The utilization and incorporation of glass fiber-reinforced plastics (GFRP) in structural applications and architectural constructions are progressively gaining prominence. Therefore, this paper experimentally and numerically investigates the use of GFRP I-beams in conjunction with concrete slabs to form composite beams. The experimental design incorporated 2600 mm long GFRP I-beams which were connected compositely to concrete slabs with a 500 mm width and 80 mm thickness. The concrete slabs are categorized into two groups: concrete slabs cast using normal-strength concrete (NSC), and concrete slabs prepared using high-strength concrete (HSC). Various parameters like the type of concrete (normal and high-strength concrete), type of stiffeners bonded to the composite section (bolt–epoxy or bolt only), and inclusion of corrugated metal sheets were investigated. To obtain the full shear connection between the GFRP I-sections and concrete slabs, two rows of shear connectors in the form of bolts were utilized. These shear connectors were erected to the top flange of the GFRP I-sections to compositely connect between the GFRP I-beams and the concrete slabs as well as the corrugated metal sheets. The strengthening of the shear webs of GFRP I-beams with GFRP T-section stiffeners resulted in an enhancement in the flexural and shear strength. The failure loads in the case of the bolt–epoxy connection for the stiffeners were 8.2% and 10.0% higher than those in the case of bolt only when the concrete compressive strengths were 20.1 MPa and 52.3 MPa, respectively. Moreover, the effect of the concrete compressive strength was vital where the failure loads increased by 79.9% and 77.1% when HSC was used instead of NSC for the cases of bolt–epoxy and bolt only, respectively. The epoxy adhesive used in conjunction with mechanical connectors, specifically bolts, resulted in sufficient composite action and delayed shear failure within the web of the GFRP beam. For the specimens with bolt–epoxy connection, strain levels in the concrete slabs were consistently higher than in the other specimens with bolts alone at the same loading level. The concrete slabs integrated with HSC registered strain levels that were 20.0% and 21.8% greater for bolt–epoxy and bolt-only connections, respectively, when compared to those using normal-strength concrete (NSC). This discrepancy can likely be credited to the enhanced composite interaction between the concrete slabs and the GFRP I-beams. In addition, ABAQUS software (version 6.2) was used to develop FE models to analyze the tested composite beams and provide a parametric study using the verified models.
Straight tendons in pretensioned members can cause high-tensile stresses in the concrete extreme fibers at end sections because of the absence of the bending stresses due to self-weight and superimposed loads and the dominance of the moment due to prestressing force alone. Accordingly, the concrete tensile stresses at the ends of a member prestressed with straight tendons may limit the service load capacity of the member. It is therefore important to establish limiting zone in the concrete section within which the prestressing force can be applied without causing tension in the extreme concrete fibers. Two practical methods are available to reduce the stresses at the end sections due to the prestressing force. The first method based
... Show MoreIt is suitable to use precast steel-concrete composite beams to quickly assemble a bridge or a building, particularly in isolated regions where cast-in-situ concrete is not a practical option. If steel-concrete composite beams are designed to allow demountability, they can also be extremely useful in the aftermath of natural disasters, such as earthquakes or flooding, to replace damaged infrastructure. Furthermore, rapid replacement of slabs is extremely beneficial in case of severe deterioration due to long-term stressors such as fatigue or corrosion. The only way to rapidly assemble and disassemble a steel-concrete composite structure is to use demountable shear connectors to connect/disconnect the steel beams to/from the concrete slab. I
... Show MoreThis research is carried out to study the effect of the external post-tensioning technique on the flexural capacity of simply supported composite castellated beam experimentally. In this research, seven composite castellated beams having the same dimensions and material properties were cast and tested up to failure by applied two concentrated loads at 700 mm from each end. Two external strands of 12.7 mm diameter were fixed at each side of the web of strengthening beams and located at depth 180 mm from top fiber of the section (dps) at each end of the beam. The strands have been tensioned by using a hydraulic jack with a constant stress of 100 MPa. This research aims to study the effect of the strengthening by different shapes of st
... Show MoreConstruction joints are stopping places in the process of placing concrete, and they are required because in many structures it is impractical to place concrete in one continuous operation. The amount of concrete that can be placed at one time is governed by the batching and mixing capacity and by the strength of the formwork. A good construction joint should provide adequate flexural and shear continuity through the interface.
In this study, the effect of location of construction joints on the performance of reinforced concrete structural elements is experimentally investigated.
Nineteen beam specimens with dimensions of 200×200×950 mm were tested. The variables investigated are the location of the construction joints
... Show MoreFatigue cracking is the most common distress in road pavement. It is mainly due to the increase in the number of load repetition of vehicles, particularly those with high axle loads, and to the environmental conditions. In this study, four-point bending beam fatigue testing has been used for control and modified mixture under various micro strain levels of (250 μƐ, 400 μƐ, and 750 μƐ) and 5HZ. The main objective of the study is to provide a comparative evaluation of pavement resistance to the phenomenon of fatigue cracking between modified asphalt concrete and conventional asphalt concrete mixes (under the influence of three percentage of Silica fumes 1%, 2%, 3% by the weight of asphalt content), and (chan
... Show MoreThis study reports testing results of the transient response of T-shape concrete deep beams with large openings due to impact loading. Seven concrete deep beams with openings including two ordinary reinforced, four partially prestressed, and one solid ordinary reinforced as a reference beam were fabricated and tested. The effects of prestressing strand position and the intensity of the impact force were investigated. Two values for the opening’s depth relative to the beam cross-section dimensions were inspected under the effect of an impacting mass repeatedly dropped from different heights. The study revealed that the beam’s transient deflection was increased by about 50% with gre
The main objectives of this study are to study the enhancement of the load-carrying capacity of Asymmetrical castellated beams with encasement the beams by Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) and lacing reinforcement, the effect of the gap between top and bottom parts of Asymmetrical castellated steel beam at web post, and serviceability of the confined Asymmetrical castellated steel. This study presents two concentrated loads test results for four specimens Asymmetrical castellated beams section encasement by Reactive powder concrete (RPC) with laced reinforcement. The encasement of the Asymmetrical castellated steel beam consists of, flanges unstiffened element height was filled with RPC for each side and laced reinforced which are use
... Show MoreSteel–concrete–steel (SCS) structural systems have economic and structural advantages over traditional reinforced concrete; thus, they have been widely used. The performance of concrete made from recycled rubber aggregate from scrap tires has been evaluated since the early 1990s. The use of rubberized concrete in structural construction remains necessary because of its high impact resistance, increases ductility, and produces a lightweight concrete; therefore, it adds such important properties to SCS members. In this research, the use of different concrete core materials in SCS was examined. Twelve SCS specimens were subjected to push-out monotonic loading for inspecting their mechanical performance. One specimen was constructed from co
... Show More