength of 35 MPa was used in the study.
Mix proportions for the concrete is given in Table1. Push-off specimen were casted and tested for eval-
uating shear friction is shown in Fig. 1. Overall size of the specimen was 150 mm x 300 mm x 450 mm
and length of the shear plane was 210 mm which resulted in a shear plane area ( ) of 31500 mm2. Six
no. 12 mm bars were used parallel to the shear plane as the main reinforcement to avoid flexural failure.
! ) bars were used transverse to the shear plane to provide clamping
3 no. 8 mm ( = 301.5
action. Yield strength ( ) of 12 mm and 8 mm bars was 500 MPa which resulted in a confinement
index ( = / ) of 4.78 MPa. A k-type thermocouples was attached at the mid depth of each
specimen for recording the temperature during heating process. Location of thermocouple is shown in
Fig.1. Cylinders of 150 mm diameter and 300 mm height were also casted with the push-off specimens
to determine the compressive strength of concrete. After 24 hrs of casting, specimens were demoulded
and shifted to the curing tank. Cured specimens were removed from the curing tank after 28 days and
were kept at the room temperature for drying.
Table 1 Mix proportions of NSC.

Cement Sand Coarse aggregate Water Superplasticizer
(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (%)
400 800 1004 168 0.8
2.2 Heating of the specimens

Specimens after curing and drying were shifted to an electric furnace. Heating rate was kept identical
(5oC per min) for each specimen. After reaching the desired temperature, specimens were soaked until
the temperature of furnace and specimen becomes equal. Furnace was turned off and the specimens
were allowed to cool up to the room temperature by opening the door of furnace. Temperature of fur-
nace and specimen was recorded in a computerized data acquisition system.
2.3 Testing of specimens

Push-off specimens were tested in a universal testing machine with a capacity of 1000 kN. Push-off
specimens were placed on a roller support to enable the horizontal movement of the specimen so as to
ensure that the load is applied concentrically to the specimen. A linear variable displacement transduc-
ers (LVDT) was installed on the specimen which measured the crack slip. Load was increased in dis-
placement control mode at 0.1 mm/min. Crack slip and load was recorded in a computerized data ac-
quisition system. Fig. 3 (b) shows a push-off specimen under test.

Fig.1
3.1
ifb
Details of specimen used in the study.
Results and Discussions
Thermal response
Development of temperature in furnace and specimens are shown in Fig. 2. Thermal radiation and con-
vection which are responsible for heating of specimens are directly proportional to the temperature
difference between specimen surface and furnace wall. In the beginning (approximately up to 110 min),
rate of temperature increase in specimen is slow because the difference in temperature between speci-
men surface and furnace wall was small. After 150 min when this temperature difference was increased
due to sharp increase in temperature of furnace wall, rate of temperature increase in specimen was
increased. Approximately after 550 min the temperature difference between specimen surface and fur-
nace wall was reduced, resulting in a decrease in rate of temperature increase in the specimen.
Furnace temperature Furnace temperature

Specimen temperature Specimen temperature
600
300
Temperature (◦C)
Temperature (◦C)
400
200
100 200
0 0
0 500 1000 1500 0 500 1000 1500
Time (min) Time (min)
Fig.2 Thermal response of specimens exposed to 250oC and 500oC.
Subhan Ahmad, Pradeep Bhargava and Navaratan Mal Bhandari 293

3.2 Load-slip response

After cooling, specimens were tested in a universal testing machine for interface shear capacity. Fig. 3
show the load slip curves for different specimens. Exposure of push-off specimens to elevated temper-
b
ature reduced the ultimate value of shear transfer capacity. After 250oC and 500oC, ultimate shear trans-
fer capacity was reduced by 4.72% and 26.80% respectively. Slope of load slip curves (stiffness) were
reduced as the temperature was increased. After a slip of 3mm, load slip curves for all the specimens
were approximately at the same level, which indicates that residual shear transfer capacity was not
reduced by the increase of exposure temperature.
if
25°C 250°C 500°C
350
300
250
Load (kN)
200
150
100
50
0
0 1 2 3 4
Crack slip (mm)
Fig. 3 Load crack slip response of specimens (left), specimen under test (right).
4 Analytical approach for the prediction of STC of reinforced after exposure to

elevated temperature
Analysis is done on the previously tested push-off specimens to find out the most suitable model for
the prediction of shear transfer capacity. For this purpose 175 uncracked push-off specimens from the
literature are collected and their details are tabulated in Table 2. Number of specimens, range of cylin-
drical compressive strengths of concrete and range of amount of clamping stress are given.
Table 2 Details of shear transfer capacity tests for uncracked specimens.

Investigator(s) No. of Concrete strength range Clamping stress range
tests (MPa) (MPa)
Hofbeck et al. (1969) [12] 14 27.03-31.10 1.46-9.23
Mattock and Hawkins (1972) 3 27.17-44.41 6.80-13.19
[13]
Mattock et al. (1975) [14] 6 26.62-29.30 0.91-5.66
Mattock et al. (1976) [15] 24 25.79-30.48 1.45-9.59
Kahn and Mitchell (2002) [7] 19 46.93-123.84 1.52-6.07
Fakitsas et al. (2012) [16] 16 70.7-76.1 1.17-4.21
Rahal and Khaleefi (2015) 17 23.44-43.76 0.93-7.88
[17]
Sneed et al. (2016) [18] 6 32.41-33.38 5.38-6.47
Rahal et al. (2016) [19] 15 34.96-81.20 0.93-7.88
Waseem and Singh (2016) 36 30.24-73.6 3.36-6.72
[20]
Xiao et al. (2016) [21] 19 23.43-33.03 3.63
Total 175 23.43-123.84 0.91-13.19

Table 3 gives the summary of comparison of STC models used in the analysis. For sanded lightweight
concrete and all lightweight concrete, reduction factor of 0.85 and 0.75 respectively are applied on shear
transfer strength, as recommended by ACI-318-14 [11]. Four models, given in the introduction of this
paper were used for predicting the STC of RC specimens. Ratio of experimental to calculated STC (vexp
b
/ vcal) is termed as strength ratio in this paper. Minimum and maximum strength ratios, average strength
ratio, their standard deviations (SD) and coefficient of variations (COV) obtained for different models
are given in Table 3.
if
Table 3 Summary of STC models comparison.
Loov (1978) Mattock Mau and Hsu Kahn and Mitch-
[3] (1988) [5] (1988) [6] ell (2002) [7]
Minimum strength ratio 0.97 0.95 0.73 0.91
Maximum strength ratio 3.05 2.22 2.31 2.85
Avergae strength ratio 1.59 1.46 1.21 1.50
Strength ratio SD 0.30 0.30 0.22 0.27
Strength ratio COV 0.19 0.20 0.18 0.18
Loov [3] Mattock [5]

3,5 3,5
3 3
2,5 2,5
vexp /vcal
2
vexp /vcal
2
1,5 1,5
1 1
0,5 0,5
0 0
0 5 10 0 5 10
ρv fy ρv fy
(a) (b)
Mau and Hsu [6] Kahn and Mitchell [7]

3,5 3,5
3 3
2,5 2,5
vexp /vcal
2 2
vexp /vcal
1,5 1,5
1 1
0,5 0,5
0 0
0 5 10 0 5 10
ρv fy ρv fy
(c) (d)
Fig. 4 Clamping stress versus strength ratios for different models.

Strength ratios (vexp / vcal) calculated from different models are plotted against clamping stress in Fig.
4a-4d. Average strength ratio, SD and COV is found to be minimum for the model proposed by Mau
and Hsu [6] but it also overestimates the STC for some cases which is clear from Fig. 4 (c) that some
point lie below the line marked at strength ratio =1. Model proposed by Loov (1978) [3] gives con-
b
servative estimates of STC yielding a higher average strength ratio of 1.60. Mattock (1988) [5] and
Kahn and Mitchell (2002) [7] gives approximately equal average strength ratios, but SD and COV
obtained by using Kahn and Mitchell’s model is less than that obtained by Mattock’s model. Therefore,
Kahn and Mitchell’s model will be used along with residual material properties of concrete and steel
if
for the prediction of STC of the specimen exposed to elevated temperatures.
Following mathematical models were used for calculating residual material properties
Chang et al. (2006) [22]
%
#$
% = 1.01 − 0.00055' 20oC ≤ T ≤ 200oC (5)
#
#$
% = 1.15 − 0.00125' 200oC ≤ T ≤ 800oC (6)
#
Tao et al. (2012) [23]

($
=1 T≤ 500oC (7)
(
= 1 − 5.82 × 10* (' − 500)

($
T > 500oC (8)
(
and + are the yield strengths of reinforcing steel before and after exposure to elevated temperature
T, respectively.
Details of twenty specimens tested for shear transfer capacity after elevated temperature including
the two tested in this study and their corresponding residual material properties are given in Table 4.
All the tested specimens had uncracked shear planes. and + are the cylindrical compressive
strengths of concrete, before and after exposure to elevated temperature T, respectively. ρv fy and ρv fyT
are the clamping stresses before and after exposure to elevated temperature T, respectively
Table 4 gives the details of ratio of strength ratios (vexp / vcal) of specimens tested for STC after
elevated temperatures using Kahn and Mitchell’s equations. Using residual material properties in Kahn
and Mitchell’s equation, average of the strength ratio, standard deviation and coefficient of variation
are found to be 1.10, 0.12 and 0.11 respectively. Average strength ratio approximately equal to unity
with a smaller values of SD and COV indicates that Kahn and Mitchell’s model along with residual
material properties can precisely predict the STC of RC after exposure to elevated temperatures.
5 Conclusions
Ultimate value of STC of reinforced concrete was not affected after 250oC of heating but reduced sig-
nificantly when the exposure temperature was increased to 500oC. However, stiffness of the load slip
response reduced at both the elevated temperatures. Also, post ultimate shear strength of the specimens
was not found to be affected by the exposure temperature for this case. Post ultimate shear strength is
a function of confinement index which does not changes upto the exposure temperature of 500oC. Anal-
ysis of the specimens with uncracked shear planes revealed that the model proposed by Kahn and
Mitchell predicts STC more accurately than the other three models. Kahn and Mitchell’s model along
with residual material properties can precisely predict the STC of RC after exposure to elevated tem-
peratures.

Table 4 Details of specimens tested after elevated temperatures, their corresponding residual ma-
terial properties and predicted STC
Author (s) Speci- Temp fc' fcT ρv fy ρv fyT vexp vcal vexp /
(MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) vcal
b
men (oC)
Smith et al. 112-1 102.7 29 27.65 2.93 2.93 6.5 5.48 1.19
(2011)
112-2 109.2 29 27.55 2.93 2.93 6.1 5.48 1.11
[8]
112-3 122.6 29 27.33 2.93 2.93 6.4 5.47 1.17
if
188-1 178.1 29 26.45 2.93 2.93 5.8 5.42 1.07
188-2 191.2 29 26.24 2.93 2.93 5.5 5.41 1.02
188-3 196.1 29 26.16 2.93 2.93 6.6 5.41 1.22
390-1 379.9 29 19.58 2.93 2.93 5.7 5.08 1.12
390-2 399.8 29 18.86 2.93 2.93 5.9 5.05 1.17
475-1 464.1 29 16.53 2.93 2.93 5 4.93 1.01
475-2 486.5 29 15.71 2.93 2.93 5.1 4.89 1.04
622-1 619.9 29 10.88 2.93 2.73 4.5 4.37 1.03
622-2 624.4 29 10.72 2.93 2.72 4.2 4.34 0.97
Xiao et al. L-200 200 64.7 58.23 3.64 3.64 9.28 8.01 1.16
(2014) [9]
L-400 400 64.7 42.06 3.64 3.64 8.04 7.20 1.12
L-800 800 64.7 36.88 3.64 3.00 4.67 6.04 0.77
H-200 200 94 84.60 3.64 3.64 12.87 9.33 1.38
H-400 400 94 61.10 3.64 3.64 9.22 8.15 1.13
H-800 800 94 14.10 3.64 3.00 5.22 4.91 1.06
Experi- P-250 250 39.5 33.08 4.78 4.78 10.31 8.35 1.23
mental
P-500 500 39.5 20.74 4.78 4.78 7.94 7.73 1.03
Average 1.10
Minimum 0.77
Maximum 1.38
SD 0.12
COV 0.11

References
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b
[2] Mattock, A. H., N. M. and Hawkins. 1972. “Shear transfer in reinforced concrete-recent rese-
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on the shear friction capacity of concrete members.’’ PCI journal 32:66-84.
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ring 25:1306-1316.

Three-dimensional nature of contact between fibre and

cement matrix considering the principles of contact
b
mechanics
Anna Antonova, Marika Eik, Jouni Punkki and Jari Puttonen
if
School of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering,
Aalto University,
Rakentajanaukio 4 A, Espoo 02150, Finland
Abstract
The present research is aimed to investigate the properties of bond between fibre and cement-matrix on
micro-scale and link the received information to characterise the adhesion and frictional slip. The en-
vironmental scanning electron microscope was utilised. The area of real contact between fibre and ce-
ment matrix was measured in longitudinal and cross-sectional directions. Critical shear stress required
for the debonding process was calculated based on principles of contact mechanics. The results of this
study will contribute into understanding of the mechanisms governing the debonding process and fric-
tional slippage, which influence the behaviour of fibre reinforced composites under loading.
1 Introduction
The cementitious materials are one of the most widely used building materials in the construction in-
dustry. Cement-based composites have complex micro-structure, a high compressive strength, but low
tensile resistance [5]. Within the last decades, the use of fibre reinforced composites (FRC) has exten-
sively increased. FRC are used in industrial floors, tunnelling lines, bridges and underground mines [5].
The addition of fibres to initially brittle cement-based matrix can restrict the opening and the propaga-
tion of the cracks and increase the ductility of the composite [1], [5]. The fibres with different shapes
(straight, hooked-end, crimped, etc.) and materials (steel, polypropylene, etc.) are added to the fresh
cementitious mass during the mixing stage, which allows to cast the structural elements with complex
geometry.
The improvement of mechanical properties of FRC such as tensile or flexural strengths is condi-
tioned by the mechanism of stress transfer between the fibre and the cement-based matrix. The trans-
ferring of stress is governed by following interactions between the fibre and the cement-based matrix:
adhesion, frictional slip and mechanical anchorage (when fibres are deformed). The adhesion and fric-
tion are influenced by the micro-scale characteristics of the surface of the fibre and the micro-structure
of the cement-based matrix in the vicinity of the fibre known as the interfacial transition zone (ITZ).
The lack of the information about the properties of the interface between the fibre and the cement-based
matrix limits the understanding, as well as complicates the prediction of debonding and post-debond
sliding, which both influence the load bearing capacity of FRC on macro-level [2].
The interaction between two contacting surfaces, when load is applied, can be examined from the
perspective of contact mechanics. The surface of the fibre is rough and complicated, which leads to the
point-wise contact with the cement-based matrix [9]. When the load is applied, the stresses concentrate
within the point-wise contact, which result in the most critical point to break [9]. The debonding and
post-debonding slip can be modelled using the principles of contact mechanics, which cover both the
effect of the roughness of contacting surfaces and the stresses occurring in point-wise contact areas [4].
To apply the principles of contact mechanics it is important to receive an accurate information about
the contact between the fibre and the cement-matrix on a micro-scale.
The understanding of the contact mechanics and particularly the dependency of real contact and
frictional sliding on the interface between the fibre and the cement-based matrix will allow to control
and predict the processes of debonding and post-debonding. In addition, application of contact mechan-
ics principles could contribute to the improvement of the interface between the fibre and the cement-
based matrix with the use of optimal modifications, such as coating, treatment of fibre surface, changing
the geometry of the fibre or application of additives to the cement mixture.

2 Scientific background
The roughness of the interface and the area of real contact play an important role in the mechanical
behaviour of interactions between the surface of the fibre and the matrix, such as the adhesion and the
b
friction [14]. The principles of contact mechanics can help to understand the properties and the nature
of the adhesional bond and frictional slip occurring between the fibre and the matrix. The friction de-
pends on the roughness of contacting surfaces, which can increase the frictional strength by interlocking
of asperities present on the surfaces of the fibre and the cement-matrix [4]. Adhesional interaction be-
tween the fibre and the matrix is created by gluing of cement hydrates to the surface of the fibre, which
if
results in the formation of the bond [3]. The ITZ layer has very porous micro-structure, which differs
from the bulk cement-based matrix and thus the contact between the fibre and the matrix is usually
heterogeneous and has pointwise connection [2], [3]. The stresses that occur on the interface between
the fibre and the cement-based matrix before the debonding are divided between the contact areas (Fig.
1, left). Debonding is initiated when the shear stresses on the interface exceed the strength of the contact
and then the frictional slip takes place. Roughness, which is present on the surface of the fibre, helps
to interlock the fibre during its slippage, and the normal stress occurs in the areas of interlocking (Fig.
1, right). The roughness of steel fibre can break the flaws of the cement matrix due to higher elasticity
modulus of steel, and the fibre can proceed slipping. The real contact area between the fibre and the
matrix, and the roughness of fibre surface can be measured to estimate the stress, which is required to
break the adhesional bond.
Fig. 1 The scheme of stress distribution in case of adhesional bond (left) and frictional slippage
(right). τ – shear stress of the interface, p – normal stress occurred within interlocking, F –
load. The areas of contact are marked with red line.
In recent years, different methods were applied to study the properties of the interface between the fibre
and the cement-based matrix, such as pull-out test [2], nano-indentation [10], X-ray micro-computed
tomography (µCT) [11], Moire interferometry technique [12] and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
[13]. However, from the view point of the contact between the fibre and the cement-based matrix, the
sufficient data about the real contact area and its geometry cannot be received from most of the testing
techniques due to the specific limitations of methodologies. The pull-out test is the macro-scale tech-
nique, which is not covering the information about the micro-scale mechanisms of the interaction be-
tween the fibre and the matrix. The nano-indentation is the point-wise technique, which is limited by
the step of the indentation grit. The precision of Moire interferometry technique is not sufficient enough
to obtain the accurate data about the real contact area and its geometry. The investigation of the inter-
facial properties between the fibre and the cement-based matrix with µCT is limited due to the blinking
effect around the steel fibre, caused by the high intensity of the fibre brightness. In case of SEM, it is
possible to obtain the images, which cover the micro-scale nature of the interface between the steel
fibre and the matrix with high precision. The data about the real contact area and its geometry could be
derived by the processing of the SEM images.
In present study, the scanning electron microscope in the environmental mode (ESEM) with
backscattered electron detector (BSE) was utilised to get an accurate information about the micro-scale
properties of the interface between the fibre and the cement-based matrix. To cover the three-dimen-
sional (3D) nature of the contact between the steel fibre and matrix with ESEM, which is two-dimen-
sional technique, the interface was scanned in longitudinal and cross-sectional directions.

Three-dimensional nature of contact between fibre and cement matrix considering the principles of contact mechanics

The ESEM in low vacuum mode with BSE detector was utilised to study the bond between the fibre
and the cement-based matrix. The ESEM allows to obtain the micro-scale information about the inter-
b
face between the fibre and the matrix with high precision. The application of BSE detector gives the
information about the different phases of the cement paste in the vicinity of the fibre. The scale of 30
µm and magnification of 6000_x were chosen. The acceleration voltage of 15 kV and chamber pressure
of 60 Pa were used.
Fig. 2
if
The samples with cut in longitudinal (left) and cross-sectional directions (right) after im-
pregnation in epoxy resin, grinding and polishing.
The interface between the fibre and the matrix was studied in 2 sections: along the fibre (longitudinal
direction) and perpendicular to the fibre (cross-sectional direction), which enabled to model the 3D
situation of the interface. The images were taken in cross-sectional and longitudinal directions, i.e. 65
and 560 images, respectively, Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 The scheme of the BSE images taken in longitudinal (left) and cross-sectional directions
(right). The scale, magnification and number of images are represented.
In present study, the six cement-paste samples with steel fibre inside were prepared. The steel fibres
with a diameter of Ø = 1 mm were used. The samples were impregnated in epoxy resin, grinded and
polished. Three samples were cut along the length of the fibre and three samples were cut in transverse
direction representing the cross-section of the fibre, Fig. 2. The samples cut in longitudinal direction
had a length of 20 mm and a width of 15 mm. The samples representing the cross-section of the fibre
had a diameter of Ø = 15 mm. The height of all the samples was approximately 10 mm.
Anna Antonova, Marika Eik, Jouni Punkki and Jari Puttonen 301

4 Processing and results

The present study examined the number of the point-wise contacts between the steel fibre and the ce-
ment-paste matrix, as well as the geometrical characteristics of these contact points. BSE images were
b
taken along the total length and the perimeter of the fibre to cover the entire interface between the fibre
and the matrix. The examples of images taken in longitudinal and cross-sectional directions are repre-
sented on Fig. 4.
if
Fig. 4 The example of BSE image from samples with cut in longitudinal direction (left) and cut in
cross-sectional direction (right).
The images were processed using the ImageJ [7], which is open-source, Java-based imaging program
designed for processing the scientific multidimensional images. The commands incorporated into pack-
age Fiji based on ImageJ enabled to receive the profiles of the surfaces of the fibre and the cement-
paste matrix in the vicinity of the fibre, Fig. 5. Segmentation of BSE images was based on the gray-
scale system [6]. Each pixel of BSE image is interpreted through the intensities of pixels, which vary
from black (0) to white (255). The higher is the atomic number of a chemical element the brighter are
the corresponding pixels. The ranges of intensities of pixels, which correspond to steel fibre, cement-
paste matrix and pores, were obtained based on the gray-scale histogram of the image. The points,
where the tangens of histogram chanded direction, was defined as the boundary between different
phases.
Fig. 5 The example of processed BSE image, which is represented on Fig. 2 (left). Two contacting
surfaces of fibre and cement-paste can be easily distinguished from each other. The pres-
ence of contact spots, gaps and micro-cracks is also observed.

Three-dimensional nature of contact between fibre and cement matrix considering the principles of contact mechanics
ifb
Fig. 6 The example of image extracted after the comparison of fibre and cement-paste outlines
represented on Fig. 5.
The masks of the fibre and the matrix, received by the segmentation, were transformed into outlines,
which were combined. When the pixels of the fibre and the cement-paste outlines merged then those
pixels were considered as belonging to a real contact area, Fig. 6. Then X and Y coordinates of pixels,
which correspond to real contact area, were exported.
The numerical data received from Fiji was processed further with R programming language [8].
The coordinates of pixels received were calculated as one continuous line, if the X or/and Y coordinates
of the following pixel has increased per one unit.
The maximum and minimum length of the real contact along the longitudinal and cross-sectional
directions, and the total percentage of the area of real contact area were calculated. The received values
were further used for estimation of critical shear stress required to break the adhesional bond.
5 Expected results and contribution

The knowledge about the properties of the contact between the fibre and the cement-based matrix, as
well as the mechanism of their interaction when the load is applied are necessary for the development
of a reliable analytical model enabling to simulate the failure behaviour of FRC structural member.
The measurement of a real contact area can be used to estimate the strength of the total contact
present between the fibre and the matrix, which, in turn, is necessary to evaluate the shear stress required
for the initiation of debonding. The understanding of the process of debonding and post-debond sliding
can support the development of more efficient interaction between the fibre and the matrix, which will
lead to the improved strength of the bond.
References
[1] Zile, Edmunds, and Olga Zile. 2013. “Effect of the fiber geometry on the pullout response of
mechanically deformed steel fibers.” Cement and Concrete Research 44:18–24.

[2] Cunha, Vítor M. C. F., Joaquim A. O. Barros, and José M. Sena-Cruz. 2010. “Pullout Behavior
of Steel Fibers in Self-Compacting Concrete.” Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering 22:1-
9.
[3] Lee, Siaw Foon, and Stefan Jacobsen. 2011. “Study of interfacial microstructure, fracture
energy, compressive energy and debonding load of steel fibre-reinforced mortar.” Materials
and structures 44:1451-1465
[4] Bhushan, Bharat. 1997. “Contact mechanics of rough surfaces in tribology: multiple asperity
contact.” Tribology Letters 4:1-35.
[5] Brandt, Andrzej M. 2008. “Fibre reinforced cement-based (FRC) composites after over 40
years of developement in building and civil engineering.” Composite Structures 86:3-9.
[6] Scrivener, K. H., H. L. Patel, P. J. Pratt, and L. Parrott. 1986. “Analysis of phases in cement
paste using backscattered electron images, methanol adsorption and thermogravimetric
analysis.” MRS Proceedings 85-67.
[7] Abramoff, M. D., P. J. Magalhaes, and S. J. Ram. 2004. “Image Processing with ImageJ.” BI
11:36-42.
[8] R Development Core Team 2011. “R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing.”
R Foundation for Statistical Computing. http://www.R-project.org
[9] Barber, J.R., and M. Ciavarella. 2000. “Contact mechanics.” International Journal of Solids
and Structures 37:29-43.
Anna Antonova, Marika Eik, Jouni Punkki and Jari Puttonen 303

[10] Wang, X. H., S. Jacobsen, J. Y. He, Z. L. Zhang, S. F. Lee, and H. L. Lein. 2009. “Application
of nanoindentation testing to study of the interfacial transition zone in steel fiber reinforced
mortar.” Cement and Concrete Research 39:701-715.
[11] Gallucci, E., K. Scrivener, A. Groso, M. Stampanoni, and G. Margaritondo. 2007. “3d
b
experimental investigation of the microstructure of cement pastes using synchrotron x-ray
microtomography (µCT).” Cement and Concrete Research 37: 360-368.
[12] Shao, Y., Z. Li, and S. P. Shah. 1993. “Matrix cracking and interface debonding in fiber-
reinforced cement-matrix composites.” Advanced Cement Based Materials 1:55-66.
if
[13] Lee, S. F., and S. Jacobsen. 2011. “Study of interfacial microstructure, fracture energy,
compressive energy and debonding load of steel fiber-reinforced mortar.” Materials and
Structures 44:1451-1465.
[14] Hanaor, Dorian A.H., Yixiang Gan, and Itai Einav. 2016. “Static friction at fractal interfaces.”
Tribology International Part A 93:229-238.

Punching shear resistance of flat slabs with openings

– experimental testing
b
Tomáš Augustín, Ľudovít Fillo, Jaroslav Halvonik and Marián Marčiš
Department of Concrete Structures and Bridges,
Slovak University of Technology – Faculty of Civil Engineering,
if
Radlinského 11, Bratislava 810 05, Slovakia
Abstract
In spite of common use of flat slabs there are still some problems in design of these structures. Exper-
imental tests dealing with punching of flat slabs with openings are not common. Therefore, several
series of such flat slabs were tested at the STU Central Laboratories. The two specimens were a refer-
ence without openings. The further three series included two symmetrically located openings moving
away from the face of the support in multiples of an effective depth. The paper will deal with analysis
of the opening influence that is determined experimentally and by using models for the assessment of
punching resistance from relevant standards and codes. The material properties of concrete and rein-
forcing steel were obtained from the laboratory tests.
1 Introduction
A large number of experiments have been carried out in the world to clarify the punching shear of flat
slabs. Experimental work dealing with punching of flat slabs with openings is not common in world-
wide databases. Therefore, we have tested several series of such flat slabs at the STU Central Labora-
tories. The first two specimens were a reference and did not contain openings. The next three series
included two symmetrically located openings 200 x 300 mm moving away from the face of the sup-
port in multiples of effective depth 0d (named S1-1, S1-2), 1d (named S2-1, S2-2), 2d (named S3-1,
S3-2). There was no shear reinforcement used in the experimental flat slabs. The obtained results are
compared with the results of the methods for the assessment of punching resistance introduced in the
following standards and codes - MC 2010 (MC) and with the model proposal for the second genera-
tion of EC2 (EC2sec).
2 Models for prediction of punching shear resistance of flat slabs with openings
according to standards
The model in Model Code 2010 is physical model, based on Critical Shear Crack Theory (CSCT) [1],
[2]. The concrete contribution to the shear resistance depends on rotation of a slab in support area,
which has an influence on critical shear crack opening (1). The length of the basic control perimeter
b0 is determined at distance dv/2 from the face of the support, fck is characteristic value of concrete
compressive strength, γC is partial safety factor for concrete (for test evaluation – 1.0), dv is shear
resisting effective depth of the slab and kψ(ψ) is considering influence of critical shear crack opening,
its roughness, shear slenderness and size effect [3].
f ck
VRd,c = k ψ b0 d v (1)
γC
The precision of assessed resistance depends on used Level of Approximation (LoA). Higher LoA
increases the calculation accuracy of the design process. Model Code 2010 provides 4 Levels of
Approximation. The third Level of Approximation was chosen for used analysis.
rs f yd
1 .5
 msd 
ψ (VEd ) =1.2   (2)
d Es  mRd 
The rotation of a slab in support area can be calculated by (2) where rs indicates the position where
the radial bending moment is zero with respect to the column axis, fyd design yield strength of
reinforcement and Es elasticity modulus of reinforcement, msd is the average bending moment per unit

length in the support strip of the column and mRd is the design average flexural strength per unit
length in the support strip. When using the third LoA the equation (2) can be used, where rs and msd
are calculated from linear elastic (uncracked) model [3].
As the second generation of Eurocodes is being prepared, the assessment of punching resistance
b
according to the design method was carried out [4]. The basis of the calculation method of punching
resistance without shear reinforcement is CSCT (3).
1/3
kb  d dg  0.6
VRd,c =  100 ρl f ck  d v b0 ≤ f ck d v b0 (3)
if
γC  a v  γC
Where in equation (3) kb is shear gradient enhancement factor, ddg depends on concrete type and its
aggregate properties and av is shear span, ρl is amount of longitudinal reinforcement and fck is com-
pressive strength of concrete.
d
k b = 8µ ≥1 (4)
b0
Where µ is parameter accounting shear force and bending moment in a shear region, for an internal
column without unbalanced moments µ = 8.
3 Experimental work
The analysed specimens were octagonal shaped slabs of a 250 mm thickness (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). Two of
eight tested specimens were without openings, named S0-1 and S0-2. The symmetrical positioning of
the openings was intentionally chosen to prevent influence of the unbalanced bending moment. The
parameters of the specimens are in Tab.1.
b0 ≤ 5dv
Fig. 1 The Experimental set-up (left) and the reduction of the basic control perimeter consider-
ing influence of the opening – MC 2010 and the second generation of EC2 (right).

The reinforcement of all slabs was Φ20/100 mm and the 1Φ20 bar was added to each side of the
opening in the S1-S3 slabs. The strength of the concrete was experimentally determined at the time of
each slab test. The samples were hinged on the top and fixed to the floor of the laboratory using
Freyssinet prestressing bars which created a reaction. The sample was loaded under axis-symmetric
b
conditions with a hydraulic jack placed under the slab column 200x200 mm. The slab deformations
were measured by LVDT sensors. The slab rotation was measured using levels. The upper surface
strains were measured by the deformometer and the lower surface strains with strain gauges.
Fig. 2
if
The Experimental set-up photo
In successful cooperation with Department of Surveying the spatial deformations of concrete

specimen were measured using multi-image convergent photogrammetry. 80 RAD-targets for
PhotoModeler system were glued on the surface of specimen.
10
Deflection [mm]
photogrammetry
LVDT
0
0 450 900
Force [kN]
Fig. 3 Comparison of the deflection in the center of the specimen determined by photogramme-
try and by the LVDT.
The images were taken using a 36-megapixel DSLR Nikon D800E with 35 mm lens. 18-20 images
were taken in every load stage from a special hanging system 3 meters over the specimen. Automatic
subpixel measurement of targets and precise calibration of camera during photogrammetric
Tomáš Augustín, Ľudovít Fillo, Jaroslav Halvonik and Marián Marčiš 307

processing resulted in 3D coordinates of observed points with 0.02 mm accuracy. The obtained results
were compared with the traditional strain (Fig. 4) and deformation (Fig. 2) measurement techniques.
800
ifb
Force [kN]
400
T1
T2
T3
T1 T2 T3
TF1 TF2 TF3
0
0 1,75
Upper strain of concrete ε [‰]
Fig. 4 Comparison of strains obtained by photogrammetric (TF) and deformeter (T) measure-
ment in tangential direction.
The results from the actual measurements demonstrate that multi-image convergent photogrammetry
is an effective, accurate and suitable method for displacement measurements during load tests of
construction elements, especially if optimal camera configuration is provided. It enables contactless
control not only of the points on the object tested but also on the load-test construction around it.
Fig. 5 Cut-saw section of test specimens S2-1.
Table 1 Basic information of experimental specimens.
Parameters Dim. S0-1 S0-2 S1-1 S1-2 S2-1 S2-2 S3-1 S3-2
Slab thickness [mm] 250
Effective depth [mm] 200
Reinforcement [mm] φ20/100
Reinforcement ratio [%] 1.57
fc of concrete [MPa] 41.02 33.41 43.26 32.89 32.40 35.69 31.15 31.05
fy of reinforcement [MPa] 550

4 Comparison of experimental and assessed results

The results obtained from the experiment Vtest were compared with calculated punching resistances
according to the MC2010 LoAIII model and model proposed for second generation of Eurocode 2.
b
(Table 2, Table 3).
The third level of approximation has been used for evaluation of the experiments. Bending
moment in (2) was calculated mSd = k.VEd/8, where k ≥ 1.0 is ratio of radial bending moments in slab
with openings and in slab without openings (Tab. 3). However, in MC 2010 when eccentricity of the
resultant of shear forces with respect to the centroid of the basic control perimeter is zero (in all our
if
cases), it is not clear whether to calculate the coefficient of eccentricity. So, the calculation of bending
moment in (2) used in Tab. 3 can be mSd = VEd/8.
An influence of the openings is taken into account by reduction of control perimeter according to
Fig. 1. For evaluation of the experiments as simplification factor µ was determined µ = 8/k where k ≥
1.0 is ratio of radial bending moments in slab with openings and in slab without openings (Tab. 2).
The model proposal for the second generation of EC2 is derived from MC 2010, so the same analysis
leads to the using of µ = 8 (Tab. 3).
Table 2 Calculated punching resistance – factor k calculated according to position of opening.
Parameters Dim. S1-1 S1-2 S2-1 S2-2 S3-1 S3-2

Control perimeter b0 [mm] 712 1161 1268
Vtest [kN] 831 751 777 801 751 739
kMC [-] 1.57 1.18 1.08
Vcalc, MC [kN] 457 410 627 651 675 674
Vtest /VMC [-] 1.81 1.83 1.24 1.23 1.09 1.07
kECsec [-] 0.63 0.84 0.93
VEC2sec [kN] 561 489 787 813 849 847
Vtest /VEC2sec [-] 1.52 1.52 0.99 0.99 0.88 0.87
From the results obtained from S0-1 and S0-2 specimens without openings, it can be concluded that
the methods according to the second generation of EC2 show a very good coincidence with the exper-
imental results (maximum 10% difference from the measured force at failure, Tab. 3). MC 2010 using
LoAIII is in this case less economic (difference from the measured force at failure is greater than
20%). It follows that the next generation of EC2 calculation method is safe and very economical.
Table 3 Calculated punching resistance – factor k = 1.

Parameters Dim. S0-1 S0-2 S1-1 S1-2 S2-1 S2-2 S3-1 S3-2
Control perimeter b0 [mm] 1428 712 1161 1268
Vtest [kN] 1051 950 831 751 777 801 751 739
kMC [-] 1
Vcalc, MC [kN] 835 772 512 456 659 684 691 690
Vtest /VMC [-] 1.26 1.23 1.62 1.64 1.18 1.17 1.09 1.07
kECsec [-] 1
VEC2sec [kN] 1028 960 561 489 793 832 849 847
Vtest /VEC2sec [-] 1.02 0.99 1.52 1.52 0.98 0.96 0.88 0.87
Interpretation of results obtained from specimens S1-1 and S1-2 is more complex. The use of the
standard method for the reduction of the basic control perimeter appears to be very conservative, e.g.
the measured value is more than 80% greater than calculated, see Tab. 2. Even when k =1 is used for
Tomáš Augustín, Ľudovít Fillo, Jaroslav Halvonik and Marián Marčiš 309

the assessment according to MC 2010, the measured value is cca 60% greater than calculated (Tab.
3). In case of the second generation of EC2 there is no difference between calculations, because of
limiting value of maximum punching resistance (3) for S1-1 and S1-2.
When assessment is carried out according to MC 2010 for S2-1 and S2-2, the match with the ex-
b
perimental results is better in both calculations. The measured value is still more than cca 20% greater
than calculated ones. In case of the second generation of EC2 there is almost no difference between
calculations. There is a perfect match of experimental and calculated results.
For specimens S3-1 and S3-2, the results of the experimental work and the both calculations ac-
if
cording the MC 2010 are in good match. The measured values are cca 10% greater than calculated
ones. In case of the second generation of EC2 there is no difference between calculations, because of
limiting value of maximum punching resistance (3), but the the safety of this model is questionable,
because the the measured values are cca 10% lower than calculated ones.
5 Conclusions
The results from the actual measurements demonstrate that multi-image convergent photogrammetry
is an effective, accurate and suitable method for displacement measurements during load tests of
construction elements, especially if optimal camera configuration is provided.
From our analysis we can conclude that there is growing safety of the models with shortening of
the distance between column periphery and the edge of opening for both models.
Ratio Vtest/Vmodel indicates insufficient safety of the EC2sec model if the distance of the openings is
greater than d.
An influence of the openings on mSd was significant if the opening is very close to the edge of the
column for MC2010 model (11%). For distances 2d and more the effect is neglectable.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, science, re-
search and sport of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences No 1/0810/16 and the
Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract No. APVV-15-0658
References
[1] Ruiz, Miguel F., and Aurelio Muttoni. 2014. “Punching Shear Design Based on the Critical
Shear Crack Theory.“ Betonárske Dni 2014: Conference proceedings. Bratislava.
[2] Muttoni, Aurelio, and Miguel F. Ruiz. 2017. “The Critical Shear Crack Theory for punching
design: From a mechanical model to closed-form design expressions“. ACI-fib International
Symposium: Punching shear of structural concrete slabs, Honoring Neil M.Hawkins: ACI-fib
symposium proceedings: 237-252, ACI SP-315 . Philadelphia.
[3] CEB-FIP MC 2010. 2012. CEB-FIP Code 201.
[4] Ruiz, Miguel F., Aurelio Muttoni, Joao T. Simoes, and Francesco Cavagnis. 2016. “Back-
ground Document to Provisions for Shear and Punching Shear Design“, Report IBETON 16‐
06‐R1, Lausanne.


Ioannis Boumakis, Marco Marcon, Krešimir Ninčević and Roman Wan-
b
Wendner
Institute of Structural Engineering,
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna,
if
Peter Jordan Straße 82, Vienna (1190), Austria
Abstract
Fastening systems play a crucial role in structural engineering, e.g. connection of structural elements,
assemble precast elements, and attach non-load bearing components. The significance of fastening
systems can be found due to the fact that the potential damage caused by failed fasteners could be
quite higher than the value of the products themselves. Like strutures fastening systems are usually
designed to service lifes of 50 years or longer. Thus, a safe design requires a thorough insight into all
involved mechanisms, e.g. creep, shrinkage, and their potential change with time, for all involved
materials. In case of sustained loading, it is necessary to define load level limits that do not lead to
failure during the service lifetime. The aim of the present contribution is to characterize experimental-
ly the viscoelastic and the time dependent fracture properties of fastening systems. Consequently,
sustained load tests for different fastening systems, mechanical and chemical adhesive, loaded at
different load levels, are tested. In parallel a full material characterization, as well as characterization
of the viscoelastic properties and of the loading rate dependency of the involved materials is carried
out. In particular, various tests, including standard cylinder and cube compression, three point bend-
ing, and Brazilian splitting are performed. Additionally, the rate dependence of concrete is character-
ized through three point bending tests performed at different loading rates. A set of time to failure
tests complete the picture.
1 Introduction
Fastening technology finds a wide range application in structural engineering, i.e. connecting differ-
ent structural elements, assemblage of precast elements, and the attachment of non-loading bearing
components, during construction as well as during retrofitting. That underlines their significance in
structural engineering. Furthermore their importance is amplified by the amount of damage an entire
system might suffer due to the failure of few comparably cheap fastening elements. For instance, the
Big Dig ceiling collapse, on July 10, 2006 [1], was caused by the failure of different anchor elements
and lead to casualties as well as economic damage tremendously larger than the value of the products
themselves. Hence the safe design of the fastening system requires an acurate prediction of their
behavior in long time, i.e. 50 years.
Fastening systems have to pass through thorough tests, both in short and long term, for the
assesment of their serviceability and ultimate capacity. The fasteners can be classified according to
the load transfer mechanisms in two groups (i) mechanical, where the load is transferred through
friction or mechanical interlock, and (b) bonded, where the load is transferred in terms of bond [2].
The long term behavior of the bonded anchors under sustained load is characterized by relatively
short tests. As a matter of fact the anchor is loaded at a certain percentage of its short term tensile
capacity, and the load is sustained for around 1000-2000 hours [3]. Then a power law is fitted on the
data and extrapolated to a given time, i.e. 600 days. The extrapolated displacement at this time
compared to the short term test constitutes the approval criterion and is supposed to be representative
for the 50 year performance. The aforementioned method assumes a constant creep rate, and thus can
approximately the actual response only in in cases of relatively low load levels. A review of the
method can be find in [4, 5]
Another approach of long term assesment of fastening systems consists of time to failure testing.
Following that, the fasteners are loaded at a range of relatively high load levels, and by sustaining the
load the failure times are measured. Afterwards a power law is fitted and by extrapolation failure
times for all load levels are obtained. This method allows to test the actual failure mechanisms, but its

main disadvantage is that is quit difficulty to test low enough load levels such that the required
extrapolation to 50 years can be supported reliably.
Both previous approaches are done on the system level without accounting for the different mate-
rial contributions. Certainly, the mechanical anchors exhibit a time dependent behaviour that origi-
b
nates in concrete, unlike the case of bonded anchors, which are more complex systems, comprised of
steel, concrete and mortar. A complete insight into the long-term behaviour of fastening systems
requires an understanding of the critical damage mechanisms that lead to deterioration of the involved
materials -- concrete, steel, and adhesives -- in course of time. Such phenomena may be, among
if
others, creep of concrete and mortars, shrinkage of concrete, partly balanced by the aging of concrete
and adhesive.
This work follows an approach that attempts to quantify the different material contribution.
Following this the objective of this contribution is to characterise and quantify the concrete creep
contribution on the fastening long term performance [6]. For that a numerical framework that couples
the physical and chemical phenomena, that occur in concrete during hydration, to a mechanical model
including damage, is used combined with various experiments. The aforementioned framework
couples an hygro-thermo-chemical (HTC) model [7], for the simulation of the moisture transport,
hydration, and temperature evolution, to a rate-type creep model, the micro-prestress solidification
theory (MPS) [8], which relates the output of HTC variables to creep, shrinkage and thermal strains.
The coupled framework is implemented coupled with a discrete concrete model, the lattice discrete
particle model (LDPM) [9], which can also be modified to account for rate dependent damage. The
model calibration requires a large amount of tests. For that, full experimental characterizations of the
material properties are obtained from standard cubes and prisms at various ages. Additionally, the
aforementioned model is validated, using data of pull-out tests of bonded anchors at different ages.
The elastic-bond law for the system simulations is calibrated and validated using the results of two
different configurations of pull-put tests with close and wide support [10].
On the other hand, internal humidity and temperature evolution is measured in two cubes of 20
cm edge length, so that the HTC parameters can be calibrated. Finally, for the calibration and
validation of the MPS type creep and shrinkage model a series of creep and shrinkage tests are used.
These include sealed and unsealed specimens, loaded at various ages, as well as the companion
specimens of drying shrinkage starting at the same ages, and sealed specimens starting measuring
exactly after demolding, roughly 24 hours after casting, for autogenous shrinkage. The model results
are compared to experimental data of sustained load tests, at low load level of 30%, and at different
geometries. Finally, an approach of modelling tertiary concrete creep and time dependent fracture is
presented. The preliminary study on literature data shows that the model has a strong predictive
capability. The next steps are a validation of the numerical framework on anchor time to failure tests,
and to extended in such a way that also the mortar time dependent behaviour is taken into account.
2 Secondary creep
This investigation uses experimental data of two concrete batches, A and B, of different mix design
and strength. The mix design and their 28 days compressive strength, measured on cubes of 150x150
mm, is shown in Table 1. For both of them a full material characterization was carried out, as well as
characterization of the time dependent properties, i.e. creep and shrinkage tests. For both concretes
bonded anchor systems of a vinyl-ester bonding agent, were tested and the bond parameters were
characterized. Additionaly for concrete B, sustained load tests were performed, at a load level of 30%
of the short test pull-out capacity. The description of the experiments can be found in [11].
Table 1 Mix design and compressive strength for both concretes tested at moist cured cubes of
150x150 mm.at 28 days.
Concrete w/c c [kg/m3] a [kg/m3] ρ [kg/m3] fc(28) [MPa]
A 0.83 240 2093 2453 25.99
B 0.60 276 1097 2453 51.02

2.1 Material characterization and bond characterization

For both concretes a full material characterization has been performed, characterizing the compres-
sive strength, fc, the Youngs’s modulus E, the tensile strength, ft, and the fracture energy. The test
b
results are used for calibration of the parameters of the model related to their mechanical response.
Fig. 1 shows the experimental as well as the numerical results of standard cube (150x150mm) com-
pression and three point bending tests.
if
(a) (b)
Fig. 1 Stress-strain diagrams experimentally and numerically for cube compression (a) and three
point bending (b) for concrete A.
The model is also calibrated to the rest of the tests and for both concretes. After the LDPM calibration
is completed, the parameters are fixed and they are used for the study of the concrete creep effect on
bonded anchors.
2.2 Creep and shrinkage characterization

Additionally creep and shrinkage tests were performed for both batches using cylindrical specimens
of 150x300 mm, radius and height. In this study both sealed and drying specimens were used in order
to quantify the different components of the creep and shrinkage, i.e. self-desiccation, Pickett effect.
Four cylinders were loaded at different ages at around 30% of their strength tested at the same age.
Table 2 shows the information of the actual loads that were used in the tests. In parallel for each age
four companion shrinkage specimens were prepared and tested, two for drying and two for autoge-
nous shrinkage.
Table 2 Loading age t', moist cured cylinder strength at this age, and actual sustained load used in
creep tests for both concretes.
Concrete t' [days] f cyl[MPa] σ [MPa]

A 3 7.2 2.2
A 28 16.0 6.0
Furthermore, the hydration parameters of the tested concrete have been characterized by isothermal
calorimetry tests. Finally, the moisture transport, coefficients, as well as the heat conduction coeffi-
cient were determined by humidity and temperature monitoring tests. The latter were performed on
cubical specimens of 200x200mm. These had all faces, beside the upper, sealed and thermally isolat-
ed, as it is shown in Fig. 2. The relative humidity and the temperature were measured with sensors
installed at the centre and at four different heights, allowing the characterization of the gradients of
Ioannis Boumakis, Marco Marcon, Krešimir Ninčević and Roman Wan-Wendner 313

the two transfer mechanisms, i.e. heat and moisture. The experimental results, as well as the numeri-
cal are presented in Fig. 2(b).
ifb
(a) (b)
Fig. 2 Moisture and heat transfer tests configuration (a) and temperature evolution experimental-
ly (3 specimens) and numerically obtained (b).
After the calibration of the hygro-thermo-chemical problem, the calibration of shrinkage follows, and
then the calibration of the creep parameters. The latter is performed on experimental data of one age.
Then by fixing the calibrated parameters a validation on experimental data from tests performed on
different age is performed. The tests were performed in controlled environmental chamber with rela-
tive humidity of 55% and temperature of 22oC. The shrinkage and creep strains were measure by
strain gauges of 50mm length.
Figure 3 (a) shows the results of shrinkage tests, both autogenous and drying as well as the nu-
merical results of the model calibration. Furthermore, in Figure 3(b) the results of creep tests are
presented. Both tests were performed at an age of 3 days, and on concrete A. Additionally, the same
tests were repeated at an age of 28 days, for concrete A, with the obtained data to serve as validation
of the model calibration. In case of concrete B, the creep and shrinkage tests took place at an age of
60days. A more detailed description of the experimental set-up, and the calibration strategy that was
followed can be found in [11].
(a) (b)
Fig. 3 Shrinkage (a) and creep curves (b) for concrete A.
2.3 Sustained load tests and concrete creep effect

Next, a study of the effect of concrete creep on the long-term behaviour of bonded anchors under
sustained load is carried out. First, a numerical study of bonded anchors loaded at different ages under
sustained load is carried out. A system of a bonded anchor of radius 6mm, installed in concrete at an
embedment depth of 80mm. In this study only the viscoelasticity of concrete is taken into account,

while the mortar is simulated thorough an interface using a stress-slip law. The parameters of the
latter are calibrated on short term pull-out tests, as is discussed in [10]. Also, it has to be noted that in
the simulations the concrete material properties are not changing during the time when the load is
sustained. However aging of concrete can also be included as it has been discussed in [12, 13]. Figure
b
4 shows the results of the numerical study for a time of 50 years of load sustaining, for a confined
configuration, using a support ring of 22mm inner and 44mm outer diameter. In Figure 4(a) the addi-
tional deformation on the top of the anchor normalized by the instantaneous deformation of the an-
chor is shown. As it can be seen from the results of the simulations considering concrete creep only,
if
creep leads to an additional deformation of 40-50% of the initial instantaneous response.
(a) (b)
Fig. 4 Relative displacements, creep over instantaneous (a) and normalized bond stress (b).
The design of fastening systems is generally based on the so called uniform bond law [2]. While this
approach is suitable for the design at the ultimate limit state, at service loads the distribution of bond
stresses is far from uniform as presented in Figure 4(b), dashed line, for the simulation considering
concrete creep only. Over time, stresses are redistributed due to concrete creep causing a further
deviation from the uniformity assumption of bond stress as well as a significant increase in stress by
almost 50% after 50 years.
3 Tertiary creep of concrete

The next step of characterizing the time dependent behaviour of the fastening systems is to model the
tertiary creep and the actual failure mechanisms. Also, in this case an approach that isolates the dif-
ferent material contributions is followed. As first step, the characterisation of concrete time dependent
fracture under sustained load is modelled. For that an approach that couples linear viscoelasticity with
rate dependent discrete damage model is formulated. More details on the numerical framework can be
found in [14]. This framework requires a set of different tests for the parameter calibration and valida-
tion, i.e. creep and shrinkage of concrete, standard material characterisation tests at different loading
rate, and time to failure tests, on the materials, as well as on the system level. Since the results of the
currently running tests, are not yet available, this paper presents the evaluation of the numerical
framework, just for concrete, on data obtained from the literature [15].
3.1 Rate effect and creep calibration

The strength rate dependency is a necessary component on time dependent fracture under sustained
load [16]. In order to calibrate the model parameters experimental data from tests performed at differ-
ent loading rates are required. In this work three point bending (TPB) tests on notched prismatic
specimens (640x50x50mm) are simulated. These have a support distance of 600mm and a notch
depth of 25mm, and they were loaded at four different loading rates, resulting a change on the peak
force. These data were used for the calibration of the rate effect model parameters. In Figure 6 the

experimental and the numerical peak force – rate diagrams are given. In parallel to the calibration of
the rate effect, the creep model is calibrated on tensile relaxation test on notched cylinders of 60mm
height, inner diameter of 40mm, and outer diameter of 64, while the notch had a width of 10mm.
Fig. 6
3.2
ifb
Calibration of rate effect model parameters.
Time to failure
Finally, the model is validated on time to failure tests of TPB tests on prismatic notched specimens
loaded at four different sustained load. The used prismatic specimens (840x100x100mm) had a sup-
port distance of 800mm, and a notch depth of 50mm. These were loaded at 92, 85, 80, and 76% of
their strength. The load was sustained and failure times were measured. In Figure 7 the experimental
results are compared to these obtained from the simulation. As it can be shown the framework can
predict very well failure due to tertiary creep.
Fig. 7 Time to failure vs crack opening for different load levels, experimentally markers and
numerically solid lines.
4 Conclusions
In this work an approach that characterizes the different material contribution on the time dependent
behaviour of bonded anchors is presented. The concrete creep contribution is characterized using a
numerical framework that couples physical and chemical phenomena of concrete to its mechanical
response. The framework is used to investigate the concrete creep effect on the bonded anchor re-
sponse. The simulations show continuously increasing deformations and a divergence from a uniform

bond law at service loads. Finally, a framework for the modelling of tertiary creep of concrete is
presented. The framework is evaluated on literature data where it shows a very good performance.
The latter is planned to be used and evaluated on time to failure tests that are currently running. Final-
ly by extending the numerical framework such that it accounts also for the time dependent behaviour
b
of mortar, more insights and more accurate predictions of the long time behaviour of fastenings under
sustained load can be achieved.
Acknowledgements
if
The financial support by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth and the Na-
tional Foundation for Research, Technology and Development is gratefully acknowledged, as is the
additional support by our industrial partners. The computational results presented have been achieved
using the Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC).
References
[1] NTSB/HAR-07/02, Ceiling Collapse in the Interstate 90 Connector Tunnel, National Trans-
portation Safety Board, 2006.
[2] Eligehausen, R., R. Mallée, and J. F. Silva. 2006. “Anchorage in Concrete Construction.”
Ernst & Sohn.
[3] Cook, R. A., E. P. Douglas, T. M. Davis, and C. Liu. 2013. “NCHRP Report 757: Long-term
performance of Epoxy Adhesive Anchor Systeẑms.” Tech. Rep. Washington, D.C.
[4] Wan-Wendner, R, and J. Podrouzek. “Robust power law extrapolation for bonded anchors
under sustained load.” ACI Structures Journal, in review.
[5] Podrouzek, J, and R. Wan-Wendner.“Uncertainty analysis of the power law extrapolation
techniques for bonded anchors.” Structural Concrete, in review.
[6] Boumakis, I., M. Marcon, L. Wan, and R. Wendner. 2015. “Creep and shrinkage in fastening
systems.”: CONCREEP 2015: Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of
Concrete and Concrete Structures – Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on
Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Struc-
tures, 657-666.
[7] Di Luzio, G., and G. Cusatis. 2009. “Hygro-thermo-chemical modeling of high performance
concrete. I & II .” Cement and Concrete Composites 31(5):301-324.
[8] Bažant, Z. P., A. B. Hauggaard, S. Baweja, and F.-J. Ulm. 1997. “Microprestress-
solidification theory for concrete creep, I&II.” J. of Engineering Mechanics 123(11):1188-
1201.
[9] Cusatis G., D. Pelessone, and A. Mencarelli. 2011. “Lattice discrete particle model (LDPM)
for failure behavior of concrete. I: Theory.” Cement and Concrete Composites 33(9):881-890.
[10] Marcon, M., J. Vorel, K. Ninčević, and R. Wan-Wendner.. 2017. “Modeling adhesive anchors
in a discrete element framework.” Materials 10(8):917. Accessed August 8, 2017. doi:
10.3390/ma10080917.
[11] Boumakis, I., M. Marcon, K. Ninčević, L. M. Czernuschka, and R. Wan-Wendner. “Concrete
creep and shrinkage effects on sustained load behavior of adhesive anchors.” Enginnering and
Structures, in review.
[12] Wendner, R., K. Ninčević, I. Boumakis, and L. Wan. 2016. “Age-dependent lattice discrete
particle model for quasi-static simulations.” Key Engineering Materials 711:1090-1097.
[13] Wan, L., R. Wendner, B. Liang, and G. Cusatis. 2016. “Analysis of the behavior of ultra high
performance concrete at early age.” Cement and Concrete Composites 875(74):120 -135.
[14] Boumakis, I., G. Di Luzio, M. Marcon, J. Vorel, and R. Wan-Wendner. “Discrete element
framework for modeling tertiary creep of concrete in tension and compression”, Enginnering
Fracture Mechanics, in review.
[15] Zhou, F. P., 1992. “Time- dependent crack growth and fracture in concrete.” PhD diss., Lund
University of Technology, Lund, Sweeden.
[16] Di Luzio G. 2009. “Numerical model for time-dependent fracturing of concrete.” Journal of
Engineering Mechanics 135(7):632-640.

ifb

Multiphase simulations of experimental tests on the

hygric behaviour of concrete
b
Andreas Brugger, Peter Gamnitzer and Günter Hofstetter
Unit of Strength of Materials and Structural Analysis,
University of Innsbruck,
if
Technikerstraße 13, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Abstract
Multiphase models, which consider concrete as a porous material filled with liquid water and air,
allow a coupled thermo-hygro-chemo-mechanical description of concrete capable of predicting the
temporal evolution and spatial distribution of strength properties and deformations due to shrinkage
and creep. The present contribution focuses on the calibration and evaluation of the model for the
hygric behaviour, which describes the relation between humidity, saturation and capillary pressure
and additionally controls fluid transport processes. Numerical simulations of experiments on the
drying of thin concrete slices confirm the deficiencies of present formulations in representing the
temporal evolution of the mass and reveal the need for revising the governing parameters and models.
1 Introduction
Recent investigations predict considerably increasing road freight transport in the upcoming dec-
ades [1]. These growing traffic loads and the rising age of existing bridges lead to a decreasing resid-
ual service life. The average rehabilitation cycle of bridge support structures of the Austrian road
network is 30 years, thus economic and sustainable methods for the maintenance and strengthening of
bridges are required.
One of the most common measures for restoring and improving the load carrying capacity of rein-
forced concrete bridges is adding a concrete overlay. Thereby the existing concrete is firstly prepared
by high-pressure water jetting of its surface, afterwards the concrete overlay is added on the wetted
substrate [2]. Finally, sealings and asphalt pavements are installed. Alternatively, direct driven con-
crete surfaces are characterised by increasing popularity.
However, insufficiencies in design and construction practices can cause incompatibilities between
the concrete overlay and the existing substrate, which can become noticeable as damage. Typical
failure mechanisms include cracking of the overlay due to restrained deformations as well as debond-
ing of the overlay in the form of local delamination [3]. The primary cause of these phenomena is
shrinkage of the concrete overlay, which is restrained by the existing substrate concrete and induces
tensile strains in the overlay. The tensile elastic strain capacity is very small, however creep in tension
can play a significant role in reducing the restraint stress [4]. Shrinkage of the overlay concrete also
affects the existing concrete by provoking compressive stresses. The restraint effects with respect to
the overlay are consequently also reduced by compressive creep strains in the existing substrate.
To allow efficient design and dimensioning for this strengthening technique, it is necessary to ap-
propriately consider the shrinkage and creep behaviour of concrete overlays restrained by an existing
substrate. Conventional models offer phenomenological descriptions of shrinkage and creep effects,
but further basic research in terms of laboratory testing as well as numerical simulations is required
for a better understanding [5], [6]. Multiphase models promise a sophisticated approach for numerical
simulations of overlay concrete, considering interactions with the substrate in terms of hygric and
mechanical behaviour.
2 Multiphase modelling of concrete

The mechanical behaviour of concrete regarding the time dependent phenomena shrinkage and creep
is strongly affected by the hydration process as well as the content and distribution of moisture. The
theory of partially saturated porous media allows a detailed description of the underlying processes
with the theoretical support of thermodynamics of multiphase systems [7]. Compared to conventional
shrinkage and creep models, which are only applicable within certain restrictions, multiphase models

allow a more general description for particular boundary conditions or interactions. Within the
framework of multiphase models, concrete is considered as a porous material, which consists of a
solid phase and voids. These pores are filled with liquid water and a gas mixture, whereby phase
changes and transport phenomena affect the actual composition. A sophisticated model covering
b
hygromechanical phenomena coupled with heat transport and the hydration process has been pro-
posed by [8]. The governing equations represent balance of mass, momentum, energy, entropy and
enthalpy as well as kinematic relations and a number of constitutive equations for the individual
phases. Application of this model for overlay concrete required further advancements and parameter
if
identifications by [9], which led to a model applicable on the structural level. This coupled thermo-
hygro-chemo-mechanical description is capable of predicting the time dependent behaviour of con-
crete, which means that the evolution and spatial distribution of strength properties and deformations
due to shrinkage and creep can be computed. The early age properties are described regarding solidi-
fication as a function of hydration degree. Shrinkage is formulated by the effective stress concept in
terms of the capillary stress and creep in terms of the microprestress-solidification theory. Due to the
focus of the present contribution, here only the hygric model is explained in the style of [7].
2.1 Water in concrete

Hardened concrete is a strongly hydrophilic material due to its porous structure. Beside the chemical-
ly bound water in hydration products, significant amounts of evaporable water are contained in the
pores. The latter can be categorized into (i) liquid capillary water, which is bound in pores of micro-
metre dimension by capillary menisci, (ii) water vapour in capillary pores under partial pressure
and (iii) adsorbed water, which is either forming layers on pore walls or captured in cement gel pores
of nanometre dimension as so called hindered adsorbed water. The evaporable water content can
decrease through drying and is deeply linked to the relative humidity ℎ in the pore, which is defined
as partial pressure of water vapour in relation to the saturated vapour pressure :
ℎ= . (1)
The relative humidity can vary over the spatial domain and time, forming the determining variable in
the diffusion equation describing moisture transport. While freshly mixed concrete is fully saturated,
a drying process evolves due to environmental conditions after the end of curing. This causes the so
called drying shrinkage, while the chemically driven autogenous shrinkage also appears for perfectly
sealed conditions.
2.2 Physics of pore fluids

The governing equations can be derived from a macroscopic point of view on the multiphase porous
medium considering a smeared description of solid structure and pores. For partially saturated porous
media, the latter are filled with liquid water and a gas mixture consisting of dry air and water vapour.
These phases are referred to by subscripts (solid), (liquid water), (gas), (air) and (vapor).
The porosity represents the pore space as ratio of the total volume and the saturation de-
gree indicates the amount of liquid water in the pores:
+
= = , = = . (2)
+ + +
The density of a porous medium at a certain saturation degree is obtained by adding up the indi-
vidual phases, which are represented by the true density of each phase and the corresponding volume
fraction:
= 1− + + 1− . (3)
In partially saturated pores, the interface between liquid water and gas mixture forms capillary menis-
ci due to the surface tension . The curved interface with mean radius results in a difference be-
tween the gas pressure and the pressure of the capillary water. This quantity is defined as capil-
lary pressure given by the Young-Laplace equation:

2
= − , = . (4)
b
It can be seen that highly curved menisci, which typically appear in small pores, result in high capil-
lary pressures. In larger pores, on the other hand, low capillary pressures are acting while small pores
are completely filled by liquid water. This relation motivates a degree of saturation dependent formu-
lation of the capillary pressure. Since the morphology of the pores is complex and additional relations
would be required to obtain a unique description, the capillary pressure curve is determined experi-
if
mentally. Within this practical approach, the relation proposed by [10] is widely used:
#"%
"#/%
= ! − 1& . (5)
The variables and ' represent parameters, the dimension of the first mentioned quantity being
pressure. The parameters can either be chosen from the literature or fitted to experimental data.
The interface between liquid water and the gas mixture is not only subjected to mechanical stress-
es, furthermore mass exchange through evaporation and condensation takes place. This process is
driven by the difference in the temperature and pressure dependent specific free enthalpies of the two
phases. The assumption of thermodynamic equilibrium yields to the Kelvin-Laplace equation, which
relates the relative humidity in the pore to the pressures of the two phases. The realistic assump-
tion ≪ simplifies the equation, which can then be expressed in the following form:
-
ℎ = exp ,− 0 . (6)
. /
Thereby / represents the current value of the absolute temperature, while the universal gas constant .
and the the molar mass of water - are physical constants.
The temporal evolution of moisture conditions depends on the transport of heat and mass. The lat-
ter part can be distinguished into diffusion and flow of either liquid water or vapour. The transport
mechanisms of liquid water and flow of moist air, which are of particular interest for the present
contribution, are formulated using Darcy’s law, wherein the driving force is the pressure gradient ∇
and gravitational acceleration in the direction of 23 . Considering the water phase, the mass flux 4
can be expressed as:
56 78
4 = −∇ + 23 . (7)
9
Thereby 78 represents the intrinsic permeability, while the dynamic shear viscosity 9 is a property
of the pore fluid. The relative permeability 56 reduces the permeability in partially saturated
conditions as a function of the saturation degree. Again, the relation proposed by [10] is widely used:
;
#/% %
56 =: !1 − !1 − & & . (8)
The previously explained relations allow the realistic description of the distribution and evolution of
moisture regarding relative humidity, saturation and capillary pressure.
Multiphase modelling of concrete requires identification of a variety of material parameters. While
some parameters can be determined quite easily with appropriate accuracy, the measurement of others
is elaborate. Mechanical properties generally belong to the first-mentioned group, whereas hygric
parameters are hard to identify. One of the main reasons is that hygric processes run rather slowly.
Meaningful results in terms of hygric behaviour can be obtained by sorption tests of concrete. There-
by specimens are exposed to various levels of ambient humidity at constant temperature, while their
mass is monitored to evaluate the water content. The obtained relation is known as desorption iso-
therm for drying conditions characterised by decreasing mass, for wetting conditions the adsorption
isotherm is determined.
Andreas Brugger, Peter Gamnitzer and Günter Hofstetter 321

ifb
Fig. 1 Thin concrete slice with measuring marks for determining shrinkage strains used for
sorption tests at different levels of ambient humidity ℎ<= [11].
Fig. 2 Temporal evolution of the relative mass of thin concrete slices at the age of 650 days
stored at different levels of ambient humidity ℎ<= (mean values and standard deviation)
taken from [11].
In [11] the sorption isotherms of thin concrete slices (Fig. 1) were examined. To ensure a fully com-
pleted hydration process, concrete with an age of 650 days was used. The concrete was stored under
sealed conditions after casting and then cut into slices with a size of 11 cm × 11 cm and a thickness of
10 mm. Afterwards the specimens were stored in desiccators at various levels of humidity, which
were obtained through particular solutions of salts. During the following sorption processes, the
masses of the concrete slices were measured using a high-precision weighing scale. Furthermore, the
deformations of the specimens were monitored to determine the drying shrinkage strains. The exper-

iment was continued until the mass remained constant within prescribed limits. Fig. 2 shows the mass
evolution at ambient humidity levels ranging from 43 to 98 percent relative humidity. The masses are
depicted in relation to the corresponding initial values, which represent about 280 g and vary through
slightly different thicknesses. It can be seen that all test series except the one with the highest level of
b
humidity, experience drying. This allows a rough estimation of the initial pore humidity, which is
about 93 percent determined by [12] for concrete at the age of two years under similar sealing condi-
tions. The measured curve at the highest level of humidity will not be considered for simulations
within the present contribution, as adsorption occurs.
To determine the amount of water stored in the pores for each humidity level ℎ, the concrete
if
slices were oven-dried after a constant mass '> was attained. The ratio between evaporable water and
mass of the dry specimen '>?8 is called water content or moisture ratio @, which is related to the
saturation degree by the bulk density of the dry specimen >?8 and the water density :
'> − '>?8 @ >?8
@= , = .
'>?8
(9)
The experimentally obtained water contents for the examined humidity levels are shown in Fig. 3.
The water content for the same type of concrete at the age of 6 weeks is also depicted for comparison.
These results are taken from [13], where sorption tests on concrete slices similar to the previously
described ones were conducted. For this second test series all specimens were stored in water for
42 days after casting. Due to initially fully saturated pores, desorption occurred for all levels of hu-
midity for the young concrete. It can be seen in Fig. 3, that the water content for the young and old
concrete is in good agreement for the lower levels of ambient humidity. By contrast, the old concrete
shows a significantly lower water content at higher levels of humidity.
4 Numerical simulations
Discretisation of the governing equations briefly summarized in section 2 in terms of the finite ele-
ment method allows numerical simulations using the multiphase model of concrete. Thereby the
governing equations are formulated in terms of gas pressure, capillary pressure, temperature and
displacements. Multiphase simulations enable the prediction of the evolution and spatial distribution
of stiffness as well as strength properties and of deformations due to shrinkage and creep. The present
section addresses the identification of required parameters, obtained results and observed issues for
simulations of the previously described sorption tests.
4.1 Parameter fitting for the hygric model

The hygric model is mainly characterised by equation (5), which specifies the relation between satu-
ration degree and capillary pressure and requires an appropriate choice of the two parameters
and '. For calibration with experimental data, relation (9) and therefore the porosity is needed to
determine the saturation degree from the measured water content @. Since an accurate value for the
porosity is not available, it is also considered as an unknown parameter. Curve fitting by the method
of least squares for the experimental data of the young concrete shown in Fig. 3 results in =
30.8 MPa, ' = 0.376 and a porosity of = 0.113. Calibration of the respective concrete parameters
at the age of 650 days yields = 56.2 MPa, ' = 0.413 and = 0.0877. The corresponding water
content curves for both types of concrete are also shown in Fig. 3. The fitted curves match the meas-
ured data fairly well in terms of the least squares method and predict a significantly lower water
content for the concrete at the age of 650 days at higher humidity levels. The peak values for fully
saturated conditions depend only on the porosity and thus are rather differing.

Fig. 3
4.2
ifb
Measured water content (bullets and error bars) at different levels of ambient humidi-
ty ℎ<= for concrete at the age of 650 days taken from [11] and comparative results for
young concrete from [13] as well as identified water content curves (solid lines).
Simulation and results

The sorption tests of thin concrete slices at the age of 650 days are modelled using three-dimensional
continuum elements with quadratic shape functions for displacements and temperatures. For interpo-
lating the pressure degrees of freedom (gas pressure and capillary pressure) linear functions are used.
The finite element mesh is refined towards the surfaces exposed to environmental conditions, in order
to allow the representation of steep gradients caused by changing boundary conditions. The concrete
is fully hydrated due to its age and has an initial pore humidity ℎH=H = 88 % over the entire domain.
Neumann boundary conditions for humidity and temperature are applied on the surface according to
the experiments. Fig. 4 exemplarily shows the resulting evolution of moisture distribution in a thin
concrete slice during drying at 43 % relative humidity.
Fig. 4 Computed evolution of moisture distribution in sectional planes of symmetry during

drying at 43 % relative humidity after 1.5 days (left) and 14 days (right).

The obtained results are qualitatively reasonable, but the quantitative values reveal the need for fur-
ther refinement of the applied relations. As can be seen from Fig. 2 or Fig. 5, the measured mass of a
specimen drying at for instance ℎ<= = 43 % reduces to 98.4 % of the initial value after 95 days.
Previous investigations by [9] did not consider the mass of the simulated specimen, since this output
b
quantity was not available due to technical limitations of the interface of the implementation. Within
the present contribution, the mass of the simulated specimen is obtained by integrating the density
over the domain.
The quantitative loss of mass is not only affected by the fitting of the hygric model parameters
if
and ', but also by the initial pore humidity ℎH=H of the specimen. The loss of mass can easily be
computed analytically regarding stationary conditions, which are represented by horizontal trends of
the computed results in Fig. 5 (left) after 95 days. Consider the concrete specimen in dry state with
porosity = 0.0877, bulk density >?8 = 2240 kg/m³ and water density = 1000 kg/m³. As a
consequence, the true density of the solid phase equals = 2455 kg/m³ if the gas density is
neglected. The initial mass of the specimen for a humidity ℎH=H = 88 % can be calculated by
equation (3) using (5) as well as (6) and equals 'H=H = 281.1 g. Analogously the mass for moisture
equilibrium at ℎ<= = 43 % yields '<I = 276.8 g, which leads to a mass ratio of 98.5 %. This
simple estimation corresponds well to the numerical simulation as well as to the measured ratio
shown in Fig. 5 and thus implies, that the controlling quantities, namely initial pore humidity ℎH=H
and porosity , can be fitted appropriately. These parameters are not precisely known from
experimental tests, but reference values suggest them to be higher. However, any deviation from the
afore-mentioned values does no longer allow a proper representation of the experimental loss of mass.
Furthermore, fitting of the moisture content @ merely takes into account the product , which
allows no separate assessment of these factors.
Fig. 5 Comparison of predicted and measured evolution of the mass of thin concrete specimens
during drying at ambient humidity levels ranging from 43 to 98 % for two different values
of intrinsic permeability: 78 = 2.25 × 10";; m² (left) and 78 = 5.5 × 10";K m² (right).
Consideration of the mass of the simulated specimen does not only allow evaluating the amount of
mass loss, but also the temporal evolution. Fig. 2 and Fig. 5 show, that the measured mass decreases
strongly in the first days of the experiment and then slowly reaches the final value after 95 days. In
the numerical model, the mass evolution is primarily controlled by the saturation dependent permea-
bility law. For the simulations within the present contribution, relation (8) proposed in [10] was used
analogously to the choice of [9]. Comparison of the computed evolution of mass for two different

values of intrinsic permeability in Fig. 5 for ℎ<= = 43 % reveals, that the lower value of 78 allows a
better prediction. By contrast, the higher value of 78 better predicts mass evolution for ℎ<= = 59 %.
Thus, application of the widely used relation (8) requires revision, as the permeability decreases
several orders of magnitude between fully saturated conditions and lower humidity levels. In order to
b
represent the experimental rate of drying, a permeability law with moderate decline for decreasing
saturation is required, which furthermore allows an adequate fit of its shape.
5 Conclusion and outlook
if
The comparison of experimental data and numerical simulations in terms of multiphase modelling
reveals insufficiencies concerning the chosen parameters, which are required for the realistic predic-
tion of the mass evolution. Future investigations will focus on revising the saturation law separately
from the porosity. Furthermore, the porosity will be re-examined through laboratory testing. Moreo-
ver, the saturation dependent permeability law will be adapted to describe the temporal evolution of
mass properly.
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Strain 53.2.


Arkadiusz Bula, Jacek Hulimka and Marcin Kozłowski
b
Akademicka 5, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
if
Abstract
This paper presents results of numerical analyzes of selected adhesive joint types carried out by FEM.
The studies demonstrated that the behavior and load-bearing capacity of adhesive joints vary depend-
ing on the external conditions and material parameters. The influence of stiffness, ambient tempera-
ture, geometry and test speed were considered. An engineering approach to model adhesive layer was
also presented. In addition, a method of modeling connections beyond the elastic range was present-
ed. Criteria allowing for more favorable selection of adhesive for joints were also discussed.
1 Introduction
Structural adhesives are usually used to reinforce masonry, timber, concrete (RC) and steel structures
[1]-[5]. Before performing strengthening, adequate calculations should be made to prove the load-
bearing capacity of the considered connection, capacity of the reinforced element and obtained as a
result of strengthening the stiffness of the element and possible influence on stress distribution in the
whole structure. Reinforcing of masonry, timber or concrete (RC) structures usually results that the
weakest component of connection is the reinforced material [2], [6]. However, the stresses in connec-
tion may be considerably higher than initially assumed, because the use of a rigid adhesive causes a
significant increase of stresses in the reinforced region, which can even lead to premature damage of
the element in this region [7]. In connections where steel is an adherent, it can be the other way round
because compliance of the adhesive connection could affect redistribution of internal forces in the
structure and it may lead to overloading of adjacent bars.
In adhesive connection designing a number of factors should be taken into account which can
significantly affect the actual state of stresses in the joint. It is a quite demanding approach, because
commonly used materials in civil engineering do not require such a detailed analysis as adhesives. In
addition, a detailed analysis of the adhesive should be carried out in the case of reinforcing steel or
aluminum constructions because in this type of connections, damage usually occurs in the adhesive
layer. For this reasons, the damage model is critical, which should not be brittle, it should rather
happen in ductile (plastic) manner.
2 Purpose of work
This paper presents results of numerical analyses, in which the influence of various parameters on the
stress distribution in double lap adhesive joint was considered. Adherents in connection were steel flat
bars, while for the bond connection three types of adhesives were considered: rigid, semi-rigid and
flexible. The numerical analysis was also aimed at determining the load-bearing capacity of the con-
nection and description of the failure mechanism, depending on the adhesive used.
3 Assumptions for numerical calculations

In the numerical analysis, a double-lap connection subjected to tensile force was considered, see Fig.
1. For the steel elements in all analyzes a linear-elastic material model was assumed; parameters are
summarized in Tab. 2. The material parameters for each adhesive group were adopted on the basis of
the technical data sheets [8]-[13]. Epoxy 3M DP490 represents a group of rigid adhesives, methacry-
late PLEXUS MA-420 of semi-rigid and acrylate Sikafast 5215 of flexible; parameters are summa-
rized in Tab. 2. In addition, material models have been presented in Fig. 2.
In the first phase of the analysis, only the elastic range of adhesives was considered, assuming
correspondingly low load. Various factors that may influence the stress distribution in the connection
were considered. Due to the geometry of the adhesive layer, two thicknesses were analyzed: 0.2 and

0.8 mm ; also different lengths: 12.5 mm, 25.0 mm and 37.5 mm were considered. Fig. 3 shows
different shapes of the edges of connection for which numerical calculations were carried out. Due to
the lack of material data for epoxides and acrylics, declared by manufacturers for different
temperature ranges, only for the methacrylic adhesive, the influence of temperature variability was
b
discussed: -40ºC, 23ºC and 82ºC. The numerical model was created in a plane stress state. The mesh
size of a square finite element was equal to 0.05 mm, thanks to which the layer of adhesive (0.2 mm
thick by default), has been divided into four layers. The load was applied as concentrated forces,
analogously as shown in Fig. 1.
if
Due to the multitude of different sets and combinations of parameters, it was assumed that all
results will be referred to the reference conditions: temperature 23ºC, adhesive thickness 0.2mm,
without widening and length 12.5 mm (Tab. 1). For the reference conditions, the influence of test
speed on the stress distribution was also considered. The viscoelastic behaviour of adhesives was
described by the Prony series. To determine required Prony coefficients, test results were necessary
e.g. relaxation of analyzed adhesive. During relaxation, for specific and unchanging strains of the
sample, value of the stress can be written using the formula [14]:
σ (t ) = E (t ) ⋅ ε 0 (1)
where:
σ(t) – function of changing stresses in time;
E(t) – relaxation function (changes in elasticity over time) ;
ε0 – set and permanent deformation of the sample.
When the material is assumed as a Maxwell solid, then the function of relaxation E(t), is defined
as follows [14] :
n
E (t ) = E0 ⋅ (1 − ∑ g i ⋅ (1 − e −t /τ i )) (2)
i =1
where:
E(t) – relaxation function (changes in elasticity over time);
E0 –instantenous modulus of elasticity ;
t – time ;
gi, τi –Prony constants (i=1, 2...).
Due to the lack of available studies on the relaxation of methacrylic adhesives, the analysis was
performed only for epoxy and acrylic adhesives. Prony constants were estimated on the basis of
works [10], [14]; summarized in Tab. 3.
Fig. 1 Specimen geometry assumed in numerical study.
Table 1 Boundary conditions.

w [mm] ls [mm] ts [mm] lA [mm] tA [mm] FI phase [N] FII phase [N]
12.5
0.2
25 625 1.6 25.0 4x500 4x5000
0.8
37.5

Table 2 Material parameters.

Type of T Ee fy Ep fu fv v
Symbol
material [ºC] [MPa] [MPa] [MPa] [MPa] [MPa] [-]
b
Steel S235 [15] 210000 - - - -
3M Scotch-
Rigid Weld +23
if
Epoxy Adhesive 1595 - - 36.5 31.0 0.42
adhesive DP-460EG
[8]-[10]
PLEXUS -40 1433 - - 43.5 - 0.43
Semi-rigid MA420 Methac-
+23 830 13.0 453 18.6 20.7 0.41
adhesive rylate Adhesive
[11], [12] +82 100 3.0 0.7 - - -
SikaFast -5215
Susceptible
Acrylic Adhe- +23 78 8.4 4.8 - 8.0 0.46
adhesive
sive [10], [13]
Fig. 2 Material models: a) steel, b) rigid adhesive, c) semi-rigid adhesive (+23ºC), d) flexible
adhesive.
Fig. 3 Different details of the end of connection: a) without widening, b) wide adhesive fillet, c)
narrow adhesive fillet, d) tapering of adhesive and steel.
Table 3 Prony constants for selected adhesives [10].

Type of material g1 τ1 g2 τ2 g3 τ3 g4 τ4
Rigid adhesive 0.17 1 0.21 50 0.08 250 0.05 1000
Susceptible adhesive 0.71 1 0.15 50 0.05 250 0.04 1000
In the second phase of the simulations, the possible failure modes of the connection were studied.
Adopted ten times higher load in relation to the first phase and it allowed for failure in each of the
considered calculation cases. For epoxy adhesive linear elastic material model was assumed, but on a
contact layer between adhesive and steel assumed zero thickness interfaces with parameters resulting
from fracture mechanics (allowed debonding): maximum tensile and shear stresses, fracture energy
and shape of softening - Fig.4. For acrylate adhesive linear elastic-plastic material model for adhe-
sive layer was adapted, see Fig. 2d, while for methacrylate adhesive both approaches were assumed:
fracture criterion for connection adhesive – steel (Fig.4) and elastic-plastic material model for adhe-
sive (Fig.2c).
Arkadiusz Bula, Jacek Hulimka and Marcin Kozłowski 329

b
Fig. 4 Triangular traction-separation law shapes.
if
4 Results of numerical calculations
4.1 First phase – elastic analysis

Analysis of shear stress distribution for default conditions, as expected, showed a significant concen-
tration of stresses at the edges of the connection in the case of rigid adhesive. Uniform distribution
was obtained for the flexible adhesive. Semi-rigid adhesive showed intermediate characteristics. The
stress distributions are shown on Fig. 5.
Fig. 5 Shear stress distribution along longitidunal section.
Based on a list of material parameters for methacrylate adhesive for different temperatures, Tab. 2., it
was found that there is no need to perform additional numerical calculations for extreme values.
Methacrylate adhesive at the temperature of -40ºC has characteristics similar to the epoxy adhesive;
while at +82ºC the stress distribution will be similar to the acrylic behavior.
The influence of connection edge shape on the shear stress distribution is shown in Fig. 6. The
results of numerical calculations indicate that this has a significant impact with rigid adhesive, for
which the edge stress reduction was maximum 18.3%. Stress values for a weld shaped like Fig. 3c, d,
showed almost identical influence, reducing the stresses by 14.8%. The chamfering of corner steel
sheet did not have, as seen in this case, significant impact on the results. The lowest impact, in turn,
was observed for flexible adhesive, where the stress reduction was maximum 7.7%. As in the case of
a rigid adhesive, chamfering of corner steel sheet did not have an influence on edge stresses; the
reduction was 2.3%. Numerical analysis with the use of methacrylic adhesive allowed to obtain the
largest reduction of stress - 10.0%. Unlike the other cases, chamfering of corner steel sheet
additionally influenced the reduction of stresses which dropped by 7.5%, while in the absence of
chamfering, the reduction was 5.4%. Appropriate shaping of the connection edges affects the
reduction of stresses, because due to the gradual increase in the thickness of the adhesive,
simultaneously gradually stiffness increases too, which causes redistribution of edge stresses on the
larger area. Due to the fact that in the flexible adhesive there were no stress accumulation in the
default conditions, the chamfering did not significantly affected the value of stresses.
The analysis of the shear stress distribution depending on the length of the connection is shown in
Fig. 7. As it can be seen, for rigid adhesive, increasing the length of the joint did not significantly
reduce the edge stresses, because it amounted to only 15%. A significant difference is visible only in
the middle of the connection, where in the case of the length of 37.5 mm, stresses drop to almost zero
– this part is inactive and does not participate in the transfer of loads. The analysis showed that in
connection with flexible adhesive, more noticeable is the proportionality of stresses to the length of
the joint. Along the length of almost the entire connection, a reduction was ~46%, for 25.0 mm (twice
the length of the connection) and ~60% for 37.5 mm. In the case of semi-rigid adhesive, the reduction
of shear stress was noticeable at the edges of the weld, it reached 29% and 33% for the length of

connections 25.0 and 37.5 mm, respectively. At the same time, the middle part of the connection was
not excluded from stress transfer. However, it can be seen that further increase of length of the weld
would not lead to proportional stress reduction, similarly as in the case of connection with epoxy
adhesive.
Fig. 6
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Influence of different details of the end of connection depending on type of adhesive.
Fig. 7 Influence of different details of the end of connection depending on type of adhesive.
Increasing the thickness of the adhesive layer influences the stress distribution, causing their reduc-
tion, as shown in Fig.8. Comparing the distribution and values of the graphs shown in Fig. 5 and 8 it
can be seen that the smallest change has occurred in the acrylic adhesive, which once again confirms
that there is proportionality for susceptible adhesive of stresses to the length of the connection. For
epoxy and methacrylic adhesives, characterized by significant differences in stress between the
boundary and middle zone, for thickness of 0.2 mm it can be seen that stress is evened out over al-
most the entire length of the joint. In addition, the stress distributions are very similar to those ob-
tained for the acrylic adhesive, and thus it can be stated that at a given thickness of adhesive layer -
0.8 mm even in rigid adhesive, a certain proportionality of stress to the length has been achieved.
After all, concentration of edge stresses is still visible in epoxy and methacrylic adhesive. The differ-

ence between edge and middle zone were 17.1% and 9.6%, respectively for epoxy and methacrylate
adhesives.
Together with the bigger thickness of the adhesive layer, the deformability of the joint increases,
which in some constructions may affect change distribution of internal forces. In Tab. 4., the mean
b
values of horizontal displacements were summarized. It can be seen that for rigid adhesive, an
increase of four times the thickness of the adhesive layer did not affect the significant increase in
displacement, which increased only by 9.3%. Connection with methacrylic adhesive and joint
thickness of 0.2 mm showed similar deformability to that obtained in the case of epoxy. A fourfold
if
increase in the thickness of the adhesive layer caused an increase in displacements by 34.6%. In
relation to the displacements obtained for rigid and semi-rigid adhesives, flexible adhesive even for
thickness 0.2 mm exhibited greater deformability in connection. Increasing the layer dimension to
0.8 mm caused the increase of displacements up to 161.9%. Such a high dependence of the joint's
deformability depending on the thickness of the joint seems to exclude the use of susceptible
adhesives in construction, because mounting deviations during adhesive application could radically
change the design assumptions. It should be noted, however, that each case must be considered
individually.
Fig. 8 Shear stress distribution along longitidunal section for 0.8 mm thickness of adhesive and
correponding strains of connection.
Table 4 Deformation of connection corresponding to type and thickness of adhesive.
Type of Adhesive thickness Deformation Difference

material [mm] [mm] [%]
Rigid 0.2 0.0214 -

adhesive 0.8 0.0234 +9.3
0.2 0.0234 +9.3
Semi-rigid
adhesive 0.8 0.0315 +47.2
Susceptible 0.2 0.0443 +107.0

adhesive 0.8 0.1160 +542.1
Distribution of shear stresses depends on the test speed, which is shown in Fig. 9. In case of using
epoxy adhesive, very fast growth led to even greater variation in stresses at the length of the connec-
tion. The value of stresses in relation to the default conditions, on the edge of the connection in-
creased by 15%. For the longest considered time of load application, the obtained values coincided
with those obtained in the usual static analysis. The acrylic adhesive was also susceptible to the speed
of the load applied, because the increase in stress at the edge of the connection was 17%. Longer-
lasting load increases have already shown a convergence with the results of static analysis.

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Fig. 9 Variance of shear stress distribution along longitidunal section for different growth of
load time, depending on type of adhesive.
4.2 Second phase – non-elastic analysis

Numerical analyzes of connections where epoxy adhesive was used showed that from the moment of
reaching the maximum stress at the edges of the connection to the total loss of load capacity, a slight
increase in the external load was observed, the failure was a rapid process. In the case of connections
with an acrylic adhesive, the plasticization occurred simultaneously in the entire joint, in relatively
short time. This allowed for the full use in load transfer at adhesive layer up to a certain limit value of
the stresses. Achieving a certain value of the external force led to that displacements began to grow
very quickly in relation to a small increase in external force. Models with methacrylic adhesive
showed a ductile mechanism of failure. When maximal stress was reached thanks to their redistribu-
tion, there was no brittle crack as for an epoxy, but for plasticizing, as in the case of acrylic adhesive.
Comparison of the increment of applied load from displacement is shown in Fig.10.
Fig. 10 Comparision of applied force – deformation dependency for considered types of adgesive.
5 Conclusions
The numerical analyzes carried out in the first phase of the work showed a significant influence of
different factors on the stress distribution in the double lap adhesive connections. The thickness of the
adhesive layer and the chamfering of the connection edges showed a clearly greater impact on rigid
adhesives because they caused a reduction of stiffness in the corner places where, in default condi-
tions, the stress concentration occurred. For adhesives with low stiffness, the thickness of the adhe-
sive layer should be determined by the boundary deformations (maximum susceptibility) of connec-
tion, which do not cause excessive deformation of the structure and uncontrolled redistribution of
internal forces, that could damage the structure in other parts. Analysis of the adhesive layer length
showed that there is a critical length for which the further increase of length does not affect the reduc-
tion of edge stresses. Similarly, as in the case of steel welds, where the maximum length of the weld
should be no more than one hundred times its thickness [15], so in the case of adhesive joints, an
adequate dependence should be determined. Calculations carried out for different load rates showed
that the considered acrylic adhesive is sensitivity to impulse loads. In these cases, there was a relative-
ly greater increase in the concentration of edge stresses than in the epoxy adhesive.
Numerical analyzes carried out in the second phase confirmed that during selection the adhesive
for the joint, the stiffness is equally important as the strength parameters. Epoxy adhesives, showing

much higher load-bearing capacity compared to other ones do not show adequate load capacity in the
connections. This means that in the lap joints, which transfer mainly shear stresses, it is not possible
to fully use their strength parameters. It has been shown that it is possible in flexible joints, in which
acrylic adhesive was applied, whereas the deformations obtained seem to exclude the possibility of
b
their use in construction joints. Methacrylic adhesives combine high load-bearing capacity, being a
feature of epoxides and softer stress distribution, characterized by joints with acrylic adhesive. The
choice of adhesive for the connection should determine the maximum joint deformation and
minimum strength, adequate for combined materials. Additionally, if the criterion of maximum and
if
minimum stiffness of the adhesive is introduced, it is possible to determine a certain area within
which the adhesive, that meets these requirements, should be selected, as shown in Fig. 12. This is
obviously one of several criteria, which should be followed by choosing adhesive for combined
materials.
Fig. 12 Variation of shear stress distribution along longitidunal section for different growth of
load time, depending on type of adhesive.
Methacrylic adhesives have not been widely used in construction, for this reason, this group of adhe-
sives were not the object of numerous analyzes in construction joints. Favorable methacrylic parame-
ters, such as high strength and high deformability, cause that they will be the subject of future labora-
tory tests, which will aim to determine additional material parameters of the adhesives.
Acknowledgements
Numerical calculations were made at the Academic Computer Center AGH-Cyfronet based on the
computational grant: Badanie połączeń klejonych (Research of bonding connections) – badanie1.
Financing participation in the conference from BKM-504/RB-6/2017 funds.
References
[1] Kwiecień, Arkadiusz, Boguslaw Zając, and Matija Gams. 2015. “Repair and protection of
masonries against mining shocks using composites bonded on flexible.” XXVII Konferencja
Naukowo-Techniczna Awarie Budowlane 2015, Międzyzdroje, May 20-23, 799-806.
[2] Brol, Janusz. 2009. “Strengthening of bent glued laminated (glulam) beams with GARP tapes
at the stage of production.” Wiadomości Konserwatorskie 26:345-353.
[3] Kowal, M. 2016. Strengthening of steel construction elements with carbon composite strips.
Politechnika Lubelska, Lublin.
[4] Täljsten, B., A. Carolin. 2015. CFRP-strengthening - concrete structures strengthened with
near surface mounted CFRP laminates. FRPRCS-5: Fibre-reinforced plastics for reinforced
concrete structures Volume 1.
[5] Karbhari, Vistas M. 2014. Rehabilitation of Metallic Civil Infrastructure using Fiber-
reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites. Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge.
[6] Derkowski, Wit, Arkadiusz Kwiecień, Bogusław Zając. 2013. “CFRP strengthening of bent
RC beams using stiff and flexible adhesives.” Technical Transactions Civil Engineering 1-
B:37-52.
[7] Kwiecień, Arkadiusz. 2012. Polymer flexible joints in masonry and concrete structures.
Politechnika Krakowska, Kraków.
[8] Electronics Materials Solutions Division. 2015. Technical Data - 3M Scotch-Weld Epoxy
Adhesive DP-460EG.
[9] Industrial Adhesives & Tapes Division. 2017. Product Selection Guide .
[10] Kozłowski, Marcin. 2014. Experimental and numerical analysis of hybrid timber-glass
beams. PhD diss, Gliwice.

[11] ITW Engineered Polymers. 2017. Technical Data Sheet – PLEXUS MA420. Ireland.
[12] ITW Engineered Polymers. 2010. Technical Service Report – Adhesive Testing. Massachu-
setts.
[13] Sika Poland Sp. z o.o. 2014. Technical Data Sheet – SikaFast-5215.
b
[14] Chen, Tzikang. 2000. Determining a Prony Series for a Viscoelastic Material From Time
Varying Strain Data. Virginia.
[15] PN-80/B-03200: Steel structures. Design rules.
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ifb

Shear strength of thin-walled concrete members with

micro-reinforcement
b
Daniel Busse and Martin Empelmann
iBMB, Division of Concrete Construction
Technische Universität Braunschweig
if
Beethovenstraße 52, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
Abstract
The use of high-performance concrete and thus, a reduction in dimensions of structural members re-
quires alternative reinforcement concepts. Therefore, shear strength of thin-walled I-beams with micro-
reinforced webs was studied. Experimental investigations show reduced crack widths and improved
failure notice in comparison to conventionally reinforced concrete. Additionaly, results of FE-analysis
and experimental results were highly concordant – regarding ultimate loads and load-deflection behav-
iour. Finally, a FE-parameter study and a comparison with current design codes indicate secure assess-
ment of the shear strength of I-beams with micro-reinforced webs as well as the necessity of adaptions
regarding delimitation of failure modes.
1 Introduction
The development of high-performance concrete (HPC) enables a reduction in dimensions of concrete
members. If the dimensions are reduced to 20 to 40 mm, conventional reinforcement cannot be used
and alternative concepts are required. Among other concepts, micro-reinforced concrete can be used
advantageously.
Micro-reinforced concrete, internationally also known as ferrocement, is a composite containing
concrete with fine aggregates as well as multiple closely spaced layers of reinforcement grids with
small wire diameters (typically 0.5 to 2.0 mm, Fig. 1). Micro-reinforcement grids can be adjusted to
the applied loads just like conventional reinforcement, leading to an advantageous load-bearing behav-
iour of the composite. Furthermore, the closely spaced, thin wire diameters and the resulting increase
of specific surface lead to significantly reduced crack widths [1]. Thus, combining the multi-layer mi-
cro-reinforcement with nearly pore-free high-performance concrete (HPC) results in an extremely du-
rable composite.
Main applications of micro-reinforced concrete are currently shell structures or façade elements.
Therefore, the bending behaviour has often been checked [2]. Nonetheless, an application of micro-
reinforcement for thin-walled I- or T-beams and box-girders seams promising. In this case, the shear
strength has to be considered in particular. Due to the currently insufficient knowledge, experimental
and numerical investigations on the shear strength of thin-walled, micro-reinforced I-beams were per-
formed.
Fig. 1 Multilayer micro-reinforcement with wire diameter 1 mm and mesh size 20 mm (left), con-
creting of a micro-reinforced specimen (middle) and micro-reinforced cross-section (right,
Photos: iBMB, Daniel Busse).

2 Shear strength of micro-reinforced concrete

Based on the assumption that thin micro-reinforced plates or shells mostly fail due to bending, only
comparably few reports on shear tests can be found in literature. Most of these focus on the interaction
b
of bending and shear close to the supports of thin plates. Only few investigations deal with thin-walled,
micro-reinforced I- or T-beams and box-girders. To a certain extent, the load-bearing behaviour of thin-
walled, micro-reinforced members can be compared to conventionally reinforced members. Nonethe-
less, most investigated specimens showed an improved ductility and increased amount of diagonal
cracks with reduced crack widths. During the tests, failure of the micro-reinforcement as well as failure
if
of the web concrete occured. For some of the specimens, especially in case of loads close to the supports
sudden shear failure was observed.
In total, 113 tests on thin-webbed, micro-reinforced concrete members were compiled in a database
([3]-[8]). An overview of the main varied parameters is given in Fig. 2, revealing pending issues. Since
relatively small specimens (mainly h ≤ 200 mm) were used, a transfer to dimensions of typical prefab-
ricated concrete members cannot be ensured due to size-effects. In addition, only some specimens were
manufactured using HPC (fc ≥ 50 N/mm²), so that the validity of the described results for HPC cannot
be guaranteed. Besides, no clear delimitation of the described failure modes has been made so far.
Fig. 2 Compilation of shear tests on thin-walled, micro-reinforced concrete members ([3]-[8],

*compressive strength not recorded in [3]).
Regarding the shear design of micro-reinforced concrete members, several empirical or semi-empirical
shear design formulae can be found (e.g. [7], [9], [10]). Since each of those where derived or at least
adjusted using the tests conducted by the respective authors, the approaches cannot be generalized. A
“Guide for the Design, Construction and Repair of Ferrocement”, released by ACI Committee 549 [2],
also gives no specific provisions for shear design. Instead, it reffers to the American standard for con-
ventionally reinforced concrete, ACI 318 [11].
3.1 Specimens and experimental setup

In order to investigate the shear behaviour, overall nine I-beams were tested. The experiments were
performed as a 3-point-bending test with loading at one third of the beam length, ensuring a shear failure
inside the shorter span (Fig. 3). The specimens were simply supported using steel rolls. The load was
applied by a hydraulic cylinder.
The dimensions of the specimens were derived from typical prefabricated I-beams. However, the
web-thickness was reduced to 40 mm. All I-beams provide sufficient bending strength, enabling a
controlled shear failure. Specimen Q0 was used as a reference using conventional reinforcing steel
B500 (reinforcement type I, Fig. 3). For the remaining specimens micro-reinforcement grids were
applied in the area between the loading point and the closer support (reinforcement type II, Fig. 3).
Beneath the reinforcing concept, the shear reinforcement ratio ρw, the shear slenderness a/d (a: distance
between load and support) and the height of the beams h were varied (Table 1).
The specimens were manufactured using a high-strength, self-compacting concrete with fine-ag-
gregates (maximum aggregate size dg,max = 2.0 mm) based on DYCKERHOFF’s compound FLOWSTONE.
The mean compressive strength of cylinders (Ø150/300 mm) was fcm,cyl = 92.2 N/mm², while the mean

flexural strength of prisms (40/40/160 mm) was fctm,fl = 13.5 N/mm² (cf. [12]). For the micro-reinforce-
ment, welded wire grids with a diameter of 1.0 mm and mesh size of 20 mm were used. The yield (fym)
and tensile strength (ftm) were determined to 420 and 715 N/mm², respectively.
The deflection at the lower edge of the specimens was recorded using vertical displacement trans-
b
ducers. The uncracked webs were monitored using strain gauges. After cracking, deformations were
measured by horizontal and vertical displacement transducers. On the opposite side of the specimens,
the deformation inside the shear span was recorded using the photogrammetric measuring system AR-
AMIS by GOM (cf. [13], [14]).
if
Fig. 3 Test setup and applied measurement (left), cross-section and reinforcement of test speci-
mens (right, Photo: iBMB, Daniel Busse).
Table 1 Configuration of specimens.

Speci- Dimensions Reinforcement
men height web height effective depth shear slenderness type layer ratio
h [cm] hw [cm] d [cm] a/d [-] - n [-] ρw [%]
Q0 60 40 56 2.5 I - 0.6
Q1 60 40 56 2.5 II 5 0.5
Q2 60 40 56 2.5 II 10 1.0
Q3 60 40 56 2.5 II 15 1.5
Q4 40 20 36 2.5 II 5 0.5
Q5 40 20 36 2.5 II 15 1.5
Q6 80 60 76 2.5 II 5 0.5
Q7 60 40 56 2.0 II 5 0.5
Q8 60 40 56 1.5 II 5 0.5
3.2 Experimental results

The shear force-deflection curves of the specimens are provided in Fig. 4. The curves show a compa-
rable development until reaching the maximum load. Nonetheless, the failure characteristic as well as
the post-fracture behaviour of the specimens differ significantly.
The conventionally reinforced specimen Q0 failed suddenly after reaching its maximum load,
exhibiting a failure induced by the failure of the shear reinforcement. In contrast, for the micro-
reinforced specimens, different failure characteristics were observed depending on the shear
reinforcement ratio. The failure of specimens with a micro-reinforcement ratio of 0.5 % was induced
by the failure of the micro-reinforcement (Q1, Q4, Q6-Q8). However, no sudden failure was recorded
as the single wires of the grids failed successively. This can also be stated for specimens Q7 and Q8
with reduced shear slenderness. For specimens with a shear reinforcement ratio of 1.5 %, no wires
failed (Q3 and Q5). Instead, the web concrete, previously damaged through multiple cracks, fractured
gradually. As the yield strength of shear reinforcement was reached priorly , this type of failure may be
classified as a secondary concrete failure. In case of specimen Q2 (ρw = 1.0 %), both the failure of single
wires as well as fracturing of web concrete were observed. Therefore, the failure mode can be situated
between the above-mentioned.
Daniel Busse and Martin Empelmann 339

The crack formation at the maximum load level also differs significantly depending on the
reinforcement type. While failure of specimen Q0 was induced by few diagonal cracks with crack
widths of up to 2.0 cm, significantly smaller crack widths (less than 0.5 mm) and an increased amount
of cracks were observed for the micro-reinforced specimens. Altogether, the micro-reinforced
b
specimens showed increased ductility and advanced failure notice.
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Fig. 4 Shear force-deflection curves of shear tests Q0 to Q8.
4 Numerical investigations
4.1 Finite element analysis

A finite element analysis (FE-analysis) was performed using the FE-program DIANA FEA in order to
further understand the load-bearing behaviour of the specimens (Fig. 5). For the 2D-model, quadrilat-
eral plane-stress elements (CQ16M) with an element size of 25 mm were used.
Fig. 5 Results for beam Q1 at a defletion of δ = 13.0 mm: discretisation of I-beam and crack pat-
tern (crack width wcr, left), discretisation of reinforcement and reinforcement stress (σs,
right).
Considering the cracking of the concrete, a smeared crack concept, the “total strain based crack model”
with a fixed crack orientation was used. The stress-strain relation of the HPC was modelled using the
parabolic function according to FEENSTRA [15] in compression and the function according to HORDIJK
[16] in tension (Fig. 6). The compressive strength was assumed the uniaxial compressive strength f1c
(95 % of the mean compressive strength of cylinders fcm,cyl [17]). The tensile strength was derived from
the flexural strength fct,fl according to [18]. A variable shear retention is considered using the model by
AL-MAHAIDI [18]. The approach by VECCHIO & COLLINS [20] was applied for a reduction of the com-
pressive strength due to lateral cracking.
The conventional reinforcement was modelled using embedded reinforcement bars. For the micro-
reinforcement embedded reinforcement grids were employed based on the assumption of an effective
bond of the micro-reinforcement. The stress-strain relationships of the different reinforcement types –
determined via tensile tests – were implemented as shown in Fig. 6.
The load was applied as a vertical displacement with increments of 0.10 mm. At the support and
loading points, steel plates were provided to avoid stress concentrations and to equally distribute the
loads. The iteration was based on the regular Newton-Raphson process. The convergence norms were

selected according to both, force and energy norms with thresholds of 1·10-3 and 1·10-2, respectively.
The number of iterations was limited to 50. A line search algorithm [21] was used to improve the
convergence performance.
ifb
Fig. 6 Stress-strain relationships of HPC (left) and reinforcement (right) used in FE-analysis.
The results generated from the analysis were compared with the experimental data for verification con-
sidering the shear force-deflection curve, ultimate load, crack propagation and failure mode. Fig. 7
shows the comparison of the shear force-deflection curves and corresponding FE-results. For all tests,
the ultimate loads as well as the maximum deflections are reproduced in a sufficient manner. The load-
deflection curves generated by the FE-analysis exhibit a stiffer response than the corresponding exper-
iment. In case of the experiments, this deviation can mainly be attributed to effects from shrinkage, but
also concrete handling in the lab and stiffness of test setup etc. It should be further noted, that FE-
calculations reveal the same failure modes (reinforcement failure and web concrete failure) as observed
during the tests.
Fig. 7 Comparison of shear force-deflection curves of tests and FE-calculations.
4.2 Parameter study

The aforementioned FE-model was used for a parameter study, extending the variety of different setups
e.g. in terms of shear reinforcement ratio ρw and shear slenderness a/d (Fig. 9).
Considering the results with regard to the variation of the shear reinforcement ratio, a smooth
transition between different failure modes was obtained. While a failure of the reinforcement occurred
with low reinforcement ratios (ρw = 0.5 %), the previously described web concrete failure was obtained
for higher ratios. Contrary to the test results, a more sudden concrete failure emerged with an increase
in reinforcement ratios (ρw ≥ 2.0 %). This can be recognized by the sudden dropping of the shear force-
deflection curves. The smooth transition, which does not occur with conventionally reinforced concrete,
can basically be explained by the multiple cracking and the resulting deformations in the shear span,
which are supported by the comparatively high elongation at crack of the micro-reinforcement.

In addition, the results of the parameter study indicate an influence of the shear slenderness and
thus a direct transfer of the loads towards the support in case of values a/d < 3.0 (Fig. 9 right). In this
case, not only the ultimate loads are increased, but also a reduction of maximum deflections was
obtained as the shear slenderness was reduced.
ifb
Fig. 8 Results of parameter study for beams with a height of h = 60 cm.
4.3 Comparison to code provisions

To gain information on how suitable current code provisions for conventionally reinforced concrete are
to determine the shear capacity of thin-walled, micro-reinforced members, the test results as well as the
results of the parameter study were compared with the provisions given by EN 1992-1-1 (EC2, [18])
and fib Model Code 2010 (MC10, [22]).
The shear resistance Vu according to EC2 is the minimum of VR,s (shear resistance sustained by
shear reinforcement) and VR,max (shear resistance limited by crushing of web concrete):
, = ∙ ∙ ∙ cot
= min ∙ ∙ ∙
=
(1)
,
cot + tan
Herein, the cross sectional area of shear reinforcement per length unit asw, the lever arm of internal
forces z, the characteristic yield strength of reinforcement fyk, the angle of compression struts θ, the
strength reduction factor for concrete cracked in shear ν1 and the characteristic compressive strength of
concrete fck are taken into account.

