• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.107-125
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• 2023

Drag reduction is significant research in aircraft design due to its effect on the cost of operation and carbon footprint reduction. Aircraft currently use conventional solid winglets to reduce the induced drag, adding extra structural weight. Fluidic on-demand winglets can effectively reduce drag for low-speed flight regimes without adding any extra weight. These utilize the spanwise airflow from the wingtips using hydraulic actuators to create jets that negate tip vortices. This study develops a computational model to investigate fluidic on-demand winglets. The well-validated computational model is applied to investigate the effect of injection velocity and angle on the aerodynamic coefficients of a rectangular wing. Further, the turbulence parameters such as turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and turbulent dissipation rate are studied in detail at various velocity injections and at an angle of 30°. The results show that the increase in injection velocity shifted the vortex core away from the wing tip and the increase in injection angle shifted the vortex core in the vertical direction. Further, it was found that a 30° injection is efficient among all injection velocities and highly efficient at a velocity ratio of 3. This technology can be adopted in any aircraft, effectively working at various angles of attack. The culmination of this study is that the implementation of fluidic winglets leads to a significant reduction in drag at low speeds for low aspect ratio wings.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.253-267
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• 2023

The bearing capacities resisted by the two-bay beams of multi-story planar frames with unequal spans under column removal scenarios differ considerably owing to the asymmetric stress on the left and right beams connected to the failed column and cause the potential for beams with larger span-to-depth ratios to be unable to exert effectively, which is disadvantageous for resisting the vertical load in unequal-span frame structures. To address this problem, the structural measure of adding braces to the weak bays of multi-story unequal-span frames was proposed, with the objective of achieving a coordinated stress state in two-bay beams with unequal spans, thereby improving the collapse resistance of unequal-span frame structures. Before conducting the numerical simulation, the modeling methods were verified by previous experimental results of two multi-story planar frames with and without steel braces. Thereafter, the effects of the tensile and compressive braces on the collapse behavior of the frame structures were elucidated. Then, based on the mechanical action laws of the braces throughout the collapse process, a detailed design method for improving the collapse resistance of unequal-span frame structures was proposed. Finally, the proposed design method was verified by using sufficient example models, and the results demonstrated that the design method has good application prospects and high practical value.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.77-89
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• 2023

This study aims to establish the correlations between variables related to a slope during rainfall and factor of safety (FOS) and displacement using a coupling analysis method that is designed to consider both in rainfall conditions. With the recent development of measurement technologies, the approach of using the measurement data in the field has become easier. Particularly, they have been obtained in tests to determine the real-time safety and movement of a slope; however, a specific method has not been finalized. In addition, collected measurement data for recognizing the FOS and displacement in real-time with a specific relevance is difficult, and risks of uncertainty, such as in soil parameters and time, exist. In this study, the correlations between various slope-related variables (i.e., rainfall intensity, rainfall duration, angle of the slope, and mechanical properties including strength parameters of selected three types of soil; loamy sand, silt loam, sand) and the FOS and displacement are analyzed in order of seepage analysis, slope stability analysis and slope displacement analysis. Moreover, the methodology of coupling analysis is verified and a fundamental understanding of the factors that need to be considered in real-time observations is gained. The results show that the contributions of the abovementioned variables vary according to the soil type. Thus, the tendency of the displacement also differs by the soil type and variables but not same tendency with FOS. The friction angle and cohesion are negative while the rainfall duration and rainfall intensity are positive with the displacement. This suggests that understanding their correlations is necessary to determine the safety of a slope in real-time using displacement data. Additionally, databases considering rainfall conditions and a wide range of soil characteristics, including hydraulic and mechanical parameters, should be accumulated.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.197-207
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• 2022

