Steel strands are widely used in cable stay or suspension bridges. The safety and stability of steel strands are important issues during their operation period. Steel strand is subjected to various types of prestress loss which loosens the wedge anchorage system, negatively impacting the stability of the structure and even leading to severe accidents. In this paper, the authors propose a time reversal (TR) method to monitor the looseness status of the wedge anchorage system by using stress wave based active sensing. As a commonly used piezoceramic material, Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) with a strong piezoelectric effect is employed. In the proposed active sensing approach, PZT patches are used as sensors and actuators to monitor the steel strand looseness status. One PZT patch is bonded to the steel strand, one PZT patch is bonded to the wedges, and another PZT patch is bonded to the barrel. There are three different interfaces of the wedge anchorage system to monitor the steel strand looseness status. In the first method, the PZT patch on the steel strand is used as an actuator to generate a stress wave and the PZT patch on the wedge is used as a sensor to detect the propagated waves through the wedge anchorage system. In the second method, the PZT patch on the steel strand is used as an actuator to generate a stress wave and the PZT patch on the barrel is used as a sensor to detect the propagated waves through the wedge anchorage system. In the third method, the PZT patch on the wedges is used as an actuator to generate a stress wave and the PZT patches on the barrel is used as a sensor to detect the propagated waves through the wedge anchorage system, of which the looseness will directly impact the stress wave propagation. The TR method is utilized to analyze the transmitted signal between PZT patches through the wedge anchorage system. Compared with the peak values of the TR focused signals, it can be found that the peak value increases as the wedge anchorage system tightness increases. Therefore, the peak value of the TR focused signal can be used to monitor the tightness of the steel strand. In addition, the experimental results demonstrated the time reversal method’s reliability, sensitivity and anti-noise property.

To investigate the shear performance and failure mechanism of stud shear connectors in steel fiber-reinforced cementitious composite (SFRCC) beams, six steel-SFRCC and six steel-normal strength concrete (NC) push-out specimens with two heights (80 mm, 120 mm) and three diameters (14 mm, 18 mm, 22 mm) of stud connectors were prepared. The experimental results revealed that the stud shearing failure was the main failure mode of all push-out specimens. In comparison to the steel-NC specimens, the development of cracks in the SFRCC beams was efficiently restrained due to the existence of high-strength steel fibers added to the normal concrete. The shear resistance and stiffness of studs in the steel-SFRCC beams were, respectively, 22.3% and 15.1% greater than those in the steel-NC specimens; however, their ductility was reduced, and the stud shear connectors failed in advance. The finite element (FE) model was developed and verified by push-out test results. FE analysis results indicated that the shear resistance of stud shear connectors was significantly improved with the increase in the concrete compressive strength, the stud diameter and tensile strength, whereas the aspect ratio of studs had a small impact on the ultimate resistance of stud shear connectors. Based on the as-obtained push-out experiment and FE analysis results, empirical formulas were presented to predict the load-slip curves and ultimate shear resistance of stud shear connectors in the steel-SFRCC specimens, and higher accuracy and a wider application range were obtained than with previous formulas.

A steel strand is widely used in long span prestressed concrete bridges. The safety and stability of a steel strand are important issues during its operation period. A steel strand is usually subjected to various types of prestress loss which loosens the anchorage system, negatively impacting the stability of the structure and even leading to severe accidents. In this paper, the authors propose a wavelet packet analysis method to monitor the looseness of the wedge anchorage system by using stress wave-based active sensing. As a commonly used piezoceramic material, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is employed with a strong piezoelectric effect. In the proposed active sensing approach, PZT patches are used as sensors and actuators to monitor the steel strand looseness. The anchorage system consists of the steel strand, wedges and barrel, which forms two different direct contact surfaces to monitor the tension force. PZT patches are pasted on the surface of each steel strand, corresponding wedge and barrel, respectively. Different combinations of PZTs are formed to monitor the anchoring state of the steel strand according to the position of the PZT patches. In this monitoring method of two contact surfaces, one PZT patch is used as an actuator to generate a stress wave and the other corresponding PZT patch is used as a sensor to detect the propagated waves through the wedge anchorage system. The function of these two PZTs were exchanged with the changing of transmission direction. The wavelet packet analysis method is utilized to analyze the transmitted signal between PZT patches through the steel strand anchorage system. Compared with the wavelet packet energy of received signals under different PZT combinations, it could be found that the wavelet packet energy increased with the increasing of anchorage system tightness. Therefore, the wavelet packet energy of received signal could be used to monitor the tightness of the steel strand during operation. Additionally, the wavelet packet energy of the received signals are different when the same PZT combination exchanges the energy transfer direction. With the comparison on the received signals of different combinations of PZTs, the optimal energy transfer path corresponding to different contact surfaces of the steel strand could be determined and the optimal experimental results are achieved.

