See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/336414032

SHEAR CONNECTORS ON CONCRETE-TO-CONCRETE INTERFACE SURFACES: A

NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION ON 3D FRAMES

Conference Paper · October 2019

CITATIONS READS

0 610

2 authors:

Quy Thue Nguyen Ramazan LİVAOĞLU

Uludag University Uludag University
7 PUBLICATIONS   0 CITATIONS    125 PUBLICATIONS   986 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Performance Analysis of High Rise Building (300 m) of T.C. Central Bank at Istanbul Financal Center View project

Kinematic Analysis of deep foundations of Merkez Ankara Project. View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Quy Thue Nguyen on 11 October 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

SHEAR CONNECTORS ON CONCRETE-TO-CONCRETE INTERFACE

SURFACES: A NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION ON 3D FRAMES
1 2, 3
Q.T. Nguyen and R. Livaoğlu
1
Ph.D Can., Civil Eng. Department, Uludağ University, Bursa
2
Prof. Dr., Civil Eng. Department, Uludağ University, Bursa
3
RL Proje Destek Consulting Company, Bursa
Email: nguyenthuequy@gmail.com

ABSTRACT:

Shear connectors with various shapes consisting of I, Γ, Π, and Λ are applied to concrete-to-concrete
interfaces in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the shapes on strengthening the shear transferability
at the concrete substrates of a three dimensional RC frame constructed using RC formworks. A ratio of
0.312% of 4mm diameter I, Γ, Π-shaped dowels is arranged perpendicularly on the interface surfaces.
The effectiveness of the inclined angle of shear connectors is investigated using Λ-shaped shear links
whose branches make an inclined angle of 30o respect to the concrete planar surfaces. Besides that, there
are two different types of Λ-shaped dowels, one placed inside and one placed outside the stirrups of RC
formworks. As results, compared to the structure whose surfaces are left as-cast (smooth), Λ-shaped
shear ties arranged outside transverse reinforcement of jackets appear as the most effective solution due
to an improvement of approximate 12.5% of the flexural capacity of the strengthened structure while I,
Γ, and Π-shaped surface crossing reinforcement performs the same modest enhancement.

KEYWORDS : Concrete-to-concrete, Shear connectors, Coulomb friction, Concrete Damage Plasticity

Model (CDPM), Pushover analysis

BETON-BETON ARAYÜZÜ İÇİN SAPLAMA ELEMALARI: 3D

ÇERÇEVELERDE SAYISAL BİR ARAŞTIRMA

ÖZET:

Beton-beton yüzeyler için I, Γ, Π ve Λ gibi birçok farklı formda ve şekilde kesme saplamaları veyahut
bağlantı elemanları uygulamada yaygın olarak kullanılmaktadır. Geleneksel uygulamadan farklı olarak
betonarme kalıpları kullanılarak oluşturulan üç boyutlu bir betonarme çerçevenin beton yüzeylerinde
kesme sürekliliğini ve etkinliğini arttırmak için farklı saplama elemanlarının etkinliği bu çalışmada
sayısal modeller yardımıyla araştırmaya konu edilmektedir. Ara yüzeyde % 0.312 oranında 4mm çaplı I,
Γ, Π şeklindeki saplama oranı yüzeye dik olarak modellerde değerlendirilmiş ve bu şekilde elde edilen
3D çerçevelerde saplamaların etkinliği araştırılmıştır. Saplama örneklerinden Λ için yüzeyle yapılan
açının etkinliği iki farklı durum için yine bu çalışmada konu edilmektedir. Bunun yanında, biri RC
kalıplarının dışına ve biri içine yerleştirilmiş şekilde iki farklı Λ-şekilli saplama tipi için de araştırma
sonuçları özetlenmektedir. Sonuç olarak, yüzeyleri pürüzsüz olan uygulama ile saplamaların kullanıldığı
durumlar karşılaştırıldığında, enine donatı dışına yerleştirilmiş Λ şeklindeki saplamaların, eğilme
kapasitesinde yaklaşık %12.5'lik bir iyileşmesi nedeniyle en etkili çözüm olarak ifade edilebileceği, I, Γ,
ve Π gibi saplama formlarının göreli olarak etkinliğinin oldukça az olduğu anlaşılmaktadır.
5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

