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Publications (76)
Fibre-reinforced polymers (FRP) show valuable features for civil engineering applications. However, the response of these structures to temperature fluctuations is often oversimplified. Structures experience daily, seasonal, and yearly variations in environmental temperature that can significantly impact their behaviour. This study investigates the...
A steel ladle usually employs mortarless refractory masonry in the innermost layer in direct contact with molten steel. The behavior of such masonry under high thermal loading is complex and essential for designing such installation. A large‐scale experimental campaign was carried out focusing on a simplified, laboratory‐scaled, pilot steel ladle b...
Refractory masonry with dry joints is widely employed as a protective lining in industrial applications requiring high-temperature treatments. The thermal and mechanical behaviour of alumina spinel refractory masonry is investigated for a wide range of mechanical loading conditions at ambient and high temperature up to 1500 °C within the framework...
The work intends to study and analyse a case study of the City Palace Udaipur in Rajasthan, India. The City Palace complex, Udaipur is an exemplary model of the Rajput palace fortress and its construction lasted 400 years, starting from 1553C.E [1]. The Saleh Khana (armoury museum) had been intervened due to the presence of structural damage [2]. T...
Throughout the years, historical monuments have been at risk from natural and man-made causes. Impact loading analysis plays an important role in structural engineering and is one of the risks to existing construction, whether being through partial collapses, vehicle crashes, or historical or modern-day warfare. This case study analyses the local r...
Masonry refractory linings are commonly employed in industrial vessels to protect against extreme working environments. Mortarless refractory masonry is frequently used in the working lining of steel ladles to contain the molten steel and limit heat losses. During operation, such masonry lining undergoes high thermo-mechanical loads, primarily due...
The flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs strengthened with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates is analytically addressed in this work. Analytical approaches are developed for (i) near-surface mounted (NSM), (ii) externally bonded reinforcement (EBR), and the EBR prestressed using (iii) mechanical anchorage (MA) and (iv)...
Ageing of epoxy adhesive and carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminate was addressed in this work. The specimens were exposed to laboratory-controlled (20 °C/55% RH, and water immersion at 20 °C) and outdoor (ageing mainly promoted by carbonation, freeze-thaws, airborne chlorides, and elevated temperatures) conditioning for up to four years....
Refractory linings are commonly employed in Industrial vessels used in high-temperature processes to protect them against extreme working environments. The working lining of an industrial steel ladle frequently employs mortarless refractory masonry to contain the molten steel and limit heat losses. Such masonry lining undergoes high thermomechanica...
Refractory linings can withstand severe working conditions and are widely used for the linings of many high temperature applications, such as steel ladles. Some of these linings are built with dry joints. These structures undergo very complex responses in service conditions, making the prediction of its behaviour a challenging task. To develop robu...
Analytical approaches are developed for predicting the flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete slabs strengthened with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates applied according to (i) near-surface mounted (NSM) and (ii) externally bonded reinforcement (EBR) as non-prestressed strengthening techniques, as well as according to the EBR with...
Ageing of interfaces between Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) laminates and concrete, applied according to externally bonded reinforcement (EBR) and near-surface mounted (NSM) techniques, and their constitutive materials was investigated. That is, experimental tests on the ageing of concrete, epoxy adhesive, CFRP laminate, and the CFRP-concre...
Characterization of deformation related properties like creep, moisture expansion, drying shrinkage, and others, usually require a high number of specimens and long-term tests. Traditional measuring methods, such as LVDTs or Strain Gauges, end up being expensive, considering the initial cost, the time they are allocated to the experimental campaign...
Refractory ceramics, due to their properties, have crucial importance in high temperature processes. This paper presents an extensive numerical investigation for developing finite element models capable of simulating the thermal and mechanical response of dry-stacked masonry linings for steel casting vessels. The developed numerical models were pre...
