Retrofitting of Reinforced Concrete Beam with Externally Bonded CFRP

Title:- Retrofitting of Reinforced Concrete Beam with Externally Bonded CFRP

Author Name:- J. Gopi Krishna

Abstract:- In our country many of the existing reinforced concrete structures are in need of repair or reconstruction, rehabilitation, because of deterioration due to various factors like corrosion, lack of detailing, failure of bonding between beam-column joints, increase in service loads, improper design and unexpected external lateral loads such as wind or seismic forces acting on a structure, environment and accident events etc., leading to cracking, spalling, loss of strength, deflection, etc. Strengthening of existing reinforced concrete structures is necessary to obtain an expected life span and achieve specific requirements. The need for efficient rehabilitation and strengthening techniques of existing concrete structures has resulted in research and development of composite strengthening systems. Recent experimental and analytical research have demonstrated that the use of composite materials for retrofitting existing structural components is more cost-effective and requires less effort and time than the traditional means. Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite has been accepted in the construction industry as a capable substitute for repairing and strengthening of RCC structures. The superior properties of (FRP) polymer composite materials like high corrosion resistance, high strength, high stiffness, excellent fatigue performance and good resistance to chemical attack etc., has motivated the researchers and practicing engineers to use the polymer composites in the field of rehabilitation of structures. During past two decades, much research has been carried out on shear and flexural strengthening of reinforced concrete beams using different types of fiber reinforced polymers and adhesives. A detailed Literature review based on the previous experimental and analytical research on retrofitting of reinforced concrete beams is presented. Proposed method of strengthening the RC beam is decided based on the previous experimental and analytical research. Behaviors of retrofitted reinforced concrete beams with externally bonded CFRP with various types of resins (Epoxy, Orthophthalic Resin (GP), ISO resin) after initial load (60 % control beam) is investigated. Static load responses of all the beams under two point load method had evaluated in terms of flexural strength, crack observation, compositeness between CFRP fabric and concrete, and the associated failure modes.  

Keywords: Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP), CFRP fabric, reinforced concrete structures

I.   Introduction

Concrete is the most widely used man-made construction material in world. It is obtained by mixing cementing materials, water and aggregates, and sometimes admixtures is required proportions. Concrete has high compressive strength, low cost and abundant raw material, but its tensile strength is very low. Reinforced concrete, which is concrete with steel bars embedded in it. Concrete is an affordable material, which is extensively used throughout in the infrastructure of nation’s construction, industry, transportation, defense, utility, and residential sector. The flexibility and mould ability of this material, its high compressive strength, and the discovery of the reinforcing and prestressing techniques which helped to make up for its low tensile strength have contributed largely to its widespread use.

     Reinforced concrete structures often have to face modification and improvement of their performance during their service life. In such circumstances there are two possible solutions. The first is replacement and the other is retrofitting. Full structure replacement might have determinate disadvantages such as high costs for material and labour, a stronger environmental impact and inconvenience due to interruption of the function of the structure e.g. traffic problems. So if possible, it is often better to repair or upgrade the structure by retrofitting. Retrofitting methods is shown in figure 2.1.1. In recent years repair and retrofit of existing structures such as buildings, bridges, etc., have been quite prevalent among the most important challenges in Civil Engineering. 

II.  Methodology and experimental program

This study is mainly material collection, material testing, mix design casting of cubes At last the final stage the, compressive strength, tensile strength and flexural strength tests were conducted.

For more Information Click Here

Development of ANN and AFIS Models for Age Prediction of in-Service Transformer Oil samples

Paper Title:- Development of ANN and AFIS Models for Age Predictionof in-Service Transformer Oil Samples

Author Name:- Mohammad Aslam Ansari 

Department of Electrical Engineering 

Abstract:- Power transformer is one of the most important and expensive equipment in electrical network. The transformer oil is a very important component of power transformers. It has twin functions of cooling as well as insulation. The oil properties like viscosity, specific gravity, flash point, oxidation stability, total acid number, breakdown voltage, dissipation factor, volume resistivity and dielectric constant suffer a change with respect to time. Hence it is necessary that the oil condition be monitored regularly to predict, if possible, the remaining lifetime of the transformer oil, from time to time. Six properties such as moisture content, resistivity, tan delta, interfacial tension and flash point have been considered. The data for the six properties with respect to age, in days, has been taken from literature, whereby samples of ten working power transformers of 16 to 20 MVA installed at different substations in Punjab, India have been considered. This paper aims at developing ANN and ANFIS models for predicting the age of in-service transformer oil samples. Both the the models use the six properties as inputs and age as target. ANN (Artificial Neural Network) model uses a multi-layer feedforward network employing back propagation algorithm, and ANFIS (Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System) model is based on Sugeno model. The two models have been simulated for estimating the age of unknown transformer oil samples taken from generator transformers of Anpara Thermal Power Project in state of U.P. India. A comparative analysis of the two models has been made whereby ANFIS model has been found to yield better results than ANN model.     