ANAHTAR KELİMELER : Beton-beton arayüzü, saplama , Coulomb sürtünme, Beton Hasar Plastisite
Modeli (CDPM), İtme analizi

1. INTRODUCTION

Aim at constructing new RC structures as well as retrofitting structural elements such as columns and
beams etc. of damaged buildings caused by severe earthquake events, some studies on RC formworks or
RC jacketing method show the degradation of composite members compared to monolithic ones. Minafò
(2015) shows that without surface preparation composite columns perform a lower capacity, about 10%
than monolithic ones. Similarly, Thermou et al. (2007), indicates that the capacity of monolithic members
can be multiplied to a multiplier called monolithic factor, ranging from 0.7 to 1.0 to practically determine
the capacity of composite members. In more detailed, Vandoros and Dritsos (2008) show that with regard
to monolithic columns, the strengthened columns without surface preparation perform a lower flexural
capacity about 35.8% at yielding and 16.3% at ultimate points.

In order to enhance the shear strength of inter-surfaces degraded by the occurrence of slippage at concrete
substrates, the application of shear connectors not only to pure shear tests but also to structural elements
has appeared as an effective method. Mahmoud et al. (2013) indicate that the presence, as well as the
quantity of shear connectors, influences directly the shear transferability at the interfacial surfaces. More
detailed, Mazizah and Izni (2015) infer that the amount of shear friction reinforcement plays a decisive
role in improving the shear strength of the concrete-to-concrete interface due to the clamping stress
occurs when applying shear connectors. Wang et al. (2011) show that the interface has good ductility
behavior due to the presence of steel ties. Focus on the effect of connectors shapes, Wang et al. (2011)
show that Π shaped steel shear ties appear as a more effective solution than Γ and I shaped connectors.
Furthermore, based on an experimental test on jacketed columns, Vandoros and Dritsos (2008) indicate
that the capacity of strengthened specimens applied about 0.29% ratio of 20 mm diameter grade S500 Γ
shaped ties of dimensions 150 mm by 100 mm is about 9.1% and 14.9% less than a monolithic one at
yield and ultimate point respectively.

The aforementioned studies picturize about the composite behavior of only separate structural members
covered by RC formworks or jackets so that studies on the behavior of RC frames comprising columns
and beams are still needed in general. Besides that, aim at the effect of shear links shape to the shear
strength between concrete substrates, in this study, the surface treatment method is numerically
investigated applying I, Γ, Π, and Λ shaped steel shear connectors at the interface surfaces of an RC
frame.

2. NUMERICAL TESTS
2.1 Geometrics of 3D Specimen

The structure formed using RC formworks, namely new frame (NF), and its reference one constructed
traditionally, entitled as classical frame (CF), are simulated in the software (Abaqus, 2018). The finished
dimensions of structural elements of two frames as illustrated in Fig. 1 are similar to each other.
Particularly, as depicted in Fig. 1b, the cross-section of beams is 250x300mm, and 300x300mm is the
dimensions of column cross-section. 30mm thickness RC formworks cover beams and columns of NF.
It is noted that the red line in Fig. 1 stands for the concrete-to-concrete interfaces.
5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 1. (a) Finished dimensions, (b) Cross-sections of CF, (c) Cross-sections of NF, and (d) Location
of reinforcement. Unit: mm.

The diameter of longitudinal re-bars and stirrups is 8 mm and the location of them is described more
detailed in Fig. 1c. Furthermore, in order to reach the monolithic behavior of RC jacketed columns,
Nasersaeed (2011) suggests that the distance between stirrups is set equal to half of the interval of
transverse reinforcement of core parts. Júlio and Branco (2008) also witness the effect of the out of phase
localizing of the stirrups of jackets and core parts is necessary to obtain the monolithic behavior of a
member. As results, in this study, the distance between stirrups of formworks is chosen as 75mm while
the 150 mm intervals are applied for stirrups of other members.

2.2 Material properties

Material constitutive models of concrete and reinforcement and a friction model are defined based on
literature as well as the stipulation of current codes.