Earthquakes worldwide highlight the seismic vulnerability of reinforced concrete (RC) bridge columns. RC bridges are likely to collapse or lose service function due to damage to the bridge columns from strong earthquakes. Rapid repair of RC bridge columns is of great significance for maintaining traffic lines for emergency rescue work after earthquakes. In this study, an improved rapid repair method was developed to restore the bearing capacity of a damaged precast column after earthquake damage. A cyclic loading test was performed to simulate the seismic loading. The original column and the repaired column were both tested. The test results showed that the bearing capacity of the repaired columns was increased by 8%, and the energy dissipation capacity was 53% higher than that of the original column. The ductility decreased because the test for the repaired specimen ended in advance. The initial stiffness of the repaired columns was reduced, but the stiffness was significantly developed in the later loading stage. The rapid repair method proposed in this study exhibited an excellent effect on restoring the seismic resistance of the damaged columns.

In order to make full use of the advantages of welded stud and perfobond rib shear connectors, a new type of composite shear connector is proposed. Studs are welded to the perforated steel plate of the PBL connectors. Six specimens were designed and tested to investigate the shear behaviour of the composite connectors. The effects of the hole number, welded stud number, and end-bearing modes on the shear behaviour of the composite connectors were discussed. In addition, the composite connectors were compared with the conventional welded stud and perfobond rib connectors to analyse the difference in shear performance. The composite connectors’ shear behaviours are significantly better than those of welded stud connectors and PBL connectors. The experimental results show that increasing the number of welded studs and perforated holes and end-bearing concrete can significantly improve the shear performance of composite connectors. Secondly, a finite element model was established considering the nonlinearity of the structure and was validated based on the experimental results. Finally, the effects of reinforcement diameter, welded stud diameter, and concrete strength on the shear performance of composite connectors were analysed. The shear resistance increases as the penetrating rebar diameter, welded stud diameter, and concrete strength increase. Moreover, the overall damage level of the concrete can be significantly affected.

The difference between the shear performances of Perfobond Leiste (PBL) shear connectors embedded in steel fiber-reinforced cementitious composite (SFRCC) structure and normal strength concrete (NC) structure was investigated by push-out tests and finite element (FE) simulations. Push-out tests were carried out on nine steel-SFRCC specimens and nine steel-NC specimens. The mechanical behavior of the PBL shear connector was examined according to the failure modes, load-slip curves, and strain distribution laws of the push-out specimens. Experimental results revealed that the extension of cracks in SFRCC was hindered by steel fibers, and the number and width of cracks in SFRCC were smaller than those in NC. The failure mode of the steel-SFRCC specimens and the single-hole steel-NC specimens was the shear failure of the penetrating reinforcement, whereas that of the multi-hole NC specimens was concrete slab cracking. The ultimate shear bearing capacity of PBL shear connectors in the steel-SFRCC specimens was 47.8% greater than that in the steel-NC specimens. Furthermore, an FE model verified by the test results was established to conduct parametric analyses. It was found that the hole diameter and thickness of the steel plate and the yield strength of the penetrating rebar greatly affected the shear bearing capacity of PBL shear connectors. Finally, based on the experimental and FE simulation results, an expression for calculating the ultimate shear bearing capacity of PBL shear connectors in the steel-SFRCC composite structure was developed by considering the bearing effects of concrete dowels, penetrating rebars, and end parts.