• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.503-519
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• 2015

This paper presents an optimization process using Genetic Algorithm (GA) for minimum weight by selecting suitable standard sections from a specified list taken from American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). The stress constraints obeying AISC-LRFD (American Institute of Steel Construction-Load and Resistance Factor Design), lateral displacement constraints being the top and inter-storey drift, mid-span deflection constraints for the beams and geometric constraints are considered for optimum design by using GA that mimics biological processes. Optimum designs for three different space frames taken from the literature are carried out first without considering concrete slab effects in finite element analyses for the constraints above and the results are compared with the ones available in literature. The same optimization procedures are then repeated for the case of space frames with composite (steel and concrete) beams. A program is coded in MATLAB for the optimization processes. Results obtained in the study showed that consideration of the contribution of the concrete on the behavior of the floor beams results with less steel weight and ends up with more economical designs.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.563-573
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• 2024

This research experimentally evaluated the local stress distribution along the cross-section of composite beams under both positive and negative moments. The experiment utilized a large-scale, two-story, two-by-three bay steel gravity frame with a concrete on metal deck floor system. The composite shear connections, which are nominally assumed to be pinned under gravity loading, can develop non-negligible moment-resisting capacity when subjected to lateral loads. This paper discusses the local stress distribution, orshear lag effects, observed near the beam-to-column connections when subjected to combined gravity and lateral loading. Strain gauges were used for measurements along the beam depth at varying distances from the connection. The experimental data showed amplified shear lag effects near the unconnected region of the beam web and bottom flange under the applied loading conditions. These results indicate that strain does not vary linearly across the beam cross-section adjacent to the connection components. This insight has implications for the use of experimental strain gauge data in estimating beam demands near the connections. These findings can be beneficial in informing instrumentation plans for future experimental studies on composite beams.

• Composites Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.158-167
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• 2014

Final goal of this research is to establish the database for correlation factors which connects the test and analysis results of shear buckling allowables for composite plate. To accomplish the goal, extensive test and analysis works are required. In this paper, as the first step, a frame-type fixture for shear buckling test was designed and validated through the test and analysis. Final configuration of the fixture were determined via parametric study on the effect of specimen size, cross-sectional dimensions, and number of fastening bolts on the shear buckling load. Results of the study showed the designed frame-type fixture successfully induces the shear buckling of composite plate. However, there were deviations between the test results and analysis results for ideal case under pure shear load, which were mainly caused by the difference in plate sizes for both cases. The difference were larger in the plates with larger hole and simply supported boundary condition. It is concluded from the results that while the designed fixture can be used for the clamped plates with acceptable accuracy, it shows larger difference in the simply supported plates.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.805-827
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• 2016

A new type of precast CFST column to RC beam braced frame is proposed in this paper. A series of shake table tests were conducted to excite a one-third scale six-story model for investigating the global seismic performance of this type of structure against earthquake actions. Particular emphasis was given to its dynamic property, global seismic responses and failure path. Correspondingly, a numerical model built on the basis of fiber-beam-element model, multi-layer shell model and element-deactivation method was developed to simulate the seismic performance of the prototype structure. Numerical results were compared with the measured values from shake table tests to verify the validity and reliability of the numerical model. The results demonstrated that the proposed novel precast CFST column to RC beam braced frame performs excellently under strong earthquake excitations; the "strong CFST column-weak RC beam" and "strong connection-weak member" anti-seismic design principles can be easily achieved; the maximum deflections of precast CFSTC-RCB braced frame satisfied the deflection limitations proposed in national code; the numerical model can properly simulate the dynamic property and responses of the precast CFSTC-RCB braced frame that are highly concerned in engineering practice.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.1055-1071
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• 2016

The paper presents an innovative steel moment frame with the replaceable reinforced concrete wall panel (SRW) structural system, in which the replaceable concrete wall can play a role to increase the overall lateral stiffness of the frame system. Two full scale specimens composed of the steel frames and the replaceable reinforced concrete wall panels were tested under the cyclic horizontal load. The failure mode, load-displacement response, deformability, and the energy dissipation capacity of SRW specimens were investigated. Test results show that the two-stage failure mode is characterized by the sequential failure process of the replaceable RC wall panel and the steel moment frame. It can be found that the replaceable RC wall panels damage at the lateral drift ratio greater than 0.5%. After the replacement of a new RC wall panel, the new specimen maintained the similar capacity of resisting lateral load as the previous one. The decrease of the bearing capacity was presented between the two stages because of the connection failure on the top of the replaceable RC wall panel. With the increase of the lateral drift, the percentage of the lateral force and the overturning moment resisted by the wall panel decreased for the reason of the reduction of its lateral stiffness. After the failure of the wall panel, the steel moment frame shared almost all the lateral force and the overturning moment.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1055-1075
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• 2015

