• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2011

In this research, static load test is performed to verify the arch effect and structural performance of CFTA(Concrete-Filled and Tied steel tubular Arch) girder, and FE(Finite Element) analysis is performed to investigate validity of the test result. CFTA girder is designed to maximize the benefit of each material, such as steel plate, filled concrete and PS tendon. Static load test is performed based on the frame-analysis result of 12m sample miniature model. The result of static load test is that structural performance and safety of CFTA girder are confirmed and there is different deflection mode with other structural form result from arch effect. FE analysis with ABAQUS is also performed to show the validity of the truck collision safety and static load test.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.365-373
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• 2021

In this study, evaporation of LN2 non-spreading pool on concrete plate was dealt with experimentally. The thermophysical properties of concrete, which is a composite material, were obtained by minimizing the difference between the numerical analysis results obtained from the assumed properties and the results from experiments. The thermal energy required for evaporation of the liquid pool is supplied from the concrete plate and the wall of the container. As a result of the measurement, the thermal energy flowing in from the wall was negligible compared to the one supplied from the concrete plate. It was found that the measured evaporation rate of the liquid pool by the heat energy supplied through the concrete plate agrees well with the PTC model except for the initial section of the experiment. The validity of the semi-infinite assumption and the one-dimensional assumption, which are the main conditions of the PTC model, was also verified through experiments. The evaporation rate model in the non-spreading pool discussed in this study can provide a basic frame for the one in the spreading pool, which is a meaningful result considering that the spreading pool is very realistic compared to the non-spreading pool.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.807-819
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• 2019

In recent earthquakes, the failure of ceiling systems has been one of the most widely reported damage and the major cause of functionality interruption in some buildings. In an effort to mitigate this damage, some scholars have studied a series of ceiling systems including plaster ceilings and mineral wool ceilings. But few studies have involved the backdrop metal ceiling used in some important constructions with higher rigidity and frequency such as the main control area of nuclear power plants. Therefore, in order to evaluate its seismic performance, a full-scale backdrop metal ceiling system, including steel runners and metal panels, was designed, fabricated and installed in a steel frame in this study. And the backdrop metal ceiling system with two perimeter attachments variants was tested: (i) the ends of the runners were connected with the angle steel to form an effective lateral constraint around the backdrop metal ceiling, (ii) the perimeter attachments of the main runner were retained, but the perimeter attachments of the cross runner were removed. In the experiments, different damage of the backdrop metal ceiling system was observed in detail under various earthquakes. Results showed that the backdrop metal ceiling had good integrity and excellent seismic performance. And the perimeter attachments of the cross runner had an adverse effect on the seismic performance of the backdrop metal ceiling under earthquakes. Meanwhile, a series of seismic construction measures and several suggestions that need to be paid attention were proposed in the text so that the backdrop metal ceiling can be better applied in the main control area of nuclear power plants and other important engineering projects.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.443-456
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• 2019

Although numerous researchers demonstrated the significant difference in performance between the various beam-to-column connection types, most of the previous studies in the area of infilled steel frames focused on the behaviour of frames with welded connections. Therefore, there is a need for conducting studies on infilled steel frames with other common connection types (extended endplate with and without rib stiffeners, flush endplate and shear connections). In this paper, firstly, a two-dimensional finite-element model simulating the cyclic response of infilled steel frames was presented. The infill-frame interaction, as well as the interactions between connections' components, were properly modelled. Using the previously-validated model, a parametric study on infilled steel frames with five different beam-to-column connection types, under cyclic loading, was carried out. Several parameters, including infill material, fracture energy of masonry and infill thickness, were investigated. The results showed that the infilled frames with welded connections had the highest initial stiffness and load-carrying capacity. However, the infilled frames with extended endplate connections (without rib stiffeners) showed the greatest energy dissipation capacity and about 96% of the load-carrying capacity of frames with welded connections which indicates that this type of connection could have the best performance among the studied connection types. Finally, a simplified analytical model for estimating the stiffness and strength of infilled steel frames (with different beam-to-column connection types) subjected to lateral cyclic loading, was suggested.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.501-511
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• 2022

Earthquake Resistant Design Philosophy seeks (a) no damage, (b) no significant structural damage, and (c) significant structural damage but no collapse of normal buildings, under minor, moderate and severe levels of earthquake shaking, respectively. A procedure is proposed for seismic design of low-rise reinforced concrete special moment frame buildings, which is consistent with this philosophy; buildings are designed to be ductile through appropriate sizing and reinforcement detailing, such that they resist severe level of earthquake shaking without collapse. Nonlinear analyses of study buildings are used to determine quantitatively (a) ranges of design parameters required to assure the required deformability in normal buildings to resist the severe level of earthquake shaking, (b) four specific limit states that represent the start of different structural damage states, and (c) levels of minor and moderate earthquake shakings stated in the philosophy along with an extreme level of earthquake shaking associated with the structural damage state of no collapse. The four limits of structural damage states and the three levels of earthquake shaking identified are shown to be consistent with the performance-based design guidelines available in literature. Finally, nonlinear analyses results are used to confirm the efficacy of the proposed procedure.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.437-450
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• 2022

