Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 5(7): 547-556, 2011
ISSN 1991-8178
The Study of the Effects of Web Openings on the Concrete Beams
Soroush Amiri, Reza Masoudnia and Ali Akbar Pabarja
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built
Environment,Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract: This paper aims to review the results of previous research studies on precast and prestressed
beams, T-beams, deep beams, and rectangular concrete beams with web openings. The behavior of
both reinforced concrete beams with rectangular and circular openings and precast beams with
rectangular and circular openings was investigated. The effects of the size and location of the openings
on the behavior of such beams are examined and the strengths of these openings are explored as well.
This paper accordingly reviews and describes the previous researches which are related to the
openings in the concrete beams.
Key words: web openings, concrete beam, prestressed beam, deflection.
INTRODUCTION
Passing utility services through opening in the floor beam webs minimizes the required storey height (see
Figure 1). For small buildings, the savings thus achieved may not be significant, but for multistory buildings,
any saving in story height multiplied by the number of stories can represent a substantial saving in total height,
length of air-conditioning and electrical ducts, plumbing risers, walls and partition surfaces, and overall load
on the foundation. Story heights in buildings can be reduced and a slight reduction in concrete beams weight
would improve the demand on the supporting frame both under gravity loading and seismic excitation resulting
in major cost savings. As a result, the ceiling may be attached directly to the underside of the floor.
There are also a large number of studies dealing with the effects of opening on the T-beams, precast
beams and deep beams; however, very limited results have been reported on rectangular beams with web
opening. Because of the limited depth of the rectangular RC beams and importance of introducing the opening
in these beams, objective of this study is discussing and describing the previous researches which are related
to these kinds of openings in the concrete beams.
Reinforced Concrete Beams with Rectangular Openings:
According to Somes and Corley (1974) and Mansur (1996), a circular opening is large when its diameter
exceeds 0.25 times the depth of the web because these openings reduce the strength of the beam. Figure 2
represents the simply supported concrete beam subjected to the distributed load with the large opening and the
local forces and moments acting in the chord members are shown in the free-body diagram of Figure 3.
Fig. 1: Concrete beams with circular opening (Vladimir Cervenka).
Corresponding Author: Soroush Amiri Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built
Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia. Tel: +60142616152.
E-mail: [email protected].
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Fig. 2: Simply supported concrete beam subjected to the distributed load with the large opening in shear zone
(Mansur, 1998)
Fig. 3: Forces acting in the chord members (Mansur, 1998).
The global moment, Mu, at the centre of opening is resisted by the normal stress resultants in the two
chords. The global shear, Vu, is also shared by the shear stresses developed in the two chords. Based on test
data reports by Somes and Corley (1974), when a small opening is introduced in the web of a beam,
unreinforced in shear, the mode of failure remains essentially the same as that of a solid beam. However, as
the opening represents a source of weakness, the failure plane always passes through the opening, except when
the opening is very close to the support so as to bypass the potential inclined failure plane.
Salam (1977) carried out a study on perforated beams of rectangular cross section tested under two
symmetrical point loads. His study aimed at developing a suitable reinforcement scheme in order to restore the
strength to the level of a corresponding solid beam. To eliminate the weakness due to the provision of opening,
short stirrups in the members both above and below the opening seem vital. He also concluded that
longitudinal reinforcement above and below the opening and full depth stirrups by its sides are necessary. He
noted that when sufficient reinforcement is provided to prevent a failure along a diagonal crack passing through
the centre of the opening and traversing the entire depth, then the failure is precipitated at the minimum
section. According to Somes and Corley's (1974) design philosophy, bending moment and shear force are
treated separately. First, a section subjected to combined bending and shear is designed for bending. Then, the
longitudinal reinforcement is taken into account in the design of transverse reinforcement for shear because
it indirectly helps the shear resistance. In fact, the total resistance to shear is considered to be supplied by two
components, concrete and transverse reinforcement.
