Projects

Structural systems that combine reinforced concrete (RC) slab-column frames with moment resisting frames or shear walls find wide applications in zones of moderate and high seismicity. Due to combination of lateral displacements imposed during earthquakes with gravity loads, slab-column connections are prone to exhibit punching shear failures. Traditionally, the required shear strength of slab-column connections is achieved by the use of drop panels or shear stud rails. The work outlined in this proposal is to develop a highly damage tolerant and smart slab-column frame system through the use of high-performance fiber reinforced cement composites (HPFRCCs) and wireless sensing technology. The development of new materials (HPFRCC) and smart structure technologies (computationally rich wireless sensors) have previously occurred in isolated research communities – this proposal is a first of its kind to explore their combination so that an intelligent HPFRCC structure capable of sustaining large drift demands and self-performance monitoring can be derived. The revolutionary features of the NEES infrastructure offer exciting paths of exploration that will lead to a more profound investigation of intelligent HPFRCC slab-column systems.

Test Status

• No active running test.
• Specimen 1 test is complete.
• Specimen 2 test is tentatively scheduled for July 2007

Calendar

• July 2007 - Specimen 2 Test
• Third Quarter of 2007 - Specimen 3 Test
• June 5-6 2007 - Specimen 1 Test (complete)

Project Website

For more information about this project, please visit the project website.

This project uses the 6-dof control capabilities of the MAST system to improve understanding of the behavior of T-shaped concrete shear walls. Nonrectangular shear walls are created by joining perpendicular shear walls to one another instead of leaving them separate. They are often placed around elevators and stairwells in building cores to provide lateral strength and stiffness. Because of limitations on testing equipment, previous research on nonrectangular walls has been limited to unidirectional loading or very simple bidirectional loading. Additionally, much of what is assumed about the behavior of these non-rectangular walls has been extrapolated from testing of simple rectangular walls. This research will help increase our understanding of these walls and may lead to specific design recommendations to assist engineers in the design of new structures.

Test Status

• No active running test.
• RWS, RWC, NTW1, and RWN tests are complete.
• NTW2 test is tentatively scheduled for the last quarter of 2007.

Calendar

• Last Quarter of 2007 - NTW2 Test
• August 28-30 2006 - RWS Test (complete)
• August 7-11 2006 - RWC Test (compelte)
• June 15-28, 2006 - NTW1 Test (complete)
• April 26-May2 2006, 2006 - RWN Test (complete)

Photo & Video

• Project photos are available on the NEES@Minnesota photo gallery. They can be accessed under the Current Projects ablum
• Timelapse videos of the NTW1 test are available for download

Project Website

Please visit project website for information about this project.

Recent research findings indicate that the design of high-capacity shear walls with stable ductile behavior is possible if rational failure modes that can effectively make use of the high strength and crack control properties provided by high-performance concrete are taken into account. The evaluation of dependable limits on the web-crushing behavior of high-strength concrete wall elements within the performance-based framework will allow designers to achieve higher strength for less weight, reduced material use, and lower life-cycle costs due to improved durability to adverse environmental effects.

This NEESR-II-05 project has as a goal to establish acceptable limits on the elastic and inelastic shear strength of structural walls and structural wall assemblies. These limits expected to be much higher than current code prescriptions may permit the design a new generation of low-weight and low-reinforced concrete members and the integration of performance-based criteria into standard design vocabulary for structural walls.

Calendar

This project is tentatively scheduled to start at NEES@Minnesota in Fall 2007.

Project Website

For more information about this project, please visit project website.