• Composites Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.22-29
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• 2008

This paper presents the evaluation of crashworthiness and rollover characteristics of low-floor bus vehicles made of aluminum honeycomb sandwich composites with glass-fabric epoxy laminate facesheets. Crashworthiness and rollover analysis of low-floor bus was carried out using explicit finite element analysis code LS-DYNA3D with the lapse of time. Material testing was conducted to determine the input parameters for the composite laminate facesheet model, and the effective equivalent damage model for the orthotropic honeycomb core material. The crash conditions of low-floor bus were frontal accident with speed of 60km/h. Rollover analysis were conducted according to the safety rules of European standard (ECE-R66). The results showed that the survival space for driver and passengers was secured against frontal crashworthiness and rollover of low-floor bus. Also, The modified Chang-Chang failure criterion is recommended to predict the failure mode of composite structures for crashworthiness and rollover analysis.

• Bulletin of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.47-57
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• 1988

A new discrete method using idealized rigid body-spring model is introduced. This rigid element method is known to be more efficient and accurate than the finite element method in the inelastic range of structural analysis owing to simplified stress-strain and strain-displacement relations This kind of physical concept using idealized rigid model has been already applied among structural engineers to some problems such as rigid-plastic analysis or plastic design considering rigid bodies and plastic hinges. However the most rigorous and systematic research has been recently performed by T. Kawai et al.[1]. In this paper, an attempt is made to analyze the collapse behavior of stiffened plates under lateral loading by some modification and expansion of Kawai's rigid element approach to the collapse of plates without stiffener. Stiffened plates are treated as orthotropic plates which have equivalent bending rigidities. By employing Morley's plate element resubdivision technique, variety is given to mesh-division styles which have greate effect on the accuracy of numerical results. Some examples are shown to verify the validity of applying rigid element method to the ultimate strength analysis of stiffened plates. It is clarified that lateral deflections and detailed collapse patterns up to the ultimate state of stiffened plates can be easily obtained by the present approach.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.147-166
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• 2016

The paper presents comprehensive quasi-static stability analysis results for a real funnel-flow cylindrical steel silo composed of horizontally corrugated sheets strengthened by vertical thin-walled column profiles. Linear buckling and non-linear analyses with geometric and material non-linearity were carried out with a perfect and an imperfect silo by taking into account axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric loads imposed by a bulk solid following Eurocode 1. Finite element simulations were carried out with 3 different numerical models (single column on the elastic foundation, 3D silo model with the equivalent orthotropic shell and full 3D silo model with shell elements). Initial imperfections in the form of a first eigen-mode for different wall loads and from 'in-situ' measurements with horizontal different amplitudes were taken into account. The results were compared with Eurocode 3. Some recommendations for the silo dimensioning were elaborated.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.57-82
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• 2014

The heritage value of the mixed wood-masonry 18th century Pombalino buildings of downtown Lisbon is recognized both nationally and internationally. The present paper focuses on the seismic assessment of global response and retrofitting of a typical Pombalino building by nonlinear static analyses, performed by the research software Tremuri, which is able to model 3D configurations. The structure is modelled using nonlinear beams for masonry panels, while in case of the internal walls (frontal walls) an original formulation has been developed in order to take into account their specific seismic behaviour. Floors are modelled as orthotropic membrane finite elements: this feature allows to simulate the presence of both flexible and rigid diaphragms, being the first ones more representative of the original state while the second ones of retrofitted configurations. Seismic assessment has been evaluated by applying nonlinear static procedure and comparing the performance of different configurations (by considering various retrofitting strategies). Finally, assuming a lognormal cumulative distribution, fragility curves are obtained to be representative of Pombalino buildings: the most important application of such curves is for seismic risk and loss estimation analyses.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.499-512
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• 2017

This paper deals with nonlinear dynamic stability of embedded piezoelectric nano-composite separators conveying pulsating fluid. For presenting a realistic model, the material properties of structure are assumed viscoelastic based on Kelvin-Voigt model. The separator is reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) which the equivalent material properties are obtained by mixture rule. The separator is surrounded by elastic medium modeled by nonlinear orthotropic visco Pasternak foundation. The separator is subjected to 3D electric and 2D magnetic fields. For mathematical modeling of structure, three theories of classical shell theory (CST), first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and sinusoidal shear deformation theory (SSDT) are applied. The differential quadrature method (DQM) in conjunction with Bolotin method is employed for calculating the dynamic instability region (DIR). The detailed parametric study is conducted, focusing on the combined effects of the external voltage, magnetic field, visco-Pasternak foundation, structural damping and volume percent of SWCNTs on the dynamic instability of structure. The numerical results are validated with other published works as well as comparing results obtained by three theories. Numerical results indicate that the magnetic and electric fields as well as SWCNTs as reinforcer are very important in dynamic instability analysis of structure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.62 no.5
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• pp.551-565
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• 2017

