Over the last few decades, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) has been increasingly used in strengthening different structural concrete members. The main objective of this research is to study the influence of curvature on the performance of curved soffit reinforced concrete (RC) bridge girders that have been strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). This experimental program was designed to evaluate the effect of concavity and soffit curvature on the CFRP laminate utilization and load capacity, compared to flat soffit RC beams strengthened with the same CFRP system. Accordingly, five beams, 2.7 m in length and having the same degree of soffit curvature (20 mm per 1 meter) extending over 2 meters of the span length, were tested under three-point monotonic static loading up to failure. CFRP pre-cured laminates were used for external strengthening in flexure. It was observed that 20 mm/m degree of curvature reduced the load-carrying capacity of strengthened concavely curved RC beams by 15.9 – 17.8%.
This paper presents an experimental study for strengthening existing columns against axial compressive loads. The objective of this work is to study the behavior of concrete square columns strengthening with circulation technique. In Iraq, there are significantly more reinforced rectangular and square columns than reinforced circular columns in reinforced concrete buildings. Moreover, early research studies indicated that strengthening of rectangular or square columns using wraps of CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) provided rather little enhancement to their load-carrying capacity. In this paper, shape modification technique was performed to modify the shape (cross section) of the columns from square columns into circular colu
... Show MoreThis paper studied the behaviour of reinforced reactive powder concrete (RPC) two-way slabs under static load. The experimental program included testing three simply supported slabs of 1000 mm length, 1000 mm width, and 70 mm thickness. Tested specimens were of identical properties except their steel fibers volume ratio (0.5 %, 1 %, and 1.5 %). Static test results revealed that, increasing steel fibers volume ratio from 0.5% to 1% and from 1% to 1.5%, led to an increase in: first crack load by (32.2 % and 52.3 %), ultimate load by (36.1 % and 17.0 %), ultimate deflection by (33.6 % and 3.4 %), absorbed energy by (128 % and 20.2 %), and the ultimate strain by (1.1 % and 6.73 %). The stiffness and ductility of the specimens also increased. A
... Show MoreThe influence of fiber orientation and water absorption on fatigue crack growth resistance for cold cure acrylic (PMMA) reinforced by chopped and woven -glass-fibers were investigated. A weight of 2 g for chopped fibers and the same weight for woven -glass-fibers (one layer) were used to prepare samples. Some of these samples would storage in dry condition; the others were immersed in water for 15 days. Fatigue test was carried out. The results shows that, for PMMA, the initial bending stress for dry specimen was 3.392 N/cm2 and the number of cycles were 1364, the initial bending stress for wet samples was 4.20 N/cm2, and the number of cycles was 2411. The samples would cut in two pieces because of the cracks would propagated fast during
... Show MoreLightweight concrete-filled tube (CFST) columns offer numerous benefits, such as reduced weight, enhanced resistance to buckling, improved structural performance, and the ability to endure cyclic loading. This study considered key research on the structural behavior of CFST columns, covering various topics, including lightweight concrete, methods of concrete placement within steel tubes, and CFST columns with and without shear connectors. The literature review reveals that while several researchers have explored the use of shear connectors as a load-transfer mechanism in CFST columns, there is no consensus on the design methodology for connector resistance. Shear connectors signifi
The massive growth of the automotive industry and the development of vehicles use lead to produce a huge amount of waste tire rubber. Rubber tires are non-biodegradable, resulting in environmental problems such as fire risks. In this search, the flexural behavior of steel fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete (SFRSCC) beams containing different percentages and sizes of waste tire rubbers were studied and compared them with the flexural behavior of SCC and SFRSCC. Micro steel fiber (straight type) with aspect ratio 65 was used in mixes. The replacement of coarse and fine aggregate was 20% and 10% with chip and crumb rubber. Also, the replacement of limestone dust and silica fume was 50%, 25%, and 12% with ground rubbe
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