Analysis of shear transfer and gap opening in timber–concrete composite members with notched connections

In timber–concrete composite members with notched connections, the notches act as the shear connections between the timber and the concrete part, and have to carry the shear flow necessary for composite action. The shear transfer through the notches generates shear and tensile stresses in both parts of the composite member, which may lead to brittle failure and to an abrupt collapse of the structure. Although simplified design formulas already exist, some structural aspects are still not clear, and a reliable design model is missing. This paper summarizes current design approaches and presents analytical models to understand the shear-carrying mechanism, to estimate the shear stresses acting in the timber and concrete, and to predict failure. The analysis concentrates on three problems: the shearing-off failure of the timber close to the notch, the shear failure of the concrete, and the influence of the shear flow on the gap opening between the timber and concrete. Parts of the model calculations could be compared to experimental observations. The conclusions of this paper contribute to improving current design approaches.ISSN:1359-5997ISSN:1871-687

Temperature-Driven Mixing-Demixing Behavior of Binary Mixtures of the Ionic Liquid Choline Bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and Water

The ionic liquid (2-hydroxyethylammonium)trimethylammonium) bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (choline bistriflimide) was obtained as a supercooled liquid at room temperature (melting point = 30 °C). Crystals of choline bistriflimide suitable for structure determination were grown from the melt in situ on the X-ray diffractometer. The choline cation adopts a folded conformation, whereas the bistriflimide anion exhibits a transoid conformation. The choline cation and the bistriflimide anion are held together by hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl proton and a sulfonyl oxygen atom. This hydrogen bonding is of importance for the temperature-dependent solubility properties of the ionic liquid. Choline bistriflimide is not miscible with water at room temperature, but forms one phase with water at temperatures above 72 °C (equals upper critical solution temperature). 1H NMR studies show that the hydrogen bonds between the choline cation and the bistriflimide anion are substantially weakened above this temperature. The thermophysical properties of water-choline bistriflimide binary mixtures were furthermore studied by a photopyroelectric technique and by adiabatic scanning calorimetry (ASC). By photothermal analysis, besides highly accurate values for the thermal conductivity and effusivity of choline bistriflimide at 30 °C, the detailed temperature dependence of both the thermal conductivity and effusivity of the upper and lower part of a critical water-choline bistriflimide mixture in the neighborhood of the mixing-demixing phase transition could be determined with high resolution and accuracy. Together with high resolution ASC data for the heat capacity, experimental values were obtained for the critical exponents α and β, and for the critical amplitude ratio G+/G−. These three values were found to be consistent with theoretical expectations for a three dimensional Ising-type of critical behavior of binary liquid mixtures.Temperature-driven mixing-demixing behavior of binary mixtures of the ionic liquidstatus: publishe