The patents in the introduction of reinforced concrete in Spain: "Alhondiga de Bilbao" case study

Reinforced concrete structures are introduced in Spain mainly by French influence. This happens in the late nineteenth century, following the scheme operating through proprietary systems prevailing in Europe. Systems initially have poor scientific support reaching, even early twentieth century, an impediment to the development of concrete structures, due to the lack of knowledge shown, as well as due to a series of accidents. Therefore, from the end of the first decade of the past century are enacted a series of regulations in many countries, that will change the design and calculation of reinforced concrete structure. The knowledge of the environment of the patent systems, its beginnings and the circumstances of their application allow us to understand the constraints of the early concrete structures, as presented in the Bilbao wine store (1906).

La utilización del acero inoxidable en estructuras de hormigón armado en edificación.

[ES]El hormigón, y más concretamente las armaduras de hormigón, son usadas a diario en múltiples lugares. Estas armaduras son utilizadas en diversas estructuras, de las cuales se espera una duración relativamente larga; aún así, en ciertos ambientes, ciertos agentes, tales como el dióxido de carbono o los cloruros, consiguen atravesar el hormigón alcanzando las armaduras y reducir el pH del hormigón hasta el punto que el acero del interior queda despasivado. A partir de aquí, y debido mayormente al oxígeno, el acero se corroe, reduciendo drásticamente la vida de dichas armaduras y, por tanto, de las estructuras. Debido a esto, la utilización de armaduras de acero inoxidable, en lugar de las típicas de acero al carbono, está cobrando fuerza, a pesar de su mayor coste inicial. Su mayor resistencia a la corrosión en ambientes agresivos convierte al acero inoxidable en una opción a tener en cuenta para prolongar la vida de las estructuras que se encuentran en estos ambientes. En este trabajo se han comparado ambos tipos de aceros, en dos tipos de secciones diferentes, resaltando las ventajas e inconvenientes de cada uno de ellos, mayormente centrándose en la resistencia y el coste que tiene cada uno de ellos. Los resultados demuestran que el acero inoxidable supone una ventaja considerable en algunos ámbitos de uso, a pesar de que en otros el acero al carbono siga siendo más viable. A pesar de esto, queda claro que la evolución ascendente del uso de armaduras de acero inoxidable está de sobra justificada.

Plastic Analysis and Testing of multidirectional SFRC flag slabs

This paper presents a theoretical and experimental study of multidirectional steel fibers reinforced concrete slabs (SFRC). The study is based on a real building application using SFRC flag slabs. For the evaluation of the slabs bearing capacity, plastic calculations are performed both at section and structure levels. The section analysis uses the perfect plastic stress-strain diagram, with reference to the values of the strength characteristics of SFRC based on previous jobs that used similar fibers and dosages. In the structure analysis the plastic yield lines method has been used. This method relates the section last bearing moment and the plastic collapse load. The experimental campaign has consisted of the testing of six 2 m. diameter circular shaped slabs prototypes, and has allowed to verify the reference resistance used in the calculations.

Optimization study of the structural HACFRA composition (Self Compacting Concrete Steel Fiber Reinforced)

The interest of HACFRA (self compacting concrete reinforced with steel fibers), is the combination of the residual strength increase and cracking decrease compared to plain concrete by the introduction of steel fibers in the mass with the advantages of the self-compacting. The paper presents an analysis of the influence of different components of the HACRFA and provides their selection, refered to the granular skeleton and to different steel fiber types and amount, in order to obtain an optimization of its features and structural behavior.