• Wind and Structures
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.481-494
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• 2007

Downbursts are transient phenomena that produce wind profiles that are distinctly different from synoptic boundary layers. Wind field data from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of isolated downburst-like impinging jets, are used to investigate structural loads of tall buildings due to these high intensity winds. The base shear forces and base moments of tall buildings of heights between 120 and 250 m produced by downburst winds of various scales are compared with the forces from the equivalent boundary layer gust winds, with matched 10-metre wind velocity. The wind profiles are mainly functions of the size of the downburst and the radial distance from the centre of the storm. Wind forces due to various downburst profiles are investigated by placing the building at different locations relative to the storm center as well as varying the size of the downburst. Overall it is found that downbursts larger than approx. 2,000 m in diameter might produce governing design wind loads above those from corresponding boundary layer winds for tall buildings.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.135-144
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• 2008

The dynamic loads imposed by moving vehicles have variations in the magnitude due to the surface roughness of the pavement systems and the larger dynamic loads than the design loads may affect the pavement performance. This paper presents variations of the moving dynamic vehicle loads due to the pavement surface roughness. This study was performed as a basic study to apply the pay factor to the surface roughness for the improvement of pavement quality and performance. The profile data was obtained from the old and new pavements and the analysis was performed to investigate the dynamic loads when vehicles move on the pavements having those profiles. The artificial profiles were also developed to find the effects of the vehicle speed, wavelength and amplitude of the surface roughness on the dynamic vehicle loads. The increase in the load magnitude due to the surface roughness affects the stresses and strains of pavements and finally reduces the pavement life. The methodology to obtain the relationship between the surface roughness and the pavement performance was proposed in this study.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.951-965
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• 2014

Point bending is commonly used for cambering and curving steel girders to large radii. In this system, a hydraulic ram or press is used to apply concentrated loads at selected points to obtain the required vertical (cambering) or horizontal (curving) curved profile from induced permanent deformations. This paper derives closed form solutions that relate loads to permanent deformations for horizontally curving wide flange steel beams based on their post-yield response. These solutions are presented in a parametric form to identify the relationship between key variables and their impact on the accuracy of the curving operation. It is shown that point bending could yield parabolic curved profiles that are within 1% of a desired circular curve if the span length to radius of curvature ratio (L / R) is less than 1.5 and the point loads are spaced at one third the beam length. Safe limits are then established on loads, strains and curvatures to avoid damaging the steel section. This leads to optimization of the point bending operation for inducing a circular profile in wide flange steel beams of any size.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.184-189
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• 2008

In this study, an artificial wheel load generation method is proposed to assist practical engineers performing dynamic analysis with simple procedure. To generate an artificial wheel loads from running vehicle, PSD(Power Spectrum Density) profiles of actual wheel load were sampled in terms of various road roughnesses. A detailed truck and bridge models were used for sampling actual wheel load to represent the real motion of moving vehicle. These wheel load profiles were simplified for the artificial wheel load. The simplification of actual wheel load profiles was performed by regression analysis. The result showed that the artificial wheel load well represents the real profiles of wheel load.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2006

A half-scaled large test model for the main components of the real annular structure was built and the thermal behaviors were experimented and obtained by thermal cyclic loads. The model design and the test conditions for the thermal loads were determined to take into consideration the thermal and mechanical loads acting on the real annular structure by finite element analyses. Temperature profiles and strains of the main components of the model were measured at an early stage of the test and periodically throughout the test in the given test conditions. After completion of the thermal cyclic tests, no evidence of crack initiation and propagation were identified by a dye penetration test. The measured strains at the critical parts were slightly increased proportionally with the increase in the number of the thermal cycles.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.26-34
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• 1998

This paper presents a high-speed performance analysis of ball bearings with ceramic balls under thrust loads. The sliding velocity profiles between a ball and raceways were obtained by the 3-D quasi-dynamic equations of motion including both centrifugal force and gyroscopic moment derived by vector matrix algebra. The friction at the contact areas was obtained by the Bair-Winer's non-Newtonian rheological model and the Hamrock-Dowson's central film thickness in EHL analysis. The nonlinear equations were solved by the Newton-Raphson method and the underrelaxation iterative method. The friction torques and ball behaviors with various loads, ball materials, and contact angles were predicted by this model. It was shown that the friction torque was sensitive to thrust load and contact angle, and that the friction torque and the pitch angle of the bearing with ceramic balls are smaller than those of the bearing with steel balls.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.89-114
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• 2007

