• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.2
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• pp.141-153
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• 2019

The effect of galleries on the earthquake behavior of dams should be investigated to obtain more realistic results. Therefore, a roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam with and without galleries are examined under ground motion effects. For this purpose, Cine RCC dam constructed in Aydın, Turkey, is selected in applications. The optimal mesh around galleries is investigated to obtain the most realistic results. Two-dimensional finite element models of Cine RCC dam with and without galleries are prepared by using ANSYS software. Empty and full reservoir conditions were taken into account in the time-history analyses. Hydrodynamic effect of the reservoir water was taken into account considering two-dimensional fluid finite elements based on the Lagrangian approach. It is examined that how principle stresses and displacements change by height and during earthquake. The dam-foundation-reservoir interaction was taken into consideration with contact-target element pairs. The displacements and principle stress components obtained from the linear analyses are compared each other for various cases of reservoir water and galleries. According to numerical analyses, the effect of galleries is clear on the response of RCC dam. Besides, hydrodynamic water effect obviously increases the principle stress components and horizontal displacements of the dam.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.141-159
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• 2016

Bearing joint dynamic parameter identification is crucial in modeling the high speed spindles for machining centers used to predict the stability and natural frequencies of high speed spindles. In this paper, a hybrid method is proposed to identify the dynamic stiffness of bearing joint for the high speed spindles. The hybrid method refers to the analytical approach and experimental method. The support stiffness of spindle shaft can be obtained by adopting receptance coupling substructure analysis method, which consists of series connected bearing and joint stiffness. The bearing stiffness is calculated based on the Hertz contact theory. According to the proposed series stiffness equation, the stiffness of bearing joint can be separated from the composite stiffness. Then, one can obtain the bearing joint stiffness fitting formulas and its variation law under different preload. An experimental set-up with variable preload spindle is developed and the experiment is provided for the validation of presented bearing joint stiffness identification method. The results show that the bearing joint significantly cuts down the support stiffness of the spindles, which can seriously affects the dynamic characteristic of the high speed spindles.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.139-151
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• 2014

Mudstone is a very common rock that, when in contact with water, can exhibit considerable volume change and breakdown. This behavior of mudstone is frequently encountered in geotechnical engineering and has a considerable influence on infrastructure stability. This is particularly important in the present work, which focuses on mitigating the harmful properties of mudstone. The samples studied are of Permian Age mudstone from Shandong Province, China. Modification tests using organic silicone additive material were carried out. The mechanisms of physical properties modification of mudstone were comparatively studied using corresponding test methods, and the modification mechanism of organic silicone additive material acting on mudstone was analyzed. The following conclusions were drawn. The surface texture and characters of mudstone changed dramatically, surface character turns from hydrophilic to hydrophobic after organic silicone additive material modification. The changes in the surface character indicate a reduction in the water sensitivity of mudstone. After modification, the shape of porosity and fracture of mudstone changed unremarkable, and the total and free expansion ratios decreased obviously, whereas the strength increased markedly.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.5
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• pp.499-509
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• 2019

While the wheel flat is an asymmetrical phenomenon in the railway, majority of researches have used two-dimensional models in the investigation of the effect of wheel flat on the wheel rail forces. This is due to the considerably low computational costs of two dimensional (2D) models although their reliability is questionable. This leaves us with the question of "what is the optimum modeling technique?". It is addressed in this research. For this purpose, two and three dimensional numerical models of railway vehicle/track interaction were developed. The three dimensional (3D) model was validated by comparisons of its results with those obtained from a comprehensive field tests carried out in this research and then, the results obtained from the 2D and 3D models were compared. The results obtained indicate that there are considerable differences between wheel/rail forces obtained from the 2D and 3D models in the conditions of medium to large wheel-flats. On the other hand, it was shown that the results of the 2D models are reliable for particular ranges of vehicle speed, railway track stiffness and wheel-fats lengths and depths. The results were used to draw a diagram, which presents the optimum modeling technique, compromising between the costs and accuracy of the obtained results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.3
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• pp.333-350
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• 2021

Motivated by the demand of seismic protection of museum collections and development of performance-based seismic design guidelines, this paper investigates the seismic fragility of sliding artifacts based on incremental dynamic analysis and three-dimensional finite element model of the artifact-showcase-museum system considering nonlinear behavior of the structure and contact interfaces. Different intensity measures (IMs) for seismic fragility assessment of sliding artifacts are compared. The fragility curves of the sliding artifacts in both freestanding and restrained showcases placed on different floors of a four-story reinforced concrete frame structure are developed. The seismic sliding fragility of the artifacts within a real-world museum subjected to bi-directional horizontal ground motions is also assessed using the proposed IM and engineering demand parameter. Results show that the peak floor acceleration including only values initiating sliding is an efficient IM. Moreover, the sliding fragility estimate for the artifact in the restrained showcase increases as the floor level goes higher, while it may not be true in the freestanding showcase. Furthermore, the artifact is more prone to sliding failure in the restrained showcase than the freestanding showcase. In addition, the artifact has slightly worse sliding performance subjected to bi-directional motions than major-component motions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.5
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• pp.627-635
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• 2021

