Comparative study of Steel-FRP, FRP and steel reinforced coral concrete beams in their flexural performance

In this paper, a comparative study of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Bar and Steel-Carbon Fiber Composite Bar (SCFCB) reinforced coral concrete beams are made through a series experimental tests and theoretical analysis. The flexural capacity, crack development and failure modes of CFRP and SCFCB reinforced coral concrete were investigated in detail. They are also compared to ordinary steel reinforced coral concrete beams. The results show that under the same condition of reinforcement ratio, the SCFCB reinforced beam exhibits better performance than those of the CFRP reinforced beams, and its stiffness is slightly lower than that of the steel reinforced beam. Under the same load condition, the crack width of the SCFCB beam is between the steel reinforced beam and the CFRP bar reinforced beam. Before the steel core yields, the crack growth rate of SCFCB beam is similar to the steel reinforced beam. SCFCB has a higher strength utilization rate, about 70% -85% of its ultimate strength. The current design guidance was also examined based on the test results. It was found that the existing design specifications for FRP reinforced normal concrete is not suitable for SCFCB reinforced coral concrete structures

Flexural analysis of concrete beams longitudinally reinforced with GFRP bars using discrete element model

This paper presents experimental and analytical study related to the flexural behavior of concrete beams longitudinally reinforced with GFRP bars. The specimens consist of simply supported reinforced concrete beams with two point load. Totally 16 concrete beams includes 8 beams reinforced with steel and 8 beams reinforced with GFRP bars were tested to failure. Flexural capacity of the beam was observed experimentally and analytically. A computer program of cross sectional analysis using discrete element model was developed in this study to determine the flexural capacity of the beams. In addition, available stress-strain model proposed by the other researchers was used in order to simulate the behavior of material in calculation process. Finally, the flexural capacity obtained from analytical calculation was compared to that obtained from the test in term of moment-curvature curves and load deflection curves. The results show that beam reinforced with GFRP experienced larger ultimate load and larger deflection at same load level compared to beam reinforced with steel. Keyword: Reinforced concrete beams, Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP), Flexural capacity

Design and evaluation of three-phase fibrous composite structures

Study reveals composite combination evaluations for boron binder reinforcements for unidirectly reinforced boron/epoxy, glass binder reinforcements for unidirectionally reinforced boron/epoxy, and glass binder reinforcements for unidrectionally reinforced glass/epoxy

Large deviations in the reinforced random walk model on trees

In this paper, we consider the linearly reinforced and the once-reinforced random walk models in the transient phase on trees. We show the large deviations for the upper tails for both models. We also show the exponential decay for the lower tail in the once-reinforced random walk model. On the other hand, the lower tail is in polynomial decay for the linearly reinforced random walk model.Comment: 20 page

Life cycle assessment of nanocellulose-reinforced advanced fibre composites

The research and development of nanocellulose-reinforced polymer composites have dramatically increased in the recent years due to the possibility of exploiting the high tensile stiffness and strength of nanocellulose. In the work, the environmental impacts of bacterial cellulose (BC)- and nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC)-reinforced epoxy composites were evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA). Neat polylactide (PLA) and 30% randomly oriented glass fibre-reinforced polypropylene (GF/PP) composites were used as benchmark materials for comparison. Our cradle-to-gate LCA showed that BC- and NFC-reinforced epoxy composites have higher global warming potential (GWP) and abiotic depletion potential of fossil fuels (ADf) compared to neat PLA and GF/PP even though the specific tensile moduli of the nanocellulose-reinforced epoxy composites were higher than neat PLA and GF/PP. However, when the use phase and the end-of-life of nanocellulose-reinforced epoxy composites were considered, the “green credentials” of nanocellulose-reinforced epoxy composites were comparable to that of neat PLA and GF/PP composites. Our life cycle scenario analysis showed that the cradle-to-grave GWP and ADf of BC- and NFC-reinforced epoxy composites could be lower than neat PLA when the composites contains more than 60 vol.-% nanocellulose. Our LCA model suggests that nanocellulose-reinforced epoxy composites with high nanocellulose loading is desired to produce materials with “greener credentials” than the best performing commercially available bio-derived polymer

Bond–slip Behavior of Fiber-reinforced Polymer/concrete Interface in Single Shear Pull-out and Beam Tests

