• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.215-235
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• 2020

Cracks and defects may occur anywhere in a plate under tension. Cracks can affect the buckling stability performance and even the failure mode of the plate. A search of the literature reveals that the reported research has mostly focused on the study of plates with central and small cracks. Considering the effectiveness of cracks on the buckling behavior of plates, this study intends to investigate the effects of some key parameters, i.e., crack size and location as well as the plate aspect ratio and support conditions, on the buckling behavior, stress intensity factor (SIF), and the failure mode (buckling or fracture) in cracked plates under tension. To this end, a sophisticated mathematical code was developed using MATLAB in the frame-work of extended finite element method (XFEM) in order to analyze the buckling stability and collapse of numerous plate models. The results and findings of this research endeavor show that, in addition to the plate aspect ratio and support conditions, careful consideration of the crack location and size can be quite effective in buckling behavior assessment and failure mode prediction as well as SIF evaluation of the cracked plates subjected to tensile loading.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.4
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• pp.481-493
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• 2021

Low rise masonry structures are relatively inexpensive and easier to construct compared to other types of structures such as steel and reinforced concrete buildings. However, masonry structures are relatively heavier and less ductile and more vulnerable to damages in earthquakes. In this research, a new innovative low-cost seismic isolator using steel rings (SISR) is employed to reduce the seismic vulnerability of masonry structures. FEA of a masonry structure, made of concrete blocks is used to evaluate the effect of the proposed SISR on the seismic response of the structure. Two systems, fixed base and isolated from the base with the proposed SISRs, are considered. Micro-element approach and ABAQUS software are used for structural modeling. The nonlinear structural parameters of the SISRs, extracted from a recent experimental study by the authors, are used in numerical modeling. The masonry structure is studied in two separate modes, fixed base and isolated base with the proposed SISRs, under Erzincan and Imperial Valley-06 earthquakes. The accelerated response at the roof level, as well as the deformation in the masonry walls, are the parameters to assess the effect of the proposed SISRs. The results show a highly improved performance of the masonry structure with the SISRs.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.4
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• pp.445-459
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• 2023

The current investigation is the first endeavor to apply the full layerwise finite element method (FEM) in free vibration analysis of functionally graded (FG) composite plates reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets (GPLs) in thermal environment. Unlike the equivalent single-layer (ESL) theories, the layerwise FEM focuses on all three-dimensional (3D) effects. The GPLs weight fraction is presumed invariable in each layer but varies through the plate thickness in a layerwise model. The modified Halpin-Tsai model is employed to acquire the effective Young's modulus. The rule of mixtures is applied to specify the effective Poisson's ratio and mass density. First, the current method is validated by comparing the numerical results with those stated in the available works. Next, a thorough numerical study is performed to examine the influence of various factors involving the pattern of distribution, weight fraction, geometry, and size of GPLs, together with the thickness-to-span ratio, thermal environment, and boundary conditions of the plate, on its free vibration behaviors. Numerical results demonstrate that employing a small percentage of GPL as reinforcement considerably grows the natural frequencies of the pure epoxy. Also, distributing more square-shaped GPLs, involving a smaller amount of graphene layers, and vicinity to the upper and lower surfaces make it the most efficient method to enhance the free vibration behaviors of the plate.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.89 no.3
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• pp.239-252
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• 2024

Steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) are classified as lateral load-resisting systems. The feasibility of openings in the steel plate is a characteristic of SPSWs. The use of openings in SPSWs can lower the load capacity, stiffness, and energy dissipation. This study proposes a novel form of SPSWs that provides convenient access through openings by combining steel plates and eccentrically braced frames (EBFs). The proposed system also avoids a substantial reduction in the strength and stiffness. Hence, various geometric forms were analyzed through two different structural approaches. Groups 1, 2, and 3 included a steel EBF with a steel plate between the column and EBF in order to improve system performance. In Group 4, the proposed system was evaluated within an SPSW with openings and an EBF on the opening edge. To evaluate the performance of the proposed systems, the nonlinear finite element method (NL-FEM) was employed under cyclic loading. The hysteresis (load-drift) curve, stress contour, stiffness, and damping were evaluated as the structural outputs. The numerical models indicated that local buckling within the middle plate-EBF connection prevented a diagonal tension field. Moreover, in group 4, the EBF and stiffeners on the opening edge enhanced the structural response by approximately 7.5% in comparison with the base SPSW system.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2009

