CAREER: Tools and Research to Advance the Use of Strut-and-Tie Models in Education and Design

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The Strut-and-Tie Method (STM) is an emerging and rational design procedure that has the potential to revolutionize the way that engineers design D-(Discontinuity) Regions in structural concrete. D-Regions are those portions of a structure in which there is a complex variation in strain, such as in joints, corbels, and deep beams, as well as in regions near a concentrated force, opening or another discontinuity. This research project will consist of three activities that are focused on overcoming barriers that stand in the way of the STM's advance in the educational and practicing communities. (i) Much-needed experimental research will be conducted to help assess the dimensions, stiffness, and strength characteristics of struts, ties, and nodes. (ii) A computer-based design program will be developed that eliminates the cumbersome design tasks of making repetitive calculations of truss geometry, member dimensions, and stress values. (iii) Educational resources will be created to aid teachers, students, and practitioners in the understanding and use of this unfamiliar design methodology. The results of this research will be disseminated on a project web site www.ce.uiuc.edu/kuchma/strut&tiehttp://www.ce.uiuc.edu/kuchma/strut%26tie. Through the advance of the STM, students and engineers will be able to design all types of D-Regions by simply focusing on the flow of forces in a truss. This will result in the construction of more reliable and efficient D-Regions in our civil infrastructure.