With Model Code 2010, only the Level of Approximation III (LoA III) and thus an additive
approach considering an additional shear resistance attributed to the concrete VR,c was taken into
= , + , ≤ ,
account:
(2)
The individual resistances are calculated as follows:
= , ! ∙" ∙ ∙
= ∙ ∙ ∙ cot
(3)
,
= ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ sin ∙ cos
(4)
,
(5)
For the calculations, a factor accounting for the concrete contribution kv as well as a strength
reduction factor composing strain effect and brittleness kc are considered.
For both codes, only the vertical micro-reinforcement was taken into account. The horizontal micro-
reinforcement is not considered by the respective code provisions. The effect of the shear slenderness
was taken into account using the factor β = a/(2d) in case of a/d < 2. The angle of compression struts is
assumed to θ = 40° (cot θ = 1.2) for EC2 (pure bending). With MC10, cot θ depends on the strain
distribution and the applied loads. Thus, in case of parameter study, slightly higher values
(cot θ = 1.3 to 1.4) were obtained in comparison to EC2.
The comparison of calculated shear resistances with test results and the related parameter study is
presented in Fig. 9. Due to the additive consideration of a shear resistance attributed to the concrete VR,c

as well as the higher cot θ-values, the calculated shear resistance of MC10 is increased in comparison
to EC2 in case of low shear reinforcement ratios. Moreover, the different strength reduction factors for
concrete ν1 and kc lead to different shear reinforcement ratios beyond which a failure of the web concrete
is predicted (low-rising part of the particular lines in Fig. 9, left). Fig. 9 (right) shows the aforemen-
b
tioned increase of ultimate shear strength in case of a/d < 2 for both codes.
Looking at the test results, a safe assessment of the shear resistance can be stated (c.f. [13], [14]).
Moreover, a safe assessment of the results of the parameter study is shown for EC2 and MC10,
respectively. Although MC10 is able to detect the transition between failure modes, further studies
if
regarding the strength reduction factor kc are required to enhance prediction accuracy in case of shear
reinforcement ratios ρw ≥ 1.5 %. Although, a safe assessment is possible using EC2, the failure modes
are not properly considered. In addition, an imprecision of the assumption of a direct load transfer and
thus, an increasing shear resistance in case of shear slenderness a/d < 2.0 is indicated. Based on the
parameter study, a limit value of a/d = 3.0 may be considered reasonable.
Fig. 9 Comparison of test and FE-results with shear resistance Vu according to EC2 and MC10.
5 Conclusions
Fundamental experimental and numerical investigations regarding the shear strength of thin-walled,
micro-reinforced concrete members were performed. Overall, the currently available results indicate
the large potential of a micro-reinforcement.
The following findings can be summarized:
Experimental investigations showed that thin-walled, micro-reinforced concrete members can

achieve high shear loads, increased ductility and advanced failure notice compared to conven-
tionally reinforced concrete members (no matter whether the failure was induced by failure of
the shear reinforcement or the web concrete).
With the FE-analysis, ultimate loads as well as the maximum deflections of shear tests were
reproduced to a sufficient extent. In addition, failure modes (reinforcement failure and web
concrete failure) of tests were simulated consistently.
A parameter study extended the knowledge gained from experimental results and added in-
sight on the influence of shear reinforcement ratio and shear slenderness on the shear strength
of micro-reinforced I-beams and occurring failure modes. Here, a smooth transition between
failure modes (reinforcement failure and web concrete failure) was found.
The comparison of test- and FE-results with current provisions of EC2 and MC10 shows a se-
cure assessment of the tests. The results of the parameter study indicate the necessity of an
adjustment of the strength reduction factors ν1 and kc to cover the transition between failure
modes adequately.
However, theoretical and numerical investigations are required to verify and to subsequently quantify
the influence of the micro-reinforcement on the shear strength and failure mode of thin-walled, micro-
reinforced concrete members. Based on current results, an adjustment of code provisions should lead
to increased accuracy predicting ultimate shear strength and failure mode.

Acknowledgements
The experimental investigations presented in this paper were part of a research project conducted at the
iBMB, Division of Concrete Construction of the TU Braunschweig as part of the Priority Programme
b
1542 “Concrete Light”, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research
Foundation) – project number 198434790.
Furthermore, the authors would like to thank the companies DYCKERHOFF and GCP APPLIED TECH-
NOLOGIES for their support during the project.
if
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[11] ACI 318-89. 1989. Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete. Detroit, MI.
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[15] Feenstra, Peter H. 1993. Computational Aspects of Biaxial Stress in Plain and Reinforced Con-
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[16] Hordijk, Dirk A. 1991. Local Approach to Fatigue of Concrete. PhD Thesis, Delft University
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[17] Reineck, Karl-Heinz, and Daniel Dunkelberg. 2017. ACI-DAfStb databases 2015 with tests for
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[22] Comité Euro-International du Béton (CEB). 2012. CEB-FIP Model Code 2010.

Combining finite element analyses and mechanical

models for the assessment of reinforced concrete
b
slabs
Raffaele Cantone1, Miguel Fernández Ruiz1, Beatrice Belletti2 and Aurelio
Muttoni1
if
1École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne,
Lausanne, Switzerland
2University of Parma, Department of Engineering and Architecture,
Parma, Italy
Abstract
The influence of the level of deformation of the flexural reinforcement on the punching strength is well-
established and mechanically founded since the pioneer works of Kinnunen and Nylander. In code
provisions, this influence is sometimes reflected by means of indirect parameters such as the flexural
reinforcement ratio or by means of mechanical approaches accounting for the ratio between the applied
load and the flexural resistance of the specimen. The level of deformation of flexural reinforcement is
nevertheless complex in many situations. In order to provide a consistent approach to determine the
punching strength, it has been recently proposed to couple refined finite element (FE) models (using a
multi-layered shell formulation) with a robust strain-based failure criterion in shear. The goal of this
paper is to review specific case studies in which redistributions after cracking may govern the overall
behavior of reinforced concrete slabs. The numerical global response is then combined with the failure
criterion of the Critical Shear Crack Theory, that can directly consider the influence of the flexural
response on the punching or shear capacity.
1 Introduction
The use of reinforced concrete flat slabs is widely accepted as an economical and flexible solution in
construction. Despite their redundancy and robustnbess in bending, the slab–column connections are
particularly sensitive regions where stress concentrations occur due to the interaction between flexural
and shear deformations and may potentially lead to brittle punching failures. Since the pioneer works
of Kinnunen and Nylander [1] in the 1960’s, the influence of the flexural reinforcement deformation
on the punching strength is well-established and mechanically validated by experimental tests, see Fig-
ure 1a. Significant efforts have been done on the behavior of interior and edge slab – column connec-
tions for establishing theoretical approaches, such as the works by Moe [4], Broms [5], Mast [6],
Moehle [7] as well as experimental works performed, for instance, by Kinnunen [8], Stamenkovic and
Chapman, [9], Regan [10].
Despite the fact that many design provisions for punching are still based on empirical formulas
Chyba! Nenalezen zdroj odkazů. and account for the interaction between the flexural deformation
and the shear strength in an indirect manner (by means for instance of the consideration of the
reinforcement ratio), mechanical approaches (as in fib’s MC2010, [2]) have also been developed
accounting explicitely for such relation. In both cases, design provisions are still based on experimental
results on isolated test specimens simulating the region of negative bending moment in a continuous
slab (i.e. the slab sector delimited by the line of moment contraflexure at a distance rs from the axis of
the column, Figure 1b). Although simple to perform, these test results might not describe the actual
level of deformation of reinforced concrete slabs whose behavior may be affected by cracking, potential
bending and shear redistributions due to slab continuity and confinement effects (more details on these
effects, Figure 1b-c, can be consulted elsewhere, [12]). Moreover, such approaches consider in a
simplified manner geometrical and loading asymmetries, typical of actual reinforced concrete members
in which, for instance, gravity loads might be coupled with horizontal forces, such as seismic or wind
actions. This is the case, for instance, of edge slab – column connections in which the overall behavior
is not only associated to a shear force V, but also to an unbalanced moment M between the column and

the slab. Therefore, uneven distribution of bending moments around the control perimeter may lead to
an increase of crack openings accompanied by a likely reduction of the punching resistance [13], [14].
Fig. 1
ifb
(a) Influence of flexural reinforcement on the ultimate punching capacity of isolated spec-
imens, [1]; (b) Redistributions of moments between hogging and sagging region; (c) Com-
parison of load-rotation response between an isolated and a continuous member; (d) crack-
ing pattern of a continuous slab and formation of compressive (blue)/tensile (red) mem-
brane forces; (e) redistributions of radial bending moments for different hogging reinforce-
ment ratios in an inner column; (f) radial and tangential forces around the column as a
function of hogging reinforcement ratio (adapted from Cantone et al. (2018), [11]).
Mechanical behavior of reinforced concrete slabs

As shown recently by several researchers with numerical and experimental investigations [12], [15],
[16], [10], the overall behavior of reinforced concrete slabs at ultimate limit state may deviate from the
response of isolated specimens adopted to calibrate actual code provisions. As briefly mentioned in the
previous paragraph, several phenomena may influence the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete
slabs:
Mid-span reinforcement might play an important role in the redistribution of bending moments
between hogging and sagging area [12], [15].
In isolated specimens, flexural cracking allows the member to expand laterally. This might not
be the case of continuous members in which self-confinement or external confinement provided
by rigid elements may constrain the lateral expansion required by the opening of flexural cracks.
In the case of edge slab-column connections, unbalanced moments trigger concentrations of
shear forces leading to larger crack openings
Moment redistributions due to flexural cracking may influence load eccentricity, Figure 2, at
the edge slab – column connection.
The approach of the Critical Shear Crack Theory (CSCT) [17], theoretical ground of the punching pro-
visions of fib’s Model Code 2010, has been adopted for the evaluation of the ultimate punching capac-
ity. According to Kinnunen and Nylander’s observation that the punching capacity is related to flexural
deformations [1], Muttoni proposed a failure criterion accounting for the crack opening, assumed to be
proportional to the parameter ψ·d (rotation of the member times its effective depth). In addition, the
hyperbolic failure criterion accounts for strain and size effects in a consistent manner considering the
roughness of the shear crack, the effective depth and the column size, [18], [19]. As proposed by Mut-
toni (2008) [17], and acknowledged by MC2010, the failure criterion may be combined with a reason-
able load-rotation relationship describing the flexural behavior, see Figure 2. Following this approach,

Combining finite element analyses and mechanical models for the assessment of reinforced concrete slabs
the best accuracy on the punching strength is obtained for the most realistic estimates of the flexural
response of the slab. Next chapter will introduce the fundamentals of a refined numerical model adopted
in this study for the determination of the flexural response, showing the consistency of this approach
for the evaluation of the punching capacity of continuous slabs.
Fig. 2
ifb
Refined evaluation of the punching capacity (adapted from Cantone et al. (2016), [20]): (a)
multi-layered element; (b) CSCT approach and control perimeter; and (c) calculation of
failure load and deformation capacity.
In the framework of the revision of edge slab – column connection punching provisions for the new
generation of Eurocodes, the goal of this paper is to investigate the structural behavior of continuous
reinforced concrete slabs taking into account the nonlinear response of such members and the suitability
of actual code provisions regarding the design of edge slab –column connections.
3 Determination of the flexural behaviour

Following the guidelines of MC2010, Level-of-Approximation IV (LoA IV) for punching design [2], a
suitable load-rotation relationship in the vicinity of concentrated loads will be calculated by means of
PARC_CL Crack Model, [21], Figure 2a. The numerical model PARC_CL is a constitutive model that
can be implemented (by means of a user-subroutine in Abaqus) on a multilayered element to estimate
a realistic response in flexure. Thick conventional 8-nodes shell elements with transverse shear flexi-
bility (according to Mindlin Theory) and second order interpolation have been adopted for modelling
slab member. The section is subvided in several layers with the aim to provide either pure concrete
layers or concrete layers with smeared reinforcement along a prescribed direction, Figure 2a. As regards
the mechanical behavior, PARC_CL Crack model is based on a fixed crack approach and smeared
reinforcement. Regarding concrete and reinforcement constitutive laws, multiaxial state of stress and
aggregate interlocking are taken into account as well as dowelling action, tension stiffening and residual
tensile strength.
So far, several numerical investigations have been performed according to MC2010 (LoA IV)
coupled with load-rotation curves determined by using PARC_CL. This approach has been adopted for
different structural systems ranging from cantilever slabs subjected to concentrated loads (Natario et al.
(2014), [22], Rombach et al. (2013), [23], Belletti et al. (2015), [24]) or to reinforced concrete members
with irregular reinforcement arrangement and different column sizes (as tests by Ladner et al. (1977),
[25], Cantone et al. (2016), [26]). The results (refer to Figure 3) confirm the robustness of this approach
that appears to be suitable in the analysis of the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete slabs regardless
of the boundary conditions, irregular reinforcement ratios or uneven slab geometries.
Raffaele Cantone, Miguel Fernández Ruiz, Beatrice Belletti and Aurelio Muttoni 347

ifb
Fig. 3 Comparison of numerical model to the experimental results : (a) tests performed by Natario
et al. (2014),[22] ; tests performed by Rombach et al. (2013), [23]; (c) tests on a continuous
slab performed by Ladner (1977), [25].
For this reason, in the following, such approach will be used to investigate the structural behavior of
edge slab-column connections as well as the main issues affecting their ultimate punching capacity,
i.e.: the influence of loading eccentricity, moment redistributions and reinforcement arrangement.
For the calculation of the ultimate punching strength, the load–rotation response of the member has
been calculated adopting the geometric average of the rotations in the direction perpendicular and
parallel to the slab edge. This simplified consideration accounts for the fact that redistribution of shear
forces may occur at the control perimeter and thus calculating the strength with the maximum rotation
is conservative (a more detailed and general procedure within the frame of the CSCT for analyses
accounting for the redistribution of shear forces within the control perimeter can be consulted elsewhere
[13],[14]). This approach is validated, primarily, analysing isolated specimens PT33, PT34 provided,
respectively, of a non-uniform reinforcement arrangement or uneven loading (refer to [13] for
additional details), and, then, examining an experimental campaign on edge slab – column connections
performed by Regan (1979) [10].
As it can be seen in Figure 4, the ultimate punching capacity calculated with the geometric average
of the rotations is generally in sound agreement with the experimental punching resistance, even though
the overall stiffness seems to be overestimated. This is also the case for the analysis of the test series
perfomed by Regan (1979), [10], in which the calculated ultimate capacity agrees well with the
experimental results (the eccentricity being dependent of the bending stiffness assumed for the column).
Fig. 4 Comparison of experimental and numerical load – rotation curves for (a) PT33 and (b)
PT34; (c) comparison of experimatal ultimate punching capacity (tests by Regan (1979))
and calculated punching resistance (red circle: column stiffness considered in the elastic
stage; blue triangle: column stiffness considered in the cracked stage, Ec,column, cracked =4000
MPa).

In this paper, this approach is used to perform a parametric analysis on a continuous slab member. The
edge slab – column connection has been discretized by modelling the slab with a multi-layered shell
element approach (nonlinear constitutive laws according to PARC_CL Crack Model, [21]) while the
column by means of solid elements maintained elastic in order to avoid material calibrations of solid
b
elements after cracking (simulating uncracked columns subjected to high normal forces).
Figure 5 shows the case study selected for the parametric study on an actual continuous slab, fo-
cusing on the behavior of edge slab–column connections. Different reinforcement ratios have been
adopted in the column and span regions in order to be comparable to reinforcement layouts of an actual
if
continuous slab. The main parameters investigated were the influence of the top reinforcement perpen-
dicular (ρhog, perp) and parallel (ρhog, par) to the slab edge as well as the ratio between the bottom sagging
reinforcement and the top hogging reinforcement provided in the shear critical region at the edge slab
column connection (ρsag, maintained uniform along the slab). It shoul be noted that elastic design refers
to the case in which sagging reinforcement ratio ρsag is half the hogging reinforcement ratio while plastic
design means to describe the case in which the ratio between sagging and hogging reinforcement is
equal to one.
Fig. 5 (a) Reinforcement arrangement in hogging and sagging area for the case study underinves-
tigation; finite element mesh adopted for the numerical invetigation (edge span Ledge=6.00
m; central span Lcentral = 7.00 m; column size c = 0.30 m; effective depth d = 0.21 m; con-
crete strength fc = 35 MPa; yielding strength of the reinforcement fy = 500 MPa).
4 Moment redistributions and influence of load eccentricity on the ultimate

punching capacity
As mentioned in the previous section, several phenomena may influence the response of a continuous
member with respect to its deformation capacity, resistance and distribution of internal forces.
So far, these aspects were mostly investigated for internal slab – column connections by several
researchers, pointing out the presence of moment redistributions occurring between column and span
region. Nevertheless, these redistributions may also occur in the shear-critical region of an edge slab–
column connection, both in the perpendicular and parallel directions to the slab edge, Figure 6a.
Redistributions of bending moments shift the point of moment contraflexure affecting both the
bending moment transferred to the column and the load eccentricity at the connection due to moment
transfer, Figure 6. As experimentally observed by Regan, [10], after cracking in the hogging area, the
eccentricity starts to decrease due to the difference between the flexural stiffness in the hogging and
sagging region, Figure 6b. Nevertheless, once cracking occurs in the sagging area, the eccentricity at
the connection increases again towards the elastic value, in particular for members with high hogging
reinforcement ratios perpendicular to the edge (large bending stiffness after cracking).
Figure 6 shows the calculated eccentricities and the location of the point of moment contraflexure
(rs) in the case of an elastic design for four different hogging reinforcement ratio perpendicular to the
edge. Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that the behavior after cracking of the sagging area is
significantly influenced by the evaluation of the post-cracking bending stiffness provided by the
constitutive laws adopted for the numerical investigation. Indeed, the potential overestimate of the
reinforcement stiffness after cracking may cause an inaccurate estimate of bending moments leading to
large values of the eccentricity. This aspect may be more pronounced in the case of an elastic design of

the continuous member, in which the stiffness after cracking of the hogging region might be higher than
the reinforcement stiffness in the sagging area.
ifb
Fig. 6 (a) location of the point of moment contraflexure as a function of applied shear force V
normalized by the flexural strength Vflex (in the direction parallel to the edge); (b) evolution
of calculated eccentricity e with respect to the elastic value eelastic and (c) location of the
point of moment contraflexure as a function of applied shear force V normalized by the
flexural strength Vflex (in the direction perpendicular to the edge); (d) adopted yield mecha-
nism for the calculation of the flexural strength.
Some relevant results of the analyses are presented in Figure 7. The evolution of the eccentricity at the
edge slab–column connection according to an elastic and plastic design are shown in Figure 7 as well
as the ultimate punching capacities corresponding to a member without and with shear reinforcement
(cross and square labels distiguish two design types, i.e.elastic or plastic).
As it can be seen in Figure 7a, for members without shear reinforcement, the ultimate punching
capacity is generally attained when the calculated eccentricity is lower than the elastic value. On the
contrary, for shear-reinforced members, the calculated eccentricity might be higher than the elastic
value, in particular for large hogging reinforcement ratios ρhog, perp, as shown in Figure 7a.
The ultimate punching capacity, as expected, increases for increasing reinforcement ratios, Figure
7b, in particular for members provided of shear reinforcement in which redistributions of bending
moments may be larger than the case of members without shear reinforcement.
The role of sagging reinforcement perpendicular to the slab edge is observed to significantly
influence the strength, particularly for members with shear reinforcement that fail at higher loads and
deformation levels.
5 Conclusions
This paper reviews the approach to calculate the punching resistance based on the calculation of a
refined load-rotation relationship (by using the PARC_CL Crack Model) and the failure criterion of the
Critical Shear Crack Theory. This approach corresponds thus to an analysis of the punching strength
according to a Level-of-Approximation IV by MC2010. By taking advantage of the numerical model
of a flat slab describing its flexural behaviour, the redistributions of bending moments occurring at the
edge slab–column connection have also been investigated. This investigation lead to the following con-
clusions :
Redistributions of bending moments perpendicular to the slab edge occur after cracking of the
hogging area shifting the value of the eccentricity from the elastic threshold. After cracking of
the sagging area, the ratio M/V starts to increase again towards the elastic value, shifting, in
some cases, beyond it.
For members without shear reinforcement, the ultimate punching capacity is normally reached
for eccentrities lower than the calculated eccentricity in the elastic phase. For slabs equipped

with punching shear reinforcement (failing at higher loads and deformation levels), the eccen-
tricity might however be larger.The sagging reinforcement may play a role on the ultimate
punching capacity, in particular for shear – reinforced members.
The assumption of the geometric average for the evaluation of the ultimate punching capacity
b
seems to be in sound agreement with the experimental results even though, occasionally, the
capacity may be overestimated due to the calculated bending stiffness after cracking and the
estimation of the column stiffness
Future developments will focus on the analysis of the reinforcement stiffness after cracking to better
if
understand the consistency of the calculated eccentricity as well as on the distribution of internal forces
around connections not presenting axis-symmetric conditions.
Fig. 7 (a) evolution of calculated eccentricity e with respect to the elastic value eelastic and corre-
sponding ultimate punching capacity for members without (ksys=1) and with shear reinforce-
ment (ksys=3); (b) ultimate punching capacity according to LoA IV for an elastic and plastic
design.
References
[1] Kinnunen, S., and H. Nylander. 1960. “Punching of Concrete Slabs Without Shear Reinforce-
ment.” Engineering Structures 103: 275-284.
[2] CEN. 2004. EN 1992-1-1:2004: Eurocode 2: Design of concrete structures – Part 1-1: General
rules and rules for buildings. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization
[3] Fédération Internationale du béton. 2013. Fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010. Ernst
& Sohn, Germany.
[4] Moe, J. 1961. Shearing strength of reinforced concrete slabs and footing under concentrated
loads. Development Department Bulletin D47. Portland Cement Association.
[5] Broms, C. E. 1990. “Punching of flat plates – a question of concrete properties in biaxial com-
pression and size effect.” Aci Structural Journal 87:292–304.
[6] Mast, P. E. 1970. “Plate stresses at columns near the free edge.” Journal Proceedings
67:898-902.
[7] Moehle, J. P. 1988. "Strength of slab-column edge connections." ACI Structural Journal
85:89-98.

[8] Kinnunen, S. 1971. Tests on Concrete Slabs Supported on Columns at Free Edges. National
Swedish Building Research Summaries R2:1971. Statens institut for byggnadsforskning,
Stockholm.
[9] Stamenkovic, A., and J. C. Chapman. 1974. "Local strength at column heads in flat slabs sub-
b
jected to a combined vertical and horizontal loading." ICE Proceedings 57:205-232.
[10] Regan, P. E., P. R. Walker, and K. A. A. Zakaria. 1979. Tests of reinforced concrete flat slabs–
CIRIA Project RP 220. Polytechnic of Central London–School of the Environment.
[11] Cantone, R., Ruiz M. Fernández, A. Muttoni, and B. Belletti. 2018. “Ultimate punching shear
if
strength of edge slab – column connections.” Article in press.
[12] Einpaul, J., Ruiz M. Fernández, and A. Muttoni. 2015. “Influence of moment redistribution and
compressive membrane action on punching strength of flat slabs.” Engineering Structures
86:43-57
[13] Sagaseta J., A. Muttoni, M. F. Fernández, and L. Tassinari. 2011. “Non-axis-symmetrical
punching shear around internal columns of RC slabs without transverse reinforcement.” Mag-
azine of Concrete Research 63:441-457.
[14] Sagaseta J., L. Tassinari, Ruiz M. Fernández, and A. Muttoni. 2014. “Punching of flat slabs
supported on rectangular columns.” Engineering Structures 77:17–33.
[15] Soares, L. F., and R. L. Vollum. 2016. “Influence of continuity on punching resistance at edge
columns.” Magazine of Concrete Research 68:1225–1239.
[16] Choi, J. W., and J. H. Kim. 2009. “Experimental investigations on moment redistribution and
punching shear of flat plates.” ACI Structural Journal 109:329–338.
[17] Muttoni, A. 2008. “Punching shear strength of reinforced concrete slabs without transverse re-
inforcement.” ACI Structural Journal 105:440–450.
[18] Fernández, Ruiz M., and A. Muttoni. 2017. “Size effect in shear and punching shear failures of
concrete members without transverse reinforcement: Differences between statically determi-
nate members and redundant structures.” Structural Concrete 19:65-75.
[19] Fernández, Ruiz M., A. Muttoni, and J. Sagaseta. 2015 “Shear strength of concrete members
without transverse reinforcement: A mechanical approach to consistently account for size and
strain effects.” Engineering structures 99:360-372.
[20] Belletti, B., R. Cantone, and A. Muttoni. 2016. “Shell modelling strategies for the assessment
of punching shear resistance of continuous slabs.” Paper presented at CTE Conference, Rome,
November 19-21.
[21] Belletti, B., M. Scolari, and F.Vecchi. 2017. “PARC_CL 2.0 crack model for NLFEA of rein-
forced concrete structures under cyclic loadings.” Computer and Structures 191:165-179.
[22] Natário, F., Ruiz M. Fernández, and A. Muttoni. 2014. “Shear strength of RC slabs under con-
centrated loads near clamped linear supports.” Engineering Structures 76:10–23

[23] Rombach, G., and M. Kohl. 2013. “Shear design of RC bridge deck slabs according to Eurocode
2.” Journal of Bridge Engineering 18:1261–1269.
[24] Belletti, B, M. Scolari, A. Muttoni A, and Cantone R. 2015. “Shear strength evaluation of RC
bridge deck slabs according to CSCT with multi-layered shell elements and PARC_CL Crack
Model.” Paper presented at the IABSE Conference –Structural Engineering: Providing Solu-
tions to Global Challenges, Geneva, Switzerland, September 23-25.
[25] Ladner, M., W. Schaeidt, and S. Gut. 1977. Experimentelle Untersuchungen an Stahlbeton-
Flachdecke. EMPA Bericht no. 205. Switzerland.
[26] Cantone, R., Ruiz M. Fernández, and A. Muttoni. 2016. “Approaches for suitable modelling
and strength prediction of reinforced concrete slabs.” Paper presented at the Fib congress, Cape
Town, South Africa, November 21-23.

Some developments in limit analysis of reinforced

concrete structures and structural elements
b
Elisa Conti and Pier Giorgio Malerba
Departement of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
if
P.zza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 21133 Milano, Italy
Abstract
After some recalls of previous contributions to frame and arches analyses, this paper proposes a cou-
pling of Limit Analysis and Framework Modelling in studying R.C. membrane elements. Such a dis-
cretization technique, in addition to the determination of the load multiplier and the mechanism of col-
lapse of the structure, allows also to provide useful indications on the position and orientation of the
compressed struts and on the distribution of the plasticization in the tensioned elements, with results
comparable with those of conventional strut and tie models.
1 Introduction
As known, Limit Analysis (L.A.) is an effective and synthetic tool capable of assessing the load-bearing
capacity and collapse mechanisms of steel and reinforced concrete structures and to identify the most
critical parts, corresponding to the zones of formation of plastic hinges.
Recent studies [1]-[2] have been devoted to extending this type of analyses to structures damaged
by wearing of time and rebar corrosion. Other studies compare and discuss the results obtained both by
Limit and Nonlinear Analysis of the same structures. On this topic, [3] shows an application concerning
a R.C. arch bridge, with and without damaged elements.
The present paper, after a recall of previous contributions to frame analysis, proposes a coupling of
L.A. and Framework Modelling in studying R.C. membrane elements [4]. Such a discretization
technique, in addition to the determination of the load multiplier and the mechanism of collapse, should
also provide useful indications on the position and orientation of the compressed struts and on the
distribution of plasticization in the tensioned elements, giving results which may be compared with
those derived from conventional strut and tie models.
2 Limit analysis formulation

The Limit Analysis and its applicability to R.C. structures have been widely studied and discussed in
the works by [5]-[6] and others. In this paper, a force-based finite element for the Limit Analysis of
R.C. plane framed structures is proposed. The hypotheses of small displacements and stable structure
are assumed. The axial force N and the bending moment M are the only interacting generalized plas-
tic stresses. Shear effects are neglected. Stresses and correlative generalized plastic strains are related
by the rigid perfectly-plastic constitutive law Fig. 1 (left). In this way, the behavior of the discrete cross-
sections where the plastic strains tend to develop can be represented by a generalized plastic hinge that
allows a free axial-bending kinematic behavior and, at the same time, fully transfers the corresponding
plastic values of the axial force and bending moment. The ultimate value of N and M are correlated
through a curve in the ( N − M ) plane, which bounds a convex domain containing the origin of the
axis (Fig. 1 (right)). Such a frontier can be idealized by a stepwise approximation, which, for safety’s
sake, is assumed inscribed within the effective curve. We assume that the formation of plastic hinges
occurs at the ends of the elements. The resulting approximations can be overcome by increasing the
number of the elements. The plastic collapse is reached when the set of generalized plastic hinges allows
the activation of a kinematic mechanism, for which the equilibrium can no longer be satisfied. In the
discretization, distributed loads are replaced by equivalent concentrated loads applied in an appropriate
number of cross-sections. Finer mesh subdivisions can be introduced to increase the accuracy.

ifb
Fig. 1 Limit Analysis hypotheses: rigid plastic constitutive law (left) and M-N domain (right).
2.1 Equilibrium and compatibility conditions

For the generic j-th element of the structure, the equilibrium conditions are set in accordance to the
force method. In the local coordinate system, by removing the rigid body motions, the internal forces
ri = [ N i , M i ]T are expressed in function of the basic forces Qj at the end nodes n1 , n2 from simple
equilibrium equations ri = hbQ j . In the same way, the end global forces Q j are derived from Qj as
Q j = hl Q j . Through a coordinate transformation, the end global forces Q j are rewritten in the global
coordinate system as Qg , j = Tα Q j = (Tα hl )Q j = Hg , j Q j , with Tα being the transformation matrix
and H g , j the transformed equilibrium matrix for the j-th element.
By assembling over all the ne elements, we obtain the global equilibrium equations which correlate
the vector Qt , containing all the element basic forces, to the external nodal forces vector Fe , by means
of the equilibrium matrix H of the whole structure.

ne ne
Fe = ∑ A ( Q g , j ) = ∑ A (H g , j ⋅ Q j ) = H ⋅ Q t (1)
j =1 j =1
Compatibility conditions are derived through the Virtual Force Principle, by equating the virtual inter-
nal work δ Wi = δ Q Tt q t to the external one δ We = δ Fe T s . From (1), we have δ Fe = H δ Q t and, stat-
ing that δ We = δ Wi , we obtain δ Q Tt H T s = δ Q Tt q t . Since such an equation is valid for any choice of
δ Q Tt , the compatibility equations are finally derived as:
qt = HT ⋅ s (2)
T
The compatibility matrix H is the transposed of the equilibrium matrix H . In these correspondences,
the vector of the forces Fe works for that of the displacements s in the global reference system, as the
vector of the basic forces Qt works for that of the basic displacements q t .
2.2 Yield condition and flow rule

The constitutive law for a perfectly-plastic material must include: (i) a yielding criterion, which defines
the stress state corresponding to the starting of the plastic flow (the yield function curve is convex); (ii)
an associated flow rule, through which the increments of the plastic strains are correlated to the actual
stress state.

Some developments in limit analysis of reinforced concrete structures and structural elements
In the present case, where the only active generalized plastic stresses for the i-th critical cross
section are the axial force and the bending moment, the yielding criterion has the shape shown in Fig.
1 (right), which can be defined by the equation f i ( N i , M i ) = 0 . The stress state must verify the
b
condition f i ( N i , M i ) ≤ 0 . By assuming a stepwise linearization with q sides, for each i-th plastic
domain, the yielding criterion for the i-th critical cross section may be written in matrix form as
T T T
Φi = Niri − k i ≤ 0 , where Φi = φ1i φ2i ... φqi i  , Ni =  n1i ni2 ... niq i  , nij =  nij1 nij 2  and
if
T
k i =  k1i k2i ... k qi i  ≥ 0 . For each element the yield criterion becomes Φi = Ni Qi − k i ≤ 0 and,
assembling these conditions for the whole structure, one has:
ne
Φt = ∑ A (Φ j ) = NQt − k ≤ 0 (3)
j=1
The associated flow rule for i-th critical cross-section is given by the equations ∆li = µi ∂f i / ∂N i and
θi = µi ∂f i / ∂M i where µi ≥ 0 is the multiplier that allows plastic flows only for the points lying on
the yielding curve, for which the normal is oriented outside the domain, that is µi fi ( Ni , Mi ) = 0 . For
T
the linearized case with q sides, by introducing the vector µi =  µ1i µ2i ... µqi  and collecting the
 
terms µi j relative to each side of the linearized frontier, we finally have d i = N Ti ⋅ µ i with µij ⋅ φij = 0
( j = 1,L , q ) and µi > 0 . The flow rule can be written for the generic element by connecting the vector
of plastic strain d i with the vector of basic displacement q j by means of the compatibility equations
q j = NTi ⋅ µi . By assembling all the element contributions for the entire structure, the corresponding
compatibility equations become:
ne  µ ij ⋅ φ ij = 0 j = 1,L , q
q = ∑ A (q j ) = NT ⋅ µ with
 (4)
j=1  µ>0
2.3 The static and the kinematic approach
With reference to a generic structure, let P0 be a vector of constant loads and P a vector of loads whose
intensity varies proportionally to a unique multiplier λ ≥ 0 . We assume that for λ = 0 , equilibrium

and compatibility are satisfied. We search for the multiplier λc associated with the collapse load. In
mathematical terms, the upper (5) and lower (6) bound theorems of Limit Analysis are translated in the
following dual linear constrained optimization problems, solved here by means of the Simplex Method.
λc = max {λ | λP − HQt = −P0 , NQt ≤ k, λ ≥ 0} (5)

λc = min {k µ − P s | N µ − H s = 0, P s = 1, µ ≥ 0}
T T
0
T T T
(6)
In this way, (5) requires finding a maximum multiplier, while (6) a minimum one. It must be outlined
that in the second case, the minimum condition is related to the work done by the proportional loads P
for the displacements s associated with the collapse mechanism. Since this mechanism is correlated to
an arbitrary multiplier, it results univocally identified by the condition P T s = 1 . As known, the
uniqueness of λc does not necessarily mean the uniqueness of the collapse mechanism or that of the
stress field at collapse.
Elisa Conti and Pier Giorgio Malerba 355

ifb
Fig. 2 Element without rigid body modes: static (left) and kinematic (right) field.
3 Framework modelling
Considerable efforts have been devoted in the past to the structural analysis of two-dimensional con-
tinuous systems involving elastic materials. As well known, the difficulties which arise in treating an-
alytically the general equations of elasticity, under given boundary conditions, are overcome according
to different possibilities: (i) by introducing numerical solutions of the analytical equations, (ii) by phys-
ical modelization of the structure domain by means of finite elements or similar approaches, based on
approximation theories.
A particular technique introduced in the middle of the past century and proposed by [7]-[8], studies
the elastic problems modeling the continuous systems through a finite number of elementary “equiva-
lent” frameworks or trusses of bars. The aforementioned papers present a significant set of applications
concerning membrane elements, plate systems, shells and also 3D structures.
According to Hrennikoff [7], the equivalence between the elementary framework model and the
corresponding portion of the continuous structure is guaranteed by imposing equal average strains (kin-
ematic principle). Similarly, Absì [8] defines another equivalent criterion between the two models,
which must present the same elastic potential energy (energy principle). Apart from small differences,
the two approaches practically lead to the same results.
In this work, we assume a type of discretization based on the framework method proposed by [4]
and recalled by [9]. The continuous structure is here replaced by an equivalent mesh of truss elements
with suitable and well defined sectional properties. Fig. 3 shows the meshing technique which consists
of rectangular elements of sides a and b in the x and y directions respectively.
Fig. 3 Pattern of the Framework modelization for continuous systems.
The set of equations (4) defines the area of each element in the elementary framework (x=horizontal,
y=vertical and d=diagonal), where t is the thickness of the structure and l is the length of the diagonal
bars. The horizontal elements are spread across the depth while the vertical ones are spread along the
span. Diagonal bars cross each other without a connection at the center.
3 3 3
Ax = bt (3 − α 2 ) Ay = bt (3 − β 2 ) Ad = lt (α + β ) with
16 16 16
(4)
1 a
α= =
β b
Both [7] and [9] outline how this type of equivalence is rigorous for the elastic element having a Pois-
son's ratio ν = 1/3. It must be noted that in the present work aimed at the Limit Analysis of R.C.

structural elements, the framework method is introduced only for meshing purposes and not to study
an elastic problem. So, the analysis is carried out on the basis of the following assumptions:
The whole framework model superimposes the properties of concrete and steel contributions;
b
The cross-sectional areas of the bars simulating concrete are derived directly from (4);
Where the horizontal and vertical bars coincide with the actual position of bars of the reinforce-
ment, the steel area is added to the area of the corresponding concrete truss elements.
The bearing capacity of every single bar is given by the condition of the full plasticity of the
corresponding cross-sectional area.
if
4 Applications
The first application uses the Limit Analysis to derive the load multiplier and the mechanism of collapse
of a Maillart type arch bridge. The other two examples are an attempt to coupling Limit Analysis and
framework modeling in studying R.C. membrane elements. The discretization technique adopted, in
addition to the determination of the load multiplier and the mechanism of collapse, should also provide
useful indications on the position and orientation of the compressed struts and on the distribution of the
plasticization in the tensioned elements. Such results may be compared with those derived from the
conventional strut and tie models.
4.1 Maillart typer arch bridge

A R.C. slender arch bridge, crossing the Corace River (Gimigliano, Cosenza, Italy, 1955), is studied
[10]. The arch has a span l = 80 m and a rise f = 26.10 m. At the platform level, the total height is h =
27.00 m. Fig. (7) shows the bridge geometry. Eight internal columns subdivide the upper girder into
nine segments each with a different reinforcement. The dimensions and the reinforcement layout of the
main structural members are reported in [10]. As concerns the material characteristics, we assume a
compression strength fc=30 MPa for concrete and a yielding stress results fsy=300 MPa for steel. The
applied load is composed of a fixed contribution, corresponding to the dead loads of the girder
(g0=102.90 kN/m) and of the arch (g1=85.00 kN/m), and of a variable part, corresponding to the live
load distributed on the left half-span of the deck (p=53.30 kN/m), to be increased until the collapse.
Fig. 4 Corace Bridge. Geometric characteristics and loading condition. The encircled numbers
identify the different reinforcement of the sections distribution along the beam. The letters
enclosed in squares identify the section type of the columns.

P.H.6
b
P.H.3
if
Fig. 5 Limit Analysis. Distribution of the plastic hinges which transform the structure into a mech-
anism (left). Resistant domain of the section of the arch and points representing the ultimate
values of the internal forces N and M on its linearized frontier (right).
The results of the Limit Analysis are reported in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Fig. 6 shows the axial force and
bending moment distributions at incipient collapse. The lower bound theorem predicts the formation of
the twelve plastic hinges, shown in Fig. 5 (left), on the scheme which corresponds to the collapse mech-
anism of the structure. Fig. 5 (right) shows the M-N interaction domain of the section of the arch and
the points representing the ultimate values of the internal forces N and M on its linearized frontier. The
resulting collapse load multiplier is λ = 4.08. As discussed in [6], the complete solution of Limit Anal-
ysis is compared with the results provided by a Nonlinear Analysis, outlining the effects of concrete
effectiveness factor and of steel strain hardening on the ultimate load.
Fig. 6 Limit Analysis. Distribution of axial force N (left) and bending moment M (right) at incip-
ient collapse.

4.2 Bresler & Scordelis A1 beam

The second example deals with the R.C. beam, tested by [11] and studied by [12]. Specimen A1 is a
simply supported beam with a span l = 4100 mm and is designed to obtain a shear-type collapse. The
beam is subjected to a center-point force P, increased up to failure. The geometry of the structure and
b
the adopted mesh (a=103.00 mm and b=60 mm) are shown in Fig. 7. Concrete has a strength fc=20
MPa, the steel of the reinforcement of the lower longitudinal bars has a yielding stresss fsy1=555 MPa
while for the upper bars it is fsy2=345 MPa. The stirrups have a yielding stress fsy3=225 MPa. The
experimental ultimate load is Pex = 460.0 kN. The collapse load resulting from the Upper and Lower
if
Bound theorems is Pu = 544.8 kN.
On the bottom part of Fig. 8, it is interesting to note that plasticity conditions both in tension and
compression don’t involve the whole length of rebars and the compressed strut follows a punching type
mechanism directly from the point of application of the load. Such information may be useful in asses-
sing and/or improving strut-and-tie solutions for a more refined reinforcement design.
Fig. 7 Bresler & Scordelis A1 Beam. Geometry and trusswork discretization.

Fig. 8 Bresler & Scordelis A1 Beam. Plasticized elements in tension (red) and compression (blue)
and corresponding collapse mechanism. The bottom sketch highlights location and direc-
tion of these elements, where the color intensity is proportional to their bearing capacity.
4.3 Deep beam WT2

Leonhardt and Walther in 1966 conducted a well known and extensive series of tests on deep beams
[13]. Among these, the so-called WT2 beam illustrated in Fig. 9, is analyzed under a uniformly distrib-
uted load p, to be increased until collapse. Details concerning the amount and arrangement of reinforce-
ments are shown in Fig. 9. The resistant domains for each element are determined by using fc=29.6
MPa, fsy=310.0 MPa for the main bottom reinforcement and fsy=428.0 MPa for the other bars of the
mesh. The deep beam is here modeled through an equivalent mesh of truss elements of sides a=b=65
mm (Fig. 9). Fig. 10 shows the collapse mechanism and the pattern of axial forces at the collapse.

ifb
Fig. 9 Deep Beam WT2. Geometry and trusswork discretization.
Fig. 10 Deep Beam WT2. Plasticized elements in tension (red) and compression (blue) and corre-
sponding collapse mechanism (left). The sketch in the right side highlights location and
direction of these elements, where the color intensity is proportional to their bearing capac-
ity.
As before, the color intensity is proportional to the rate of plasticization of tensioned (red) and com-
pressed (blue) bars of elements. The experimental failure load is Pex= 1195 kN while the ultimate load
given by Limit Analysis results Pu = 1000.82 kN. Location and direction of the compressed members
give an effective portrait of the load path from the upper edge to the lower supports. The tensioned
elements highlight the role of the reinforcement as bottom chord tie and how the diffused reinforcement
is involved by the shear action at the sides of the deep beam.
5 Conclusion
As known, Limit Analysis is an effective and synthetic tool to assess load bearing capacity and collapse
mechanisms of steel and reinforced concrete structures. After short recalls of the essentials of L.A., this
paper proposes two types of applications. The first one concerns the L.A. of a R.C. slender arch bridge
modeled as a framed structure. Load multiplier of a given loading distribution and the corresponding
mechanism of collapse are derived. The other type of application is an attempt to coupling Limit Anal-
ysis and Framework Modelling in studying R.C. membrane elements. Such a discretization technique,
in addition to the determination of the load multiplier and the mechanism of collapse, provides useful

indications on the position and orientation of the compressed struts and on the distribution of the plas-
ticization in the tensioned elements. After some numerical tests, the adopted equivalent meshes have
shown a good accuracy of the predicted results with respect to the actual position of steel reinforcement,
the diffusive mechanisms into the concrete and the combined system concrete and steel. The global
b
results are compared and are in agreement with those of other studies. In particular, the mentioned
experimental studies took place on a single specimen and cannot be treated into a statistic context that
allows identifying systematic and accidental errors. In this sense, the difference observed between the
experimental and obtained collapse loads result acceptable. The layout of the load paths recalls that of
if
the conventional strut-and-tie models reported in the literature, but with this approach, it is possible to
appreciate the actual length of the plasticized zones among in the stirrup and main reinforcement align-
ments. Both the layout of the load path and the plasticization distribution may be useful in assessing
and validating the bearing schemes assumed in the design practice. Further studies will be devoted to
improving the Framework Modellization and to refine the post-processing graphics of the results, in
order to make the bearing mechanisms more explicit.
References
[1] Biondini, F., and D. M. Frangopol. 2008. “Probabilistic limit analysis and lifetime prediction
of concrete structures.“ Structure and Infrastructure Engineering 4:399-412.
[2] Conti, E., P. G, Malerba, M. Quagliaroli, and A. Maffei. 2018. “ Limit Analysis of an old and
damaged R.C. grillage deck.” Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Bridge
Maintenance, Safety and Management (IABMAS), Melbourne, Australia, 9-13 July.
[3] Quagliaroli, M. 2014. "From bidimensional towards monodimensional modeling of sound and
damaged reinforced concrete structures." PhD diss., Politecnico di Milano.
[4] Ugolini, D. 2017. "Analisi limite di elementi strutturali e strutture in calcestruzzo armato." Mas-
ter Thesis, Supervisors: P.G. Malerba and E. Conti, Politecnico di Milano.
[5] Martinezy Cabrera, F., F. Biondini, F. Bontempi, and P. G. Malerba. 1997. “Limit Analysis of
Cable Stayed Bridges.” Paper presented at the 7th ICCCBE, Seoul, Korea, August 19-21.
[6] Conti, E., P. G. Malerba, and M. Quagliaroli. 2017. “Limit and Non-Linear analysis of a slender
arch bridge. A comparative study.” Paper presented at the 7th Conference on Mechanics and
Materials in Design, Albufeira, Portugal, 11-15 June.
[7] Hrennikoff, Alexander. 1941. “Solution of problems of elasticity by the framework method.”
Journal of applied mechanics 8:169-175.
[8] Absi, E. 1972. “La théorie des équivalences et son application à l’étude des ouvrages d’art.”
Annales de ITBTP 298:58-91.
Toniolo, G., and P. G. Malerba. 1981. Metodi di discretizzazione dell'analisi strutturale. Mas-
[9]
son Italia.
[10] Galli, A., and V. Franciosi. 1955. “Il calcolo a rottura dei ponti a volta sottile ed impalcato
irrigidente.” Giornale del Genio Civile 11:686-700.
[11] Bresler, B., and A. C. Scordelis. 1963. “Shear strength of reinforced concrete beams”. Journal
Proceedings 60:51-74.
[12] Bontempi, F., P. G. Malerba, and L. Romano. 1995. “Il modello MFCT (Modified
Compression Field Theory) nell'analisi per elementi finiti di strutture piane in CA”. Studi e
ricerche-Politecnico di Milano. Scuola di specializzazione in costruzioni in cemento armato
16:173-207.
[13] Leonhardt, F., and R. Walther. 1963. Schubversuche an Plattenbalkan mit unterschiedlicher
Schubbewehrung. Vertrieb durch Verlag von W. Ernst.

ifb

Load-bearing capacity and deformation behaviour of

carbon-textile reinforced concrete members
b
Redouan El Ghadioui, Tilo Proske and Carl-Alexander Graubner
Institute of Concrete and Masonry Structures,
Technische Universität Darmstadt,
if
Franziska-Braun-Str. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Abstract
The use of reinforcement with a high tensile strength made of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) in
concrete members promises many advantages. Especially due to the missing vulnerability to corro-
sion, a significantly extended service life compared to steel-reinforced concrete is targeted. Therefore,
reliable knowledge about the material properties, the load-bearing capacity and the deformation be-
haviour of carbon concrete under short-term and long-term loads is essential. In addition to a brief
overview of the historical and normative developments in the field of FRP reinforcement, the follow-
ing article discusses selected material properties of concrete and reinforcement. As a preparation of a
large-scaled research project, tests were carried out to describe and analyse the load-bearing and
deformation behaviour as well as further aspects of carbon-reinforced concrete members.
1 Introduction
The combination of concrete and steel into a malleable, efficient and at the same time relatively inex-
pensive composite material made steel-reinforced concrete the most important building material in
terms of quantity in the past century. Due to the susceptibility to corrosion of steel reinforcement,
research on alternative reinforcement materials has been carried out in the last decades. FRP rein-
forcement, which is characterised by its high resistance to corrosion and its high tensile strength, has
emerged as a technically reasonable alternative. The fibres are usually impregnated with a matrix of
epoxy resin or an aqueous film-forming dispersion (e.g. styrene-butadiene). Other often-used fibre
materials besides carbon (CFRP) are glass (GFRP), aramid (AFRP) and basalt (BFRP). FRP is usual-
ly processed into strands and textile grids or bars. Figure 1 is showing typical bars and textile grids
made of CFRP and GFRP.
Fig. 1 Bars and textile grids made of CFRP and GFRP.
2 Historical overview
Research on FRP as reinforcement in constructional engineering was mainly pushed forward in Japan
in the 1970s [1]. The first structures, including several GFRP pedestrian bridges and the world’s first
highway bridge using GFRP tendons, were built in China and Germany in the 1980s [2]-[4]. Due to
the growing understanding and trust in this technology, further pilot projects have been realised, such
as the Beddinton Trail Bridge (Calgary, Canada) or the Taylor Bridge (Winnipeg, Canada), where
both CFRP and GFRP stirrups and tendons have been used [5].
In 1993, the Japanese Ministry of Construction introduced the world's first guideline on the use of
FRP reinforcement in Japan [6]. Guidelines from the Japan Society of Civil Engineering JSCE (1997)
[7], the American Concrete Institute ACI (2002) [8], the Canadian Standard Association CSA (2002)
[9], the China National Institute of Standardization CNIS (2006) [10], the Italian National Research

Committee CNR (2007) [11] and the German Committee for Structural Concrete DAfStb (2012) [12]
followed. Some guidelines deal only with the strengthening of reinforced concrete members, while
others also regulate and discuss FRP as a replacement for steel reinforcement. Newer structures, such
as the pedestrian bridge in Albstadt (Germany), which is only reinforced with CFRP textile grids, or
b
the beginning of project CUBE in 2017, the world’s first building planned completely with carbon-
reinforced concrete, prove the continuous progress in this field. Figure 2 shows some of the mile-
stones regarding the use of FRP reinforcement in structural engineering.
if
Düsseldorf, Germany Calgary, Canada Manitoba, Canada CSA, Canada CNR, Italy Albstadt, Germany
Worlds 1st Highway Highway Bridge using Highway Bridge with Guideline for Design Guideline for Design Worlds 1st Textile
Bridge using GFRP CFRP Tendons CFRP and GFRP and Construction with and Construction with Reinforced Concrete
Tendons stirrups and tendons FRP reinforcement by FRP reinforcement by (TRC) Bridge made
the Canadian Stan- the Italian CNR of CFRP
dards Association
1986 1993 1998 2002 2007 2015
1982 1986 - 1993 1993 2002 2006 2012 2017
Design code for Guideline for

Guideline for Design strengthening con- strengthening con- Start of project
Worlds 1st guideline and Construction with crete (including FRP) crete (including CUBE: Worlds 1st
on FRP reinforcement FRP Bars by the by the China National CFRP) by the German building made of
Worlds 1st GFRP by the Japanese Min- American Concrete Institute of Standard- Committee for Struc- CFRP reinforced con-
Highway Bridge 7 GFRP Foot Bridges istry of Construction Institute ization tural Concrete crete
Beijing, China Chongqin, China JMC, Japan ACI, USA CNIS, China DAfStb, Germany Dresden, Germany
Fig. 2 Seleceted milestones in the development of FRP reinforcement [1] - [13].
Besides the high tensile strength and the resistance against corrosion, FRP reinforcement has more
advantages such as the low weight, the nonmagnetic behaviour or the low thermal and electric con-
ductivity. Table 1 summarises some of the advantages and disadvantages of FRP reinforcement.
Table 1 Advantages and disadvantages of FRP reinforcement [8].

Advantages Disadvantages
High longitudinal tensile strength No yielding before brittle rupture
Corrosion resistance Low transverse strength
Nonmagnetic Low modulus of elasticity (varies with type of reinforcing
fibre)
High fatigue endurance (varies Susceptibility of damage to polymeric resins and fibres
with type of reinforcing fibre) under ultraviolet radiation exposure
Lightweight (about 1/5 to 1/4 the Low Durability of glass fibre in a moist environment
density of steel)
Low thermal and electric conduc- Low Durability of some glass, aramid and basalt fibres in
tivity alkaline environment
High coefficient of thermal expansion perpendicular to the
fibres, relative to concrete
May be susceptible to fire depending on matrix type and
concrete cover thickness

3 Material properties
3.1 Concrete
b
Concrete as a composite material consists mainly of cement, aggregate and water. The stress-strain
relation of normal strength concrete under short-term uniaxial compression is non-linear and can be
described by Equation (1), according to [14].
σ c  k ⋅ η − η² 
=  for 0 < |εc| < |εcu1| (1)
f cm  1 + (k − 2) ⋅ η 
if
σc concrete compressive stress
εc concrete compressive strain
fcm maximum compressive stress
εc1 strain at maximum compressive stress
εcu1 = 3.5 ‰ ; ultimate strain of normal strength concrete in compression
η = εc / εc1
k = 1.05 · Ecm · |εc1| / fcm (plasticity number)
Ecm mean secant modulus from the origin to σc = 0.4 fcm
For low stresses concrete almost behaves linearly, whereas the stress-strain relation flattens with
higher strains. The plasticity number k controls the shape of the stress-strain curve. If set to k = 1.0,
the relation is linear. A value of k → ∞ results in a full plastic behaviour with a rectangular stress
distribution. For high concrete strengths, the stress-strain relation up to fcm is almost linear with a
more brittle behaviour after the peak point, while concrete with a lower compression strength tends to
behave more ductile. It shall be noted, that the descending portion of the curve depends on the size of
the tested specimen and is therefore not entirely describable as a material property [14]. Another way
to describe the plasticity of concrete is to determine the ratio of the area under the stress-strain curve
in relation to a full plastic behaviour with a rectangular stress distribution. This ratio αR takes the
value 0.5 for a linear relation. For concrete members under flexural loads, the maximum strain in the
outer concrete fibre in compression increases with higher loads, so that the ratio αR is dependent on
the distribution of the concrete compression stress. Furthermore, it is essential to know the distance
between the neutral strain axis and the resultant force in the compression zone. For a linear stress-
strain curve the distance of the resultant force is 2/3 relative to the height of the compression zone x.
This relative distance ka takes the value 0.5 for a full plastic stress-strain relation. Figure 3 shows the
stress-strain relations for different concrete strengths, the ratio αR and the relative distance of the
resultant force depending on the maximum concrete strain according to the regulations for the design
of concrete members in [14].
Fig. 3 Stress-strain relations, ratio αR and relative distance ka for different concrete strengths
For the design of concrete members according to several design codes, the tensile strength of concrete
is usually not taken into account as it is negligibly small (about 1/10 of compression strength) and as
Redouan El Ghadioui, Tilo Proske and Carl-Alexander Graubner 365

it is afflicted with high scattering. The stress-strain relation of the concrete tensile strength can be
described by a bilinear curve. If concrete members are subjected to bending loads, an initially linear
strain and stress distribution over the height of the concrete compression zone is assumed. Since this
is only a simplification, the flexural tensile strength of concrete is usually higher and depends on the
b
height of the cross-section.
3.2 CFRP textile grids

CFRP reinforcement usually shows a linear-elastic stress-strain relation without yielding until brittle
if
rupture. Nevertheless, due to the manufacturing process, where CFRP is processed into strands and
combined to textile grids, the strands in longitudinal direction are often undulated. This results in a
lower modulus of elasticity at small strains, since the fibres must first be stretched. The standard test
methods to determine the longitudinal tensile strength and elongation properties, as described e.g. in
[15], recommend using anchors in the form of steel tubes at the end, in which the textile grids are
centred. These anchors, filled for example with an epoxy resin, shall prevent grip-induced damage to
the outer fibres of the strand. At the Institute of Concrete and Masonry Structures (ICMS) at
Technische Universität Darmstadt, different anchor dimensions and filling materials were tested and
evaluated, such as composite mortars, fine grained concrete, methacrylat and epoxy resin. Not so
brittle materials have proven to be the most suitable ones. The elongation has to be measured with an
extensometer up to approximately 60 % of the tensile strength. Undulation effects should be small at
this high stress level, so that an extrapolation to the rupture point leads to good results regarding the
maximum strain. The modulus of elasticity is defined as the first derivation of the stress-strain
relation. If a cubic regression curve is used as an approximation for the stress-strain-relation, the
modulus of elasticity is a quadratic function of strain and can have a descending portion, which
should not be taken into account. Rather, a linear horizontal extrapolation after the peak point is more
suitable. For FRP reinforcement the modulus of elasticity is usually specified as a tensile chord
modulus of elasticity, determined with the stresses and strains at two levels, e.g. according to [15] at
25 % and 50 % of the tensile strength. Figure 4 shows selected experimentally determined stress-
strain relations and the modulus of elasticity depending on the textile strain of CFRP strands.
4,000 360,000
F F F F
3,500 3,370 MPa
340,000
3,000 Failure of anchor at
Modulus of elasticity Et in MPa
3,240 MPa
320,000
2,500 3,528 MPa
Stress σt in MPa
2,000 300,000
1,500 Average tensile chord

No.1 280,000 modulus of elasticity
1,000 No. 1 - Extrapolated
No. 2 No. 1
No. 2 - Extrapolated 260,000 No. 1 - Extrapolated
500 No. 3 No. 3
No. 3 - Extrapolated No. 3 - Extrapolated
0 240,000
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0
Strain εt in ‰ Strain εt in ‰
Fig. 4 Experimentally determined stress-strain relations and the modulus of elasticity depending
on the textile strain of CFRP strands
4 Experimental investigations on CFRP concrete-slabs
4.1 Test programme and setup

In preparation of a large-scaled research project, different CFRP textile-reinforced concrete slabs
were tested up to failure at the ICMS. The concrete members varied in terms of dimensions, rein-
forcement, concrete strength and loading. The selected test specimen of the 4-point bending test
described below has a plate-shaped cross-section with a width of 0.46 m, a height of 0.10 m, a span of
leff = 1.80 m and a concrete cover thickness of 10 mm. The load is applied in the third-points. The
concrete used is of the strength class C50/60 with a maximum aggregate size of 8 mm. Figure 5
shows the test specimen with its properties.

ifb
Fig. 5 Properties of the selected test-specimen
4.2 Load-bearing capacity

Figure 6 shows the recorded average deflection and the concrete strain at the top centre of the slab
depending on the bending moment My and summarises the strains, stresses, forces and the maximum
bending moment in the limit state.
16.0 -4.0
b b= 0.46 m
14.0 h= -3.5
h d 0.10 m
d= 0.09 m εc σc Fc
L1=L2=L3=
Bending moment My in kNm
12.0 0.60 m -3.0

x
Concrete strain εco in ‰

fcm,cube = 68 MPa
10.0 -2.5
L1 L2 L3
8.0 -2.0 d z
State I h
6.0 State IIa State IIb -1.5
4.0 -1.0 εt σt Ft
Bending moment
2.0 -0.5
Concrete strain h = 10.0 cm εc = 1.02 ‰ Fc = Ft = 117.5 kN
d = 8.9 cm εt = 9.85 ‰ ka = 0.659
0.0 0.0
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 x = 0.84 cm σc = 35.0 MPa z = d – ka · x = 8.35 cm
αR = 0.526 σt = 2950.0 MPa MR = Fc · z = 9.81 kNm
Deflection w in mm
Fig. 6 Left: Relation of bending moment, concrete strain and displacement
Right: Design model of strain and stress distribution over the height of the cross-section
In State I in Figure 6, the concrete member is uncracked. The first crack occurs at a bending moment
of Mcr = 2.73 kNm. This can be used to calculate the concrete flexural tensile strength.
My ⋅6 2.73 ⋅ 10 −3 ⋅ 6
f ct ,fl = = = 3.56 MPa (2)

b ⋅ h² 0.46 ⋅ 0.10²
The concrete compressive strength was determined at three cubes with an edge length of 150 mm as
fcm,cube = 68 MPa, which is exactly the mean value for concrete C50/60. According to [14] the calcu-
lated value of the concrete flexural tensile strength can be determined by Equation (3).
1 + 0.06hb 0.7 1 + 0.06 ⋅ 1000.7

f ctm,fl = f ctm ⋅ = 0.3 ⋅ 502 / 3 ⋅ = 4.072 ⋅ 1.664 = 6.78 MPa (3)
0.06hb 0.7
0.06 ⋅ 1000.7
This example demonstrates the high scatter and the complex mechanisms of the concrete tensile
strength, especially for small cross-sections. Because of the lower capability of stress re-distribution,
weak spots (e.g. imperfect mixed or condensed concrete, non-hydrated cement stone or aggregate
with lower strength) have a much higher impact on small cross-sections. In addition to that, there is
an influence of the width of the cross-section as shown in [16], according to which the flexural tensile
strength decreases with increasing width. According to the results in Figure 6, the mean concrete
flexural tensile strength is just above the characteristic value for the uniaxial tensile strength accord-
ing to [14] and shown in Equation (4).
f ctk,0.05 = 0.7 ⋅ fctm = 2.85 MPa < f ct,fl = 3.56 MPa < f ctk,0.95 = 1.3 ⋅ f ctm = 5.29 MPa (4)
In State IIa, the formation of cracks in the concrete member is progressing, as can be seen from the
moment-deflection diagram. This stage ends approximately at a moment of My = 3.7 kNm, which is

about 1.35 times higher than the cracking moment Mcr. This ratio is comparable to steel-reinforced
concrete, as for example described in [17]. In State IIb, the crack formation is nearly completed and
the crack width increases continuously, leading to an almost linear curve of the moment-deflection-
diagram. At a moment of My = 8.0 kNm a decrease in force can be observed, which is attributed to the
b
failure of one strand at the outer side of the concrete slab. Due to the spatial scattering of the concrete
tensile strength, the occurring crack pattern is asymmetric, which is reflected in different deflections
on the respective sides of the slab and leads to an earlier failure. Failure of the remaining reinforce-
ment and hence of the concrete member occurred at a moment of MR = 9.11 kNm.
if
For the plausibility check of this value, the common methods of steel-reinforced concrete design
are used, which provide an iteration of the strain planes. The mean value of the maximum stress of the
textile reinforcement, embedded in concrete, was determined as approximately 2,950 MPa. The aver-
age cross-section area of a strand is 3.62 mm². Because of the early failure of one of the 12 strands,
the calculation is based upon 11 strands in the concrete cross-section and gives yields to a value of
MR,calc = 9.81 kNm.
With a deviation of approximately 7 % between the experimental and calculated values, it can be
clearly shown that the basic mechanisms of steel-reinforced concrete design can also be transferred to
textile-reinforced concrete under flexural loads.
4.3 Deformation behaviour

One of the advantages of steel reinforcement is the typical yielding, which leads to greater
deformations before failure and hence to a more ductile behaviour. Even if the FRP reinforcement
itself behaves almost linear elastic until brittle rupture, the textile-reinforced concrete undergoes large
deformations before failure, which is one of the goals of assessing concrete members in civil
engineering. On the other hand, deformations in the serviceability limit state must be minimised and
restricted.
If the applied moment reaches the value of the cracking moment Mcr, the cross-section moves
from the non-cracked State I to the cracked State II. In cracked state, the bending stiffness is strongly
dependent on the height of the concrete compression zone x, since the moment of inertia is essentially
only derived from the concrete compression zone and the reinforcement. The height of the concrete
compression zone is not dependent on the load level in the case of the following boundary
conditions :
Pure bending stress
Linear elastic behaviour of the reinforcement
Linear elastic behaviour of concrete under compression, i.e. αR = 0.5 and ka = 2/3
(especially justified for low stresses and high concrete strengths, see Chapter 3.1)
Under these circumstances and with neglecting the concrete tensile strength, the neutral strain axis is
located in the mechanical centre of the cracked cross-section and can be represented by a quadratic
polynomial, see Equation (5).
ξ = − αt ⋅ ρt + αt ² ⋅ ρt ² + 2 ⋅ αt ⋅ ρt (5)
ξ = x / d ; relative height of concrete compression zone

αt = Etm / Ecm ; ratio of mean moduli of elasticity
ρt = At / (b · d) ; geometric ratio of longitudinal tensile reinforcement
With increasing geometric ratio of longitudinal tensile reinforcement, the height of the concrete com-
pression zone and therefore the moment of inertia and the bending stiffness increase, too. FRP rein-
forcement has a high tensile strength, which is about 4-6 times higher than steel. Therefore, the
geometric ratio of longitudinal tensile reinforcement needed for the ultimate limit state is much lower.
At the same time, the bending stiffness in cracked state is reduced, which leads to greater deflections.
Therefore, the serviceability limit state of deflection can be decisive. Figure 7 shows the relationship
between the geometric ratio of longitudinal tensile reinforcement, the height of the concrete compres-
sion zone and the ratio of the moment of inertia III / II in cracked and uncracked state.

1.0 1.0
Height of compression zone - steel Experiment according to Chapter 4.1
0.9 Moment of inertia - steel 0.9 Reinforcement: Carbon textile grid
Maximum tensile stress: σt,m = 2,950 MPa
Relative height of the concrete compression
Height of compression zone - carbon
0.8 0.8
Ratio of moment of inertia III / II

Moment of inertia - carbon Reinforcement ratio:
ρt = At / (b · d) = 11 · 3.62 / (460 · 89) = 0.097 %
b
0.7 b = d = 1.0 ; d / h = 0.9 0.7
Experiment with CFRP Height of concrete compression zone:
0.6 reinforcement acc. to Ch. 4.1 ρt/s = At/s / (b · d) 0.6 ξ = x / d = 0.117
αe,t = Etm / Ecm = 8.00 Ratio of moment of inertia:
zone ξ = x/d
0.5 αe,s = Es / Ecm = 5.36 0.5 III / II = 0.033

Steel reinforcement with
Steel reinforcement with euivalent max. tensile force
0.4 equivalent maximum tensile force 0.4 Reinforcement: Steel bars
Yield strength: fy,k = 500 MPa
if
0.3 0.3
Reinforcement ratio:
0.2 0.2 ρs = At / (b · d) · σt,m / fy,k
= 11 · 3.62 / (460 · 89) · 2,950 / 500 = 0.572 %
0.1 0.1 Height of concrete compression zone:
ξ = x / d = 0.219
0.0 0.0 Ratio of moment of inertia:
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 III / II = 0.083
Geometric ratio of tensile reinforcement ρ in %
Fig. 7 Height of concrete compression zone and ratio of the moment of inertia depending on the
geometric ratio of longitudinal tensile reinforcement
4.4 Additional aspects

Most of the general mechanisms and principles in load-bearing behaviour of steel-reinforced concrete
can be applied on carbon textile-reinforced concrete as well. Nevertheless, there are certain aspects
that need further analysis and attention. With regard to the material properties of FRP reinforcement,
especially in combination with concrete, some aspects have not yet been fully researched.
4.4.1 Transverse pressure and friction at the crack edges
Reinforcement in flexural concrete members can experience high transverse pressure and friction at
the crack edges as shown in Figure 8. These impacts of transverse pressure and friction at the crack
edges may damage the outer fibres of the strands. At the same time, however, the stress distribution
within the fibre strand is equalised, as the transverse pressure allows the inner fibres to be more
strongly involved in the load transfer. The damaging effect is intensified especially during cyclical
continuous stress.
Fig. 8 Transverse pressure and friction at the crack edges
4.4.2 Crack pattern, bond behaviour and tension stiffening

Textile-reinforced concrete members often show a crack formation in State IIa that is not completely
finished. Cracks also occur under higher loads in State IIb. Furthermore, the bond between textile
reinforcement with a smooth surface and concrete is significantly weaker than that of steel bars, as the
mechanical interlocking between concrete and reinforcement is no longer present due to the lack of
ribs. Depending on the crack pattern and bond behaviour, the effect of tension stiffening, i.e. the
contribution in carrying loads of the tensioned concrete between the cracks, also changes. The magni-
tude of the tension stiffening effect is often defined by the coefficient of the average strain of the
tensioned concrete. According to [17], the magnitude of tension stiffening depends strongly on the
duration of the load. In general, the effect is considerably lower under continuous stress.
5 Summary
This article deals with the load-bearing and deformation behaviour of carbon textile-reinforced con-
crete members. In addition to a brief historical overview of the use of alternative reinforcement in
Chapter 2, the basic material properties of the used concrete and carbon reinforcement were presented

in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, experimental investigations were described, which illustrate the typical
behaviour of carbon-reinforced concrete members under flexural loading. Many of the basic mecha-
nisms and principles of steel-reinforced concrete design can be transferred to carbon concrete. As
shown in Chapter 4.2, the serviceability limit state, in particular the deformation limit values, can be
b
decisive for the design due to the bending stiffness in State II, which decreases with decreasing geo-
metric ratio of longitudinal tensile reinforcement. Some aspects need to be investigated more inten-
sively, in particular the different bond behaviour or the behaviour under static and cyclic long-term
loading.
if
References
[1] Ueda, Tamon. 2006. “Future of frp in far east.” Proceedings of the third International Con-
ference on FRP Composites in Civil Engineering. Miami, USA: Florida International Univer-
sity
[2] Clarke, John L. 1993. Alternative Materials for the reinforcement and prestressing of con-
crete. Glasgow, Scotland: Blackie Academic & Professional.
[3] Meier, Urs. 1992. “Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymers: Modern Materials in Bridge Engi-
neering.” Structural Engineering International 1:7-12
[4] Ye, L.P., Peng Feng, Xinzheng Lu, P. Qian, L. Lin, Y. L. Huang, and W.H. Hu. 2004. “FRP
in China: the state of FRP research, design guidelines and application in construction.” Pro-
ceedings of the second International Conference on FRP Composites in Civil Engineering.
Adelaide, Australia: A. A. Balkema Publishers.
[5] Rizkalla, Sami, Dillon Lunn, D., Gregory Lucier, Larbi Sennour, Harry Gleich, and J. Carson.
2013. “Innovative use of FRP for sustainable precast structures.” Precast Concrete Façade
Tectonics Journal 8/2013:55-63
[6] Japanese Ministry of Construction JMC. 1993. Final Report of the Comprehensive Research
and Delevopment Project on Effective Use of Advanced Construction Materials (in Japanese).
Tokyo, Japan: Ministry of Construction.
[7] Japan Society of Civil Engineers JSCE. 1997. “Recommendation for Design and Construction
of Concrete Structures Using Continuous Fiber Reinforcing Materials.” Concrete Engineering
Series 23:325.
[8] American Concrete Institute ACI Committee 440. 2002. ACI440.1R-01 - Guide for the De-
sign and Construction of Concrete Reinforced with FRP Bars. Farmington Hills, USA: Amer-
ican Concrete Institute.
[9] Canadian Standards Association CSA. 2002. CAN/CSA-S806-02 - Design and Construction of
Building Components with Fibre-Reinforced Polymers. Ottawa, Canada: Standards Council of
Canada.
[10] China National Institute of Standardization CNIS. 2006. GB50367-2006 - Design Code for
strengthening concrete structures. Beijing, China: China National Institute of Standardization.
[11] Advisory Committee on Technical Recommendations for Construction. CNR-DT 203/2006 -
Guide for the Design and Construction of Concrete Structures Reinforced with Fibre-
Reinforced Polymer Bars. Rome, Italy: National Research Council.
[12] German Committee for Structural Concrete DAfStb. 2012. Strengthening of concrete mem-
bers with adhesively bonded reinforcement. Berlin, Germany: Beuth Verlag.
[13] Helbig, Thorsten., Sergej Rempel, Kay Unterer, Christian Kulas, and Josef Hegger. 2016.
„Fuß- und Radwegbrücke aus Carbonbeton in Albstadt-Ebingen“ Beton- und Stahlbetonbau
10/2016:676-685.
[14] Fédération internationale du béton (fib). 2013. fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010.
Berlin, Germany: Ernst & Sohn.
[15] ASTM International. 2006. ASTM D 7205/D 7205M - 06 Standard Test Method for Tensile
Properties of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composite Bars. West Conshohocken, USA:
ASTM International.
[16] Krüger, Wolfgang, and Olaf Mertzsch. 2006. “Zum Trag- und Verformungsverhalten bewehr-
ter Betonquerschnitte im Grenzzustand der Gebrauchstauglichkeit.” DAfStb Heft 533:139-142
[17] Zilch, Konrad, and Gerhard Zehetmaier. 2010. Bemessung im konstruktiven Betonbau. Berlin,
Germany: Springer Verlag.

Fibre textile reinforced cementitious composites:

experimental investigation and modelling of three
b
point bending tests on short beams
Michael El Kadi, S. Verbruggen, J. Vervloet, M. De Munck, J. Wastiels, D. Van
Hemelrijck and T. Tysmans
if
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB),
Department Mechanics of Materials and Constructions,
Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Abstract
Textile reinforced cements (TRCs) have proven to be a promising alternative material to steel reinforced
concrete for use in construction. This research presents shear experiments performed on short TRC
beams with a length to thickness ratio of four to one. A numerical model, using inputs from previously
performed tensile experiments is used to predict the shear behaviour of these composites. Furthermore,
a layered-wise analytical model is used to verify the through-thickness stress response obtained from
the numerical consideration. In general, a good agreement is witnessed between the numerical model
and the experimental results on one hand and between the through-thickness stress response obtained
from both the analytical and numerical modelling approach.
1 Introduction
The main ideology of a composite material relies on the combination of two or more materials with
inherently less optimal mechanical characteristics in order to achieve a new, better performing compo-
site material that takes advantage of and combines the mechanical strengths of its components. In the
case of textile reinforced cements (TRCs) the main reason for the addition of a textile to a matrix is an
achievable post cracking stage and therefore a great increase of ductility when compared to only the
matrix material [1]–[3]. TRCs achieve their composite state at a meso-level scale, just like steel rein-
forced concrete, meaning that the different phases (fibre textiles and mortar) remain distinguishable,
however, unlike steel reinforced concrete, the required cover thickness for TRCs is significantly lower
[4] leading to the possibility for more slender and versatile building elements [1], [5].. Several models
that aim to predict the mechanical behaviour of such TRCs exist in literature, ranging from a discrete
modelling of the fibre textiles inside the matrix, where the bond between both has to be explicitly mod-
elled, up to a full smeared approach, where the properties of the matrix and fibre textiles are modelled
as one. However, a semi-smeared, layered-wise build-up of the composite behaviour over the specimen
thickness is still lacking in literature.
This paper presents an experimental campaign performed on short TRC beam specimens with a
length to thickness ratio of four to one, leading to a failure mechanism mostly dominated by shear
characteristics of the material. The TRCs are manufactured through casting of the mortar over pre-
placed fibre textiles, this differs from other manufacturing techniques such as hand-layup or pultrusion
and is more closely in line with steel reinforced concrete manufacturing. The AR-Glass fibre textiles
used to build these pre-placed geometries are shown in Fig. 1 (left) and result in lower Vf values than
denser, fibre mats as shown in Fig. 1 (right).
Previously performed tensile experiments on the same TRC combination [6] are used as an input
for a numerical model that predicts the force-displacement response of the short TRC beams. An
analytical model, predicting the through-thickness stress distribution of the material by means of
separate stress-strain responses for fibre textile and mortar layers is compared to the numerical results.
All displacements, and therefore strains are monitored by means of Digital Image Correlation (DIC), a
full field monitoring technique [7].
In general, a good agreement is witnessed between both the numerical predictions and the
experimental results on one hand and between the analytical through-thickness stress response and the
one obtained from the numerical simulations.

ifb
Fig. 1 Low density 2D fibre textiles (left) and higher density fibre mats (right).
2.1 Material selection

This paragraph will discuss the chosen materials for the manufacturing of the TRCs described in this
paper and the reasoning as to why these particular materials have been chosen. As previously discussed,
these “low density TRCs” are manufactured by pouring of the matrix over a pre-arranged fibre textile
configuration, this means that one of the most important selection parameters for the matrix material is
its pourability in order to allow maximal fibre impregnation. The chosen matrix is a commercially
available grout, its properties are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1 Properties of the cementitious matrix, obtained from [8].

Property Unit Value Comment
Aggregate size [mm] 0 – 1.6 -
Compressive strength [MPa] 55 After 28 days
Modulus of rupture [MPa] 12 After 28 days
Density after mixing [kg/m³] 2010.49 -
Young’s modulus [MPa] 9000 -
As previously shown in Fig. 1 (left), AR-Glass fibre textiles with an open architecture were selected
for the build up of the TRC specimens. Two different fibre textiles were selected, the one shown in Fig.
1 (left) with two yarns per grid direction and one with a similar grid geometry but only one yarn per
grid side and therefore approximately half the glass fibre density per square meter. A full overview of
the properties of these fibre textiles is given in Table 2.
Table 2 Properties of fibre textiles, obtained from datasheets [9], [10].

Property Units Double glass fibre textile Single glass fibre textile
grid (Grid200) grid (Grid701)
Material [-] AR-Glass AR-Glass
Grid size [mm x mm] 22.5 x 22.5 17.5 x 17.5
Tensile strength [MPa] 1000 – 1700 1000 – 1700
Mat density [g/m²] 621.5 311.5
Young’s modulus [GPa] 70 70

Fibre textile reinforced cementitious composites: experimental investigation and modelling of three point bending tests
on short beams
2.2 Material manufacturing
One of the main strengths of the usage of open fibre textiles is their manufacturing similarities with
steel reinforced concrete and therefore their potential ease of uptake in todays construction practices.
b
The discussed TRCs are manufactured as plates in a 450 mm x 500 mm x 22 mm mould.
The fibre textile geometry consists of a layup grouping two sets of the Grid200 and the Grid701.
Each one of these sets is bound together by means of nylon wires in order to achieve one textile
equivalent, combining both fibre textiles. Spaceholders are used to keep these sets at a distance of 4.25
mm from the top and the bottom and extra spaceholders are used to achieve a distance of 8.5 mm
if
between the indivual sets. The spaceholders are only present over the perimeter of the mould and are
cut off after hardening and therefore don’t influence the mechanical response of the material. A top
view of the mould with the fibre textiles is shown in Fig. 2 (left).
The next step consists in pouring the matrix mix over the fibre textiles (Fig. 2 (right)), a vibrating
table is used in order to allow the mortar to fully penetrate the textile geometry. Once the mould is
filled, the excess of mortar is removed by means of a flattening ruler and the mould is covered with a
stiff plastic foil and sealed off. The plate is left to harden for 28 days at room temperature after which
individual short beams (150 mm x 59 mm x 22 mm) are cut by means of a diamond saw. A total of six
short beam specimens were prepared for the experimental campaign. A speckle pattern is drawn on the
beam’s side face and is used for DIC monitoring.
Fig. 2 Top view of mould with pre-placed textile geometry (left) and mould after pouring of the
mortar (right).
2.3 Experimental test setup

The setup for the experimental campaign is shown in Fig. 3. The distance between the supports is 100
mm and therefore approximately four times the thickness of the specimen (22 mm). The loading pin is
placed at the centreline of the specimen. An instron 5885 electromechanical loading bench is used to
apply a displacement controlled motion at a rate of 2 mm/min. The reaction force is directly obtained
from the loading bench, while the vertical displacement and strains are obtained from the DIC moni-
toring technique.
Fig. 3 Test setup for short TRC specimens.
Michael El Kadi, S. Verbruggen, J. Vervloet, M. De Munck, J. Wastiels, D. Van Hemelrijck and T. Tysmans 373

3 Modelling consideration
Both the numerical and analytical modelling approach assume a stacking of layers throughout the
specimen’s thickness. These different layers are given a different tensile mechanical response,
b
depending wheter or not fibre textiles are present in that particular layer. The layers with fibre textiles
are given a tensile strain hardening, three-stage stress response while an exponentially dropping
response is attribuated to the layers with only matrix material. The layup is shown in Table 3 and the
considered curves for both the fibre textile layers and the mortar layers are given in Fig. 4. These input
curves are obtained from a previously performed [6] experimental campaign where TRCs with the same
if
fibre textile geometry were tested in pure tension. The shown tri-linear curve is an average from those
experimental results, the average is calculated for the stress and strain at matrix cracking, the end of the
multiple cracking and the specimen’s failure after which these points are connected to form the tri-
linear curve. The compressive response on the other hand is the same for all layers since the fibre
textiles are assumed not to contribute to the compressive response of the mortar.
A numerical Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) modelling approach is used, the main parameters
of the model are given in Table 4 and were chosen according to [11]. Fig. 5 shows the numerical
simulation of the short TRC beams. The supports are restrained in the vertical direction while all
symmetry planes are restrained in their perpendicular direction in order to only allow vertical movement
of the specimen.
The analytical modelling approach is based on the Euler-Bernouilli’s assumption of normal faces
to the neutral axis remaining normal throughout the loading process and therefore a linear strain behav-
iour over the specimen’s thickness. From this linear strain behaviour, the stress is interpolated at every
thickness point according to the mechanical behaviour given in Fig. 4 for both the textile and the mortar
layers. This stress interpolation is conducted at every thickness point for different maximum strain
values ranging from zero strain to the maximum strain in the material. For all these strain values, dif-
ferent neutral plane positions are considered ranging from the mid-thickness plane to the top plane of
the specimen (this top neutral plane is however a purely theoretical consideration since in practice it is
not possible to not have a compressive zone since tensile and compressive forces have to be in equilib-
rium at every loading stage).
Once all possible stress distributions are calculated, a comparison is drawn between the analytical
model and the numerical model for that particular loading stage and therefore that particular value of
maximum strain and position of the neutral plane, the results of this comparison are discussed in para-
graph 4.
Table 3 Considered modelling layup for the short beam TRC.

Layer number Material Thickness [mm] Attribuated mechanical behaviour

1 Mortar 4.25 Exp. decaying after matrix cracking
2 Mortar + Textile 2.5 Three-stage response
4 Mortar + Textile 2.5 Three-stage response
Table 4 Parameters used for the numerical concrete damaged plasticity modelling approach.
Dilation angle Eccentricity fb0/fc0 K Viscosity parameter

36 0.1 1 0.667 0.01

on short beams
ifb
Fig. 4 Tensile σ [MPa] – ε [-] curves inputted for the different layers of the composite layup, layers
with fibre textiles (2 and 4) are given a three-stage tensile reponse (full curve) while layers
with only matrix material (1 ,3 and 5) are given an exponentially decaying curve after ma-
trix cracking (dashed curve).
Fig. 5 Numerical simulation of test on short beam TRC.
4 Experimental results and modelling comparison

The results obtained from the experimental campaign are given in Fig. 6, the grey dashed experimental
lines are obtained by expressing the mid-span vertical displacement of the short TRC beams obtained
from the DIC analysis in function of the reaction force obtained from the loading bench.
A typical TRC behaviour, with matrix cracking and multiple cracking stages can be recognized. An
average of the experimental curves is shown in bold black, this curve is obtained by averaging the
representative experimental values of force and displacement at matrix cracking, end of multiple
cracking and failure in the same way as for the input tensile experiments discussed in paragraph 3. This
bold black curve is then compared to the red curve obtained from the numerical simulations. In general,
a good agreement between the experimental results and numerical simulations is obtained, leading to
the conclusion that this numerical modelling approach is a correct tool to predict the mechanical shear
response of the short TRC beams.
The analytical model predicts the stress behaviour over the specimens thickness as discussed in
paragraph 3. The comparison between the numerical and analytical prediction is given in Fig. 7 (right)
for a vertical displacement of the specimen of 1.3 mm. A good agreement is witnessed between both
modelling approaches and several remarks can be made. First of all, the stress and strain distribution
over the thickness cross a zero value at the exact same height for both models, this is of course desired
since a point of zero strain should always coincide with a value of zero stress. In this particular loading
stage shown in Fig. 7 (right) this happens at 16.55 mm from the bottom of the specimen. Secondly, for
all points in the layers with only mortar, the stress value is zero in tension whenever the matrix tensile
behaviour starts cracking, just as inputted according to Fig. 4. This value of zero tensile stress in the
mortar layers is witnessed everywhere, except at the top part of Layer 3, where small values of strain

are applicable. The compressive response is modelled linearly and never reaches the maximum failure
stress of the mortar, making the tensile side dominant for the equilibrium of forces and the calculation
of the neutral plane position. This observation is confirmed by the DIC horizontal strain field
measurement (Fig 7. Left), which indicates a tensile crack around the mid-span point of the specimen.
b
The purple area denotes a region with no strain while the more the color shift towards red the more
apparent strain is present at those particular points, giving a visual representation of the cracking over
the monitored area.
Fig. 6
if
Force (N) – Vertical displacement (mm) curve for short beams, comparison between exper-
imental results (grey dashes curves), experimental average (black bold curve) and numeri-
cal simulation (red curve).
Fig. 7 Horizontal strain field image from Digital Image Correlation (left) and stress [MPa] / strain
[-] distribution over the specimen thickness: comparison between numerical simulation
(bold black curve) and analytical model (red curve) at a vertical displacement of 1.3 mm
(right).
5 Conclusions
This paper describes a numerical and analytical modelling approach for short TRC beams. Six short
TRC beams using commercially available materials, with an open fibre textile stacking have been man-
ufactured and tested for this purpose. Both models use a tensile mechanical response obtained from
previously performed tensile experiments as an input. The numerical model allows an easy to tune and
correct visualization of the stress field throughout different loading stages, validated by the DIC meas-
uring technique. Furthermore, the through-thickness stress configuration at different loading steps is

on short beams
calculated analytically and compared with the results obtained from the numerical consideration, yield-
ing comparable results. This analytical implementation showcases the strengths of the usage of a lay-
ered-wise modelling approach for TRCs consisting of a fibre textile layup.
b
Acknowledgements
The research described and performed in this paper is made possible thanks to the funding of the
Agentschap Innoveren & Ondernemen. It is part of a larger SBO-project (Cecomstruct).
if
References
[1] Brameshuber, W. 2006. Textile Reinforced Concrete - State-of-the-Art Report of RILEM TC
201-TRC, 1st Edition. Aachen: RILEM.
[2] Bentur, A., and S.Mindess. 2007. “Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Composites, MOdern
Concrete Technology Series, second edition, Taylor & Francis Group.".
[3] Aveston, J., G.A. Cooper, and A. Kelly. 1971. “Single and multiple fracture, The Properties of
Fibre Composites.” pp. 15–24.
reinforced concrete,” Struct. Concr., vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 115–124.
[5] Triantafillou, T. 2016. Textile Fibre Composites in Civil Engineering, 1st Edition. Woodhead
Publishing.
[6] El Kadi, M., S.Verbruggen, J.Vervloet, M. De Munck, J. Wastiels, and T. Tysmans. 2017.
“Experimental investigation and benchmarking of 3D textile reinforced cementitious
composites,” 4th Int. Conf. Strain-Hardening Cem. Compos., pp. 1–8.
[7] Sutton, M. A., J.-J Orteu, and H. W. Schreier. 2009. Image correlation for Shape, Motion and
Deformation Measurements. Springer Science + Business Media.
[8] Sika, “Sikagrout 217. 2016. Note de produit,”
https://fra.sika.com/dms/getdocument.../sikagrout_217_nt810.pdf.
[9] V. Fraas. 2017. “Technical Datasheet SitGrid200,” V. Fraas, 2017. [Online]. Available:
www.solutions-in-textile.com. [Accessed: 01-May-2017].
[10] V. Fraas. 2017. “Technical Datasheet SitGrid701,” V. Fraas, 2017. [Online]. Available:
www.solutions-in-textile.com. [Accessed: 01-May-2017].
[11] Wozniak, M., Tysmans, T.,Verbruggen, S. and Vantomme, J. 2017. “Nonlinear indirect
identification method for cement composite-to- concrete bond,” Compos. Struct., vol. 176, pp.
72–81.

ifb

Semi-discrete analytical beam model for fibre

reinforced concrete beams
b
Mária Erdélyiné Tóth and Anikó Pluzsik
Csonka Pál Doctoral School,
if
Műegyetem rkp. 3., Budapest (1111), Hungary
Abstract
The use of fibre reinforced concrete has significantly increased in recent years. Despite a considerable
amount of research, fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) has not been standardized yet. The aim of the
present survey is to work out a new semi-discrete beam model which takes the real distribution of the
fibres in the critical cross-section of the FRC beam into consideration. The pull-out behaviour of
fibres is one of the distinctive features of fibre reinforced concrete. An appropriate friction law of the
slipping fibres is built in the presented beam model to gain a more precise approximation for the F-
CMOD (Force-Crack Mouth Opening Displacement) diagram of the FRC beam. The model is based
on the fracture mechanical principles used in the beam modelling for plain concrete. This new model
can be a useful tool in the evaluation of experimental test results.
1 Introduction
The use of fibre reinforced concrete has significantly increased in recent years, not only for industrial
floors but also for many other loadbearing structures. Despite a considerable amount of research, fibre
reinforced concrete (FRC) has not been standardized yet. Beside the numerous advantages of using
macro fibres in the concrete, a disadvantage is the high deviation of the measured properties of the
material which makes the designing process more difficult. The deviation of the examined data
influences the number of tests needed to reach the appropriate accuracy. (The number of the required
experiments for a given accuracy is proportional to the square of the deviation.) For this reason,
examining FRC requires much higher number of tests than other building materials, which increases
the costs and the time of the lab experiments. The high deviation of the mechanical properties of FRC
beam is due to the different amount and distribution of the fibres in the critical cross-section of the
beam. The existing, theoretical, smeared models don’t take the real distribution of the fibres into
consideration (a uniform distribution is assumed), thus they can be used well in the evaluation of
experimental results (and in the designing process) only if the number of the experimental samples
are increased significantly compared to the regular concrete experiments.
To overcome this drawback, the aim of the present survey is to work out a new semi-discrete
beam model which takes the real distribution of the fibres in the critical cross-section of the FRC
beam into consideration. A student-type version of the new model was already published [8]. With
the help of the model according to [8] experimental beam results can be compared to each other by a
constant pull-out force, determined by inverse analysis. The deviation of this pull-out force is smaller
than that of the usual mechanical properties, because the method eliminates that part of the deviation
which is caused by the different distribution of fibres.
The pull-out behaviour is one of the distinctive features of FRC. This pull-out force could be used
well in the evaluation of the experimental results in case of regular number of experimental samples,
too. For simplicity the pull-out force was assumed to be constant according to [8]. As an
improvement in this article, an appropriate friction law of the slipping fibres is built in the model
instead of the constant slipping force to gain a more precise approximation for the F-CMOD diagram
of the FRC beam. Experimental investigation was performed in [9] to choose the most precise
approximation for the pull-out behaviour of synthetic fibres.
The developed new model is based on the fracture mechanical principles used in the beam
modelling for plain concrete.

2 Previous results
Three-point bended FRC beams were examined in [8] (Fig. 1 left). The three-point bended beam does
not reach its ultimate loadbearing capacity when the middle section cracks. After the first crack the
b
load bearing capacity increases, while the crack spreads in a stabil way, then in the instabil phase of
the crack spreading, the load bearing capacity decreases sharply. However, the cracked zone does not
increase, and the beam remains elastic and uncracked except for a restricted middle zone. Following
the literature [11], in the theoretical beam model a plastic hinge was assumed in the middle of the
element and the deflection from the elastic part of the beam was neglected (Fig. 1 left). It means that
if
the deflections of the beam are mainly affected by the properties (fibre amount and distribution) of the
middle cross section. Reference [8] takes the real distribution of the fibres crossing the middle crack
into account. The macro fibre locations in the middle cross-section were manually determined after
fracture in all test elements (Fig. 1 right) [5].
Fig. 1 Static model and deformation with plastic hinge (left) and Zones and distances in the
cross-section (right).
Two models were built with different stress-strain models for concrete matrix. Model I assumes a
linearly elastic brittle, Model II a linearly elastic, linearly softening approximation of the concrete
tensile stresses (Fig. 2 left). First the moment- curvature relationship was determined, then, with the
use of plastic hinge model, the F-CMOD relationship was calculated. Fig. 2 (right) shows the so
calculated F-CMOD diagrams, compared to the experimental curve of a sample, which was examined
by the recommendation of [10]. The following experimental data were taken from the tests and used
in the theoretical calculation: geometric data (b=150 mm, h=125 mm, and l=500 mm), tensile strength
(ft=4.09 N/mm2), fibre distribution in the middle cross section (ni=[18 11.5 6.5 21.5 20],
ti=[12.5 37.5 62.5 87.5 112.5], Fig. 1 right) and the fibrework (Wf=22035 J, which is the total area
under the F-CMOD curve) [5]. The elastic modulus, Ec was 30 GPa (C30/37), and in Model II E2 was
chosen as E2=0.28Ec. Table 1 contains the list of parameters.
Fig. 2 Stress distribution along the cracked cross-section (left) and Calculated and experimental
F-CMOD curves (right).
The free parameter of the theoretical model, the fibre force was calculated by inverse analysis from
the equality of the fibrework of the theoretical and experimental F-CMOD curves. The so calculated

fibre force characterizes well the FRC material; however, the theoretical model fails to predict the
maximum loading force (Fig. 2 right) of the FRC beam, therefore refining the theoretical model is
necessary.
Then pull-out investigations were made in [9]. The theoretical pull-out models found in the
b
literature were compared with experimental results. Two synthetic fibre types with different surface
characteristics (ribbed, waved) were examined. First, the one-sided and two-sided pull-out
phenomena were compared to each other. Then the effect of the mortar strength, fibre surface and the
anchoraged fibre length were examined. None of the few analytical models for the pull-out of
if
synthetic fibres (according to [6] and [13]) and for steel fibres (according to [15]) could be fitted well
to the experimental results. The feature of the resulting force – displacement (F-u) curve (Fig. 3 right)
depends on the friction law (τ-s relation). Instead of the friction laws found in the literature a modified
model of [15] was suggested, as in (1)-(6) (Fig. 3 left). The F-u curves calculated according to the
suggested modified model of [15] (with parabola τ) agreed well with the experimental curves in all
examined cases (Fig. 3 right) [9].
Fig. 3 Different τ-s curves (left) and Modelling experimental curves with analytical models
(F-u curves) [9] (right).
d
d d ,
d
(1)
and
Where:
(2)
, if ;
, if and
$
!1 # %& $ $ '(, if )
(3)
Where:
(4)

*
+ 1#, ln ./0 (5)
1
# #
+
2 (6)
In the next section the pull-out model suggested in [9] and reiterated in (1)-(6) is built in the origin
beam model according to [8]. The developed new model is changed according to the fracture
mechanical principles used in the beam modelling for plain concrete.
3 Theoretical model
Fracture mechanics has been widely used for plain concrete (as in [1] and [2]) and FRC (as in [3] and
[11]) to determine the softening material properties due to cracking. Although for plain concrete the
use of fracture energy proved to be a sufficient tool, it cannot be efficiently used in the evaluation of
experimental test results in case of FRC material. In a beam model based on fracture mechanics the
stress-crack opening curve is essential. The main parameters of a theoretical simplified stress-crack
opening curve are usually determined by inverse analysis from test results. The stress-crack opening
Mária Erdélyiné Tóth and Anikó Pluzsik 381

curve in FRC materials according to the recommendation of the Rilem Technical Committees (Rilem)
[11] represents the process zone, aggregate interlock as well as fibre bridging. The stress-crack
opening curve is strongly influenced by the amount and location of fibres in the cracked cross-section,
which can differ significantly in each individual sample. Existing smeared models [4, 7 and 14] do
b
not take the real distribution of the fibres into consideration, thus, whatever the shape of the
theoretical stress-crack opening curve (Fig. 4 left) is chosen, the beam results fit well only to the
given sample in the test and fail the prediction of other samples. The stress-crack opening curve
suggested according to Rilem is given in (7) (Fig. 4 left)
67 , 680 4 0
if
3 4 5
3: , 680 4 4;<= (7)
In this study, a linear stress-crack opening curve is used which does not take the effect of fibres
into consideration just the effect of the process zone and the aggregate interlock and is based on the
properties of the plain concrete. The stress-crack opening relation is given in (8) and Fig. 4 (left), by
modifying the recommendation of Rilem [11]. Based on the stress-crack opening relation, the
stress-vertical distance relation is expressed in (9)-(12) using the Bernoulli-Navier hypothesis.
The effect of fibres is calculated by taking account the real distribution of the fibres crossing the
crack, determined manually by Fig. 1 (right). With the above alterations, the assumed stress
distribution of the cracked cross-section is shown in Fig. 4 (right). Fig. 5 (left) shows the relation
between the crack width and the vertical distance according to (11).
3 4> 67 $ ?4> (8)
1
3@A=,> B 67 $ ? 2 A=,> AC
0 (9)
A=,> D> $ AE $ A7
Where:
1
(10)
4> 2 A=,> AC
0 (11)
AC F # 25 $ AE $ A7 # 2 (12)
3.1 Moment-curvature relationship

3.1.1 Uncracked cross-section

During the first stage, when the deflections are small, the FRC beam behaves in a linearly elastic
manner for compression and tension. The fibres in the uncracked zone of the cross section do not
have a significant effect on the deflections, so here the fibre forces are completely ignored. The
compressed concrete zone (xc) can be determined using (13) and (14). The moment (M) is obtained as
a function of the curvature (1/r) according to (15) and (16). These equations are valid until the first
crack occurs. The first crack occurs when the tensile stress reaches ft in the lower edge of the cross
1 AE1 67
section (Fig. 4 right).
HI J $ JA7 0
K
0 2 2
(13)
F
AE A7
2
(14)
1 AE1 AE 67 2
L J $ JA7 NAE # A7 O
K
0 2 3 2 3
(15)
1
E JF
P
L 0
12
(16)

ifb
Fig. 4 Free-formed stress-crack opening curves (left) and Strain and stress diagrams according to
the stress-crack opening curve suggested in (8) (right).
3.1.2 Cracked cross section

As the middle crack extends, more and more fibres are affected, while in the uncracked zone the
effect of the fibres is neglected henceforward. The stresses along the cross section are given in Fig. 4
(right). Relatively short macro fibres cannot be perfectly embedded in the matrix, and most of these
fibres pull out while the crack is opening. The pull out behaviour of the fibres are determined in (1)-
(6). The force of fibres in each horizontal zone is determined by using the pull-out equations, where
the displacement is equal to the crack opening in the given zone. The crack opening (wi) can be
calculated according to (11) (Fig. 5 left) as in [11] and [12]. Authors recommend to choose the
embedment length of fibres as 35% of the total length of fibres.
Calculation of crack opening (wi) (left) and Calculation of CMOD (right).

Fig. 5
The normal force equilibrium equation of the middle cross section depends on the fibre forces in each
horizontal zone (Ffibre,i), the amount of the working fibres (ni) and the assumed material model
according to (17). Once the compressed concrete zone (xc) for a given curvature is known from the
normal force equilibrium equation, the cross-sectional moment can be calculated from the moment
1
equilibrium of the stresses along the cross section according to (18).
ST=U T=V
JA*1
\
0 * JAQ 6Q
HI # R 3 A= A= # H >WXY,> Z[
2 2
(17)
>]
1 ST=U T=V
JA*1 _ 3 A= A=
ST=U T=V
0 * AE JAQ 67 2AQ
L $ NA* # O$ R 3 A= A= ∙ # AE
2 3 2 3 _
ST=U T=V
3 A= A=
\
# A7 $ H >WXY,> D[ Z[
(18)
>]
SageMath computer code was used for creating the moment-curvature diagram based on (1)-(18).

3.2 F-CMOD calculation

For the calculation of the deformations of the three-point bended beam, a plastic hinge was assumed
in the middle of the element and the deflection from the elastic part of the beam was neglected
b
1
according to [5] and [10]. The CMOD is related to the curvature according to (19) (Fig. 5 right).
`Lab 2 AC 1
0 (19)
Table 1 The parameters used in the calculation of F-CMOD diagrams in Fig. 6.
if
Parameter Dimension Value Name of the parameter
a - 0.1 Parameter of the parabola
Af [mm2] 0.48 Cross sectional area of the fibres
b [mm] 150 Width of the cross-section
CMOD [mm] - Crack Mouth Opening Displacement
df [mm] 0.78 Diameter of the fibres
Ec [MPa] 30000 Elastic modulus of the concrete matrix
Ef [MPa] 7000 Elastic modulus of the fibres
Ffibre,i [N] - Force in the fibres
ft [N/mm2] 2.86 Tensile flexural stress in concrete
G [N/mm3] 8159.9 Relative bond modulus between fibres and concrete
h [mm] 125 Thickness of the cross-section
l [mm] 500 Span of the beam
L [mm] 17.5 Embedment length of the fibres
ni [mm] - Number of fibres in given zones on the cross- section
P [N] - Axial force of the fibre
q [N/mm3] 20 Free, shape parameter of the stress-crack opening curve
R/r - 50.8 Matrix-fibre size ratio
s [mm] - Relative displacement (slip) of the fibres
ti [mm] - Distance of fibres from the upper edge of cross-section

vm - 0.2 Poisson’s ratio of concrete matrix
wmax [mm] 3 Maximum crack opening
wi [mm] - Width of the crack opening
Wf [J] - Fibrework
xc [mm] - Compressed concrete zone
xt [mm] - Tensiled concrete zone (linearly)
xw [mm] - Distance of the CMOD meter from the tip of the crack
xx,i [mm] - Distance of the fibres from the tip of the crack
1/r [1/mm] - Curvature of the cross-section
ξ [mm] - Local coordinate of the fibre
σ [N/mm2] - Stress in concrete
σy [N/mm2] 0.6 Residual strength
τmax [N/mm2] 3.4 Free parameter, bond strength between concrete and
fibres

4 Results
Fig. 6 shows the experimental and theoretical F-CMOD curves of four FRC beam samples created by
the aforementioned method. The new theoretical model contains two free parameters: q parameter of
b
the stress-crack opening curve which characterizes the concrete material, and τmax which determines
the friction law for the slipping fibres. The free parameters are calculated by inverse analysis from the
equality of the fibreworks of the theoretical and experimental F-CMOD curves. The use of the real
distribution of fibres in the critical cross-section eliminates the high deviation of the data, thus
different beams can be modelled by using the same free parameters (values are given in Table 1). The
if
theoretical model fits well to the experimental results in all cases. Parameters q and τmax characterize
not only the performed experimental samples, but also the examined FRC material.
Fig. 6 Theoretical and experimental curves for four beams (upper left: Wf =22035J,
ni=[18 12 7 22 20]; upper right: Wf =19900J, ni=[44 22 21 12 17]; bottom left:

Wf =12268J, ni=[18 17 19 13 17]; bottom right: Wf =22648J, ni=[15 21 16 25 15]).
5 Conclusion
This study has introduced a new theoretical model for analysing FRC beams. The model is based on
fracture mechanics, takes the real distribution of the macro fibres into consideration in the critical
cross section of the beam, and uses a precise approximation of the pull-out behaviour of the fibres.
The results of the theoretical model agree well with the experimental results published in [8] and [9].
The verification of the method was performed for synthetic fibres.
Existing, smeared beam theories for FRC (for example [4, 7, 11 and 14]) contain free parameters
(in case of Rilem method wmax and σy in Fig. 4 left). These parameters are constants of the empirically
chosen stress-crack opening curve. The determination of the free parameters is performed by inverse
analysis from test results according to the recommendations of Rilem. The so determined theoretical
models fit the average of the dispersed test results in the performed experiment well, however do not
fit the single sample’s curves, and in case of regular number of tests (3-5 samples) probably fail the
prediction of the behaviour of the material.
The presented, new, semi-discrete beam model also contains two free parameters, q and τmax, from
which τmax has a real mechanical meaning (it represents the maximum of the slipping shear stress of
the fibres). The method eliminates the uncertainties arise from the high deviation of the measured
material properties caused by the different distribution of fibres. As a result, these two parameters

characterize the examined material, not only the actual experiment. With the help of these parameters
the theoretical model can be fitted
the average of the experimental results (using the average fibre distribution of the samples in
the experiment), in this case the method is equivalent to [11]
b
the single samples’ curves (using the actual fibre distribution of the samples)
the expected average of the general beams’ results made from the given material (using the
average fibre distribution for the given fibre content), in this case the method can be reliably
usable for designing process.
if
The presented calculation method was developed for analysing experimental test results. Further
research is necessary to specify the average fibre distribution in the critical cross section for a given
fibre content. If this value is available, the model can be extended to designing process.
References
[1] Bazant, Z. P., and J. Planas. 1998. Fracture and Size Effect in Concrete and Other
Quasibrittle Materials. Boca Raton and London: CRC Press.
[2] Bazant, Z. P., and B. H. Oh. 1984. “Crack Band Theory for Fracture of Concrete.” Materials
and Structures 16:155-177.
[3] CNR-DT 204/2006. 2006. “Guide for the Design and Construction of Fiber-Reinforced
Concrete Structures.” Advisory Committee on Technical Recommendations for Construction,
Rome.
[4] Di Prisco, M. et al. 2013. “Fibre‐reinforced concrete in fib Model Code 2010: principles,
models and test validation.” Structural Concrete 14(4).
[5] Juhász, K. P. 2013. “Szintetikus makro szálerősítésű beton gerendavizsgálatok kiértékelése a
valós száleloszlás vizsgálata alapján.” (“Evaluation of synthetic macro fibre reinforced
concrete beam test results based on examination the real fibre distribution”) Anyagvizsgálók
lapja 3-4:93-97.
[6] Lin, Z., T. Kanda, and V. C. Li. 1999. “On Interface Characterization and Performance of
Fiber-reinforced Cementitious Composites.” Concrete Science and Engineering 1: 173-175.
[7] No.79 fib-Bulletin. 2016. Fibre-reinforced concrete: From design to structural applications -
FRC 2014: ACI-fib International Workshop. ACI SP-310.
[8] Tóth, M., A. Pluzsik, and K. P. Juhász. 2017. “Effect of Mixed Fibers on the Ductility of
Concrete.” Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering 29(9):1-12.
[9] Tóth, M., A. Pluzsik, T. Pluzsik, and B. Morlin. 2017. “Experimental Investigations of Pull-
out Behaviour of Synthetic Fibres.” Innovative Materials and Technologies for Concrete
Structures: Proceedings of the fib Congress Tokaj, Hungary, 31 August to 1 September 2017,
pp. 298-305.
[10] Vandewalle, L., et al. 2002. “RILEM TC 162-TDF: Test and design methods for steel fibre
reinforced concrete: Bending test.” Materials and Structures 35:579-582.
reinforced concrete: Design of steel fibre reinforced concrete using the σ-w method:
principles and applications.” Materials and Structures 35: 262-278.
reinforced concrete: σ-ε-design method.” Materials and Structures 36:560-567.
[13] Wang, Y., V. C. Li, and S. Backer. 1988. “Modelling of Fibre Pull-out from a Cement Matrix.”
The International Journal of Cement Composites and Lightweight Concrete 10(3):143-146.
[14] Walraven, J. et al. 2013. fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010. Berlin: Ernst u. Sohn
[15] Zhan, Y., and G. Meschke. 2014. “Analytical Model for the Pullout Behaviour of Straight and
Hooked-end Steel Fibers.” Journal of Engineering Mechanics 140(12):1-13.

Assessment of influencing parameters on

transmission length of prestressed concrete
b
Nicola Fabris1, Flora Faleschini1,2, Mariano Angelo Zanini1 and Carlo
Pellegrino1
1Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering,
if
2Department of Industrial Engineering,
University of Padova,
Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padova, Italy
Abstract
Over the last few decades pretensioned, prestressed concrete has become very common in structural
applications, particularly for bridge superstructures. Its extensive use, however, requires some im-
portant considerations on adequate bond development between concrete and prestressing strand.
Structural design should be based on correct determination of the transmission length, identifying the
end regions of the member needed to transfer the fully effective prestressing force into the concrete,
by means of bond strength. Several investigations have been conducted in the past to measure the
transmission length of prestressing strands for a variety of design variables, including strand diameter,
strand spacing, concrete strength and cover thickness. A database of 535 transmission length speci-
mens has been collected from many studies in literature. This paper presents a comparative study
between recent proposals and current code provisions for calculating transmission length of prestress-
ing strands. For this purpose, the current fib Model Code 2010 and American Concrete Institute (ACI)
Code 318-14 are taken into account. It has been observed that such formulations, provided by the
above regulations, do not always fit well the experimental results predicted by single authors, being in
some cases not conservative. The effects of various important parameters on the transmission length
of pretensioned, prestressed concrete components are therefore evaluated and discussed, to find out if
they are reasonably included in the current design codes.
1 Introduction
The extensive use of pretensioned, prestressed reinforced concrete in the modern structural applica-
tions, especially for long-span bridge superstructures, makes in the foreground the problem of bond
development between prestressing tendons and the surrounding concrete, for which some important
considerations are required. In a pretensioned element, when the tendon is released from the tempo-
rary anchorage on the prestressing bed, the force is transferred to the concrete entirely by bond, which
is present at the end regions of the member. The bond which allows this function is defined as “pre-
stress transfer bond” and it develops from the free-end of the member to the beginning of the central
region where the steel stress reaches a constant value. The stress in the strand starts from zero at the
free-end of the prestressed element, and increases until reaching the effective stress (i.e. a constant
maximum value) after a certain distance because of the bond strength that restrains the strand (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Idealised steel stress diagram along a pretensioned strand after release of the prestress
force.