Mansur et al., (1991) carried out an experimental study to investigate eight reinforced concrete continuous
beams, each containing a large transverse opening. All the beams contained the same amount and arrangement
of longitudinal reinforcement and they were rectangular in cross section. The major variables were the number
of spans, the size of opening, and its location along the span. They pointed out that the existing methods for
ultimate strength design can be applied only to simply supported beams where bending moment and shear force
distributions are uniquely defined. Considering continuous beams, reduction in stiffness due to the presence
of openings causes a redistribution of internal forces and moments, the amount of which needs to be properly
evaluated to achieve a satisfactory design. Moreover, the calculation of deflections is influenced by such
redistributions. Figure 4 containing a typical curve shows four distinctly different stages of behavior.
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Fig. 4: Load versus Maximum Deflection Curves (Mansur et al., 1991).
Furthermore, Mansur et al., (1991) made an attempt to identify a hinge on the basis of visual observation
of the extent of cracking, measured steel strains, and the load-curvature relationships obtained for the critical
sections. Due to the rapid growth of cracks at the formation of a plastic hinge, visual observation provides an
approximate indication of hinge formation. Generally, yielding of steel provides the attainment of ultimate
moment capacity at which the corresponding load-curvature relationship becomes flat. These conditions
represent that the two ends of the opening are the most vulnerable locations for hinge formation but the
location of opening influences the load-deflection response. Similarly, the location of the opening does not
affect the mode of collapse but it has no effect on the collapse load. In fact, openings along the span which
are located at a relatively high-moment region lead to a smaller collapse load. The test results showed that the
depth of the opening influenced the behavior and strength of the beams to some extent similar to the effect
of the opening length. Deeper openings led to both early cracking and early yielding of reinforcement; hence,
the stiffness of the beam decreased and Vierendeel action became more pronounced. All beams failed in a
similar mode; however, the load at collapse decreased as the opening depth was increased. The results of
Mansur et al.,'s (1991) study indicated that an increase in the opening depth from 140 mm to 220 mm led to
a reduction in collapse load from 240 KN to 180 KN. All in all, the following conclusions can be drawn from
their study:
1. The final failure of a continuous beam happens by the formation of a mechanism.
2. The two opening ends are the most vulnerable locations for the development of plastic hinges.
3. The increase of length or depth of the opening leads to early cracking of a beam, produces larger
deflections, or gives more pronounced Vierendeel action. In general, by the increase of opening size, the
load at collapse decreases but it does not affect the collapse mode.
4. The location of openings along the span has very little effect on the cracking load; however, openings
located in a relatively high-moment region lead to larger deflections and smaller collapse loads. The mode
of collapse and deflections due to Vierendeel action remain virtually unaffected by the location of opening.
Mansur (1998) examined the influence of introducing a transverse opening on the behavior and strength
of reinforced concrete beams under predominant shear. Siao and Yap's (1990) tests indicated that the beams
fail prematurely by sudden formation of a diagonal crack in the compression chord when no additional
reinforcement is given to the members above and below the opening (chord members). The experimental
observations of the effects of introducing an opening on the overall response of a beam are summarized as
follows:
Introduction of an opening in the web of a beam causes early diagonal cracking and the load at first crack
decreases with an increase in either the length or depth of the opening.
Unless additional reinforcement is provided to restrict the growth of cracks, the opening corners have
tendency to show wide cracking.
Provided that the same amount and scheme of reinforcement is employed, an increase in the opening size
decreases the strength as well as stiffness of the beam. However, the eccentricity of the opening has a very
little influence on both strength and stiffness of the beam.
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The chord members above and below the opening behave to some extent similar to the chords of a
vierendeel panel with contra-flexure points located approximately at mid-span of the chords. As it is shown
in Figure 5, the final failure occurs by a mechanism formation containing four hinges in the chords, one at
each corner of the opening.
Fig. 5: The mechanism formation containing four hinges in the chords (Mansur, 1998).
Based on Figure 5, it can be pointed out that these hinges form in the chord members at a distance h/2
from the vertical faces of the opening, where h is the overall depth of a chord member, and the subscript t
and b refer to the top and bottom chords, respectively. Hence, large and small openings can be defined as the
follows:
• An opening is considered as small when the length of the opening, L0, is less than or equal to hmax.
