• Computers and Concrete
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.325-354
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• 2004

Slabs in buildings and bridge decks, which are restrained against lateral displacements at the edges, have ultimate strengths far in excess of those predicted by analytical methods based on yield line theory. The increase in strength has been attributed to membrane action, which is due to the in-plane forces developed at the supports. The benefits of compressive membrane action are usually not taken into account in currently available design methods developed based on plastic flow theories assuming concrete to be a rigid-plastic material. By extending the existing knowledge of compressive membrane action, it is possible to design slabs in building and bridge structures economically with less than normal reinforcement. Recent research on building and bridge structures reflects the importance of membrane action in design. This paper describes the finite element modelling of membrane action in reinforced concrete slabs through optimisation of a simple concrete model. Through a series of parametric studies using the simple concrete model in the finite element simulation of eight fully clamped concrete slabs with significant membrane action, a set of fixed numerical model parameter values is identified and computational conditions established, which would guarantee reliable strength prediction of arbitrary slabs. The reliability of the identified values to simulate membrane action (for prediction purposes) is further verified by the direct simulation of 42 other slabs, which gave an average value of 0.9698 for the ratio of experimental to predicted strengths and a standard deviation of 0.117. A 'deflection factor' is also established for the slabs, relating the predicted peak deflection to experimental values, which, (for the same level of fixity at the supports), can be used for accurate displacement determination. The proposed optimised concrete model and finite element procedure can be used as a tool to simulate membrane action in slabs in building and bridge structures having variable support and loading conditions including fire. Other practical applications of the developed finite element procedure and design process are also discussed.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.195-220
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• 2017

Nowadays, railway system plays a significant role in transportation, conveying cargo, passengers, minerals, grains, and so forth. Railway ballasted track is a conventional railway track as can be seen all over the world. Ballast, located underneath the sleepers, is the most important elements on ballasted track, which has many functions and requires routine maintenance. Ballast needs to be maintained frequently to prevent rail buckling, settlement, misalignment so that ballast has to be modelled accurately. Continuum model was introduced to model granular material and was extended in ballast. However, ballast is a heterogeneous material with highly nonlinear behaviour. Hence, ballast could not be modelled accurately in continuum model due to the discontinuities nature and material degradation of ballast. Discrete element modelling (DEM) is proposed as an alternative approach that provides insight into constitutive model, realistic particle, and contact algorithm between each particle. DEM has been studied in many recent decades. However, there are limitations due to the high computational time and memory consumption, which cause the lack of using in high range. This paper presents a review of recent ballast modelling with benefits and drawbacks. Ballast particles are illustrated either circular, circular crump, spherical, spherical crump, super-quadric, polygonal and polyhedral. Moreover, the gaps and limitations of previous studies are also summarized. The outcome of this study will help the understanding into different ballast modelling and particle. The insight information can be used to improve ballast modelling and monitoring for condition-based track maintenance.

• Journal of KSNVE
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.319-324
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• 2000

This paper shows hot to model the submerged elastic structures and adequate analysis tools for modal behavior when using finite element and boundary element method. Four different cases are reviewed depending on the location of the water and air. First case is that structures are filled with air and water is located outside. Second case is opposite to case one. These cases are solved by direct approach using collocation procedure. Third case is that water is located both sides of structures. Last case is that air is located both sides. These cases are solved by indirect approach using variational procedure. As analysis tools harmonic frequency sweep analysis and eigenvalue iteration method are selected to obtain the natural frequencies of vibrating submerged structures depending on the cases. Results are compared with closed form solutions of submerged spherical shell.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.151-168
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• 2004

A two-dimensional nonlinear finite element model is developed to simulate time-dependent cracking of reinforced concrete members under service loads. To predict localized cracking, the crack band model is employed to model individual crack opening. In conjunction with the crack band model, a bond-interface element is used to model the slip between concrete and reinforcing steel permitting large slip displacements between the concrete element nodes and the steel truss element nodes at crack openings. The time-dependent effects of concrete creep and shrinkage are incorporated into the smeared crack model as inelastic pre-strains in an iterative solution procedure. Two test examples are shown to verify the finite element model with good agreement between the model and the observed test results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.469-486
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• 2007

The paper is concerned with the behavior of tapered steel plate girders, primarily subjected to shear loading; experimental as well as finite element results obtained from the studies are presented in this paper. In the experimental study, 11 large-scale girders, one of uniform section and 10 tapered, were tested to failure and all girders were analysed by finite element method. The results are compared and the accuracy of the finite element modeling established. A parametric study was carried out with thickness of web, loading direction and taper angle as parameters. An analytical model, based on Cardiff model for girders of uniform cross-section, is also proposed in the paper.