Keywords: ANN, ANFIS, Power Transformer, Regression, Performance, Backpropagation Algorithm   

I.         Introduction

Power transformer is one of the most important constituent of electrical power system. The transformer oil, a very important ingredient of power transformers, acts as a heat transfer fluid and also serves the purpose of electrical insulation. Its insulating property is subjected to the degradation because of the ageing, high temperature, electrical stress and other chemical reactions. Hence it is necessary that the oil condition be monitored regularly. This will help to predict, if possible, the in-service period or remaining lifetime of the transformer oil, from time to time.

       There are several characteristics which can be measured to assess the present condition of the oil. The main oil characteristics are broadly classified as physical, chemical and electrical characteristics; some of these are viscosity, specific gravity, flash point, oxidation stability, total acid number, breakdown voltage, dissipation factor, volume resistivity and dielectric constant. There exists a co-relation among some of the oil properties and suffer a change in their values with respect to time [2]. This variation of oil properties with respect to time has been utilised to develop the two models as said earlier

      The training data for the proposed work have been obtained from literature, whereby ten working transforms of 16 to 20 MVA, 66/11 KV installed at different substations in the state of Punjab, India have been considered. The six properties of transformer oil such as breakdown voltage (BDV), moisture, resistivity, tan delta, interfacial tension and flash point have been considered as inputs and age as target. Test data have been taken from generator transformers of 250 MVA, 15.75kV/400kV from Anpara Thermal Power Project in state of U. P., India.

II.     “Ann” and “Anfis” methods

It is known that classical models need linear data for their processing, therefore models like ANN and ANFIS that are based on soft computing techniques, play an important role for solving these kinds of non-linear problems.

        Neural networks exhibit characteristics such as mapping capabilities or pattern association, generalization, robustness, fault tolerance, parallel and high speed processing. Neural networks can be trained with known examples of a problem to acquire knowledge about it. Once trained successfully, the network can be put to effective use in solving unknown or untrained instances of the problem. ANN model which uses multilayer feed forward network is based on back propagation (BP) learning algorithm of neural network. Backpropagation gives very good answers when presented with inputs never seen before. This property of generalization makes it possible to train a network on giving set of input-target pairs and get good output.

For More Information Click Here

A Time Domain Reference-Algorithm for Shunt Active Power Filters

A Time Domain Reference-Algorithm for Shunt Active Power Filters

Author Name:- Prof. Sumita D Chakrabortty

Abstract:- The aim of this paper is to identify an optimum control strategy of three-phase shunt active filters to minimize the total harmonic distortion factor of the supply current Power Quality (PQ) is an important measure of an electrical power system. The term PQ means to maintain purely sinusoidal current wave form in phase with a purely sinusoidal voltage wave form. The power generated at the generating station is purely sinusoidal in nature. The deteriorating quality of electric power is mainly because of current and voltage harmonics due to wide spread application of static power electronics converters, zero and negative sequence components originated by the use of single phase and unbalanced loads, reactive power, voltage sag, voltage swell, flicker, voltage interruption etc. The simulation and the experimental results of the shunt active filter, along with the estimated value of reduction in rating, show that the shunt filtering system is quite effective in compensating for the harmonics and reactive power, in addition to being cost-effective.   

Keywords: Shunt voltage inverter APF, Time domain, instantaneous active power, carrier based PWM, Control strategy etc.

I.     Introduction

The wide use of power devices (based on semi-conductor switches) in power electronic appliances (diode and thyristor rectifiers, electronic starters, UPS and HVDC systems, arc furnaces, etc…) induces the appearance of the dangerous phenomenon of harmonic currents flow in the electrical feeder networks, producing distortions in the current/voltage waveforms. As a result, harmful consequences occur: equipment overheating, malfunction of solid-state material, interferences with telecommunication systems, etc... Damping harmonics devices must be investigated when the distortion rate exceeds the thresholds fixed by the ICE 61000 and IEEE 519 standards. For a long time, tuned LC and high pass shunt passive filters were adopted as a viable harmonics cancellation solution.

II.    Shunt active filtering algorithms

The control algorithm used to generate the reference compensation signals for the active power filter determines its effectiveness. The control scheme derives the compensation signals using voltage and/or current signals sensed from the system. The control algorithm may be based on frequency domain techniques or time domain techniques. In frequency domain, the compensation signals are computed using Fourier analysis of the input voltage/current signals. In time domain, the instantaneous values of the compensation voltages/currents are derived from the sensed values of input signals. There are a large number of control algorithms in time domain such as the instantaneous PQ algorithm, synchronous detection algorithm, synchronous reference frame algorithm and DC bus voltage algorithm. The instantaneous PQ algorithm by Akagi  is based on Park’s transformation of input voltage and current signals from which instantaneous active and reactive powers are calculated to arrive at the compensation signals. This scheme is most widely used because of its fast dynamic response but gives inaccurate results under distorted and asymmetrical source conditions.

For  More Information Click Here