• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제76권4호
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• pp.451-463
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• 2020

In this paper, a new semi-analytical solution for estimating the pull-in parameters of electrically actuated functionally graded (FG) nanobeams is proposed. All the bulk and surface material properties of the FG nanoactuator vary continuously in thickness direction according to power law distribution. Here, the modified couple stress theory (MCST) and Gurtin-Murdoch surface elasticity theory (SET) are jointly employed to capture the size effects of the nanoscale beam in the context of Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. According to the MCST and SET and accounting for the mid-plane stretching, axial residual stress, electrostatic actuation, fringing field, and dispersion (Casimir or/and van der Waals) forces, the nonlinear nonclassical equation of motion and boundary conditions are obtained derived using Hamilton principle. The proposed semi-analytical solution is derived by employing Galerkin method in conjunction with the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method. The proposed solution approach is validated with the available literature. The freestanding behavior of nanoactuators is also investigated. A parametric study is conducted to illustrate the effects of different material and geometrical parameters on the pull-in response of cantilever and doubly-clamped FG nanoactuators. This model and proposed solution are helpful especially in mechanical design of micro/nanoactuators made of FGMs.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.213-231
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• 2014

An elastoplastic model for structured clays, which is formulated based on the fact that the difference in mechanical behavior of structured and reconstituted clays is caused by the change of fabric in the post-yield deformation range, is present in this paper. This model is developed from an elastoplastic model for overconsolidated reconstituted clays, by considering that the variation in the yield surface of structured clays is similar to that of overconsolidated reconstituted clays. However, in order to describe the mechanical behavior of structured clays with precision, the model takes the bonding and parabolic strength envelope into consideration. Compared with the Cam-clay model, only two new parameters are required in the model for structured clays, which can be determined from isotropic compression and triaxial shear tests at different confining pressures. The comparison of model predictions and results of drained and undrained triaxial shear tests on four different marine clays shows that the model can capture reasonable well the strength and deformation characteristics of structured clays, including negative and positive dilatancy, strain-hardening and softening during shearing.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제22권6호
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• pp.539-550
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• 2018

Concrete is highly non-linear material which is originating from the transition zone in the form of micro-cracks, governs material response under various loadings. In this paper, the constitutive models published by many researchers have been used to generate novel stiffness parameters and constitutive curves for concrete. Following such linear material formulations, where the energy is conservative during the curvature, and a nonlinear contribution to the concrete has been made and investigated. In which, nonlinear concrete elastic modulus modeling has been developed that is capable-of representing concrete elasticity for grades ranging from 10 to 140 MPa. Thus, covering the grades range of concrete up to the ultra-high strength concrete, and replacing many concrete models that are valid for narrow ranges of concrete strength grades. This has been followed by the introduction of the nonlinear Hooke's law for the concrete material through the replacement of the Young constant modulus with the nonlinear modulus. In addition, the concept of concrete elasticity index (${\varphi}$) has been proposed and this factor has been introduced to account for the degradation of concrete stiffness in compression under increased loading as well as the multi-stages micro-cracking behavior of concrete under uniaxial compression. Finally, a sub-routine artificial neural network model has been developed to capture the concrete behavior that has been introduced to facilitate the prediction of concrete properties under increased loading.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제71권6호
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• pp.683-697
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• 2019

The reinforced concrete (RC) structures usually suffer large residual displacements under strong motions. The large residual displacements may substantially reduce the anti-seismic capacity of structures during the aftershock and increase the difficulty and cost of structural repair after an earthquake. To reduce the adverse residual displacement, several self-centering energy dissipation braces (SCEBs) have been proposed to be installed to the RC structures. To investigate the seismic responses of the RC structures with SCEBs under the earthquake excitation, an extended Bouc-Wen model with degradation and self-centering effects is developed in this study. The extended model realized by MATLAB/Simulink program is able to capture the hysteretic characteristics of the RC structures with SCEBs, such as the energy dissipation and the degradation, especially the self-centering effect. The predicted hysteretic behavior of the RC structures with SCEBs based on the extended model, which used the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) for parameter identification, is compared with the experimental results. Comparison results show that the predicted hysteretic curves can be in good agreement with the experimental results. The nonlinear dynamic analyses using the extended model are then carried out to explore the seismic performance of the RC structures with SCEBs. The analysis results demonstrate that the SCEB can effectively reduce the residual displacements of the RC structures, but slightly increase the acceleration.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제39권4호
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• pp.353-366
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• 2021

Cored moment resisting stub column (CMSC) was previously developed by the features of adopting a core segment which remains mostly elastic and reduced column section (RCS) details around the ends to from a stable hysteretic behavior with large post-yield stiffness and considerable ductility. Several full-scale CMSC components with various length proportions of the RCSs with respect to overall lengths have been experimentally investigated through both far-field and near-fault cyclic loadings followed by fatigue tests. Test results verified that the proposed CMSC provided very ductile hysteretic responses with no strength degradation even beyond the occurrence of the local buckling at the side-segments. The effect of RCS lengths on the seismic performance of the CMSC was verified to relate with the levels of the deformation concentration at the member ends, the local buckling behavior and overall ductility. Estimation equations were established to notionally calculate the first-yield and ultimate strengths of the CMSC and validated by the measured responses. A numerical model of the CMSC was developed to accurately capture the hysteretic performance of the specimens, and was adopted to clarify the effect of the surrounding frame and to perform a parametric study to develop the estimation of the elastic stiffness.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제8권3호
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• pp.517-525
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• 2021

