PSI - Issue 64

Mohamed Elkafrawy et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 64 (2024) 436–444 Author name / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000

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section of solid beams, resulting in greater overall ductility. Increasing the opening sizes in beams reduces the ultimate load capacity, leading to crack development faster. As depicted in Fig. 4, the control beam experienced 435 kN ultimate load capacity and was reduced by approximately 16%, 29%, and 45% for beams B-100, B-150, and B-200, respectively. This clearly shows that increasing the opening size reduces the ultimate load carried by the beam.

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(d) Fig. 3. Effect of opening size on the cracking pattern of beams a) Control b) B-100 c) B-150 d) B-200.

Fig. 4. Effect of opening size on the load-deflection response of beams.

3.2 Effect of Pre-stressing Level Applying large Fe-SMA bars around openings enhances the performance of beams by restoring their shear capacity and improving their strength. The degree of pre-stressing applied to the Fe-SMA bar around the opening has a minor influence on the beam’s structural performance. The presence of openings in the beam leads to the initiation of cracks, particularly around the corners where stress tends to accumulate. Increasing the level of pre-stressing in the additional reinforcement, in this case, Fe-SMA bars, around the openings makes it possible to minimize crack localization, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

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