Biography:

Rex Donahey earned his PhD from the University of Kansas. His career has included stints as a faculty member at Oklahoma State University and the University of Illinois; a structural engineer with Ellerbe Becket, Inc.; and the director of research at Composites Technologies Corporation. For the past 13 years, he has been Editor-in-Chief of Concrete International, the magazine of the American Concrete Institute. Donahey holds two patents related to insulated concrete wall panels. He is a licensed professional engineer in Oklahoma and Florida, and he is a member of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute.

Abstract:

For several years, the world’s tech giants such as Amazon, WeChat, and Facebook have been using artificial intelligence (AI) to severely disrupt more traditional commerce, marketing, and communications systems. Data scientists specializing in deep learning, a subset of AI, are now intensively developing new applications that will displace traditional methods in finance, healthcare, and transportation. Even within the concrete construction industry, early applications of deep learning algorithms have the potential to boost productivity, safety, and quality. This presentation will provide a summary of the concepts behind deep learning, review the many ways the technology affects our lives, examine current deep learning applications within the concrete industry, and anticipate potential applications for specification, inspection, training, and production. Lastly, attendees will be challenged to look for opportunities for applying deep learning in their own activities.

Biography:

Ferrier Emmanuel has completed his PhD in 1999 E. Ferrier was an associate professor in Lyon 1 University (France) since 2000. He is now in a position of Professor in Lyon 1 University since 2009 and director of the laboratory LMC2 devoted to Composite Material for Construction. He is involved in Research in the field of FRP strengthening of RC structure. Since 1999, he has participated in the development of French standard on FRP strengthening of RC structure for the French Association AFGC. He is involved as a member of the executive committee of International Institute of FRP in Construction (IIFC).

Abstract:

Several studies available in the literature demonstrate that carbon, glass or natural fibers can be employed in Externally Bonded (EB) Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) strips for strengthening existing Reinforced Concrete (RC) members. The paper aims at presenting a large overview of  research and field applications of retrofitting of RC structures by using Fiber-Reinforced Polymers. The focus wil be done on research, field application and standart. The paper will also present recent research progress in this field promoting the use of natural fibers. The study consists of an experimental campaign and some analytical evaluations. The behaviour observed in the tests on RC walls strengthened by FFRP are compared with both a reference wall and similar specimens strengthened with more conventional composite materials (i.e. Carbon-FRP, CFRP). The test results show that FFRP have the potential to be used for seismic retrofitting as a viable alternative to more common FRP materials and other traditional techniques. Indeed, RC wall specimens strengthened with FFRP show strength increases up to 150% and a ductility gains equal to about 30%. Moreover, the tests show that the walls strengthened by FFRP generally dissipate more energy than the ones strengthened with CFRP: this is an important property for seismic strengthening and retrofitting of existing RC structures.

Biography:

Francis T.K. Au obtained his B Sc(Eng) degree with first class honours, M Sc(Eng) degree with distinction and Ph.D. degree from The University of Hong Kong. He joined Maunsell Consultants Asia as an engineer upon graduation with his first degree, where he was involved in new town projects, highway projects as well as marine engineering projects. He returned to the University of Hong Kong in 1988 after having 7 years of practical experience in the industry. He is engaged in research in bridge engineering and concrete structures. He has been involved in various projects, including the structural health monitoring system of the Lantau Fixed Crossing, vibration tests of Ting Kau Bridge, road surface failure on bridges, development of bridge design software and shrinkage problems of large podium structures. He was the recipient of HKIE Transactions Prize 2002 (Civil), Best Teacher Award 2003-04, Faculty of Engineering, HKU, OVM Paper Award for Prestressing 2009 (Class 1) of China Civil Engineering Society and OVM Paper Award for Prestressing 2012 (Class 2) of China Civil Engineering Society.

Abstract:

Prestressed concrete bridges with corrugated steel webs have emerged as a promising bridge form due to their remarkable advantages such as efficient prestressing of concrete, high buckling strength of steel webs and lightness. The behaviour of this type of bridges is quite different from that of conventional prestressed concrete bridges. The presentation will focus on the investigations of the full-range and long-term behaviour of these bridges. A sandwich beam theory was developed to investigate both the static and dynamic behaviour numerically. In the development of numerical models, special emphasis was placed on the modelling of corrugated steel webs, external prestressing tendons, diaphragms, and the interaction between web shear deformation and local flange bending. The numerical models were verified by tests. By using the numerical models proposed, the static service behaviour, dynamic properties and long-term behaviour were studied. The sectional ductility, deformability and strength were evaluated by nonlinear analysis taking into account the actual stress-strain curves and path-dependence of materials. The failure mechanisms were studied experimentally and numerically for more accurate evaluation of safety-related attributes such as ultimate load, ductility and deformability. The formation of plastic hinge and its size were also studied thoroughly in view of their importance in the prediction of full-range behaviour. The long-term behaviour was also studied numerically and experimentally. Some design recommendations are provided here.

Biography:

Abstract:

The road and railway infrastructure in Poland has been intensively developed and modernized over the last years. Within this investment program several interesting large bridges were built. This paper will present the following structures:

• Two large prestressed concrete extradosed bridges – the bridge over the Vistula River in Kwidzyn with 204 long main spans and the bridge in Ostróda with spans of 206 m – these are the largest extradosed bridges built in Europe;
• The RÄ™dziÅ„ski Bridge over the Odra River in WrocÅ‚aw: 612 m long concrete structure with two main spans of 256 m, two separate prestressed concrete decks are suspended to a single 122 m high H-shaped pylon – the largest concrete cable-stayed bridge in Poland;
• Two cable-stayed bridges in Cracow and Rzeszów with spans longer than 200 m.

The paper will describe construction technology, aesthetics and design solutions of the aforementioned bridges.