According to fib Model Code 2010 [1], the distance from the free-end of the element necessary to
transmit the fully effective prestressing force to the concrete is called transmission length. The same
distance is called transfer length by the ACI 318-14 [2]. Many authors in literature recognise that
there are three main mechanisms contributing to bond development between the prestressing strand
b
and the surrounding concrete: adhesion, friction and mechanical resistance. Adhesion represents the
elastic deformation of the cementitious layer around the tendon, so it can be present only if no relative
slips take place between steel and concrete [3]. Friction is the mechanism that offers resistance
against a displacement between two surfaces which are in contact with each other by means of a
if
compressive force, perpendicular to the contact plane. The radial pressures at the interface between
steel and concrete, necessary to trigger frictional bond stresses, stem at the release from the “Hoyer
effect”, representing the increase in strand diameter due to the recovery of the lateral contraction
(Poisson’s effect) [4]. Mechanical action depends on the surface conditions of the strand, since it
arises from the axial component of the bearing stress between the tendon and the surrounding con-
crete.
2 Design provisions for transmission length

The transmission length of a prestressing strand is one of the most important parameter for the correct
design of a pretensioned reinforced concrete member, being used in two distinct phases of the design
procedure [5]. Firstly, the transmission length is considered in checking the stresses near the free-end
of the member immediately after transmission, representing a situation that is typically more critical
for shorter transmission lengths. Secondly, it should be noted that the transmission length is also
involved, at the ultimate limit state (ULS), in the calculation of the anchorage length of a prestressed
member, which is defined as the embedment length required by a strand to develop the stress at the
nominal flexural strength of the element, due to external loads. This ULS verification of flexural and
shear strength is more critical when longer transmission lengths are considered, because they reduce
the available member length to resist flexure and shear.
A variety of rules on transmission length is present in current design codes for concrete structures,
being mainly founded on empirical evidences. ACI Committee 318-14 guidelines, typically adopted
in the North American practise, provide a very simple formula for the assessment of the transmission
length of a prestressed member, which arises from considering a uniform bond strength at the
interface between steel and concrete. As reported in Eq. (1), the only considered influencing variables
are nominal strand diameter, , and effective strand stress after allowance for all prestress losses, .
It is worth noting that current ACI 318-14 provisions on the transmission length first appeared in
1963 (ACI 318-63) [6], and have not changed to the present day (ACI 318-14), despite several
proposed modifications.

=
20.7
(1)
However, many authors suggest the use of the strand stress at release in place of , since the
transmission length is actually established at the release of the prestressing force [5]-[7]. Moreover, as
reported by experimental campaigns conducted in literature, other important parameters such as
concrete strength, concrete cover, strand spacing and release type actually seem to affect the
transmission length of prestressing strands, but they are not taken into consideration in the ACI code.
In this regard, the approach of fib Model Code 2010 is also worth to be mentioned, having a wide
diffusion in Europe. fib Model Code 2010 provisions for transmission length are again based on a
constant bond stress fbpd developing at the release of the strands, when the prestressing force is
transferred to the concrete. The design value of the bond stress is prescribed as in Eq. (2).
= ( ) (2)
being a coefficient that depends on the type of prestressing tendon (1.4 for indented or crimped
wires, 1.2 for 7-wire strands), a coefficient that considers the position of the tendon (1.0 for all
tendons with an inclination of 45°-90° with respect to the horizontal during concreting and for all
( ) the lower value of the design

horizontal tendons which are up to 250 mm from the bottom or at least 300 mm below the top of the
concrete section during casting, 0.7 for all other cases), and
concrete tensile strength, at the time of release. The basic anchorage length of a pretensioned tendon
is derived as in Eq. (3):

=

(3)
where is the nominal strand diameter, is the cross-sectional area of the tendon, is the
b
design value of the bond stress and is the design tensile strength of the prestressing steel. The
transmission length of a pretensioned strand, , is thus given by Eq. (4):
= = (4)
if
in which is a factor taking into account the type of release (1.0 for gradual release, 1.25 for sud-
den release), is a factor that considers the action effect to be verified (0.5 for the verification of
the transverse stress at transfer, 1.0 to evaluate the anchorage length at ULS), and is a coefficient
that accounts for the influence of bond situation (0.5 for strands, 0.7 for indented or crimped wires).
represents the steel stress just after release. Nevertheless, bond of pretensioned strands has also
been studied by many authors in the last decades, and a number of formulations has been proposed.
Table 1 summarises the most relevant proposals for the evaluation of the transmission length of pre-
stressed elements. Stresses are expressed in MPa, and the resulting transmission lengths are in mm.
Table 1 Existing formulations for transmission length estimation, provided by single authors.
Author Formulation Notes
′ is the concrete compressive
= 1.5 − 117
′
Zia and Mostafa
(1977) [8] strength at release.
# ′$ ′ # ′ is the constant bond stress

= 0.5 " &+
%
Cousins et al. (1990)
# ′$ ′
along the plastic zone; B is the
[9]
slope of the bond stress curve.
Lane (1990) [10] = (4 )/ ′ − 127 Design value for Lt.
0.33 20.7
= -
Mitchell et al. (1993)
6.9 ′
-
[5]
Buckner (1995) [11] = (1250 )/. -

=( )/13.8
Russell and Burns
“Upper limit” for Lt.
(1996) [12]
Shahawy (2001) [13] =( )/20.7 -
= exp( + 3 + 4 + 5 )
Pellegrino et al. Coefficients α, β, γ, δ depends
α=1.34, β=0.03967
(2015) [14] on qualitative parameters.
γ=0.00358, δ= -0.00815
3 Experimental transmission length dataset

The accuracy of the aforementioned provisions on the transmission length has been assessed applying
them to an experimental database of measured transmission lengths, collected from an extensive
review of the literature. The final dataset is that considered in the fib Task Group 2.5 “Bond and
Material Models”, in which the University of Padova is involved, and it will be presented in detail in
the forthcoming fib Bulletin, along with a broad review of the test methods and existing theoretical
models commonly used to evaluate the transmission length of prestressing strands. The database
includes 535 transmission length samples, both small scales specimens and real scale bridge girders,
spanning a variety of influencing parameters. Data were taken from the experimental campaigns in
[5], [7], [9], [12], [15]-[23]. In particular, strand diameter (from 6.4 to 18.0 mm), concrete compres-
sive strength (ranging from 28.8 to 102.0 MPa), strand stress at release (covering a range from 871.0
and 1427.3 MPa), concrete cover and strand spacing are considered as quantitative parameters. More-
Nicola Fabris, Flora Faleschini, Mariano Angelo Zanini and Carlo Pellegrino 389

over, the dataset includes a number of qualitative parameters such as type of release (sudden or grad-
ual), strand surface conditions (smooth or rusted) and bond conditions (good or not good). Geomet-
rical characteristics of the samples are also characterised by a relevant variability within the dataset.
Current ACI 318-14 and fib Model Code 2010 provisions have been compared to the results col-
b
lected in the experimental dataset, to find out if the effects of the major variables affecting the trans-
mission length of pretensioned elements are reasonably included. However, such formulations proved
to be not always conservative when compared to experimental results. Fig. 2 illustrates the
performance of the ACI 318-14 formulation, Eq. (1), when compared to the collected experimental
if
values. As the ACI 318-14 relation provides average values of the transmission length, data points in
Fig. 2 should stay above the measured vs predicted Lt line in the case of transverse stress verification
after release, and below that line when calculating the anchorage length of the element at ULS.
However, many observations are very far from this ideal line, identifying a poor performance of the
ACI 318-14. Such a large scatter is due to the fact that ACI 318-14 considers only the nominal strand
diameter and the effective strand stress after allowance for prestress losses as influencing parameters,
but it is commonly recognised that many other factors contibute to the phenomenon such as the effect
of concrete properties, as shown in the next section.
Fig. 2 Performance of ACI 318-14 provisions on transmission length when compared to the
collected experimental values.
In Fig. 3 and 4, a comparison between experimental and theoretical values of the transmission length,
according to fib Model Code 2010, is shown for the verification of the transverse stress ( = 0.5)
and for the anchorage length calculation ( = 1.0), respectively. Average values of materials prop-
erties are considered. Data points should be in the portion of the plane identified by the two measured
vs predicted Lt lines, corresponding to the two different design conditions, i.e. they should stay in the
upper part of the diagram in Fig. 3 and in the lower part of that in Fig. 4. However, approximately
19% of the collected observations is not conservative with respect to the transverse stress verification
(being below the measured vs predicted Lt line in Fig. 3), and 22% is not conservative when compu-
ting the anchorage length of a prestressed member (they stay above the line depicted in Fig. 4). Over-
all, 41% of the data points falls outside the ideal fuse, being not conservative in one of the two design
situations. Compared to the performance of the ACI 318-14, a large scatter of the results is still evi-
dent for fib Model Code 2010, even though the influence of more parameters is considered. However,
it should be noted that some inconsistences might be present within the set of measured transmission
lengths provided by the authors in the literature, in the sense that very different transmission length
values can be provided from samples with identical characteristics, probably due to the particular mix
design considered for the test specimens.
Table 2 highlights the overall performance of ACI 318-14 and fib Model Code 2010 provisions on
transmission length, along with that of the formulations proposed by different authors in the literature
(reported in Table 1). In particular, the coefficient of variation (COV), the average ratio between
theoretical and experimental values (AVE), the root mean squared error (RMSE) and the percentage
of unconservative data points (NC%) are listed for each of the models. It can be noted that the
formulations providing the best estimation of the transmission length, in terms of percentage of
conservative data, are those characterised by less accuracy (high values of RMSE), as observed for
Lane (1990) and Russell and Burns (1996).

ifb
Fig. 3 Measured vs predicted transmission length, according to fib Model Code 2010, for the
verification of transverse stress at the release operation (lower bound).
Fig. 4 Measured vs predicted transmission length, according to fib Model Code 2010, for the
calculation of the anchorage length of a prestressed member at ultimate limit state (higher
bound).
Table 2 Performance indicators for the principal transmission length formulations.
Reference COV AVE RMSE NC%

ACI 318-14, transverse stress verification 0.71 1.31 347.0 66.73

ACI 318-14, anchorage length calculation 0.71 1.31 347.0 33.27
fib Model Code 2010, αp2 = 0.5 0.42 0.76 377.9 19.32
fib Model Code 2010, αp2 = 1.0 0.87 1.52 368.2 21.65
Zia and Mostafa (1977) 0.49 1.09 297.4 52.59
Cousins et al. (1990) 0.80 1.46 371.7 25.22
Lane (1990) 1.71 2.34 818.8 1.79
Mitchell et al. (1993) 0.48 1.10 297.0 47.05
Buckner (1995) 0.53 1.14 308.8 44.36
Russell and Burns (1996) 1.36 1.97 583.5 12.16
Shahawy (2001) 0.91 1.51 391.6 25.76
Pellegrino et al. (2015) 0.46 0.87 378.7 70.84

4 Assessment of influencing parameters on the transmission length

The transmission length of prestressing strands has been investigated in literature studies with respect
to a wide variety of practical research variables, the most important being nominal strand diameter,
b
strand spacing, concrete strength, concrete cover, initial prestress, type of release and strand surface
conditions. The influence of some of them on transmission length is debated hereunder, on the basis
of experimental campaigns performed by different authors. However, it must be remembered that
only the effect of stand diameter and steel stress after allowance for losses are taken into account in
current ACI 318-14 recommendations and, as a consequence, they marginally predict transmission
if
lengths.
4.1 Effect of nominal strand diameter

Both current ACI 318-14 and fib Model Code 2010 assume a uniform bond stress distribution over
the transmission length, becoming constant regardless of the strand size. This simplified bond model
implies that the transmission length of a prestressed reinforced concrete member can be expressed as
a linear function of the nominal strand diameter. In particular, an increase in strand diameter lead to a
longer transmission length, being not much uncertainty in the role of this design variable, as reported
by several authors. Oh and Kim (2000) carried out an experimental study on the influence of strand
size on the transmission length, comparing the behaviour of prestressed specimens provided with two
different strand diameters, 12.7 and 15.2 mm, respectively [17]. All other characteristics were main-
tained constant: fsi = 1303 MPa; fse = 1134 MPa; section (bxh) 113 x 200 mm; smooth surface condi-
tion; sudden release type. The study highlighted that the average transmission length of the 15.2 mm
strands is 25% longer than that of the 12.7 mm strands. Fig. 5 shows the linear trend between strand
diameter and transmisiion length on a subset of data from Oh and Kim (2000), for two different con-
crete strength classes (C30 and C50) and three different concrete cover (c = 30, 40, 50 mm).
Fig. 5 Influence of nominal strand diameter on the transmission length: left) C30 concrete class;
right) C50 concrete class.
4.2 Effect of concrete strength

It is commonly recognised that an increase in concrete compressive strength, due to a larger modulus
of elasticity and smaller shrinkage strains after release, results in a smaller transmission length. Kaar
et al. (1963), carried out a number of experimental tests on transmission length in specimens with a
concrete compressive strength ranging from 11.4 to 34.5 MPa, and founded concrete strength to have
a little influence on the transmission length of prestressed members [24]. More recently, after the
advent of higher strength concrete, Mitchell et al. (1993) [5] investigated the effect of concete
strength (ranging from 21 to 50 MPa) on 22 transmission length rectangular specimens, eccentrically
pretensioned with one strand, suggesting a dependence of the transmission length upon 1/$ ′.

ifb
Fig. 6 Effect of concrete compressive strength on the magnitude of the transmission length:
linear regression (left); power law (right).
Fig. 6 shows the influence of the concrete compressive strength on the magnitude of the transmission
length, as resulting from a subset selected by Mitchell et al. (1993). The observations have been sub-
divided in three groups of strand diameter (9.5, 12.7 and 15.7 mm) to ignore such effect. However,
other geometrical and quantitative parameters vary inside the selected subset. The results clearly show
how transmission lengths decrease as the compressive strength of concrete increases, due to improved
bond characteristics. In fact, as the compressive strength increases, the confining stress developed by
the surrounding concrete raises the bond stresses between prestressing tendon and concrete, and
consequently the transmission lengths decrease.
4.3 Effect of strand spacing and concrete cover

Although strand spacing and concrete cover play a remarkable role in the design of pretensioned
structures, their effect on the transmission length has not been fully examined in the past. The practi-
cal strand spacing and concrete cover requirements should be such as to prevent for a localised failure
in the transmission zone at the release operation [17]. Oh and Kim (2000) [17] and Oh et al. (2006)
[18] performed a parallel study to also understand the effect of these two variables on the transmis-
sion length of prestressed specimens equipped with two different strand diameters (12.7 and 15.2
mm). In particular, three different strand spacings (2, 3 and 4 times the nominal strand diameter,
respectively) have been analysed with respect to twin-strand specimens, adopting a concrete cover of
50 mm, while the influence of clear bottom cover (30, 40 and 50 mm, respectively) was investigated
in monostrand specimens, maintaining clear side cover constant (50 mm). Fig. 7 shows the effect of
strand clear spacing (left) and concrete bottom cover (right) on the transmission length, respectively,
as arising from a selected subset of observations taken by the abovementioned studies. A clear trend
is highlighted, as the transmission length decreases quadratically as strand spacing and bottom cover
increase. It can be seen that the increase of strand clear spacing from 38.1 to 50.7 mm results in a
remarkable decrease in transmission length, while a further increase produces only a small reduction
of transmission length. A similar quadratic behaviour is depicted for concrete bottom cover, explained
by the larger confining stresses induced by the surrounding concrete as the concrete cover thickness
increases. Among data points, the influence of other design parameters, such as concrete compressive
strength at release (from 32.5 to 46.7 MPa), strand stress at release (from 1303.4 to 1418.0 MPa) and
strand diameter (12.7 and 15.2 mm), have been neglected by multiplying the measured transmission
length by the square root of fci’, and dividing it by fsi and .

ifb
Fig. 7 Influence of strand clear spacing (left) and concrete bottom cover (right) on the transmis-
sion length of prestressed elements.
5 Conclusions
The transmission length of a prestressing tendon is an important parameter for the correct design of a
prestressed reinforced concrete member. The transmission of the prestressing force from the strand to
the concrete, however, depends on many factor, including strand diameter, strand spacing, concrete
strength and concrete cover. In this contribution, a database of 535 transmission length samples has
been collected from several studies in the literature, to assess the accuracy of the existing design
formulations and the recent proposals by different authors. However, no agreement between current
code provisions has been found. The formulation provided by the ACI 318-14 produces high scatter
with experimental results, taking into account only strand diameter and steel stress after allowance for
all losses as influencing parameters. Moreover, still a high number of unconservative results is ob-
served when assessing the transmission length with current fib Model Code 2010. An assessment of
the influencing parameters on the transmission length has also been performed, showing how trans-
mission length increases linearly with strand diameter, and decreases non-linearly as strand spacing,
concrete strength and concrete cover increase, respectively.
References
[1] International Federation for Structural Concrete (fib). 2010. “fib Model Code for Concrete
Structures 2010.” Lausanne, Switzerland.
[2] ACI Committee 318. 2014. “Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Com-
mentary.” Farmington Hills, MI, American Concrete Institute.
[3] Janney, J. R. 1954. “Nature of bond in pretensioned prestressed concrete.” ACI Journal
50(9):717-736.
[4] Hoyer, E., and E. Friedrich. 1939. “Beitrag zur frage der hafspaannung in eisenbeton-
bauteilen.” Beton und Eisen 30(6):107-110.
[5] Mitchell, D., W. D. Cook, A. A. Kahn, and T. Tham. 1993. “Influence of High-Strength
Concrete on Transfer and Development Length of Pretensioning Strand.” PCI Journal
38(3):52-66.
[6] ACI Committee 318. 1963. “Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Com-
mentary.” Detroit, American Concrete Institute.
[7] Deatherage, J. H., E. G. Burdette, and C. K. Chew. 1994. “Development length and lateral
spacing requirements of prestressing strand for prestress concrete bridge girders.” PCI Jour-
nal 39(1):70-83.
[8] Zia, P. and T. Mostafa. 1977. “Development Length of Prestressing Strands.” PCI Journal
22(5):54-65.
[9] Cousins, T. E., D. W. Johnston, and P. Zia. 1990. “Transfer and Development Length of
Epoxy-Coated and Uncoated Prestressing Strand.” PCI Journal 35(4):92-103.
[10] Lane, S. N. 1990. “Development Length of Prestressing Strand. Public Roads - A Journal of
Highway Research and Development.” Federal Highway Administration 54(2):200-205.
[11] Buckner, C. D. 1995. “A Review of Strand Development Length for Pretensioned Concrete
Members.” PCI Journal 40(2):84-105.
[12] Russell, B. W. and N. H. Burns. 1996. “Measured transfer lengths of 0.5 and 0.6 in. strands in
pretensioned concrete.” Journal of Structural Engineering 123(5):44-65.

[13] Shahawy, M. 2001. “A Critical Evaluation of the AASHTO Provisions for Strand Develop-
ment Length of Prestressed Concrete Members.” PCI Journal 46(4):94-117.
[14] Pellegrino, C., M. A. Zanini, F. Faleschini, and L. Corain. 2015. “Predicting bond formula-
tions for prestressed concrete elements.” Engineering Structures 97:105-117.
b
[15] Over, S. and T. Au. 1965. “Prestress Transfer Bond of Pretensioned Strands in Concrete.”
ACI Journal 62(11):1451-1459.
[16] Russell, B. W. and N. H. Burns. 1997. “Measurement of Transfer Lengths on Pretensioned
Concrete Elements.” PCI Journal 41(5):541-549.
if
[17] Oh, B. H., and E. S. Kim. 2000. “Realistic evaluation of transfer lenghts in pretensioned
prestressed concrete members.” ACI Structural Journal 97(6):821-830.
[18] Oh, B. H., E. S. Kim, and Y. C. Choi. 2006. “Theoretical analysis of transfer lenghts in pre-
tensioned prestressed concrete members.” Journal of Engineering Mechanics
132(10):1057-1066.
[19] Martì-Vargas, J. R., C. A. Arbelàez, P. Serna-Ros, and C. Castro-Bugallo. 2007. “Reliability
of Transfer Length Estimation from Strand End Slip.” ACI Structural Journal 104(4):487-494.
[20] Cousins, T. E., J. M. Stallings, and M. B. Simmons. 1994. “Reduced Strand Spacing in Pre-
tensioned, Prestressed Members.” ACI Structural Journal 91(3):277-286.
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mm Strand in High-Performance Concrete Girders.” Journal of Structural Engineering
128(7):913-921.
[22] Barnes, R. W., J. W. Grove, and N. H. Burns. 1993. “Experimental Assessment of Factors
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Prestressing Strand.” ACI Structural Journal 102(3):422-428.
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ifb

Design equations from empirical and semi-empirical

resisting models: a reliability-based approach
b
Diego Gino, Gabriele Bertagnoli, Paolo Castaldo and Giuseppe Mancini
1Deparment of Structural, Geotechnical and Buildings Engineering,
Politecnico di Torino,
if
Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, Turin (10129), Italy
Abstract
The resisting models used in engineering practice can be based both on physical laws, such as equilib-
rium of forces, and on semi-empirical or empirical formulations fitted on experimental results. In order
to use both these models for design and verification purposes, they should be based on a specific level
of reliability provided by national and international codes. Specifically, empirical or semi-empirical
resisting models are calibrated defining empirical coefficients to fit a set of experimental data. Then,
the only application of partial safety factors to material properties does not allow a proper estimation
of the structural reliability. For this reason, the definition of design expressions from empirical or semi-
empirical resisting models should be based on a probabilistic procedure able to define a final formula-
tion in agreement with a specific level of reliability. In the present paper, a methodology based on the
Monte Carlo method for the probabilistic calibration of empirical and semi-empirical resisting models
is proposed. Its application to the probabilistic calibration of the semi-empirical model proposed by fib
Model Code 2010 for the estimation of laps and anchorages tensile strength in reinforced concrete
structures is described. Afterwards, the results are compared to the ones obtained with the direct appli-
cation of partial safety factors to materials strength within the original formulation and, finally, the
differences are commented.
1 Introduction
The resisting models based both on physical laws (e.g., equilibrium of forces and kinematic compati-
bility) and on semi-empirical or empirical formulations (e.g. [1]-[3]) fitted on experimental results are
widely employed in structural engineering.
In the limit states semi-probabilistic design approach [4], the safety requirements are fulfilled by
means of partial safety factors accounting for material properties and geometry statistical variability
and model uncertainties. Concerning the resisting models based on physical assumptions, the direct
application of partial factors to materials strength leads to design expressions almost consistent with a
specific level of reliability. For the empirical or semi-empirical resisting models, the direct application
of partial safety factors whithin the formulation does not lead to an accurate assessment of the design
expressions. In fact, empirical and semi-empirical resisting models are calibrated basing on the exper-
imental evidences [5] and by means of empirical coefficients embedded in the formulation. These co-
effiecients are adjusted in order to achieve the best fitting between the model predictions and the ex-
perimental outcomes. Furthermore, empirical and semi-empirical coefficients are calibrated basing on
the mean (i.e., observed during the experiments) values of material properties. Then, they have signif-
icance only when mean values of material properties are considered whithin the formulation. It implies
that the direct application of partial safety factors to materials strength, without a proper probabilistic
calibration of the model accounting for aleatory, does not allow a proper evaluation of the level struc-
tural reliability. In the literature, several methodologies for probabilistic assessment of physical, empir-
ical and semi-empirical models are proposed [6]-[8]. Methodologies for the consistent application of
reliability analysis in the design practice are also widely discussed by [9]-[10].
In order to perform the probabilistic calibration of a resisting model, an accurate assessment of
model uncertainties is necessary as proposed in [11]-[15]. A general and ease-to-apply procedure able
to calibrate empirical or semi-empirical formulation in relation to a specific reliability level of reliability
is still not available and defined.
In the present work, a methodology based on the Monte Carlo method [16] for calibration of em-
pirical and semi-empirical resisting models is proposed. The procedure is able to account for both sta-
tistical variability of material and geometric properties (i.e., aleatory uncertainties) and the influence of

the resisting model uncertainties (i.e., epistemic uncertainties). After the detailed description of the
methodology, its application to the calibration of the semi-empirical model for laps and anchorages
tensile strength evaluation suggested by Model Code 2010 [17] is described. Finally, the reliability-
based expressions evaluated for laps and anchorages strength with the proposed methodoly are com-
b
pared with the expressions obtained trough the direct application of partial safety factors whithin the
original semi-empirical model.
2 Methodology for the probabilistic calibration of empirical or semi-empirical re-
if
sisting models
In this Section, the methodological approach for probabilistic calibration of empirical and semi-empir-
ical models is described. The proposed methodology is in agreement with [6], and grounds on four main
points: a) the individuation of the empirical or semi-empirical resisting model; b) the definition of the
probabilistic model; c) the definition and characterization of the resistance random variable; d) the es-
timation of the fractiles of the resistance random variable and determination of the reliability-based
expressions.
2.1 Characterization of the empirical or semi-empirical model

In general, an empirical or semi-empirical resting model is calibrated grounding on a set of experimental
results and the estimated value of the resistance Rmodel can be expressed in the following form:
RMo d el = f ( xi ,exp , a j , cl ) i = 1, 2,..., N ; j = 1, 2,..., M ; l = 1, 2,..., K (1)
where, f is a function of: xi,exp, vector containing an experimental realization of a set of N random
variables which plays a significant role in the resisting model; aj, vector containing all the other M
parameters that can be assumed as deterministic in the resisting model; cl, vector containing K best
fitting empirical coefficient(s) calibrated on the experimental database.
2.2 Definition of the probabilistic model

Selected all the parameters that can influence the resisting model with their statistical variability, the
vector of random variables Xi can be defined as:
X i = ( X 1 , X 2 ,..., X i ,..., X N ) i = 1, 2,..., N (2)
These random variables may represent both material properties and geometrical parameters. An addi-
tional random variable should be considered in order to account for the model uncertainties.
The model uncertainty random variable ϴ should be identified based on the statistical assessment
of the ratio between experimental results and model predictions according to [18] and Eq.(3):
R Experimental , h
ϑh = (3)
R Model , h
where RExperimental,h and RModel,h are the h-th experimental outcome and model prediction, respectively,
and ϑh is the h-th realization of the random variable ϴ.
The random variables Xi and ϴ have to be modelled by their probabilistic distributions (i.e., PDFs
and/or CDFs) which should accurately describe their statistical variability.
2.3 Assessment of the resistance random variable (RRV)

The generic resistance random variable (i.e., RRV) can be evaluated as a function of the vector of
random variables Xi and model uncertainty ϴ descending from Eq.(1) and Eq.(3):
R( X i ,θ ) = θ ⋅ f ( X i , a j , cl ) i = 1,2,..., N ; j = 1,2,..., M ; l = 1,2,..., K (4)
The expression reported by Eq. (4) is able to represent the random variability of the resistance account-
ing for material statistical fluctuations and model uncertainties. However, in order to propose a general
procedure, the following ratio has to be addressed:

Design equations from empirical and semi-empirical resisting models: a reliability-based approach
R ( X i ,θ )
Ζ (X i , θ ; xi , rep ) = i = 1, 2,..., N ; j = 1, 2,..., M ; l = 1, 2,..., K (5)
f ( xi , rep , a j , cl )
where Z(Xi,ϴ;xi,rep) is the resistance ratio random variable (i.e., RRRV) and xi,rep is a vector containing
b
the representative values selected to represent the random variables Xi in the final design formulation
(e.g., design with 5% characteristic or mean values).
The random variable Z(Xi,ϴ;xi,rep) can be assessed by means of the Monte Carlo method [16] sam-
pling from the probabilistic distributions of the random variables involved in Eq.(5). When a significant
if
number of samples of the population of Z(Xi,ϴ;xi,rep) is available, the most suitable probabilistic distri-
bution able to describe Z can be selected.
2.4 Estimation of fractiles of the RRV: probabilistic coefficients

In order to define relationships useful for design purposes, it is necessary to assess fractiles from the
resistance random variable. This can be performed defining the following probability:
P[ Ζ (X i , θ ; xi , rep ) ≤ ζ p ] = p i = 1, 2,..., N (6)
where ζp is the fractile related to a certain probability to not be exceeded of the random variable
Z(Xi,ϴ;xi,rep); p represent the probability of not exceedance for the value of ζp. In a reliability analysis
and according to international codes [17]-[20] , the following fractiles of Z(Xi,ϴ;xi,rep) are commonly
estimated:
50% fractile ζm, setting p = 0.5;
5% characteristic value ζk, setting p = 0.05;
design value ζd, setting p = Φ(-αR·β);
with β denotes reliability index [21], αR represents the first order reliability method (FORM) correction
factor (assumed equal to 0.8 for dominant resistance variables) [17] and Φ(·) is the cumulative standard
normal distribution. One remark concerning the value of ζm should be performed because it represent
the 50% fractile or median value of the distribution of Z(Xi,ϴ;xi,rep). In general, the Codes are based on
mean values of material properties as the assumption of normal distribution for the main variables is
accepted. With this assumption, the mean value and the median value coincide due to the symmetry of
the normal distribution. When the probabilistic distribution of the variables differs from the normal one,
as for the lognormal distribuition, mean and median value are different. Then, calculating the 50%
fractile of a specified variable, the obtained value is the median one and not the mean (i.e., the expected
value). However, if the coefficient of variation of the random variable is lower than 20% [6], median
value and mean value can be, reasonably, considered as concident.

Finally, after that the probabilistic coefficient ζp has been estimated, the general formulation for the
selected fractile of the resistance random variable Rp can be expressed as follows:
R p = ζ p ⋅ f ( x i , rep , a j , c l ) i = 1, 2,..., N ; j = 1, 2,..., M ; l = 1, 2,..., K (7)
3 Application example: laps and anchorages tensile strength in fib Model Code
2010
In this section, an example of application of the procedure so far described is reported. In reinforced
concrete structures, due to technical and construction reasons, it is required to interrupt the longitudinal
tensed reinforcements. It is then necessary to provide an adequate length of overlapping or anchorage
in order to allow continuity in the transferring of forces within the structure. In [17] and [22], the eval-
uation of the maximum tensile strength of a lapped joint or anchorage can be assessed by means of a
semi-empirical formulation. Subsequently, the proposed methodology will be applied for the probabil-
istic calibration of the abovementioned resisting model.
3.1 Laps and anchorages tensile strength in fib Model Code 2010
In the fib Model Code 2010 [17] the evaluation of laps and anchorages tensile strength fst is performed
by means of the semi-empirical model proposed in [22]. The best-fitting semi-empirical expression for
laps and anchorages strength estimation, which is calibrated on a large set experimental results [23], is
represented by Eq.(8a):
Diego Gino, Gabriele Bertagnoli, Paolo Castaldo and Giuseppe Mancini 399

 f 
0.25
 lb 
0.55
 25 
0.2   c  0.25  c  0.1 
f st , Model = 54 ⋅  cm        min   max  + k m K tr  (8a)
 25  Φ Φ    Φ   c min  
b
where fcm is the mean concrete compressive strength (or the actual compressive strength coming from
experiments); lb is the lap/anchorage length; Φ is the bar diameter; concrete covers cmin, cmax and effec-
tiveness coefficient km are evaluated according to [17]. The coefficient Ktr accounts for the effect of
confinement provided by shear links/stirrups situated along the lap or anchorage. In depth details about
if
the semi-empirical model can be acknowledged in [17].
3.2 Pobabilistic model for the main random variables

As reported in Section 2, a set of relevant random variables has to be defined. These random variables
have to represent parameters that are explicitly considered into the resisting model. In this case, may
be reasonable to consider as random variable only the concrete compressive strength, which strongly
affects the resisting mechanism with its statistical variability. At the purpose of this example, all the
other parameters involved in Eq.(8a) can be assumed as deterministic. Therefore, in the present appli-
cation only the concrete compressive strength X1=fc (i=N=1) will represent the main random variable.
As stated in Section 2, also the resisting model uncertainties ϴ have to be accurately addressed
and included into the probabilistic model. Then, the following probabilistic model is assumed:
fc is the cylinder compressive strength random variable. According to fib Model Code 2010
[17], the statistical variability of fc can be described by means of a log-normal distribution with
coefficient of variation Vc equal to 0.15 and mean value equal to fcm depending on the concrete
strength class (Table 1).
ϴ is the resisting model uncertainty random variable. In compliance with JCSS Probabilistic
Model Code [17], the statistical characterization of ϴ can be performed according to Eq.(3)
based on an experimental database. The model uncertainties related to Eq.(8a) have been esti-
mated based on the database of experimental results reported in [23]. This database contains
807 results from laps splices and anchorages tests. The mean value µϑ and the coefficient of
variation Vϑ are evaluated and listed in Table 1 according to the statistical investigation pro-
posed by 0. According to 0,[17]-[18], ϴ can be described by means of a log-normal distribution.
Table 1 Statistical parameters and probabilistic distribution function for the random variables af-
fecting the resisting model.
Dimension Ref. Mean C.o.V. Type of distribution
value function
Concrete compres-
[MPa] [17] 0 fcm 0.15 Log-normal
sive strength (fc)
Model uncertain-
[-] 0 0.98 0.13 Log-normal
ties (ϴ)
All the other parameters involved in Eq.(8a) are assumed as deterministic and can be grouped in the
vector aj, which in this example will contain: cmin, cmax, lb, Φ, km and Ktr (j= 1,2…,M=6). In this exam-
ple, only one best fitting empirical coefficient c (l=K=1) is present and it is set equal to 54.
3.3 Resistance random variable (RRV) and resistance ratio random variable
(RRRV)
The Eq.(8a) can be rewritten according to Eq.(1) as follows:
f st , M odel = R M odel = c ⋅ f cm0.25 ⋅ g ( a j ) (9)
with:
 1 
0.25
 lb 
0.55
 25 
0.2   c  0.25  c  0.1 
g (a j ) =         min   max  + k m K tr  (10)
Φ Φ  Φ c
 25      min  

Defining the resistance random variable R as the lap or anchorage tensile strength fst, according to
Eq.(4), the Eq.(9) can be rewritten as a function of the main random variable fc and of the model uncer-
tainty ϴ as follows:
b
R ( f c , θ ) = θ ⋅ c ⋅ f c0.25 ⋅ g ( a j ) (11)
where g(aj) is the function of the deterministic parameters and c is the empirical coefficient set equal
to 54. In the following, the resistance ratio random variable Z will be defined according to Eq.(5) se-
lecting as representative value x1,rep (i=N=1), in each analysis, the 5% characteristic (fck), the mean (fcm)
if
and the design fcd cylinder concrete compressive strength (calculated as fck/γC, with γC=1.5 [19]), re-
spectively. Then, the resistance ratio random variables Z can be defined as follow:
θ ⋅ c ⋅ f c0.25 ⋅ g ( a j ) θ ⋅ f c0.25
Ζ ( f c , θ ; f cm ) = = (12a)
c⋅ f 0.25
cm ⋅ g (a j ) f cm0.25
θ ⋅ c ⋅ f c0.25 ⋅ g ( a j ) θ ⋅ f c0.25
Ζ ( f c , θ ; f ck ) = = (12b)
c⋅ f 0.25
ck ⋅ g (a j ) f ck0.25
θ ⋅ c ⋅ f c0.25 ⋅ g ( a j ) θ ⋅ f c0.25
Ζ ( f c , θ ; f cd ) = = (12c)
c ⋅ f cd0.25 ⋅ g ( a j ) f cd0.25
By means of Monte Carlo technique it is possible to generate three large samples of the populations of
the random variables Z(fc,ϴ;fcm), Z(fc,ϴ;fck) and Z(fc,ϴ;fcd). In the present example, a number of samples
equal to 106 has been generated adopting the direct Monte Carlo sampling from the probabilistic distri-
butions of the basic variables listed in Table 1.
Monte Carlo
simulation
Nsamples =106
Z(fc,ϴ;f cm)
Z(fc,ϴ;f ck)
Z(fc,ϴ;f cd)
Fig. 1 Relative frequency function for the Monte Carlo simulation of the random variables
Z(fc,ϴ;fcm), Z(fc,ϴ;fck) and Z(fc,ϴ;fcd) in the hypothesis of 106 samples.
a) b)
Log-normal
distribution
Log-normal
distribution
Z(fc,ϴ;fcm) Z(fc,ϴ;fck) Z(fc,ϴ;fcd)

Mean=0.98 Mean=1.04 Mean=1.15
CoV=0.13 CoV=0.14 CoV=0.15
Fig. 2 Log-normal distributions (PDFs (a) and CDFs (b)) for the random variables Z(fc,ϴ;fcm),
Z(fc,ϴ;fck) and Z(fc,ϴ;fcd).
The associated relative frequency function is reported in Figure 1. In the both cases, Z is log-normally
distributed too [6] since is proportional to the product of two log-normally distributed random variables.

The Chi-square goodness of fit test with 5% level of significance testing the hypothesis of normality
of the samples of ln(Z(fc,ϴ;fcm)), ln(Z(fc,ϴ;fck)) and ln(Z(fc,ϴ;fcd)) has been performed confirming the
hypothesis of log-normality of the variables Z(fc,ϴ;fcm), Z(fc,ϴ;fck) and Z(fc,ϴ;fcd). Hence, the resistance
ratio random variables Z(fc,ϴ;fcm), Z(fc,ϴ;fck) and Z(fc,ϴ;fcd) can be described by means of lognormal
b
distributions having mean values equal to 0.98, 1.04 and 1.15 and coefficient of variations (CoVs) equal
to 0.13, 0.14 and 0.15, respectively (Figure 2(a-b)).
3.4 Derivation of the reliability-based expressions
if
Once the probabilistic distributions for the random variables Z(fc,ϴ;fcm), Z(fc,ϴ;fck) and Z(fc,ϴ;fcd)
have been determined and characterized, it is possible to calculate their fractiles as described by Eq.(6).
In Table 2 the fractiles ζm, ζk and ζd of the random variables Z(fc,ϴ;fcm), Z(fc,ϴ;fck) and Z(fc,ϴ;fcd),
with p=0.5,0.05, Φ(-αR·β) to not be exceeded, are reported, respectively. The design value ζd is esti-
mated assuming the reliability index β = 3.8, as in the case of ordinary structures with 50 years service
life [17],[19],[20]). The proposed methodology can be easily applied when the probabilistic distribu-
tions of the main random variables are different from the lognormal one.
The calibration of the design expressions related to original semi-empirical model (Eq.(8a)) can be
performed specifically as a function of the target reliability level. The 50% fractile fst,m (i.e., median
value), 5% characteristic fst,k and the reliability-based design fst,d expressions for the semi-empirical
model proposed by [17] and [22] for laps and anchorages tensile strength estimation can be evaluated
according to Eq.(7) and Table 2 considering within the formulation the mean fcm, characteristic fck and
design fcd concrete compressive strength.
Table 2 Probabilistic coefficients (i.e., fractiles of resistance ratio random variable Z) for Z(fc,ϴ;fcm),
Z(fc,ϴ;fck) and Z(fc,ϴ;fcd) and the related probabilities of not exceedance.
Random variable Probability of not
Probabilistic exceedance
Unit
coefficients
Z(fc,ϴ;fcm) Z(fc,ϴ;fck) Z(fc,ϴ;fcd) [-]
ζm [-] 0.972 1.034 1.144 0.5
ζk [-] 0.782 0.831 0.919 0.05
Fractiles ζd
(αR=0.8; [-] 0.649 0.691 0.763 Φ(-αR·β)=1.18·10-3
β=3.8)
 f 
0.25
 lb 
0.55
 25 
0.2   c  0.25  c 
0.1

f st , p = ζ p ⋅ 54 ⋅  c , h        min   max  + k m K tr  p = m, k , d ; h = m, k , d (13)
 25  Φ  Φ    Φ   c min  
The design expressions calculated by means of Eq.(13) can be indifferently used for design purposes,
as they comply with the target reliability level required by the codes.
3.5 Probabilistic calibration vs direct application of partial safety factors

This Sub-section proposes the comparison between the design expressions obtained with the probabil-
istic calibration so far described and the design expressions obtainable with the direct application of
partial safety factors whithin the original semi-empirical model described in Eq.(8a). Introducing into
Eq.(8a) the value of fck in place of fcm and considering the application of the partial safety factor for
concrete compressive strength γC=1.5, the design expression for laps and anchorages strength can be
calculated as follows:

 f ck 
0.25
 lb 
0.55
 25 
0.2   c  0.25  c  0.1 
f st , d = 54 ⋅         min   max  + k m K tr  =
 25 ⋅ γ C = 1.5  Φ Φ    Φ   c min  
(14)
  c  0.25  c  0.1 
b
 f   lb 
0.25 0.55 0.2
 25 
0.904 ⋅ 54 ⋅  ck        min   max  + k m K tr 
Φ Φ  Φ   cmin 
 25    
The procedure described by Eq.(14) is very useful for common practice when empirical or semi-empir-
if
ical models should be turned in design expressions.
In order to perform the comparison, the design espression represented by Eq.(13) as a fuction of fck
is considered. First of all, it is possible to notice that Eq.(14) is largely unsafe if compared to Eq.(13).
In fact, the use of Eq.(14) leads to an overestimation of the design strength of about 30% (with
ζd=(1/1.5)0.25=0.904) if compared with the design expression described by Eq.(13) as a fuction of fck
(with ζd =0.691, αR=0.8; β=3.8) . Secondly, concerning the Eq.(14), it is completely unknown which is
the related reliability level.
In conclusion, all the empirical and semi-empirical models adopted for design should undergo to
probababilistic calibration accounting for aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. This approach is final-
ised to obtain design equations consistent with a specified (and prescribed by the Codes) level of relia-
bility.
4 Conclusions
A probabilistic procedure based on the Monte Carlo method for the derivation of design formulas by
empirical or semi-empirical resisting models has been proposed. The procedure allows the correct eval-
uation of the influence of material and resisting model uncertainties in the reliability-based calibration
of the resisting models.
This result can be achieved by means of the definition of probabilistic coefficients ζp, which are
related to a specific probability of not exceedance p. In detail, the design coefficient ζd is directly
related to a certain value of the reliability index β (i.e., probability of failure). Then, the final design
equation can be derived as a function of the level of reliability required by the Codes. The proposed
procedure is very general as it does not depend on the probabilistic model defined for the main random
variables. Furtherly, it is suitable for the calibration of design formulations both for serviceability and
ultimate limit states.
The methodology has been applied to the semi-empirical model for the evaluation of laps and an-
chorages strength reported in Model Code 2010. Different reliability based-expressions have been de-
rived and the results of the probabilistic calibration have been compared to the relationship obtained
with the direct application of partial safety factors whithin the original semi-empirical model. In gen-
eral, the evidence is that empirical and semi-empirical models cannot be used as design expressions
without a comprehensive probabilistic calibration accounting for both aleatory and epistemic uncer-
tainties. Otherwise, the simple application of partial safety factors to the original model can lead to
strongly unsafe expressions.
Acknowledgements
This work is part of the collaborative activity developed by the authors within the framework of the
Committee 3 – Task Group 3.1: “Reliability and safety evaluation: full-probabilistic and semiprobabil-
istic methods for existing structures” of the International Federation for StructuralConcrete (fib).
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Comparison of modelling of hardness testing with

DEM and FEM
b
Zoltán Gyurkó and Rita Nemes
if
Műegyetem rkp. 3, Budapest 1111, Hungary
Abstract
Present article is dealing with the comparison of two numerical modelling methods used in the civil
engineering practice. Discrete Element Method (DEM) is compared to the most widely used approach,
the Finite Element Method (FEM). It is aimed to highlight the similarities and the differences between
the two approaches, and show which is more useful in different cases. In this research, the focus is on
the modelling of laboratory test methods, like compressive strength test or hardness test on concrete.
Both tests lead to a contact mechanical problem that is difficult to implement in numerical simulation.
In present research, compressive strength and hardness testing were modelled by using FEM and DEM
and it was found that both methods are able to model such test methods with a given accuracy. The
models were validated by laboratory experiments performed on normal strength concrete specimens.
DEM resulted more accurate results, however it requires significantly higer computational efforts and
at least one laboratory test to set up its parameters.
1 Introduction and research objectives

Nowadays numerical modelling became an inevitable step of design or testing processes in all fields of
engineering work. In many cases, the role of laboratory tests is changed to model validation instead of
real testing. The main advantage of numerical models lies in their reproducibility and in automation.
Huge number of tests can be run on a validated model without using any expensive resources.
The present research is dealing with the numerical modelling of Brinell hardness testing and uniaxial
compressive strength testing of normal strength concrete. Numerical models are built applying Finite
Element Method (FEM) and Discrete Element Method (DEM). The models are validated with labora-
tory experiments and the advantages and disadvantages of both modelling methods are highlighted.
2 Literature review
2.1 Applied laboratory and numerical methods

The investigated test methods were the uniaxial compressive strength test and the Brinell hardness test.
The compressive strength tests were carried out on an Alpha 3-3000 S hydraulic press (Fig. 1), based
on the recommendations of the EN standard [1]. Before the tests the specimens were dried to lose their
water content, which are not in a chemical bonding. During the tests, the specimens were loaded up to
failure with the same loading rate and the maximum force was recorded.
Brinell hardness test is a static indentation hardness test method, which is one of the most commonly
used methods to measure the surface hardness of a material [2]. According to Hertz, hardness is the
least value of pressure beneath a spherical indenter necessary to produce a permanent set at the center
of the area of contact [3]. As Hertz’s criterion has some practical difficulties, the hardness values de-
fined by the practical methods usually indicate different relationships between the indenter load and the
tested specimen’s resistance to penetration or permanent deformation. In case of Brinell method, a
hardened, polished steel ball is pushed into the surface of the material with a specified load and time.
The test consists of applying a constant load (force), usually 500 to 3000 kg, on a 10 mm diameter
hardened steel ball to the flat surface of a workpiece. The load is applied for a specified time (10-15 s
for hard materials and about 30 s for soft materials). This time period is required to ensure the plastic
flow. The aim is the required indentation diameter, which is measured in millimetres, as it shown in
(1).
= (1)

where, k and n are material constants. Generally, n is chosen to be 2.
ifb
Fig. 1 Compressive strength test of a concrete sample with an Alpha 3-3000 S hydraulic press.
The above-mentioned two laboratory test methods are aimed to simulate with FEM and DEM. FEM is
a continuum-based numerical modelling approach that is widely used in many fields of the civil
engineering practice (structural modelling, soil modelling, etc.) [4]. DEM is a family of numerical
methods for computing the motion and effect of a large number of small particles. In engineering tasks
often one has to model structures, which are composed of granular material or bricks, and whose
elements are not connected in a material level [5]. DEM is used to model grains, soil, masonry
structures, domes and arches.
2.2 Comparison of DEM and FEM

In this chapter the Discrete Element Method is compared with the most widely used numerical method
in engineering, the Finite Element Method. The similarities and the differences of the two approaches
are highlighted, and it is shown, which is more useful in which cases. It is also worth to mention that
these methods can be applied together or separately [6]. Often an engineering problem can be modelled
using only one of the aforementioned methods, like a steel beam would be simulated by FEM, a small
assembly of gravel particles by DEM. If one would like to model a steel beam lying on a gravel bed,
one has to use both of the methods together. Or the same phenomena can be modelled by using both
methods to gain more precise information (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 Simulation results of a biaxial test modelled in DEM (left) and in FEM (right) [7].

Fig. 3
ifb
Classification of numerical methods.
Fig. 3 shows a classification of the most important numerical methods in engineering. Numerical
methods can be divided into two main groups, according to the continuity of the applied mechanical
model: continuum-based versus discontinuous models. The Discrete Element Method belongs to the
group of Discontinuous Models, together with the different Molecular Dynamics methods. Molecular
Dynamics uses point-like elements, while DEM uses finite sized elements, being extended in space. In
case of Molecular Dynamics, the distant elements also interact with each other, while in case of DEM
only those elements express forces on each other that are in contact. In the group of the Continuum-
based Models, the most well known method is the Finite Element Method, which belongs to the group
of models based on error principles. There are two different types of error principles, the so called
Normality (or Projection) condition, where the selected error-vector assigned to the problem must be
orthogonal to a sub-space, and the so called Stationary (or Length) condition, where the bilinear form
of the selected error vector must have a minimum at the solution of the problem. The main idea of FEM
is that the basis functions determining the space of calculation are defined in a special way, thus FEM
can belong to both groups.
The main difference between the two methods is that FEM is rigorously derived from the continuum
theory and it is being used for the description of deformable continuous bodies, while DEM describes
particulate materials, usually modelled by perfectly rigid particles and their interactions determined
from fictitious overlaps of these rigid particles [8]. Another significant difference is the different space
discretization. FEM uses assemblies of finite elements, while discrete parameters are attached to the
nodal points, which can be found within the continuous elements. To the solution an algebraic model
is used, which covers all elements in the domain. In case of FEM there are two difficulties that are
sometimes handled inadequately: the rapid changes in the structural geometry and the time tracking of
dynamic processes. Conversely, in case of DEM the aim is to describe the mechanical behavior of a
granular material composed of discrete elements, which are considered separately and represents a
material particle in the sample. Additionally, DEM operates based on the single-point approach,
meaning that all the parameters of a particle (discrete element) are associated with the center of the
particle.
The main goal of any DEM simulations is the continuous tracking of the particle behavior. The
given position of a particle in a DEM model is defined by dynamic equilibrium of forces acting on the
particle, which is defined on a basis of fully deterministic equations of motion of classical mechanics.
These properties allows the DEM simulations to handle shock type behavior well (like a rapid change
in the geometry). This method has several advantages compare to the FEM in the field of granular
Zoltán Gyurkó and Rita Nemes 407

material investigation, but there is a disadvantage too; the maximum number of particles, and duration
of a virtual simulation is limited by computational power. Typical samples contain billions of particles,
but contemporary DEM simulations on large cluster computing resources have only recently been able
to approach this scale for sufficiently long time (simulated time, not actual program execution time).
b
Meaning, that we need to narrow the scale of the simulated particles. In my case it was solved in a way,
that only the aggregate particles of concrete were modelled, while the cement particles were represented
by the bonds among the particles.
Discrete Element Method is based on Newton’s second law (F = m × a), while Finite Element
if
Method applies F = K × d, inverted to d = K-1 × F. It can be said that the methods are respectively force-
and displacement based.
The following table summarizes the differences and similarities of the DEM and the FEM.
Table 1 Comparison of discrete element method and finite element method.
Method DEM FEM

Type of elements Discrete Elements Finite Elements
Mobility of the elements Elements can move independently Movements of an element are al-
to each other ways depend on the neighbour
elements
Model continuity Discontinuous Continuous
Type of usually mod- Granular Materials Continuous Materials

elled materials
Background Describes granulated materials Derived from continuum theory
Constitutive equation Newton’s second law: F = m × a d = K-1 × F
Nodes A node point belongs to only one Node points very often belong to
element multiple elements
Advantages Able to handle rapid change in ge- Fast and accurate in case of con-
ometry tinuous materials

Disadvantages Large computational effort Time tracking of dynamical pro-
cesses, handling of rapid geome-
try changes
3 Experimental procedures
Present chapter introduces the FEM and DEM models that were set up as an example to model the
chosen laboratory tests. Besides that, the performed laboratory tests are discussed.
3.1 Finite element modelling

The FE modelling was carried out with the help of the Ansys® software package. In case of the FE
model a 2D and a 3D models were set up for both tests. In 2D normal plane elements were used, while
in 3D solid elements, which are capable of being crushed in compression, like concrete [9]. Only a
quarter of the specimen (concrete cube, steel plate and steel ball) were modelled to save computational
resources and decrease computational time. Symmetric boundary conditions were applied to take into
account the non-modelled parts. The meshing was carried out in two steps. First, a coarse mesh was
applied for all the elements. After that a finer mesh was applied in the contact region. In FE modelling
a finer mesh typically results a more accurate solution, however it increases the computational time. To
find an acceptable balance between the two factors a mesh convergence study was done. The procedure
has the following main steps:

Create a mesh on the model with the possible fewest, but still reasonable number of elements.
Run the analysis on the model.
Re-mesh the model with smaller element size and rerun the analysis. Compare the results with
the previous result(s).
b
Keep repeating the second step until the convergence of the results is satisfactory (no relevant
difference between the last two results).
As the result of the mesh convergence study an acceptable choice of mesh element sizes was selected
(0.3 mm in the vicinity of the contacts, 1 mm otherwise), as it can be seen in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4
if
Finite element mesh of the quarter circle near the contact point.
Contact and target elements were defined to model the contact region. Frictional (Coulomb) contact
model was chosen and a surface-to-surface contact type. Frictional contact model allow the contacts to
open and close, which was observed during the simulations. The behaviour of the contact is decided by
the load case and the given contact stiffness, which will determine the magnitude of penetration be-
tween two surfaces (higher stiffness means lower penetration). The size of the contact surface was
decided based on the experimental results. There is no restriction to the shape of the contact surface,
but it is advised to define a smaller, more localized contact surface to decrease the CPU time. In case
of the hardness test the contact and target elements were defined only within a 4 mm radius. The mate-
rial model in case of the steel was a non-linear elasto-plastic material model, while in case of the con-
crete a predefined material model was used, in which the compressive and tensile behaviors are defined
using a data table. The Poisson ratio was chosen to be 0.2 and the Young’s modulus to be 35000 MPa.
In case of the compressive strength test the top steel plate was loaded until the fracture of the material
happens. In case of the Brinell hardness test the steel ball was pushed into the material with a given
load (5000 N). The load was applied as a distributed load on the top surface of the modelled quarter
circle of the indenting ball.
3.2 Discrete element modelling

The DE modelling of the tests were carried out with the PFC3D software. The software applies the
distinct element method, which is a type of discrete element method where the particles of the material
are modelled as rigid bodies (spheres or clumps) and the material model is defined in the contacts
between the particles. First of all, a 150 mm edge length cube was defined in the software to model the
tested sample, as it can be seen in Fig. 5. Its material was defined in a way that it follows the particle
size distribution of the real material used for the laboratory testing (see Chapter 3.3). The minimum
size of the particles was chosen to be 0.4 mm. A sensitivity analysis was done on that parameter and
the results showed that with smaller minimum particle size the computational time increases signifi-
cantly, however in the results only minor differences were observed. The compressive strength test was
modelled by using two rigid wall elements (at the top and the bottom of the sample). It was assumed
that the steel plates of the compressive strength machine do not deform during the test. The top plate

was moved down by constant static loading rate and the crack development was monitored. The com-
pressive strength test (in case of the DE model) was used to set up the parameters of the DE model,
thus its result will be exactly the same as the result of the real material test. This is an iterative process,
during which the model parameters are changed and the change in the outcome is monitored. This part,
b
the calibration of the model parameters, is the most time consuming part of DEM modelling, because
the generation of the material has to be repeated in every iteration step until the model and the laboratory
test results do not match [10]. There are several parameters in DEM that influences the behaviour of a
model. However, for a given purpose the most significant parameters can be identified. In our case the
if
model was subjected to compressive loads (compressive strength test, hardness test). In such a case the
normal strength of the parallel bonds (contacts) is the most significant influencing parameter. Thus in
every iteration step this parameter was changed until the same result in the compressive strength test
was reached as in case of the laboratory tests. The Young’s modulus of the material is also influencing
significantly the results, however it can be measured in laboratory and applied in the model.
In case of the hardness test a separate particle was modelled above the cube sample to simulate the
indenting steel sphere. This particle had different properties (e.g.: density) as the previously defined
particles. After that, the sphere was pushed with a given load (5000 N, see Chapter 3.3) and the
displacement was monitored.
Fig. 5 DE model of the concrete cube containing aggregate from three different fractions (green:
0.4-4 mm; red: 4-8 mm; cyan: 8-16 mm).
3.3 Laboratory tests

Normal concrete mix was designed to the experiments containing 330 kg/m3 cement and had a 0.65
water-to-cement ratio. The particle size distribution of the quartz aggregate (dmax = 16 mm) was the
following:
0-4 mm 40 %
4-8 mm 22 %
8-16 mm 38 %
From the above-mentioned mix 150 mm edge length cubes were casted. The compressive strength
test was carried out on 5 samples. The Brinell hardness test was performed on the same samples, before
their were subjected to the compressive strength test. Four sides of the cubes, which were located ver-
tically in the formwork, were used for the hardness test. The other two sides (top and bottom) were not
suitable for the test, because their surface were not sufficiently uniform due to the concrete-making
process. On every sides 10 measurements were performed (altogether 200 measurements). The results
in chapter 4 shows the average of these measurements. The chosen load level was 5000N, based on
preliminary tests on the concrete cubes to reach sufficient imprint size.


The results of the laboratory experiments showed that the density of the concrete was 2258 kg/m3. The
Young’s modulus was measured as well and it was found to be 34578 N/mm2, which is fairly close to
b
the Young’s modulus applied during the FE and DE modelling (see Chapter 3.1). The compressive
strength of the real material is 54.23 N/mm2. In case of the DE model, quantitatively the result is the
same (see Chapter 3.2) and its σ-ε curve is very similar to the σ-ε curve of the real material. The finite
element model was slightly conservative (on the safe side), the compressive strength was 44.13 N/mm2.
The average indentation diameter measured in the laboratory was 3.95 mm. The DE model slightly
if
underestimated the indentation diameter (3.53 mm) and thus overestimated the hardness and compres-
sive strength of the material. The model was capable to capture the remaining imprint on the surface of
the material as it can be seen in Fig. 6. The result could be improved by applying different failure
criteria, because in this model a standard failure criteria was used [11]. The FE model strongly under-
estimated the indentation diameter (2.05 mm), however the modelling of a hardness test was possible.
The model could be improved by using a more detailed material model for concrete or with the further
tuning of the contact stiffness.
Fig. 6 Remaining imprint after Brinell hardness test in DEM (in cut plane view).
The computational resources needed for the running of the simulations were one magnitude higher in
case of the DEM compared to the FEM.
5 Conclusion
Through the example of modelling of laboratory test methods, two numerical methods (Discrete Ele-
ment Method and Finite Element Method) were compared. Based on literature review it was found that
in the area of material modelling both methods have advantages. FEM is fast and accurate in case of
continuous materials (e.g.: steel), however it is hardly able to handle rapid geometry changes and the
time tracking of dynamic processes. To see the performance of the two methods, in the field of concrete
material modelling, mechanical laboratory tests were performed on concrete samples (compressive
strength and Brinell hardness). A normal strength concrete mix was designed and samples were made.
The samples and the tests were modelled using both FE and DE modelling software.
The results showed better performance in case of DEM, however the computational effort (and
time) needed for DE modelling is a magnitude higher than it was in case of the FE model.
Besides that, the setup of an accurate DE model requires a laboratory experiment, thus it is not able
to completely replace laboratory test methods. However, in a case, when only a few laboratory tests are
possible (e.g.: restoration of historical buildings), but more is needed, DE modelling could be a feasible
solution.
6 Future work
In the next year it is planned to extend this study to other laboratory test methods. In case of FE mod-
elling the most challenging part was the proper selection and parametrization of the material model. It
is planned to repeat these tests using another concrete material models.

Acknowledgements
the OTKA K 109233 research project. Special thanks to the Itasca Consulting Group for providing the
b
PFC software, which was used in the Discrete Element Modelling of the materials.
References
[1] MSZ. 2009. EN 12390-3:2009. Testing hardened concrete. Compressive strength of test spec-
imens.
if
[2] Chandler, Harry. 1999. Hardness testing. ASM International, 192 p.
[3] Hertz, Heinrich. 1881. “Über die Berührung fester elastischer Körper (About the contact of
elastic solid bodies, in German)” Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik 1881/5:
12-23.
[4] Potyondy, David O., and Peter A. Cundall. 2004. “A bonded-particle model for rock” Interna-
tional Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 41:1329–1364.
[5] Bagi, Katalin. 2012. “Fundaments of the discrete element method”, Lecture notes, Budapest
University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary.
[6] Chung, Y. C., C.K. Lin, P. H. Chou, and S. S. Hsiau. 2016. “Mechanical behavior of a granular
solid and its contacting deformable structure under uni-axial compression – Part I: Joint DEM–
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[8] Vadluga, V., and R. Kacaianauskas. 2007. “Investigation of the single-spring lattice model in
simulation of 2D solid problems by DEM” Mechanika 67:5-13.
[9] Chowdhury, Arman, Mashfiqul Islam, and Zubayer Ibna Zahid. 2016. “Finite Element Model-
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[10] O’Sullivan, Catherine. 2011. Particulate Discrete Element Modelling: A Geomechanics Per-
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silica glass with a blunt indenter” Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. 265:136–147.

Application of effective crack model in analysis of

fracture response of chevron-notched core-based
b
concrete specimen
Petr Halfar, Petr Frantík, Iva Rozsypalová, Petr Daněk, Hana Šimonová and
Zbyněk Keršner
if
Brno University of Technology,
Veveří 331/95, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Abstract
This paper deals with the application of the effective crack model to a chevron-notched core-based
concrete specimen loaded in a three-point bending fracture test configuration. Selected concrete spec-
imens damaged by high-temperature loading were analysed along with reference ones from the same
type of concrete but with no temperature exposure. The effective crack length was assessed for each
fracture test by a parametric study using a model based on the finite element method. The calculated
values of effective fracture toughness are compared with fracture toughness values determined by the
linear elastic fracture mechanics approach.
1 Introduction
One characteristic of building materials is their heterogeneity and content of pores, defects or cracks.
These discontinuities can form stress concentrators in the material, causing it to begin to suffer dam-
age or fail before its nominal strength is exhausted. This issue is dealt with by fracture mechanics,
which describes the behaviour of the material in the vicinity of the stress concentrator and searches
for various functions and mathematical models by which such stresses can be described and refined.
Fracture mechanics postulates a number of mechanical fracture parameters for the purpose of numeri-
cal simulation and involves the comparison of the resistances of various materials against unstable
crack propagation. One of the basic parameters for describing the fracture behaviour of materials is
fracture toughness – see e.g. [1].
Concrete ranks among those materials that exhibit quasi-brittle behaviour [2]. During fracture ex-
periments, its response is strongly non-linear prior to reaching maximum load, meaning that fracture
toughness is more accurately characterized by the effective fracture toughness value, which can be
determined (for example) by the effective crack length method [2].
This paper deals with the application of the effective crack model to concrete specimens of a spe-
cific shape – chevron-notched core-based specimens. These specimens are usually obtained as core-
drills from existing concrete structures or structural elements, but can also be taken from (for exam-
ple) rock massifs [3]. The effective crack length was assessed for each fracture test by a parametric
study using a model based on the finite element method. This method models each selected fracture
test that was previously performed in a laboratory. Five specimens obtained as core-drills from exper-
imental panels are evaluated within this study. Subsequently, the calculated values are compared with
values determined by the linear elastic fracture mechanics approach [3].
2 Fracture test
2.1 Fracture test configuration

Specimens of many different shapes and sizes have been used in the past to determine the fracture
toughness value KIc, As noted by [2], the most common configuration for fracture testing is a pris-
matic specimen with an initial midspan notch that is loaded in three or four-point bending. The test
specimen is gradually loaded until a crack begins to propagate from the initial notch. The beginning
of crack propagation corresponds theoretically to the maximum loading force Fmax, which is then used
for the calculation of the fracture toughness KIc.

The geometry which is dealt within this paper is a chevron-notched core-based specimen (Fig-
ure 1). Cylindrical specimens can be easily obtained as core-drills from existing concrete structures or
structural elements and are therefore suitable for use in the assessment of existing structures instead
of the conventional prism specimens used for fracture tests. Before testing, the obtained core-drills are
b
provided with an initial chevron-type notch (see Figure 1). Note that this is the most commonly used
geometry for testing the fracture parameters of rock materials [3]. As mentioned e.g. in [4], the frac-
ture toughness of the material under the assumption of linear elastic fracture mechanics is then calcu-
lated according to the following formula using the measured maximum load Fmax, geometrical factor
if
Amin, specimen diameter D, depth of initial notch a0 and span length S:
. (1)
Ic min max / , min 1.835 7.15 0 / 9.85 0/ / .
Fig. 1 Scheme of a three-point bending fracture test of a chevron-notched core-based concrete

specimen (left), and a photograph showing the realisation of the test.
2.2 Effective crack model

The effective crack model is a nonlinear model that uses the knowledge of linear elastic fracture
mechanics (LELM). It is appropriate to use the effective length of the crack ae to calculate effective
fracture toughness [2] for materials with non-linear behaviour before the peak of the loading diagram.
The effective length of the crack is such a notch or crack length that a specimen made of absolutely
linear elastic material would have the same stiffness as a real specimen with a notch/crack length a0 at
the same load. The point corresponding to the maximum load force Fmax obtained from the peak of
the load vs. deflection diagram and the corresponding deflection δFmax is used for the effective crack
model. When this point and the beginning of the coordinate system are connected, what is known as
the secant elastic modulus can be obtained. This corresponds to the initial modulus of elasticity of the
same specimen, but with an effective crack length ae [3]. This theoretically means that critical crack
propagation occurs at a time when a crack from length a0 reaches length ae.
It is then possible to calculate the effective fracture toughness value according to formula (1), us-
ing crack length ae instead of a0:
.
Ic,e min,e max / , min,e 1.835 7.15 e / 9.85 e /D / . (2)
2.3 Finite element method model

Academic software based on the finite element method (FEM) called chevroncylinder [5] (author Petr
Frantík) was used for the calculations. The programme is written in the Java programming language,
has no graphical user interface and runs via the command line. The programme calculates the re-
sponse of specimens during loading in a three-point bending test configuration. The test specimen is a
chevron-notched core-based cylinder of the type described above. For simplification, the programme
uses only half of the specimen, according to the parameters, in which bonds are taken in the axis of
symmetry so that the deformation corresponds to the three-point bending of the whole specimen. The
model is loaded with an L/8 deformation in the support, where L is the length of the cylinder – see
Figure 2 and [5] for details.

Application of effective crack model in analysis of fracture response of chevron-notched core-based concrete specimen
Fig. 2
ifb
Scheme of the model (top), finite element mesh (middle), and scheme of the output pa-
rameters of the numerical model.
Using the model to analyse the fracture response of specimens after tempera-
ture loading
The above-presented procedure was applied to analyse the response of five selected concrete speci-
mens obtained as core-drills from panels after fire experiments were performed. The dimensions of
the test specimens were used as input parameters for the FEM model and the output values were used
for the calculation of the effective crack length ae, and consequently the effective fracture toughness
KIc,e values according to (2) [5].
3.1 Specimens
Selected concrete specimens damaged by high temperatures were analysed along with reference ones
made from the same type of concrete but with no temperature exposure. The experimental panels,
with dimensions of 2300 × 1300 × 150 mm, were cast from ordinary C30/37 strength class concrete.
Two panels were selected for this analysis – a reference panel, P4, with no temperature loading, and a
panel labelled P7 that was loaded by high temperatures using a gas furnace. The panel was heated
from one side (the bottom). The maximum nominal temperature in the furnace was 1000 °C; the
temperature increase was controlled until the maximum temperature was reached according to the
ISO 834 standard curve (standard EN 1991-1-2:2002 [6] refers to it as the normal fire temperature).
Thereafter, the furnace temperature was maintained for 60 minutes. When the temperature loading
was complete, the panel was allowed to cool unaided to ambient temperature.
A regular grid of 12 times 7 points (1 to 12 in panel length, A to G in panel width) was marked on
the surface of the experimental panels. For the purposes of this paper the locations of the investigated
specimens within the panel were selected at the places subjected to the highest temperatures (with
respect to the diagonally positioned burners on the gas furnace) and thus the greatest expected
Petr Halfar, Petr Frantík, Iva Rozsypalová, Petr Daněk, Hana Šimonová and Zbyněk Keršner 415

material damage. This assumption was verified and confirmed by a Pundit PL-200 ultrasound device,
which operates using the ultrasonic (US) pulse method [7]. Generally, the worst mechanical
properties can be expected in the areas with the lowest longitudinal US pulse velocity. The locations
of the specimens in reference panel P4 were selected randomly. Specimens were taken from positions
b
B4C4, D6 (reference panel P4) and 4BC, 4EF, 4FEE (panel P7) based on the above-mentioned
assumption about concrete damage caused by high temperatures.
The specimens were obtained as core-drills with a nominal diameter of 75 mm from the selected
positions within the panels – see Table 1 for details. The test specimens were provided with an initial
if
chevron-type notch in the middle of their length and subsequently loaded in the three-point bending
fracture test configuration (span length S = 127.0 mm). Note that the influence of temperature loading
on the mechanical and fracture properties of concrete was investigated and the obtained results can be
found in, e.g. previous publications [8]−[10].
Table 1 Size of test specimens.
Parameter Dimension Specimens P4_ Specimens P7_

B4C4 D6 4BC 4EF 4FEE
diameter D [mm] 74.05 74.09 74.06 73.99 74.11
length L [mm] 147.13 155.31 155.77 160.79 161.37
3.2 FEM modelling details

Specimen dimensions were set according the exact dimensions measured from experiments. The
finite element mesh was chosen with respect to the dimensions of the test specimens. An illustration
of the numerical model is shown in Figure 3 (left).
Fig. 3 Detail of the model for the calculation of a particular specimen from panels used in a fire
experiment (left) and a photograph of all specimens from panel P7 after fracture tests.
4 Results
The results of the FEM calculations evaluated using the effective crack model take the form of values
obtained for the effective crack lengths ae as well as the effective fracture toughness KIc,e from the
individual applications of the model to the fracture tests of particular specimens. Tables 2 and 3 show
a comparison of the obtained effective crack length and mainly effective fracture toughness values
with the results of calculations performed using the linear elastic fracture mechanics approach. Also, a
basic statistical evaluation was carried out using the arithmetic mean value and coefficient of varia-
tion (CoV).

Application of effective crack model in analysis of fracture response of chevron-notched core-based concrete specimen
Table 2 Resulting selected fracture parameters for specimens from reference experimental panel
P4.
Parameter Dimension Specimens P4_ Mean CoV
b
B4C4 D6 value in %
initial crack length a0 [mm] 11.46 11.60 11.5 0.9

effective crack length ae [mm] 16.89 18.95 17.9 8.1
if
ae/a0 ratio [%] 147 163 155 7.3
fracture toughness KIc (LEFM) [MPa·m1/2] 1.280 1.215 1.248 3.7
effective fracture toughness KIc,e [MPa·m1/2] 1.601 1.859 1.730 10.5
KIc,e/KIc ratio [%] 125 153 139 14.2
Table 3 Resulting selected fracture parameters for specimens from experimental panel P7.
Parameter Dimension Specimens P7_ Mean CoV
4BC 4EF 4FEE value in %
initial crack length a0 [mm] 11.33 11.36 11.89 11.5 2.7

effective crack length ae [mm] 26.20 17.98 21.68 22.0 18.8
ae/a0 ratio [%] 231 158 182 191 19.5
fracture toughness KIc (LEFM) [MPa·m1/2] 0.729 0.787 0.857 0.791 8.1
effective fracture toughness KIc,e [MPa·m1/2] 1.292 1.029 1.264 1.195 12.1
KIc,e/KIc ratio [%] 177 131 148 152 15.5
5 Conclusion
An effective crack length approach was applied to the determination of the effective fracture tough-
ness of selected chevron-notched core-based concrete specimens loaded in a three-point bending
fracture test configuration. Specimens were obtained from an experimental panel, P7, after a fire
experiment was performed (the nominal maximum temperature was 1000 °C), and from a reference
panel, P4 (without temperature loading). The effective crack length was assessed for each fracture test
by a parametric study using an FEM model of a cylindrical specimen. Subsequently, the calculated
values of effective fracture toughness KIc,e were compared with the KIc values determined by the
linear elastic fracture mechanics approach. It was shown that the KIc,e values were approximately 40
and 50 % higher than the KIc values in the case of the specimens taken from panel P4 and P7.
Acknowledgements
This outcome has been achieved with the financial support of the Czech Science Foundation under
project No. 16-18702S (AMIRI), and with the support of Brno University of Technology, Faculty of
Civil Engineering, under standard specific research project No. FAST-S-18-4824.
References
[1] Tada, Hiroshi, Paul C. Paris, and George R. Irwin. 2000. The Stress Analysis of Cracks Hand-
book. New York: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
[2] Karihaloo, Bhushan L. 1995. Fracture Mechanics and Structural Concrete. Essex: Longman
Scientific and Technical.
[3] Ouchterlony, Finn. 1988. “Suggested methods for determining the fracture toughness of rock.”
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 25:71–96.
[4] Backers, Tobias. 2004. “Fracture Toughness Determination and Micromechanics of Rock
under Mode I and Mode II Loading.” PhD diss., University of Potsdam.
Petr Halfar, Petr Frantík, Iva Rozsypalová, Petr Daněk, Hana Šimonová and Zbyněk Keršner 417

[5] Halfar, Petr. 2018. “Evaluation of Fracture Test of Selected Core-Drilled Cylindrical Speci-
mens.” Diploma thesis, Brno University of Technology. In Czech.
[6] EN 1991-1-2:2002/AC:2013. 2013. Eurocode 1: Actions on Structures ‒ Part 1-2: General
Actions ‒ Actions on Structures Exposed to Fire. Brussels: CEN.
b
[7] Kirchhof, Larissa D., Alexandre Lorenzi, and Luiz Carlos P. Silva Filho. 2015. “Assessment
of Concrete Residual Strength at High Temperatures using Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity.” The e-
Journal of Nondestructive Testing 20:1-9. Accessed February 26, 2018.
[8] Rozsypalová, Iva, Petr Daněk, Hana Šimonová, and Zbyněk Keršner. 2017. “Strength charac-
if
teristics of concrete exposed to the elevated temperatures according to the temperature-time
curve ISO 834.” MATEC Web of Conferences: Dynamics of Civil Engineering and Transport
Structures and Wind Engineering – DYN-WIND’2017. EDP Sciences – Web of Conferences,
107:1−8. doi:10.1051/matecconf/201710700041.
[9] Šimonová, Hana, Petr Halfar, Iva Rozsypalová, Petr Daněk, and Zbyněk Keršner. 2017.
“Fracture parameters of concrete after exposure to high temperatures: pilot tests.” MATEC
Web of Conferences: Dynamics of Civil Engineering and Transport Structures and Wind En-
gineering – DYN-WIND’2017. EDP Sciences – Web of Conferences, 107:1−6.
doi:10.1051/matecconf/201710700039.
[10] Rozsypalová, Iva, Hana Šimonová, Petr Daněk, Zbyněk Keršner, and Michal Vyhlídal. 2017.
“Mechanical Fracture Parameters of Concrete Specimens from One-Side-Heated Panel.” SP
Report: Proceedings from the 5th International Workshop on Concrete Spalling 43:105−111.

Load-bearing performance of concrete beams with

basalt fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP) rebars
b
Sebastian Hofmann, Carl-Alexander Graubner and Tilo Proske
TU Darmstadt,
if
Franziska-Braun-Straße 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Abstract
The research on fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) bars to be used as reinforcing material in concrete
structures is increasing. However, the load bearing behaviour, especially the shear capacity of rein-
forced concrete using basalt fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP) rebars, has so far hardly been investi-
gated. One reason for this is the instability in the highly alkaline environment of concrete. This makes
this material unattractive regarding the durability of concrete structures. However, recent develop-
ments in the coating material of basalt fibres show great success in the alkaline resistance of the basalt
fibres in long-term tests. To apply alkali-resistant BFRP rebars for concrete structures, the load-
bearing and composite behaviour of these types of bars has to be investigated. In order to examine the
load-bearing capacity of BFRP reinforced concrete beams, small scale and concrete beams under
short-term static and centric load were investigated and evaluated. The tests were used to determine
the load-deflection curve, the height of the concrete compressive zone, the crack width and the maxi-
mum bearing capacity. For this purpose, selected mechanical material properties of BFRP bars as well
as the bond behaviour between the rebar and concrete were determined. With the obtained results,
concrete beams with low reinforcement ratio and without shear reinforcement were designed and
tested in three-point bending setup. During the tests the midspan deflection, the crack width and the
concrete strain at the top centre of the concrete beam were monitored. These parameters are very
important for the development of a shear model for BFRP reinforced beams. Based on the results of
these experiments, large scale component tests with different lengths, cross-sections and reinforce-
ment ratios can be designed to carry out a parameter study.
1 Introduction
For several years, the use of fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) bars in construction industry increased.
Reinforcement material made of glass (GFRP) is mainly used. In addition to the GFRP especially the
basalt fibre is a very good alternative to conventional reinforcement bars made of steel. Basalt fibres
belong to the mineral fibres and are classified in the group of natural fibres. The research and produc-
tion of basalt fibres was focused since 1960s in the Soviet Union, America and Europe primarily for
the use in military and aviation. Since 1995, basalt fibres has also been increasingly used in the civil
sector [6]. But in comparison to GFRP, the basalt fibre reinforced polymer bar (BFRP) is not as
common for practical use in construction industry, although the volcanic raw material is available all
around the globe and represents in some areas great advantages compared to other reinforcement
materials. Also the manufacturing process of the fibres is not very complex. In order to increase and
establish the application of basalt fibres as a reinforcement material for concrete structures, compre-
hensive investigations on the load-bearing behaviour has to be done.
The advantages of BFRP reinforcement are:
high tensile strength
corrosion resistance
low environmental impact
electromagnetic neutrality
very low thermal conductivity
simple manufacturing process
high availability of the raw material
The above-mentioned properties provide strong arguments for the use as a reinforcement material.
The possible applications range from maritime environments or buildings for chemical plants to
sensitive laboratories, hospitals or to parking garages, which are susceptible to corrosion.

However, there are also some properties of basalt fibres, which are unfavourable for its use in
concrete structures. To mention is the low modulus of elasticity compared to steel, which results in
higher deformations of the concrete components. The more critical property of basalt fibres is their
weakness in highly alkaline environments, which are present in concrete structures. The problem of
b
the alkali resistance is currently investigated in research projects and can probably be solved with
specially developed coating materials, which is applied to the BFRP bars used for the executed
experiments in this paper. However, the investigation of the durability of BFRP elements is not part
of this paper. The content of this paper is the investigation of the mechanical properties of the bars,
if
the bond behaviour and the flexural behaviour in small-scale concrete beams.
2 Material properties of the used concrete and BFRP-bars
2.1 Concrete
Due to the high tensile stress and the relatively low modulus of elasticity of BFRP bars, a very high
deflection at midspan of the concrete beam can be expected. For this reason, the concrete has to have
a high compressive strength to avoid shear collapse or failure of the compressive zone. Furthermore,
the maximum aggregate size was chosen to 8 mm in order to ensure a homogenous concrete element
with a concrete cover of 20 mm. The concrete composition is given in Table 1.
Table 1 Concrete composition for 1.0 m³ fresh concrete.

Cement CEM I 52,5 R Sand 0 – 2 mm Aggregate 2 – 8 mm Water
400 kg/m³ 696 kg/m³ 1044 kg/m³ 200 kg/m³
The concrete compressive strength of the presented concrete was determined at the time of testing on
test cubes with an edge length of 150 mm according to DIN EN 12390-3. The mean tensile strength
and modulus of elasticity were determined on test cylinders with 150 mm diameter and 300 mm
height according to DIN 1048-5. The test cubes and cylinders were stored under the same storage
conditions as the main test specimens. The results of the mechanical properties of the concrete are
given in Table 2.
Table 2 Measured mechanical properties of the concrete.

Compressive strength Tensile strength Modulus of elasticity
fc,cube (MPa) fct (MPa) Ec (MPa)
71.85 6.50 37,600
2.2 Basalt fibre reinforcement bar

2.2.1 General
In order to design large-scale test specimens and to apply numerical calculations, precise knowledge
of the mechanical properties of the BFRP reinforcement is essential.
For all executed and documented tests, BRFP bars of the company “Deutsche Basaltfaser GmbH”
were used. The basalt fibres are embedded in an epoxy resin matrix and coated with sand (see Fig. 1),
to improve the bond stress between reinforcement and concrete.
Fig. 1 Sand coated BRFP bar, Ø 6 mm.
For a detailed evaluation of test results on concrete beams, the knowledge of the precise material
properties is essential. However, there is still no standardised test setup or procedure in Germany and

Europe, to determine the mechanical properties of FRP reinforcement bars. Especially the loading
rate and the anchoring of the bar into the testing machine can have significant influence on the test
results.
To determine the mechanical properties such as tensile strength or modulus of elasticity a suitable
b
test setup was designed in relation to the ASTM guidelines [1].
2.2.2 Modulus of elasticity and tensile strength of BFRP bars
Due to the low compressive strength lateral to the fibre orientation, the anchoring of the BFRP rein-
if
forcement bars into the testing machine is a great challenge. To achieve an appropriate load transfer,
the bar was fixed on both ends in a plastic tube (d = 36 mm and l = 200 mm) which was filled with
metacrylic resin [3].
Basalt fibre bars of 700 mm total length and a nominal diameter of 6.0 mm were used. The load
transfer was controlled by force at 3.0 kN per minute, while the strain was recorded with an exten-
someter in the centre of the bar. Fig. 2 shows the stress-strain-diagram for the performed tensile tests
and the test setup of Bar B3 in the testing machine right before load application.
Tensile tests on basalt reinforced polymer bars

1200
Ø = 6 mm
fu,V2 = 1062 MPa
fu,V1 = 1064 MPa
1000
Removal of the fu,V3 = 1065 MPa
extensometer
800
Stress in MPa
Extrapolated course
600
B1
B1 extrapolated
400 Mean Young’s modulus:
Eb,m ≈ 59,000 MPa B2
B2 extrapolated
200
B3
B3 extrapolated
0
0,00 0,20 0,40 0,60 0,80 1,00 1,20 1,40 1,60 1,80 2,00
Strain in %
Fig. 2 Stress-Strain-diagram of the tested BFRP bars (left) and the test setup of B3 right before
load application (right).
The samples could be loaded up to a tensile strength of approx. 1060 MPa. The mean Young’s modu-
lus was determined with approx. 59000 MPa (see Table 3).
Table 3 Mean mechanical properties of the tested BFRP bars.

Mean ultimate tensile strength Mean ultimate strain Mean modulus of elasticity
fu,B,mean (MPa) εu,B,mean (%) EB,mean (MPa)
1063.7 1.80 59,000
2.2.3 Bond-slip behaviour of the used BFRP bars

For the determination of the bond stress-slip behaviour a typical pull out test was performed on test
cubes with 150 mm edge length. The same concrete as described in paragraph 2.1 was used. The bar
diameter was Ø 8 mm and had a configured bond length of lb = 40 mm. In comparison to the BRFP
bar a regular steel bar was tested under the same conditions.
The bond stress can be evaluated to τb = F/(π ϕb lb), where F is the pull-out force. The bond stress-
bond slip diagram is shown in Figure 3. The results show a significant higher bond stress of the BRFP
bar compared to the conventional steel reinforcement bar. A reason for this behaviour could be a
more uniform load distribution over the bond length caused by the sanded bar surface. This could
allow a rather short anchor length of the BFRP reinforcement bars in concrete elements.
The bond failure of the BFRP bars were caused through shearing off the coated sand, whereas the
failure of the steel bar was caused by concrete shearing failure between the ribs, which confirms the
above mentioned assumption.
Sebastian Hofmann, Carl-Alexander Graubner and Tilo Proske 421

Bond stress-bond slip diagram

18
b
16
14
if
Bond stress τb in MPa
12
10
4
BFRP bar - Diameter 8 mm
Steel bar - Diameter 8 mm

2
0
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4 4,5
Slip s in mm
Figure 3 Test result of a pull-out test of a BFRP and a steel bar; Ø 8 mm (left) and the test setup
(right).
3 Test program on concrete beams reinforced with BFRP bars

Both of the test specimens have a total length of 700 mm and a cross-section of 150 x 150 mm². The
flexural reinforcement has a concrete cover of 20 mm. Table 4 gives an overview of the test beams
and the prediction of the maximum shear (Voss [4] and Molter [5]) and bending moment capacity.
These models were developed for textile reinforced concrete.
Table 4 Configuration of the test beams.

Specimen Cross- Effec- BFRP Vmax, cal Mmax, cal Flexural (geomet-
section tive- reinforce- (kN) (kNm) rical) reinforcement

bxh depth ment ratio ρl
(mm²) d (mm)
BRFP-6 150 x 150 127 2 x Ø 6 mm 24.5 6.90 0,0025
BRFP-8 150 x 150 126 1 x Ø 8 mm 23.3 6.17 0,0022
The concrete beams have a low reinforcement ratio and are designed to reach rupture failure of the
BFRP bars in a three-point bending test.

ifb
Fig. 4 Test setup in frotal view (left) and bottom view (right) with the measuring instrumenta-
tion.
The test setup and the instrumentation for the load tests on beams are shown in Fig. 4. In order to
monitor the crack width, two inductive displacement sensors (see W1 and W2 in Fig. 4) are placed.
Two further inductive displacement sensors (see W3 and W4 in Fig. 4) are placed on the front and
back side at midspan of the beam to monitor the deflection during the test. At the centre of the con-
crete compression zone a strain gauge element is applied, which has a measuring range of
4000 µm/m. The effective span was 650 mm. The beam is supported on roller bearings with steel
plates (25 x 150 mm²) on both sides. The vertical load was applied constantly with 0.5 mm per minute
also through a load distribution steel plate at midspan.
4 Results of the tests on BFRP reinforced beams

An overview of the test results of the two beams BFRP-6 and BFRP-8 is given in Table 5. The maxi-
mum load of BRFP-6 was 41.2 kN. The related midspan deflection could be recorded only to a value
of 37.4kN. BRFP-8 reached a maximum load of 32.0 kN. The midspan deflection could be recorded
only to a value of 29.9 kN.
Table 5 Overview of the test results.
Specimen Load at Maximum Maximum Mechanism of failure

first load Pmax Mmeasured
crack (kN) (kNm)
(kN)
BRFP-6 19.6 41.2 6.6 Combination of bending and shear fail-
ure, no bond failure could be observed
BFRP-8 17.0 32.0 5.2 Combination of bending and shear fail-
ure, no bond failure could be observed
The executed tests on BFRP bar reinforced beams did not result in a pure bending failure, but in a
combined bending and shear failure. However, the calculated bending moment capacity was signifi-
cantly lower than the shear capacity in both types of beams (see Table 6). This circumstance led to
concrete crushing in the compressive zone for BFRP-6. BFRP-8 however, crushed through a nearly
horizontal shear crack at mid depth of the beam. The reason for this result is the lack of knowledge of
a precise shear force model.
Without a reliable and safe shear force model it is not possible to estimate the correct failure
mechanism and maximum shear force capacity of a BFRP reinforced beam. Furthermore, especially
for the specimen BFRP-8, a very uncommon crack pattern occurred in a very low angle on the left
side of the load introduction, where a bending moment and a shear force are acting together. Finally,
the Specimen BFRP-6 reached a maximum load of 41.2 kN. The concrete strain at the top centre of
the beam was over 4 ‰ and out of the measuring range of the strain gauge.

Table 6 Comparison of the calculated load carrying capacity and the reached capacity in tests.
Specimen Pmax Vmax, test / Mmax, test / Concrete strain at failure

(kN) Vmax, cal Mmax, cal εc,u (‰)
b
BRFP-6 41.21 0.84 0.97 > 4 (out of range)
BRFP-8 31.98 0.69 0.84 2.2
if
BFRP-8 reached a maximum load of 32 kN and maximum concrete strain at the top centre of 2.2 ‰,
which results to ξ = x/d = 0.053 and would cause a maximum strain of the reinforcement of ~40 ‰.
But if the bond-slip-relation is taken into account, the value seems plausible, since the slip of the
reinforcement bar has to be considered. After all, the calculated depth of the compressive zone at the
moment of failure was only at 0.67 cm.
The following Fig. 5 shows the crack patterns with the first crack and the location of final failure.
Fig. 5 Crack patterns with first crack (blue) and final failure area (red) of load tests BFRP-6h
(left) and BFRP-8h (right).
Fig. 6 (left) shows the relation between load and deflection and Fig. 6 (right) between load and con-
crete strain for both beams.
Load versus deflection Load versus concrete strain

45 45
40 40
35 35
Load (kN)
Load (kN)
30 30
25 25
20 20
15 15
10 BFRP-8 10 BFRP-8
5 BFRP-6 5 BFRP-6
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Deflection at midspan (mm) Concrete strain (µm/m)

Fig. 6 Load versus deflection (left) and load versus concrete strain (right).
The requirement on SLS for deflection according to EC 2 is given in Table 7. Furthermore, the meas-
ured load at the deflection of 2.6 mm is given as well as the ratio PL/250 / Pmax. It is visible that small
differences in the reinforcement ratio and bar diameter (see Table 4) had a considerable effect on the
stiffness of the beams [2].
Table 7 Deflection at service load according to EC 2.

Specimen L/250 (mm) PL/250 (kN) PL/250 / Pmax
BFRP-6 2.6 25.12 0.61
BRRP-8 2.6 21.28 0.67
Fig. 7 (left) shows the relation between crack width and deflection and Fig. 7 (right) between the load
and crack width of both beams, BFRP-8 and BFRP-6. The calculated width was measured at the
bottom with W1 or W2.

Crack width at bottom versus deflection Load versus crack width at bottom
5 45
Crack width (mm)

40
4 35
Load (kN)
b
30
3
25
2 20
15
1 BFRP-6 10 BFRP-8
BFRP-8 5 BFRP-6
0
if
0
0 2 4 6 8 0 1 2 3 4 5
Deflection at midspan (mm) crack width (mm)
Fig. 7 Crack width versus deflection (left) and load versus crack width (right).
The course of the load-displacement curve with the total and uncracked cross-section of the two test
beams is very similar until first cracking. After the first crack in the tension zone, the load initially
drops while at the same time the deflection increases sharply.
However, the difference between BFRP-6 (19.6 kN) and BFRP-8 (17.0 kN) is the magnitude
when the first crack occurs (see Table 8). Furthermore, a heavier load drop can be observed (see Fig.
6) for BFRP-8, which could be due to the lower reinforcement ratio and the lower bar diameter. Right
at that moment, the reinforcement is fully activated and the acting load can be increased again. The
further course of the load-deformation curve is significantly different between BFRP-6 and BFRP-8.
The moment of secondary cracking was at a total different load and midspan deflection. The sec-
ondary crack occurs for BFRP-6 at the load 22.7 kN and the midspan deflection 1.32 mm while for
BFRP-8 the secondary crack occurs at the load 27.6 kN and midspan deflection 4.51 mm.
Table 8 Crack-deflection relation between the test beams.
Specimen Load at 1st Deflection at 1st Load at 2nd Deflection at 2nd

crack (kN) crack (mm) crack (kN) crack (kN)
BRFP-6h 19.6 0.088 22.7 1.32
BRFP-8h 17.0 0.057 27.6 4.51
During further load application even more bending cracks were occurring until the maximum load
carrying capacity and failure through concrete crushing (see Table 5) of BFRP-6 was reached. For
BFRP-8, on the other hand, there were no more bending cracks until failure at the maximum load of
31.98 kN. This circumstance needs further investigation in a parameter study regarding reinforcement
bar diameter and ratio.
5 Conclusion
The performed load tests on two concrete beams with slightly different reinforcement ratios and
different diameters of BFRP reinforcement bars showed a very different load carrying behaviour and
different failure mechanism. The predicted maximum load-carrying capacity of both beams has not
been reached, which means that there is a high demand of a safe and reliable calculation model of
BFRP reinforced concrete.
Further investigation on beams with different dimensions and spans, reinforcement diameters and
ratios are necessary to provide a better prediction of the load bearing capacity, especially for shear
failure.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the “Deutsche Basalt Faser GmbH” and personally Mr. Georgi Gogoladze for
providing the BFRP rebars for all experiments.

References
[1] ASTM Inernational. 2006. ASTM D 7205M – 06 Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties
of Fibre Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composite Bars. West Conshohocken, USA: ASTM In-
ternational.
b
[2] Pawlowski, D., and M. Szumigala. 2015. “Flexural behaviour of full-scale basalt FRP RC
beams – experimental and numerical studies”. Paper presented at 7th Scientific-Technical
Conference Material Problems in Civil Engineering.
[3] Hofmann, S., and T. Proske. 2017 “Determination of mechanical Properties of Basalt fibre
if
reinforced polymer bars”. Darmstadt Concrete Vol. 32.
[4] Voss, S. 2008. „Ingenieurmodelle zum Tragverhalten von textilbewehrtem Beton.“ PhD diss.,
RWTH Aachen.
[5] Molter, M. 2005. „Zum Tragverhalten von textilbewehrtem Beton.“ PhD diss., RWTH Aa-
chen.
[6] Liu, J. 2008. „Untersuchung von Verbundwerkstoffen mit Basalt- und PBO-Faser-
Verstärkung.“PhD diss., Technische Universität Dresden.

Testing of multi-layer concrete-based structures

loaded by contact blast
b
Alena Horska, Josef Fladr and Alena Kohoutkova
if
Thakurova 2077/7, 166 29 Prague 6, Czech Republic
Abstract
The response of multilayer concrete-based structures exposed to contact blast loading was experimen-
tally tested. This paper provides a description of the testing method and evaluates the tests. The tested
specimens were wall elements composed of three layers (ultra-high performance concrete – soft core
– ultra-high performance concrete). For the core material, expanded polystyrene and recycled textile
mats were used. The loading was caused by an explosive charge of Pentaerythritol tetranitrate. The
macroscopic damage was evaluated visually. The inner damage was evaluated using ultrasonic meas-
urement. The performance of the tested multi-layer concrete-based specimens subjected to blast load-
ing was analysed.
1 Introduction
Many factors influence structural design of load-bearing elements. However, safety and resistance are
of the highest importance. When it comes to extreme loading, such as blast, structural integrity and
residual resistance play a crucial role in the design process. The simplest way to increase blast re-
sistance of a concrete structure is to use massive load-bearing elements. Although such solution is
simple and relatively easy to design, it does not meet the economic, spatial and aesthetical demands.
Therefore, other and more suitable solutions are sought for blast-resistant structures.
Multi-layer structures, if designed correctly, can absorb a high amount of energy that is released
during a blast event. This feature makes them very attractive for use in extreme conditions. A multi-
layer composed of concrete-based cover-layers and a core with high plastic deformability is able to
resist blast thanks to several attributes: a high fracture toughness of the concrete-based layers; a large
plastic deformation of the core; and the stress-wave reflection from multi-layer interfaces.
The material of the multi-layer covers should be chosen based on the requirement for its high
fracture toughness. Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) meets that requirement. The material of
the core needs to be able to absorb a high amount of energy through its irreversible deformation. The
materials with a long horizontal branch of their stress-strain diagram meet this requirement. Taking
into account the economic and ecological aspects, it is very efficient to use cheap and/or recycled
materials for the multi-layer core.
Blast resistance of concrete-based structures loaded by contact blast has been widely experimen-
tally tested all over the world. Contact-blast performance of normal strength concrete slabs and
UHPC slabs was experimentally investigated in [1]. The tested specimens were horizontally oriented
panels with the explosives placed on the top surface. The damage was quantified on the basis of
failure diameter which was measured.
Similar experimental investigation of blast resistance was performed in [2] on fibre-reinforced
panels. As in the previous case, the tested specimens were horizontally oriented slabs with the explo-
sives placed on the top surface. The damage was quantified on the basis of failure areal extent and
crater/spall depth.
A specific product of a portable concrete barrier was tested in [3] for contact-blast resistance. The
explosives were attached on one of the two horizontal surfaces of the specimen. The damage was
quantified on the basis of failure areal extent and mass of ejected material.
In all references mentioned above, the evaluation was based on a visually accessible extent of
damage. The inner damage, which cannot be observed visually and reaches beyond the area of
crater/spall, was not incorporated in the mentioned-above evaluations of post-blast condition of the
specimens. However, the inner damage can play an important role when determining the residual
resistance of blast-affected structures.

The inner damage of concrete-based materials is commonly measured using an ultrasonic tech-
nique. The inner damage disrupts the structure of the material and creates discontinuities that affect
the physical properties of ultrasonic pulse propagating through the structure. Generally, the lower the
post-loading ultrasonic pulse velocity is (compared to the pre-loading state), the greater damage was
b
caused by that loading.
The technique of ultrasonic measurement of structural damage is described in detail in [4]. The
article shows the ability of the ultrasonic measurement to detect micro-cracks in their early stage.
In [5], the limitations of ultrasonic measurement applied in damage detection of concrete struc-
if
tures are analysed. The influence of heterogeneity of concrete is described. The proper choice of
measurement device setting is determined.
This paper describes a testing of multi-layer concrete-based slabs subjected to contact-blast load-
ing. The damage created by this loading was evaluated visually by the extent of area from which the
mass was ejected by blast. The inner damage of the residual mass of the specimens was evaluated as
well, using ultrasonic technique. The combination of visible and inner damage evaluation is consid-
ered to be decisive for determining of the residual resistance of the tested member, as the cracks and
caverns hidden in the material decrease the overall quality of the material.
2 Testing arrangement
Concrete-based specimens tested for contact-blast resistance were vertically oriented slab elements
sized 1.0 x 1.0 m. The specimens were supported by linear vertical supports on both edges; see Fig. 1
(left). The position of the specimen was fixed by supportive steel frame.
Three types of specimen were tested; see Fig. 1 (right). As a fundamental material, ultra-high per-
formance concrete (UHPC) was used. In the first case, the slab was only UHPC with thickness of
50 mm. In the second case, the slab was a multi-layer (thickness of each layer 50 mm, 150 mm in
total) with UHPC cover-layers on both sides of an expanded polystyrene (EPS) used as a core. In the
third case, the slab was a multilayer (thickness of each layer 50 mm, 150 mm in total) with UHPC
covers on both sides of a core made of recycled textile mats (RTM). The cores were embedded in
concrete, creating a multi-layer in the central part of the specimen (size of the central area 700 x
700 mm) and single-layer edges (150 mm on all four sides of the slab). The single-layer edges fixed
the core in its correct position and restricted delamination of layers during the loading.
Fig. 1 A supported specimen oriented in vertical position (left); the three types of tested speci-
mens (right).
The tested specimens were loaded by contact-blast loading induced by Pentaerythritol tetranitrate
(PETN). The charge of the explosives varied from 300 g to 500 g. The explosives were directly at-
tached to one surface of the tested specimen in its geometrical centre. The explosives were arranged
in a block shape. The contact area of the explosives and the specimen surface was for all charges 70 x
70 mm. The depth of the explosives varied in accordance with the charge. Table 1 provides an over-
view of the tested specimens and used charges.

Table 1 Overview of tested specimens.

Specimen Single- Thickness [mm] Core type – classification according PETN
No. /Multi-layer to Fig. 1 (right) charge [g]
b
P1 single- 50 Type 1 (no core) 300
P2 single- 50 Type 1 (no core) 400
P3 multi- 150 Type 2 (EPS core) 400
if
P4 multi- 150 Type 2 (EPS core) 500
P5 multi- 150 Type 3 (recycled textile core) 500
P6 multi- 150 Type 3 (recycled textile core) 400
3 Visual damage evaluation

High-velocity loading of structures creates a different damage type than quasi-static loading. The
damage type is dependent on the loading rate which determines the extent and shape of cracks, as
described in [6]. If the loading was applied on the specimen gradually in a low rate, the specimen
would collapse due to a single vertical crack in the middle of the slab along its whole height (consid-
ering the orientation of supports of the tested specimens); see Fig. 2 (left). In the case of blast loading,
the visible damage concentrates only to a small area around the load location; see Fig. 2 (middle).
Such behaviour was observed in all six cases of the test. In all cases of tested specimens, the penetrat-
ed zone was of very similar area. For that reason, the performances of the tested specimens cannot be
compared only based on visual evaluation.
Fig. 2 Damage type for low-rate loading – top and front view (left); damage type for high-rate
loading (middle); mesh of the specimen for identification of measurement points (right).
4 Ultrasound damage evaluation
4.1 Evaluation method

For evaluation of the damage caused by explosion, ultrasound measurement was chosen. The velocity
of ultrasound pulse propagation is strongly dependent on density of the material – the pulse velocity
increases with increasing density.
During blast loading, apart from visible damage of the specimen, inner damage is caused as well.
Such damage cannot be observed visually, as it is hidden in the specimen mass in a form of micro-
cracks and caverns. Micro-cracks and caverns are filled with air that decreases the density of the
whole specimen. That makes the inner damage to be detectable by ultrasound.
To measure the pulse velocity propagating through a tested slab, two probes were put on the op-
posing slab surfaces. To provide the full contact of the probe and a specimen surface, a layer of gel
was placed between them. Based on a known thickness of the slab and the measured time of ultra-
sound pulse propagation through the specimen, pulse velocity was determined. Such measurement
Alena Horska, Josef Fladr and Alena Kohoutkova 429

was conducted in 81 points of each specimen (slabs sized 1000 x 1000 mm were meshed with 100
mm step in both vertical and horizontal direction, creating 9 x 9 measurement points marked by blue
dots on the specimen surface, as shown in Fig. 1 (left) and Fig. 2 (right)).
The pulse velocity was measured on the specimens before and after blast loading. The difference
b
between the initial pulse velocity and the post-loading pulse velocity directly shows the damage
created by the loading. At the central part of the specimen where the slab is penetrated, the ultrasonic
measurement could not have been conducted. Therefore, in penetrated locations, the pulse velocity
was manually set to the value of 340 m/s, which is the pulse velocity in air. This value of velocity is
if
the lowest value that can be obtained, and it corresponds to fully damaged areas of the specimen.
4.2 Measurement results

The damage of the tested specimens was expressed as a percentage, based on the pulse velocity de-
crease after the blast. According to that, at the positions where the pulse velocity remained un-
changed, the damage is stated to be 0 %. At the positons where the pulse velocity decreased to its
minimal possible value of 340 m/s, the damage is stated to be 100 %. In the evaluation, the percent-
age of damage is expressed by shades of red colour to enable easier visual orientation in results
(measurement points with 100% damage coloured red, undamaged measurement points coloured
white).
Fig. 3 shows results for specimens P1 (left) and P2 (right). Both specimens are single-layer UHPC
slabs with thickness of 50 mm. Specimen P1 was loaded with 300g charge of PETN; specimen P2
was loaded with 400g charge of PETN. Due to geometrical inaccuracies created in the process of
casting, specimen P2 exhibited slightly higher initial resistance. Initial resistance is deemed here in
terms of pulse velocity measured on an undamaged specimen - the average pulse velocity measured
on undamaged specimen P2 was greater than in case of undamaged specimen P1 by 9%. The central
part of both specimens was penetrated in both cases, and was of a similar area. Specimen P1 exhibits
higher values of inner damage than specimen P2. In case of specimen P2, the damage behind the
extent of penetrated area is relatively small. In case of specimen P1, the locations around the penetrat-
ed area are still severely damaged. The overall damage of specimen P1 is 42 %. The overall damage
of specimen P2 is 37 %. Even though the charge of PETN was greater for specimen P2, its overall
damage is lower.
P1 - UHPC (50 mm) - 300g charge - damage P2 - UHPC (50 mm) - 400g charge - damage
A B C D E F G H I A B C D E F G H I
1 10% 9% 15% 10% 14% 9% 10% 15% 10% 1 27% 29% 28% 29% 35% 29% 33% 30% 29%
2 31% 30% 33% 39% 50% 41% 39% 31% 27% 2 29% 28% 31% 32% 32% 33% 29% 24% 32%
3 30% 40% 34% 66% 81% 91% 41% 34% 30% 3 27% 29% 33% 38% 54% 39% 33% 29% 34%
4 40% 36% 87% 100% 100% 100% 55% 26% 31% 4 31% 41% 35% 100% 100% 100% 41% 37% 30%
5 40% 29% 67% 100% 100% 100% 90% 33% 30% 5 30% 27% 38% 100% 100% 100% 33% 27% 32%
6 35% 41% 45% 100% 100% 100% 66% 29% 32% 6 21% 29% 29% 100% 100% 100% 28% 27% 27%
7 31% 28% 36% 41% 51% 47% 32% 31% 31% 7 30% 24% 27% 33% 30% 30% 35% 28% 34%
8 36% 32% 33% 37% 44% 33% 32% 34% 30% 8 28% 28% 27% 27% 30% 25% 27% 35% 33%
9 26% 36% 32% 36% 25% 30% 34% 30% 26% 9 28% 27% 29% 31% 30% 32% 36% 27% 28%
Fig. 3 Damage of tested specimens P1 (left) and P2 (right) based on the pulse velocity decrease
after the blast.
Fig. 4 shows results for specimens P3 (left) and P4 (right). Both specimens are multi-layer slabs with
total thickness of 150 mm (50 mm of UHPC, 50 mm of EPS core, and 50 mm of UHPC). Specimen
P3 was loaded with 400g charge of PETN; specimen P2 was loaded with 500g charge of PETN.
Geometrical inaccuracies created in the process of casting were negligible - the average pulse velocity
measured on undamaged specimen P3 differed from the average pulse velocity measured on undam-
aged specimen P4 by less than 1 %. The central part of both specimens was penetrated in both cases,
and was of a similar area. Also, the inner damage behind the penetrated area extends to similar area
for both compared cases. The overall damage of specimen P3 is 34 %. The overall damage of speci-
men P4 is 27 %. Even though the charge of PETN was greater for specimen P4, its overall damage is
lower.

