• 국제학술발표논문집
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• The 9th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• pp.929-936
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• 2022

In the U.S., the state, local, tribe, and territorial governments seek funding from the federal government through the Public Assistance program to carry out these recovery works. In this paper historic public assistance data between 1998 and 2021 have been analyzed to derive several insights such as: types of disasters causing the most damage, states requiring more support, net present value of the federal expense etc. This paper has found that the states requiring more support from the federal government are not always the states suffering the maximum losses from the disasters. It has also found that the net present value of the federal expense between 1998 and 2020 to restore, repair, reconstruct, or replace disaster damaged roads and bridges across the U.S. is $15 billion in 2021 values. Moreover, this paper has tested the correlation between the states' public assistance funds requirements and the existing condition and performance of roads and bridges as revealed by the American Society of Civil Engineer's infrastructure grade card. It has found a weak correlation between these two. The outcomes of this paper can be used by the decision makers to analyze the viability of any possible alternative to the exiting public assistance program. The insights can also help in better decision making in pre-disaster preparation and post-disaster funds allocation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제52권6호
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• pp.1157-1176
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• 2014

The objective of this research is to develop a practical design and assessment approach of steel frames with steel slit walls (SSWs) that focuses on the damage-control behavior to enhance the structural resilience. The yielding sequence of SSWs and frame components is found to be a critical issue for the damage-control behavior and the design of systems. The design concept is validated by the full-scale experiments presented in this paper. Based on a modified energy-balance model, a procedure for designing and assessing the system motivated by the framework regarding the equilibrium of the energy demand and the energy capacity is proposed. The damage-control spectra constructed by strength reduction factors calculated from single-degree-of-freedom systems considering the post stiffness are addressed. A quantitative damage-control index to evaluate the system is also derived. The applicability of the proposed approach is validated by the evaluation of example structures with nonlinear dynamic analyses. The observations regarding the structural response and the prediction during selected ground motions demonstrate that the proposed approach can be applied to damage-control design and assessment of systems with satisfactory accuracy.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제58권2호
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• pp.259-276
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• 2016

Lead-rubber bearings (LRBs) have been used worldwide in seismic design of buildings and bridges owing to their stable mechanical properties and good isolation effect. We have investigated the effectiveness of LRBs in framed underground structures on controlling structural seismic responses. Nonlinear dynamic time history analyses were carried out on the well-documented Daikai Station, which collapsed during the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu earthquake. Influences of strength ratio (ratio of yield strength of LRBs to yield strength of central column) and shear modulus of rubber on structural seismic responses were studied. As a displacement-based passive energy dissipation device, LRBs reduce dynamic internal forces of framed underground structures and improve their seismic performance. An optimal range of strength ratios was proposed for the case presented. Within this range, LRBs can dissipate maximum input earthquake energy. The maximum shear and moment of the central column can achieve more than 50% reduction, whereas the maximum shear displacement of LRBs is acceptable.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제25권5호
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• pp.543-557
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• 2020

This paper presents a series of experimental and numerical investigations on a vertical isolation system with quasi-zero stiffness (QZS) property. The isolation system comprises a linear helical spring and disk spring. The disk spring is designed to provide variable stiffness to the system. Orthogonal static tests with different design parameters are conducted to verify the mathematical and mechanical models of the isolation system. The deviations between theoretical and test results influenced by the design parameters are summarized. Then, the dynamic tests for the systems with different under-load degrees are performed, including the fast sweeping tests, harmonic excitation tests, and half-sine impact tests. The displacement transmissibility, vibration reduction rate, and free vibration response are calculated. Based on the test results, the variation of the transmission rule is evaluated and the damping magnitudes and types are identified. In addition, the relevant numerical time history responses are calculated considering the nonlinear behavior of the system. The results indicate that the QZS isolation system has a satisfactory isolation effect, while a higher damping level can potentially promote the isolation performance in the low-frequency range. It is also proved that the numerical calculation method accurately predicts the transmission character of the isolation system.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.7-17
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• 2017