It has been assumed that the fiber-reinforced polymer/concrete interface is subjected to in-plane shear condition when intermediate crack debonding failure occurs. Therefore, the single shear pull-out test results are often used to predict the intermediate crack debonding failure in beams. In this study, the behavior of fiber-reinforced polymer-strengthened concrete beams and single shear pull-out specimens were studied experimentally and numerically. The bond–slip behavior of the fiber-reinforced polymer/concrete interface was obtained by single shear pull-out and beam tests. In all beam specimens, a concrete wedge located at the edge of the notch detached with the fiber-reinforced polymer debonding failure. This phenomenon shows that the initiation of debonding is due to a diagonal crack formation close to the major flexural/shear crack inside the concrete. The diagonal crack formation is due to a local moment at the tip of the notch. This causes the different stress state and slip of the fiber-reinforced polymer/concrete interface of beam specimens from that of the pull-out specimens. It is found that the bond–slip relation obtained from the pull-out test does not represent the bond–slip relation of the fiber-reinforced polymer/concrete interface in the fiber-reinforced polymer-strengthened concrete beams, and it cannot be directly used for predicting the load capacity of the fiber-reinforced polymer-strengthened concrete beams

Reinforced silica-carbon nanotube monolithic aerogels synthesised by rapid controlled gelation

This work introduces a new synthesis procedure for obtaining homogeneous silica hybrid aerogels with carbon nanotube contents up to 2.50 wt.%. The inclusion of nanotubes in the highly porous silica matrix was performed by a two-step sol–gel process, resulting in samples with densities below 80 mg/cm3. The structural analyses (N2 physisorption and SEM) revealed the hierarchical structure of the porous matrix formed by nanoparticles arranged in clusters of 100 and 300 nm in size, specific surface areas around 600 m2/g and porous volumes above 4.0 cm3/g. In addition, a relevant increase on the mechanical performance was found, and an increment of 50% for the compressive strength and 90% for the maximum deformation were measured by uniaxial compression. This reinforcement was possible thanks to the outstanding dispersion of the CNT within the silica matrix and the formation of Si–O–C bridges between nanotubes and silica matrix, as suggested by FTIR. Therefore, the original synthesis procedure introduced in this work allows the fabrication of highly porous hybrid materials loaded with carbon nanotubes homogeneously distributed in the space, which remain available for a variety of technological applications

Numerical analysis of structural behavior of welded wire reinforcement in reinforced concrete beams

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016Modernization and industrialization have paved the way for the construction industry of India to expand. On the other hand the Indian construction industry is set to face an acute workforce shortage. The shortage of construction workers has in fact slowed down the growth of this industry in major cities across the country and escalated its cost by 40 percent. An alternative way to replace the labor force is by automation techniques. This study is a numerical analysis to evaluate structural behavior of simply supported concrete beams reinforced with welded wires in comparison with mild steel reinforced concrete beams. Welding conventional steel bars (60 ksi) reduces their shear strength by 50 percent. Welded Wire Reinforcement (80 ksi), with its greater strength, higher durability, significantly lower placing and overall cost, provides an alternative and perhaps a better substitution for mild steel bars. The commercial finite element analysis program, ABAQUS, was used to model the non-linear behavior of reinforced concrete beams. In order to evaluate the structural behavior of welded wire reinforced concrete beams, different configurations of longitudinal and transverse wires have been considered. First, different types of stirrup configurations in a rectangular reinforced concrete beam are compared with a conventional reinforced beam. Second, a structurally performing welded wire configuration is compared with a Mexican chair styled reinforcement configuration. This part of the analysis is evaluated for a T–beam, used for building roof applications.Chapter 1 Introduction -- Welded Wire Reinforcement -- Traditional Rebar versus Welded Wire Reinforcement (WWR) -- Potential Gains through Welded Wire Reinforcement (WWR) -- Welded Wire Reinforcement Specifications and Nomenclature -- Welded Wire Reinforcement Manufacturing, Handling and Placing -- Aim and Scope -- Outline of Thesis -- Chapter 2 Literature Review -- Impact of Welded Wire Reinforcement in Structural Members -- Welded Wire Reinforcements in Columns -- Welded Wire Reinforcements in Beams and Girders -- Welded Wire Reinforcements in Structural Walls -- Summary -- Chapter 3 Finite Element Modeling of Reinforced Concrete Beams -- ABAQUS Modeling -- Non-linear Behavior of Concrete -- Uniaxial and Biaxial Behavior -- Non-linear Modeling of Reinforced Concrete Beam -- Material Model Properties -- Concrete Damage Plasticity Parameters -- Reinforcement Properties -- Convergence Analysis -- Chapter 4 Numerical Analysis of Concrete Beams Reinforced with Traditional and Welded Wire Reinforcement -- Introduction -- Initial Validation and Mesh Convergence -- Analysis of Welded Wire Reinforcement Grids in Reinforced Concrete Beams -- Rectangular Reinforced Concrete Beams Subjected to Four Point Loading Condition -- Rectangular Reinforced Concrete Beams Subjected to Uniformly Distributed Loading Condition -- T - Beams Subjected to Four Point Loading Condition -- Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendation -- Conclusion -- Recommendation -- References

Production of circular polymer-glass fabric composites

Potentially automated pultrusion technique has been provided for production of curved, glass-reinforced polyimide, epoxy, and graphite reinforced structures. Specially designed apparatus has been manufactured for production of curved structures