Effect of an Opening on Reinforced Concrete Hollow Beam Web Under Torsional, Flexural, and Cyclic Loadings

Abstract

Hollow sections have been increasingly applied in the construction of buildings, bridges, offshore structures, and towers for passing electrical and mechanical pipes or other utilities. Torsion caused by external force is a weakness of hollow sections that is rarely investigated. In particular, the behavior of hollow sections with high-strength concrete (HSC) and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) remains poorly studied. This study aims to examine the behavior of a reinforced concrete hollow beam with opening and compare it with a hollow beam without opening. The hollow beam with an opening is modeled using the finite element method and analyzed under torsional, flexural, and cyclic loading with HSC and UHPC materials. The effect of the opening section size on the behavior of hollow beam is also evaluated. The openings created in the web of hollow beams led to a decrease in beam capacity although the hollow beam with small opening can carry almost the same load as that of hollow beam without an opening. The result also shows that the capacity of UHPC beams for twisting is twice that of HSC beams.

Structural Behavior of Hollow Reinforced Concrete Beams: A Review

“…However, the reported decrement in the ultimate load capacity and the calculated concrete reduction by volume are listed in Table 4. The load mid span deflection response is shown in Figure (7). Varghese and Joy (2015) [6] deduced that the optimum depth of hollow core is 160 mm from extreme fiber of compression which is just below the neutral axis.…”

“…The reported ultimate load capacity is listed in Table 5. Jabbar, et al, (2016) [7] inspected the effect of transvers opennings presence to the structural response of HRCBs numerically. ABAQUS software was used to implement a threedimensional finite element analysis.…”

Structural Efficiency of Hollow Reinforced Concrete Beams Subjected to Partial Uniformly Distributed Loading

“…Further, for aesthetic, economic, and functional purposes including leaving spaces for mechanical and electrical supply lines, computer networks, water and sewage pipelines, and reducing member weight to save materials, the openings in RC beams and slabs have become popular in the construction of buildings, bridges, offshore structures, and towers [9][10][11][12]. Many studies have considered various configurations of web openings in RC beams [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. However, other studies have investigated structural behaviours of RC beams with longitudinal openings [8][9][10][11][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39], and these studies are related to the current study and can be divided into two big groups, i.e., experimental and numerical studies in a chronological order.…”

Torsional Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Beams with Externally-Bonded Fibre Reinforced Polymer: An Energy Absorption Evaluation

“…In comparison with shear and flexural impacts, torsion is typically taken into consideration as a secondary effect. As a result, the available literature consists of limited research into the torsional behaviour of RC structural members [4]. Note that in cases like curved girders in bridges, spandrels, and curved beams in buildings, the torsional effects play an important role.…”