P3 - UHPC + EPS + UHPC (150 mm) - 400g charge - damage P4 - UHPC + EPS + UHPC (150 mm) - 500g charge - damage
1 12% 14% 19% 23% 22% 22% 16% 12% 17% 1 4% 9% 8% 8% 14% 23% 9% 5% 6%
2 14% 43% 75% 71% 74% 84% 63% 34% 12% 2 7% 32% 48% 56% 57% 70% 67% 32% 10%
b
3 14% 58% 73% 93% 88% 86% 70% 62% 12% 3 5% 51% 65% 71% 88% 92% 48% 57% 4%
4 39% 56% 73% 100% 100% 100% 88% 77% 16% 4 9% 65% 41% 100% 100% 100% 67% 64% 9%
5 16% 71% 69% 100% 100% 100% 100% 70% 19% 5 18% 89% 91% 100% 100% 100% 78% 82% 5%
6 10% 70% 66% 100% 100% 100% 81% 55% 12% 6 11% 65% 86% 100% 100% 100% 52% 59% 13%
7 13% 70% 73% 92% 91% 91% 74% 50% 14% 7 2% 53% 40% 34% 86% 64% 61% 53% 11%
if
8 13% 56% 85% 57% 75% 59% 59% 40% 9% 8 7% 27% 51% 51% 75% 50% 18% 21% 8%
9 12% 13% 14% 16% 21% 14% 15% 12% 13% 9 4% 4% 1% 1% 8% 11% 14% 7% 6%
after the blast.
Fig. 5 shows results for specimens P5 (left) and P6 (right). Both specimens are multi-layer slabs with
total thickness of 150 mm (50 mm of UHPC, 50 mm of RTM, and 50 mm of UHPC). Specimen P5
was loaded with 500g charge of PETN; specimen P6 was loaded with 400g charge of PETN. Geomet-
rical inaccuracies created in the process of casting were negligible - the average pulse velocity meas-
ured on undamaged specimen P5 differed from the average pulse velocity measured on undamaged
specimen P6 by 1 %. The central part of both specimens was penetrated in both cases, and was of a
similar area. Also, the inner damage behind the penetrated area extends to similar area for both com-
pared cases. The overall damage of specimen P5 is 28 %. The overall damage of specimen P6 is
31 %. Even though the charge of PETN was greater for specimen P5, its overall damage is lower.
P5 - UHPC + RTC + UHPC (150 mm) - 500g charge - damage P6 - UHPC + RTC + UHPC (150 mm) - 400g charge - damage
1 5% 7% 5% 9% 13% 8% 9% 11% 8% 1 8% 12% 15% 20% 29% 27% 12% 8% 10%
2 7% 26% 55% 67% 65% 68% 59% 38% 8% 2 10% 17% 65% 61% 89% 67% 49% 49% 7%
3 7% 36% 54% 74% 78% 65% 65% 56% 6% 3 12% 61% 71% 69% 73% 75% 60% 45% 10%
4 3% 66% 70% 100% 100% 100% 70% 57% 8% 4 19% 80% 73% 100% 100% 100% 64% 69% 18%
5 1% 63% 83% 100% 100% 100% 75% 74% 9% 5 4% 58% 80% 100% 100% 100% 65% 51% 14%
6 9% 55% 65% 100% 100% 100% 69% 62% 12% 6 9% 64% 74% 100% 100% 100% 39% 44% 7%
7 5% 23% 59% 77% 75% 75% 63% 82% 4% 7 7% 48% 66% 75% 88% 78% 62% 60% 9%
8 9% 11% 57% 65% 73% 69% 59% 58% 7% 8 10% 15% 60% 73% 79% 62% 54% 48% 21%
9 8% 7% 8% 8% 17% 13% 7% 10% 7% 9 5% 8% 8% 6% 16% 11% 14% 11% 9%
after the blast.
4.3 Evaluation of results

Table 2 summarizes overall damage percentage of all tested specimens.
Each type of specimen was created in two samples to enable the comparison of the damage in-
duced by two different values of PETN charge. For all specimen types, the damage induced by larger
charge was smaller in comparison to the smaller charge. This observation points out the fact that the
damage of any specimen is not linearly dependent on the weight of explosives used for loading. If
there was such linear dependency, the more explosives used, the less damage would be caused, which
is obviously unrealistic. The paradox of greater damage caused by smaller charge in this particular
testing can be caused by the size and shape of the explosive substance.
The size of the explosive substance influences the velocity of the blast. Generally, greater size of
an explosive substance demands longer time for the shockwave to propagate to the target specimen.
Therefore, the period of loading is longer in case of the greater charge weight. The loading force is
strongly dependent on the period during which the loading is applied – the longer period of loading is,
the smaller the induced loading force is. Thus, smaller damage can be observed, in spite of the greater
weight of explosives.
The shape of the explosive substance influences the trajectory of shock wave propagation. The re-
sponse of the tested specimen differs for perpendicular direction of the shockwave stroke and stroke
under lower angle to the surface.
Alena Horska, Josef Fladr and Alena Kohoutkova 431

Since the size and shape of the explosive substance cannot be identical for three different values
of PETN weight, differences in damage are inevitable. Therefore, the response of loaded members
might be affected and may result in a lower damage corresponding to a greater charge.
b
Table 2 Damage of specimens loaded by contact blast.
Specimen type Damage percentage

PETN charge 300 g PETN charge 400 g PETN charge 500 g
if
1. UHPC 42 % (P1) 37 % (P2) -
2. UHPC – EPS – UHPC - 34 % (P3) 27 % (P4)
3. UHPC – RTM – UHPC - 31 % (P6) 28 % (P5)
All three types of specimen were tested for loading by 400 g of PETN. That enables the comparison
of their response. As it is shown in Table 2, the greatest damage was measured in case of the single-
layer specimen (37 %). Using multi-layer specimen with EPS core resulted in 34% damage; using
multi-layer specimen with RTM core resulted in 31% damage. These data show that using a multi-
layer slab causes a decrease in damage caused by contact blast in comparison to a single-layer slab.
However, the effect of using multi-layer slab is not excessively notable when taking into account the
thickness of the specimen, its weight and demands on its production. The use of multi-layer slabs with
a core of expanded polystyrene or recycled textile mats proved itself to be slightly enhancing, but
inefficient for contact-blast resistance.
5 Conclusions
The paper describes testing of concrete-based slab specimens for their blast resistance. The tested
material was ultra-high performance concrete as a single-layer slab and multi-layer slabs with ultra-
high performance concrete cover-layers and two types of a core – expanded polystyrene and recycled
textile mats. The loading was caused by contact blast of Pentaerythritol tetranitrate. The macroscopic
damage was evaluated visually. The inner damage was evaluated using ultrasonic measurement.
The results of the test showed nonlinearity in the dependence of blast-induced damage on the
mass of explosive substance used. The use of multi-layer slabs with a core of expanded polystyrene or
recycled textile mats brought a small contribution to blast resistance of the whole slab, compared to
blast performance of single-layer ultra-high performance concrete slabs.
Acknowledgements
The financial support of SGS18/038/OHK1/1T/11 is gratefully acknowledged.
References
[1] Li, J., C.Q. Wu, and H. Hao. 2015. “Investigation of ultra-high performance concrete slab and
normal strength concrete slab under contact explosion.” Engineering Structures 102:395–408.
[2] Jeongsoo, N., K. Hongseop, and K. Gyuyong. 2017. “Experimental Investigation on the Blast
Resistance of Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composite Panels Subjected to Contact Explo-
sions.” International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials 11(1):29-43.
[3] Coughlin, A. M., E. S. Musselman, A. J. Schokker, and D. G. Linzell, D. G. 2010. “Behavior
of portable fiber reinforced concrete vehicle barriers subject to blasts from contact charges.”
International Journal of Impact Engineering 37(5):521–529.
[4] Selleck, S. F., E. N. Landis, M. L. Peterson, S. P. Shah, and J. D. Achenbach. 1998. “Ultra-
sonic investigation of concrete with distributed damage.” ACI Materials Journal 95:27-35.
[5] Anugonda, P., J. S. Wiehn, and J. A. Turner. 2001. “Diffusion of ultrasound in con-
crete.” Ultrasonics 39(6): 429–435.
[6] Horská, A., P. Jiříček, and M. Foglar. 2015. “Factors Influencing Crack Patterns of Concrete
Specimens Subjected to Impact Loading” Paper presented at The Fifteenth International Con-
ference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing, Prague, Czech Re-
public, September 1-4.

The nexus of column stiffness and lateral

displacement in seismic design
b
Helga Iozan-Toth, Attila Puskás and Vasile Păcurar
Technical University of Cluj-Napoca,
if
Constantin Daicoviciu no. 15, 400020 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Abstract
Nowadays there is a high demand from investors to achieve optimal design of reinforced concrete
structures. Optimal sizing of columns in multi-bay reinforced structures incorporates optimal stiffness
correlation among all structural members, but in the same time the existing regulations are limiting
lateral drift. Considering that the exceedance of the values recommended by P100-1/ 2013 code does
not mean the collapse of the structure, the question arises, how the lateral displacements are influenced
by the size or by the stiffness off columns and the period of structure.
1 Introduction
According to the Romanian Seismic design code [1], every construction must meet the two basic re-
quirements: the safety requirement and the damage control, serviceability drift limits. The structures
must be designed with a sufficient margin of safety without local or global collapse, so people's lives
are protected. The requirement to limit degradation is actually designing the building elements so that
the structure does not suffer degradation with exaggerated repair costs that could reach the value of a
new building. Due to the unpredictable, pronounced random nature of earthquakes, the effectiveness of
seismic protection measures is somewhat uncertain [1]. The Seismic design code also states that for the
limitation of degradation, the relative lateral displacements will be checked to be less than those that
ensure the protection of the non-structural elements and equipment. Performance-based design is a
general design philosophy in which the design criteria are expressed in terms of achieving stated per-
formance objectives when the structure is subjected to stated levels of seismic hazard [8]. The perfor-
mance targets may be a level of stress that shouldn’t be exceeded, a load, a displacement, a limit state
or a target damage state [6]. In the most favourable case, the design will aim to obtain a building that
has plan and vertical structural regularity, and with a proper layout and compliance of the structural
elements. In order to reduce the overall torsion, it is also important to have adequate mass distribution,
stiffness and lateral strength [10].

Since the horizontal action of the earthquakes is bidirectional, the structural elements will be dis-
posed in plane in an orthogonal system, able to provide sufficient strength and stiffness in two directions
[1]. To limit horizontal displacements, lateral stiffness must be sufficient to control the 2nd order effects
and the degradation. It is found that the strength of the structure is dictated by the P-Delta limit for
seismic actions, despite anticipated story drifts and ductility demands being relatively low [11]. Ele-
ments of the structural system are chosen and predimensioned on stiffness criteria [4]. The structure
must be designed to be endowed with sufficient stiffness and torsional strength to limit twisting move-
ments of the structure, which could potentially increase the efforts and horizontal movements of the
buildings. The recommended solution, and in fact the most favourable one, is the arrangement of rigid
elements on the construction perimeter in the two main directions.
The displacements of a structure are functions of several factors such as the stiffness or strength
and ductility, the ability of the structural system to deform [6]. Other factors such as the applied load,
confinement and shear span influence the structural deformations. An important factor in the behaviour
of columns is the effect of the axial load. The increase in the axial load increases the shear resistance
of the member and reduces the lateral drift [9]. The size of the columns is directly proportional to the
stiffness of the element, and the stiffness increases lateral displacements. For framed structures, in par-
ticular, the lateral displacement dictates the dimensions of the main structural elements. Verification of
lateral displacements is performed in both limit states according to Design Code P100-1/2013, Appen-
dix E.

Verification at Serviceability Limit State (SLS) aims to limit degradation, and consequently reduce
repair costs. Ultimate Limit State (ULS) verification is intended to prevent the collapse of non-structural
elements, and to avoid casualties or loss of life. To perform these checks the relative lateral displace-
ments are required, which are determined using suitable linear-static analysis software.
b
2 Calculation methods and static models
To describe the behaviour of the structures during seismic actions, and to determine the structural ef-
if
fects nonlinear analysis software is used. Nonlinear model accounts for geometric and material nonlin-
earities and all the components that contribute to lateral strength and stiffness of the structure must be
accurately modeled. Model parameters must reflect expected structural behavior as accurately as pos-
sible.
The structural model must be adequate for the general configuration (geometry, joint connections,
and material), the distribution of inertial characteristics, stiffness and damping characteristics, leading
to the correct determination of vibration modes, seismic loads and seismic response characteristics. In
the case of non-linear calculation methods, the models must represent the resistance and deformation
capabilities of the elements in the post-elastic domain [1].
3 Case studies and results

In order to study the influence of reinforced concrete column stiffness on lateral displacement 4 actual
cases, possibly real structures were analysed. All the 4 cases are ground floor warehouses with prefab-
ricated structure, located in Bucharest, a zone defined by a ground acceleration ag=0.3g, corner period
Tc=1.6sec, and dynamic amplification factor β0=2.50. The occupancy category is III, which leads to an
importance factor γI=1.0. In terms of wind loads, according to [2], the location corresponds to a wind
pressure of qb=0.5kN/m2, averaged over 10min at 10m with an average recurrence interval of 50 years.
From the point of view of snow loads, according to [3], the site corresponds to a characteristic snow
load on the ground sk=2.00kN/m2 with an average recurrence interval of 50 years. The difference be-
tween the studied structures was in openings and height as follows: 1st structure with length of 5x22.5m
and width of 18m+5x15m+18m, height of 14.65m; 2nd structure with length of 5x22.5m and width of
7x15m, height of 14.65m; 3rd structure with length of 5x22.5m and width of 7x15m, height of 12.65m;
4th structure with length of 5x24m and width of 8x12m, height of 14.65m (Fig. 1)
a) b) c) d)
Fig. 1 Case studies: a)1st structure; b) 2nd structure; c) 4th structure; d) 3D Wireframe view from
CSI Etabs [5].
For each of the above presented structures several column sizes were analysed: from 80x80cm to
120x120cm. Relative displacements in both limit states were calculated according to [1]. Relative
displacement under the seismic action associated with SLS (dr,SLS) is equal to the relative displacement
value determined by static elastic calculation (dre) multiplied by a reduction factor (ν) taking into
account the recurrence interval, and the behaviour factor (q) specific to the type of structure (1). The
relative displacement under the seismic action associated with ULS (dr,ULS) is equal to the relative
displacement (dre) determined by a static elastic calculation multiplied by the behaviour factor (q) and
a supraunitary factor of the amplification of deflections (c) (2) (Table 1.).
= ∙ ∙ ≤ = 0.01ℎ; = 0.5 ; = 3.5 (1)
, ,
, = ∙ ∙ ≤ , = 0.025ℎ; 1 < = 3 − 2.3 < ∙ ⁄1.7 (2)

Table 1 Relative displacements under the seismic action associated with SLS and SLU.
Column Structure 1 Structure 2 Structure 3 Structure 4
b
dimension
dr,SLS dr,SLU dr,SLS dr,SLU dr,SLS dr,SLU dr,SLS dr,SLU
x 133.54 348.98 132.29 349.89 81.34 226.13 117.54 327.42

120
y 141.87 370.74 137.85 364.60 81.34 226.13 130.02 362.21
if
x 155.07 363.77 153.20 364.66 94.07 261.53 136.03 345.31
115
y 163.29 383.05 158.77 377.94 101.87 283.19 148.69 377.44
x 181.78 370.52 179.15 371.86 112.10 311.63 158.93 358.67
110
y 189.89 387.03 184.74 383.46 118.31 328.91 171.76 387.61
x 215.37 430.73 211.91 423.82 129.60 344.26 187.67 375.33
105
y 223.37 446.73 217.42 434.83 137.55 365.39 217.42 434.83
x 252.28 504.56 246.83 493.66 154.44 361.41 224.26 448.52
100
y 258.76 517.53 253.52 507.04 163.29 382.11 237.44 474.88
x 277.39 554.78 271.60 543.20 187.25 374.50 267.48 534.97
95
y 283.37 566.75 277.59 555.18 195.36 390.72 267.48 534.97
x 305.44 610.88 301.37 602.75 230.09 460.18 284.18 568.37
90
y 310.08 620.16 306.55 613.10 238.27 476.55 294.26 588.53
x 305.59 611.18 304.34 608.69 265.27 530.55 303.17 606.34
85
y 308.87 617.74 307.83 615.67 271.76 543.52 310.65 621.29
x 303.64 607.28 303.98 607.97 299.23 598.47 300.82 601.64
80
y 305.78 611.56 306.63 613.25 304.97 609.95 306.49 612.98
It can be noticed a significant increase of about 100% in the structure's vibration period, but with the
diminishing of the columns dimension, the moment of inertia drops to one quarter compared to the
initial value (Fig. 2). With the increase of the column dimension the moment of inertia increases
exponentially, meaning also the increase of stiffness, but this will result a proportional decrease of the
vibration period.
Fig. 2 Relation between column dimension and moment of inertia (left), relation between column
dimension and vibration period (right).
Helga Iozan-Toth, Attila Puskás and Vasile Păcurar 435

Analyzing the displacement values it can be observed a significant increase, the values almost doubled.
For each structure it can be noticed that after the expedience of period TD, the displacements become
relatively constant (Fig.3).
1st structure
ifb
2nd structure
3rd structure
4th structure
Fig. 3 Displacements variation in accordance with column dimension.


Even if the logic says that with the increase of dimension of the vertical elements the lateral
displacement decreases, the static models show that there is a point after which displacements become
approximately constant, with a slightly decreases.
In the Table 1 it can be seen with shaded cells the values of the displacements below the limits
b
proposed by [1]. In most cases, in order to meet the design code requirements, the size of the column
would be 120x120cm, only in case of structure no.3 it can be noticed a significant difference about
10%, where the size of the column would be 110x110cm. It can be observed also that, in order to meet
the drift requirements, the period of structure in all four cases is about 1.10-1.20s (1st Structure – Col-
if
umn 120x120cm, T=1.178s; 2nd Structure – Column 120x120cm, T=1.167s; 3rd structure – Column
110x110cm, T=1.076s, 4th Structure – Column 120x120cm, T=1.118s) which is equal to (70÷75)%Tc.
Static models have shown that after the period of structure reaches the maximum seismic spectrum
range, the control period (TC) displacements values are doubled. In Table 1 with light grey are marked
the values that do not meet the requirements in one of the limit states (SLS or ULS). These values are
5-10% above the maximum value. This 1-2cm extra displacement will not cause the collapse of the
structure, and a significant reduction in the amount of material can be obtained, ca. 1.75 m3 concrete
for each column.
Taking into account only the structures with the same height (1st, 2nd, 4th structures), but with dif-
ferent span, one can observe a linear decrease (Fig. 4) of the lateral displacement as the structure is
regular in plan. Analysing these structures and the obtained results, it was confirmed that the more
regular the structure in the plan, the better it behaves in terms of the displacements. The best results
were obtained with the structure no. 3, having a lower clear height by 2m.
Fig. 4 Linear decrease of lateral displacement.

4 Conclusion
Seismic design is based on displacements, and for framed structures, in particular, the lateral displace-
ment dictates the dimensions of the main structural elements. Building performance is a combination
b
of the performance of the structure, the non-structural elements and systems. Although structural and
non-structural performance may be affected by similar seismic response parameters, it may be conven-
ient to consider the two separately according to [12]. The majority of non-structural vertical components
in buildings such as partition walls, cladding, façades and parapets are sensitive to drift, they sustain
damage when the inter-storey drift exceeds a threshold value. Horizontal non-structural components
if
such as ceilings and canopies are vulnerable mainly to the acceleration of the building floor to which
these components are connected [7].
There is a close relation between the stiffness of the column and the lateral displacements of a
structure depending on the size of the columns. After a certain size of the column, the increase does not
have any additional effect in controlling lateral displacements (Fig.5). Even if the rationality would say
that increase of dimension of the vertical elements will lead the lateral displacement decreases, the static
models show that after the exceeding of TD period the displacements become relatively constant.
Fig. 5 Schematic representation of lateral displacement (→1st and 2nd structure, → 4th structure)
according to column dimension and stiffness.
In order to obtain a more accurate picture of the influence of column stiffness on lateral displacement,
a nonlinear-static model is required to reach a more optimum behaviour factor (q) value, thus reducing
lateral displacements. To obtain a more detailed and exact lateral displacement exceeding calculation,
the next step would be to run nonlinear analyses to determine more accurately the influencing
parameters.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our very great appreciation to KÉSZ Construcții Romania Company for their
valuable and constructive suggestions during the planning and development of this research work. This
work was supported by the Collegium Talentum 2017 Programme of Hungary.
References
[1] Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration. 2013. P100-1/2013 - Code for
earthquake resistant design. Design provisions for building.
[2] Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration. 2012. CR 1-1-4 / 2012 Roma-
nian Wind Design Code – Part I – Evaluation of wind on construction.
[3] Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration. 2012. CR 1-1-3 / 2012 Roma-
nian Snow Design Code – Part I – Evaluation of snow on construction.
[4] Elwood, K.J., and M.O. Eberhard. 2006. “Effective Stiffness of Reinforced Concrete Columns.”
Research Digest No. 2006-1. A publication of the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research
Centre. Accessed October 19, 2017.

[5] CSI. 2016. User's Guide ETABS® 2016 Integrated Building Design Software. http://docs.csia-
merica.com/manuals/etabs/User's%20Guide.pdf
[6] Ghobarah, Ahmed. 2004. „On drift limits associated with different damage levels“. Paper
presented at the International Workshop on Performance-Based Seismic Design, Department
b
of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Bled, June 28-July 1.
[7] Dhakal, Rajesh P., Atefeh Pourali, Ali Sahin Tasligedik, Trevor Yeow, Andrew Baird, Gregory
MacRae, Stefano Pampanin, and Alessandro Palermo. 2016. “Seismic performance of non-
structural components and contents in buildings: an overview of NZ research.“ Earthquake En-
if
gineering and Engineering Vibration 15:1-17.
[8] Calvi, G. M., M. J. N. Priestley, and M. J. Kowalsky. 2008. “Displacement–Based Seismic
Design of Structures.” Paper presented at 3rd Panhellenic Conference of Earthquake Enginee-
ring and Engineering Seismology, Athens, November 5-7.
[9] Adam, Christoph, Luis F. Ibarra, and Helmut Krawinkler. 2004. “Evaluation of P-delta effects
in non-deteriorating MDOF structures from equivalent SDOF system.” Paper presented on 13th
World Conference on Earthquake Engineering Vancouver, B.C., Canada, August 1-6.
[10] Erduran, Emrah, and Ahmet Yakut. 2004. “Drift based damage functions for components of
RC structures.“ Paper presented on 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering Van-
couver, B.C., Canada, August 1-6.
[11] Dulácska, E., A. Joó, and L. Kollár. 2008. Tartószerkezetek tervezése földrengési hatásokra. Az
Eurocode alapján. Akadémiai Kiadó.
[12] International Federation for Structural Concrete (fib). 2003. Displacement-based seismic design
of reinforced concrete buildings, Bulletin No 25.

ifb

Numerical analyses of concrete composite T-shaped

beams with variously arranged interface
b
Łukasz Jabłoński
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture,
Lublin University of Technology,
if
Nadbystrzycka 40, Lublin 20-618, Poland
Abstract
The purpose of the paper presented was to work out the best response (crack pattern, deflection) of
a numerical model in comparison to the static performance of composite concrete T-shaped beams
tested in a laboratory. In the particular series of beams, the interface between concretes was varied as
follows: a reinforced joint with normal and tangential interactions only, a non-reinforced joint with
adhesion, and a reinforced joint with limited adhesion. Numerical characteristic of materials were based
on material's properties obtained in the laboratory. Furthermore, an analysis on the interface parameters
response to roughness was carried out. The traction – separation law in the ABAQUS software defined
for the cohesive surface was applied for this purpose.
1 Introduction
Concrete composite elements are commonly used in bridges, rib-and-slab floors and many precast
buildings. Higher bearing capacity in comparison to bearing capacity of separate parts lead to increas-
ingly more applications in challenging nowadays structures for such elements. Composite elements are
characterized by existence of an interface, most often, the weakest zone with its own strength depending
on the surface arrangement. Therefore, the recognition of interface parameters determined key impact
on static performance should be done [1], [7]. In this paper the numerical analyses of three series of T-
shaped composite beams with variously arranged interface, located between the web and the flange
were performed. The ABAQUS/Standard software using the Finite Element Method (FEM) was used
in this case to assess the extent of damage in specimen loaded and to forecast residual strength. Numer-
ical characteristics of materials were based on properties obtained in the course of the laboratory tests.
The results of numerical analysis (crack pattern, deflection) were compared with the static performance
of the laboratory tested beams. In the BZ/S2/A (reinforced joint with normal and tangential interactions
only) series, in which parts of the composite element were independent, but normal and tangential be-
haviors were regarded. The value of friction parameter µ respond to the surface's roughness was ana-
lysed. Additional technique (Cohesive Zone Method), which allows to separation in order to simulate
cracking and delamination of the composites, was used for the BZ/P (non-reinforced joint with adhe-
sion) and BZ/S1 (reinforced joint with limited adhesion) series. In later works, the “traction–separation”
(t-s) law had been used to describe cohesive behavior. In the ABAQUS, bilinear t-s law is defined by
an elastic range of interface, the critical point corresponding to the start of damage and complete mate-
rial separation corresponding to the end of damage. Values, which the t-s law introduces, are: traction
damage initiation stresses tonn, toss, tott, cohesive surface stiffness Konn, Koss, Kott, separation displacement
at failure δfnn, δfss, δftt. The process associated with proper selection of the Ko and to parameters is time
consuming because they don’t have their equivalents in real materials constants and are only virtual
values used to calibrate a numerical model. Considering the above-mentioned problems, the present
study concentrates on impact of parameters defined in the Abaqus program on the response of a beam
tested. The purpose was to achieve the best correlation with the laboratory tests results. In addition,
analysis was performed to find parameters of the key impact on response and their value ranges, which
can be used in further investigations [3], [6], [7].
2 Laboratory tested members

The T-shaped composite beams with the variously arranged interface, located between the web and
flange were tested. Their dimensions were: 1800mm in span length, 640 x 50mm flange cross-section,
and 80 x 150mm web cross-section (Fig. 1). The beams were designed to be damaged in the support

zones. The procedure of a beam production was divided into two stages. First, the concrete mix forming
the web was placed in the mould. Next, after 14 days of concrete curing, treatment of an “old” concrete
surface (moisturizing and roughening with wire brushes) was made and then the mould was completed
with a layer of a ”new” concrete. The longitudinal reinforcement consisted of two Ø14 mm bars (the
b
longitudinal reinforcement ratio was 2.21%), while the upper reinforcement consisted of two Ø8 mm
bars. Stirrups made of Ø4 mm wires were used.
Five series of beams were performed with the interface arranged as follows:
BZ/P+S – reinforced interface (ρi= 0.21%) with adhesion,
if
BZ/P – non-reinforced interface with adhesion,
BZ/S1 – reinforced interface (ρi=0.21%) with the surface of the „old” concrete treated using a
chemical agent in order to limit the adhesion,
BZ/S2 - reinforced interface (BZ/S2/A series – ρi=0.21%, BZ/S2/B series – ρi=0.42%) with
completely broken adhesion using utilization of the PVE membrane.
Fig. 1 Details of beams tested: a) longitudinal section, b) cross-sections; TS1/6, TS2/5, TS4–
strain gauges on the stirrups, TS3 – strain gauges on the main bar.
The beams were tested as simply supported in the four-point bending test. In order to ensure
stability, the beams were inverted upside down and the load was applied using a rigid traverse.
In each series, three beams were tested. The load of one beam in each series was constantly in-
creased with 0.5 kN/min. For the other beams in the series, the load was stopped at intervals of 10kN
to register the width and pattern of cracks. Deflections and strain of bars were measured automatically
by LVTD and strain gauges.

The steel and the concrete parameters of the “old” and the “new” layer were conducted using
standard testing methods on reference specimens for each series and are listed in Table 1.
Table 1 Average values of material parameters.

Concrete of layers in particular series
BZ/P+S BZ/P BZ/S1 BZ/S2/A&B
Bottom Top Bottom Top Bottom Top Bottom Top
Compressive Strength fcm 47.01 44.37 48.87 41.54 45.55 42.76 57.25 54.72
[MPa]
Tensile Strength fctm 3.57 3.33 3.43 3.18 3.04 3.06 3.56 3.49
[MPa]
Modulus of Elasticity Ecm 35.00 34.40 35.41 33.73 34.67 34.02 37.13 36.63
[GPa]
Stirrups yield stress fywk [MPa] 340
Longitudinal reinforcement yield stress fyk [MPa] 545

3 FEM analysis
3.1 Numerical model
b
In the Finite Element Method analysis presented below, the beams of BZ/S series (with broken or lim-
ited adhesion) and BZ/P series (non-reinforced with adhesion) were modelled. The ABAQUS/Standard
software was used.
The model of the concrete beam (Fig. 2) was built using 3D standard finite brick elements, type -
C3DR8. 2D standard finite beam elements, type - B31 were used to model the reinforcement. Numbers
if
of elements and nodes are listed in the Table 2. The mesh size was approximately of 10 mm, which was
optimal for the model. The symmetry of beam was regarded and therefore a quarter of beam was mod-
elled.
The Concrete Damaged Plasticity inbuilt model was adopted. Figures 3 and 4 show the stress-strain
curves for the CDP model for compression and tension load respectively. The curves are based on the
mean values of material properties listed in Table 1. For steel the “elastic-ideal plastic” model, based
on the characteristic values of yield stress listed in Table 1, was used [2], [4], [5].
Fig. 2 Discrete 3D model and applied boundary conditions.
Table 2 Element type, number of elements and nodes.

Component FE Type No. Elements No. Nodes
Web and flange C3DR8 solid element 14400 18018
Reinforcement B31 beam element 516 531
Fig. 3 Stress–strain curve for concrete under compression in BZ/S1 series.
Łukasz Jabłoński 443

ifb
Fig. 4 Stress–strain curve for concrete under tension in BZ/S1 series.
In the beams of the BZ/S2/A series there was no adhesion between the web and the flange. The parts
were independent, but normal and tangential interactions in the contact surface was regarded. The
“Hard” contact as the normal behavior was assumed while the tangential behavior included friction.
The interface model of the BZ/P was similar but additionally the cohesive behavior was adopted.
Because of negligibly small thickness of the interface, the surface–based cohesive method was used.
Its behavior was defined using the “traction–separation” law. The available model in the ABAQUS
assumes initially linear elastic behavior followed by the initiation and evolution of damage (Fig. 5).
The elastic behavior is defined as an elastic constitutive matrix that relates the normal and shear stresses
to the normal and shear separations across the interface [3], [6].
Fig. 5 Typical traction – separation response.
Damage modeling allows simulating the degradation and eventual failure of the bond between two
cohesive surfaces. The initial response is assumed linear. The failure mechanism description consists
of two ingredients: the damage initiation criterion (described by traction to and corresponding displace-
ment in the interface δo) and the damage evolution law (describing the displacement increase up to δf,
leading to the complete separation at failure of the connected surfaces). The nominal traction stress
vector to consist of the following components: normal traction tonn and one shear traction toss in two-
dimensional problems, normal traction tonn and two shear tractions toss, tott in three-dimensional prob-
lems. The corresponding separations are denoted by δonn, δoss, and δott. The elastic behavior can then be
written as (1) [3], [6]:
o o o
 δ nn 
o
t nn   K nn K K
o
ns nt
o o  o o o  o  o o
t =  t ss  =  K ns K
ss
K
st   ss 
δ =K δ (1)
to   K o K 
 o
 tt   nt K
o
st
o
δ
tt   tt 

where to, tonn, toss, tott, are tractions in the cohesive, Ko, Konn, Koss, Kott, are the cohesive surface stiff-
nesses, δo, δonn, δoss, δott, are the separation displacements.
b
3.2 Analysis results
The numerical analysis enables observation of a large variables output database including e.g. stresses
and strains distribution, displacement, forces, reactions, contact, and failure. One of the most interesting
variables for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of concrete elements are: crack pattern and defor-
if
mation. The Concrete Damaged Plasticity Model of the Abaqus uses the concept of isotropic damaged
elasticity in combination with isotropic tensile and compressive plasticity to represent the inelastic be-
havior of concrete [3], [4], [5]. The CDP model does not allow the removal of the finite elements during
the analyses, which makes it difficult to model the crack phenomena in the reinforced concrete. The
parameters in the Abaqus allowing the simulation of the crack phenomena are: SDEG and PEEQT. The
SDEG is the parameter describing the stiffness degradation of the FE, which can be identify with the
crack. Another parameter (dedicated in the Abaqus for cast iron and concrete) PEEQT describes an
equivalent plastic strain in tension [3].
On Figures 6 and 7 the deformation and crack pattern obtained from the FEM analysis for the beam
after failure are presented. It can be observed that the image using the PEEQT is fuzzier than that using
the SDEG and therefore, the real cracks were compared with the image obtained using the SDEG pa-
rameter [7].
Fig. 6 Deformation and the crack pattern presented by the stiffness degradation under ultimate
load.
Fig. 7 Deformation and the crack pattern presented by Equivalent Plastic Strain in Tension under
ultimate load.
4 Comparison with the tests results
4.1 Crack pattern

The results of the numerical analysis were compared with the static performance of the beam tested and
its crack pattern. They are similar. Figure 8 presents the comparison of the real crack patterns and the
crack patterns obtained from the numerical analysis under the ultimate load. The perpendicular cracks
in the middle of the beam span and the diagonal cracks in the support zone can be observed. In the final
stage, starting from the beam end and joining the transverse cracks after they reached the interface, the
interface delamination can be seen [7].

Fig. 8
4.2
ifb
Comparison of the finite element analysis with the crack pattern obtained in test – the SDEG
distribution under 100% ultimate load in beams of the BZ/S series.
Deflection
Deflection of the beams tested was measured using linear variable differential transformer gauges lo-
cated in the middle of the beam span. For comparison purposes, in this same point of the FEM model,
the U2 axis displacement was taken. Figure 9 presents “load – deflection” curves for the beams of
BZ/S2/A series, obtained in numerical analyses depending on the friction parameter µ of the interface.
Adhesion in this case was completely broken using utilization of PVE membrane and the friction coef-
ficient µ = 0.4 correspond to this kind of surface. Highly similar response was achieved in comparison
with experimental test for this value.
laboratory
numerical
Fig. 9 Response of the FEM specimen of the BZ/S2/A series depending on the friction coefficient
µ.

ifb
laboratory
numerical
Fig. 10 Response of the FEM specimen of the BZ/P series depending on the traction stress to.
laboratory
numerical
Fig. 11 Response of the FEM specimen of the BZ/S1 series depending on the traction stress to.
However, friction coefficient µ = 0.7 leads to overestimation of the BZ/S2/A beams strength, such value
was adopted for the BZ/P series (non-reinforced with adhesion) because of existing roughness of the
interface surface. Figure 10 illustrates the F-d curves obtained in numerical analyses of the BZ/P series.
Parameters of the cohesive surface were: separations at failure - δfnn, δfss, δftt = 0.1mm, traction stress -
tonn, toss, tott = from 2.0 MPa to fctm in module of 0.2 MPa (fctm is the tensile strength), surface stiffness
Ko (Konn, Koss, Kott) set as default. The damage initiation stress to has the significant impact on response
of the composite beam in the FEM test. It can be observed that the first step of loading is alike in all
cases. Then, depending on the initial stress value, the sharp drop in the force with a large increase in
deflection occurred. These phenomena can be identified with the interface delamination and its ultimate

load strength. The values of the damage initiation stress responded to the laboratory tests oscillate be-
tween 2.2 and 2.6 MPa. The last Figure 11 shows the response of the BZ/S1 series. Because the chem-
ical agent did not break the adhesion in the interface completely, the damage defined in the “traction–
separation” law was included in the numerical model. Parameters of cohesive surface were: friction –
b
µ = 0.7, separations at failure - δfnn, δfss, δftt = 0.1mm, traction stress - tonn, toss, tott = from 2.5 MPa to fctm
in module of 0.2 MPa (fctm is the tensile strength), surface stiffness Ko (Konn, Koss, Kott) set as default.
The most similar response was achieved for stress to = 2.7 MPa. Path and the value of ultimate load
were correct but the deflection in the analysis was smaller.
if
Summaries, the models of real beam failure and the deflection responses of the FE model are con-
vergent and the quality of results is satisfactory.
5 Conclusions
Based on the test results and the numerical analysis, the following conclusions may by drown:
Use of the Concrete Damage Plasticity Model of the ABAQUS in numerical analysis leads to
reasonable results in terms of deformation and crack pattern even without the discrete crack
propagation.
Defining the interface of concrete composite beam as a surface with normal, tangential and
cohesive interactions leads to high conformity of the numerical model to the experimental in-
vestigation.
The value of friction parameter µ, which corresponds to the surface's roughness has a quite
significant influence on the static performance of the composite beam,
The damage initiation stress to, as the parameter of the “traction–separation” law, has the key
impact on response of the composite beam in the FEM test. Defining proper values of the pa-
rameters tonn, toss, tott allows to achieve very good agreement of F-d composite beam response,
The next step of the author numerical analyses will be focused on influence of the separation
parameter δo of the “traction–separation” law and the reinforcement ratio on the performance
of the composite beams
The conducted research indicate that numerical analysis should be considerate as an invaluable tool,
providing supplement and extension of experimental tests, regarding particular the visualisation of ad-
hesive joint behavior undergoing failure processes. Observation of such occurrences in standard exper-
imental research proves hindered if not impossible.
References
[1] Halicka, Anna, and Łukasz Jabłoński. 2016. “Shear failure mechanism of composite concrete
T-shaped beams” Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Structures and Buildings
169:67:75.
[2] Kmiecik, Piotr, and Mieczysław Kamiński. 2011. “Modelling of reinforced concrete structures
and composite structure with concrete strength degradation taken into consideration” Archives
Of Civil And Mechanical Engineering 11:623:636.
[3] Dassault Systemes Simulia Corp. 2012. Abaqus User’s manual Version 6.12.
[4] Cichocki, Krzysztof, Jacek Domski, Jacek Katzer, and Mariusz Ruchwa. 2015. “Mechanical
properties and numerical approach to fiber reinforced concrete slabs” Brittle Matrix Composites
11:309:318.
[5] Oliver, Martin. 2010. “Comparison of different Constitutive Models for Concrete in
ABAQUS/Explicit for Missile Impact Analyses” JRC Scientific and Technical Reports 56256.
[6] Dadej, Konrad, and Barbara Surowska. 2016. “Analysis of cohesive zone model parameters on
response of glass-epoxy composite in mode II interlaminar fracture toughness test” Composites
theory and practice 16(3):180:188.
[7] Jabłoński, Łukasz. 2018. “Numerical analyses and laboratory testing of concrete composite T-
shaped beams without interface adhesion”. API Conference Proceedings 1922,
doi:10.1063/1.5019139.

Evaluation of the (UHP)FRC slab contact blast

resistance with numerical simulation using LS-DYNA
b
Ondřej Janota and Marek Foglar
Faculty of Civili Engineering
if
Thákurova 7/2077, Prague 16629, Czech Republic
Abstract
Recent development of a security situation in the world and rising numbers of bomb attacks raised
new requirements on the material properties and its resistance against blast loads. Commonly used
concrete mixtures do not sufficiently meet these requirements. To describe concrete blast resistance
and improve it, series of the experiments with full scale specimens were performed. Various concrete
specimens made of usually used FRC up to less used UHPFRC were loaded by contact blast. Differ-
ent concrete mixture attributes as strength, fracture energy or amount of fibres in the specimen and its
influence on the blast resistance were evaluated. Results show positive effects of the increased com-
pressive strength and fracture energy on the blast resistance. However, results indicate that blast
resitance of the composite slab can be influenced in relatively easier and cheaper manner than by
reaching high compressive strength and flexure energy values.
1 Introduction
Experimental measurement of the FRC and UHPFRC slabs loaded by the contact blast took place in
2014, 2015 and 2016 in the Boletice military area. Masurement was performed in the cooperation
with the Czech Army and the University of Defence, University of Pardubice.
Experimental measurements were focused on blast resistance of composite panels. Two types of
blast load were aplied on each specimen. Firstly, the adjacent blast load experiment was performed in
the middle of the specimen. After the evaluation of the adjacent blast experiment, specimen was
erected into the vertical position and two contact charges were placed on the side parts of the speci-
men (Fig. 1).
During the years, eleven specimens, with different material characteristics were tested. Twenty-
one contact blasts in total. Each contact experiment was visually evaluated on the site and the damage
of the specimen was measured. Visual evaluation was mainly focused on the specimen damage, crack
pattern on both sides and reinforcement bars damage. Specimen damage was evalutated on the con-
tact side and soffit as well. Damaged area of the cover layer and the area deeper the the cover layer
was measured separately.
1.1 Specimens
Each specimen was made from the reinforced fibre concrete slab with the dimensions 6000 x 1500 x
300 mm. The steel reinforcement was 11 pcs ∅ 16 mm reinforcing bars every 140 mm on both sur-
faces, ∅ 10 mm every 150 mm as an outer transverse reinforcement, and shear reinforcement was
provided by ∅ 8 mm links (9 pcs/m2). Cover of the stirrups was 50 mm. Amount and type of the
dispersed reinforcement, with yield stress 2200 MPa, varies with each specimen as well as the con-
crete compressive strength. Specimens are named according to their succession in the Boletice blast
tests. First tested specimen for the contact blast was specimen No. 12. The last one was No. 23. In the
later years of the field experiments, specimens No. 17 – 23 expept No. 21 were suplmeneted with the
added elements for the increasement of the heterogeneity. These elements were made from textile
sheets or layers of basalt mesh. For short summary of the specimen properties see table 1.

Table 1 Summary of the tested specimens including their properties and weigth of explosive.
Specimen No.12 No.13 No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.21 No.22 No.23
b
Cubic strength
68.5 66.9 73.2 76.1 129.5 125.8 77.9 78.3 127.1 121.6 91.6
[MPa]
Fracture energy
13.06 12.36 12.46 13.32 16.35 9.47 6.06 12.20 13.90 8.35 23.16
if
[MJ]
Fibres length
- - - - 120 80 120 80 80 120 80
13 mm kg/m3]
Fibres length
40 80 40 80 - 80 - 80 80 - -
35 mm[kg/m3]
Fibres length
- - - - - - - - - - 80
55 mm[kg/m3]
Heterogeneity Mesh- Mesh-

- - - - - Mesh Sheets - Sheets
elements es es
Weight of the 1.4 0.5 1.4 1.4 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8
explosive [kg]
right/left
1.0 1.0 2.8 - 2.0 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2
Fig. 1 Prepared specimen in vertical position with two explosive charges located in the centre of
the both side parts.
2.1 Experimental results

Following paragraphs are presenting dependency of the specimen blast resistance on the particular
material properties. Regarding the limited text length of this paper, only selected results are presented.
Each material or specimen property influence is presented separately regardless on the other facts.
Evaluation of the dependency was performed only for the experiments with 2.8 kilograms and
4.2 kilograms as other weights were tested in a very few tests.
2.1.1 Influence of the compressive strength
According to [1], spalling on the contact side is caused by the punching as the wave propagates into
the specimen. On the other hand, on the soffit tensile failure occurs as the wave hits the averted sur-
face and partially bounds back [2] [3]. According to this theory, the cubic strength should influence
the damage on the contact side rather than on the soffit. The damage area evolution according to the
specimen cubic strength is shown in the Fig. 2.
The results from the experiment verified theory of the different types of failure on both sides. On
the contact side, the specimens with the compressive cubic strength higher than 100 MPa have
showed to be more resistant than specimens with the lower strength. This trend was seen mostly on
the damage area deeper than cover layer. Decrease of the damage area of the specimens with the
strength more than 100 MPa compared to the specimens with the lower strength was approximately

Evaluation of the (UHP)FRC slab contact blast resistance with numerical simulation using LS-DYNA
20% on the surface and 50% on the cover layer. This trend was measured mostly for the experiments
with the 2.8 kilograms charge. The results from the experiments with the 4.2 kilograms charge
showed opposite trend. With the increasing strength of concrete damaged area was also increased
This trend was observed on contact side as well as on the soffit.
b
Influence of the compressive strength on the damage of the soffit (Fig. 3) has shown similar trend
as on the contact side only for the experiments with the 2.8 kilograms of the explosive. Experiments
with the 4.2 kilograms have shown the opposite trend.
Damage of the specimens on the soffit decreases with the higher strength of the specimen for the
if
2.8 kilograms experiments. However, the damaged areas not deeper than the cover layer decresed
only slightly. The specimens with 2.8 kilograms charge also show decrease of the damage area deeper
than the cover layer by approximately 25%. This phenomenon is probably caused by increased tensile
strength and the change in the brittleness of the concrete specimens. It is commonly known that
UHPC and HPC are more brittle than the normal strength concrete. Increased resistance on the soffit
due to the increased tensile strength is degraded by the increased brittleness.
Differences among the specimens with similar compressive strength can be caused by the differ-
ent amount of the dispersed reinforcement in the specimen or by the added elements e.g. specimen
No. 14, No. 18 and No. 19.
There is no clarification for the difference of the result for experiments with the 2.8 and 4.2 kilo-
grams charge, although the statistically inssuficient number of the specimens can play its role.
0,35 0,45
0,3 No. 22 0,4 No. 22
No.14 0,35
0,25 No. 18 No. 16
0,3 No. 23
Damaged area [m2]
Damaged area [m2]
No. 23 No. 18
0,2 No. 19 0,25
No. 21
0,15 No. 21 0,2
No. 18 No. 19
0,15
0,1 No. 17 No. 18
No. 19 No. 21
No. 14 No. 22 No. 21 0,1
No. 22
0,05 0,05
No. 19
No. 16 No. 23
No. 23
No. 17
0 0
60 80 100 120 140 60 80 100 120 140
Compressive strenght [MPa] Compressive strenght [MPa]
Fig. 2 Dependency of blast resistance on the compressive strength - results on the contact side,
Left – 2.8 kilograms tests, Right – 4.2 kilograms tests (blue – damaged area of cover lay-
er, red – damage area deeper than cover layer), (ring – specimens without added elements,
triangle – specimens with basalt meshes, square – specimens with textile sheets).
Ondřej Janota and Marek Foglar 451

0,7 0,7
0,6 No. 18
b
0,6 No. 14
No. 22 No. 22
0,5 0,5 No. 21
Damaged area [m2]

No. 21 No. 18
Damaged area [m2]
No. 16 No. 22
0,4 No 18 0,4 No. 21
No. 21 No. 19 No. 23
if
0,3 No. 14 No. 23 0,3
No. 19
No. 23 No. 22
No. 23
0,2 0,2
No. 18 No. 17 No. 19
0,1 No .19 No. 16 0,1

No. 17
0 0
60 80 100 120 140 60 80 100 120 140
Compressive strenght [MPa] Compressive strenght [MPa]
Fig. 3 Dependency of the blast resistance on the compressive strength - results on the soffit, Left
– 2.8 kilograms tests, Right – 4.2 kilograms tests (blue – damaged area of cover layer, red
– damage area deeper than cover layer), (ring – specimens without added elements, trian-
gle – specimens with basalt meshes, square – specimens with textile sheets).
2.1.2 Influence of the fracture energy

Evaluating influence of the compressive strength separately does not consider the influence of the
amount of the dispersed reinforcement and oppositely. Using fracture energy of the FRC should take
into account concurrently compressive strength and dispersed reinforcement influence. Evaluation of
the fracture energy was performed in the same manner as the compressive strength. According to the
theory of the wave propagation through the specimen and types of the failure on the contact side and
on the soffit, damage should be influenced by the fracture energy. Fracture energy of the used FRC
and UHFRC was derived from the results of the four-point bending tests.
Fig. 4 describes the fracture energy dependency on the final damage of the specimen. It is obvious
that the increasing fracture energy decreases damaged zone on the contact side. This progress is espe-
cially obvious for the damage deeper than the cover layer where the difference of the damage among
the specimens is more than 50%. The specimens No. 16, No. 17 and No. 23 reached the best results
especially in the area deeper than the cover layer. The specimen No. 16 and No. 17 was made from
UHPFRC with the compressive strength more than 120.0 MPa but its fracture energy was not the
highest. The specimen No. 23 was made from UHPFRC with lower compressive strength but with the
high amount of fibres, the longest fibres and reached the highest fracture energy.
On the soffit (Fig. 5), the situation is very similar as on the contact side. With the increasing frac-
ture energy, the damage of the specimens decreases. This process was more obvious for the experi-
ments with the weight of charge 4.2 kilograms. Reduction of the damaged area for the specimens with
the higher fracture energy in comparison with the specimens with lower fracture energy was around
50%. Results from the experiments with the weight of charge 2.8 kilograms did not agree with the
experiments with the charge weight 4.2 kilograms. In the case of the damage area deeper than the
cover layer, damage even slightly iincreases with the fracture energy
As well as on the contact side, some specimens made from UHPFRC with lower fracture energy
were also less damaged. The best results reached specimens No. 16, No. 17 No. 19 and No. 23. Spec-
imen No. 23 reached the highest value of the fracture energy and its supremancy over other speci-
mens was supposed. However, good result of the specimens No. 16 can be connected to the high
compressive strength value, result of the specimens No. 17 and No. 19 could be caused by the added
elements. Verification of these phenomenons can lead to better blast resistant material without using
materials with very high fracture energy or compresive strength.

0,35 0,45
0,4
b
No. 22 No. 22
0,3
No.14 0,35
0,25 No. 18 No. 16 0,3
Damage area [m2]

No. 23
No. 23
Damaged area [m2]
0,2 No. 19
0,25 No. 18
No. 21
if
0,15 No. 21
0,2
No. 19
No. 18 No. 17 No. 19
0,15
0,1 No. 14 No. 18 No. 19
No. 21
No. 21 0,1
0,05 No. 22 No. 16 No. 23
0,05 No. 22
No. 23
No. 17 0
0
5,00 10,00 15,00 20,00 25,00 5,00 10,00 15,00 20,00 25,00
Fracture energy [MJ] Fracture energy [MJ]
Fig. 4 Dependency of blast resistance on the fracture energy - results on the contact side, Left –
2.8 kilograms tests, Right – 4.2 kilograms tests (blue – damaged area of cover layer, red –
damage area deeper than cover layer).
0,6 No. 14 0,65

No. 22 0,6 No. 18
0,55
No. 21 0,55 No. 22
0,5
0,45 0,5 No. 21
Damaged area [m2]
No. 16
0,45
Damaged area [m2]
0,4 No. 18
No 18
No. 21 0,4 No. 22
0,35 No. 14 No. 21
No. 23 0,35 No. 23
0,3 No. 19
0,3 No. 19
0,25 No. 18 No. 22 0,25
0,2 No. 23 0,2
No. 17 No. 19 No. 23
0,15 0,15
0,1 No. 19 0,1
No. 16
0,05 0,05
No. 17
0 0
5,00 10,00 15,00 20,00 25,00 5,00 10,00 15,00 20,00 25,00
Fracture energy [MJ] Fracture energy [MJ]
Fig. 5 Dependency of blast resistance on the fracture energy - results on the soffit, Left – 2.8
kilograms tests, Right – 4.2 kilograms tests (blue – damaged area of cover layer, red –
damage area deeper than cover layer)
2.1.3 Crack pattern

Cracks were observed mainly on the specimens soffit. According to the visual observations, results
can be divided into two groups. The first group (Fig. 6 - left)
is consisted of the specimens with the reinforcement embedded in the concrete after the blast and
relatively simple crack pattern on the soffit. There were no cracks or only a few short and quite thin
cracks on the specimen surface. Cracks started on the edge of the damaged zone and propagated
straight in vertical or horizontal direction. Most of them did not reach the specimens edge. On the
surface, cracks were situated in the position of the reinforcement grid.
The second group (Fig. 6 - right) is consisted of the specimens with the reinforcement fully ex-
tracted out of concrete. In this case crack pattern was more complex. The surface was heavily cracked
around the damaged zone. Most of the cracks started at the point where the rebars started to be em-
bedded in the concrete. Some of them copied the position of the transverse or longitudinal reinforce-
ment but some of them were diagonal to the reinforcement grid. Generally, these cracks can be con-
sidered as the radial to the center of the damaged area. Cracks were wider than the cracks in the case

of the first group. Cracks on the specimen upper part and on the side, close to the side edge, often
reached tthe specimen edge. On the most of these specimens, part of the radial cracks was connected
with one peripheral crack in the variable distance from the parameter of the damaged zone. These
peripheral cracks were observed on the specimens with the reinforcement grid strongly bent out of the
b
specimen.
Cause of the cracks in the case of the first group was probably the stress accumulation near the re-
inforcement as the pressure wave went through. As the rebars stayed embedded in the concrete the
cracks were not influenced by the reinforcement bending.
if
In the second group, radial cracks are supposed to be caused also by the stress accumulation near
the rebars and could be widened and prolonged by the reinforcement bending out of the specimen. As
the whole reinforcement grid was bent out, the peripheral crack occurred. It is evident that the periph-
eral cracks occur as the deformation of the rebars go further beyond the damaged area.
Fig. 6 Left, crack pattern with the cracks copying reinforcement position (blue – reinforcement,
red - cracks); Right, crack pattern with radial cracks (bold red) and one peripheral crack
(bold green) (blue – little bended reinforcement, thin green and red – heavily bended rein-
forcement).
3 Numerical simulations
Present-day capabilities in numerical blast simulations offer huge variety of opportunities in the area
of the commercial hydrocodes as well as in the area of different blast techniques. For the purpose of
the evaluation of the above mentioned phenomenons, the LS-DYNA hydrocode was used. Blast load
was simulated with the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynacims method. Specimens No. 14 and No. 21
with the weigth of charge 2.8 kilograms were choosen for the evaluation of the compressive strength
and fracture energy influence. Overpressure propagation was also observed.
3.1 Numerical model

The 3D FEM-SPH model was developed for the contact blast simulations. For the conservation of the
model size and computational time, the symmetry of the assignment was used. Only part of the spec-
imen with the dimensions 750 x 750 x 300 mm was modeled as well as one quarter of the explosive
charge. Neccessity of the symmetry utilization was confirmed as the size of the input file for 5 mm
mesh size reached memory limits of the used computer.
Explosive was simulated with the material model *MAT_HIGH_BURN and EOS_JWL. Values
for the input were adapted from the [4]. Explosion was simulated with the SPH technique, which is
one of the methods suitable for the contact blast simulation.
Specimen was modeled with the 3D solid FEM elements. Mesh size of the elements was set 5 mm
in all three dimensions. This size provides adequately accurate results and steel reinforcement can be
implemented into the model with no need of mesh adjusting along the specimen. Concrete behaviour
was simulted with the *MAT_CONCRETE_DAMAGE_REL3. This material is widely used for the
simulation of the dynamic response of concrete and brittle materials. Material behaviour is described
with the yield surface, maximum surface and residual surface [5]. Strain-rate, post-peak softening and
shear dilatation are also impemented into the material behaviour.

3.2 Results of the numerical simulations

Material model *MAT_CONCRETE_DAMAGE_REL3 does not include inner erosion criterion -
element deletion. Thus, fully plasticized elements stay in the model reaching high strains. Implemen-
b
tation of the erosion criterion via *MAT_ADD_EROSION for the better visual simulation of the
spalling and punctures has shown as a very complex problem as the implementation influence and
devalue the results. Therefore, specimen damage was measured with the effective plastic strain value
describing element state among the three stress surfaces.
In the Fig. 7, comparison of the experiment and numerical results is provided. In to upper row
if
damged area (green – cover layer, red – deeper than the cover layer) of the specimens No. 14 and No.
21 and cracks are presented. Both specimens were punctured. There were cracks observed in the case
of specimen No. 14 (compressive strenght 78 MPa) but in the case of the specimen No. 21 (compres-
sive strenght 127.1 MPa the cracks did not occur). The comparison of the damge area diamters is
presented in table 2.
Bottom row shows the numerical results. Effective plastic strain on the contact side and soffit is
displayed. Red area shows fully plasizied elements, blue areas are elements with the effective plastic
strain less then 1.5. Diameter of the damaged areas and puncture were considered as the elements
with the effective plastic stran 1.9 or higher. Numerical resuls show good agreement with the experi-
mental results. Damage on both surfaces corresponds with the experimentaly measured damage.
However, absence of the fragmentation in the numerical model complicates the damage interpreta-
tion, especially the puncture.
Fig. 7 Comparison of the experimental (top row) and numerical (bottom row) results, Left left -
No. 14 contact side, Left right – No. 14 soffit, Right left – No.21 contact side,
Right right – No. 21 soffit.
Table 2 Comparison of the specimens damage diameters.
Specimen No.14–Exp. No.14–Num. Accuarcy No.21–Exp. No.21–Num. Accuarcy

Con. side damage diameter [mm] 489-635 522-612 96.3 -106.7% 350- 463 376-440 95.0-107.4%
Soffit damage diameter [mm] 690-899 658-704 78.3-95.3% 667 - 844 634-892 95.0-105.6%
Puncture diameter [mm] 216-250 230-278 106.5-111.2% 267 - 333 322-342 102.7-120.6%

Crack pattern that can be seen in the Fig. 7 corresponds with the experimental results as well. Both
specimens No. 14 surfaces are heavily cracked in contrary to the specimen No. 21 with only a few
cracks. Some of the cracks reached the specimen edge. Crack pattern copied the reinforcement grid in
both cases. This could be caused by the absence of the specimen fragmentation. Therefore, rein-
b
forcement stays embeden in the concrete, bond with concrete is not lost, and deform equally as the
specimen, even if the concrete around is fully plasticized. Cracks near the reinforcement are caused
by the wave reflection and different propagation of wave in the steel reinforcement. As the pressure
reflects from the reinforcement and propagates easier through the steel, surrounding concrete cracks
if
and cracks propagates further towards the surface. Therefore, the cracks propagation can be consid-
ered as opposite to crack propagation caused by the ordinary loading.
4 Conclusion
Results from the full-scale contact blast experiments were presented in this paper. Eleven FRC and
UHPFRC slabs with different properties (fracture energy, compressive strength and amount of dis-
persed reinforcement) were tested. Results are focused mainly on the specimen properties influence
on the blast resistance and crack patern on the surface. Numerical simulations of two speciems were
used for the evaluation of the observed phenomenons.
Presented results indicate positive influence of the increasing specimen compressive strength as
well as flexural energy on contact blast resistance. Compressive strength influences damage on the
contact side more than on the soffit. Reduction of the area damage reached around 25% by increasing
compressive strength. On the soffit, influence of the compressive strength was less positive. As the
scabbing on the soffit is caused by the tensile fracture, which increases with the compressive strength,
higher brittleness of the UHPFRC over FRC could play its role.
Fracture energy could also reduce damage of the specimen on both sides thus increasing fracture
energy increased the blast resistance. Damage reduction reached around 50%. However, some speci-
mens with lower fracture energy reached better results than the specimens with higher fracture ener-
gy. This phenomenon could be caused by the added elements increasing material heterogeneity. In-
fluence of these elements was not described in this paper and needs to be futher investigated.
Two different crack patterns were observed during the experiment. Length, width and direction of
the cracks were connected to the classical reinforment.
Numerical simulations performed for the evaluation of the experiment showed good agreement
with the experimental model. Two specimens with different compressive strength were compared.
Numerical simulations can adequately predict specimen damage and influence of some specimen
properties.
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, project no. 17-
23067S, which is gratefully acknowledged.
References
[1] Xu, Kai and Yong Lu. 2006. “Numerical simulation study of spallation in reinforced concrete
plates subjected to blast loading.” Computers & Structures [online] 84(5-6):431-438 [cit. 2018-01-
14]. doi: 10.1016/j.compstruc.2005.09.029. ISSN 00457949. Available from:
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S004579490500355X
[2] Foglar, Marek and Martin Kovar. 2013. “Conclusions from experimental testing of blast resistance
of FRC and RC bridge decks.” International Journal of Impact Engineering [online] 59:18-28. doi:
10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2013.03.008. ISSN 0734743x. Available from:
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0734743X13000559
[3] Foglar, Marek, J. Pachman, V. Pelikán, Radek Hájek, M. Künzel and Martin Kovar. 2014. The
structural response of a reinforced concrete specimen subjected to adjacent blast loading. Structures
Under Shock and Impact XIII:171-179. doi: 10.2495/SUSI140151. Available from:
http://library.witpress.com/viewpaper.asp?pcode=SUSI14-015-1
[4] Dobratz, Brigitta M. 1985. LLNL Explosive Handbook: Properties of Chemical Explosives and
Explosive Stimulants. Livermore, California: U.S. Department of Commerce.
[5] Malvar, L. Javier, John E. Crawford, James W.Wesevich, and Don Simons. 1996. New Concrete
Material Model for Dyna3D Release II: Shear Dilatation and Directional Rate Enhancements.
Glendale, CA: Karagozian & Case.

Diagonal cracking load of concrete members without

shear reinforcement
b
Sara Javidmehr and Martin Empelmann
iBMB, Division of Concrete Construction,
Technische Universität Braunschweig,
if
Beethovenstraße 52, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
Abstract
The growing load demand on existing road bridges increases the necessity of a structural assessment of
such structures. Due to lack of shear reinforcement, an insufficient shear resistance based on current
shear design approaches is a common result of many assessments. On most of the afflicted bridges,
however, no diagonal cracks can be observed despite estimated lack of shear resistance. To account for
underestimated bearing mechanisms such as contribution of concrete tensile strength, diagonal cracking
of concrete members without shear reinforcement has been studied based on an extended database of
shear tests. The database was used to check the plausibility of diagonal cracking evaluation using me-
chanical models and FE analysis.
1 Introduction
Complex cracking behaviour of members under combined flexure and shear often results in different
interpretations of experimental results. Despite this fact, in a majority of design code provisions, diag-
onal cracking load Vcr has been correlated directly to concrete tensile strength fct using mechanical
models or defined as a function of power values of concrete compressive strength fc as a measure for
fct. Conservative design approaches, several proposed empirical equations for Vcr and discrepancies
between empirical and mechanical models show that still no consensus has been reached on the exact
contribution of concrete tensile strength fct to diagonal cracking load Vcr.
The suggested contribution of concrete tensile strength in available models often depends on the
assumed diagonal crack path. For instance, in most design provisions, either empirical or mechanical
models are applicable based on the possible diagonal crack paths. These are often known as web shear
cracks or flexure shear cracks. While web shear cracks emerge in previously uncracked web areas (Fig.
1, left), flexure shear cracks develop from existing flexural cracks (Fig. 1, right). The associated diag-
onal cracking load is consequently the load magnitude at which the web shear crack becomes visible or
the existing flexural crack inclines its path towards a flexure shear crack. Corresponding crack distance
from support axis (xcr) can be determined in both cases as depicted in Fig. 1 according to [1].
Fig. 1 Diagonal cracks: web shear crack (left) and flexural shear crack (right).
A common mechanical concept for determination of Vcr is limiting the principal tensile stresses σ1 to
concrete tensile strength fct. This concept has been integrated in EN 1992-1-1 (EC2) [2] , ACI 318-14
(ACI) [3] and fib Model Code 2010 (MC10) [4], German Structural Assessment Provision (NRR) [5],
[6] and AASHTO LFRD [7], [8] under the assumption of a linear elastic material law, which is however
restricted to regions with no stress discontinuity due to concentrated loads and due to cracks. It is un-
derstood from the latter that the derived mechanical models apply only to web shear cracking. These

criteria are fulfilled for single-span prestressed members according to [2], in [3] for plain concrete, in
[4] for single span hollow core slabs and similar members, in [6] for multi span prestressed bridges
without flexural cracks and in [7] for web shear cracking.
To evaluate the potentials of the concept of principal tensile stress limitation for general evaluation
b
of diagonal cracking, parts of theoretical and finite element investigations of available shear tests on
reinforced concrete (RC) and prestressed concrete (PC) beams with rectangular cross section and
without shear reinforcement are presented in this paper.
if
2 Mechanical models
Determining the diagonal cracking load for members with a potential flexure shear cracking using nor-
mative mechanical approaches leads often to the overestimated values of Vcr ([9]-[11]). To counteract
the neglected influence of potential flexure shear cracking path, the effective depth of the member can
be adapted as the depth of flexural crack tip according to [11] and [13] for approximation of diagonal
cracking load of RC and PC members. Based on principal tensile stress σ1 limitation, diagonal cracks
emerge as σ1 exceeds fct and the diagonal cracking load can be calculated using equation (1).
, = ∙ ( )∙ (1)
Here, hef corresponds to the depth of flexural crack tip (Fig. 2), b is the section width and τ(z) can be
determined using MOHR’s circle of stresses in correlation with the concrete tensile strength fct and
normal stress σx(z).
( )
( )= ∙ 1− (2)
Based on these assumptions, following mechanical models for flexure shear cracking of RC members
were evaluated and the model was extended for prediction of flexure shear cracking of PC members.
2.1 Mechanical model for RC members

For RC members, the shear load V can be calculated using a parabolic shear stress distribution, which
also corresponds to assumption of EC2, MC10 and NRR.
∙
= ∙ ( )
( )
(3)
Here, Iy and Sy are the second and first moment of area. Using equation (1) - (3) and assuming the
maximum shear stress at the centroid axis, Vcr,cal of an RC beam with rectangular cross section can be
determined using equation (4).
2
= ∙ ∙ ℎ"#,$% ∙
,
3
(4)
GALLEGO suggests a linear normal stress distribution to determine the depth of flexural crack tip hef
(Fig 2). As comprehensively described in [11], hef,RC can be calculated using the following quadratic
equation:
' '
∙ (1 − ) ∙ ' ∙ *
ℎ"#,$%
&
−'∙ ∙ ℎ"#,$% − 2 3 = 0
2
∙+
(5)
3
Here d is the effective depth of tensile reinforcement and xcr is the distance of diagonal crack from the
support axis (Fig. 1). The factor ξ corresponds to:
' = (−- + /- & + 2 ∙ -) (6)

Herein, the factor α can be determined in correlation with relative elastic modulus of steel reinforcement
Es to the elastic modulus of concrete Ec and reinforcement ratio ρl (= As / b·d) using equation (7).
01
-= ∙2
0
b
(7)
if
Fig. 2 Mechanical model for RC members.
2.2 Mechanical model for PC members

For PC members, Vcr,cal of a rectangular cross section can be determined using equations (1) - (3) in
accordance with equation (8) considering normal compressive stress due to prestressing σcp.
2 4 54
= ∙ ∙ ℎ"#,3% ∙ ∙ 1 +
,
3
(8)
For flexure shear cracking of PC members, the effective depth hef,PC can be calculated by superposing
external and prestressing loads. In this case, the additional part of effective depth due to prestressing hp
(Fig. 3) can be determined iteratively using the following equation:
2
∙ ℎ ∙ 6' ∙ + ℎ5 7 ∙ + ∙8 &
+4 54 ∙
3 5
'∙ ∙4 54 + = 0
' '
(9)
& ∙ ∙ (1 − )
2 3
The diagonal cracking load for PC members can be subsequently calculated by:
2
= ∙ ∙ 6' ∙ + ℎ5 7 ∙ 8 &
+4 54 ∙
,
3
(10)
Fig. 3 Mechanical model for PC members.
Sara Javidmehr and Martin Empelmann 459

3 Experimental diagonal cracking load
3.1 Extended database
b
A large number of shear tests on prestressed and reinforced concrete beams without shear reinforcement
are available in literature. Most of the tests are compiled in the ACI-DAfStb shear database [1]. In this
database, however, only the ultimate shear loads Vu are documented and no diagonal cracking loads Vcr
are specified. To extend the database in order to include diagonal cracking loads, the existing test data
on RC and PC members with documented Vcr,exp were collected. Following criteria were also considered
if
to extend RC and PC databases:
concrete beams with rectangular cross-section without shear reinforcement
no loads near supports (shear span to depth ratios a/d ≥ 2.0)
no longitudinal reinforcement in the compression zone
no plain reinforcement bars
The extended RC database contains a total of 170 tests ([14]-[19]) and the extended PC database
includes 47 tests ([20] and [21]). Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 show the tests with regard to major influencing
parameters for RC and PC databases, respectively. For PC members, number of test with regard to type
of prestressing and relative prestressing force σcp /fc is also illustrated in Fig. 6 as an influencing pa-
rameter.
Fig. 4 Number of tests n in RC database regarding shear span to depth ratio a/d (left), reinforce-
ment ratio ρl (middle) and concrete compressive strength fc (right).
Fig. 5 Number of tests n in PC database regarding shear span to depth ratio a/d (left), reinforce-
ment ratio ρl (middle) and concrete compressive strength fc (right).

ifb
Fig. 6 Number of tests in PC database regarding type of prestressing (left) and relative prestressing
force σcp /fc (right).
3.2 Evaluation of database

The extended database has been studied using the suggested mechanical models in section 2. The con-
crete tensile strength was calculated using concrete compressive strength according to a correlation in
[1] based on the investigations in [11].
= 1.115 ∙ ( − 4)</* (11)
To account for the non-negligible effect of lateral compressive stresses on concrete tensile strength, the
proposed linear correlation in [11] has been used to define the reduction factor αp, which has been
implemented for the evaluation of PC database.
4 54
1−
,"#,3% = -5 ∙ = ∙ (12)
1−
The distances of diagonal crack from support axis xcr were either measured and documented during
tests (mes. xcr; for 62 tests of RC database) or approximated (apr. xcr) by equations (13) or (14) accord-
ing to the suggestion of [1] for RC and PC members, respectively.
+ ,$% = 0.50 ∙ > (13)

+ ,3% = 0.65 ∙ > (14)
For the valuation of methods, a logarithmic normal distribution was assumed for the model safety factor
γmod defined as follows:
," 5
@ABC = (15)
,
The resulted calculated diagonal cracking loads Vcr,cal in comparison to the experimental diagonal crack-
ing loads Vcr,exp together with associated mean values m, standard deviation σ and variation coefficient
v are illustrated in Fig. 7.

ifb
Fig. 7 Comparison of calculated and experimental diagonal cracking load for RC (left) and PC
members (right).
For both RC and PC members, an estimation of diagonal cracking load with the suggested mechanical
models is possible. Whereas for RC members almost an exact prediction can be reached, the values of
Vcr,cal for PC members show a great deviation with a variation coefficient of 0.22. Referring to Fig. 7
(left), a more accurate prediction of Vcr for RC members with measured xcr (v = 0.086) was obtained in
comparison to members with approximated xcr (v = 0.116). A sufficient consideration of major influ-
encing parameters for RC members could be achieved as depicted in Fig. 8.
Fig. 8 Correlation between model safety factor for RC members and the influencing parameters.
As illustrated in Fig. 9, the influence of shear span to depth ratio a/d has not been satisfactorily consid-
ered in the model for PC members. The effect of a/d is mainly integrated in the model using the crack
distance from the support axis xcr - see equation (14) - and only approximated values of xcr were used
for model validation of PC members. This fact may justify the lower accuracy of the predicted values
of Vcr,cal for PC members.
Fig. 9 Correlation between model safety factor for PC members and the major influencing param-
eters.

4 Finite element analysis of diagonal cracking

For further optimization of the suggested model for PC members as well as enabling the applicability
of the suggested model to the existing structures, the distance of critical diagonal crack from support
axis xcr should be provided. One possible method for approximation of the potential cracking pattern of
b
RC and PC members is the progressive failure evaluation using nonlinear finite element analysis
(NLFEA). In the first step, the reliability of predicted crack paths with NLFEA was assessed for 62
experiments of the extended RC database with documented measured values of xcr. A 2D half-model
of each beam was generated in the FE-Programme DIANAFEA with plane-stress elements (CQ16M)
if
and element sizes were scaled as 1/20 of the height of each beam h. The recommended material prop-
erties and analysis configuration in [22] were followed for this study. Concrete tensile strength fct and
fracture energy Gf were defined for each test by fc in accordance with MC10 [4] and a total strain based
crack model with a crack band width according to [23] was selected. An iteration based adaptive loading
method was used, which is a powerful tool for evaluation of progressive crack propagation [24]. Each
beam has been investigated twice with initial load step sizes of 0.10 mm as well as 0.05 mm applied as
vertical displacement. The used energy based adaptive loading was combined with arc-length control
and the convergence norms were force and energy norms. The convergence tolerances were equal to
1·10-3 and 1·10-2 for energy and forces, respectively. The equilibrium was developed using NEWTON-
RAPHSON method with maximum 25 iterations and a line-search was activated for a faster convergence.
The analysis was terminated after 300 load steps.
Due to the brittle nature of shear failure of RC members without shear reinforcement, a convergence
was not always reached for all load steps. Thus, the failure diagonal crack corresponds to the diagonal
crack with the maximum crack width in the last converged step. The evolution of out of balance energy
and force has been studied for each beam. In general, a correlation between macro cracking (flexural
and diagonal) with the out of balance energy was evident. The FE results have been further inspected
with regard to the distance of critical diagonal crack from support axis xcr,FE.
As depicted in Fig. 10, relatively consistent results could be achieved with both initial load step
sizes in comparison with documented measured xcr in RC database. In most cases however, the resulted
xcr,FE was generally closer to the loading point and a non-negligible effect of initial load step size on
xcr,FE was noticeable (Fig. 11). Based on the influence of load incrementation on energy release rate,
achieving a convergence as the single criterion, would not be sufficient for the selection of initial load
step size. Therefore, further studies for selection of initial load step size based on selected material
models, convergence norms and incrementation method is required.
Fig. 10 Comparison between measured and FE results regarding xcr/d and a/d for analysed RC
members.

ifb
Fig. 11 Resulted FE crack paths with different initial load step sizes for a representative test beam.

Diagonal cracking load of RC and PC members without shear reinforcement were investigated at the
iBMB, Division of Concrete Construction of the TU Braunschweig. A model for approximation of
diagonal cracking load of RC and PC members with a potential flexure shear crack is suggested and
validated based on an extended database. Based on this evaluation, the cracking path, particularly the
possible distance of critical diagonal crack from support axis xcr is identified to be fundamental for an
accurate approximation of Vcr. To enable the application of suggested model to existing structures with
an unknown xcr, the potentials of NLFEA have been studied. A dependency between the resulting crack
path in FE model and the initial load step size was detected. Further evaluations for selection of con-
vergence parameters and/or load step size based on energy release rate and/or material models are cur-
rently in progress. Furthermore, investigations regarding the scope of linear elastic models for diagonal
cracking using a comparison between principal stress trajectories and obtained cracking pattern are
required.
Acknowledgements
The investigations presented in this paper are parts of a research project conducted at the iBMB, Divi-
sion of Concrete Construction of the TU Braunschweig as part of the Graduate College 2075 “Model-
ling the constitutive evolution of building materials and structures with respect to aging”, funded by the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – project number 255042459.
References
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evaluating relationships for the shear design of structural concrete members without and with
stirrups. DAfStb-Heft 617, Berlin: Beuth.
[2] CEN. 2004. EN 1992-1-1:2004: Eurocode 2: Design of concrete structures – Part 1-1: General
rules and rules for buildings. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization.
[3] ACI 318-08. 2008. Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete. Farm. Hills, MI.
[4] Comité Euro-International du Béton (CEB). 2012. CEB- FIB Model Code 2010. Ernst & Sohn
Wiley.
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im Bestand. Berlin.
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im Bestand – 1. Ergänzung. Berlin.

[7] American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. 2012. AASHTO LFRD
Bridge – Design Specifications. Washington D.C.
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2005. Report 549: Simplified Shear Design of Structural Concrete Members, Appendixes.
b
Transportation Research Board
[9] Roosen, Marco, Cor van der Veen, and Dick Hordijk. 2018. “Suitability of Shear Tension Code
Requirements for the Assessment of Existing Structures Build-Up with Prestressed I- and T-
Shape Girders.” High Tech Concrete: Where Technology and Engineering Meet 2018:786-793.
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[10] Teworte, Frederik, Martin Herbrand, and Josef Hegger. 2015. “Structural Assessment of Con-
crete Bridges in Germany – Shear Resistance under Static and Fatigue Loading.” Structural
Engineering International 25:266-274.
[11] Javidmehr, Sara, Vincent Oettel, and Martin Empelmann 2018. “Schrägrissbildung von Stahl-
betonbalken unter Querkraftbeanspruchung.” Bauingenieur 93:455-468.
[12] Gallego, Juan Manuel. 2012. “Shear fatigue behaviour of reinforced concrete elements without
shear reinforcement.” Paper presented at the 9th fib symposium, Karlsruhe, Germany, July
22-25.
[13] Gallego, Juan Manuel, Carlos Zanuy, and Luis Albajar. 2014. “Shear fatigue behaviour of re-
inforced concrete elements without shear reinforcement.” Eng. Structures 79:45–57.
[14] Krefeld, William. J., and Charles W. Thurston. 1966. “Studies of the Shear and Diagonal Ten-
sion Strength of Simply Supported Reinforced Concrete Beams.” ACI Journal 63:451-476.
[15] Mathey, Robert. G., and David Watstein. 1963. “Shear Strength of Beams without Web Rein-
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[17] Morrow, J., and Viest, I. M. 1957. “Shear Strength of Reinforced Concrete Frame Members
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[18] Mphonde, Andrew. G., and Gregory C. Frantz. 1984. “Shear Tests of High- and Low-Strength
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[19] Van den Berg, F. J. 1962. “Shear Strength of Beams without Web Reinforcement. Part 2 –
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Development of non-uniform corroded RC member

simulation based on rigid body spring model
b
Punyawut Jiradilok, Kohei Nagai and Koji Matsumoto
Institute of Industrial Science,
The University of Tokyo,
if
4 Chome-6 Komaba, Meguro-ku,153-0041, Tokyo
Abstract
In reinforced concrete structures, the residual capacity of corroded structure mostly depends on the
severity of local corrosion damage. Even the same steel weight loss ratio, different corrosion pattern
can result different local behavior and macroscopic behavior. In this study, a numerical model for
simulating the spatial damage of reinforced concretes are developed based on Rigid Body Spring
Model (RBSM). The previous experimental steel weight loss data is utilized for modelling the rein-
forcement steel properties along the bar length. The reduction in steel bar effective cross-section area,
deteriorated bond capacity and expansion of corrosion product are quantitatively modelled based on
the experimental data at every 5 mm. Beams with different corrosion pattern are simulated and ana-
lyzed. The simulation results show a good agreement with the previous experimental results.
1 Introduction
It is well known that once the chloride penetrates into reinforced concrete (RC) structures, the rein-
forcement becomes rust and creates corrosion product which is voluminous material. As a result, the
reinforcement loses its effective cross-sectional area, and the increment of the internal pressure make
concrete covering spalling [1]. This behavior deteriorates the structure performance over the time, and
the residual capacity of structure is still questionable. To maintain or use the existing RC structures
safety, clarification of the structural performance of corroded RC structure is necessary. Also, the
location of steel corrosion seems to be important to consider the structural performance of RC beams.
Because different local corrosion pattern possibly affects different macroscopic behavior and failure
pattern [2]. Therefore, the nonuniformity of corrosion pattern should be consider in this issue.
This study aims to develop numerical model for revealing the residual capacity and mechanical
behavior of corroded structures. The numerical model is simulated based on Rigid Body Spring Mod-
el (RBSM). The model considers the change of steel properties and expansion damage on adjacent
concrete based on steel weight loss and non-uniform corrosion pattern. In this study the corroded
beam models are simulated and analyzed for verification the applicability of simulation model. The
corrosion information is obtained from previous experimental study of corroded beam test [2]. Rein-
forcements in the simulation are modified at every 5 mm based on corrosion profile obtained from
experiment. Two corroded beams with different corrosion pattern, but have same average corrosion
degree, are simulated for verifying the influence of local corrosion on the beam behavior. The beam
failure pattern and mechanical performance were obtained as simulation results and were then ana-
lyzed and compared with the experimental results.
2 Computational model
2.1 Rigid Body Spring Model (RBSM)

2.1.1 Numerical model
In this study, the simulation is carried out by 3-dimensional RBSM, proposed by Kawai et al. (1978).
In RBSM, a 3-dimensional reinforced concrete model is meshed into rigid bodies. Each rigid body
consists of 6 degree of freedoms, i.e. 3 translational degrees of freedom and 3 rotational degrees of
freedom at some points within its interior and connects with other rigid bodies by 3 springs, i.e. 2
shear springs and 1 normal spring [3,4]. This method simulates failure behavior by solving the equi-
librium of forces of springs placed between rigid elements. Two types of elements, concrete and steel,
are used to define the geometry of RC. Since crack direction may affect crack patterns, the size of

each concrete element is approximately 1-2 cm3, referred to aggregate size, while the size of the steel
element is set according to the geometric complexity of the reinforcement bar arrangement (Fig. 3).
To prevent cracks propagated in a non-arbitrary direction, a random geometry, called Voronoi Dia-
gram, is used for the element meshing.
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(a) Spring between element (b) Mesh arrangement of concrete element
Fig. 1 Concrete element in RBSM.
The properties of the springs are determined so that the elements, when combined together, enable to
predict the behavior of the model as accurate as that of the experimental result. In this study, the
simulation system, developed by Nagai et al., is used. Fig. 2 (a, b, c, d) (Nagai et al., 2005) [3,4]
shows the constitutive model of the concrete element.
Fig. 2 Constitutive models of springs: (a) normal spring of concrete element (b) shear spring of
concrete element (c) failure criterion of concrete element (d) shear stress reduction model.
2.1.2 Steel elements

The geometry of steel elements is modeled in an accurate manner to properly account for the inter-
locking between concrete and a reinforcement bar (Fig. 3). The normal springs of steel elements are
modeled based on the stress-strain relationship of steel bars proposed by Shima et al. [5]. The stress-
strain relationship used for the normal springs is represented by Eq. (1). Meanwhile, the shear springs
used for the steel elements are assumed to be elastic.

(1)
1 1.01
#/% ,
Where is 0.032 : stress (MPa), : strain, : yield strength (MPa), : tensile strength
!"
(MPa), and : initial strain hardening, assumed to be 1.5%.

b
(a) Cross section of steel and concrete element (b) 3D rebar shape
if
Fig. 3 Modeling of geometric shape of rebar.
2.2 Corrosion model

2.2.1 Spatial corrosion of steel bar
Normally, the corrosion is formed up non-uniformly along the rebar. Fig. 4 illustrates the steel weight
loss per 5 mm unit of length over the rebar length from the previous study by S. Lim et al. [5]. The
average steel weight loss over the entry length of steel bar from experiment is 27 percent. The out-
standing corrosion peak is 48 and 43 percent at length of 400 and 980 mm from the left end of rebar
respectively. To study the effect of nonuniform corrosion, this information was used as input of cor-
rosion profile in the simulation. For the steel part where the previous experiment does not provide the
data (because the X-ray photogram was not taken), the average steel weight loss 27 percent is as-
sumed to the entire locations (0-250 mm and 1090-1460 mm from the left side of the specimen). The
modification of steel properties in numerical model is presented in the following chapter.
Fig. 4 Spatial variability in the steel weight loss from experiment.
2.2.2 Modification of constitutive model for equivalent residual cross-section of steel bar.
When reinforcement is corroded, one important mechanism is that the steel bar loses its effective
cross-section area. However, in RBSM, the steel element is rigid and cannot be deformed in shape of
element. Due to this difficulty in applying the actual reduction of steel volume in the numerical mod-
el, an alternative approach was suggested by modifying the response of corroded steel rebar over the
corrosion zone. Instead of reducing actual rebar area in simulation, the new stress-strain for corroded
element is given by modifying constitutive model.
2.3 Expansion model

In 3D RBSM, the expansion of corrosion product which forms up around rebar is modeled by the
increment of strain at interface between rebar and concrete. The expansion is given as initial strain to
the normal spring at interface. The unbalance strain creates the internal expansion pressure to the
adjacent concrete. The thickness of corrosion product is the elongation of the normal spring at inter-
face which results from the given initial strain. The length of normal spring can be described in the
following equation.
Punyawut Jiradilok, Kohei Nagai and Koji Matsumoto 469

H1 + H 2 (2)
H=
2
where H is length of normal spring at interface, H1 and H2 are the normal distance from the phase to
b
center of concrete element and steel element which are composing that phase respectively.
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Fig. 5 Interface between rebar and concrete and given initial strain.
Simulation model of corrosion expansion is shown in Fig. 5. In 3D RBSM, the deformation around
rebar from corrosion product is simulated by using the particularly setting of initial strain control at
the interface between rebar and concrete. Eq.3 shows the given expansive strain at interface elements
based on local steel weight loss data for these simulations. This value is determined by using reverse
method.
In reality, the relationship between the crack width level and corrosion degree can be varied by
many factor e.g. corrosion speed, rebar diameter, covering depth and so on. Hence, it is difficult to set
the relationship between expansive strain and steel weight loss level for general case. In this study,
the reversed method was used to find the relation between expansive strain and corrosion degree.
First, 0.88 mm average crack width from experiment beam at 27% corrosion degree are set as target
damage level. Then, the beam simulation with same covering depth and rebar diameter are given the
expensive strain at interface to simulate the expansion damage. This expansive strain is gradually
increased until the same average crack width was observed in the simulation. As a results, 0.86 mm
bottom crack width in simulation was observed at 0.017 given expansive strain. Hence, the specific
linear relationship between expansive strain and corrosion for this simulation was made as shown in
Fig. 6.
. #.
&'()* + *,-( ) 9 :;<(: *, : = >?, :;** (3)
/012/31 4115 6173 4 58
Fig. 6 Relationship between given expansive strain at interface and steel weight loss percentage.

3 Detail of numerical simulations
3.1 Geometry of simulation model
b
The analysis models used in this study were formed up based on the previous experimental study by
Sopokhem et al. (2016). They performed electrical corrosion acceleration on single RC beam speci-
mens for observation of the crack pattern due to loading on corroded beam at different corrosion
degree (Sopokhem et al. (2016)). The concrete specimens size of 1460×140×80 mm3 reinforced with
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D13 rebar (nominal diameter = 12.7 mm) were subjected to external direct electric current of 0.11
A/cm2 to accelerate the corrosion process. In this study, cuboid model with single reinforcement at 20
mm covering depth from bottom of beam which same as in the experiment of Sopokhem et al. are
modelled for analysis. Analysis model is meshed into meso-scale element having average sizes ap-
proximately 10.0×10.0×10.0 mm3. Two pin support and two loading point are set at same location as
in the experiment. The load is given at the two pin point above the beam, and there is no friction
between the loading concrete element and the beam. Also, the interface between concrete support and
beam is set as friction free condition. This 3D-RBSM model contains 26843 elements. The input
tensile strength of steel bar and concrete are 388 MPa and 3.24 MPa, respectively. Expansive strain
was applied to the interface between rebar and concrete for generating the corrosion expansion. Sub-
sequently, the mechanical loading was given in the same manner as experiment. Fig. 7 shows the
reinforced concrete beam in this study.
Fig. 7 Geometry of numerical model by RBSM (Unit: mm).
Table 1 Beam material properties.
Term Unit Concrete Reinforcement

Compressive strength 53 -
Elastic modulas MPa 33600 200000
Yielding strength 3.24 388.0
3.2 Corrosion patterns

In this study, a non-corroded beam simulation and corroded beam with different corrosion pattern are
simulated for investigate the effect of spatial corrosion on the RC beam. Two different steel weight
loss profile are set for the simulations. The first corrosion case is the uniform corrosion pattern at 27
percent along the bar. Second case is non-uniform corrosion obtained from 3D x-ray technique of
Sopokhem et al. (2016) as shown in Fig. 4. The spatial variable steel weight loss is start from 250 mm
to 1090 mm in rebar length direction. The other zone, 0 to 250 and 1090 to 1490 mm, does not have
information from the experiment, so the corrosion level is set as uniform 27 %. The average steel
weight loss is 27 percent. Table 2 shows each corrosion patten in the simulations.

Table 2 Simulation cases.

Specimen Corrosion pattern Average corrosion degree Comment
b
N-C None 0% No corrosion is given.
UF-C Uniform 27 % Uniform 27% corrosion is given.
NF-C Non-uniform 27 % Corrosion profile from experiment.
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3.3 Loading condition
After the corrosion crack damage was introduced to the specimen, load was then applied to the beam
to find the residual capacity. Fig. 8 shows the boundary condition for the loading process. Two pin
supports below RC beam are set in fixed movement condition (fixed in X, Y, Z direction for right
support and fixed in Y, Z direction for left support), while loading is given at two pins above the
specimen at rate of 0.0005 mm/step in the downward Y direction as shown in Fig. 7.
4 Analysis results
4.1 Corrosion cracking

Fig. 9(a) and (b) show the 3D surface overview of corroded beams after corrosion expansion simula-
tion. Expansive strain was given to the interface between rebar and concrete at rate of 0.05
µstrain/step. Cumulative given exansive strain is 17 µstrain. As a result, the crack propagates to the
bottom surface of beam which is the thinnest covering depth. Some crack can be observed at the side
of the beam at the hooked-up part of anchorage. Fig. 9(c) shows the bottom beam crack from the
experiment at span length of 250 to 1090 mm. The vertical crack propagated along the length of the
rebar till the end of beam as shown in Fig. 9(a). The average bottom beam crack width from simula-
tion result is 0.88 mm while the experiment bottom crack width is 0.86 mm (Fig. 9(c)). However, the
direction of crack in simulation is straighter near to the central line of bottom beam more than the
experimental result which crack direction is scatter to side of the beam as shown in Fig. 9(c). This
may occur due to the non-uniform corrosion in raditional direction in cross section of the rebar.
(a) Front view of expansion simulation
(b) Bottom view of expansion simulation
(c) Bottom beam crack width from simulation and experiment from length of 250-1090 mm [5]
Fig. 9 Corrosion cracking of beam simulation before loading.
4.2 Load-displacement relationship

Beam’s load-displacement relationships for each simulation case and real experimental data are
shown in Fig 10. The load is defined as the total force acting at two pin point above the beam, while
displacement is the vertical displacement of loading point in downward direction. Maximum capacity
of each simulation case is 16.2 kN, 14.2 kN and 13.3 kN for no corrosion, uniform corrosion and
spatial corrosion cases respectively. In the experimental specimens (Sopokhem et al., 2016), it was
reported that the steel bar was yielded, and the specimen showed flexural behavior before failed by

reach the shear capacity as shown by the dot line in Fig. 10 [6]. In case of simulation, beam with
corrosions shows lower stiffness and capacity than no corrosion case due to initial damage from
corrosion which are bond deterioatation and steel cross section reduction. Even the corroded beams
have the same stiffness, the beam with spatial corrosion shows lower capacity due to different local
b
behaviour which will be discussed in the next chapter. Comparing with no corrosion case, the corrod-
ed beam’s stiffness becomes close to the experimental result.
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Fig. 10 Load-displacement relationship in each simulation case
4.3 Strain distribution along the rebar

Fig. 11 shows the local strain distribution along the rebar for corroded beams simulation before and
after the peak load, 2 mm and 8 mm displacement, respectively. The strain distribution of uniform
corrosion and non-uniform corrosion are represented by dash line and solid line, respectively. Before
the peak load, there are no significant difference between strain distribution between uniform corro-
sion case and non-uniform corrosion case as shown in Fig. 11(a). Fig. 11(b) shows the strain distribu-
tion after the peak load. In case of non-uniform corrosion case, the local strain along the rebar at 400,
600 and 1000 mm location show higher strain than the other locations. This yielding location is corre-
sponding to the given corrosion profile in Fig. 4. While in case of uniform corrosion, there are not
significant difference in strain in each location, even after the beam starts to failure. Even the corrod-
ed beams show similar stiffness, the local behavior is different due to the corrosion pattern.
0,006 0,006
0,005 0,005
0,004 0,004
Strain
Strain
0,003 0,003
0,002 0,002
0,001 0,001
0 0
200 400 600 800 1000 200 400 600 800 1000
Rebar length (mm) Rebar length (mm)
(a) Strain before peak load (b) Strain after peak load
Fig. 11 Strain distribution along the reinforement.
4.4 Crack failure patterns

Fig. 12 shows the 3D internal crack pattern and the surface overview crack of each case. In case of no
corrosion case, Fig. 12(a), the beam failure pattern indicates a shear failure. A disgonal crack plane
can be observed between the loading point and support at the left and right side of the beam. This is

typical failure pattern that can found in beam loading tests that the shear capacity is lower than flex-
ural capacity.
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(a) No corrosion case (b) Uniform corrosion case
(c) Non-uniform corrosion (d) Experimental result
Fig. 12 Internal crack pattern and surface overview at failure of each specimen (a) simulation of
beam with no corrosion damage (b) simulation of beam with uniform 27 % steel weight
loss along the bar (c) spatial variable corrosion from X-ray data and (d) crack pattern
from experiment by Sopokhem et al. (2016).
For the beams with initial corrosion damage, the crack near the bottom part of beam can be observed
in both cases. In case of the uniform corrosion case, Fig. 12(b), a crack from corrosion expansion is
appeared along the rebar length and at the bottom of the beam. After applying the load, flexural fail-
ure cracks are observed at bottom part before the shear failure pattern on the right side of beam was
observed. In case of using real spatial corrosion from the experiment, Fig. 12(c), the crack pattern is a
combination of flexural cracks and shear cracks. Yielding of rebar is observed by strain distribution in
Fig. 11. Distribution of cracks at bottom of beam can be observed, while the shear-compression fail-
ure appears on the left side of specimen which is similar to the experimental result crack pattern in
Fig. 12 (d). Due to the corrosion, the rebar effectiveness was decreased, and the surrounded concrete
around the rebar was damaged by the expansion. This reduces the mechanical bond between the rebar
and concrete and lets the flexural capacity decrease. Thus, the beam behaves more like flexural before
the compression shear failure occurs.
5 Conclusions
In this research, RC corrosion model based on RBSM considering spatial distribution of rebar corro-
sion profile is developed. Based on the simulation results, the following conclusion is drawn.
This study is proposing a numerical method to simulate and predict the behavior of corroded
RC structures. The spatial corrosion is also concerned as an input in modelling the rebar mod-
el. By input the specific data of scale and location of corrosion level, the simulation result can
predict structure residual capacity and damage pattern.
Simulation system for expansion and crack propagation has been developed well. By given an
expansive strain, the crack propagation can be simulated in the same manner as reality.
Stiffness and capacity of beams are decreased due to initial damage from corrosion. And ac-
cording to the corrosion pattern, the failure patterns and local behavior are changed.

Even the stiffness of uniform corrosion and non-uniform corrosion simulations are not signif-
icantly different, considering the local strain along the rebar, the non-uniform corrosion case
shows different local yielding which corresponding to the the given corrosion pattern.
The results of this research show how numerical analysis by 3D RBSM with considering spa-
b
tial variable corrosion can be useful in prediction the real deteriorated structure. This model
can be used to predict the residual capacity of deteriorated structures and be applied for retro-
fitting or maintanance of existing corroded structures in the future.
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References
[1] Akiyamaa, Mitsuyoshi, and Dan M. Frangopol. 2014. “A Long-term seismic performance of
RC structures in an aggressive environment:emphasis on bridge piers.” Structure and Infra-
structure Engineering 10(7):865–879.
[2] Qiao, D., H. Nakamura, Y. Yamanoto, et al.. 2016. “Crack patterns of concrete with a single
rebar subjected to non-uniform and localized corrosion Constr.” Build. Mater. 116: 366-377.
[3] Nagai, K., Y. Sato, and T.Ueda. 2004. “Mesoscopic simulation of failure of mortar and con-
crete by 2D RBSM.” Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology 11(2):359-374.
[4] Nagai, K., Y. Sato, and T.Ueda. 2005. “Mesoscopic simulation of failure of mortar and con-
crete by 3D RBSM.” Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology 11(3):385-402.
[5] Lima Sopokhem, Mitsuyoshi Akiyama, and Dan M. Frangopol. 2016. ”Assessment of the
structural performance of corrosion-affected RC members based on experimental study and
probabilistic modeling.” Engineering Structures 127:189–205.

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The influence of the composite bridge exploitation on

the behavior of the structure subjected to a dynamic
b
load
Michał Jukowski, Ewa Błazik-Borowa, Janusz Bohatkiewicz, Jarosław Bęc
and Mateusz Hypki
if
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture,
Lublin University of Technology,
Nadbystrzycka 40, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Abstract
The following paper presents a verification trial of the performance of a composite bridge under the
influence of variable load over time. It shows the results of a study based on the measurement of the
bridge structural elements accelerations for a moving load at speeds of 30, 50 and 70 km/h. On the
basis of the measurements, two main vertical natural frequencies of vibrations for the bridge in the
existing technical conditions were found, which are 7.97 Hz and 9.06 Hz. The second part of the
research was based on the numerical analyses in the Autodesk Simulation Multiphysics. In the com-
puter bridge model, both the susceptibility of supports (supporting structure of the bridge and ground)
and wear of the concrete deck expressed by the modified elastic modulus were taken into considera-
tion. Subsequently, the response of an ideal bridge and the exploited one to the static and dynamic
load during the passage of a car was compared.
1 Introduction
In Poland, many bridges with a composite structure were built, mainly in 1960s to 1980s. Due to the
Polish climate and the dynamically developing road infrastructure, which causes an increase in the
volume of traffic for both cars and trucks, these objects require reconstruction or reinforcement,
which in many cases is highly debatable due to economic reasons [5]. Until relatively recently, de-
signers/engineers made manual calculations regarding the bearing capacity of engineering structures.
The so-called rigid bar method was most commonly used (J. Courbon’s method) [3], [4]. Currently,
all analyzes regarding the design dimensioning or verification of the assumptions accuracy, are made
using special software, e.g. based on the finite element method (FEM). The following paper presents
an in-depth analysis of the composite bridge subjected to the influence of the known dynamic load.
2 Description of the bridge

The analyzed structure was built in 1969. It is a six-span object with a static scheme of a simply
supported beam. The total length of the bridge is 90.18 m and the theoretical length of a single span is
14.50 m. The loadbearing structure consists of five rolled beams (INP 550) together with a cooperat-
ing 0.12 m thick monolithic slab, stiffened transversely with C 300 crossbars. In cross-section the
bridge consists of roadway with a width of 6.00 m and double-sided safety bands – 0.50 m wide each.
The load-bearing structure is based on prefabricated concrete piles with a cross-section of 0.30 x 0.30
m. The analyzed object is presented below in Figures 1a and 1b.

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Fig. 1 Bridge views: (left) top (aerial view), (right) road level view.
According to Fig. 1b, the bridge's load bearing capacity was limited to 12 tonnes. Hence, the total
vehicle weight during the tests could not exceed this value. Chapter 3 describes in detail the testing
vehicle running with specific speeds and the way in which the structure was loaded.
3 Measurements in situ
The aim of the research was to identify the natural frequencies. The structure was monitored under
the influence of a known dynamic load moving at a specific speed. Eleven measurement tests were
carried out. The test vehicle was a Mercedes Atego truck with the weight of 5500 kg. In addition, this
vehicle was loaded in the first two load tests with one vehicle with the weight of 1500 kg and in nine
subsequent tests with two passenger vehicles with the total weight of 3000 kg. Fig. 2 shows a test
vehicle loaded with two passenger vehicles during its passage through the gridge.
Fig. 2 View of the test vehicle loaded with two additional passenger vehicles.
Table 1 below presents detailed information on the performed load tests.
Table 1 List of the performed measurement tests with reference to the mass of the vehicle and the
speed at which it moved through the object
L.p. Total weight Vehicle speed
Measurement no. 1 7000 [kg] 30 [km/h]
Measurement no. 2 7000 [kg] 50 [km/h]
Measurement no. 3, 6, 9 8500 [kg] 30 [km/h]
3.1 Dynamic measurements

In order to carry out dynamic measurements, the equipment allowing registration of the vertical
course of vibration accelerations of the span structure with a frequency equal to 6000 Hz was used.
Three piezoelectric uniaxial accelerometers attached to the lower shelves of the main girders were
used, as well. The sensors were mounted in ½ and in ¼ of the theoretical span. The measuring

The influence of the composite bridge exploitation on the behavior of the structure subjected to a dynamic load
equipment is shown in Fig. 3a, and in Fig. 3b the localization of accelerometers on the bridge is
presented as red dots.
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Fig. 3 Measuring stand: (left) equipment used during tests, (right) localization of attached accel-
erometers on site [2].
All measured span acceleration waveforms were analyzed. Due to the large volume of work, the
results for only one vehicle run at 70 km/h are shown below. An example of the course of accelera-
tions is shown in Fig. 4. In order to determine the natural frequency of vibrations for the spans, the
measured acceleration courses were analyzed with use of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). For this
purpose, only the time period relating to the measurement without the load on the bridge (after the
vehicle had left the span) was selected from each measured course of vibrations. The FFT graph for
accelerations in the vertical direction for the selected passage is shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 4 Course of accelerations in the middle of the span for the passage at 70 km/h.
Fig. 5 FFT analysis results for the vertical direction of the passage at 70 km/h.
Based on the tests and analyzes carried out, it has been found that there are two measured natural
frequencies of the bridge fr1=7.97 Hz and fr2=9.06 Hz.
3.2 Numerical analysis – FEM model of the bridge

The test results obtained from the measurements were used to verify the results obtained from theoret-
ical analyzes carried out in the Autodesk Simulation Multiphysics program. For this purpose, a three-
dimensional bridge model classified as (e1+e2, p3) [1], [2] was built. The symbols e1 and e2 indicate
the dimension of the elements used, while the symbol p3 is for the the space in which the model was
made. The model was created from shell elements. Figures 6 show the created bridge model.
Michał Jukowski, Ewa Błazik-Borowa, Janusz Bohatkiewicz, Jarosław Bęc and Mateusz Hypki 479

ifb
Fig. 6 Three-dimensional FEM model of the bridge: (left) view of the girders with crossbars,
(right) view of the bridge deck.
Three analyzes were carried out: static, modal and dynamic. Static analysis was used to determine
theoretical deflections of the span, modal – to determine the main natural frequencies and mode
shapes, and dynamic one – to determine the deflection of the span under a variable load over time. In
the first stage, analyzes were carried out for the bridge with parameters that did not take into account
its technical condition and age. Based on the modal analysis performed, it was observed that the first
two natural frequencies were 10.31 Hz and 12.02 Hz. The relative error in comparison to the values
obtained from the FFT analyzes was 29% and 33%, respectively. The difference between theoretical
and measured values was due to the technical condition of the bridge and its operating conditions. On
the basis of such conclusions, the bridge model was modified by updating some material parameters
and boundary conditions. In the bridge computer model the susceptibility of supports (supporting
structure of the bridge and ground) and wear of the concrete deck expressed by the modified elastic
modulus were taken into account. Sixty three combinations for modal analysis with different parame-
ters for support stiffness and modified modulus of elasticity were performed, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2 List of model parameters for which natural frequencies were determined
Stiffness of the support [kN/m]

150000000 10000 5000 2500 1750 1500 1250
35121770 K1 K10 K19 K28 K37 K46 K55
fied elastic modulus
The value of the modi-
31000000 K2 K11 K20 K29 K38 K47 K56

20000000 K3 K12 K21 K30 K39 K48 K57
10000000 K4 K13 K22 K31 K40 K49 K58
5000000 K5 K14 K23 K32 K41 K50 K59

4000000 K6 K15 K24 K33 K42 K51 K60
[kN/m2]
3750000 K7 K16 K25 K34 K43 K52 K61

3500000 K8 K17 K26 K35 K44 K53 K62
3000000 K9 K18 K27 K36 K45 K54 K63
From the results of 63 modal analyzes, the values of the natural frequencies of vibrations of the bridge
were read out for selected mode shapes, corresponding in each analytical case. In all cases, similar
mode shapes were obtained. Each value was compared to the value obtained from the FFT analysis.
On this basis, the values of relative errors for each case were calculated from the formulas:
f1i − f r1 and f − f r2 ,
δ 1i = δ 2i = 2i (1)
f r1 f r2
where f1i and f2i are the first and the second natural frequency of vibrations determined in the analysis
of the modal ith bridge model presented in Table 2.
The error values δ1i and δ2i of the analysis for the first and second natural frequency values are
shown in Tables 3 and 4. In Figures 7 and 8 the curves of the natural frequency as a function of sup-
port stiffness and the modified elasticity modulus of the deck are shown.

Table 3 Relative error δ1i for each analytical case for the first natural frequency.
f1 = 7.97 Hz Stiffness of the support “k” [kN/m]
150000000 10000 5000 2500 1750 1500 1250
b
Modified modulus of 35121770 36,94% 24,22% 13,56% 8,70% 6,51% 2,60% 5,11%
31000000 36,42% 18,63% 13,06% 8,06% 5,78% 2,35% 5,27%
20000000 34,22% 16,83% 11,09% 5,62% 3,09% 1,41% 6,02%
elasticity [kN/m2]
10000000 28,11% 12,84% 7,09% 1,15% 1,74% 3,00% 7,40%
if
5000000 16,29% 6,74% 1,49% 4,32% 7,30% 8,54% 10,18%
4000000 12,65% 4,19% 0,77% 6,37% 9,30% 10,54% 12,02%
3750000 11,61% 3,39% 1,47% 7,00% 9,91% 11,13% 12,58%
3500000 10,49% 2,51% 2,26% 7,69% 10,54% 11,78% 13,21%
3000000 8,02% 0,43% 4,09% 9,30% 12,10% 13,27% 14,65%
Table 4 Relative error δ2i for each analytical case for the second natural frequency.
f2 = 9.06 Hz Stiffness of the support “k” [kN/m]
150000000 10000 5000 2500 1750 1500 1250
35121770 37,64% 28,64% 24,44% 8,39% 3,79% 7,56% 11,18%
Modified modulus of
31000000 34,46% 25,95% 21,91% 7,62% 4,05% 8,21% 11,81%

20000000 24,82% 17,79% 14,26% 4,86% 5,10% 10,53% 13,93%
elasticity [kN/m2]
10000000 13,40% 7,52% 4,72% 0,26% 8,77% 12,41% 17,13%

5000000 5,94% 1,39% 3,51% 5,94% 12,77% 16,18% 19,99%
4000000 2,81% 4,18% 6,10% 8,33% 14,14% 17,45% 21,18%
3750000 1,84% 4,98% 6,84% 9,04% 14,56% 17,83% 21,55%
3500000 0,77% 5,84% 7,65% 9,79% 14,99% 18,23% 21,93%
3000000 1,75% 7,77% 9,45% 11,47% 16,00% 19,16% 22,81%
Fig. 7 Graph for the first measured natural frequency as a function of stiffness of supports and
modified modulus of elasticity of the deck

ifb
Fig. 8 Graph for the second measured natural frequency as a function of stiffness of supports and
modified modulus of elasticity of the deck.
Analyzing the relative error values presented in Tables 3 and 4 and in Figures 7 and 8, it was found
that for the value of modified elastic modulus of 10,000,000 kN/m2 and support stiffness values of
2,500 kN/m, highly accurate values of natural frequencies of the bridge were obtained from calcula-
tions with reference to the results obtained from in-situ tests. The relative error values for both domi-
nant natural frequencies of the object are less than 1.50%.
Additionally, the values of deflections under static and dynamic loads for both models were ana-
lyzed. In the static analysis, the load was located in the middle of the span. The weight of the vehicle
was modeled by two concentrated forces reflecting the front axle and the rear axle (twin) of the vehi-
cle. In the dynamic analysis, the displacement values were read exactly in the same nodes where the
model was loaded during static analysis. In the conducted analysis, a mass-stiffness damping model
was adopted, in which the damping matrix is defined by the formula [2], [6]:
C = αM + β K , (2)
where M is the mass matrix, K is the stiffness matrix, the coefficients α and β are determined with use
of formulas:
2γω1ω 2 and 2γ , (3)

α= β=
ω1 + ω 2 ω1 + ω 2
ω1, ω 2 – the first and the second natural frequency, γ – damping ratio.
The results of displacements coming from the additional vehicle passage at the so-called quasi-
static speed equal to 10 km/h for both models are presented below in Table 5. This analysis made it
possible to calculate the value of the dynamic coefficient in accordance with formula (4) assuming
that during the dynamic excitiation the bridge behaves similarly to a system with one degree of free-
dom.
yd
φ= , (4)
y ss
yd – displacement from dynamic load, yss – displacement from static load.

Table 5 Displacement values for the "ideal" and “exploited” models from static and dynamic
analyses.
Static Analysis Dynamic Analysis
b
Outer girder Next to the outer Outer girder Next to the outer
girder girder
yss1/2Lt yss1/4Lt yss1/2Lt yss1/4Lt yd1/2Lt yd1/4Lt yd1/2Lt yd1/4Lt
if
[m] [m] [m] [m] [m] [m] [m] [m]
“Ideal” 0.0037 0.0027 0.0030 0.0022 0.00374 0.00256 0.00308 0.00214
model
“Exploited” 0.0066 0.0052 0.0052 0.0041 0.00695 0.00543 0.00542 0.00425
model
Table 6 presents the calculated values of dynamic coefficients.
Table 6 Values of calculated dynamic coefficients.
Outer girder Next to the outer girder

ø1/2Lt [m] ø1/4Lt [m] ø1/2Lt [m] ø1/4Lt [m]
“Ideal” model 1.01 0.95 1.03 0.97
“Exploited” model 1.05 1.04 1.04 1.04
The analytical dynamic coefficient for the tested object in accordance with the standard [7] is 1.28
and is almost 22% higher than the maximum value of the coefficient calculated on the basis of theo-
retical analysis presented above.
In addition, the variation of maximum displacements under dynamic loads as a function of the
logarithmic decrement of damping was analyzed. The relationship is shown in Fig. 9.
-6,5
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Displacements [mm]
-7,0
-7,5
-8,0
Logarithmic decrement of damping [%]
Fig. 9 Graph of maximum displacements under dynamic loads as a function of the logarithmic
decrement of damping.
It can be noticed that the relation in the range between 0% and 20% is nonlinear.