• An opening is large when L0 > hmax.
In these two definitions, the members above and below the opening are assumed to have adequate depth
to accommodate the reinforcement scheme. In the case of circular openings, the circle should be replaced by
an equivalent square for the determination of the value of hmax.
Maxwell (2000) explored the strut-and-tie model employing experimental tests and the test specimens with
a large opening near the support. He drew a conclusion that the specimens performed very well following the
predictions of the strut-and-tie model theory. However, the tested beams were of normal strength concrete and
relatively thin deep beams with large web openings.
Yoo et al., tested the failure of 16 beams and made the following conclusions. For the deep beam with
web openings (See Figures 6, 7, and 8), the first visible diagonal cracks generally appeared at the top and
bottom corners of the web openings towards the load points and supports at different load levels.
Fig. 6: Single point loading case of RC beam with web openings (Yoo et al.,).
Fig. 7: Two point loading case of RC beams with web openings (Yoo et al.,).
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Fig. 8: Crack propagation of deep beams (Yoo et al.,).
In an experimental study, Abdalla et al., (2003) employed ?bre reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets to
strengthen the opening region. Several design parameters including opening width and depth, and amount and
con?guration of the FRP sheets in the vicinity of the opening were considered. In their experimental study,
they tested 10 reinforced concrete beams, five of which were strengthened with FRP sheets around the opening,
four were tested without strengthening, and the remaining beam was solid without opening considered as a
control beam. Abdalla et al., (2003) examined the influence of this strengthening technique on deflection,
strain, cracking, and ultimate load. Figure 9 represents the schematic view of the test setup conducted by
Abdalla et al., (2003). In general, the openings in such beams give rise to excessive stresses
Fig. 9: Schematic view of the test setup (Abdalla et al., 2003).
that may be detrimental unless properly assessed and designed which is considered in the design review of
openings in the web by Amiri et al., (2011). Practical and experimental experiences have shown that inclined
and vertical cracks develop frequently at the corners of the opening at the service load stage. Such cracks
reduce the load carrying capacity of the beam. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets are becoming widely
used to strengthen the reinforced concrete structures.
Abdalla et al., (2003) also explored the efficiency of employing FRP sheets to prevent the local cracks
around the openings. They drew the following conclusions:
• The provision of an un-strengthened opening in the shear zone of a reinforced concrete beam reduces its
ultimate capacity. An un-strengthened opening with height of 0.6 of the beam depth can decrease the beam
capacity by 75%.
• The use of FRP sheets for strengthening the area around the openings can retrieve the full capacity of the
beam for relatively small openings.
• The shear failure at the opening chords of strengthened openings occurs due to a combination of shear
cracking of concrete and bond failure of the FRP sheets glued to the concrete.
Allam (2005) examined the process of strengthening RC beams with large openings in the shear zone. In
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his experimental study, he tested nine reinforced concrete beams in order to explore the efficiency of external
strengthening of such beams when provided with large openings within their shear zones. These beams were
externally strengthened with steel plates or Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) sheets along the opening
edges. It was concluded that both type of material used for strengthening and its configuration scheme
significantly affect the efficiency of strengthening in terms of beam deflection, steel strain, cracking, ultimate
capacity and failure mode of the beam. Allam (2005) believed that previous research studies revealed that the
external strengthening of the beams could significantly increase their shear and flexural strength. Moreover,
such strengthening enhances beam stiffness and controls the propagation of cracks. However, debonding of the
externally bonded materials was one of the disadvantages of external strengthening. In general, Allam's (2005)
experimental study aimed:
1. To examine the behavior of reinforced concrete beams provided with openings within the shear zone;
2. To explore the efficiency of internal strengthening of beams with openings using internal steel
reinforcement around the opening; and
3. To identify the reliability of external strengthening of beams with openings using either steel plates or
CFRP sheets.