The seismic holding behaviors of plate anchor embedded into submerged coarse-grained soils were investigated considering different anchor inclinations. The limit equilibrium method and the Pseudo-Dynamic Approach (PDA) were employed to calculate the inertia force of the soils within the failure rupture. In addition, assuming the permeability of coarse-grained soils was sufficiently large, the coefficient of hydrodynamic force applied on the inclined plate anchor is obtained through adopting the exact potential flow theory. Therefore, the seismic holding resistance was calculated as the combination of the inertia force and the hydrodynamic force within the failure rupture. The failure rupture can be developed due to the uplift loads, which was assumed to be an arc of a circle perpendicular to the anchor and inclines at (π/4 - φ/2). Then, the derived analytical solutions were evaluated by comparing the static breakout factor N_γ to the published experimental and analytical results. The influences of soil and wave properties on the plate anchor holding behavior are reported. Finally, the dynamic anchor holding coefficients N_γd, were reported to illustrate the anchor holding behaviors. Results show that the soil accelerations in x and z directions were both nonlinear. The amplifications of soil accelerations were more severe at lower normalized frequencies (ωH/V) compared to higher normalized frequencies. The coefficient of hydrodynamic force, C, of the plate anchor was found to be almost constant with anchor inclinations. Finally, the seismic anchor holding coefficient oscillated with the oscillation of the inertia force on the plate anchor.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.567-582
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• 2022

In the present study, a series of physical experiments and numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the effects of mode I and mixed-mode I/II cracks on the fracture modes and stability of roadway tunnel models. The experiments and simulations incorporated different inclination angle flaws under both static and dynamic loads. The quasi-static and dynamic testing were conducted by using an electro-hydraulic servo control device and drop weight impact system (DWIS), and the failure process was simulated by using rock failure process analysis (RFPA) and AUTODYN software. The stress intensity factor was also calculated to evaluate the stability of the flawed roadway tunnel models by using ABAQUS software. According to comparisons between the test and numerical results, it is observed that for flawed roadways with a single radical crack and inclination angle of 45°, the static and dynamic stability are the lowest relative to other angles of fractured rock masses. For mixed-mode I/II cracks in flawed roadway tunnel models under dynamic loading, a wing crack is produced and the pre-existing cracks increase the stress concentration factor in the right part of the specimen, but this factor will not be larger than the maximum principal stress region in the roadway tunnel models. Additionally, damage to the sidewalls will be involved in the flawed roadway tunnel models under static loads.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.161-174
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• 2023

The analytical model of tornado vortices plays an essential role in tornado wind description and tornado-resistant design of civil structures. However, there is still a lack of guidance for the selection and application of tornado analytical models since they are different from each other. For single-cell tornado vortices, this study conducts a comparative study on the velocity characteristics of the analytical models based on numerically simulated tornado-like vortices (TLV). The single-cell stage TLV is first generated by Large-eddy simulations (LES). The spatial distribution of the three-dimensional mean velocity of the typical analytical tornado models is then investigated by comparison to the TLV with different swirl ratios. Finally, key parameters are given as functions of swirl ratio for the direct application of analytical tornado models to generate full-scale tornado wind field. Results show that the height of the maximum radial mean velocity is more appropriate to be defined as the boundary layer thickness of the TLV than the height of the maximum tangential mean velocity. The TLV velocity within the boundary layer can be well estimated by the analytical model. Simple fitted results show that the full-scale maximum radial and tangential mean velocity increase linearly with the swirl ratio, while the radius and height corresponding to the position of these two velocities decrease non-linearly with the swirl ratio.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.237-248
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• 2022

Nowadays, more and more subway tunnels were planed and constructed underneath the ground of urban cities to relieve the congested traffic. Potential damage may occur in existing tunnel if the new tunnel is constructed too close. So far, previous studies mainly focused on the tunnel-tunnel interactions with circular shape. The difference between circular and horseshoe shaped tunnel in terms of deformation mechanism is not fully investigated. In this study, three-dimensional numerical parametric studies were carried out to explore the effect of different tunnel shapes on the complicated tunnel-tunnel interaction problem. Parameters considered include volume loss, tunnel stiffness and relative density. It is found that the value of volume loss play the most important role in the multi-tunnel interactions. For a typical condition in this study, the maximum invert settlement and gradient along longitudinal direction of horseshoe shaped tunnel was 50% and 96% larger than those in circular case, respectively. This is because of the larger vertical soil displacement underneath existing tunnel. Due to the discontinuous hoop axial stress in horseshoe shaped tunnel, significant shear stress was mobilized around the axillary angles. This resulted in substantial bending moment at the bottom plate and side walls of horseshoe shaped tunnel. Consequently, vertical elongation and horizontal compression in circular existing tunnel were 45% and 33% smaller than those in horseshoe case (at monitored section X/D = 0), which in latter case was mainly attributed to the bending induced deflection. The radial deformation stiffness of circular tunnel is more sensitive to the Young's modulus compared with horseshoe shaped tunnel. This is because of that circular tunnel resisted the radial deformation mainly by its hoop axial stress while horseshoe shaped tunnel do so mainly by its flexural rigidity. In addition, the reduction of soil stiffness beneath the circular tunnel was larger than that in horseshoe shaped tunnel at each level of relative density, indicating that large portion of tunneling effect were undertaken by the ground itself in circular tunnel case.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2024