First of all, aim at an appropriate behavior consisting of the inelastic stages and the occurrence of damage
of concrete, CDPM is employed for numerical modeling in commercial software (Abaqus, 2018) to
describe the behavior of concrete elements when structures fall deeply into the plastic regime. CDPM
conducted based on Kupfer et al. (1969) and Lubliner et al. (1989) are already integrated into the
software. The necessary parameters used to define the CDPM is listed in Table 1. In the table, the first
three parameters are chosen as Ren et al. (2015), the second is extracted from Kupfer et al. (1969), and
the final one is taken from Najafgholipour et al. (2017).

Table 1. Parameters of CDPM

Dilation angle 35
Eccentricity 0.1
K 2/3
fbo/fco 1.16
Viscosity parameter 0.007985
5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

Secondly, the uniaxial behavior of concrete is exploited from the study of Hsu and Hsu (1994) whereas
the tensile regime is delineated following Aslani and Jowkarmeimandi (2012) as shown in Fig. 2. In Fig.
2a, β is a parameter related to the shape of the compressive branch in the inelastic range, further
information about this parameter can be followed according to the study of Hsu and Hsu (1994). Concrete
class C35 with 35MPa strength (cylindrical specimen) at 28 day age is applied and its mechanical
properties are listed in Table 2. The Poisson's ratio of concrete material is chosen 0.2 according to Lee
and Fenves (1998) and Kupfer et al. (1969). The tensile capacity is chosen as 10% of the ultimate
compressive strength according to Aslani and Jowkarmeimandi (2012). On the other hand, steel material
is considered working due to the elastoplastic model. Steel with 420 MPa yield strength (S420) is applied
to reinforcing bars while S520 strength steel is assigned for shear links and detailed mechanical properties
are listed in Table 3.

Figure 2. Uniaxial stress of concrete. (a) Compressive; (b) Tensile.

Table 2. Mechanical properties of C35 concrete

Characteristic compressive strength (σcu), MPa 35

Tensile capacity (σto), MPa 3.5
Density, T/m3 2.4
Elastic modulus (E), MPa 26987
Poisson’s ratio (ν) 0.18

Table 3. Mechanical properties of reinforcement

Density, T/m3 7.85

Elastic modulus (Es), MPa 210000
Poisson’s ratio (ν) 0.3

Thirdly, the Coulombic friction model is chosen to feature the left as-cast concrete-to-concrete interface
in the present study. Under large lateral pushing in NSPA, large slippages, as well as separation between
core-to-cover concrete substrates, inevitably occur. Coulomb friction model is simulated adequately
considering tangential and normal behavior at the interface. In the planar behavior, a constant friction
coefficient is applied and the isotropic friction behavior is assumed on concrete-to-concrete substrates.
A constant friction coefficient of 0.6 applied to smooth concrete-to-concrete surfaces according to ACI
5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

Committee 318 (2008). Sliding at the interface is divided into two states, elastic and inelastic. In the
elastic range of slippage, the stiffness of concrete-to-concrete joint is assumedly set to be equal to the
Young elastic modulus of concrete material in shear, G. Finally, the “fraction of characteristic surface
dimension”, is chosen as 0.005 as defaulted. As results, the crucial parameters defining the Coulomb
friction model for tangential behavior is required as listed in Table 4. On the other hand, normal behavior
is also defined in numerical models. Particularly, “hard contact” and zero-penetration options are applied
in the normal direction. Surface separation is adopted in the event of no contact is captured. Besides that,
as concluded by Santos et al. (2007) and Santos (2009), the tensile resistance is neglected here, viz, there
is no tensile resistance against a normal separation between interface planes.

Table 4. Proposed parameters of the modified Coulombic friction model

Friction coefficient (μ) 0.6

Shear stress limit (τmax), MPa 9.093
Elastic stiffness (κ or G), MPa 11435
Fraction of characteristic surface dimension (Ff) 0.005

2.3 Shear Connector Application

In the present study, four shapes of shear links consisting of I, Γ, Π, and Λ shapes are selected.
Furthermore, symmetric Λ-shaped ties with two different dimensions, ones whose branches length is
50mm are placed completely inside the stirrups of formworks while the other ones with longer branches
(65mm) are localized outside the stirrups. Detail dimensions as well as the locaiton of all types of shear
connectors can be followed as Fig. 3.

