Structural Behavior of Composite Ferrocement Beams that Contain a Longitudinal Hole Filled with Lightweight Concrete
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Abstract
The flexural elements with holes such as the beams used in the construction of multi-story buildings are necessary because they have advantages over traditional solid beams such as faster construction and maintaining a good percentage of the strength and rigidity of the beam, as well as air conditioning pipes and electrical services can be passed through the holes and the height of the building can be increased as well as the self-weight of the beams hollow cores are lower which reduces dead loads and lowers total cost. In addition, the disposal of concrete used in structural elements helps sustainability by preserving the environment by reducing the use of resources, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In this study, 10 ferrous concrete (FC) beams with lightweight cores reinforced with welded steel mesh as shear reinforcement were simulated under three-point bending tests along with conventional normal weight concrete (NWC) beams. Analytical models based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) were studied, where ANSYS 19.0 version was used to study the behavior of the tested beams until failure. The obtained numerical results were analyzed and verified and found to be very close to those obtained from experimental investigations in the literature. The results also showed that some models experienced flexural failure while other models persisted in combined flexural and shear failure.
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