International Journal of Structural Engineering (10 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Assessment of ternary blends based on bentonite in mitigating alkali silica reactivity in waste glass substituted mortars  
  by Osama Bin Muhammad, Khan Shahzada, Akhtar Gul, Ezaz Ali Khan, Muhammad Ashraf Tanoli, Muhammad Sadiq Khattak 
  Abstract: In this research study, an effort has been made to mitigate the alkali-silica reaction (ASR), by incorporating ternary blends of bentonite and silica fume as partial replacement of cement in mortars, containing waste glass at different replacement levels. Binary blends consisting of either bentonite or silica have also been tested. The impact of ternary mixtures and waste glass on the mechanical behaviour in terms of compressive strength of mortar has also been studied. Mortar bar and accelerated mortar bar method have been used for ASR determination. Results indicate that up to 20% glass can be easily replaced as expansion values remain below the limiting value of 0.1% at the end of 16 days. For 40% glass final limit of 0.20% is crossed, indicating the deleterious ASR. Ternary blends were found to be more effective in mitigating ASR as compared to binary blends.
  Keywords: bentonite; waste glass; mortar; alkali silica reaction; ASR; mechanical properties.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2021.10043275
   
  
• Cost benefit analysis for rehabilitation of buildings: case of Indian Medical Association, New Delhi  
  by Esha Kapoor, Sushil Kumar Solanki, V.K. Paul 
  Abstract: There has been a growing discussion on how to deal with old public buildings for over a decade as most of the prominent structures are in visible distress. Rehabilitation versus its demolition and new construction have been taken as the two alternatives in this paper in order to restore the functionality to its former self. The repair work costs and consultancy cost comes to be the factors with major costs in rehabilitation alternative while in new construction the majority of the cost besides direct construction cost is incurred from the loss of revenue and cost of new rental. The two alternatives are compared on the basis of their net present value of future cashflows, the equivalent annual annuity, the internal rate of return, payback period of initial investment and benefit/cost ratio. It has been analysed that apart from benefit/cost ratio, all the other comparative parameters favour the rehabilitation alternative. Further, a decision matrix has been developed to compare the alternatives with respect to factors impacting the decision to rehabilitate and the client objectives so that the selection is made from a holistic point of view rather than just on the economic factors.
  Keywords: building rehabilitation; deterioration of buildings; distress testing techniques; cost benefit analysis; service life of buildings.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2021.10043508
   
  
• Buckling behaviour and design aids of cylindrical panel subjected to uniform in-plane loading  
  by Gayatri Patel, Amar Nath Nayak 
  Abstract: This paper focuses on the study of the buckling characteristics and development of design aids for finding the lowest buckling load of cylindrical shell panels under uniform in-plane load employing finite element method. Four different types of widely used support conditions, such as simply supported (SSSS), clamped (CCCC), clamped-free-clamped-free (CFCF) and cantilever (CFFF) are considered. The various parameters such as aspect ratio, thickness ratio, shallowness ratio and boundary condition of the cylindrical panel are taken for the parametric study in this research. The parametric study shows that the above parameters influence the critical buckling loads of these panels significantly. The design charts are suggested for the cylindrical panels of commonly adopted dimensions and any isotropic material under uniform in-plane load, which would benefit the designers very much for obtaining the critical buckling load directly from these charts during the preliminary design of these panels without using any cumbersome computer code/software.
  Keywords: critical buckling load; cylindrical panel; finite element method; FEM; design charts; uniform in-plane load; aspect ratio; thickness ratio; shallowness ratio.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2022.10044019
   
  
• Shear behaviour of high strength self-compacting concrete with varying stirrup spacing  
  by Aijaz Ahmad Zende, R.B. Khadirnaikar, Asif Iqbal A. Momin 
  Abstract: One of the most important advantages of using self-compacting concrete (SCC) in construction over normal concrete (NC) is the flowability. High strength self-compacting concrete (HSSCC) have less coarse aggregate content and also the maximum size of aggregate is limited as compared to NC for the same class of strength. And hence, there is a reduction in aggregate interlock in SCC compared to NC, affecting the shear capacity of slender beams and thus, SCC might have lower shear strength. In the present research work, a total of 18 numbers of HSSCC slender beams, six beams for each grade, i.e., 70 MPa, 80 MPa and 90 MPa with transverse reinforcement were tested to understand the shear behaviour. All the beams were provided with stirrups at a spacing of 75 mm, 100 mm, 125 mm, 150 mm, 175 mm and 200 mm. Shear reinforcement index, pwfy, were selected such that they are in the range of pw,minfy as per international codes. Experimental test results of HSSCC beams are compared with NC beams for different stirrups spacing. The results are also compared with different code provisions.
  Keywords: self-compacting concrete; SCC; stirrups; shear stress; experiment testing; slender beams; high strength self-compacting concrete; HSSCC.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2022.10045835
   
  
• A review on basalt fibre reinforced concrete  
  by Kunamineni Vijay, Meena Murmu 
  Abstract: A more emphasis was developed in the recent years regarding the environment which has focussed the researchers towards developing a more sustainable natural fibre reinforced composite (NFRC). Among the different NFRC’s, owing to its enhanced mechanical performance and cost-effectiveness, basalt fibre is proven to be a much more reliable and sustainable NFRC. The aim of this review is to demonstrate the results of concrete reinforced with basalt fibre, and also discuss the manufacturing process and technical applications of basalt fibre. Thermal and mechanical properties of basalt fibre reinforced concrete have been highlighted. Further, this paper also discusses a brief about the review of composite materials reinforced with basalt fibres that emerged as an alternative to glass fibres. The review suggests the accumulation of basalt fibres in concrete for improving strength and durability.
  Keywords: basalt fibre; mechanical properties; thermal properties; manufacturing process.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2022.10046688
   