The investigation on vehicle-bridge coupling system (VBCS) is crucial in bridge design, bridge condition evaluation, and vehicle overload control. A real-time hybrid testing (RTHT) method for VBCS (RTHT-VBCS) is proposed in this paper for accurately and economically disclosing the dynamic performance of VBCSs. In the proposed method, one of the carriages is chosen as the experimental substructure loaded by servo-hydraulic actuator loading system in the laboratory, and the remaining carriages as well as the bridge structure are chosen as the numerical substructure numerically simulated in one computer. The numerical substructure and the experimental substructure are synchronized at their coupling points in terms of force equilibrium and deformation compatibility. Compared to the traditional iteration experimental method and the numerical simulation method, the proposed RTHT-VBCS method could not only obtain the dynamic response of VBCS, but also economically analyze various working conditions. Firstly, the theory of RTHT-VBCS is proposed. Secondly, numerical models of VBCS for RTHT method are presented. Finally, the feasibility and accuracy of the RTHT-VBCS are preliminarily validated by real-time hybrid simulations (RTHSs). It is shown that, the proposed RTHT-VBCS is feasible and shows great advantages over the traditional methods, and the proposed models can effectively represent the VBCS for RTHT method in terms of the force equilibrium and deformation compatibility at the coupling point. It is shown that the results of the single-degree-of-freedom model and the train vehicle model are match well with the referenced results. The RTHS results preliminarily prove the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed RTHT-VBCS.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.265-280
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• 2024

The collapse behavior observed in single-story beam-column assembly (SSBCA) do not accurately represent the actual overall stress characteristic of multi-story frame structure (MSFS) under column loss scenario owing to ignoring the interaction action among different stories, leading to a disconnection between the anti-collapse behaviors of "components" and "overall structures", that is, the anti-collapse performance of frame structures with two different structural scales has not yet formed a combined force. This paper conducts a numerical and theoretical study to explore the difference of the collapse behaviors of the SSBCA and MSFS, and further to reveal the internal force relationships and boundary constraints at beam ends of models SSBCA and MSFS. Based on the previous experimental tests, the corresponding refined numerical simulation models were established and verified, and comparative analysis on the resistant-collapse performance was carried out, based on the validated modeling methods with considering the actual boundary constraints, and the results illustrates that the collapse behaviors of the SSBCA and MSFS is not a simple multiple relationship. Through numerical simulation and theoretical analysis, the development laws of internal force in each story beam under different boundary constraints was clarified, and the coupling relationship between the bending moment at the most unfavorable section and axial force in the composite beam of different stories of multi story frames with weld cover-plated flange connections was obtained. In addition, considering the effect of the yield performance of adjacent columns on the anti-collapse bearing capacities of the SSBCA and MSFS during the large deformation stages, the calculation formula for the equivalent axial stiffness at the beam ends of each story were provided.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.315-337
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• 2023

During the design phase, it is crucial to determine the interface stresses between the reinforcing plate and the concrete base in order to predict plate end separation failures. In this work, a simple theoretical study of interface shear stresses in beams reinforced with P-FGM and E-FGM plates subjected to an arbitrarily positioned point load, or two symmetrical point loads, was presented using the linear elastic theory. The presence of pores in the reinforcing plate distributed in several forms was also taken into account. For this purpose, we analyze the effects of porosity and its distribution shape on the interracial normal and shear stresses of an FGM beam reinforced with an FRP plate under different types of load. Comparisons of the proposed model with existing analytical solutions in the literature confirm the feasibility and accuracy of this new approach. The influence of different parameters on the interfacial behavior of reinforced concrete beams reinforced with functionally graded porous plates is further examined in this parametric study using the proposed model. From the results obtained in this study, we can say that interface stress is significantly affected by several factors, including the pores present in the reinforcing plate and their distribution shape. Additionally, we can conclude from this study that reinforcement systems with composite plates are very effective in improving the flexural response of reinforced RC beams.