The present invention relates to a reinforcement method of beam, in particular to a method for retrofitting a reinforced concrete (RC) beam with an transverse opening.
A construction project can be roughly divided into three major parts, namely structural works, electrical and mechanical works, and decoration works. In the process of contracting out, the owner generally signs a single contract with a construction firm and let the construction firm make an overall is construction plan to integrate the structural works with the electrical and mechanical works. For example, the construction firm executing the integration works may produce structural electrical and mechanical (SEM) drawings, which show details of openings, bases, sleeves, embedded parts or piping for electrical and mechanical facilities for reference in safety analysis and further design. However, the use and appearance of buildings today are quite different from those in the past; moreover, the electrical and mechanical works and the decoration works are more complex, so the owner changes the policy of contracting out and signs separate contracts with multiple construction firms. Because these construction firms have a parallel relationship, their construction drawings and designs are examined independently, leading to conflicts during construction. The conflicts may even lead to the integration failure of structural, electrical, mechanical and decoration works.
For a building that uses moment-resisting frames as the gravity and seismic systems, the beam member is designed with sufficient flexural strength, shear strength and stiffness to transfer the load from the floor to the column member. The transverse opening reserved for pipes or ducts, however, reduce the strength and stiffness of the beam. Existing researches have shown that shear strength of perforated beam members is greatly reduced, and two shear failure modes are prone to occur, including: (a) beam-type failure as shown in
According to the current guidelines of construction drawings, the edge of the openings need to be located at a distance at least twice the beam depth from the face of the support column (also known as the “non-plastic hinge zone”), and the supplementary reinforcement is needed around the openings. It is not recommended to make openings at the beam ends within a length at least twice the beam depth from the support column (also known as the “plastic hinge zone”) where inelastic behavior is expected during an earthquake.
Traditionally, to limit the influence of openings on the beam strength and stiffness, supplementary reinforcement shown in
Driven by economic and practical needs, openings in the plastic hinge zone of the beam became increasingly preferred in recent years. To meet the needs, it is necessary to develop a relatively easy retrofit method for beams with transverse openings in the plastic hinge zone.
One objective of the present invention is to provide a retrofitting method for a beam with an opening located in the plastic hinge zone or non-plastic hinge zone, and to prevent the perforated beam from undergoing the undesired failure under the action of strong earthquakes.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a retrofitting is method for a beam with an opening by using a simpler reinforcement set than the traditional supplementary reinforcement.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the present invention provides a retrofitting method for a beam with an opening. The retrofitting method comprises steps of: evenly moving the closed hoops intercepted by the opening to the left and right sides of the opening; providing a hoop, such as a double-square hoop, to enclose the opening; providing an inclined stirrup, such as an inclined U-shaped stirrup, for being cooperated with the hoop to form a reinforcement set; and selectively adjusting the reinforcement set according to a location of the opening.
In an embodiment, the above-mentioned adjusting the reinforcement set comprises steps of: dividing the beam into a plurality of regions based on the distance away from the column face, and adjusting the reinforcement set according to distance between the edge of the opening and the column face. The quantity of the inclined U-shaped stirrup is reduced as the edge of the opening is located farther from the column face. For example, the quantity of the inclined U-shaped stirrup may be reduced to zero in non-plastic hinge zone.
In an embodiment, the above-mentioned dividing the beam into the plurality of regions comprises steps of: determining a plurality of boundaries between the plurality of regions according to a specific length extending from the column face toward a mid-span of the beam.
In an embodiment, the above-mentioned method further comprising: determining an inclined angle of the inclined U-shaped stirrup according to a ratio between the beam depth and a diameter of the opening, and to maintain a clear cover to the edge of the opening.
In an embodiment, the beam comprises a plurality of longitudinal bars and the inclined U-shaped stirrup is provided with its corner to enclose the longitudinal bars, and the above-mentioned adjusting the reinforcement set comprises step of: adjusting the inclined U-shaped stirrup according to the distance between the edge of the opening and the column face.
In an embodiment, the above-mentioned adjusting the reinforcement set comprises step of: reducing the quantity of the inclined U-shaped stirrups for the opening with its edge located in the regions farther away from the column face.