In Chinese Design Codes, for super high-rise buildings with complex structural distribution, which are regarded as code-exceeding buildings, elasto-plastic time history analysis is needed to validate the requirement of "no collapse under rare earthquake". In this paper, a 117-story super high-rise building is discussed. It has a height of 597 m and a height-width ratio of 9.5, which have both exceeded the limitations stipulated by the Chinese Design Codes. Mega columns adopted in this structure have cross section area of about $45m^2$ at the bottom, which is infrequent in practical projects. NosaCAD and Perform-3D, both widely used in nonlinear analyses, were chosen in this study, with which two model were established and analyzed, respectively. Elasto-plastic time history analysis was conducted to look into its seismic behavior, emphasizing on the stress state and deformation abilities under intensive seismic excitation.From the comparisons on the results under rare earthquake obtained from NosaCAD and Perform-3D, the overall responses such as roof displacement, inter story drift, base shear and damage pattern of the whole structure from each software show agreement to an extent. Besides, the deformation of the structure is below the limitation of the Chinese Codes, the time sequence and distribution of damages on core tubes are reasonable, and can dissipate certain inputted energy, which indicates that the structure can meet the requirement of "no collapse under rare earthquake".

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제63권4호
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• pp.509-519
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• 2017

Wind field in mountainous regions demonstrates unique distribution characteristic as compared with the wind field of the flat area, wind load and wind effect are the key considerations in structural design of television towers situated in mountainous regions. The television tower to be constructed is located at the top of Xiushan Mountain in Nanjing, China. In order to investigate the impact of terrain factors of hilltops on wind loads, firstly a wind tunnel test was performed for the mountainous area within 800m from the television tower. Then the tower basal forces such as bending moments and shear strength were obtained based on high frequency force balance (HFFB) test. Based on the experiments, the improved method for determining the load combinations was applied to extract the response distribution patterns of foundation internal force and peak acceleration of the tower top, then the equivalent static wind loads were computed under different wind angles, load conditions and equivalent goals. The impact of terrain factors, damping ratio and equivalent goals on the wind load distribution of a television tower was discussed. Finally the equivalent static wind loads of the television tower under the 5 most adverse wind angles and 5 most adverse load conditions were computed. The experimental method, computations and research findings provide important references for the anti-wind design of high-rise structure built on hilltops.

• Wind and Structures
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• 제30권6호
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• pp.663-678
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• 2020

Robust semi-active vibration control of wind turbines using tuned mass dampers (TMDs) is a promising technique. This study investigates a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine controlled by eight different types of tuned mass damper systems of equal mass: a passive TMD, a semi-active varying-spring TMD, a semi-active varying-damper TMD, a semi-active varying-damper-and-spring TMD, as well as these four damper systems paired with an additional smaller passive TMD near the mid-point of the tower. The mechanism and controllers for each of these TMD systems are explained, such as employing magnetorheological dampers for the varying-damper TMD cases. The turbine is modelled as a lumped-mass 3D finite element model. The uncontrolled and controlled turbines are subjected to loading and operational cases including service wind loads on operational turbines, seismic loading with service wind on operational turbines, and high-intensity storm wind loads on parked turbines. The displacement and acceleration responses of the tower at the first and second mode shape maxima were used as the performance indicators. Ultimately, it was found that while all the semi-active TMD systems outperformed the passive systems, it was the semi-active varying-damper-and-spring system that was found to be the most effective overall - capable of controlling vibrations about as effectively with only half the mass as a passive TMD. It was also shown that by reducing the mass of the TMD and adding a second smaller TMD below, the vibrations near the mid-point could be greatly reduced at the cost of slightly increased vibrations at the tower top.

