• Advances in materials Research
• /
• 제13권3호
• /
• pp.211-220
• /
• 2024

Polylactic acid or polylactide (PLA) is a biodegradable thermoplastic that can be produced from renewable material to create various components for industrial purposes. In 3D printing technology, PLA is used due to its good mechanical, electrical, printing properties, environmentally friendly and non-toxic properties. However, the physical properties and excellent electrical insulation properties of PLA have limited its application. In this study, with the carbon black (CB) as filler added into PLA, the lattice spacing and morphology were investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The physical properties of PLA-carbon composite were evaluated by using tensile test, shore D hardness test and density and voids measurement. Impedance test was conducted to investigate the electrical properties of PLA-Carbon composites. The results demonstrate that the inclusion of carbon black as filler enhances the physical properties of the PLA-carbon composites, including tensile properties, hardness, and density. The addition of carbon black also leads to improved electrical conductivity of the composites. Better enhancement toward the electrical properties of PLA-carbon composites is observed with 1wt% of carbon black in N774 grade. The N550 grade with 2wt% of carbon black shows better improvement in the physical properties of PLA-carbon composites, achieving 10.686 MPa in tensile testing, 43.330 in shore D hardness test, and a density of 1.200 g/cm3 in density measurement. The findings suggest that PLA-carbon composites have the potential for enhanced performance in various industrial applications, particularly in sectors requiring improved physical and electrical properties.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• 제51권3호
• /
• pp.337-349
• /
• 2024

The growing quantity of tires and building trash piling up in landfills poses a serious threat to the stability of the ecosystem. Researchers are exploring ways to reduce and use such byproducts of the construction industry in an effort to promote greener building practices. Thus, using recycled crumb rubber from scrap tires in concrete manufacturing is important for the industry's long-term viability. This study examines the proportion of waste rubber in fiber form, specifically at weight percentages of 5%, 10%, and 15%. Moreover, the study examines the shear behavior of reinforced concrete beams. A total of twelve RC beam specimens, each sized 100 mm by 150 mm by 1000 mm (w × d × L), were constructed and positioned to the test. Various mixtures were designed with different levels of scrap tire rubber content (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%) and Stirrup Vol. Ratio (2.10, 2.80, and 3.53) in reinforced concrete beams. The findings indicate that the inclusion of scrap rubber in concrete leads to a decrease in both the mechanical characteristics and weight of the material. This is mostly attributed to the lower strength and stiffness of the rubberized concrete. Furthermore, estimations generated by a variety of design codes were examined alongside the obtained data. In order to make a comparison between the estimates provided by the different codes such as ACI 318-14, CEB-FIB and Iranian national building codes, a calculation was done to determine the ratio of the experimental shear strength to the anticipated shear strength for each code.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• 제51권4호
• /
• pp.351-361
• /
• 2024

Accurate measurement of K_IC values for gas pipeline steels is important for assessing pipe safety using failure assessment diagrams. As direct measurement of K_IC was impossible for the API X70 pipeline steel, multi-specimen fracture tests were conducted to measure J_IC using three-point bend geometry. The J values were calculated from load-displacement (F-δ) plots, and the associated crack extensions were measured from the fracture surface of test specimens. Valid data points were found for the constructed J-Δa plot resulting in J_IC=356kN/m. More data points were added analytically to the J-Δa plot to increase the number of data points without performing additional experiments for different J-Δa zones where test data was unavailable. Consequently, displacement (δ) and crack-growth (Δa) from multi-specimen tests (with small displacements) were used simultaneously, resulting in the variation of Δa-δ (crack growth law) and δ-Δa obtained for this steel. For new Δa values, corresponding δ values were first calculated from δ-Δa. Then, corresponding J values for the obtained δ values were calculated from the area under the F-δ record of a full-fractured specimen (with large displacement). Given Δa and J values for new data points, the developed J-Δa plot with extra data points yielded a satisfactory estimation of J_IC=345kN/m with only a -3.1% error. This is promising and showed that the developed technique could ease the estimation of J_IC significantly and reduce the time and cost of expensive extra fracture toughness tests.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• 제52권1호
• /
• pp.31-43
• /
• 2024

