Carlos Chastre

A indústria do betão pré fabricado é, por tradição, inovadora, precursora de novas tecnologias e de novos materiais.O processo produtivo de estruturas com elementos pré-fabricados difere significativamente do das estruturas betonadas em obra pelo facto de uma parte, ou a totalidade, dos elementos da estrutura serem produzidos em fábrica, em condições de produção melhoradas em relação às condições da obra, e serem posteriormente transportados para a obra, onde são, finalmente ligados entre si. A produção em fábrica é efectuada em ambiente protegido do Sol e da chuva, com operários fixos e com formação profissional para desenvolverem tarefas com procedimentos normalizados. Consequentemente, os elementos executados em fábrica possuem melhor qualidade, sob vários aspectos, do que as estruturas executadas em obra.Este livro divide-se em duas grandes áreas, numa primeira abordam-se algumas aplicações de estruturas pré-moldadas no mundo e numa segunda parte descreve-se o seu comportamento estrutural face a diferentes acções. Nos primeiros capítulos relata-se a experiência da pré-fabricação em três países de diferentes continentes: o Brasil, Portugal e a Austrália e revelam-se novas oportunidades que poderão surgir para a indústria da pré-fabricação. Nos capítulos seguintes dá-se um especial enfoque à investigação do comportamento das ligações (rígidas e semi-rígidas). Aborda-se o projecto de estruturas de betão pré-fabricado às acções acidentais. E por fim, dedicam-se os últimos capítulos ao comportamento das estruturas pré-fabricadas face às acções sísmicas. Nesta área, o bom desempenho das estruturas e grande parte do conhecimento e da tecnologia actual advém da resposta dada pelos engenheiros, investigadores e construtores aos fenómenos naturais que afectam as nossas construções, como comprova o desempenho das ligações dúcteis resistentes a momentos em edifícios pré fabricados de betão no verdadeiro teste sísmico que foram os sismos de Christchurch de 2010 e 2011.

Since the 1980’s, several buildings throughout the world have been subject to gas explosions, impact by cars or airplanes, or car bomb attacks. In many cases the effect of the impact or explosion has been the failure of a critical structural member at the perimeter of the building. After the failure, the load supported by that member could not be redistributed and part or all of the structure has collapsed in a progressive manner. The phenomenon that occurs when local failure is not confined to the area of initial distress, and spreads horizontally and/or vertically through the structure, is termed progressive collapse.

Progressive collapse is a relatively rare event, as it requires both an accidental action to cause local damage and a structure that lacks adequate continuity, ductility, and redundancy to prevent the spread of damage. It is technically very difficult and economically prohibitive to design buildings for absolute safety. However it is possible to construct precast concrete buildings that afford an acceptable degree of safety with regard to accidental actions.

A structure is normally designed to respond properly, without damage, under normal load conditions, but local and/or global damages cannot be avoided under the effect of an unexpected, but moderate degree of accidental overload. Properly designed and constructed structures usually possess reasonable probability not to collapse catastrophically under such loads, depending on different factors, for example: the type of loading; the degree and the location of accidental loading in regard to the structure and its structural members; the type of structural system, the construction technology, and the spans between structural vertical members, etc.

No structure can be expected to be totally resistant to actions arising from an unexpected and extreme cause, but it should not be damaged to an extent that is disproportionate to the original cause.

The aim of fib Bulletin 63 is to summarize the present knowledge on the subject and to provide guidance for the design of precast structures against progressive collapse. This is addressed in terms of (a) the classification of the actions, (b) their effect on the structural types, (c) the strategies to cope with such actions, (d) the design methods and (e) some typical detailing, all supplemented with illustrations from around the world, and some model calculations.

In 1994 fib Commission 6: Prefabrication edited a successful Planning and Design Handbook that ran to approximately 45,000 copies and was published in Spanish and German.Nearly 20 years later Bulletin 74 brings that first publication up to date. It offers a synthesis of the latest structural design knowledge about precast building structures against the background of 21st century technological innovations in materials, production and construction. With it, we hope to help architects and engineers achieve a full understanding of precast concrete building structures, the possibilities they offer and their specific design philosophy. It was principally written for non-seismic structures.

The handbook contains eleven chapters, each dealing with a specific aspect of precast building structures.
The first chapter of the handbook highlights best practice opportunities that will enable architects, design engineers and contractors to work together towards finding efficient solutions, which is something unique to precast concrete buildings.
The second chapter offers basic design recommendations that take into account the possibilities, restrictions and advantages of precast concrete, along with its detailing, manufacture, transport, erection and serviceability stages.
Chapter three describes the precast solutions for the most common types of buildings such as offices, sports stadiums, residential buildings, hotels, industrial warehouses and car parks. Different application possibilities are explored to teach us which types of precast units are commonly used in all those situations.
Chapter four covers the basic design principles and systems related to stability. Precast concrete structures should be designed according to a specific stability concept, unlike cast in-situ structures.
Chapter five discusses structural connections.
Chapters six to nine address the four most commonly used systems or subsystems of precast concrete in buildings, namely, portal and skeletal structures, wall-frame structures, floor and roof structures and architectural concrete facades.
In chapter ten the design and detailing of a number of specific construction details in precast elements are discussed, for example, supports, corbels, openings and cutouts in the units, special features related to the detailing of the reinforcement, and so forth.
Chapter eleven gives guidelines for the fire design of precast concrete structures. The handbook concludes with a list of references to good literature on precast concrete construction.

This document has a broad scope and is not focussed on design issues. Precast construction under seismic conditions is treated as a whole. The main principles of seismic design of different structural systems, their behavior and their construction techniques are presented through rules, construction steps and sequences, procedures, and details that should lead to precast structures built in seismic areas complying with the fundamental performance requirements of collapse prevention and life safety in major earthquakes and limited damage in more frequent earthquakes.The content of this document is largely limited to conventional precast construction and, although some information is provided on the well-known “PRESSS technology” (jointed ductile dry connections), this latter solution is not treated in detail in this document.The general overview, contained in this document, of alternative structural systems and connection solutions available to achieve desired performance levels, intends to provide engineers, architects, clients, and end-users (in general) with a better appreciation of the wide range of applications that modern precast concrete technology can have in various types of construction from industrial to commercial as well as residential. Lastly, the emphasis on practical aspects, from conceptual design to connection detailing, aims to help engineers to move away from the habit of blindly following prescriptive codes in their design, but instead go back to basic principles, in order to achieve a more robust understanding, and thus control, of the seismic behaviour of the structural system as a whole, as well as of its components and individual connections.

Precast concrete sandwich panels started being used as cladding for buildings, together with the rise of industrial prefabrication, during the mid-20th century. Since then, society and industry have become increasingly aware of energy efficiency in all fields, for both affordability and sustainability consciousness. As such, buildings have been subject to increasingly stringent requirements with the technology of sandwich panels kept continually at the forefront.
Nowadays, sandwich panels have reached the highest standards of functional performance as structural efficiency, flexibility in use, the speed as well as of aesthetic appeal. These combine in building construction with the well-known advantages of prefabrication; such as construction, quality consciousness, durability and sustainability. Sandwich panels have gained more and more important in their field, thus representing quite a significant application within the industry of prefabrication and an important share of the market.
The Commission ‘Prefabrication’ is keen to promote the development of all precast structural concrete products and to transfer the knowledge to practical design and construction. Now filling a strategic gap, by issuing this Guide to Good Practice, which includes design considerations, structural analysis, building physics, use of materials, manufacturing methods, equipment, field performance, and provides a comprehensive overview of the information currently available worldwide. The Commission is particularly proud that this document is a result of close cooperation with PCI and that it will be published by both fib and PCI. This cooperation started six years ago, first with comparing the different approaches to several issues, then progressively integrating up to producing common documents, like this one, that wasn’t yet treated in a specific Guide by either body.

The effective stress transfer between the fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) and the steel substrate is crucial for the successful retrofit of existing steel structures with FRP composites. However, there are no standard tests for FRP-to-steel interfaces, wherefore different test configurations have been used in recent years to assess the bond behaviour in these interfaces. The present study shows that the choice of test configuration is highly important and leads to different transfer stresses between the FRP and steel composites and consequently, has a direct influence on the strength of the bonded joint. Therefore, it is important to understand the debonding process that occurs in each test and avoid misinterpretations, erroneous analyses and dangerous characterizations of the interfacial behaviour of these interfaces. The current study presents a new analytical approach for the prediction of the debonding of FRP-to-steel interfaces when double-lap pull or double-strap tests are used.

Abstract Sandstones are widely used in the building elements of the world’s stone monuments. Alveolization due to salt crystallization-dissolution is the most important degradation pattern found on the Middle Ages’ sandstone façades of St. Leonardo’s Church in Portugal. An outstanding case of widespread distribution of deep and large alveolization patterns found mainly on portals and vaults of its sandstone façades appeared as a result of the past and present proximity of the seashore. On stonewall façades, a new approach of consolidating products’ treatments using the total head was followed in order to allow full absorption of stone. Physical and mechanical tests were carried out on selected representative specimens of varieties of sandstones on the monument. Treatments with ethyl silicates were assessed by means of its effectiveness, harmfulness, and durability. The comparison of results between the application of this new procedure on this stone monument and the traditional intervention treatments highlighted the potential viability of the former to overcome difficult conditions of absorption of consolidating products.

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Earthquakes, soil settlements, traffic vibrations, and air pollution are some of the actions that can affect historic old buildings. Besides these, the lack of continuous maintenance puts a large part of this heritage in risk due to structural problems that reduce their own safety and that of their users. The preservation and risk mitigation of built cultural heritage require the use of reliable tools in order to assess its state of conservation and to identify and prevent potential vulnerabilities. Having this in mind, it is not possible to carry out destructive tests in most historic old buildings, so it is preferable to opt for nondestructive tests (NDT) or alternative methodologies that allow the physical and mechanical characterization of materials and structure. In this chapter, a general view of NDT methods used in historic buildings to obtain the geometrical information, the damage mapping, the mechanical and physical characterization, and the petrographic analysis of stones is presented. An alternative methodology to physically and mechanically characterize the stone of historic buildings using NDT tests is also proposed. The chapter ends with a case study carried out in the St. Leonard’s Church, a Portuguese monument built in Atouguia da Baleia village in the 13th century, where the alternative methodology here presented was applied. The final results of this study show that the methodology proposed allows the obtention of stress-strain curves in a completely nondestructive way, based on the water absorption coefficient at low pressure.

