Browsing by Author "Mudge, Frederik Jacobus"

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    Design method development and software implementation for fibre-reinforced concrete slabs-on-ground
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-12) Mudge, Frederik Jacobus; Van Rooyen, Gert Cornelis; Boshoff, William Peter; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Civil Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Ground-supported concrete slabs are common structural elements, used for a multitude of purposes. In industrial flooring applications, slabs-on-ground (SOG) are often subjected to severe loads, concentrated at points or acting over extended areas. Adequate reinforcement of such slabs is essential to obtain sufficient load capacity and to guarantee serviceability of a slab throughout its lifetime. Synthetic fibre reinforcement has been shown to be effective in increasing the tensile strength and toughness of concrete slabs-on-ground. It increases the load capacity of slabs without requiring procurement of costly steel-mesh, the labour associated with installing it, or major alterations to concrete mix design. Although extensive research has been carried out to analyse and predict the performance of synthetic-fibre reinforced concrete (SynFRC) slabs-on-ground, no universally accepted design guideline exists. Similarly, no computer-based design packages that facilitate the analysis and design of such slabs are available. In this study a comprehensive set of algorithms is developed for the analysis and design of SynFRC ground-supported slabs. It includes an algorithm that can optimise any given slab design in terms of cost. The proposed algorithms are based on an extensive review of relevant academic and industrial literature pertaining to SynFRC, slabs-on-ground and their associated design approaches. Long term settlement and the bearing capacity of soil are not accounted for. The reaction of soil to slab loading is included by means of a modulus of subgrade reaction, k. The yield-line approach to assessing point load capacities is adopted, while elastic methods are employed to analyse the effect of line- and uniformly distributed loads on the structure. A software prototype that implements the algorithms and provides a user friendly interface is developed using the Java programming language. It includes various features which aid the process of modelling a slab, such as the generation of the most adverse wheel loads within a traffic zone. To ensure the validity of all algorithms and their implementation, a series of unit tests and validations are carried out. It is concluded that the proposed algorithms and software prototype operate successfully and yield useful results.