Experimental Investigation of Damage and Failure Modes in Stirrupless Reinforced Concrete Beams under Varied Thermal-Mechanical Loadings
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 3
Abstract
In light of the potential deviation in damage and failure modes of reinforced concrete components during a fire compared to their design expectations at room temperature, this study aims to comprehensively investigate the failure modes of RC beams under various thermal-mechanical loadings. The experimental program encompasses a range of scenarios such as constant load followed by heating, heating followed by load, single-sided and three-sided fire with a constant load, among others. Large-scale fire tests were conducted on stirrupless RC beams subjected to four-point bending, and the progression of damage was meticulously monitored to evaluate the influence of high temperature on the failure modes of the beams. The findings of the study indicate that beams initially designed for bending failure at room temperature may exhibit either bending failure or shear failure under high-temperature conditions. Additionally, beams originally designed with sufficient shear strength but weaker bending capacity at room temperature may demonstrate inadequate behavior when exposed to elevated temperatures. Consequently, it is highly recommended to employ refined modeling and analysis techniques in order to comprehensively assess the response of RC members, rather than relying solely on predictions based on room temperature behavior. This experimental investigation significantly contributes to our understanding of the bending-shear damage mechanism and failure modes of RC beams in fire, providing a crucial foundation for advancing behavior simulations and performance predictions of RC members or structures under fire conditions.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51908224), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2022A1515010854), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2022ZYGXZR062).
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 3 • March 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 16, 2023
Accepted: Oct 31, 2023
Published online: Dec 28, 2023
Published in print: Mar 1, 2024
Discussion open until: May 28, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Beams
- Concrete
- Concrete beams
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Failure analysis
- Failure modes
- Forensic engineering
- Materials engineering
- Measurement (by type)
- Reinforced concrete
- Shear failures
- Stress (by type)
- Structural analysis
- Structural engineering
- Structural failures
- Structural members
- Structural systems
- Temperature effects
- Temperature measurement
- Thermal loads
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