Global analysis of DEF damage to concretes with and without fly-ash

Delayed Ettringite formation (DEF) is an internal expansive reaction that can damage concrete. DEF is strongly influenced by the temperature, above about 60-65°C, and other factors involving cement chemistry especially, but also its physical characteristics. The exposure environment over time also promotes a condition to increase deterioration from DEF. Expansions results from secondary ettringite formation are progressive and can lead concrete to microcracking impacting its performance and durability over time. Several concrete structures are pointed to be severely attacked by DEF, and test method as well a better comprehension on this pathology is necessary to promote specific and proper preventive measures to avoid future damages. Furthermore, compared to alkali-silica reaction, DEF occurs more readily and aggressively, and sometimes prematurely, depending on several factors, such as type of cement, concrete mix design, exposure conditions, among others. This paper involves an overall analysis of the behavior of concretes with two types of Portland cements (High early-strength cement and a Portland pozzolanic cement, with fly-ash) in relation to DEF process. Several data from a laboratory study where DEF was induced through a specific thermal curing procedure are presented and discussed. The analyses involved the assessment of physical, mechanical, and expansive properties besides microstructural monitoring of samples from concretes over time. These experiments allowed detecting high values of expansions from DEF (up to 1.2%) in the concrete without fly ash. The mechanical properties were severely impacted from this deleterious process; as expansions increased, losses in the mechanic and elastic properties were verified. Expansion levels in the order of 0.5% prompted remarkably high reductions and, at about 1% the losses were relevant for both strengths (tensile and compressive) and modulus of elasticity, of 60% and 80%, respectively, in the presence of cement without fly-ash. Concrete microstructure has indicated massive formations of ettringite as well as micro-cracking and the fragility of the cement matrix because of DEF. On the other hand, expansion up to 0.2% did not promote important negative effects on the properties of concrete, especially with the pozzolanic cement tested. Furthermore, an overall approach with several correlations between physical and mechanical properties was taken to obtain different levels of deterioration for a concrete presenting DEF.

Experimental analysis of steel fiber reinforced concrete beams in shear

Some normative recommendations are conservative in relation to the shear strength of reinforced concrete beams, not directly considering the longitudinal reinforcement rate. An experimental program containing 8 beams of (100 x 250) mm2 and a length of 1,200 mm was carried out. The concrete compression strength was 20 MPa with and without 1.00% of steel fiber addition, without stirrups and varying the longitudinal reinforcement ratio. Comparisons between experimental failure loads and main design codes estimates were assessed. The results showed that the increase of the longitudinal reinforcement ratio from 0.87% to 2.14% in beams without steel fiber led to an improvement of 59% in shear strength caused by the dowel effect, while the corresponding improvement was of only 22% in fibered concrete beams. A maximum gain of 109% in shear strength was observed with the addition of 1% of steel fibers comparing beams with the same longitudinal reinforcement ratio (1.2%). A significant amount of shear strength was provided by the inclusion of the steel fibers and allowed controlling the propagation of cracks by the effect of stress transfer bridges, transforming the brittle shear mechanism into a ductile flexural one. From this, it is clear the shear benefit of the steel fiber addition when associated to the longitudinal reinforcement and optimal values for this relationship would improve results.

Optimized design of concrete-filled steel columns

The objective of this paper is to present the formulation of the optimization problem and its application to the design of concrete-filled composite columns with and without reinforcement steel bars, according to recommendations from NBR 8800:2008, NBR 16239:2013 and EN 1994-1-1:2004. A comparative analysis between the aforementioned standards is performed for various geometries considering cost, efficiency and materials in order to verify which parameters influence the solution of the composite column that satisfies the proposed problems. The solution of the optimization problem is obtained by using the genetic algorithm method featured in MATLAB’s guide toolbox. For the examples analyzed, results show that concretes with compressive strength greater than 50MPa directly influence the solution of the problem regarding cost and resistance to normal forces.

