Four simply supported reinforced concrete (RC) beams were test experimentaly and analyzed using the extended finite element method (XFEM). This method is used to treat the discontinuities resulting from the fracture process and crack propagation in that occur in concrete. The Meso-Scale Approach (MSA) used to model concrete as a heterogenous material consists of a three-phasic material (coarse aggregate, mortar, and air voids in the cement paste). The coarse aggregate that was used in the casting of these beams rounded and crashed aggregate shape with maximum size of 20 mm. The compressive strength used in these beams is equal to 17 MPa and 34 MPa, respectively. These RC beams are designed to fail due to flexure when subjected to load as a two-point loading. To model the coarse aggregate realistically, the aggregate must distributed randomly according to the gradient and amount actually used in the mix design. This property is not found in the ABAQUS program that resulted in the use of an alternate program to represent the aggregate randomly. Next, the random representation of the aggregate were transfered to the ABAQUS program by using commands and instructions that the program can understand, to draw as a sketch. The comparison between experimental and numerical results showed that the XFEM is a good method used to simulate the non-smooth behavior in RC beams such as discontinuitiy and singularity. While a mesoscale model can be simulated the non-homogeneity in the concrete.
The finite element approach is used to solve a variety of difficulties, including well bore stability, fluid flow production and injection wells, mechanical issues and others. Geomechanics is a term that includes a number of important aspects in the petroleum industry, such as studying the changes that can be occur in oil reservoirs and geological structures, and providing a picture of oil well stability during drilling. The current review study concerned about the advancements in the application of the finite element method (FEM) in the geomechanical field over a course of century.
Firstly, the study presented the early advancements of this method by development the structural framework of stress, make numerical computer solution
... Show MoreWhen the flange of a reinforced concrete spandrel beam is in tension, current design codes and specifications enable a portion of the bonded flexure tension reinforcement to be distributed over an effective flange width. The flexural behavior of the RC L-shaped spandrel beam when reinforcement is laterally displaced in the tension flange is investigated experimentally and numerically in this work. Numerical analysis utilizing the finite element method is performed on discretized flanged beam models validated using experimentally verified L-shaped beam specimens to achieve study objectives. A parametric study was carried out to evaluate the influence of various factors on the beam’s flexure behavior. Results showed that
... Show MoreThis paper demonstrates an experimental and numerical study aimed at comparing the influence of openings of different configurations on the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete gable roof beams. The experimental program consisted of testing six simply supported gable beams subjected to mid-point concentrated load. The variable which has been investigated in this work was opening's configuration (quadrilateral or circular) with the same upper and lower chords depth. The results indicate improvement in the beams’ flexural behavior when circular openings were used compared with that of quadrilateral openings, represented by an increase in ultimate load capacity and a decrease in deflection at the service limit. Also, there was an
... Show MoreThere are many different methods for analysis of two-way reinforced concrete slabs. The most efficient methods depend on using certain factors given in different codes of reinforced concrete design. The other ways of analysis of two-way slabs are the direct design method and the equivalent frame method. But these methods usually need a long time for analysis of the slabs.
In this paper, a new simple method has been developed to analyze the two-way slabs by using simple empirical formulae, and the results of final analysis of some examples have been compared with other different methods given in different codes of practice.
The comparison proof that this simple proposed method gives good results and it can be used in analy
... Show MoreThis paper analyzes a piled-raft foundation on non-homogeneous soils with variable layer depth percentages. The present work aims to perform a three-dimensional finite element analysis of a piled-raft foundation subjected to vertical load using the PLAXIS 3D software. Parametric analysis was carried out to determine the effect of soil type and initial layer thickness. The parametric study showed that increasing the relative density from 30 % to 80 % of the upper sand layer and the thickness of the first layer has led to an increase in the ultimate load and a decrease in the settlement of piled raft foundations for the cases of sand over weak soil. In clay over weak soil, the ultimate load of the piled raft foundation w
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