The 2nd International Conference on Building Materials and Materials Engineering (ICBMM 2018) was held at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, from 26 to 28 September, 2018. The objective of the Lisbon conference was to provide a platform for researchers, engineers, academics, as well as industrial professionals from all over the world, to present their research results and development activities in Building Materials and Materials Engineering.ICBMM 2018 was an opportunity for researchers, engineers and academics to further develop Building Materials and Materials Engineering. Attendees benefitted a lot from expert practitioners and researchers who presented the latest trends in theoretical and practical domains of Building Materials and Materials Engineering. Distinguished professors also delivered their keynote speeches on the latest developments in their respective fields. Among the keynote and plenary speakers were Prof. Carlos Chastre from NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal; Prof. Paulo Mendonça from University of Minho, Portugal; Dr. Mascarenhas Mateus from University of Lisbon, Portugal; Prof. Rudolf Hela from Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic.The current set of conference proceedings present a selection of papers submitted by researchers from a variety of universities, research institutes and industries. All papers were peer-reviewed by conference committee members and a panel of international reviewers who selected the papers to be published based on their quality and relevance to the topic of the conference. This volume presents recent advances in the field of Materials Science and Engineering, Materials Properties, Measuring Methods and Applications, Materials Manufacturing and Processing, Civil and Structural Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning.We would like to thank all the authors who have contributed to this volume and also the organizing committee, reviewers, speakers, co-chair persons, sponsors and all the conference participantsfor their strong support to ICBMM 2018, making this conference such a great success. We look forward to meeting you in ICBMM 2019!

Este livro apresenta diferentes perspetivas sobre o património arquitetónico em Espanha e Itália, debruçando-se sobre temas que estão na ordem do dia, como a reabilitação do património arquitetónico ou as acessibilidades ao mesmo, sejam elas na forma física ou digital, sendo os autores profundos conhecedores desta área. Nas intervenções a realizar no património edificado é fundamental ter um conhecimento aprofundado do projeto, da história e do processo construtivo da obra, bem como do seu comportamento estrutural. De acordo com o ICOMOS estas intervenções devem ser realizadas utilizando as técnicas mais adequadas, baseadas num diagnóstico apropriado e na compreensão dos materiais existentes. De igual forma, os estudos no edificado monumental devem ser realizados com o menor grau de intrusão e o máximo respeito pela sua integridade física, seguindo os princípios de salvaguarda do património arquitetónico definidos na carta internacional de Atenas.O livro divide‐se em duas grandes áreas: numa, abordam‐se os assuntos que se enquadram essencialmente no âmbito da conservação e reabilitação do património arquitetónico e na outra são apresentados os temas mais dedicados à acessibilidade do público ao património arquitetónico e à sua divulgação online. Os trabalhos apresentados no âmbito da conservação e reabilitação do património arquitetónico seguem na essência as recomendações do ICOMOS em relação à necessidade de compreensão da construção existente, ao desenvolvimento de novas técnicas e dos materiais mais adequados aos trabalhos de conservação e reabilitação, assim como na realização de testes em modelos experimentais à escala, tendo por objetivo avaliar o comportamento da estrutura antes e após a reabilitação. O património arquitetónico construído constitui uma parte importante da história da civilização humana e é um fator determinante da nossa identidade coletiva que importa preservar para as gerações futuras. Com a sua intervenção na conservação, reabilitação, valorização e divulgação do património construído, os autores deste livro estão a cumprir um importante papel na nossa sociedade, preservando um legado que nos foi deixado pelos nossos antepassados.

TThis chapter concerns the need to evaluate the reliability of structural elements produced with recycled aggregates concrete (RAC) in order to address some designers’ scepticism towards the use of this eco-friendly material. The current knowledge on RAC’s behaviour demonstrates its viability for structural purposes. However, of the investigations performed so far very few are related to a fundamental aspect towards RAC world-wide application as a structural material: structural codes have a probabilistic basis.After briefly presenting the state-of-the-art knowledge on the material properties and structural behaviour of RAC, the limitations of the current knowledge are debated. Afterwards, an introduction to structural codification is presented, as well as the fundamentals of reliability analysis. Examples of code verifications are contextualized with their underlying assumptions and the information necessary for code calibration is discussed. The role of reliability in the calibration of structural codes is shown, common techniques for reliability calculations are briefly explained, and relevant references in the area are cited for the readers’ perusal.Having established how structural codes are calibrated, the state-of-the-art on the probabilistic and statistical knowledge of RAC properties is reviewed. The implications of the very reduced number of studies on this area are discussed and the need to conduct further studies is emphasized.Afterwards, investigations that used reliability analysis to calibrate partial safety factors applicable to RAC are reviewed. The methodology of each investigation is presented, the experimental tests that led to the definition of the probabilistic information of the RAC’s parameters are described and the need to have a wide range of data coming from different RAC compositions and aggregate sources is debated.This chapter finishes by contextualizing the current knowledge on RAC properties with the necessary information for code calibration procedures. The relevance of a code proposal towards RAC affirmation as a structural material is highlighted, as well as the requirements of such code. Suggestions for future studies are made.

Compressive stresses created by lateral external pressure on laminates are an important factor on success of the use of mechanical anchorage of externally bonded reinforcement (EBR). A program of double shear tests with imposed normal stresses on GFRP plates bonded to a concrete surface and a bond-slip model are described. Results generated numerically are summarized and used as reference values against those obtained after accelerated aging by freeze-thaw cycles, and temperature cycles of the same amplitude but range closer to the glass vitreous temperature. Numerical modelling showed that the bonded length is fully stressed prior to failure. Increasing lateral pressure led to a larger maximum bond stress and strength at the interface. Cohesion, fracture energy and internal friction angle changes are calculated and used to analyze the effects of the aforementioned cycles on the expected behaviour of the GFRP-concrete joints, namely at the interface.

Apresentam-se neste artigo os resultados dos ensaios realizados à escala real de um conjunto de vigas de betão armado com secção em T, levados a cabo para avaliar o desempenho das armaduras de aço inoxidável no reforço à flexão de vigas de betão armado com armaduras pós-instaladas aplicadas com as técnicas de reforço EBR (Externally Bonded Reinforcement), NSM (Near Surface Mounted) e EBR com ancoragens metálicas nas extremidades. Os ensaios realizados demonstraram que as técnicas de reforço utilizadas permitem aumentar a rigidez à flexão em regime elástico. Porém, a viga reforçada através da técnica EBR teve uma rotura prematura antes de atingir o valor da carga de cedência da viga não reforçada. Já as vigas reforçadas com as técnicas NSM e EBR com ancoragens mecânicas superaram o valor da carga de cedência da viga de referência, e as ancoragens mecânicas proporcionaram bastante ductilidade à viga reforçada com esta técnica.

Neste artigo apresentam-se as principais características da técnica de reforço Continuous Reinforcement Embedded at Ends (CREatE), os procedimentos de aplicação e as vantagens e limitações da sua utilização. Apresentam-se também os resultados dos ensaios realizados para avaliar o desempenho desta técnica no reforço à flexão de vigas de betão armado com secção transversal em T, reforçadas com armaduras pós-instaladas de aço inoxidável, coladas pelo exterior ou inseridas na zona de recobrimento. As vigas reforçadas com a técnica CREatE e ensaiadas à flexão em quatro prontos apresentaram elevados acréscimos de resistência e ductilidade quando comparadas com as vigas reforçadas com as técnicas tradicionais - Externally-Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) e Near Surface Mounted (NSM). As vigas reforçadas com a técnica CREatE foram sujeitas a carregamentos monotónicos ou cíclicos, tendo-se constatado que as roturas prematuras que estão associadas às técnicas tradicionais anteriormente referidas nunca foram observadas nas vigas reforças com esta técnica. Desenvolveu-se um modelo numérico simples, e com boa precisão, para modelar o desempenho das vigas de betão armado, sendo os resultados apresentados e discutidos.

Com o crescente consumo de energia elétrica são cada vez mais os países que procuram fontes de energia renovável e limpa, entre elas a eólica. A quantidade de energia produzida é influenciada pela altura das torres, dimensões das pás e potência dos aerogeradores. Quanto maior for a elevação da turbina maiores são a velocidade e estabilidade dos ventos alcançados. A solução de torre treliçada em concreto armado pré-moldado idealizada por Lúcio e Chastre [2] permite a construção de torres altas e é competitiva em relação aos outros sistemas estruturais.As ligações têm uma importância fundamental no comportamento global das estruturas pré-moldadas. A viabilidade da ligação (fácil execução, baixo custo, comportamento/capacidade resistente) é preponderante na viabilização da construção destas torres.Até à data foram estudadas quatro ligações (S1, S2, S3 e S4), sendo neste artigo abordadas apenas as ligações do modelo S3 com junta de 3mm (barras salientes/bainhas corrugadas/selagem com grout) e do modelo S4 com junta de 50 mm (ligações aparafusadas produzidas comercialmente).Através dos resultados experimentais pode-se concluir que o mecanismo de rutura foi o mesmo nos dois modelos e que as soluções estudadas preenchem os requisitos para a sua utilização em estruturas pré-moldadas de concreto armado para suporte de aerogeradores.

O reforço das estruturas de betão armado com compósitos de FRP tem tido um incremento considerável nos últimos anos devido às características de durabilidade e das elevadas relações resistência-peso e rigidez-peso dos compósitos de FRP comparativamente com outros materiais de reforço. A fim de analisar o comportamento de diferentes soluções de reforço estrutural de vigas de betão armado (BA) com compósitos de FRP foi realizado um programa experimental que incluiu o ensaio de vigas de BA reforçadas com as seguintes técnicas de reforço: EBR (Externally-Bonded Reinforcement), NSM (Near Surface Mounted) e pela técnica CREatE (continuous reinforcement embedded at ends). As vigas de BA ensaiadas tinham seção em T, com um vão de 3,0 m e uma altura de 0,3 m e foram solicitadas em flexão em 4 pontos e testadas até a rotura. A técnica CREatE provou ser a mais eficaz das três alternativas testadas mobilizando a totalidade do CFRP e apresentando a maior capacidade resistente e a ductilidade mais elevada.

A procura de soluções de reforço mais eficientes que permitam aumentar a capacidade resistente de elementos estruturais sujeitos a flexão levou ao desenvolvimento de um sistema inovador de aplicação de armaduras de reforço coladas pelo exterior. Neste artigo descrevem-se os ensaios experimentais realizados e analisam-se os resultados obtidos com vigas de betão armado reforçadas com armaduras pós-instaladas de aço inoxidável com diferentes técnicas: Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR), Near Surface Mounted (NSM) e com o novo sistema de reforço desenvolvido - Continuous Reinforcement Embedded at Ends (CREatE). As vigas ensaiadas monotonicamente até à rotura em flexão de quatro pontos têm seção transversal em T e um vão livre de três metros. No novo sistema de reforço as armaduras são ancoradas por aderência no interior do elemento estrutural, o que associado à utilização de armaduras em aço inoxidável, possibilita aumentos de resistência e ductilidade consideráveis face às técnicas tradicionais de colagem pelo exterior.