Sandwich foaming is a manufacturing process in which a liquid monomer mixture is injected on the bottom face sheet of the sandwich panel where it polymerizes to form cross-linked polyurethane (PUR) foam providing an adhesive joint between the bottom and upper metal sheets. The single-step process avoids manual operations in the assemblage of the pa...
Sandwich panels based on cold-formed-steel (CFS) face sheets and polyurethane foam (PUR) core were designed and manufactured to be used as a feasible solution for the rehabilitation of degraded floors. This panel is manufactured by a continuous process, whereby the polymerization and foaming of the PUR core is performed simultaneously with the face...
Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites have been shown to possess desirable properties for strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. The application of CFRP composites is mainly through Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) or Near Surface-Mounted (NSM) techniques. The main objective of the present work was to provide insight...
In civil engineering there is a need for lightweight structural elements, specifically in applications such as the rehabilitation of degraded floors in existing buildings and modular construction. Metaheuristic search procedures are suitable to tackle optimization problems concerning material efficiency, but their use in real design applications is...
A new lightweight floor system was developed to tackle the sustainability issue in the construction sector. The proposed flooring system is suited for rehabilitation of degraded timber floors in existing building. Despite the great potential that sandwich construction shows as load bearing elements their use has been hindered by the high initial co...
In the scope of the research project “Lightslab - development of innovative slab solutions using sandwich panel” a new floor system based on sandwich panel has been developed. The lightweight structural system shall be a competitive solution when compared to traditional rehabilitation technique of degraded timber floors in old buildings. The layout...
Historic monuments and construction capture the knowledge of civilizations of the past and are a source of pride for people of the present. Over the centuries, these buildings have been at risk from natural and man-made causes. The Alhambra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Granada, Spain, is one of such places. This paper aims to evaluate the struc...
Industrial vessels used in high temperature processes of steel and cement production are protected by refractory linings built with mortarless joints. These dry joints, formed by stacked bricks have a crucial importance on the mechanical behaviour of the lining. The stiffness and consequently the stresses generated by the thermal elongation are red...
The seismic assessment and modelling of unreinforced masonry structures require an adequate understanding of masonry behaviour under shear loading. In particular, the behaviour of the interfaces connecting brick and mortar are of key importance during seismic actions. This is because the unit-joint interface may act as the main plane of weakness in...
Vessels used in industrial high temperature processes of steel and cement production are protected by refractory linings built with dry-stacked masonry, which plays a crucial role on the overall behaviour of the vessels. This paper presents the results of an experimental and numerical research on dry-joint refractory masonry subjected to uniaxial c...
Masonry is one of the oldest and most traditional materials in building construction. Nevertheless, the knowledge on the structural fire behaviour of masonry elements is not yet well consolidated. The literature on the load-bearing capacity of masonry walls in case of fire showed an enhanced performance of these elements, however the lack of normat...
Unreinforced masonry construction is predominant in many urban areas world-wide.
Many of these constructions are vulnerable to earthquakes, which are the main cause of damage and loss of cultural heritage. Understanding the in-plane behaviour of masonry walls when subjected to horizontal loadings will improve the society capacity to preserve and pr...
Confined masonry (CM) is a widely used solution for buildings in developing countries and has potential for worldwide application when considering its economic and constructive advantages. Although a large background of experimental testing of CM walls is available, numerical studies are further needed to extend the existing knowledge and derive an...
This paper presents mesoscale thermo-mechanical analyses of plain (unreinforced) concrete based on the discrete element method (DEM). The proposed discontinuum modelling strategy represents the aggregates and matrix as a system of deformable polyhedral blocks, interacting along their boundaries. The nodal velocities of each block are calculated via...
This paper presents a 2-D finite element (FE) based micro modelling framework for thermo-mechanical response history analysis of solid brick masonry structures subjected to fire. The 2-D FE framework considers geometric and material nonlinearities, and transient states of strain in conjunction with the temperature-dependent material properties. Mat...
In the scope of a R&D project, the design of three new lightweight flooring panels with distinct characteristics was performed, namely: i) two steel face sheets, steel webs and polyurethane (PUR) foam as core system; ii) steel face sheets, glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) webs and PUR foam core system; iii) two steel face sheets and two steel...
