• Wind and Structures
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.399-416
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• 2018

In order to reveal the independent relationship between track irregularity and wind loads, the stochastic characteristics of train-bridge coupling systems subjected to wind loads were investigated by the multi-sample calculation. The vehicle was selected as 23 degrees of freedom dynamical model, and the bridge was described by three-dimensional finite element model. It was assumed that the wind loads were random processes with strong spatial correlation, while the track irregularities were stationary random ones. As a case study, a high-speed train running on a cable-stayed bridge subjected to wind loads was studied. The effect of rail irregularities was deemed to be independent of the effect of wind excitations on the coupling system in the same wind circumstance for the same project, leading to the conclusion that the effect of wind loads and moving vehicle could be calculated separately. The variance results of the stochastic responses of vehicle-bridge coupling system under the action of wind loads and rail irregularities together were equivalent to the sum of the variance of the responses induced by each excitation. Therefore, when one of the input excitations is different, only the effect of changed loads needs to be assessed. Moreover, the new calculated results were combined with the effect of unchanged loads to present the stochastic response of coupling system subjected to the different excitations, reducing the cost of computations. The stochastic characteristics, the CFD (cumulative distribution function) of the coupling system with different wind velocities, vehicle speed, and vehicle marshalling were studied likewise.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.463-479
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• 2007

A series of wind tunnel sectional model dynamic tests of a twin-deck bridge were conducted at the CLP Power Wind/Wave Tunnel Facility (WWTF) of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to investigate the effects of gap-width on the self-excited vibrations and the dynamic and aerodynamic characteristics of the bridge. Five 2.9 m long models with different gap-widths were fabricated and suspended in the wind tunnel to simulate a two-degrees-of-freedom (2DOF) bridge dynamic system, free to vibrate in both vertical and torsional directions. The mass, vertical frequency, and the torsional-to-vertical frequency ratio of the 2DOF systems were fixed to emphasize the effects of gap-width. A free-vibration test methodology was employed and the Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (ERA) was utilized to extract the eight flutter derivatives and the modal parameters from the coupled free-decay responses. The results of the zero gap-width configuration were in reasonable agreement with the theoretical values for an ideal thin flat plate in smooth flow and the published results of models with similar cross-sections, thus validating the experimental and analytical techniques utilized in this study. The methodology was further verified by the comparison between the measured and predicted free-decay responses. A comparison of results for different gap-widths revealed that variations of the gap-width mainly affect the torsional damping property, and that the configurations with greater gap-widths show a higher torsional damping ratio and hence stronger aerodynamic stability of the bridge.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.31-46
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• 2019

In the present study, the various dynamic properties of MWCNT embedded fiber reinforced polymer uniform and tapered composite (MWCNT-FRP) plates are investigated. Various configurations of a tapered composite plate with ply-drop off and uniform composite plate have been considered for the development of the finite element formulation and experimental investigations. First order shear deformation theory (FSDT) has been used to derive the kinetic and potential energy equations of the hybrid composite plates by including the effect of rotary inertia, shear deformation and non-uniformity in thickness of the plate. The governing equations of motion of FRP composite plates without and with MWCNT reinforcement are derived by considering a nine- node rectangular element with five degrees of freedom (DOF) at each node. The effectiveness of the developed finite element formulation has been demonstrated by comparing the natural frequencies and damping ratio of FRP composite plates without and with MWCNT reinforcement obtained experimentally. Various parametric studies are also performed to study the effect of CNT volume fraction and CNT aspect ratio of the composite plate on the natural frequencies of different configurations of CNT reinforced hybrid composite plates. Further the forced vibration analysis is performed to compare the dynamic response of the various configurations of MWCNT-GFRP composite plate with GFRP composite plate under harmonic excitations. It was observed that the fundamental natural frequency and damping ratio of the GFRP composite plate increase approximately 8% and 37% respectively with 0.5wt% reinforcement of MWCNT under CFCF boundary condition. The natural frequencies of MWCNT-GFRP hybrid composite plates tend to decrease with the increase of MWCNT volume fraction beyond 2% due to agglomeration of CNT's. It is also observed that the aspect ratio of the CNT has negligible effect on the improvement of dynamics properties due to randomly orientation of CNT's.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.169-188
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• 2015