With increasing of the applied load, the cracks propagated towards the load and the support. Moreover,
more cracks were observed at the opposite opening corners and some shear cracks were also visible at the
lower chord of the opening. As the applied load was enhanced, two main diagonal shear cracks were observed
at the upper and lower chords of the opening and more flexural cracks were formed within the middle part
of the beam. The main diagonal crack in the lower chord started very near to the inner vertical edge of the
opening and extended towards the lower edge of the lower chord approximately along the diagonal line of the
lower chord. Finally, the beam failed in a shear mode at the opening along the two previously formed diagonal
cracks at its chords. Allam's (2005) results indicated that the provision of an opening within the shear zone
not only decreased the ultimate load capacity of the beam but also altered the failure mode from a flexural
mode to a shear mode of failure. Due to the presence of a 150 mm x 450 mm opening located within the
shear span, the reduction in the ultimate failure load of the beam was about 37 %.
According to Allam's (2005) study, the following conclusions may be drawn:
• The provision of an opening in a reinforced concrete beam within its shear zone reduces its ultimate
strength. Due to the stress concentration, the cracks are appeared around the opening corners and diagonal
cracks are formed along its upper and lower chords.
• External strengthening of the beam opening employing steel plates or CFRP sheets is more effective than
internal strengthening of the opening using internal steel reinforcement. Furthermore, external strengthening
of the beams with opening in shear zone could enhance its shear strength.
• The use of steel plates is more effective than the use of CFRP sheets for external strengthening of the
beam.
• The use of external steel plates to strengthen the internal and external sides of the beam opening is more
effective than external strengthening of external sides only.
• The use of steel bolts for enhancing the bond between the steel plates used for external strengthening and
the concrete has a very little effect on the beam strength. However, it decreases the beam stiffness due
to the holes drilled in the concrete.
• External strengthening of the beam opening using inside U-shape CFRP sheets perpendicular to the
opening edges in addition to outside CFRP sheets parallel to the opening edges is more efficient than
using outside CFRP sheets parallel to the opening edges only.
• Based on the experimental and theoretical analyses presented in his study, it was recommended that the
engineer should take into consideration the following when designing external strengthening of the beam
with opening: (i) providing enough shear strength to the chords of the opening; (ii) extending the
strengthening material along and beyond the opening corners to overcome the stress concentration and to
prevent formation of plastic hinges at corners.
• For internally strengthened beams with openings, the contribution of the concrete to the total ultimate shear
force decreases significantly after concrete cracking.
• Since the theoretical results were in good agreement with the experimental ones, the theoretical analysis
of tested beams was reliable.
1. Reinforced Concrete Beams with Circular Openings:
Hanson (1969) explored a series of longitudinally reinforced T-beams showing a typical joist floor with
square and circular openings in the web and concluded that an opening located near the support does not
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reduce the strength. As the opening is moved away from the support, gradual reduction in strength occurs until
it levels off to a constant value. The data analysis revealed that the vertical position of opening has no
significant effect, while an increase in the size of opening leads to an almost linear reduction in strength.
However, it appears to be a size of opening below which no reduction in shear strength occurs. This size
corresponds to about 25% of the beam depth for square openings and 33% of the beam depth for circular
openings.
Kiang-Hwee et al., (2001) explored the adequacy of the ACI Code approach for shear design of a beam
with circular openings. Seven T-beams with circular web openings were designed from moderate to high shear
force. They were tested in an inverted position to simulate the conditions that exist in the negative moment
region of a continuous beam. The results of the test indicated that crack control and preservation of ultimate
strength are achievable through providing reinforcement around the opening. It was found that diagonal bars
decrease the high stress in the compression chord and avoid premature crushing of the concrete.
However, the provision of transverse openings alters the simple beam behavior into a more complex
behavior (Kiang-Hwee et al., 2001). The provision of openings produces discontinuity in the normal flow of
stresses and results in stress concentration and early cracking around the opening. The ultimate strength of the
beam may also be seriously affected. Hence, special reinforcement should be provided around the opening to
contain the width of cracks and to prevent possible premature failure of the beam. They concluded that
diagonal bars are essential for achieving adequate crack control and the amount of diagonal bars should be
sufficient enough to carry at least 50% of the applied shear with a shear concentration factor ? of at least 1.3
(Ad= (0.75.?.v)/ (fyd.sin?)). Figure 10 shows stirrups and diagonal bars.
