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In this paper a discrete Big Bang-Big Crunch algorithm is applied to optimal design of reinforced concrete planar frames under

the gravity and lateral loads. Optimization is based on ACI 318-08 code. Columns are assumed to resist axial loads and bending

moments, while beams resist only bending moments. Second-order effects are also considered for the compression members, and

columns are checked for their slenderness and their end moments are magnified when necessary. The main aim of the BB-BC

process is to minimize the cost of material and construction of the reinforced concrete frames under the applied loads such that

the strength requirements of the ACI 318 code are fulfilled. In the process of optimization, the cost per unit length of the sections

is used for the formation of the subsequent generation. Three bending frames are optimized using BB-BC and the results are

compared to those of the genetic algorithm.

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Self-desiccation is the major source of autogenous shrinkage and crack formation in low water-binder ratio (w/b) concretes

which can be reduced by internal curing. In this paper performance of high strength self consolidating concrete (HS-SCC) with

w/b of 0.28 and 0.33 including autogenous shrinkage, drying shrinkage, compressive strength, and resistance to freezing-thawing

was investigated. Then, for the purpose of internal curing, 25% of normal weight coarse aggregate volume was replaced with

saturated lightweight aggregate (LWA) of the same size and its effects on the material properties was studied. Two modes of

external curing, moist and sealed, were applied to test specimens after demoulding. Autogenous shrinkage from 30 minutes to 24

hours after mixing was monitored continuously by a laser system. The initial and final setting time were manifested as a change

of the slope of the obtained deformation curves. Shrinkage after initial setting was 860 and 685 microstrain (&mu&epsilon) for 0.28 and 0.33

w/b mixtures, respectively. The saturated LWA reduced these values to 80 and 295 &mu&epsilon, respectively. By LWA Substitution the 28-

day compressive strength of 0.28 w/b mixture was reduced from 108 to 89 and 98 to 87 MPa for moist and sealed cured specimen,

respectively. The corresponding values for 0.33 w/b mixture was 84 to 80 and 82 to 70 MPa. Shrinkage of 0.28 w/b mixture

without LWA after moist and sealed cured specimen dried for 3 weeks was about 400 &mu&epsilon. Shrinkage of moist and sealed cured

specimen containing LWA was reduced 9% and 25%, respectively. On the contrary for 0.33 w/b mixture an increase was noticed.

Freezing-thawing resistance was improved by sealed curing, decreasing w/b and substituting LWA.

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The main objective of this study is to drive a simple solution for prediction of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) behavior

under four point bending test (FPBT). In this model all the force components at the beam section (before and after cracking)

are formulated by applying these assumptions: a bilinear elastic-perfectly plastic stress-strain response for concrete behavior

in compression, a linear response for the un-cracked tension region in a concrete constitutive model, and an exponential

relationship for stress-crack opening in the crack region which requires two parameters.Then the moment capacity of the critical

cracked section is calculated by applying these assumptions and satisfying equilibrium lawat critical cracked section. After that,

parametric studies have been done on the behavior of SFRC to assess the sensitively of model. Finally the proposed model has

been validated with some existing experimental tests.The result shows that the proposed solution is able to estimate the behavior

of SFRC under FPBT with simplicity and proper accuracy.

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In order to lighten the prestressed concrete solid members, nowadays, it is possible to make use of the advantage of HPC (fc'>60

MPa) as well as replacing the solid section with a PSC thin-walled section for certain members such as circular and box columns.

Using the strength theory of ACI, a numerical procedure along with a computer program was developed for the analysis of such

sections subjected to axial compression or tension load and bending moments. The program solves for all possible variables such

as, concrete compressive strength (fc'= 60-100 MPa), type of prestressed steel, concrete cover, ratio of wall thickness to the section

dimensions and the PS steel arrangements to satisfy the given loading cases, thus leading to an optimal cost solution. However,

since the cross section is thin-walled circular or box and the PS steel is located at discrete points along the periphery of a circle

or rectangle, the equations of equilibrium are complex for hand computations (especially for circular section) but suitable for

computer program. So, by use of MATLAB software the interaction diagrams were also drawn for the analysis of such sections

for all mentioned variables. The use of prestressed thin-walled column diagrams is a safe and easy tool for the analysis of such

columns. Finally, the accuracy of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparing its results to those of the available

experimental values and is indicate that the proposed method predict very well the capacity of prestressed thin-walled column.