The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the gravity loads effect in the behaviour of reinforced concrete beams critical zones subjected to cyclic loads. A numerical study to assess the influence of gravity load on RC beam critical zones subjected to cyclic loading is presented, assuming the level of gravity load as a variable parameter. For this purpose, the non-linear model was previously validated with an experimental campaign carried out on RC beam connection subject to cyclic loading with and without gravity loads. The consideration of the gravity load effects led to an accumulation of negative (hogging) deformation and the formation of an unidirectional plastic hinge. In order to validate this behaviour in an overall structural response, a non-linear numerical analysis of a RC frame system under cyclic loads, subject to different levels of gravity load, is also presented. The numerical results are analysed in terms of global hysterical response, accumulated energy dissipation and equivalent viscous damping ratio. In this numerical study was observed that the hysteretic response depends on the load path. In the presence of higher gravity loads levels, the structure hysteretic behaviour exhibits higher damage levels and the failure mechanism is prone to the formation of four plastic hinges. This phenomenon is analysed and discuss in the present paper. © Federation Internationale du Beton (fib) - International Federation for Structural Concrete, 2019.

Neste artigo é apresentado um resumo das intervenções de conservação realizadas no século passado na Igreja de São Leonardo, bem como um resumo dos estudos realizados na última década. Em seguida mostra-se o padrão de degradação que ocorre nos portais de arenito da igreja e é analisada a evolução da alveolização que ocorreu nos portais de arenito ao longo dos últimos sessenta a setenta anos. No final, a inspeção visual dos portais de arenito é comparada com um levantamento realizado através de varrimento por laser tridimensional.

Este artigo avalia se, para especificações de betão correntes, a resistência à compressão de betão pronto é significativamente dependente da central que o produziu, bem como se a variabilidade entre amassaduras de uma determinada composição é dependente da classe de resistência especificada. É apresentado um parâmetro probabilístico que converte a resistência à compressão característica especificada para a resistência à compressão expectável em provetes de betão cúbicos em condições padronizadas.É feita uma análise estatística e probabilística dos resultados de ensaios de resistência à compressão aos 28 dias de betão pronto produzido em três centrais de betão portuguesas durante o ano de 2017. Após a avaliação da representatividade da base de dados analisada, é feito um estudo comparativo dos parâmetros estatísticos dos dados de produção das diferentes centrais e é avaliada a influência da classe de resistência à compressão do betão nestes parâmetros. Define-se e analisa-se um parâmetro probabilístico que converte a resistência à compressão especificada para a resistência potencial de betão, para cubos de 150 mm. Este parâmetro contribui para uma futura proposta de um modelo probabilístico, a ser utilizado em análises de fiabilidade, que converte a resistência à compressão especificada para a resistência à compressão de elementos de betão em obra.Quer a análise estatística dos ensaios de resistência à compressão, quer o parâmetro de conversão são comparados com os resultados de investigações internacionais na área, aferindo-se se a qualidade da produção de betão pronto nacional é semelhante à de outras regiões.

A utilização de materiais compósitos de matriz polimérica (Fiber Reinforced Polymers - FRP) como armadura de reforço de diferentes elementos estruturas de várias naturezas (e.g. betão armado, aço, madeira ou alvenaria) tem vindo a suscitar o interesse da comunidade científica internacional. Inicialmente, a simples colagem pelo exterior dos compósitos de FRP aos elementos estruturais permitiu identificar um fenómeno de descolamento prematuro do compósito para níveis de extensão muito aquém dos seus limites de rotura. Com base na experimentação, algumas teorias têm surgido no sentido de explicar o fenómeno do descolamento prematuro dos FRPs. Por outro lado, outras técnicas de reforço têm sido propostas com o objetivo de adiar ou simplesmente eliminar esse fenómeno. Neste trabalho, são analisadas diferentes ligações coladas entre laminados de CFRP e outros materiais tais como, o betão armado, o aço e a madeira. Duas técnicas de reforço por colagem vulgarmente citadas na literatura internacional foram utilizadas: Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) e Near Surface Mounted (NSM). Os resultados experimentais permitiram constatar que o desempenho local das ligações estudadas é distinto, tendo-se observado que as relações entre a tensão de aderência e o deslocamento relativo entre superfícies é: (i) na ligação CFRP/betão do tipo não linear e caracteriza-se por, após atingir-se uma tensão de aderência máxima, o descolamento ocorre quando a tensão de aderência tende para zero; (ii) na ligação CFRP/aço o desempenho é do tipo bi-linear, i.e. com um troço inicial retilíneo até atingir-se uma tensão de pico seguindo-se um troço linear descendente até tensão de aderência nula; e (iii) na ligação CFRP/madeira o desempenho é do tipo tri-linear, i.e. similar à ligação CFRP/aço mas com um troço constante a seguir ao troço linear descendente e que se esgota para um deslocamento relativo último.

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A demanda de energia, faz com que o homem esteja sempre a procura de novas soluções para a sua produção. Uma opção é a energia eólica, por se tratar de uma energia limpa, renovável e inesgotável. Para se evitar a ocupação das terras férteis, é natural a busca de soluções no mar. Portanto, neste trabalho é estudado o comportamento estrutural dinâmico de uma torre treliçada em concreto armado pós-tensionado por tirantes externos idealizada para uso offshore com a finalidade de suporte para turbinas eólicas de eixo horizontal. A torre está sujeita às ações gravitacionais, aerodinâmicas e hidrodinâmicas. Para considerar estas ações desenvolveu-se um código computacional específico usando a linguagem MATLAB. É proposto um modelo simplificado para análise bi-dimensional, utilizando-se elementos de pórtico plano com a finalidade de contornar as dificuldades de uma análise tridimensional. Embora específico para este tipo de torre, o codigo permite variar geometrias, carregamentos e alterações do nível do mar. Nas cargas aerodinâmicas élevado em conta o espectro de Von Karman. As cargas hidrodinâmicas são avaliadas pela equação de Morison. As cargas nodais equivalentes são determinadas por integração ao longo do elemento estrutural de acordo com o proposto por Souza. Os tirantes pós-tensionados são monitorados para não sofrerem esforços de compressão. A análise é realizada no domínio do tempo utilizando-se o algoritmo de integração de Newmark.. Através dos procedimentos adotados foi possível obter resultados para as freqüências, deslocamentose esforços, que se mostraram coerentes com os obtidos por modelos tri dimensionais mais complexos. O código desenvolvido permitiu a análise de forma simples, eficiente e confiável de torres treliçadas de concreto armado.

Sandstones are very important in the building elements of world’s historical and cultural heritage. The façades of St. Leonard’s church in Atouguia da Baleia village in western region of Portugal are an outstanding example of the effect of alveolization on going for several centuries. In Middle ages there was an harbour and a sodium chloride rich environment near this church was responsible for this significant stone degradation pattern.
A new approach of consolidating products application on stone walls façades based on Karsten pipe using total head to allow full absorption of stone was followed.
Experimental research, based on physical and mechanical tests, was carried out on selected representative samples of a variety of sandstones on monuments treated with ethyl silicates in order to assess the effectiveness and harmfulness of these treatments.
The comparison of results between traditional immersion applications and Karsten pipe’s based procedure on stone monument indicate the potential viability of this new approach when difficult conditions of consolidating products’ absorption occurs on stone monuments.

The use of adhesively bonded joints between Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) and concrete elements have been spread out in the past decades. However, due to their recent applications, the durability aspects related with these bonded joints requires the use of high safety factors which strongly restricts the mechanical capacity of the FRP composites. The experimental assessment of the degradation of FRP-to-concrete interfaces is an important task because it provides useful data that can be used to calibrate analytical or numerical models with the aim of helping on the correct understanding of the interfacial degradation. In this work, a new and simple interfacial bond-slip model that needs only one parameter to be experimentally defined is proposed. Compared to unaged Glass (G) FRP-to-concrete interfaces, the relative degradation of these bonded interfaces is studied after being subjected to: (i) salt fog cycles; (ii) wet-dry cycles; (iii) temperature cycles between -10ºC and +30ºC; and (iv) between +7.5ºC and +47.5ºC. The subsequent full debonding processes are predicted through an analytical model that takes into account the degradations experimentally determined from the tests.

The façades of St. Leonard’s church and the castle in Atouguia da Baleia village in western region of Portugal are monuments built in Middle Ages. Significant stone degradation patterns are visible, being the alveolization an outstanding case study.The more porous type of sandstones similar to the variety found in the vernacular architecture of Atouguia da Baleia was treated with ethyl silicates. In order to allow the study of the durability of these conservation treatments, accelerated artificial ageing salt crystallization tests were carried out and an automatic ageing chamber was developed.Physical and mechanical behaviour was assessed on consolidated specimens before and after accelerated artificial ageing salt crystallization tests. The authors propose a prediction of the durability of these consolidation treatments by means of the salt crystallization ageing results.

Ao longo da sua vida útil os edifícios históricos estão sujeitos a alterações de uso, a agentes ambientais e a diferentes ações como assentamentos do solo, incêndios, inundações ou sismos, para os quais podem não estar preparados. Além disso, a falta de manutenção contínua ajuda a colocar grande parte desse património em risco devido a problemas estruturais que reduzem sua própria segurança e a dos seus utilizadores. A preservação e mitigação de riscos do património cultural construído requer o uso de ferramentas confiáveis, a fim de avaliar o seu estado de conservação e identificar e prevenir potenciais vulnerabilidades. Os testes destrutivos tradicionais não são possíveis de realizar na maioria dos edifícios históricos, por isso é necessário selecionar testes não destrutivos (NDT) que permitam a caracterização física e mecânica dos materiais e do comportamento da estrutura. Neste artigo apresenta-se uma visão geral de diferentes equipamentos e testes NDT que permitem o levantamento geométrico e o mapeamento dos danos do edifício, a análise petrográfica da pedra de alvenaria, a caracterização das propriedades físicas e mecânicas dos materiais e o comportamento estrutural do edifício.

