• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.4A
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• pp.287-293
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• 2011

This paper investigates the applicability of a piezoelectric cantilever for energy supply of wireless sensor node used in structural health monitoring of bridges. By combining the constitutive equation of piezoelectric material and the dynamic equation of cantilever structure, the coupled governing equation for cantilever equipped piezoelectric patches has been addressed in matrix form. Forced excitation tests were carried out to validate the numerical model and to investigate the power output characteristics of the energy harvester. From the numerical simulation based on the measured bridge accelerations under KTX, Saemaul, Mugunghwa trains, the peak powers generated from the device were found to be 28.5 mW, 0.65 mW, 0.51 mW respectively. It is revealed from the results that bridge vibrations caused by moving loads is not a practical source for energy harvesting because of its low acceleration level, low frequency and short duration.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.451-457
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• 2014

Recently, as a means of resolving the issue of legal liability in the event of an accident or a disaster, a wide variety of simulation techniques, such as structural and structure-fluid interaction analysis, have been used in the field of forensic engineering. The plate girder bridge discussed in this paper was being constructed between a pier and an abutment to expand an existing bridge, but an accident whereby the bridge overturned occurred at the end of the concrete laying process for a protective wall. This accident was caused by additional loads not being considered at the time of the design as well as the actual construction being different from the design. The additional loads ultimately generated a negative support force. In this study, we determined the cause of the accident by comparing the structural stability of the original design with that of the additional, non-conforming construction using MIDAS structural analysis.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.77-87
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• 2013

A present LSD (limited state design) code for temperature load in the domestic bridge design has applied a uniform standard for various bridge types. In this study, in order to calculate the effective temperature, a specimen of steel box girder bridge section with real size dimension was manufactured. For a year, the temperature data were measured at the 18 point in steel deck of steel box girder bridges specimen. Effective temperature within the cross section according to atmospheric temperature was calculated by this experiment data. The analyzed results were very similar correlation when compared with the effective temperature of the Euro Code. Therefore, the effective temperature which calculated based on the present data could be used as the basic data in order to present to the appropriate design criteria for the thermal loads on the domestic bridge design.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.665-682
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• 2015

Structural identification or St-Id is 'the parametric correlation of structural response characteristics predicted by a mathematical model with analogous characteristics derived from experimental measurements'. This paper describes a St-Id exercise on Humber Bridge that adopted a novel two-stage approach to first calibrate and then validate a mathematical model. This model was then used to predict effects of wind and temperature loads on global static deformation that would be practically impossible to observe. The first stage of the process was an ambient vibration survey in 2008 that used operational modal analysis to estimate a set of modes classified as vertical, torsional or lateral. In the more recent second stage a finite element model (FEM) was developed with an appropriate level of refinement to provide a corresponding set of modal properties. A series of manual adjustments to modal parameters such as cable tension and bearing stiffness resulted in a FEM that produced excellent correspondence for vertical and torsional modes, along with correspondence for the lower frequency lateral modes. In the third stage traffic, wind and temperature data along with deformation measurements from a sparse structural health monitoring system installed in 2011 were compared with equivalent predictions from the partially validated FEM. The match of static response between FEM and SHM data proved good enough for the FEM to be used to predict the un-measurable global deformed shape of the bridge due to vehicle and temperature effects but the FEM had limited capability to reproduce static effects of wind. In addition the FEM was used to show internal forces due to a heavy vehicle to to estimate the worst-case bearing movements under extreme combinations of wind, traffic and temperature loads. The paper shows that in this case, but with limitations, such a two-stage FEM calibration/validation process can be an effective tool for performance prognosis.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.277-290
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• 2010

Internationally the load carrying capacity of bridges is decreasing due to material deterioration while at the same time increasing live loads mean that they are often exposed to stresses for which they were not designed. However there are limited resources available to ensure that these bridges are fit for purpose, meaning that new approaches to bridge maintenance are required that optimize both their service lives as well as maintenance costs. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) provide a tool that could support such an optimized maintenance program. In many situations WSNs have advantages over conventional wired monitoring systems in terms of installation time and cost. In order to evaluate the potential of these systems two WSNs were installed starting in July 2007 on the Humber Bridge and on a nearby approach bridge. As part of a corrosion prevention strategy, a relative humidity and temperature monitoring system was installed in the north anchorage chambers of the main suspension bridge where the main cables of the bridge are anchored into the foundation. This system allows the Bridgemaster to check whether the maximum relative humidity threshold, above which corrosion of the steel wires might occur, is not crossed. A second WSN which monitors aspects of deterioration on a reinforced concrete bridge located on the approach to the main suspension bridge was also installed. Though both systems have provided useful data to the owners, there are still challenges that must be overcome in terms of monitoring corrosion of steel, measuring live loading and data management before WSNs can become an effective tool for bridge managers.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2011