Two aspects of the design of a small-scale smart wing are addressed in this work, related to the ability of the wing to modify its cross section assuming the shape of two different airfoils and to the possibility of deflecting the profiles near the trailing edge in order to obtain hingeless control surfaces. The actuation is provided by one-way shape memory alloy wires eventually coupled to springs, Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) being among the most promising materials for this kind of applications. The points to be actuated along the profiles and the displacements to be imposed are selecetd so that they satisfactorily approximate the change from an airfoil to the other and to result in an adequate deflection of the control surface; the actuators and their performances are designed so that an adequate wing stiffness is guaranteed, in order to prevent excessive deformations and undesired airfoil shape variations due to aerodynamic loads. The effect of the pressure distributions, calculated by way of the XFOIL software, and of the actuators loads, is estimated by FE analyses of the loaded wing. Two prototypes are then realised incorporating the variable airfoil and the hingeless aileron features respectively, and the verification of their shapes in both the actuated and non-actuated states, supported by image analysis techniques, confirms that interesting results are achievable with the proposed lay out and design considerations.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.223-238
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• 2017

In this study, bearing capacities and settlement profiles of six irregularly shaped footings located on sand have been experimentally and analytically investigated under the effect of axial loading. The main variable considered in the study was the geometry of the footings. The axial loads were applied from the center of gravities of the test specimens. Consequently, the effect of footing shape on the variation of the bearing capacities and settlement profiles have been investigated in this paper. The three dimensional finite element analyses of the test specimens were conducted using the PLAXIS 3D software. The finite element model results are in acceptable agreement with the results obtained using experimental investigation. In addition, the usability of the finite element technique by design engineers to determine the bearing capacities and settlement profiles of irregularly shaped footings was investigated. From the results of the study, it was observed that the geometric properties of the footings significantly influenced the variation of the bearing capacities and settlement profiles.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.981-995
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• 2015

This paper presents a finite element procedure for dynamic analysis of non-uniform Timoshenko beams made of axially Functionally Graded Material (FGM) under multiple moving point loads. The material properties are assumed to vary continuously in the longitudinal direction according to a predefined power law equation. A beam element, taking the effects of shear deformation and cross-sectional variation into account, is formulated by using exact polynomials derived from the governing differential equations of a uniform homogenous Timoshenko beam element. The dynamic responses of the beams are computed by using the implicit Newmark method. The numerical results show that the dynamic characteristics of the beams are greatly influenced by the number of moving point loads. The effects of the distance between the loads, material non-homogeneity, section profiles as well as aspect ratio on the dynamic responses of the beams are also investigated in detail and highlighted.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.625-638
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• 2016

This paper presents field study and numerical modeling results for a single-cell low-fill concrete box culvert under a flexible pavement subjected to traffic loading. The culvert in the field test was instrumented with displacement transducers to capture the deformations resulting from different combinations of static and traffic loads. A low-boy truck with a known axle configuration and loads was used to apply seven static load combinations and traffic loads at different speeds. Deflections under the culvert roof were measured during loading. Soil and pavement samples were obtained by drilling operation on the test site. The properties of the soil and pavement layers were determined in the laboratory. A 3-D numerical model of the culvert was developed using a finite difference program FLAC3D. Linear elastic models were used for the pavement layers and soil. The numerical results with the material properties determined in the laboratory were compared with the field test results. The observed deflections in the field test were generally smaller under moving loads than static loads. The maximum deflections measured during the static and traffic loads were 0.6 mm and 0.41 mm respectively. The deflections computed by the numerical method were in good agreement with those observed in the field test. The deflection profiles obtained from the field test and the numerical simulation suggest that the traffic load acted more like a concentrated load distributed over a limited area on the culvert. Elastic models for culverts, pavement layers, and surrounding soil are appropriate for numerical modeling of box culverts under loading for load rating purposes.