• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.507-530
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• 2023

The number of studies investigating the response of concrete-filled tubes (CFTs) under shear has been very limited in the literature. This lack of research has been traditionally reflected in international design standards as rather conservative shear strength predictions for CFTs. The dearth of research on the shear response is even more pronounced for the case of concrete-filled stainless steel tubes (CFSSTs). In line with this, the present study investigates the shear response of circular and square CFSSTs using advanced finite element (FE) analysis. A thorough review of the previous studies on the shear response of carbon steel CFTs is provided along with a summary of past experimental programmes as well as the developed and codified design methods. A comprehensive numerical study is then conducted considering a wide range of circular and square, austenitic and lean duplex CFSSTs with different concrete infills and shear span-to-depth ratios. The effect of the tail length on the shear response is investigated and the minimum required tail length for achieving full shear capacity is established. The simulations are also used to highlight the importance of the dilation of the concrete core in the shear response of concrete-filled tubes and its relationship with the utilised boundary conditions. Furthermore, the numerical results are compared in detail with the predictions of design approaches developed previously for carbon steel CFTs and their accuracy and applicability to the stainless steel counterpart are demonstrated and recommendations are made accordingly.

• Composites Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2008

Single-walled carbon nanotube networks(SWNT-networks) were uniformly formed on a glass substrate by the dip-coating method. The changes of electrical and optical properties of SWNT-networks were investigated with respect to processing variables including number of dip, concentration of SWNT-colloidal solution, withdrawal velocity. Consequently, the sheet resistance and transmittance of the SWNTs-networks were sensitively controlled by the processing variables. The networks have highly uniform sheet resistance and optically excellent transmittance within the range of visible ray.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.315-337
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• 2023

The steel structure is an assembly of individual structural members joined together by connections. The connections are the focal point to transfer the forces which is susceptible to damage easily. It is challenging to replace the affected connection parts after an earthquake. Hence, steel plates are utilised as a structural fuse that absorbs connection forces and fails first. The objective of the present research is to develop a beam-column end plate connection with single and dual fuse and study the effect of single fuse, dual fuse and combined action of fuse and damper. In this research, seismic resilient beam-column end plate connection is developed in the form of structural fuse. The novel connection consists of one main fuse was placed horizontally and secondary fuse was placed vertically over main fuse. The specimens are fabricated with the variation in number of fuse (single and dual) and position of fuse (beam flange top and bottom). From the fabricated ten specimens five specimens were loaded monotonically and five cyclically. The experimental results are compared with Finite Element Analysis results of Arunkumar and Umamaheswari (2022). The results are critically assessed in the aspect of moment-rotation behaviour, strain in connection components, connection stiffness, energy dissipation characteristics and ductility. While comparing the performance of total five specimens, the connection with fuse exhibited superior performance than the conventional connection. An equation is proposed for the moment of resistance of end-plate connection without and with structural fuse.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.523-537
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• 2023

This paper proposed a new self-centering brace (SCB), which consists of four post-tensioned (PT) high strength steel strands and energy absorbing steel plate (EASP) clusters. First, analytical equations were derived to describe the working principle of the SCB. Then, to investigate the hysteretic performance of the SCB, four full-size specimens were manufactured and subjected to the same cyclic loading protocol. One additional specimen using only EASP clusters was also tested to highlight the contribution of PT strands. The test parameters varied in the testing process included the thickness of the EASP and the number of EASP in each cluster. Testing results shown that the SCB exhibited nearly flag-shape hysteresis up to expectation, including excellent recentering capability and satisfactory energy dissipating capacity. For all the specimens, the ratio of the recovered deformation is in the range of 89.6% to 92.1%, and the ratio of the height of the hysteresis loop to the yielding force is in the range of 0.47 to 0.77. Finally, in order to further understand the mechanism of the SCB and provide additional information to the testing results, the high-fidelity finite element (FE) models were established and the numerical results were compared against the experimental data. Good agreement between the experimental, numerical, and analytical results was observed, and the maximum difference is less than 12%. Parametric analysis was also carried out based on the validated FE model to evaluate the effect of some key parameters on the cyclic behavior of the SCB.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.601-613
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• 2023

Numerous methods have been proposed in predicting formability of sheet metals based on microstructural and macro-scale properties of sheets. However, there are limited number of papers on the optimization problem to increase formability of sheet metals. In the present study, we aim to use novel optimization algorithms in neural networks to maximize the formability of sheet metals based on tensile curve and texture of aluminum sheet metals. In this regard, experimental and numerical evaluations of effects of texture and tensile properties are conducted. The texture effects evaluation is performed using Taylor homogenization method. The data obtained from these evaluations are gathered and utilized to train and validate an artificial neural network (ANN) with different optimization methods. Several optimization method including grey wolf algorithm (GWA), chimp optimization algorithm (ChOA) and whale optimization algorithm (WOA) are engaged in the optimization problems. The results demonstrated that in aluminum alloys the most preferable texture is cube texture for the most formable sheets. On the other hand, slight differences in the tensile behavior of the aluminum sheets in other similar conditions impose no significant decreases in the forming limit diagram under stretch loading conditions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.419-429
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• 2023