4 Conclusions
When making a global assessment, it can be stated that in the case of old, heavily exploited engineer-
ing structures, their technical condition should be taken into account in the analyzes. In case of a
b
dynamic response of a structure under the influence of a variable load over time, the results for a
model that does not correspond to the actual work of the exploited bridge differ significantly from the
values measured during in-situ tests by about 30%. Dynamic analyzes should take into account the
condition of bridge bearings, the possibility of their proper operation (rotations/displacements) or the
susceptibility of supports. The age of the structure (concrete), the degree of concrete/reinforcement
if
degradation also plays a role in the correct operation of the structure. The obtained displacement
values in both numerical models of the structure for the determined values of the modified modulus of
elasticity and stiffness values of supports differ significantly. The dynamic coefficient calculated on
the basis of the theoretical analyzes is highly similar for both models and oscillates within the values
of 1.04. The difference is greater when compared to the standard value [7].
References
[1] Bęc, Jarosław, and Michał Jukowski. 2016. “Static and modal analysis of the Solidarity
Bridge in Płock.” Budownictwo i Architektura 1 (15):177-189. (in Polish)
[2] Jukowski, Michał and Jarosław Bęc, and Ewa Błazik-Borowa. 2018. “Identification of the
numerical model of FEM in reference to measurements in situ.” AIP Conference Proceedings
1922. 150008 (2018). Accessed January. 2018. doi:10.1063/1.5019161.
[3] Jukowski, Michał. 2012. “Diagnosis of the technical condition of the bridge in Chlewiska by
the Wieprz river.” Lublin 2012. (in Polish)
[4] Karaś, Sławomir. 2011. “On the Courbon method.” Drogownictwo 5:172-176. (in Polish)
[5] Karaś, Sławomir, and Michał Jukowski. 2018. “Composite bridges on INP girders.”
Drogownictwo 1:13-23. (in Polish)
[6] Wielgos, Piotr. 2011. “Evaluation of the effectiveness of multiple tuned mass dampers in civil
engineering structures.” Wydawnictwo Politechniki Lubelskiej.
[7] PN-85/S-10030. 1985. Obiekty mostowe. Obciążenia.

A numerical insight on the behaviour of prestressed

concrete members exposed to natural fires
b
Nataša Kalaba and Patrick Bamonte
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
if
Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy
Abstract
The present paper is aimed at investigating the structural behaviour in bending of prestressed concrete-
members exposed to natural fires, i.e. with a heating and a cooling phase. Heating phase follows ISO834
standard fire curve, while the cooling branch is linear. Prestressed section is a double-tee section. To
this end, the constitutive models for concrete, ordinary and prestressing steel devised in the Eurocodes
are adapted to account for the different behaviour of the materials upon unloading and during the cool-
ing phase. Parametric analyses are carried out, in order to highlight the role of fire duration, cooling
rate and load level on the structural behaviour of prestressed concrete members.
1 Introduction
Prestressed concrete members are widely used in a variety of structural applications. The use of pre-
stressing allows improving the mechanical performance of reinforced concrete members, by limiting
cracking phenomena, and thus increasing the stiffness. However, prestressed concrete members are
more sensitive to fire in comparison to reinforced concrete members [1]. This comes mainly from the
fact that cold worked prestressing steel exhibits higher sensitivity to high temperatures than ordinary
hot rolled steel and the reduced thickness that characterizes prestressed concrete members results in
lower steel protection. In addition, the lack of connectivity between the structural elements (which is
directly related to construction time savings) results in statically-determinate structures, where the re-
distribution of the internal forces is not allowed, to the detriment of the structure’s global stability.
Finally, prestressed concrete members in demanding structures (such as industrial facilities) are sub-
jected to a higher risk of fire exposure, because of the higher availability of combustible materials.
The first systematic researches on the behaviour of reinforced and prestressed concrete members
exposed to fire were carried out by Gustaferro [2],[3]. By studying the behaviour of prestressed concrete
members exposed to standard fires, the key role played by cover, restraint conditions and load ratio was
pointed out. Moreover, for continuous structures, the importance of providing negative reinforcement
to allow for moment redistributions was highlighted.
In more recent years, post-tensioned flat slabs with unbonded tendons [4] and prestressed hollow
core slabs [5]-[7] stand out as the most investigated typologies within the large variety of prestressed
members available on the market. The reason for this is to be found in the high sensitivity to fire of the
former (especially if no ordinary reinforcement is provided to increase the flexural capacity), and in the
shear-deficient behaviour of the latter (since no transverse reinforcement is present).
More recently, extensive fire resistance experiments on nine bonded prestressed continuous
concrete beams were performed by Hou et al. [8], investigating the influence of several variables,
including concrete cover, load level and prestressing level. The test results proved that the influence of
load level and concrete cover is very significant. Moreover, as should be expected, continuous beams
are characterized by a higher fire resistance than simply supported beams.
It is worth noting that all the above mentioned research projects were focused on the standard fires
(that is usually adopted in laboratory testing), i.e. the typical post-flashover fire without cooling phase.
When focusing on buildings consisting of prestressed concrete members, however, natural fires are
undoubtedly more significant. Moreover, the most recent version of EC1-Fire Design [9] allows
resorting to performance-based design, taking as many significant parameters as possible into
consideration, so as to eventually yield more accurate representation of real behaviour. Within this
framework, it is clear that the structural behaviour of prestressed concrete members exposed to natural
fires is definitely of interest for the designer.

Research works dealing with natural fires are rather few to this day. Recently, the critical factors
influencing the residual behaviour of reinforced concrete beams were investigated by Kodur and
Agrawal [10]. To this end, a finite element model was set up to account for different material properties
of both concrete and reinforcing steel, during the fire exposure phase (heating and subsequent cooling)
b
but also during the residual phase (post-cooling phase). It was clearly pointed out that in natural fires
the maximum ambient temperature does not give a clear indication of the maximum temperature in the
rebars: as a matter of fact, the maximum temperature in the steel depends also on the duration of the
heating phase and on the cooling rate.
if
Within the framework of the available literature on prestressed members subjected to fire, the aim
of this paper is to present a computational study on the structural behaviour in bending of simply
supported prestressed concrete members exposed to natural fires. The constitutive models of concrete,
ordinary and prestressing steel are suitably modified, in order to account for the different irreversible
phenomena that take place in the full heating-cooling cycle. The role of the different parameters coming
into play is investigated by means of numerical analyses carried out on two typical prestressed concrete
sections, I girder and double-tee beam, in order to highlight the peculiar features that characterize
natural fires, and structural materials subjected to heating and subsequent cooling.
2 Numerical analysis
Sequentially coupled thermo-mechanical analyses were performed on the sections of one typical pre-
stressed concrete member, namely a double tee (Fig. 1). This section has very thin webs and flange,
and consequently a low cover to the prestressing steel (that is located in the webs). The aforementioned
characteristics are instrumental for highlighting the role played by the concrete cover in delaying the
attainment of the maximum temperature in the prestressing steel. Moreover, more than 95% of the
bending capacity of the double-tee section is provided by the prestressing steel, the remainder being
provided by the ordinary reinforcing steel provided to ensure additional resources in the event of crack-
ing. Since the typical structural layout of these types of beams is without continuity at the end supports,
the bending failure is governed by the most stressed section (usually the midspan section), and sectional
analysis alone is deemed sufficient for an accurate description of the whole member behaviour.
exposure to fire
8 5
99
86
1/2”
5 6 6 6 6 6
6/10”
6/10”
6/10”
6/10”
59.75 7.5 115.5 7.5 59.75

63.5 123 63.5
Fig. 1 Prestressed section considered in the numerical analyses (prestressing steel on the left, or-
dinary steel at the right).
As it was done in previous studies, the temperature-time curve was derived from the parametric fire
model devised in [9], by setting the factor Γ (that accounts for several parameters such as ventilation
and thermal inertia of the enclosure) equal to 1. In this way, the heating phase coincides with the ISO-
834 fire curve. As for the cooling phase, a linear decrease of temperature with time was adopted, and
different cooling rates were considered (3, 5 and 10°C/min).
The thermal analyses of the section were carried out by means of two-dimensional model developed
by means of the commercial software ABAQUS 6.16 [11]. Thermal properties are adopted according
to EN 1992-1-2 [12] prescriptions. Mean value of conductivity and specific heat for dry concrete have
been assumed. Moreover, thermal properties are considered reversible in cooling and are a function of
temperature only. Longitudinal steel was not present in the model. The section was exposed to fire on

the three sides. The output of the thermal analysis, consisting of the temperature value at the centroid
of each finite element, was used as input for the subsequent mechanical analysis that was carried out
under the following main assumptions:
the Bernoulli-Navier hypothesis, namely plane sections remain plane;
b
perfect bond between the steel bars and the surrounding concrete.
The following reference mechanical properties at ambient temperature were assumed:
concrete compressive strength: fc = 40 MPa;
modulus of elasticity and yield strength of mild steel: Es = 210 GPa, fsy = 500 MPa;
if
modulus of elasticity and yield strength of prestressing steel: Ep = 195 GPa, fpy = 1860 MPa;
prestressing level at the onset of fire: σ0 = 1000 MPa.
As for the evolution of the mechanical properties with temperature, the values suggested in
EN 1992-1-2 [12] for siliceous concrete, ordinary and prestressing steel were assumed. Note that
siliceous concrete was chosen, because it is known to be more sensitive to high temperatures in
comparison to concretes containing other types of aggregate (e.g. calcareous or basalt).
The objective of the mechanical sectional analysis is to obtain the curvature of the section as a
function of time: in simply supported members, the structural behaviour is governed by the most
stressed section, and failure is indicated by a divergence of the curvature values. The sectional analysis
requires an iterative procedure, where the final results for a given fire duration are obtained once the
equilibrium equations are satisfied, within the prescribed tolerance on the total axial force N acting on
the section (∆N < 10-5). The iterative procedure was implemented in a purposely developed code, and
enabled the deformation history to be traced over the whole fire duration. Sectional failure is thus
attained if equilibrium is not possible, i.e. once the values of the reference axial deformation and
curvature tend to diverge (runaway failure). More detailed overview of the procedure can be found in
[13].
3 Mechanical properties
3.1 Concrete
3.1.1 Thermal strain
Thermal dilation is, at least in part, due to irreversible phenomena (micro- and macrocracking) that take
place upon heating because of the thermal incompatibility between aggregates and cement paste. There-
fore, a certain amount of residual deformation is to be expected after cooling [14]. The main factors
governing the amount of residual thermal deformation are the maximum temperature experienced, and
the aggregate type used in the concrete mix.

The rather limited number of experimental results [15] on residual thermal deformation suggest that
concrete thermal deformation can be considered as fully recoverable if the maximum temperature
experienced is lower than 100°C. On the other hand, if the maximum temperature is in the range
between 200 to 400°C, little residual shrinkage is to be expected. For higher maximum temperature
values, residual elongation is to be expected. As for the influence of aggregate, concretes with siliceous
aggregates exhibit larger residual deformations than limestone or expanded clay concretes. Bearing in
the main indications from experiments, the following assumptions were adopted in the present work:
the residual deformation for maximum temperatures below 500°C, be it contraction or
elongation, is negligible.
above 500°C, the residual thermal deformation is equal to 50% of the maximum thermal
dilation experienced.
For Tmax > 500°C, the thermal strain recovery upon cooling is a linear function of temperature.
3.1.2 Constitutive model
Accounting for the cooling phase in a constitutive model implies several peculiar issues to be addressed.
If only the heating phase is considered, assuming monotonic loading at each point generally yields good
results, though some unloading, due to thermal gradients, takes place in the core of the section. How-
ever, this unloading during heating takes place following the loading branch. On the contrary, if the
temperature-time curve includes a cooling branch, the constitutive laws should be suitably modified, in
order to allow for possible unloading due to irreversible phenomena.
Nataša Kalaba and Patrick Bamonte 487

In the following, the loading branch coincides with the stress-strain law provided in [12], whereas
unloading is assumed to take place along a linear branch, with the slope defined by the residual elastic
modulus. This assumption complies with the fact that the transient and creep strains (irreversible strain
components, with the transient strain being the largest component of the load-induced thermal strain)
b
that are responsible for the increased deformability of concrete upon first heating, are not recovered
during unloading. As a consequence, the residual elastic modulus at any temperature is larger than the
elastic modulus in hot conditions, the difference being the irreversible components of strain:
if
Eres = k⋅ Ehot (1)
where Ehot is the initial tangent modulus of elasticity in hot conditions, and k is a constant value (with
k > 1, as commonly found in laboratory tests). As can be seen in Fig. 2 (left), once the stress
corresponding to the peak strain is reached, only plastic loading (with increase in strain increment) or
unloading along a linear branch (if strain increment is negative) can occur. It is worth noting that the
stress can go to zero with a strain value (i.e. cracking strain) greater than zero. Below this strain value,
as usually occurs in the numerical analysis of concrete members, the contribution of the tensile stresses
is negligible.
By keeping track of the strain corresponding to the peak stress, loading and unloading can occur as
many times as required, with the cracking strain shifting and the stress-strain curve changing shape.
As for thermal damage, during the heating phase, the stress-strain curves are adapted to allow for
decreasing compressive strength and increasing deformability. During the cooling phase, since thermal
damage is usually considered as a function of maximum temperature only, the stress-strain curves are
not updated.
3.2 Steel
3.2.1 Thermal strain
The thermal strain for both prestressing and reinforcing steel is computed according to the expressions
provided in [12]. No residual thermal strain has been assumed for steel, which is considered a material
that recovers its properties upon cooling. This assumption is in agreement with the rather limited num-
ber of experimental results available to date.
3.2.2 Constitutive model
For both prestressing and reinforcing steel, elastic-perfectly plastic stress-strain laws with linear un-
loading branch were adopted (Fig. 2 (right)). As a consequence, there is no difference between the
proportional limit and the yield stress. Since for significant fire durations and/or at impending collapse
steel is likely to be yielded, this assumption plays a minor role on the results. Main difference between
the ordinary and prestressing steel is in the higher thermal decay of the mechanical properties of the
latter.
The evolution of the stress-strain law at any given point is governed by the maximum temperature
experienced and loading history. The accumulation of residual plastic deformation changes the position,
but not the shape of the stress-strain diagram. Note that the effects of creep (and therefore the relaxation
of prestressing steel) are implicitly taken into account by reducing the modulus of elasticity with
increasing temperature.
4 Parametric analysis
Several parameters were varied, in order to investigate their influence on the behaviour of the selected
prestressed concrete beam section exposed to natural fire, and most importantly to get sound conclu-
sions about their influence on the failure. Fire severity, determined by the duration of the heating phase
and the cooling rate, is certainly among the most critical parameters governing the response. If the
failure of the section, whether in the heating or in the cooling phase of a fire, is to be studied, then the
maximum temperature in the section, and most importantly in the prestressing steel, can provide the
answers required.

s
Ehot
s
fy
b
epl,2
Eres
if
esy esy e
epl,2
ecr epeak e
-fy
Fig. 2 Stress-strain model for concrete in compression at a given temperature, in loading and un-
loading (left), stress-strain model for steel at a given temperature, in loading and unloading
conditions (right).
Failure is likely to occur if the temperature in the strands reaches a critical value. However, it should
be underlined that the maximum temperature is dependent not only on fire duration, but also on the
section geometry and reinforcement layout (i.e. concrete cover).
The duration of the heating phase was from 15 to 60 minutes, while keeping the cooling rate fixed
at 5ºC/min. Cooling rates varied between 3ºC/min, 5ºC/min and 10ºC/min, for a fixed heating phase
duration of 30 minutes. In this way, the influence on the failure of the cooling rate could be studied.
Load level is a parameter of utmost importance. It can be conveniently expressed as the ratio of the
externally applied bending moment to the ultimate moment capacity at ambient temperature. Two
values were considered in this work: M/Mu =0.15 and 0.30. Note that values of the moment ratio higher
than 0.30 are of little importance, because they would imply that the structure does not comply with the
minimum safety requirements even before the fire.
5 Results
5.1 Role of the thermal field

Given that almost the full moment capacity of the double-tee section is provided by the prestressing
steel, it is more than clear that a sizable loss of stiffness and strength has to be prevented in order to
avoid failure. However, since the concrete cover is rather thin (average of 3 cm, Fig. 1) very high tem-
peratures are likely to be attained in most cases. In Fig. 3 (left), the average temperature in the strands
is plotted as a function of the duration of the heating phase, for the reference cooling rate of 5°C/min.
It is worth noting that the temperature increase continues long after the onset of the cooling phase: as a
matter of fact, the maximum temperature is reached at approximately 90 and 100 minutes for heating
phase durations of 15 and 30 minutes respectively, and at 130 minutes for heating phase duration of 60
minutes. As previously mentioned, this can be attributed to the low conductivity and high thermal ca-
pacity of concrete, which delay the heat transfer towards the inner layers of the section. Note that failing
to account for the cooling phase leads to a significant underestimation of the maximum temperature
(from -40 to -75%). In Fig. 4 (left), the average temperature in the strands is plotted as a function of the
cooling rate, for the reference duration of the heating phase of 30 minutes. The maximum temperature
in the prestressing steel is significantly lower for a cooling rate of 10ºC/min than for 3ºC/min (-25%),
something that reduces the likelihood of delayed failure in the cooling phase.
5.2 Influence of fire duration

In the Fig. 3 (right), the response of the section as a function of the fire duration, for a load level M/Mu
= 0.15 and a cooling rate = 5°C/min, has been shown.

The double-tee section is only able to survive the fires with shorter durations (15 and 30 minutes),
while it fails at the early stage of the cooling phase for the fire duration of 60 minutes, due to the
extremely high temperatures attained in the strands (Fig. 3 (left)).
Even though the load level is rather low, upward bending (associated with the negative values of
b
curvature) only takes place in the very first phases of the fire, when the prestressing level and stiffness
of the strands are to a great extent maintained. Later on, as the temperature in the prestressing steel
further increases, the response is governed by downward bending (Fig. 3 (right)).
if
800
Double tee 60 minutes
700 Cooling rate = 5°C/min 30 minutes 0.05
15 minutes Double tee
Cool. rate = 5°C/min
600
0.04 M/Mu = 0.15
temperature [°C]
500
fire duration = 60 minutes
curvature [m-1]
0.03
400
0.02
300
0.01 30 minutes
200
15 minutes
100 0
50 100 150 200 250 300

0
-0.01
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 time [min]
time [min]
Fig. 3 Influence of fire duration for double-tee beam on average temperature in the strands (left),
curvature of the section (right) (M/Mu = 0.15, 5ºC/min).
5.3 Influence of the cooling rate

Figure 10 shows the response of the double-tee beam sections as a function of the cooling rate, for a
load level M/Mu = 0.15 and fire duration = 30minutes. Cooling rates are set to 3, 5 and 10ºC/min, to
simulate different cooling regimes.
For the reference load level, the section fails during the cooling phase for the lowest cooling rate
(3°C/min), due to prolonged heating of the prestressing steel. On the other hand, the section was able
to withstand the full heating-cooling cycle for higher cooling rates. Variation of the cooling rate from
5 to 10°C/min brings in a sizable reduction of the residual displacements. The structural behaviour (and
the deformation reversal) is governed by the cooling of the strands, that is indicated with a full dot in
Fig. 4 (right).
It is worth observing that although fast cooling may cause thermal shock (and thus spalling) in the
superficial layers, because of the steep thermal gradients, it proves to be beneficial, even more for
shorter fire durations, as it prevents the prestressing steel from reaching critically high temperatures.
5.4 Influence of the load level

The load level plays a very significant role in determining sectional response to fire. The bending mo-
ment due to external loads tends to induce downward bending (positive curvature), while prestressing
alone tends to cause the opposite response of upward. In the double-tee section (Fig. 5, duration of the
heating phase = 15 minutes, cooling rate = 5°C/min), the load level M/Mu = 0.15 brings in a residual
negative curvature (upward deflection) that is of the same order of magnitude of that at the beginning
of the fire, while the load level M/Mu = 0.30, though not causing collapse, causes a residual downward
deflection, that is several times larger than the initial one.

800 0.016
Double tee 3°C/min Double tee
700 Fire duration = 30 min 5°C/min Fire duration = 30 minutes
10°C/min M/Mu = 0.15
b
0.012
temperature [°C]
600 onset of strands’ cooling
cooling rate = 3°C/min
curvature [m-1]
500 5°C/min
0.008
400
if
300 0.004
10°C/min
200
0
100
50 100 150 200 250 300
0
-0.004
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 time [min]
time [min]
Fig. 4 Influence of the cooling rate on the average temperature in the strands (left), and curvature
of the section (right) (fire duration = 30 minutes; M/Mu = 0.15).
0.006
M/Mu = 0.30
0.004
curvature [m-1]
0.002
M/Mu = 0.15
50 100 150 200 250 300
-0.002
Double tee
Fire duration = 15 minutes
Cooling rate = 5°C/min
-0.004
time [min]
Fig. 5 Influence of load level on the curvature of the section (fire duration = 15 minutes; cooling
rate = 5°C/min).
6 Conclusions
The numerical investigations carried out allow drawing some general conclusions on the structural be-
haviour of prestressed concrete members exposed to natural fires.
The influence of section geometry is determined mainly by the concrete cover and available
“thermal mass”, but also by the extent to which prestressing steel contributes to the overall flexural
capacity. The results clearly indicate that heating of the prestressing steel continues long after the onset
of the cooling phase, especially for lower fire durations.
As a consequence, depending on the values of fire duration, cooling rate and load level, failure can take
place also in the cooling phase.

Cooling rate and load level both proved to be important factors. With longer durations of the cooling
phase, higher temperatures can be reached in the prestressing steel, especially in more massive sections.
In the section examined, doubling the cooling rate from 5 to 10°C/min brings in a sizable reduction of
the residual displacements. As for the load level, depending on whether the effects of prestressing or
b
those of the external applied loads prevail, the residual displacements can be either upward deflections
or downward deflections.
Generally speaking, irreversible effects, such as residual thermal deformation and accumulation of
plastic deformations, which in principle may play an important role in the cooling phase, are definitely
if
of minor importance, if failure is at issue. On the contrary, their importance increases in members
surviving the whole fire, where the estimation of the residual displacements can give indications on the
level of thermal damage. This topic, which is of crucial importance from the practical point of view,
needs to be investigated in more detail.
References
[1] Buchanan, A. H. 2002. Structural Design for Fire Safety. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester (UK).
[2] Gustaferro, A. H. 1973. “Design of prestressed concrete for fire resistance.” Journal of Prest-
ressed Concrete Institute 18:102-116.
[3] Gustaferro, A. H., and L. D. Martin. 1989. Design for Fire Resistance of Precast Prestressed
Concrete. Prestressed Concrete Institute, 2nd Edition.
[4] Ellobody, E., and C. G. Bailey. 2008. “Fire Tests on Bonded Post-tensioned Concrete
Slabs.“ Engineering Structures 31:686-696.
[5] Aguado, J. V., A. Espinos, A. Hospitaler, J. Ortega, and M. L. Romero. 2012. “Fire Resistance
of Hollow-Core Slabs. Influence of Reinforcement Arrangement.“ Paper presented at the 7th
International Conference on Structures in Fire, Zurich, Switzerland, June 6-8.
[6] Kodur, V. K. R., and A. M. Shakya. 2014. “Modeling the Response of Precast, Prestressed
Concrete Hollow-Core Slabs Exposed to Fire.“ PCI Journal 59:78-94.
[7] Venanzi, I., M. Breccolotti, A. D’Alessandro, and A. L. Materazzi. 2014. “Fire Performance
Assessment of HPLWC Hollow-Core Slabs through Full-Scale Furnace Testing.“ Fire Safety
Journal 69:12-22.
[8] Hou, X., V. K. R. Kodur, and W. Zheng. 2014. “Factors Governing the Fire Response of Bon-
ded Prestressed Concrete Continuous Beams.“ Materials and Structures 48:2885-2900.
[9] CEN. 2002. Eurocode 1 – EN 1991-1-2: Actions on Structures, Part 1-2: General Actions –
Actions on Structures Exposed to Fire. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization.
[10] Kodur, V. K., and A. Agrawal. 2016. “Critical Factors Governing the Residual Response of
Reinforced Concrete Beams Exposed to Fire.” Fire Technology 52:967-93.
[11] ABAQUS. 2016. Version 6.16 Documentation. Dassault Systems Simulia Corp. Providence (RI,
USA).
[12] CEN. 2004. Eurocode 2 – EN 1992-1-2: Design of Structures, Part 1-2: General Rules- Struc-
tural Fire Design. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization.
[13] Bamonte, P., N. Kalaba, and R. Felicetti. 2018. “Computational study on prestressed concrete
members exposed to natural fires.“ Fire Safety Journal 97:54-65.
[14] Khoury, G. A., B. N. Grainger, and P. J. E. Sullivan. 1986. “Strain of Concrete during First
Heating to 600°C under Load.“ Magazine of Concrete Research 37:195-215.
[15] RILEM. 1985. Properties of Materials at High Temperatures: Concrete. Ed. by U. Schneider,
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany.

FEA simulation and probability approach of the road

barrier crash tests
b
Kalinský Michal1, Marková Jana2
1TÜV SÜD Czech s.r.o., DYCOT laboratory, Novodvorská 994/138 14221 Prague 4, mi-
chal.kalinsky@tuv-sud.cz
if
2CzechTechnical University in Prague, Klokner Institute, Czech Republic, jana.mar-
kova@cvut.cz
Abstract
The design and verification of the new types of road safety barriers suffers from several deficiencies
including a lack of prescriptive models for impact forces caused by various types of road vehicles.
When designing the load-bearing members of barriers, alternative procedures for accidental actions,
including dynamic ones, non-linear and probabilistic approaches are applied. Detailed analysis of the
crash behaviour of road restraint system is based on non-linear dynamic finite element simulations
using vehicle models. Modelling process is validated with the real tests in collaboration with the testing
laboratory TÜV SÜD GmbH in Memmingen. Main project aim is to develop accurate methodology
that would replace the real crash tests into traffic barriers with numerical simulations and reliability
methods. In spite of improvement of CAE engineering and numerical simulations methods, the certifi-
cation and homologation based only on numerical methods is not anticipated in a near future. Main aim
is to reduce number of the physical tests and substitute them with simulations. Such an approach would
significantly reduce costs for any road safety system development with only one physical homologation
test.
1 Introduction
The accident rate on roads in the Czech Republic, as well as that in other European countries, still
represents the serious problem. The number of fatalities, or seriously injured people, is high, in spite of
the producers’ efforts to make cars safer, and both governmental and non-governmental organizations’
attempts to educate drivers.
Social losses in terms of the financial costs arising from traffic accidents are also significant high.
In 2016 these losses were estimated at 68 billion CZK, which is about 108% of the total state budget
deficit for the year 2015.
One of the most critical parts, decreasing the risks of the accident situation, is road restraint systems.
These structures are known as road barriers worldwide. Road safety barriers provide protection for
traffic on roads, as well as for their immediate surroundings.
Various aspects have to be considered when selecting the appropriate types of safety barrier. For
the selection of appropriate safety measures, the retention level for road barriers has to be determined,
taking into account the dangerous sections of the road and the need for the protection of road
surroundings.
The safety barriers should fulfil several requirements, including the following:
the impact forces should be damped by the restraint system
the soft impact of passenger cars
the redirection of vehicles back onto the carriageway after the impact
the overturning of vehicles should be avoided
the deflections of the barriers should be small and within serviceability constraints
the easy replacement of any damaged parts of the restraint system.
Only one type of the accidental design situation for road barriers exists. It is the vehicle crash event.
Obviously, these structures are primary designed for accident situation. Other functions, if exists, play
minor roles. When solving the problem of road barrier reliability, it may be appropriate to use
probabilistic methods of structural reliability and risk engineering methods to assess the consequences

of their failure. This approach helps designers to define the proper road barrier at place corresponding
to the actual risk level.
b
2 Road barrier design requirements
A design of a traffic barrier itself is based on the European standard EN 1317 and also the Eurocodes.
This standard exactly defines characteristics and requirements (e.g. theoretical values of impact forces)
which have to be met. However, the real values of forces might be significantly higher (up to five
if
times), which is mentioned in documents for overloaded construction works. Within the research of
traffic barriers, some workplaces (e.g. Aachen University, TNO Delft, Klokner Institute) have been
engaged in a more accurate conception of the crash process, which is more meaningful and reliable than
theoretical impact force approach.
The safety barrier is designed for the relevant retaining levels, and verified within a crash test.
Presently, it is forbidden to substitute experimental tests with theoretical analyses only. However,
analyses may be used for the designing of barrier modifications.
Presently, the working draft of the Technical report of CEN/TC 226 (TR 2010) provides basic
guidance for verification of road barriers based on crash test simulations.
For the approval of a particular new type of road safety barrier, the crash test, at present, is the only
one recognized. The results of theoretical simulations may be compared with crash tests, which may be
used for test validation with respect to the modification of barriers (improvement of details, changes in
material and restraining level). However, the modifications of specific barriers cannot significantly
differ from the experimentally tested original barrier.
For the designing of barriers, various supplementary national codes and technical requirements
should also be applied in the CEN Member states, including TP 114 (TP 114 2015) [10] in the Czech
Republic. Two types of road barrier are given within the scope of TP 114: “approved” road barriers,
which are included in EN 1317 [3] as construction products, and “other” road bridge barriers, which
include barriers designed according to project specifications that are not repeated in individual bridges,
and thus, are not considered to belong to the field of construction products.
For these “other” barrier designs, five categories of impact forces are introduced (with
recommended forces from 100 kN to 600 kN). Moreover, the prescriptive document provides
requirements for the restraining level of safety barriers for various categories of protected surroundings
(Jung 2007). The requirements for verification of “other” safety barriers given in (TP 114 2010) are
based on (EN 1991-2 2006). However, it appears that the recommended impact forces for the design of
safety barriers are rather low and should be further verified.
Fig. 1 Analysis of critical parts of various road barriers.
3 Probability assessment principles

Requirements on target reliability level of transportation constructions and road safety barriers have
been not specified enough for accidental design situations till now. The Eurocode CSN EN 1991-1-7
provides indicative (minimum) requirements on quasi-static values of accidental actions due to impact
of heavy vehicles only. Impacting forces based on probabilistic approach lead to three time greater
values which are however, commonly not applied in structural design.
Basic approach of the probability assessment is specified in Eurocode EN 1990 [1]. The principles
could be used in specific cases for structure reliability assessment including the road barrier. Initially
the limit state function G(X) for the vector of the basic values needs to be specified. The probabilistic

model are entering the limit state function. The structure is reliable if the following condition is true
G(X) > 0. Failure probability Pf is given by the following formulae
Pf = ∫ f ( x )dx (1)
b
X
G ( X )≤0
where fX(x) is the combined probability density for realizing the vector x of the basic quantities. Further,
maybe most important parameter for structure reliability is reliability index β. The reliability index is
defined on the basis of failure probability Pf as follows:
if
β = −Φ-1(Pf) (2)
where Φ denotes the Normal distribution function. The probability Pf and the reliability index β are
fully equivalent reliability indices. The relationship between the probability of failure and reliability
index is shown in the Table. 1.
Tab. 1. The relationship between the probability of failure Pf and reliability index β .
Pf 10-1 10-2 10-3 10-4 10-5 10-6 10-7
β 1.3 2.3 3.1 3.7 4.2 4.7 5.2
In many cases it is possible to express the limit state function by two separate basic variables X1 and X2
(the member resistance R and the load effects E) by the following formulae:
g(R, E) = 0 (3)
The analysis of the failure probability of the structural member is based on the expression (1). The
calculated probability of failure PF or reliability index β is compared to the reference (target) probability
value PFt or reliability index βt. It is assumed that the structure is reliable when the following condition
is met
PF < PFt , resp. β > βt. (4)
Reliability of the road barrier structure can be solved analytically, e.g. by approximate analytical
methods (FORM, SORM, moment method), numerical methods of integration, simulation methods
(Monte Carlo) or combinations of these methods [4],[5].
4 Probabilistic model of the accidental impact load

Using the mathematical model of the vehicle deceleration and road lane leaving, we can describe the
pre-crash conditions. Based on the statistical data and collision probability, the accidental impact load
can be defined.
Initial data for accidental impact load in JCSS Probabilistic model code [4] covers:
Object which moves in defined distance from traffic lane and can potentially impact to the
obstacle.
Existence of human or mechanical fault leading to the vehicle lane leaving. Poisson distribution
describes this event.
Object movement direction after initial fault
Collision with the structure or obstacle
Initial velocity v0 and angle α are the main characteristics which describes the vehicle movement or
pre-crash conditions. There is no evidence of the dependency between v0 and α for straight sections of
the road. The impact angle varies from 0° to 30°, in extreme and rare cases up to 40°. In most countries,
statistics are available for different types of roads, especially highways. According to the guideline [4],
the probability of the highway leaving is app. 10-7 per vehicle and km. The real value may be actually
higher or lower, depending on local conditions. Concretely these conditions are the vehicle speed, type
of road, vehicle weight, local weather conditions and traffic intensity at daytime.
The vehicle usually decelerates behind the point of leaving the track as a result of road bumps,
obstacles or driver interference. It is assumed, that vehicle keeps the direction of the movement. The
velocity v(t) and distance r(t) are calculated as a function of the time t.
Michal Kalinský and Jana Marková 495

v(t) = v0 – at (5)
r(t) = v0 t – ½ at2 (6)
ifb
Fig. 2 Probabilistic model of the vehicle lane leaving and collision into the obstacle by JCSS.
The probability of the vehicle collision with the obstacle (e.g. structural member, column) is possible
to define using the model of the vehicle lane leaving and the model of collision with obstacle.
5 Study of the road barrier crash reliability analysis

The model of the heavy truck crash with the bridge barrier is the base for the reliability analysis, de-
scribed below. The mathematical model is based on the Eurocode EN 1991-1-7 [2] for accidental loads
and the principles of the JCSS Manual [4]. The Eurocode [2] also gives quasi-static recommended
values of impact forces. These forces are usually considered in the road barrier strength design.
The aim of the case study is to determine the impact force considering the target reliability index
2.3 in accidental design situation. Further, the impact force is compared with the relevant design force
according to EN 1991-1-7, Annex B [2]. The case study was solved in COMREL 8.1 Symbolic by
STRUREL.
The limit state function based on the determination of the reliability margin Z(r,e):
Z(r,e)= R – E (6)
Structural resistance R is the static equivalent value of the design force Fd, according to EN 1991-1-7
[2]. For heavy truck impact in our case study Fd = 1000 kN.
Load effect E can be based on the simple impact force model to determine the impact force, as
described in EN 1991-1-7 [2], Annex C. The vehicle is substituted by the model of elastic beam (mass
m and stiffness k), thus the maximal interaction force is:
F= √ m.k .vr2 = √ [ m..k.(v02 – 2as)] (7)
Determination of the impact velocity:
F= √ (v02 – 2 a s ) = vo 1 − d / d b (for d < db) (8)
Used probabilistic models are based on EN 1991-1-7 [2]. Complementary information provides JCSS
and [5],[6],[7]. It is advisable to consider in the limit state function (6) the model uncertainties for the
load effects ƟE as well as for the structural resistance ƟR, so it can be written
Z(r,e)= ƟR R – ƟE E (9)
Resulting impact force for the target reliability index β = 2.3 was determined by sub sequential iteration.
The results of the case study are summarized in the Tab. 2. The influence of basic variables on failure
probability is analysed by the sensitivity coefficients α.
R 0.00
KE -0.33
m -0.60
k -0.35
vo -0.53
a 0.11
d 0.00
UH -0.27
KR 0.18
Sum of a² 1.00
Fig. 3 Sensitivity coefficients of the basic variables used in case study.


Tab 2. Analysis results of impact forces.

Analysis Impact force Fd Reliability index β
2770 kN 2,3
b
Heavy truck impact incl. the model uncertainties
Heavy truck impact excl. the model uncertainties 2770 kN 2,1
Analysis results shows, that the final reliability index β is sensitive for the following values: vehicle
mass, impact speed, stiffness, load uncertainties coefficient, impact angle and others.
if
6 Road barrier FE model development and verification
6.1 General
Current manufacturer’s trend is to minimize the costs for the physical testing as well as shorten the
development time as much as possible. In order to minimize the testing costs, current aim of the man-
ufacturers, research institution as well as of this contribution is to the develop a methodology for sub-
stitution of the vehicle crash tests into traffic barriers by adequate computer simulation. Working group
CEN/TC226/ WG1 is focused to solve the road barrier dynamic analysis.
The Finite Element Method (hereinafter referred to "FEM or FEA") is worldwide known and used
method in many industries including civil engineering, machinery and the automotive industry.
Crash test simulations using FEM is usually a strongly nonlinear dynamic task. These tasks are
solved using explicit analysis. Due to the different requirements to modelling in different software, it
is advisable to know the capabilities of the used software. FEA allows performing a fully detailed model
and finally leads to assess the road barrier behaviour as well as the vehicle during the crash event.
Furthermore is possible to gain a complex overview of outcomes related to the structure deflection,
stress distribution and energy balance. However, this approach needs a demanding computation
performance and capacity.
Non-linear dynamic software PAM-CRASH v.2016 suitable for the computation of large plastic
deformations step-by step beyond the yield strength of the material is used for all crash simulations in
this article.
The methodology described here is designed as a formal supplement to the existing Technical
Conditions TP 101-Calculations of road barriers [9]. The methodology freely complements the
proposed document CEN/TC 226 Road Restraint Systems - Guidelines for computational mechanics of
crash testing against vehicle restraint systems [8].
Fig.4 Comparison of the computer simulation and real crash test.
FE analysis of the crash event issue should be divided into following three main areas.
6.2 FE model of the road barrier

FE model of the road barrier is crucial part of the entire crash simulation. For a different type of the
barriers, the appropriate approach of modelling should be used. Main decision parameters are the ma-
terial of the barrier and anchorage type (bridge parapet, soil or others).

ifb
Fig. 5 Comparison of the test results in computer simulation (left) and real crash test (right).
Except the vehicle model, simulation involves significant length of the road barrier (up to 100 m) to
reproduce boundary conditions and interaction between the vehicle and the barrier. The time step in the
FEM is determined from the smallest element, so it is important to have a uniform net with sufficient
geometric and numerical accuracy. Elements with coarse net have a fast time step but may not suffi-
ciently represent the shape of the object. The most significant parts of the model must be modelled with
a sufficiently fine mesh size.
Dominant material of the road barriers decides the modelling approach of every single element.
Situation is much easier in the case of steel barriers. Typical elasto-plastic material models are used.
For the initial verification of the road barriers, the bilinear elastic-plastic material model can also
be used, further completed of real stress-strain diagram from the material tests.
Steel is typical by hardening effect when exceeding the yield strength. This is an essential
characteristic for the described tasks. This reinforcement can be modelled according to the material law
by Krupkowski and Swift:
k. ; (10)
where k and n are the material constants determined by the tests. The situation is much more
complicated in case of monolithic concrete road barriers. More details can be found in [11].
The mounting of the posts into the ground support shall be in accordance with the test conditions.
It is necessary to distinguish whether the barrier is fixed in to the bridge curb using anchorage bolts, or
posts are purely rammed into the soil. In the first case, the anchor bolts can be modeled as other screw
connections on the barrier.
In case of the rammed posts is possible to model the anchorage for instance by meaning of springs
with different stiffness over the depth. Stiffness is based on the soil characteristics, obtained from the
detailed geotechnical survey. Stiffness must be at least for three posts determined over the depth of the
barrier pillar. These stiffness can be simply defined by the boundary conditions. In most cases will
apply for the springs k3> k2> k1.
Fig. 6 Detail of two different type of road barrier anchorage.

6.3 Impact characteristics of the vehicles

Standard (EN 1317-2 2010) defines the basic parameters of cars to be used in real crash tests, such as
dimensions, weight and centre of gravity position. However, the results of the real test may vary ac-
b
cording to the used type of the testing vehicle. The type of the used vehicle has significant effect on the
simulation results. The type of the vehicle can become decisive factor in the test where the road barrier
is close to the limit.
If each testing institution uses different vehicles, then the compatibility of the results cannot be fully
guaranteed. This may be even more significant when older vehicles are used for crash tests. These
if
vehicles are not divided into individual impact zones, while their structure could be considerably
damaged by corrosion or improper repair.
6.3.1 FE model of the passenger car
In order to receive reliable results, all vehicle models should be complex and validated. The model of
the passenger car used within this contribution is based on the 1st generation of the basic Skoda Fabia
model. The model is verified in accordance with the real crash test data (passive safety tests).
6.3.2 FE model of the bus and heavy truck
According to the available information, the testing institution in the Czech Republic uses an older type
of the Karosa bus for the standard crash test. For test TB51, a basic model of a bus has been developed.
It is a typical representative of the intercity bus (category MII) with a length of 12 m. The bus has a
standard construction of steel profiles corresponding with this vehicle category.
It should be noted that the shape and method of construction of commercial vehicles (buses or
trucks), does not have a significant effect on the crash simulation results. On the other side the frontal
part shape has significant effect to the crash behaviour. Therefore this part of the model needs to be
modelled closest to the real conditions.
6.4 FE simulations of the crash event

The simulation of the road barrier crash tests is a complex problem depending on many input parame-
ters. Modelling the impact event using nonlinear dynamic simulations has limiting conditions which
were mentioned in this article. The wide range of the simulations indicates several fundamental prob-
lems that need to be taken into account.
The size of the curb rail and road barrier offset affects the test results. Currently there is no
given a harmonized height of the bridge parapet for a physical test in the EU. It is therefore
necessary to prepare computational simulation within the parameters of the testing lab.
Contact tasks are crucial parameters for simulation tuning. Within the high speed crash event
simulations (especially TB 32), a problem with the stability of the numerical calculations and
capturing elements was observed. These problems lead to the complete impairment of results.
The problem is also magnified by the requirement for a lengthy time simulation (more than 600
ms). Therefore, it is necessary to avoid the accumulation of numerical errors by using of high
precision solutions.
The friction coefficient between the wheel and road affects the results. Therefore, it is best to
use the rotated wheels and tyres in the crash simulation. Other approach is to use different
friction coefficients in the radial and axial directions, if possible.
Vehicle models should be validated to ensure a real deformation of the structure. This demand
is not so strict when modelling the impacts with larger vehicles (buses, trucks).
The material characteristics should be validated through real experiments. An ideal is to define
the material behaviour above the yield strength as well as at high speed deformation.
The advantage of FEA simulation, among other things, is also the possibility of a thorough study result,
individual variables measuring and evaluating of the structure behavior. Such thorough evaluation
options cannot be fully applied in practice due to the disproportionately high cost of testing equipment.
In the simulations, the following additional variables can be evaluated beyond the requirements of EN
1317:
Energy balance of the calculation (retrospective calculation check)
Stress distribution on the barrier structure (Von Mises)
Contact force between the vehicle and barrier

Deformation of each individual elements of the barrier

Plastic deformation, taking into account the strain method (tensile/pressure)
Acceleration and speed of the vehicle
b
The maximum peak of the force between the vehicle and the barrier can be determined from the contact
force graph., see fig.7. These values can be compared with theoretical design impact forces, for example
in TP 101-Calculations of road barriers [9].
Fig. 7
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Analysis of vehicle – barrier contact force time history.
Conclusions and outlooks

Requirements for the reliability target level of road barriers in accidental design situations have not yet
been sufficiently specified and it should be deal with it further. It is appropriate to use probability anal-
yses and risk based approach to determine the target reliability levels. To analyse the consequences of
structure failure or barrier overcome in a collision with a heavy vehicle the methods of risk engineering
and FEA simulations described in the paper can be successfully applied.
The principles introduced above respect the complexity and wide range of road barrier crash
simulation as a whole. It should be noted that for a thorough study of the individual components, the
detailed sub - analyses must be completed. However, this paper is not focused on detailed modelling
description.
The research continues and some parts of the simulations are continuously improved. For instance,
in some simulations the vehicle models should be improved by using a detailed steering mechanism on
the front axle or definition of the tyre puncture. Then the trajectory of the vehicle could be more
accurately evaluated after the impact.
The simplification of model is also important for further steps. The aim is to simplify the whole
model without having effect on the final results accuracy. This approach leads to the significant
decrease of calculation time.
Acknowledgement
This work has been supported by the FV20585 „Operational methods of monitoring, prediction of ser-
vice life of bridges and guarantee of safety bridges“ supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade
of the Czech Republic.

References
[1] CEN. 2004. EN 1990 Eurocode: Basis of structural design. Brussels: European Committee for
Standardization.
b
[2] CEN. 2007. EN 1991-1-7 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-7: General actions – Ac-
cidental actions. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization.
[3] The Office for Standardization, Metrology and Testing. 2011. ČSN EN 1317 Road restraint
systems, Parts 1 and 2.
[4] The Office for Standardization, Metrology and Testing. 2016. ČSN ISO 2394 General princip-
if
les on reliability for structures.
[5] PMC JCSS 2001. JCSS Probabilistic Model Code. Joint Committee on Structural Safety.
<www.jcss.byg.dtu.dk>
[6] Holický, M. 2009. Reliability Analysis for Structural Design. African Sun media Stellenbosch.
[7] Vintr, Z., and M. Vala. 2014. “Effects a vehicle crash into bridge column.“ Paper presented at
the International Conference Transport Means,, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Li-
thuania, January 10-11.
[8] CEN/TR 2010. Road restraint systems – Guidelines for computational mechanics of crash tes-
ting against vehicle restraint system, Part 1 Common reference information and reporting, Part
2: Vehicle Modelling and Verification, Part 3: Test Item Modelling and Verification, Part 4:
Validation Procedures, CEN/TC 226, 2010
[9] Technical requirements of the Ministry of Transport. 1998. TP 101 Calculation of barriers.
[10] Technical requirements of the Ministry of Transport. 2015. TP 114 Barriers on roads.
[11] Ministry of Transport. 2015. Methodology of design of road anti-noise safety barriers.

ifb

Numerical prediction of ballistic limit and failures of

plain concrete slabs
b
Kamran Kamran and Mohammad Ashraf Iqbal
Indian institute of Technology, Roorkee -247667, India
if
Abstract
In the present work, the numerical analysis is carried out to find the ballistic limit and failure pattern of
the plain concrete slab. The Modified HJC material model is used for numerical simulation. It is
incorporated through user material model into the ABAQUS/Explicit software. The FORTRAN
language is used for VUMAT subroutine coding. Further the obtained results are compared with
experimental results as well as numerical results obtained using HJC material model by Rajput (2017).
The ballistic limit obtained using Modified HJC model are found closer with the experimental results
than the numerically obtained by Rajput (2017). The failure pattern are found quite similar with the
experimental result than the numerical results of the Rajput (2017).
1 Introduction
The concrete is widely used as the fundamental building construction material for protective structures
like bunkers, ammunition stores, nuclear containments etc. These structures are susceptible to missile
impact therefore its ballistic assessment is very important to in order to design these structures. Due to
its complex material behaviour, the mechanics of penetration and perforation in concrete is relatively
more complex than in metals [1]. However, a number of relative studies have been performed
experimentally, analytically and numerically to describe various penetration processes. Hanchak et al.
[2] conducted perforation experiments with steel projectile over 178-mm-thick concrete slabs with
48MPa and 140MPa unconfined compressive strengths. They found the residual velocities for the
140MPa concrete were 20% lower than that for the 48MPa concrete. Frew et al. [3] carried out sets of
experiments with three diameters of concrete targets with an average compressive strength of 23MPa
and 76.2-mm-diameter, 3.0 caliber-radius-head, 13-kg projectiles. They measured negligible changes
in penetration depth and only small decreases in deceleration magnitude as the targets’ diameters were
reduced. Zineddina et al. [4] performed series of experiment of slab under projectile impact. They
investigated the effects of different types of slab reinforcements and the applied impact loads on the
dynamic response and behaviour of reinforced concrete slabs. Liu et al. [5] investigated the numerical
simulations of oblique-angle penetration by deformable projectiles into concrete targets. They

compared the numerical results with experimental data obtained by previous authors and found good
agreement with them. Huang et al. [6] studied perforation of steel-bar-reinforced concrete target
numerically. It reported the residual velocity of the projectile predicted by the numerical simulation are
in good agreement with the experimental results reported by previous author. Rajput [7] carried out
experimental and numerical studies of different concrete targets. The HJC material model was used for
numerical simulation. It had found significant influence of reinforcement and initial stress on the
ballistic resistance of concrete targets. The numerical results of ballistic limits were found comparable
while the failure pattern were not matched with the experimental results. The Borvik et al [8] has
proposed a modified HJC model for finding the actual failure pattern numerically. The validation of
the proposed model has been carried out by Hanchak et al. [2] results.
In the present paper, a constitutive model proposed by Borvik et al [8] has been developed using
FORTRAN language in the form of VUMAT subroutine which is incorporated into the
ABAQUS/explicit and a series of numerical simulation has been carried out to validate the experimental
results and also compared with numerical results obtained by Rajput [7].
2 Constitutive material models
Borvik et al. [8]. The modified model is provided the normalized equivalent strength, σ∗ , of concrete
The modified HJC constitutive material model is used for numerical analysis which is proposed by

as a function of pressure and strain rate, damage and shear strength reduction factor. The equation 1
shows the modified normalized equivalent strength as
∗
+ ∗
1− ∗
, ≤
σ ∗
! ≥ − ∗ 1 − ,
∗
b
0 ! ∗ < − ∗ 1 − ,
= (1)
In which σ∗ = % / &' , σ is actual equivalent stress, &' is uniaxial compressive strength, D is material
damage (0 ≤ D ≤ 1), B is the pressure hardening coefficient, ∗ = / &' is the normalized maximum
hydrostatic pressure, P is the actual pressure, N is the pressure hardening exponent and ∗ = / &' is
if
the normalized maximum tensile pressure. R function is a reduction of the shear strength because in tri-
axial experiments on concrete clearly demonstrate the substantial difference of shear strength in
conventional tri-axial compression (compressive meridian) and tri-axial extension (tensile meridian).
As per the equation 2, R function depend upon the deviatoric polar angle and the normalized out-of-
roundness parameter e,
,
) *+ , &-./0 ) +* 1 *+ , &-. , /02 , +1 3/,
1 *+ , &-. , /0 *+) ,
= (2)
Where and e are defined as
= 6 7 +* 8 B
* )9:;<= :
5 )>?@
A (2.1)
0.65 ! ∗
< 0,
= C0.65 + 1 − 0.65 ! 0 ≤ ≤ J K ,
G∗ ∗ ∗
GH?I
∗
1.0 ! ∗ >
J K .
(2.2)
∗
The F function is a strain-rate sensitivity function which is defined (in equation 3) as

∗
= 1+ ∗ M
(3)
Where ∗ = O N is the normalized strain rate, is equivalent strain rate and N is reference strain
rate.
The D is the compressive damage variables consisting the shear cracking and pore compaction
mechanisms. th equation 4 as
1− =P 1− 1−
; M (4)
The shear damage variable Ds is defined by the equation 4.1
S
∆R?@
∆ ; = I
RS
(4.1)
K
Where T is plastic strain to fracture and here it is adopted as
= U + ≥
K ∗ ∗ V K
T T WX (4.1.1)
Where U and Y are constants. The pore compaction damage variable M can be defined as given in
equation 4.2 as
∆ =
∆ZS
M Z[\]^
(4.2)
Where, ∆_ T is the incremental plastic volumetric strain and _` 6a is the plastic volumetric strain of the
fully compacted granular material.
Tensile cracking is the main source of non-linearity in concrete and is due to concrete’s low strength
in tension when compared to compression. The hydrostatic tensile strain is considered as the main
indicator for crack formation. For this, the minimum value of the volumetric strain m (in the tensile

regime) attained during the loading history is assumed as the equivalent strain for crack formation and
it reads
c
b = min b , min 0, _
c+* c
b
Where the superscripts t and t-1 indicate the actual and previous increment, respectively. The tensile
damage criterion is simply defined by
0 ! b > N
c
=g
1 ! b ≤ N
b c
if
Where N = − c ∗
/h is the volumetric tensile strain threshold for crack formation.
Table 1 Summary of constants for f’c = 48 MPa concrete; Borvik et al. [8]
ai/j5
Mass Constants
Density 2440
Strength Constants
B 1.40
N 0.65
C 0.04
&' (GPa) 0.048
7.0
Young’s modulus (GPa) 37.373
Poison’s ratio 0.2
U
Damage Constants
Y
0.04
1.0
K
T WX
0.01
Pressure Constants
&Jk.l (GPa)
_&Jk.l
0.016
h* (GPa)
0.00077
h) (GPa)
85
h5 (GPa)
-171
208
m-&' (GPa)
_m-&'
0.80
0.10
0.004
∗
T (GPa)
J K
10
The hydrostatic pressure-volume relationship is given by modified HJC model is expressed as
&Jk.l , _&Jk.l )
h* M )( _- _ T ) up to ( m-&' , _m-&' )
P =K _ up to (
M)
= h* _̅ + h) _̅ ) + h) _̅ 5
P = (K (1- +
And
With _̅ =
Zo + Z[\]^
*+Z[\]^
Where, K is the elastic bulk modulus, h1 , h2 and h3 are constants, _̅ is modified volumetric strain,
r
_ = OrN − 1 is the standard volumetric strain, r is the current density and rN is the initial density
r
and _m-&' = sJ tuOrN − 1 is locking volumetric strain and rsJ tu is grain density. The values of
material parameters are given in table 1 for &' = 48MPa.
Kamran Kamran and Mohammad Ashraf Iqbal 505

3 Numerical simulation of perforation of concrete slabs
concrete plates of 450× 450× 60 jj5 were tested, are taken for numerical validation. The geometry
The ballistic limit computations are based on the test performed by Rajput [7], where square plain
b
of concrete plate and projectile are shown in figure 1.
if
450
450
60
225
19
R57
Fig. 1 Geometry of concrete plate and projectile (all dimension in mm) [7]
The geometric modelling of the target and the projectile are carried out in the ABAQUS pre-processor.
The square target plates are modelled as 3D deformable continuum. The cylindrical ogive nosed
projectile is modelled as three dimensional analytical rigid shell. The projectile is also assigned surface
to surface contact with concrete target. The edges of the target are fixed by constraining all the degree
of freedom. The central core of the target which constitutes the contact region of diameter 40 mm is
meshed with 2 mm x 2 mm x 2 mm C3D8R elements while transition mesh is also provided between
40 to 60 mm central dia with same element type and the outer region of the targets is also meshed with
C3D8R elements of size 5 mm x 5 mm x 3 mm, see fig. 2
The Modified HJC material model for concrete has been incorporated using VUMAT user
subroutine that is appropriate for impact simulations. VUMAT is developed according to the model
proposed by Borvik et al. [8]. The material parameters for concrete is tabulated in table 1, have been
used for numerical simulation.

Fig. 2
ifb
Finite element model of reinforced concrete target
Result discussions and conclusions

The obtained results of residual velocities and ballistic limit using Modified HJC model are given in
tables 2 and 3 respectively where it is compared with experimental as well as numerical results which
are obtained by Rajput [7]. The ballistic limit obtained numerically using MHJC models are found to
be 97.2 m/s which is closer with experimental results than the numerical results obtained by Rajput [7].
The failure patterns obtained experimentally and numerically by Rajput [7] are shown in fig 3 while
the obtained failure pattern using Modified HJC model is shown in fig.4 where it is compared with
experimentally obtained failure pattern. As per the figs. 3 and 4, it has been found that the failure pattern
obtained by using modified HJC model are quite similar with the experimental failure pattern, than the
numerically obtained failure pattern by Rajput [7].
Table 2 Actual and predicted incidence and residual projectile velocities

60mm thick Plain Concrete Slabs
Experimental Results Numerical Results Numerical Results

by Rajput [7] Using HJC model by Rajput [7] Using Modified HJC model
Initial Final Velocity Initial Final Velocity Initial velocity Final Velocity
Velocity (m/s) Velocity (m/s) (m/s) (m/s)
(m/s) (m/s)
180 105 180 122 180 120
156 70 156 88 156 85
135 45 135 63 135 50
100 18 100 32 100 20
90 0 95 20 95 0
- - 87 0 - -

Table 3 Actual and predicted ballistic limit
Type of analysis Experimental by Numerical using HJC Numerical using

Rajput [7] Modified HJC
b
by Rajput [7]
Ballistic limit(m/s) 95 91 97.5
if
(a) (b)
Fig.3 Typical actual and predicted failed specimens of 60 mm thick target (a) experimental specimen
and (b) numerical specimen using HJC model[7]
(a) (b)
Fig. 4 Typical actual and predicted failed specimens of 60 mm thick target (a) experimental specimen
and (b) numerical specimen using Modified HJC model

References
[1] Rajput, A. and M. A. Iqbal. 2017. “Ballistic performance of plain, reinforced and pre-stressed
concrete slabs under normal impact by an ogival-nosed projectile”. International Journal of
Impact Engineering 110:57–71.
b
[2] Hanchak, S. J. ,M. J. Forrestal, T. E. R. Youngt and J. Q. Ehrgott. 1992. “Perforation of concrete
slabs with 48 mpa and 140 mpa unconfined compressive strengths”. International Journal of
Impact Engineering 12(1):1–7.
[3] Frew, D.J., M.J. Forrestal and J.D. Cargile. 2006. “The effect of concrete target diameter on
if
projectile deceleration and penetration depth”. International Journal of Impact Engineering
32:1584–1594.
[4] Zineddina, M. and T. Krauthammer. 2007. “Dynamic response and behaviour of reinforced
concrete slabs under impact loading”. International Journal of Impact Engineering 34:1517–
1534.
[5] Liu, Yan, Aie Ma and Fenglei Huang. 2009. “Numerical simulations of oblique-angle
penetration by deformable projectiles into concrete targets”. International Journal of Impact
Engineering 36:438–446.
[6] Huang, F., H. Wu, Q. Jin, and Q. Zhang. 2005. “A numerical simulation on the perforation of
reinforced concrete targets”. International Journal of Impact Engineering 32:173–187.
[7] Rajput, A. 2017. “Behaviour of Prestressed Concrete Plates under High Rate of Loading”. PhD.
Thesis. Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee.
[8] Polanco-Loria, M., O. S. Hopperstad, T. Børvik, and T. Berstad. 2007. “Numerical predictions
of ballistic limits for concrete slabs using a modified version of the HJC concrete model”.
International Journal of Impact Engineering 35(5):290–303.

ifb

Investigation of the bond properties between textile

reinforced concrete and extruded polystyrene foam
b
Panagiotis Kapsalis1, Jolien Vervloet1, Eleni Tsangouri1, Svetlana
Verbruggen1, Dimitrios Aggelis1, Tine Tysmans1 and Thanasis Triantafillou2
1Dept. of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions
if
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Pleinlaan 2, Ixelles (1050), Belgium
2Department of Civil Engineering, Structural Materials Laboratory
University of Patras
Panepistimioupoli Patron, Rio (26504), Greece
Abstract
This paper studies the bond quality among Textile Reinforced Concrete and Extruded Polystyrene
Foam, which can constitute the basic materials for construction of load-bearing elements, such as
insulating sandwich panels. The bond properties were investigated experimentally and were moni-
tored by Digital Image Correlation and Acoustic Emission. The results showed good bonding condi-
tions on the tested specimens with a large load-displacement plateau. The activated area was approx-
imated to 200 mm regardless the specimen size. Additionally, there was a good agreement between
the results obtained by the two monitoring techniques, which means that the proposed set-up is prom-
ising for similar studies.
1 Introduction
As sustainability is attracting increasingly more attention by society and policy makers, and since the
building industry has a high ecological footprint, research towards promoting the use of Textile Rein-
forced Concrete (TRC) is becoming intensive, because TRC requires less resources than traditional
concrete. At the same time, as the insulation demands in buildings keep increasing in order to reduce
their energy consumption and improve their environmental impact, the use of insulating materials
(like Extruded Polystyrene – XPS) is becoming more and more necessary.
As a result, the combination of TRC and insulating materials (polymeric foams being the most
commonly used) has started emerging in many applications, such as combined structural
strengthening with energy upgrading of existing structures [1], sandwich façade panels [2] and load-
bearing (structural) sandwich panels [3]. In all cases, the proper transfer of the shear stresses through
the consecutive layers of the element is crucial for its structural performance. Therefore, research on
the bond properties between TRC and commonly used insulating foams would be wishful for
researchers or practitioners who are involved with the aforementioned applications. However, the
complexity of the bond behaviour, the high sensitivity of the bond strength to small variations of the
material properties, the heterogeneity of the materials and the difficulty of the debonding
identification, make this task challenging; yet, investigations on this subject are practically non-
existent.
Consequently, the first step to tackle these difficulties would be to establish an experimental set-
up which reassures the failure by debonding and includes monitoring techniques with a high potential
in identifying the damage and its origin. In this study, a new set-up was developed and the Digital
Image Correlation (DIC) and Acoustic Emission (AE) measuring techniques were used, while their
potential to give promising results for the investigation of this topic was examined. The results of the
bond properties between a TRC layer and a XPS foam are presented and discussed.

2.1 Mechanical characteristics of the used materials
b
The materials used in this case are all commercially available and they are described in this section.
For the Textile Reinforced Concrete:
The matrix was a fine-grained cementitious mortar with a compressive strength, flexural
strength and cohesion in direct traction equal to 60 MPa, 12 MPa and at least 1 MPa,
respectively, according to the manufacturer.
if
The reinforcement was a three dimensional, alkali-resistant glass (3D AR-glass) fibre textile.
The mesh size differed among the two perpendicular directions and among the two faces,
varying between 9 and 18 mm. However, the cross sectional area of the reinforcement was
equal in both faces; 70.5 mm2 lengthways and 71.6 mm2 crossways. The weight of the textile
before finishing is 917 gr/m2 and the tensile strength is equal to 1200 MPa, according to the
manufacturer (see Fig. 1).
The insulating material was made of XPS foam plates (see Fig. 1). The foam was provided in plates
of 160 mm thickness and had a roughened surface with a “waffled” grid structure, with a depth of
±0.5 mm. The provider of the foam gives only one value for the compressive strength, which
corresponds in one direction (without specifying which one) and at a deformation of 10%. However,
since the strength and deformation capacity of the foam plays a significant role in the performance of
the specimens, we performed compressive tests on the foam, on cubic specimens of 160 mm. The
tests were performed in two directions and with multiple loading rates, since the material is
viscoelastic. The results are given in Fig. 2.
Fig.1 Photo of the 3D textile (left); close view of XPS plate, view of the “waffled” grid on
roughened surface and notation of the directions (right).
Regarding the results of the compression tests on the XPS foam, it is clear that the longitudinal
direction has a much lower strength than the transverse. It is also clear that the loading rate does not
affect much the strength or the stifness. Finally, the deformation capacity of the foam is too high and
it is clear that it can be compressed to extremely high strain levels.
Fig. 2 Compression test on the XPS foam cubic specimens; photo of the set-up (left); Stress-
strain curves (right).

Investigation of the bond properties between textile reinforced concrete and extruded polystyrene foam
In this bond study, the foam was placed in such a way that it would be compressed in the longitudinal
direction.
b
2.2 Description of specimens
Since the purpose of this research project was to investigate the bond properties of the TRC – XPS
interface, the most crucial issue for the experimental set-up was to reassure that the tested specimens
would fail due to debonding and not as a result of other mechanisms, such as shear or compressive
if
failure of the foam. After a few trial tests, the set-up was finalized to the one described in Fig. 4. The
specimens consisted of three layers, two external XPS plates and a TRC plate in between. This way,
two interfaces are activated in carrying the shear stresses, the surface of the XPS in compression is
high enough to avoid compressive failure and the specimen is symmetrical, so that no eccentricities
developed. The top part of the TRC plate was protruding (by 35 mm) in order to apply the load direct-
ly and only on the TRC. The bottom part was shorter (by 40 mm) in order to offer available space for
the deformation during the loading.
The casting of the specimens was “vertical”, meaning that the concrete was poured in a vertical
mould created by the XPS plates and wooden members (see Fig. 3). The textile was already placed
before pouring the concrete and kept in position using thin plastic rods. This casting method was
selected since the mortar used in this study was fine-grained and had a very low viscocity, thus, it was
easy to cast it this way, with no risk of poor penetration through the textile or trapping air inside the
TRC.
A total number of 9 specimens were tested. Specifically, there were three groups with varying
bond lengths:
Group 1: 500 mm bond length; Group 2: 400 mm bond length; Group 3: 300 mm bond length.
The thickness of all specimens was equal to 345 mm (two XPS plates of 160 mm and a TRC plate of
25 mm). The depth of all specimens was equal to 300 mm.
2.3 Loading method and monitoring techniques

The loading was achieved with an Instron electromechanical testing machine, with a capacity of 250
kN. On the top of the TRC plate a steel beam was applied and fixed with a thin layer of plaster, to
ensure uniform application of the load. The specimens were placed on a timber footing that was me-
chanically fixed on the machine’s floor. The loading rate was steady and equal to 1 mm/min.
The monitoring techniques that were used in this study were Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and
Acoustic Emission (AE), offering the potential to obtain a full-field monitoring on the specimens’
surface (DIC) [4] and to detect non-visible events that may be crucial for the specimens’ performance
(AE) [5].
The DIC technique was applied on all specimens, on both sides where the bond was visible.
Painting these sides white with black speckles leads to a full-field measurement of deformations and
strains in the bonded area (see Fig. 4 - 5).
Fig. 3 (left) Specimens cast in the vertical mould; (right) Demoulding of specimens.
P. Kapsalis, J. Vervloet, E. Tsangouri, S. Verbruggen, D. Aggelis, T. Tysmans and T. Triantafillou 513

Three AE sensors were applied on the protruding TRC part on the top of the specimens and one sen-
sor on one side of them (see Fig. 5). The last sensor was placed near the bottom of the specimen, so
that we would be able to monitor the full height of the TRC plate and, thus, detect the position of the
debonding initiation.
b
The sensors were placed only in contact with the TRC, since the XPS foam is a good sound
insulator, so the acoustic signal is not detectable on the foam. The positions of the sensors were
chosen according to the available surface of TRC, taking into account restrictions due to the
simultaneous monitoring by DIC.
if
The AE was indicatively applied on two specimens of Group 1.
Fig. 4 (left) Schematic view of specimens and experimental set-up (dimensions in mm); (middle)
Photo with general details of the set-up; (right) Typical failure of the specimens.
Fig. 5 Schematical view of application of monitoring techniques on both sides of the specimen.
3.1 General
A first general comment from the results of the tests is that the specimens had an almost linear elastic
- plastic behavior (see Fig. 6), which is attributed to two main factors:
(i) The very high deformation capacity of the foam (see Fig. 2).
The load – displacement curves are less stiff in the beginning, which is due to the foam being
compressed at the bottom since the shear stresses are transferred normally through the
interfaces. But soon the whole specimen gets stiffer and we have a linear part were the foam

keeps getting compressed but the resistance of the interfaces also starts being activated,
starting from the bottom part.
(ii) The partial activation of the bonded area and the gradual propagation of the debonded surface.
As shown in the following paragraphs, debonding initiates from a small activated area near
b
the bottom of the specimens, but when interfacial slip occurs and a crack starts opening (so
this area is not activated anymore since the contact between the TRC and the foam is lost) the
area above that is activated and displays the same behavior. The initiation of the debonding is
related to a slight change of the slope at the linear part of the load – displacement curve.
if
Before reaching the maximum load, the change of slope is much bigger; this is related to
severe crack opening, visible with the human eye. This means that the crack opens more than
half a millimeter, which is the depth of the “waffle” grid, and thus even the mechanical
interlocking between the foam and the TRC is lost. After this point that area is not active
anymore and the surface above is activated. This phenomenon gradually develops while the
load – displacement curve is horizontal. The crack propagates gradually until some level
(usually more than half of the specimen’s height) and then the failure is sudden as the whole
face falls off.
Fig. 6 Load – displacement curve of the tested specimens; characteristic areas on the curves.
In order to detect the phenomena described above, a detailed investigation of the data obtained from
the DIC and the AE was performed.
3.2 Results obtained from digital image correlation (DIC)

The behavior of the interface that failed first was inspected thoroughly in terms of vertical (V) and
horizontal (U) displacements. These displacements were measured on two vertical lines, one in the
TRC and one in the XPS, both very close to the interface (see Fig. 7). So, when the difference of ‘V’
between both lines on the same hight is above the noise level indication, it means that slipping be-
tween the two layers has started (the noise level indication was obtained based on the comparison of
pictures taken from an unloaded specimen). The lines had to be as close as possible to the interface, in
order to avoid measuring a ‘∆V’ due to the shear deformation of the foam.
Similarly, when the difference of ‘U’ between the two lines is above the noise level, it means that
the crack starts opening or the foam is compressed in that area. In the right picture of Fig. 7 it can be
easily observed that a crack starts opening from the bottom corner of the specimen (red area), while
above that area there is a part of the foam, close to the interface, which is subjected to compression
(purple area).
The diagrams in Fig. 8 present the ∆V and ∆U at certain load levels for one arbitrary specimen
(specimen 1 of Group 2; 400 mm bond length). The higher the load level, the darker the color of the

line in these diagrams. The load levels are also depicted with dots of the corresponding color on the
load-displacement curve of the specimen.
ifb
Fig. 7 Indicative pictures of DIC measurements: full field monitoring and monitoring on two
vertical lines close to both sides of the interface; (left) vertical displacement ‘V’; (middle -
right) horizontal strain ‘εxx’.
Observing these diagrams, it is clear that debonding initiates near point 2 (∆V is clearly above the
noise level, which is indicated with the line that corresponds to point 1)), thus at a load level approx-
imately equal to 3.5 kN. This is even earlier than the area defined in Fig. 6, where the slight change of
the slope is observed. At the same time, very close to the bottom of the bonded area, ∆U has a posi-
tive sign, which means that the area is in compression. Finally, between points 4 and 5 the crack near
the bottom initiates, thus ∆U becomes negative at that area (it is also shown in Fig. 7-right, which
corresponds to point 5).
What is also observed from these diagrams, is that the slip occurs in the area between 0 and 170
mm (after that, the ∆V values are within the noise level of the measurements). Similarly, the horizon-
tal deformations are concentrated in the area between 0 and 200 mm. Therefore, a rough estimation of
the activated bond length is 200 mm.
Similar calculations were applied to all the specimens and the results are presented in Table 1.
Table 1 Debonding initiation and maximum capacity of specimens.

Initiation of debonding
Maximum Activated
specimen Load Displacement force (kN) length (mm)
(kN) (mm)
1 4.9 2.3 11.2 230
Group 1
2 0.5 1.5 11.3 180
500 mm
3 3.5 1.8 11.0 200
1 4.0 2.2 8.6 150
Group 2
2 2.0 2.0 8.8 180
400 mm
3 3.8 2.2 9.5 220
1 4.5 2.2 8.7 200
Group 3
2 2.2 2.0 8.0 180
300 mm
3 2.8 2.5 9.0 230

0,13 Specimen 3 from Group 1: 500 mm bond

0,11 length
0,09
∆V (mm)0,07
(Color shading in the graphs on the left, corre-
b
0,05
0,03 sponds to points 1 to 5 on current graph)
0,01
-0,01
0 100 200 300 400 500
if
bond length (mm)
0,02
0,01
∆U (mm)
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
-0,01 ← crack forms; negative values
(see fig. 3.2 right)
-0,02
bond length (mm)
Fig. 8 (left) Difference in vertical and horizontal deformations (∆V and ∆U) across the two lines
next to the interface, for several load levels; (right) corresponding load levels marked on
load-displacement curve.
Regarding the values of this table, it is worth commenting that apparently the displacement is a more
important parameter to evaluate the performance of the specimens, since there are big fluctuations
observed on the load values. However, the maximum load that was achieved is in the same level for
all the specimens of each group, while as observed before, they all displayed a similar behaviour.
3.3 Results obtained from acoustic emission (AE)

The Acoustic Emission technique was applied complementary, in order to verify (or not) the results of
the Digital Image Correlation. It was applied on specimens 2 and 3 of Group 1 (500 mm bond length)
and the analysis of the AE results was performed in two steps. First, the hits rate was deducted since it
appears to be the more sensitive feature (variations at early and ultimate load stages show different
trends, visible variations at specific events e.g. load drops). The next step was the localization of the
AE events to highlight the damage onset and size. The localization across the height was achieved by
utilizing the recordings of sensors 1 and 4 (see Fig. 5). The graphs in Fig. 9 present the outcome of
these steps and they are further discussed.
The main observations that we can make from these graphs are the following:
There are variations on hits rate every time a load drop occurs at the ultimate load or earlier.
At the moment of a load drop, hits are recorded across the whole length of the bonded length.
As expected, debonding begins at the linear loading stage and at the bottom side of the sam-
ple. It is noticeable that most of the events at the linear stage are accumulated in the bottom
200 mm of the specimens, which agrees with the activated length that was deducted from the
DIC results.
The bond conditions lead to a desired behaviour, since AE localization detects events well distributed
in time, while debonding initiates at the bottom and progressively propagates to the whole length.
4 Conclusions – future work

The main conclusions obtained from this study are:
The proposed set-up is a promising solution for evaluating the bonding conditions between
cementitious composites and insulating foams, since failure by debonding is achieved. Addi-
tionally, the combination of these two monitoring techniques (DIC and AE) is an added value,
since there is agreement among their results, while a more in-depth analysis of their record-
ings can lead to detailed, complementary and interesting results.

The vertical casting of the TRC while using foam plates with a roughened surface leads to
good bonding conditions: (i) a load plateau was observed in all specimens; (ii) the effective
area is approximately equal to 200 mm by 300 mm, and it is activated progressively; (iii) the
debonding events are well distributed in time and on bonded surface.
b
Some proposals for future work on this topic are the following:
Testing of shorter specimens, with a bonded length equal to 200 mm and less.
In-depth processing of the AE recordings, analyzing more features, such as RA values (Rise-
if
time /Amplitude) and Average Frequency.
Modifications of the set-up in order to be able to localize the AE events not only across the
height but also across the width of the specimen (change the positions of the AE sensors).
Fig. 9 Load vs time and hit-rate vs time for specimen 3 (top); Location map vs time for speci-
men 3 (bottom).
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge Agentschap voor Innovatie en Ondernemen (VLAIO) for funding
the research and all the members of the ‘CeComStruct’ project, of which this research is part of, for
their advice.
References
[1] Triantafillou, T., K. Karlos, K. Kefalou, and E. Argyropoulou. 2017. “An innovative
structural and energy retrofitting system for URM walls using textile reinforced mortars
combined with thermal insulation: Mechanical and fire behavior.” Construction and Building
Materials 133:1-13.
[2] Cuypers, H., and J. Wastiels. 2011. “Analysis and verification of the performance of sand-
wich panels with Textile Reinforced Concrete faces.” Journal of Sandwich Structures and
Materials 13(5):589-603.
[3] Vervloet, J., P. Van Itterbeek, S. Verbruggen, T. Tysmans, J. Wastiels, D. Van Hemelrijck, M.
El Kadi, and M. De Munck. 2017. “Sandwich panels with Textile Reinforced Cementitious

skins as new insulating wall system: a case study.” Paper presented at the IASS Annual Sym-
posium, Hamburg, Germany, September 25-28.
[4] Sutton, M. A., J. J. Orteu, and H. W. Schreier. 2009. Image Correlation for Shape, Motion
and Deformation Measurements: Basic Concepts, Theory and Applications. New York:
b
Springer.
[5] Carpinteri, A., J. Xu, G. Lacidogna, and A. Manuello. 2012. “Reliable onset time determina-
tion and source location of acoustic emissions in concrete structures.” Cement and Concrete
Composites 34(4):529-537.
if

ifb

Influence of concrete cover thickness on shear

strength of concrete glass fiber reinforced polymer
b
beams without stirrups
Monika Kaszubska and Renata Kotynia
Faculty of Civil Engineering Architecture and Environmental Engineering,
if
Lodz University of Technology,
Al. Politechniki 6, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Abstract
Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars due to their excellent corrosion resistance, high tensile strength,
good non-magnetic properties have been proposed for reinforcing concrete structures instead of tradi-
tional steel. The aim of the paper is to analyze shear behavior of GFRP reinforced beams without
stirrups and to investigate an influence of the concrete cover thickness on the shear strength of the
beams. To analyse this effect the beams with similar reinforcement ratio, but with different thickness
of a concrete cover equal of 15mm and 35mm were tested. The beams with the concrete cover thick-
ness of 35 mm indicated more extensive cracking than the corresponing beams with the concrete
cover thickness of 15 mm. An increase in the concrete cover caused a decrease of the internal forces
arm and a consequence a decrease in deflection of beams.
1 Introduction
One of the main advantage of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars is their excellent corrosion re-
sistance. Considering the FRP bars are not susceptible to corrosion, the concrete cover thickness can
be minimalizing to maximizing the internal arm of flexural reinforcement. However, in the absence of
stirrups, the only constrain to the downwards vertical displacement of the longitudinal reinforcement
is provided by the concrete cover [1]. Then, for high load levels, splitting of the concrete cover takes
place under the vertical component of the concrete struts, dramatically reducing the dowel action and
the residual tensile stresses in the web between cracks. Mazaheripour et al. [2] reported that debond
can be negatively affected by the formation of splitting cracks in the alignment of the longitudinal
bars below of 15 mm cover thickness. Moreover, the constraining the downwards vertical displace-
ment of longitudinal reinforcement enable to activate the dowel action of the flexural reinforcement –
one of the shear transfer mechanisms governed the shear capacity of RC beams without stirrups.
According to [3] significantly lower modulus of elasticity of FRP than steel bars caused decrease in
the dowel capacity by about 70% in comparison with the steel reinforced beams. The minimalizing of
the concrete cover thickness also may influence the shear capacity.
The review of the literature shows that the main aim of the most existing research is to investigate
the effect of the longitudinal FRP reinforcement ratio and its stiffness, the influence of size effect, the
influence of the shear span to depth ratio or the influence of the concrete compressive strength on the
shear strength beams without stirrups, for example [4]–[12]. Despite of the large database beams
without stirrups with FRP longitudinal reinforcement collected from literature, choosing elemnts with
similar parameters but with the different thickness of concrete cover was impossible. Only in two
experimental program [4], [9] the authors find similar elements with different concrete cover, but
though the elements were reinforced with GFRP bars, the modulus of elasticity of these bars and the
concrete compressive strength were not compatibile.
The main aim of the presented experimental research on concrete beams reinforced with GFRP
bars without stirrups is to investigate the influence of the concrete cover thickness of the flexural
reinforcement on the shear strength. The group of RC beams analyzed in this paper is part of an
extensive experimental research program where other variables like the material type of the flexural
reinforcement (steel or GFRP) and the influence of the relevant characteristics of the flexural
reinforcement (ratio, number of bars per layer, number of layers and bar diameter) were investigated.

The experimental program was composed of eight T-section single span and simply supported RC
beams (beff=400 mm, bw=150 mm, hf=60 mm, htot= 400 mm), with a clear span of 1800 mm, tested in
b
three-point monotonic loading at the Laboratory of Concrete Structures in Lodz University of Tech-
nology (Fig. 2). Shear span to depth ratio, (a/d) was above 2.9 in all beams. The beams did not in-
clude any shear reinforcement and were flexurally reinforced with glass fiber reinforced polymer
(GFRP) bars. Three levels of flexural reinforcement ratio ρl of ∼1.0 %, ∼1.4 % and ∼1.8 % were
applied, with the corresponding bar’s diameters of 12mm, 16mm and 18mm. The beams were divided
if
into two groups with the the concrete cover thickness of 15 mm and 35 mm around the flexural rein-
forcement.
Fig. 1 Reinforcement of tested beams (dimensions in mm).
For the beam’s designation the following acronym was adopted, G-X#-Y-Z, where G means the
flexural bars are of GFRP type, X is a number of bars of # diameter (in mm), Y represents the average
compressive concrete strength (in this series it is considered constant and equal about to 30 MPa), and
Z is the concrete cover thickness.
Since the bottom GFRP bars were straight and taking into account the relative small length of the
beam between its extremities and the closest support, the proper anchored conditions were ensured by
embedding the bars into a steel box filled with an epoxy resin. The top longitudinal reinforcement of
all the beams consisted of two straight GFRP bars of 10 mm diameter, maintained in their aimed
position by using horizontal short steel bars of 6 mm diameter at 210 mm spacing, located in the
flange.
There were no stirrups in the investigated shear span, while the opposite shear region was rein-
forced with closed steel stirrups of 8 mm diameter at 130 mm spacing, and steel bent bars of 14 mm
diameter in order to ensure the shear failure in the largest span. This shear distance was monitored
with conventional LVDT gauges and advanced techniques by digital image correlation system (DIC)
applied to record deformations and cracking patern.

Influence of concrete cover thickness on shear strength of concrete glass fiber reinforced polymer beams without
stirrups
3 Test setup and monitoring system
The beams were simply supported on two steel supports with the movable (rotation and beam’s axial
displacement free movements) one in the monitored shear span, and the other with only free rotation
b
movement (Fig. 2). The load was applied under displacement control at 10µm/s by using T cross
section steel profile to distribute the applied load along the width of the flange (contacted area 10 mm
× 400 mm). Concrete axial strains were evaluated by using displacement transducers (LVDTs) dis-
posed in the middle depth of one of the lateral faces of the beam’s flange (number 1 to 4), and LVDTs
positioned 30 mm above the bottom beam’s surface (number 5 to 8). For estimating the shear defor-
if
mation in the tested shear span, three sets of LVDTs were disposed in a triangle configuration (delta
rosettes) of three LVDTs (number 9 to 21). Vertical displacements were registered by eight LVDTs of
20 mm stroke and 0.1 mm accuracy (number 22 to 29) mounted on an independent steel frame (Fig.
2).
a)
b)
Fig. 2 a) Test set up: static scheme and LVDT gauges and rosette’s direction (dimensions in
mm) b) The side monitored by system DIC.
The digital image correlation system was used to help on the interpretation of the cracking process of
the tested beams (Fig. 2b). The information from DIC is obtained by comparing digital photos of a
component or test piece at different load levels. By tracking blocks of pixels, the system can measure
surface displacement and build up the full 2D and 3D deformation vector fields and maps of concrete
strain. The photogrammetric technique used in this research was prepared for 3D measurements using
two cameras with a focal length of 50 mm and a resolution of 4 megapixels. The registered area of
concrete was 500 mm wide and 340 mm high (depth of the web of the beam’s cross section) located
in the mid-span of the shear region. Pictures were taken at 1 Hz frequency, while images were ana-
lyzed using the VIC3D software.
Monika Kaszubska and Renata Kotynia 523

4 Properties of the materials
4.1 Concrete
b
The beams were made of concrete strength class C25/30, including sand (0-2 mm), crushed stone
aggregate (2-8 mm), cement CEM I 42.5, plasticizer. The concrete mix was delivered from a local
concrete plant. The concrete composition shown in Tab. 1 presents the S3 consistency class (accord-
ing to EN 206-1 [13], slump cone in the range of 100 to 150 mm), with a water/cement (w/c) ratio of
0.8, which is relatively high due to the relatively low content of cement in order to achieve a charac-
if
teristic concrete compressive strength of about 30 MPa on cubic specimens (about 25 MPa on cylin-
der specimens). The strength properties of concrete were determined according to EN 206-1 standard
[13] in day of tests each beam. The average cylinder concrete compressive strength (obtained on 16
specimens) was 31.7 MPa (COV=8%), the average modulus of elasticity was 26.7 GPa (COV=6%),
while the average splitting tensile strength (from Brazilian type test) was 2.9 MPa (COV=8%). The
detailed information about concrete compressive strength individual beams and age of concrete were
presented in Table 3.
Table 1 Concrete composition.

Components Quantity Ratio
sand 0/2 970 42.33
crushed stone 2/8 860 37.53
water 205 8.94
CEM I 42.5 Rudniki CEMEX 255 11.13
plasticizer BV-Cemex Admixtures 1.8 0.07
Total ∑=2291.8 100.00
4.2 GFRP bars

The relevant tensile properties of the GFRP reinforcement were determined in the experimental tests
carried out on 15 specimens according to ISO Standard 10406-1 [14]. The average modulus of elastic-
ity and the tensile strength registered in the tests were 50.5 GPa (COV=1.6%) and 1091 MPa
(COV=10.7%), respectively, Tab. 2.
Table 2 The mechanical properties of tested GFRP bars.

Nominal bar diameter ffu El

12 1195 (6; 4.7%) 50.2 (5; 0.4%)
16 1089 (3; 1.4%) 50.5 (3; 0.4%)
18 987 (6; 9.8%) 50.9 (5; 2.4%)
The values in round brackets indicate the number of tested specimens
and the coefficient of variation.
5 Test results and discussion

All beams failed due to diagonal shear cracking occurred in the test shear span of the beams at differ-
ent load levels (Tab. 3).

stirrups
Table 3 The main results of tested GFRP bars.
Age of
ρl d fcm Vmax τmax θ δFmax
Beams concrete
b
[%] [mm] [MPa] [kN] [MPa] [◦] [mm]
[day]
G-512-30-15 0.99 379 32 30.20 34.27 0.60 35 4.89
G-512-30-35 1.05 359 34 28.80 32.47 0.60 60 3.48
if
G-316-30-15 1.07 377 34 28.80 31.75 0.56 25 3.11
G-316-30-35 1.13 357 28 30.50 31.01 0.58 48 2.25
G-318-30-15 1.35 376 34 28.80 38.57 0.68 45 2.64
G-318-30-35 1.43 356 29 30.50 34.42 0.64 40 2.57
G-418-30-15 1.80 376 35 28.80 38.14 0.68 51 2.41
G-418-30-35 1.91 356 32 30.20 39.41 0.74 55 1.70
For determining the inclination of the shear failure crack (θ), it is adopted the criterion schematically
represented in Figure 3: line connecting the two points of the intersection of this crack with the mid-
dle depth of the beam’s cross section and the flexural reinforcement. Assuming valid this criterion, it
is verified that the inclination of the shear failure crack has the tendency of increasing with the flexur-
al reinforcement ratio (from an average value of 25-35° for ρl∼1%, 45° for ρl ∼1.4% and 51° for ρl
∼1.8%) in beams with the concrete cover thickness (c) of 15 mm, while in beams with c = 35 mm this
tendency was not observed (see Tab. 3, Fig. 3). However, with increase in the concrete cover thick-
ness the increase in the critical crack inclination was visible in the corresponding beams (with c = 15
mm and c = 35 mm). The only one exception was the beam G-318-30-35 (ρl∼1.4%).
Fig. 3 Crack pattern in the tested beams.

All beams started to crack in flexure, then the diagonal cracks appeared. The critical shear crack
usually was composed of two or three cracks. In beams with c = 35 mm the main part of critical crack
was visible at the shear force of about 27 kN, while in beams with c = 15 mm the cracking at this
level of load was less intensive (Tab.4). With the load increasing the opening of the shear crack in-
creased with its length extension to the top and the bottom edge of the beam.

Table 4 The DIC examples of the crack development in the beams with ρl∼1% and ρl∼1.4%.
V∼27 kN Vmax V∼27 kN Vmax
G-512-30-15
G-318-30-15
ifb
G-512-30-35
G-318-30-35
Almost all vertical flexural cracks extended into the entire height of the web. Some small horizontal
cracks at the level of bottom reinforcement were also visible, confirming bond loss of the bars to the
concrete. It seems that when the aggregate interlock was lost, due to the opening of the inclined crack,
the dowel action in the longitudinal reinforcement increased to maintain the forces equilibrium. A
sudden increase in the dowel action could lead to the splitting failure along the plane of the rein-
forcement. These splitting cracks did not pass beyond the support that confirms suitable anchorage of
the tensile reinforcement. Fig. 3 confirms that beams with c = 35 mm presented more flexural cracks
than corresponding beams with c = 15 mm and more intensive cracking at the level of reinforcement.
The second observation proves that the dowel action force was higher in beams with concrete cover
thickness of 35 mm.
Fig. 4 The comparison of shear stress and normalized shear stress in corresponding beams with
the concrete cover thickness of 15 mm and 35 mm.
The comparison of the the ultimate shear force Vmax for the corresponding beams with c = 15 mm and
c = 35mm shows a decrease in the shear strength because of the effective depth decrease. In order to
take into account the influence of different flexural reinforcement depth (d) on the shear capacity of
the beams, the concept of average shear stress (τ=V/(bwd), where V is the shear force in the monitored
span and bw is the width of the beam’s web) was adopted. However, in the presented research almost
all beams with the concrete cover thickness of 35 mm had slighty higher value of concrete compres-
sive strength. To avoid differences in the concrete strength fcm of the tested beams, the normalized
shear stress τmax/fcm1/3 was introduced into further analysis (according to Eurocode 2 [15]). According
to this criterion the increase in the normalized shear stress by 1-2% for ρl∼1% and by 7% for ρl∼1,8%
was observed with increase in the concrete cover thickness (Fig.4). The decrease in the normalized
shear stress in the beam G-318-30-35 in comparison to the beam G-318-30-15 reached 8%.

stirrups
As it was expected with increase in ρl the increase in the shear stress was observed for both groups
of beams (c = 15mm and c = 35mm). GFRP reinforced beams, with c = 15 mm, were less susceptible
to changes of the reinforcement ratio than the beams reinforced with c = 35 mm. Almost twice in-
crease in the reinforcement ratio caused an increase in the normalized shear strength by 14-20% for
b
beams with c = 15 mm and by 20-28% increase in beams with c =35 mm. By increasing of the rein-
forcement ration ρl the beam’s stiffness and its flexural capacity icreased that led to the decrease of
the maximum crack opening that promoted the favorable effect of the concrete aggregate interlock, as
well as enchanced a dowel effect of the flexural reinforcement.
if
Figure 5 shows the relationship between the average vertical displacements registered by LVDTs
number 24 and 25 (Fig. 2) and the applied shear stress (τ). These LVDTs were located on both sides
of the steel profile used to distribute the applied load.
All the beams presented a similar linear behavior before cracking, but after cracking the stiffness
increased with the increase of ρl and the concrete cover thickness (excluding beams G-318-30-15 and
G-318-30-35, where stiffnes was almost the same), leading a decrease of the deflection at the maxi-
mum load δFmax. Beams G-418-30-35 and G-316-30-35 indicated higher stiffnes just after flexural
cracking (with the first changing of the curve τ-δ inclination), while the beam G-512-30-35 initially
had lower stiffnes than corresponding beam with c =15 mm.
However, in the beam G-512-30-15 the second stiffnes reduction was observed for τ∼0.5 MPa,
which was not visible in the beam G-512-30-35.
0,8
τ, MPa
0,7
0,6
0,5
0,4
G-512-30-15
0,3 G-316-30-15
G-318-30-15
0,2 G-418-30-15
G-512-30-35
0,1 G-316-30-35
G-318-30-35
G-418-30-35 δ, mm
0,0
0,0 0,5 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5 3,0 3,5 4,0 4,5 5,0
Fig. 5 The side monitored by system DIC.
6 Conclusions
The current work determined the influence of the concrete cover thickness of the flexural GFRP
reinforcement on the shear strength of concrete beams without transverse reinforcement. From the
experimental tests the following conclusions can be drawn:
the inclination of the shear failure crack has the tendency of increasing with the increase in
the concrete cover thickness from 15 mm to 35 mm;
in beams with c = 15 mm the inclination of the shear failure crack has the tendency of
increasing with the flexural reinforcement ratio, while in beams with c = 35 mm this trend
was not observed;
the beams with the concrete cover thickness of 35 mm indicated more extensive cracking than
corresponding beams with the concrete cover thickness of 15 mm;
the increase in the concrete cover thickness caused the increase in the beam's stiffness after
cracking (for the beams with ρl ∼ 1% and ρl ∼ 1.8%) that led to the decrease in the deflection
at the maximum load δFmax;
by increasing in the concrete cover thickness (from 15 mm to 35 mm) the normalized shear
stress increased in the memebers with the reinforcement ratio of ρl ∼ 1% and ρl ∼ 1.8%;
however over two times larger concrete cover thickness caused only slight increase in the
normalized shear stress (1% - 7%), that proves a relatively small influence of the concrete
cover tchickness on the shear strenght.

Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the ComRebars Company who supplied the GFRP reinforcement
for the experimental tests.
b
References
[1] Marí, A., A. Cladera, E. Oller, and J. Bairán. 2014. “Shear design of FRP reinforced concrete
beams without transverse reinforcement.” Composites Part B: Engineering 57:228–241.
if
doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2013.10.005
[2] Mazaheripour, H., J. A. O. Barros, J. M. Sena-Cruz, M. Pepe, and E. Martinelli. 2013.
“Experimental study on bond performance of GFRP bars in self-compacting steel fiber
reinforced concrete.” Composite Structures 95:202–212.
doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2012.07.009
[3] Tottori, S., and H. Wakui. 1993. “Shear capacity of RC and PC beams using FRP
reinforcement.” In A. Nanni and C. Dolan (Eds.), Aci Sp 138:615–631. Detroit.
doi.org/10.14359/3944
[4] Ashour, A. F. 2006. “Flexural and shear capacities of concrete beams reinforced with GFRP
bars. ”Construction and Building Materials, 20(10): 1005–1015.
doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2005.06.023
[5] Al-Khrdaji, T., M. Wideman, A. Belarbi, and A. Nanni. 2001. “Shear strength of GFRP RC
beams and slabs.” Paper presented at the Conference Composites in Construction, Porto, Por-
tugal, October 10-12.
[6] El-Sayed, A. K., E. F. El-Salakawy, and B. Benmokrane. 2006. “Shear Capacity of High-
Strength Concrete Beams Reinforced with Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bars.” ACI Structural
Journal 103(3): 383–389. doi.org/10.14359/15316
[7] El-Sayed, A. K., E. F. El-Salakawy, and B. Benmokrane. 2012. “Shear strength of fibre-
reinforced polymer reinforced concrete deep beams without web reinforcement.” Canadian
Journal of Civil Engineering 39(5): 546–555. doi.org/10.1139/l2012-034
[8] Matta, F., A. K. El-Sayed, A. Nanni, and B. Benmokrane. 2013. “Size effect on concrete
shear strength in beams reinforced with fiber-reinforced polymer bars.” ACI Structural
Journal 110(4): 617–628.
[9] Yost, J. R., S. P. Gross, S. P., and D. W. Dinehart. 2001. “Shear Strength Of Normal Strength
Concrete Beams Reinforced With Deformed GFRP Bars.” Journal of Composites for
Construction, 5(November): 268–275. doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0268(2001)5:4(268)
[10] Tureyen, A. K., and R. J. Frosch. 2002. “Shear tests of FRP-reinforced concrete beams
without stirrups.” ACI Structural Journal, 99(4): 427–434. doi.org/10.14359/12111

[11] Razaqpur, A. G., B. O. Isgor, S. Greenaway, and A. Selley. 2004. “Concrete Contribution to
the Shear Resistance of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Reinforced Concrete Members.” Journal of
Composites for Construction, 8(5): 452–460. doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-
0268(2004)8:5(452)
[12] Guadagnini, M., K. Pilakoutas, and P. Waldron. 2006. “Shear Resistance of FRP RC Beams:
Experimental Study.” Journal of Composites for Construction, 10(6): 464–473.
doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0268(2006)10:6(464)
[13] European Committee for Standardization (CEN). EN 206 2013. Concrete — Specification,
performance, production and conformity, European Standard.
[14] International Organization for Standardization (ISO). 2015. 10406-1. Fibre-reinforced
polymer (FRP) reinforcement of concrete Test methods Part 1: FRP bars and grids.
[15] European Committee for Standardization (CEN). 2004. Design of concrete structures. General
rules and rules for buildings. Management, 225.

Experimental investigation of the bond between SAS

670/800 reinforcement bars and high-strength concrete
b
in a pull-out test
Magda Kijania-Kontak and Andrzej Winnicki
if
Institute of Building Materials and Structures,
Cracow University of Technology,
Warszawska Street, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Abstract
The main aim of the article is to present a detailed analysis of the bond between high-strength steel bars
SAS 670/800 and high-strength concrete. The steel bars are characterized by an increased (relative to
normal steel) yield point, which is 670 MPa. The present standard for reinforced concrete structures
Eurocode 2 2008 [4] specifies design guidelines only for steel bars with a yield stress of not more than
600 MPa. The article presents the results of experimental tests of the bond of SAS 670/800 and EP-
STAL steel bars with the diameters of 18 mm and 22 mm for concrete C70/85. The tests were carried
out using the pull-out method recommended by RILEM [6]. The article presents the relation between
the size of the diameter and the length of the anchorage section on the one hand and the value of the
bond stress on the other. The tests have demonstrated that steel bars of the EPSTAL brand have a
slightly better value of bond stress.
1 Introduction
The bond between concrete and reinforcing steel is made possible owing to the collaboration of the
two. It is a mutual transfer of forces between reinforcing bars and concrete. Knowledge of this phe-
nomenon enables precise determination of steel and concrete deformation. Hence, it is possible to de-
termine the course of deformations and the cracking scenario of a reinforced concrete structure. Con-
crete cooperates with reinforcing steel bars when the deformations of both materials are equal and the
following equation is fulfilled:
εc = εs (1)
If cracks appear in the concrete, the above condition ceases to be true and both materials start to deform
differently. The maximum resistance which counteracts displacement of the steel bar in concrete is
called the bond. In the literature on the subject, this stage is also called the primary bond stress, and it
occurs until adhesion between concrete and steel finally breaks the bonds. In addition, there is the phe-
nomenon of secondary bond stress caused by the clogging of concrete [1]. The boundary between the
primary and secondary bond stress is the beginning of the steel bar displacement relative to concrete.
In fact, it is very difficult to precisely determine this limit or develop an adequate formula to calculate
the value of stresses of the primary bond stress.
There are three methods to determine the maximum bond stress. The first one is experimental re-
search. The second are analytical methods described in various publications on the subject, and the last
is numerical analysis.
The paper presents the results of experimental investigations of the bond between high-strength
concrete C70/85 and high-strength steel SAS 670/800 with a diameter of 18 mm and 22 mm, respec-
tively. This steel is characterized by an increased yield stress (of 670 MPa) and a specific ribbing of the
bar, which is spiral. Results of tests using ordinary steel EPSTAL B500SP are also presented for com-
parative purposes. The article subsequently shows how the size of the diameter, the length of the an-
chorage section and the type of bar ribbing affect the value of bond stress. Finally, the obtained values
of bond stress are compared with the guidelines included in Eurocode 2 2008 [4] and ModelCode 2010
[1].

2 The bond phenomenon

The issue of bond has been the subject of numerous studies since the first reinforced structures were
built. The investigation has been focusing on both the bond phenomenon and the factors affecting it.
b
We distinguish three most important factors:
Adhesion due to intermolecular attraction of two materials;
Steel friction against concrete caused by concrete shrinkage when drying;
The meshing mechanism caused by the uneven surface structure of steel.
if
Paper [2] shows that the bond phenomenon is characterized by four stages of bond stress distribution
depending on the bar displacement (figure 1). Stage I - uncracked element, stage II - appearance of the
first crack and stage III - first concrete crumbling. In stage IV the bond breaks: IVa – a plain bar, IVb
– a ribbed bar without confinement, and IVc – a confined ribbed bar.
Fig. 1 Local bond stress-slip law [2].
The research published in paper [4] shows that the scenario of destruction by splitting the concrete
cover occurs when the bar cover is less than three diameters of this bar – the element without confine-
ment, while destruction by pull-out failure happens when the cover is greater than three bar diameters
– the confined element.
3 Experimental research
3.1 Description of the experimental study

The most popular method of bond testing is the "pull-out" method. This method is one of the two test
methods recommended by [6]. The scheme of the position and the dimensions of the test specimens are
shown in fig. 2. This study assumes that changes in deformations in steel along the length of the bar
have a linear distribution (for the anchorage section of three to five bar diameters, the distribution of
bond stresses is constant). Hence, the bond value may be calculated from a simple formula (2). It de-
pends on force F, diameter of the bar and length of the anchorage section ld.
F (2)
τ=
πφ ld
The course of the test is as follows. A concrete cube should be placed in a cage. The cage is attached to
the top of the machine. The lower section of the bar is "held" by the vices located in the lower part of
the machine. Two sensors should be attached stiffly to the upper section of the bar. The operation of
the machine is controlled by a computer. During the test, the upper and lower parts of the machine slide
apart, causing the bar to be pulled out of the concrete cube. The force with which the machine pulls the
bar is measured. Additionally, the displacement of the bar relative to the top surface of the concrete

Experimental investigation of the bond between SAS 670/800 reinforcement bars and high-strength concrete in a pull-
out test
cube is monitored by two sensors. The result of the bar displacement is recorded depending on the pull-
out force in the corresponding program on the computer.
ifb
Fig. 2 Diagram of the position and dimensions of the test specimens [6].
3.2 Bond test plan and preparation of specimens

Specimens in the form of bars 18 mm and 22 mm in diameter, respectively, were prepared for the test.
The size of concrete samples was 180x180x180 mm and 220x220x220 mm. Two types of samples were
made with SAS 670/800 steel bars and one with the EPSTAL B500SP steel bars to compare the results.
In the specimens with SAS bars, the standard anchor length of 5 and the reduced anchorage length
of 2.5 were used. The specimens with steel EPSTAL also used the anchorage length of 2.5 . In spec-
imens using a regular ribbed steel bar and the BWW class concrete, bars with the anchorage section of
5 could not be used because the steel yields rather fast and, during the test, it would yield before the
bond could break. Therefore, in such specimens, the anchorage section must be shorter.
The appropriate anchorage length was achieved using PVC pipes and a thick double-sided adhesive
tape from Rollfix. The bar was wrapped with the tape to avoid concrete or cement paste getting into the
PVC pipe. The use of double-sided tape has also made it possible to position the bar centrally in the
sleeve.
Fig. 3 Implementation of the anchorage length and the rib pattern of SAS (upper) and EPSTAL
(bottom) bars.
The correct density of the mixture in the molds was was ensured by using vibrating plungers. The top
surfaces of all of the specimens were smoothed out. Then the molds were tightly covered with foil to
avoid evaporation of water from the mixture. The specimens were taken out of the molds after 48 hours.
The samples for material tests were placed in bathtubs filled with water and the specimens for bond test
were placed on pallets, keeping the appropriate spacing between walls. Then they were tightly covered
with geotextile and foil. Wrapping the samples with the mat was to ensure stable humidity of the sam-
ples. The mats were soaked with water every two days for the first 26 days after removing the specimens
from the molds (the samples remained in the molds for 2 days), which allowed full 28 days of the
samples curing.
Magda Kijania-Kontak and Andrzej Winnicki 531

4 Properties of the materials used for the test
4.1 Steel
b
SAS thread bars produced in German SAH Stahlwerk Annahütte for use as reinforcement steel bars for
reinforced concrete structures are available in the following four strength classes: SAS 450/520,
500/550, 550/620 and 670/800. This paper describes experimental studies using SAS 670/800 steel
bars.
For the bond tests, steel bars with the diameter of 18 mm and 22 mm were used. 12 samples with
if
the length of 800 mm were prepared for each of the diameters and a static tensile test was carried out
according to Method B of the standard [5]. The research was carried out with the use of the Zwick-
Roell Z1200 machine in the laboratory at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Cracow University of
Technology.
Fig. 4 Sample before the test (left) and the bar immediately after destruction (middle and right).
Table 1 presents the average values of the test results, and fig. 5 shows the stress-elongation diagram
for the tested bars. Symbol x signifies the mean value, s is the standard deviation and v – the coefficient
of variation.
Table 1 Characteristics of SAS 670/800 steel for diameters of 18 mm and 22 mm.
18 mm 22 mm
Properties of the material
x s ν [%] x s ν [%]
Young’s modulus Es [GPa] 199 7 3.62 194 5 2.54
Contractual yield strength fyk [MPa] 707 8 1.10 725 15 2.11
Tensile strength ftk [MPa] 835 5 0.55 853 6 0.67
Maximum tensile force [kN] 212 1 0.55 324 2 0.67
Elongation at maximum force [%] 6.48 0.34 5.30 6.17 0.23 3.65
Fig. 5 Stress-elongation diagram for tested bars φ18 mm (left) and φ22 mm (right).

out test
4.2 Concrete
The ready-made concrete mixture was delivered by CEMEX POLSKA to the laboratory of the Institute
of Building Materials and Structures. The class of concrete used for the study was approximately
b
C70/85. The main components of the concrete mixture are sand, small basalt grit, water, cement and
plasticizers.
The target bond tests were carried out after 56 days. Table 2 presents the average values of material
properties of concrete tested after 28 and 56 days.
if
Table 2 Results of concrete tests.
no The name of the test After 28 days After 56 days
1 Compressive strength of cylinders [MPa] 83.3 87.8
2 Young's modulus of cylinders [GPa] 41.5 42.7
3 Axial tensile strength of cylinders [MPa] 3.2 3.2
4 Bulk density [kg/m3] 2490
5 Results of the bond tests

Figures 6-8 and Table 3 present the results of experimental tests of the bond between SAS 670/800 and
EPSTAL B500St steel bars and high strength concrete. The pull-out force was recorded and the dis-
placement of the bar relative to the concrete cube was measured. Samples with the diameter of 22 mm
and the anchorage length equal to 5 were tested without sensors measuring bar movements. The de-
structive force in these samples was so great that the specimens were destroyed violently and in an
explosive manner. Leaving the sensors on the sample would damage them. The result of the test per-
formed on these samples only shows the maximum pull-out force.
Fig. 6. Stress-slip graph for specimens with a SAS 18 mm bar with anchorage length equal to
5 .
It had been assumed prior to the test that it would be interrupted when the force droped by 70% or the
machine traverse movement exceededed 25 mm.
Table 3 Maximum value of bond stress for specimens with a SAS 22 mm bar with anchorage
length equal to 5 .
Maximum value of bond stress for subsequent samples [MPa]
1 2 3 4 5
32.87 35.09 34.77 34.99 36.14

ifb
Fig. 7. Stress-slip graph for specimens with SAS 18 mm (left) and 22 mm (right) bars with
anchorage length equal to 2.5 .
Fig. 8. Stress-slip graph for specimens with EPSTAL 18 mm (left) and 22 mm (right) bars with
anchorage length equal to 2.5 .
Table 4 summarizes the average values of bond stress for each type of sample.
Table 4 Average values of bond stress for the tested specimens.

Type of sample SAS ld=5 SAS ld=2,5 EPSTAL ld=2,5

18 mm 22 mm 18 mm 22 mm 18 mm 22 mm
max [MPa] 35.86 34.77 41.05 39.51 48.40 49.20
The following observations could be made on the grounds of the conducted tests:
In all of the above graphs, it can be observed that more than half of the samples were destroyed
by pulling the bar out of the concrete block – that is, as assumed in the test method. Seven out
of ten samples with an EPSTAL bar, one of ten samples with a SAS bar with the anchor length
of 2.5 and three out of five samples with a SAS bar with the anchor length of 5 and one 18
mm bar were destroyed by tearing apart the concrete cube. The cover in these specimens was
much larger than 3 . The author of the paper concludes that this is due to the fact that high
strength concretes are much more brittle than ordinary concretes. All of the specimens with
SAS bars of 22mm diameter and anchorage length equal to 5 were destroyed by pulling the
bar out of the concrete cube.
At the end of the test, the specimens that had been destroyed by pulling the bar out of the
concrete cube showed no damage in the form of scratches or cracks appearing on the surface.
Moreover, no concrete damage was observed around the bar.
In fig. 7 and 8 it can be seen that samples with EPSTAL bars are characterized by a slightly
better bond. The maximum average value of the bond stress it reached was equal to 48.40 MPa
for specimens with 18mm diameter bars and 49.20 MPa for specimens with 22mm diameter

out test
bars. The samples with SAS bars achieved the average value of bond stress equal to 41.05 MPa
and 39.51 MPa.
It may be seen from table 4 above that the size of the diameter does not affect the value of the
bond stress. In one test, the 18mm diameter bars achieved a better bond value, whereas, in
b
another test, a better value was achieved by 22mm diameter bars. It may also be noted that the
differences in the results fluctuated within the range of 1.5 MPa.
Analyzing the results presented in the above table, it may also be noted that the shorter anchor-
age length of the bar, the greater the bond stress value. These values are higher by about 15%.
if
Figures 9-10 show several pictures taken during and after the tests.
Fig. 9 Sample during the test.