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Strut-and-Tie Model (STM) can be used to model the flow of compression within a concrete strut. Concrete struts are formed

in various shapes such as prismatic or bottle-shaped. In order to study the behavior of concrete struts, a series of simple tests

were performed. Eighteen reinforced concrete isolated struts with compressive strength of 65 MPa were tested up failure under

point loading in the plane of specimens. The tested specimens were reinforced by various reinforcement layouts. The behavior

of tested beams was investigated. Observations were made on transverse displacement, primary cracking and ultimate failure

load and distribution of strain on the face of tested panels. Based on these observations, the geometry of the concrete struts was

examined. a new model to analysis of concrete struts was proposed based on modified compression field theory (MCFT). A

database of 44 tested specimens was compiled to evaluate the proposed model. The results indicate that using the ACI and CSA

codes expressions regarding the amount of minimum required reinforcement in a strut produces conservative but erratic results

when compared with the test data. Conversely, the new proposed model presents a more accurate prediction for the strength of

44 tested struts.

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A comparison between design codes i.e. ACI and AISC-LRFD in evaluation of flexural strength of concrete filled steel tubular

columns (CFTs) is examined. For this purpose an analytical study on the response of CFTs under axial-flexural loading is carried

using three-dimensional finite elements with elasto-plastic model for concrete with cracking and crushing capability and elastoplastic

kinematic hardening model for steel. The accuracy of the model is verified against previous test results. The nonlinear

modeling of CFT columns shows that the minimum thickness that recommended by ACI and AISC-LRFD to prevent local buckling

before the steel shell yielding for CFT columns could be decreased. The comparison of analytical results and codes indicates that

the accuracy of ACI method in estimation of axial-flexural strength of CFT columns is more appropriate than AISC-LRFD. The

ACI lateral strength of CFTs is located on upper bond of the AISC-LRFD’s provisions. AISC-LRFD estimates the lateral strength

conservatively but ACI in some ranges such as in short columns or under high axial load levels computes lateral strength in nonconservative

manner. Supplementary provisions for post local buckling strength of CFT columns should be incorporated in high

seismic region. This effect would be pronounced for column with high aspect ratio and short columns.

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Chloride ion ingress in concrete is the main reason of concrete corrosion. In real world both uncertainty and stochasticity are

main attributes of almost all measurements including testing and modeling of chloride content profile in concrete. Regarding

these facts new models should be able to represent at least some of the uncertainties in the predictions. In this paper after

inspiration from classical physics related to diffusion and random walk concepts a stochastic partial differential equation (SPDE)

of diffusion is introduced to show a more realistic modeling/calibration scheme for construction of stochastic chloride content

profile in concrete. Diffusion SPDE provides a consistent quantitative way of relating uncertainty in inputs to uncertainty in

outputs. Although it is possible to run sensitivity analysis to get some statistical results from deterministic models but the nature

of diffusion is inherently stochastic. Brownian motion process (Wiener process) is used in SPDE to simulate the random nature

of the diffusion in heterogeneous media or random fields like concrete. The proposed method can be used to calibrate/model the

chloride ion profile in concrete by only some limited data for a given depth. Then the stochastic chloride ion diffusion can be

simulated by langevin equation. Results of the method are compared with data from some references and all show good

agreements.

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The aim of current study is to investigate the effect of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites on the fatigue

response of reinforced concrete beams. 6 reinforced concrete (RC) beams from which 3 were retrofitted with CFRP sheets, were

prepared and subjected to fatigue load cycles. To predict and trace the failure occurrence and its growth, a small notch was

induced at the middle span in bottom surface of all RC specimens. At the certain points, strains in concrete and CFRP were

measured in each cycle. The upper limit of applied load was considered at the level of design service load of bridges. In addition,

strain measurements facilitated to the calculation of interfacial shear stresses between concrete substrate and the CFRP layer.