When the vertical load-bearing members in high-rise structures fail locally, the beam-column joints play an important role in the redistribution of the internal forces. In this paper, a static laboratory test of three full-scale flush flange beam-reinforced connections with side and cover plates (CP-FBSP connection) with double half-span steel beams and single L-shaped columns composed of concrete-filled steel tubes (L-CFST columns) was conducted. The influence of the side plate width and cover plate thickness on the progressive collapse resistance of the substructure was thoroughly analyzed. The failure mode, vertical force-displacement curves, strain variation, reaction force of the pin support and development of internal force in the section with the assumed plastic hinge were discussed. Then, through the verified finite element model, the corresponding analyses of the thickness and length of the side plates, the connecting length between the steel beam flange and cover plate, and the vertical-force eccentricity were carried out. The results show that the failure of all the specimens occurred through the cracking of the beam flange or the cover plate, and the beam chord rotations measured by the test were all greater than 0.085 rad. Increasing the length, thickness and width of the side plates slightly reduced the progressive collapse resistance of the substructures. The vertical-force eccentricity along the beam length reduced the progressive collapse resistance of the substructure. An increase in the connecting length between the beam flange and cover plate can significantly improve the progressive collapse resistance of substructures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.147-165
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• 2023

The paper contrasts conventional seismic design with a design that incorporates buckling-restrained bracing in three-dimensional reinforced concrete buildings (BRBs). The suboptimal structures may be found using the multi-objective chimp optimization algorithm (MEN-ChOA). Given the constraints and dimensions, ChOA suffers from a slow convergence rate and tends to become stuck in local minima. Therefore, the ChOA is improved by niching and evolutionary operators to overcome the aforementioned problems. In addition, a new technique is presented to compute seismic and dead loads that include all of a structure's parts in an algorithm for three-dimensional frame design rather than only using structural elements. The performance of the constructed multi-objective model is evaluated using 12 standard multi-objective benchmarks proposed in IEEE congress on evolutionary computation. Second, MEN-ChOA is employed in constructing several reinforced concrete structures by the Mexico City building code. The variety of Pareto optimum fronts of these criteria enables a thorough performance examination of the MEN-ChOA. The results also reveal that BRB frames with comparable structural performance to conventional moment-resistant reinforced concrete framed buildings are more cost-effective when reinforced concrete building height rises. Structural performance and building cost may improve by using a nature-inspired strategy based on MEN-ChOA in structural design work.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.107-122
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• 2024

Following an internal column failure, adjacent double-span beams above the failed column will play a critical role in the load transfer and internal force redistribution within the remaining structure, and the span-to-depth ratios of double-span beams significantly influence the structural resistance capacity against progressive collapse. Most existing studies have focused on the collapse-resistant performances of single-story symmetric structures, whereas limited published works are available on the collapse resistances of multi-story steel frames with unequal spans. To this end, in this study, numerical models based on shell elements were employed to investigate the structural behavior of multi-story steel frames with unequal spans. The simulation models were validated using the previous experimental results obtained for single- and two-story steel frames, and the load-displacement responses and internal force development of unequal-span three-story steel frames under three cases were comprehensively analyzed. In addition, the specific contributions of the different mechanism resistances of unequal-span, double-span beams of each story were separated quantitatively using the energy equilibrium theory, with an aim to gain a deeper level of understanding of the load-resistance mechanisms in the unequal-span steel frames. The results showed that the axial and flexural mechanism resistances were determined by the span ratio and linear stiffness ratio of double-span beams, respectively.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.249-263
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• 2024

This article presents a comparative analysis of seismic behavior in steel-beam reinforced concrete column (RCS) frames versus steel and reinforced concrete frames. The study evaluates the seismic response and collapse behavior of RCS frames of varying heights through nonlinear modeling. RCS, steel, and reinforced concrete special moment frames are considered in three height categories: 5, 10, and 20 stories. Two-dimensional frames are extracted from the three-dimensional structures, and nonlinear static analyses are conducted in the OpenSEES software to evaluate seismic response in post-yield regions. Incremental dynamic analysis is then performed on models, and collapse conditions are compared using fragility curves. Research findings indicate that the seismic intensity index in steel frames is 1.35 times greater than in RCS frames and 1.14 times greater than in reinforced concrete frames. As the number of stories increases, RCS frames exhibit more favorable collapse behavior compared to reinforced concrete frames. RCS frames demonstrate stable behavior and maintain capacity at high displacement levels, with uniform drift curves and lower damage levels compared to steel and reinforced concrete frames. Steel frames show superior strength and ductility, particularly in taller structures. RCS frames outperform reinforced concrete frames, displaying improved collapse behavior and higher capacity. Incremental Dynamic Analysis results confirm satisfactory collapse capacity for RCS frames. Steel frames collapse at higher intensity levels but perform better overall. RCS frames have a higher collapse capacity than reinforced concrete frames. Fragility curves show a lower likelihood of collapse for steel structures, while RCS frames perform better with an increase in the number of stories.

• Journal of Platform Technology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.47-55
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• 2023

With the goal of ensuring the safety of wheelchair users, this study was conducted using finite element analysis, focusing on the development of a platform that can be used to evaluate safety during the design stage. Safety evaluation criteria for wheelchairs used in vehicles are defined in ANSI/RESNA WC19 and ISO 7176-19. Based on these standards, finite element analysis was performed to assess the sectional forces of each component of the wheelchair and sensitivity analysis was conducted based on the specifications. These results were used to derive equivalent composite loads for the wheelchair's main components, determine the necessary sectional specifications for these main components in the wheelchair design phase, and investigate the process of safety assessment verification. The study showed that member forces vary with changes in the cross-sectional values of the wheelchair frame's main components, with the front and rear lower members, as well as the rear upper and lower members, requiring the highest cross-sectional values for safety design. This study offers a proactive method for evaluating safety in the wheelchair design stage, and in future research, we plan to develop a safety evaluation platform based on these results.