Numerical Evaluation of the Perfobond (PBL) Shear Connector Subjected to Lateral Pressure Using Coupled Rigid Body Spring Model (RBSM) and Nonlinear Solid Finite Element Method (FEM)

Abstract

An analytical investigation focusing on the concrete damage progress of the PBL shear connector under the influence of various lateral pressures, employing a coupled RBSM and solid FEM model was carried out. The analytical model succeeded in simulating the test shear capacities and the failure modes adequately. The internal failure process was also clarified; the two horizontal cracks occurred near the top of the concrete dowels through the hole of the perforated steel plate, and afterward, the two vertical cracks also initiated and propagated along with the shear surface. In a low lateral pressure case, the shear strength was determined by the vertical cracks propagated along the shear surface. While as the amount of applied lateral pressure increased, the shear strength of the two vertical cracked surfaces was enhanced, and the shear strength of the PBL was characterized by the occurrence of the splitting cracks and caused the splitting failure into the side concrete blocks. Moreover, the combined effects of lateral pressure and hole diameters were also evaluated numerically, and it was found that the increase in shear strength was more in a large diameter case subjected to high lateral pressure because of the wide compressive regions generated around the concrete dowel.

The Effect of Bottom Reinforcement Spacers on Reinforced Concrete Structures Loaded by Explosion

“…The development of cracks in Figures 16-18 is indicated with the color legend of blue to red, where blue indicates no crack in the material is present, while red indicates that From the results of the numerical simulation, it can be seen that the plastic spacer influenced the development of the cracks in the concrete specimen substantially only with the third variant, i.e., the simulation with the highest blast loading of 600 g of TNT (Figure 18). The development of cracks in Figures 16-18 is indicated with the color legend of blue To capture crack development and the influence of inclusion elements in the concrete matrix in more nuanced ways, it would be necessary both to carry out a statistically more significant number of experimentally tested specimens and to try other available ways of modeling the constraints of the plastic spacer and/or steel reinforcements in the concrete matrix, such as a coupling nodal constraint or shared nodes approach [33][34][35], together with other possible material models implemented in the software environment based on FEM [36][37][38][39][40][41].…”

Experimental Study on the Mechanical Properties of Perfobond Rib Shear Connectors with Steel Fiber High Strength Concrete

“…When the PBL connector is subjected to shear force, the concrete dowels would be subjected to the pressure of the steel plates, penetrating rebars and adjacent concrete at the same time, causing a quite complex force state [ 36 ]. The contribution of the concrete dowels without steel fibers to the shear capacity of the PBL connector can be expressed as: where f cs denotes the shear strength of the concrete under multiaxial stresses (MPa) and can be calculated by f cs = 0.25 f c , in which f c denotes the prismatic strength of the concrete and can be obtained by f c = 0.8 f cu ; and A cd denotes the sectional area of the concrete dowel (mm 2 ).…”

“…When the PBL connector is subjected to shear force, the concrete dowels would be subjected to the pressure of the steel plates, penetrating rebars and adjacent concrete at the same time, causing a quite complex force state [36]. The contribution of the concrete dowels without steel fibers to the shear capacity of the PBL connector can be expressed as:…”

Experimental and Numerical Study of Lattice Girder Composite Slabs with Monolithic Joint

“…Nevertheless, the macro level element models cannot precisely simulate the latticed girder and the contact between precast and cast-in-place concrete. Models of the second kind are 3D solid finite element models, which can provide simulations of the local region and detailed set up of RC structures [13][14][15]. Thanks to the development of computational speed, 3D finite element modelling provides the promising results in the numerical analysis of precast concrete structures, due to its ability to describe the complex connection behavior in an elaborate manner.…”