Amiri and Masoudnia (2011) simulated a three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model of a simply
supported concrete beams consisting of circular openings with varying diameters. Moreover, the effects of
circular opening size on the behavior of such beams were investigated. Subsequently, numerous models of
simply supported reinforced concrete rectangular section beams with circular opening were loaded
monotonically with two incremental concentrated loads. The beams were simulated to obtain the load-deflection
behavior and compared with the solid concrete beam. All beams had an identical cross section of 100 mm
250 mm and 2000 mm in length with the circular opening in seven diameters: 150 mm, 130 mm, 120 mm,
110 mm, 100 mm, 80 mm and 60 mm. The results showed that the performance of the beams with circular
openings with diameter less than 0.48D (D is depth of the beam web) has no effect on the ultimate load
capacity of the RC rectangular section beams. On the other hand, introducing the circular opening with
diameter more than 0.48D reduces the ultimate load capacity of the RC rectangular section beams at least 26%.
4. Precast Beams with Rectangular Openings:
Thompson and Pessiki (2006) conducted experimental investigation of precast, prestressed inverted-tee
girders with large web openings. They tested the failure of three full-scale inverted-tee (IT) girders with large
Fig. 10: Shear resisted by stirrups and diagonal bars (Kiang-Hwee et al., 2001).
web openings (ITO girders) to evaluate the effect of the openings on girder behavior. The ITO girders reached
their design loads but failed at lower loads than predicted and at values approximately 20% less than the
failure load for the control girder. The ITO girders failed in a brittle manner due to diagonal cracking above
the opening closest to the support. Figure 11 represents cross sections through a typical interior bay with an
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ITO girder replacing an IT girder and regularly spaced openings along the girder's length, which would
standardize production and eliminate the need to coordinate individual openings with specific service systems.
They presented and evaluated the results of an experimental program in which three full-scale ITO girders were
tested to failure to evaluate the effects of the openings on the behavior of the girders. They also pointed out
that neither ACI 318 nor the PCI Design Handbook directly addresses the design of prestressed concrete beams
with large web openings. Most of the previous conducted studies deal with the behavior of a beam with web
openings by comparing it to a Vierendeel truss. Thompson and Pessiki's (2006) research study also
followed that approach and called it frame behavior. The frame behavior approach treats the portions of the
girder above and below the opening as beams rigidly supported at the edges of the opening. This approach
assumes that the chords deform in double curvature with an inflection point at their midpoint and resist axial
force, shear force, and moment.
Fig. 11: Sections through conventional system with prototype inverted-tee girder with multiple web openings
for service systems (ITO girder), ITO girder isometric. Note: CIP = cast-in-place; HVAC =
heating/ventilating/air-conditioning (Thompson and Pessiki, 2006).
The Following Conclusions May Be Drawn from the Surveyed Research:
• Reinforced and prestressed concrete beams can accommodate large web openings without sacrificing
strength or serviceability;
• Web openings must be outside the strand development length for prestressed concrete members;
• An inflection point in the chord exists approximately at the midpoint of the opening; and
• Cracking in the tension chord causes the shear force to redistribute from the bottom chord to the top
chord.
A critical issue for the researchers in the field is how to divide the shear force between the chords at an
opening. Thompson and Pessiki (2006) made some design recommendations including several important
elements which were collectively called the initial design model (IDM). The following are the
recommendations:
• Restrictions on the applicability of the obtained results;
• Prescriptive requirements for both placement and size of the opening, and the distance between the
openings as well;
• Prescriptive requirements for transverse reinforcement at the abutments;
• An analytical procedure to determine the chord forces; and
• Recommendations on the applicable ACI 318 sections to design the chords for combined axial force, shear
force, and moment.
The recorded strains in Thompson and Pessiki's (2006) tests indicated when there is shear force across an
opening, the assumption of frame behavior in the chords is accurate. Moreover, they claimed that considering
an inflection point at the midpoint of an opening is not an accurate starting point to estimate the chord forces.