The wind energy production is a growing industry and the energy produced is renewable and environmentally cleaner than most of the other systems. The towers to support the wind energy generators may be built with precast concrete elements that are competitive in comparison to other structural systems. The evolution of the technology for wind energy production shows a clear need for larger wind turbines and longer blades and, consequently, taller towers, where precast concrete solutions are competitive. Truss precast concrete towers is a solution that complies with the demands of the present and future wind energy production. The research on the execution and structural behaviour of the connections between the tower elements is an important issue. This communication presents the experimental analysis of column to column connections for precast concrete towers. The tests included connections with commercial threaded bars welded to the rebars and connections with grouted corrugated steel sleeves. Thick joints (50 mm) filled with fibre reinforced grout and thin joints (3 mm) filled with epoxy resin were tested and analysed.

The strengthening of reinforced concrete structures with FRP materials has received a considerable increment in recent years due to their durability characteristics, high strength-weight and stiffness-weight ratios of FRP compared to other materials.An experimental program was conducted in order to analyse the behaviour of different structural solutions to strengthen reinforced concrete beams with carbon FRP composites: EBR (Externally-Bonded Reinforcement), NSM (Near Surface Mounted) reinforcement and an innovative technique externally-bonded using continuous reinforcement embedded at ends (CREatE). The RC beams had a 3m span by 0.3m height and were tested until rupture in a 4-point bending test system.The CREatE technique has proved to be the most effective of the three alternatives tested, with the full utilisation of the CFRP and the highest strength, combined with the highest ductility.

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The bonding between two different materials or between same materials is a quite popular method. Unlike fastener joints, it avoids undesirable stress concentrations and doesn't demand an intrusive application to ensure the good performance of the joint. However, depending on the configuration of the adhesively bonded joint, its performance responds differently and the choice (if possible to make) on the best configuration, i.e. the configuration that originates the highest strength and/or stiffness, may be hard to make. Within this context, several configurationsof aluminium-to-aluminium bonded joints unstrengthened and strengthened with fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) were modelled using a commercial finite element code. The linearity and nonlinearity of the FRP composite and the aluminium were considered, respectively, and the adhesively bonded joints were subjected to a regular displacement that intended to simulate a tensioning load. Also, the nonlinearities of the interfaces were considered in the form of nonlinear cohesive adhesive laws. The fracture Modes I and II were defined trough a bond-slip relation with abi-linear shape and the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is used for the coupling of the cohesive adhesive laws of the interface when the debonding process of the bonded joint configuration implies the interaction between both fracture modes, i.e. the joint is under a mixed-mode (Mode I+II) situation. The results are presented and discussed and the configurations of the bonded joints are all compared through bond stress distributions and load-slip responses. The study herein presented is, therefore, a contribution to the analysis of the structural integrity of bonded joints between FRP composites and aluminium substrates, helping also on the choice of the most adequatebonded joint configuration and corresponding reinforcement to be used and applied in practice.

A produção de betão com substituição de agregados naturais por agregados reciclados minimiza os impactes da indústria da construção. Contudo, o recurso a este tipo de agregado é limitado devido a dúvidas dos diferentes agentes da indústria da construção e à ausência de regulamentação específica para o projecto de betão com agregados reciclados. A percepção de betões com agregados reciclados como um material heterogéneo com comportamento imprevisível é o principal entrave, quer para a aceitação da indústria, quer para o desenvolvimento de regulamentação. Diferentes aspectos relacionados com o efeitos da variabilidade das propriedades de betão com agregados reciclados na regulamentação de estruturas são abordados conceptualmente: a heterogeneidade dos agregados reciclados, o efeito desta heterogeneidade nas propriedades mecânicas de betão e os efeitos da variabilidade das propriedades de betão na sua fiabilidade estrutural. Os primeiros resultados de uma campanha experimental desenvolvida especificamente para abordar o efeito de agregados grossos reciclados na fiabilidade são apresentados e as suas implicações no projecto de estruturas discutidas. São apresentadas sugestões de desenvolvimentos futuros que visam a calibração de coeficientes parciais de segurança que possibilitem o projecto de estruturas de betão armado dimensionadas segundo o formato do Eurocódigo 2 e mantendo os mesmos níveis de segurança de betão convencional.

Os sistemas de reforço por colagem exterior têm sido alvo de várias abordagens, não só do ponto de vista do tipo de material a utilizar, como também sob o ponto de vista da técnica mais eficiente a seguir. As fibras reforçadas com polímeros (FRP) têm sido, no último par de décadas, alvo de investigação exaustiva, tendo-se verificado que esses sistemas nutrem de ductilidade algo reduzida devido ao descolamento prematuro do material de reforço da superfície de betão. Por conseguinte, o aço inox devidos às suas boas características anticorrosivas e ductilidade apresenta-se como uma alternativa viável aos compósitos de FRP. Assim, com vista a melhorar a ductilidade dos elementos estruturais reforçados, em vez de se recorrer a técnicas de reforço não tradicionais (e.g., Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) ou Near Surface Mounted (NSM)) que estão sempre associadas a roturas prematuras por colagem do elemento de reforço quando a extensão nele instalada está muito aquém do seu valor de rotura, dever-se-á seguir outras técnicas de reforço por colagem. Com vista a interpretar e perceber o desempenho da ligação aço-inox, desenvolveu-se uma campanha experimental em que os ensaios visam em testar e comparar a técnica EBR com uma técnica inovadora e desenvolvida pelos autores (CREatE – Continuous Reinforcement Embedded at Ends) através da realização de ensaios de arrancamento de ligações aço inox/betão. Estes ensaios consistem em aplicar uma força à barra de aço inox segundo uma direção que permite induzir uma rotura da ligação consistente com o Modo II de fratura. A técnica de correlação de imagem digital (DIC) foi utilizada na monitorização de todos estes ensaios tendo-se desenvolvido ainda diferentes modelos, analíticos e numéricos com recurso a um programa de cálculo automático não linear, que permitiram simular os processos de descolamento da ligação aço inox/betão segundo as técnicas EBR e CREatE.

O reforço estrutural com materiais de matriz polimérica reforçada com fibras (FRP) em diferentes tipos de elementos estruturais, e.g. pilares, vigas, lajes ou arcos, tem sido objecto de vários estudos. No entanto, os estudos sobre a avaliação da aderência entre ligações coladas em superfícies curvas são muito limitados, não se conhecendo trabalhos, quer analíticos ou numéricos, que se debrucem ainda sobre o efeito da temperatura neste tipo de ligações coladas. Todavia, os trabalhos disponíveis na literatura indicam, de forma unânime, que o descolamento do FRP da superfície curva exige a interacção entre os modos de fractura I e II. Neste sentido, o presente estudo propõe o desenvolvimento de uma solução analítica simples para simular ligações CFRP/betão com superfícies curvas de raio constante e que assumem ambas, isoladamente ou simulataneamente, as acções: (i) aplicação de uma força ao FRP; e (ii) uma a variação de temperatura. Dependendo dos coeficientes de dilatação térmica linear dos materiais colados e para níveis de temperatura não muito superiores à temperatura de transição vítrea (Tg) do FRP, o efeito da temperatura pode ser, do ponto de vista da resistência da ligação, prejudicial ou benéfico, ou seja, pode diminir ou aumentar a capacidade resistente da ligação. Diferentes critérios de rotura são adoptados e diferentes situações, e.g. raio da curva ou diferentes níveis de temperaturas, são abordadas. A solução analítica pressupõe que a lei de aderência relativamente ao modo II de fractura depende da temperatura e é representada por um exponencial, enquanto que para o modo I se assume uma lei de aderência do tipo linear com rotura frágil e cuja influência da temperatura é feita de acordo com os mesmos pressupostos da lei exponencial.

O desenvolvimento da engenharia de estruturas tem tido grandes avanços nas últimas décadas, baseados em novos meios de cálculo e na investigação em novos materiais e tecnologias a eles associadas. Por sua vez, as atividades de reparação e reforço têm vindo a incrementar devido ao envelhecimento e à degradação das estruturas de betão, o que consequentemente tem dado origem ao aparecimento de novos materiais e tecnologias de reparação e reforço de estruturas. A utilização destes novos materiais na construção tem vindo a substituir outros materiais e técnicas existentes, requerendo, no entanto, mais estudos sobre o seu real comportamento quer em termos de caracteristicas mecânicas quer em termos de durabilidade.

Os edifícios históricos como os palácios, castelos, igrejas e templos, são exemplos do património construído e constituem uma parte importante do nosso património cultural. Estas construções históricas incluem normalmente paredes de alvenaria maciça e pedra natural. A salvaguarda do património construído em pedra é de importância inquestionável, pelo que devem ser desenvolvidas e estudadas técnicas de intervenção adequadas em materiais e estruturas. Neste artigo, é apresentada uma metodologia de ensaios não destrutivos para avaliar a conservação de edifícios históricos de pedra e, com base nesta metodologia, é mostrado um caso de estudo na Igreja de São Leonardo, monumento português construído na Atouguia da Baleia no século XIII.

This paper investigates whether the model uncertainty of reinforced recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) beams subjected to bending differs from that of reinforced natural aggregate concrete (NAC) beams. An introductory remark concerning the importance of the codification of RAC structural design is made and notions concerning model uncertainties and their role on structural codification are given. Afterwards, the criteria used in the construction of a database of RAC and NAC beams are referred before presenting the key findings of an analysis on the model uncertainty of the cracking, yielding and ultimate moments of beams subjected to four-point bending tests. The analytical moments were calculated following Eurocode 2 provisions. Probabilistic models for model uncertainties are proposed. Negligible differences in the model uncertainty of NAC and RAC beams are reported.

Nas últimas décadas, os estudos sobre o desempenho de vigas de betão armado (BA) reforçadas com materiais compósitos de matriz polimérica têm aumentado. Porém, muitas dúvidas e questões persistem, fazendo realçar algumas lacunas sobre o conhecimento adquirido. Um desses aspetos reside na forma de modelar a ligação entre o compósito e o betão. É também sabido que a modelação da abertura de fendas no betão (discreta ou distribuída numa banda) influência o desempenho da ligação entre os materiais colados.
Nesse sentido, apresentam-se, neste trabalho, os resultados numéricos obtidos da modelação numérica não-linear a 3D de vigas de BA sujeitas a flexão de 4 pontos. Os resultados numéricos são confrontados com os experimentais e os diferentes parâmetros que influenciam a ligação analisados e discutidos.

