• Wind and Structures
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.473-482
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• 2020

The first-order method for estimating the extreme wind pressure on building envelopes with consideration of the directionality of wind speed and wind pressure is improved to enhance its computational efficiency. In this improved method, the result is obtained directly from the empirical distribution of a random selection of annual maximum wind pressure samples generated by a Monte Carlo method, rather than from the previously utilized extreme wind pressure probability distribution. A discussion of the relationship between the first- and full-order methods indicates that when extreme wind pressures in a non-typhoon climate with a high return period are estimated with consideration of directionality, using the relatively simple first-order method instead of the computationally intensive full-order method is reasonable. The validation of this reasonableness is equivalent to validating two assumptions to improve its computational efficiency: 1) The result obtained by the full-order method is conservative when the extreme wind pressure events among different sectors are independent. 2) The result obtained by the first-order method for a high return period is not significantly affected when the extreme wind speeds among the different sectors are assumed to be independent. These two assumptions are validated by examples in different regions and theoretical derivation.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.189-196
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• 2008

Alloy718 is the nickel-base super alloy well used as gas turbine components under severe operating conditions because of its high strength at high temperature and excellent creep resistance. In this study, a coupling bolt for the gas turbine component is manufactured by hot heading process instead of whole machining in order to improve the mechanical properties. Die shape for the hot heading has been designed by general design rule of hot forging and also optimal process condition has been investigated by finite element method. The initial billet temperature and the punch speed have been determined by $1150^{\circ}C$ and 600mm/s on the basis of finite element analysis, respectively. The coupling bolt has been manufactured by 200ton screw press and evaluated by experiment in order to investigate the mechanical properties. As a result of experiment, the mechanical properties such as hardness, tensile strength and creep behavior have been superior to those manufactured by machining.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.69-85
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• 2013

With the sustainability movement, vegetated building envelopes are gaining more popularity. This requires special wind effect investigations, both from sustainability and resiliency perspectives. The current paper focuses on wind load estimation on small- and full-scale trees used as part of green roofs and balconies. Small-scale wind load assessment was carried out using a wind tunnel testing in a global-effect study to understand the interference effects from surrounding structures. Full-scale trees were investigated at a large open-jet facility in a local-effect study to account for the wind-tree interaction. The effect of Reynolds number combined with shape change on the overall loads measured at the base of the trees (near the roots) has been investigated by testing at different model-scales and wind speeds. In addition, high-speed tests were conducted to examine the security of the trees in soil and to assess the effectiveness of a proposed structural mitigation system. Results of the current research show that at relatively high wind speeds the load coefficients tend to be reduced, limiting the wind loads on trees. No resonance or vortex shedding was visually observed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.177-194
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• 2019

While establishing adequate load paths in the light-frame wood structures is critical to maintain the overall structural integrity and avoid significant damage under extreme wind events, the understanding of the load paths is limited by the high redundant nature of this building type. The objective of the current study is to evaluate the system effects and investigate the load paths in the wood structures especially the older buildings for a better performance assessment of the existing building stock under high winds, which will provide guidance for building constructions in the future. This is done by developing building models with configurations that are suspicious to induce failure per post damage reconnaissance. The effect of each configuration to the structural integrity is evaluated by the first failure wind speed, amajor indicator beyond the linear to the nonlinear range. A 3D finite-element (FE) building model is adopted as a control case that is modeled using a validated methodology in a highly-detailed fashion where the nonlinearity of connections is explicitly simulated. This model is then altered systematically to analyze the effects of configuration variations in the model such as the gable end sheathing continuity and the gable end truss stiffness, etc. The resolution of the wind loads from scaled wind tunnel tests is also discussed by comparing the effects to wind loads derived from large-scale wind tests.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.445-457
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• 2019

Cracks are an important distress of concrete bridges, and may reduce the life and safety of bridges. However, the traditional manual crack detection means highly depend on the experience of inspectors. Furthermore, it is time-consuming, expensive, and often unsafe when inaccessible position of bridge is to be assessed, such as viaduct pier. To solve this question, the real-time automatic crack detecting system with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) become a choice. This paper designs a new automatic detection system based on real-time comprehensive image processing for bridge crack. It has small size, light weight, low power consumption and can be carried on a small UAV for real-time data acquisition and processing. The real-time comprehensive image processing algorithm used in this detection system combines the advantage of connected domain area, shape extremum, morphology and support vector data description (SVDD). The performance and validity of the proposed algorithm and system are verified. Compared with other detection method, the proposed system can effectively detect cracks with high detection accuracy and high speed. The designed system in this paper is suitable for practical engineering applications.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.225-238
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• 2019

