• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.277-285
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• 2017

Single-storey industrial buildings are one of the most often type of structures built among various skeletal framed steel constructions. These metallic buildings offer an exceptional opportunity to minimise the material employed, contributing to a more sustainable construction. In particular, the mansard portal frame is a typology made up of broken beams that involves different lengths and discontinuous slopes. This study aims the weight reduction of the standard mansard portal frame with design purposes by means of varying four parameters: the kink position, the eaves-apex slope, the span and the columns height. In this work, we suggest some guidelines that can improve the economical competitive capabilities of their structural design. In all the cases analysed, the joints of the portal frame are placed over the theoretical non-funicular shape to uniform loads. This allows reducing the bending moment and the shear force, but increasing the axial force. In addition, the performance of mansard and typical pitched portal frames submitted to the same boundary conditions is compared in terms of efficiency in the use of steel. In the large majority of the cases, mansard typologies are lighter than the common pitched frames and, hence, more economical.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제47권6호
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• pp.791-818
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• 2013

The seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures with irregularities leading to soft first floor is studied using capacity assessment procedures. The soft first story effect is investigated for the cases: (i) slab-column connections without beams at the first floor, (ii) tall first story height and (iii) pilotis type building (open ground story). The effects of the first floor irregularity on the RC frame structure performance stages at global and local level (limit states) are investigated. Assessment based on the Capacity Spectrum Method (ATC-40) and on the Coefficient Method (FEMA 356) is also examined. Results in terms of failure modes, capacity curves, interstory drifts, ductility requirements and infills behaviour are presented. From the results it can be deduced that the global capacity of the structures is decreased due to the considered first floor morphology irregularities in comparison to the capacities of the regular structure. An increase of the demands for interstory drift is observed at the first floor level due to the considered irregularities while the open ground floor structure (pilotis type) led to even higher values of interstory drift demands at the first story. In the cases of tall first story and slab-column connections without beams soft-story mechanisms have also been observed at the first floor. Rotational criteria (EC8-part3) showed that the structure with slab-column connections without beams exhibited the most critical response.

• Wind and Structures
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.163-173
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• 2018

The design wind pressure for low-rise buildings in the ASCE 7-10 is defined by procedures that are categorized into the Main Wind Force-Resisting System (MWFRS) and the Components and Cladding (C&C). Some of these procedures were originally developed based on steel portal frames of industrial buildings, while the residential structures are a completely different structural system, most of which are designed as low-rise light-frame wood constructions. The purpose of this study is to discuss the rationality (or irrationality) of the extension of the wind loads calculated by the ASCE 7-10 to the light-frame wood residential buildings that represent the most vulnerable structures under extreme wind conditions. To serve this purpose, the same approach as used in the development of Chapter 28 of the ASCE 7-10 that envelops peak responses is adopted in the present study. Database-assisted design (DAD) methodology is used by applying the dynamic wind loads from Louisiana State University (LSU) database on a typical residential building model to assess the applicability of the standard by comparing the induced responses. Rather than the postulated critical member demands on the industrial building such as the bending moments at the knee, the maximum values at the critical points for wood frame buildings under wind loads are used as indicators for the comparison. Then, the critical members are identified through these indicators in terms of the displacement or the uplift force at connections and roof envelope. As a result, some situations for each of the ASCE 7 procedures yielding unconservative wind loads on the typical low-rise residential building are identified.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제78권4호
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• pp.485-496
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• 2021

So far analytical methods on collapse assessment of three-dimensional (3-D) steel frames have mainly focused on a single-column-removal scenario. However, the collapse of the Federal Building in the US due to car bomb explosion indicated that the loss of multiple columns may occur in the real structures, wherein the structures are more vulnerable to collapse. Meanwhile, the General Services Administration (GSA) in the US suggested that the removal of side columns of the structure has a great possibility to cause collapse. Therefore, this paper analytically deals with the robustness of 3-D steel frames in a two-side-column-removal (TSCR) scenario. Analytical method is first proposed to determine the collapse resistance of the frame during this column-removal procedure. The reliability of the analytical method is verified by the finite element results. Moreover, a design-based methodology is proposed to quickly assess the robustness of the frame due to a TSCR scenario. It is found the analytical method can reasonably predict the resistance-displacement relationship of the frame in the TSCR scenario, with an error generally less than 10%. The parametric numerical analyses suggest that the slab thickness mainly affects the plastic bearing capacity of the frame. The rebar diameter mainly affects the capacity of the frame at large displacement. However, the steel beam section height affects both the plastic and ultimate bearing capacity of the frame. A case study on a six-storey steel frame shows that the design-based methodology provides a conservative prediction on the robustness of the frame.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.329-350
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• 2016

