• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.881-898
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• 2013

This paper describes analytical investigation into a new dual function system including a couple of shear links which are connected in series using chevron bracing capable to correlate its performance with magnitude of earthquakes. In this proposed system, called Chevron Knee-Vertical Link Beam braced system (CK-VLB), the inherent hysteretic damping of vertical link beam placed above chevron bracing is exclusively utilized to dissipate the energy of moderate earthquakes through web plastic shear distortion while the rest of the structural elements are in elastic range. Under strong earthquakes, plastic deformation of VLB will be halted via restraining it by Stopper Device (SD) and further imposed displacement subsequently causes yielding of the knee elements located at the bottom of chevron bracing to significantly increase the energy dissipation capacity level. In this paper first by studying the knee yielding mode, a suitable shape and angle for diagonal-knee bracing is proposed. Then finite elements models are developed. Monotonic and cyclic analyses have been conducted to compare dissipation capacities on three individual models of passive systems (CK-VLB, knee braced system and SPS system) by General-purpose finite element program ABAQUS in which a bilinear kinematic hardening model is incorporated to trace the material nonlinearity. Also quasi-static cyclic loading based on the guidelines presented in ATC-24 has been imposed to different models of CK-VLB with changing of vertical link beam section in order to find prime effectiveness on structural frames. Results show that CK-VLB system exhibits stable behavior and is capable of dissipating a significant amount of energy in two separate levels of lateral forces due to different probable earthquakes.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.69-84
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• 1994

In the present study, the application of a method of anchored or waste tyre wall in reinforcing the unstable slope is investigated. For design purposes a method of external stability analysis of the reinforced slope, together with a method of internal stability analysis of a wall itself, is presented. In order to predict the passive resistance expected in the anchor or waste tyre Meyerhof's bearing capacity theory is moapaed and experimental results of stress distribution of a pile section under lateral loading is used. Hurray's pull-out teat results are compared with the passive resistances of anchors predicted by the proposed method, and alto the advantages in design are compared with a method of reinforced earth wall with steel strips. Finally a design example of reinforced slope using anchored or caste tyre wall is presented and the overall stability is analyzed in detail by the proposed method of analysis. The efficiency of a method of anchored or waste tyre wall is further analyzed, comparing with a method of changing geometry of the origin리 unstable slope.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.705-726
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• 2014

In general, cylindrically curved plates are used in ships and offshore structures such as wind towers, spa structures, fore and aft side shell plating, and bilge circle parts in merchant vessels. In a number of studies, it has been shown that curvature increases the buckling strength of a plate under compressive loading, and the ultimate load-carrying capacity is also expected to increase. In the present paper, a series of elastic and elastoplastic large deflection analyses were performed using the commercial finite element analysis program (MSC.NASTRAN/PATRAN) in order to clarify and examine the fundamental buckling and collapse behaviors of curved plates subjected to combined axial compression and lateral pressure. On the basis of the numerical results, the effects of curvature, the magnitude of the initial deflection, the slenderness ratio, and the aspect ratio on the characteristics of the buckling and collapse behavior of the curved plates are discussed. On the basis of the calculated results, the design formula was developed to predict the buckling and ultimate strengths of curved plates subjected to combined loads in an analytical manner. The buckling strength behaviors were simulated by performing elastic large deflection analyses. The newly developed formulations were applied in order to perform verification analyses for the curved plates by comparing the numerical results, and then, the usefulness of the proposed method was demonstrated.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2020

For the large deformation of shear walls under vertical and horizontal loads, there are difficulties in obtaining accurate simulation results using the response analysis method, even with fine mesh elements. Furthermore, concrete material nonlinearity, stiffness degradation, concrete cracking and crushing, and steel bar damage may occur during the large deformation of reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls. Matrix operations that are involved in nonlinear analysis using the traditional finite-element method (FEM) may also result in flaws, and may thus lead to serious errors. To solve these problems, a planar four-node element was developed based on vector mechanics. Owing to particle-based formulation along the path element, the method does not require repeated constructions of a global stiffness matrix for the nonlinear behavior of the structure. The nonlinear concrete constitutive model and bilinear steel material model are integrated with the developed element, to ensure that large deformation and damage behavior can be addressed. For verification, simulation analyses were performed to obtain experimental results on an RC shear wall subjected to a monotonically increasing lateral load with a constant vertical load. To appropriately evaluate the parameters, investigations were conducted on the loading speed, meshing dimension, and the damping factor, because vector mechanics is based on the equation of motion. The static problem was then verified to obtain a stable solution by employing a balanced equation of motion. Using the parameters obtained, the simulated pushover response, including the bearing capacity, deformation ability, curvature development, and energy dissipation, were found to be in accordance with the experimental observation. This study demonstrated the potential of the developed planar element for simulating the entire process of large deformation and damage behavior in RC shear walls.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.539-552
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• 2022