The variation of such stresses through load cycles has been presented and discussed. Also, a discussion on possibility of the local

debonding phenomenon resulted from such interfacial stresses was presented. Load–deflection curves, strain responses and

propagation of tensile cracks provided an insight on the performance of the CFRP strengthened beams subjected to different

cycles of fatigue loading. Variation of load-deflection curves through fatigue load cycles depicted stiffness degradation which

was discussed in the research.

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This paper describes a methodology in designing high-performance concrete for simply supported beams, using a hybrid optimization strategy based on a variable neighborhood search threshold acceptance algorithm. Three strategies have been applied to discrete optimization of reinforced concrete beams: Variable Neighborhood Descent (VND), Reduced Neighborhood Search (RNS) and Basic Variable Neighborhood Search (BVNS). The problem includes 14 variables: two geometrical one material type one mix design and 10 variables for the reinforcement setups. The algorithms are applied to two objective functions: the economic cost and the embedded CO2 emissions. Firstly, this paper presents the application of these three different optimization strategies, which are evaluated by fitting the set of solutions obtained to a three-parameter Weibull distribution function. The Variable Neighborhood Descent with Threshold Accepting acceptance strategy algorithm (VND-TA) results as the most reliable method. Finally, the study presents a parametric study of the span length from 10 to 20 m in which it can be concluded that economic and ecological beams show a good parabolic correlation with the span length.

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Corrosion of reinforcing steel and other embedded metals is the main cause of severe deterioration in reinforced concrete structures which subsequently imposes adverse effects on ultimate and serviceability limit state performance of the whole structure. In this paper, a new corrosion detection method for reinforced concrete beams, based on wavelet analysis is presented. To evaluate the capability and efficiency of the method, a simply supported RC beam was modeled in 3-D taking into account the behaviors of concrete, steel and bond degradation. Deflection profile and mode shapes were extracted numerically and analyzed by wavelet transform. From the findings of the modeling, it can be concluded that this wavelet-based method is capable of detecting corrosion at its earliest stage. It is also concluded that both discrete and continuous wavelet transforms can be used and mother wavelet type has no significant effect on the results.

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Concrete bridge deck damage detection by measurement and monitoring variables related to vibration signatures is one of the main tasks of any Bridge Health Monitoring System (BHMS). Generally damage puts some detectable/discoverable signs in the parameters of bridge vibration behavior. However, differences between frequency and mode shape before and after damage are not remarkable as vibration signatures. Therefore most of the introduced methods of damage detection cannot be used practically. Among many methods it seems that models based on artificial intelligence which apply soft computing methods are more attractive for specific structures. In this paper an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is used to detect the damage location in a concrete bridge deck modeled by finite element method. Some damage scenarios are simulated in different locations of the deck and accelerations as representatives of response at some specific points are calculated. Excitement is done by applying an impact load at the center of the deck. In the proposed ANFIS damage detection model accelerations are inputs and location of the damage is output. Trained model by simulated data can show the location of the damage very well with a few training data and scenarios which are not used in training stage. This system is capable to be included in real-time damage detection systems as well.

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Worldwide, asbestos fibers utilized in fiber cement boards, have been recognized as harmful materials regarding the public health and environmental pollutions. These concerns motivate the researchers to find the appropriate alternatives to substitute the asbestos material towards the sustainability policies. In this paper, the applicability of asbestos replacement with three types of agricultural waste fibers, including bagasse, wheat and eucalyptus fibers were experimentally investigated. To this end, the flexural behaviour and microstructure of cement composite boards made by addition of 2 % and 4 % of waste agricultural fibers in combination with and without 5 % replacement of silica fume by mass of cement were evaluated. The results of this study attested the applicability of utilized waste agricultural fibers in production of cement composite boards by improving the flexural and energy absorption characteristics, more or less, depending on the type of fibers. Moreover, it is found that application of silica fume in production of cement composite boards led to an increase in flexural strength.

