• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.657-670
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• 2021

This paper presents a designing method for enhancing fire resistance of steel box bridge girders (closed steel box bridge girder supporting a thin concrete slab) through taking into account such parameters namely; fire severity, type of longitudinal stiffeners (I, L, and T shaped), and number of longitudinal stiffeners. A validated 3-D finite element model, developed through the computer program ANSYS, is utilized to go over the fire response of a typical steel box bridge girder using the transient thermo-structural analysis method. Results from the numerical analysis show that fire severity and type of longitudinal stiffeners welded on bottom flange have significant influence on fire resistance of steel box bridge girders. T shaped longitudinal stiffeners applied on bottom flange can highly prevent collapse of steel box bridge girders towards the end of fire exposure. Increase of longitudinal stiffeners on bottom flange and web can slightly enhance fire resistance of steel box bridge girders. Rate of deflection-based criterion can be reliable to evaluate fire resistance of steel box bridge girders in most fire exposure cases. Thus, T shaped longitudinal stiffeners on bottom flange incorporated into bridge fire-resistance design can significantly enhance fire resistance of steel box bridge girders.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1153-1166
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• 2018

This paper was concerned with the nonlinear analysis on the overall stability of H-type honeycombed composite column with rectangular concrete-filled steel tube flanges (STHCC). The nonlinear analysis was performed using ABAQUS, a commercially available finite element (FE) program. Nonlinear buckling analysis was carried out by inducing the first buckling mode shape of the hinged column to the model as the initial imperfection with imperfection amplitude value of L/1000 and importing the simplified constitutive model of steel and nonlinear constitutive model of concrete considering hoop effect. Close agreement was shown between the experimental results of 17 concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) specimens and 4 I-beams with top flanges of rectangular concrete-filled steel tube (CFSFB) specimens conducted by former researchers and the predicted results, verifying the correctness of the method of FE analysis. Then, the FE models of 30 STHCC columns were established to investigate the influences of the concrete strength grade, the nominal slenderness ratio, the hoop coefficient and the flange width on the nonlinear stability capacity of SHTCC column. It was found that the hoop coefficient and the nominal slenderness ratio affected the nonlinear stability capacity more significantly. Based on the results of parameter analysis, a formula was proposed to predict the nonlinear stability capacity of STHCC column which laid the foundation of the application of STHCC column in practical engineering.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.627-635
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• 2021

The fire damage and structural performance of a steel-concrete composite superstructure under a highway bridge exposed to fire loading was evaluated. To enhance the accuracy and efficiency of the numerical analysis, a proposed fluid-structure interaction fire analysis method was implemented in Ansys Fluent and Ansys Mechanical. The temperature distribution and performance evaluation of the steel-concrete composite superstructure according to the vertical distance from the fire source to the bottom flange were evaluated using the proposed analysis method. From the analysis, the temperature of the concrete slab and the bottom flange of the steel-concrete composite superstructure exceeded the critical temperature. Also, when the vertical distance from the fire source was 13 m or greater, the fire damage of the steel-concrete composite superstructure was found to within a safe limit.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.397-418
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• 2009

Eight panel specimens were tested in one-way bending to study the behaviour and capacity of composite slab joists consisting of cold-formed steel C-sections and concrete. Various shear transfer mechanisms were implemented on the C-section flange embedded in the concrete to provide the longitudinal shear resistance. Results showed that all specimens reached serviceability limit state while in elastic range and failure was ductile. Shear transfer achieved for all specimens ranged from 42 to 99% of a full transfer while specimens employed with shear transfer enhancements showed a greater percentage and therefore a higher strength compared with those relying only on surface bond to resist shear. The implementation of pre-drilled holes on the embedded flange of the steel C-section was shown to be most effective. The correlation study between the push-out and panel specimens indicated that the calculated moment capacity based on shear transfer resistance obtained from push-out tests was, on average, 10% lower than the experimental ultimate capacity of the panel specimen.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.135-143
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• 2017

