• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.83-100
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• 2022

Timber is one of the few natural, renewable building materials and glulam is a type of engineering wood product. In the present work, timber-based braces are applied for retrofitting midrise Special Moment Resisting Frame (SMRF) using two types of timber base braces (Timber base glulam, and hybrid Timber-Steel-BRB) as alternatives for retrofitting by traditional steel bracings. The improving effects of adding the bracings to the SMRF on seismic characteristics of the frame are evaluated using load-bearing capacity, energy dissipation, and story drifts of the frame. For evaluating the retrofitting effects on the seismic performance of SMRF, a five-story SMRF is considered unretofitted and retrofitted with steel-hollow structural section (HSS) brace, Glued Laminated Timber (Glulam) brace, and hybrid Timber-Steel BRB. Using OpenSees structural analyzer, the performance are investigated under pushover, cyclic, and incremental loading. Results showed that steel-HSS, timber base Glulam, and hybrid timber-steel BRB braces have more significant roles in energy dissipation, increasing stiffness, changing capacity curves, reducing inter-story drifts, and reducing the weight of the frames, compared by steel bracing. Results showed that Hybrid BRB counteract the negative post-yield stiffness, so their use is more beneficial on buildings where P-Delta effects are more critical. It is found that the repair costs of the buildings with hybrid BRB will be less due to lower residual drifts. As a result, timber steel-BRB has the best energy dissipation and seismic performance due to symmetrical and stable hysteresis curves of buckling restrained braces that can experience the same capacities in tension and compression.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제44권5호
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• pp.619-632
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• 2022

There are numerous structural details (Longitudinal beam, web plate, U-ribs and I-ribs) in the top and bottom plates of steel box girders, which have significant influences on the longitudinal stress (normal stress) distribution. Clarifying the influence of these structural details on the normal stress distribution is important. In this paper, the ultra-wide steel box girder with large cantilevers of the Jinhai Bridge in China, which is the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world, has been analyzed. A 1:4.5 scale laboratory model of the steel box girder has been manufactured, and the influence of structural details on the normal stress distribution in the top and bottom plates for four different load cases has been analyzed in detail. Furthermore, a three-dimensional finite element model has been established to further investigate the influence regularity of structural details on the normal stress. The experimental and finite element analysis (FEA) results have shown that different structural details of the top and bottom plates have varying effects on the normal stress distribution. Notably, the U-ribs and I-ribs of the top and bottom plates introduce periodicity to the normal stress distribution. The period of the influence of U-ribs on the normal stress distribution is the sum of the single U-rib width and the U-rib spacing, and that of the influence of I-ribs on the normal stress distribution is equal to the spacing of the I-ribs. Furthermore, the same structural details but located at different positions, will have a different effect on the normal stress distribution.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제44권5호
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• pp.721-740
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• 2022

In this paper, an accurate kinematic model has been developed to study the mechanical response of functionally graded (FG) sandwich beams, mainly covering the bending, buckling and free vibration problems. The studied structure with homogeneous hardcore and softcore is considered to be simply supported in the edges. The present model uses a new refined shear deformation beam theory (RSDBT) in which the displacement field is improved over the other existing high-order shear deformation beam theories (HSDBTs). The present model provides good accuracy and considers a nonlinear transverse shear deformation shape function, since it is constructed with only two unknown variables as the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory but complies with the shear stress-free boundary conditions on the upper and lower surfaces of the beam without employing shear correction factors. The sandwich beams are composed of two FG skins and a homogeneous core wherein the material properties of the skins are assumed to vary gradually and continuously in the thickness direction according to the power-law distribution of volume fraction of the constituents. The governing equations are drawn by implementing Hamilton's principle and solved by means of the Navier's technique. Numerical computations in the non-dimensional terms of transverse displacement, stresses, critical buckling load and natural frequencies obtained by using the proposed model are compared with those predicted by other beam theories to confirm the performance of the proposed theory and to verify the accuracy of the kinematic model.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.457-471
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• 2023

