An experimental program consisting in producing and testing reinforced concrete pipes (RCPs) under the three‐edge bearing tests considering different types of reinforcement was carried out. Four types of RCPs were produced, these reinforced with: (1) polypropylene macrofibers; (2) basalt microfibers; (3) combination of both (hybrid reinforcement); and (4) plain concrete. The analysis of the crack patterns and both service and ultimate mechanical responses allowed concluding that the use of fibers do not lead to an effective increase of the first cracking load; however, both types of fibers allowed a better crack width control respect to the standard RCP. In this regard, basalt microfiber reinforced concrete led to a better response caused by concentrated loads (jacketing) whilst polypropylene macrofibers increased the concrete pipe performance in terms of bearing capacity and flexural crack control. The hybrid fiber reinforced concrete was found to be the most suitable alternative for increasing the load bearing capacity and the crack width control for service loads. These incipient experimental results permit to conclude that this type of hybrid basalt‐polypropylene fiber reinforced concretes are an interesting alternative to traditional steel‐cage RCPs.
The recent surge of interest towards the mechanical response of rock mass produced by tunnel-type anchorage (TTA) has generated a handful of theories and an array of empirical explorations on the topic. However, none of these have attempted to arrange the existing achievements in a systematic way. The present work puts forward an integrative framework laid out over three levels of explanation and practical approach, mechanical behavior, and calculation method of the ultimate pullout force to compare and integrate the existing findings in a meaningful way. First, it reviews the application of TTA in China and analyzes its future development trend. Then, it summarizes the research results of TTA in terms of load transfer characteristics, deformation characteristics, failure modes, and calculation of ultimate uplift resistance. Finally, it introduces four field model tests in soft rock (mainly mudstone formations), and some research results are obtained. Furthermore, it compares the mechanical behavior of TTA in hard rock strata and soft rock strata, highlighting the main factors affecting the stability of TTA in soft rock formation. This paper proposes a series of focused topics for future investigation that would allow deconstruction of the drivers and constraints of the development of TTA.
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