To upgrade shear performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams, and particularly of the segments under negative moment within continuous T-section beams, a series of original schemes has been proposed using carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) U-shaped strips for shear-strengthening. The current work focuses on one of them, in which CFRP U-strips are wound around steel bars against the top of the flange of a T-beam and then spliced on its bottom face in addition to being bonded onto its sides. The test results showed that the proposed scheme successfully provided reliable anchorage for U-strips and prevented premature onset of shear failure due to FRP debonding. The governing shear mode of failure changed from peeling of CFRP to its fracture or crushing of concrete. The strengthened specimens displayed an average increase of about 60% in shear capacity over the unstrengthened control one. The specimen with a relatively high ratio and uniform distribution of CFRP reinforcement had a maximum increase of nearly 75% in strength as well as significantly improved ductility. The formulas by various codes or guidelines exhibited different accuracy in estimating FRP contribution to shear resistance of the segments that are subjected to negative moment and strengthened with well-anchored FRP U-strips within continuous T-beams. Further investigation is necessary to find a suitable approach to predicting load-carrying capacity of continuous beams shear strengthened in this way.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.3
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• pp.269-280
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• 2021

Reinforced concrete (RC) structural walls with L-shaped sections are commonly used in RC buildings. The walls are often expected to sustain biaxial load and Unsymmetrical bending in an earthquake event. However, there currently exists limited experimental evidence regarding their seismic behaviour in these lateral loading directions. This paper makes experimental and numerical investigations to these walls behaviours. Experimental evidences are presented for four L-shaped wall specimens which were tested under simulated seismic load from different lateral directions. The results highlighted some distinct behaviour of L-shaped walls sustaining Unsymmetrical bending relating to their seismic performance. First, due to the Unsymmetrical bending, out-of-plane reaction forces occur for these walls, which contribute to accumulation of the out-of-plane deformations of the wall, especially when out-of-plane stiffness of the section is reduced by horizontal cracks in the cyclic load. Secondly, cracking was found to affect shear centre of the specimens loaded in the Unsymmetrical bending direction. The shear centre of these specimens distinctly differs in the flange in the positive and negative loading direction. Cracking of the flange also causes significant warping in the bottom part of the wall, which eventually lead to out-of-plane buckling failure.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.67-77
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• 2022

In the current study, ordinary design of Represstessed Pre-Flex (RPF) girder by classical beam theory and numerical model taking buckled shape into consideration were compared with field-survey data to find imperfections on the RPF girder before prestressing and after preflexion. It should be noted that the ordinary design do not consider deformed shape of steel girder in RPF beam. The deformed shapes of steel girder due to the incomplete fabrication that could be caused by self-weight, preflexion misalignment, existence of lateral bracing at mid-span and stiffness of reaction frame were found using a newly developed model which was verified against a deformation survey conducted on actual RPF girder in the field. The final observed deformed shapes of RPF after concrete shrinkage and before prestressing were classified into W, C and Unsymmetric shapes in regard to both survey and analytical results. The deformation survey showed negligible amount of unwanted deformation compared to the large size of the RPF girders. The shallower width of the bottom flange of steel girder caused amount of lateral torsional buckling under self-weight and preflexion thereby affecting the unwanted final overall shape of the RPF girders. However, it was found that the unwanted deformation of RPF girders by fabrication errors even though it is negligible compared to the size of the girder, caused unsymmetrical stress contours in concrete and additional tensile stress and raise some safety issues.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.239-258
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• 2012