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Because thin plate reinforced concrete members such as walls and slabs are greatly influenced by the drying shrinkage, cracks can occur in these members due to the restraint of the volume change caused by drying shrinkage. Therefore, the control of cracking due to drying shrinkage is very important in building construction that the thin plate members are frequently used. However, few researches of estimating shrinkage cracking in RC walls have been executed, and the cracking control design of RC walls has been conducted based on the experience rather than the quantitative design method. In this study, the practical cracking prediction method using equivalent bond-loss length Lb was proposed for the quantitative drying shrinkage crack control of RC wall. The calculated values using proposed method were compared with the experimental results from uniaxial restrained shrinkage cracking specimens and the investigative values from the field study. In general, the results of this method were close to those of the experiment and the field study.

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The present study focuses on the performance of precast concrete beam-column dowel connections subjected to cyclic loading by conducting experiments. In this study, one-third scale model of two types of precast and a monolithic beam-column connection were cast and tested under reverse cyclic loading. The precast connections considered for this study is a beam-column connection where beam is connected to column with corbel using (i) dowel bar and (ii) dowel bar with cleat angle. The experimental results of the precast specimens have been compared with that of the reference monolithic connection. The sub-assemblage specimens have been subjected to reverse cyclic displacement-controlled lateral loading applied at the end of the beam. The performance of the precast connections in terms of the ultimate load carrying capacity, post- elastic strength enhancement factor, load-displacement hysteresis behaviour, moment-rotation hysteresis behaviour, energy dissipation capacity, equivalent viscous damping ratio and ductility factor were compared with that of the monolithic beam-column connection. The monolithic specimen was found to perform better when compared to the precast specimens in terms of strength and energy dissipation. In terms of ductility, the precast specimen using dowel bar and cleat angle showed better behaviour when compared to the reference monolithic specimen.

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Abstract: This paper presents the influence of adding steel fibers and incorporation of silica fume on the mechanical properties of high-strength concrete. The variables investigated were steel fiber volume fraction (0 to 1.5%), silica fume replacement (5, 10 and 15%) and water-to-binder ratio (0.25, 0.30, 0.35 and 0.40). The influence of fiber content in terms of fiber reinforcing index on the compressive and splitting tensile strengths of high-strength steel fiber reinforce concrete (HSFRC) is presented. The use of silica fume increased both the compressive and splitting tensile strengths of concrete at 28 days. On the other hand, the addition of crimped steel fiber into high-strength concrete improves splitting tensile strength significantly. Based on the test data, using regression analysis, empirical expression to predict 28-day tensile strength of HSFRC in terms of fiber reinforcing index was developed and the absolute variation and integral absolute error (IAE) obtained was 3.1% and 3.3, respectively. The relationship between splitting tensile and compressive strength of SFRC was reported with regression coefficient (r) = 0.9. The experimental values of previous researchers were compared with the values predicted by the model and found to predict the values quite accurately.

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Polymeric yarns for reinforcing cement composites have got great interest in all over the world. In this research the performance of bonding between Nylon tire cord grad yarns, and one kind of cement composite called fine grained concrete was studied. Two kinds of Nylon cord yarns, nylon 6 and 66, with different finesse were selected. The durability of yarns with time in alkaline media was investigated. Meanwhile the effect of usual tire cord coating on bonding performance and alkaline durability of yarns were studied by mechanical testing and SEM images. Then the bonding of these yarns to cement paste and the effects of finesse on bonding performance were investigated by pull out tests. The results show that coating could enhance alkaline durability. Results also show that yarns with higher finesse are more sensitive to alkaline media and their mechanical properties reduced more. SEM images show that in general, alkali damage of Nylon tire cord yarns was not deep and no significant changes were observed on the surface of filaments after exposed to alkali. The bonding of Nylon tire cord to cement composite was suitable and no slippage was observed. The pull out behavior of finer yarns is better than coarse yarns. Meanwhile tire cord coating could enhance bonding of yarns to cement paste.