Desde que o reforço estrutural começou a utilizar materiais de matriz polimérica reforçada com fibras (FRP) que o fenómeno do descolamento prematuro dos compósitos de FRP da superfície colada tem merecido especial atenção de vários autores. O conhecimento do processo de descolamento completo da ligação CFRP/betão ganhou assim, algum destaque nos últimos anos. Na generalidade, as ligações CFRP/betão têm sido analisadas com recurso métodos analíticos e numéricos sendo que, nos primeiros, se tem vindo a adoptar leis de aderência muito simplificadas das observadas experimentalmente. Apesar das simplificações adoptas nas análises analíticas, as expressões obtidas são muito importantes já que têm grande potencial em serem adoptadas pelos códigos ou normas nacionais e/ou interncionais. Por outro lado, e apesar de adoptarem leis de aderência mais refinadas, as análises numéricas permitem apenas a obtenção de expressões empíricas que podem não contemplar a generalidade dos casos estudados. Neste sentido, este trabalho apresenta um conjunto de soluções analíticas com base numa lei de aderência exponencial capaz de representar todas as não-linearidades envolvidas no descolamento da ligação CFRP/betão. Os resultados analíticos são confrontados com ensaios experimentais em que a técnica de colagem EBR foi utilizada. Contudo, o modelo analítico proposto pode ser também utilizado quando a técnica Near Surface Mounted (NSM) é adoptada. Adicionalmente, são apresentadas soluções analíticas para o caso em que o deslocamento relativo entre o CFRP e o betão é restringido por, e.g., um dispositivo de amarração mecânica instalado na extremidade oposta à aplicação de carga.

Este trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento de um software para análise de torres treliçadas em concreto armado, pós-tensionada por tirantes externos, com a finalidade de suporte para turbinas eólicas de eixo horizontal, em ambiente offshore. A torre está sujeita às ações gravitacionais, aerodinâmicas, hidrodinâmicas. Desenvolveu-se um código computacional, em linguagem MATLAB, específico para este tipo de torre. As dificuldades de uma análise tridimensional mais complexa foram reduzidas propondo-se um modelo simplificado bi-dimensional utilizando-se elementos de pórtico plano. As cargas de vento são variadas segundo o espectro de von Karman. Para as ondas marítimas e correntes são implementados o espectro de Pierson-Moskowitz e o de JONSWAP. As cargas hidrodinâmicas são avaliadas pela equação de Morison. Estas cargas são integradas ao longo dos elementos estruturais e transformadas em cargas nodais equivalentes, de acordo com o proposto por Souza. A análise é realizada no domínio do tempo com algoritmo de Newmark. Este software, por ser específico para este tipo de torre, possui facilidades na introdução de dados e na modelagem da estrutura. Com estas estratégias o modelo apresentou bons resultados para a avaliação de cargas, cálculo de freqüências naturais, resposta de deslocamentos, esforços e reações.

Despite the number of applications with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) have been grown in civil constructions, the studies available in the literature dedicated to the strengthening of old timber beams are very rare. This paper analyses the bending behaviour of old suspended timber floors flexurally-strengthened with CFRP laminates. A new bonding technique developed by the authors is presented which mainly consists on the embedding of both CFRP ends into the core of the timber beams. Differences between the traditional strengthening, i.e. Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR), and the new bonding technique are reported. A timber pavement without any CFRP laminate bonded to its soffit was also considered and the results were used as reference values for comparison with the strengthened specimens. The results revealed that the CFRP laminate used for the flexurally-strengthened of the specimen according to the EBR technique reached only 27.2% of the rupture strain of the CFRP laminate whereas the new bonding technique was capable to prevent the premature debonding of the CFRP from the timber substrate and the rupture of the CFRP laminate was observed. Furthermore, the strain distributions in the CFRP laminates and the bond stresses within the CFRP-to-timber interfaces were affected when the new technique was used. For the sake of better understanding the rupture modes observed, a numerical approach was developed which allowed us to conclude that, until the collapse of the beams, the timber never reached its yielding point and the collapse were mainly due to the poor quality of the timber (e.g. quantity of knot, cracks and irregular geometries) and the low shear capacity of the beams.

The aim of the present communication is to present an analysis of the gravity load influence on the hysteretic behaviour of a beam-column connection. For this purpose, in the experimental campaign a new procedure for RC cyclic tests is presented in order to reproduce closer demands on the beam critical zone than the traditional procedures. The Experimental campaign included cyclic tests of the specimens according with the ECCS recommendation and an innovate procedure. The test results are presented, compared and analysed. A numerical simulation of the tests is presented where the model for the hysteretic response of the beam was calibrated with the experimental results. Finally, the behaviour of a portal frame system under cyclic displacements up to a drift of 3.5% was analysed, assuming that the non-linearity is concentrated on the plastic hinges, considering different levels of gravity load. Thus it is intended to assess the influence of the gravity load on the behaviour of a structure subjected to cyclic loads.

O reforço à flexão de vigas de betão armado tem apresentado uma evolução com tendência para soluções onde são utilizadas armaduras à base de materiais compósitos de fibras de Carbono, Vidro, Basalto ou Aramida, aplicadas com as técnicas Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) ou Near Surface Mounted (NSM). No entanto, o comportamento elástico-linear destes materiais e as roturas tendencialmente frágeis das soluções condicionam a sua utilização em estruturas onde se pretende alguma ductilidade. Por conseguinte, procurou-se desenvolver um sistema de reforço estrutural alternativo e inovador em que os materiais de reforço aplicados, conjuntamente com a solução de reforço, conseguissem minimizar ou eliminar os riscos de roturas prematuras e ao mesmo tempo aumentassem a ductilidade dos elementos reforçados. Neste trabalho, apresenta-se em pormenor este novo sistema de reforço à flexão de vigas de betão armado com armaduras de aço inoxidável ancoradas internamente por aderência. Neste sistema de reforço as armaduras são contínuas e pós-instaladas pelo exterior, ficando as extremidades ancoradas por aderência no interior do elemento estrutural. Apresentam-se e discutem-se os resultados dos ensaios realizados para avaliar o desempenho das vigas de betão armado reforçadas com esta nova técnica. Os modos de rotura observados são também motivo de análise mais detalhada. Evidenciam-se alguns benefícios na utilização deste sistema de reforço inovador, nomeadamente ao nível da capacidade resistente última das vigas de betão armado e fazem-se algumas recomendações para a sua aplicação e utilização na reabilitação de elementos estruturais degradados.

A reabilitação de estruturas de betão armado com compósitos de FRP tem tido uma grande aceitação em especial devido às excelentes características de durabilidade dos materiais compósitos, ao seu baixo peso e às suas elevadas prestações mecânicas. Contudo, o comportamento elástico-linear dos compósitos de FRP e a sua forma de aplicação pode originar roturas prematuras, quer na técnica de reforço EBR (Externally Bonded Reinforcement), em que o compósito é colado externamente, quer na técnica NSM (Near Surface Mounted) em que o compósito é inserido na zona do recobrimento. No sentido de minimizar o risco de roturas prematuras e ao mesmo tempo aumentar a ductilidade dos elementos reforçados, desenvolveu-se um novo sistema de reforço estrutural em que as armaduras são ancoradas internamente por aderência. A fim de validar o novo sistema de reforço estrutural com compósitos de FRP foi realizado um programa experimental que incluiu o ensaio de vigas de betão armado (BA) reforçadas com as seguintes técnicas de reforço: EBR, NSM e pela nova técnica CREatE (continuous reinforcement embedded at ends). Neste artigo descrevem-se os ensaios experimentais realizados e analisam-se os resultados obtidos. As vigas de BA ensaiadas tinham seção em T, com um vão de 3,0 m e uma altura de 0,3 m e foram solicitadas em flexão em 4 pontos e testadas até a rotura. A técnica CREatE provou ser a mais eficaz das três alternativas testadas mobilizando a totalidade do CFRP e apresentando a maior capacidade resistente e a ductilidade mais elevada.

The design of timber beams has strict limits when it comes to the Serviceability Limit States (SLS) either in short-term or in long-term deflections. In order to face this aspect efficiently, the increase of the cross section of the beams might be considered as a solution. However, the prohibitive increase of the costs associated to this solution or the change of the initial architecturedesign of the building, opens the opportunity to find new and more efficient solutions. In that way, the use of additional reinforcements to the timber beams may be seen as a promising solution because either new or old structures would keep always their original aesthetical aspect with no significant self-weight increase and improving their behaviour to short and long-term actions.Therefore, the current study is dedicated to the analysis of composite timber beams where Fiber Reinforcement Polymers (FRP), steel or stainless steel are used to improve the stiffness, strength and deflection behaviour of old suspended timber floors. An experimental program was conducted where old suspended timber floors reinforced with CFRP strips were subjected to 4-point bending tests. A simplify nonlinear numerical model was developed to simulate the bending behaviour of the specimens and several other cases with other reinforcement configurations and different structural materials were assumed. The numerical analysis herein presented also takes into account both Ultimate and Serviceability Limit States of the reinforced specimens.

O dimensionamento de vigas de madeira aos Estados Limites de Utilização (ELUt) tem limites muito apertados tanto para ações de curto prazo como para ações de longo prazo. Uma solução eficiente para este problema passa por aumentar as seções transversais das vigas. Porém, este tipo de solução não só acarreta um aumento de custos como também altera profundamente arquitetura original do edifício abrindo, por conseguinte, uma oportunidade para encontrar outras soluções mais eficientes. Neste sentido, o uso de armaduras de reforço em vigas de madeira pode ser considerado como uma solução promissora uma vez que as estruturas, novas ou velhas, manteriam o aspeto estético original sem introduzir nos elementos reforçados, um aumento significativo do seu peso próprio, melhorando o seu desempenho face a ações de curto e longo prazo. O presente estudo é dedicado à análise de vigas de madeira antigas reforçadas à flexão com materiais compósitos de fibras de carbono, vulgarmente designados na literatura internacional por Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP). Neste trabalho, foram reforçados e ensaiados à flexão pavimentos antigos de madeira tendo-se analisado os respetivos desempenhos aquando da utilização de uma técnica de reforço por colagem tradicional (Externally Bonded Reinforcement - EBR) e aquando da utilização de uma técnica de reforço por colagem inovadora (Continous Reinforcement Embedded at Ends - CREatE). Os ensaios experimentais permitiram verificar que a técnica de colagem inovadora CREatE confere aos pavimentos de madeira uma maior rigidez e resistência face à técnica tradicional conseguindo se mobilizar a totalidade do compósito de CFRP.

Apresentam-se e analisam-se um conjunto de ensaios realizados em vigas de betão armado reforçadas com armaduras pós-instaladas de aço ou de FRP, incluindo os referentes a uma nova técnica (CREatE) desenvolvida na FCT NOVA, tendo-se concluído que a técnica CREatE possibilita aumentos de resistência e ductilidade consideráveis face às técnicas tradicionais.