In this paper a novel and efficient computational framework to estimate the stress range versus number of cycles curves experienced by a cable due to external excitations (e.g., seismic excitations, traffic and wind-induced vibrations, among others) is proposed. This study is limited to the wind-cable interaction governed by the Vortex Shedding mechanism which mainly rules cables vibrations at low amplitudes that may lead to their failure due to bending fatigue damage. The algorithm relies on a stochastic approach to account for the uncertainties in the cable properties, initial conditions, damping, and wind excitation which are the variables that govern the wind-induced vibration phenomena in cables. These uncertainties are propagated adopting Monte Carlo simulations and the concept of importance sampling, which is used to reduce significantly the computational costs when new scenarios with different probabilistic models for the uncertainties are evaluated. A high fidelity cable model is also proposed, capturing the effect of its internal wires distribution and helix angles on the cables stress. Simulation results on a 15 mm diameter high-strength steel strand reveal that not accounting for the initial conditions uncertainties or using a coarse wind speed discretization lead to an underestimation of the stress range experienced by the cable. In addition, parametric studies illustrate the computational efficiency of the algorithm at estimating new scenarios with new probabilistic models, running 3000 times faster than the base case.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.263-270
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• 2021

The present manuscript focuses the effects of suction on the flow of the dusty fluid along permeable exponentially stretching cylinder. Derived PDEs for this work are changed into ODEs by adopting right transformations. Numerical procedure is carried out for the obtained resultant equations by Shooting Technique in accordance with Runge-Kutta (RK-6) technique. Obtained results for the parameters namely, particle interaction parameter, suction parameter and Reynold number parameters are probed thoroughly. Some salient points are: (a) Fluid velocity decreases and the dust phase velocity rises for the higher values of particle interaction parameter; (b) more suction produces retarding velocities for both the phases; (c) high Reynold number slows down the fluid velocity while the speed of dust phase and (d) skin friction coefficient goes high for all these parameters.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.267-284
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• 2022

Due to the high usage of ABS in industries, such as aerospace, auto, recreational devices, boat, submarines, etc., the purpose of this project was to find a way to weld this material, which gives advantages, such as affordable, high speed, and good connection quality. In this experimental project, the friction welding method was applied with parameters such as numerical control (NC) machine with two different speeds and three cross-sections, including a flat surface, cone, and step. After the end of the welding process, samples were then applied for both tensile and bending tests of materials, and the results showed that, with increasing the machining velocity Considering of samples, the friction of the surface increased and then caused to increase in the surface temperature. Considering mentioned contents, the melting temperature of composite materials increased. This can give a chance to have a better combination of Nanomaterial to base melted materials. Thus, the result showed that, with increasing the weight percentage (wt %) of Nanomaterials contents, and machining velocity, the mechanical behavior of welded area for all three types of samples were just increased. This enhancement is due to the better melting process on the welded area of different Nano contents; also, the results showed that the shape of the welding area could play a significant role, and by changing the shape, the results also changed drastically.A better shape for the welding process was dedicated to the step surface.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2022

In structural engineering, the material properties of the structures such as elastic modulus, shear modulus, density, and size may not be deterministic and may vary at different locations. The dynamic response analysis of such structures may need to consider these properties as stochastic. This paper introduces a stochastic finite element method (SFEM) approach to analyze moving loads problems. Firstly, Karhunen-Loéve expansion (KLE) is applied for expressing the stochastic field of material properties. Then the mathematical expression of the random field is substituted into the finite element model to formulate the corresponding random matrix. Finally, the statistical moment of the dynamic response is calculated by the point estimation method (PEM). The accuracy and efficiency of the dynamic response obtained from the KLE-PEM are demonstrated by the example of a moving load passing through a simply supported Euler-Bernoulli beam, in which the material properties (including elastic modulus and density) are considered as random fields. The results from the KLE-PEM are compared with those from the Monte Carlo simulation. The results demonstrate that the proposed method of KLE-PEM has high accuracy and efficiency. By using the proposed SFEM, the random vertical deflection of a high-speed railway (HSR) bridge is analyzed by considering the random fields of material properties under the moving load of a train.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.111-123
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• 2024

The atmospheric turbulence characteristics measured at a meteorological station in northwest part of the Czech Republic are presented for selected time periods in the year 2017. The terrain of this region is influenced by surface coal mining and the related industry. The datasets used in this study were measured using four ultrasonic anemometers installed on an 80 m high meteorological mast at heights of 20, 40, 60 and 80 m, respective. From the primary high-frequency datasets, time intervals in order of hours were selected and integral turbulence characteristics (ITCs), turbulence intensities and turbulence spectra were analyzed. The time intervals were selected with respect to atmospheric stability parameter, known as Obukhov number. We concentrated on the days with higher wind velocity and neutral atmospheric stratification. The wind characteristics investigated in this study include the wind speed, wind direction and its histograms, turbulence intensity, friction velocity and wind power spectra. The ITCs and spectral characteristics were compared with the theoretical models and values from the literature. The resulting ITCs showed the values for urban locations similar to those found in other studies and can be used in practical design. The computed turbulence spectra followed the shape of theoretical spectra of turbulence for both horizontal and vertical velocity components. The computed integral length scales have shown to be unsuitable for further use due to their highly scattered values.