• International Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-4
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• 2016

Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are becoming very popular in various industries due to their effectiveness of the utilization of their constituent elements. However, the modelling of these materials is difficult due to the complex nature of variation of material properties across the thickness. Many shear deformation theories have been developed and employed for the analysis of such functionally graded plates (FGPs). A recently developed inverse hyperbolic shear deformation theory has been successfully employed by Grover et al. [1] for the analysis of laminated composites and sandwich plates. The objective of the study is to obtain finite element solution for the structural analysis of functionally graded plates using inverse hyperbolic shear deformation theory. Finite element analysis facilitates the analysis of complex problems such as functionally graded plates with different boundary conditions and different loadings.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.429-443
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• 2018

Fatigue is a principal failure mode for steel structures, and it is still less understood than any other modes of failure. Fatigue life estimation of metal bridges is a major issue for making cost effective decisions on the rehabilitation or replacement of existing infrastructure. The fatigue design procedures given by the standard codes are either empirical or based on nominal stress approach. Since the fatigue life estimation through field measurements is difficult and costly, more researches are needed to develop promising techniques in the fatigue analysis of bridges through Finite Element Analysis (FEA). This paper aims to develop a methodology for the Fatigue life estimation of railway steel bridge using FEA. The guidelines of IIW-1823-07 were used in the development of the methodology. The Finite Element (FE) package ANSYS and the programming software MATLAB were used to implement this methodology on an Indian Railway Standard (IRS) welded plate girder bridge. The results obtained were compared with results from published literature and found satisfactory.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.761-776
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• 2018

Guided wave testing is a reliable and safe method for pipeline inspection. In general, guided wave testing employs a circumferential array of piezoelectric transducers to clamp on the pipe circumference. The sensitivity of the operation depends on many factors, including transducer distribution across the circumferential array. This paper presents the sensitivity analysis of transducer array for the circumferential characteristics of guided waves in a pipe using finite element modelling and experimental studies. Various cases are investigated for the outputs of guided waves in the numerical simulations, including the number of transducers per array, transducer excitation variability and variations in transducer spacing. The effect of the dimensions of simulated notches in the pipe is also investigated for different arrangements of the transducer array. The results from the finite element numerical simulations are then compared with the related experimental results. Results show that the numerical outputs agree well with the experimental data, and the guided wave mode T(0,1) presents high sensitivity to the notch size in the circumferential direction, but low sensitivity to the notch size in the axial direction.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.171-194
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• 2002

In this paper, the behaviour of axially loaded partially encased composite columns made with light welded H steel shapes is examined using ABAQUS finite element modelling. The results of the numerical simulations are compared to the response observed in previous experimental studies on that column system. The steel shape of the specimens has transverse links attached to the flanges to improve its local buckling capacity and concrete is poured between the flanges only. The test specimens included 14 stubcolumns with a square cross section ranging from 300 mm to 600 mm in depth. The transverse link spacing varied from 0.5 to 1 times the depth and the width-to-thickness ratio of the flanges ranged from 23 to 35. The numerical model accounted for nonlinear stress-strain behaviour of materials, residual stresses in the steel shape, initial local imperfections of the flanges, and allowed for large rotations in the solution. A Riks displacement controlled strategy was used to carry out the analysis. Plastic analyses on the composite models reproduced accurately the capacity of the specimens, the failure mode, the axial strain at peak load, the transverse stresses in the web, and the axial stresses in the transverse links. The influence of applying a typical construction loading sequence could also be reproduced numerically. A design equation is proposed to determine the axial capacity of this type of column.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.62 no.5
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• pp.595-606
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• 2017

During their life span, post-tensioned concrete structures may be exposed to thermal loads. Therefore, there has been a growing interest in research on the advanced analysis and design of post-tensioned concrete slabs subjected to thermal loads. This paper investigates the structural behaviour of post-tensioned one-way spanning concrete slabs. A nonlinear finite element model for the analysis of post- tensioned unbonded and bonded concrete slabs at elevated temperatures was developed. The interface between the tendon and surrounding concrete was also modelled, allowing the tendon to retain its profile shape during the deformation of the slab. The load-deflection behaviour, load-force behaviour in the tendon, and the failure modes are presented. The numerical analysis was conducted by the finite element ANSYS software and was carried out on two different one-way concrete slabs chosen from literature. A parametric study was conducted to investigate the effect of several selected parameters on the overall behavior of post-tensioned one-way concrete slab. These parameters include the effect of tendon bonding, the effect of thermal loading and the effect of tendon profile. Comparison between uniform thermal loading and nonuniform thermal loading showed that restrained post tensioned slab with bottom surface hotter has smaller failure load capacity.