(a)

(b)
Figure 3. Shear connectors arrangement. (a) Perpendicularly; (b) With inclination angle of 30o

Based on the experiment of Hassanean et al. (2013), high tensile steel of 520 N/mm 2 yield strength is
chosen herein. In terms of dimensions, due to the thickness of RC formworks, only 30mm, and also the
presence of reinforcement inside, 4mm diameter S520 grade dowels are applied in the numerical
modeling. Notice that connectors arranged perpendicularly to the planar interfaces (I, Γ, and Π) are
placed distributively with a ratio of 0.312%. This intensity is the fraction between the total area of shear
links on each interfacial joints and the area of this concrete interfacial surface. The same value of the
ratio is applied for all inter-connections of columns and beams. After that, the same number of connectors
placed perpendicularly to the surfaces will be applied to the case of Λ shaped links. For the purpose of
5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

convenience, the models are named as NF_I, NF_Γ, NF_Π, NF_Λ_IN, and NF_Λ_OUT for the structure
whose surfaces are strengthened using I, Γ, Π, Λ (40mm), and Λ (65mm) shaped shear links respectively.

3. NONLINEAR STATIC PUSHOVER ANALYSIS (NSPA) SET UP

NSPA procedure as shown in Fig. 4a is defined in commercial software (Abaqus, 2018). It should be
noted that the analysis procedure consists of two main steps. Step 1 is used to account for the response
against the constant normal loading, as profoundly illustrated as the purple components while in step 2
the structures are subjected to a monotonically pushing displacement procedure, red components. Step 1
works separately from step 2 and then the results are propagated into step 2. In Fig. 4a, monotonic lateral
pushing are applied on two columns respect to the x-axis. Moreover, the foot is restrained spatially using
“encastre boundary condition”.

When building numerical models, there are some worth notices should be considered in order to reach a
reasonable result as well as to get convergence of the analysis. First, during the pushing procedure, a
value of axial load equal to 30% of the normal capacity of the structure according to Truong et al. (2017)
is imparted constantly in the y-axis at the top of the four columns. Second, in the case of NF, normal load
is applied only on the core part of columns to ensure that both structures bear the same value of mass.
Consequently, the value of the normal pressure of two frames is different from each other. Particularly,
a normal pressure of 5.97 N/mm2 is applied on CF while in case of NF, a quantity of 9.33 N/mm 2 is
applied. Additionally, the gravitational load is also comprised in the NSPA. Third, the lateral
displacement is applied incrementally until the drift ratio is equal to 3.5% as stipulated by ACI
Committee 374.1 (2005). That makes the target of lateral displacement equal to 87.75mm. Four, there is
no occurrence of de-bonding between concrete and steel bar, however, the bonding mechanism can be
seen as the damage of concrete interactively surrounding bars as assumed by Khalil et al. (2016). Five,
in the present study, 3D eight-node solid, C3D8 elements are applied to concrete while reinforcement is
assigned as T3D2 elements. Lastly, 50mmx50mm size meshing is applied to solid elements and 50mm
length is allocated for truss elements.

Base shear force

Fmax
0.85Fmax
0.75Fmax

u
DDF 
y

Roof displacement
Δy Δu
(a) (b)
Figure 4. (a) NPSA set up and (b) ductility factor determination.

After running FE analysis (FEA), the results can be derived as the relationship between top displacement
and base-shear force as well as the displacement ductility ratio (DDF) of structures. It is noted that base
shear force is derived at the bottom sections of four columns while the roof-displacement is taken on the
top of a column not pushed directly in the NSPA procedure. The displacement ductility ratio is
determined in Fig. 4b according to Park (1988). Particularly, in this study, the yield displacement of the
equivalent elasto-plastic system with reduced stiffness found as the secant stiffness at 75% of the ultimate
5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

lateral load of the real system, Fmax. On the other hand, a strength degradation of 15% of the capacity is
chosen to quote the maximum displacement.

