• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.1473-1478
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• 2010

For the cassion type of breakwater under the condition of large wave loads, stability about lateral movement of breakwater was investigated by performing centrifuge model experiments. Prototype of breakwater was modelled by scaling down to centrifuge model and the soft ground reinforced with grouting was also reconstructed in the centrifuge model experiments. Sandy ground beneath breakwater was prepared with a soil sampled in field so that identical value of internal friction angle could be obtained. Centrifuge model experiments were carried out to reconstruct the construction sequence in field. Lateral static wave load was applied to the model caisson after the final stage of construction sequence was rebuilt and the measured lateral movement of caisson was compared with allowable value by the code to assess the stability about lateral movement of the breakwater.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.681-701
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• 2016

This paper presents an experimental study of six steel reinforced high strength concrete T-shaped short-limb shear walls configured with T-shaped steel truss under low cyclic reversed loading. Considering different categories of ratios of wall limb height to thickness, shear/span ratios, axial compression ratios and stirrup reinforcement ratios were selected to investigate the seismic behavior (strength, stiffness, energy dissipation capacity, ductility and deformation characteristics) of all the specimens. Two different failure modes were observed during the tests, including the flexural-shear failure for specimens with large shear/span ratio and the shear-diagonal compressive failure for specimens with small shear/span ratio. On the basis of requirement of Chinese seismic code, the deformation performance for all the specimens could not meet the level of 'three' fortification goals. Recommendations for improving the structural deformation capacity of T-shaped steel reinforced high strength concrete short-limb shear wall were proposed. Based on the experimental observations, the mechanical analysis models for concrete cracking strength and shear strength were derived using the equivalence principle and superposition theory, respectively. As a result, the proposed method in this paper was verified by the test results, and the experimental results agreed well with the proposed model.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.263-281
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• 2013

Geotextiles and geogrids have been in use for several decades in variety of geo-structure applications including foundation of embankments, retaining walls, pavements. Geocells is one such variant in geosynthetic reinforcement of recent years, which provides a three dimensional confinement to the infill material. Although extensive research has been carried on geocell reinforced sand, clay and layered soil subgrades, limited research has been reported on the aggregates/ballast reinforced with geocells. This paper presents the behavior of a railway sleeper subjected to monotonic loading on geocell reinforced aggregates, of size ranging from 20 to 75 mm, overlying soft clay subgrades. Series of tests were conducted in a steel test tank of dimensions $700mm{\times}300mm{\times}700mm$. In addition to the laboratory model tests, numerical simulations were performed using a finite difference code to predict the behavior of geocell reinforced ballast. The results from numerical simulations were compared with the experimental data. The numerical and experimental results manifested the importance that the geocell reinforcement has a significant effect on the ballast behaviour. The results depicted that the stiffness of underlying soft clay subgrade has a significant influence on the behavior of the geocell-aggregate composite material in redistributing the loading system.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.369-380
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• 2018

In this paper, a multi-layered finite element model for laminated glass plates is introduced. A layer-wise theory is applied to the analysis of laminated glass due to the combination of stiff and soft layers; the independent layers are connected via Lagrange multipliers. The von $K{\acute{a}}rm{\acute{a}}n$ large deflection plate theory and the constant Poisson ratio for constitutive equations are assumed to capture the possible effects of geometric nonlinearity and the time/temperature-dependent response of the plastic foil. The linear viscoelastic behavior of a polymer foil is included by the generalized Maxwell model. The proposed layer-wise model was implemented into the MATLAB code and verified against detailed three-dimensional models in ADINA solver using different hexahedral finite elements. The effects of temperature, load duration, and creep/relaxation are demonstrated by examples.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.1233-1250
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• 2015

The behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) columns made from high strength materials was investigated experimentally. Six high-strength concrete specimen columns (1:4 scale), which included three with high-strength transverse reinforcing bars and three with normal-strength transverse reinforcement, were tested under double curvature bending load. The effects of yielding strength and ratio of transverse reinforcement on the cracking patterns, hysteretic response, shear strength, ductility, strength reduction, energy dissipation and strain of reinforcement were studied. The test results indicated that all specimens failed in splitting failure, and specimens with high-strength transverse reinforcement exhibited better seismic performance than those with normal-strength transverse reinforcement. It also demonstrated that the strength of high-strength lateral reinforcing bars was fully utilized at the ultimate displacements. Shear strength formula of short concrete columns, which experienced a splitting failure, was proposed based on the Chinese concrete code. To enhance the applicability of the model, it was corroborated with 47 short concrete columns selected from the literature available. The results indicated that, the proposed method can give better predictions of shear strength for short columns that experienced a splitting failure than other shear strength models of ACI 318 and Chinese concrete codes.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.83-101
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• 2014