This study presents the effects of the spatial variation of ground motions in a hard rock site on the seismic responses of a base-isolated nuclear power plant (BI-NPP). Three structural models were studied for the BI-NPP supported by different number of lead rubber bearing (LRB) base isolators with different base mat dimensions. The seismic responses of the BI-NPP were analyzed and investigated under the uniform and spatial varying excitation of El Centro ground motion. In addition, the rotational degrees of freedom (DOFs) of the base mat nodes were taken to consider the flexural behavior of the base mat on the seismic responses under both uniform and spatial varying excitation. Finally, the seismic response results for all the analysis cases of the BI-NPP were investigated in terms of the vibration periods and mode shapes, lateral displacements, and base shear forces. The analysis results indicate that: (1) considering the flexural behavior of the base mat has a negligible effect on the lateral displacements of base isolators regardless of the number of the isolators or the type of excitation used; (2) considering the spatial variation of ground motions has a substantial influence on the lateral displacements of base isolators and the NPP stick model; (3) the ground motion spatial variation effect is more prominent on lateral displacements than base shear forces, particularly with increasing numbers of base isolators and neglecting flexural behavior of the base mat.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.243-259
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• 2020

This study aims to optimize, design, and predict the MTMDs performance in SDOF systems using spectral analysis, and then apply their results to MDOF structures. Given the importance of spectral analysis in the design of new engineering structures, achieving a method for designing TMDs based on this theory can be of great importance for structural designers. In this study, several convenient combinations of MTMDs in an SDOF system are first considered to minimize the maximum displacement. For calculating the frequency ratios of dampers, an innovative technique is adopted in which the values of different modal responses obtained from the spectral analysis are approached together. This procedure is done using a harmony search (HS) algorithm. Also, using the random vibration theory, the damping ratio of the dampers is obtained. Then, an equation is presented for predicting the performance of MTMDs. For evaluating this equation, three structures with different stories are designed. Some of the presented combinations of dampers are added to them. The time history analyses are employed to analyze the structures under 30 different accelerograms. The findings indicated that the proposed equation could efficiently predict the performance of the MTMDs. Furthermore, four different patterns of damper distribution along the height of the structures are defined. The effect of them on the maximum deformation of the structures in time history analyses is discussed, and an equation is presented to estimate this effect. The results indicated that the average and maximum error percentages of the proposed equations are about three and seven percent, respectively, compared to the time history analyses results, which are negligible values.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.439-458
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• 2022

Over-coating is one of the most popular engineering practices to strengthen Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures, due to the relative quickness and ease of construction. It consists of an external coat bonded to the outer surface of the structural RC element, either by the use of chemical adhesives, mechanical anchor bolts or simply mortar injection. In contrast to these constructive advantages, the numerical estimation of the bearing capacity of the strengthened reinforced concrete element is still complicated, not only for the complexity of modelling a flexible membrane or plate attached to a quasi-rigid solid, but also for the difficulties that raise of simulating any potential delamination between both materials. For these reasons, the standard engineering calculations used in the practice remain very approximated and clumsy. In this work, we propose the formulation of a new 2D solid-layer finite element capable to link a solid body with a flexible thin layer, as it were the "skin" of the body, allowing the potential delamination between both materials. In numerical terms, this "skin" element is intended to work as a transitional region between a solid body (modelled with a classical formulation of a standard quadrilateral four-nodes element) and a flexible coat layer (modelled with cubic beam element), dealing with the incompatibility of Degrees-Of-Freedom between them (two DOF for the solid and three DOF for the beam). The aim of the solid-layer element is to simplify the mesh construction of the strengthened RC element being aware of two aspects: a) to prevent the inappropriate use of very small solid elements to simulate the coat; b) to improve the numerical estimation of the real bearing capacity of the strengthened element when the coat is attached or detached from the solid body.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.771-791
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• 2018

This paper deals with the low velocity impact response and dynamic stresses of composite sandwich truncated conical shells (STCS) with compressible or incompressible core. Impacts are assumed to occur normally over the top face-sheet and the interaction between the impactor and the structure is simulated using a new equivalent three-degree-of-freedom (TDOF) spring-mass-damper (SMD) model. The displacement fields of core and face sheets are considered by higher order and first order shear deformation theory (FSDT), respectively. Considering continuity boundary conditions between the layers, the motion equations are derived based on Hamilton's principal incorporating the curvature, in-plane stress of the core and the structural damping effects based on Kelvin-Voigt model. In order to obtain the contact force, the displacement histories and the dynamic stresses, the differential quadrature method (DQM) is used. The effects of different parameters such as number of the layers of the face sheets, boundary conditions, semi vertex angle of the cone, impact velocity of impactor, trapezoidal shape and in-plane stresses of the core are examined on the low velocity impact response of STCS. Comparison of the present results with those reported by other researchers, confirms the accuracy of the present method. Numerical results show that increasing the impact velocity of the impactor yields to increases in the maximum contact force and deflection, while the contact duration is decreased. In addition, the normal stresses induced in top layer are higher than bottom layer since the top layer is subjected to impact load. Furthermore, with considering structural damping, the contact force and dynamic deflection decrees.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.10 no.4_5
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• pp.411-426
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• 2012

