International Concrete Abstracts Portal

The purpose of this symposium and special publication is to recognize and honor Professor Amin Ghali’s outstanding long-term dedication to the concrete industry. Dr. Ghali obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Civil Engineering from Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, respectively in 1950 and 1954, his Ph.D. from Leeds University, England in 1957. He spent ten years in engineering practice before joining at the University of Calgary, AB, Canada as a professor in 1966. Dr. Ghali has developed the revolutionary, multi-patented and globally used, headed-stud shear reinforcement systems for concrete flat slabs; he has been a consultant for a number of major international structures, including offshore structures, multi-story buildings, bridges, and tanks. Dr. Ghali authored over 300 papers and eight patents. In 15 editions and 6 translations, his books include: Structural Analysis Fundamentals (2022), Structural Analysis: A Unified Classical and Matrix Approach (2017), Circular Storage Tanks and Silos (2014), and Concrete Structures: Stresses and Deformations (2012). Professor Ghali has served the industry in many ways, including his role as a voting member of ACI Committee 435, Deflection of Concrete Building Structures, 343, Concrete Bridge Design, and 421, Design of Reinforced Concrete Slabs. Jointly with associates at University of Calgary, his research on punching shear design and control of long-term deflection enables design of affordable concrete floors. Dr. Ghali served as expert, providing technical testimony, for a number of complicated engineering cases. Dr. Ghali received a number of teaching and research excellence awards over his long career, and was elected a Fellow of ACI, ASCE, CSCE, and CAE; in 2017, he received the Top 7 Over 70 Award for his outstanding continued research and engineering contributions. The papers found in this SP publication encompass a broad overview on the important issues related to punching shear resistance and sustainable serviceability of flat plates from both a theoretical and design perspectives. These papers formed the basis of presentations made at the Amin Ghali Symposium on Design of Structural Concrete Slabs for Safety Against Punching and Excessive Deflection held at the ACI Fall 2020 Virtual Convention, on October 25, 2020. Twelve presentations were made in two sessions by those who have worked closely with Dr. Ghali in his areas of interest. The SP includes nine papers on design of concrete floors for punching and for serviceability. The sessions were sponsored by ACI Committee 421, Design of Reinforced Concrete Slabs. All papers in this publication were reviewed by at least two recognized experts in accordance with ACI review procedures. Special thanks are extended to all who helped to make the two technical sessions and accompanying publication a success.

Nowadays, finite element analyses provide information about the performance of a structure, but they are more or less simplified. Therefore, load tests are the only way to find the “real” behavior of an existing bridge subjected to the rating process. In this paper, the state-of-the-art concerning load tests of concrete road bridges is presented, and the problems of the execution of such tests are specified. It is pointed out that only load tests accompanied with current finite element analyses may result in a proper assessment of the level of safety of the bridge. The authors’ procedure of complex assessment of such bridges combines in-situ examination of the structure, load testing, and finite element modeling. The paper discusses the following topics: aims and fundamentals of static diagnostic and proof load tests; the load application method according to different codes and specifications; the basis for proper assessment of the target load: reliability index, partial factors approach, global rating factor approach; establishing the load allowable on the bridge, based on the applied proof load; and the proposed procedure of assessment of existing concrete road bridges by load testing.

The improved fluidity of self-consolidating concrete by using chemical admix¬tures sometimes causes stability problems. In this paper some fundamentals of particle settling theory, such as Stokes’ law, are used to investigate particle sedimentation. Some preliminary calculations of stresses from particles (>0.125 mm [4.93E-4 in.]) on matrix (liquid and powder < 0.125 mm) with viscous fluid properties, indicate that yield stress is more important than plastic viscosity for the stability of aggregates when settling in matrix. The Kozeny-Carman equation (KCE) is used to analyse bleeding rate of fresh matrix with three main factors involved: solid fraction, specific surface area and liquid viscosity. Different stabilizing mechanisms of viscosity modifying agents (VMA) and fillers are also reviewed. Finally a settlement model is set up for further investigation.

In recent years, an emerging technology known as high-performance high-volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete has become available, which incorporates large volumes of fly ash into conventional portland cement concrete. This article outlines the fundamentals of high-performance HVFA concrete, gives its properties and durability characteristics, and makes a case for applicability use in the construction of highways in developing countries like China and India. . .

The aim of this project is the production of a 28 m high CFRP-prestressed spun concrete pylon as a support for electric lines at the 110 kV voltage level (Duralight concept). It is intended to use this pylon as a support mast in a section of the 110 kV line of the Nordostschweizerische Kraftewerke (NOK, Power Company of North East Switzerland) Beznau-Baden. The fundamental advantage of this new design is the low weight in combination with an optimum corrosion resistance. The high corrosion resistance of the CFRP prestressing and shear reinforcement allows minimization of the concrete cover so that a cross-sectional wall thickness in the region of only 4 cm (1.6 inches) can be obtained. This is at present about 10 cm (4 inches) if steel reinforcement is used. The low weight of the CFRP reinforcement (the density of CFRP is only 1.6 g/cm3, which is a fifth of the density of steel) and its high tensile strength (CFRP pretensioning rods have a tensile strength of 3000 MPa, which is twice that of a prestressing steel) are also noteworthy. These two factors permit a weight reduction on the reinforcement side of 90% compared with conventional pre-stressed concrete construction. On the matrix side, high-strength spun concrete of strength class B110 is used. Owing to its high strength, it helps to achieve the stated minimization of the cross-sectional dimensions. The envisaged pylon weight of 4730 kg means a 45% weight reduction compared with the traditional steel reinforced spun concrete pylon. The transport and installation costs are thus lower and the expected life without maintenance is 50 years. This paper describes the technical fundamentals studied in a four year research program at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research EMPA for designing and manufacturing this prototype pylon. The presented pilot project results from a close co-operation of the spun concrete element production plant SACAC with EMPA and the power company NOK.