Lamps installed on stay cables of cable-stayed bridges may alter the configuration of circular cross section of the cables and therefore result in aerodynamically unstable cable vibrations. The background of this study is a preliminary design of lamp installation on the cable-stayed He-dong Bridge in Guangzhou, China. Force measurements and dynamic response measurements wind tunnel tests were carried out to validate the possibility of cable galloping vibrations. It is observed that galloping will occur and the critical wind velocity is far less than the design wind velocity at Guangzhou City stipulated in Chinese Code. Numerical simulations utilizing software ANSYS CFX were subsequently performed and almost the same results as the wind tunnel tests were obtained. Moreover, the pressure and velocity contours around cable-lamp model obtained from numerical simulations indicated that the upstream steel wire in the preliminary design is the key factor for the onset of the galloping vibrations. A modification for the preliminary design of lamp installation, which suggests to remove the two parallel steel wires, is proposed, and it effectiveness is validated in further wind tunnel tests.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.465-475
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• 2017

Photovoltaic (PV) panels are used in high-rise buildings to convert solar energy to electricity. Due to the considerable energy consumption of high-rise buildings, applying PV technology is of great significance to energy saving. In the application of PV panels, one of the most important construction issues is the connection of the PV panel with the main structures. One major difficulty of the connection design is that the PV panel connection consists of two separate components with coupling and indeterminate dimension. In this paper, the gap element is employed in these two separated but coupled components, i.e., hook and catch. Topology optimization is applied to optimize and design the cross-section of the PV panel connection. Pareto optimization is conducted to operate the optimization subject to multiple load scenarios. The initial design for the topology optimization is determined by the common design specified by the Technical Code for Glass Curtain Wall Engineering (JGJ 102-2003). Gravity and wind load scenarios are considered for the optimization and numerical analysis. Post analysis is conducted for the optimal design obtained by the topology optimization due to the manufactory requirements. Generally, compared with the conventional design, the optimized connector reduces material use with improved structural characteristics.

• 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.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.227-236
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• 2020

Non-destructive exploration using elastic waves has been widely used to characterize rock mass properties. Wave propagation in jointed rock masses is significantly governed by the characteristics and orientation of discontinuities. The relationship between spatial heterogeneity (i.e., joint spacing) and wavelength for elastic waves propagating through jointed rock masses have been investigated previously. Discontinuous rock masses can be considered as an equivalent continuum material when the wavelength of the propagating elastic wave exceeds the spatial heterogeneity. However, it is unclear how stress-dependent long-wavelength elastic waves propagate through a repetitive rock-joint system with multiple joints. A preliminary numerical simulation was performed in in this study to investigate long-wavelength elastic wave propagation in regularly jointed rock masses using the three-dimensional distinct element code program. First, experimental studies using the quasi-static resonant column (QSRC) testing device are performed on regularly jointed disc column specimens for three different materials (acetal, aluminum, and gneiss). The P- and S-wave velocities of the specimens are obtained under various normal stress levels. The normal and shear joint stiffness are calculated from the experimental results using an equivalent continuum model and used as input parameters for numerical analysis. The spatial and temporal sizes are carefully selected to guarantee a stable numerical simulation. Based on the calibrated jointed rock model, the numerical and experimental results are compared.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.135-154
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• 2002

This paper presents the convected material frame approach to study the nonlinear behavior of inelastic frame structures. The convected material frame approach is a modification of the co-rotational approximation by incorporating an adaptive convected material frame in the basic definition of the displacement vector and strain tensor. In the formulation, each discrete element is associated with a local coordinate system that rotates and translates with the element. For each load increment, the corresponding strain-displacement and nodal force-stress relationships are defined in the updated local coordinates, and based on the updated element geometry. The rigid body motion and deformation displacements are decoupled for each increment. This modified approach incorporates the geometrical nonlinearities through the continuous updating of the material frame geometry. A generalized nonlinear function is used to derive the inelastic constitutive relation and the kinematic hardening is considered. The equation of motion is integrated by an explicit procedure and it involves only vector assemblage and vector storage in the analysis by assuming a lumped mass matrix of diagonal form. Several numerical examples are demonstrated in close agreement with the solutions obtained by the ANSYS code. Numerical studies show that the proposed approach is capable of investigating large deflection of inelastic planar structures and providing an excellent numerical performance.