Post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA stability by Hu proteins is an important mechanism for tumorigenesis. We focused on the molecular interactions between the HuC protein and AU-rich elements (AREs) to find chemical inhibitors of RNA-protein interactions using RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assay with non-radioactive probes. Screening of 52 natural compounds identified 14 candidate compounds that displayed potent inhibitory activity. Six (quercetin, myricetin, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, ellagic acid, (-)-epicatechin gallate, and rhamnetin) were categorized as phytochemicals, and their $IC_{50}$ values were low ($0.2-1.8\;{\mu}M$).

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.400-404
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• 2015

Various kinds of winding arrangements can be used to enable fault current limiters (FCL) to tolerate higher forces without resulting in a substantial increase in construction and fabrication costs. In this paper, a distributed winding arrangement is investigated in terms of its effects on the short-circuit forces in a three-phase FCL. The force magnitudes of the AC supplied windings are calculated by employing a finite element-based model in the time stepping procedure. The leakage flux and radial and axial force magnitudes obtained from the simulation are compared to those obtained from a conventional winding arrangement. The comparison shows that the distributed winding arrangement significantly reduces the radial and, especially, the axial force magnitudes.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.279-283
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• 2022

The seismic analytic collapse fragility of soil nail wall structures with a shotcrete concrete covering is investigated in this paper. The finite element modeling process has been well described. The fragility function evaluates the link between ground motion intensities and the likelihood of reaching a specific level of damage. The soil nail wall has been subjected to incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) from medium to strong ground vibrations. The nonlinear dynamic analysis of the soil nail wall uses a set of 20 earthquake ground motions with varying PGAs. PGD is utilized as an intensity measure, the numerical findings demonstrate that the soil nailing wall reaction is particularly sensitive to earthquake intensity measure (IM).

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.259-264
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• 2005

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.6
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• pp.629-641
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• 2018

The paper describes the development of a two-dimensional (2D) co-rotational nonlinear beam finite element that includes advanced path-following capabilities for detecting bifurcation instability in elasto-plasticity of steel elements subjected to fire without introducing imperfections. The advantage is twofold: i) no need to assume the magnitude of the imperfections and consequent reduction of the model complexity; ii) the presence of possible critical points is checked at each converged time step based on the actual load and stiffness distribution in the structure that is affected by the temperature field in the elements. In this way, the buckling modes at elevated temperature, that may be different from the ones at ambient temperature, can be properly taken into account. Moreover, an improved displacement predictor for estimating the displacement field allowed significant reduction of the computational cost. A co-rotational framework was exploited for describing the beam kinematic. In order to highlight the potential practical implications of the developed finite element, a parametric analysis was performed to investigate how the beam element compares both with the EN1993-1-2 buckling curve and with experimental tests on axially compressed steel members. Validation against experimental data and numerical outcomes obtained with commercial software is thoroughly described.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.252-257
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• 2016

Dust-collecting behavior of tonpilz transducer was simulated with finite-element-method (FEM) software. In order to optimize the performance of tonpilz transducer, the shape factors including the thickness of head mass, the diameter of tail mass and the depth of bolt were analyzed as variables. As a vibrating energy source, the piezoelectric materials was also tested with PZT-4 and two kinds of piezoelectric single crystals. The output power of the transducer was maximized with the shape factors and then the behavior of the dust-collection was demonstrated with the multi-physics software, COMSOL.