Fig. 10. Bars and concrete cubes from samples which were broken by splitting the cover.
6 Comparison of the test results with standard recommendations

The bond value can also be determined analytically. Eurocode 2 2008 [4] specifies that the design value
of the limit bond stresses fbd for reinforced steel bars is equal to:
f bd = 2, 25η1η2 f ctd (3)
In this formula, η1 is the coefficient dependent on the quality of bond conditions and bar position during
concreting, η2 – the coefficient depending on the diameter of the bar and fctd is the design value of the
axial tensile strength of concrete.
Several changes have been introduced in the new version of ModelCode 2010 [1]. Previously, the
bond was determined similarly to Eurocode 2 2008 [4]. Now, this value depends on the compressive
strength of the average concrete fcm. The formula for the maximum bond stress is as follows:
τ b,max = 2,5 f cm (4)
Table 5 summarizes the results of the experimental tests along with the values of bond stress determined
on the basis of the formulas found in the currently available Eurocode 2008 and ModelCode 2010

standards. These values were determined by substituting the mean tensile and compressive strength
values in the equations.
b
Table 5 Average values of bond stress for the tested specimens and the values of bond stress deter-
mined using standard formulas.
Type of samples SAS ld=5 SAS ld=2,5 EPSTAL ld=2,5

18mm 22mm 18mm 22mm 18mm 22mm
if
max [MPa] 35.86 34.77 41.05 39.51 48.40 49.20
max [MPa] Eurokod 2 [4] 10.75
max [MPa] ModelCode [1] 23.43
Analyzing the above results, we note that the values of bond stress determined from experimental tests
are much higher than those determined from standard formulas. Analyzing the above recommendations,
it can also be noticed that they are not dependent in any way on the anchor length or diameter, and,
therefore, the above table presents one constant value for all tested samples.
7 Summary
The research shows that a considerable proportion of the samples with anchorage length equal to 5
(according to RILEM [6] guidelines) were destroyed by splitting the cover. In the samples that were
destroyed by pulling out the bars, no destruction of the concrete specimen was observed.
The EPSTAL steel bars samples demonstrated a better bond behavior. According to the author of
the research, the explanation of this is that the bars have a smaller number of ribs but the ribs have a
greater height. Owing to this fact, the concrete between the ribs is locked better and the specimens with
these bars achieve a higher value of bond stress.
The size of the diameter does not affect the value of the bond stress. At times, the 18mm diameter
bars displayed a better bond value, whereas at other times a better value was achieved by 22 mm diam-
eter bars.
Comparing the values obtained from experimental tests with the results obtained from standard
formulas, we notice that they are much higher. However, they are still by far on the safe side, and they
are no reason for concern in the designing process.
When analyzing the above results, it should be remembered that the pull-out method does not reflect
unambiguously the work of the bending element. In this test, the concrete is compressed and the steel
is stretched. In bending elements, such as beams or ceilings, both concrete and steel are stretched. In
addition, a short section of the anchorage of the bar prevents cracks, which leads to higher values of
bond stress.
Acknowledgements
The research was carried out as part of the PhD thesis research and co-financed from
L-1/353/2014/DS-M funds.
References
[1] CEB – FIP 2010. 2012. Model Code 2010, Final Draft – Volume 1, FIB Bulletin 65.
[2] CEB – FIP bulletin 10. 2000. Bond of reinforcement in concrete, August, Switzerland.
[3] Morita, S., and T. Kaku. 1979. Splitting bond failures of large deformed reinforcing bars, ACI
Journal 76.
[4] PN – EN. 2008. 1992-1-1:2004 Eurokod 2: Projektowanie konstrukcji z betonu. Część 1-1:
Reguły ogólne i reguły dla budynków.
[5] PN – EN ISO 6892-1:2010 Metale. Próba rozciągania. Część 1: Metoda badania w temperaturze
pokojowej.
[6] RILEM/CEB/FIP. 1983. Technical recommendations for the testing and use of construction
materials, E&FN Spon, U.K.

Strain-based safety evaluations of nuclear spent-fuel

transport casks in drop events
b
SeungPil Kim, Myoungsu Shin and Chanyoung Kim
School of Urban and Environmental Engineering,
UNIST,
if
Ulsan 689-798, Korea
Abstract
This paper comparatively evaluates stress-based and strain-based acceptance criteria that are suggest-
ed in ASME Section III. Parallel and vertical accidents drop (9 m drop) tests were performed. Finite
Element Analysis (FEA) was performed to evaluate accidental drop events which were specified in
NUREG-1536. Basket and canister which contain NSF were evaluated during events, and structural
safety was investigated for stress-based criteria and strain-based criteria by comparing FEA results
with design acceptance results. In all cases, basket and canister predominantly excess yield strain,
however, did not reach acceptance strain. Compare with horizontal drop and vetical drop, horizontal
drop has high value in basket, and vertical drop has high value in canister. Also in strain-based design
criteria, the highest maximum safety ratio was 0.27 and there had 73% of margin to reach design lite
strain.
1 Introduction
To reduce carbon emission and produce energy, nuclear energy was favorable which has the charac-
teristic of low-carbon emission until recent years. However, lots of nuclear spent-fuel (NSF) was
placed in spent-fuel pool which was located in nuclear power plants, and the capacity of pools ap-
proached its limit [1]. Because of this, interim storage for store NSF was planned in some countries
like U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Finland to permanently dispose of them [2,3]. In case of South Korea,
NSF was temporarily stored in nuclear power plants. However, the capacity of nuclear power plants
was expected to reach its limit by 2024 [4]. Therefore, NSF must be transported to another location
like interim storage. However, the transportation process must be controlled strictly in order not to
make medical and environmental risks from released radioactive materials.
Generally, stress-based criteria have been used to determine structural safety of NSF transport
cask. However, such criteria have limitations in representing the structural behavior of cask during
non-linear analysis. Because of this reason, ASME Section III, Nonmandatory Appendix FF [5] sug-
gested strain-based design criteria under level D service loads in 2015 and it used equivalent plastic
strain. ASME Section III mentioned that since the driving mechanism for plastic distortion is the
transformation of supplied energy into plastic work, the equivalent plastic strain is a better indication
of the material condition than stress determination (ASME Section III). Also, the equivalent plastic
strain is a cumulative and nondecreasing value that takes into account the entire deformation history.
Because of these reason, it is useful in analyzing the results after dynamic impact.
In this paper, ABAQUS [6] was used to evaluate 9 m drop which is energy-limited events of
transport casks. Two drop accident cases (straight vertical and horizontal drop) were evaluated by
stresses and strains. Also, numerical analysis results were compared strain-based design criteria which
was suggested in ASME. Finally, cask design which was modeled using stress-based design criteria
was compared to strain-based design criteria.
2 FEM specimen design
2.1 Models
In this study, full-scale NSF trainsportaion cask was simulated subjected to free drop loading. Fig. 1
present FE model of NSF transportation cask, and it was consisted with 8 parts, impact limiter (IL),
basket, disk, cask body, basket support, cask shell, canister, and trunnion. Fig. 1-(2) presented FE
model of canister assembly (canister, disk, basket) which is contained in cask body. Each basket

contained NSF (yellow color) and NSF was act only mass components. So, it did not simulate during
dynamic analysis.
Baskets are designed to contain radioactive spent-fuel rods collected from nuclear reactors, and
are laterally supported and protected by multiple disks from external loads. The basket-disk assembly
b
is inserted into a canister, and a canister lid fastens the assembly. The canister and basket-disk
assembly are housed by a cask body. Inside of the cask body, a neutron shield keeps from radioactive
problems from inner spent-fuel rods. To protect the cask from external impacts, impact limiters are
assembled at the top and bottom of the cask body.
if
(1) FE model for the overall cask assembly (2) FE model for the canister assembly
Fig. 1 FE model of the considered NSF transportation cask.
To investigate the safety of cask, NUREG-1536 specified three possible scenarios for the cask
drop accidents; end, side, and corner drops, as illustrated in Figure 1. Also, Regulatory Guide (RG)
7.8 of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission specifies cask drop accident conditions. Fig. 2
represented 9 m End, side and corner drop cases for cask to drop to ground at an angle of 90, 180 and
unspecified θ degrees, respectively. In this paper, horizon drop and vertical drop was simulated and
investigated.
Fig. 2 Cask drop accident cases. (Vertical, Horizontal, and Corner drops from left).
2.2 Materials
The NSF transportation cask is fabricated with three types of materials: steel, wood and neutron
absorber. The mechanical properties of materials are summarized in Table 1 and Table 2.

Table 1 Mechanical properties of steel and neutron absorber.

Elastic
Density Sy1) Su2) Sm3) Poisson’s
Material type modulus Location
b
(t/mm3) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) ratio
(GPa)
SA240-316L 195 8.03×10-9 170 485 113 0.3 Canister
Cask shell
if
SA240-304 195 8.03×10-9 205 515 137 0.3
Basket
SA350-LF3 195 8.03×10-9 260 485 162 0.3 Cask Body
SA182-
201 7.85×10-9 620 795 265 0.3 Cask lid
F6NM
SA516-70 202 7.85×10-9 260 485 162 0.3 Pin
SA540-B23 191 7.85×10-9 965 1070 357 0.3 Bolt
Neutron
NS-4-FR 3.87 1.76×10-9 60.5 - 0.3
absorber
1) Sy: Material yielding stress.
2) Su: Material ultimate stress.
3) Sm: Design stress intensity = lesser of 2/3Sy and 1/3Su.
Table 2 Material properties of wood.

Elastic Yield
Material Ultimate Density Poisson’s
Grain direction modulus stress
type Strain (t/mm2) ratio
(MPa) (MPa)
Balsa Transverse to load 110 1.70 0.615

1.44×10-10 0.3
wood Longitudinal to load 810 12.2 0.745
Red Transverse to load 780 7.80 0.60
4.86×10-10 0.3
wood Longitudinal to load 3070 30.7 0.61
SA540-B23 has high yield stress and ultimate stress which used in cask lid bolts. The neutron ab-
sorber, NS-4-FR epoxy resin, has an elastic modulus of 3.87 GPa and a yield stress of 60.5 MPa.
Also, bilinear elasto-perfectly plastic stress-strain relation is assumed without strain hardening mate-
rial. The impact limiter was fabricated with a combination of balsa wood and redwood. The woods
have different stiffness and strength properties for the directions longitudinal and transverse to grains.
Strain-stress behaviors need to be input in the model, however, to decrease the analysis cost and
modeling complexity, the balsa and redwoods were considered isotropic.
2.3 Finite element modeling

According to NUREG-1536, three structural analysis methods are permitted by the U.S. NRC for the
analysis of stresses, strains, deformations of SNF transport casks in various loading conditions, which
are closed-form calculations, finite element (FE) analyses, and structural analysis for specific cask
components. FE analysis is often employed due to the complexity of design criteria and loading con-
ditions of cask systems.
A total of two FE analyses of SNF transport casks are performed; subjected to two cask drop
scenarios, horizontal and vertical drops. Only one-half portion of the cask is analyzed in the FE
models (Fig. 1), and symmetry constraints are defined at the symmetry planes. All the materials are
modeled with a bilinear elasto-perfectly plastic stress-strain relationship. The properties of balsa and
red woods are assumed isotropic, taken as their properties in the impact direction.
These analyses were conducted using ABAQUS Dynamic/Explicit (Version 6.14)[5]. C3D8R (8-
node solid element with reduced integration) element was used in all of cask parts model, B31 (2-
SeungPil Kim, Myoungsu Shin and Chanyoung Kim 539

node, 3D, 1st order beam element interpolation) element was used in all of bolts model without cask
lid bolt. All of cask FE models were built as 1/2 model and symmetry constraints were applied at
symmetry planes. Most of steel part were designed bilinear elasto-plastic with strain hardening.
To simulate 9 m cask drop test in numerical model, initial drop velocity was given. The initial ve-
b
locity was given by motion of free drop ( ), as in (1)
2 1
Here, is the gravity acceleration (9.81 m/s2) and is the drop height (9 m) specified in Regulatory
if
Guide (RG) 7.8. Therefore, the initial velocity assigned to the cask model is 13.288 m/s.
3.1 Energy response

Before evaluated dynamic analysis results, energy response has to evaluated. During dynamic analy-
sis, different types of energy (total, kinetic, internal, viscous, friction energy and external work) were
calculated, and the total energy, ETOTAL, as in (2)
2
where is internal work, is kinetic energy, is viscous energy, is friction energy and
is external work.
Viscous energy which dissipated by damping mechanisms show model’s stability. Friction energy
is the main energy of contact energy. These two energies are the major reason of loss of energy.
When viscous energy and friction energy have over 5% of total energy, FE model is unstable and
analysis is not able to acceptable. In Fig. 3, viscous energy and friction energy were smaller than 5%
of total energy amount. In summary, these analysis were performed successfully.
(a) Vertical drop Energy response (b) Horizontal drop Energy response
Fig. 3 Energy response curves of the transportation cask until 0.04 second.
3.2 Strain-based Performance Assessment

3.2.1 Strain-based acceptance criteria
ASME Section III, Nonmandatory Appendix FF [6] specifies the strain-based acceptance criteria for
the structural safety of NSF transportation casks against the energy limited events like drop, puncture,
and so on. This criteria consider section average strain and local maximum strain and two kinds of
positions: away from gross or discontinuity, at a gross or discontinuity in Table 3.

Table 3 Acceptance strain criteria in ASME Sec. III, Div. 3.

Away from gross or disconti-
At a gross or discontinuity
nuity
b
Section, TF1)× 2)
0.67 '()*+,-
4) 0.85 '()*+,-
!"
'()*+,- '()*+,-
4
3)
Local, TF×
0.25 1 '()*+,- 5 0.25
if
- 0
*, 23', *, 23', '()*+,-
1) TF: Triaxiality factor.

2) !"
: Average equivalent plastic strain through the section.
3) - 0
: Maximum equivalent plastic strain at location.
4) '()*+,- : Materials true uniform strain limit or the true stain just prior to the onset of necking in a uniaxial
tensile test.
5) *, 23', : Materials true strain at fracture in a uniaxial tensile test.
Fig. 4 Typical engineering tensile stress–strain curve.
Real materials damage under plastic deformation increases or decreases by multi-axial stress con-
dition. The triaxiality factor, TF, is based on the principle stresses, and it is defined as in (3)
89 8: 8;
TF 3
<1 = 89 8: : 8: 8; : 8; 89 : >
2
where 89 , 8: , 8; are the principle stresses at the location.
The stress triaxiality factor is based on the principle stresses, and it is sum of the three principle
stresses divided by the effective (von Mises) stress at a location. The strain at failure in general cases
is related to the uniaxial tension failure strain by (4):
" ( , @ * )@', 2 A " ( , @ * )@', 2 A / 4
In ASME Section. III Div.3, TF is 1.0 where TF is less than 1.0. Also, TF is 3.0 where
!"
is due to pure shear
To find criteria strain limit, '()*+,- and *, 23', are needed. Fig. 4 is typical engineering tensile
stress–strain curve of steel and ASME Sec. III, Div. 3 suggest '()*+,- and *, 23', by uniaxial tensile
loading curve. In this paper, R.K.Blandford ASME paper results are used [7]. In this paper, 2 base

metal (304L and 316L) samples were tested in 4 specified temperature conditions (-20, 70, 300 and
600oF) and 4 kinds of fabrication heat condition (4 manufacturer) by uniaxial tensile test and get true
necking strain (uniform strain) and true fracture strain. Because of radioactive spent fuel, basket and
canister get high temperature during transportation and storage, so, 600oF (315oC) temperature data
b
was used in this paper.
Using Table 3, strain properties an acceptance criteria limits of 304L and 316L were calculated,
and Table 4 shows shows true uniform strain, true fracture strain and acceptance criteria stain limit by
sectional limit and local limit.
if
Table 4 Strain properties an acceptance criteria limits of 304L and 316L.
True True
Local strain
Material type uniform fracture Sectional strain limit Location
limit
strain strain
0.194 (Away from gross) Cask shell
SA240-304L 0.29 1.540 0.603
0.247 (At a gross) Basket
0.181 (Away from gross)
SA240-316L 0.27 1.678 0.622 Canister
0.230 (At a gross)
3.2.2 Strain distributions of canister and basket

Fig. 5 illustrates PEEQ (Plastic strain equivalent to von-Mises stress) contour of canister and basket to
each accident case. In vertical drop accident cases, strains were concentrated in bottom of basket and
canister even though stresses were distributed in entire body of basket and canister in stress contour
results.
In horizontal drop accident cases, PEEQ were driven into left side in the basket model like stress
contour. In canister model, strains were concentrated in right-bottom of canister lid and canister body.
Right side has canister lid and cask lid which has high mass so that right side get high impact force.
(1) Vertical drop basket (2) Vertical drop canister (3) Horizontal drop basket (Max. 0.0134)
(Max. 0.0663) (Max. 0.00445) (4) Horizontal drop canister (Max. 0.00718)
Fig. 5 PEEQ (Plastic strain equivalent to von-Mises stress) contour.

3.2.3 Compare with FEA vs. criteria
ifb
(a) Local, TF×
- 0
(b) Section, TF×

!"
Fig. 6 (a) Maximum equivalent plastic strain [ !"

] and (b) average equivalent plastic strain
through the section [ !"
] PEEQ times TF vs. time graph of horizontal drop situation
and vertical drop situation FE analysis.
Fig. 6 shows modified PEEQ value which is PEEQ value times TF value during horizontal drop and
vertical drop. Because of little difference with high strain and low strain for thin thickness, local strain
results and sectional strain results are the same in basket.
In horizontal drop case in basket, the modified PEEQ value was 0.0663 (local) and 0.0663 (sec-
tional), and in canister, the value was 0.00731 (local) and 0.00584 (sectional). In vertical drop case in
basket, the modified PEEQ value was 0.0435 (local) and 0.0435 (sectional), and in canister, the value
was 0.0106 (local) and 0.00713 (sectional). Compare with horizontal drop and vetical drop, horizontal
drop has high value in basket and low value in canister, and vertical drop has reverse versa.

Table 5 Safety ratio of FEA results and strain design acceptance.

Horizontal Vertical
b
Part Local Sectional Part Local Sectional
Basket 0.072 0.18 Basket 0.11 0.27
Canister 0.012 0.025 Canister 0.018 0.032
if
Table 5 summaries the safety ratio of FEA results to strain design acceptance. The safety ratio is the
value of acceptance strain criteria divided by FEA results value. Using this ratio, the degree of danger
was able to find that which case had high value of ratio.
In horizontal drop case, sectional strain in basket showed the highst value, 0.18, and it means
FEA value is 18% of acceptance criteria value. In vertical drop case, sectional strain in basket showed
the highst value, 0.27, and it means FEA value is 27% of acceptance criteria value. So, this cask
design was over-estimated about 73% higher than cask abaility.
4 Conclusion
In all cases, basket and canister predominantly excess yield strain, however, did not reach acceptance
strain. Compare with horizontal drop and vetical drop, horizontal drop has high value in basket, and
vertical drop has high value in canister. However, local and sectional basket modified strain were not
defferent because of mesh number in basket thickness. In strain-based design criteria, the highest
maximum safety ratio was 0.27 and there had 73% of margin to reach design lite strain.
Compared with strain-based design criteria, cask design was overestimated, canister was overes-
timated over 97%. However, cask body, disk parts was not estimated.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Radioactive Waste Management Technology Program of the Korea
Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP), granted financial resource from
the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, Republic of Korea. (No. 20141710201690).
References
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pay for spent nuclear fuel facilities in South Korea: A latent class approach. In Progress in
Nuclear Energy, 100, 255-265.
[2] European Academies Science Advisory Council. 2014. Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel
and its Waste. Retrieved from European Union, Luxembourg.
[3] U.S. Department of Energy. 2013. Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used
Nuclear Fuel and High-level Radioactive Waste. Retrieved from Washington DC:
[4] Public Engagement Commission on Spent Nuclear Fuel Management. 2014. Potential
Scenarios and Programs for Requiring Public Opinion about Spent Nuclear Fuel
Management Policy (In Korean). Retrieved from Korea.
[5] Dassault Systemes. 2015. ABAQUS 6.14 Documentation, Simulia Co., Providence, RI, USA.
[6] American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 2015. ASME BPVC Section III - Rules for
Construction of Nuclear Facility Components - Division 3. In Containments for
Transportation and Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High Level Radiactive Material and
Waste. New York, NY: ASME.
[7] Blandford, R. K., D. K. Morton, S. D. Snow, and T. E. Rahl. 2007. Tensile Stress-Strain
Results for 304L and 316L Stainless Steel Plate at Temperature. Paper presented at the AS-
ME 2007 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference, San Antonio, TX, United States.

Nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete elements of

the example of the existing RC two – way slab floor
b
Joanna Kujda, Izabela Skrzypczak and Lidia Buda-Ożóg
Rzeszow University of Technology,
Poznańska 2, Rzeszów 35-084, Poland
if
Abstract
The article presents an example of nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete using the GID + ATENA
Static program. As an example, a model of a fragment of the existing RC two-way slab floor was
used. The effects of the punching shear, bending of RC two-way slab floor were analyzed. Deflec-
tions of the floor slab and crack were verified. Obtained results of the calculations clearly demonstrate
the exhaustibility of load capacity of the RC two-way slab floor, especially in the zones near the
columns. The resulting cracking images were compared to the state of the existing structure. Con-
formity was observed in: location, direction and concentration of cracks. In the second stage of the
calculation of RC two-way slab floor proposed to strengthen its fragments. The effectiveness of the
proposed reinforcement was analysed.
1 Introduction
All physical processes are inherently nonlinear to a certain extent. Several common every day appli-
cations exhibit either large deformations and/or inelastic material behavior. Failure to account for
nonlinear behavior can lead to product failures, safety issues, and unnecessary cost. Nonlinear re-
sponse could be caused by any of several characteristics of a system, like large deformations and
strains, material behavior or the effect of contact or other boundary condition nonlinearities. In reality
many structures exhibit combinations of these various nonlinearities.
The nonlinearities are particularly observed in the analysis of building structures. Due to the ad-
vance in technology combined with the use of more resistant materials, more complex and slender
structures are currently being designed, arising thus the necessity of more elaborated computational
methods for structural analysis and design [1].
In general, there exist many variants of non-linear analysis depending on how many non-
linear effects are accounted for. The simplest formulation, i.e. linear formulation, is characterized
by the following assumptions: The constitutive equation is linear, i.e. the generalized form of Hook's
law is used. The geometric equation is linear that is, the quadratic terms are neglected. It means that
during analysis we neglect change of shape and position of the structure. Both loading and boundary
conditions are conservative, i.e. they are constant throughout the whole analysis irrespective of
the structural deformation, time etc. [2] .Generally linear constitutive equations can be employed
for a material, which is far from its failure point, usually up to 50% of its maximum strength.
In structural analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, the more refined methods should ac-
count for the structure nonlinear behavior, due to material nonlinearities (physical nonlinearity),
as well as to changes in the deformed shape of the structure (geometric nonlinearity). Computer-
aided structural analysis of reinforced concrete structures has been the object of extensive research
[3]. Attention first focused on 2-D and axisymmetric models, but it was soon widened to include plate
and shell systems. Among the more refined methods, the Finite Element Method (FEM) stands out as
one of the most utilized nowadays.
Yet only a few computer programs are available for nonlinear finite element analysis of RC struc-
tures, and their cost is high in comparison with other programs. Due to this fact, refined finite element
(FE) models have been mostly used by researchers, and many researchers opt in developing their own
models and computer programs. Although several nonlinear FE models have already been developed,
this is still an advanced topic in the scientific-technical community, in view of the difficulty on
accurately model the reinforced concrete material, due to cracking of concrete, yielding of steel and
the interaction between these materials.
ATENA is a user friendly software for nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete structures. An
advantage of using ATENA for the finite element analyses is that it calculates all material properties

based on the cube strength with equations from Model Code 2010 [4]. Another great advantage with
this program is that it is specially designed for concrete, which makes it easier for the user since good
default values are given. The main advantage is that, even though the analyses described severe
cracking, the program never had problems finding a convergent solution. A novice user can rather
b
easy create advanced models in ATENA. With ATENA You can simulate real behavior of concrete
and reinforced concrete structures including concrete cracking, crushing and reinforcement yielding.
2 Example of the existing RC two – way slab floor
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The subject of consideration in this article was RC two – way slab floor. RC two – way slab floor
have more and more common applications among different types of reinforced concrete floors. In
such constructions, the columnar zones are the most strenuous. The problem here is the punching. The
punching is the subject of constant deliberations among scientists. A lot of research has been done but
this is a problem that is still not entirely clear. In addition, in this type of constructions, as in all other
reinforced concrete constructions, deflection and scratching is also very important. The considered
RC two – way slab floor is supporting element in one of the buildings located in Poland. The object
was made in 2004-2005 year [5]. It is a public utility building, multi-story with extensive geometry.
The inter-floor floors in the building were made as RC two – way slab floors with additional beams
measuring 40x50 cm in the middle fields. In the part near the staircase and the elevator shaft, the
arrangement of the beams is mixed . Construction plan of a fragment of the considered RC two – way
slab floor shows Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 Construction plan of a fragment of the considered RC two – way slab floor.
Throughout the building RC two - way slab floor slab made 20 cm thick. Concrete with an average
compressive strength value fcm = 35.7 MPa. The reinforcement bottom plates, depending on the antic-
ipated load of rods made of 10 mm diameter, 12 mm and 16 mm, the upper reinforcement of the
columns are made of bars with a diameter of 16 mm and 20 mm. There are also perimeter beams in
the structure. Columns reinforced with bars with a diameter of 25 mm. There are numerous techno-
logical openings in the floor slab. The openings are located mostly in columnar zones. The evaluation
of the technical condition of the RC two - way slab identified numerous scratches in the columnar
zones – Fig. 2. This may be evidence of exceeded bending or (and) punching resistance.

Nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete elements of the example of the existing RC two – way slab floor
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Fig. 2 The condition of the existing structure – visible scratches in columnar zones.
The poor condition of the structure was observed by the users of the building. They observed disturb-
ing phenomena in columnar zones as well as in the central zones. In the central zones, deflections of 7
cm were noted. For these reasons, the RC two – way slab was the subject of extensive analysis.
3 Analysis of the RC two – way slab floor in ATENA

An alternative solution to labor-intensive and costly experimental research may be numerical analy-
sis. They allow you to build a numerical model of any type of RC floor that can be found in reality.
This is important in the case of an already existing facility, eg requiring strengthening. Calculation of
the RC two – way slab floor was carried out in the program for non-linear analysis of reinforced
concrete structures - ATENA. The program modeled in detail the effects associated with the punching
and bending. and verification of roof deflections and scratches. The RC floor deflections and scratch-
es were also verified. Due to the extensive geometry of the RC floor, it was decided to make a model
of only its fragment – Fig. 3. The part of the RC floor selected was the one with the most holes. All
elements of the structure and the existing reinforcement are included. The diameter and spacing of
reinforcement was adopted on the basis of documentation.
a) b)
Fig. 3 Numerical model of a fragment of an existing RC two – way slab floor: a) solid geometry,
b) reinforcement model.
The values of permanent loads were adopted on the basis of documentation. The load on partition
walls was assumed as linear in their place of occurrence. In the analyzes carried out, permanent loads
were assumed as random variables with a coefficient of variation of 5% [6]. Values of live loads in
individual rooms of the building were adopted in accordance with their function. In the analyzes
carried out, live loads were assumed as random variables with a coefficient of variation of 20%. The
concrete material model built into the program was used to model the concrete on the properties
adopted on the basis of the results of the research. This model takes into account the behavior of
concrete in reinforced constructions with particular emphasis on reducing the compressive strength
Joanna Kujda, Izabela Skrzypczak and Lidia Buda-Ożóg 547

when scratching and stiffening the effect of concrete in the tensile zone after scratching. The model-
ing procedure also included the selection of the correspondingly convergent finite element mesh and
the setting of non-linear analysis parameters. The Newton- Raphson method was chosen to solve
differential equations of nonlinear analysis. This method allows you to control the load that causes
b
damage, such as scratches or deflections. Obtained results of calculations clearly indicate the possibil-
ity of exhausting the load-bearing capacity of the considered RC two – way slab floor. The applied
reinforcement is insufficient. Obtained results of the calculations clearly demonstrate the exhaustibil-
ity of load capacity of the RC two-way slab floor, especially in the zones near the columns. The re-
if
sulting cracking images were compared to the state of the existing structure. Conformity was ob-
served in: location, direction and concentration of cracks. The scratch image shows Fig. 4.
Fig. 4 Scratch image of the columnar zone of a fragment of an existing RC two – way slab floor.
The conducted analysis also showed exceeded deflections of the RC two – way slab floor. A deflec-
tion in model was more than 2 cm – Fig. 5.
Fig. 5 Deflection and scratch image of the columnar zone of a fragment of the RC floor.
4 Proposition for strengthening

The non-linear analysis of the RC floor confirmed the poor condition of the structure and the exceed-
ing of limit states. It was decided to use the strengthening of the RC floor, which was proposed in two
variants. The strengthening was designed in the columnar zones, in which the greatest scratches were
observed.
In the first variant, a strengthening was suggested by increasing the column dimensions - intro-
ducing C220 profiles around the column and reducing the span of the panel. An overview of the
strengthening is shown in the Fig. 6.

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Fig. 6 The first variant of strengthening of the columnar zones in the existing RC two – way slab
floor – introducing C220 profiles.
In the second variant, it was proposed to strengthening of the RC floor from above. Strengthening was
proposed by using additional steel plates around the columns. It was easier to implement. An over-
view of the strengthening is shown in the Fig. 7.
Fig. 7 The second variant of strengthening of the columnar zones in the existing RC two – way
slab floor – introducing steel plates from the top of the RC floor.
5 Analysis of the proposed strengthening in ATENA

In order to check the effectiveness of the adopted solution, numerical simulations of the proposed
strengthening were carried out. The original model of the RC floor in the GID + ATENA Static pro-
gram was modified by introducing strengthening elements.
The strengthening model using steel profiles placed from the bottom is shown in Fig. 8. The con-
nection between steel strengthening elements and concrete elements was modeled in the form of steel
bars - simulating connecting anchors.

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Fig. 8 The first variant of strengthening of the columnar zones in the existing RC two – way slab
floor – introducing C220 profiles.
The comparison of stresses and scratches for the RC floor fragment with and without strengthening is
shown in Fig. 9.
a) b)
Fig. 9 Scratch and shear stress of the RC floor fragment calculated in the ATENA program:
a) RC floor without strengthening, b) RC floor with the proposed strengthening by means
of steel profiles.
The strengthening model using steel plates placed from the top is shown in Fig. 10. Strengthening
modeled as rectangular blocks. The strengthening elements in the model have been assigned material
corresponding to the structural steel. The connection between steel strengthening elements and con-
crete elements was modeled in the form of steel bars - simulating connecting anchors.
Fig. 10 The second variant of strengthening of the columnar zones in the existing RC two – way
slab floor – introducing steel plates from the top of the RC floor.

The comparison of stresses and scratches for the RC floor fragment with and without strengthening is
shown in Fig. 11.
a) b)
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Fig. 11 Scratch and shear stress of the RC floor fragment calculated in the ATENA program:
a) RC floor without strengthening, b) RC floor with the proposed strengthening by means
of steel profiles.
6 Summary
This article presents an example of non-linear analysis of the existing RC two – way slab floor. At the
beginning, the model of the RC floor fragment was presented. The second stage presensted the model
of the RC floor fragment with the proposed strengthening in two variants.
The analyzed RC floor was characterized by complex geometry. The RC floor had a lot of holes
located in the columnar zones. In this construction, many undesirable effects related to punching,
scratching and excessive deflection were expected. Verification of the effects of these phenomena
only by means of standard procedures published in the Eurocodes may in many cases be insufficient.
Therefore, nonlinear numerical analysis of the RC floor, with carefully modeled reinforcement and all
effects of the impact, proved to be an alternative and effective solution.
Numerical simulations confirmed the actual state of the analyzed RC two – way slab floor. In ad-
dition, using the software for non-linear analysis of reinforced concrete elements, the efficiency of the
supported strengthening was checked. As numerical simulations of the reinforced RC floor have been
shown, the use of strengthening in the form of steel profiles as well as in the form of steel plates is an
effective method of strengthening not only for bending but also for punching.
References
[1] Stramandinoli, R. S. B., and H. L. La Rovere. 2017. “Finite element model for nonlinear
analysis of reinforced concrete beams and plane frames” Ibracon Structures and Materials
Journal Volume 10, Number 2 (April 2017) p. 386-414. doi 10.1590/S1983.
[2] Cervenka, V., L. Jendele, and J. Cervenka. 2017. ATENA Program Documentation Part 1
Theory. Copyright 2000-2017 Červenka Consulting s.r.o., Prague, July 24, 2017.
[3] Cervera, M., E. Hinton, and O. Hassan. 1986. “Nonlinear Analysis of Reinforced Concrete
Plate and Shell Strustures using 20-Noded Isoparametric Brick Elements” Computer &
Structures Vol. 25. No. 6, pp. 845-869, 0045-7949/87.
[4] fib. 2010. Model Code 2010. First complete draft. fib Bulletin 56, Vol. 2.
[5] Buda – Ożóg, L., Sz. Woliński, and J. Kujda. 2017. „Safety Assessment of RC two-way slab
Floor” Paper presented at the Scientific and Technical Conference, 22-26 May 2017, Szczecin
– Międzyzdroje.
[6] CEN. 2002. EN 1990:2002 Eurocode – Basis of structural design.

ifb

Numerical model of the approach slab with gap

functionality
b
Kamil Laco and Viktor Borzovič
Slovak University of Technology,
if
Radlinského 11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
Abstract
Transition area is located right behind the bridge abutment. Crucial part to ease the uneven settlement
of the embankment and the abutment is the approach slab. It is a slab structural member located in the
transition area. Basic definition of the structural system of the approach slab is a slab member with
line pinned support representing the connection to the abutment. The rest of the slab area is supported
by the soil of the embankment. This definition is correct before a bridge is opened for the traffic.
When the vehicles pass a bridge, structural system starts to change. Main reason of changing the
structural system is a different settlement of an abutment and embankment. Among others can be
mentioned the excessive consolidation of the soil of the backfill or its subsoil or washout of the fine
particles underneath the slab. The paper deals with the possibilities of usage of the numerical model
with the gap functionality. The accuracy of the model is compared with the results of the experiment.
Experimental tests were performed in laboratory condition in scale 1:2. Experimental program in-
cluded tests with simulation of various cases of the uneven settlements by the raise of the joint with
the abutment. Advantage of this type of the numerical model is the speed of the calculation. There-
fore, the model is suitable for the parametrical analysis of large number of samples, or the statistical
analysis.
1 Introduction
The approach slab is designed to compensate an uneven settlement of a bridge abutment and a road
embankment. Typical cross section of the transition zone can be seen in Fig. 1. Main problem is in a
different stiffness of the foundation. Even a progress in designing of better bridge supports can lead to
the problem of enhancing settlement differences.
Driving comfort across a bridge can be interrupted by the so called “bump” on both ends of the
bridge. Such disorders are noticeable by common driver. Even further, the loss of traction between the
wheel and a final layer of the road can possibly lead to an accident.
Approach 1
slab
Underlay
transition
Superstructure of
wedge of
the bridge
soil
Compacted Abutment
backfill
Backfill for Subsoil of the

the foundation embankment
Embankment
Fig. 1 Typical section of approach slab of the bridge on a highway road.

These disorders caused by the exceeded size of the different settlements should be eliminated by the
approach slabs. Among many reasons of the uneven settlement the most common ones are the consol-
idation of the soil embankment and its subsoil. Despite many problems of the transition zones, which
are a consequence of the excessive settlement of the embankment, there has not been one single
b
known case of the failure of the reinforced concrete approach slab. This is because of conservative
approach to the design, due to the lack of information of actual behaviour of reinforced concrete
member with the soil interaction. Also, a visual check of the slabs is difficult. It is possible, that
the conservative scheme can predict the unforeseen circumstances and should be preserved.
if
2 Possible structural models of the approach slab
The approach slab acts as a slab on a soil. The slab is a reinforced concrete member supported by the
abutment on one edge and by the soil of embankment on the rest of the slab. An area soil support can
be modelled by one or two parametric models of the subsoil, or by the 3D finite elements. 3D ele-
ments can have linear (elastic), or nonlinear behaviour. Structural schemes of the models according to
the stiffness of subsoil are shown in Fig. 2. In the first row there are models, where assumption based
on the different soil stiffness was made. Second row should represent a reaction of the subsoil along
centre line of the approach slab.
Due to the acting cyclic load, more schemes are possible for describing slab behaviour during its
service life. At the traffic opening, scheme in Fig. 2a is the most accurate in terms of the spring stiff-
ness distribution. But during settlement of the embankment the stiffness of the subsoil can be lowered
or even a gap could develop under the approach slab. Considering the transition of a large number of
heavy vehicles this gap can be represented by linearly changing spring stiffness (Fig. 2b).
a) b) c)
d) e)
Fig. 2 Structural schemes of the approach slab: a) constant spring stiffness, b) linearly changing
spring stiffness, c) conservative simply supported scheme d) e) conservative scheme with
linearly changing support reactions at the free end of the slab (right end – connection with
the abutment, left end – free end of the approach slab).
Mostly, the conservative scheme (Fig. 2c) is used for design of approach slab. The second support of
this scheme, at the free end, represents the resultant of the spring reactions from Fig. 2d or 2e. The
scheme in Fig. 2d is unfavourable, because the position of the resultant makes the span larger. The
structural model as simply supported slab is also used in Slovak regulation OTN 73 6244 [1]. Because
of the out datedness, previous work [2] shows the need to transfer this regulation according to the
European standards.
3 Numerical models
For linear analysis, there are many methods, which are taking soil interaction in structural models into
account. Well known and mostly used ones are single parameter Winkler model or two-parameter
Winkler-Pasternak model. Those models can be combined with an iterative procedure for more pre-
cise calculation of the spring parameters according to the ratio of the contact pressure and the settle-
ment.
Another approach is to model the embankment, and the subsoil underneath, by 3D elements. This
type of elements can also be linear or nonlinear. Differences between linear models with a various
soil stiffness were explained in more detail in the previous work [3].

3.1 Nonlinear models of the transition zones and approach slabs

As mentioned above, structural scheme of the approach slabs is changing due to the cyclic loading
represented by the traffic. This is the reason, why it is so difficult to describe the slab behaviour via
b
the numerical models.
3.1.1 Simple supported slab (conservative structural scheme)
The simplest possible FEM model is to use the simplified structural scheme (Fig. 2b), and the slab is
represented by 2D element with material nonlinearities. The big disadvantage of this method are too
if
conservative bending moments and subsequently the design of the reinforcement. But in engineering
praxis, it is most suitable way to design the approach slabs, since the cost of this construction element
is very low compared to the cost of the bridge itself.
The issue of this method is the distance of the supporting line from the free end of the slab.
Placement at the edge would be too conservative. Many national standards offer the table or the dia-
gram of the main slab reinforcement, according to its length. The French national standard [4] defines
the theoretical support at the free end in the distance of 0.20 m. According to our preliminary study,
the distance should be one sixth of length of the slab.
3.1.2 Slab supported by the subsoil with linear material behaviour
Very similar to previous method in terms of the slab itself. The difference is in the support represent-
ed by the set of springs (Winkler, or Winkler-Pasternak subsoil models), or even by the half-space
represented by 3D elements with linear behaviour.
Also, here comes the problem with the determination of the structural scheme. In case of support-
ing the slab area with the set of springs, we can set them only at the free end of the slab (Fig. 3b). In
this case we must choose the area of supporting springs. In many cases the half of the slab would give
satisfying results. Another approach could be the linear change of the spring stiffness (lowest at the
joint with the abutment and highest at the free end). Similar concept can be used for 3D elements.
There should be the stiffness modules of the corresponding layers linearly changing from the abut-
ment joint to the free end.
Using constant stiffness of the springs, or the 3D elements of the half-space would be wrong, re-
garding the fact of loss of contact between the slab and the subsoil due to the subsoil consolidation, or
uneven settlement of the embankment and the abutment.
a) c)
b)
Fig. 3 Numerical models of the approach slab: a) Simple supported slab, b) slab supported by
the set of springs, c) subsoil of the slab represented by the soil half-space.
3.1.3 2D planar analysis of the transition zone

This type of analysis is more suitable for the design of the abutment. Nevertheless, it also can be used
for computation of the bending moments of the approach slab. Considering the material non-
linearities of the soil layers, the behaviour of the whole transition zone is more accurate in terms of
the deflection and the bedding pressure in the contact of the slab and the subsoil.
Kamil Laco and Viktor Borzovič 555

To obtain the admissible results, few changes should be done. In case of loading, the correspond-
ing loading areas should be calculated. The width of the 2D plane (section) is 1.0 m, so the tandem
system of the traffic loading must be adapted. Most unfavourable section is at the line, where the most
loaded lane and the second one are connected. Deflection of the slab is calculated only by the UDL
b
and TS loading, because we can assume, that primary consolidation under the influence of self-weight
has already taken place.
The slab is represented by 1D elements, with width of 1.0 m. For the correct boundary conditions,
interface elements below and above the slab must be used. Through the interface elements (represent-
if
ed by the springs) below the slab, the gap functionality can describe the event of uneven settlement of
the abutment and the embankment. Loss of the contact between the slab and the subsoil is crucial for
the correct calculation of the deflection, or the bending moments. Without the gap functionality used
in planar analysis, the behaviour of the slab loaded by traffic loading is describing only the initial
state of the transition zone, at the beginning of the bridge life-span.
a) b)
Fig. 4 Non-linear numerical models of the transition zone: a) 2D planar analysis, with interface
elements, b) 3D model (in this picture, with the road layers turned off).
3.1.4 3D analysis of the transition zone

The most sophisticated calculation method is the usage of 3D elements for the embankment, subsoil
and the abutment. The wings of the abutment, and approach slab are modelled by 2D elements. Mate-
rial non-linearities are taken into account for soil and concrete materials.
Despite the fact, that this method is also the most complicated one, many simplifications of previ-
ous numerical models are not necessary here. The loading area of the TS can be set directly on the
road, without the enlarging due to the redistribution of the forces in the layers.
Although, as in case of the 2D planar analysis, the procedure with the interface elements must be
done. In this case the gap functionality can be replaced by full settlement analysis, which should
represent the uneven settlement. But for more control over the boundary conditions of the slab, the
gap functionality can also be adapted.
4 Experiment of the approach slab

Main idea was to observe the structural behaviour of the slab under the cyclic load with the effect of
uneven settlement. This experiment simulated the normal usage, without any accidental situations,
which can occur in transition area (erosion, slumping, wash out of subsoil etc.).
The goal was to determine the changes in strain of the slab and find out the most unfavourable
case. Also, the experiment should help in the description of the simplified structural scheme, which
could be used for the design of the approach slabs (its geometry and reinforcement).
4.1 Experimental set-up

To fulfil each goal of the experiment, set-up had to contain some specific details. Because of the
location of the experiment in laboratory, and not on the site, choice of a scale was difficult. It should
be high enough to build the experimental set-up inside the laboratory and low enough to give reason-
able values. In our case the scale 1:2 was chosen.
In the Fig. 5 the main elements of the set-up and the frame with LVDT sensors are shown. The
soil tank is built from framed formwork DOKA provided by the company YIT. Floorplan dimensions

were 4.2 m x 3.9 m. The height was 2.25 m, but the top level of gravel was 2.0 m. The gravel was
poured by layers of 0.3 m, and each layer was packed down by one-way plate compactor. With a help
of Department of Geotechnics, the soil after each layer was measured in defined places to get the
deformation modules of the gravel. On the top layer the penetration test was performed in three places
b
along the middle axis of the slab.
The cyclic loading was performed by cyclic pressure jack, and via steel beam and hinged plates
with the dimensions 0.2 x 0.2 m transferred to the slab.
Fig. 5
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Experimental set-up of the approach slab.
There were 3 versions of testing specimen geometry, which had different length. Thickness was 0.15
m, width 2.0 m and lengths 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 m. The reinforcement of the slabs differed only in the
spacing of the bottom reinforcing bars in both layers (along the slab and transverse). Bars had the
diameter of 10 mm, with spacing of 200 mm. For the bottom bars the spacing was 75 mm, 100 mm
and 125 mm placed in order from the longest slab.
Fig. 6 Detail of the beam-abutment connection - drawing (left), photo (right).
The special detail was the joint of the slab and the abutment. To simulate the uneven settlement, it
was necessary to allow vertical movement and to measure the support force transferred from the slab
to the abutment. The joint was realised in two places of the abutment, where 4 threaded rods sticked
out of the concrete. The nuts on the rods were supporting a steel plate, which transferred the load
from the slab through the load cells and calotte to the abutment. The slab was placed on the top of H

beam via hinged connection, which ensured line support for the slab. The beam was supported by two
load cells and the threaded rods have only guiding function.
The load is distributed by another steel beam and two plates with hinged connection, which
should represent the tandem system of the traffic load. The loading is performed by dynamic hydrau-
b
lic press with maximum of 600 kN load cap.
In addition to load cells on the abutment, 5 pressure cells for bedding stress are placed underneath
the slab. The pressure cells by the GEOKON use vibrating wire pressure transducers and for this
experiment are provided by the company Geoexperts Žilina. For even bedding stress under the slab,
if
the layer of fine sand is placed on the top of the gravel. In this layer the pressure cells are located
(Fig. 7).
Fig. 7 Embedment of pressure cells.
5 Numerical model of the approach slab with the gap functionality

To perform the parametrical studies for the real approach slabs, suitable calculation method needs to
be found. Selection of the numerical model had two main requirements. The speed of the calculation
and the degree of description of the approach slab behaviour. The requirement of the speed excluded
the models with 3D elements. Conservative scheme is mainly used only for preliminary design. Final-
ly, for the representation of the subsoil, single-parametric Winkler model represented by a set of
springs with acting stiffness perpendicular to the slab was chosen. Non-linear gap functionality of the
springs was used for the possibility to simulate uneven settlement of the abutment and the embank-
ment. Its purpose was to take the possible slope changes into the consideration. Spring support is
active only after the deflection exceeds the defined gap. In our case the gap was changing linearly
from the line support to the free end.
6 Comparison of the results from experimental study and numerical model

Evaluation of advantages and disadvantages of the numerical model with the gap functionality is
necessary for further use of this calculation method for the parametrical studies of the real approach
slab. One of goals is to prove, if the bridge designers could use this type of calculation method for the
usage in praxis, in case of the reinforcement design of the approach slab.
Numerical model of the experimental slabs is using 2D elements for the slab, line support in the
joint with the abutment and spring elements with gap functionality beneath the whole slab. According
to the experiment, the elevations of the joint was set in steps: 0, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mm. 2D ele-
ments were geometrically in one constant plane. The slope was represented only by linearly changing
gaps. Winkler´s modulus was set according to average modulus calculated for each step, as the ratio
of the bedding pressure and the measured deflection in corresponding point.
In the graphs below, the results for two of the slabs are presented, with length of 3.0 m and 3.5 m.
The total load was 150 kN. The results for the 2.5 m were not representative, due to the fact, that after
previous experiments the gravel was compacted unevenly. Therefore, the deflections have not similar

trend compared to numerical model. Similar trend is also visible in case of 3.0 m with lower elevation
of the joint. The specimen with 3.0 m length was tested first, so the match of the deflections along the
slab of numerical model and measured results are very similar.
b
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3
-1
Deflection [mm]
if
-6
-11
-16
Distance from the support [m]
Elev. 0mm (exp) Elev. 5mm (exp) Elev. 15mm (exp) Elev. 25mm (exp)
Elev. 0mm (cal) Elev. 5mm (cal) Elev. 15mm (cal) Elev. 25mm (cal)
Fig. 8 Graph representing deflection along the slab in the middle of width – 3.0 m slab.
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5
-1
Deflection [mm]
-6
-11
-16
Distance from the support [m]
Elev. 0mm (exp) Elev. 5mm (exp) Elev. 15mm (exp) Elev. 25mm (exp)
Elev. 0mm (cal) Elev. 5mm (cal) Elev. 15mm (cal) Elev. 25mm (cal)
Fig. 9 Graph representing deflection along the slab in the middle of width – 3.0 m slab.
7 Conclusions
Good match in terms of deflection for the highest elevation is caused by the fact, that Winkler modu-
lus used in numerical model is used according to the measured values, as mentioned before. Similari-
ties in the deflection indicate the possible usage of this model for the parametrical analysis. Further
statistical study of this calculation method according to design safety has to be made.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract
No. APVV-15-0658. Authors also gratefully acknowledge support provided by company YIT Reding
and Geoexperts.
References
[1] OTN 73 6244: Transition zones of the roadway and highway bridges. Praha, 1981.
(in Slovak)
[2] Borzovič, V., and J. Halvonik. 2010. “Design of the approach slabs of roadway bridges.”
Concrete days 2010: Collective volume, 115-120. Bratislava, STU in Bratislava, ISBN 978-
80-8076-089-2.

[3] Laco, K., V. Borzovič, and J. Panuška. 2014. “Analysis of the behaviour of the approach slab.”
Concrete days 2014 a 5. post-conference colloquium SNK fib: Collective volume, 1. edition.
303-308. Bratislava: STU in Bratislava, ISBN 978-80-8076-114-1.
[4] Ministre de lÚrbanisme, du Logment et des Transports, Direction des Routes: Dalles de
b
Transition des Ponts Routes, Paris, 1984.
if

Experimental investigation of bond behaviour under

repeated loading
b
Yasmin Lemcherreq and Thomas Vogel
Institute of Structural Engineering
ETH Zurich,
if
Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract
The deterioration of bond between reinforcing steel bars and the surrounding concrete will be investi-
gated under conditions of cyclic loading. An experimental campaign is planned in which a reinforced
concrete tension chord will be subjected to axial cyclic tensile loading. The use of distributed optical
fibre sensors applied directly to the surface of embedded reinforcing steel bars, will enable a continuous
measurement of strains along the bar length with minimal disturbance of the bond properties. The var-
iation of steel strains thus captured can serve as an indicator for the degradation of bond throughout the
fatigue life of a structural member. The present paper provides a review of recent work on fatigue of
reinforced concrete with particular focus on bond behaviour as well as an overview of the proposed
experimental campaign.
1 Introduction
The aging of existing concrete bridges in combination with the increasing frequencies and maximum
axle weights of traffic requires a more sound understanding of the damage mechanisms related to the
fatigue of structural concrete. Often, the numerical examination of existing bridges indicates insuffi-
cient fatigue safety although the structure shows no visible damage. Furthermore, there are no reported
cases of damage in Switzerland which can clearly be attributed to cyclic loading [1]. Consequently,
many engineers suspect that the current code requirements underestimate the fatigue safety of concrete
structures, thus promoting unnecessary retrofitting measures.
According to the Swiss and European guidelines, the verification of fatigue safety is to be per-
formed independently for the reinforcing steel and the concrete. This approach is justified due to the
vastly different fatigue behaviour of the constituent materials. Whereas the stress range is decisive for
the reinforcement, the maximum and minimum stress levels are of interest for the concrete. The ex-
pected stresses in the materials are subsequently compared to the fatigue strength, which is typically
defined by experimentally determined S-N curves. In this way, the maximum number of load cycles
can be determined for a given stress or stress range. These S-N or Wöhler curves can be viewed as limit
states; they provide no information on the actual state of damage in the material. Thus, the estimation
of remaining service life of reinforced concrete structures remains a challenge, relying on strongly sim-
plified damage accumulation calculations.
A verification of fatigue bond safety is currently not required in design practice, despite the fact
that bond is essential for both the load-carrying capacity and the deformation behaviour of reinforced
concrete members. Several experimental investigations underpin this, characterising failure either as
rupture of the reinforcement or failure of the concrete in compression. However, a degradation of bond
properties during the service life of specimens is often reported [1], [2], [3]. This deterioration manifests
itself as an increase in deformations and crack widths. Hence, also the serviceability and durability of
structures may suffer under the influence of repeated loads.
1.1 Fatigue of concrete members in bending

Fatigue of a structural concrete member subjected to bending moments is a complex and progressive
process which takes place within the flexural compression zone and the flexural tension chord. The
progression of this process is characterised by the fatigue behaviour of the concrete in compression and
tension, the fatigue strength of the reinforcement as well as the deterioration of the bond properties. An
increase in irreversible deformations as well as a reduction in stiffness of the concrete within the com-
pression zone is typically observed. The concrete exhibits a large capacity to redistribute stresses within
the compression zone. The contribution of the concrete between the cracks within the flexural tensile

chord, however, decreases and leads to a progressive reduction in stiffness. Tests on deck slab speci-
mens [2] indicate a significant increase in deflections and strains within the initial thousand cycles. This
initial phase is typically followed by a period of approximately constant increasing deflections and
strains. The cyclic loading led to crack formation, an increase in the width of existing cracks and a
b
continuous increase in deflection.
Fehlmann [1] conducted a large-scale experiment on a monolithic frame bridge. His observations
confirmed the validity of fatigue as a hazard scenario for structural design since the fatigue damage
remained mainly undetected until shortly before failure. The observed increase in deflection was at-
if
tributed to crack growth, deterioration of bond as well as creep of concrete. Based on his own and other
experimental investigations, Fehlmann developed a physical-mechanical model to describe the fatigue
behaviour of structural concrete beams in bending which allows an estimation of the fatigue life. The
bond deterioration was considered by introducing a factor for the tension stiffening effect. This factor
is assumed to decrease logarithmically with increasing load cycles until the tension stiffening effect is
neglected completely after one million cycles. This assumption remains to be verified by experimental
tests. Spathelf [4] extended the model proposed by Fehlmann to consider combinations of bending and
torsional moments in slabs using the same assumption for bond deterioration.
In addition to fatigue failure, Zanuy [3] warns that repeated loading may affect the serviceability of
concrete structures. In his experiment, considering a reduced cross-section of a railway box-girder via-
duct, a significant cycle-dependent reduction of tension stiffening effect was observed. Reinforcing
steel strains were measured using Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDT) applied on the
concrete surface at the level of the reinforcement. He noted that the steel strains tended towards the
value expected in the fully cracked stage with the increase in the number of cycles.
1.2 Fatigue of steel-concrete bond

Bond properties are essential for the response of structural concrete. Both crack widths and crack spac-
ings depend on the ability of the reinforcing steel bars to transfer forces to the surrounding intact con-
crete between the cracks via bond stress. Thus, the concrete also contributes to the load carrying be-
haviour and the steel strains are reduced. The activation of the concrete in tension increases the stiffness
of the structure and significantly influences its deformation behaviour.
There are currently a considerable number of models to describe the bond stress-slip (τb-δ) relation-
ship. A relatively simple but established one is the stepped rigid perfectly plastic bond stress-slip rela-
tionship of Sigrist [5] for monotonic loads (Fig. 1, left). Koppitz [6] amended this model to consider
the previously mentioned changes in bond properties during unloading and reloading. He proposed a
reduction of bond strength to 50 % of the initial value when subjected to cycles of unloading and re-
loading (Fig 1, right). This assumption was verified by the comparison to existing experimental data.
However, it is suspected that a significant increase in load cycles may lead to an even greater irreversi-
ble reduction of bond.
Fig. 1 Stepped rigid perfectly plastic bond stress-slip relationship. Adapted from [5] (left); stepped
rigid perfectly plastic bond stress-slip relationship for unloading and reloading. Adapted
from [6] (right).
Experimental investigations of bond under fatigue are mainly performed on pull-out tests similar to the
ones under monotonic load. The rebar is cast with a defined, typically short bond length into a concrete
prism and subjected to constant amplitude loading. The bond slip on the free end is measured. The aim
of such tests is to derive a bond stress or slip versus number of cycles diagram comparable to the S-N
curves for steel and concrete. Rehm and Eligehausen [7] performed extensive pull-out tests with varying
bond lengths, bar diameters and concrete strengths at different maximum and minimum load levels.

Their tests indicate that the maximum number of load cycles to bond failure decreases with an increase
in maximum load level for a constant minimum load. The resulting S-N diagram shown in Fig. 2 can
be simplified to a straight line. Balázs [8] noted that the slip versus number of cycles diagram is S-
shaped, which is analogous to the development of concrete strain under fatigue. The slip in the transition
b
to the last segment corresponds roughly to the slip at the ultimate bond strength (τbu) in a monotonic
pull-out test. He defined this slip as a failure criterion under repeated loading. Lindorf [9] observed that
conditions of transverse tension accentuated this reduction in bond strength.
Fig. 2
if
S-N Diagram for bond. Adapted from [7].
Bresler and Bertero [10] examined the stress transfer between steel and concrete, the crack widths and
the stiffness on four concrete cylinders with concentrically cast rebars. The bars were cut longitudinally
and a groove was milled into one-half which was instrumented with strain gauges. The two halves were
subsequently welded together. The experiment revealed that the tension stiffening effect is reduced with
an increase in load cycles and load amplitude. The number of load cycles in the tests, however, were
limited to only 65 repetitions.
2 Overview of the investigation

The present research project aims at contributing to a deeper understanding of the complex processes
of the fatigue of reinforced concrete through an investigation of the mechanisms that take place in the
tension chord. Fibre Optical (FO) sensing will be used to investigate the degradation of bond and the
related decrease in tension stiffening throughout the fatigue life. The previously mentioned assumptions
and observations can thus be verified.
In a first step, preliminary experiments are planned to assess the performance of fibre optical sens-
ing under cyclic loading. At the time of writing this paper, the majority of the specimens have already
been tested. The results, however, have not been analysed yet. The findings from this initial investiga-
tion will be used to optimise the test setup and measurement methods of the main experimental cam-
paign. The results will be used to validate a model developed by the first author to describe bond dete-
rioration under repeated loading.
Improved knowledge of the process of fatigue and the resulting changes in the stiffness properties
of a structure will supplement the current design standards and contribute to an estimation of the actual
degree of damage in existing structures.
3 Preliminary tests
3.1 Test programme

Before embedding the fibre in a reinforced concrete specimen, preliminary experiments were conducted
to assess its performance in a fatigue test. The fibres were attached on opposing sides of the rebars.
Yasmin Lemcherreq and Thomas Vogel 563

Three different configurations of applying the fibres to a reinforcement bar were investigated. In series
one, a groove of 1.0 x 1.0 mm was cut along the length of the bar and the fibres were glued inside with
epoxy. In the second series, the same procedure was used, but with a more viscous two-component
adhesive. The third series was prepared without grooves and the fibres were glued directly to cleaned
b
surfaces along the longitudinal ribs to keep the fibres steady. The same adhesive as in series two was
used. In order to compare the results, the elongation of the bars was measured with an LVDT mounted
at mid-height of the bar with a base length of 300 mm.
Three bars were tested in each series in a uniaxial tensile test by increasing the force continuously
if
until failure. Another four bars were tested under cyclic loading with constant stress ranges of
∆σ = 300 N/mm2 and 200 N/mm2 until fatigue failure. The bars had a length of 1.20 m, a free length
between the grips of 968 mm and a nominal diameter of 14 mm. All bars classified as type B500B
according to the Swiss Standard SIA 262:2013 were taken from the same production heat. A set of five
bars was tested in a standard tensile test to determine their mechanical properties.
In order to prevent premature failure due to the transverse pressure of the clamps, the ends of each
cyclically tested bar were sandblasted and glued with epoxy into metal sleeves. This ensured a uniform
transfer of the applied forces. The alignment of the testing machine was controlled prior to each test.
Nevertheless, some tests indicated secondary stresses due to lack of straightness in the bars. The fibre
optic sensing clearly captured this effect.
3.2 Testing procedure

All of the preliminary tests were performed in a Schenck servo-hydraulic testing machine under force
control. The test procedure is shown schematically in Fig. 3. The loading history included both mono-
tonic and dynamic sequences. Initially, 10 cycles of monotonic loading and unloading were applied
with a rate of 1.3 kN/s. The steel strains were measured with optical fibres at a sampling frequency of
1/3 Hz and with an LVDT at a sampling frequency of 5.0 Hz. Subsequently, the FO recording was
discontinued and the LVDT was removed. A dynamic sequence was started with sinusoidal load cycles
in the same force range at a frequency of 6.0 Hz. Herein, only the applied force and the testing machine
stroke were recorded. After reaching a specified number of cycles, the dynamic loading was stopped
and the LVDT was remounted at the marked position. The strains were recorded from the minimum to
the maximum load level. This was followed by a new sequence of dynamic loading. The loading se-
quences were repeated alternately until fatigue failure of the bar.
Fig. 3 Loading history for the preliminary tests.
4 Main investigation
4.1 Test description and setup

The deterioration of bond between reinforcing steel bars and the surrounding concrete under cyclic
loading will be investigated in a series of large-scale tests on reinforced concrete wall specimens. Spec-
imens will be subjected to axial tensile cyclic loading. The governing parameters for fatigue and bond
behaviour such as stress amplitude, concrete strength, the geometry of the reinforcing steel bar ribs and
the influence of transverse reinforcement will be investigated. Furthermore, one specimen will be tested
under monotonically increasing loading to illustrate the response under quasi-static loading.

The setup was designed to ensure that the specimen is subjected exclusively to tensile loads. The
actuator will be mounted with pinned connections at the top of the specimen. In this way, the reinforcing
steel stresses at the concrete cracks can be determined directly from the equilibrium conditions. The
test setup was adapted from the experimental campaign presented in [11]. In order to prevent fatigue
b
fracture of the main reinforcement outside the specimen or within the transition zone, it is connected to
larger diameter bars using fatigue-resistant threaded couplers. The threaded connector bars will be at-
tached to a rigid steel plate, which will ensure a uniform distribution of the applied force over the
reinforcing bars. Furthermore, the transition zone will be reinforced with four stirrups.
if
Fig. 4 Front view of test setup (left); views of a typical test specimen (right). Dimensions in cm.
4.2 Method of measurement – distributed fibre optic strain measurement

The variation of steel strain over the length of the reinforcement and throughout the fatigue life serves
as an indicator of bond degradation and loss of the tension stiffening effect of concrete between the
cracks. Until recently, it has been nearly impossible to measure the reinforcement strains at the con-
crete-steel interface without disturbing the bond properties. Such measurements could typically only be
obtained at distinct points, e.g. by means of strain gauges. The crack location had to be predicted or
induced by artificially reducing the concrete cross-section in order to define a suitable location for the
strain gauge. These major drawbacks in previous measurement techniques are overcome with the use
of the fibre optic sensing method. In this method, light fibres with a negligible diameter of 250 micro-
metres can be applied along the length of a reinforcement bar. A continuous strain measurement is
possible over the entire length at a spacing of 5 mm.
In addition to FO sensing, established measurement techniques such as strain gauges and LVDTs
will be used. The authors are not aware of other investigations into the fatigue behaviour of structural
concrete members that have made use of FO sensing. The simultaneous recording of steel strains with
different techniques will be used to confirm the measurements obtained from FO sensing. A further
reason for the redundancy in steel strain measurements is to correct the results for the expected heat
development in the specimen under cyclic load [12]. The scattering of light within the fibre is caused
Yasmin Lemcherreq and Thomas Vogel 565

by elongation of the fibre or changes in temperature. Therefore, the relative contribution of each effect
will have to be recorded. Further details on FO sensing are provided in [13].
b
The current knowledge about fatigue in structural concrete is still not satisfactory. The properties of the
two components, namely the reinforcement and the concrete, are typically researched separately with
emphasis on the ultimate fatigue strength only. The fatigue phenomenon, however, is characterised by
if
a progressive damage accumulation which evolves over the lifetime of a structure. Increasing crack
widths and deflections adversely affect the serviceability of structures. The findings of this project will
contribute to a better understanding of the fatigue process at the interface between concrete and steel.
The aims are to (i) clarify to what extent the tension stiffening effect is reduced under cyclic loading,
(ii) investigate how this affects the deformation behaviour of reinforced concrete throughout its fatigue
life, and (iii) develop a model to predict the loading and unloading response of a tension chord subjected
to repeated loading. Subsequently, the relationship will be used to extend existing physical-mechanical
models for the prediction of fatigue failure for beams [1] and orthogonally reinforced slabs [4].
Following the evaluation of the preliminary experiments, the parameters of the experimental cam-
paign will be reviewed. The fibre optic sensing will generate a large volume of data during fatigue
testing. Effective ways of post-processing the data will have to be developed.
Acknowledgements
The preliminary tests were performed in collaboration with Prof. Kaufmann and his group. The authors
gratefully acknowledge Prof. Kaufmann for providing the measurement device and the sensing fibres.
Special thanks go to Tena Galkovski and Severin Häfliger for an introduction to fibre-optic sensing and
their support during the tests.
References
[1] Fehlmann, Patrick. 2012. “Zur Ermüdung von Stahlbetonbrücken.” PhD diss., ETH Zurich.
[2] Schläfli, Max. 1999. “Ermüdung von Brückenfahrbahnplatten aus Stahlbeton.” PhD diss.,
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
[3] Zanuy, Carlos, Luis Felipe Maya, Luis Albajar, and Pablo de la Fuente. 2011. “Transverse Fa-
tigue Behaviour of Lightly Reinforced Concrete Bridge Decks.” Engineering Structures
2839:2849–33.
[4] Spathelf, Christian. 2017. “Fatigue Performance of Orthogonally Reinforced Concrete Slabs.”
PhD diss., ETH Zurich.
[5] Sigrist, Viktor. 1995. “Zum Verformungsvermögen von Stahlbetonträgern.” PhD diss., ETH
Zurich.
[6] Koppitz, Robert, Albin Kenel, and Thomas Keller. 2014. “Tension Chord Model Modification
for Uniaxial Unloading and Reloading in Elastic and Plastic States.” ASCE Journal of Struc-
tural Engineering 140:04014077.
[7] Rehm, Gallus, and Rolf Eligehausen. 1979. “Bond of Ribbed Bars under High Cycle Repeated
Loads.”.ACI Journal, Symposium Paper 297:309–376.
[8] Balázs, György. 1991. “Fatigue of Bond.” ACI Materials Journal 620:629–688.
[9] Lindorf, Alexander. 2011. “Ermüdung des Verbundes von Stahlbeton unter Querzug.”
PhD diss., Technische Universität Dresden.
[10] Bresler, Boris, and Vitelmo Bertero. 1968. “Behavior of Reinforced Concrete under Repeated
Load.” Journal of Structural Division 1567:1590–94.
[11] Alvarez, Manuel. 1998. “Einfluss des Verbundverhaltens auf das Verformungsvermögen von
Stahlbeton.” PhD diss., ETH Zurich.
[12] Hümme, Julian, Christoph von der Haar, and Ludger Lohaus and Steffen Marx. 2016. “Fatigue
Behaviour of a Normal-Strength Concrete – Number of Cycles to Failure and Strain Develop-
ment.” Structural Concrete 637:645–4.
[13] Samiec, Dirk. 2012. “Distributed Fibre-Optic Temperature and Strain Measurement with Ex-
tremely High Spatial Resolution.” Photonik International 10:10:13.

Experimental verification of a method in development

for predicting the punching shear strength of flat slabs
b
Lukáš Lyčka and Petr Štěpánek
if
Veveří 331/95, 602 00 Brno, Czech republic
Abstract
The paper describes an experimental study on scaled down specimens of flat slabs subjected to
punching shear. The study was aimed specifically at flat slabs with shear reinforcement. The experi-
ments were conducted in order to verify the proposed method for predicting the punching shear
strength and optimization of its parameters. Most of the current codes in force would be best de-
scribed as empirical formulations. Proposed method is compared with some of the main methods
currently in use, in order to demonstrate its effectiveness. The comparison consists of results of more
than one hundred experiments on the flat slabs with shear reinforcement, gathered from publications
from all around the world.
1 Experimental study
A total of 6 specimens of concrete slabs were made for the verification purposes of the developed
method for prediction of the punching shear of flat slabs with shear reinforcement. All slabs were
designed to have the same planar dimensions and material characteristics and differ only in the
amount of the shear reinforcement and in the size of the column support.
Only exception is the slab B6. This slab was made as a prototype three months earlier to verify
feasibility of the experiments and therefore has different concrete characteristics. Results from this
slab were already presented in [1]
All slab specimens were made in 1:3 scale when compared to the slabs generally used in punch-
ing shear experiments. These experimental studies commonly use slabs with planar dimensions close
to 3.0 x 3.0 meters. Scaled down dimensions of each specimen therefore are 1.0 x 1.0 meter with a
height of 100 mm. Main parameters of each slabs are shown in table 1.
Table 1 Parameters of the slabs.

c h d fck Ec fy ρ fyw
Specimen
[mm] [mm] [mm] [MPa] [GPa] [MPa] [%] [MPa]
A4 130 100 70 25.6 22.4 500 1.22 500
A6 130 100 70 25.6 22.4 500 1.22 500
B4 75 100 70 25.6 22.4 500 1.35 500
B6 75 100 70 50.3 30.5 500 1.35 500
C4 130 100 70 25.6 22.4 500 1.35 500
C6 130 100 70 25.6 22.4 500 1.35 500
1.1 Material
Because of the small dimensions of scaled down slabs, concrete with a maximum aggregate grain size
of 8 mm was used. Basic mechanical parameters of the concrete were identified experimentally. 150
mm cubes were tested for the compressive strength and 100 x 100 x 300 mm prisms for the elastic
modulus. Average values were based on four samples of cubes and four samples of prisms.

Slabs B6 was made in June 2016 and was tested 40 days later. Remaining slabs were made in Sep-
tember 2016 and tested 62 days later. Preparation of the slabs, its reinforcement and subsequent con-
creting were carried out at the company Prefa Brno a.s.
Flexural reinforcement of the slabs A consists of 11 reinforcement bars from B500B steel 10 mm
b
in diameter, giving the slabs a flexural reinforcement ratio of 1.22%. Each rebar was bent-up at both
ends to ensure sufficient anchorage. Slabs B and C same 12 rebars, giving the slabs a flexural rein-
forcement ratio of 1.35%. A steel mesh with 6 mm bars spaced at 150 mm in both directions was used
at the compression side.
if
1.2 Shear reinforcement
Every slab contains a steel shear reinforcement made from groups of three rebars placed evenly
around the support. Each triplet of rebars with has a diameter of 4 or 6 mm, bent-up hooks on both
ends, and is welded to a thin steel strip (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Dimensions of the shear reinforcement used in the experimental study.

Fig. 2 Shape of the shear reinforcement (left). Shear reinforcement inside the slab (right).
Shear reinforcement is placed in such way that the hooks encircle the flexural reinforcement and with
the steel strip facing the compression side. This type of reinforcement is a substitute for double head-
ed shear studs which are not produced for slabs of such low thickness and was previously used in
experiments carried out at the University in Zagreb [2] on slabs 1.5 m wide.
Table 2 Parameters of the shear reinforcement.
ϕ Asw nr ns s0 s1 ρw,eff
Specimen
[mm] [mm2] [-] [-] [mm] [mm] [%]
A4 4 150.8 12 3 50 50 0.3
A6 6 339.3 12 3 50 50 0.68
B4 4 100.5 8 3 50 50 0.29
B6 6 226.2 8 3 50 50 0.2
C4 4 100.5 8 3 50 50 0.45
C6 6 226.2 8 3 50 50 0.64

Experimental verification of a method in development for predicting the punching shear strength of flat slabs
Placement of the shear reinforcement of each slab can be seen in Figures 3 and 4. Slabs A4 and A6
contain 12 triplets of shear reinforcement while slabs B4, B6, C4 and C6 contain 8 triplets. Slabs had
to be made in upside-down position so that each hook can encircle the flexural reinforcement.
Fig. 3
ifb
Placement of the shear reinforcement of the slabs: A4 and A6 (left); B4 and B6 (right).
Fig. 4 Placement of the shear reinforcement of the slabs C4 and C6 (left). Placement dimensions
of shear reinforcement for each slab type (right).
2 Test setup
Testing itself was conducted in the premises of the Institute of Building Testing at Brno University of
Technology. Loading of slabs was done using a hydraulic press with a capacity of 50 tons. Steel plate
with dimensions of 130 x 130 mm acted as a column of the slabs A and C. In the case of slabs B, the
steel plate’s dimensions were 75 x 75 mm.
Slabs were supported at 8 points equally placed around the center of the slab with a radius of
500 mm. Supports consisted of concrete 150 mm concrete cubes with a rubber pad placed underneath
the slab. The test setup can be seen in Figure 5.
Two strain gauges were placed on each slab to measure the stress on the surface of the concrete.
The gauges were placed in both main directions with a distance of 50 mm from the column support.
Lukáš Lyčka and Petr Štěpánek 569

Vertical displacement was measured from the top surface of the slab in eight points, with 3 points
placed in each main axis and with one control point on each opposite side. The placement of the
gauges can be seen in Fig. 6 (left).
Fig. 5
ifb
Test setup of the experimental study. Top view (left), side view (right).
Fig. 6 Placement of strain gauges on the surface of the compression side of the slab (T1 and T2)
and the measurement points (V1-V8) of the vertical displacement (left). Placement of
strain gauges placed on the main flexural reinforcement (right).
3 Test results
All slabs were loaded until their strength failure. Failure of each slab occurred when the shear
strength capacity inside the shear reinforced perimeter was reached. The maximum force achieved
with the hydraulic stress during the testing for each slab is shown in the Table 3.
Table 1 Resulting punching shear strength of each slab.

Slab A4 A6 B4 B6 C4 C6
Fmax [kN] 240.3 245.2 186.4 218.0 220.2 236.8

Following pictures (Fig. 7 and 8) show two examples of the development of cracks after punching
shear failure of the slabs.
Fig. 7
ifb
Crack development after failure of the slab A6: top side (left), bottom side (right).
Fig. 8 Crack development after failure of the slab B4: top side (left), bottom side (right).
Fig. 9 Displacement of the slabs with 4 mm shear reinforcement according to Fig. 6 (left).

ifb
Fig. 10 Displacement of the slabs with 6 mm shear reinforcement according to Fig. 6 (left).
Figure 9 and 10 show the vertical displacement at the point of the failure for both axes of the slab.
Data show that the behavior of the slabs during loading can be considered as quite uniform.
4 Comparison of the methods of calculation
4.1 Results of the experimental study

Detailed description of the developed method based on a strut-and-tie model was presented in detail
in [3], and therefore will not be discussed further. Results of the experimental study was carried out
with some of the main design codes and standards, namely Eurocode 2 (EC2) [4], American code
ACI 318 [5] and the method presented in Model Code 2010 [6].
Table 4 compares each methods standard deviation and the mean value of the test/theory ratio
Vu/Vtheory, where Vtest is the experimentally obtained punching strength and Vu is the predicted punch-
ing strength. Test/theory ratio over 1.0 provides an estimation of the punching shear strength on the
safe side (overestimates the real strength of the slab) and with the ratio less than 1.0 on the dangerous
side. Unsafe predictions are highlighted in bold.
Table 1 Comparison of results from the experimental study with theoretical predictions.
c fc Vu Vu/Vdeveloped Vu/VEC2 Vu/VMC2010 Vu/VACI
Specimen
[mm] [MPa] [kN] [-] [-] [-] [-]
A4 130 25.6 240.3 1.28 1.29 1.31 1.31
A6 130 25.6 245.2 1.05 0.83 0.89 1.18
B4 75 25.6 186.4 1.38 1.31 1.49 1.47
B6 75 50.3 218.0 1.14 0.90 1.04 1.04
C4 130 25.6 220.2 1.32 1.41 1.35 1.49
C6 130 25.6 236.8 1.00 1.00 1,09 1.14
Average value 1.20 1.12 1.19 1.27
Standard deviation 0.14 0.22 0.20 0.17
4.2 Comparison with the results found in the literature

Updated comparison of 4 methods mentioned above on more than a hundred experiments found in
literature can be seen in the Fig. 10. The results of the calculation from each method are sorted ac-
cording to their test/theory ratio, from the most unsafe result (Vu/Vtheory lower than 1) to the most
underestimated result (Vu/Vtheory is higher than 1).

ifb
Fig. 10 Results of the calculations of predictions from each method sorted in ascending order
according to their test/theory ratio.
5 Summary
Conducted experimental study on a scaled down flat slabs with shear reinforcement confirmed the
effectiveness of the developed method for predicting the punching shear strength. All slab specimens
failed successfully when they reached their punching shear strength capacity.
Obtained results were compared with three major punching shear prediction methods: ACI 318,
EC2, MC2010, and with the proposed method. Proposed method provides relatively accurate results
of punching shear strength and achieves an overall test/theory ratio of 1.20 with a standard deviation
of 0.14.
It was also experimentally confirmed that the calculations according to EC2 can lead to unsafe es-
timates, as it overestimated the punching shear strength of the slabs in one third of the cases and is the
least safe method of prediction out of the three mentioned above.
Acknowledgements
The presented results were obtained with the financial support of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at
Brno University of Technology as a part of the internal grant project FAST-J-16-3386 "Punching
shear of slabs".
References
[1] Lyčka, L., and P. Štěpánek. 2017. “Strut-And-Tie Model for Predicting the Punching Shear of
Flat Slabs with Shear Reinforcement.” Solid State Phenomena. ISSN 1662-9779. Trans Tech
Publications, Switzerland, Switzerland.
[2] Bartolac, M., D. Damjanović, and I. Duvnjak. 2015. “Punching strength of flat slabs with and
without shear reinforcement.”Građevinar, 67(08.), pp. 771-786.
[3] Lyčka, L., and P. Štěpánek. 2017. “A Method to Predict the Punching Shear Strength of Flat
Slabs with Shear Reinforcement Using a Strut-And-Tie Model.” Key Engineering Materials.
Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland, Switzerland.
[4] EC2. 2004. Eurocode 2 Design of concrete structures, part 1-1: General rules and rules for
buildings, 241 pp.
[5] American Concrete Institute. 2011. ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural
Concrete, ACI 318-11, American Concrete Institute, ACI Committee 318, 503 pp., Detroit,
USA.
[6] fib. 2011. MC: Model Code 2010 (Final Draft). Lausanne, Switzerland: Fédération interna-
tionale du béton fib.

ifb

Comparison of post-installed and cast-in rebars under

monotonic and cyclic loads
b
Angelo Marchisella and Giovanni Muciaccia
Department Of Civil Engineering,
if
Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci, Milano (20133), Italy
Abstract
In current design practice post - installed rebars are widely used in structural applications. Their design
rules are limited by international codes to the performance of the corresponding cast-in reinforcement
bars, albeit they show a higher bond strength. Moreover, the use of straight bars is definitely forbidden
in dissipation zone such as beam-to-column joints. The presented paper is intended to assess the per-
formance of cast-in and post-installed rebars designed according to reference codes under the
application of cyclic and monotonic loads. To this purpose, experimental tests using a modified beam-
end specimen were performed. Two different diameters were selected (db = 12, 16 mm); bonding
lengths were determined to account for the promotion of steel failure. Cyclic tests were conducted by
applying a repeated stepwise increasing load history (up to fifty-nine repetitions), adapted from test
protocols used in the seismic assessment of post-installed anchors.
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
The use of post-installed rebars in concrete structures is increasing due to their good flexibility in use
and to the enhancement of mechanical performances of the adhesives used in the connection.
The main drawback of such solutions consists in the possibility of designing straight bars only,
having no chances to provide bends, hooks, or welding to transverse reinforcement. However, through
years, specific design provisions have been established in order to reach the same level of safety be-
tween Cast-in (CI) and Post-installed (PI) rebars.
Previous investigations showed that bonded anchors tend to have larger bond strength than tradi-
tional cast-in rebars. Particularly, in [1] experimental results shows that, (i) the average bond strength
of PI rebars was generally higher for all investigated conditions compared to CI rebars under the same
conditions; (ii) the influence of the concrete cover on the ultimate bond strength is significantly higher
for PI rebars than for CI rebars ; (iii) CI and PI rebars might be equivalent to low concrete covers and
low concrete strengths depending on the bond length when splitting failure mode dominates in both
cases. This last result was already proved by the design formula provided by Huer in [2].
Mahrenholtz in [3] carried out an experimental campaign on cyclic load tests on CI and PI reinforc-
ing bars in cyclic cracks and constant cracks. Assuming short bond lengths, uniform bond model was
applied and characterization of bond damage during cycles was made via the hysteretic energy model
proposed by Eligehausen [4]. The test results showed that the damage factor holds irrespective of peak
slip, the condition of concrete (compressed, uncracked, cracked, cyclically cracked), and installation
method for cast-in reinforcing bars and reinforcing bars post-installed with the epoxy adhesive used in
the tests, furthermore diameter had not specific influence.
Simons in [5], followed the same approach as Mahrenholtz in carrying out the hysteretic energy
model for bond. PI reinforcing bars experienced less bond damage than CI if higher bond strength
characterized the monotonic reference test.
1.2 Scope of the work

The following work aims to compare the performance of CI and PI rebars under monotonic and cyclic
loading condition. PI rebars can be designed according to the same procedure used for CI [6]-[7], having
proved that they developed higher or the same value of bond resistance as CI. Therefore, the design of
bonding length follows the rules provided in Eurocode 2 [8] and Model Code 2010 (MC-2010)[9].

2.1 Experimental Programme
b
The aim of the experimental part was to test under cyclic and monotonic loads two different diameters
(Φ12; Φ16) rebar in different configurations, i.e. cast-in straight and bent, post-installed. Design of the
rebars was done according to MC-2010 [9] and Eurocode 2 [8]. The test programme comprised two
phases of tests containing, differentiated by the diameter of the rebar, a total of 19 tests, with variations
of (i) diameter, (ii) type of the bars (i.e. Cast-in [CI], Post-installed [PI], Bent [B]) and bonding length.
if
Beam-end specimen was adopted in the test and the relevant quantities are shown in Fig. 1. The test
apparatus comprises: (i) one load cell of 200 kN capacity; (ii) two LVDTs measuring the displacement
of the bar at the loaded end; (iii) two LVDTs measuring the splitting crack opening on the specimen
side, near the loaded surface. As remarked in [1] beam-end specimen allows splitting and concrete cone
break-out as possible modes of failure.
Design of bond length was carried out according to the above-mentioned codes, promoting
the steel failure. For the bar of diameter 16 mm both design codes were applied, while only MC-2010
was applied to Φ12; the result of the procedure is shown in Table 1.
2.2 Design bond strength

In the following section, the design formulas for bond strength are explained for the MC-2010[9] and
for Eurocode 2[8]. It must be remarked that in both cases the partial safety factors for the materials
were taken equal to 1.0 since they were characterized experimentally.
2.2.1 Mode code 2010 approach
For MC-2010 the bond strength fbd,0 is given by:
.
25 (1)
, =
where:
is a coefficient accounting for the surface type of rebar (plain, ribbed, or epoxy coated)
is a coefficient accounting for the bonding conditions
is a coefficient related to the diameter
is a coefficient representing the characteristic strength of steel reinforcement
f is the concrete characteristic strength
γ is the partial safety factor of bond, taken equal to 1.0 in designing the experimental pro-
gramme
For ribbed bars, the resistance is prevalently due to shear behavior of concrete between the ribs whereas
for threaded rods friction prevails [10]. Thus = 1.75 is assumed and due to controlled casting and
curing = 1. The bar diameters used in tests are less than 25 mm, so = 1. A certain level of con-
fidence was reached for the characteristic values of concrete compressive stress f = 30 MPa and
steel yielding f = 500 MPa performing characterization tests, hence the factor = 1. Finally,the
code specifies for γ the value of 1.5. According to the code the design bond strength of ribbed
bars is expressed by:
1.5
= ! +! #· , − 2 · &'( < 2 · , − 0.4 · &'( < ·+ (2)
Where ! and ! represent the influence of passive confinement due to concrete cover and transverse
reinforcement, respectively. The term &'( is the mean compression stress perpendicular to the potential
splitting failure surface, having assumed negative compressive stresses. As matter of fact, terms ! and
&'( are set to zero in the beam end specimen.
The ! factor takes into account the role of concrete cover as follow:
,-./ . ,1 .
! = · (3)
0 2 · ,-./
where:
c345 clear concrete cover
c6 clear distance between longitudinal bars

2.2.2 Eurocode 2 approach

EN 1992-1-1[8] defines the bond strength between concrete and cast-in-place reinforcing bars as a
function of the tensile strength of concrete:
7
b
= 2.25 · · · ' with ' = 0.7 · 0.3 · 8 / (4)
where:
η factor for the bond condition taking into account the position of the bar
η factor for the bar size reducing the bond strength for large bars
if
f characteristic compressive strength of concrete cylinders
γ is the partial safety factor, taken equal to 1.0 in designing the experimental programme
The bond strength value is used to calculate the basic anchorage length of a bar:
= >?@
; ,(< = · (5)
AB@
Table 1 Test Matrix.

Test Code N. Diam- Con- Steel Steel De- Con- Bond- Lengt
(*) Tests eter crete Yield- Ulti- sign crete ing h/Dia
Cube ing mate bond cover length m.
streng stress streng
th th
N Φ fcum fym fum fbd c Lbd Lbd / Φ
(mm) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (mm) (mm)
MC-PI-C· 2 12 22.7 554.3 655.9 2.88 40 550 45.8
MC-CI-C· 2 12 22.7 554.3 655.9 2.88 40 550 45.8
MC-B-C· 2 12 23.5 554.3 655.9 2.93 40 370 30.8
MC-PI-C· 2 16 22.7 526.4 638.7 2.88 50 730 45.6
MC-PI-S· 3 16 22.7 526.4 638.7 2.88 50 730 45.6
EC-PI-C· 2 16 22.7 526.4 638.7 4.28 50 350 21.8
MC-CI-C· 2 16 22.7 526.4 638.7 2.88 50 730 45.6

MC-B-S1 1 16 23.5 526.4 638.7 2.93 50 480 30.0
MC-B-C1 1 16 23.5 526.4 638.7 2.93 50 480 30.0
EC-CI-C1 1 16 22.7 526.4 638.7 4.28 50 350 21.8
EC-CI-S1 1 16 22.7 526.4 638.7 4.28 50 350 21.8
(*) Test code composition
Angelo Marchisella and Giovanni Muciaccia 577

ifb
Fig. 1 Beam end specimen. Side view layout (left). Front view photo (right).
2.3 Materials
2.3.1 Concrete
Concrete was of medium workability (Class S2), maximum aggregate size 25 mm. The tests specimens
were cast from two different batches differentiating straight bars and bent. Concrete was compacted by
internal vibration and subsequently cured. Standard cube control specimens were taken from each batch
and tested at 28 days after casting. The results are reported in Table 1.
2.3.2 Steel Rebars
Rebars were of grade B450 and B500 according to and results of characterization made via tensile tests
are shown in Table 1. Measured relative rib area was in the range 0.055–0.065.
2.3.3 Bonding agent
For post-installed rebars, the adhesive was an epoxy resin qualified according to ETAG 001[11]. Ap-
proval prequalification tests have proved that the bond strength under monotonic loads was greater than
the value for CI bars provided in Eurocode 2.
2.4 Test Protocol

All types of rebars were subjected to cyclic test followed by a monotonic test. Moreover, additional
monotonic tests were carried out as a reference.
Cyclic tests are performed in load control, by applying a stepwise increasing time history. Loads
are assigned referring to a percentage of the yielding load as shown in Fig. 2 (Left). Such procedure
can be sustained by looking at the Fig.2 (right). Longitudinal reinforcement in the cracked sections of
the beam is subjected to pulsating tension load due to seismic loads, which leads the yielding condition
at ultimate limit state (ULS). The value of crack opening at ULS is assumed 0.8 mm as proved in [12].
Wood et Al. in [13] developed a crack protocol based on statistical study of the seismic response
of concrete structures, the protocol was here applied for the load by assuming that ULS is reached for
the very last cycles.
1.000
0.875
Load/Yielding Load (-)
0.750
0.625
0.500
0.375
0.250
0.125
0.000
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Number Of Cycles (#)
Fig. 2 Load Protocol for cyclic tests. Load Time History (left). Beat to column connection under
seismic shear (right).

3 Test Results
3.1 Cyclic tests
b
The performance of the rebars under cyclic loads was investigated. In particular, cycles were applied
to verify if damage during cycles might affects the performance of the rebar under the residual mono-
tonic test.
The evolution during cycles will be described by (i) the maximum displacement at the loaded end
and (ii) the monitored splitting crack opening evaluated at the load inversion point and (iii) the residual
if
displacement evaluated at zero loads. For sake of synthesis, only the results for Φ16 are presented.
In Fig. 3 some of the test results for Cast-in (CI) and bent (B) rebars are shown. Unrecovered dis-
placements (grey line) are due to the sum of different inelastic sources, i.e. plastic strain in steel and
un-recovered slip steel-to-concrete. As matter of fact, steel yielding should occur in the last four cycles
when 100% of the yield load was applied to the rebars. This can explain the abrupt increase in the
residual displacement for those cycles (see Fig. 3 [Left]). However, the conditions can be different, as
for the case B (Fig. 3 [right]) where only slip evolves during cycles. In both cases, splitting crack did
not occur.
In Fig. 4 some of the test results for Post-installed rebars under cycles are shown. Here the differ-
ence between MC-2010 (lbd / Φ ≈ 46) and Eurocode 2 (lbd / Φ ≈ 22) design is put in evidence. In the
case of higher bonding length, PI rebars behave like CI. Conversely, in the case of shorter bond length,
a pronounced evolution during cycles of the splitting crack was observed.
The splitting crack contemporaneously might increase the stretch length of steel rebar which un-
dergoes into plasticity. As a result, a comparison for the very last cycles Fig. 4 (Left) and (Right) shows
that the residual displacement is higher for the case of shorter bonding length.
Fig. 3 Results for cyclic tests carried out on Φ16 Cast-in. Straight (left). Bent (right).
Fig. 4 Results for cyclic tests carried out on Φ16 Post-installed. MC-2010 (left). EC-2 (right).

3.2 Residual tests

Table 2 lists all the details of test results. For cyclic tests, the residual displacement at the last cycle is
reported as a measure of rebar performance during the cycles, assuming that both plasticity of steel and
b
un-recovered slip are activated at least during the very last cycles as it will be discussed in the next
section. As matter of fact, there is not an evidence of reduced performance of the rebars neither for
stiffness nor for the residual capacity. Monotonic tests are described by the ultimate load and the asso-
ciated displacement.
The load/top-displacement response for all bars was close to linear up to yielding load. The initial
if
stiffness does not show any particular difference between the CI and PI cases; moreover the same can
be stated between the case of different bonding lengths (e.g EC curves and MC curves in Fig.5 [Right]).
Post-yielding was characterized by the simultaneous presence of hardening for steel and splitting
failure in concrete. This can be sustained for Φ 16 by looking at Fig.5. When designing the bonding
length according to Eurocode 2 insufficient safety margin is achieved against splitting failure both in
case of CI and for PI rebars as can be inferred in Fig.5.
In Fig. 6 results for Φ12 are presented. In this case, all tests were characterized by steel failure only
moreover for this test series Eurocode 2 design rules were not applied. In Fig. 7 some of the observed
modes of failure are reported for both tested diameters.
Table 2 Results of the residual and reference tests.

Test Code Diameter Residual Ultimate Load Ultimate Mode of Failure
Displ.(mm) (kN) Displ. (kN)
(mm)
MC-P-C1 12 0.9 71.5 15.6 Steel failure
MC-P-C2 12 3.2 71.4 16.9 Steel failure
MC-C-C1 12 1.8 68.2 17.0 Steel failure
MC-B-C1 12 1.2 - - Splitting during cycles
MC-B-C2 12 1.8 73.2 8.3 Steel Failure
MC-P-C1 16 0.5 126.7 15.3 Steel + Splitting

MC-P-C2 16 0.2 125.0 21.6 Steel + Splitting

MC-P-S1 16 - 125.1 14.5 Steel + Splitting
EC-P-C1 16 1.9 121.2 7.9 Splitting
EC-P-C2 16 1.5 118.5 4.1 Splitting

MC-C-C2 16 - 126.4 21.5 Steel + Splitting
MC-B-S1 16 - 127.2 15.3 Steel + Splitting
MC-B-C1 16 0.3 126.5 11.6 Steel + Splitting
EC-C-C1 16 0.3 126.7 9.4 Concrete break-out
EC-C-S1 16 - 121.9 6.3 Concrete break-out

150 150
Splitting + Steel Failures MC-P-S1
Splitting + Steel Failure MC-C-C1
MC-P-S2
MC-C-C2
125 MC-P-S3
EC-C-S1 125 Steel Failure MC-P-C1
Steel Failure EC-C-C1
MC-P-C2
MC-B-C1
100 EC-P-C1
b
MC-B-S1 100
Load (kN) EC-P-C2
Load (kN)
Splitting Failure
75 75
Concrete
Break-out
50 50
if
25 25
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Top displacement (mm) Top displacement (mm)
Fig.5 Results for monotonic tests carried out on Φ16. CI and Bent rebars (left). PI rebars (right).
100 100
MC-C-C1
MC-P-C1
MC-C-C2
75 75
MC-P-C2
MC-B-C2
Laod (kN)
Laod (kN)
50 50
25 25
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Top Displacement (mm) Top Displacement (mm)
Fig. 6 Results for monotonic tests carried out on Φ12. CI and Bent rebars (left). PI rebars (right).
Fig. 7 Modes of Failure. Concrete Break-Out + Splitting (left). Steel failure (right).
4 Discussion of the results

This investigation presents doubts regarding the perceived difference between post-installed rebars and
cast-in treated under the same design assumptions. The presented results suggest that when providing
an appropriate bonding length for the steel failure promotion, the post-installed rebars behaves like cast-
in if the overall structural response is compared, i.e. stiffness, ductility, and the failure mode.
The application of a cyclic load does not affect the residual capacity both for CI and PI rebars. This
aspect partially assesses the degree of safety in defining the bonding length provided by design rules,
i.e. MC-2010 and Eurocode 2. Large bonding length supplies the intrinsic damage at local interface
level by means of the high degree of redundancy. When a shorter bonding length is assumed, the rebars
seems to be more prone to developing splitting crack during cycles like as what was assessed for mon-
otonic response.
In all tests configurations, the ratio between the concrete cover and diameter was kept beyond the
value of 3.0 assumed as a threshold in defining the large concrete cover [6]. In fact, for Φ12 the ratio
c/d = 3.3 and for Φ16 c/d = 3.1. However, in monotonic tests, splitting failure is observed for Φ16.
When shorter bonding length was assumed, as in case of the design according to Eurocode 2, despite
the bar reached the yielding point, splitting failure suddenly occurred drastically reducing the overall

level of ductility provided by steel in the plastic regime. It must be noted that when the two mechanisms
interact, failures were less brittle. It is not clear whether this can be attributed to the increased stretch
length of steel rebars (due to splitting) or merely to the higher degree of redundancy provided by the
higher bonding length.
b
5 Conclusions
Design codes, including MC-2010 and Eurocode 2 allow using post-installed rebars as cast-in under
if
monotonic loading for a bonding agent providing the same bond strength as cast-in. This work aimed
to prove the applicability of the design rules for PI rebars (in case of steel failure promotion) by looking
at the performance compared with CI rebars. The following conclusions can be drawn:
The application of load cycles does not influence the residual capacity both for CI and PI re-
bars. During cycles, the unrecovered displacement measured at the loaded edge is due to the
sum of different inelastic sources, i.e. plastic strain in steel and unrecovered slip at the steel-
to-concrete interface. The first contribution is evident at very last cycles where the yielding
load is reached, while for the second there is not a specific tendency, such that further investi-
gations are recommended.
Using MC-2010 design approach, under residual monotonic pullout test, pure steel failure was
achieved only for the smaller diameter between Φ16 and Φ12. In all the other cases, in addi-
tion to steel yielding and subsequent hardening, partial splitting failure was observed.
Using Eurocode 2 design approach, splitting failure was observed after steel yielding. This
mode of failure was characterized by crack growing from the anchor to the edge and conse-
quent spalling of the edge. Following such design approach, using unitary value for the mate-
rial safety factor (γm), not adequate safety margin against splitting is ensured.
6 References
[1] Rex, Justus, Sharma Akanshu, and Jan Hofmann. 2016. “Bond Performance of Post-Installed
and Cast-in-Place Reinforcing Bars Using Modified Beam-End-Test Specimen.” Paper
presented at the fib Symposium 2016. Performance-Based Approaches for Concrete Structures,
Cape Town, South Africa, 21–23 November 2016.
[2] Huer, T., and R. Eligehausen. 2007. “Splitting failure mode of bonded anchors.” Paper
presented at the 6th international conference on fracture mechanics of concrete and concrete
structures, Catania, Italy, June 17-22.
[3] Mahrenholtz, Christoph, and Rolf Eligehausen. 2017. “Cyclic tests on concrete reinforcement
for development of seismic bond model.” ACI Materials Journal 4:571–579.

[4] Eligehausen, Rolf, Egor P Popov, and Vitelmo V. Bertero. 1982. “Local bond stress-slip rela-
tionships of deformed bars under generalized excitations.” Paper presented at the 7th European
Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Athens, Greece, September 20-25.
[5] Simons, Isabelle Nadine. 2007. “Bond behaviour of post-installed reinforcing bars subjected to
cyclic loading.” PhD diss., Universität Stuttgart.
[6] Mahrenholtz, Christoph, Rolf Eligehausen, and Hans-Wolf Reinhardt. 2015. “Design of post-
installed reinforcing bars as end anchorage or as bonded anchor.” Engineering Structures
100:645–655.
[7] Randl, Norbert, and Jakob Kunz. 2014. “Post-installed reinforcement connections at ultimate
and serviceability limit states.” Structural Concrete 4:563–574.
[8] CEN. 2005. EN 1992-1-1 - Design Of Concrete Strucutres: General Rules and Rules For Buil-
dings. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization.
[9] FIB. 2012. Model Code 2010 - Vol1. Lausanne.
[10] Reinhardt, Hans-Wolf. 1982. “Concrete under impact loading tensile strength and bond.” Heron
3:2-74.
[11] EOTA, 2013. 2013. ETAG 001 Metal Anchors For Use In Concrete - Annex E.
[12] Nuti, C., and S. Santini. 2008. “Fastening technique in seismic areas : A critical review.” Tailor
Made Concrete Structures, Walraven & Stoelhorst.
[13] Hutchinson, Tara and Richard Wood. 2013. “Crack Protocols for Anchored Components and
Systems,” ACI Structural Journal 3:391–401.

Bottle-shaped stress field solution for partially loaded

reinforced concrete blocks
b
Tomislav Markić and Walter Kaufmann
Institute of Structural Engineering (IBK),
ETH Zurich,
if
Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
Abstract
Most existing approaches for the design of partially loaded areas in reinforced concrete – including
design rules in international codes – are purely empirical, and based on experimental tests on unrein-
forced concrete. In this paper, a bottle-shaped stress field solution for strip loading is presented and
generalised for axisymmetric cases of partial area loading. The model is compared to experimental
results as well as predictions obtained from existing models and design rules. While the correlation
with the available experimental evidence is good, further experiments are required for verification,
particularly for the case of heavily confined areas.
1 Introduction
Partially loaded areas occur frequently in engineering practice where concentrated loads are applied
onto a concrete member over limited contact areas. The resulting internal compressive stresses spread
with increasing distance from the loaded area until they eventually approach a uniform distribution
over the entire cross-sectional area of the block. It can be distinguished between spatial (Fig. 1a) and
plane (Fig. 1b and c) cases of partial area loading, depending on whether the load disperses in one or
two directions, respectively [1], [2]. Plane cases of partial area loading can be further subdivided into
plate (Fig. 1b, b1 < 2 d1 ) and strip loading (Fig. 1c, b1 ≥ 2 d1 ).
Although this apparently simple problem has been studied for almost a century and a half, there is
a remarkable knowledge gap regarding the mechanical modelling of partially loaded areas. This
lacuna manifests in the fact that the design of partially loaded areas in most international codes relies
on the following so-called “square-root equation”:
f cc Ac1 bd
= = 2 2 (1)
fc0 Ac 0 b1d1
relating the average bearing capacity fcc of the loaded area to the uniaxial compressive concrete
strength fc0 and to the square root of the ratio of the maximum design distribution area Ac1 (cross-
section of block) to the loaded area Ac0. Due to its purely empirical nature, standards typically restrict
the use of Eq. (1) by several conditions, among which the geometric affinity of Ac0 and Ac1, and the
Fig. 1 Cases of partial area loading: (a) Spatial case, (b) plate, and (c) strip loading. Adapted
from [2].

limitation of the strength increase to a factor of 3. The latter limitation is overly conservative for
highly concentrated loads and for reinforced blocks (see Section 3.4). Moreover, because of the re-
quirement of geometric affinity, these codes, strictly speaking, do not allow for a strength increase in
plane cases of partial area loading. While this appears justified for partially loaded plates, it is overly
b
conservative for strip loading [1], [2].
These observations provided the motivation for the authors to develop two new mechanical mod-
els, based on the lower-bound theorem of limit analysis, for reinforced concrete blocks under partial
area loading: a wedge-and-fan type stress field [1] and a bottle-shaped stress field. In the present
if
paper, the latter is developed for strip loading, generalised for axisymmetric cases of partial area
loading, and finally compared to experimental results as well as existing models and design rules.
2 Confinement of the concrete region immediately below the loaded area

The dispersion of forces below the loaded area gives rise to transverse compressive stresses in the
confined region immediately below the loaded area, and transverse tensile (bursting) stresses in the
bursting region further away from it. Owing to the beneficial effect of confinement, the concrete
below the loaded area can sustain compressive stresses several times higher than the uniaxial com-
pressive strength. The confining stresses are caused by (i) the deviation of the compressive stress
trajectories (geometric confinement), and (ii) the impediment of lateral expansion caused by the
surrounding, axially unloaded part of the block (passive confinement). The reader is referred to [1] for
a thorough description of the mechanical behaviour of partially loaded areas and their failure modes.
Fig. 2 illustrates possible ways of modelling and quantifying passive confinement. The lateral di-
latancy of the axially loaded concrete is initially impeded by the surrounding uncracked concrete
mass. This pre-cracking passive confinement is difficult to reliably quantify for strip loaded members
(Fig. 2a) and will be neglected in the development of the stress field. For the spatial case, however, it
can be estimated by considering a thin horizontal section near the loaded surface of the block and
assuming circumferential stresses amounting to the concrete tensile strength fct in the concrete sur-
rounding the loaded area (Fig. 2c):
d 
σconf,pre = f ct  2 − 1 (2)
d
 1 
After cracking, a properly dimensioned and detailed amount of transverse reinforcement in the imme-
diate vicinity of the loaded area can provide passive confinement of the surrounding concrete. This
post-cracking passive confinement can be estimated for strip loaded members (Fig. 2b) as [3]:
As , y f y As ,z f y
σconf,post = or (3)
bc sc ac sc
where As = total cross-sectional area of confining reinforcement in the considered direction, fv = yield
strength of the reinforcement, and sc = reinforcement spacing in x-direction. For the spatial case
(Fig. 2d) the same approach yields confining stresses of (As fv)/(sc ds); these stresses are transferred
radially through the uniaxially stressed zone to the border of the loaded area, where they amount to:
(a) d1 (b) (c) (d)
0.5 As f y
fct
y bc σ conf, pre d1 d2 σ conf, post d1 d s
fct
0.5 As f y
d2 ac
Fig. 2 Modelling of passive confinement for partially loaded concrete blocks.