In an embodiment, the above-mentioned method provides a hoop having at least one hoop unit, and provides an inclined U-shaped stirrup cooperated with the hoop. The hoop unit includes an outer hoop and an inner hoop, wherein the inner hoop is located in the area enclosed by the outer hoop. The shape of the outer hoop is selected from a group consisting of circle, square and hexagon. And the shape of the inner hoop is selected from a group consisting of circle, square, rhombus and hexagon. When selecting squares to be the shapes of both the outer hoop and the inner hoop, the four sides of the inner hoop cooperate with four corners of the outer hoop to form four triangular regions, respectively. The inclined U-shaped stirrup is provided to enclose the beam top and bottom longitudinal bars. The legs of the U-shaped stirrup need to pass through the beam depth with an inclined angle in order to maintain a minimum clear cover to the edges of the opening.
To sum up, the retrofitting method of the present invention employs hoops cooperated with inclined U-shaped stirrups to form a reinforcement set for retrofitting a beam with openings, and adjusts the quantity of inclined U-shape stirrups according to the distance between the edge of opening and column face. Compared with the traditional supplementary reinforcement, the is reinforcement set of the present invention is obviously simple and easy to adjust in structure.
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. The components of the present invention can be placed in a number of different orientations. As such, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. On the other hand, the drawings are only schematic and the sizes of components may be exaggerated for clarity. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. Similarly, the terms “facing,” “faces” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect facing, and “adjacent to” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass directly and indirectly “adjacent to”. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
As shown in
From another point of view, the region A1 is connected with the support column 200L (or 200R), so the shortest distance between the region A1 and the column face 210L (or 210R) is zero. Similarly, the shortest distance between the region A2 and the column face 210L (or 210R) is one beam depth (1H); the shortest distance between the region A3 and the column is face 210L (or 210R) is two beam depth (2H). The region A2 is located between the region A1 and the region A3. The mid-span Cb of the beam 100 falls in region A3. The present invention determines the quantity of the inclined U-shaped stirrup based on the region where the edge of the opening is located at. When the edge of the opening is located on the boundary of the two regions, the stringent one controls.
As shown in
Referring to
In an embodiment, for the openings 130 in the region A3 with its edge located beyond twice the beam depth H (>2H) from the column face, test results from cyclic loading show that only using the double-square hoops 320, namely the quantity of inclined U-shaped stirrups 340 is zero, to retrofit the openings 130 in the region A3 can make the perforated beam 100 achieve the performance equivalent to the beam 100 unperforated in the region A3.
Besides the hoops shown in
A method for retrofitting the opening of a beam is obtained by summarizing the above embodiments. The method provides a hoop to enclose the opening on the beam, especially the opening in the plastic hinge zone; and provides an inclined stirrup to be cooperated with the hoop to form a reinforcement set. In particular, the present invention evaluates whether the reinforcement set needs to be adjusted according to the different distances between the edge of openings and the column face. For example, the adjusting of the reinforcement set includes adjusting the quantity of double-square hoops, the quantity of inclined U-shaped stirrups, the inclined angle of the inclined U-shaped stirrup, and etc. Accordingly, the present invention may provide a new design criteria, which can be used as a reference for the design of the reinforcement set for retrofitting the beam with openings.
The present inventive discloses a technical concept “forming a reinforcement set of the opening by using a hoop to cooperate with an inclined U-shaped stirrup, and adjusting the reinforcement set according to a location of the opening”, that can be fundamentally different from prior art. In case a technology conforms to the above-mentioned technical concept, it should be included in the claim scope of the present invention.
Compared with the traditional supplementary reinforcement, the present invention uses the reinforcement set having simpler configuration of reinforcement set to retrofit the beam with the openings, so as to make the perforated beam reach the performance equivalent to the one without opening.
Accordingly, the present invention have different technical features from the traditional technology, and it is difficult for a person having ordinary skill in the art to come up with the concept of the present invention based on the teaching of the traditional technologies, so the present invention should conform to novelty and non-obviousness.
The foregoing descriptions of the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been provided for the purposes of illustration and explanations. It is not intended to be exclusive or to confine the invention to the precise form or to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. Accordingly, the foregoing descriptions should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to professionals skilled in the art. The embodiments are chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its best mode for practical applications, thereby to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated. Therefore, the term “the invention”, “the present invention” or the like is not necessary to confine the scope defined by the claims to a specific embodiment, and the reference to particularly preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention does not imply a limitation on the invention, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The invention is limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The abstract of the disclosure is provided to comply with the rules on the requirement of an abstract for the purpose of conducting survey on patent documents, and should not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Any advantages and benefits described hereto may not apply to all embodiments of the invention. It should be appreciated that variations may be made in the embodiments described by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. Moreover, no element and component in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element or component is explicitly recited in the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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111116306 | Apr 2022 | TW | national |