Archives of Civil Engineering

Numerical analysis of the tensioning cables anchorage zone of a bridge superstructure is presented in this paper. It aims to identify why severe concrete cracking occurs during the tensioning process in the vicinity of anchor heads. In order to simulate the tensioning, among others, a so-called local numerical model of a section of the bridge superstructure was created in the Abaqus Finite Element Method (FEM) environment. The model contains all the important elements of the analyzed section of the concrete bridge superstructure, namely concrete, reinforcement and the anchoring system. FEM analyses are performed with the inclusion of both material and geometric nonlinearities. Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) constitutive relation from Abaqus is used to describe nonlinear concrete behaviour, which enables analysis of concrete damage and crack propagation. These numerical FEM results are then compared with actual crack patterns, which have been spotted and inventoried at the bridge construction site.

The formulation of a plate finite element with so called ‘physical’ shape functions is revisited. The derivation of the ‘physical’ shape functions is based on Hencky-Bollé theory of moderately thick plates. The considered finite element was assessed in the past, and the tests showed that the solution convergence was achieved in a wide range of thickness to in-plane dimensions ratios. In this paper a holistic correctness assessment is presented, which covers three criteria: the ellipticity, the consistency and the inf-sup conditions. Fulfilment of these criteria assures the existence of a unique solution, and a stable and optimal convergence to the correct solution. The algorithms of the numerical tests for each test case are presented and the tests are performed for the considered formulation. In result it is concluded that the finite element formulation passes every test and therefore is a good choice for modeling plate structural elements regardless of their thickness.

In the paper the topic of Building Information Technology BIM is investigated. It is new in Polish circumstances technology for construction and for building product industry, which contribute to change and develop level of industrialization. Especially challenge raising from the information and introducing IT technology into daily practice is considered to provide changes in construction branch of economy. In Poland there is the hot need of start to introduce BIM as the common technology for owners of assets, facility management, construction entities, design offices, administration officers and many other players relative to construction data and processes. BIM technology introduction, basing on foreign case studies, results in cost savings, control and time reduction of investment processes and some more advantages. The perspective of digital buildings, digital infrastructure, digital roads, digital railways and digital cities is outlined at the perspective of technology challenge, but simply transfiguration of many fields of personal everyday life, where digitalization is already present and with the question when it will be common in professional activity, particularly in civil engineering.

The author investigated traffic flow quality on a new 2+1 long road bypass with an exceptionally high share of heavy vehicles in order to assess rational limits of heavy vehicle shares in traffic flow, dependent on the length of the 2+1 road and the number of passing segments in each direction. This paper presents the results of traffic flow quality analyses through the use of empirical and simulation methods for a single 2+1 road segment with additional passing lanes, as well as for the study of the entire section of the bypass – 2+1 road. Variables include analysis of travel speed distribution, platoon traffic, and amount of passing maneuvers. Results show that large passing demands lead to very high speeds (over 100 km/h) on segments with additional passing lanes. The conclusions include remarks related to the use and operation of 2+1 cross-sections with high shares of heavy vehicles.

This paper presents an approach based on NURBS (non-uniform rational B-splines) to achieve a seismic response surface (SRS) from a group of points obtained by using an analytical model of RC joints. NURBS based on the genetic algorithm is an important mathematical tool and consists of generalizations of Bezier curves and surfaces and B-splines. Generally, the accuracy of the design process of joints depends on the number of control points that are captured in the results of experimental research on real specimens. The values obtained from the specimens are the best tools to use in seismic analysis, though more expensive when compared to values simulated by SRSs. The SRS proposed in this paper can be applied to obtain surfaces that show site effect results on destructions of beam-column joint, taking into account different site conditions for a specific earthquake. The efficiency of this approach is demonstrated by the retrieval of simulated-versus-analytical results.

This paper presents the study of the impact of vibration induced by the movement of the railway rolling stock on the Forum Gdańsk structure. This object is currently under construction and is located over the railway tracks in the vicinity of the Gdańsk Główny and Gdańsk Śródmieście railway stations. The analysis covers the influence of vibrations on the structure itself and on the people within. The in situ measurements on existing parts of the structure allow us to determine environmental excitations used for validation and verification of the derived FEM model. The numerical calculations made the estimates of the vibration amplitudes propagating throughout the whole structure possible.

The present study examines some durability aspects of ambient cured bottom ash geopolymer concrete (BA GPC) due to accelerated corrosion, sorptivity, and water absorption. The bottom ash geopolymer concrete was prepared with sodium based alkaline activators under ambient curing temperatures. The sodium hydroxide used concentration was 8M. The performance of BA GPC was compared with conventional concrete. The test results indicate that BA GPC developes a strong passive layer against chloride ion diffusion and provides better protection against corrosion. Both the initial and final rates of water absorption of BA GPC were about two times less than those of conventional concrete. The BA GPC significantly enhanced performance over equivalent grade conventional concrete (CC).