This paper presents a numerical study on the structural behaviour of concrete masonry at elevated temperatures. Based on an experimental research previously performed on half-scale walls in fire situations, numerical models were developed and validated. The heat transfer models led to thermal fields with good agreement with the temperatures measure...
The understanding of the compressive and tangential behaviour of mortarless joints is mandatory to optimize the design of refractory linings. The joints play an important role during the heating of the equipment, as they reduce the stresses generated due to thermal expansion. This study investigates the normal and tangential behaviour of joints in...
Refractory masonry in its application is usually exposed to chemical, thermal and mechanical loads in service. Mechanical loads develop from the thermal expansion of the refractories which is confined either by the regions of different temperature within the structure or by the boundary conditions. The aim of this work is to investigate, using nume...
The response of masonry structures is well studied in the context of static and dynamic mechanical loading. However, studies pertaining to thermo-mechanical response characterization of masonry structures subjected to fire are very limited. Moreover, within the limited investigations pertaining to the numerical response of masonry structures subjec...
Refractory masonry in its application is usually exposed to chemical, thermal and mechanical loads in service. Mechanical loads develop from the thermal expansion of the refractories which is confined either by the regions of different temperature within the structure or by the boundary conditions. The aim of this work is to investigate, using nume...
Refractories are unique materials used in linings of vessels to contain and process fluids at high temperatures. They can withstand complex combination of thermo-mechanical stresses and chemical wear generated by fluids and chemical agents during process. The main challenges for the usage of refractories are linked to the cost, availability of raw...
As alvenarias têm sido usadas ao longo dos séculos em paredes estruturais ou simples de compartimentação. Nos últimos 50 anos, houve algumas investigações para avaliar a resistência ao fogo de paredes de alvenaria de diversos materiais, sendo um deles o
concreto. Em 1970, Byrne [1] realizou 14 ensaios de resistência ao fogo em paredes estruturais d...
Fiber Reinforced Polymers have become a popular material for strengthening of masonry structures. The performance of this technique is strongly dependent on the bond between the FRP and the substrate. This work aims to study the behavior of the bond between different strengthening systems (EBR and NSM), different materials (GFRP and CFRP) and diffe...
Unreinforced masonry construction is predominant in many urban areas worldwide. Many of these constructions are vulnerable to earthquakes, which are the main cause of damage and loss of cultural heritage. Understanding the in-plane behavior of masonry walls when subjected to horizontal loadings will improve the society capacity to preserve and prot...
The construction in masonry is one of the oldest ways of construction. However, the knowledge regarding its structural behavior is still not well consolidated, especially regarding extreme conditions, such as fire. Although the few available studies regarding structural masonry under fire conditions show some promising results, still the available...
This chapter presents the analysis of the structural condition and stability of the Medieval Armenian Church in Famagusta. The chapter includes photographic survey, visual inspection, non-destructive testing, and advanced computational analyses. The structural performance of the Church was analyzed by means of a numerical model, which helped simula...
The strain rate effect influences the mechanical properties on most construction materials and its investigation is critical for structural engineering. Current materials such as steel or concrete have been intensively investigated. However, similar studies on the dynamic properties of masonry or masonry components such as clay brick or mortar are...
Fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) have become a popular material for strengthening of masonry structures. The performance of this technique is strongly dependent on the bond between the FRP and the substrate. Understanding the strain rate effect on these materials and strengthening techniques is important for proper design and proper modelling of the...
The occurrence of unanticipated extreme events in modern societies typically induces significant damage and losses to the built heritage and people, but also concern and fear in the population. The capacity of structures to resist to extreme events has been deserving the attention of researchers during the last decades. The occurrence of explosion-...
The vulnerability of the masonry envelop under blast loading is considered critical due to the risk of loss of lives. The behaviour of masonry infill walls subjected to dynamic out-of-plane loading was experimentally investigated in this work. Using confined underwater blast wave generators (WBWG), applying the extremely high rate conversion of the...
