Abstract
The construction industry is responsible for much of the global resource depletion and greenhouse gas emissions. New methods are needed to significantly reduce resources and emissions associated with load-bearing structural elements. Conventional floor slabs embody up to 50% of the total structural mass in buildings to satisfy deflection limits and provide the required bending stiffness. Significant mass savings can be achieved by reducing actively the deflection response against loading using sensors and actuators. Fluidic actuators have been therefore developed to be embedded in the compression region of reinforced concrete slabs under bending action. Through the controlled expansion of such fluidic actuators, deflections and stresses caused by vertical loads are reduced within the required limits. This paper offers a benchmark study evaluating the effect of actuator placement and actuation forces for two different objectives: reduction of displacements and reduction of bending moments. A method to fulfil both objectives simultaneously has also been investigated. Depending on the direction of the actuation forces caused by pressurized regions within the cross-section of the slab, there are two main actuation modes: uniaxial and biaxial. Results show that the efficacy of uni- and biaxial actuation modes depend on the control objective. To compensate for displacements and moments simultaneously, biaxial actuation is most effective and requires the lowest actuation forces.
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