CHANDRASHEKHAR LAKAVATH
Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow
PMRF Research Fellow
Research Interest
Ultra High-Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC)
Fiber Reinforced Concrete Structure
Shear Study of Prestressed Concrete Beams
Fatigue Behavior of Railway Sleepers
Fracture Behavior of Concrete
Structural Health Monitoring of Bridges
Acoustic Emission
Fire behavior of concrete structures
Research Activities
Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete
Development of UHPFRC concrete using locally available materials in India
Posters on UHPFRC for GPSS-ISU conference
Development of Non-Proprietary UHPC and Its Cost Optimization for Bridge Girders Applications
The utilization of ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) in the construction industry is growing quickly because of its exceptional mechanical and durability characteristics. However, the high initial cost of the UHPC mix restricts its implementation in many areas. Therefore, it is crucial to develop non-proprietary UHPC to reduce the cost. Though several studies in the past have focused on UHPFRC girders, understanding web reinforcement requirements in the case of a 2% fiber-reinforced specimen need to be understood. Similarly, reducing fiber to 1% volume fraction reduces cost, and it needs to understand the web reinforcement requirement in this case. To address these questions, eight post-tensioned I-shaped UHPFRC girders are tested at a span-to-depth ratio of 1.6 to evaluate the minimum web shear reinforcement requirements. Parameters of this study include (i) volume fraction of fibers (1% and 2%), (ii) type of fibers (Straight, combination of hooked and straight), and (iii) minimum web shear reinforcement ratio of 0.3% and 0.6%. Experimental findings indicate that UHPFRC girders tested at low a/d ratios do not require minimum web shear reinforcement for enhancing strength. However, a minimum web reinforcement is necessary for crack opening resistance at service loads. Per existing code recommendations, the serviceable load limits are between 30% and 40% of their ultimate load. Adding 0.6% web shear reinforcement and 1.0% hybrid fibers can reduce the crack opening at the ultimate load from 2.9 mm to 1.4 mm. However, reducing the fiber volume fraction from 2.0% to 1.0% decreases the ultimate load and increases crack opening at the ultimate. Girders reinforced with a minimum volume fraction of 1.0% and web shear reinforcement ratios of 0.3% and 0.6% were compared to girders with 2.0% of steel fibers. Experimental results show that girders with 1.0% hybrid fibers and web shear reinforcement ratio of 0.6% performed similarly to ones reinforced with straight steel fibers of 2% Vf. Measurement of principal compression and tensile strains of all tested beams confirmed that they failed in shear tension mode.
Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) & Self Consolidating Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SC-FRC)
SC-FRC Deep beams
Light Weight Hollowcore Slabs
Structural Health Monitoring using Acoustic Emission Technique & DIC techniques
Fire performance of concrete structures
Hollow core slab subjected to ISO fire loading
Computational modelling
Analytical modelling for shear
Research Publications
Journal Papers
J11. C. Lakavath, and S S. Prakash (2024). Interface Shear behavior of Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete using Digital Image Correlation Technique. Journal of materials in Civil Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1061/JMCEE7.MTENG-1681
J10. Lakavath C, Prakash S.S., 2023. Influence of fiber dosage, fiber type, and level of prestressing on the shear behaviour of UHPFRC I-girders. Engineering Structures. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2023.117146
J9. Lakavath C, Prakash S.S, Allena S.,2023. Tensile Characteristics of Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete with and without Longitudinal Steel Rebars. Magazine of concrete research. https://doi.org/10.1680/jmacr.23.00181
J8. Sagi M S V, Lakavath C, Prakash S S., 2022. Effect of steel fibers on the shear behavior of Self-Compacting reinforced concrete deep Beams: An experimental investigation and analytical model. Engineering Structures, 269: 114802.
J7. Lakavath, C., Bhosale, A. B., Prakash, S. S.; Sharma, A. 2022. Effectiveness of Hybrid Fibers on the Fracture and Shear Behavior of Prestressed Concrete Beams. Fibers, 10(3), 26.
J6. Sagi, M.S.V.; Lakavath, C.; Prakash, S.S.; Sharma, 2021. Experimental Study on Evaluation of Replacing Minimum Web Reinforcement with Discrete Fibers in RC Deep Beams. Fibers, 9, 73. https://doi.org/10.3390/fib9110073
J5. Lakavath C, Sagi M.S.V, Joshi S.S., Prakash S.S., 2021. Finite element studies on the flexure-shear behaviour of steel and hybrid fibre reinforced prestressed concrete beams. Indian Concrete Journal. Vol.95, No.1,pp.1-14.