This work intends to present a newly developed test setup for dynamic out-of-plane loading using underWater Blast Wave Generators (WBWG) as loading source. Underwater blasting operations have been, during the last decades, subject of research and development of maritime blasting operations (including torpedo studies), aquarium tests for the measure...
The work presented in this paper was performed in collaboration with one of the largest Public Transportation Operator in Portugal and addresses the problem of risk assessment due to terrorist actions involving explosions at different levels. First, a region of the Operator is selected. The elements in the Operator's network with the highest associ...
Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites have received extensive attention in the last years for Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) of masonry structures. It is well known that the FRP-to-masonry bond behavior is a critical mechanism in this strengthening technique. Several experimental and numerical investigations have thus been devoted to inv...
Investigation of the dynamic properties of construction materials is critical for structural engineering. The strain rate effect influences the properties of most constructions materials and this effect on materials such as concrete or steel has been intensively investigated. However, such studies on masonry materials are scarce. Understanding the...
The vulnerability of the masonry envelop under blast loading is considered critical due to the risk of loss of lives. The dynamic behaviour of masonry infill walls subjected to dynamic out-of-plane loading was experimentally investigated in this work. Confined underwater blast wave generators (WBWG) allows applying an extremely high rate conversion...
The work presented in this thesis was developed at the Department of Civil Engineering of University of Minho. This work involves experimental and numerical campaigns and intends to give a contribution for a better understanding of the effect of explosions.
Blast loading is a subject of much actuality and considerable lack of expertise. Europe has...
The vulnerability of the masonry envelop under blast loading is considered critical due to the risk of loss of lives. The dynamic behaviour of masonry infill walls subjected to dynamic out-of-plane loading was experimentally investigated in this work. Using confined underwater blast wave generators (WBWG), applying the extremely high rate conversio...
Underwater blasting operations have been, during last decades, subject of research and development of maritime blasting operations, including torpedo studies. Aquarium tests, for the measurement of blasting energy of industrial explosives, are based in studies of confined underwater blast wave generators (WBWG). The present study shows the behavior...
Investigation of the dynamic properties of construction materials is critical for structural engineering. The strain rate effect influences the properties on most constructions materials. This effect on materials such as concrete or steel has been intensively investigated. However, such studies on masonry materials such as clay bricks cannot be fou...
In this paper the blast resistance of cracked steel structures repaired with fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite patch are investigated. The switch box which has been subjected to blast loading is chosen to study. The steel material is modelled using isotropic hardening model, pertaining to Von Mises yield condition with isotropic strain harde...
This article presents a study of the seismic behavior of the “Old Municipal Chambers” building in Christchurch, which was damaged by earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. In view of its seismic vulnerability and retrofitting, finite element and equivalent frame models were used for pushover analysis. Predictions allow identifying the weak parts of the buil...
The Old Municipal Chambers is a Category I heritage building situated in Worcester Street, Christchurch. It was designed by architect Samuel Hurst Seager in the Queen Anne Arts and Crafts Style and was opened in 1887. The two storey building is constructed in solid brick and incorporates several decorative features, and it is an important part of t...
Experimental and finite element analysis have been carried out for the static and dynamic response of lightweight metal boxes that are similar to the steel junction boxes on the site of Buncefield explosion [1,2]. During the Buncefield Explosion Mechanism Phase I research, the lightweight steel junction boxes on the site located within the area cov...
The paper reports on two series of studies carried out to understand the Buncefield explosions (Explosion Mechanism Advisory Group, 2007; HSE, 2009). The first series of studies were carried out to aid understanding of the severe damages which indicated the possibility of explosion overpressures well above those in an open turbulent deflagration. T...
In this paper the blast resistance of cracked steel structures repaired with fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite patch are investigated. The switch box which has been subjected to blast loading is chosen for a detailed study. For impulsively loaded structures, the structural damage and response depends on the impulse rather than the pressure p...