Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2005. / Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Civil Engineering)--University of Maryland, College Park, 1992. / "A scholarly paper submitted to Assistant Professor Ian Flood." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 16, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-52). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.App.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-75). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-102).

No description available.

Most codes of practice, such as EC2 and ACI 318-05, recommend the use of strut-and-tie models for the design of reinforced concrete deep beams. However, studies on the validity of the strut-and-tie models for continuous deep beams are rare. This paper evaluates the strut-and-tie model specified by ACI 318-05 and mechanism analysis of the plasticity theory in predicting the load capacity of 75 reinforced concrete continuous deep beams tested in the literature. The influence of such main parameters as compressive strength of concrete, shear span-to-overall depth ratio, main longitudinal bottom reinforcement, and shear reinforcement on the load capacity is also investigated using both methods and experimental results. Experimental results were closer to the predictions obtained from the mechanism analysis than the strut-and-tie model. The strut-and-tie model highly overestimated the load capacity of continuous deep beams without shear reinforcement.

yes / This paper reports the testing of 11 reinforced concrete (RC) two-span beams strengthened in flexure with externally bonded carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. The beams were classified into two groups according to the arrangement of the internal steel reinforcement. Each group included one unstrengthened control beam. The main parameters studied were the position, length, and number of CFRP layers. External strengthening using CFRP sheets was found to increase the beam load capacity. All strengthened beams exhibited less ductility compared with the unstrengthened control beams, however, and showed undesirable sudden failure modes. There was an optimum number of CFRP layers beyond which there was no further enhancement in the beam capacity. Extending the CFRP sheet length to cover the entire hogging or sagging zones did not prevent peeling failure of the CFRP sheets, which was the dominant failure mode of beams tested.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2017-10-17T12:52:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Hinoel Zamis Ehrenbring_.pdf: 8050494 bytes, checksum: 6538a92632a1aa3f9d35c647159bef3f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-17T12:52:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Hinoel Zamis Ehrenbring_.pdf: 8050494 bytes, checksum: 6538a92632a1aa3f9d35c647159bef3f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-28 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / itt Performance - Instituto Tecnológico em Desempenho da Construção Civil / UNISINOS - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos / Concretos com tecnologia avançada tornam-se cada vez mais comuns na indústria da construção civil. O desenvolvimento de produtos minerais e químicos fomenta a geração desses compósitos, possibilitando a inserção de insumos com desempenhos mecânicos melhorados. Todavia, mesmo com inúmeras vantagens, os novos concretos ainda se encontram suscetíveis à incidência de fissuras causadas pela retração. Sendo uma característica inerente às matrizes cimentícias, a retração, quando restringida, pode gerar manifestações patológicas, que prejudiquem a durabilidade da estrutura. Estudos vêm sendo realizados com enfoque na mitigação dessas anomalias, utilizando reforços primários e secundários dentro da matriz cimentícia. Como alternativa, utilizando as fibras como reforços é possível garantir alterações nos comportamentos mecânicos da mistura, a exemplo da resistência à tração, fator de tenacidade, capacidade de deformação e controle de fissuração. Com isso, nessa pesquisa foram empregadas, de maneira isolada e híbrida, microfibras poliméricas em uma matriz cimentícia. As microfibras eram constituídas por polipropileno (PP), álcool polivinílico (PVA) e recicladas de poliéster (POL). Para tanto, avaliou-se o fenômeno da retração por secagem dos compósitos por meio do ensaio de anel restringido, resistência à compressão axial, resistência à tração na flexão, módulo de elasticidade e tenacidade. Conjuntamente, investigou-se a microestrutura dos compósitos, utilizando o ensaio de microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), a fim de identificar a zona de interface entre o reforço e a matriz cimentícia, assim como a integridade física do reforço no concreto. Os compósitos com microfibras apresentaram maior retração por secagem, quando comparados à matriz referência, chegando a deformações superiores a 50 μm/m. Todas as misturas atingiram alto potencial de fissuração, sendo as amostras contendo microfibras de PP e PVA, as quais obtiveram a formação da fissura mais tardiamente (14 dias). Com relação à resistência à compressão axial e tração na flexão, a inserção de microfibras poliméricas promoveu a redução dos valores em relação à matriz referência. Todavia, o uso de microfibras de PVA não promoveu a queda de resistência à tração na flexão da matriz. Já o fator de tenacidade das misturas com fibras foi superior em relação ao concreto referência, ampliando em até 38 vezes os resultados. Verificou-se que a zona de interface formada pelas microfibras de PVA foi menor, quando comparada às demais opções, o que comprovou os bons resultados proporcionados pelo reforço. Também foi possível observar que as microfibras recicladas de poliéster foram agredidas em meio alcalino, diferentemente das demais. / Concretes with advanced technology become increasingly common in the construction industry. The development of mineral and chemical products encourages the generation of these composites, allowing the insertion of inputs with improved mechanical performances. However, even with numerous advantages, the new concretes are still susceptible to the incidence of cracks caused by shrinkage. As an inherent characteristic of cementitious matrices, shrinkage, when restricted, can impair the quality of the structure and, as a result, generate pathological manifestations. Studies have been carried out focusing on the mitigation of these anomalies, using primary and secondary reinforcements within the cementitious matrix. As an alternative, the fibrous reinforcements guarantee changes in the mechanical behavior of the mixture, such as tensile strength, tenacity factor, deformation capacity and cracking control. Thus, in this research, isolated and hybrid polymer microfibers were used in a reference cementitious matrix. The filaments consisted of polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and recycled polyester microfibers (POL). For this, the phenomenon of the drying shrinkage of the composites was evaluated by means of the restricted ring test, axial compression strength, flexural tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and toughness. The microstructure of the composites was investigated using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), in order to identify the interface zone between the reinforcement and the cementitious matrix, as well as the physical integrity of the reinforcement in the concrete. The composites with microfibers presented greater drying shrinkage, when compared to the reference matrix, reaching deformations of more than 50 μm/m. All the blends reached a high cracking potential, with the samples containing PP and PVA microfibers which obtained cracking formation later (14 days). With respect to the compressive strength, the insertion of polymer microfibers significantly decreased the values in relation to the reference matrix. The toughness factor of the bundled mixtures was superior in relation to the reference concrete, increasing up to 38 times the results. On the other hand, the tensile strength in the flexion decreased values with the use of the filamentary reinforcements, except for the mixture with PVA microfibres. It was verified that the interface zone formed by the PVA microfibers was smaller, when compared to the other options, which proved the good results provided by the reinforcement. It was also possible to observe that recycled polyester microfibers were attacked in alkaline solution, unlike the others.

