The knowledge contained in Computer Applications in Concrete Technology will prove invaluable. This symposium volume of 10 papers will provide you with the information you need to build high-quality, cost efficient structures. Presenting various practical applications of computer technology, the topics covered include: computer analysis of time-dependent behavior of continuous precast prestressed bridges; substructure modeling of two-way slab systems; an automatic quantitative image analysis system for cement and concrete research; maintenance and implementation of an expert system for durable concrete; and prediction of shear failure in concrete structures using nonlinear finite element analysis. Other subjects covered include: a three-dimensional stability analysis/ design computer program for concrete monolithic structures; and a programming environment for structural engineering applications based on interactive computer graphics." Note: The individual papers are also available as .pdf downloads.. Please click on the following link to view the papers available, or call 248.848.3800 to order. SP106

Computers are becoming a day-to-day tool in the Corps of Engineers design offices for analyzing and designing concrete structures. These structures vary from specialized hydraulic structures, such as locks and dams, to conventional retaining walls and buildings. The Corps uses both general purpose, as well as special purpose, computer programs for the design/analysis of these structures. Many of the special purpose programs are developed under a very successful project called Computer-Aided Structural Engineering (CASE). The Corps is also active in performing research toward developing ideal engineering workstations for design engineers using microcomputers as tools. Some of the Corps' activities in these areas are highlighted.

At the 1986 winter Meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, the National Society of Professional Engineers, decided to study the possibility of an electronic bulletin board system (BBS) being installed at our headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The purpose of the board was to provide a national communication link for the engineers in the society, who number around 75,000. The project manager of construction of computer applications was given the task of further defining the goals of the system evaluating alternative systems, making the selection, and following the project through installation and complete implimentation. In order to learn more about how bulletin boards functioned, a commodore 64 was taken from the office and fitted with a modem (an acronym for modulator/demodular) a device which concerts digital data into audio tones suitable for transmission over regular telephone lines and bulletin boards in south Florida area were called. Whyat was found out there was quite interesting for the most part, it's like the work of the Cber's with a lot of chatter, exotic names (handles), jokes, meaningless messages, and just general fun, but upon further explanation a more serious element was found. A few of the boards contacted were doing real work, some dedicated to a particular computer system, such as a heathkit IBM, commodore, etc. and others dedicated to such objects as computer communications, radio and television graphics, music, religion, and serious discussion of just about everything imaginable. The seboard shadusersand sysops (System Operators) that were helping each other in a way we had never envisioned before

A brief overview of current research undertaken on computer-aided design of reinforced concrete is presented. The following research projects, related to concrete structures, are briefly discussed: 1) interactive graphics optimum design of reinforced concrete frames; 2) interactive graphics optimization-based design of partially prestressed concrete beams; 3) hybrid design program for the design of reinforced concrete frames; and 4) usage of expert systems as quality assurance programs for the design of reinforced concrete to check their compliance with all the appropriate ACI Building Code provisions.

The complex factors that influence behavior and strength of concrete components failing in shear pose serious obstacles to the use of traditional linearly elastic analysis techniques. However, recent developments in the application of nonlinear finite element methods and in modeling nonlinear material properties have allowed the development of a computer model to effectively analyze complex nonlinear situations. The model includes material laws representing the full inelastic response of concrete cracking and crushing (including effects of triaxial confinement) and the yielding of reinforcing steel bars. This computer model is verified using data from a test program involving nine reinforced concrete shear-sensitive beams of varying dimensions and span-to-depth ratios. Calculated and measured failure modes, deflection and cracking patterns, and ultimate capacities corresponded well in all of the beams compared. A computer program based on the verified model has been used by the authors in several applications to predict ultimate capacity and failure modes for complex systems of walls, beams, and slabs. One such application, the prediction of shear strength in the reinforced concrete ice walls of an offshore concrete gravity-based structure, is discussed in detail.