Computational and experimental simulation to analyze loss in concrete cover by reinforcement deformation in solid slabs

ABSTRACT Adequate cover thickness contributes to the correct performance of reinforced concrete structures. Spacers are recommended in standards to maintain a concrete cover; however, many regulations do not provide sufficient guidelines for their use, resulting in poor construction. A research program was developed for solid slabs through computational and experimental simulations to minimize errors in the cover by assessing different reinforcement bar diameters and spacer distribution, considering realistic element construction and standards, combining theory with practice. The results show that the use of spacers does not guarantee the design cover for some reinforcement bar diameters, as 4.2 and 5.0 mm, and regardless of the spacer distribution configuration assessed, these meshes undergo permanent deformation, thereby damaging the cover and consequently impact structural performance. Meshes of 6.3 and 8.0 mm diameters present deformation within the cover tolerance. Therefore, it is preferable to choose bigger diameters and larger mesh spacing to guarantee the projected cover, contributing to the correct performance of the structures, solving one of the major problems in this type of construction.

Reinforced concrete structures strengthened with CFRP (ACI x FIB) - Recommendations for bending design criteria

abstract: This work deals with the evaluation of the design criteria and security check (Ultimate Limit State - ULS) of the American (ACI-440.2R, 2017) and European (FIB Model Code, 2010) standards of reinforced concrete structures strengthened with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP), by the technique of Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR). It is intended to evaluate if, for a given database of 64 experimental tests of beams and slabs, the obtained results respect the safety conditions according to the mentioned standards, to increase the efficiency of this reinforcement technique and to lead to the establishment of regulatory design criteria in Brazil. Results show a conservative match among experimental and theoretical values calculated according to the two guidelines and it is concluded that a future regulation in Brazil on this subject should be based on the FIB Model Code.

Curved bridges live load bending moment distribution using straight and curved girders

abstract: The present study focuses on comparative parametric analysis of curved precast concrete bridges using straight and curved I-girders. The live load bending moment distribution for girders was studied using the bridge curvature and its relationship with the results obtained for a straight bridge. FEM 3D models were developed with restrictions on the transverse live load positions and with two different load models types: HL-93 (AASHTO) and TB-450 (NBR 7188, 2013). The parametric analysis results were calculated using the Modification Factor (MF) and the Bending Moment Distribution Factor (BMDF), calculated from the structural analysis of each model at the midspan. Globally, an increase was found in the total bending moment for the curved bridge models in relation to the straight bridge. In the examples herein studied, the larger the bending radius, the larger the maximal bending moment in the bridge center. For the external girders, the MF increases with the increase of the L/R. For the internal ones, the MF decreases with the increase of the L/R. In addition, the occurrence of “Load Shift” was different from the rigid body behavior, for there was demonstrated a different bending moment variation between external girder (G1) in relation to its adjacent (G2). Therefore, the structural behavior of straight (SG) and curved girders (CG) was analyzed, revealing that, in the SG, a significant gap occurred in the BMDF between G1 and G2 girders for all curvatures. For L/R = 0.6, it caused a difference of 17.8% in the BMDF between the G1 and G2 girders, while on the curved girders, a difference of only 6.6% was found.

Reliability analysis of slender columns using the general method with linear creep theory

To analyze the reliability of slender columns subjected to axial force and uniaxial bending moment, with a slenderness index between 100 and 140, 216 columns were modeled. The square cross-section was adopted, with three different configurations for longitudinal reinforcement. In the calculation, the general method with the linear creep theory was applied. Several factors were varied: slenderness index, reinforcement ratio, steel bars arrangement, compressive strength of concrete, and first-order relative eccentricity. For analysis purposes, the Monte Carlo method was adopted, followed by the First Order Reliability Method (FORM). Considering the results obtained, it was observed that the reliability index is usually higher for lower reinforcement ratios and varies according to the configuration of the cross-section.