The Canton Tower (formerly named Guangzhou New TV Tower) of 610 m high has been instrumented with a long-term structural health monitoring (SHM) system consisting of over 700 sensors of sixteen types. Under the auspices of the Asian-Pacific Network of Centers for Research in Smart Structures Technology (ANCRiSST), an SHM benchmark problem for high-rise structures has been developed by taking the instrumented Canton Tower as a host structure. This benchmark problem aims to provide an international platform for direct comparison of various SHM-related methodologies and algorithms with the use of real-world monitoring data from a large-scale structure, and to narrow the gap that currently exists between the research and the practice of SHM. This paper first briefs the SHM system deployed on the Canton Tower, and the development of an elaborate three-dimensional (3D) full-scale finite element model (FEM) and the validation of the model using the measured modal data of the structure. In succession comes the formulation of an equivalent reduced-order FEM which is developed specifically for the benchmark study. The reduced-order FEM, which comprises 37 beam elements and a total of 185 degrees-of-freedom (DOFs), has been elaborately tuned to coincide well with the full-scale FEM in terms of both modal frequencies and mode shapes. The field measurement data (including those obtained from 20 accelerometers, one anemometer and one temperature sensor) from the Canton Tower, which are available for the benchmark study, are subsequently presented together with a description of the sensor deployment locations and the sensor specifications.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2018

Seismic retrofitting of existing buildings and design of earth-quake resistant buildings are important issues associated with earthquake-prone zones. Use of metallic-yielding dampers as an energy dissipation system is an acceptable method for controlling damages in structures and improving their seismic performance. In this study, the optimal distribution of dampers for reducing the seismic response of steel frames with multi-degrees freedom is presented utilizing the uniform distribution of deformations. This has been done in a way that, the final configuration of dampers in the frames lead to minimum weight while satisfying the performance criteria. It is shown that such a structure has an optimum seismic performance, in which the maximum structure capacity is used. Then the genetic algorithm which is an evolutionary optimization method is used for optimal arrangement of the steel dampers in the structure. In continuation for specifying the optimal accurate response, the local search algorithm based on the gradient concept has been selected. In this research the introduced optimization methods are used for optimal retrofitting in the moment-resisting frame with inelastic behavior and initial weakness in design. Ultimately the optimal configuration of dampers over the height of building specified and by comparing the results of the uniform deformation method with those of the genetic algorithm, the validity of the uniform deformation method in terms of accuracy, Time Speed Optimization and the simplicity of the theory have been proven.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.481-501
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• 2023

Over-coating is one of the most popular engineering practices to strengthen Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures, due to the relative quickness and ease of construction. It consists of an external coat bonded to the outer surface of the structural RC element, either by the use of chemical adhesives, mechanical anchor bolts or simply mortar injection. In contrast to these constructive advantages, the numerical estimation of the bearing capacity of the strengthened reinforced concrete element is still complicated, not only for the complexity of modelling a flexible membrane or plate attached to a quasi-rigid solid, but also for the difficulties that raise of simulating any potential delamination between both materials. For these reasons, the standard engineering calculations used in the practice remain very approximated and clumsy. In this work, we propose the formulation of a new 2D solid-layer finite element capable to link a solid body with a flexible thin layer, as it were the "skin" of the body, allowing the potential delamination between both materials. In numerical terms, this "skin" element is intended to work as a transitional region between a solid body (modelled with a classical formulation of a standard quadrilateral four-nodes element) and a flexible coat layer (modelled with cubic beam element), dealing with the incompatibility of Degrees-OfFreedom between them (two DOF for the solid and three DOF for the beam). The aim of the solid-layer element is to simplify the mesh construction of the strengthened RC element being aware of two aspects: a) to prevent the inappropriate use of very small solid elements to simulate the coat; b) to improve the numerical estimation of the real bearing capacity of the strengthened element when the coat is attached or detached from the solid body.