In order to investigate the accuracy and applicability of steel equivalent constitutive model, the calculated results were compared with typical tests of steel frames under static and dynamic loading patterns firstly. Secondly, four widely used models for time history analysis of steel frames were compared to discuss the applicability and efficiency of different methods, including shell element model, multi-scale model, equivalent constitutive model (ECM) and traditional beam element model (especially bilinear model). Four-story steel frame models of above-mentioned finite element methods were established. The structural deformation, failure modes and the computational efficiency of different models were compared. Finally, the equivalent constitutive model was applied in seismic incremental dynamic analysis of a ten-floor steel frame and compared with the cyclic hardening model without considering damage and degradation. Meanwhile, the effects of damage and degradation on the seismic performance of steel frame were discussed in depth. The analysis results showed that: damages would lead to larger deformations. Therefore, when the calculated results of steel structures subjected to rare earthquake without considering damage were close to the collapse limit, the actual story drift of structure might already exceed the limit, leading to a certain security risk. ECM could simulate the damage and degradation behaviors of steel structures more accurately, and improve the calculation accuracy of traditional beam element model with acceptable computational efficiency.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2014.11a
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• pp.193-194
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• 2014

Green Frame is a building frame system composed of precast concrete columns and beams. For the construction to run smoothly, the quantity of frames should be estimated in the planning phase and a plan on production of members should be established in connection with the overall work plan. The algorithm for calculation of the amount of forms used in Green Frame automatically estimates the quantity of forms using the design structure prepared in the design phase. The number and area of forms are calculated using the member size drawn from the structure design. Based on the quantity calculated, the type and area per form size are estimated to be used in preparing BOQ (Bill of Quantity). Thus, the time required for architectural planning and design can be shortened when the algorithm for calculation of the amount of forms is applied. This study is on the basic research of calculating the quantity of forms using the structure design and of the algorithm for calculation of the amount of forms used for production of composite PC members.

• The Magazine of the Society of Air-Conditioning and Refrigerating Engineers of Korea
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.357-368
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• 1988

An application of thermal response coefficient method for obtaining thermal load on stud-frame walls in a typical house is presented. A set of stud-frame walls is two-dimensional heat conduction transients with composite structure. The ambient temperature on the right-hand face of the stud-frame walls is a typical day-cycle input and the room temperature on the left-hand face is a constant input. The desired output is thermal load at the left-hand face. The time-dependent ambient temperature is approximated by a continuous, piecewise-linear function each having one hour interval. The conduction problem is spatially discretized as 8 computer modelings by finite elements to obtain thermal response coefficients. The discretization and round-off errors can be neglected in the range of adequate number of nodes. A 60-node discretization is recommended as the optimum model among 8 computer modelings. Several sets of response coefficients of the stud-frame walls are generated by which the rate of heat transfer through the walls or some temperature in the walls can be calculated for different input histories.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.553-564
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• 2022

Many existing reinforced concrete (RC) structures need to be strengthening for reason such as poor construction quality, low ductility or designing without considering seismic effects. One of the strengthening methods is strengthening technique with eccentrically braced frames (EBFs). The characteristic element of these systems is the link element and its length is very important in terms of seismic behavior. The link element of Y shaped EBF systems (YEBFs) is designed as a short shear element. Different limits are suggested in the literature for the link length. This study to aim experimentally investigate the effect of the link length for the suggested limits on the behavior of the RC frame system and efficiency of strengthening technique. For this purpose, a total of 5 single story, single span RC frame specimens were produced. The design of the RC frames was made considering seismic design deficiencies. Four of the produced specimens were strengthened and one of them remained as bare specimen. The steel YEBFs were used in strengthening the RC frame and the link was designed as a shear element that have different length with respect to suggested limits in literature. The length of links was determined as 50mm, 100mm, 150mm and 200mm. All of the specimens were tested under cyclic loads. The obtained results show that the strengthening technique improved the energy consumption and lateral load bearing capacities of the bare RC specimen. Moreover, it is concluded that the specimens YB-2 and YB-3 showed better performance than the other specimens, especially in energy consumption and ductility.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.321-333
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• 2023

This paper proposes a comprehensive investigation on lateral stiffness of corner-supported steel modular frame using splice connection. A full-scale modular frame with two stacked steel modules under lateral load is tested. Ductile pattern in the transfer of lateral load is found in the final failure mode. Two types of lateral stiffness, including tangent stiffness and secant stiffness, are defined from the load-displacement due to the observed nonlinearity. The difference between these two types of stiffness is found around 20%. The comparisons between the experimental lateral stiffness and the predictions of classical methods are also conducted. The D-value method using hypothesis of independent case is a conservative option for predicting lateral stiffness, which is more recommended than method of contraflexural bending moment. Analyses on two classical short-rod models, including fix-rod model and pin-rod model, are further conducted. Results indicate that fix-rod model is more recommended than pin-rod model to simplify splice connection for simulation on lateral stiffness of modular frame in elastic design stage.