A very widely used analytical method (mathematical model), mentioned in Eurocode 3, to examine the connections' bending behavior is the component-based method that has certain weak points shown in the plastic behavior part of the moment-rotation curves. In the component method available in Eurocode 3, for simplicity, the effect of strain hardening is omitted, and the bending behavior of the connection is modeled with the help of a two-line diagram. To make the component method more efficient and reliable, this research proposed its advanced version, wherein the plastic part of the diagram was developed beyond the guidelines of the mentioned Regulation, implemented to connect the end plate, and verified with the moment-rotation curves found from the laboratory model and the finite element method in ABAQUS. The findings indicated that the advanced component method (the method developed in this research) could predict the plastic part of the moment-rotation curve as well as the conventional component-based method in Eurocode 3. The comparison between the laboratory model and the outputs of the conventional and advanced component methods, as well as the outputs of the finite elements approach using ABAQUS, revealed a different percentage in the ultimate moment for bolt-extended end-plate connections. Specifically, the difference percentages were -31.56%, 2.46%, and 9.84%, respectively. Another aim of this research was to determine the optimal dimensions of the end plate joint to reduce costs without letting the mechanical constraints related to the bending moment and the resulting initial stiffness, are not compromised as well as the safety and integrity of the connection. In this research, the thickness and dimensions of the end plate and the location and diameter of the bolts were the design variables, which were optimized using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Snake Optimization (SO), and Teaching Learning-Based Optimization (TLBO) to minimization the connection cost of the end plate connection. According to the results, the TLBO method yielded better solutions than others, reducing the connection costs from 43.97 to 17.45€ (60.3%), which shows the method's proper efficiency.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• 제50권5호
• /
• pp.563-581
• /
• 2024

This paper presents a novel finite element model for the free vibration analysis of variable-thickness functionally graded porous (FGP) microplates resting on Pasternak's medium in the hygro-thermal environment. The governing equations are established according to refined higher-order shear deformation plate theory (RPT) in construction with the modified couple stress theory. For the first time, three-node triangular elements with twelve degrees of freedom for each node are developed based on Hermitian interpolation functions to describe the in-plane displacements and transverse displacements of microplates. Two laws of variable thickness of FGP microplates, including the linear law and the nonlinear law in the x-direction are investigated. Effects of thermal and moisture changes on microplates are assumed to vary continuously from the bottom surface to the top surface and only cause tension loads in the plane, which does not change the material's mechanical properties. The numerical results of this work are compared with those of published data to verify the accuracy and reliability of the proposed method. In addition, the parameter study is conducted to explore the effects of geometrical and material properties such as the changing law of the thickness, length-scale parameter, and the parameters of the porosity, temperature, and humidity on the free vibration response of variable thickness FGP microplates. These results can be applied to design of microelectromechanical structures in practice.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• 제50권5호
• /
• pp.515-529
• /
• 2024

Cold-formed steel (CFS) is a popular choice for construction due to its low cost, durability, sustainability, resistance to high environmental and seismic pressures, and ease of installation. The beam-column connections in residential and medium-rise structures are formed using self-drilling screws that connect two CFS channel sections and a gusset plate. In order to increase the moment capacity of these CFS screwed beam-column connections, stiffeners are often placed on the web area of each single channel. However, there is limited literature on studying the effects of stiffeners on the moment capacity of CFS screwed beam-column connections. Hence, this paper proposes a new test approach for determining the moment capacity of CFS screwed beam-column couplings. This study describes an experimental test programme consisting of eight novel experimental tests. The effect of stiffeners, beam thickness, and gusset plate thickness on the structural behaviour of CFS screwed beam-column connections is investigated. Besides, nonlinear elasto-plastic finite element (FE) models were developed and validated against experimental test data. It found that there was reasonable agreement in terms of moment capacity and failure mode prediction. From the experimental and numerical investigation, it found that the increase in gusset plate or beam thickness and the use of stiffeners have no significant effect on the structural behaviour, moment capacity, or rotational capacity of joints exhibiting the same collapse behaviour; however, the capacity or energy absorption capacities have increased in joints whose failure behaviour varies with increasing thickness or using stiffeners. Besides, the thickness change has little impact on the initial stiffness.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
• /
• 제15권2호
• /
• pp.79-88
• /
• 2024

