High-Performance Concrete Structures for Disaster Prevention

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2023) | Viewed by 5372

Special Issue Editors

College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Interests: high performance concrete structures; seismic design methodology; numerical simulation; seismic experiment for RC structures
Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy
Interests: structural monitoring; structural control; structural concrete
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Reinforced concrete has been widely used all over the world as a building material. However, due to the dissymmetry of concrete tension and compression, concrete structures are subjected to cracking damage under earthquake and other extreme loads. Furthermore, rebar fracture may cause instability of the structures. The recent development of reinforced concrete structures has allowed great achievements in disaster reduction, including in structural systems, simulation mechanics, and energy dissipation technologies. This paves the way for the design and development of the next generation of high-performance reinforced concrete structures. For this Special Issue, we invite original contributions that describe ongoing studies on reinforced concrete structures, including on disaster evaluation, failure process simulation, and design methodologies. Reviews and case studies are also welcome. Submissions may encompass materials science, computational mechanics, structural engineering, disaster prevention and mitigation, testing techniques, design methods, etc. Specifically, we are seeking submissions of original research articles on one or more of, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • advanced concrete technologies for enhancing the performances of and preventing catastrophic consequences in existing reinforced concrete structures under extreme loads;
  • capacity assessment or failure process simulation methods for existing or next-generation reinforced concrete structures;
  • experimental studies for high-toughness concrete structures;
  • hysteretic behavior models for high-performance reinforced concrete structures;
  • damage identification and performance evaluation methods for reinforced concrete structures.