Concentrically braced frames (CBFs) possess high stiffness and strength against lateral loads; however, they suffer from low energy absorption capacity against seismic loads due to the susceptibility of CBF diagonal elements to bucking under compression loading. To address this problem, in this study, an innovative damper was proposed and investigated experimentally and numerically. The proposed damper comprises main plates and includes a flange plate angled at θ and a trapezius-shaped web plate surrounded by the plate at the top and bottom sections. To investigate the damper behaviour, dampers with θ = 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° were evaluated with different flange plate thicknesses of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mm. Dampers with θ = 0° and 90° create rectangular-shaped and I-shaped shear links, respectively. The results indicate that the damper with θ = 30° exhibits better performance in terms of ultimate strength, stiffness, overstrength, and distribution stress over the damper as compared to dampers with other angles. The hysteresis curves of the dampers confirm that the proposed damper acts as a ductile fuse. Furthermore, the web and flange plates contribute to the shear resistance, with the flange carrying approximately 80% and 10% of the shear force for dampers with θ = 30° and 90°, respectively. Moreover, dampers that have a larger flange-plate shear strength than the shear strength of the web exhibit behaviours in linear and nonlinear zones. In addition, the over-strength obtained for the damper was greater than 1.5 (proposed by AISC for shear links). Relevant relationships are determined to predict and design the damper and the elements outside it.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.2352-2366
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• 2024

Reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls with precast steel-concrete composite modular (PSCCM) are strongly recommended in the structural design of nuclear power plants due to the need for a large number of process pipeline crossings and industrial construction. However, the effect of the PSCCM on the mechanical behavior of the whole RC shear wall is still unknown and has received little attention. In this study, three 1:3 scaled specimens, one traditional shear wall specimen (TW) and two shear wall specimens with the PSCCM (PW1, PW2), were designed and investigated under cyclic loadings. The failure mode, hysteretic curve, energy dissipation, stiffness and strength degradations were then comparatively investigated to reveal the effect of the PSCCM. Furthermore, numerical models of the RC shear wall with different PSCCM distributions were analyzed. The results show that the shear wall with the PSCCM has comparable mechanical properties with the traditional shear wall, which can be further improved by adding reinforced concrete constraints on both sides of the shear wall. The accumulated energy dissipation of the PW2 is higher than that of the TW and PW1 by 98.7 % and 60.0 %. The failure of the shear wall with the PSCCM is mainly concentrated in the reinforced concrete wall below the PSCCM, while the PSCCM maintains an elastic working state as a whole. Shear walls with the PSCCM arranged in the high stress zone will have a higher load-bearing capacity and lateral stiffness, but will suffer a higher risk of failure. The PSCCM in the low stress zone is always in an elastic working state.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.399-406
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• 2012

Beam-column joints are generally recognized as the critical regions in the moment resisting reinforced concrete (RC) frames subjected to both lateral and vertical loads. As a result of severe lateral load such as seismic loading, the joint region is subjected to horizontal and vertical shear forces whose magnitudes are many times higher than in column and adjacent beam. Consequently, much larger bond and shear stresses are required to sustain these magnified forces. The critical deterioration of potential shear strength in the joint area should not occur until ductile capacity of adjacent beams reach the design demand. In this study, a method was provided to predict the deformability of reinforced concrete beam-column joints failing in shear after the plastic hinges developed at both ends of the adjacent beams. In order to verify the deformability estimated by the proposed method, an experimental study consisting of three joint specimens with varying tensile reinforcement ratios was carried out. The result between the observed and predicted behavior of the joints showed reasonably good agreement.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.517-532
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• 2023