The estimation of traffic safety and passenger comfort when the train is running on the bridge is a estimation unique to the railway bridge. The standards for such estimation are included in the Eurocode, the Shinkansen design criteria, and the design guideline of the Honam High-speed railway. The items are bridge responses including vertical displacement of bridge, vertical acceleration, and slab twist. In principle, a direct estimation based on the train responses has to take place. However, the estimation based on the bridge responses can be seen as an indirect estimation procedure for the convenience of the bridge designer. First, it is general practice that traffic safety can be verified as a derailment coefficient or wheel load decrement The general method of estimating passenger comfort is to calculate the acceleration within the train car-body. Various international indexes have been presented for this method. In the present study, traffic safety and passenger comforts are estimated directly by bridge/train interaction analysis. The acceleration and wheel load decrement are obtained for the estimation of traffic safety and passenger comforts of a suspension bridge which has main span length of 300m. Also, the consideration of seismic load with simultaneous action of moving train is done for bridge/train/earthquake interaction analysis.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.471-488
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• 2011

The Ting Kau Bridge in Hong Kong is a cable-stayed bridge comprising two main spans and two side spans. The bridge deck is supported by three towers, an end pier and an abutment. Each of the three towers consists of a single reinforced concrete mast strengthened by transverse cables and struts. The bridge deck is supported by four inclined planes of cables emanating from anchorages at the tower tops. In view of the heavy traffic on the bridge, and threats from typhoons and earthquakes originated in areas nearby, the dynamic behaviour of long-span cable-supported bridges in the region is always an important consideration in their design. Baseline finite element models of various levels of sophistication have been built not only to match the bridge geometry and cable forces specified on the as-constructed drawings but also to be calibrated using the vibration measurement data captured by the Wind and Structural Health Monitoring System. This paper further describes the analysis of axle loading data, as well as the generation of random axle loads and simulation of vibrations of the bridge using the finite element models. Various factors affecting the vehicular loading on the bridge will also be examined.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.149-162
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• 2024

Aiming at the current research on the dynamic response analysis of the vehicle-bridge system under earthquake, which fails to comprehensively consider the impact of seismic wave incidence angles, terrain effects and soil-structure dynamic interaction on the bridge structure, this paper proposes a multi-point excitation input method that can consider the oblique incidence seismic P Waves based on the viscous-spring artificial boundary theory, and verifies the accuracy and feasibility of the input method. An overall numerical model of vehicle-bridge-soil foundation system in valley terrain during oblique incidence of seismic P-wave is established, and the effects of seismic wave incidence characteristics, terrain effects, soil-structure dynamic interactions, and vehicle speeds on the dynamic response of the bridge are analyzed. The research results indicate that with an increase in P wave incident angle, the vertical dynamic response of the bridge structure decreased while the horizontal dynamic response increased significantly. Traditional design methods which neglect multi-point excitation would lead to an unsafe structure. The dynamic response of the bridge structure significantly increases at the ridge while weakening at the valley. The dynamic response of bridge structures under earthquake action does not always increase with increasing train speed, but reaches a maximum value at a certain speed. Ignoring soil-structure dynamic interaction would reduce the vertical dynamic response of the bridge piers. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for the seismic design of vehicle-bridge systems in complex mountainous terrain under earthquake excitation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.371-382
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• 2009

The concrete plates are most widely used structural elements in the hulls of floating concrete structures such as concrete barges and pontoons, bridge decks, basement floors and liquid storage tanks. The study on the behavior of high-strength fiber reinforced concrete (HSFRC) plates was carried out to evaluate the performance of plates under in-plane and transverse loads. The plates were tested in simply supported along all the four edges and subjected to in-plane and traverse loads. In this experimental program, twenty four 150 mm diameter cylinders and twelve plate elements of size $600{\times}600{\times}30$ mm were prepared and tested. Water-to-cementitious materials ratios of 0.3 and 0.4 with 10% and 15% silica fume replacements were used in the concrete mixes. The fiber volume fractions, $V_f$ = 0%, 1% and 1.5% with an aspect ratio of 80 were used in this study. The HSFRC mixes had the concrete compressive strengths in the range of 52.5 to 70 MPa, flexural strengths ranging from 6.21 to 11.08 MPa and static modulus of elasticity ranging from 29.68 to 36.79 GPa. In this study, the behavior of HSFRC plate elements subjected to combined uniaxial in-plane and transverse loads was investigated.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.429-446
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• 2006

Experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the seismic ductility of earthquake-experienced concrete columns with an aspect ratio of 2.5. Eight circular concrete columns with a diameter of 600 mm were constructed with three test parameters: confinement ratio, lap-splice of longitudinal bars, and retrofitting with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials. The objective of this research is to examine the seismic performance of RC bridge piers subjected to a Quasi static test (QST), which were preliminary tested under a series of artificial earthquake motions referred to as a Pseudo dynamic test (PDT). The seismic enhancement effect of FRP wrap was also investigated on these RC bridge piers. Six specimens were loaded to induce probable damage by four series of artificial earthquakes, which were developed to be compatible with earthquakes in the Korean peninsula by the Korea Highway Corporation (KHC). Directly after the PDT, six earthquake-experienced columns were subjected to inelastic cyclic loading under a constant axial load of $0.1{f_c}^{\prime}A_g$. Two other reference specimens without the PDT were also subjected to similar quasi-static loads. Test results showed that specimens pre-damaged by moderate artificial earthquakes generally demonstrated good residual seismic performance, which was similar to the corresponding reference specimen. Moreover, RC bridge specimens retrofitted with wrapping fiber composites in the potential plastic hinge region exhibited enhanced flexural ductility.