Structural Behavior of Ultrahigh‐Performance Fiber‐Reinforced Concrete Thin‐Walled Arch Subjected to Asymmetric Load

Abstract

Ultrahigh-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) is an innovative material in the field of bridge engineering. With superior mechanical characteristics, this new material reduced the structural self-weight and extended the span of modern bridges. A series of tests should be conducted to establish reliable design rules for UHPFRC structures. This paper aimed at determining the compressive behavior of UHPFRC for thin-walled arch section design and a comparison was made with a normal concrete (NC) arch. Eighteen axial compression columns for arch section design and arches under asymmetric load were tested in this paper. Behaviors of the arches were assessed using various mechanical properties, including the failure pattern, load-deflection relationship, strain analysis, and analytical investigation. A finite element model (FEM) considering the material and geometric nonlinearity was developed to predict the behavior of the UHPFRC arch. Results indicated that a wall thickness of 50 mm with stirrups effectively restrained instability failure of the thin-walled compression columns. The cracking load and the ultimate load of the UHPFRC arch increased by 60% and 34%, respectively, when comparing with the NC arch. It showed the UHPFRC arch had higher load capacity and outstanding durability. The failure mode of the UHPFRC arch was similar to that of the NC arch, which belonging to the destruction of multihinges. However, the appearance of the plastic hinges was delayed, and a better elastic-plastic performance was obtained when using UHPFRC. The analytical formula for calculating the ultimate load of the UHPFRC arch was derived with high precision by using the limit equilibrium method. The results of the FEM showed good agreement with test results, and they were able to predict the behavior of the UHPFRC arches.

Bearing Capacity of Hingeless Circular Arches Made of Concrete and Fiber Concrete Under Hydrostatic Pressure

“…One is used as a control, and the other two are reinforced with externally bonded strips of polymer fibers according to different schemes. Great work was done by the authors of the article [15]. Here a large series of concrete and fiber concrete arches were investigated.…”

Research on the Bonding Performance of UHPC–NC Interfaces With Different Sizes of Grooves

“…The potential of using the cement-based material as a repair material for strengthening normal concrete (NC) bridges is promising (Feng et al, 2020;Qin et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2021). For the concrete bridges strengthened by UHPC, the bonding performance of the UHPC-NC interface is critical to ensure the efficiency (Murthy et al, 2018;Yang et al, 2019). The literature showed that more than 50% of structures failed due to interfacial cracking after repair or reinforcement (Li, 2004).…”

Experiment on the Segment Model of a Plain Concrete Arch Bridge Reinforced with UHPC Composite Arch Circle

“…Recently, the use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) for the strengthening of structures has caught the attention of researchers [13]. Superior mechanical performance, excellent antiseismic property, and resistance against environmental degradation are the advantages of UHPC compared with the common concrete [14][15][16]. In the last few years, the possibility of using UHPC for the strengthening of RC structures has been investigated in beams [17][18][19][20], columns [21,22], joints [23], and shear walls [24,25], and the result has shown the effectiveness of this retrofit technique.…”