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Piles or drilled shafts used in bridge foundation, waterfronts, and high rise buildings are generally subjected to lateral loads. In order to study the effect of concrete pile geometry on the structural behavior in layered soils, several models with different shapes and dimensions for piles and different properties for two soil layers with variable thickness were selected and analyzed using the finite difference method. The performance of piles situated in layered granular soil with different compaction and thicknesses were studied in two cycles of lateral loading and unloading. The applied finite difference procedure is also validated based on experimental and published results. The pile head displacement of different models due to their overall deformation and rotation were calculated under maximum loading. For a comparison of pile head displacement due to their overall deformation and rotation in different models, the "performance index” is defined as the ratio of “displacement due to deformation” to the “total displacement”.

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This paper aims to characterize the elastic modulus of structural modified normal density (MND) and lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) produced with different types of expanded clay lightweight aggregates (LWA). A comprehensive experimental study was carried out involving different concrete strengths ranging from 30 to 70 MPa and density classes D1.6 to D2.0. The influence of several factors on the LWAC elastic modulus, such as the cement content, initial wetting conditions, type and volume of coarse LWA and the partial replacement of normal weight coarse and fine aggregates by LWA are analyzed. The strength and deformability of LWAC seems to be little affected by the addition of high reactive nanosilica. Reasonable correlations are found between the elastic modulus and the compressive strength or concrete density. The obtained LWAC elastic moduli are compared with those reported in the literature and those estimated from the main normative documents. In general, codes underestimate the LWAC modulus of elasticity by less than 20%. However, the MND modulus of elasticity can be greatly underestimated. In addition, the prediction of LWAC elastic modulus by means of non-destructive ultrasonic tests is studied. Dynamic elasticity modulus and ultrasonic pulse velocity results are reported and high correlated relationships, over 0.95, with the static modulus are established.

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An analytical nonlinear stress-strain model and a microscopic damage index for confined and unconfined concretes together with a macroscopic damage index for reinforced concrete (RC) structures under cyclic loading are proposed. In order to eliminate the problem of scale effect, an adjustable finite element computer program was generated to simulate RC structures subjected to cyclic loading. By comparing the simulated and experimental results of tests on the full-scale structural members and concrete cylindrical samples, the proposed stress-strain model for confined and unconfined concretes under cyclic loading was accordingly modified and then validated. The proposed model has a strong mathematical structure and can readily be adapted to achieve a higher degree of precision by modifying the relevant coefficients based on more precise tests. To apply the proposed damage indices at the microscopic and macroscopic levels, respectively, stress-strain data of finite elements (confined and unconfined concrete elements) and moment-curvature data of critical section are employed. The proposed microscopic damage index can easily be calculated by using the proposed simple analytic nonlinear stress-strain model for confined and unconfined concretes. The proposed macroscopic damage index is based on the evaluation of nonlinear local degradation of materials and taking into account the pseudo-plastic hinge produced in the critical section of the structural element. One of the advantages of the macroscopic damage index is that the moment-curvature data of the critical section is sufficient in itself and there is no need to obtain the force-displacement data of the structural member.

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This study assesses the kinetics of hydration of Pulverised Fuel Ash and Metakaolin cement pastes and compares how the rate of reaction affects the pore-characteristics and resistance to ionic ingress. The degrees of hydration for the different mixtures were evaluated, both as a function of the calcium hydroxide content and with respect to the chemically combined water contents. The reaction rates have been evaluated using a mathematical model (Jander model), which describes the hydration kinetics of the two materials. The results show that the reaction rate for specimens incorporating Metakaolin is several folds higher than those incorporating Pulverised fuel ash. The faster rate of reaction of the pozzolanic blends results in a faster rate of filling the pore spaces with hydration products, smaller pore volumes and reduced chloride ion diffusivity. The results from this investigation will provide engineers with a much needed uunderstanding of the kinetics of hydration and setting characteristics of these types of cement systems and help in gaining an appreciation of the early structural development, ease of placement and subsequent evolution of properties.