J4. Lakavath, C., Prakash, S. S., & Dirar, S. 2021. Experimental and numerical studies on shear behaviour of macro-synthetic fibre reinforced prestressed concrete beams. Construction and Building Materials, 291, 123313.
J3. Sahoo, S., Lakavath, C., & Prakash, S. S. 2021. Experimental and Analytical Studies on Fracture Behavior of Fiber-Reinforced Structural Lightweight Aggregate Concrete. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 33(5), 04021074.
J2. Bhosale, A. B., Lakavath, C., & Prakash, S. S. 2020. Multi-linear tensile stress-crack width relationships for hybrid fibre reinforced concrete using inverse analysis and digital image correlation. Engineering Structures, 225, 111275.
J1. Lakavath, C., Joshi, S.S. and Prakash, S.S., 2019. Investigation of the effect of steel fibers on the shear crack-opening and crack-slip behavior of prestressed concrete beams using digital image correlation. Engineering Structures, 193, pp.28-42.
Patents
PT1. Lakavath C., SS Prakash, S. RanjithkumarA, S.Allena, 2023. Method to Produce
an Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete. Indian Patent (Filed).
Book chapters
B2. Lakavath, C., Bhosale, A. and Prakash, S.S., 2020. Experimental Investigation on Crack-Arresting Mechanism of Steel Fibre-Reinforced Concrete Prism Specimens Using DIC and AE Techniques. In Advances in Structural Engineering (pp. 51-65). Springer, Singapore.
B1. Lakavath, C., Allam, R., & Kondraivendhan, B. (2019). Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Behaviour of Broad-Gauge Railway Sleepers in Static Bending Condition. In Sustainable Construction and Building Materials (pp. 781-792). Springer, Singapore.
International Conferences
C3. Lakavath,C.,& Prakash,S.S. (2022). Shear behavior of Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams: A Numerical Investigation. 76th RILEM Week-Kyoto.
C2. Sagi, M.S.V., Lakavath,C.,& Prakash,S.S. (2021). Numerical Investigation on Minimum Web-Reinforcement Provisions in Reinforced Concrete Deep Beams Using ABAQUS. 17th World conference on earthquake engineering -Japan
C1. Lakavath C, Pidapa V, Joshi SS, & Prakash SS, Kondraivendhan B. (2018) “Shear behavior steel fiber reinforced precast prestressed concrete beams” Proceedings of ICCMS, Hyderabad, India.
Poster Presentations
Lakavath,C., Sagi, M.S.V., & Prakash,S.S. (2021). Effect of Steel Vs Macro-Synthetic Fiber on Shear Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Deep Beams' 75th RILEM Conference.
Lakavath C, & Prakash SS., 2019 “Role of Hybrid Fibres in Crack Arresting Mechanism of Notched Beams” 5th CRI Symposium at IIT Madras (Sep 14th,2019).
Awards
RILEM best student poster award at the 75th RILEM Annual Week on 'Effect of Steel Vs Macro-Synthetic Fiber on Shear behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Deep Beams' at Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León, Mexico.
Bagged Best research work award in PG-Research presentation at INTER-IIT meet-up (CIVIL CONCLAVE 2020)-exclusive for civil engineering students organized by IIT Roorkee. (Annoucement Video)
First prize in the PG-Research presentation at INTER-IIT meet-up (CIVIL conclave 2021) organized by the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee-India
First prize in the PG-Research presentation at INTER-IIT meet-up (CIVIL conclave 2020) organized by the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee-India
Second prize in the Paper-presentation at the technical fest organized by Bomma College of Engineering & Technology (Bomma premier league 2k14)
Second prize in the JUNK-YARD at technical fest organized by JNTUH College of Engineering Manthani (aavishkruth-2K14).
First prize in the paper presentation at the technical fest organized by Sindhura College of Engineering & Technology(2k13)
First prize in the Model-making competition at the technical fest organized by JNTUH College of Engineering Manthani (aavishkruth-2K13)
Field Experience
Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) & Self Consolidating Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SC-FRC)