In order to investigate the transverse flexural behavior of the UHPC waffle deck, a total of six T-shaped UHPC beams, with varying longitudinal reinforcement ratios, were tested and analyzed. The experiments, including material tests of UHPC and beam tests, were conducted. The material tests of UHPC revealed that strain-hardening behavior in tension was exhibited, and the ratio of uniaxial compressive strength-to-cubic compressive strength was 0.85. The beam tests showed that all the T-shaped UHPC beams, even without longitudinal rebar, exhibited ductile behavior that was similar to that of properly reinforced concrete beams. As the longitudinal reinforcement ratio increased, more flexural cracks developed and a larger load-carrying capacity was provided. Furthermore, the sectional analysis for the ultimate flexural capacity of T-shaped UHPC beams was conducted. Simplified material models, under tension and compression, for UHPC were developed. Based on the reverse calculation from the experimental result, the relation between reduction factor to the ultimate tensile strength of UHPC, and longitudinal reinforcement ratios was formulated. As a result, the predictive equations for the ultimate flexural capacity of T-shaped UHPC beams were proposed, and agreed well with the experimental results in this study and existing studies, which indicates good validity of the proposed equations.
16 October 2025 in Construction and Building Materials
To study the strengthening effect of carbon fiber composite materials (CFRP) on recycled concrete columns subjected to different levels of seismic damage, four column specimens were designed for pseudo-static tests. The four specimens were categorized as non-destructive without strengthening (prototype), non-destructive strengthening, medium seismic damage strengthening, and severe seismic damage strengthening based on the replacement rate of recycled aggregates and the level of seismic damage. The characteristics of the deformation damage and seismic performance indicators of each specimen were compared and analyzed. The results were verified on the OpenSees platform. A decrease was observed in the initial stiffness of the seismically damaged recycled concrete column specimens strengthened with CFRP, while the ductility, peak bearing capacity, and energy dissipation capacity of the specimens were improved. In addition, with the reduction in seismic damage, the ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the strengthened seismically damaged recycled concrete column specimens were enhanced to different degrees. In particular, the cumulative energy dissipation of the strengthened specimens exposed to medium seismic damage increased most significantly, by 32.5%. In general, the hysteretic curves of the strengthened specimens were full, and the average ductility coefficients were 4.1–6.8. CFRP strengthening was more effective for restoring and enhancing the performance of the recycled concrete column specimens with medium and lower seismic damage levels (displacement ratio ≤ 3%).
The feasibility that the transverse reinforcements in steel-reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) columns could be reduced or even totally eliminated has been experimentally demonstrated. However, due to the effect of the tie volume ratio in ECC plastic hinges on the seismic performance of RC composite bridge columns not being fully clarified as of yet, a numerical study was carried out. In this study, the analytical models based on the fiber element method, by considering the superposition of different lateral confinements resulting from ties and the ECC cover, were used to correlate with a target hybrid-loading experiment. Load-displacement hysteresis, strains in extreme fibers and longitudinal bars in analytical results correlated well with the experiments, verifying the accuracy of the analytical models proposed in this study. Based on the analytical results, it was found that the volume tie ratio had little effect on the stress-strain hysteresis of the ECC cover, but a lower volume tie ratio resulted in more significant nonlinear behavior longitudinally. Finally, the pushover analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of volume tie ratios on the seismic design parameters, and the results showed that a higher volume tie ratio resulted in a limited increase in the maximum allowable displacement for design.
To study the strengthening effect on recycled concrete columns by carbon fiber composite materials (CFRP) under different levels of seismic damage, four column specimens were designed for pseudo-static tests. The four specimens were respectively non-destructive without strengthening (prototype), non-destructive strengthening, medium seismic damage strengthening and severe seismic damage strengthening, according to the replacement rate of recycled aggregates and the level of seismic damage. The characteristics of the deformation damage and seismic performance indicators of each specimen were compared and analyzed. A decrease was observed in the initial stiffness of the seismically damaged recycled concrete column specimens strengthened with CFRP, while the ductility, peak bearing capacity and energy dissipation capacity of the specimens were improved. On the other hand, with the reduction of seismic damage and the increase of recycled aggregate replacement rate, the ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the reinforced seismic damaged recycled concrete column specimens were enhanced to different levels. In particular, the cumulative energy consumption of the strengthened specimens under medium seismic damage increased most significantly by 32.5%. In general, the hysteretic curves of the strengthened specimens were full, and the average ductility coefficients were 4.1–6.8. CFRP strengthening was more effective in restoring and enhancing the performance of the recycled concrete column specimens with medium and lower seismic damage levels (displacement ratio ≤ 3%).