LAURA ANANIA | Università di Catania (original) (raw)
Papers by LAURA ANANIA
In this paper, the results of Finite Element Analysis on concrete specimens reinforced by plant f... more In this paper, the results of Finite Element Analysis on concrete specimens reinforced by plant fiber and
undergone to double punch tests are presented. In finite element analysis, the constitutive law of the mate-
rial was calibrated by referring to tensile strength obtained by the Chen formulation and fractural energy
derived by the double punch test. The analysis was carried out accounting different volume content of nat-
ural fibers derived from a very common plant of Sicily (Agave), to ensure the repeatability of the test. Then,
the failure load can be determined by finite element analysis and compared with the experimental one.
A good accordance between numerical and experimental data permits us to support the use of the dou-
ble punch test as a more attractive testing method for the evaluation of the mechanical proprieties of the
materials. Double punch test, in fact, is much simpler to perform than the split cylinder test method.
The current technology for the reinforcement of the simple curvature vault masonry structures, by... more The current technology for the reinforcement of the simple curvature vault masonry structures, by means of composite materials is based on the use of FRP layer bonded to its intrados and/or to its extrados, in order to avoid all that mechanisms characterised by the formation of four or five plastic hinges respectively in the case of asymmetric or symmetric load. In this study a technique based of the use of the composite applied using a calibrated shape capable of giving back a greater flexural stiffness is proposed. This aim can be reached by applying the CFRP layer such as to assume an shape around a concrete core realised at the vault extrados as a supporting rib. The paper treats about the effects of the confinement due to the -Wrap system, namely the behaviour is studied also by taking in account both the seismic and the anthropic activity. The results obtained were compared to the ones obtained by the traditional technique based on the use of C-FRP directly bonded to the vault structure. The proposed technique permits us to obtain relevant gain both in terms of resistance and dissipation ability with a lower quantity of CFRP material employed.
The objective of this current research was to investigate effective and practical approaches for ... more The objective of this current research was to investigate effective and practical approaches for strengthening calcareous block walls with openings to resist the hazard of the in-plane shear loads. Afer a previous experimental analisys aimed to determine the mechanical propiertes of the employed materials developed by the same authors, a numerical investigation by F.E.M. capable of cacthing even the most complex phenomena both in the behavior and the failure mode of the masonry-FRP system, was carried out. In order to obtain a real effectiveness of the composite system, different distributions of the CFRP were considered. The most effective distribution of the composite system in terms of resistance, ductility and economy was that of grid and it was adopted to perform the laboratory samples. Four masonry panels with openings scaled 1:2 in size were constructed and tested. The specimens were tested under static and cyclic loads. It was found that both the strength and ductility of te...
Steel & Composite Structures, 2010
The paper reports the results obtained by a experimental campaign on three leaves scaled 1.2 unde... more The paper reports the results obtained by a experimental campaign on three leaves scaled 1.2 under vertical eccentric loads, carried out on a multiple leaf masonry characterized by very poor inner core leaf in mortar and stone aggregate. The experimental test was carried out on the original non-reinforced masonry in presence of eccentric loads. This scheme of load is very common in practice due to eccentricity of the self weight resultant of the top storey when the thickness is reduced in respect to the ground floor. The test results provide very important information about the failure mechanism of these kind of walls, but also permits us to validate the numerical approach adopted and developed by Sahlin theory capable of taking into account for the bending effects produced by the material of the inner leaf (soil or masonry with stone) on the outer elements
IABSE Symposium Report, 2010
ABSTRACT The paper describes an original technology used for onsite shear tests. The test determi... more ABSTRACT The paper describes an original technology used for onsite shear tests. The test determines the shear stiffness in both the principle directions of an auxiliary system employed during accelerated construction process of the prefabricated bridge. The auxiliary pier system is constituted by the coupling of two temporary truss towers working as auxiliary pier columns to carry and erect the prefabricated pieces during the bridge construction procedure. By this experimental investigation we are able to redesign the whole temporary auxiliary systems affected by some faults in the flanged connections. A good correspondence between numerical and experimental investigation was obtained.
The strengthening of the RC structural elements by using externally bonded C-FRP, appears to be a... more The strengthening of the RC structural elements by using externally bonded C-FRP, appears to be an effective solution, but sometimes the compressed zone of concrete is not capable of sustaining the new stress state. The authors propose an innovative technology for the strengthening of the RC frame mesh, where an element of polyurethane is glued at the frame internal face and covered by C-FRP layers, so that a higher flexural capacity and stiffness can be obtained, maintaining a manageable member weight. A numerical analysis on an strengthened RC frame specimen in 1:2 scale was carried out under an increasing lateral load and the data were compared to the reference RC frame. The proposed technology gives back an enhancement in terms of the stiffness, flexural and shear resistance as well as good energy dissipation capacity, which represents an important gain for the lacked framed structure in seismic area.
Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Civil and Structural Engineering Computing, 2003
Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing, 2005
IABSE Symposium Report, 2014
APCBEE Procedia, 2014
This paper presents the results obtained by an experimental program carried out to evaluate the i... more This paper presents the results obtained by an experimental program carried out to evaluate the influence of externally bonded FRP composites on the out of plane behavior of masonry. To this aim two groups of samples were tested for static out-of-plane loads under different vertical load applying orthogonally to the mortar beds. Three panels Carbon fiber-Reinforced Masonry (CRM) were reinforced by one layer of carbon fiber-reinforcing system attached to the tension side of the wall, while the remaining unreinforced three (URM) were used as referring samples. The failure loads, collapse mode, mid-span deflection and fiber-debonding were measured. Based on the data obtained from the experimental program, it appears that the out-of-plane CFRP reinforcement tends to deeply decrease the out-of plane deflection, change the collapse mechanism, and increase enormously its out of plane resistance up to seven times respect to the URM panel.
Earthquake Resistant Engineering Structures IX, 2013
ABSTRACT Assessment of the effects of the application of advanced materials and new technologies ... more ABSTRACT Assessment of the effects of the application of advanced materials and new technologies on traditional structures has assumed a major relevance within the ongoing debate on the preservation of historic buildings. The aim of the present paper is to discuss the validity of analytical models, by means of experimental investigations carried out on masonry arches reinforced with an innovative technology proposed by the same author and based on the use of CFRP strips, with a special configuration called an "Ω-Wrap". A theoretical prediction of ultimate strength was derived in agreement with the occurrences observed during the experiments (masonry crushing, FRP rupture, debonding, sliding along the mortar joint). The results of the experimental trials allowed us not only to validate the proposed analytical derivations but also to evaluate the impact of these innovative reinforcement configurations on the strength of masonry arches. So a lower bound limit analysis approach was developed which can handle with the shear strength of each ideal sections given by the Mohr-Coulomb friction law (for the mortar joint) and other non linear Italian Code relations (for CFRP Ω-wrap reinforcement) at a given level of normal compressive stress, resulting from the previous step. In this way the associated flow rule holds at each step for the shear failure mechanism also without dilatancy.
Advanced Materials Research, 2012
Advanced Materials Research, 2013
In this paper, the results of Finite Element Analysis on concrete specimens reinforced by plant f... more In this paper, the results of Finite Element Analysis on concrete specimens reinforced by plant fiber and
undergone to double punch tests are presented. In finite element analysis, the constitutive law of the mate-
rial was calibrated by referring to tensile strength obtained by the Chen formulation and fractural energy
derived by the double punch test. The analysis was carried out accounting different volume content of nat-
ural fibers derived from a very common plant of Sicily (Agave), to ensure the repeatability of the test. Then,
the failure load can be determined by finite element analysis and compared with the experimental one.
A good accordance between numerical and experimental data permits us to support the use of the dou-
ble punch test as a more attractive testing method for the evaluation of the mechanical proprieties of the
materials. Double punch test, in fact, is much simpler to perform than the split cylinder test method.
The current technology for the reinforcement of the simple curvature vault masonry structures, by... more The current technology for the reinforcement of the simple curvature vault masonry structures, by means of composite materials is based on the use of FRP layer bonded to its intrados and/or to its extrados, in order to avoid all that mechanisms characterised by the formation of four or five plastic hinges respectively in the case of asymmetric or symmetric load. In this study a technique based of the use of the composite applied using a calibrated shape capable of giving back a greater flexural stiffness is proposed. This aim can be reached by applying the CFRP layer such as to assume an shape around a concrete core realised at the vault extrados as a supporting rib. The paper treats about the effects of the confinement due to the -Wrap system, namely the behaviour is studied also by taking in account both the seismic and the anthropic activity. The results obtained were compared to the ones obtained by the traditional technique based on the use of C-FRP directly bonded to the vault structure. The proposed technique permits us to obtain relevant gain both in terms of resistance and dissipation ability with a lower quantity of CFRP material employed.
The objective of this current research was to investigate effective and practical approaches for ... more The objective of this current research was to investigate effective and practical approaches for strengthening calcareous block walls with openings to resist the hazard of the in-plane shear loads. Afer a previous experimental analisys aimed to determine the mechanical propiertes of the employed materials developed by the same authors, a numerical investigation by F.E.M. capable of cacthing even the most complex phenomena both in the behavior and the failure mode of the masonry-FRP system, was carried out. In order to obtain a real effectiveness of the composite system, different distributions of the CFRP were considered. The most effective distribution of the composite system in terms of resistance, ductility and economy was that of grid and it was adopted to perform the laboratory samples. Four masonry panels with openings scaled 1:2 in size were constructed and tested. The specimens were tested under static and cyclic loads. It was found that both the strength and ductility of te...