Steel Mesh-Reinforced Cementitious Composites (SMRCC) (traditionally known as ferrocement) have been in existence for few decades, but have some limitations set on element thickness and number of reinforcing mesh layers and the resulting deflection ductility. Therefore, the author has made an attempt to explore whether deflection ductility will improve in mesh-reinforced cementitious composites (25 mm thick) if discontinuous fibres are added to slab elements. For this purpose, thin slab elements of dimensions 700 mm (length) × 200 mm (width) × 25 mm (thickness) were cast and subjected to four point bending tests. Based on the flexural tests conducted on SMRCC (Control Slab Elements, cast with Steel Mesh Volume of reinforcement, MVr = 0.78, 0.94, and 1.23%) and Hybrid Mesh-and-Fibre-Reinforced Cement Based Composite (HMFRCBC) (Test Slab Elements, combining MVr = 0.78, 0.94 and 1.23% and Polyolefin Fibre Volume fraction, PO-FVf = 0.5‒2.5% of volume of specimens, with 0.5% interval), load-deflection and the deflection ductility index were analyzed. From the flexural load-deflection curves it has been observed that HMFRCBC slabs demonstrate higher flexural load-carrying capacity and deflection ductility when compared to SMRCC slabs. This study shows that higher the polyolefin fibre volume fraction (PO-FVf) from 0.5 to 2.5% (with a 0.5% interval) in HMFRCBC slabs, the higher the flexural deflection ductility. The Deflection Ductility Index (DDI) of HMFRCBC (with 5 layers of mesh and PO-FVf = 2.5%) is 4.5 times that of SMRCC. This study recommends that HMFRCBC can be used as an innovative construction material due to its higher flexural ductility characteristics.

Hydraulic fracturing of rocks boosts the production rate by increasing the fracture-face surface area through the use of a pressurized liquid. Complex stress distribution and magnitude are the main factors that hinder the use of information gathered from in situ hydraulic fracturing in other locations. Laboratory tests are a good method for precisely determining the characteristics of these processes. One of the most important parameters is breakdown pressure, defined as the wellbore pressure necessary to induce a hydraulic fracture. Therefore, the main purpose of this investigation is to verify fracture resistance of rock samples fractured with the assistance of the most popular industry fluids. The experiments were carried out using a stand designed specifically for laboratory hydraulic fracturing. Repeatable results with a relative error within the range of 6-11% prove that the experimental methodology was correct. Moreover, the obtained results show that fracturing pressure depends significantly on fluid type. In the case of a water test, the fracturing pressure was 7.1±0.4 MPa. A similar result was achieved for slickwater, 7.5±0.7 MPa; however, a much lower value (4.7±0.5 MPa) was registered in the case of carbon dioxide.

Coal ash produced from thermal power plants as a substitute for conventional construction material has increased considerably in recent years. In the past, studies on partial replacement of soil were carried out with a single type of ash. Because of the insufficient evidence, limited research has been initiated on the productive usage of Fly and Bottom Ashes. This paper aims to study the properties of these materials and investigate their efficacy in road construction. Laboratory investigations were conducted to assess chemical and physical properties and mechanical performance to evaluate both ash types in pavement construction. The rutting factor is calculated for various combinations of coal ash materials with the addition of polypropylene fiber as a reinforcement in increments of 0.1% of its total weight with an aspect ratio of 200. The analytical tool ANSYS is used to validate the service life, vertical strain and quality of reinforced ash materials.

Work in unfavorable, changing environmental conditions negatively affects people working on scaffoldings used on construction sites, which may increase the risk of occurrence of dangerous situations. The purpose of this article is to show the scale of temperature changes which workers are exposed to. The paper compares examples of temperature measurements obtained from a metrological station and during tests on scaffoldings located in the Lodz and Warsaw regions. This article also presents the methodology of examining environmental parameters of the surroundings where employees work on scaffoldings. Analysis results show that high temperatures and significant temperature variations frequently occur on the scaffoldings, which leads to a lack of adaptability and consequently to tiredness or decreased alertness. Unfavorable environmental conditions can lead to behaviors which, in turn, can cause accidents.

The drainage consolidation method has been efficiently used to deal with soft ground improvement. Nowadays, it has been suggested to use a new sand soil which is a composite of sand and recycled glass waste. The permeability performance of glass-sand soil was explored to judge the feasibility of glass-sand soil backfilled in the drainage consolidation of sand-drained ground. For comparison purposes, different mix proportions of recycled glass waste, fineness modulus, and glass particle size were analyzed to certify the impact on the permeability coefficient and the degree of consolidation. The numerical results show that adding a proper amount of recycled glass waste could promote the permeability performance of glass-sand soil, and the glasssand soil drain could be consolidated more quickly than a sand drain. Experiments showed that glass-sand soil with the a 20% mix of recycled glass waste reveals the optimum performance of permeability.