Tower structures have been widely used in communication and transmission engineering. The failure of joints is the leading cause of structure failure, which make it play a crucial role in tower structure engineering. In this study, the aluminum alloy three tube tower structure is taken as the prototype, and the middle joint of the tower was selected as the research object. Three different stainless steel-aluminum alloy composite joints (SACJs), denoted by TA, TB and TC, were designed. Finite element (FE) modeling analysis was used to compare and determine the TC joint as the best solution. Detail requirements of fasteners in the TC stainless steel-aluminum alloy composite joint (TC-SACJ) were designed and verified. In order to systematically and comprehensively study the mechanical properties of TC-SACJ under multi-directional loading conditions, the full-scale experiments and FE simulation models were all performed for mechanical response analysis. The failure modes, load-carrying capacities, and axial load versus displacement/stain testing curves of all full-scale specimens under tension/compression loading conditions were obtained. The results show that the maximum vertical displacement of aluminum alloy tube is 26.9mm, and the maximum lateral displacement of TC-SACJs is 1.0 mm. In general, the TC-SACJs are in an elastic state under the design load, which meet the design requirements and has a good safety reserve. This work can provide references for the design and engineering application of aluminum alloy tower structures.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.417-428
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• 2011

Depending on the plastic deformation capacity required, structural steel design under the current codes can be classified into three categories: elastic, plastic, and seismic design. Most of the current steel codes explicitly forbid the use of a steel material with a yield strength higher than 450 MPa in the plastic design because of the concerns about its low plastic deformation capacity as well as the lack of test data on local and lateral torsional buckling behavior. In this study, flexural tests on full-scale H-shape members built with SM490A (ordinary steel or benchmark material) and HSB800 (high-strength steel) were carried out. The primary objective was to investigate the appropriateness of extrapolating the local buckling criterion of the current codes, which was originally developed for normal-strength steel, to the case of high-strength steel. All the SM490A specimens performed consistently with the current code criteria and exhibited sufficient strength and ductility. The performance of the HSB800 specimens was also very satisfactory from the strength perspective; even the specimens with a noncompact and slender flange developed the plastic moment capacity. The HSB800 specimens, however, showed an inferior plastic rotation capacity due to the premature tensile fracture of the beam bottom flange beneath the vertical stiffener at the loading point. The plastic rotation capacity that was achieved was less than 3 (or the minimum level required for a plastic design). Although the test results in this study indicate that the extrapolation of the current flange local-buckling criterion to the case of high-strength steel is conservative from the elastic design perspective, further testing together with an associated analytical study is required to identify the causes of the tensile fracture and to establish a flange slenderness criterion that is more appropriate for high-strength steel.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.115-130
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• 2013

In this study, lateral-torsional buckling (LTB) strength of high-strength H-beams built up from 800MPa tensile-strength steel was experimentally and analytically evaluated according to current lateral stability provisions (KBC 2009, AISC-LRFD 2010). The motivation was to evaluate whether or not current LTB provisions, which were originally developed for ordinary steel with different stress-strain characteristics, are still applicable to high-strength steel. Two sets of compact-section specimens with relatively low (Set A) or high (Set B) warping stiffness were prepared and tested under uniform moment loading. Laterally unbraced lengths of the test specimens were controlled such that inelastic LTB could be induced. All specimens exhibited LTB strength exceeding the minimum limit required by current provisions by a sufficient margin. Moreover, some specimen in Set A reached a rotation capacity required for plastic design, although its laterally unbraced length belonged to the inelastic LTB range. All the test results indicated that extrapolation of current provisions to high-strength steel is conservative. In order to further analyze the test results, the relationship between inelastic moment and laterally unbraced length was also derived in explicit form for both ordinary- and high-strength steel based on the effective tangent modulus of inelastic section. The analytical relationship derived again showed that extrapolation of current laterally unbraced length limit leads to a conservative design in the case of high-strength steel and that the laterally unbraced length to control the inelastic LTB behavior of high-strength steel beam should be specified by including its unique post-yield strain-hardening characteristics.