This issue of Structures and Buildings consists of six technical papers. Research investigations concerning high-strength beams, demountable reinforced concrete slabs, blast resistance and retrofitting of reinforced concrete columns, building information modelling (BIM), and seismic behaviour of bridges are covered.
The first paper by Ellobody (2024) discusses web slenderness effects on the flexural behaviour of high-strength steel I-beams with a channel section connected on its top flange using an epoxy adhesive. A parametric analysis was carried out based on a numerical model developed in Abaqus ® software calibrated against experimental tests. The obtained failure bending moment was compared with the predicted by the European code. An unconservative and statistically unreliable design was observed for the investigated epoxy adhesive-bonded compound beams when the European code was used.
In the second paper by Almahmood et al. (2024), the authors presented an experimental investigation of a new dry connection for reinforced concrete slab elements comprising seven full-scale slabs. The test results showed that using a shear key at the assembled section in demountable slabs was more efficient than the simple bolted connection, providing higher flexural stiffness, greater load capacity and less deflection. Moreover, an increase in the flexural performance of reinforced concrete slabs was also observed. Finally, the predictions of the bending moment and deflection of the demountable slabs using the proposed equations also showed good agreement with the experimental results.
The following paper (Eshaghi-Milasi et al., 2024) includes an investigation of the eccentric load behaviour of circular reinforced concrete columns strengthened with novel engineered cementitious composite jackets reinforced with synthetic macro-fibres and polypropylene. A total of twelve tests were carried out. The authors concluded that ECC-jacketed columns confined with FRP wraps recorded enhancements of 301% and 192% in energy dissipation and load-carrying capacity, respectively, compared to the reference ones. Therefore, strengthening the columns using ECC and FRP jackets simultaneously can be a suitable option for retrofitting damaged columns in practice.
In the fourth paper, the investigation developed by Anjani and Kumar (2024) concerned the influence of transverse rebar detailing on the ultimate capacity and failure modes of rectangular reinforced concrete (RC) columns against blast loads under different detonation scenarios. The authors concluded that a reduction in transverse rebar spacing is not always accompanied by an enhancement in blast resistance, which also depends on the detonation scenario and the associated failure mode. An enhancement in the ultimate capacity of the column with closer ties was achieved only when axial restraint was imposed by fixity or axial load.
In the fifth paper, the investigation developed by Aslam and Umar (2024) concerned the development of an automated code compliance (ACC) checking process using building information modelling (BIM). The drawbacks of manual code compliance were assessed through a review of the existing system, which was confirmed by 15 interviews with officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in Pakistan. The newly developed ACC system with BIM integration reduced the time involved from 1 week to 6 h, and customers were concerned about the additional expense of engaging an architect to develop a complete set of BIM models.
The last paper by Hosseini et al. (2024) looked at a probabilistic platform to investigate the effect of random scouring on the seismic performance of an existing multi-span reinforced concrete bridge. The Monte Carlo simulation technique is utilised to generate samples of the random variables of the scour model to develop the scour hazard curve. The authors pointed out that the scouring pattern is one of the most crucial sources of uncertainty. In most circumstances, uniform scour scenarios are more effective than the average of non-uniform cases. However, in some specific patterns, the effect of non-uniform scouring is dominant.
The Editor would like to thank all the authors, reviewers and readers, and discussions on any of these papers are welcome.
