Modern Concrete Structures: Modelling and Assessment

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Reinforced concrete structures comprise much of the critical infrastructure in Canada, ranging from bridges to nuclear power plant structures, hospitals to multi-storey buildings. This infrastructure is at a mature stage, with many structures having aged and being in need of repair. In some cases, critical concrete buildings and bridges are vulnerable to loss of use or even catastrophic failure, owing to a number of factors but mostly due to inadequate maintenance over their lifetime. With governments currently facing severe economic constraints, and with the inventory of deficient concrete structures requiring repair amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, engineers require advanced assessment tools. These tools would enable them to assess the safety and serviceability of current structures, decide which require repair, determine the most economical and effective means of repair, and properly model the performance of structures employing new innovative materials. ***     Reasonably reliable means of numerical simulation of traditional concrete structures in good repair are well established. Significant contributions towards this state-of-the-art were previously made at the University of Toronto with the formulation of simple and rational behavioural models for reinforced concrete (e.g., Modified Compression Field Theory), and the implementation of these models into advanced nonlinear finite element analysis (NLFEA) software (e.g., VecTor suite of programs). The current proposed research aims at extending the constitutive models and analysis procedures to enable the modelling and assessment of modern concrete structures, specifically those in various states of damage, deterioration or deficiency, and those constructed or repaired with new innovative materials. Accordingly, investigations are planned in five key areas of interest: ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC); timber-concrete composite (TCC) systems; steel-concrete composite (SCC) systems; modeling and repair of deteriorated or corroded structures; and modeling and repair of alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR) affected structures. The proposed work will be multifaceted, encompassing theoretical formulation, material characterization, software development, and experimental verification.***     The anticipated outcomes and benefits of the proposed research are two-fold : i) The analytical models developed will be more encompassing and more accurate in their performance assessment of reinforced concrete structures.; and ii) The analysis programs will be developed to a level where they can be useful design office tools applicable to the types of problems faced by design engineers in Canada and elsewhere today. Thus, the proposed research will facilitate the design or restoration of technically- and economically-viable modern concrete structures that are safe, durable and efficient.*****