Based on the strain gradient theory (SGT), vibration analysis of an embedded micro cylindrical shell reinforced with agglomerated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is investigated. The elastic medium is simulated by the orthotropic Pasternak foundation. The structure is subjected to magnetic field in the axial direction. For obtaining the equivalent material properties of structure and considering agglomeration effects, the Mori-Tanaka model is applied. The motion equations are derived on the basis of Mindlin cylindrical shell theory, energy method and Hamilton's principal. Differential quadrature method (DQM) is proposed to evaluate the frequency of system for different boundary conditions. The effects of different parameters such as CNTs volume percent, agglomeration of CNTs, elastic medium, magnetic field, boundary conditions, length to radius ratio and small scale parameter are shown on the frequency of the structure. The results indicate that the effect of CNTs agglomeration plays an important role in the frequency of system so that considering agglomeration leads to lower frequency. Furthermore, the frequency of structure increases with enhancing the small scale parameter.

• Composites Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.185-190
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• 2019

This work investigates the elastic buckling characteristics of laminated composite trapezoidal corrugated plates with simply supported edges using the analytical method. In the analysis, three types of in-plane loading conditions: uniaxial, biaxial and shear loads are considered. Because it is very difficult to determine the mechanical behavior of 3-dimensional corrugated structures analytically, the equivalent homogenization model is adapted to investigate the overall mechanical behavior of corrugated plates. The corrugated element is homogenized as an orthotropic material. The previous formulae for bending rigidities of corrugated plate are adapted in this paper. The comparisons of the proposed analytical results with those of FEA based on the shell element are made to verify the proposed analytical method. In the comparison study both the critical buckling loads and the buckling mode shapes are presented. Some numerical results are presented to check the effect of the geometric properties.

• Composites Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.42-50
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• 2007

This paper describes the results of experiments and numerical simulation studies on the low-velocity impact damage of two different sandwich composite panels for application to bodyshell and floor structure of the BIMODAL tram vehicle. Square test samples of 100mm sides were subjected to low-velocity impact loading using an instrumented testing machine at four impact energy levels. Part of this work presented is focused on the finite element analysis of low-velocity impact response onto a sandwich composite panels. It is based on the application of explicit finite element (FE) analysis codes LS-DYNA 3D to study the impact response of sandwich structures under low-velocity impact conditions. Material testing was conducted to determine the input parameters for the metallic and composite material model, and the effective equivalent damage model for the orthotropic honeycomb materials. Numerical and experimental results showed a good agreement for damage area and the depth of indentation of sandwich composite panels created by the impact loading.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.29-38
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• 1994

Linear composite theory as well as a finite element program is developed for axisymmetric elastomeric bearings. This study is limited to axisymmetrically loaded horizontal layered systems with linear, elastic, small' deformation conditions. A multiscale method is used in the development of the composite theory which enables us to model inhomogeneous layered composites as equivalent homogeneous, orthotropic material. Only continuity of the prime variables is required for the finite element analysis, allowing the use of simple $C_o$ elements whereas rather complicated theories presented in the past need more requirements. Four node isoparametric elements are used in the study. The developed theory of this paper is limited to linear conditions, however, the analysis can be extended to nonlinear behavior of flexible material in elastomeric bearing by using multiscale method presented here. Two numerical examples are examined and compared to the results of discrete and previously obtained composite analysis to verify the theory.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.892-899
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• 2002

Among the methods for enhancement of load-carrying capacity on flexural concrete member, recently, a concept is being investigated which replaces the steel in a conventional reinforced concrete member with a fiber reinforced polymer(FRP) shell. This study focuses on modeling of the structural behavior of concrete surrounded with FRP shells in flexural bending members. A numerical model of fiber cross-sectional analysis is proposed to predict the stress and deformation state of the FRP shell and concrete. The stress-strain relationship of concrete confined by a FRP shell is formulated to be based on the constitutive law of concrete in multi-axial compressive stress state, in assuming that the compression response is dependent on the radial expansion of the concrete. To describe the FRP shell behavior, equivalent orthotropic properties of in-plane behavior from classical lamination theory are used. The present model is validated to compare with the experiments of 4-point bending tests of FRP shell concrete beam, and has well predicted the moment-curvature relationships of the members, axial and hoop strains in the section, and the enhancement of confinement effect in concrete surrounded by FRP shell.