An analysis on the effect of the incorporation of coarse recycled concrete aggregates on the bond strength between concrete and embedded steel reinforcement is presented. The model’s uncertainty of the Level I provision of the anchorage length of fib Bulletin 72 on ribbed steel/recycled aggregate concrete bond is quantified. Afterwards, reliability analyses on the bond strength are made and a partial safety factor for the anchorage length of recycled concrete elements is proposed. The model’s uncertainty is evaluated through data from pullout tests, the only type of bond test that has been so far performed extensively on recycled aggregate concrete specimens. The limitations of this test in reproducing the bond of actual structural elements is discussed, and the model’s uncertainty is converted to that of lap splice tests. The bond strength of recycled aggregate concrete design was found to be less reliable than that of natural aggregate concrete, especially in the absence of confining reinforcement. For concrete with full recycled aggregate incorporation, a 25% increase in the anchorage length is proposed. Additional testing on the bond strength of lapped splices or beam-end specimens is recommended.

Sandstone building stones are important in the building elements of Portuguese monuments, particularly in the western and southern regions. Alveolization due to salt crystallization was the most important degradation pattern found in the old sandstone façades of St. Leonardo’s Church, a Portuguese monument built in Atouguia da Baleia village in the Middle Age. Its sandstone façades have a widespread distribution of deep and large alveolization patterns mainly on portals and vaults that appeared as a result of the past and present vicinity of seashore. In this paper a summary of conservation interventions carried out in the past century in St. Leonardo’s Church is presented, as well as a summary of the studies carried out in the last decade. Then the degradation patterns on the sandstone walls of St. Leonard’s Church are shown and finally the evolution of the alveolization occurred on the sandstone walls over the last sixty to seventy years is analysed. Visual inspection of sandstone walls is compared with a survey performed by laser scanning, which seems to be a powerful technology to carry out 3D geometric modelling of the building elements of stone monuments and also the 3D mapping of stone degradation patterns.

This paper analyses the studies made so far on the variability and reliability of recycled aggregate concrete. Since recycled aggregate concrete is seen by different agents of the construction industry as a variable material and no structural code has specifically been calibrated to its use, its role as a structural material is limited. Such calibration is hindered since specific research on the statistical and probabilistic data of recycled aggregate concrete properties is lacking.Investigations on the probabilistic knowledge of recycled aggregates and recycled aggregate concrete properties are discussed, and the studies made so far on the reliability of recycled aggregate concrete elements are summarised. Final remarks regarding the future prospects towards the consensual acceptance of recycled aggregate concrete structures are provided.

A reabilitação de um edifício tem muitas vezes de ser analisada e efetuada tendo em conta os edifícios vizinhos e a envolvente. No caso particular da reabilitação de um edifício, à partida devem considerar-se, de forma integrada, todos os requisitos que não são cumpridos face aos padrões atuais. Com base nessa análise, e tendo em conta muitas vezes condicionantes vários, que vão desde estéticos, técnicos, culturais a económicos, e que dependem em larga medida das tipologias construtivas, a intervenção tem de ser cuidadosamente concebida, preparada e executada. Apresentam-se sinteticamente as tipologias construtivas mais correntes, o contexto legislativo português da construção e específico da reabilitação. Efetua-se uma análise à legislação vigente, detalhando com maior detalhe o Regime Especial da Reabilitação Urbana, que possibilita dispensas de cumprimentos regulamentares mas apenas relativos a aspetos construtivos. Por esse motivo apresenta-se também uma síntese de aspetos relativos à segurança estrutural na reabilitação de edifícios com tipologias correntes. Pretende-se, através desta síntese, contribuir para uma visão mais integrada da reabilitação.

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The seismic retrofit of reinforced concrete columns with FRP jackets has received a considerable increment in recent years due the high strength-weight and stiffness-weight ratios of FRP compared to other materials. The FRP outer shell also contributes to prevent or delay environmental degradation of the concrete and corrosion of the steel reinforcement. An experimental program conducted in order to analyze the behavior of reinforced concrete columns jacketed with FRP composites or repaired with polymeric concrete and subjected to axial compression and cyclic horizontal loads is described. The dimensions of the cylindrical columns were 1500 mm height by 250 mm diameter. The influence of various parameters on the response, including the type of confining material and the number of FRP layers, is reported. The results of the tests are shown and interpreted.

Fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) are often used to strengthen RC structures.
Despite intense research, durability of reinforced concrete (RC) retrofitted with FRP remains insufficiently known. Long time behavior of the bond laminate-concrete, in flexural strengthening, under environmental action is not well known, conditioning Codes and engineers. An experimental program that subjected RC beams, externally reinforced with Glass FRP (GFRP) strips, to temperature and salt water cycles, for up to 10000h is reported.
At selected intermediate times, the RC beams were loaded to failure in bending. Rupture took place, normally, by tensile failure of concrete at a short distance from the interface with GFRP. The results showed that freeze-thaw cycles were the most severe of the environmental
conditions. The study also generated also non-linear bond-slip relationships from the experimental data. Numerical modeling has been undertaken, based on a commercial code.
The model is based on smeared cracking. Parameters needed for the characterization, namely cohesion and friction angle, were obtained from shear tests conceived for the effect.

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A degradação da ligação entre compósitos de matriz polimérica reforçada por fibras (FRP) e o betão é uma das principais causas de possível rotura das vigas e lajes de betão armado reforçadas
externamente por compósitos de FRP. Desde há mais de 10 anos que se estuda, por isso, na UNL o
comportamento dessa ligação, integrado em programa mais alargado de estudo da durabilidade deste tipo de reforço, especialmente quando sujeito a condições ambientais severas que se simulam por processos artificialmente acelerados no laboratório. Em particular a degradação da aderência e o possível descolamento precoce do reforço têm sido modelados física e computacionalmente com principal incidência no uso de fibras de vidro (GFRP) e resina epoxídica. Nesta comunicação mostram-se resultados obtidos em termos de capacidade de carga, força transmitida ao reforço e tensões de aderência após envelhecimentos de pequenas vigas de betão armado (BA) por ciclos de nevoeiro salino, ciclos seco/molhado em solução salina, ciclos de temperatura entre +7,5ºC e +47,5ºC e gelo-degelo de -10ºC a +30ºC. Faz-se recomendação quanto à extensão máxima para diferentes envelhecimentos. Apresenta-se comparação entre resultados de modelação numérica e experimental.

The traditional methodology used in civil engineering measurements requires a lot of equipment and a very complex procedure especially if the number of target points increase. Since the beginning of the current century, several studies have been conducted in the area of photogrametry using digital image
correlation associated with block motion algorithms to estimate displacements in reinforced concrete (RC) beams during a load test. Using image processing techniques it is possible to measure the whole area of interest and not only a few points of the tests materials. In this paper, block-matching algorithms are used in order to compare the results from photogrametry techniques and the data obtained with linear voltage displacement transducer (LVDT) sensors during the load tests of RC beams, which are very common to find in civil engineering laboratories.

Os compósitos de FRP podem descolar prematuramente da superfíce de betão, isto é, antes de esgotada a sua resistência elástica. Esta situação é mais provável se não forem tidos em conta factores como o tipo de preparação da superfície, a exposição a acção ambiental severa, e a resistência do próprio betão. Com o objectivo de analisar a influência de parte destes factores no desempenho da ligação compósito de fibra de vidro (GFRP) e betão, empreendeu-se uma campanha experimental baseada em ensaios de corte duplo. Os resultados permitiram determinar e comparar as forças máximas transmitidas ao GFRP e tensões de aderência máxima para diferentes tratamentos de superfície e condições de envelhecimento. Foram também determinadas aproximações para curvas de tensão de aderência vs. deslizamento (bond-slip). Os resultados obtidos são contrastados com resultados obtidos por modelação numérica.

The strengthening of reinforced concrete structures with FRP materials has received a
considerable increment in recent years due to the high strength-weight and stiffness-weight
ratios of FRP compared to other materials.
An experimental programme was conducted in order to analyse the behaviour of different
structural solutions to strengthen reinforced concrete beams with FRP composites (EBR
GFRP, EBR CFRP, NSRM-CFRP) and is described. The RC T beams had a 3m span by 0.3m
height and were tested until rupture in a 4-point bending test system.
The NSMR technique has proved to be the most effective of the three alternatives tested, as it
obtained high strength, combined with high ductility. Nevertheless, all the systems show
great strength increment in relation to the non retrofitted T-beams, proving to be effective
approaches to the flexural strengthening of RC beams.

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A ligação pilar-fundação tem um papel fundamental no comportamento das estruturas pré-fabricadas, em particular, na presença de acções horizontais, como a acção dos sismos e do vento, que introduzem esforços elevados na base dos pilares. Um dos sistemas de ligação pilar-fundação usados em estruturas pré-fabricadas consiste em deixar na extremidade inferior dos pilares armaduras salientes que são introduzidas em negativos executados nas fundações. Estes negativos são posteriormente injectados com grout para garantir a ligação. No presente trabalho foram estudadas diferentes soluções de negativos para ligação das armaduras do pilar à fundação, tendo sido realizados ensaios monotónicos para analisar o seu comportamento. Nesta comunicação apresentam-se e discutem-se os resultados obtidos da análise experimental efectuada.

A ligação pilar-fundação tem um papel fundamental no comportamento das estruturas pré-fabricadas,
em particular, na presença de acções horizontais, como a acção dos sismos e do vento. Um dos sistemas de ligação pilar-fundação usados em estruturas pré-fabricadas consiste em deixar na extremidade inferior dos pilares armaduras salientes que são introduzidas em negativos executados nas fundações, sejam elas sapatas ou maciços de encabeçamento de estacas. Estes negativos são posteriormente injectados com “grout” para garantir a ligação. Foram estudados diferentes soluções de negativos para ligação das armaduras do pilar na fundação. Foram realizados ensaios monotónicos e cíclicos, para analisar não só o comportamento às acções estáticas mas também para a acção sísmica. No presente trabalho apresentam-se os resultados obtidos com a análise experimental efectuada. O estudo realizado permite apresentar recomendações para projecto e quais os tipos de ligações com melhor desempenho.

