Finite element analysis of rectangular reinforced concrete columns wrapped with FRP composites

Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) wrapping of reinforced concrete (RC) columns has increasingly become the most suitable method used to strengthen and rehabilitate RC columns. It is clear that limited studies have investigated the behaviour of eccentrically loaded RC columns wrapped with FRP composites. In the present study, a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model was developed to simulate the behaviour of rectangular RC columns wrapped with glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) sheets under concentric and eccentric loading. The FE model was developed in the finite element analysis software ANSYS. The variables within the FE model are the number of GFRP layers and the magnitude of load eccentricity. The FE analysis results showed that GFRP wrapping significantly improved the performance of the strengthened columns by delaying concrete rupture. The presence of load eccentricity reduced the load carrying capacity and performance of the strengthened RC columns. The FE model correlated well with the stress distribution trends observed in the literature

Spider Haiku

The utilization of lightweight oil palm shell to produce high strength lightweight sustainable material has led many researchers towards its commercialization as structural concrete. However, the low tensile strength of Oil Palm Shell Concrete (OPSC) has hindered its development. This study aims to enhance the mechanical properties and flexural behaviours of OPSC by the addition of steel fibres of up to 3% by volume, to produce oil palm shell fibre-reinforced concrete (OPSFRC). The experimental results showed that the steel fibres significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of OPSFRC. The highest compressive strength, splitting tensile and flexural strengths of 55, 11.0 and 18.5 MPa, respectively, were achieved in the OPSFRC mix reinforced with 3% steel fibres. In addition, the flexural beam testing on OPSFRC beams with 3% steel fibres showed that the steel fibre reinforcement up to 3% produced notable increments in the moment capacity and crack resistance of OPSFRC beams, but accompanied by reduction in the ductility

The effect of aspect ratio and volume fraction on mechanical properties of steel fibre-reinforced oil palm shell concrete

The utilization of oil palm shell (OPS) as a replacement for conventional coarse aggregate produces a greener structural lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC). Steel fibres enhance the mechanical properties of LWAC including OPS concrete (OPSC). This paper reports on the influence of the aspect ratio (l/d) and volume fraction (Vf) of hooked end steel fibres in oil palm shell fibre-reinforced concrete (OPSFRC). The fresh and hardened concrete properties, including ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and post-failure compressive strength (PFCS) of ten mixes with three each for l/d (55, 65 and 80) and Vf (0.25%, 0.5% and 0.75%) are investigated. The mix with an l/d of 65 produced the highest values of slump, density, and compressive strength. The enhancement in the splitting tensile strength of 83% compared to the control mix was obtained for the mix with the highest l/d. Generally, the increase in Vf from 0.25% to 0.75% improved the mechanical properties. The UPV results indicated that all OPSFRC and PFCS of 66–70% obtained were of good quality. First published online: 24 Aug 201

A Review on the Use of Agriculture Waste Material as Lightweight Aggregate for Reinforced Concrete Structural Members

The agriculture industry is one of the main industries in the Southeast Asia region due to its favourable conditions for plantations. In fact, Southeast Asia region is the world’s largest producer of palm oil and coconut. Nevertheless, vast plantation of these agriculture products leads to equally large amount of waste materials emanating from these industries. Previously, researchers have attempted to utilize the resulting waste materials such as oil palm shell, palm oil clinker, and coconut shell from these industries as lightweight aggregate to produce structural grade lightweight aggregate concrete. In order to promote the concept of using such concrete for actual structural applications, this paper reviews the use of such agriculture-based lightweight aggregate concrete in reinforced concrete structural members such as beam and slab, which were carried out by researchers in the past. The behaviour of the structural members under flexural, shear, and torsional load was also summarized. It is hoped that the knowledge attained from the paper will provide design engineers with better idea and proper application of design criteria for structural members using such agriculture waste as lightweight aggregate

Finite element analysis of rectangular reinforced concrete columns wrapped with FRP composites

Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) wrapping of reinforced concrete (RC) columns has increasingly become the most suitable method used to strengthen and rehabilitate RC columns. It is clear that limited studies have investigated the behaviour of eccentrically loaded RC columns wrapped with FRP composites. In the present study, a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model was developed to simulate the behaviour of rectangular RC columns wrapped with glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) sheets under concentric and eccentric loading. The FE model was developed in the finite element analysis software ANSYS. The variables within the FE model are the number of GFRP layers and the magnitude of load eccentricity. The FE analysis results showed that GFRP wrapping significantly improved the performance of the strengthened columns by delaying concrete rupture. The presence of load eccentricity reduced the load carrying capacity and performance of the strengthened RC columns. The FE model correlated well with the stress distribution trends observed in the literature

Utilization of Palm Oil Fuel Ash as Binder in Lightweight Oil Palm Shell Geopolymer Concrete

Traditionally fly ash (FA) has been used to replace cement as binder in the geopolymer concrete. The utilization of palm oil industrial waste materials known as palm oil fuel ash (POFA) and oil palm shell (OPS) that are abundantly available in South East Asia as binder and coarse aggregate in geopolymer concrete would give an added advantage in both the environmental and economic aspects. The mechanical properties of the OPS geopolymer concrete (OPSGC) through the use of POFA, FA, and OPS are investigated and reported. A total of ten OPSGC mixtures were prepared with varying percentages of POFA and FA such as 0, 10, 20, 40, and 100%. The specimens prepared with two alkaline solution to binder (AK/B) ratios of 0.35 and 0.55 were oven cured at 65°C for 48 hours. The experimental results showed that the highest compressive strength of 30 MPa was obtained for the mix with 20% replacement of FA by POFA and AK/B ratio of 0.55, which underwent oven curing. Further, the mix of up to 20% POFA (with AK/B ratio of 0.55) can be categorized as structural lightweight concrete. An increase of the POFA content beyond 20% decreases the mechanical properties, and hence this mix is recommended to be used

Influence of polypropylene fibres on the tensile strength and thermal properties of various densities of foamed concrete

As almost half of the world's population now lives in the urban areas, the raise in temperature in these areas has necessitated the development of thermal insulating material. Conventional concrete absorbs solar radiation during the daytime while releasing it at night causing raise in temperature in urban areas. The thermal conductivity of 2200 kg/m3 density conventional concrete is 1.6 W/mK. Higher the thermal conductivity value, greater the heat flow through the material. To reduce this heat transfer, the construction industry has turned to lightweight foamed concrete. Foamed concrete, due to its air voids, gives excellent thermal properties and sound absorption apart from fire-resistance and self-leveling properties. But due to limited studies on different densities of foamed concrete, the thermal properties are not understood properly thus limiting its use as thermal insulating material. In this study, thermal conductivity is determined for 1400, 1600 and 1800 kg/m3 densities of foamed concrete. 0.8% of Polypropylene fibres (PP) is used to reinforce the foamed concrete and improve the mechanical properties. Based upon the results, it was found that addition of PP fibres enhances the tensile strength and slightly reduced the thermal conductivity for lower densities, while the reverse affect was noticed in 1800 kg/m3 density