Steel & Composite Structures, 2010
The paper reports the results obtained by a experimental campaign on three leaves scaled 1.2 unde... more The paper reports the results obtained by a experimental campaign on three leaves scaled 1.2 under vertical eccentric loads, carried out on a multiple leaf masonry characterized by very poor inner core leaf in mortar and stone aggregate. The experimental test was carried out on the original non-reinforced masonry in presence of eccentric loads. This scheme of load is very common in practice due to eccentricity of the self weight resultant of the top storey when the thickness is reduced in respect to the ground floor. The test results provide very important information about the failure mechanism of these kind of walls, but also permits us to validate the numerical approach adopted and developed by Sahlin theory capable of taking into account for the bending effects produced by the material of the inner leaf (soil or masonry with stone) on the outer elements
IABSE Symposium Report, 2010
ABSTRACT The paper describes an original technology used for onsite shear tests. The test determi... more ABSTRACT The paper describes an original technology used for onsite shear tests. The test determines the shear stiffness in both the principle directions of an auxiliary system employed during accelerated construction process of the prefabricated bridge. The auxiliary pier system is constituted by the coupling of two temporary truss towers working as auxiliary pier columns to carry and erect the prefabricated pieces during the bridge construction procedure. By this experimental investigation we are able to redesign the whole temporary auxiliary systems affected by some faults in the flanged connections. A good correspondence between numerical and experimental investigation was obtained.
The strengthening of the RC structural elements by using externally bonded C-FRP, appears to be a... more The strengthening of the RC structural elements by using externally bonded C-FRP, appears to be an effective solution, but sometimes the compressed zone of concrete is not capable of sustaining the new stress state. The authors propose an innovative technology for the strengthening of the RC frame mesh, where an element of polyurethane is glued at the frame internal face and covered by C-FRP layers, so that a higher flexural capacity and stiffness can be obtained, maintaining a manageable member weight. A numerical analysis on an strengthened RC frame specimen in 1:2 scale was carried out under an increasing lateral load and the data were compared to the reference RC frame. The proposed technology gives back an enhancement in terms of the stiffness, flexural and shear resistance as well as good energy dissipation capacity, which represents an important gain for the lacked framed structure in seismic area.
Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Civil and Structural Engineering Computing, 2003
Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing, 2005
IABSE Symposium Report, 2014
APCBEE Procedia, 2014
This paper presents the results obtained by an experimental program carried out to evaluate the i... more This paper presents the results obtained by an experimental program carried out to evaluate the influence of externally bonded FRP composites on the out of plane behavior of masonry. To this aim two groups of samples were tested for static out-of-plane loads under different vertical load applying orthogonally to the mortar beds. Three panels Carbon fiber-Reinforced Masonry (CRM) were reinforced by one layer of carbon fiber-reinforcing system attached to the tension side of the wall, while the remaining unreinforced three (URM) were used as referring samples. The failure loads, collapse mode, mid-span deflection and fiber-debonding were measured. Based on the data obtained from the experimental program, it appears that the out-of-plane CFRP reinforcement tends to deeply decrease the out-of plane deflection, change the collapse mechanism, and increase enormously its out of plane resistance up to seven times respect to the URM panel.
Earthquake Resistant Engineering Structures IX, 2013
ABSTRACT Assessment of the effects of the application of advanced materials and new technologies ... more ABSTRACT Assessment of the effects of the application of advanced materials and new technologies on traditional structures has assumed a major relevance within the ongoing debate on the preservation of historic buildings. The aim of the present paper is to discuss the validity of analytical models, by means of experimental investigations carried out on masonry arches reinforced with an innovative technology proposed by the same author and based on the use of CFRP strips, with a special configuration called an "Ω-Wrap". A theoretical prediction of ultimate strength was derived in agreement with the occurrences observed during the experiments (masonry crushing, FRP rupture, debonding, sliding along the mortar joint). The results of the experimental trials allowed us not only to validate the proposed analytical derivations but also to evaluate the impact of these innovative reinforcement configurations on the strength of masonry arches. So a lower bound limit analysis approach was developed which can handle with the shear strength of each ideal sections given by the Mohr-Coulomb friction law (for the mortar joint) and other non linear Italian Code relations (for CFRP Ω-wrap reinforcement) at a given level of normal compressive stress, resulting from the previous step. In this way the associated flow rule holds at each step for the shear failure mechanism also without dilatancy.
Advanced Materials Research, 2012
Advanced Materials Research, 2013