The speed of rail vehicles become higher and higher over two decades, and China has unveiled a prototype high-speed train in October 2020 that has been able to reach 400 km/h. At such high speeds, wheel-rail force items that had previously been ignored in common computational model should be reevaluated and reconsidered. Aiming at this problem, a new model for investigating the vehicle-bridge interaction at high moving speed is proposed. Comparing with the common model, the new model was more accurate and applicable, because it additionally considers the second-order pseudo-inertia forces effect and its modeling equilibrium position was based on the initial deformed curve of bridge, which could include the influences of temperature, pre-camber, shrinkage and creep deformation, and pier uneven settlement, etc. Taking 5 km/h as the speed interval, the dynamic responses of the classical vehicle-bridge system in the speed range of 5 km/h to 400 km/h are studied. The results show that ignoring the second-order pseudo-inertia force will underestimate the dynamic response of vehicle-bridge system and make the high-speed railway bridge structure design unsafe.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.80 no.6
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• pp.737-747
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• 2021

The objective of seismic resilience is to maintain or rapidly restore the function of a building after an earthquake. An efficient tilt mechanism at the member level is crucial for the restoration of the main structure function; however, the damage resistance of the members should be the main focus. In this study, through a comparison with the classical Flamant theory of local loading in the elastic half-space, an elastomechanical solution for the axial-stress distribution of a reinforced-concrete (RC) rocking column was derived. Furthermore, assuming that the lateral displacement of the rocking column is determined by the contact surface rotation angle of the column end and bending and shear deformation of the column body, the load-lateral displacement mechanical model of the RC rocking column was established and validated through a comparison with finite-element simulation results. The axial-compression ratio and column-end strength were analyzed, and the results indicated that on the premise of column damage resistance, simply increasing the axial-compression ratio increases the lateral loading capacity of the column but is ineffective for improving the lateral-displacement capacity. The lateral loading and displacement of the column are significantly improved as the strength of the column end material increases. Therefore, it is feasible to improve the working performance of RC rocking columns via local reinforcement of the column end.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.4
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• pp.395-409
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• 2022

The presence of infill generally neglected in design despite the fact that infill contribution significantly increase the lateral stiffness and strength of the reinforced concrete frame structure. Several experimental studies and computational models have been proposed to capture the rational response of infill-frame interaction at global level. However, limited studies are available on explicit finite element modelling to study the local behavior due to high computation and convergence issues in numerical modelling. In the current study, the computational modelling of RC frames is done with various configurations of infill masonry in terms of types of blocks, lateral loading and reinforcement detailing employed with material nonlinearities, interface contact issues and bond-slip phenomenon particularly near the beam-column joints. To this end, extensive computational modelling of five variant characteristics test specimens extracted from the detailed experimental program available in literature and process through nonlinear static analysis in FEM code, ATENA generally used to capture the nonlinear response of reinforced concrete structures. Results are presented in terms of damage patterns and capacity curves by employing the finest possible detail provided in the experimental program. Comparative analysis shows that good correlation amongst the experimental and numerical simulated results both in terms of capacity and crack patterns.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.1
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• pp.109-118
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• 2023

Any place where exercise is common, such as a club, sports hall, or school, is considered a place for teaching sports. When doing sports, a very safe environment for sports should be chosen. The athlete should consider the safety of sports facilities and equipment, and if there is a defect, he should refrain from exercising in these places. The safety of sports facilities is very effective in creating people's sports activities, with the benefits of staying away from physical harm, enjoying sports, and having mental peace. Everyone has the right to participate in sports and recreation and to ensure that they enjoy a safe environment. The ability to manage and solve issues that may arise plays the most critical role in creating a safe environment. The quality of construction materials used for the construction of sports facilities is of great importance. In this work, the resistance and water repellency of concrete constituents for the construction of sports buildings have been investigated by nanoscience. Nano-concrete material solves the main problem of concrete surfaces, i.e., the entry of water and humidity into the structure. It also gives it a self-cleaning ability with its water repellency. Nanoparticles are placed between pores and cover the cracks, which causes roughness in the surface structure of concrete. The high roughness of the surface of the coated concrete caused its super-hydrophobicity. In hydrophobic surfaces, the higher the contact angle, the more hydrophobic the surface will be. In order to investigate the hydrophobic properties, silica nanoparticles, silica nanoparticles, and fly ash were prepared on concrete, and their properties were analyzed.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.127-149
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• 2023

A theoretical method is developed to analyze the free vibration of an elastic annular plate in contact with an ideal liquid. The displacement potential functions of the contained liquid are expressed as a combination of the Bessel functions that satisfy the Laplace equation and the liquid boundary conditions. The compatibility condition along the interface between the annular plate and the contained liquid is taken into account to consider the fluid-structure coupling. The dynamic displacement of the wet annular plate is assumed to be a combination of dry eigenfunctions, allowing for prediction of the natural frequencies using the Rayleigh-Ritz method. The study investigates the effect of radial liquid boundary conditions on the natural frequencies of the wet annular plate, considering four types of liquid bounding: outer container bounded, outer and inner bounded, inner bounded, and radially unbounded. The proposed theoretical method is validated by comparing the predicted wet natural frequencies with those obtained from finite element analysis, showing excellent accuracy. The results indicate that the radial liquid bounding effect on the natural frequencies is negligible for the axisymmetric vibrational mode, but relatively significant for the mode with one nodal diameter (n =1) and no nodal circle (m' = 0). Furthermore, the study reveals that the wet natural frequencies are the largest for the plate with an inner bounded cylinder among the radial liquid boundary cases, regardless of the vibration mode.