To make up for the performance weaknesses of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC), expand the application range of RAC, and alleviate the environmental problems caused by excessive exploitation of natural coarse aggregates (NCA), this study proposes a basalt fiber-reinforced recycled aggregate concrete (BFRRAC)-filled square steel tubular columns that combines two modification methods of steel tube and fiber, which may greatly enhance the mechanical properties of RAC. The axial compression performance for BFRRAC-filled square steel tubular columns was reported during this study. Seven specimens with different replacement ratios of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA), length-diameter ratios, along with basalt fiber (BF) contents were designed as well as fabricated for performing axial compression test. For each specimen, the whole failure process as well as mode of specimen were discovered, subsequently the load-axial displacement curve has obtained, after which the mechanical properties was explained. A finite element analysis model for specimens under axial compression was then established. Subsequently, based on this model, the factors affecting axial compression performance for BFRRAC-filled square steel tubes were extended and analyzed, after which the corresponding design suggestion was proposed. The results show that in the columns with length-diameter ratios of 5 and 8, bulging failure was presented, and the RAC was severely crushed at the bulging area of the specimen. The replacement ratio of RCA as well as BF content little affected specimen's peak load (less than 5%). As the content of BF enhanced from 0 kg/m³ to 4 kg/m³, the dissipation factor and ductility coefficients increased by 10.2% and 5.6%, respectively, with a wide range.

• Advances in nano research
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• 제15권5호
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• pp.467-484
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• 2023

Despite the significant features of fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (FRCCs), including better mechanical, fractural, and durability performance, their high content of cement has restricted their use in the construction industry. Although ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) is considered the main supplementary cementitious material, its slow pozzolanic reaction stands against its application. The addition of nano-sized mineral modifiers, including nano-silica (NS), is an alternative to address the drawbacks of using GGBFS. The main object of this empirical and numerical research is to examine the effect of NS on the strain-hardening behavior of cementitious composites; ten mixes were designed, and five levels of NS were considered. This study proposes a new method, using a four-point bending test to assess the use of nano-silica (NS) on the flexural behavior, first cracking strength, fracture energy, and micromechanical parameters including interfacial friction bond strength and maximum bridging stress. Digital image correlation (DIC) was used for monitoring the initiation and propagation of the cracks. In addition, to attain a deep comprehension of fiber/matrix interaction, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis was used. It was discovered that using nano-silica (NS) in cementitious materials results in an enhancement in the matrix toughness, which prevents multiple cracking and, therefore, strain-hardening. In addition, adding NS enhanced the interfacial transition zone between matrix and fiber, leading to a higher interfacial friction bond strength, which helps multiple cracking in the composite due to the hydrophobic nature of polypropylene (PP) fibers. The findings of this research provide insight into finding the optimum percent of NS in which both ductility and high tensile strength of the composites would be satisfied. As a concluding remark, a new criterion is proposed, showing that the optimum value of nano-silica is 2%. The findings and proposed method of this study can facilitate the design and utilization of green cementitious composites in structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제48권1호
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• pp.103-111
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• 2023

The caving property of top coal is a key factor to the success of top coal caving mining. The influence law of cyclic loading and unloading of hydraulic support on top coal caving is of great significance to improve the recovery rate of top coal. The similar simulation methods were used to study the dynamic evolution of the top coal cracks under the multi-cycle action of the support, and the parameters of top coal cracks were analyzed quantitatively in this paper. The results show that the top coal cracks can be divided into horizontal cracks and vertical cracks under the cyclic loading and unloading of the support. With the increase of the times of the support cycles loading and unloading, the load on the support decreases, the fractal dimension of the cracks increases, the number and total length of the top coal cracks increases, and the top coal caving is getting better. With the increase of the times of multi-cycle loading and unloading, the fractal dimension, total crack length and crack rate of top coal show a trend of rapid increase first and then increase slowly. Both the total length of the top coal cracks and the crack rate basically show linear growth with the change of the fractal dimension. The top coal caving can be well improved and the coal resource recovery rate increased through the multi-cycle loading and unloading.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제49권2호
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• pp.143-159
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• 2023

Recently, the design of scaffolding systems has garnered considerable attention due to the increasing number of scaffold collapses. These incidents arise from the underestimation of imposed loads and the site-specific conditions that restrict the application of lateral restraints in scaffold assemblies. The present study is committed to augmenting the buckling resistance of vertical support members, obviating the need for supplementary lateral restraints. To achieve this objective, experimental and computational analyses were performed to assess the axial load buckling capacity of steel props, composed of two hollow steel pipes that slide into each other for a certain length. Three full-scale steel props with various geometric properties were tested to construct and validate the analytical models. The total unsupported length of the steel props is 6 m, while three pins were installed to tighten the outer and inner pipes in the distance they overlapped. Finite Element (FE) modeling is carried out for the three steel props, and the developed models were verified using the experimental results. Also, theoretical analysis is utilized to verify the FE analysis. Using the FE-verified models, a parametric study is conducted to evaluate the effect of different inserted pipe lengths on the steel props' axial load capacity and lateral displacement. Based on the results, the typical failure mode for the studied steel props is global elastic buckling. Also, the prop's elastic buckling strength is sensitive to the inserted length of the smaller pipe. A threshold of minimum inserted length is one-third of the total length, after which the buckling strength increases. The present study offers a prop with enhanced buckling resistance and introduces an equation for calculating an equivalent effective length factor (k), which can be seamlessly incorporated into Euler's buckling equation, thereby facilitating the determination of the buckling capacity of the enhanced props and providing a pragmatic engineering solution.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제49권3호
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• pp.307-323
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• 2023

