RESUMEN
Double lap adhesive connections made of Sika® PS and Monolith EP2579-1 were studied experimentally in shear tests. The destructive shear tests were conducted under a quasi-static load at 20 °C and 80 °C. The aim was to study the impact of elevated temperature on the load capacity of the joint and make a comparative analysis of the results for two types of adhesives: polyurethane Sika® PS (flexible) and epoxy Monolit EP 2579-1 (rigid). The impact of adhesive layer thickness (t = 1, 2 and 4 mm) on the structural response of the joint was tested in two temperature ranges. A distinct impact of the temperature on the joint deformability was noticed. A visual assessment of the joint failure was performed and the initiation and form of failure was described. At 20 °C, the ultimate loading for epoxy adhesive joint depending on the joint thickness (t) was greater than for the polyurethane joint by, respectively, 282% for t = 1 mm, 88% for t = 2 mm and 279% for t = 4 mm. It was proved that the temperature increases to 80 °C in case of both adhesives reduces the mean destructive force in comparison with the measurements made at 20 °C. For the Sika® PS (PUR two-component polyurethane) adhesive, the greatest load capacity decrease was measured for the joint of thickness t = 2 mm (55%), and in case of the epoxy adhesive for the joint of thickness t = 4 mm (89%). It was found that after reaching the destructive force the flexible joints retain a partial load capacity contrary to the rigid joints.
RESUMEN
It is a common situation that seismic excitations may lead to collisions between adjacent civil engineering structures. This phenomenon, called earthquake-induced structural pounding, may result in serious damage or even the total collapse of the colliding structures. Filling the gap between two buildings erected close to one another by using visco-elastic materials can be considered to be one of the most effective methods to avoid seismic pounding. In this paper, a new polymer-metal composite material made of polyurethane and closed-cell aluminum foam is proposed as a pounding energy absorber for protection against earthquake hazards. The composite was created in two versions, with and without an adhesive interface. A series of experiments which reflect the conditions of seismic collision were performed: quasi-static compression, dynamic uniaxial compression and low-cycle dynamic compression with 10 loops of unloading at 10% strain. The composite material's behavior was observed and compared with respect to uniform material specimens: polymer and metal foam. The experimental results showed that the maximum energy absorption efficiency in the case of the new material with the bonding layer was improved by 34% and 49% in quasi-static and dynamic conditions, respectively, in comparison to a sole polymer bumper. Furthermore, the newly proposed composites dissipated from 35% to 44% of the energy absorbed in the cyclic procedure, whereas the polymer specimen dissipated 25%. The capacity of the maintenance of the dissipative properties throughout the complete low-cycle loading was also satisfactory: it achieved an additional 100% to 300% of the energy dissipated in the first loading-unloading loop.
RESUMEN
The behaviour of reinforced concrete frames with masonry wall infills is influenced a lot by the stiffness and strength difference between the frame and the infill, causing early detrimental damage to the infill or to the critical concrete columns. The paper reports the results from shake table seismic tests on a full-scale reinforced concrete (RC) frame building with modified hollow clay block (orthoblock brick) infill walls, within INMASPOL SERA Horizon 2020 project. The building received innovative resilient protection using Polyurethane Flexible Joints (PUFJs) made of polyurethane resin (PU), applied at the frame-infill interface in different schemes. Further, PUs were used for bonding of glass fibre grids to the weak masonry substrate to form Fibre Reinforced Polyurethanes (FRPUs) as an emergency repair intervention. The test results showed enhancement in the in-plane and out-of-plane infill performance under seismic excitations. The results confirmed remarkable delay of significant infill damages at very high RC frame inter-story drifts as a consequence of the use of PUFJs. Further, the PUFJ protection enabled the resilient repair of the infill even after very high inter-story drift of the structure up to 3.7%. The applied glass FRPU system efficiently protected the damaged infills against collapse under out-of-plane excitation while they restored large part of their in-plane stiffness.