A parametric study was conducted to investigate the seismic deformation demands in terms of drift ratio, plastic base rotation and compression strain on rectangular wall members in frame-wall systems. The wall index defined as ratio of total wall area to the floor plan area was kept as variable in frame-wall models and its relation with the seismic demand at the base of the wall was investigated. The wall indexes of analyzed models are in the range of 0.2-2%. 4, 8 and 12-story frame-wall models were created. The seismic behavior of frame-wall models were calculated using nonlinear time-history analysis and design spectrum matched ground motion set. Analyses results revealed that the increased wall index led to significant reduction in the top and inter-story displacement demands especially for 4-story models. The calculated average inter-story drift decreased from 1.5% to 0.5% for 4-story models. The average drift ratio in 8- and 12-story models has changed from approximately 1.5% to 0.75%. As the wall index increases, the dispersion in the calculated drifts due to ground motion variability decreased considerably. This is mainly due to increase in the lateral stiffness of models that leads their fundamental period of vibration to fall into zone of the response spectra that has smaller dispersion for scaled ground motion data set. When walls were assessed according to plastic rotation limits defined in ASCE/SEI 41, it was seen that the walls in frame-wall systems with low wall index in the range of 0.2-0.6% could seldom survive the design earthquake without major damage. Concrete compressive strains calculated in all frame-wall structures were much higher than the limit allowed for design, ${\varepsilon}_c$=0.0035, so confinement is required at the boundaries. For rectangular walls above the wall index value of 1.0% nearly all walls assure at least life safety (LS) performance criteria. It is proposed that in the design of dual systems where frames and walls are connected by link and transverse beams, the minimum value of wall index should be greater than 0.6%, in order to prevent excessive damage to wall members.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제19권6호
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• pp.1403-1419
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• 2015

When precast concrete infill panels are connected to steel frames at discrete locations, interaction at the structural interface is neither complete nor absent. The contribution of precast concrete infill panels to the lateral stiffness and strength of steel frames can be significant depending on the quality, quantity and location of the discrete interface connections. This paper presents preliminary experimental and finite element results of an investigation into the composite behaviour of a square steel frame with a precast concrete infill panel subject to lateral loading. The panel is connected at the corners to the ends of the top and bottom beams. The Frame-to-Panel-Connection, FPC4 between steel beam and concrete panel consists of two parts. A T-section with five achor bars welded to the top of the flange is cast in at the panel corner at a forty five degree angle. The triangularly shaped web of the T-section is reinforced against local buckling with a stiffener plate. The second part consists of a triangular gusset plate which is welded to the beam flange. Two bolts acting in shear connect the gusset plate to the web of the T-section. This way the connection can act in tension or compression. Experimental pull-out tests on individual connections allowed their load deflection characteristics to be established. A full scale experiment was performed on a one-storey one-bay 3 by 3 m infilled frame structure which was horizontally loaded at the top. With the characteristics of the frame-to-panel connections obtained from the experiments on individual connections, finite element analyses were performed on the infilled frame structures taking geometric and material non-linear behaviour of the structural components into account. The finite element model yields reasonably accurate results. This allows the model to be used for further parametric studies.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제11권3호
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• pp.273-286
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• 2001

Viscoelastic (VE) dampers have shown to be capable of providing structures with considerable additional damping to reduce the dynamic response of structures. However, the VE material appears to be sensitive to the variations in ambient temperature and vibration frequency. To minimize these effects, a new VE material has been developed. This new material shows less sensitivity to variations in vibration frequency and temperature. However, it is highly dependent on the shear strain. Experimental studies on the seismic behavior of a 2/5 scale five-story steel frame with these new VE dampers have been carried out. Test results show that the structural response can be effectively reduced due to the added stiffness and damping provided by the new type of VE dampers under both mild and strong earthquake ground motions. In addition, analytical studies have been carried out to describe the strain-dependent behavior of the VE damper. The dynamic properties and hysteresis behavior of the dampers can be simulated by a simple bilinear model based on the equivalent dissipated energy principle proposed in this study.

• Wind and Structures
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.89-101
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• 2009

The Monte Carlo procedure was used to simulate wind load effects on a light-frame low-rise structure of irregular shape and a main wind force resisting system. Two analytical models were studied: rigid-beam and rigid-plate models. The models assumed that roof diaphragms were rigid beam or rigid plate and shear walls controlled system behavior and failure. The parameters defining wall stiffness, including imperfections, were random and included wall stiffness, wall capacity and yield displacements. The effect of openings was included in the simulation via a set of discrete multipliers with uniform distribution. One and two-story buildings were analyzed and the models can be expanded into multiple-floor structures provided that the assumptions made in this paper are not violated.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.393-411
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• 2013

In the analysis and design of reinforced concrete frames beam-column joints are sometimes assumed as rigid. This simplifying assumption can be unsafe because it is likely to affect the distributions of internal forces and moments, reduce drift and increase the overall load-carrying capacity of the frame. This study is concerned with the relevance of shear deformation of beam-column joints, in particular of exterior ones, on the quasi-static behavior of regular reinforced concrete sway frames. The included parametric studies of a simple sub-frame model reveal that the quasi-static monotonic behavior of unbraced regular reinforced concrete frames is prone to be significantly affected by the deformation of beam-column joints.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제2권6호
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• pp.411-428
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• 2002

Non-linear large-displacement elasto-plastic finite element analyses are used to propose design recommendations for the eaves bracket of a cold-formed steel portal frame. Owing to the thinness of the sheet steel used for the brackets, such a structural design problem is not trivial as the brackets need to be designed against failure through buckling; without availability of the finite element method, expensive laboratory testing would therefore be required. In this paper, the finite element method is firstly used to predict the plastic moment capacity of the eaves bracket. Parametric studies are then used to propose design recommendations for the eaves bracket against two potential buckling modes of failure: (1) buckling of the stiffened free-edge into one-half sine wave, (2) local plate buckling of the exposed triangular bracket area.The results of full-scale laboratory tests on selected geometries of eaves bracket demonstrate that the proposed design recommendations are conservative. The use of the finite element method in this way exploits modern computational techniques for an otherwise difficult structural design problem.