Eco-efficient concrete, optimized by Alfred’s particle packing model, with partial replacement of Portland cement by stone powder

The partial replacement of clinker by complementary cementitious materials can significantly contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions in the production of concrete. Another alternative to reduce these emissions is to increase the efficiency of the concrete, achieving higher compressive strength with lower consumption of cement. Particle packing models are efficient tools to optimize the composition of the matrix and contribute to the production of more eco-efficient concretes. In this context, the objective of the present study is evaluating the production of concretes with partial replacement of cement by stone powder, optimized by Alfred’s particle packing model, seeking to reduce cement consumption and CO2 emissions per MPa of compressive strength. The replacement content of cement by stone powder was 20% by mass (equivalent to 22.4% by volume). Concretes were produced with different distribution factor (q) - 0.37; 0.21; 0.45 - to verify the influence of fines on the flow between particles and on the efficiency of the produced concrete. The analyses were carried out in terms of properties in the fresh state, hardened state, and sustainability parameters (cement consumptions and CO2 emissions). The application of the proposed method resulted in a higher compressive strength than the expected for the water/cement ratio used (0.5). The most efficient concrete reached the compressive strength of 68 MPa with 240 kg/m3 of cement, which represents 3.5 kg of cement/m3/MPa and 3.1 kg of CO2/m3/MPa, a value below the references found in the literature for conventional concretes. Therefore, the proposed method allows to produce more eco-efficient concrete, contributing to the use of waste and reducing CO2 emissions.

Ultrasonic wave propagation in thermally treated concrete up to 400 ºC

The ultrasonic pulse velocity, obtained by ultrasonic non-destructive testing, has been applied to evaluate the concrete integrity. The attenuation parameters have shown more sensitivity to damage detection in the microstructure of concrete since they consider the entire ultrasonic waveform. However, it is still necessary to evaluate the sensitivity of those parameters to thermally damaged concrete. This work aims to assess the behavior and the sensitivity of the following ultrasonic parameters: pulse and group velocities, maximum amplitude, total energy, accumulated energy, and time instants corresponding to 25%, 50%, and 75% of the energy, in detecting changes due to thermal degradation of the concrete. A sample of 39 cylindrical concrete specimens with 100 mm in diameter and 300 mm in length and C25 strength class was used. The sample was distributed into 5 groups heated between 20 and 400 ºC until the internal temperature of the specimens became homogeneous. The groups were cooled inside a muffle furnace until reaching 150 ºC. Subsequently, they were exposed to the ambient temperature and humidity of the laboratory environment for, at least, 24 hours prior to the tests of mass loss, ultrasound, and compressive strength. The results show that the ultrasonic parameters are sensitive to the thermal degradation of the concrete. The pulse velocity, the accumulated energy, and the time instants corresponding to percentages of the energy decrease monotonically as the temperature increases. The group velocity shows significant dispersions, while the maximum amplitude and the total energy increase at 200 ºC. The results led to the conclusion that the pulse velocity is the least sensitive parameter, while the time instants corresponding to 25%, 50%, and 75% of the energy are the most sensitive parameters in detecting changes due to thermal degradation of the concrete.

Seismic reliability assessment of a non-seismic reinforced concrete framed structure designed according to ABNT NBR 6118:2014

abstract: Due to the paucity of studies regarding the seismic assessment of buildings in Brazil, this study aims to present and discuss a seismic reliability assessment of a reinforced concrete framed structure designed according to the Brazilian standard ABNT NBR 6118:2014 without the consideration of the seismic design requirements of ABNT NBR 15421:2006. Herein, fragility functions are generated through probabilistic seismic demand analysis, and integrated with hazard curves for Northeastern Brazil to generate regional failure probability maps for three limit-states: Immediate Occupancy (IO), Life Safety (LS), and Collapse Prevention (CP). The results indicated that the building performance is adequate for IO; however, for LS and CP, an unacceptable performance is observed.