• Wind and Structures
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.223-239
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• 2015

Open decks are a widely used deck configuration in long-span cable-stayed bridges; however, incorporating aerodynamic countermeasures are advisable to achieve better aerodynamic performance than a bluff body deck alone. A sectional model of an open deck cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 400 m was selected to conduct a series of wind tunnel tests. The influences of five practical aerodynamic countermeasures on flutter and vortex-induced vibration (VIV) performance were investigated and are presented in this paper. The results show that an aerodynamic shape selection procedure can be used to evaluate the flutter stability of decks with respect to different terrain types and structural parameters. In addition, the VIV performance of $\prod$-shaped girders for driving comfortableness and safety requirements were evaluated. Among these aerodynamic countermeasures, apron boards and wind fairings can improve the aerodynamic performance to some extent, while horizontal guide plates with 5% of the total deck width show a significant influence on the flutter stability and VIV. A wind fairing with an angle of $55^{\circ}C$ showed the best overall control effect but led to more lock-in regions of VIV. The combination of vertical stabilisers and airflow-depressing boards was found to be superior to other countermeasures and effectively boosted aerodynamic performance; specifically, vertical stabilisers significantly contribute to improving flutter stability and suppressing vertical VIV, while airflow-depressing boards are helpful in reducing torsional VIV.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제61권3호
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• pp.419-426
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• 2017

Recently, the transportation of dangerous explosive goods is increasing, which makes vehicle blasting accidents a potential threat for the safety of bridge structures. In addition, blasting accidents happen more easily when earthquake occurs. Excessive dynamic response of bridges under extreme loads may cause local member damage, serviceability issues, or even failure of the whole structure. In this paper, a new explosion-proof and aseismic system is proposed including cable support damping bearing and steel-fiber reinforced concrete based on the existing researches. Then, considering one 40m-span simply supported concrete T-bridge as the prototype, through scale model test and numerical simulation, the dynamic response of the bridge under three conditions including only earthquake, only blast load and the combination of the two extreme loads is obtained and the applicability of this explosion-proof and aseismic system is explored. Results of the study show that this explosion-proof and aseismic system has good adaptability to seism and blast load at different level. The reducing vibration isolation efficiency of cable support damping bearing is pretty high. Increasing cables does not affect the good shock-absorption performance of the original bearing. The new system is good at shock absorption and displacement limitation. It works well in reducing the vertical dynamic response of beam body, and could limit the relative displacement between main girder and capping beam in different orientation so as to solve the problem of beam falling. The study also shows that the enhancement of steel fibers in concrete could significantly improve the blast resistance of main beam. Results of this paper can be used in the process of antiknock design, and provide strong theoretical basis for comprehensive protection and support of girder bridges.

• Wind and Structures
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.181-198
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• 2020

In the traditional buffeting response analysis method, the spanwise incomplete correlation of buffeting forces is always assumed to be same as that of the incident wind turbulence and the action of the signature turbulence is ignored. In this paper, three typical bridge decks usually adopted in the real bridge engineering, a single flat box deck, a central slotted box deck and a two-separated paralleled box deck, were employed as the investigated objects. The wind induced pressure on these bridge decks were measured via a series of wind tunnel pressure tests of the sectional models. The influences of the wind speed in the tests, the angle of attack, the turbulence intensity and the characteristic distance were taken into account and discussed. The spanwise root coherence of buffeting forces was also compared with that of the incidence turbulence. The signature turbulence effect on the spanwise root coherence function was decomposed and explained by a new empirical method with a double-variable model. Finally, the formula of a sum of rational fractions that accounted for the signature turbulence effect was proposed in order to fit the results of the spanwise root coherence function. The results show that, the spanwise root coherence of the drag force agrees with that of incidence turbulence in some range of the reduced frequency but disagree in the mostly reduced frequency. The spanwise root coherence of the lift force and the torsional moment is much larger than that of the incidence turbulence. The influences of the wind speed and the angle of attack are slight, and they can be ignored in the wind tunnel test. The spanwise coherence function often involves several narrow peaks due to the signature turbulence effect in the high reduced frequency zone. The spanwise coherence function is related to the spanwise separation distance and the spanwise integral length scales, and the signature turbulence effect is related to the deck-width-related reduced frequency.