This investigation is to study the effect of gravitational field and diffusion on a microstretch thermoelastic medium heating by a non-Gaussian laser beam. The problem was studied in the context of the dual-phase-lag model. The normal mode analysis is used to solve the problem to obtain the exact expressions for the non-dimensional displacement components, the micro-rotation, the stresses, and the temperature distribution. The effect of time parameter, heat flux parameter and gravity response of three theories of thermoelasticity i.e. dual-phase-lag model (DPL), Lord and Shulman theory (L-S) and coupled theory (CT) on these quantities have been depicted graphically for a particular model.

This paper investigates the influence of spatial varations of accidental mass eccentricities on the torsional response of inelastic multistorey reinforced concrete buildings. It complements recent studies on the elastic response of structural buildings and extends the investigation into the inelastic range, with the aim of providing guidelines for minimising the torsional response of structural buildings. Four spatial mass eccentricity configurations of common nine story buildings, along with their reversed mass eccentricities subjected to the Erzincan-1992 and Kobe-1995 ground motions were investigated, and the results are discussed in the context of the structural response of the no eccentricity models. It is demonstrated that when the initial linear response is practically translational, it is maintained into the inelastic phase of deformation as long as the strength assignment of the lateral resisting bents is based on a planar static analysis where the applied lateral loads simulate the first mode of vibration of the uncoupled structure.

In the present paper, a simple analytical model is developed based on a new refined parabolic shear deformation theory (RPSDT) for free vibration and buckling analysis of orthotropic rectangular plates with simply supported boundary conditions. The displacement field is simpler than those of other higher-order theories since it is modeled with only two unknowns and accounts for a parabolic distribution of the transverse shear stress through the plate thickness. The governing differential equations related to the present theory are obtained from the principle of virtual work, while the solution of the eigenvalue problem is achieved by assuming a Navier technique in the form of a double trigonometric series that satisfy the edge boundary conditions of the plate. Numerical results are presented and compared with previously published results for orthotropic rectangular plates in order to verify the precision of the proposed analytical model and to assess the impacts of several parameters such as the modulus ratio, the side-to-thickness ratio and the geometric ratio on natural frequencies and critical buckling loads. From these results, it can be concluded that the present computations are in excellent agreement with the other higher-order theories.

In this study, multi-story structures are actively controlled using metaheuristic algorithms. The soil conditions such as dense, normal and soft soil are considered under near-fault ground motions consisting of two types of impulsive motions called directivity effect (fault normal component) and the flint step (fault parallel component). In the active tendon-controlled structure, Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) type controller optimized by the proposed algorithms was used to achieve a control signal and to produce a corresponding control force. As the novelty of the study, the parameters of PID controller were determined by different metaheuristic algorithms to find the best one for seismic structures. These algorithms are flower pollination algorithm (FPA), teaching learning based optimization (TLBO) and Jaya Algorithm (JA). Furthermore, since the influence of time delay on the structural responses is an important issue for active control systems, it should be considered in the optimization process and time domain analyses. The proposed method was applied for a 15-story structural model and the feasible results were found by limiting the maximum control force for the near-fault records defined in FEMA P-695. Finally, it was determined that the active control using metaheuristic algorithms optimally reduced the structural responses and can be applied for the buildings with the soil-structure interaction (SSI).

This paper presents a new hyperbolic shear deformation plate theory including the stretching effect for free vibration of the simply supported functionally graded plates in thermal environments. The theory accounts for parabolic distribution of the transverse shear strains and satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factors. This theory has only five unknowns, which is even less than the other shear and normal deformation theories. The present one has a new displacement field which introduces undetermined integral variables. Material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent, and graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume power laws of the constituents. The equation of motion of the vibrated plate obtained via the classical Hamilton's principle and solved using Navier's steps. The accuracy of the proposed solution is checked by comparing the present results with those available in existing literature. The effects of the temperature field, volume fraction index of functionally graded material, side-to-thickness ratio on free vibration responses of the functionally graded plates are investigated. It can be concluded that the present theory is not only accurate but also simple in predicting the natural frequencies of functionally graded plates with stretching effect in thermal environments.