In this research, the study of the thermoelastic flexural analysis of silicon carbide/Aluminum graded (FG) sandwich 2D uniform structure (plate) under harmonic sinusoidal temperature load over time is presented. The plate is modeled using a simple two dimensional integral shear deformation plate theory. The current formulation contains an integral terms whose aim is to reduce a number of variables compared to others similar solutions and therefore minimize the computation time. The transverse shear stresses vary according to parabolic distribution and vanish at the free surfaces of the structure without any use of correction factors. The external load is applied on the upper face and varying in the thickness of the plates. The structure is supposed to be composed of "three layers" and resting on nonlinear visco-Pasternak's-foundations. The governing equations of the system are deduced and solved via Hamilton's principle and general solution. The computed results are compared with those existing in the literature to validate the current formulation. The impacts of the parameters (material index, temperature exponent, geometry ratio, time, top/bottom temperature ratio, elastic foundation type, and damping coefficient) on the dynamic flexural response are studied.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제49권6호
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• pp.615-631
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• 2023

To investigate the seismic behavior of steel slag self-stressing concrete-filled circular steel tubular (SSSCFCST) columns, 14 specimens were designed, namely, 10 SSSCFCST columns and four ordinary steel slag (SS) concrete (SSC)-filled circular steel tubular (SSCFCST) columns. Comparative tests were conducted under low reversed cyclic loading considering various parameters, such as the axial compression ratio, diameter-thickness ratio, shear-span ratio, and expansion ratio of SSC. The failure process of the specimens was observed, and hysteretic and skeleton curves were obtained. Next, the influence of these parameters on the hysteretic behavior of the SSSCFCST columns was analyzed. The self stress of SS considerably increased the bearing capacity and ductility of the specimens. Results indicated that specimens with a shear-span ratio of 1.83 exhibited compression bending failure, whereas those with shear-span ratios of 0.91 or 1.37 exhibited drum-shaped cracking failure. However, shear-bond failure occurred in the nonloading direction. The stiffness of the falling section of the specimens decreased with increasing shear-span ratio. The hysteretic curves exhibited a weak pinch phenomenon, and their shapes evolved from a full shuttle shape to a bow shape during loading. The skeleton curves of the specimens were nearly complete, progressing through elastic, elastoplastic, and plastic stages. Based on the experimental study and considering the effects of the SSC expansion rate, shear-span ratio, diameter-thickness ratio, and axial compression ratio on the seismic behavior, a peak displacement coefficient of 0.91 was introduced through regression analysis. A simplified method for calculating load-displacement skeleton curves was proposed and loading and unloading rules for SSSCFCST columns were provided. The load-displacement restorative force model of the specimens was established. These findings can serve as a guide for further research and practical application of SSSCFCST columns.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제50권1호
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• pp.1-13
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• 2024

The objective of this research is to study experimentally and numerically the behavior of steel beam columns with openings. Although the presence of openings in the beam columns is inevitable, finding ways to maintain strength is crucial. The studied parameters are opening shape, the ratio between opening height to specimen height, the percentage of opening location from support to beam column length, and web slenderness. Experimental tests are conducted including twelve specimens to study the effect of these parameters and record failure load, load deflection curve, and stress strain curve. Two failure modes are observed: local and flexural buckling. Interaction curves plotted from finite element model analysis are also used to expand the parametric study. Changing the location of the opening can decrease failure load by up to 7% and 60% in both normal and moment ratios respectively. Increasing the opening dimension can lead to a drop in the axial ratio by up to 29% and in the moment ratio by up to 74%. The weakest beam column behavior is noticed in specimens with rectangular openings which results from uneven and concentrated stresses around the opening. The main results of this research illustrate that the best location for opening is at 40% - 50% from beam column support. Also, it is advisable to use circular openings instead of rectangular openings in specimens having slender webs because moment ratios are raised by 85% accompanied by a rise in normal ratios by 9%.