In this paper, experimental investigations on high strength steel (HSS) stud connected steel-concrete composite (SCC) girders to understand the effect of shear connector density on their flexural behaviour is presented. SCC girder specimens were designed for three different shear capacities (100%, 85%, and 70%), by varying the number of stud connectors in the shear span. Three SCC girder specimens were tested under monotonic/quasi-static loading, while three similar girder specimens were subjected to non-reversal cyclic loading under simply supported end conditions. Details of casting the specimens, experimental set-up, and method of testing, instrumentation for the measurement of deflection, interface-slip and strain are discussed. It is found that SCC girder specimen designed for full shear capacity exhibits interface slip for loads beyond 25% of the ultimate load capacity. Specimens with lesser degree of shear connection show lower values of load at initiation of slip. Very good ductility is exhibited by all the HSS stud connected SCC girder specimens. It is observed that the ultimate moment of resistance as well as ductility gets reduced for HSS stud connected SCC girder with reduction in stud shear connector density. Efficiency factor indicating the effectiveness of high strength stud connectors in resisting interface forces is estimated to be 0.8 from the analysis. Failure mode is primarily flexure with fracturing of stud connectors and characterised by flexural cracking and crushing of concrete at top in the pure bending region. Local buckling in the top flange of steel beam was also observed at the loads near to failure, which is influenced by spacing of studs and top flange thickness of rolled steel section. One of the recommendations is that the ultimate load capacity can be limited to 1.5 times the plastic moment capacity of the section such that the post peak load reduction is kept within limits. Load-deflection behaviour for monotonic tests compared well with the envelope of load-deflection curves for cyclic tests. It is concluded from the experimental investigations that use of HSS studs will reduce their numbers for given loading, which is advantageous in case of long spans. Buckling of top flange of rolled section is observed at failure stage. Provision of lips in the top flange is suggested to avoid this buckling. This is possible in case of longer spans, where normally built-up sections are used.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1237-1257
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• 2016

The paper concerns analysis of effects of shrinkage of slab concrete in a steel-concrete composite deck of a through truss bridge span. Attention is paid to the shrinkage alongside the span, i.e., transverse to steel-concrete composite cross-beams. So far this aspect has not been given much attention in spite of the fact that it affects not only steel-concrete decks of bridges but also steel-concrete floors of steel frame building structures. For the problem analysis a two-dimensional model is created. An analytical method is presented in detail. A set of linear equations is built to compute axial forces in members of truss girder flange and transverse shear forces in steel-concrete composite beams. Finally a case study is shown: test loading of twin railway truss bridge spans is described, verified FEM model of the spans is presented and computational results of FEM and the analytical method are compared. Conclusions concerning applicability of the presented analytical method to practical design are drawn. The presented analytical method provides satisfactory accuracy of results in comparison with the verified FEM model.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1403-1419
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• 2015

When precast concrete infill panels are connected to steel frames at discrete locations, interaction at the structural interface is neither complete nor absent. The contribution of precast concrete infill panels to the lateral stiffness and strength of steel frames can be significant depending on the quality, quantity and location of the discrete interface connections. This paper presents preliminary experimental and finite element results of an investigation into the composite behaviour of a square steel frame with a precast concrete infill panel subject to lateral loading. The panel is connected at the corners to the ends of the top and bottom beams. The Frame-to-Panel-Connection, FPC4 between steel beam and concrete panel consists of two parts. A T-section with five achor bars welded to the top of the flange is cast in at the panel corner at a forty five degree angle. The triangularly shaped web of the T-section is reinforced against local buckling with a stiffener plate. The second part consists of a triangular gusset plate which is welded to the beam flange. Two bolts acting in shear connect the gusset plate to the web of the T-section. This way the connection can act in tension or compression. Experimental pull-out tests on individual connections allowed their load deflection characteristics to be established. A full scale experiment was performed on a one-storey one-bay 3 by 3 m infilled frame structure which was horizontally loaded at the top. With the characteristics of the frame-to-panel connections obtained from the experiments on individual connections, finite element analyses were performed on the infilled frame structures taking geometric and material non-linear behaviour of the structural components into account. The finite element model yields reasonably accurate results. This allows the model to be used for further parametric studies.