The contribution of infill wall is generally not considered in the structural analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) structures due to the lack of knowledge of the complex behavior of the infilled frame of RC structures. However, one of the significant factors affecting structural behavior and earthquake performance of RC structures is the infill wall. Considering structural and architectural features of RC structures, any infill wall may have openings with different amounts and aspect ratios. In the present study, the influence of infill walls with different opening rates on the structural behaviors and earthquake performance of existing RC structures were evaluated. Therefore, the change in the opening ratio in the infill wall has been investigated for monitoring the change in structural behavior and performance of the RC structures. The earthquake performance levels of existing RC structures with different structural properties were determined by detecting the damage levels of load-carrying components. The results of the analyzes indicate that the infill wall can completely change the distribution of column and beam damage level. It was observed that the openings in the walls had serious impact on the parameters affecting the behavior and earthquake performance of the RC structures. The infill walls have a beneficial effect on the earthquake performance of RC structures, provided they are placed regularly and there are appropriate openings rate throughout the RC structures and they do not cause structural irregularities.

The steel slit shear wall (SSSW), made by cutting vertical slits in a steel plate, is increasingly used for the seismic protection of building structures. In the domain of thin plate shear walls, the out-of-plane buckling together with the potential fracture developed at slit ends at large lateral deformation may result in degraded shear strength and energy dissipation, which is not desirable in view of seismic design. To address this issue, the present study proposed a new type of SSSW made by intentionally introducing initial out-of-plane folding into the originally flat slitted plate. Quasi-static cyclic tests on three SSSWs with different amplitudes of introduced out-of-plane folding were conducted to study their shear strength, elastic stiffness, energy dissipation capacity and buckling behavior. By introducing proper amplitude of out-of-plane folding into the SSSW fracture at slit ends was eliminated, plumper hysteretic behavior was obtained and there was nearly no strength degradation. A method to estimate the shear strength and elastic stiffness of the new SSSW was also proposed.

In this paper, a novel analytical method, Max-Min Approach (MMA), has been presented and applied to consider the nonlinear vibration of dry cask storage systems. The nonlinear governing equation of the structure has been developed using the shell theory. The MMA results are compared with numerical solutions derived by Runge-Kutta's Method (RKM). The results indicate a satisfying agreement between MMA and numerical solutions. Parametric studies have been conducted on the nonlinear frequency of dry casks. The phase-plan of the problem is also presented and discussed. The proposed approach can potentially ca be extended to highly nonlinear problems.

A finite strip formulation was developed for buckling and free vibration analysis of laminated composite plates based on different shear deformation plate theories. The different shear deformation theories such as Zigzag higher order, Refined Plate Theory (RPT) and other higher order plate theories by variation of transverse shear strains through plate thickness in the parabolic form, sine and exponential were adopted here. The two loaded opposite edges of the plate were assumed to be simply supported and remaining edges were assumed to have arbitrary boundary conditions. The polynomial shape functions are applied to assess the in-plane and out-of-plane deflection and rotation of the normal cross-section of plates in the transverse direction. The finite strip procedure based on the virtual work principle was applied to derive the stiffness, geometric and mass matrices. Numerical results were obtained based on various shear deformation plate theories to verify the proposed formulation. The effects of length to thickness ratios, modulus ratios, boundary conditions, the number of layers and fiber orientation of cross-ply and angle-ply laminates were determined. The additional results on the same effects in the interaction of biaxial in-plane loadings on the critical buckling load were determined as well.

The preservation of historic masonry-arch railway bridges is of paramount importance due to their economic benefits. These bridges which belong to past centuries may nowadays be expected to carry loads higher than those for which they were designed. Such an increase in loads may be because of increase in transportation speed or in the capacity of freight-wagons. Anyway, adequate increase in their load-carrying-capacity through structural-strengthening is required. Moreover, the increasing costs of material/construction urge engineers to optimize their designs to obtain the minimum-cost one. This paper proposes a novel numerical optimization method to minimize the costs associated with strengthening of masonry-arch railway bridges. To do so, the stress/displacement responses of Sahand-Goltappeh bridge are assessed under ordinary train pass as a case study. For this aim, 3D-Finite-Element-Model is created and calibrated using experimental test results. Then, it is strengthened such that following goals are achieved simultaneously: (1) the load-carrying-capacity of the bridge is increased; (2) the structural response of the bridge is reduced to a certain limit; and, (3) the costs needed for such strengthening are minimized as far as possible. The results of the case study demonstrate the applicability/superiority of the proposed approach. Some economic measures are also recommended to further reduce the total strengthening cost.