4. NUMERICAL RESULTS

The products of NSPA, roof-displacement versus base shear force curves, of all structures are depicted
illustratively in Fig. 5 in order to emphasize the contribution of shear connectors to the flexural strength
of the structure formed by RC formworks through the nonlinear behavior.
165
150
135
Base-Shear Force (kN)

120
105
90 CF
75 NF_Λ_OUT
NF_Λ_IN
60
NF_Π
45 NF_Γ
30 NF_I
15 NF

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
Top-Displacement (mm)

Figure 5. The product of NSPA.

The line graphs in Fig. 5, shed of light not only on the contribution of shear connectors to the nonlinear
performance of the structure jacketed RC formworks but also the effectiveness of the inclined shear links.
One of the more prominent takeaways of the line graphs is that the performance of the structure formed
using RC formworks is improved more effectively by placing Λ-shaped shear links than by ones
perpendicular to the interface surfaces. Another noticeable point is that all of the shear connectors placed
perpendicularly to the interface surfaces approximately contribute to the flexural performance with an
equal amount regardless of their shapes whereas the Λ-shaped shear connectors arranged outside stirrups
enhance the shear strength of concrete-to-concrete interfaces more effectively than the ones put inside
transverse reinforcement.

The products of NSPA initiate with an upward trend in the elastic stage followed by another increasing
regime but with continuously reduced stiffness until hitting peaks starting a declined curve ending up at
a base shear-force of 85% of the peak. The elastic regime of NF, particularly, ends up at 7.942 mm when
reaching a base shear-force of 106.31 kN compared with the value of 117.5 kN transpiring at an estimated
yield point of 7.747 mm for CF. It is clear that in the elastic stage the bending stiffness of NF is lower,
about 88.257% of that of CF. The degradation of the flexural stiffness of NF’s is caused by the slippage
between concrete layers. In the elastic range, there is no tensile strength existing at the concrete substrates
as mentioned before. Consequently, in tensile sides of columns and beams formworks tend to separate
from other parts immediately as the lateral pushing is initiated. Furthermore, in compressive sides, the
parts of formworks, especially the outside parts, tend to slip relative to the core surfaces. Contrastly, the
slippage between concrete substrates is minified effectively with the presence of shear connectors.
Compare to NF, the flexural elastic stiffness is enhanced with an amount of 3.05% for the NF_Π while
the other two other shapes of shear ties perpendicularly placed at concrete surfaces seem not to contribute
5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

remarkably to the desired parameter. On the other hand, inclined shear dowels possibly upgrade to an
amount of about 11%.

Afterward, the elastic range ends up and starts transforming to the nonlinear stage. For the most important
desired parameter, the ultimate base shear force, the frame with both types of Λ-shaped links crossing
interface surfaces approximately reaches the performance of CF. In comparison to NF, the peak is
enhanced 9.865% and 12.509% for NF_Λ_IN and NF_Λ_OUT respectively while the comparable
parameters of the structures strengthened using I, Γ, and Π shear ties are modest, only around 3%. It is
straightforwardly understood that shear connectors are considered as a backbone factor that effectively
lowers the slippage by resulting in clamping stress added directly to the normal stress leading to the
increase of friction force. Sliding between the formworks and core parts is decreased accountably. More
importantly observe that Λ-shaped ties appear as a more effective solution. As stipulated by ACI 318-08
(2008), the inclination angle of shear ties explicitly plays an important role in increasing the resultant
clamping stress on interfaces. In this study, the angle is chosen as 30 o in order to achieve the optimum
contribution of shear links when the constant friction coefficient is set as 0.6. In order to indicate the
outstanding contribution of Λ-shaped ties, NF_ Λ_IN and NF_ Π are chosen to compare here. Under
slippage between concrete layers, one branch of Π-shaped links (35mm) works under tension as shown
in Fig. 6b then results in clamping stress directly added to friction force with an amount of µA vffs per
branch with Avf is the cross section of shear links and f s is the tensile stress in shear ties. However, the
amount of friction brought by one tensile branch of Λ-shaped ties as depicted in Fig. 6a is Avffs (µsinα
+cosα). Particularly, in this study with the friction coefficient of 0.6 and the inclination angle of 30 o, the
friction force brought by the tensile branch of Λ-shaped ties is about 1.943 times the contribution of one
branch of Π-shaped links. Moreover, in case of working under compression, shear dowels also contribute
to shear transferability of interface surfaces assumedly by the same manner described in the tensile
branch due to the elasto-plastic model in FEA in which connectors defined as truss elements only work
under tension and compression only. Interestingly observe in Fig. 6 that the Λ-shaped and Π-shaped ties
are taken at the same position on frames, particularly at the tensile sides of the vicinity of the bottom of
one column of NF_Λ_OUT and NF_Π respectively at their fracture moments for the purpose of
comparison. In Fig. 6 that the Λ-shaped and Π-shaped ties are taken at the same position on frames,
particularly at the tensile sides of the vicinity of the bottom of one column of NF_Λ_OUT and NF_Π
respectively at their fracture moments for the purpose of comparison. Interestingly observe that the axial
stress in Λ-shaped ties distributes uniformly in both of two branches while it varies along with the length
of Π-shaped ties. Moreover, the value of axial stress in Λ-shaped ties is higher than the other. The
observation is meaningful pieces of evidence proving the outstanding of this kind of link. Lastly, it can
be concluded that although the same number of shear connectors, 1984 is applied on NF_Λs, and NF_Π,
the 30o inclined shear links more effectively enhance the flexural strength of NF_Λs, viz, the shear
strength of concrete-to-concrete interface surfaces is more effectively upgraded. The higher value of the
peak of NF_Λ_OUT compared to the one of NF_Λ_IN can be assumed that the Λ-shaped connectors
arranged outside stirrups result in clamping stress more effectively than the ones whose dimensions are
40x40mm.

