Paper number 254

FERROCEMENT WATER TANKS: NUMERICAL ANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

Moita, G.F1, Las Casas, E.B2, Mantilla Carrasco, E.V.2 and Bonifácio, S.N.3

1 Department of Research and Postgraduate Studies, CEFET/MG,
Av. Amazonas, 7675, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
2 Department of Structural Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais,
Av. do Contorno 842, segundo andar, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
3 COPASA/MG, Companhia de Saneamento do Estado de Minas Gerais,
Rua Mar de Espanha, 453, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

Summary The present work describes experimental and numerical tests for a 750000-litre ferrocement tank, part of the water treatment facility in Divinópolis, Brazil, in an attempt to further understand the mechanical behaviour of this low cost composite material in Sanitary Engineering applications. Aspects of the construction technique and its implications in the overall final structural response are discussed. Different finite element models have been used for the analysis in order to evaluate the effect of some adopted simplifications. A comparison of the investigated approaches is made, including remarks on the use of different constitutive material properties, homogenisation techniques and accuracy of the modelling data. Some experimental results, described in this paper, are used to access the accuracy of the models.
Keywords ferrocement, finite elements, in-situ instrumentation, water supply facility, low cost material.

Theme : Industrial Applications ; Civil Engineering and Building Applications

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