  
• Experimental study on a new connection system for shear wall and slab joint  
  by Surumi Rasia Salim, Mohammed Muneer Meera Sahib 
  Abstract: In this paper, a new connection system for reinforced concrete walls and floor slabs is proposed. This connection system includes the provision of additional shear reinforcement within the joint region of the wall and the slab. Stirrups were coupled with the main bars throughout the length of the concrete joint core in the connection region. Reversed cyclic loading tests on two wall-slab connection specimens were conducted to observe the efficacy of the proposed system of connection. The test results demonstrated effectual confinement of the core, greater energy dissipation capacity and ductility of the connection region due to the addition of the stirrups. As a potential connection system for the wall and slab joint region with enhanced energy dissipation capacity, it can be practiced in seismic prospected areas during the construction of reinforced concrete shear wall structures.
  Keywords: wall and slab joint; connection system; reverse cyclic loading; energy dissipation; ductility.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2022.10047201
   
  
• Seismic response control of base-isolated structures with fluid inerter damper  
  by Ashish R. Akhare 
  Abstract: This study investigates the response of a multi-story base isolated building with traditional bearings supplemented by fluid inerter dampers (FID). The structure is modelled as a multi-storey shear structure. The governing equations of motion of the multistorey isolated buildings with FID are derived and numerically integrated to obtain the seismic response. Following that, four recorded earthquake ground motions are applied, and various response quantities are evaluated. The response quantities of interest are base displacement and top floor acceleration. In this work, the effect of the ratio of FID inertance to total mass of isolated structures and the effect of the number of stories on the acceleration and displacement response of the structure are evaluated. The FID has indeed been found to be an effective supplemental device for traditional base isolated buildings in reducing their response during seismic excitations.
  Keywords: fluid inerter dampers; FID; inertance; inertance ratio; shear building; seismic control; top floor acceleration; base displacements; bearings displacement; supplemental devices for base isolation.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2022.10047527
   
  
• A review on fabrication and dynamic characterisation of composite beam structure  
  by J. Akshobya, Mantesh Basappa Khot 
  Abstract: This review article focused to highlight the recent studies conducted to explore the dynamics characteristics of fibre-reinforced composite via. Experimental and Numerical approaches for different volume ratios with analysed for various boundary conditions. Because of the benefits in performance, structural efficiency, and cost that improved composite materials give, they are progressively being used in aircraft, marine, and other industries. The vibration effect in most of the applications is unpleasant causing user discomfort, noise, bodily health problems, and structural endurance problems. It is necessary to understand dynamic characteristics viz., natural frequencies (?n), damping characteristics (C), and frequency response function (FRF) of the beam. Focused on various fabrication technologies utilised in the manufacturing of aramid fibre composite beams. Based on the available literature polymerisation induced self-assembly fabrication technique used to produce the aramid fibre and FFT analyser is widely used to analyse the dynamic characteristics of the beam structure.
  Keywords: aramid fibre; natural frequencies; damping characteristics; frequency response function; FRF.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2022.10047780
   
  
• Finite element analysis of thermoelastic free vibration behaviour of hardcore higher-order doubly curved sandwich shell panel  
  by Sushmita Dash, Trupti Ranjan Mahapatra, Kulmani Mehar, Isham Panigrahi, Debadutta Mishra 
  Abstract: Free vibration analysis is carried through for functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich structure under uniform thermal loading and the material property variation according to the power-law distribution. A self-prepared computer code in MATLAB numeric computing environment based on finite element scheme using higher-order kinematics and replicating quadratic function is equipped for the computation of responses for symmetric as well as unsymmetric doubly curved sandwich structure under diverse support conditions. For numerical approximation while deriving the system of equations, Hamilton’s principle is utilised to evaluate the thermo-elastic natural frequencies and the critical buckling temperature. An isoparametric Lagrangian element with zero order Hermitian interpolation function is utilised for model discretisation. After establishing the convergence and validity, the present higher-order model is further hold out for solving diverse numerical illustrations and functional inferences those will assist in designing the imminent graded structures serving under intense thermal loading in high-performance engineering applications.
  Keywords: sandwich FGM curved panel; HOSDST; FEM; MATLAB computer code; free vibration analysis; thermal environment.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2022.10048429
   
  
• A review on textile waste production, management and its applications in construction engineering field  
  by Mantesh Basappa Khot, K.S. Sridhar, D. Sethuram 
  Abstract: The textile and clothing commercial enterprise is very necessary to the international financial system in phrases of investment, employment revenue and trade. This assessment article is supposed to spotlight and pick out the most applicable new research that have been undertaken to look at the recycling strategies for the usage of a cloth waste as a reinforcement with epoxy and different matrix materials. This work tries to evaluate most of the lookup finished in current years (2015-2021). Many corporations and lookup agencies have taken this notion severely and are working to create extra and greater advantageous alternatives, especially in industrialised countries. Even industries are keen to locate and increase environmentally pleasant merchandise while adhering to extreme environmental-related authorities policies in order to shield the environment. The existing overview paper includes: 1) a short define on producing composites the usage of material waste; 2) material recycling techniques and its barriers; 3) exploring viable purposes of fabric waste into a thermoplastic and thermosetting matrices; 4) A compressive conclusions on the lookup work carried out presently and on the possible to strengthen engineering for a range of applications.
  Keywords: environmental impact; textile waste; recycling; re-use.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2022.10048617