Compared to the deviation between NFs and CF mentioned above for the elastic strength, the difference
of ultimate strength gets smaller. For instance, the case of NFs, the bending capacity of is about 90.477%,
93.448%, and 99.402% of the counterpart of CF for NF, NF_Π, and NF_Λ_IN respectively. In other
words, the behavior of NFs is closer to monolithic behavior when working under large deformation. The
value of critical shear stress at the interconnections is dependent on the normal stress mainly brought by
the normal axial loads applied initially on top of columns and the lateral deformation of structures under
monotonic pushing. Notice that in RC frames, columns and beams are considered as flexural elements
so the normal stress assumedly is assumed as small or even not exist at least in the elastic range. However,
5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

under larger displacement, larger deformation of core parts causes higher pressure at the inter-joints and
then forces the RC formworks to work. For instance, under compression, concrete elements tend to
extend their deformation and lead to pressure on the interface. Besides that, the presence of longitudinal
and transverse reinforcement in formworks also contribute to the capacity of the frames. That makes the
behavior of NF getting closer to the monolithic strength when working under large deformation. The
contribution of concrete and reinforcement of formworks is explicitly proved by the of the damage of
concrete caused by tension and compression as well as by normal stress in reinforcement including
longitudinal bars, stirrups, and shear links as visualized in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8.

(a) (b)

Figure 6. Example of normal stress (in MPa) of (a) Λ-shaped (65x65mm); and (b) Π-shaped ties.

(a)

(b)

Figure 7. Damage in tension (DAMAGET) and in compression (DAMAGEC). (a) CF; and (b)
NF_Λ_IN
5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

As discussed above, the Λ-shaped shear links upgrade the flexural capacity of NF_Λs to the monolithic
reference frame, CF. However, their displacement ductility ratios are lower than the one of NF and other
NFs whose surfaces strengthened using shear links perpendicular to the interface. Those NFs show a
displacement ductility value of around 8 while the desired parameter of NF_Λ_OUT and NF_Λ_IN is
only about 6.35 and 6.521, slightly lower than the one of CF, 6.642. Similar to the case of CF, after
hitting the ultimate base-shear force, the declined curve of NF_Λs is steeper than the performance of
other NFs. Additionally, the elastic regime of all structures is witnessed when the top lateral displacement
is around 8mm. Consequently, the displacement ductility factor of NF_Λ is the lowest one.