Condition assessment and safety verification of existing bridges and decisions as to whether bridge posting is required are addressed through analysis, load testing, or a combination of methods. Bridge rating through structural analysis is by far the most common procedure for rating existing bridges. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Bridge Evaluation (MBE), First Edition permits bridge capacity ratings to be determined through allowable stress rating (ASR), load factor rating (LFR) or load and resistance factor rating (LRFR); the latter method is keyed to the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications, which is reliability-based and has been required for the design of new bridges built with federal findings since October, 2007. A survey of current bridge rating practices in the United States has revealed that these three methods may lead to different ratings and posting limits for the same bridge, a situation that carries serious implications with regard to the safety of the public and the economic well-being of communities that may be affected by bridge postings or closures. To address this issue, a research program has been conducted with the overall objective of providing recommendations for improving the process by which the condition of existing bridge structures is assessed. This research required a coordinated program of load testing and finite element analysis of selected bridges in the State of Georgia to gain perspectives on the behavior of older bridges under various load conditions. Structural system reliability assessments of these bridges were conducted and bridge fragilities were developed for purposes of comparison with component reliability benchmarks for new bridges. A reliability-based bridge rating framework was developed, along with a series of recommended improvements to the current bridge rating methods, which facilitate the incorporation of various in situ conditions of existing bridges into the bridge rating process at both component and system levels. This framework permits bridge ratings to be conducted at three levels of increasing complexity to achieve the performance objectives, expressed in the terms of reliability, that are embedded in the LRFR option of the AASHTO Manual of Bridge Evaluation. This research was sponsored by the Georgia Department of Transportation, and has led to a set of Recommended Guidelines for Condition Assessment and Evaluation of Existing Bridges in Georgia.