Design of high-performance concrete members with high strength steel rebars

Project Title:

Design of high-performance concrete members with high strength steel rebars

Project Outline:

The application of high strength steel in concrete structures is becoming more popular due to the recent developments in steel manufacturing. The new generation of advanced high strength steel material exhibit strength up to four times more than those of conventional steel reinforcement. Current Australian standards for design of reinforced concrete structures (such as AS3600) provide guidelines which are limited to conventional steel material (yield strength up to 500 MPa). To enable the application of high strength steel in structural design, updated deemed-to-satisfy provisions in accordance with the latest production properties are essential.

This project aims to develop guidelines for the design of high-performance concrete components. The first step of the project is to optimise, model and design prototype test setups for the experimental phase. Finite Element modelling (using ABAQUS software) will be used for the pre-test analyses. In the experimental phase, large-scale structural components such as beams, columns and wall panels are constructed and tested under static loading cases. Using the post-test simulations, comparisons will be made against the current design guidelines of AS3600. Further recommendations and design principle such as ductility limits and minimum reinforcement requirements will be outlined for various grades of high strength reinforcing rebars. The proposed high-performance structural system will result in the reduction of consumed material mass, less steel congestion and lower fabrication costs such as labour and transportation. This lightweight construction is sustainable with a lower carbon footprint.

Project supervision team:

Dr Fatemeh Javidan; Dr Ooi Ean Tat, Dr Amin Heidarpour (Monash University)