Figure 8. Axial stress (in MPa) of reinforcement inside formworks of NF_Λ_IN

3. CONCLUSION

Based on the results taken from numerical simulation, there are some important observations summarized
in the context about the effects of the presence and especially the shape shear connectors on the concrete-
to-concrete inter-connection. Especially, different from previous studies, the numerical tests are done in
3D frames in which columns and beams work together. First of all, the ultimate bending of the structure
with smooth interface planes is lower, about 90% of the flexural capacity of the monolithic one. Second,
the presence of shear connectors possibly enhances the performance of structures constructed using RC
formworks and more importantly conclude that the shape of connectors decides the amount of
enhancement. Particularly, with the same number of shear links applied, the flexural capacity of the
structure covered by RC formworks is improved modestly about 3.3% using Π-shaped links that are
considered as to be more effective than other shapes, I and Γ. On the other hand, placing Λ-shaped ties
leads to a buildup of approximate 10% making the structure approximately meet the monolithic reference
one. Third, the frame using Λ-shaped ties localized outside stirrup performs a slightly higher ultimate
strength of 2.4%. Conversely, similar to the reference monolithic frame, the ductility behavior of the
frames using Λ-shaped ties is slightly lower than the one whose surfaces are smooth as well as
strengthened using links perpendicular to the interface surfaces.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The work described in this study took advantage of the idea about an RC mold system, particularly TR
2011 01550 B patent of the Turkish Patent Institute.
5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

REFERENCES

Abaqus (2013). Abaqus Analysis User’s Guide, Dassault Systèmes Simulia Corp., Providence, RI, USA.
Abbas, A.A., Mohsin, S.M.S., Cotsovos, D.M. (2014). Seismic response of steel fiber RC beam–column
joints. Engineering Structures, 59: 261-283.
ACI Committee 318 (2018) Failure modes of in-filled frames. Electronic Journal of Structural
Engineering, 11(1):11–20. Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete. American
Concrete Institute. MI 48331, USA.
ACI Committee 374.1. (2005). Acceptance criteria for moment frames based on structural testing and
commentary. American Concrete Institute. MI 48331, USA.
Aslani, F., Jowkarmeimandi, R. (2012). Stress-strain model for concrete under cyclic loading. Magazine
of Concrete Research, Volume 64, No 8: 673-685.
Drucker, D.C. (1953). Technical Report No.85 Coulomb Friction, Plasticity, and Limit Loads. Armed
Services Technical Information Agency. Brown University, Providence, R.I.
European Commitiee for Standardization-CEN (2004). EN 1992-1-1 (2004) (English): Eurocode 2:
Design of concrete structures - Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings. The European Union
per Regulation 305/2011, Directive 98/34/EC, Directive 2004/18/EC. Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000
Brussels.
Hassanean, Y.A., Assaf, K.A., Raheem, S.E.A., Arafa, A.N.M. (2013). Flexural behavior of
strengthened and repaired RCbeams by using steel fiber concrete jacket under repeated load.
International Journal of Civil and Structural Engineering, Volume 3, No 3: 564-578.
He,Y., Zhang, X., Hooton, R.D., Zhang, X. (2017). Effects of interface roughness and interface adhesion
on new-to-old concrete bonding. Construction and Building Materials, Volume 151: 582-590.
Hsu, L.S., Hsu, C.T.T. (1994). Complete stress-strain behavior of high-strength concrete under
compression. Magazine of Concrete Research, 46, No. 169: 301-312.
Júlio, E.N.B.S., Branco, F.A.B. (2008). RC jacketing– interface influence on cyclic loading response.
ACI Structural Journal, 105-S45.
Khalil, A.E., Etman, E., Atta, A., Essam, M. (2016). Nonlinear behavior of RCbeams strengthened with
strain hardening cementitious composites subjected to monotonic and cyclic loads. Alexandria
Engineering Journal, 55: 1483–1496.
Kupfer, H., Hilsdorf, H.K., Rusch, H. (1969). Behavior of Concrete under Biaxial Stresses. ACI Journal,
No. 66-52: 656-666.
Lee, C.H., Polycarpou, A.A. (2007). Static Friction Experiments and Verification of an Improved Elastic-
Plastic Model Including Roughness Effects. Journal of Tribology, 129: 754-760.
Lee, J., Fenves, G.L. (1998). Plastic-damage model for cyclic loading of concrete structures. J. Eng.
Mech., 124: 892-900.
Lubliner, J., Oliver, J., Oller, S., Oñate, E. (1989). A plastic-damage model for concrete. Int. J. Solids
Structures, Vol. 25 No. 3: 299-326.
Mahmoud, M.A., Elafandy, T.H., Okail, H.O., Abdelrahman, A.A. (2013). Interfacial shear behavior of
composite flanged concrete beams. HBRCJournal, 10, 206–214.
Mazizah, E.M., Izni S.I. (2015). Interface shearing strength of concrete-to concrete bond with and
without projecting steel reinforcement. Jurnal Teknologi, 75:1, 169–172.
Minafò, G. (2015). A practical approach for the strength evaluation of RC columns reinforced with RC
jackets. Engineering Structures, 85: 162-169.
Münger, F., Wicke, M., Jirsa, J.O. (1995). Connection of old concrete with new concrete-overlays.
IABSE reports. ETH Zürich, Rämistrasse 101, 8092 Zürich, Schweiz.
Najafgholipour, M.A., Dehghan, S.M., Dooshabi, A., Niroomandi, A. (2017). Finite element analysis of
RC beam-column connections with governing joint shear failure mode. Latin American Journal of
Solids and Structures, 14: 1200-1225.
 5th International Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology
8-11 October 2019 – METU – Ankara / TURKEY