As f y ds As f y
σconf,post = ⋅ = (4)
sc ds d1 sc d1
b
Whether the extremely high confining stresses obtained from Eq. (4) for very concentrated loading
(d1/ds ≤ 1) can be activated has not been experimentally verified to the authors’ knowledge.
3 Bottle-shaped stress field
if
3.1 Main assumptions
The bottle-shaped stress fields are based on the consideration of compression bands whose width is
adjusted to account for the increase in concrete strength caused by the confinement produced by both
geometric as well as passive confinement. To account for the confinement, a modified Coulomb
failure criterion with a zero tension cut-off is used for the concrete, using tan ϕ = 0.75 and c = f c 4
for the angle of internal friction and the cohesion, respectively.
Each band i is loaded with a compressive force ni and its curvature results in deviation stresses
ui ( x) . If the latter are assumed to act horizontally (i.e. in the (y,z)-plane), equilibrium of an infinites-
imal band element (Fig. 3a) requires that the vertical (x) component nx ,i of the band force is constant
along the entire band length, and the deviation forces are
∂ tan ϕ d2 y
u i ( x ) = n x ,i = nx ,i 2 = nx ,i yi '' ( x ) (5)
∂x dx
where yi ( x) defines the geometry of the axis of compression band i.
3.2 Strip loading

Consider a slice of a long concrete block ( b1 ≥ 2 d1 , Fig. 1c), delimited by two vertical planes orthog-
onal to the longitudinal z-direction. By symmetry, it is sufficient to consider half of the slice (y ≥ 0).
The z-axis is assumed to be a principal direction of stress and strain. The longitudinal stress σ z can
basically be freely chosen and may vary in the (x,y)-plane. Sufficient and adequately detailed longitu-
dinal reinforcement must be provided in the immediate vicinity of the confined zone in order to en-
sure that the assumed value of σ z can be activated (as post-cracking passive confinement) [1]. In the
present paper, the principal stress σ z is chosen such that it does not govern concrete failure, i.e. equal
(a) ∆y0,1 (b) d1 2 (c) (d)
σx 0 ( y ) σ conf ( x)
y
n1 f c0 σy
+
u1 ( x)
y1 ( x) yi ( x)
xd -
n x ,i tan ϕ
n x ,i
σx x τ -τ xy
τ yx (e)
dx σy σconf ( x )
ui ∑ ui ( x)
nx ,i
y dy n x ,i (tan ϕ+d tanϕ) σ2 σ
σ1
ϕ1
n1 σ xd x τ yx
x d2 2
∆ yxd σx
Fig. 3 Bottle-shaped stress field: (a) first compression band and infinitesimal element; (b) com-
plete stress field; (c) transverse confining and bursting stress distribution along x-axis;
(d) Superposition of the bottle-shaped stress field with the passive confining stress; (e) de-
termination principal stresses with Mohr’s circle.
Tomislav Markić and Walter Kaufmann 585

to the confining stress in the (x,y)-plane in the regions of the stress field where confinement is re-
quired, and equal to zero in the remaining regions.
The geometric boundary conditions for the development of the stress field are the width d1 of the
loaded strip, the total block width d 2 , and the extension of the discontinuity region xd at whose end
b
a state of uniform uniaxial compression (σ x = σ xd , σ y = 0) over the width d 2 is assumed. The height
xd is chosen in accordance with Saint-Venant's Principle to be approximately equal to the block
width d 2 . The bearing capacity is determined by determining the stress σ xd at the end of the discon-
tinuity region for which the concrete capacity at the loaded surface ( x = 0) is reached.
if
The stress field is developed starting from the compression band corresponding to the outermost
stress trajectory y1 ( x) , whose geometry defines the shape of the stress field (Fig. 3a). Any mathemat-
ical function with a plausible shape (“bottle” with inflection point within xd ) and a sufficient number
of parameters to satisfy the boundary conditions
d1 − ∆y0,1 d − ∆yxd
y1 ( x = 0) = , y1 ( x = xd ) = 2 , y1 ' ( x = 0) = 0 , y1 ' ( x = xd ) = 0 (6)
2 2
can be chosen, where ∆y0,1 and ∆yxd are the widths of the compression band at x = 0 and x = xd ,
respectively. According to the lower-bound theorem of limit analysis, any solution is on the safe side,
i.e. the one yielding the highest ultimate load is preferred. One possible function is described by:
yi ( x ) = e C1i x C 2 i sin ( C 3i x + C 4 i ) + C 5i (7)
and will be used by way of example in the following. In Eq. (7), four of the constants C1i to C5i are
determined by the boundary conditions given in Eq. (6) (suitably adapted for i > 1 as described be-
low) and the remaining constant is optimised in order to maximise the ultimate load. This function
was chosen because it results in bursting stress distributions that are in good agreement with Elasticity
Theory (Fig. 3c), which can also be achieved with polynomial functions.
Being the vertical component of the band force nx ,1 = σ xd ∆y xd constant over the entire length of
the compression band, the width ∆y0,1 = nx ,1 / f c 0 at x = 0 follows from the condition that the uniaxial
concrete compressive strength f c 0 is reached at x = 0 .
The deviation stresses – obtained from Eq. (5) – are equilibrated by the concrete surrounding the
compression band. Depending on the sign of yi '' ( x ) , they create (i) bursting stresses that are resisted
by tension in the concrete or reinforcement (before and after cracking, respectively) or (ii) confining
stresses producing horizontal compression in the concrete inside the compression band ( y < yi ) and
a corresponding increase of the axial concrete strength.
Based on the shape of the first compression band (i = 1) the following bands (i > 1) are deter-
mined using the same mathematical function, but adapting its parameters in order to satisfy the differ-
ent boundary conditions. While – as for the first compression band – the slope at both ends of the
discontinuity region must be vertical, yi ' ( x = 0 ) = 0 and yi ' ( x = xd ) = 0 , the position of compression
band i + 1 at x = xd and x = 0 follows from the position of compression band i and the following
conditions: (i) all compression bands have the same width ∆yxd at x = xd , and (ii) the axial stress in
each compression band is equal to the confined concrete strength at x = 0 , i.e. σ x 0,i = f cc ,i . Hence, all
compression bands carry the same vertical force nx ,i = nx ,1 since σ xd is constant, and the widths
∆y0,i = nx ,i / f cc ,i of the compression bands at x = 0 decrease towards the middle of the block (i.e.
with increasing i) in inverse proportion to the concrete strength f cc ,i , which increases in this direction
along with the confining deviation stresses caused by the outer compression bands (1K i − 1) as illus-
trated in Fig. 3b. Note that this leads to a distribution of axial stresses at x = 0 that differs significant-
ly from elastic solutions, where the peak stresses are obtained at the edges of the loaded area. If the
stress σ xd at the end of the discontinuity region x = xd is increased, the width ∆y0,i used by the
compression bands at x = 0 grows until the bearing capacity
σ x 0 σ xd d 2 2 2
fc 0
=
f c 0 d1
, where σ x 0 = ∑ ( σ x 0,i ⋅ ∆y0,i ) = d ∑i nx ,i
d1 i
(8)
1
is reached when the compression bands take up the entire width d1 of the loaded area at x = 0 .
Fig. 3b illustrates the complete stress field obtained following the procedure described above. The
bursting reinforcement can be determined from the distribution of transverse stresses (sum of devia-
tion forces of all compression bands for given x) along the x-axis (Fig. 3c). In order to account for the
beneficial effect of a transverse confining reinforcement in the immediate vicinity of the loaded area,

a uniaxial compressive stress field in the y-direction, with compressive stresses corresponding to the
confining stresses caused by the reinforcement (see Section 2), can be superimposed to the bottle-
shaped stress field as shown in Fig. 3d. Thereby the axial concrete strength, and accordingly the
ultimate load, is further increased. Note that to be able to resist the resulting higher load, the bursting
b
reinforcement must be increased accordingly.
Depending on the expression used to define the geometry of the compression bands, the concrete
failure criterion may be governing along a compression band rather than at x = 0 as assumed above.
This can be verified by computing the principal stresses and checking the failure criterion at each
if
point of the compression bands, as shown in Fig. 2e. If the failure criterion is infringed, the value of
σxd must be adjusted, while keeping the geometry of the stress field unchanged, until the failure
criterion is respected throughout the entire block.
3.3 Spatial case of partial area loading

In this section, the bottle-shaped stress field is adapted to axisymmetric problems. Consider the cylin-
drical block of diameter d 2 , centrally loaded over an area of diameter d1 , using cylindrical coordi-
nates ( x, r , θ ) with the x-axis corresponding to the block axis. The procedure to develop the bottle-
shaped stress field is essentially the same as in the plane case; however, here a sector of the block
with a central angle dθ is considered (Fig. 4a). The compression band corresponding to the outer-
most principal stress trajectory r1 ( x) , with a radial width of ∆rxd at x = xd , carries an axial force of:
nx ,1 = σ xd dA xd ,1 = σ xd ∆rxd r1 ( x = xd ) dθ (9)
Being the vertical component of the band force constant over the entire length of the compression
band, and assuming that the uniaxial concrete strength f c 0 is reached at x = 0 , the following rela-
tionship for the radial width ∆r0,1 at x = 0 is obtained:
σxd r1 ( x = xd )
∆r0,1 = ∆rxd (10)
fc 0 r1 ( x = 0 )
Substituting r1 ( x = 0 ) = ( d1 − ∆r0,1 ) 2 and r1 ( x = xd ) = ( d 2 − ∆rxd ) 2 into Eq. (10), a quadratic equa-
tion for ∆r0,1 is obtained.
The deviation forces along the axis (= trajectory r1 ( x) ) of the compression band can be calculated
according to Eq. (5). Dividing the deviation forces by the arc length dsi ( x ) = ri ( x ) dθ of the compres-
sion band at any point of its axis results in following expression for the deviation stresses:
ri ( x = xd )
ui ( x ) = σxd ∆rxd ri '' ( x )
(11)
ri ( x )
The deviation stresses act in a radial direction. Equilibrium for an axisymmetric disc loaded in its
plane (Fig. 4b) requires that:
∂σ r ( r ) σ r ( r ) − σθ ( r )
+ =0 (12)
∂r r
Here, the following solution of Eq. (12), yielding a safe value of the bearing capacity in accordance
with the lower-bound theorem of limit analysis, is chosen:
σ r ( r ) = σ θ ( r ) = ui , for 0 ≤ r ≤ ri
(13)
σ r ( r ) = σθ ( r ) = 0 , for ri < r ≤ d 2 2
Accordingly, uniform biaxial stresses σr = σθ = ui result inside the corresponding circle of radius ri ,
without affecting the state of stress outside. While the bursting deviation stresses produce tension that
must be resisted by tensile stresses in the concrete or reinforcement, the confining deviation stresses
are carried by the concrete, resulting in an increase of the concrete strength.
The following compression bands (i > 1) are computed as in the plane case. However, in the ax-
isymmetric case, the magnitude of the axial forces nx ,i decreases towards the block axis since all
compression bands have the same radial width ∆rxd at x = xd , see Eq. (9). The radial widths ∆r0,i at
x = 0 are computed consecutively using Eq. (10), using adapted values of radii ri ( x = 0 ) and
ri ( x = xd ) , and confined concrete strengths f cc ,i at x = 0 . The ultimate load

2
σ x 0 σ xd  d 2  8 8
fc 0
=   ,
f c 0  d1 
where σ x 0 =
d 12
∑ (σ
i
x 0,i ⋅ ∆r0,i ⋅ ri ( x = 0 ) ) =
d1 2
∑n i
x ,i (14)
b
is reached for the value of σ xd at the end of the discontinuity region x = xd for which the compres-
sion bands takes up the entire radial width d1 of the loaded area at x = 0 .
As in the plane case, the failure criterion can be checked by computing the principal stresses at
each point of the stress field. The favourable effect of the pre-cracking or post-cracking passive con-
if
finement can be accounted for by superimposing – similarly to Fig. 3d – the passive confinement
stresses to the above described bottle-shaped stress field. At every height x the pre- and post-cracking
passive confinement can be computed using Eqs. (2) and (4), respectively, using the diameter
2r1 ( x ) + ∆r1 ( x ) of the stress field at the considered height instead of d1 .
The axisymmetric stress field can also be used to estimate the ultimate load of more general spa-
tial cases of partial area loading, as long as the cross section of the block and the loaded area can be
represented reasonably by circles of equal area.
(a) d1 2 (b)
∆ r0,1
n1
r
θ
u1 ( x )
ui
r ri
xd
r1 ( x )
σ r (r ) σ θ (r )
d2 2
∆ rxd
dθ
x n1 d2
Fig. 4 Bottle-shaped stress field for axisymmetric problems: (a) circular sector of the block with
the first compression band; (b) thin disc concentrically loaded by deviation stresses.
3.4 Comparison with existing approaches and test results

Fig. 5a compares the bearing capacity predictions of strip loaded blocks obtained using the bottle-
shaped stress field solution with existing design recommendations and a recently developed wedge-
and-fan stress field [1]. Contrary to the existing approaches, both stress field solutions allow to con-
sistently account for the favourable effect of transverse confining reinforcement: higher values of
σconf lead to higher bearing capacities. It can be seen that the empirical “cube-root equation” (essen-
tially Eq. (1) with a cube root instead of the square root), proposed almost 150 years ago by
Bauschinger [4] based on strip loaded sandstone specimens and still used today [2], correlates well
with the predictions obtained from the stress field solutions for low values of σconf and σ s (with σ s
being the bursting stress in the wedge-and-fan stress field [1]). For small load concentration ratios
d1 d2 < 0.2 the bottle-shaped stress field yields considerably lower ultimate loads than both the
wedge-and-fan stress field and Leonhardt’s empirical formula for the design of one-way concrete
hinges [5] (in Fig. 5a the updated version proposed by [6] is plotted). Trajectory shapes differing from
Eq. (7) causing a more uniform confining stress distribution (e.g. parabolic trajectories) are expected
to yield better ultimate load estimates for d1 d 2 < 0.2 . For load concentration ratios above 0.2 the
stress field solutions envelop Leonhardt’s equation; the differences between the approaches diminish
as the ratio d1 d 2 approaches unity.

(a) 4 (b) (c)

Bottle-shaped SF: Bottle-shaped SF Bottle-shaped SF:
σconf / fc0 = 0 Kupfer [11] plane case
7 0.3
σconf / fc0 = 0.2 Eq. (1) axisymmetric
b
Wedge-and-fan SF: Intl. codes Existing approaches:
σs / fc0 = 0.3 Experimental data: Leonhardt [5]
3
σs / fc0 = 0.05 [7] [8] Mörsch [12]
5 [9] [10] 0.2
Existing approaches:
⁄
[6] with rot = 0
σ ⁄
σ ⁄
if
Cube-root eq.
2
3 0.1
1 1 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.5 1
⁄ ⁄ ⁄
Fig. 5 Bearing capacity for varying load concentration ratio: Comparison between (a) different
approaches for strip loaded, and (b) different approaches and test data of centrically load-
ed plain concrete specimens. (c) Total bursting force for (a) and (b).
In Fig. 5b, the results from several test series on unreinforced concrete blocks under partial area load-
ing are compared with predictions using different approaches. Only cylindrical and square specimens
centrally loaded over a circular and square area, respectively, and with a height h (in x-direction)
equal or greater than the width d 2 are considered. The rather large scatter in the experimental results
is due to the differences in the test setups, concrete properties, and block geometries. The predictions
by the bottle-shaped stress field (with pre-cracking passive confinement and limiting the maximum
busting stress to σ s ,max = f ct = 0.10 f c 0 ), as well as Eq. (1) used in most international standards (in
spite of lacking substantiation by a mechanical model), match well with the test data. As in the plane
case, the chosen trajectory shape leads the bottle-shaped stress field solution to underestimate the
bearing capacity for very concentrated loads ( d1 d 2 < 0.2 ).
After having developed the bottle-shaped stress field solution, the authors discovered a little-
known publication of Kupfer [11] using a similar approach, i.e. principal stress trajectories accounting
for the strength increase caused by confining deviation stresses. While lacking rigour and generality
since simplified shapes of the trajectories and approximate values of the deviation stresses were used,
and although neither bursting nor confining reinforcement is accounted for, Kupfer’s approach is
elegant, leading to solutions with reduced computational effort, and was innovative at its time. Kup-
fer’s solution is also plotted in Fig 5b and shows to match reasonably well with the test data, though
overestimating the bearing capacity.
Fig. 5c shows that the total bursting force resulting from the bottle-shaped stress field is slightly
lower than the one obtained by Mörsch using a simple strut-and-tie model [12] and Leonhardt’s sub-
sequent modification [5]. The excessive conservativism of the chosen trajectory shape for very con-
centrated loads is evident by the extreme growth of the corresponding total bursting forces for
d1 d2 < 0.2 .
Table 1 compares the ultimate loads of reinforced specimens with the prediction by the proposed
stress field solution. Again, only cylindrical and square specimens centrally loaded over a circular and
square area, respectively, and with h ≥ d 2 are considered. For the predictions, the average mechani-
cal transverse reinforcement ratio ω over a distance d 2 from the loaded area was used to calculate
the post-cracking passive confinement. The correlation with the experimental data is good and repre-
sents a significant improvement compared to current design standards. However, further experiments
are required for verification of heavily confined blocks, as experimental evidence seems to indicate
that the confining reinforcement cannot be fully activated (e.g. specimens 126 and 130 of [13]).

Table 1 Comparison of test results for centrically loaded reinforced concrete blocks with the
prediction by the proposed stress field and square-root equation.
d1 d2 ω fcc fc 0 [−]
b
Author Specimen
[− ] [− ] Test Bottle-shaped SF International codes
35/39/40 0.5 0.08 2.47 * 2.31 2
16/22/28 0.5 0.18 3.21 * 3.10 2
118 0.33 0.13 3.99 3.57 3
[13]
if
122 0.33 0.21 4.83 4.63 3
126 0.33 0.32 5.36 5.79 3
130 0.33 0.39 5.64 6.68 3
3.1 0.10 0.14 10.1 8.13 3
[14]
3.2 0.10 0.20 11.9 8.32 3
*
Average value of test results.
4 Conclusion
A new stress field solution for strip loaded concrete blocks is presented and adapted for axisymmetric
cases of partial area loading. Contrary to existing empirical design rules, the new mechanical model
consistently accounts for the behaviour of concrete under multiaxial compression as well as the fa-
vourable effect of transverse confining reinforcement in the loaded area. Hence, the bottle-shaped
stress field represents an interesting and mechanically consistent way of tackling the problem of
partial area loading. However, for the plane case of partial loading, the wedge-and-fan stress field
presented in [1] is shown to correlate better with test results and to be more suitable for practical use.
On the other hand, the bottle-shaped stress field can be adapted relatively easily to axisymmetric
problems (Section 3.3). Here, the correlation with plain and reinforced concrete experiments shows a
satisfactory agreement and a significant improvement compared to current design standards. Further
experiments are required for verification of the stress field solutions, particularly regarding higher
resistances of heavily confined areas as compared to existing design rules. Such experiments are
currently being undertaken by the authors.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by cemsuisse, the association of the Swiss cement producers [project num-
ber 201501].
References
[1] Markić, Tomislav., Walter Kaufmann, and Ali Amin. 2018. “Stress field solution for strip
loaded reinforced concrete blocks.” Engineering Structures (ipress),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng-struct.2018.03.027.
[2] Wichers, Marco. 2013. “Bemessung von bewehrten Betonbauteilen bei Teilflächenbelastung
unter Berücksichtigung der Rissbildung.” PhD diss., Technische Universität Braunschweig.
[3] Sigrist, Viktor. 1995. “Zum Verformungsvermögen von Stahlbetonträgern.” PhD diss., ETH
Zürich.
[4] Bauschinger, Julius. 1876. “Experimentelle Untersuchungen über die Gesetze der Druckfes-
tigkeit.” Mitteilungen aus dem Mech Tech Lab. K Polytech. Sch. Münch. 6.
[5] Leonhardt, Fritz., and Eduard Mönnig. 1986. Vorlesungen über Massivbau - Teil 2: Sonder-
fälle der Bemessung im Stahlbetonbau, 3rd Edition. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
[6] Marx, Steffen, and Gregor Schacht. 2010. “Concrete hinges - Historical development and
contemporary use.” Paper presented at the 3rd International fib Congress and Exhibition.
[7] Meyerhof, George G. 1953. “The Bearing Capacity of Concrete and Rock.” Magazine of
Concrete Research 4 (12) : 107-116.
[8] Muguruma, H., and S. Okamoto. 1965. “Study on Bearing Capacity of Concrete.” Proceed-
ings of the Eighth Japan Congress on Testing Materials - Nonmetallic Materials.
[9] Au, T., Baird, D. L. 1960. “Bearing Capacity of Concrete Blocks” Journal of the American
Concrete Institute, Proceedings 56(9):869-879.
[10] Niyogi, S. K. 1973. “Bearing Strength of Concrete : Geometric Variations.” Journal of the
Structural Division July:1471-1491.

[11] Kupfer, Herbert. 2005. „Theorie der Druckfestigkeit des Betons bei Teilflächenbelastung.“
Massivbau in ganzer Breite, 401–411. Berlin, Springer.
[12] Mörsch, Emil. 1924. “Über die Berechnung der Gelenkquader.” Beton Eisen 23 (12):156–
161.
b
[13] Wurm, Peter, and Ferdinand Daschner. 1977. “Versuche über Teilflächenbelastung von Nor-
malbeton.” DAfStb Heft 286.
[14] Spieth, Hans Peter. 1961. “Das Verhalten von Beton unter hoher örtlicher Pressung,” Beton-
Stahlbetonbau 56 (11):257–263.
if

ifb


Hammoud Mohammad, Valeriy Shmukler, Petro Reznik and Olena Petrova
b
Building Structures Department,
O.M. Beketov National Univesity of Urban Economy in Kharkiv,
Marshala Bazhanova Str., Kharkiv, 61002, Ukraine
if
Abstract
The development of the approach in the formation of the criterion of the limit state of the material
which variously resists to compression, stretching and shear (such as concrete) is proposed. The
approach is based on the presentation of the material diagrams (directly taken from experimental
studies) in the form of a polynomial of the fifth degree. The coefficients of this polynomial are ex-
pressed through the generally accepted parameters of the stress-strain state, which, in turn, can de-
pend on time, temperature, etc. The limiting value of the strain energy density is assumed as a criteri-
on for the limit state. In this case, the aforementioned strain energy density depends on its particular
values, calculated separately for strain of compression, stretching and shear. In addition, the criterion
considers the nature of the stress-strain state by introducing the Lode-Nadai parameters into it. As a
consequence, there were constructed limiting surfaces in coordinates which represent the principal
stresses for the indicated classes of concrete. Moreover, recommendations for determining of the
normalized values of the strain energy density are given and a logic-calculational algorithm for con-
sidering the transition from the limit state in the local area to the general collapse of the structure is
proposed.
General statements
The logic-computational procedure of a possible evaluation of the limit state of a concrete environ-
ment under conditions of a complex stress-strain state is considered.
Herewith, deformation diagrams of the concrete under compression, stretching and shear are tak-
en on the basis of the results of the corresponding experiments and modeled by the dependence:
σ L =α 1⋅ε L +α 2⋅ε L2 +α 3⋅ε L3 +α 4⋅ε L4 +α 5⋅ε L5 (1)
where L = c V t V sh – depending on the type of stress state, in particular, c – compression; t – ten-

sion; sh – shear; σL – tension; εL – deformation.

ur
{α } = α (α 1 ;α 2 ;α 3 ;α 4 ;α 5 ) – the vector of the coefficients determined from the conditions
(Fig. 1):
∀ε L = 0 ⇒ σ L = 0; dσ L = E ;
dε L
∀ε L = ε R ⇒ σ L = R; dσ L = 0;
dε L (2)
εu − ε R
∀ε L = ε R + = ε β ⇒ σ L = iR;
n
∀ε L = ε u ⇒ σ L = jR;
and Е – the initial modulus of deformation of the first kind;

R – tensile strength;
εR– deformation corresponding to the tensile strength;
i , j ∈ ( 0;1)
n – assignable parameter.
Moreover, the elements of the vector {α ⃗} can be expressed by means of the expression (2) through
the elements of the vector:

d = d ( E ; R; ε R ; ε u ; i ; j ) (3)
The main feature here is the fact that these parameters, in general, are functions of temperature, time
and other physical quantities, which is confirmed by a significant number of studies [1,2,4]. Thus, the
b
representation (1) can be used for a variety of virtual situations.
if
Fig. 1 Indicating diagram of the material.
The substitution of (1) into (2) leads to a system of four linear equations
ur
G ⋅ {α } = B , (4)
where the meaning of the matrix G and the vector B is clear from (2).
The result of the solution (4) can be represented as:
α1 = E ;
(5)
Am
αm = , m = 2,3,4,5.
A
 R    
Am = (−1)m +1 ⋅ Fm 
⋅ ε  Dm + ∑ψ mk  +  C m + ∑ηmk  
 E R  k   k 
A = ε R 3 ⋅ ε u7 (ϕ − 1)3 [1 − ϕ (1 − n)]2 (1 − n)
εR
ϕ=
εu
The functions included in the expressions for Am are contained in the tables 1-4.
The error of the proposed approximation towards the Eurocode 2 EN1992-2: 2005 is 5% (Fig. 2)
[6].
Fig. 2 Concrete deformation diagrams (C20 / 25). Here SBN means State Building Norms of
Ukraine.

Table 1 Determinant A2.

Designation Function
F2 7    
b
7 7
∆D2 = ( −1)ε u  R  D + ∑ψ  + Eε u  C + ∑η 2 k  
2k
  k =1   k =1 
D2 D = 3 (1 − n )
Ψ2m ψ = −ϕ (8n2 − 21n + 13)
if
21
ψ = −ϕ 2 ( 6n3 − 33n 2 + 48n − 21)

22
ψ = 15ϕ 3 ( n3 − 3n2 + 3n − 1)
23
ψ = ϕ 4 ( n5 (1 − i ) −10n3 + 20n2 − 15n + j + 4 )

24
ψ 25
= 3ϕ 5 ( 3n − j )
ψ = 3 jϕ 6 ( n 2 − 2n + 1)
26
ψ = jϕ 7 ( n 3 − 3n 2 + 3n − 1)
27
C2 0
η2m η 21
= 2ϕ (n −1)
η 22
= ϕ 2 (5n 2 − 14n + 9)
η 23
= 3ϕ 3 ( n3 − 7n 2 + 11n − 5)
η 24
= −2ϕ 4 (4n3 −15n2 + 16n − 5)
η 25
= 2ϕ 5 (3n3 − 7n2 + 4n)
η 26
= −3ϕ 6 (n 2 − 2n + 1)
η 27
= −ϕ 7 (n3 − 3n2 + 3n − 1)

F3 7 
7
∆D3 = ε u  R  D + ∑ψ
  7

3k  + Eε u  C + ∑η 3k  
  k =1   k =1 
D3 D = 2 (1 − n )
Ψ3m ψ = −2ϕ ( 4n 2 − 7n + 3)
31
ψ = −2ϕ ( 4n − 14n − 11n − 1)

2 3 2
32
ψ = 5ϕ 3 ( 3n3 − 4n 2 − n + 2 )
33
ψ = 2ϕ 4 ( n5 (1 − i ) − 10n2 + 15n + j − 6 )
34
ψ = ϕ 5 ( n5 (1 − i ) −10n3 + 20n2 − 15n + 7 jz − 6 j + 4 )

35
ψ = 2ϕ 6 j ( 4 n 2 − 7 n + 3 )
36
ψ = −ϕ 7 j ( 3n3 − 8n2 + 7n − 2)
37
C3 0
η3m η 31
= ϕ (n − 1)
η 32
= ϕ 2 (4n 2 − 7n + 3)
η 33
= ϕ 3 (3n3 − 14n 2 + 11n)
η 34
= −2ϕ 4 (3n3 − 5n 2 − 3n + 5)
η 35
= ϕ 5 (14n2 − 29n + 15)
η 36
= ϕ 6 (6n3 − 22n 2 + 25n − 9)
Hammoud Mohammad, Valeriy Shmukler, Petro Reznik and Olena Petrova 595

η 37
= −ϕ 7 (3n3 − 8n 2 + 7n − 2)
b
F4 6 
6
  6

∆D4 = (−1)ε u  R  D + ∑ψ  + Eε u  C + ∑η 4 k  
4k
  k =1   k =1 
if
D4 D = 2 (1 − n 2 )
Ψ4m ψ = −ϕ ( 2n3 − 2n 2 − 10n + 9 )

41
ψ = 5ϕ 2 ( 4n2 − 7n + 3)
42
ψ = ϕ 3 ( n5 − in5 + 15n3 − 45n 2 + 40n + j − 11)

43
ψ = ϕ 4 ( 2n5 − 15n3 + 25n2 − 15n + 3 + 5 jn − 3 j − 2in2 )

44
ψ = ϕ 5 j ( 7n2 − 10n + 3)
45
ψ = ϕ 6 j ( 3n 3 − 7 n 2 + 5n − 1)
46
C4 0
η4m η 41
= ϕ (n2 − 1)
η 42
= ϕ 2 (n3 − n2 − 5n + 5)
η 43
= −10ϕ 3 ( n 2 − 2n + 1)
η 44
= −2ϕ 4 (3n 3 − 13n 2 + 15n − 5)
η 45
= ϕ 5 (8n3 − 23n2 + 20n − 5)
η 46
= −ϕ 6 (3n3 − 7n 2 + 5n − 1)
F5 5 
5
  5

∆D5 = ε u  R  D + ∑ψ  + Eε R  C + ∑η 5 k  
5k
  k =1   k =1 
D5 D = 2 n (1 − n )
Ψ5m ψ = −nϕ ( 3n 2 − 10n + 7 )

51
ψ 52
= 8nϕ 2 (1 − n )
2
ψ = nϕ 3 ( n 4 (1 − i ) − 6n 2 + 8n + j − 3)
53
ψ 54
= 2ϕ 4 j ( n − 1)
ψ 55
= nϕ 5 j (1 − n )
2
C5 C = − n (1 − n )
Η5m η 51
= nϕ (n 2 − 5n + 4)
η 52
= −3nϕ 2 (n 2 − 3n + 2)
η 53
= nϕ 3 (3n 2 − 7 n + 4)
η 54
= −nϕ 4 (1 − n)2
η 55
=0
As a criterion for the onset of the limit state at the point (finite element), the condition [1,3] (Fig. 3) is
adopted.
eu = 0.5 χ σ2 [( χ σ + 1)ecu − (χ σ − 1)etu ] + (1 − χ σ2 )eshu  (6)

where eu – is the limiting strain energy density (LSED)

eu = eu (ecu ; etu ; e shu ) , and each particular LSED is determined by the dependence
9 εu
eL = K ⋅ ε 02 + ∫ σ L (ε L )dε L
b
2 0
Herewith, in case of shear deformation, the nonintegral term is equal to zero;

2σ − σ − σ
χσ = 2 1 3 – Lode-Nadai parameter;
σ1 −σ 3
if
σ 1 ≥ σ 2 ≥ σ 3 – praincipal stresses;
К – bulk modulus of deformation;
1
ε σ = I1 (Tσ )
3
I1 (Tσ ) – the first invariant of the stress tensor.
Fig. 3 Dependence of eu on the Lode-Nadai coefficient of various classes of concrete.
It should be noted that in the coordinates of the principal stresses the dependence (6) is a hyperplane
(Fig. 4).
Fig. 4 The hyperplanes of principal stresses at the values of the Lode-Nadai coefficients of
χσ = 0.5, χσ = −0.5 .

The use in (6) Lode-Nadai's parameter of the stress state allows to denote the character (type) of the
destruction of the element (separation, shear). In particular, for χσ ∈(0; -1), fracture should occur by
detachment (brittle fracture), and if χσ ∈ (0; 1) by shearing (shear) - plastic destruction [5].
b
It is known that for practical calculations it is convenient to use the concept of equivalent voltage.
So, we input the conditional secant modulus of deformations, which is determined for the aforemen-
tioned types of destruction [2]:
σi
E red = (7)
εi
if
where σi, εi – intensity of stresses and deformations, and
1
σi = (σ 1 − σ 2 )2 + (σ 2 − σ 3 )2 + (σ 2 − σ 1 )2
2 ;
1
εi = (ε 1 − ε 2 )2 + (ε 2 − ε 3 )2 + (ε 2 − ε 1 )2
2 ;
ε 1 ≥ ε 2 ≥ ε 3 – main linear deformations.
Accepting the validity of the third hypothesis of the theory of small elastic-plastic deformations, it is
possible to identify the dependence (7) with the indicator diagrams obtained experimentally for pure
compression and pure stretching. Let the following representation be admissible:
(1 + f )2 2
eu = R (8)
m ⋅ Ered
Then, condition (8) can be represented:
m ⋅ E red ⋅ eu = (1 + f ) ⋅ R (9)
where m - is chosen on the basis of adopting the concept of accounting the total energy density or the
density of energy of formation [2,4]. The radical on the left-hand side of (9) is the equivalent voltage.
When calculating the equivalent voltage, you should take:
∀ σ 1 = σ 2 ≠ 0 Λ σ 1 < 0.0; σ 2 < 0.0; σ 3 < 0.0

f = f max ΛR = f ck
∀ σ 1 = σ 2 = 0.0 Λ σ 3 < 0.0

f = 0; R = f ck
∀ σ 1 ≠ σ 2 ≠ σ 3 Λ σ 1 < 0.0; σ 2 < 0.0; σ 3 < 0.0
f = χσ ⋅ f max ΛR = f ck
(10)
∀ σ 1 > 0,σ 2 = σ 3 Λ σ 2 > 0.0; σ 3 > 0.0
f = − f min ΛR = f ctm
∀σ 1 > 0;σ 2 = σ 3 = 0.0
f = 0.0; R = fctk
∀ σ 1 ≠ σ 2 ≠ σ 3 Λ σ 1 > 0.0; σ 2 > 0.0; σ 3 > 0.0
f = (| χσ | −1) ⋅ fmin Λ R = RBt
In logical expressions (10), fmax > 0 and fmin > 0 are assigned on the basis of experimental data. For
example,
fmax = 0.2 ÷ 0.3; fmin = 0.3 ÷ 0.4.
Having algorithms that establish the sequence of combining of the rejected elements, it becomes
possible to construct a surface for the dismemberment (destruction) of the structure. This logical-

calculational procedure realizes the possibility of considering the transition from destruction in the
local area to a global virtual collapse.
In practical calculations, for the formation of an energetically equal (isoenergetic) structure, it is
permissible to introduce the notion of a normalised value of the density of the potential deformation
b
energy:
en = γ ⋅ eu (11)
where en is the normalized value of the density of potential deformation energy;
if
γ is a statistically valid coefficient. For concrete it is possible to take γ = 0.77.
In conclusion, it should be noted that isoenergetic as a rational form of the existence of artificial
elements provides the most acceptable distribution of material, as well as its effective work in struc-
ture.
References
[1] Shmukler, V. S. 2017. Numerical and experimental methods of rational design and erection of
constructive systems. /V.N. Babaev, S.A. Bugaevsky, S.M. Evel, I.D. Evzerov, A.I. Lantukh-
Lyashchenko, V.V. Shevetovsky, A.V. Shimanovsky, V.S. Shmukler // Kiev: "Stal’".
[2] Filin, A. P. 1975. „Applied mechanics of a rigid deformed body.“ T.1 - Moscow: "Nauka".
[3] Vasilkov, G.V. 2008. Evolutionary theory of the life cycle of mechanical systems. Theory of
constructions. Moscow: LKI.
[4] Malinin, N.N. 1968. Applied theory of plasticity and creep. - Moscow: Mashinostroenie.
[5] Goldenblat, I.I. 1968. Criteria of Strength and Plasticity of Structural Materials /Goldenblat,
I.I. , V.A. Kopnov // M., Mashinostroenie.
[6] CEN. 2004. EN 1992-1-1 Eurocode 2: Design of concrete structures - Part 1-1: General rules
and rules for buildings.
[7] Shmukler, V.S. 2005. “Evolutionist approach in rationalization of building structures“. ISEC-
03 Third International structural Engineering and construction conference, Shunan, Japan.

ifb

Numerical simulation for horizontal tunnels with

vertical alignment affected by static and dynamic loads
b
Jaafar Mohammed and Eva Hrubesova
VSB-Technical University of Ostrava,
if
L. Podeste1875, 708 33, Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
Abstract
Most of the researchers are constructed twin tunnels as horizontal, in some cases the twin tunnel
vertically overlapping lined horizontal tunnels are constructed in order to avoid the other structure as
like pile foundations. This paper illustrates the 3D numerical model by using software MIDAS GTS
NX which is established to investigate the tunnel simulation in order to highlight the effect of static
and dynamic load on the behaviour of tunnel lining. There are several points which have effect on the
results of design as like distance between the two tunnels, the stiffness and density of the lining mate-
rial and ground, the character and magnitude of seismic loading, etc. Inner diameter of analysed
tunnel is marked of D = 6 m. Thickness of concrete lining corresponds of t = 0.3 m. The depth of the
top part of tunnel from the ground level is of 10D m below the surface of the ground. Distance of the
twin tunnel centres is of 3D m. Response Spectrum of UBC (1997) is used as seismic response spec-
trum, were undertaken to compare the results in the displacement and stresses acting on the grout-
ing/segment to find the quantity of deformation through tunnelling, finally to approve that the applied
dynamic stress is not negligible for underground structure, but it is less dangerous in comparison with
the others.
1 Introduction
There are many design methods for tunnel lining have been developed which include empirical meth-
ods, analytical methods and numerical methods. The 3D numerical models using finite element meth-
od software MIDAS GTS NX investigation will be carried out in order to highlight the effect of the
tunnel lining response under static and dynamic loads using shield tunnelling method at homogeneous
rock formation. The existing full numerical solutions which were used to make comparison between
the results of static and dynamic analysis were concentrated at stress and displacement. Understand-
ing the behaviour of tunnel structures during seismic load is one of the most interesting challenges in
geotechnical engineering. Most of the researchers explain that tunnels generally performed during
earthquakes better than structures on the ground surface and shallow tunnels suffer higher damage
compared to deep structures. Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) are very complex tools whose main
element is the shield that protects and supports the excavation profile, and allows the lining erection
and disposal of the excavation materials. Due to the application of the static load the stress-strain state
around the tunnel periphery is changed, the primary stress state is disrupted and the potential of insta-
bility increases. The model involved the loads resulted from ground, tunnelling method and response
spectrum which practical application depends on such factors/parameters as the ground conditions,
elasticity modulus (E), Poisson’s ratio (ν), unit weight (γ), rock conditions, length, diameter, shape
and depth of the tunnel, space between twin tunnels, etc. Axial and bending deformations are generat-
ed by the components of seismic waves producing particle motion parallel or perpendicular to the
longitudinal axis of the tunnel, respectively [17].Tunnel in rock environment can be subjected to
dynamic impact caused by external sources i.e. earthquake damage includes both cracking of the rock
mass material and induced damage to tunnel structure, thus imposing a significant hazard to either
humans or equipment. Presented analysis considers two cases: static analysis of the model has been
performed and the dynamic analysis of the model under the eigenvalue and response spectrum is
calculated. In this subject, twin tunnel were studied by more authors like [2]-[3]-[4]-[5]-[6]-[7]-[8]-
[9]-[10]-[11]-[12]-[13]-[14]-[16]. There are many other researchers who have studied this subject but
their names have not mentioned in this paper.

2 Definitions of ground and structural materials

The thickness of concrete lining is of 0.3 m. The height of overburden is of 60 m. The center-to-
center distance between the two tunnels was of 30 m. Water table was not considered in the calcula-
b
tion. Tunnel simulation had 47 stages. The behaviour of the tunnel and ground is assumed as linear
elastic. Table 1- 3 present the mechanical and physical properties of material for ground and structure
used in modelling. The grouting technology is applied to fill the gap between the concrete segments
and rock mass. The tunnel deformation was affected by the works of excavation. Applied static loads
such as gravity, drilling or excavation pressure (200 kN/m2) are applied on the shield excavation face
if
and the jack thrust (- 4500 kN/m2) is applied in front of the segment face. The shield external pressure
(50 kN/m2) and segment external pressure (1000 kN/m2)] are applied around the tunnels [16].
Table 1 Ground Materials for sigle and twin tunnels.
Name Soft Rock Segment

Material Isotropic Isotropic
Model Type Elastic Elastic
Elastic Modulus (E) [kN/m2] 20000 20000000
Poisson’s Ratio (ν) [-] 0.4 0.2
Unit Weight (γ) [kN/m3] 18 24
Unit Weight Saturated (γ) [kN/m3] 18 24
Drainage Parameters Drainage Drainage
Table 2 Structure Materials for single and twin tunnels.
Name Steel Grout

Material Isotropic Isotropic
Model Type Elastic Elastic
Elastic Modulus (E) [kN/m2] 250000000 15000000
Poisson’s Ratio (ν) [-] 0.25 0.3
Unit Weight (γ) [kN/m3] 78 23
Table 3 Type of model elements.

Material Soil Segment Steel Grout
Type 3D 3D 2D- Plate 2D - Plate
3 Numerical simulation and results for single and twin tunnels

The cross sections of the twin tunnels have a circular shape as shown in Fig. 2. The diameter and
thickness of the concrete lining were of 6 m and 300 mm respectively. The dimensions of the twin
tunnels model are: a length of 80 m, width of 72 m and height of 108 m. Gravity of 9.81m/s2 is ap-
plied globally on the model. The excavation and tunnel supporting that will be carried out using TBM
method is required to provide safe tunnelling conditions and high construction efficiency. The numer-
ical 3D finite element models of the tunnels were designed by MIDAS GST NX 2015. The ground
surrounding the tunnel lining was assumed to be soft rock. The model can be divided in several con-
struction stages with a length of a tunnel ring about 2 m long. The basic steps of static model analysis
are: 1) Definition of input parameters and constitutive models for ground, segment, shield and grout,
2) Geometry generation using solid 3D elements for ground and tunnel segments, 3) Mesh generation
using auto meshing, 4) Load definition (gravity, drilling or excavation pressure, jack thrust, shield
external pressure and segment external pressure), 5) Setting boundary conditions, 6) Setup construc-
tion sequence, 7) Define construction stage analysis control, and final run analysis. Reset displace-

Numerical simulation for horizontal tunnels with vertical alignment affected by static and dynamic loads
ment condition was applied to the first construction stage that will be considered as the in-situ condi-
tion. Static analysing was computed as first step, and then the dynamic analysis including setting the
specific boundary condition, eigenvalue analysis and dynamic loading setting performed. There are
several loads presented in this modelling that can be divided into static and dynamic. Gravity, drilling
b
or excavation pressure, jack thrust applied in front of the segment face, the shield external pressure
and segment external pressure applied around the tunnel are assumed as static loads. Response spec-
trum of UBC (1997), measure of Uniform Building Code 97 is used as dynamic load which can cause
the deformation and instability of tunnel.
if
In this part of this paper the results of static and dynamic numerical analysis are shown in figure
2-9. The differences of static and dynamic analysis in maximum values are listed in tables 4 - 7.
Fig. 1 Modified Response Spectrum using UBC (1997); Damping Ration = 0.05; Seismic Coef-
ficient: Ca = 0.06 and Cv = 0.06; Normalized Acceleration in horizontal direction [16].
Fig. 2 Model layout: a) tunnel dimensions b) model dimensions.
Jaafar Mohammed and Eva Hrubesova 603

ifb
Fig. 3 Max. and Min. value of total displacement distribution in static.
Fig. 4 Max. and Min. value of total displacement distribution in dynamic analysis.
Fig. 5 Static and dynamic: Total displacement distribution on the segment of first tunnel (Top).

ifb
Fig. 6 Static and dynamic: Max. and Min. value of Maximum principal stresses distribution on
the segment of first tunnel (Top).
Fig. 7 Static and dynamic: Max. and Min. value of Minimum principal stresses distribution on
the segment of the first tunnel (Top).
Fig. 8 Static: Max. and Min. value of Minimum principal stresses distribution at the segment of
second tunnel (Bottom).
Fig. 9 Static and dynamic: Max. and Min. value of Maximum principal stresses distribution at
the grout of first tunnel (Top).

ifb
Fig. 10 Static and dynamic: The ovalization of tunnel deformation on the face of segments (Top
and Bottom).
Table 4 The maximum value of total displacement [m] on the segment of twin tunnels.
Case Top Tunnel (m) Bottom Tunnel (m)
Static 0.0919453 0.116306

Dynamic 0.0166802 0.0178074
Table 5 The maximum value of Max. and Min. principal stresses in the grout of twin tunnels.
First Tunnel (Top) Second Tunnel (Bottom)
Case Max. Principal Min. Princi- Max. Principal

Min. Principal
Stresses kN/m2 pal Stresses Stresses kN/m2
Stresses kN/m2
kN/m2
Static 1941.76 8414.97 2966.15 14505.9
Dynamic 1882.56 1886.19 2105.04 2111.12
Table 6 The maximum value of Max. and Min. principal stresses on the segment of twin tunnels.
(The sign in tables “+“notes as a tension and “-” notes compression ).
First Tunnel (Top) Second Tunnel (Bottom)
Case Max. Principal Min. Princi- Max. Principal

Min. Principal
Stresses kN/m2 pal Stresses Stresses kN/m2
Stresses kN/m2
kN/m2
Static -15924.4 20681.1 -17103.9 33016.7
Dynamic 9.96702 10.1506 8.27124 8.1331

4 Discussion
The support system of underground structure in urban zone must be designed to withstand static and
dynamic loads. One point that be consider in the designing of tunnel is the tunnel diameter and its
b
cross-section, because they effect on the stability and deformation of tunnel under stresses. The most
appropriate tunnel diameter used TBM method are varying in (3 to more than 15 m) and for this work
its 6 m. In difficult environment, a circular tunnel profile is invariably the best choice than other
shapes e.g. horseshoe, especially from the static point of view. Tunnel diameter and its cross-section
must be considered in the designing, because they effect on the influence close zone surrounding
if
tunnel through excavation that may lead to instability and deformation of tunnel under the in-situ
stresses. Vertical and horizontal displacements surrounding of the tunnels are shown in Fig.3 and 4
for both static and dynamic analysis. The bending moment affected by ovalisation is a significant
phenomenon, a large ovalisation may increase bending moments in the segments over their bearing
capacity. The difference between static and dynamic analysis are compared based on displacement
and stress (maximum principal stresses and minimum principal stresses) with the assumption of
drained conditions. It is also assumed that both the structure and ground are elastic, linear, homoge-
neous, and isotropic. The ovalization effect is manifested into the deformation of the side walls of the
tunnel towards the rock and in the movement of bottom and upper parts of the tunnel into the center
as shown in Fig. 10.
5 Conclusions
This paper presents the numerical analysis considering a circle cross-section for tunnel structure in an
isotropic, elastic and linear medium soft rock subjected to static and dynamic loading. Based on the
tunnel modelling using software MIDAS GTS NX, the 3D analysis of the tunnel response under static
and dynamic loading conditions was performed to compare the results of the displacement and stress-
es acting on the twin tunnels. Figures 2-10 shows the distribution of displacement and stresses result-
ed from static and dynamic analysis of tunnel construction. The difference between static and dynam-
ic analysis for tunnel lining and surrounding rock mass subjected to loading is following: the dis-
placements can be shown in figures 3 - 5 are presented, horizontal displacement for twin tunnel at
both tunnel sides are approximately the same. Vertical displacement corresponding to the bottom
tunnel is higher than in top tunnel. Assuming dynamic anlysis the numerical solution shows that the
maximum principal stresses at the segment of the bottom tunnel are lower than at the segment of the
top tunnel. Based on the static analysis the principal stresses at the bottom tunnel are higher than at
the segment of the top tunnel as is shown in table 5 and 6. So due to the tunnel excavation the equilib-
rium stress-strain state inside the ground massif is changed and these changes are reflected in the
values of displacements and stresses in the tunnel segmental lining. Additional impact of the dynamic
loads on tunnel lining causes any increase of deformations and stresses (internal forces) in the seg-
mental lining see table 4 - 6. These stress-strain changes can lead to the increases of instability and
failure of tunnel as show briefly in table 4, 5 and 6. Otherwise the result show that the applied dynam-
ic stress is not negligible for underground structure, but it is less dangerous in comparison with the
superstructure.
Acknowledgement
The paper was prepared with the support of the Competence Centers of the Technology Agency of the
Czech Republic (TAČR) within the project Center for Effective and sustainable transport infrastruc-
ture (CESTI), project number TE01020168.
References
[1] Qian Fang, Dingli Zhang, QianQian Li, and Louis Ngai Yuen Wong. 2015. “Effects of twin
tunnels construction beneath existing shield-driven twin tunnels.“ Tunnelling and Under-
ground Space Technology 45. Accepted 7 October 2014. 128–137.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2014.10.001.
[2] F. Hage Chehade, and I. Shahrour. 2007. “ Numerical analysis of the interaction between
twin-tunnels: Influence of the relative position and construction procedure. ” Tunnelling and
Underground Space Technology 23 (2008) 210–214 Accepted 19 March 2007.
doi:10.1016/j.tust.2007.03.004.

[3] Ngoc-Anh Do, Daniel Dias, Pierpaolo Oreste, and Irini Djeran-Maigre. 2014. “ Three-
dimensional numerical simulation of a mechanized twin tunnels in soft ground. ” Tunnelling
and Underground Space Technology 42 (2014) 40–51. Accepted 2 February 2014
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2014.02.001.
b
[4] Shao-Ming Liao, Jian-Hang Liu, Ru-Lu Wang, and Zhi-Ming Li. 2009. “ Shield tunneling and
environment protection in Shanghai soft ground. ” Tunnelling and Underground Space Tech-
nology 24 (2009) 454–465. Accepted 18 December 2008. doi:10.1016/j.tust.2008.12.005.
[5] Rohola Hasanpour. 2014. “ Advance numerical simulation of tunneling by using a double
if
shield TBM. ” Computers and Geotechnics 57 (2014) 37–52. Accepted 2 January 2014.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2014.01.002.
[6] Qian Fang, Qimin Tai, Dingli Zhang, and Louis Ngai Yuen Wong. 2014. “ Ground surface
settlements due to construction of closely-spaced twin tunnels with different geometric arran-
gements. ” Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 51 (2016) 144–151. Accepted 18
October 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2015.10.031.
[7] Hamid Chakeri, Rohola Hasanpour, Mehmet Ali Hindistan, and Bahtiyar Unver. 2001.
“ Analysis of interaction between tunnels in soft ground by 3D numerical modeling. ” Bull
Eng Geol Environ (2011) 70:439–448. Accepted: 1 October 2010. DOI 10.1007/s10064-010-
0333-8.
[8] Mohammad Afifipour, Mostafa Sharifzadeh, Kourosh Shahriar, and Hamed Jamshidi. 2010.
“ Interaction of twin tunnels and shallow foundation at Zand underpass, Shiraz metro, Iran. ”
Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 26 (2011) 356–363. Accepted 9 November
2010. doi:10.1016/j.tust.2010.11.006.
[9] Ngoc-Anh Do, Daniel Dias, and Pierpaolo Oreste. 2015. “ 3D numerical investigation of
mechanized twin tunnels in soft ground – Influence of lagging distance between two tunnel
faces. ” Engineering Structures 109 (2016) 117–125. Accepted 30 November 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2015.11.053.
[10] Raghavendra V, Stanley Jose, G.H Arjun Shounak, and T.G Sitharam.2015. “ FINITE ELE-
MENT ANALYSIS OF UNDERGROUND METRO TUNNELS. ” IJCIET, Volume 6, Issue
2, February (2015), pp. 06-15, www.jifactor.com, IAEME. www.iaeme.com/Ijciet.asp.
[11] Zhongxian Liu, Yirui Wang, and Jianwen Liang. 2016. “ Dynamic interaction of twin verti-
cally overlapping lined tunnels in an elastic half space subjected to incident plane waves. ”
Earthq Sci (2016) 29(3):185–201. Accepted: 16 May 2016. DOI 10.1007s11589-016-0155-2.
[12] Othman A. Shaalan, Tarek N. Salem, Eman A. El shamy, and Randa M. Mansour. 2014.
“ Dynamic analysis of two adjacent tunnels. ” (IJEIT) Volume 4, Issue 4, October 2014. ISO
9001:2008 Certified.
[13] Chen Shong-loong, and Gui Meen-wah. 2010. “ Seismic performance of tunnel lining of side-
by-side and vertically stacked twin-tunnels.“ J. Cent. South Univ. Technol. ” (2011) 18:
1226−1234. Accepted date: 2011−02−15. DOI: 10.1007/s11771−011−0826−z.
[14] Hamid Alielahi, and Mohammad Adampira. 2015. “ Effect of twin-parallel tunnels on seismic
ground response due to vertically in-plane waves. ” International Journal of Rock Mechanics
& Mining Sciences 85 (2016) 67–83.Accepted11March2016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2016.03.010.
[15] Karakus M, Ozsan A, and H. Basarir. 2005. “ Finite element analysis fortwin metro tunnel
constructed in Ankara clay, Turkey. ” Bull Eng Geol Environ 66(1)71–79. Accepted: 28 April
2006. DOI 10.1007s10064-006-0056-z.
[16] Midas Engineering Software. “Tutorial. .” Accessed March 2018 . http://midasgtsnx.com.
[17] Bilotta, Emilio, Giovanni Lanzano, and Gianpiero Russo. 2007. “ PSEUDOSTATIC AND
DYNAMIC ANALYSES OF TUNNELS IN TRANSVERSAL AND LONGITUDINAL DI-
RECTIONS. Paper presented at the 4th International Conference on Earthquake Geotechnical
Engineering. June 25-28, 2007. Paper No. 1550.

Development of three-dimensional strut-and-tie models

for structural concrete components
b
Salma Mozaffari1, Masoud Akbarzadeh2 and Thomas Vogel1
1Institute
of Structural Engineering,
ETH Zurich,
if
Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
2School of Design, Polyhedral Structures Lab,
University of Pennsylvania,
Pennovation Center, 3401 Grays Ferry Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19146, USA
Abstract
This paper presents a proposal for developing a procedure for the generation of 3D strut-and-tie mod-
els for structural concrete components, using the techniques of topology optimization and graphical
statics. Extensive research has been carried out on the development of methodologies to generate
strut-and-tie patterns based on the flow of stresses within a structural volume. Some focus on the
various formulations of topology optimization algorithms. The goal of this research is to address the
limitations of topology optimization in producing reasonable strut-and-tie patterns. This study will
also investigate the potentials of graphic statics for the creation or refinement of such models. The
arguments presented in this article demonstrate the possibilities for the further exploration of topology
optimization and graphical statics in the production of suitable strut-and-tie models for three-
dimensional scenarios.
1 Introduction
The strut-and-tie model is a truss-like system with a set of compressive struts and tensile ties, where
concrete only contributes to the compression and steel is activated in tension. The model was derived
from the truss analogy developed at the onset of the twentieth century by Ritter [1] and Mörsch [2]
without a theoretical rationale and based on intuition. Its primary goal was to understand shear trans-
fer in reinforced concrete by describing its behavior after cracking. Since concrete is assumed to have
no tensile strength, when it is cracked, the concept has later found justification in the lower bound
theorem of plasticity [3]. In 1987, Schlaich et al. [4] issued useful guidelines leading to popular appli-
cations of truss (named as strut-and-tie) models in structural concrete practice. Strut-and-tie models
could be considered as discrete representations of stress fields. The concept of stress fields was intro-
duced by Drucker in 1961 as a direct application of plasticity theory for a simply supported reinforced
concrete beam subjected to point and distributed loads [5]. Stress field and strut-and-tie methods are
complementary in satisfying equilibrium and yield criteria of the lower bound theorem of the plastici-
ty. Therefore, a combination of the methods is typically used in practice to provide safe solutions.
1.1 Construction of the strut-and-tie model

The strut-and-tie method has been covered in several concrete design guidelines for the dimensioning
and detailing of structural concrete; however, the challenge typically is how to construct appropriate
configurations. A classical approach of using elastic stress trajectories to generate strut-and-tie mod-
els was investigated by Schlaich et al. [4]. Schlaich et al. mentioned the use of computer programs to
perform the elastic analysis. They also suggested the intuition- and experience-based load path meth-
od, when the elastic analysis is unavailable. In case of several solutions for one problem, they pro-
posed to select the model with the shortest ties, which leads to a minimization of strain energy in the
system.
Over the past twenty years, extensive research has been carried out on the development of
methodologies to generate strut-and-ties and reinforcement patterns based on the flow of stresses
within a structural volume. These studies are either based on the various formulations of finite
element analysis or discrete (ground truss) and continuum topology optimization algorithms. Fig. 1
(left) and (center), shows two of the studies on the derivation of strut-and-ties based on discrete and

continuum topology optimization, while on the (right) is the obtained model for a similar problem
through the intuitive load path method.
ifb
Fig. 1 Derivation of strut-and-ties using: (left) discrete topology optimization [6]; (center) con-
tinuum topology optimization [7]; (right) load path method [4].
Additionally, from all the studies that have been conducted using topology optimization, few have
addressed the three-dimensional cases [8], [9]. Yang et al. [9] used a hybrid model for a combined
discrete and continuum topology optimization, where the tension ties and concrete compression fields
are defined by discrete and continuum methods respectively.
It is worth mentioning that Muttoni et al. [10] utilized reciprocal diagrams of graphical statics in
their procedures of creating stress fields. The method of graphic statics has also been recently
employed for the generation of a three-dimensional force flow pattern for analysis of a concrete shell
at ETH Zurich [11].
1.2 Topology optimization

Continuum and discrete topology optimization methods were first developed by Bendsøe and Kikuchi
in 1988 [12] and Dorn and Fleron in 1964 [13], [14] respectively. Both methods provide a material
distribution layout commonly with the objective of better structural performance such as strain ener-
gy, compliance or volume minimization. Since this layout follows the principal stress trajectories, it
has been used as a backdrop for the generation of strut-and-tie models.
Selection of the appropriate model based on the load path with the least deformations, in other
words the minimum strain energy, is also discussed by Schlaich et al. [4], which could be the
motivation for using topology optimization to initiate strut-and-tie patterns.
1.3 Graphical statics

Graphical statics works with the reciprocal form and force diagrams representing the geometry of a
structure and the magnitude of forces respectively. The reciprocal relationship between the two dia-
grams allows for simultaneous control of form and its internal and external forces [15]. This provides
flexibility to develop choices of tension-compression truss-like structures, while maintaining the static
equilibrium. The formulation of the reciprocal relationship between form and force diagrams was first
developed by Maxwell in 1864 [16].
With the progress in the computational design, graphical statics has been further developed and
utilized in design firms and academia [17], [18], [19], [20]. Baker et al. and Beghini et al. [17], [21]
used the characteristics of reciprocal diagrams to minimize the truss load path. They used free
coordinates of the force diagram as optimization variables, where the initial geometry is normally
constructed from the topology optimization output (Fig. 2). Beghini et al. claimed that the
optimization on the force diagram leads to less variables, compared to the ground truss topology
optimization and provides more freedom for truss geometry. They also mentioned that it could be

difficult to interpret a truss shape and connections from continuum topology optimization, since the
resulting material layout must be discretized into linear structural elements.
ifb
Fig. 2 Truss optimization [21]: (left) continuum topology optimization output (initial geometry);
(center) form diagram of graphic statics (optimized truss); (right) force diagram of graphic
statics (optimized dual truss).
1.4 Problem statement

Although there exists promising results with the generation of strut-and-tie patterns and stress fields
using topology optimization, little focus is provided on the practical aspects of the outcomes. The
reason could be that most of these techniques provide single solutions based on fixed algorithms.
These solutions require further refinements to account for the practicality purposes (e.g. the angle
between strut and tie or the location and inclination of ties). These adjustments cannot all be included
as additional constraints in the optimization formulation. Even if some could, the intrinsic mathemati-
cal or computational effort would be major and there is no guarantee for a convergence. It should also
be noted that the development of an independent general post-refinement procedure for the generation
of reasonable patterns is not a trivial task.
In contrast to the characteristics of optimization approaches, the method of graphical statics
provides visual capabilities for adjustment of truss geometries and control of their force magnitudes
or types (i.e. tension or compression), while maintaining the equilibrium conditions. This technique
has also been used in the creation of three-dimensional structural typologies [19], [20], which has
provided the ability to deal with three-dimensional strut-and-tie patterns [11]. As mentioned earlier,
from the studies that used topology optimization for generation of truss models, very few have
properly considered three-dimensional scenarios.
Another reason to utilize graphical statics, is the ability to create patterns similar to constant stress
fields on the form diagram using the geometrical information of the force diagram and Minkowski
sums (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 Using Minkowski Sums and reciprocal characteristics of form and force diagrams to
generate stress fields [22].
One challenge in the production of truss models for concrete design purpose, while using graphic
statics, is the consideration of the constrained domain effect in generation of the results, which could
primarily overcome by getting help from topology optimization as it is performed in [21]. Therefore,
one could benefit from an investigation of the produced geometries by topology optimization in order
Salma Mozaffari, Masoud Akbarzadeh and Thomas Vogel 611

to search for generalized strategies for the development of constraint-based graphical statics solutions.
Once these strategies are derived and the model is created through graphical statics, they could be
further adjusted according to practical aspects.
b
2 Research project
The present research project aims at fulfilling the following defined objectives: (i) to formulate prac-
tical strategies for the generation of suitable three-dimensional strut-and-tie models through ground
if
truss optimization and graphical statics, (ii) to develop admissible stress fields with the aid of the
generated strut-and-tie models and (iii) to propose appropriate models for common examples.
This study proposes the following milestones in order to achieve the aim. The procedures will
initially be developed for two-dimensional problems, and subsequently be extended to the third
dimension.
2.1 Implementation of ground truss optimization

Investigation of the variables involved in the formulation of the basic ground truss optimization algo-
rithm and its nature of the results are vital to this research. Since an interpretation of an in-equilibrium
truss pattern from continuum topology optimization could be challenging, the ground truss technique
has been chosen.
A computational framework should be established in order to implement the optimization
algorithm. There exists few educational codes, however they are restricted to specific examples and
could be slow depending on the size of the problem.
An examination of the relationship between optimization inputs (such as design domain, load and
support locations, connectivity degree of the ground truss and constraints) and output patterns should
be carried out. This could help to draw rules and ideas for the generation of truss models in a
constrained domain using graphic statics independently. Otherwise, a post-processing set-up should
be developed to prepare the optimization solution as an initial geometry input to graphic statics.
2.2 Implementation of graphical statics

Another computational framework for the graphic statics procedure should also be established. For
this to be achieved, the algebraic formulation of graph statics [18] and its geometrical rules in 2D and
3D [19] should be thoroughly studied.
The findings from the previous step would either enable setting up procedures for the independent
creation of truss-like solutions through graphical statics or provide initial geometries. These truss
models should be transformed into meaningful strut-and-tie configurations in the next step. The use of
graphical statics ensures the equilibrium satisfaction as the first criterion of the lower bound theorem
of plasticity.
2.3 Generate valid strut-and-tie models and admissible stress fields

One needs an adequate understanding of a practical strut-and-tie model for the design of reinforced
concrete. For example, a model, which accounts for the appropriate location and angle of the tension
ties (i.e. the reinforcements) or which satisfies serviceability limit states. To achieve the desired re-
sults, it might be helpful to have an interactive environment where the form and force diagrams could
be further adjusted.
Also, to dimension the concrete or to estimate the capacity, admissible stress fields according to
yield criteria of the lower bound theorem of plasticity should be produced. Geometrical procedures
akin to those presented in [22] utilizing Minkowski Sums and Rankin’s reciprocal diagrams could
help creating stress fields and dealing with nodal regions, especially in three-dimensional domains.
2.4 Propose strategies and common patterns

At the final stage of the research project, procedural methods and appropriate patterns for common
examples will be proposed to help scholars and practitioners with the development of three-
dimensional strut-and-tie models and stress fields for concrete elements.

3 State of the research

At the moment, the computational implementation of the ground truss optimization and algebraic
graph statics in 2D has been achieved using Python programming language [23]. The ground truss
b
optimization formulation is defined as:
(1a)
min
(1b)
. .
if
(1c)
where V is the total volume of the structure, Vi, ai and li are the volume, cross sectional area and
length of each member, (1b) is the equilibrium constraint with A as the cosine-connectivity matrix, q
member force vector and f external load vector and (1c) is the stress constraint with the σC and σT as
allowable stresses in compression and tension. The objective is to minimize the volume of a structure,
where the cross sectional areas and member forces are the design variables. After the optimization
process, the members with zero or very small cross sectional areas will be deleted leading to a truss
pattern, which is a subset of the original ground truss.
In the example of Fig. 4 (left) with σc = σT, the (top center) and (top right) results are created
using the formulation in (1), where the blue color indicates compression and the red tension. To check
the possibility of producing more conventional strut-and-tie patterns using optimization, an extra
constraint is imposed, where the diagonal members of the ground truss can only carry compression
forces. As can be seen, the output truss in (bottom center) is similar to a common strut-and-tie pattern
having non-diagonal ties and 45-degree angles between a compression strut and a tension tie;
however, the truss in (bottom right) is an unconventional pattern with shortened stirrups and a
minimum angle of 34 degrees.
A post-processing procedure, including the removal of unnecessary nodes and additional of extra
nodes at the crossings, is developed to prepare an optimization solution as an input into the algebraic
graph statics framework (Fig. 5 (left)). A visualization of the force magnitudes for the trusses as a
product of graphical statics is shown in the force diagrams of Fig. 5 (right).
Fig. 4 Ground truss optimization: (left) problem definition and mesh division; output with (top
center) first order and (top right) full degree ground structure; output with constraints on
diagonals for (bottom center) first order and (bottom right) full degree ground structure.

ifb
Fig. 5 Graph statics: (left) post-processed truss from optimization solution of Fig. 4 (graphic
statics form diagram); (right) dual truss, algebraic graph statics solution (graphic statics
force diagram).
4 Summary and outlook

The objective of this research is to establish a basis for the creation of suitable three-dimensional
strut-and-tie models and their corresponding stress fields, which builds on truss layout optimization
and the geometrical technique of graphical statics. As a first step, the computational frameworks for
both methods has been established for two-dimensional problems to produce preliminary results.
The next step includes the investigation on the further development of the truss optimization
formulation to produce more useful patterns. This aims at imposing additional constraints to the
problem or reformulating the optimization algorithm to allow suitable angles and adjustment of the
members. This could make the optimization procedure non-linear or non-convergent. Therefore, on
the other side, the graphical statics will be utilized; first to generate a truss model according to
boundary conditions (could instead use the optimization output), second to refine it into an acceptable
pattern and last to create stress fields. The extension to the third dimension will follow next.
References
[1] Ritter, W. 1899. “Die Bauweise Hennebique.” Schweizerische Bauzeitung 33(7):41–61.
[2] Mörsch, E. 1906. Der Eisenbetonbau, seine Theorie und Anwendung. K. Wittwer, Stuttgart.
[3] Nielsen, M., M. Braestrup, B. Jensen, and F. Bach. 1978. “Concrete Plasticity, Beam Shear-
Shear in Joints-Punching Shear.” Special Publication, Danish Society for Structural Science
and Engineering 1–129.
[4] Schlaich, J., K. Schäfer, and M. Jennewein. 1987. “Toward a Consistent Design of Structural
Concrete.” Precast Concrete Institute (PCI) Journal 32(3):74–150.
[5] Drucker, D. 1961. “On Structural Concrete and the Theorems of Limit Analysis.” Interna-
tional Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering 21:49–59.
[6] Ali, M., and R. White. 2001. “Automatic Generation of Truss Model for Optimal Design of
Reinforced Concrete Structures.” Structural Journal 98(4):431–442.
[7] Liang, Q., Y. Xie, and G. Steven. 2000. “Topology Optimization of Strut-and-Tie Models in
Reinforced Concrete Structures using an Evolutionary Procedure.” ACI Structural Journal
97(2):322–332.
[8] Bruggi, M. 2009. “Generating Strut-and-Tie Patterns for Reinforced Concrete Structures
using Topology Optimization.” Computers and Structures 87(23):1483–1495.
[9] Yang, Y., C. Moen, and J. Guest. 2014. “Three-Dimensional Force Flow Paths and Rein-
forcement Design in Concrete via Stress-Dependent Truss-Continuum Topology Optimiza-
tion.” Journal of Engineering Mechanics 141(1):04014106.
[10] Muttoni, A., J. Schwartz, and B. Thürlimann. 1996. Design of Concrete Structures with Stress
Fields. Springer Science & Business Media.

[11] Enrique, L., and J. Schwartz. 2017. “Load Path Network Method: An Equilibrium-Based
Approach for the Design and Analysis of Structures.” Structural Engineering International
27(2):292–299.
[12] Bendsøe, M., and N. Kikuchi. 1988. “Generating Optimal Topologies in Structural Design
b
using a Homogenization Method.” Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering
71(2):197–224.
[13] Dorn, W. 1964. “Automatic design of optimal structures.” Journal de Mecanique 3:25–52.
[14] Fleron, P. 1964. “Minimum Weight of Trusses.” Bygningsstatiske Meddelelser 35(3):81.
if
[15] Allen, E., and W. Zalewski. 2009. Form and forces: Designing Efficient, Expressive Struc-
tures. John Wiley & Sons.
[16] Maxwell, J. 1864. “On Reciprocal Figures and Diagrams of Forces.” Philosophical Magazine
and Journal Series 4(27):250–261.
[17] Baker, W., L. Beghini, A. Mazurek, J. Carrion, and A. Beghini. 2013. “Maxwell’s Reciprocal
Diagrams and Discrete Michell Frames.” Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization
48(2):267–277.
[18] Van Mele, T., and P. Block. 2014. “Algebraic Graph Statics.” Computer-Aided Design
53:104–116.
[19] Akbarzadeh, M. 2016. “3D Graphical Statics using 3D Reciprocal Diagrams.” PhD diss.,
ETH Zurich.
[20] Ohlbrock, P., and J. Schwartz. 2016. “Combinatorial Equilibrium Modeling.” International
Journal of Space Structures 31(2-4):177–189.
[21] Beghini, L., J. Carrion, A. Beghini, A. Mazurek, and W. Baker. 2014. “Structural Optimiza-
tion using Graphic Statics.” Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization 49(3):351–366.
[22] McRobie, A. 2016. “Maxwell and Rankine Reciprocal Diagrams via Minkowski Sums for
Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Trusses under Load.” International Journal of
Space Structures 31(2-4):203–216.
[23] Python software foundation. Python Language Reference, Version 2.7. URL
http://www.python.org.

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Advanced reliability and sensitivity analysis of

prestressed concrete girders failing in shear
b
Lukáš Novák, Lixia Pan, Ondřej Slowik and Drahomír Novák
Institute of Structural Mechanics,
if
Veveří 331/95, Brno 602 00, Czech Republic
Abstract
The paper is focused on complex approach for the determination of design value of resistance of pre-
stressed concrete roof girders failing in shear. Beside commonly known safety formats for non-linear
finite element analysis (NLFEA) as partial safety factor and approach according to EN 1992-2, an over-
view of some more complex, so-called semi-probabilistic methods, is given. Described safety formats
are compared with numerical quadrature and small sample Monte Carlo (MC) type simulation, specif-
ically Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS). It is also shown that sensitivity analysis (SA) can be used to
reduce the dimension of a stochastic model, which is definitely the very effective way to reduce com-
putational requirements of reliability analysis.
1 Introduction
The non-linear finite element modelling is used more frequently for design and analysis of structures
nowadays. Also in last decade, it is more frequent to use reliability analysis in practice. The combination
of non-linear finite element method and reliability analysis is a strong tool for realistic modelling of
structures. On the other hand, it is still high time consuming to perform reliability analysis of huge non-
linear models with many stochastic input variables. Due to this fact, structural designers are interested
in semi-probabilistic methods to determine design value of the response, which are able to greatly re-
duce the number of needed nonlinear simulations.
The design value of random variable according to semi-probabilistic approach is determined as
follows:
X d = µ X exp (−α X β v X ) (1)
where vx is the coefficient of variation (CoV), recommended value of sensitivity factor αx can be found
in EN 1990 [1], for example for the response of construction is set as αR = 0.8. The reliability index β
is another way to measure the probability of failure pf in normative documents. The target reliability
index for the ultimate limit state, moderate consequences of failure and reference period of 50 years is
set as β = 3.8 according to JCSS [2].
2 Safety formats for NLFEA

There are several methods for determination design value of response in normative documents or sci-
entific papers nowadays, which are briefly described in following paragraphs. So-called safety formats
are more or less commonly used in practice. The main advantage of safety formats is the possibility of
their usage without complex reliability knowledge.
2.1 Partial safety factors

According to EN 1990 [1], NLFEA is computed with design values of input random variables and result
is design value of resistance R% d . Design values of material characteristics can be obtained from labor-
atory experiments or directly from EN. Herein, both methods were applied.
Input values of material characteristics are determined by (1) in the first approach. In this case,
statistical parameters obtained by laboratory experiments are needed. Partial safety factors in EN
include reduction due to model uncertainty, thus additional reduction of R% d by safety factor γ Rd = 1.06
is applied :

R%d R( f yd , f cd ,...)
Rd = = (2)
γ Rd 1.06
b
The typical approach for determination of design values of input variables is the usage of normative
coefficients γ M : for reinforcement/tendons γ s = 1.15 and γ c = 1.5 for concrete, which contains model
uncertainty, thus no additional reduction by safety factor γ Rd is needed:
if
Rd = R%d = R ( f yk / γ M , f ck / γ M ,...) (3)
Note that, design values in the partial safety factors method are extremely low especially in case of
normative values, thus it may lead to an unrealistic redistribution of internal forces and different failure
mode of the structure.
2.2 Global safety factor methods

Due to the possibility of different behaviour of finite element model with design input values of random
variables, it is recommended to compute NLFEA using mean values and apply global safety factor on
the result:
Rm
Rd = (4)
γR
There are two main alternative methods how to define Rd according to global safety factor approach:
EN 1992-2 method and the estimation of a coefficient of variation (ECoV).
2.2.1 EN 1992-2 method
In the global safety factor concept according to EN 1992-2 [3], the global safety factor for resistance is
set as γ R = 1.27 including model uncertainty and the design value is then estimated as follows:
R ( f ym , f%cm ,...)
Rd = (5)
γR
where f y m = 1.1 f y k is mean value of yield strength of the reinforcement and f y k represents its charac-
teristic value (5% quantile), f%cm is reduced mean value of concrete because of its higher variability and
idea that design values should correspond to the same probability and reflect the safety of normative
material partial safety factors γ s = 1.15 and γ c = 1.5 .
2.2.2 ECoV by Červenka

Lognormal distribution for response variable R is assumed in the proposal by Červenka [4], thus coef-
ficient of variation v f can be estimated as:
1 R 
vf = ln  m  (6)
1.65  Rk 
Note that, just 2 simulations of NLFEA are needed in this approach - Rm = R ( f c m , f y m , anom ,... ) with
mean values of input random variables and Rk using characteristic values (5% quantile). The global
resistance safety factor is then calculated as:
γ R = exp(α R β v f ) (7)
The described concept was adopted in the fib Model Code 2010 [5] and design value Rd was later
decreased by γ Rd = 1.06 to take into account model uncertainties:

R( f cm , f ym , anom ,...)
Rd = (8)
γ Rγ Rd
b
2.2.3 ECoV by Schlune et al.
Improved ECoV method, where v R is extended by the variability of the model and geometrical uncer-
tainties, is proposed by Schlune et al. [6]:
if
vR = vg2 + vm2 + v2f (9)
Where v g and vm represents the coefficient of variation of geometrical and model uncertainties. The
coefficient of variation of material v f , if material parameters are not correlated, can be calculated as:
2
1 N
R −R 
vf ≈
Rm
∑i  m∆X ∆Xi σ Xi  (10)
 i 
where the response of construction R∆Xi is determined by NLFEA using reduced values of material
variables by ∆ X i and σ Xi is the standard deviation of the variable. If the lognormal distribution of
material variables is assumed, the reduced values of X i can be calculated as :
X ∆i = X mi exp (−c ⋅ v Xi ) (11)
where X mi is mean value of i-th material characteristic and step size parameter c = (α R β ) / 2 . Note
that, this approach requires N+1 simulations of NLFEA, where N is the number of input random
variables. Variability of model uncertainties vm = 10 % and no variability of geometry uncertainties
v g were assumed herein in the practical application.
Fig. 1 2D Comparison of safety formats and advanced reliability methods (Latin Hypercube Sam-
pling and Numerical Quadrature).
Lukáš Novák, Lixia Pan, Ondřej Slowik and Drahomír Novák 619

2.2.4 Comparison of safety formats

Each NLFEA simulation can be represented by the point in N-dimensional domain of sampling proba-
bilities, where the coordinates of sampling points are described by input values of material characteris-
tics. The 2-dimensional case can be seen in the Fig. 1.
b
3 Advanced reliability analysis
Besides safety formats, as mentioned above, the design value of response Rd can be determined accord-
if
ing to semi-probabilistic approach by (1) directly. In this case, it is necessary to estimate moments of
response function R, this can be done by various advanced methods.
3.1 Numerical quadrature according to Rosenblueth

A simple method to estimate moments of function R, was proposed by Rosenblueth [7]. This point
estimate method is simple and direct, thus the method is widely used in practical applications, especially
in geotechnical engineering. The expected value of m-th moment of function Y can be estimated as:
2N
E (Y m ) ≈ ∑ Pi ⋅ yim (12)
i =1
where Pi are weighting factors and yim are realizations of Y m . Since the function Y is computed in 2N
points, the computational requirements increase rapidly with the number of input random variables.
The advantage of the numerical quadrature is the possibility of taking correlation of input variables
represented by coefficient ρij into account. Weighting factors Pi are then calculated as follows:
1  n −1 n 
P( s1 ,s2 ...sn ) = 1 + ∑ ∑ ( si )( s j ) ρij  (13)
2n  i =1 j =i +1 
where si is a positive sign when the value of i-th variable is mean plus standard deviation σ and nega-
tive when mean minus standard deviation, as shown in Fig. 2 (left) for 3D case.
Note that, determined Rd according to semi-probabilistic approach must be reduced by safety factor
γ Rd = 1.06 due to model uncertainty.
3.2 Fully probabilistic method

The most accurate, on the other hand, most time-consuming approach, is a fully probabilistic method
based on Monte Carlo (MC) type simulation. The main idea of MC techniques is pseudo-random sam-
pling and statistical analysis of performed deterministic simulations. For efficient estimation of statis-
tical moments stratified sampling technique called Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) was devel-
oped [8], which drastically reduces the number of needed simulations.
Fig. 2 Advanced reliability methods: Numerical quadrature according to Rosenblueth 3D (left)

and Latin Hypercube Sampling (right).

The cumulative distribution function of input variable is divided into n intervals, where n is the number
of simulations. Every value is picked within each segment as shown in Fig. 2 (right). Once the values
are chosen, a random permutation of variables is performed and random vectors of input variables are
generated. The described approach leads to a uniform distribution within a design domain. Note that,
b
the number of generated design points is not dependent on the size of the stochastic model.
4 Neural network ensemble-based parameter sensitivity analysis
if
Computational requirements of several semi-probabilistic methods are strongly dependent on the size
of the stochastic model, thus reduction of stochastic model based on sensitivity analysis should be per-
formed first.
There are many methods for sensitivity analysis, among them artificial neural networks are supe-
rior. In this study, sensitivity analysis called neural network ensemble (NNE)-based sensitivity analysis
[9] was applied. Differ from a signal neural network –based sensitivity analysis, the NNE –based sen-
sitivity analysis could obtain more stable and reliable results. In this approach, a group of preselected
neural networks is trained to independently carry out neural network modelling and perform parametric
sensitivity analysis. The procedure shown in Fig. 3 involves five basic steps:
1. a sophisticated type of neural network is empirically chosen as the seed;
2. the seed produces a family of k candidate neural networks with dissimilar network structures;
3. with the removal of inferior neural networks, n (n ≤ k) superior neural networks with better
performance are selected to form an NNE model;
4. a selected sensitivity analysis algorithm is implemented on the NNE model to perform
parameter sensitivity analysis, leading to the ranking of sensitivity for all the parameters
pertaining to the engineering system of interest.
5. summary of the results, and ranking the parameters based on the obtained value of each
parameter.
Apart from network structures, sensitivity analysis algorithms also influence the results of NNE-
based sensitivity analysis. Various sensitivity analysis algorithms can be found in the literature, e.g. the
partial derivatives algorithm, the input perturbation algorithm and the connection weights algorithm.
Among these algorithms, the most widely used is the input perturbation algorithm [10], which provokes
a change or perturbation in the input, consists of comparing the mean square error made by the network
from the original patterns with the error made when restricting the input of interest to a fixed value for
all patterns. Thus, the greater the increase in the mean square error, the greater the importance of this
input in the output. In this study, the input perturbation algorithm is implemented on the NNE model in
order to perform the sensitivity analysis
Fig. 3 A schematic view of basic steps of NNE-based parameter sensitivity analysis.


5 Application example: prestressed concrete girder failing in shear
5.1 General remarks
b
The aim of the study is a comparison of described methods in terms of computational requirements on
practical example - prestressed concrete girder failing in shear, more information about deterministic
FEM model and stochastic model can be found in [11].
The analyzed structure is a full-scale LDE7 roof girder produced by Franz Oberndorfer GmbH &
Co KG in Austria as part of the long-term research project including laboratory experiments [12] and
if
mathematical modeling. The beam is made from concrete C50/60 and is prestressed by 2x8 strands in
each web (Cables - St 1570/1770 – F93). Strands are located in following distances from bottom : 70
and 7x40mm . It has a TT-shaped cross-section and the total length is 30.00 m and the height is 0.50 m
at ends and 0.90 in the middle. The full stochastic model contains 12 random variables, however for
this study, reduction of the stochastic model based on sensitivity analysis as descibed in section 4 was
performed and the results can be seen in the Fig. 4. As can be seen in the figure, the most significant
influence have material characteristics of concrete because the correlation (Spearman correlation
coefficient ρ=0.5-0.8) was considered between concrete parameters in full stochastic model.
Statistical parameters of the concrete characteristics obtained from laboratory experiments are
shown in Table 1 and lognormal distribution is considered according to JCSS. Information from Table 1
were used for the determination of design value of ultimate shear capacity by safety formats.
Table 1 Parameters of the reduced stochastic model are: Ec - Young´s modulus, ft - tensile strength,
fc - compressive strength, Gf - fracture energy.
Parameter Mean Coeff. of variation Probability distribution
ft [ MPa ] 3.9 10.6 % Lognormal
Ec [GPa ] 34.8 10.6 % Lognormal
G f [J ⋅ m ]2 219.8 12.8 % Lognormal
f c [ MPa ] 77 6.4 % Lognormal
Fig. 4 Results of sensitivity analysis of the following variables: fc - compressive strength of con-
crete, Ec - Young´s modulus of concrete, P prestressing force, ft - tensile strength of con-
crete, Gf - fracture energy of concrete, ρc – density of concrete, Est - Young´s modulus of
reinforcement, fyst – yield strength of reinforcement, Et - Young´s modulus of tendons, fyt –
yield strength of tendons.
6 Summary of semi-probabilistic methods

The lognormal distribution of response function R , weight coefficient α R = 0.8 and reliability index
β = 3.8 were utilized according to JCSS. Summary of input values of material characteristics used for

each described method can be found in Table 2. Material characteristics obtained from laboratory ex-
periments were utilized for safety formats except the PSF, where laboratory and normative values were
used. First 4 rows contain material characteristics of the reduced stochastic model and the last row of
the table contains a form of applied model uncertainty. As can be easily calculated, 8 NLFEA simula-
b
tions were needed for safety formats. In case of advanced reliability analysis, another 16 simulations
for numerical quadrature and 30 simulations for full probabilistic method were performed. Each
NLFEA takes approximately 8 hours, thus comparison of all described methods is very time-consuming
even if the reduced stochastic model was considered.
if
Table 2 Summary of input values of material characteristics for safety formats.
PSF-desing value ECoV ECoV Schlune Rosenblueth
Parameter EN 1992-2
tab. lab. Xm Xk Xm X∆ +σ −σ
f c [ MPa ] 33.3 63.2 58.8 77 69.2 77 66.7 82 72
ft [ MPa ] 1.9 2.8 2.8 3.9 3.3 3.9 3.1 4.3 3.5
Ec [GPa ] 24.5 25.3 25 34.8 29.3 34.8 27.6 38.5 31.1
G f [ J ⋅ m2 ] 120 150 150 219.8 180 219.8 165.9 248 192

Model
uncertainty γM γ Rd = 1.06 γ R = 1.27 γ Rd = 1.06 vm = 10 % γ Rd = 1.06
6.1 Results
Design values of ultimate shear capacity determined by safety formats and advanced reliability methods
are shown in the Fig. 5. As can be seen, the highest Rd is determined by fully probabilistic approach
performed in software FReET [13] and this value is assumed as the reference. On the other hand, the
most conservative design values were obtained by normative approaches as could be expected.
As can be seen, two types of Partial Safety Factor method were performed. In case, when laboratory
results were used for the estimation of design values of material characteristics, the design value of the
ultimate shear capacity Rd is very close to advanced reliability methods. On the other hand, when
recommended values of material characteristics were considered, the Rd is very conservative.
The most efficient method in this application was ECoV modified by Schlune, but when full
stochastic model was assumed the standard ECoV by Červenka would be much more suitable regarding
computational demand of needed simulations and obtained accuracy of estimated Rd. Note that, all
methods except the normative EN 1992-2 and normative PSF tab. is in quite short range of 30kN.
Fig. 5 Comparison of design values determined by safety formats and semi-probabilistic ap-
proach.
7 Conclusions
Safety formats and advanced reliability methods were described and compared in terms of computa-
tional demand in the study. The practical application of the design methods was presented - the finite
element model of prestressed concrete roof girder failing in shear, which was the part of large research

project with the company Franz Oberndorfer GmbH & Co KG from Austria. Statistical parameters of
material characteristics were obtained from previous laboratory experiments, thus beside safety formats
advanced reliability analysis could be performed as well.
First, sensitivity analysis by artificial neural networks was used for the reduction of the full
b
stochastic model (12 random variables) because the computational requirements of several described
methods are highly dependent on size of stochastic model. Reduced stochastic model contains 4 random
variables – material characteristics of concrete. Even though only 4 random variables were considered
for the safety formats, 54 non-linear finite element simulations were needed to perform.
if
From the obtained results, several interesting conclusions can be drawn. The normative methods
are most conservative as was expected and the fully probabilistic method determined the highest Rd.
The most effective method is ECoV modified by Schlune et al. but in case of known material
characteristics from laboratory experiments, PSF method is very close to advanced reliability methods.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their thanks for the support provided by the Czech Science Founda-
tion (GAČR) Project PROMOSS No. 17-02862S, project V17_China Mobility No. 8H17074, the OEI
under the “Belt and Road Initiative” under Cultural and Educational Sector Project No.
DL2017HHDX022 and the Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province
Project No. KYCX17_0492.
References
[1] CEN. 2002. EN 1990 - Eurocode: basis of structural design. Brussels: European Comitee for
Standardization
[2] JCSS. 2001. JCSS Probabilistic Model Code. Joint Committee on Structural Safety. ISBN 978-
3-909386-79-6.
[3] CEN. 2005. EN1992 - Eurocode:design of concrete structures. Brussels: European Comitee for
Standardization.
[4] Červenka, V. 2013. “Reliability-based non-linear analysis according to fib model code 2010.”
Structural Concrete Journal fib 14:19-28.
[5] fib federation internationale du beton. 2013. fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010.
[6] Schlune, H., K. Gylltoft, and M. Plos. 2012. “Safety formats for non-linear analysis of concrete
structures.” Magazine of Concrete Research 64:563-574.
[7] Rosenblueth, E. (1975). “Point estimates for probability moments.” Proceedings of National
Academy of Sciences USA 72:3812-3814.
[8] McKay, M. D., R. J. Beckman, and W. J. Conover. 1979. “Comparison of three methods for
selecting values of input variables in the analysis of output from a computer code.” Technomet-
rics 21:239–245.
[9] Cao, M.S., L.X. Pan, Y. F. Gao, D. Novák, Z. C. Ding, D. Lehký, and X. L. Li. 2017. “Neural
network ensemble-based parameter sensitivity analysis in civil engineering systems.” Neural
Computing and Applications 28:1583-1590.
[10] Wang W., P. Jones, and D. Partridge.2000. “Assessing the impact of input features in a feedfor-
ward neural network.” Neural Computing and Applications 9:101-112.
[11] Strauss, A., B. Krug, D. Novák, and O. Slowik. 2018. “Prestressed concrete roof girders: Part
I: deterministic and stochastic model.” Proceedings of IALCCE 2018. (Article in press)
[12] Novák, D., L. Řoutil, L. Novák, O. Slowik, A. Strauss, and B. Krug. 2015. “Database of frac-
ture-mechanical concrete parameters and its implementation into reliability software freet.” Pa-
per presented at the 13th International Probabilistic Workshop, Liverpool, Great Britain, 4–6
November.
[13] Novák, D., M. Vořechovský, and B. Teplý. 2014. “Freet: Software for the statistical and relia-
bility analysis of engineering problems and freet-d: Degradation module.” Advances in Engi-
neering Software 72:179–192.

On the mechanical response of a fibre reinforced

concrete redundant structure; the redistribution factor
b
Ali Pourzarabi, Matteo Colombo and Marco di Prisco
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
if
Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, Milan 20133 , Italy
Abstract
Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC) is a material with enhanced properties in the post peak tensile re-
gion. While this material shows a highly scattered behaviour in standard characterisation tests, FRC
structures capable of redistribution of stresses, show a highly repeatable behaviour. This study inves-
tigates the difference between the behaviour of Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) in a redun-
dant structure and its behaviour in structurally determinate schemes. To this aim the behaviour of 10
prismatic notched specimens of 60×15×15 cm, 3 shallow beams of 150×35×15 cm, and 2 slabs of
200×200×15 cm supported on four supports are compared. The results obtained show that the redun-
dancy of a structure can drastically reduce its sensitivity to the high standard deviation of the material.
1 Introduction
Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) is a well-known construction material with a very rich pool of
research results accumulated over decades and many examples of applications in construction [1][2].
Enhanced post cracking residual strength brought by the bridging effect of the fibres is an interesting
property to be exploited in structural design. Design rules for this material are finding their place in
standards and guidelines to promote the application of SFRC by designers and engineers.
There are multiple testing methods proposed in the literature for characterization of the post peak
residual properties of this material which differ in shape, geometry, loading, and support conditions
[3][4][5]. Among all these testing modalities, the conventional three-point bending test on notched
beams has been widely accepted as the standard testing method for characterization and classification
of SFRC. Namely, the EN 14651[6] standard is widely implemented to examine FRC material, and
the Model Code 2010 (MC 2010) [7] also refers to the same standard for derivation of the post crack-
ing tensile constitutive relationship based on a load-Crack Mouth Opening Displacement (CMOD)
relationship. According to MC 2010 [7], the characteristic value of residual stresses at a CMOD of
0.5 and 2.5 mm, respectively corresponding to SLS and ULS conditions, are employed to classify the
material. However, there is a rather high scatter of the results obtained from this test that are intrinsic
to the testing method stemming largely from the small area of the predefined fracture plane, low
number and the variability in orientation of fibres at the cross section [8][9]. Nevertheless, bigger
volume of structural members and their ability in redistribution of stresses due to indeterminacy leads
to an overall structural behaviour which follows the average material behavior [10]. This is an im-
portant reservoir of strength that if overlooked, can lead to overdesign of structures, compromising
the economic benefits of FRC as a structural material.
The compensation for this artificially reduced material strength is commonly dealt with through
the introduction of a coefficient. It was the Italian code [11] that first introduced this kind of factor by
suggesting a coefficient as a function of the volume involved in the failure process and the ratio be-
tween the maximum load, Pmax, and the load at the elastic limit, Pcr, to decrease the term that is sub-
tracted from average material properties to get the characteristic values. The MC 2010 [7] introduces
a redistribution factor, KRd, the computation of which is based on a structural analysis given the
boundary conditions of the structure and taking into account a random distribution of material proper-
ties considering a probability distribution for the material constitutive parameters. In [12] a review of
the methods for evaluating the KRd factor could be found.
The present work is part of an extensive experimental campaign which aims to study the effect
stress redistribution capacity of structures in SFRC structural members. Here is reported the results
obtained from 10 notched standard beams, 3 shallow beams, and 2 slabs, and emphasis is given to the
different behavior of the SFRC from the material to the structural level.

In the present work, which is part of an extensive experimental campaign, a SFRC mixture is tested
under different schemes, from material to structural level. The results reported here consist of 10
b
standard notched specimens that are tested in a three-point bending setup according to EN 14651 [6]
at two different ages, three shallow beams of 150×35×15 cm (BF1,BF2,BF3) tested under a four-
point bending scheme, and two slabs of 200×200×15 cm (SF1,SF2) on four supports under a point
load in the center.
if
2.1 Material and casting
The mix design of the FRC used in the study is given in Table 1. The concrete is self-compacting with
a mean compressive strength of 58 MPa. It contains 35 kg/m3 of hooked-end high strength steel fi-
bres. The steel fiber used is a Dramix® 4D by Bekaert with a length (l) of 60 mm and diameter (D) of
0.9 mm. According to the manufacturer the tensile strength is 1500 N/mm2 and the Young’s modulus
is 210000 N/mm2.
All the specimens are cast together in a job site where concrete is pumped directly from a truck
mixer and no vibration is applied. The slabs are cast from the center without moving the discharging
pipe. After casting, the specimens are covered with wet burlaps for a couple of days and then left in
atmospheric condition until the day of testing.
Table 1 Mix design.

Cement (Cem IV 42.5R) [kg/m3] 380
Sand 0/4 [kg/m3] 425
Sand 0/8 [kg/m3] 850
Gravel 8/14 [kg/m3] 425
Slag [kg/m3] 100
w/b 0.36
Fibre [kg/m3] 35
Superplasticizer [% of cement weight] 1.2
2.2 Testing and measurement

2.2.1 EN 14651
10 prismatic beams of 600×150×150 mm that are notched in the mid-span to a depth of 25 mm are
tested according to EN 14651 [6]. 5 specimens are tested at 34 days for characterisation of the post
cracking tensile properties and 5 specimens are tested at 167 days of age, together with the first slab
test. The test is carried out controlling the CMOD. CMOD is measured by a clip gauge introduced
between two aluminium supports glued at the tip of the notch.
2.2.2 Shallow beam
3 beams of 150×35×15 cm are tested under a four-point bending setup. The clear span is 135 cm and
the load is applied in the one third in the mid-span. The test is carried out under a load control manner
up to a load of 10 kN and then is proceeded controlling the stroke displacement rate at 150 µm/min.
During the test load is measured by two load cells each located at a support, and the deflection is
measured from the bottom of the beams using two potentiometers, each on one side of the specimen
at the mid-span. Furthermore, three LVDTs are used on the bottom of the beam to measure Crack
Opening Displacement (COD). The general configuration of the test and the position of the instru-
ments with the gauge length are shown in Fig. 1.
2.2.3 Slab
2 slabs are tested under the general configuration shown in Fig. 2. The slabs have a dimension of
200×200×15 cm (Fig. 3 (left)) supported on four supports and loaded in the center by means of an

On the mechanical response of a fibre reinforced concrete redundant structure; the redistribution factor
electro-mechanical jack with a maximum capacity of 1000 kN by adopting a displacement control. A

constant displacement rate equal to 20 µm/sec is imposed to the loading head. The loading head has a
cross section of 20×20 cm. A piece of neoprene is placed under the loading point. The slab is support-
ed at the middle of each side, on a 20×20 cm steel plates of 2.5 cm thickness welded on top of two
b
UNP200 profiles of 120 cm high. A neoprene sheet of 0.5 cm thick is placed on the steel plate to
avoid direct contact of the slab with the steel plate. The slab is fastened to the support by a 20 mm
bolt screwed inside an anchorage system (T-Fixx® GV by Halfen) in the center of the plate to connect
the slab to the supporting legs.
if
Fig. 1 Test configuration and placement of instruments for the shallow beams.
A total of 7 displacement measurements are carried out for each test; one for the vertical displacement
under the loading point and 6 to detect crack opening. The position and the code given to each in-
strument is shown in Fig. 3 (right). Six instruments are placed at the bottom; four LVDTs in a square
configuration 15 cm from the center, and 2 potentiometers with a longer gauge length at a 50 cm
distance from the slab center. The code of instruments is COD followed by a letter, ‘b’ standing for
bottom and a letter showing the side in which the instrument is positioned. The potentiometers with a
longer gauge length have a subscript of ‘l’. The results are displayed as the average value of meas-
urement carried out for instruments of the same gauge length.
Fig. 2 General configuration of the slab test.
3.1 Standard notched specimens

Fig. 4 shows the stress-CMOD curves obtained for the 10 specimens tested at two different ages, and
Table 2 gives the flexural tensile strength and the post peak residual tensile strength parameters ob-
tained according to MC 2010 [7] with the statistical indices for both testing ages. The material classi-
fication gives two considerably different labels to the same material tested at two different times.
Accordingly, the SFRC would be a “3C” at 34 days and a “4b” at 167 days. It is observed that from
Ali Pourzarabi, Matteo Colombo and Marco di Prisco 627

34 days to 167 days the mean values of, fct-fl, fR1, fR2 and fR3 have increased for 4.7%, 25%, 31%, and
1% while the fR4 has undergone a decrease of 3.2%. Interestingly, considering the characteristic val-
ues, the fct-fl has decreased in time from 5.22 MPa to 5.13 MPa due to an increase of the standard
deviation (SD) from 0.21 to 0.39, while fR1, fR2 and fR3 values have yet increased for 20%, 40% and
b
2% respectively and yet, a slight decrease for the fR4. There is a significant increase in the residual
strength in the CMOD range of 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm, while for the CMOD corresponding to the ulti-
mate state, the residual strength is almost constant in time. Earlier studies on long term effects on
tensile properties of SFRC mixtures shows the significant increase of fibre contribution in SLS range
if
[13]. The authors have reported that, the effect of ageing on residual strength after a CMOD of 1 mm,
in the softening branch has been only marginal, while in the results obtained here, the biggest shift in
strength is obtained for fR2, corresponding to a CMOD of 1.5 mm. This more pronounced increase in
the SLS residual strength compared to ULS residual strength leads to a reduction in the ductility.
Fig. 3 (left) Dimensions of the slab and (right) code, position and gauge length of instruments
used.
Table 2 Three-point bending test results according to provisions of MC 2010 for both testing ages
of 34 and 167 days.
Age (days) Parameter fct-fl fR1 fR2 fR3 fR4

Mean* (MPa) 5.7 5.64 6.49 4.92 3.48
SD (MPa) 0.21 0.92 1.27 0.87 0.65

34
C.V.** 0.04 0.16 0.2 0.18 0.19
0.05 percentile (MPa) 5.22 3.82 3.99 3.1 2.24
Mean (MPa) 5.97 7.06 8.48 4.97 3.37
SD (MPa) 0.39 1.19 1.38 0.89 0.8
167
C.V. 0.06 0.17 0.16 0.18 0.24
0.05 percentile (MPa) 5.13 4.6 5.61 3.16 1.94
*
Log-Normal distribution is considered for the material properties distribution
**
Coefficient of variation
3.2 Shallow beams

The results obtained from the four-point bending tests carried out on the shallow beams are shown in
Fig. 5. It is immediately observed that there is a considerable difference between the flexural behav-
iour of the specimens tested. Referring to the load-deflection behaviour of the specimens, the first
cracking load for BF1, BF2, and BF3 is 32.8, 22.2, 28.5 kN at a deflection of 1.65, 1, and 1 mm re-
spectively. BF1 displays a behaviour typical of a single cracking with a slight increase in load after
the drop following the first crack, while BF2 and BF3 have characteristics of a multiple cracking

behaviour. However, it is evident that unlike BF3 which attains considerably high loads after crack-
ing, BF2 accommodates an increase of about 7 kN, reaching to 29.1 kN before the softening branch.
The crack pattern of the specimens tested are shown in Fig. 6. BF1 shows a single crack, BF2 dis-
plays 4 cracks and BF3 has 6 cracks. For BF3, the maximum load achieved is 46.3 kN. Moreover, the
b
maximum deflection reached before softening is 3.5, 5.8, and 8.2 mm for BF1, BF2 and BF3 respec-
tively. It is worth mentioning that while for the BF1 and BF2 specimens the test is stopped after
reaching to a residual load level of 10-15 kN in the softening phase, for the BF3 beam, at a load of
about 46 kN, there is a sudden release of energy and a sharp fall in the load reaching to about 10 kN,
if
after which the test is stopped.
12 12
10 10
8 8
6 6
4 4
2 2
34days 167days
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4
CMOD [mm] CMOD [mm]
Fig. 4 Stress-CMOD of notched specimens tested in (left) 34 days and (right) 167 days.
As regards the cracking behaviour, the first crack occurs at a relative displacement of 0.12, 0.13, and
0.08 mm over the 500 mm gauge length at the bottom chord of the BF1, BF2, and BF3 specimens
respectively, and the maximum relative displacement obtained before the softening branch is 1.4, 2.3,
and 3.64 for the three specimens as illustrated in Fig. 5 (right).
Although the same casting modality is implemented for the three beams, the difference in the be-
haviour could be further studied through a scrutiny on the cross section of the localized crack to ex-
amine the possible variations in the number of fibres and their distribution.
Fig. 5 Shallow beam test results (left) load-deflection and (right) load-COD.
Fig. 6 Crack pattern at the bottom of the shallow beams.
3.3 Slab
Slab tests results for load-deflection and load versus the average COD measured by the four LVDTs
placed in the bottom center are depicted in Fig. 7. The load-deflection curves show a linear phase up
to a load of about 70 kN, which is the first cracking point for both SF1 and SF2. SF2 displays more

deformation capacity with a deflection of 15.9 mm before the softening branch, while SF1 shows a
softening phase at a deflection of around 10.8 mm. According to Fig. 7 (right) the bottom cracking of
the slabs shows the same trend with very close values recorded for both slabs. It is to be considered
that these are the average values measured for the four measurements carried out in the central bottom
b
region of the slab. The individual measurements (not reported here) show that at a certain point, the
COD measured by two of the instruments undergo a closure, while the other two continue to grow.
The maximum crack opening for SF1 and SF2 before stopping the test have been 2.8 and 3.9 mm
respectively and the COD before the softening phase is 2 and 3.3 mm.
if
Fig. 7 Slab test results (left) load-deflection and (right) load versus the average COD measure-
ment on 4 gauges denoted as CODb.
While the measurements recorded by the gauges placed in the bottom center are affected by the local
cracks due to the loading point, potentiometers CODbL that are further away from the central region,
may give a better indication of the crack propagation and the direction of the localized crack. As seen
in Fig. 8 in which the results of CODbL measurements are given separately for each slab, it is seen that
in both cases, the rate of crack opening is faster for the CODbL-E measurement and eventually, at the
end of the test, these instruments measure larger crack opening. This could be also observed in Fig. 9
which shows the bottom cracking of the slabs. In these figures the final localized crack is shown with
a thicker line. In SF1 the maximum crack opening recorded is 4.3 mm at the position of CODbL-E,
while CODbL-S measures a 1.3 mm of crack opening. For SF2 the maximum CODs recorded are 2.6
and 4.7 mm.
It is noteworthy to consider the cracking behavior of the slabs at the final stage in the softening
phase. For SF1, at a load level of 188 kN at a roughly constant load, the COD measured by CODbL-E
grows from 3.47 to 4.25 mm, while at the same time, CODbL-S only measures a reduction in the COD.
In the same manner for SF2 at 242.7 kN, the peak load in this case, the load suddenly drops with the
COD being almost constant for the CODbL-S, decreasing from 2.58 to 2.5 mm, and the COD increas-
ing from 3.55 to 4.64 mm in the other direction until the unloading of the specimen at a load level of
150 kN. In the softening phase and after the localization of failure in a single crack, the COD meas-
ured in the other direction tends to close.
Fig. 8 Load-COD recorded by CODbL potentiometers for (left) SF1 and (right) SF2.

ifb
Fig. 9 The bottom crack pattern for slabs (left) SF1 and (right) SF2.
3.4 Comparison of results

To make a comparison between the dispersion of the results obtained for the notched beam speci-
mens, shallow beams, and the two slabs tested, a Normalized Maximum Central Deviation (NMCD)
factor is defined which represents the maximum distance from the mean load or stress value for a
given crack opening (w) as follows:
∆P ( w ) = P ( w ) − Pmean ( w )
i i
∆Pmax ( w ) = max( ∆P ( w )) (1)
i
∆Pmax ( w )
NMCD (%) = × 100
Pmean ( w )
Where P corresponds to load level, and w represents measured crack opening. In doing so, for the
notched specimens, only those tested at 167 days are considered and for the shallow beams and the
slabs the same results reported earlier in Fig. 5 (right) and Fig. 7 (right) are considered. Fig. 10 de-
picts the results following the procedure explained for different crack openings up to 1.5 mm. There is
an evident difference between the deviation from the average behavior for the slabs compared to the
beams tested. The NMCD factor is almost at a constant value of 25% for notched specimens, and for
the shallow beams it tends to increase by increasing the COD. However, for the slabs and for the
crack openings considered, the values stay below 1.5% which again emphasizes the different perfor-
mance of FRC structures capable of redistribution of stresses.

NMCD [%]
Fig. 10 Comparison between the normalized maximum deviation of the load/stress from the mean
values for different crack openings.

4 Conclusion
In the present study the effect of stress redistribution capacity on structural response of SFRC was
studied. A comparison was made between the response of notched prismatic specimens, shallow
b
beams and FRC slabs. The obtained results showed that the size and stress redistribution capacity of
structures can considerably affect the structural behavior of FRC. While a significant scatter was
observed for the notched specimens and the shallow beams, very consistent performance was ob-
served for the slab. Unlike for the slab, the dispersion in the results increased for higher crack open-
ings for the beams,
if
while for the slabs the dispersion of the results with respect to the average behavior was negligible.
The results presented, show the significance of quantifying the redistribution factor. Further re-
search is to be carried out on modelling aspects of the present problem introducing the material heter-
ogeneity, and more test are to be undertaken on FRC slabs and notched specimens to directly quantify
the redistribution factor based on a larger population of test results.
References
[1] Sorelli, Luca G., Alberto Meda, and Giovanni A. Plizzari. 2006. “Steel fiber concrete slabs on
ground: a structural matter. ” ACI Structural Journal 103(4):551-58
[2] Caratelli, Angelo, Alberto Meda, Zila Rinaldi, and Paolo Romualdi. 2011. “Structural behavi-
our of precast tunnel segments in fiber reinforced concrete.” Tunnelling and Underground
Space Technology 26(2):284-291.
[3] Molins, Climent, Antonio Aguado, and Sergio Saludes. 2009. “Double punch test to control
the energy dissipation in tension of FRC (Barcelona test).” Materials and Struc-
tures 42(4):415-425.
[4] di Prisco, Marco, Liberato Ferrara, and Marco GL Lamperti. 2013. “Double edge wedge
splitting (DEWS): an indirect tension test to identify post-cracking behaviour of fibre rein-
forced cementitious composites. ” Materials and Structures 46:1893-1918.
[5] EN 14488-5, 2006, “Testing Sprayed Concrete—Part 5: Determination of Energy Absorption
Capacity of Fibre Reinforced Slab Specimens,” Brussels: European Committee for Standar-
dization
[6] EN 14651. 2007. “Test Method for Metallic Fibre Concrete-Measuring the Flexural Tensile
Strengh (Limit of Propportionally (LOP), Residual).” 1-20.
[7] fib Model Code for concrete structures 2010. 2013. Lusanne: Ernst & Sohn
[8] Colombo, Matteo, Paolo Martinelli, and Marco di Prisco. 2017. “On the evaluation of the
structural redistribution factor in FRC design: a yield line approach.” Materials and Struc-
tures 50:100
[9] Minelli, Fausto, and Giovanni Plizzari. 2011. “A new round panel test for the characterization
of fiber reinforced concrete: a broad experimental study.” Journal of testing and evaluati-
on 39:889-897.
[10] di Prisco, Marco, Paolo Martinelli, and Daniele Dozio. 2016. “The structural redistribution
coefficient KRd: a numerical approach to its evaluation.” Structural Concrete 17: 390-407
[11] CNR-DT 204. 2006. “Guidlines for design,construction and production of fibre reinforced
concrete structures.” National Research Council of Italy
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FRC Statically Undetermined Structure.” In High Tech Concrete: Where Technology and En-
gineering Meet, Proc. of the 2017 fib Symposium, 422-430
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term aging effects on tensile characterization of steel fibre reinforced concrete.” Structural
Concrete 17: 1082-1093.

Assessment of existing shear strength models for

reinforced concrete deep beams
b
Kondalraj Ramakrishnan and G. Appa Rao
Indian Institute of Technology Madras,
if
Chennai (600036), India
Abstract
Deep beams are commonly encountered in structural system as transfer girders, pile caps, and pier caps
etc. The deep beams are shear critical rather than flexure. Shear strength of beam increases with de-
creasing shear span-to-depth ratio (a/d). Consistency of the existing shear strength models has been
studied using 776 data points obtained on simply supported deep beams with low a/d ratio. It has been
found that sectional method of shear design is inappropriate for deep beams. The Strut-and-Tie Model
(STM) provision of ACI 318-14 produces conservative estimation of capacity compared to simple shear
strength model and complicated softened STM. All the models estimated the capacity unconservatively,
if overestimation percentage is limited to 5%.
1 Introduction
The assumption of Bernoulli’s plane section remains plane and normal to centroidal axis before and
after bending, is the basis for the conventional design of structural elements. Validity of this hypothesis
depends on geometry, loading and boundary conditions. Accordingly, the structural members are di-
vided into B-regions (B stands for Beam or Bernoulli) and D-regions (D stands for Discontinuity). B-
regions are designed using standard design procedure stated in design code. The stress trajectories in
D-regions are quite complex and not appropriate to design using standard design provisions. ACI 318-
14 [1] states that D-regions are designed using non-linear strain distribution or using Strut-and-Tie
Model (STM). Design of D-regions considering the non-linear strain distribution is very difficult,
whereas STM based design is simple to apply in practice. Cracked D-regions are modelled using struts
and ties by representing principal compressive stress field as a strut and principal tensile stress field as
a tie. The continuous stress fields are condensed to discrete struts and ties. These struts and ties are
interconnected at the discrete node. The capacity of struts, ties, and nodal zones is calculated either
using recommendations available in codes or literature, which is verified against the demand estimated
from the truss model. Advantages of STM are a visualisation of force flow and direct consideration of
the interaction of flexure and shear. The philosophy of STM belongs to the lower bound theorem of
plasticity.
When the span-to-depth ratio of the beam is small, then the entire beam acts as a D-region and
named as ‘deep beam’. ACI 318-14 states that the deep beams shall be loaded and supported on differ-
ent faces so that compression strut develops between load and support. The clear span shall be less than
four times the overall depth of beam or concentrated forces shall be acting within a distance equal to
two times the overall depth from supports. As per IS 456:2000 [2], the deep beams are defined as those
members with a ratio of effective span-to-overall depth (l/D) is less than 2.0 and 2.5 for simply sup-
ported beams and continuous beams, respectively. Deep beam classification of IS 456:2000 is valid for
the beam subjected to UDL. As per Schlaich et al. [3], the classification of beams should be based on
geometry and loads acting on it. If a simply supported beam subjected to a concentrated load at mid-
span, then the limiting ratio of l/D shall be 4.0 but not 2.0. The limiting l/D or shear span-to-depth ratio
(a/d) is derived based on Saint-Venant principle.
2 Design of deep beams

The deep beam experiences failure predominantly by shear. In the earlier days, the shear strength of
deep beams was estimated using the sectional method as used for slender beams. The shear strength of
beam based on the sectional method is the sum of the contribution from concrete and web reinforce-

ment. The contribution of concrete is derived empirically. The web reinforcement contribution is cal-
culated from 45-degree truss model by Ritter and Mörsch [4]. The shear failure of beams in the ware-
house of Wilkins air force depot in 1955 [4], questioned the adequacy of the traditional shear design
procedure. These shear failures triggered the research on the shear strength of beams. Extensive exper-
b
imental studies on the shear strength of beams with and without web reinforcement were carried out
[5]–[8] in 1960’s. Based on the experimental results, Kani [7] found that the shear strength of beams
increases as shear span-to-depth ratio decreases and the conventional sectional method is not able to
explain this increase in shear strength as shown in Fig. 1.
if
Vn Vn 0,4
Kani-1967
ACI 318-99
0,3 STM-lb=0.3h
STM-lb=0.25H
Vn/bdfc’
0,2
Vn Vn
0,1
b=155 mm, d=538 mm, D=610 mm,
pt =2.7 %, fy=372 MPa, fc=27.2 MPa 0,0
0,0 2,0 4,0 6,0 8,0
lb - bearing plate width
a/d ratio
Fig. 1 Comparison of sectional shear design method with STM for Kani’s shear test [7], [9].
This increase in shear strength is due to direct transfer of load through supports. Shear carrying mech-
anism of reinforced concrete beams is analogous to truss mechanism as shown in Fig. 2. For slender
beams (a/d > 2.0), the shear force is carried fully by vertical tie mechanism and code based sectional
analysis is also valid for these regions. For beams with a/d ratio less than 0.5, the horizontal tie mech-
anism is fully effective. For the intermediate a/d ratio (0.5 to 2.0), combined models will better represent
the internal force flow. However, the combined model results in statically indeterminate truss model
which requires stiffness to solve the member forces. To avoid the estimation of stiffness properties,
researchers [10]–[12] proposed the fraction of shear (γht, γds, γvt) for each mechanism. The individual
truss model is solved for each fraction of shear as applied load.
γds γvt
γht V
V V
V
(a) Horizontal tie mecha- (b) Direct strut mecha- (c) Vertical tie mecha- (d) Combined mechanism
nism nism nism (1.0 < a/d < 2.0)
(a/d < 0.5)
Fig. 2 Different load transfer mechanism of the deep beam.
Shear capacity of the deep beam is expressed as an explicit formula based on the simple direct strut or
combined mechanism. Shear capacity expressions are derived by assuming that failure occurs due to
shear compression [13], diagonal splitting [14], [15] or interaction of both [16]. The design guidelines
for deep beams based on STM can be found in various national design standards [1], [17]. STM based
design is a lower bound solution of plasticity theory. STM satisfies the equilibrium and yield conditions.
Hwang et al. [13] and Park & Kuchma [18] developed STM method to satisfy the Navier’s three prin-
ciples of mechanics viz., equilibrium, strain compatibility, and yield condition. Compatibility based
STM requires a rigorous iterative calculation for the estimation of shear strength.