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The present study is part of an extensive research project, where the main objective is to evaluate a strengthening solution for reinforced concrete structures using a small thickness jacketing in the compression side of the RC element with unidirectional fiber reinforced grout - UFRG.
For this purpose a high performance cementitious grout reinforced with continuous and unidirectional non woven fibermat has been developed. It was expected that the use of these type of fibers allowed an optimization of its percentage and orientation. It was expected that the use of these type of fibers allowed an optimization of its percentage and orientation. Besides, for continuous fibers (with an aspect ratio, defined as the length-to-diameter ratio, l/d=∞), the composite should attain higher tensile strength since the fiber embedment length is enough to prevent fiber pullout.
The experimental campaign included a set of preliminary tests that allowed the design of the fiber reinforced grout, sustained with rheological parameters [7] and mechanical characterization tests of the materials.
Finally, an experimental campaign was carried out in order to proceed to the mechanical characterization of the unidirectional fiber reinforced grout. Compressive tests were conducted in small thickness tubular specimens that enable the determination of the compressive strength and the static modulus of elasticity of the material. The tensile strength of the material was obtained using splitting tests of cubic specimens (according the standard DIN 1048-5). The experimental results are presented and analyzed.

This article presents the comparison between 6 theoretical models of axially confined concrete columns with the experimental results of 7 tested columns of different authors. This study analysed the accuracy of 6 different confinement models for square columns taking into account the results of experimental tests on 7 RC columns confined with CFRP sheets with different dimensions and carried out by different authors. The profile of curves, the peak/failure values, the stress–strain and axial–to–lateral relations were studied to conclude which models show the best correlation with the experimental test results. Quantification of this deviation was carried out for key parameters. Some models predicted peak values with reasonable accuracy – Manfredi & Realfonzo, Campione & Miraglia, Lam & Teng, Pellegrino & Modena – although for the whole load–strain behaviour only the model of Faustino, Chastre & Paula seemed to be reasonably accurate in most cases.

The use of Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) in the strengthening of timber structures is quite recent and few studies have discussed the debonding between these materials. The analysis of the Mode II debonding process between FRP composites and timber elements may be of great importance because this mode is predominant in the case, for instance, of the bending of beams. Knowing the appropriate bond-slip model to use on the estimation of the performance of FRP-to-timber interfaces is greatly relevant. Under such circumstances, a detailed knowledge of all the states that CFRP-to-timber interfaces are subjected to is important as well. The current work gives answers to these aspects proposing an analytical solution based on a tri-linear bond-slip model that is capable of describing precisely the full-range debonding behavior of FRP-to-timber interfaces. Thus, the purpose of this study is to contribute to existing knowledge with an analytical solution capable of describing the full-range debonding process between a FRP composite and a substrate. The analytical solutions herein proposed are also compared with the results obtained from several experiments based on single-lap shear tests. Comparisons at different load levels and different bonded lengths are presented. The slips, strains in the CFRP composite and bond stress distributions within the bonded interface are emphasized in the text. The complete load-slip response of CFRP-to-timber interface is also analyzed. Each state of the debonding process is described and each one is identified in the load-slip curve.

The strengthening of structures such as columns, beams, arches or slabs with Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) has been the focus of several studies. However, the studies dedicated to the FRP debonding phenomenon of curved bonded joints affected by elevated temperatures are surprisingly limited and no studies on this topic are known, at present, to use nonlinear analytical or numerical approaches. Still, the available studies found in the literature are unanimous in affirming that the debonding phenomenon on such curved interfaces demands the interaction between Fracture Modes I and II. The present work aims to develop an analytical solution capable of simulating the debonding process of curved CFRP-toconcrete interfaces with a constant radius subjected to mechanical and/or thermal loads. Some examples are presented in which the influence of the radius of the interface and the temperature level is analysed. The analytical solution proposed here is based on adhesion laws in which, in the case ofMode II, an exponential bond vs. relative displacement law with temperature dependency is assumed, whereas the Mode I adhesive law is based on a linear with fragile rupture law with the same temperature dependency as Mode II.

This paper presents a comparative evaluation of efficiencies of different accelerated ageing tests (freezethaw, thermal shock, salt crystallization, dissolution and wetting-drying) and fuzzy inference system in predicting weathering degrees of some monument stones from three historical sites (Anahita Temple, Anobanini reliefs and Eshkaft-e Salman reliefs, Iran). The combined effects of natural weathering processes (heating and cooling, wetting and drying, and freezing and thawing) and climatic information were used for assessing the natural weathering degrees. Finally, the natural weathering degrees were multiplied by time effect coefficients to obtain more realistic natural weathering degrees of the monuments. The predicted natural weathering degrees for Anahita Temple, Anobanini reliefs and Eshkaft-e Salman reliefs are 56%, 61%, and 47%, respectively. These predicted values reasonably support the weathering degrees defined by progressive decay indices (calculated equal to 2.77, 3.42 and 2.66 for Anahita Temple, Anobanini reliefs and Eshkaft-e Salman reliefs, respectively), which means the fuzzy model potentially could accurately predict the weathering of stones.

Gravity loads can affect a reinforced concrete structure’s response to seismic actions, however, traditional procedures for testing the beam behaviour do not take this effect into consideration. An experimental campaign was carried out in order to assess the influence of the gravity load on RC beam connection to the column subjected to cyclic loading. The experiments included the imposition of a conventional quasi-static test protocol based on the imposition of a reverse cyclic displacement history and of an alternative cyclic test procedure starting from the gravity load effects. The test results are presented, compared and analysed in this paper. The imposition of a cyclic test procedure that included the gravity loads effects on the RC beam ends reproduces the demands on the beams’ critical zones more realistically than the traditional procedure. The consideration of the vertical load effects in the test procedure led to an accumulation of negative (hogging) deformation. This phenomenon is sustained with the behaviour of a portal frame system under cyclic loads subject to a significant level of the vertical load, leading to the formation of unidirectional plastic hinges. In addition, the hysteretic behaviour of the RC beam ends tested was simulated numerically using the nonlinear structural analysis software – OpenSees. The beam–column model simulates the global element behaviour very well, as there is a reasonable approximation to the hysteretic loops obtained experimentally.

Neste artigo é apresentado um resumo das intervenções de conservação realizadas no século passado e dos estudos e testes não destrutivos realizados na última década na Igreja de São Leonardo na Atouguia da Baleia. Em seguida mostra-se o padrão de degradação que ocorre nos portais de arenito da igreja e é analisada a evolução da alveolização que ocorreu nos portais de arenito ao longo dos últimos sessenta a setenta anos. No final, a inspeção visual dos portais de arenito é comparada com um levantamento realizado através de varrimento por laser 3D.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites have a large potential for strengthening and retrofitting steel parts but due to their premature debonding from steel, further data and research are still required for wider application in such situations. In the present paper, the bond characteristics of CFRP-to-steel joints in pull-pull loaded conditions were studied. Monotonic loading of the double strap joints with different bond lengths was applied and the failure modes and interfacial bond-slip curves were obtained. A tri-linear bondslip model is proposed and it was derived from the experimental data. A closed-form solution approach is also proposed based on the tri-linear bond-slip model. The strength of the CFRP-to-steel interface, the distribution of the relative displacements between bonded materials, the strains developed in the CFRP laminate and the bond stresses along the interface are reported and the closed-form solution is compared with the experimental results. Two cases are selected for presentation: (i) one with the bond length greater than the effective bond length; and, inversely, (ii) one with bond length which is shorter than the effective bond length. The results predicted by the closed-form solutions are shown to be accurate enough when compared to the experiments.

The degradation mechanisms of bonded joints between CFRP laminates and steel substrates under severe environmental conditions require more durability data and studies to increase the database and better understand their causes. Studies on bond properties of double-strap CFRP-to-steel bonded joints with two different composite materials as well as adhesive coupons subjected to freeze-thaw cycles for 10,000 h were conducted to reduce that gap. In addition, the equivalent to the number of thermal cycles and their slips induced in the CFRP laminates was replicated by an equivalent (mechanical) loading-unloading history condition imposed by a static tensile machine. The mechanical properties of the adhesive coupons and the strength capacity of the bonded joints were only slightly changed by the artificial aging. It was confirmed that the interfacial bond strength between CFRP and adhesive is critically related to the maximum shear stress and failure mode. The interfacial bond strength between adhesive and steel degraded with the aging. However, the equivalent thermal cyclic bond stress caused no detectable damage on the bond because only the interfacial elastic regime was actually mobilized, which confirmed that pure thermal cycles aging, per se, at the level imposed, have a low impact on the degradation of CFRP-to-steel bonded joints.

The influence of compressive stresses exerted on FRP-concrete joints created by external strengthening of structural members on the performance of the system requires better understanding especially when mechanical devices are used to anchor the externally bonded reinforcement (EBR). The numerical modelling of those systems is a tool that permits insight into the performance of the corresponding interfaces and was used in the present study, essentially directed to analyse the effectiveness of EBR systems under compressive stresses normal to the composite surface applied to GFRP-to-concrete interfaces. The compressive stresses imposed on the GFRP-to-concrete interface model the effect produced by a mechanical anchorage system applied to the EBR system. An experimental program is described on which double-lap shear tests were performed that created normal stresses externally applied on the GFRP plates. A corresponding bond-slip model is proposed and the results of its introduction in the numerical analysis based in an available 3D finite element code are displayed, showing satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. The results also showed that lateral compressive stresses tend to increase the maximum bond stress of the interface and also originate a residual bond stress which has significant influence on the interface strength. Also, the strength of the interface increases with the increase of the bonded length which have consequences on the definition of the effective bond length.

Analisa-se e caracteriza-se por via experimental a ligação entre elementos de betão armado e materiais compósitos, nomeadamente com base nas fibras de vidro. Fabricaram-se vigas de betão armado que foram exteriormente reforçadas com GFRP. Os resultados obtidos experimentalmente foram comparados com os resultados conseguidos por intermédio de modelação computacional, recorrendo-se ao programa de cálculo ATENA 2D. Para melhor modelação de elementos de interface, foram realizados ensaios de corte tendo-se obtido valores que permitiram caracterizar a lei de rotura de Mohr-Coulomb. Os parâmetros estudados foram a evolução das forças máximas absorvidas pelo reforço; as tensões de aderência máximas; a distribuição das tensões de aderência.

The presented work aims at studying the modelling of long term performance of concrete compositions with different proportions of clinker as regards the diffusion of CO2 in concrete – carbonation. The replacing constituents of clinker that will be part of the binder in each concrete composition are limestone filler and low calcium fly ash (FA). The used percentage of FA by weight of binder was of 50%. Concrete compositions were made following standard prescribed requirements to attain service lives of 50 and 100 years as regards concrete performance against reinforcing steel corrosion. Test results of compressive strength and carbonation depth are reported at different curing ages of 28, 90, 180 and 365 days. Carbonation results were used for the implementation of modelling equations in order to estimate the design service life regarding reinforcing steel corrosion. Two performance-based methods were used: safety factor method and probabilistic method, and their results compared with the traditional prescriptive approach. At the age of 28 days the composition with OPC is the only one that reaches the target periods of 50 or 100 years. For the probabilistic method, different curing age results were analysed. For the tested results at 90, 180 and 365 days of age the reliability of some of the compositions with blended cements is within the minimum required, although still far from the higher performance of concrete with OPC.