Ultraviolet C (UV-C, 200-280 nm) light has germicidal properties that inactivate a wide range of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms. UV-C has been extensively studied as an alternative to thermal decontamination of fruit juices. Recent studies suggest that the efficacy of UV-C irradiation in reducing microorganisms in fruit juices is greatly dependent on the characteristics of the target microorganisms, juice matrices, and parameters of the UV-C treatment procedure, such as equipment and processing. Based on evidence from recent studies, this review describes how the characteristics of target microorganisms (e.g., type of microorganism/strain, acid adaptation, physiological states, single/composite inoculum, spore, etc.) and fruit juice matrices (e.g., UV absorbance, UV transmittance, turbidity, soluble solid content, pH, color, etc.) affect the efficacy of UV-C. We also discuss the influences on UV-C treatment efficacy of parameters, including UV-C light source, reactor conditions (e.g., continuous/batch, size, thickness, volume, diameter, outer case, configuration/arrangement), pumping/flow system conditions (e.g., sample flow rate and pattern, sample residence time, number of cycles), homogenization conditions (e.g., continuous flow/recirculation, stirring, mixing), and cleaning capability of the reactor. The collective facts indicate the immense potential of UV-C irradiation in the fruit juice industry. Existing drawbacks need to be addressed in future studies before the technique is applicable at the industrial scale.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.759-779
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• 2023

The paper proposes two hybrid metaheuristic optimization and artificial neural network (ANN) methods for the close prediction of the ultimate axial compressive capacity of concentrically loaded concrete filled double skin steel tube (CFDST) columns. Two metaheuristic optimization, namely genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), approaches enable the dynamic training architecture underlying an ANN model by optimizing the number and sizes of hidden layers as well as the weights and biases of the neurons, simultaneously. The former is termed as GA-ANN, and the latter as PSO-ANN. These techniques utilize the gradient-based optimization with Bayesian regularization that enhances the optimization process. The proposed GA-ANN and PSO-ANN methods construct the predictive ANNs from 125 available experimental datasets and present the superior performance over standard ANNs. Both the hybrid GA-ANN and PSO-ANN methods are encoded within a user-friendly graphical interface that can reliably map out the accurate ultimate axial compressive capacity of CFDST columns with various geometry and material parameters.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.115-132
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• 2023

The present study experimentally and analytically investigates the effect of tensile reinforcement ratio and arrangement on the behavior of FRP strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beams. The experimental part of the program was comprised of 8 RC beams that were tested under four-point bending. Results have shown that by keeping the total cross-section area of tensile reinforcing bars constant, in specimens with a low reinforcement ratio, increasing the number and decreasing the diameter of bars in the section lead to 21% and 29% increase in the load-carrying capacity of specimens made with normal and high compressive strength, respectively. In specimens with high reinforcement ratio, a different behavior was observed. Furthermore, the accuracy of the existing code provisions and analytical models in predicting the load-carrying capacity of the FRP strengthened beams failed by premature debonding mode were evaluated. Herein, a model is proposed which considers the tensile reinforcement ratio (as opposed to code provisions) to achieve more accurate results for calculating the load carrying capacity of FRP strengthened RC beams.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.211-220
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• 2023

Welded hollow spherical joints are commonly used joints in space grid structures. An internal stiffener is generally adopted to strengthen the joints when large hollow spheres are used. To further strengthen it, external stiffeners can be used at the same time. In this study, axial compression tests are conducted on four full-scale 550 mm spherical joints. The failure modes and strengths of the tested joints are investigated. It shows that the external stiffeners are able to increase the strength of the joint up to 25%. A numerical model for large spherical joints with stiffeners is established and verified against the experimental results. Parametric studies are executed considering six main design factors using the verified model. It is found that the strength of the spherical joint increases as the thickness, height and number of the external stiffeners increase, and the hollow sphere's diameter has a neglectable effect on the enhancement caused by the external stiffeners. Based on the experimental and numerical results, a practical formula for the compressive bearing capacity of large welded hollow spherical joints with both internal and external stiffeners is proposed. The proposed formula gives a conservative prediction on the compressive capacity of large welded hollow spherical joints with both internal and external stiffeners.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.87-92
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• 2023

As the elderly population increases, the number of patients with various joint diseases, including degenerative arthritis, is steadily increasing. CPM medical devices are needed to effectively treat degenerative arthritis that is common in the elderly population. Domestic CPM medical devices have limited functions and are highly dependent on imports for expensive imported medical devices. To solve this problem, we designed a ROM measurement function using a current sensor that is not present in existing composite joint CPM medical devices. The algorithm was designed using the fact that the force caused by joint stiffness greatly increases the current flowing through the DC motor. In addition, the need for digital healthcare in the medical field is gradually expanding as the proportion of chronically ill patients increases due to the spread of the non-face-to-face economy due to COVID-19 and the aging population. Therefore, this paper aims to improve the performance of CPM medical devices by allowing real-time confirmation of rehabilitation exercise information and operation range measurement results in accordance with digital healthcare trends through a Bluetooth application developed as an Android studio.