These models or shear strength expressions are validated using available experimental results. The
consistency of these models depends on the variability of parameters in the database. In this paper, code
provisions for the deep beams, which are developed from sectional method [2], [17], STM provisions
[1] and shear strength models based on combined mechanism [13], [19] are studied. These models are
b
applied to a larger database rather than the database used for validation or calibration, to study the
consistency in capacity prediction.
3 Database on reinforced concrete deep beams
if
Significant experimental investigations have been carried out on RC beams since early 1950’s. A lot of
constraints are applied to a collection of the database to satisfy the underlying assumptions of STM and
to quantify the geometry of struts, ties, and nodal zone of truss model. Simply supported deep beams
with rectangular cross-section failed due to the inadequate anchorage of tension reinforcement and local
crushing are not included in the database. The shear span-to-depth ratio is limited to 3.0. Experimental
data of 776 deep beams are collected from literature and frequency distributions of different governing
parameters are shown in Fig. 3.
30% 30% 30%
24
Relative frequency
19
20% 14 20% 20%
11 14 13 14 12
12
7 10 11 911 9
10% 5 553 36 10% 7 6 10% 6 5 5
7
1 3
1110 2 1110 0 2 0 1 0 0
5 45 33 4
2 2 00 1 1 0 1 01 1 0
0 0 0
0% 0%
0%
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
0
0.4
0.8
1.2
1.6
2
2.4
2.8
3.2
3.6
4
4.4
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
effective depth (mm) Shear span to depth ratio (a/d ) longitudinal reinf. ratio (%)
40% 50% 80% 70
34 43
Relative frequency
30% 40%
18 30%
20% 40%
9 11 11 9 13 11
20%
10%
1 3 3 1 7 9 5 10 7
0 0 10%
0 2 2 3 1 0 0 2 1 0 00 0 00 0 0 00 1 04 2 02112001000000000001
0%
0% 0%
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
0
0,2
0,4
0,6
0,8
1
1,2
1,4
1,6
1,8
2
2,2
2,4
0 0,3 0,6 0,9 1,2 1,5 1,8 2,1 2,4

Concrete strength (MPa) ρv (%) ρh (%)
Fig. 3 Frequency distribution of governing parameters of 776 deep beams.

4 Code provisions for deep beams based on sectional method

IS 456:2000 [2] provides an increase in the shear strength of beam when a concentrated load is acting
between the face of the support and to a distance of two times the effective depth. A similar approach
is being followed in EC2, [17] but instead of increasing the strength, a reduction factor is applied to the
shear force. In both the codes, the shear strength is calculated based on sectional method. As per
IS456:2000, the increased shear strength of beam with a/d ratio less than 2.0 is expressed as,
2
= ; 0.5 < < 2.0 (1)
where, is shear strength of concrete without web reinforcement and calculated as per IS456:2000.
EC2 recommended a reduction factor for the shear force of beam with a/d ratio less than 2.0 and the
same is rewritten similar to (1).
≤ , (2)
2
, = , ≤ 0.5 ; 0.5 ≤ ≤ 2.0 (3)
where, , , and ′ , are applied shear force, shear strength of concrete and modified shear
strength of deep beams, respectively. The adequacy of IS 456:2000 and EC2 expressions are verified
with the experimental results of beam with a/d ratio between 0.5 and 2.0. From the database of 776
points, 226 results of beams without web reinforcement are considered. It is found that IS 456:2000
Kondalraj Ramakrishnan and G. Appa Rao 635

and EC2 provisions for shear strength based on sectional method are conservative. The statistical pa-
rameters of strength ratio of predicted-to-experimental shear strength are shown in Fig. 4.
30% 30%
b
IS 456:2000 EC2
Bounds = (0.12, 0.67) Bounds = (0.20, 0.77)
Relative Frequency
1920 Mean = 0.32

20 20
Mean = 0.44
20% 16 20%
14 COV = 0.31 16 COV = 0.24
12
if
9 9 9 9
10% 6 10%
2 2 1 1 4 4
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
0%
0%
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1
Ratio of τc'/vexp Ratio of V'Rd,c/Vexp
Fig. 4 Frequency distribution of strength ratio of code recommended value to experimental value.
The shear force in beams with a/d ratio less than 2.0 are transferred through direct strut action. Shear
capacity of the deep beam is highly influenced by a/d ratio and width of supporting & loading plates
[9]. The traditional shear design procedure is basically derived from sectional analysis, which is not
influenced by a/d ratio, support, and loading conditions, which is nearly constant as a/d ratio increases
(Fig. 1). Applying this sectional shear design with modification factor to deep beams may not be correct
fundamentally. Similarly, the shear strength expression for deep beams based on the sectional method
in ACI 318-99 [20] was removed in ACI 318-02 [21]. ACI 318-02 states that the deep beams shall be
designed either considering the nonlinear distribution of strain or STM-based approach.
5 Shear strength of deep beams as per ACI 318-14

ACI 318-14 [1] allows the designer to choose any truss model, which is in equilibrium with applied
load. In this study, the direct strut between the load and supports is considered for shear transfer in deep
beams. The effect of web reinforcement is implicitly considered by increasing the allowable stress in
the concrete strut. The minimum value corresponding to failure of the strut, tie or nodal zone is taken
as the shear capacity of deep beams.
a
V V
lb
b F4
da
F5
B C
d
F7 F6 Node B
F3
θ
wt F8
F2
ls A D
V V F1
Node A
Fig. 5 Direct strut mechanism for Deep beams and details of nodal zone A & B.
Forces F1 to F6 are the capacity at nodal zone and it depends on the type of node. Forces F7 & F8 are
capacity of the bottle-shaped strut and tie respectively. Once inclination of the diagonal strut to tie is
known, then the forces F1-F8 can be estimated and the minimum shear force resulting from these forces
is taken as the capacity of the beam. The inclination of diagonal strut to tie is defined as,
" #$.%
tan ! = = &
(4)
The horizontal strut, which represents flexural compression in Fig. 5, is assumed as prismatic strut and
width of the strut da is the only unknown. The depth of horizontal strut is calculated either using linear
elastic or ultimate limit state. Researchers [22], [23] proposed an iterative procedure for the calculation

of da. Russo et al. [22] proposed an iterative procedure (analysis 1) such that the horizontal and diagonal
strut will reach its capacity at nodal zone simultaneously (5). The capacity of the beam is the minimum
shear force corresponding to node face capacity (F1-F6) and yielding of the tie (F8).
*%
(5)
b
min)*+ , *, - =
cos !
Reineck and Todisco [23] calculated the depth of horizontal strut (analysis 2) such that, forces F5
and F7 calculated at node B reach its capacity simultaneously and stress under the loading plate shall be
if
less than the allowable stress (6) & (7). Stress at node face of the diagonal strut is limited to the allow-
able stress recommended for the bottle-shaped strut.
(6)
*% − *2 cos ! = 0
*2 sin !
= 5 ≤ 0.85 ′
34 (7)
In analysis 3, the depth of horizontal strut is calculated assuming that, da is equal to the depth of
compression zone at the ultimate stage. Uniform compression stress block of FIP 1999 recommenda-
tions [10] is assumed for concrete in flexural compression. Most of the beams reported in the literature
had failed before reaching the ultimate flexural capacity. Hence, assuming the depth of horizontal strut
(Analysis 4) as that of the depth of compression zone of linear elastic bending theory is more appropri-
ate. In this paper, the consistency of ACI 318-14 STM provisions with four differently estimated (Anal-
ysis 1-4) da is studied with help of 601 deep beams experimental results. The a/d ratio is limited to 2.0
since the ACI 318-14 recommended that minimum strut inclination should be more than 25 degrees.
2,5 2,5
2,0 ACI 318-14 Analysis 1 2,0 ACI 318-14 Analysis 2
VACI /Vexp
VACI/Vexp
1,5 1,5
1,0 1,0
0,5 0,5
0,0 0,0
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Strut inclination (degrees) Strut inclination (degrees)
2,5 2,5
2,0 ACI 318-14 Analysis 3 2,0 ACI 318-14 Analysis 4
VACI /Vexp
VACI /Vexp
1,5 1,5
1,0 1,0
0,5 0,5
0,0 0,0
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Strut inclination (degrees) Strut inclination (degrees)
Fig. 6 Ratio of the predicted shear capacity of ACI 318-14 to experimental capacity.
Table 1 Statistical parameters of VACI/ Vexp for beams with strut angle more than 25 degrees.
Ratio of VACI / Vexp

Specification
Analysis 1 Analysis 2 Analysis 3 Analysis 4
No. of beams 527 586 550 553
Bounds (0.22,2.31) (0.13,1.43) (0.24,2.26) (0.22,1.98)
Mean 0.71 0.59 0.87 0.75
Coefficient of Variation
0.327 0.375 0.313 0.290
(COV)
Overestimation 44 (8%) 35 (6%) 155 (28%) 62 (11%)

The consistency of ACI 318-14 STM provisions is checked for four different depths of horizontal strut
calculated. The ratio of VACI/Vexp is plotted in Fig. 6. The statistical parameters of strength ratio for
beams with strut inclination more than 25 degrees are tabulated in Table 1. For all the four calculated
values of da, the conservative estimation is less than 95%. Analysis 2 predicted the ratio with a
b
conservative estimate of 94%. However, the mean and COV of analysis 2 is lower compared to the
other models. The possible reason for lower mean value in Analysis 2 is that the capacity at node face
of the diagonal strut is estimated based on strut capacity. The assumption of ultimate flexure capacity
is predicting the capacity with a maximum mean value of 0.87 compared to the other methods, but the
if
percentage of overestimation is high (28%). The COV is lowest for the linear elastic method and able
to predict the capacity of the beam with the mean value of 0.75 and overestimation percentage of 11%.
6 Shear strength models based on combined mechanism

Shear strength models, which were developed based on the combined mechanism, are studied in detail
and the consistency of those models is checked with the large database of experimental results. Two
such models are selected and one model is developed based on softened strut-and-tie model [13] and
another model is semi-empirical [19].
6.1 Matamoros and Wong model

The shear capacity of deep beams is expressed in terms of arch and truss contributions multiplied by
corresponding correction coefficient [19]. The coefficient for each mechanism (Cc, Cwv, Cwh) is derived
such that, the proposed expression will be lower bound to experimental results of the collected database.
The collected database contains experimental results of 177 [24] deep beams with a/d ratio up to 3.0.
The shear strength of deep beams shall be defined as,
(8)
= 7 89:;<: + 7>? 8:? + 7>@ 8:@
8ABCDB = ′
F
E A
; 8B = GF I
; 8Bℎ = GFℎ Iℎ
(9)
3 3
0.3
7E = ≤ 0.85 sin ! ; 7F = 1.0; 7Fℎ = 3 M1 − / N ≤ 1.0 (10)
/
20% 20%
Relative frequency
18 N =177 N =776
13 12
1211 Mean = 0.74 Mean = 0.89
1111
9 9 8
COV = 0.21 10 COV = 0.39
10% 10% 7 8
Overestimation = 28%
5 5 5 54
2 2 2 2 322
0 1 0 0 0 2 0 00001 111100
0% 0%
0
0.3
0.6
0.9
1.2
1.5
1.8
2.1
2.4
2.7
3
3.3
3.6
3.9
0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1 1,1 1,2 1,3

V/Vexp V/Vexp
Fig. 7 Distribution of V/Vexp for Wong database (177) and new database (776).
The consistency of the model is checked with a relatively larger database of 776 experimental results
and found that the mean value is increased from 0.74 to 0.89. However, the amount of overestimation
is increased from 5% to 28%. The coefficients Cc, Cwv, and Cwh are not well correlated to the experi-
mental results.
6.2 Softened Strut-and-Tie Model (SSTM)

Hwang et al. [13] developed a softened strut-and-tie model to predict the shear strength of deep beams.
The softened STM satisfies equilibrium, compatibility, and constitutive laws of cracked reinforced con-
crete. The shear strength of deep beams is governed by shear compression failure. The shear compres-
sion failure is defined as crushing of the concrete strut that forms between loading and supporting point.
Detailed procedure can be found in Reference [13]. Zhang and Hsu [25] model is used to express the
softened stress-strain behaviour of cracked concrete. First strain invariant condition is used as strain
compatibility condition.
O + O = O + O ℎ C
(11)

The average strain in horizontal or vertical direction shall be taken as 0.002 when the web reinforce-
ments are not provided in the respective direction. SSTM is an iterative procedure and solves the equi-
librium, compatibility, and constitutive laws simultaneously. Hwang model is applied to a database of
557 experimental results. The shear strength ratio predicted using SSTM to experimental value is plot-
b
ted in Fig. 8.
3,0 0,6
0,5 SSTM
VSSTM/Vexp
Kani shear test

2,0 0,4
V/bdfc'
if
STM
0,3
1,0 0,2
0,1
0,0 0,0
0,0 0,5 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5 0,0 0,5 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5
a/d ratio a/d ratio
Fig. 8 VSSTM/Vexp vs a/d ratio (left) and Comparison of SSTM with STM (right).
The ratio of VSSTM/Vexp increases with increase in a/d ratio. The mean, COV of VSSTM/Vexp and per-
centage of overestimation is 1.12, 0.34 and 50%, respectively. The reason for this over-prediction of
shear capacity of beams with a/d ratio more than 2.0 may be explained using the results of beams
without web reinforcement. From the analysis of softened STM, the mean of the compressive strains
of diagonal strut failure for all the specimens is 0.0011 and COV is 0.07. The strain in horizontal and
vertical direction shall be taken as 0.002 for beams without any web reinforcements. Based on this
strain values, the softening coefficient can be approximated as a function of concrete strength only [26].
3.35
P≈ ≤ 0.52 (12)
R
= P S9:; sin ! (13)

For a set of given section properties ( , , ’ U G: ), the shear strength of beams without web rein-
forcement is directly proportional to inclination of strut.
7 Summary and conclusion

Code provision for deep beams based on section method, STM provisions and shear strength models
developed based on combined mechanism are discussed. Evaluation database for each model is col-
lected from these 776 experimental results based on the assumption and restriction on which the model
was developed. EC2 and IS 456:2000 provided the shear strength expressions for deep beams based on
the sectional method. It is observed that the code expression based on sectional method is highly con-
servative for deep beams. Shear strength of the beam increases with decrease in a/d ratio and sectional
based approach is unable to predict the transitional behaviour from section to overall member. It is
appropriate to design a beam with a/d ratio less than 2.0 using STM. STM provision of ACI 318-14
with four different approaches for estimation of horizontal strut width is adopted to estimate the shear
capacity. It has been found that ACI 318-14 provisions with different depth of horizontal strut are con-
servative, however, overestimation is more than 5%. From the shear strength estimation of Matamoros
& Wong model, it has been found that mean of the ratio of experimental-to-predicted shear strength is
0.89 with COV of 0.39. However, the overprediction of Wong model is around 28%. Hwang et al.
proposed a softened STM by satisfying the Navier’s three principles of mechanics. The ratio of exper-
imental-to-predicted shear strength based on softened STM is 1.12 with COV of 0.34 but over predic-
tion is about 50%. Softened STM has overestimated the capacity of beams with a/d ratio greater than
1.5. ACI 318-14 STM provisions with analysis 1 & 4 for horizontal strut have higher mean value with
a lower percentage of overestimation.
References

[1] ACI Committee 318. 2014. Building code requirements for structural concrete (ACI 318M-14)
and Commentary (318RM-14). Farmington Hills: American Concrete Institute.
[2] Indian Standard. 2000. IS456: Plain and reinforced concrete–code of practice. New Delhi: Bu-
reau of Indian Standards.
b
[3] Schlaich, J., K. Schäfer, and M. Jennewein. 1987. “Toward a Consistent Design of Structural
Concrete.” PCI Journal 32:74–150.
[4] ASCE-ACI Committee 445 on Shear and Torsion. 1998. “Recent Approaches to Shear Design
of Structural Concrete.” Journal of Structural Engineering 124(12):1375–1417.
if
[5] Kani, G. N. J. 1964. “The Riddle of Shear Failure and its Solution.” ACI Journal 61(4):441–
468.
[6] Kani, G. N. J. 1966. “Basic facts concerning shear failure.” ACI Journal 63(6):675–692.
[7] Kani, G. N. J. 1967. “How safe our Large Reinforced Concrete Beams.” ACI Journal, 64(3),
128–141.
[8] Kani, G. N. J. 1969 “Rational theory for function of web reinforcement.” ACI Journal, 66(3),
185–197.
[9] Collins, M. P., and D. Mitchell. 1991. Prestressed Concrete Structures, Englewood Cliffs:Pren-
tice Hall.
[10] FIP Commission 3. 1999. FIP Recommendations: Practical Design of Structural Concrete. Fe-
deration Internationale de la Précontrainte. London:SETO.
[11] Foster, S. J., and R. I. Gilbert. 1998. “Experimental Studies on High-Strength Concrete Deep
Beams.” ACI Structural Journal 95(4):382–390.
[12] He, Z., Z. Liu, and Z. J. Ma. 2013. “Investigation of Load-Transfer Mechanisms in Deep Beams
and Corbels.” ACI Structural Journal, 109(4):467–476.
[13] Hwang, S.J., W.Y. Lu., and H.J. Lee. 2000. “Shear strength prediction for deep beams.” ACI
Structural Journal 97(3):367–376.
[14] Siao, B. 1993. “Strut-and-Tie Model for Shear Behaviour in Deep Beams and Pile Caps Failing
in Diagonal Splitting.” ACI Structural Journal 90(4):356–363.
[15] Siao, B. 1995. “Deep Beams Revisited.” ACI Structural Journal 92(1):95–102.
[16] Tan, K. H., K. Tong, and C. Y. Tang. 2001. “Direct Strut-And-Tie Model for Prestressed Deep
Beams.” Journal of structural engineering 127(9):1076–1084.
[17] European Standard EN 1992. 2004. Eurocode 2: Design of Concrete Structures—Part 1-1: Ge-
neral Rules and Rules for Buildings. Brussels.
[18] Park. J., and D. Kuchma. 2007. “Strut-and-Tie Model Analysis for Strength Prediction of Deep
Beams.” ACI Structural Journal 104(6):657–666.
[19] Matamoros, A. B., and K. H. Wong. 2003. “Design of Simply Supported Deep Beams Using
Strut-and-Tie Models.” ACI Structural Journal 100(6):704–712.

[20] American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills. ACI Committee 318. 1999. Building code re-
quirements for structural concrete (ACI 318-99) and Commentary (318R-99).
[21] American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills. ACI Committee 318. 2002. Building code re-
quirements for structural concrete (ACI 318-02) and Commentary (318R-02).
[22] Russo, G., R. Venir, and M. Pauletta. 2006. “Reinforced Concrete Deep Beams - Shear Strength
Model and Design Formula.” ACI Structural Journal 102(3):429–437.
[23] Reineck, K.H., and L. Todisco. 2014. “Database of Shear Tests for Non-Slender Reinforced
Concrete Beams without Stirrups.” ACI Structural Journal 111(6):1363–1372.
[24] Wong, K. H. 2001. “Design of Reinforced Concrete Beams Using Strut- and-Tie Models.” MS
thesis, University of Kansas.
[25] Zhang, L. X. B., and T. T. C. Hsu. 1998. “Behavior And Analysis Of 100 Mpa Concrete
Membrane Elements.” Journal of Structural Engineering 124(1):24–34.
[26] Hwang, S.J., and H.J. Lee. 2002. “Strength Prediction for Discontinuity Regions by Softened
Strut-and-Tie Model.” Journal of Structural Engineering 128(12):1519–1526.

Numerical analysis of the partial collapse of a twin-

tubes tunnel
b
Ahmed Rouili1, Mabrouk Touahmia2 and Youcef Djerbib3
1 Facultyof Sciences and Technology,
University of Tebessa,
if
Tébessa, Algeria
2University of Hail,
College of Technology,
Hail, Saudi Arabia
3Sheffield Hallam University,
Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Abstract
On the 1st of January 2014, the left tunnel of the twin-tube situated in the eastern part of the East-
West Algerian highway, still under construction, was affected by a partial collapse, which induced
significant damages over a distance of 120 m. In this paper, a 3D numerical simulation was used to
investigate the loading state and deformation pattern governing the structure during the partial col-
lapse. The results shows that the failure was mainly triggered by a large displacements of the primary
lining which was applied to the left tunnel without final reinforcements, and was insufficient to coun-
teract the applied stresses. Practical recommendations that could be drawn from this case are suggest-
ed.
1 Introduction
Tunnels are considered as complex public work projects that require sophisticated engineering meth-
ods, tools and techniques to be designed, analysed and constructed safely. In the last decades, many
failures have occurred during the tunnel construction phase as a result of surrounding rock mass
instability, such as working face collapse, support failure and excessive surface settlement [1]. Tunnel
collapse can occur during the construction process of the tunnel (more frequently) or after putting the
structure into service. According to most reported case studies, the major causes of tunnel collapses
are embedded intricately in the tunnel construction process as well the existing ground conditions [2 -
6]. Recording, analysing and understanding the causes of past tunnels collapses remains the most
reliable approach to learn lessons, gain knowledge and take measures against their recurrence. In the
present work, a numerical analyze using Plaxis 3D Tunnel finite element package is used in order to
simulate the partial collapse, which occurred in the left tunnel of a twin-tube, situated on the eastern
part of the East-West Algerian highway, at that time, still being under construction. The state of
loading and excessive deformations governing the structure of the tunnel during the partial collapse
are investigated.
2 Description of the tunnel

The twin tubes tunnel "T1" is of about 1990 m long, bored through the mountain named Djebel El-
Ouahche, situated in the south of the City of Constantine on the Eastern part of the East -West Algeri-
an highway. The tunnel is located between the kilometric-points KP 205 + 393 m to KP 207 + 284,5
m for the left tube and between the KP 205 + 404,5 m to KP 207 + 299 m for the right tube, each tube
is divided into 152 vaults of 12.5 m length each. Figure 1 shows the layout of the tunnel, the collapse
zone is highlighted.
Figure 2 and 3 show the shape and geometrical properties of each tunnel. As can be seen, the
cross section of the 2 tunnels (tubes) are identical, they are oval shaped with 3 radius sections. The
lateral distance between the two tubes is 22 m, with 3 communication cross passage.

12thfib International PhD Symposium in Civil Engineering
The stratigraphic sequence in the area of interest mainly consists of a layer of 100 m of complex
geology of predominantly claystone material. Only the layer over the collapse segment will be
considered in the present analysis.
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Fig. 1 Layout of the twin tubes tunnel.
Sections Radius Angle

(m) (°)
Cap 9.73 81
Stross 6.92 36
Fig. 2 Geometry of the tube. Fig. 3 Twin Tube Tunnel cross section.
3 Excavation method and supporting system

The excavation was carried out in accordance with the principles of the New Austrian Tunneling
Method (NATM) improved by frontal and radial reinforcements. The primary or temporary support
lining of the tunnels was made of a shotcreting layer of 400 mm thickness, reinforced by a netting of
welded mesh and steel-HEB200 beams. The outer or final lining is made of the primary lining with
additional radial reinforcement using anchors bolts and frontal reinforcement with FIT fiberglass, the
resulting final reinforced lining has a thickness of 600 mm. The anchor bolts used are of the type
Store Norfors (SN), secured in borehole made by a mortar fill. This reinforcement procedure is wide-
ly used in tunneling and in specialized civil engineering projects. The fiberglass is used as a perma-
nent ground support application. Reinforced concrete with fiber glass is known as the ultimate solu-
tion to construct projects with strong mechanism against corrosive agents. Figure 5 shows the type of
lining applied to the tubes vaults before the partial collapse.

4 Description of the collapse

On the 1st of January 2014, the twin-tube highway tunnel "T1" was affected by a partial collapse over
a linear distance of about of 120m. Figure 4 summarize the situation (lining) of the tunnels before the
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collapse, the right tube was already completed and opened to the traffic for four months since Sep-
tember 2013, while the left tube was still being excavated after a long halt of 18 months. After the
partial collapse, the significant damages found on the right tube are characterized by the breakdown
of the final concrete lining. As shown in Figure 5, the zone of collapse is located between the vaults
N° 60 and N° 72. It includes the cross-passing N° 2 (CP2), situated in the middle of the vault N° 63.
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The collapse area started from the vault N°63 towards the north to the vault 72.
Fig. 4 Top view of the twin tubes tunnel. Fig. 5 Top view of the Tunnel -after the partial
collapse.
5 Numerical analysis
Three dimensional numerical modeling of tunnels is known to be a complex and challenging task, as
it involves many computational parameters, however, it remains the best approach to simulate the
behavior of tunnels in an underground environment and could thus avoid the limitations of 2D model-
ing [7-8]. Failure or large deformations such as collapse and mass movement into or a around tunnel
are difficult to simulate numerically. The failure criteria used herein to simulate the partial collapse is
based on the analysis of the deformations of the tunnel structure (primary and final lining) observed.
A numerical model was developed using the 3D Tunnel Plaxis program, taking into account the ge-
ometry and dimensions of the twin tubes tunnel, the loading conditions, material types and the bound-
ary conditions. To limit the computation time, and instead of modeling all the length of the twin tube
tunnel (1891.5 m), only the area (segment) concerned with the partial collapse has been analyzed in
the present investigation: starting from the vault N° 60 to the vault N°73, over a distance of about 180
m ( as shown in Figure 6).
5.1 Numerical model

5.1.1 Geometry and boundary conditions
The model dimensions are x = 106 m, y = 120 m and z = 176,5 m. The length in the (z) axis corre-
sponds to the that of 12 vaults (12.5 m each) where the effects of collapse have been observed on both
tubes. The modeling mesh data adopted in the finite element computation for the soil are based on a
medium coarseness mesh, 15 nodes wedge elements leading to 9432 elements, 28175 nodes and
56376 stress points. In the (z) direction the tunnel was modeled with 15 parallel planes, and 14 slices,
each corresponding to a length of a vault. In the collapse zone, the cross passage located in the vault
N°63, it was modeled with 4 parallel planes. Typical 3D finite elements model is presented in Figure
6. In Figure 7 a partial geometry model, with deactivated soil clusters, is shown with numbering of
the slices corresponding to each vault.
Ahmed Rouili, Mabrouk Touahmia and Youcef Djerbib 643

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Fig. 6 3D Finite element mesh. Fig. 7 Partial geometry model.
5.1.2 Materials modelling parameters

The properties of the soil used in the Mohr - Coulomb model are shown in Table 1, where γunsat and
γsat are the soil unit weights; E is Young’s modulus; ϕ and c are the soil frictional angle and cohesion
respectively; ν is the Poisson ratio. During the stressing displacements of the tunnel lining , it is evi-
dent that the contact of the soil with the tunnel surfaces remains permanent, therefore, interfaces
elements with rigid strength apply with corresponding default value of Rinter = 1.
Table 1 Soil properties for numerical modeling.

Material γunsat γsat Eref Cref ν φ ψ
[kN/m3] [kN/m3] [kN/m2] [kN/m2] - [ o] [o]
Soil 18.5 21.40 300000 52 0.3 22 0
The tunnel structure was modeled using the plate-3D Tunnel option of the Plaxis and the lining was
modeled as an elastic material. Table 2 presents the modeling parameters of the primary and final
tunnels lining used in the numerical calculation. The materials strength of the linings is presented by
the equivalent axial rigidity EA and the equivalent flexural rigidity EI.
Table 2 Modeling parameters of the tunnel linings.

Materials Thickness Material EA EI (kN/m2/m)
(mm) type (kN/m)
Primary Shotcreting + Welded- 400 Elastic 1,284*107 1,706*107
mesh + HEB200
Final lining Primary + Anchor bolts 600 Elastic 1,680*105 5,040*105
+ Fiberglass
5.1.3 Calculation phases and types

In this analysis, 3D plastic calculations were performed and two calculation phases were defined. In
the first phase a load advancement ultimate level procedure was performed until collapse of the soil or
prescribed ultimate state is fully reached. In this phase all elements of the numerical model (soil +
tunnels + interfaces) are activated, as indicated in Figure 8 (left and right) corresponding to the North
and South side views. For the left tube the appropriate lining (primary) was considered in the struc-
ture, however, the outer or final lining was only attributed to the right tube. Model elements were
activated in order to simulate as close as possible the state of the project (geometry, lining, etc...) at
the time of collapse including the modeling of the pilot gallery (Figure 8-right) In the second calcula-
tion phase a load advancement number of steps with phi-c reduction procedure was performed to

check out the global stability of the tunnel. This option is most suitable for safety analysis and the
cases where a failure is expected during the loading. In this phase the safety factor is computed.
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South-side North-side
Fig. 8 Numerical model for calculation.
5.2 Numerical results

5.2.1 Displacements in the soil
The first calculation phase carried out is a plastic calculation, the deformation computed in this phase
shows large settlements of the soil mass in left side of the left tube. Figure 9 shows the scaled arrows
of the soil displacement. It is clear that large concentration of deformation is observed in the upper
part of the left tube, precisely at the vault 63 corresponding to the cross passage. In Figure 10 a partial
geometry of the deformed model is presented with the forward slices of soil were deactivated. It can
be seen that large total displacements (of up to 1.19 m) were concentrated in the vault N°63, which
explain the failure mechanism, that was mainly triggered by a large displacements (caving in) of the
primary lining which was applied to the left tunnel without final reinforcements, and at long-term,
was insufficient to counteract the applied stresses.
Fig. 9 Total displacements in the model. Fig. 10 Total displacements (partial geometry).
5.2.2 Deformations (collapse) of the tubes

In Figure 11 the tube's horizontal displacements are presented with deformation planes in z-x plane
(top view), the horizontal displacements following the x- axis of the left tube presented in Figure
11(left) comply with the partial collapse observed in the left tube, as it concerns mainly the large
displacement (deformations) of the vaults N° 61 to 64 (see Figure 5). In z-direction , Figure 11 (right)
horizontal displacements of more than 300 mm are computed which confirms the frontal displace-
ment (collapse) observed in the vault N°63.

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Horizontal displacements (x) Horizontal displacements (z)
(max: 821.83 mm) (max: 342,13 mm)
Fig. 11 Horizontal displacements of the vaults in the partial collapse segment.
In Figure 12 the vertical displacements are presented with deformation planes, following the direction
z-y (side view), corresponding to two vertical cross section of the model at the top headings of the left
and right tubes respectively. As for the horizontal displacements, a concentration of vertical dis-
placement (caving in) is clearly visible if the left tube at the vaults N° 62 to N° 64 with a maximum
values of 868.02 mm (Figure 12 (left)) which confirms the collapse of the tunnel structure under the
applied soil stress. However, in the right tube the vertical displacements are very small compared to
the left tube (Figure 12 (right)).
Vertical displacement -left tube (y) Vertical displacement -right tube (y)
max=868.02 mm max= 37.82 mm
Fig. 12 Displacements (top view) deformation planes.
Figure 13 shows a top view of a partial geometry model where total horizontal and vertical displace-
ments of the tubes (including the cross-passage) are presented in shadows form to highlight the dis-
placements area of the tubes. It could be seen that most of the computed displacements confirm the
fact that the partial collapse occurred in the segment related to vaults N° 61 to N°65 and that the cross
passage has played a major role in the transmission of displacements (and overburden stresses) from
the left tube to the right tube.
Fig.13 Displacements in the tunnels (top view).


5.2.3 Plastic points in the soil mass

In Figure 14 selected vertical planes are presented, corresponding to the vault-faces N° 62, 63, 64 and
71 respectively. In this Figure the calculated plastic points are shown, which indicates the extension
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of the failure state in the soil mass at some stress points. Most of the failure is concentrated around the
left tube, due probably to the large displacement observed in the soil mass in this areas and which is
possibly caused by the collapse of the left tunnel shield under the load of the soil. The cracks noticed
in the right tube mainly at its invert is due solely to the horizontal displacement (following x-
direction) of the cross passage towards the right tube. For the vault-face N°71 plastic points indicate a
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possible collapse in the vault-face of the pilot gallery.
Plane N° 62 Plane N° 63 Plane N° 64 Plane N° 71

Fig. 14 Plastic field in the soil - selected vaults-faces.
6 Disscussion
According to most guidelines for designing tunnels, an underground structure may lose its servicea-
bility or its structural safety if there is exhaustion of the material strength of the system causing intol-
erably large deformations. Failure of the lining is amongst the criteria of tunnels failure causes [9].
The present numerical simulation shows that the primary lining of the left tube (over the collapse
segment) erected to support the applied vertical and lateral stress from the soil, developed large de-
formations in a restrained manner over time, creep must have occurred leading to the collapse of the
whole structure. The resulting lining failures caused excessive settlement above the tunnel which has
overburden the vaults Number 62 to 64 of the left tunnel, causing large displacements of the structure
elements over that segment, the cross passage has transmitted the stresses and deformations and
caused cracks in the right tube.
In normal NATM applications the outer lining liner is not considered to be a load bearing
element, but provides extra structural safety. In the case of the left tube of the 'T1' Tunnel, however, if
the final lining, which provided ring closure and consisted of reinforcements as well, could have been
constructed timely, it appears that the partial collapse could have likely been prevented. however, if
the tunnel construction process has to be stopped for technical or administrative reasons, the primary
lining, technically remains a temporary reinforcement solution, therefore, it should be immediately
equipped with displacements sensor, and continuous monitoring of the displacements of the support
system should be recorded and analyzed regularly to prevent any uncontrolled displacements (or
deformations) of the temporary lining that could inevitably lead to caving in and consequent partial or
total collapse of the tunnel.

7 Conclusion
In this paper a numerical modeling analysis was used to simulate the state of loading and defor-
mations governing the structure of the tunnel during the partial collapse. The practical importance of
b
this analysis is that it could be relevant to future project, in assessing risks related to uncontrolled
displacements of linings leading to structural failures which would support the contractual aspects of
risk sharing and responsibilities. Out of this case study, the following conclusions are drawn:
The behavior of the primary lining or support applied to some parts of the left-Tube over the
if
segment where the partial collapse occurred is time dependent and its initial design-
strength or rigidity ensuring the stability of the tunnel should be continuously checked during
the construction stage. Primary lining might develop large deformations in a restrained man-
ner over time leading to large settlement of the surrounding soil mass and inevitable collapse
of the structure.
If the tunnel construction process has to be stopped for technical or administrative reasons,
the primary lining, technically remains a temporary reinforcement solution, therefore, it
should be immediately equipped with displacements sensor, and continuous monitoring of the
displacements of the support system should be recorded and analyzed regularly to prevent any
uncontrolled displacements of the lining that could inevitably lead to caving in and conse-
quent partial or total collapse of the tunnel.
References
[1] Yang, J. H., S. R. Wang, Y. G. Wang, Y.G., and C. L. Li. 2015. “Analysis of Arching Mecha-
nism and, Evolution Characteristics of Tunnel Pressure Arch.” Jordan Journal of Civil Engi-
neering 9(1):125-132.
[2] Fraldi, M., and F. Guarracino. 2011. “Evaluation of impending collapse in circular tunnels by
analytical and numerical approaches.” Tunneling and Underground Space Technology
26:507-516.
[3] Ahmed, M., and M. Iskander. 2012. “Evaluation of tunnel face stability by transparent soil
models.” Tunneling and Underground Space Technology 27(1):101-110.
[4] Sousa, R. L., and H. H. Einstein. 2012. “Risk analysis during tunnel construction using
Bayesian Networks: Porto Metro case study.” Tunneling and Underground Space Technology
27:86–100.
[5] Chen, R. P., J. B. Li, L. G. Kong, and L.-J. Tang. 2013. “Experimental study on face instabil-
ity of shield tunnel in sand.” Tunneling and Underground Space Technology 33:12-21.
[6] Aliabadian, Z., M. Sharafisafa, M. Nazemi, and A. R. Khamene. 2015. “Numerical analyses
of tunnel collapse and slope stability assessment under different filling material loadings: a
case study.” Arab J Geosci 8:1229–1242.
[7] Vlachopoulos, N., and M. S. Diederichs. 2014. “Appropriate Uses and Practical Limitations
of 2D Numerical Analysis of Tunnels and Tunnel Support Response.” Geotechnical and geo-
logical Engineering 32(2):469-488.
[8] Dasari, G. R., C. G. Rawlings, and M. D. Bolton. 1996. “Numerical modeling of a NATM
tunnel construction in London Clay.” Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in
Soft Ground. Mair and Taylor (editors). BALKEMA, 491-496.
[9] ITA working group on general approaches to the design of tunnels. 1988. “Guidelines for the
design of tunnels. Feature report.” Tunneling and underground space Technology 3(3):237-
249.

Probabilistic models for shear bond strength of clay

and fly ash bricks
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Santosini Sahu, Pradip Sarkar and Robin Davis
National Institute of Technology Rourkela
Rourkela - 769008, Odisha, India
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Abstract
In the current investigation, ninety fly ash and clay brick masonry triplets are prepared with three
different grades of mortar mix. The shear bond strength of prepared samples is tested and analyzed on
an extended statistical domain. The test data obtained from the experiments conducted was statistical-
ly analyzed for fifty-eight selected probability distribution functions with two, three and four parame-
ters using the computer program EasyFit 5.6 Professional. The two Goodness of Fit tests, namely
Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Anderson-Darling, are carried out to choose the best-fit model out of it for
the shear bond strength parameter of clay and fly ash brick masonry. Different Goodness of Fit tests
suggest different statistic and rank for different distributions, but in all the case Johnson SB distribu-
tion is found best to portray the variability in shear bond strength.
1 Introduction
Masonry is considered as an oldest and vital construction component used globally because of its low
cost, easy accessibility of raw materials, good strength, ease of construction, less supervision and
good sound and heat insulation. Many past literatures are available on the various experimental stud-
ies of clay brick [1-8] and fly ash brick [3-5]. Most of the previous studies on brick masonry focussed
on the compressive strength, shear bond strength, initial absorption rate, water absorption and consti-
tutive relations including elastic modulus. A large variation in the mechanical properties of bricks can
be seen due to the production of the brick with the available local raw materials. The variation in the
raw materials leads to variation in strength values of the brick masonry.
The shear failure is one of the most common failure modes for brick masonry. The shear bond
strength of brick masonry is affected by brick strength, mortar grade, water to cement ratio, and so on.
Most of the existing literature reports the relationship between shear bond strength and masonry
compressive strength for different types of mortar grades [4, 6 and 8]. However, the previous litera-
ture did not give due attention to report the variability in structural properties of brick masonry. The
analytical models based on the assumption of uniformity in material properties without considering
the variability are not only unrealistic but also unsatisfactory. This constitutes the underlying motiva-
tion of the present study and is an attempt to develop a description of the variability of the shear bond
strength of fly ash brick (FAB) and clay brick (CB) masonry.
The shear bond strength is the most critical parameter that governs the resistance capacity of both
load bearing and infilled masonry structures. The performance of masonry structures in a probabilistic
framework can be expressed using a limit state function ‘g’ as (1).
g ( R, Q ) = R − Q ≥ 0 (1)
Where R is resistance capacity that directly depends on the shear bond strength and Q is the load
effect. The limit state function ‘g’ corresponds to the boundary between desired and undesired per-
formance and its value should be greater than or equal to zero for desired performance. Both R and Q
are continuous random variables with associated probability-density function. The evaluation of
safety margin of any structure depends on the probability distribution of R which in turn governed by
shear bond strength. Therefore, in the present study, the shear bond strength is considered to express
the probability distribution of R. It is obvious that for reliability-based calculation, the probabilistic
models of R and Q, especially the former one, should be clearly known [9]. Therefore, the outcome of
this research can be useful for reliability analysis of masonry structure Some of the past literature
[10-15] focussed on finding the optimal fitting probability distribution of concrete materials by statis-
tical analysis where this aspect is overlooked in case of brick. By exploring the variability of shear

bond strength of brick masonry, the study emphasizes the importance of considering such variability
in the design process.
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2 Experimenal programme
The experimental test is carried out on ninty brick triplets to determine the shear bond strength of clay
brick and fly ash brick masonry with three different grades of mortar mix. This includes the prepara-
tion of the samples for the experimental work and testing of samples as discussed in the following
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sections.
2.1 Materials used

The materials used for the experimental purpose include mainly bricks, cement and sand. In this
study, both clay and fly ash bricks are used for the preparation of brick triplets. The size of both CB
and FAB is 230 × 110 × 75 mm. The brick units are bonded using three types of cement mortar mix
(CM1, CM2 and CM3). The mixing ratio of all the three types of mortar are presented in Table 1. The
sand used here is locally available river sand of Zone-II as per Indian Standard. Portland slag cement
is used as a binder. The cement mortar is prepared by varrying the cement-sand proportion and water
to binder ratio for achieving good workability. Six stes of specimen (CBCM1, CBCM2, CBCM3,
FABCM1, FABCM2, and FABCM3) with different brick and mortar mix are prepared. Total ninty
samples are prepared considering fifteen from each set.
Table 1 Mortar-mix proportion used in sample preparation.

Mortar mix type Mix Propertion Water-cement ratio
CM1 1:6 0.80
CM2 1:4.5 0.55
CM3 1:3 0.45
2.2 Preparation of test specimens

Specimens considered for assessing the shear bond strength in this study are of three brick stacking
prisms or triplets joined with mortar. The thickness of the mortar-brick joints is maintained at 8 to 10
mm. The dimensions of the brick triplets are 230 mm × 110 mm × 245 mm. The ratio of height to the
thickness of the three-brick high prism remains at 2.23, as described in Indian Standard IS 1905: 1987
[15], i.e., in the range of 2 to 5. The masonry specimens prepared for the experimental study are
shown in Fig. 1. After a day of casting the samples, these are covered with wet jute gunny bags and
cured for 28 days.
Fig. 1 Typical brick triplets for shear bond strength.
2.3 Experimental tests

The experimental test is carried to obtain the bond shear strength of masonry assemblages. Under the
direct axial force in UTM (Universal Testing Machine), the shear bond strength of the brick triplets is
determined. For this purpose, the prisms are placed in a UTM, where loading is applied through a

plunger on the central brick through a wooden slate on it to allow the load to transfer uniformly over
the entire surface of the central brick. The load at which the middle brick detaches from masonry is
the failure load. The shear bond strength is calculated by dividing the load with twice the surface area
of brick. Fig. 2 shows the test set-up used. The results of the test are presented in Table. 2.
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Fig. 2 Test set up for shear bond strength test with brick triplet specimens.
Table 2 Shear bond strength (MPa) of Clay and Fly ash Brick triplets.
Sample No. Shear Bond strength of CB Shear Bond strength of FAB
CBCM1 CBCM2 CBCM3 FABCM1 FABCM2 FABCM3
1 0.02 0.07 0.14 0.04 0.06 0.02
2 0.07 0.06 0.27 0.06 0.12 0.09
3 0.11 0.11 0.28 0.07 0.08 0.19
4 0.07 0.04 0.25 0.08 0.09 0.11
5 0.05 0.04 0.27 0.005 0.05 0.19
6 0.03 0.03 0.22 0.08 0.13 0.15
7 0.03 0.07 0.21 0.03 0.09 0.09
8 0.02 0.02 0.28 0.04 0.09 0.4

9 0.04 0.05 0.29 0.05 0.12 0.16
10 0.09 0.05 0.25 0.03 0.14 0.18
11 0.10 0.1 0.24 0.04 0.13 0.39
12 0.06 0.09 0.12 0.07 0.12 0.08
13 0.05 0.04 0.29 0.08 0.04 0.14
14 0.09 0.07 0.19 0.08 0.1 0.13
15 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.11 0.007
3 Varriability study of shear strength of brick masonry

In the previous section, the shear bond strength of ninety brick triplets was determined. The variation
in the test results can be seen from Table 2. It is required to check the regularity of the strength values
to study its variability pattern. For this purpose, statistical techniques are adapted to determine the
regularities in the obtained results and to propose the best probability distributions that can model the
variability in the shear bond strength of bricks. The test results were statistically analyzed for fifty-
eight selected probability distribution functions with two, three and four parameters using the com-
puter program EasyFit 5.6 Professional. The parameters of the considered distribution functions are
calculated separetly for each set of specimens. Table 3 shows some (three out of fifty-eight) of the
Santosini Sahu, Pradip Sarkar and Robin Davis 651

considered distribution function and its parameter for clay brick triplets while the rest are not present-
ed here.
The two Goodness of Fit (GOF) tests, namely Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) and Anderson- Dar-
ling (A-D), are carried out for the data set to obtain the best-fit distribution model for the shear bond
b
strength of bricks. It is to be noted here that both K-S and A-D are non-parametric, distribution-free,
and are applicable for continuous distributions. Each of the GOF tests suggests different statistic
value and rank for each of the probability distribution. The lower the statistic value of a distribution,
the higher is it’s rank. Table 4 represents the statistic value and rank of all considered distributions
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obtained from K-S test for clay bricks. From the table, it can be seen that Johnson SB (JSB) distribu-
tion ranks first and Wakeby distribution ranks second in K-S test. The same procedure is also carried
out for A-D test, and the best three distributions with their satistic value and rank are presented in
Table 5. Similarly, Tables 6-7 present the statistical results of fly ash brick triplets for K-S and A-D
tests respectively. Based on the analysis performed, it can be proposed that JSB distribution is best
suited in every case for the shear bond strength of clay and fly ash brick masonry.
Table 3 Parameters of some selected distribution functions for shear bond strength (MPa) of clay
brick specimens.
Distribution Distribution parameters for clay bricks

CBCM1 CBCM2 CBCM3
Beta α1 = 0.57 α2 = 0.67 α1 = 0.89 α2 = 1.05 α1 = 0.80 α2 = 0.36
a = 0.02 b = 0.11 a = 0.02 b = 0.11 a = 0.08 b = 0.29
Johnson SB γ = -0.58 δ = 0.86 γ = 0.48 δ = 1.04 γ = -0.93 δ = 0.56
λ = 0.11 ξ = -0.01 λ = 0.13 ξ = 0.007 λ = 0.27 ξ = 0.02
Burr k = 932.85 α = 2.30 k = 292.21 α = 2.64 k = 2044.20 α = 4.58
β = 1.36 β = 0.59 β = 1.31
Table 4 Statistic value and rank of shear bond strength of clay brick triplets for K-S test.
Distribution CBCM1 CBCM2 CBCM3

Statistic Rank Statistic Rank Statistic Rank
Beta 0.133 7 0.140 22 0.170 10

Burr 0.169 27 0.124 5 0.180 13
Burr (4P) 0.364 56 0.133 11 0.167 8
Cauchy 0.163 17 0.158 35 0.231 36
Dagum 0.134 8 0.135 16 0.253 45
Dagum (4P) 0.323 55 0.394 56 0.138 5
Erlang 0.195 44 0.217 48 0.299 49
Erlang (3P) 0.183 36 0.171 42 0.205 25
Error 0.110 5 0.123 4 0.193 16
Exponential (2P) 0.183 37 0.250 50 0.331 50
Fatigue Life 0.163 18 0.161 38 0.237 37
Fatigue Life (3P) 0.171 28 0.138 18 0.193 17
Frechet 0.206 47 0.194 45 0.287 48
Frechet (3P) 0.166 22 0.148 30 0.217 28
Gamma 0.174 33 0.143 23 0.224 32

Gamma (3P) 0.286 53 0.140 21 0.198 19

Gen. Extreme Value 0.149 10 0.123 3 0.115 2
b
Gen. Gamma 0.169 24 0.144 25 0.222 30
Gen. Gamma (4P) 0.270 49 0.230 49 0.205 24
Gen. Logistic 0.169 26 0.135 15 0.131 4
if
Gen. Pareto 0.108 3 0.139 20 0.163 7
Gumbel Max 0.182 35 0.159 37 0.256 46
Gumbel Min 0.186 40 0.191 44 0.138 6
Hypersecant 0.194 42 0.168 40 0.211 26
Inv. Gaussian 0.185 39 0.166 39 0.241 39
Inv. Gaussian (3P) 0.150 12 0.155 34 0.190 15
Johnson SB 0.105 1 0.110 1 0.099 1
Kumaraswamy 0.205 46 0.197 47 0.242 41
Laplace 0.204 45 0.196 46 0.239 38
Levy (2P) 0.321 54 0.378 55 0.475 55
Log-Logistic 0.160 15 0.174 43 0.243 42
Log-Logistic (3P) 0.164 19 0.143 24 0.176 11
Log-Pearson 3 0.150 13 0.126 7 0.199 20
Logistic 0.183 38 0.154 33 0.200 21
Lognormal 0.160 16 0.158 36 0.228 33
Lognormal (3P) 0.172 31 0.136 17 0.195 18
Nakagami 0.179 34 0.126 8 0.204 22
Normal 0.164 20 0.134 14 0.188 14
Pareto 0.272 50 0.358 54 0.386 54
Pareto 2 0.278 52 0.346 52 0.369 52

Pearson 5 0.169 25 0.170 41 0.245 44
Pearson 5 (3P) 0.173 32 0.134 13 0.204 23
Pearson 6 0.167 23 0.151 32 0.220 29
Pearson 6(4P) 0.172 30 0.133 12 0.348 51
Pert 0.136 9 0.124 6 0.177 12
Power Function 0.133 6 0.145 27 0.228 34
Rayleigh (2P) 0.171 29 0.131 9 0.243 43
Reciprocal 0.216 48 0.273 51 0.483 56
Rice 0.189 41 0.144 26 0.223 31
Triangular 0.195 43 0.146 29 0.231 35
Uniform 0.109 4 0.138 19 0.217 27
Wakeby 0.108 2 0.113 2 0.126 3
Weibull 0.154 14 0.145 28 0.242 40
Weibull (3P) 0.164 21 0.132 10 0.168 9

Table 5 Statistic value and rank of shear bond strength of clay brick triplets for A-D test.
Distribution CBCM1 CBCM2 CBCM3
b
Johnson SB 0.202 1 0.169 1 0.171 1
Wakeby 0.236 5 0.173 2 0.190 2
if
Gen. Extreme Value 0.298 6 0.188 4 0.225 3
Table 6 Statistic value and rank of shear bond strength of fly ash brick triplets for K-S test.
Distribution FABCM1 FABCM2 FABCM3

Johnson SB 0.356 1 0.103 1 0.105 1
Error 0.173 2 0.145 10 0.109 5
Dagum 0.154 4 0.1224 4 0.134 8
Table 7 Statistic value and rank of shear bond strength of fly ash brick triplets for A-D test.
Distribution FABCM1 FABCM2 FABCM3

Johnson SB 0.356 1 0.197 1 0.202 1
Error 0.448 5 0.371 12 0.217 2
Dagum 0.412 4 0.207 2 0.362 10
The probability distribution of the shear bond strength with the best fit distributions can be shown in
various ways. Some of the most common ways of describing the variability of the property are the
probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF), which are shown in
Fig. 3 (a) and (b) respectively for CBCM1 specimens with JSB distribution.
Hazard function, h(x) and cumulative hazard function H(x) are two parameters often used in the
reliability analysis. Hazard function, for a given distribution, is defined as the instantaneous rate of
occurrence of the event and can be expressed as in (2). The hazard function plot and cumulative
hazard function plot for the shear bond strength of CBCM1 specimens considering JSB distribution
are presented in the Fig. 4 (a) and (b) respectively.
f ( x) f ( x)
h(x) = = (2)
S ( x) 1 − F ( x)
A survival function plot represents the probability of exceeding the shear bond strength of a certain
value and can be expressed as in (3). It is often used in reliability and related fields to find out the
probability of the variate to take on a greater value than the specified value.The probability difference
plot presents the difference between the observed CDF and the fitted CDF. Fig. 5 (a) and (b) respec-
tively present the survival function plot and probability difference plot of the observed data with JSB
function for CBCM1 specimens.
S (x) = P( X > x) = 1 − F ( x) (3)
A probability-probability (P-P) plot is a graph of the observed CDF values plotted against the fitted
CDF values. Similarly, quantile-quantile (Q-Q) plot is a graph of the observed data values plotted
against the fitted distribution quantiles. Both of these two plots are used to determine how well a
specific distribution fits the observed data. Fig. 6 (a) and (b) respectively present the P-P and Q-Q
plot for CBCM1 specimens with JSB function. These plots may be used to evaluate the safety of CB
and FAB masonry structures.

Observed Observed
JSB JSB
b CDF
PDF
if
Shear bond strength (MPa) Shear bond strength (MPa)
(a) Probability density function (PDF) (b) Cumulative density function (CDF)
Fig. 3 PDF and CDF plot of CBCM1 with JSB distribution.
H(x)
h(x)
Shear bond strength, x (MPa) Shear bond strength, x (MPa)

(a) Hazard function (b) Cumulative hazard function
Fig. 4 Hazard function and Cumulative hazard function plot of CBCM1 with JSB distribution.
Probability difference
Observed
JSB
S(x)
Shear bond strength, x (MPa) Shear bond strength (MPa)

(a) Survival function plot (b) Probability difference plot
Fig. 5 Survival function and P robability difference plot of CBCM1 with JSB distribution.
Probability (JSB)
Quantile (JSB)
Probability (observed) Quantile (observed)

(a) P-P plot (b) Q-Q plot
Fig. 6 P-P and Q-Q plot of CBCM1 with JSB distribution.

4 Conclusion
Experimental tests were conducted on ninety specimens to determine the shear bond strength of brick
triplets. The test samples are prepared with two brick variants (CB and FAB) and three grades of
b
mortar (CM1 CM2 and CM3). Fifty-eight probability distribution functions are considered which
involves two, three and four parametric distributions to analyze the test results. The best-fit probabil-
ity distribution model is assessed from two goodness-of-fit tests namely K-S, A-D test, respectively.
JSB is found to be the best-fit distribution function representing the variation in the shear bond
strength of clay brick and fly ash brick masonry. The variability plots of specimens CBCM1 speci-
if
mens with JSB distribution are also presented.
References
[1] Ravi, Sinthiya, Selvakumar Viswanathan, Thanikasalapradeep Nagarajan, V. Srinivas, and
Premavathi Narayanan. 2014. “Experimental and numerical investigations on material behav-
iour of brick masonry.”. Paper presented at 2nd International Conference on Research in Sci-
ence, Engineering and Technology, Dubai, UAE.
[2] Vimala, S., and K. Kumarasamy. 2014. “Studies on the strength of stabilized mud block
masonry using different mortar proportions.” International Journal of Emerging Technology
and Advanced Engineering 4(4):720-724.
[3] Christy, Christy F., D. Tensing, and Mercy R. Shanthi. 2012. “In-plane shear behaviour of
brick masonry-a literature review on experimental study.” International Journal of Civil and
Structural Engineering, 2(4):1144-1152.
[4] Vermeltfroot, A. T. 2012. “Shear strength variation due to mortar strength variation and the
use of a triplet shear test set-up” Paper presented at 15th International Brick and Block Ma-
sonry Conference, Florianópolis, Brazil, June 3-6.
[5] Palanisamy, Murugan., Jena Premalatha. 2012. “Experimental study on masonry infill materi-
al properties.” International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research, 3(7), ISSN
2229-5518.
[6] Pavia, S., and R. Hanley. 2010. “Flexural bond strength of natural hydraulic lime mortar and
clay brick.” Materials and Structures, 43(7):913-922.
[7] Keshava, Mangala, K. V. Vijayendra, and Seshagiri Raghunath. 2010. “Strength efficiency of
commonly used block work masonry.” International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineer-
ing 3(4):586-598.
[8] Reddy, B. V. Venkatarama, and Ajay Gupta. 2005. “Tensile bond strength of soil-cement
block masonry couplets using cement-soil mortars.” Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
8(1), Accessed February 01, 2006, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(2006)18:1(36).

[9] Sherafati, Mohammad A., and Mohammad R. Sohrabi. 2016. “Probabilistic Model for Bed-
Joint Shear-Sliding Strength of Clay Brick Walls Based on Field Test Data”,
10.1061/AJRUA6.0000879.© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
[10] Chen, Xudong, Shengxing Wu, and Jikai Zhou. 2014. “Variability of Compressive Strength
of Concrete Cores.” Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities , 28(4):06014001 DOI.
10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000513.
[11] Unanwa, Christian, and Mark Mahan. 2012. “Statistical analysis of concrete compressive
strengths for California highway bridges.” Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities,
28(1):157-167.
[12] Mokhtar, A. Aït, R. Belarbi, F. Benboudjema, N. Burlion, B. Capra, M.Carcasses, J. B. Colli-
at, F. Cussigh, F. Deby, and F. Jacquemot. 2013. “Experimental investigation of the variabil-
ity of concrete durability properties”. Cement and Concrete Research 45:21-36.
[13] Silvestri, Stfano., Giada Gasparini, Tomaso Trombetti, and C. Ceccoli. (2008) “Statistical
analysis towards the identification of accurate probability distribution models for the com-
pressive strength of concrete”. Presented on the 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engi-
neering., Beijing, China, October 12-17
[14] Oztemel, A., and S. Sensoy. 2004. Mathematical model for the probability distribution of
insitu concrete compressive strength in north Cyprus, 29th Conference on Our world in con-
crete & structures: 25 - 26 August 2004.
[15] IS: 1905. Code of practice for structural use of unreinforced masonry. Bureau Indian
Standards, New Delhi, 1987.

Analytical model verification for FRP and synthetic

fibre reinforced concrete beams
b
Peter Schaul and Gyorgy L. Balázs
Budapest University of Technologie and Economics,
if
Műegyetem rkp. 3, 1111 Budapest, Hungary
Abstract
Synthetic reinforcements in concrete structures, such as macro synthetic fibres and fibre reinforced
polymer (FRP) bars are becoming more widely used nowadays, because of their most important ad-
vantage to be resistant against electrolytic corrosion. The FRP bars can provide flexural capacity both
as main reinforcement and shear capacity as stirrups. Macro synthetic fibres can increase the ductility
of the elements and the shear capacity of the concrete structures as well. For design with FRP and
synthetic fibre reinforcement concrete structures some guidelines but there is no standard available for
them (except fib MC2010). In this article an analytical model was developed to predict the shear capac-
ity of the synthetic material reinforced concrete beams. The development of the formula and the veri-
fication of this formula will be presented. The analytical model takes into consideration the elastic
modulus of the FRP material and the additional shear capacity from synthetic fibre reinforced concrete.
In this way a complex model can be constructed that include contributions of only polymeric materials
for tension and for shear in addition to concrete.
1 Introduction
The shear and the punching shear failure is one of the most dangerous failure modes in all structural
elements especially in reinforced concrete slabs and beams. The phenomena of the shear is complex,
contains several different components [1]. During the shear failure of the reinforced concrete beams an
inclined crack is appearing on the side of the concrete beam, and the beam start to separate along the
crack. The mechanism can happened very quickly and it can cause the total failure of the beam. Because
this failure mode is very brittle all the reinforced concrete standards (ACI, JSCE, Eurocode) have a
different section for the shear design. These standards usually recommend to calculate the shear capac-
ity of the concrete and the web reinforcement separately.
These standards specify the stirrups as they are made from steel and the formulas are only valid for
steel, respectively. However, the synthetic reinforcements, such as fibre reinforced polymer (FRP)
rebars and synthetic fibre reinforcement in concrete is becoming a well-used alternative nonmetallic
reinforcement for concrete structures. The FRP bars are made from longitudinal fibres, usually glass,
carbon and basalt, and from a thermoset or a thermoplastic resin. The fibres bear the load and the resin
protects the fibres and transfers the loads to the fibres. Usually these bars have an orthotropic behaviour
because of the manufacture. The process of the manufacture called pultrusion. The bars can be used as
main reinforcement and as stirrups also, but with using thermoset resin the bars cannot be bent after the
manufacture procedure. With using thermoplastic resin the bars can be formed after the pultrusion as
well with adding heat to the bar, however, the strength of the bar will be lower. Important fields for
using FRP bars are the MRI rooms in hospitals, tramlines, where no magnetic material can be used.
Also an alternative reinforcement can be the FRP bars in concrete roads and bridges where the
electrolytic corrosion can be significant.
Synthetic macro polymer fibres became a rather well-used material in concrete structures at the
second part of the 20th century. Similar to the steel fibres, this reinforcement must be added into the
concrete until it will be equally mixed. The average length of the fibres is from 40 mm up to 60 mm
and their material is usually polymer (olefin, polypropylene etc.). The fibres can increase the residual
flexural strength of the concrete. In the literature a considerable amount of publication can be found
about how the synthetic fibres can increase the shear capacity of the concrete elements [2], [3]. The
main areas of using synthetic fibres are the precast industry the industrial floors, the tunnels (shotcrete
or TBM) and the tramlines- concrete railways.

Both of these synthetic reinforcements can increase the shear capacity of reinforced concrete
elements, however there is no standard for their calculation method. In this article the formulas and
recommendations will be presented which can help in the shear design of a synthetic reinforced concrete
beams.
b
2 Shear in concrete structures
The shear stresses are special tension stresses with a perpendicular direcion to the principal compressive
if
stress trajectories. Compressive trajectories in a simply supported beam can be seen in Fig 1.
Fig 1 Principal compressive stress trajectories in a simple supported beam [4].
In a reinforced concrete beam the shear resistance comes from a contribution of several different effects.
The first is the effect of the un-cracked compressed concrete zone. In reinforced concrete beams the
depth of the compressive zone highly determines the shear resistance of the element. This part of the
beam is un-cracked, therefore, some of the vertical forces can be transferred here.
In the tensile zone, shear forces transfer across a crack by mechanical interlock, when the shear
displacement is parallel to the direction of the crack (Fig 2). This effect is called aggregate interlock.
Huge amount of scientific research tried to determine the contribution of the aggregate interlock to the
full shear resistance. Some researchers questioned the existence of the effect [5] and some of them
determined the contribution can be even 50% [6]. The vast majority of the articles locate the contribu-
tion of aggregate interlock shear between 33 and 50 % but with increasing the crack width this value
can be reduce [7].
Fig 2 Mechanism of aggregate interlock [8] (w = crack width, v = parallel displacement of

cracked edges, σ,τ = transferred stresses).
The dowel action is a combination of the tensile resistance of the concrete near to the flexural reinforce-
ment and the bending and transverse shear resistance of the main reinforcement. According to the lit-
erature this shear component has the smallest contribution in the full shear resistance [9].
Shear links (stirrups), bent-up main reinforcement and fibre reinforcement can also take a contri-
bution of a shear resistance of reinforced concrete beams. The bars bridge the two parts of the crack
and can transfer the shear forces between the upper and the lower parts of the crack. The most efficient
bars are perpendicular to the crack. The fibre reinforcement can also increase the shear resistance by
bridging the cracks. The fibres with a randomly distribution can be effective independently of the place
of the shear crack.
As it has been demonstrated above see the determination of the shear resistance requires a lot of
attention, the contribution of the different effects can change in beams with different geometry, main

or shear reinforcements. The current standards intend to simplify the shear mechanism, and summarize
the different effects in a simple formula, which can be used for every reinforced concrete beam. One of
the oldest explanations for reinforced concrete beams behaviour is the truss analogy. According to this
analogy the behaviour of a simply supported concrete beams is similar to a truss system. The tension
b
stresses are carried by the flange members and the shear stresses are beared out by the inclined com-
pressed concrete trusses and by the optional shear reinforcement. This analogy is the basis of the for-
mulas in several standards, which calculate the shear resistance for the concrete and for the shear rein-
forcement as well. Some standards define the angle of the concrete truss in a specific value (Eurocode)
if
and some of them give the opportunity of the determination to the designer. However, in a reinforced
concrete beam the shear capacity of the concrete and the shear capacity of the additional shear rein-
forcement can exist parallelly, the codes allow to use only one of them (the concrete shear resistance or
the reinforcement’s shear resistance), therefore, the formulas have significant safety.
3 Shear capacity determination for FRP reinforced concrete beams

The shear behaviour of the FRP reinforced concrete beams are close to the concrete beams with tradi-
tional steel bar reinforcement, because the failure mechanism is the same, just the material parameters
of the FRP bars are different. However, this different material parameters and material behaviours can
change the contribution some of the shear components. The material behaviour of FRP bars can be
considered as perfectly linear-elastic: the stress-strain relationship of FRP bars is linear up to the failure
there is no plastic part of the diagram. This means the material’s failure can occur without any visible
sign, which make the proper design necessary. The elastic modulus of these bars is from 70 000 MPa
(glass) to 300 000 MPa (carbon). From the shear components the effect of the compressive concrete
zone changes most significantly. In FRP reinforced concrete (FRP RC) beams the area of the compres-
sion zone after cracking is smaller than the traditional RC structures because of the low elastic modulus.
However, in case of traditional RC structures the depth of the neutral axis decreased significantly after
the yield of the steel bars. This phenomenon is not happening in case of FRP bars because of the material
behaviour, the depth of the neutral axis is monotonically increasing after the first crack (Fig 3).
Fig 3 Depth of the neutral axis in terms of the strain of longitudinal reinforcements [10].
Because of the low elastic modulus the cracks are larger in case of concrete beams with FRP bars than
RC structures in the same load level, the effect of the aggregate interlock is smaller. Also because of
the FRP bars have a really low transversal stiffness, the dowel action is negligible [11]. The effect of
the shear reinforcement depends on the tensile strength of the material which is usually the yield
strength of the steel bars. In case of FRP the maximal elongation and the bond between the bar and the
concrete is more significant because of the linear- elastic material behaviour. Because of this usually
the standards use the strain limit for FRP bars: the strains in the bars must be under a defined value.
Peter Schaul and Gyorgy L. Balázs 659

The standards and the guidelines contain separate chapters for shear design of FRP bar reinforced
concrete structures. These formulas usually the modification of the formulas for traditional RC
structures, with taking into consideration the effect of the low elastic moduli of the FRP reinforcement.
b
3.1 ACI 440.1R [12]
The formulas in the ACI recommendation are modifications for the shear formulas for RC structures
according to the ACI 440.1R-15-2005 [12], but with using the maximum strain limit. The formula for
concrete’s shear resistance contains the effect of the FRP bars in the part of the calculating the depth of
if
the compressive zone. The formula for concrete shear resistance with FRP main reinforcement is the
following:
= 0.4 (1)
where = ∙ for rectangular cross section
= 2 +( ) −
(2)
where = and Af is the area of the FRP reinforcement

In the presented equations the bw is the width of the cross section, d is the effective depth, and nf is
the ratio of the elastic moduli of the FRP and the concrete.
The contribution of the FRP stirrups is similar to the steel ones, but defining the tensile strength of
the FRP bar as 0.004 Ef. The code defines also the minimum reinforcement ratio for FRP stirrups, as
0.35/0.004 Ef.
3.2 Italian national research council [13]

The Italian design specification [13] recommends a formula as a modification of CNR 2006 national
design code, which based on Eurocode 2. The contribution of the concrete is modified by taking into
consideration the axial stiffness of the FRP bars as:
$ '.(
= 1.3 ∗ # & ∗ )* (1.2 + 40 )
$%
(3)
where ρf is the reinforcement ratio.

The contribution of the FRP stirrups is similar to the steel shear links, however there is a stress limit
for the FRP bars, which is 50% of their design strength.
3.3 Design approach of Guadagnini et al. [14] (Modification of EN 1992-1)

This recommendation based on the Eurocode 2 [15] shear formula for calculating the shear resistance
of the concrete with taking into consideration the ratio of the elastic modulus of the FRP and the steel
bars.
200 , $
= 0.12(1 + +
/1
)(100 ∙ ∙ ∙- ∙ .) 0
$% %
(4)
where Ef is the elastic modulus of the FRP, Es is the elastic modulus of the steel bars, fck is the
characteristic value of the concrete’s compressive strength. The ϕs represents the ratio of the maximum
allowed strain in FRP and the yield strain of the steel bars.
The formula for FRP stirrups uses the strain limit as well, it defined by the maximum strain as
0.45%. The minimum reinforcement ratio (ρfw,min) for FRP stirrups can be calculated according
1
Guadagnini et al. [14] as:
= 0.08 ′
∙
,345
0.0045 ∙ $
(5)
4 Shear capacity determination for synthetic fibre reinforced concrete beams

The fibre reinforcement is a well-used material for shear strengthening, several recent studies show
promising results with using steel fibre reinforcement (SFRC) as shear reinforcement [16]. The fibres

increase the fracture energy of the concrete which makes the structure more ductile, and raise the re-
sidual flexural strength of the material. Because it was mentioned that the shear crack is a special type
of the tensile cracks, the randomly distributed fibres can bridge the crack, and can transfer loads be-
tween the two parts. Also the fibre reinforcement decreases the crack width which helps to the aggregate
b
interlock to be more efficient. The fib MC 2010 [10], the RILEM [17] recommendation and many
literature gives design formulas for steel fibre reinforcement as shear reinforcement, but there is no
guidelines for synthetic fibre reinforced concrete structures. However in the literature several recent
articles show [2], [3], that synthetic fibre reinforcement (SynFRC) can be used as shear reinforcement
if
as well. According to [18] the fib and the RILEM formulas can lead to proper results with SynFRC as
well, and with these the synthetic fibre reinforced concrete shear resistance can be calculated.
4.1 fib MC2010 [10]

The Model Code 2010 [10] defines the fibre reinforced concrete beam with longitudinal reinforcement
by adding the effect of the fibre reinforcement to the concrete’s shear resistance:
0.18 200 ,
(1 + +
<=>. /1
= )(100 ∙ ∙ (1 + 7.5 )∙ .) 0
9
:
(6)
=.
where fctk is the characteristic value of the concrete’s tensile strength

?>
<=>. (?> ) = − (0.5 ∗ + 0.2 */ )
<=%
2.5 *0
(7)
In Eq. 7 the wu=1.5mm and the fFts=0.45fR1. The fR1 and fR3 values are the residual tensile stress values
at Crack Mouth Opening Distance (CMOD) stage 0.5 mm and 2.5 mm reprehensively. These values
can measure from three point bending beam tests according to RILTEM TC 162 [17].
4.2 RILEM
The formula [19] was developed at the beginning of the 21th century to present a simple tool with a
huge amount of safety for SFRC structures. During the years the formula modified, but the original one
gives better correlation for synthetic fibre reinforced concrete beams.
The shear resistance of a SynFRC beam can be calculated by summarize the shear capacity of the
concrete and the added shear resistance by the fibres.
= 0.15 ∙ +3( ) ∙ (100 ∙

A
/1
∙ ) 0
@
(8)
1600 −
= ∙ 0.5
BC<
1000 @ E,0 (9)
9 = + BC< (10)
where a is the shear span, ρ is the reinforcement ratio, fe,3 is the equivalent flexural strength.
5 Shear capacity determination for synthetic fibre reinforced concrete beams

with longitudinal FRP bars
The combination of using FRP bars as longitudinal reinforcement and synthetic fibre reinforcement as
shear reinforcement can be an alternative solution for traditional reinforced concrete where the condi-
tions require the non-corrosively of the reinforcement. In the standards, guidelines or codes are not a
design formula for these structures. However, according to the mentioned literature the shear resistance
of a synthetic fibre reinforced concrete beam with longitudinal FRP reinforcement and without stirrups
can be estimate as follows:
0.18 200 , $
(1 + +
<=>. /1
= )(100 ∙ ∙ ∙ - ∙ (1 + 7.5 )∙ .) 0
9 ,
: $% %
(11)
=.

This equation should be verified by laboratory tests thereafter it can be a good opportunity to predict
analytically the shear resistance of a non- corrosive reinforced concrete beam. The formula takes into
consideration the ratio of the FRP and steel material, and the additional shear capacity from synthetic
fibre reinforced concrete as well. The base of Eq. 11 is the shear resistance formula for FRP reinforced
b
concrete beams according to Guadagnini at all [14] and the fib MC2010 [10] shear resistance formula
for steel fibre reinforced concrete beams.
6 Numerical verification of the analytical model
if
In 2015 an FRP reinforced concrete beam test serie was carried out at Budapest University of Technol-
ogy and Economics [3]. The geometry of the beams was the following: 1100 m long, 160 mm high and
100 mm wide. The test was a simple three point bending beam test with a span of 1.0 m. The beams
were reinforced with 2 pieces of 6 mm diameter longitudinal tensioned FRP bars made from basalt and
glass as longitudinal tensile reinforcement. The mean material parameters of the FRP reinforcement
can be seen in Table 1. For each type of FRP reinforcement 3 samples were casted. The beams did not
contain any stirrups, but they were made with 5.0 kg/m3 synthetic fibre reinforcement. The material
parameters of the fibres and the residual strength values can be seen in Table 2. The residual strength
values were determined according to the RILEM TC 162 [17].The concrete strength class was C50/60
accoring to Eurocode 2. [15] and the nominal concrete cover was 10 mm.
Table 1 Material parameters of the FRP bars.

Material of the FRP bar Sign Glass (GFRP) Basalt (BFRP)
Elastic modulus E 70 GPa 45 GPa
Tension strength ft 1332 MPa 1100 MPa
Maximum strain ε 2.44 % 2.2 %
Table 2 Properties of the synthetic fibres.

Material of the fibres Sign Modified olefin
Elastic modulus E 12 GPa
Tensile strength ft 640 MPa
fR1
2.45 MPa
Residual strength values with 5.0 kg/m3 dosage fR2 3.05 MPa
in C50/60 concrete fR3 3.30 MPa
fR4 3.05 MPa
However the added synthetic fibres increased the shear capacity of the FRP reinforced concrete beams,
the falier mode was in all case shear failure. The verification of the Eq. 11 was done with using the
presented parameters for FRP bars and for fibres and the measured mean values for concrete parame-
ters. To be able to compare the calculated and the test results no safety factor was used during the
calculation.
The mean results of the laboratory test and the calculated shear capacities can be seen in Table 3.
Table 3 Results of the verification.

Laboratory Calculated Safety (lab/calc)
GFRP + 5.0 kg/m3 synthetic fibres 28.78 kN 17.88 kN 1.61
BFRP + 5.0 kg/m3 synthetic fibres 22.61 kN 15.58 kN 1.45
The results show that the formula represents well the real shear capacity of the FRP bars reinforced
synthetic fibre reinforced concrete beams, the calculated and the measured shear capacities are really

close to each other. These formulas contain a relative large safety factors also with using steel rein-
forcements [20], this is why in case of synthetic reinforcements there is also safety even using mean
material parameters. According to the results the developed analytical model can be used for design the
synthetic material reinforced concrete beams with safety in mind.
b
7 Conclusion
The shear failure of reinforced concrete beams is one of the most complex failure modes, where inclined
if
crack disconnect the upper and the lower part of the beam. The shear resistance of reinforced concrete
beams depends on different effects such as effect of the compressed concrete zone the aggregate inter-
lock, the dowel effect and the effect of the shear reinforcement. The contribution of these effects de-
pends on many parameters, such as beam geometry, reinforcement ratio type of shear reinforcement,
and also has an impact on each other.
Standards, codes and guidelines specify the shear resistance for steel reinforced concrete beams and
steel fibre reinforced concrete beams as well. For non- corrosive materials, such as FRP bars or
synthetic fibre reinforced concrete elements the literature recommend formulas to calculate the shear
resistance. These formulas are basically the modification of the shear capacity equations for traditional
steel reinforced concrete.
With merging the different formulas for FRP reinforced concrete beams and for SynFRC beams the
shear capacity of the synthetic fibre reinforced concrete beam with longitudinal FRP reinforcement can
be estimate according to Eq 11. The formula summarizes the effect of the FRP bars to the concrete’s
shear resistance, and the additional shear capacity of synthetic fibre reinforcement. The verification of
the formula was done with using laboratory test results. The results shows that the formula represents
well the real shear capacity of the FRP bars reinforced synthetic fibre reinforced concrete beams. The
developed analytical model can be used by the engineers to determine the shear capacity of synthetic
reinforced beams, however further verification of the formula is necessary with using different type of
FRP bars and synthetic fibre reinforcement.
References
[1] Balázs, L. Gyorgy. 2010. “A historical review of shear.” fib Bulletin 57: Shear and punching
shear in RC and FRC elements 57:1-10.
[2] Li, Victor. C, Robert Ward, and Ali M. Hamza. 1992. “Steel and synthetic fibers as shear rein-
forcement” ACI Material Journal 89:499–508.
[3] Juhász, Károly P., and Péter Schaul. 2015. “Shear behaviour of synthetic fibre reinforced con-
crete beams reinforced with FRP rebars.“ Paper presented at the 11th CCC Congress, Hainburg,
October 1-2.
[4] Wight, James K., and James G. Macgregor. 2012. Reinforced concrete: mechanics and design
- 6th edition. Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
[5] Völgyi, István, and Andor Windisch. 2016. “Contribution of aggregate interlock to the shear
resistance of RC beams.“ (Article in press).
[6] Taylor, Howard P. J. 1970. Investigation of the Forces Carried Across Cracks in Reinforced
Concrete Beams in Shear by Interlock of Aggregate. Cement and Concrete Association. 42.447.
London, UK.
[7] Walraven, Joost C. 1981. “Fundamental Analysis of Aggregate Interlock, Journal of the Struc-
tural Division.” Journal of the Structural Division 107:2245-2270.
[8] fib Task Group 9.3. 2007. fib Bulletin 40 – FRP reinforcement in RC structures. Sprint-Digital-
Druck, ISBN 978-2-88394-080-2
[9] Kotsovos, Michael D., and Milija N. Pavlovic. 1999. Ultimate Limit State Design of Concrete
Structures -A New Approach. Thomas Telford, Ltd., London, UK.
[10] fib. 2013. fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010. Ernst & Sohn Wiley.
[11] Kanakubo, Toshiyuki., and Masaharu Shindo. 1997. “Shear Behaviour of Fiber-Mesh Rein-
forced Plates”. Paper presented at the 3rd International Symposium on Non-Metallic (FRP)
Reinforcement for Concrete Structures, Sapporo, Japan, October 14-16.
[12] ACI. 2015. ACI 440.1R-15: Guide for the Design and Construction of Concrete Reinforced
with FRP Bars. American Concrete Institute.

[13] Advisory Committee on Technical Recommendations for Construction. 2006. CNR-DT

204/2006: Guide for the Design and Construction of Fibre-Reinforced Concrete Structures.
CNR – Advisory Committee on Technical Recommendations for Construction.
[14] Guadagnini, Maurizio, Kypros Pilakoutas, and Peter Waldron. 2003. “Shear Performance . of
b
FRP Reinforced Concrete Beams.” Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites
22:1389-1408.
[15] CEN. 2004. Eurocode 1992-3: Design of Concrete Structures – Part 3” 6.2. Shear. Brussels:
European Committee for Standardization.
if
[16] Kovács, Gábor and Károly P. Juhász. 2014. “Synthetic and steel fibres in prestressed, precast
long span beams.” Paper presented at the CCC 2014, Concrete Offers for Period of Economic
Recovery. Liberec, Czech Republic, October 1-2.
[17] Rilem TC. 162-TDF. 2003. “Test and design methods for steel fibre reinforced concrete, σ-ε
design method.” Materials and Structures 262:560-567.
[18] Yazdanbakhsh, Ardavan, Salah Altoubat, and Klaus-Alexander Rieder. 2015. “Analytical study
on shear strength of macro synthetic fiber reinforced concrete beams.” Engineer Structures
100:622-632.
[19] Dupont, David, and Lucie Vandewalle. 2003. “Shear capacity of concrete beams containing
longitudinal reinforcement and steel fibers.” ACI Special Publication 216:79–94.
[20] Schaul, Peter, and Gyorgy L. Balazs. 2016. “Shear behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with
FRP bars”. Concrete Structures 2016:37-40.

Implementation of the critical shear crack theory to

predict punching failure in the analysis of RC layered-
b
shells
Andri Setiawan, Robert Vollum and Lorenzo Macorini
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
if
Imperial College London
Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
Abstract
This paper proposes a novel methodology for modelling punching failure in slabs without shear
reinforcement in which joint elements are combined with RC layered-shell elements. The shear
resistance of the joints is calculated using the failure criterion of the critical shear crack theory (CSCT).
The predictions are verified using experimental test data from isolated RC punching specimens tested
to failure under either concentric or eccentric loading. Comparisons are also made with the predictions
of nonlinear finite element analysis with ATENA using 3D-solid elements. It is shown that the proposed
methodology is not only computationally more efficient than solid element modelling but also capable
of capturing the occurrence of punching failure accurately.
1 Introduction
Failures of isolated slab-column connections can be classified as either flexural or punching. The latter
is undesirable since it occurs suddenly without warning, unlike flexural failure which is typically
preceded by extensive yielding of reinforcement. Due to the complexity of punching failure, codified
design provisions [1]-[3], are largely based on laboratory tests of isolated slab-column specimens.
However, behaviour of actual flat slab systems with multiple slab-column connections cannot be
determined solely on the basis of tests on isolated sub-assemblies due to the presence of flexural
continuity and membrane action. Since experimental tests on full-scale flat slab systems are
prohibitively expensive, recent studies [4], [5] have used numerical analysis to obtain a better
understanding of the influence of slab continuity on punching resistance.
In general, flat slab systems can be numerically modelled with: 1) beam-column elements as planar
frames; 2) 2D-shell elements; or 3) 3D-solid elements. The present work focusses on approach 2) and
its relationship to 3). Analysis with 2D-shell elements reduces the total number of degrees of freedom
compared with 3D solid elements and thus is beneficial for global analysis of structures. However, 2D-
shell elements are not typically capable of modelling punching shear failure for which analysis with
3D-solid elements is most realistic but computationally expensive.
Various approaches have been proposed for modifying shell element formulations to model
transverse shear failure. In [6], [7], the shear modulus is gradually reduced to account for damage in
the out-of-plane direction and punching occurs when the stiffness approaches zero. Either constant [6]
or parabolic [7] transverse shear strain distribution are used with this approach. Although punching
failure seems to be captured with this method, the predictions are very sensitive to the formulation of
the shear modulus for cracked concrete [6]. An alternative approach is to connect 2D-shell elements
with either beam connector elements [8] or joint elements [9]. In this case, punching is constrained to
occur at the connector or joint element locations. No internal force redistribution is taken into
consideration in [8] whereas in [9] the failure load and proportions of load resisted by concrete and
dowel action need to be pre-determined in advance of the analysis.
This study proposes an alternative methodology to [8], [9] in which joint elements are uniformly
distributed along the punching control perimeter with the joint strength calculated independently for
each joint element without complete loss of resistance upon punching failure. Consequently, failure of
the first critical joint, does not directly trigger punching failure since additional load can be redistributed
to adjacent joint elements. The connector strength is calculated with the critical shear crack theory [10]
in terms of rotations calculated in the previous step thereby avoiding the need to pre-determine the joint
failure load as done in [9]. Details of the proposed methodology along with the employed failure
criterion are described in more detail in the next section.

2 Proposed methodology
A novel methodology is proposed for modelling punching failure of slab-column connections in which
joint elements are combined with RC layered-shell elements. The flexural behaviour of RC slabs is
b
simulated with shell elements while joint elements are used to model the out-of-plane shear (punching)
failure which eventually limits shear force transfer from the slab to the column. After punching failure
is detected in a joint element, vertical separation occurs in the joint as its resistance softens. In order to
detect the occurrence of punching failure accurately, a suitable failure criterion is required. In this study,
the failure criterion of the critical shear crack theory (CSCT) [10] is implemented but other criteria
if
could be used. According to the CSCT, punching shear resistance is determined as follows:
VR 0.75
=
b0 d f ' ψd (1)
c 1 + 15
dg0 + dg
where VR is the punching load capacity, b0 is the length of basic control perimeter, d is the average
flexural depth of the slab, fc’ is the specified concrete compressive strength, ψ is the slab rotation, dg is
the maximum aggregate size, and dg0 is a reference aggregate size equal to 16 mm. This failure criterion
was chosen because it relates shear resistance to the slab rotation (ψ) which is readily obtainable with
finite element analysis. For consistency, joint elements are placed on a control perimeter located at half
the slab effective depth (d/2) from the column face as in the CSCT. The slab region located between
the column face and the control perimeter is also modelled with RC shells. Consequently, joint elements
connect the shell elements within the control perimeter to those outside.
Slab rotations are obtained at monitoring points positioned around the column near the line of elastic
contraflexure where rotations tend to be greatest. In addition, the column-chord rotation is monitored
independently which allows the relative slab to column rotation to be acquired by subtraction. The
proposed methodology is implemented within the nonlinear structural analysis program ADAPTIC [11].
The constitutive behaviour of the joint and shell elements used in ADAPTIC are briefly discussed in the
next sub-section.
2.1 Constitutive behaviour of RC layered-shell

For modelling of RC slabs, ADAPTIC uses a layered-shell element approach based on the conventional
Reissner-Mindlin hypothesis where any through thickness straight line initially normal to the slab
surface remains straight after deflection. Both geometric and material nonlinearity are considered
within the shell element formulation. The geometric nonlinearity is formulated based on a local co-
rotational system in which geometrically nonlinear transformations between the local and global
reference systems are taken into account. For material nonlinearity, the concrete material formulation
considers the influence of both tensile cracking and compressive nonlinearity, including softening
effects. Furthermore, crack opening and closure is also modelled which is particularly important for
modelling dynamic (cyclic) loading. Material nonlinearity is modelled in plane while the out-of-plane
shear response is assumed to be linear. This is acceptable since the out-of-plane shear failure is captured
by the joint element instead of the shell. Reinforcement is modelled, using a bilinear stress-strain
relationship with perfect bond, as an equivalent uniform thickness plate acting uniaxially along a
specific direction. Further details can be found in [12].
2.2 Constitutive behaviour of joint element

A 3D-joint element is used with uncoupled axial, shear, and moment actions. When modelling punching
failure, only the out-of-plane degree of freedom (DOF) is activated with all other DOFs assumed fully
rigid. For out-of-plane shear, a linear load-displacement response is adopted up to peak resistance
followed by a linear descending branch that plateaus to a constant residual post-punching resistance
(Fig. 1 (right)). In this study, the initial ascending stiffness was put equal to 106 N/mm to give
sufficiently rigid out-of-plane behaviour prior to punching. The slab is divided into sectors as indicated
in Fig. 1 with one joint element in each sector and rotations are monitored along the line of elastic
contraflexure at the centre of each sector. The peak resistance of each joint element is determined
independently in terms of the relative rotation of its slab sector with respect to the column. The shear
resistance of each joint is calculated in terms of its sector rotation as VR/n where VR is the shear

Implementation of the critical shear crack theory to predict punching failure in the analysis of RC layered-shells
resistance given by (1) and n is the number of joint elements along the control perimeter. The
descending stiffness was calibrated to reasonably follow the CSCT failure criterion curve.
ifb
Joint shear force
Peak shear force determined

by the CSCT failure criterion
Post-peak stiffness
(softening-branch)
Residual shear force (post-

punching capacity)
Initial stiffness
(ascending-branch)
Joint relative vertical

displacement
Fig. 1 Illustration of the proposed methodology and constitutive behavior for the joint element.
3 Validation of proposed methodology

The proposed methodology was validated for three different types of experimental set-up:
Concentric punching with axis-symmetrical condition (for various flexural reinforcement
ratios)
Concentric punching with non-axis-symmetrical reinforcement or loading arrangement
Eccentric punching (with constant gravity load and increasing eccentricity)
All the modelled slabs are isolated internal slab-column connections without shear reinforcement.
Comparisons are made with 3D-solid element nonlinear finite element analysis (NLFEA) predictions
made with ATENA [13]. The validation focuses on showing the adequacy of the proposed methodology
to capture the load-rotation response of slab-column connections and punching failure.
3.1 Category I: Concentric (axis-symmetric) test

For category 1, specimen PG-5 from [14] with 0.33% top reinforcement as well as specimens PT22 and
PT31 from [15] with 0.84% and 1.48% top reinforcement were considered. All the slabs had similar
geometry and test setup. The slabs, which measured 3.0 x 3.0 x 0.25 metres, were centrally supported
on a 0.26 metre square steel plate and loaded concentrically at eight points positioned at a radius of 1.5
metre from the slab centre. Taking advantage of symmetry, only one quarter of the slab was modelled
in ADAPTIC using 25 x 25 mm quadrilateral shell elements (linear order). Each shell element was
internally sub-divided into 10 planar layers through the slab thickness with each layer having 2 x 2
integration points on plan. The supporting plate was represented with a single central node connected
with rigid links to the surrounding shell elements at the column face. Incremental loading was applied
using a combination of force and displacement control with Newton-Raphson iteration. Force-control
was used prior reaching the peak load with displacement-control applied subsequently to obtain the
post-peak response. Details of the 3-D NLFEA analysis with ATENA are given in [16] so are not
repeated here. Fig. 2 shows the load-rotation relationships obtained for PT22 and PT31 with the
proposed numerical methodology and ATENA as well as the CSCT failure criterion. The experimental
response is seen to be well captured by both the proposed procedure and ATENA.
Andri Setiawan, Robert Vollum and Lorenzo Macorini 667

ifb
Fig. 2 Load-rotation response predicted by using proposed methodology and 3D-solid element
compared to experimental results for concentric (axis-symmetric) tests.
3.2 Category II: Concentric (non-axis-symmetric) test

Specimens PT32 and PT34 from [15] were considered in the analysis. Both slabs had the same geometry
and test setup as the slabs considered for category I. Specimen PT32 had different reinforcement ratios
in the x- and y-directions while specimen PT34 was loaded on two opposite edges (one-way bending).
The objective was to determine the ability of the proposed methodology to capture punching failure of
non-axis-symmetrical slabs which is hard to predict due to the non-uniform distribution of shear
resistance around the critical perimeter.
Load-rotation relationships obtained from numerical analysis using the proposed methodology and
NLFEA with 3D-solid elements (for PT32 only; no ATENA analysis was performed for PT34) are
compared with experimental results in Fig. 3. The predictions from [15] using the modified CSCT
method (VCSCT(ψx-ψy)), which takes into account the non-uniform shear stress distribution, are also plotted
in the graph. It can be seen from Fig.3 that the proposed methodology captures the failure load of non-
axis-symmetrical punching tests with reasonable accuracy. It is interesting to note that the failure load
acquired from the proposed methodology is very comparable to that given by both the 3D-solid element
model and the modified CSCT method. The predicted failure load is above the intersection of the CSCT
failure criterion with the load-maximum rotation curve due to redistribution of internal forces from the
most-stressed face (weak axis) to the less-stressed face (strong axis) as discussed in [15].
Fig. 3 Load-rotation response predicted by using proposed methodology and 3D-solid element
compared to experimental results and modified CSCT method for concentric (non-axis-
symmetric) tests.

3.3 Category III: Eccentric test

In category III, punching failure of slab-column connections subject to eccentric loading was studied.
An additional assumption is made for this category whereby punching failure occurs when all joint
b
elements in the hogging half fail. To model this, the CSCT failure criterion was only implemented for
joints in the hogging half with joints treated differently in the sagging half. It was assumed that at
failure, the resultant shear resistance provided by joints in the hogging half tends to zero with the shear
force due to gravity load (Vgrav) evenly redistributed to joint elements in the sagging half. Equilibrium
of vertical shear forces at this state can be mathematically expressed as:
if
Vgrav = ∑i=1Vsag _ i
m
(2)
where m is the total number of joint elements in sagging half and Vsag_i is the shear force resisted by
joint element i in the sagging half. Thus, to trigger global failure, shear capacity (Vcap) of each individual
joint in the sagging half was pre-defined as:
Vgrav
Vcap = (3)
m
This is reasonable since diagonal cracks usually form only in the hogging half, especially for slabs that
fail due to large eccentricities (Fig. 4 (right)). Specimen PD4 from [17] was used for the validation. The
slab measured 3.0 x 3.0 x 0.25 metres and was centrally supported on a 390 mm square steel plate. The
gravity load was applied first followed by increasing unbalanced moment up to failure. Unbalanced
moment was applied by imposing equal but opposite vertical forces to opposite slab edges through a
structural steel framework. The lever arm between these two loading points represents the distance
between contraflexure-line under lateral loading which equals half the slab span between column
centrelines. Utilising symmetry half of the slab was modelled in ADAPTIC using 39 mm square
quadrilateral elements throughout. All other parameters were kept the same as used for modelling slab
categories I and II.
Fig. 4 (left) compares the experimental load-rotation relationship with those obtained using the
proposed numerical methodology and ATENA. The load-rotation relationship acquired with shell
elements alone (pure shell model) is also shown to illustrate the influence of shear softening in the joint
elements of the proposed model. Fig. 4 (right) shows the observed and predicted crack pattern from
ATENA as well as the deformed shape at failure acquired from ATENA and the proposed methodology.
Fig. 4 Comparison of measured and predicted load-rotation response of PD4 [17]: (left) load-
rotation curve; (right) deformed shape and crack pattern at peak unbalanced moment.

As can be seen from Fig. 4 (left), the moment-rotation response of specimen PD4 is captured accurately
with the proposed model. The 3D-solid element model slightly overestimates the observed stiffness
after cracking as well as the rotation at peak load while the shell model (proposed) produces reasonably
accurate predictions of both moment and rotation at failure. Comparison of the responses of the
b
proposed and pure shell models shows that introducing shear failure at joint elements produces a softer
yet more accurate prediction. Initiation of shear failure results in redistribution of unbalanced moment
from shear to flexure and torsion which eventually produces a softer bending response. From Fig. 4
(right), it can be seen that the separation of the joint elements in the shell model corresponds to the
if
formation of wide diagonal cracks in both the tested slab and 3D-solid element analysis.
4 Local joint forces

To further investigate the results acquired with the proposed methodology, joint forces from each indi-
vidual joint were extracted. By observing the variation of these local joint forces at different load stages,
shear redistribution and the lateral load resisting mechanism can be better explained.
4.1 Shear redistribution

In Fig. 3, the strength predictions acquired with the proposed methodology lie slightly above the
intersection of the load-rotation curve and the CSCT failure criterion. This is due to redistribution of
non-uniform shear forces around the control perimeter which allows the applied shear force to increase
subsequent to failure of individual joint elements. The variation in joint forces for specimen PT34 (one
way bending - second category) is presented at four different load stages in Fig. 5 (bottom) as an
illustrative example. The location of the joints at along the bending and non-bending axes is illustrated
in Fig. 5 (top).
Fig. 5 Location and variation of joint forces at non-bending and bending-axis of specimen PT34
at 0.8, 0.9, 0.95 and 1.0 of failure load acquired with proposed methodology.

As the rotation is significantly greatest about the bending axis, joint elements along the sides of the
control perimeter parallel to the bending axis fail in shear at far lower forces (Fig. 5 (bottom-right))
than in the perpendicular direction (Fig. 5 (bottom-left)). The increase of load from 0.8 to 1.0 of failure
load is primarily accommodated by an increase in shear carried by joint elements oriented along the
b
non-bending-axis (strong axis) only. This is in agreement with previous findings [15] which state that
softening of shear at the most-stressed face will be followed by an increase in shear at the less-stressed
face. This ability of the proposed methodology to capture the increase in overal shear resistance
resulting from localised shear redistribution explains why the predicted failure load of specimen PT34
if
is greater than predicted using the CSCT on the basis of maximum rotation.
4.2 Lateral resisting mechanisms

Another interesting feature of the proposed methodology is that the contributions to moment transfer
of flexural, torsion, and eccentric shear are directly determined. The contribution of each resisting
mechanism is presented in Fig. 6 for specimen PD4 as a function of the peak unbalanced moment.
Fig. 6 Contribution of each resisting mechanism as a function of peak unbalanced moment of

specimen PD4.
From Fig. 6, it can be seen that the contribution of each resisting mechanism is fairly constant up to
75% of the peak unbalanced moment. At this stage, eccentric shear resists around 40% of the unbal-
anced moment with the remainder carried by flexure and torsion. Once shear failure is initiated at joints
on the critical hogging face, the proportion of unbalanced moment resisted by uneven shear gradually
decreases. Since shear on the hogging face cannot increase further, additional load is redistributed tan-
gentially causing the contributions of eccentric shear and torsion to increase on the side face. Although
the shear force on the side face increases due to redistribution, the proportion of unbalanced moment
that is carried through shear decreases because the lever arm becomes shorter. Thus, once again, the
proposed methodology offers a novel advantage that contribute to the explanation of punching failure
from a local perspective.
5 Conclusions
The paper presents a novel numerical methodology to model punching shear of slab-column
connections in which joint elements are combined with RC layered-shell elements. The flexural
behaviour of RC slabs is simulated with shell elements while joint elements are used to trigger out-of-
plane shear (punching) failure. The CSCT failure criterion [10] was implemented in the joint element
in order to detect the occurrence of punching at individual joints. Three different slab test categories:
1) concentric (axis-symmetric); 2) concentric (non-axis-symmetric); 3) eccentric were used to verify
the adequacy of the proposed methodology to predict punching failure. Comparisons are also made
with the predictions of nonlinear finite element analysis (NLFEA) with ATENA using 3D-solid
elements. The proposed methodology is shown to be capable of accurately capturing the complete load-
rotation response of slab-column connections failing in punching. The accuracy of the proposed

methodology compares very well with that of the 3D NLFEA whilst requiring significantly less
computational time.
Some interesting insights are obtained from observing the variation of joint forces at a local level.
Redistribution of non-uniform shear stress distributions is captured with the proposed methodology. In
b
addition, the individual contributions of eccentric shear, flexure and torsion to lateral resistance are
readily quantified from the joint forces. These features are significant benefits of the proposed
methodology which are either not available or not readily available with conventional numerical
analysis using only shell or 3D-solid elements. To sum up, the presented methodology combines the
if
efficiency of numerical analysis using shell elements with the elegance of the CSCT. The methodology
is useful for academic purposes but also sufficiently practical for design and assessment purposes.
Acknowledgements
The work presented in this article was supported by the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education
(LPDP). The opinions and conclusions in this document are those of the authors, and do not necessarily
represent those of the sponsors.
References
[1] ACI (American Concrete Institute, ACI Committee 318. 2014. Building code requirements for
structural concrete and commentary. American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, USA.
[2] BSI (2004) BS EN 1992-1-1:2004: Eurocode 2, design of concrete structures – part 1-1: general
rules and rules for buildings. BSI, London, UK.
[3] BSI (1997) BS 8110:1997: Structural use of concrete. BSI, London, UK.
[4] Einpaul, J., C. E Ospina, M. F. Ruiz, and A. Muttoni. 2016. Punching shear capacity of
continuous slabs. ACI Structural Journal 113:861–872.
[5] Soares, L. F. S., and R. L. Vollum. 2016. "Influence of continuity on punching resistance at
edge columns." Magazine of Concrete Research, 68(23):1225-1239.
[6] Polak, M.A. 2005. “Shell finite element analysis of RC plates supported on columns for
punching shear and flexure.” Engineering Computations 22:409–428.
[7] Hrynyk, T. D., and F. J. Vecchio. 2015. "Capturing Out-of-Plane Shear Failures in the Analysis
of Reinforced Concrete Shells." Journal of Structural Engineering 141:04015058.
[8] Liu, J., Y. Tian, S. L.Orton, and A .M. Said. 2015. “Resistance of Flat-Plate Buildings against
Progressive Collapse. I : Modeling of Slab-Column Connections.” Journal of Structural
Engineering 141:11–13.
[9] Keyvani, L., M. Sasani, and Y. Mirzaei. 2014. “Compressive membrane action in progressive
collapse resistance of RC flat plates.” Engineering Structures 59:554–564.
[10] Muttoni, A. 2008. “Punching Shear Strength of Reinforced Concrete Slabs without Transverse
Reinforcement,” ACI Structural Journal 4:440-450.
[11] Izzuddin, B. A. 1991. “Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis of Framed Structures.” PhD diss., The
University of London, Department of Civil Engineering, Imperial College, London,1991.
[12] Izzuddin, B.A., X. Y. Tao, and A. Y. Elghazouli. 2004. “Realistic Modeling of Composite and
Reinforced Concrete Floor Slabs under Extreme Loading. I: Analytical Method.” Journal of
Structural Engineering 130:1985–1996.
[13] Cervenka, V., L. Jendele, and J. Cervenka. 2007. ATENA Program Documentation, Part 1,
Theory. Cervenka Consulting, Prague.
[14] Guandalini, S., O. L. Burdet, and A. Muttoni. 2009. “Punching tests of slabs with low
reinforcement ratios.” ACI Structural Journal 106:87–95.
[15] Sagaseta, J., M. F. Ruiz, A. Muttoni, and L. Tassinari. 2011. “Non-axis-symmetrical punching
shear around internal columns of RC slabs without transverse reinforcement.” Magazine of
Concrete Research 63:441–457.
[16] Setiawan, A., R. Vollum, and L. Macorini. 2017. “Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of
Reinforced Concrete Flat Slabs Subjected to Reversed-Cyclic Loading.” Paper presented at the
2017 fib Symposium, held in Maastricht, The Netherlands, June 12-14.
[17] Drakatos, I.S., A. Muttoni, and K. Beyer. 2016. “Internal slab-column connections under
monotonic and cyclic imposed rotations.” Engineering Structures 123:501–516.

Creep and shrinkage effects on reinforced concrete

walls: Experimental study
b
Najeeb Shariff and Devdas Menon
Indian Institute of Technology Madras,
if
Chennai-600036,India
Abstract
Prediction of long-term strains, due to creep and shrinkage, is important to ensure adequate safety and
serviceability throughout the life of the structure. Mathematical models are developed based on tests
done on prismatic elements, which are applicable for columns. The present study investigates the be-
haviour of RC walls with regard to long-term effects. Further, the applicability of currently popular
models, to predict the behaviour of walls is examined. This paper reports the test done on an RC wall
panel under sustained load in ambient environment for a period of 8 months. It was observed that the
ACI, B4 and CEB-fib MC10 prediction models underestimate the strains in walls, while B3 overesti-
mates. EC2 and GL2000 model predict the final strains in a satisfactory manner. However, the initial
trends are overestimated by all prediction models, except ACI. Further, the influence of reinforcement
on long-term strains is not included in the prediction models. This study emphasis the need to refine
the prediction models to make them applicable for RC walls.
1 Introduction
In the design of tall reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, creep and shrinkage deformations are critical
and the same must be accounted for in the design. Differential axial shortening of vertical elements as
a result of long-term strains often leads to additional deflections, cracks and stress re-distributions in
the structural members of the building. It can also have significant impact on the building envelopes
and services. Tall buildings invariably have structural walls, either at the cores or well-distributed in
the plan. In some recent tall building constructions involving aluminium form-work or tunnel form-
work, all vertical elements in the building are RC walls. In thin and slender walls, there is also an
increased risk of buckling of walls in weaker axis direction due to creep.
Several recent models for prediction of creep and shrinkage in concrete are available, which have
been validated against experimental data in RILEM database [1]-[6]. However, owing to the
complexities and uncertainties involved in concrete due to the effects of creep and shrinkage, a
satisfactory mechanics based formulation has not yet been developed. Hence all prediction models are
developed based on statistical regression analysis of experimental data [7]. Most tests were done at a
material level on concrete cylinders or small prismatic elements which may be applicable for columns
[8]-[10]. Applicability of these models for large RC walls remains to be explored. Relative humidity
and temperature are key variables which affect the creep and shrinkage strains. Most prediction models
constant values of temperature and humidty, which is an unrealistic case, leading to variation in the
predicted and actual response [11]. Further, presence of reinforcement in the member helps reduce the
creep and shrinkage effects and must be accounted for correctly in order to accurately predict the long-
term strains in the member.
The main objective of this study is to verify the applicability of the existing prediction models for
computing creep and shrinkage strains in RC wall elements through experimental investigation.
2 Experimental study
An RC wall panel was tested under sustained load, in ambient environment, for a period of 8 months,
and the creep and shrinkage strains were monitored using electrical strain gauges.

2.1 Test procedure – Specimen geometry, concrete mix and instrumentation

RC wall panel having dimensions of 900 mm (H) × 1500 mm (L) × 100 mm (t) was chosen for the
creep and shrinkage test. A steel mould was fabricated for concreting the wall panel. The wall was
b
reinforced with two curtains of vertical steel (ρv = 0.54%) and horizontal links (ρh = 0.45%) using steel
having yield strength of 500 MPa. A schematic sketch of the wall reinforcement is shown in Fig. 1. For
simplicity, the wall was cast in a horizontal position (as shown in Fig 2); this would also help in achiev-
ing smooth finish on the wall surface and avoid any honeycombs, which is essential to paste electrical
strain gauges. Concrete mix design ratio of 1:2.7:1.53 (cement : sand : coarse aggregate) with a water-
if
cement ratio of 0.42 was used. Locally available coarse and fi

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Experimental investigations on bond behavior of pre-tensioned carbon fiber reinforced polymer

Innovative structures and details 177

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Structural analysis and design 273

Fibre textile reinforced cementitious composites: experimental investigation and modelling

Assessment of influencing parameters on transmission length of prestressed concrete

Application of effective crack model in analysis of fracture response of chevron-notched

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Testing of multi-layer concrete-based structures loaded by contact blast

Numerical prediction of ballistic limit and failures of plain concrete slabs

Monika Kaszubska and Renata Kotynia ....................................................................................... 521

Nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete elements of the example of the existing RC

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Creep and shrinkage effects on reinforced concrete walls: Experimental study

panels subjected to uniaxial tension

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Strengthening and repair 837

Behaviour of torsionally strengthened reinforced concrete beam-column joints with carbon

Shear resistance of concrete-to-concrete interface without reinforcement

Post – installed shear reinforecement in flat slabs

Behaviour of perforated rectangular columns wrapped with bi-directional glass fibre

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Monitoring and structural assessment 945

Marek Blank and Petr Bouška ..................................................................................................... 971

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Partial problems during long-term monitoring of concrete bridges after reconstruction

Durability and life assessment 1063

Specification of new sulfate resistant blended cements through performance testing

The use of supplementary cementitious materials to reduce calcium oxychloride formation:

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Bio-based self-healing concrete: A review