Pseudo-cyclic and cyclic loading were applied to CFRP-to-steel bonded joints built with two different CFRP laminates. In this paper, the strength capacity and bond-slip curves are presented and compared. The modes of failure are also described and associated with the types of material used, and the observed performances are correlated. The analysis of the results showed a threshold value for loading and amplitude level, below which the cyclic loading caused no detectable damage. For cycles above that limit, the region of the joints around the loaded end presented degradation reflected on the bond-slip stiffness and on the increase of residual deformation. It was found that the normalized dissipated energies either obtained from the bond-slip relationship or from the load-slip response had the same trend. The experimental data allowed also to establish a relationship between the damage developed within the interface and the normalized slip. A preliminary estimate of fatigue limit based on those data is suggested.

The main goal of the present research work is to characterise a unidirectional fibre reinforced grout (UFRG), developed as an alternative material to strengthen RC structures using small thickness jacketing. A high performance cementitious grout reinforced with continuous and unidirectional non-woven steel fibre mat has been developed for this purpose. It was expected that the optimization of the percentage and alignment of the steel fibres would yield a more efficient fibre grout. In fact, the composite should attain higher tensile strength with continuous fibres since the fibre embedment length is enough to prevent fibre pull-out. An experimental programme was carried out to characterise the UFRG’s mechanical properties. Compressive tests were conducted on small thickness tubular specimens to enable the determination of the compressive strength and the static modulus of elasticity. The tensile strength was obtained from splitting tests performed on cubic specimens (DIN 1048-5). Semi-empirical equations, based on the experimental results, are proposed to estimate UFRG’s modulus of elasticity, compressive strength and tensile strength. Two strengthening solutions for RC structures using small thickness CFRP jacketing are presented.

Cement bonded particle board (CBPB) is a composite material produced in plates consisting mainly of wood and cement, and may contain additives. This material is currently used in cladding, raised floors, dropped ceilings, prefabricated houses, office containers and various supplies to the building industry such as kitchens, bathrooms and furniture. It is composed of a type of wood Pinus pinaster and/or Pinus pinea, Portland cement type II, sodium silicate and aluminium sulphate. CBPB has been the subject of several studies with the purpose of enabling the use of other types of wood or even vegetable biomass, as the chemical compounds from wood (extractives and sugars) tend to inhibit of cement hydration. A study on the behaviour of short CBPB elements under compression was carried out in the Department of Civil Engineering of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa with the aim of enabling its use in structural elements. The study was supported by VIROC, the company which produces CBPB in Portugal. This paper presents and analyses the most significant results of a campaign of axial compression tests performed on 111 specimens of different heights and cross sections. The behaviour of CBPB specimens of varying slenderness was subjected to a more detailed analysis.

Polymeric mortars or concrete are special building materials which can be used to repair or strengthen localized areas of structural elements. Following research on the behaviour of retrofitting reinforced concrete circular columns with FRP composite materials and bearing in mind the high strength of polymer concretes, it was decided to develop a solution to seismic retrofit of reinforced concrete columns with polymer concrete. The mechanical characteristics of different polymer concretes and especially their performance when subjected to cyclic axial compression, several bending tests, and monotonic and cyclic axial compression tests were studied, namely the compressive strength, the tensile strength on bending and the Young's modulus. Columns were also tested under axial compression and cyclic horizontal loads. The results of these tests are shown and interpreted. It is concluded that the improved behaviour in monotonic compression of polymer concrete is essentially associated with better strength characteristics of resin, whereas its superior behaviour under cyclic loading is linked to a smoother aggregate grading curve.

The adhesively bonded joints behaviour under cyclic loading is not yet well understood due to its inherent complexity. Numerical approaches appear, therefore, as the easiest way to simulate such mechanical behaviour. In this work, double strap bonded joints with Carbon Fibres Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) and aluminium are numerically simulated and subjected to a cyclic loading history. In the numerical simulation, the Distinct Element Method (DEM) is used and it is assumed cohesive bi-linear bond-slip models with local damage of the interface. The evaluation of the bonded joints under cyclic loading is made by comparing the results with those simulated with a monotonic loading.

Five experimental cyclic tests were carried out on reinforced concrete rectangular columns with rounded corners, different condition (new and damaged) and different strengthening systems: that included confinement through carbon fiber (CFRP) jackets, anchor dowels, high strength repair mortar and external longitudinal stainless steel bars. Lateral load - displacement relationship, energy dissipation, ductility and curvature results were analyzed together with two different damage assessment classifications. The overall evaluation concludes that the use of external confinement with CFRP on RC columns is viable and of effective performance enhancement alone and combined with other techniques. Damaged columns that were retrofitted showed an increased load capacity up to 20% along with good ductile behavior within the limits of the US, European, Canadian and Japanese codes, with minor/moderate degree of damage at 1% drift ratio and moderate degree of damage at 2% drift ratio.

This study looks at the analysis of the interface between Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP)-to-parent material bonded interfaces. The performance of FRP-to-parent material bonded joints for the Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) technique is numerically modelled with the PFC2D software which is based on the Distinct Element Method (DEM). It is believed that this represents the first time the DEM has been used to simulate the delamination process of FRP-to-parent material bonded joints. In order to validate the analysis performed with the DEM, a Pull-out test with no slip constrains was modelled and different linear bond-slip laws were assumed. The numerical results revealed that the DEM is capable of estimating with good accuracy the exact solutions of bond stresses, strains or slippages along the bonded length for linear bond-slip laws. The bi-linear law available in PFC2D was then compared to the numerical results obtained from other another code developed by the author. The delamination process of Pull-out tests with slip constrain at one of the free ends of the FRP plate is also described and analyzed. The results obtained from the DEM revealed that the delamination process ends with stiffness equal to the axial stiffness of the FRP plate. This evidence highlights the need to design mechanical anchor devices capable of preventing premature debonding which is known to occur on EBR systems.

Concrete structures Externally Bonded Reinforced (EBR) with Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) have been studied and used since the end of the last century. However, several issues need to be better studied in order to improve performance. The influence of size of anchorage plates used on Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures strengthened with EBR FRP composites, the external compressive stress to be applied on the anchorage plate and the numerical simulation of this region are some of the topics that need to be more carefully studied in order to clarify the performance of the FRP-to-concrete interface within the anchorage plate region. This study proposes a design methodology to estimate the amount of external compressive stress necessary to be applied on the anchorage plate of EBR systems with FRP composites, in order to avoid premature debonding. The external compressive stress imposed on the FRP composite is intended to simulate the effect produced by a mechanical anchorage system tightened to the EBR system. The results from the design proposal, when compared with the numerical ones, were efficient enough on the prediction of the bond strength improvement of FRP-to-concrete interfaces.

The enhancement of the mechanical behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) columns with regard to axial compression is an up-to-date concern, namely if the strengthening of existing structures is to be considered. In view of this, external confinement with FRP systems has been tested in order to become a feasible technique, since it seems to have important advantages over other systems such as its high strength and stiffness in relation to weight and its improvement of strength and ductility while confining RC columns. Square columns confined with FRP show a more complex interpretation of their behaviour, when compared to circular columns. Accordingly, the present work includes the analysis of two experimental programs regarding axial compression on CFRP confined RC columns: one on circular and square specimens with different corner radii; the other on square specimens with side lengths ranging from medium to large. Based on this, modelling equations are proposed to predict maximum axial load, axial strain and lateral strain, as well as the entire behaviour until failure with curves of axial load-axial strain and axial load-lateral strain. The modelling results show that the analytical curves are in general agreement with the presented experimental curves for a wide range of dimensions.

Weathering imposes vital effects on stony monuments. Mostly, the degree of weathering is determined by simple test results, ignoring simultaneous effects of various weathering factors. Hence, the main purpose of this study is to develop prediction models with fuzzy inference systems to determine the weathering degree of the Persepolis stone, using various accelerated ageing tests in laboratory condition and to extrapolate the results to the natural condition, considering climatic information. The results suggest reliable conformity between the prediction of the weathering degree of the stone and the weathering degree observed in the Persepolis complex in natural condition.

This paper deals with the coupled effect of temperature and silica fume addition on rheological, mechanical behaviour and porosity of grouts based on CEMI 42.5R, proportioned with a polycarboxylate-based high range water reducer. Preliminary tests were conducted to focus on the grout best able to fill a fibrous network since the goal of this study was to develop an optimized grout able to be injected in a mat of steel fibers for concrete strengthening. The grout composition was developed based on criteria for fresh state and hardened state properties. For a CEMI 42.5R based grout different high range water reducer dosages (0, 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.5%, 0.7%) and silica fume (SF) dosages (0, 2%, 4%) were tested (as replacement of cement by mass). Rheological measurements were used to investigate the effect of polycarboxylates (PCE) and SF dosage on grout properties, particularly its workability loss, as the mix was to be injected in a matrix of steel fibers for concrete jacketing. The workability behaviour was characterized by the rheological parameters yield stress and plastic viscosity (for different grout temperatures and resting times), as well as the procedures of mini slump cone and funnel flow time. Then, further development focused only on the best grout compositions. The cement substitution by 2% of SF exhibited the best overall behaviour and was considered as the most promising compared to the others compositions tested. Concerning the fresh state analysis, a significant workability loss was detected if grout temperature increased above 35°C. Below this temperature the grout presented a self-levelling behaviour and a life time equal to 45 minutes. In the hardened state, silica fumes increased not only the grout’s porosity but also the grout’s compressive strength at later ages, since the pozzolanic contribution to the compressive strength does not occur until 28 days and beyond.

Externally bonded reinforced systems have been widely used in civil engineering. However, the problems associated with bond between structural elements are not yet fully solved. As a consequence, many researchers have been proposing tests and techniques to standardize procedures and reach better agreement for design purposes. In the present paper, an experimental program is described that was developed to characterize the glass FRP/concrete interface by double shear tests made on 15 cm side cubes with GFRP bonded on two opposite faces. The GFRP wrap had two layers applied by the wet lay-up technique and three classes of concrete were considered. With the support of the experimental program, cohesion and friction angle for GFRP–concrete interfaces were found leading to different envelope failure laws, based on the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion for each concrete class, capable of predicting GFRP debonding. Results are discussed.