The study investigates the behavior of Asian banks in response to the subprime mortgage crisis and examines how countries that have experimented with a mix of conventional and Islamic banking managed their balance sheet during that period. The study carries out an independent mean t-test comparing the difference of leverage of 464 conventional commercial Asian banks pre- and post-crisis from the largest twenty-five Asian economies based on GDP (2007). The analysis uses 10-year unbalanced panel data of conventional banks and employs the generalized least squares estimation using a dummy variable event window method to capture the response of Asian banks. The study finds evidence of a structural change in the capital structure of Asian commercial banks in response to the financial crisis. Findings suggest that conventional banks increased their capital position more in countries that have both Islamic and conventional banking than those countries without Islamic banking services. By having Islamic banking in their product portfolio, countries can exert market discipline on conventional banks. The study identifies a significant role of global macroeconomic shocks on banks liability structure decision-making. Evidence shows that this increase in capital positioning by banks was a permanent rather than a temporary response.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제8권8호
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• pp.453-463
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• 2021

The current study aims to investigate the relationship between CSRD and firm performance, as an indicator for corporate socially responsible behavior, and corporate market performance of listed companies on the Amman stock exchange (ASE). The study adopts a quantitative methodology and utilizes pooled data sets that was collected following content analysis approach of the annual reports for the period 2014 to 2019. The study sample consists of 42 listed companies. The study ran a multiple regression model in order to capture the relationship between the independent variable CSRD and the dependent variable that is Firm performance which was measured using Tobin's Q. The study also utilized five control variables in order to control the hypothesized relationship between CSRD and Firm Performance. The results indicate a negative but significant relationship between CSRD and corporate market performance measured by Tobin's Q. The results stand against the notion of the business case for CSR, and indicate the opposite position, so, the higher CSRD, the lower will be Tobin's Q. Such results support the notion of the institutional theory, and provide an initial evidence for legitimacy seeking behavior in Jordanian companies. However, the results indicate a lower level of awareness of CSR across investors and market players, which support arguments of the difference in market perceptions towards CSR.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.359-371
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• 2020

The performance of a multi-level overtopping wave energy converter (OWEC) has been numerically and experimentally investigated in a two-dimensional wave tank in order to study the effects of opening width of additional reservoirs. The device is a fixed OWEC consisting of an inclined ramp together with several reservoirs at different levels. A particle-based numerical simulation utilizing the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is used to simulate the flow behavior around the OWEC. Additionally, an experimental model is also built and tested in a small wave flume in order to validate the numerical results. A comparison in energy captured performance between single-level and multi-level devices has been proposed using the hydraulic efficiency. The enhancement of power capture performance is accomplished by increasing an overtopping flow rate captured by the extra reservoirs. However, a noticeably large opening of the extra reservoirs can result in a reduction in the power efficiency. The overtopping flow behavior into the reservoirs is also presented and discussed. Moreover, the results of hydrodynamic performance are compared with a similar study, of which a similar tendency is achieved. Nevertheless, the LBM simulations consume less computational time in both pre-processing and calculating phases.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제32권2호
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• pp.173-184
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• 2023

In this study, mechanical, flexural post-cracking, and torsional behaviors of recycled steel fiber-reinforced concrete (RSFRC) incorporating steel fibers obtained from recycling of waste tires were investigated. Initially, three concrete mixes with different fiber contents (0, 40, and 80 kg/m³) were designed and tested in fresh and hardened states. Subsequently, the flexural post-cracking behaviors of RSFRCs were assessed by conducting three-point bending tests on notched beams. It was observed that recycled steel fibers improve the post-cracking flexural behavior in terms of energy absorption, ductility, and residual flexural strength. What's more, torsional behaviors of four RSFRC concrete beams with varying reinforcement configurations were investigated. The results indicated that RSFRCs exhibited an improved post-elastic torsional behaviors, both in terms of the torsional capacity and ductility of the beams. Additionally, numerical analyses were performed to capture the behaviors of RSFRCs in flexure and torsion. At first, inverse analyses were carried out on the results of the three-point bending tests to determine the tensile functions of RSFRC specimens. Additionally, the applicability of the obtained RSFRC tensile functions was verified by comparing the results of the conducted experiments to their numerical counterparts. Finally, it is noteworthy that, despite the scatter (i.e., non-uniqueness) in the aspect ratio of recycled steel fiber (as opposed to industrial steel fiber), their inclusion contributed to the improvement of post-cracking flexural and torsional capacities.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제44권4호
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• pp.545-555
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• 2022

Empirical relationships that capture the nonlinear behavior of headed steel shear stud anchors have been derived from standard push out tests, where the specimens are comprised of large wide flanged steel sections attached to flat concrete slabs via the anchors. However, many composite systems used in practice utilize much smaller steel members and/or steel decking as part of the slab system. Composite open web steel joist systems generally include both of these elements and consequently the nonlinear performance ofthe anchor is not accurately represented by existing models. In this paper, a new empirical relation is presented for open web steel joist systems based on experimental results from a modified push out test that more realistically represent a composite open web steel joist system. The methodology for obtaining the proposed nonlinear function where the response of the system is characterized by two parameters(α and β) is presented. The two-step process for obtaining the two parameters is described and the empirical relation is calibrated with the experimental data. In comparison with existing expressions, the new proposal herein more accurately predicts the high initialstiffness of the system and overall nonlinear system performance.