The top chord forces obtained from the strain data for the elastic un-cracked range of behavior indicate the
following:
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• The normal force agrees well with both the IDM and elastic FE predictions;
• The top chord shear force is not as predicted by the IDM but instead is closer to the elastic FE analysis
prediction; and
• Due to the differences in the shear force estimate and the assumed inflection point location, the top chord
moments agree more closely with the elastic FE analysis than they do with the IDM predictions.
Since the magnitude of the normal force depends on both magnitude of the primary moment and the distance
between the chords' centroids, the magnitude of calculated normal force is consistent in all three locations in
each chord. The calculated shear force is also relatively consistent in magnitude among the chords, though it
shows more variation than the normal force. Their observations indicated that the bottom chord resists a greater
portion of the decreasing shear force after the peak load. As the top chord diagonal cracks decrease its shear
capacity and its stiffness, the bottom chord must resist a greater portion of the shear force at the opening. The
follow-up observations also suggested that the abutment reinforcement participates in the transfer of the shear
force to the top and bottom chords. The following conclusions were attained at the end of their study:
• Multiple web openings do not significantly affect an ITO girder's load-deflection response.
• The openings' effect on the ITO girder's deflection is observable as an additional deflection across the
openings.
• If failure occurs at an opening, multiple web openings can decrease the maximum load capacity of an ITO
girder.
• An ITO girder can be designed for the necessary strength because all three ITO girders in their study had
capacities greater than their design factored loads.
• The elastic chord force estimates of the IDM do not accurately predict the failure load and failure mode
for these types of cross sections.
• Frame behavior can be assumed for the chords at the openings with a nonzero shear force.
• For an opening subject to pure moment, the frame behavior assumption reduces to two axially loaded
members in tension and compression, respectively, carrying the moment, which may allow these openings
to be designed as a cracked flexural section.
• The top chord normal force and inflection point in these members can be predicted by an elastic analysis
within the linear-elastic range of behavior.
• Providing the abutment reinforcement in a narrow band adjacent to the openings is highly recommended.
• Stirrups sized to resist the full factored shear force are not required at each side of each opening.
• Following the shear reinforcement spacing limits for beams provides greater capacity in the top chord.
5. Precast Beams with Circular Openings:
Abul Hasnat et al., (1993) tested 17 axially prestressed concrete beams without stirrups and containing a
transverse circular opening. In their research, beams having two different opening diameters were subjected
to various combinations of torsion and bending. The results of their tests indicated that the bending moment
has a beneficial effect and increases the torsional strength for beams with high T/M ratios. However, for beams
with low T/M ratios, the torsional strength decreases rapidly with increasing the bending moment. Hence,
strength equations for predicting the torsional strength at initial cracking were developed. Comparison of similar
prestressed concrete beams with and without stirrups indicated that the introduction of stirrups promotes the
development of a consistent failure pattern and increases the ductility and the torsional strength.
Although prestressed concrete beams are seldom used without stirrups, this experimental study showed clearly
the role of stirrups in modifying the torsional strength, the ductility and the behavior pattern of prestressed
beams with a circular opening under torsion and bending. Bending moment increases the difference between
the initial cracking torsional strength and the ultimate torsional strength. The ratio Ttest/Tcr varies from 1.01
to 1.92 when T/M ratio ranges between ? to 0.1. The ratio is approximately constant for a particular T/M ratio
irrespective of the opening diameter. For similar prestressed beams with and without stirrups, it was observed
that the introduction of stirrups ensures a consistent failure pattern and considerably increases the ductility and
the torsional strength especially for very high and very low values of T/M ratios.
6. Conclusions:
A considerable progress has been made during the last three decades in the investigation of concrete beams
with opening in the web. Hence, this paper reviewed and described the previous researches which were related
to the openings in the concrete beams. The details of some works for precast and RC beams with different
opening size and type are available in the present study. The effects of the size and location of the openings
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on the behavior of such beams were examined and the strengths of these openings were explored as well.
Intensive research is required on the different types of loading to further test the design method. This includes
studies with continuous beams, multiple load points, and different opening shapes.
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