This paper investigates the shear strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams incorporating engineered cementitious composite (ECC) and stainless steel plates (SSPs). The use of ECC, characterized by strain-hardening in conjunction with SSPs, was investigated in this study to improve the shear performance of RC beams. Total 10 RC beams were tested under static loading up to failure to investigate a few key parameters, namely: material of strengthening (ECC and SSPs), the thickness of ECC, and shape and configuration of SSPs. Experimental findings showed that the proposed strengthening methods can significantly improve the failure pattern and increase the ultimate shear capacity of the studied RC beams by 36%-97% compared to the unstrengthened beam. Experimental results were compared against the predicted ultimate shear strength of RC beams using design equations specified by various design codes. Nonlinear three-dimensional finite element modeling was developed for beams strengthened with ECC layer and validated against the test results and found to be accurate. Based on the experimental and numerical results, new shear capacity formulae were proposed considering the ratio of ECC-toconcrete beam cross-section (ρ ECC ) and then verified against the numerical predictions.
This article presents experimental and numerical studies on the axial compressive behavior of square concrete‐encased concrete‐filled steel tubular (CECFST) short columns composed of a circular inner steel tube. Tests on six full‐scale short CECFST columns with the inner circular tube diameter varying from 320 to 500 mm were carried out to study the influences of sectional diameter and the tube thickness of circular CFST columns on their axial performance. A theoretical model is developed using fiber analysis method and validated against a large test database. The accuracy of various codified design models is evaluated and a simple model is proposed to calculate their ultimate strengths. Test results show that CECFST columns have improved load carrying capacity and can sustain large axial loads without significant strength degradation. In addition, increasing the thickness of the steel tube significantly improves the composite action of the steel and concrete of the inner CFST column, which increases the compressive strength of CECFST columns by 27.3%. However, the rate of increase in the compressive strength of the core concrete of the CFST column has been found to be higher for the column with a smaller local slenderness ratio. The ductility of CECFST columns is influenced by the concrete strength and the spacing of the stirrups. Furthermore, the design model suggested in this study can provide a better estimation than the codified design models.
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