Nasersaeed, H. (2011). Evaluation of behavior and seismic retrofitting of RCstructures by concrete

jacket. Asian Journal of Applied Sciences, 4(3): 211-228.
Park, R. (1988). State of the art report Ductility evaluation from laboratory and analytical testing.
Proceeding of Ninth World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Tokyo-Kyoto, Japan.
Perera, R. and C. Huerta. (2008). Identification of damage in RC beams using indexes based on local
modal stiffness. Construction and Building Materials 22 (8): 1656-1667.
Ren, W., Sneed, L.H., Yang, Y., He, R. (2015). Numerical Simulation of Prestressed Precast Concrete
Bridge Deck Panels Using Damage Plasticity Model. International Journal of Concrete Structures
and Materials, Vol.9, No.1: 45–54.
Santos, P.M.D., Júlio, E.N.B.S. (2010). Assessment of the Shearing strength between Concrete Layers.
8th fib PhD Symposium in Kgs, 20–23 June, 2010, Lyngby, Denmark..
Santos, P.M.D., Júlio, E.N.B.S., Silva, V.D. (2007). Correlation between concrete-to-concrete bond
strength and the roughness of the substrate surface. Construction and Building Materials, 21:
1688–1695.
Santos, P.M.D.D. (2009). Assessment of the Shearing strength between Concrete Layers. PhD Text,
Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
Sengottian, K., Jagadeesan, D.K. (2013). Retrofitting of columns with RC jacketing an experimental
behavior. Journal of theoretical and applied information technology, Vol. 56 No.2: 349-354.
Tahsiri, H., Sedehi, O., Khaloo, A., Raisi, E.M. (2015). Experimental study of RCjacketed and CFRP
strengthened RCbeams. Construction and Building Materials, 95: 476-485.
Thermou, G.E. (2015). Strengthened Structural Members and Structures: Analytical Assessment.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272061500. (Date: 2018).
Thermou, G.E., Pantazopoulou, S.J., Elnashai, A.S. (2007). Flexural Behavior of Brittle RC Members
Rehabilitated with Concrete Jacketing. J. Struct. Eng., 133(10): 1373-1384.
Thermou, G.E., Papanikolaou, V.K., Kappos, A.J. (2014). Flexural behavior of RC jacketed columns
under reversed cyclic loading. Engineering Structures, 76: 270-282.
Truong, G.T., Kim, J.C., Choi, K.K.( 2017). Seismic performance of RC columns retrofitted by various
methods. Engineering Structures, 134: 217-235.
Vandoros, K.G., Dritsos, S.E. (2008). Concrete jacket construction detail effectiveness when
strengthening RCcolumns. Construction and Building Materials, 22: 264-276.
Wang, W., Dai, J., Li, G., Huang, C. (2011). Long-Term Behavior of Prestressed Old-New Concrete
Composite Beams. J. Bridge Eng., 16(2): 275-285.

View publication stats