Dr. Hongmei Zhang
Dr. Giuseppe Quaranta
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 5098 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Responses of Concrete-Face Rockfill Dam to Different Site Conditions under Near-Fault Earthquake Excitation
by Mengdie Zhao, Chao Zhang, Xu Li and Ninghuan Zhai
Buildings 2023, 13(10), 2410; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13102410 - 22 Sep 2023
Viewed by 652
Abstract
The western region of China is rich in hydropower resources and characterized by unique geological conditions. For the construction or planned construction of high dams in this region, different types of cover layers are formed due to special geological structures, most of which [...] Read more.
The western region of China is rich in hydropower resources and characterized by unique geological conditions. For the construction or planned construction of high dams in this region, different types of cover layers are formed due to special geological structures, most of which are located in high seismic intensity zones. This study focuses on four different site conditions: hard ground, medium–hard ground, medium–soft ground, and weak ground. By simulating the dynamic response of concrete-face rockfill dams under near-fault earthquake excitation, the vertical settlement of the dam and the attenuation of seismic motion under different site conditions are analyzed. The research findings reveal a consistent trend where the vertical settlement of the dams progressively escalates with increasing dam height across all four site conditions. This settlement phenomenon is especially pronounced in weak ground conditions, posing a potential risk of failure. Furthermore, when subjected to near-fault pulse-type earthquake motions, the existence of weak soil layers significantly dampens the seismic forces experienced by the dam. This finding suggests that the weaker the geological conditions of the site, the more pronounced the attenuation effect of the seismic motion. Additionally, the overburden layers have a noticeable amplification effect on near-fault pulse-type earthquake motion. However, this amplification effect is not significant in weak ground, possibly due to the presence of weak soil layers restricting the propagation and amplification of seismic motion. In conclusion, these research findings have practical significance for the dynamic response of high dam construction in different site conditions in the western region of China. They provide a scientific basis for the design and construction of high dams and serve as a reference for the implementation of seismic mitigation measures and earthquake disaster prevention in engineering projects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Performance Concrete Structures for Disaster Prevention)
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21 pages, 8052 KiB  
Article
Flexural Behavior of Slabs with Different Anchorage Locations of Longitudinal Reinforcing Bars in a Composite Basement Wall Junction
by Sanghee Kim, Ju-Hyun Mun, Jong-Kook Hong, Keun-Hyeok Yang, Soo-Min Kim and Jae-Il Sim
Buildings 2023, 13(7), 1775; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13071775 - 12 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 833
Abstract
Although the anchorage location of longitudinal reinforcing bars is a significant design element for flexural behavior, the conventional anchorage method of using longitudinal reinforcing bars has limited applications in new types of structures, such as composite structures. Therefore, this study examined the effect [...] Read more.
Although the anchorage location of longitudinal reinforcing bars is a significant design element for flexural behavior, the conventional anchorage method of using longitudinal reinforcing bars has limited applications in new types of structures, such as composite structures. Therefore, this study examined the effect of the anchorage location of longitudinal reinforcing bars on the flexural behavior of slabs at the junctions of developed composite basement walls (SCBW) under monotonic loads at the top free end of the slab. The test results showed that the slab with longitudinal reinforcing bars anchored to the cast-in-place pile (CIP) in the composite basement wall exhibited ductile behavior accompanied by the yielding of the longitudinal reinforcing bars, a relatively wide area of vertical cracks propagating along the slab length, and a plastic plateau flow in the load–deflection relationships. In particular, the slab with longitudinal reinforcing bars anchored to the basement wall experienced severe crack concentration localized at the junction of the composite basement walls and concrete spalling in the basement walls, which resulted in no yielding of the longitudinal reinforcing bars and no cracks in the slab. Consequently, in a slab, it is recommended that longitudinal reinforcing bars be anchored into the CIP by penetrating the steel plate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Performance Concrete Structures for Disaster Prevention)
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20 pages, 7007 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study on the Seismic Performance of Hollow Columns with Fiber Lightweight Aggregate Concrete
by Ze-Hui Xiang, Jun Wang, Jian-Gang Niu and Yao Xu
Buildings 2022, 12(12), 2164; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12122164 - 07 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1258
Abstract
To study the seismic performance of hollow columns with fiber lightweight aggregate concrete, a quasi-static test on eight hollow columns with fiber lightweight aggregate concrete under lateral low-cycle reversed loading and axial force is presented in this article. The effects of the dosage [...] Read more.
To study the seismic performance of hollow columns with fiber lightweight aggregate concrete, a quasi-static test on eight hollow columns with fiber lightweight aggregate concrete under lateral low-cycle reversed loading and axial force is presented in this article. The effects of the dosage of plastic-steel fibers (0, 3, 6 and 9 kg/m3, respectively), steel fibers (25, 50 and 75 kg/m3, respectively) and the axial compression ratio (0.4 and 0.6, respectively) on the seismic mechanical properties such as capacity under lateral load, stiffness, ductility and energy dissipation were investigated, and the main failure morphology and force mechanism of hollow columns with fiber lightweight aggregate concrete under lateral low-cycle reversed loading were revealed. The results showed that (1) the failure modes of hollow columns could be divided into shear failure, bending-shear failure and bending failure; (2) compared with the specimens without fiber, the increase in ductility coefficient of specimens with plastic-steel fiber was 2~33.7%, and that with steel fiber was 30.8~125.7%; the increase in cumulative energy dissipation of specimens with plastic-steel fiber was 5.3~43.7%, and that with steel fiber was 88.9~203.8%, thus indicating that the seismic performance of the specimens could be improved effectively via the incorporation of fibers. The formula of shear capacity under lateral load was proposed, and its calculation results were more reliable when compared with the actual project. A foundation for further research on the seismic performance of hollow columns with fiber lightweight aggregate concrete is provided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Performance Concrete Structures for Disaster Prevention)
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27 pages, 40267 KiB  
Article
Effects of Openings and Axial Load Ratio on the Lateral Capacity of Steel-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls
by Zhou Lin, Hongmei Zhang, Giorgio Monti and Chiara Castoro
Buildings 2022, 12(11), 2032; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12112032 - 21 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1912
Abstract
Shear walls are commonly adopted as main structural members to resist vertical and lateral forces, thanks to their high load capacity and high lateral stiffness. However, their lateral capacity can be impaired in the presence of openings, which can reduce their lateral load [...] Read more.
Shear walls are commonly adopted as main structural members to resist vertical and lateral forces, thanks to their high load capacity and high lateral stiffness. However, their lateral capacity can be impaired in the presence of openings, which can reduce their lateral load capacity and stiffness. A possible solution is to cast shear walls using steel-fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC), which effectively improves the deformation capacity of shear walls. However, few studies deal with the performance of such SFRC shear walls in the presence of openings. Moreover, the effect of different axial load ratios (ALR) is still not fully known. To study these essential parameters, a detailed Finite Element model has been implemented in ABAQUS. Having validated its accuracy against experimental tests on four SFRC shear walls, with and without openings, it has been subsequently used in a parametric study to analyze the effects of different ALRs, of different opening configurations, and of different reinforcement ratios. It is shown that door openings have a more detrimental effect on the lateral load capacity than window openings and that higher ALR values switch the prevailing failure mechanism from flexural to shear, thus reducing both ductility and deformation capacity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Performance Concrete Structures for Disaster Prevention)
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