Modification of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) characteristics and performance were investigated via post treatment using different oxidants. sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and potassium persulfate (KPS). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) results revealed no structural differences after post treatment. Cross-sectional micrographs show finger-like structures at the outer and inner walls of the HFMs and sponge-like structures in middle, where NaOCl and KPS post treated fibers exhibited a decrease in finger-like structures in addition to aggregates appearing on the surface, consequently leading to an increase in the surface roughness (Ra) from 48 nm to 52.8nm and 56 nm, respectively. Hydrogen peroxide post treatment only was observed to decrease the water contact angle from 98° to 81.4°. It was also observed that the elongation at break and the modulus deceased after NaOCl post treatment from 34.5 to 28.5% and from 19.3 Mpa to 16.6 Mpa, respectively. Moreover, pure water flux after H₂O₂ post treatment increased from 87.8 LMH/bar to 113 LMH/bar at 0.45 bar, while no changes were detected for the methylene blue dye rejection (74%) between raw and hydrogen peroxide post treated fibers at the same pressure. According to the findings hydrogen peroxide post treated PVDF HFMs have the most uniform surfaces, with almost no alterations in structural and mechanical properties or porosities with enhanced hydrophilicity and pure water flux maintaining appropriate rejection. Therefore, it is considered an efficient surface modifying agent for UF/NF membranes or low-pressure separators.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• 제52권3호
• /
• pp.343-356
• /
• 2024

This paper presents an analytical solution for correctly predicting the Lateral-Torsional Buckling critical moment of simply supported castellated beams, the solution covers uniformly distributed loads combined with compressive loads. For this purpose, the castellated beam section with hexagonal-type perforation is treated as an arrangement of double "T" sections, composed of an upper T section and a lower T section. The castellated beam with regular openings is considered as a periodic repeating structure of unit cells. According to the kinematic model, the energy principle is applied in the context of geometric nonlinearity and the linear elastic behavior of materials. The differential equilibrium equations are established using Galerkin's method and the tangential stiffness matrix is calculated to determine the critical lateral torsional buckling loads. A Finite Element simulation using ABAQUS software is performed to verify the accuracy of the suggested analytical solution, each castellated beam is modelled with appropriate sizes meshes by thin shell elements S8R, the chosen element has 8 nodes and six degrees of freedom per node, including five integration points through the thickness, the Lanczos eigen-solver of ABAQUS was used to conduct elastic buckling analysis. It has been demonstrated that the proposed analytical solution results are in good agreement with those of the finite element method. A parametric study involving geometric and mechanical parameters is carried out, the intensity of the compressive load is also included. In comparison with the linear solution, it has been found that the linear stability underestimates the lateral buckling resistance. It has been confirmed that when high axial loads are applied, an impressive reduction in critical loads has been observed. It can be concluded that the obtained analytical solution is efficient and simple, and offers a rapid and direct method for estimating the lateral torsional buckling critical moment of simply supported castellated beams.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• 제34권4호
• /
• pp.379-391
• /
• 2024

The ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) mixed with hybrid fibers has excellent mechanical properties and durability, and the hybrid fibers have a certain impact on the bearing capacity, deformation capacity, and crack propagation of beams. Many scholars have conducted a series of studies on the bending performance of prestressed UHPC beams, but there are few studies on prestressed UHPC beams mixed with hybrid fibers. In this study, five bonded post-tensioned partially prestressed UHPC beams mixed with steel fibers and macro-polyolefin fibers were poured and subjected to four-points symmetric loading bending tests. The effects of different prestressing degrees and prestressing levels on the load-deflection curves, crack propagation, failure modes and ultimate bearing capacity of beams were discussed. The results showed that flexural failure occurred in the prestressed UHPC beams with hybrid fibers, and the integrity of specimens was good. When the prestressing degree was the same, the higher the prestressing level, the better the crack resistance capacity of UHPC beams; When the prestressing level was 90%, increasing the prestressing degree was beneficial to improve the crack resistance and ultimate bearing capacity of UHPC beams. When the prestressing degree increased from 0.41 to 0.59, the cracking load and ultimate load increased by 66.0% and 41.4%, respectively, but the ductility decreased by 61.2%. Based on the plane section assumption and considering the bridging effect of short fibers, the cracking moment and ultimate bearing moment were calculated, with good agreement between the test and calculated values.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• 제27권2호
• /
• pp.143-154
• /
• 2024

Friction pendulums typically suffer from poor uplift-restraining. To improve the uplift-restraining and enhance the energy dissipation capacity, this article proposed a composite isolation device based on electromagnetic forces. The device was constructed based on a remote control system to achieve semi-active control of the composite isolation device. This article introduces the theory and design of an electromagnetic chuck-friction pendulum system (ECFPS) and derives the theoretical equation for the ECFPS based on Maxwell's electromagnetic attraction equation to construct the proposed model. By conducting 1:3 scale tests on the electromagnetic device, the gaps between the practical, theoretical, and simulation results were analyzed, and the accuracy and effectiveness of the theoretical equation for the ECFPS were investigated. The hysteresis and uplift-restraining performance of ECFPS were analyzed by adjusting the displacement amplitude, vertical load, and input current of the simulation model. The data obtained from the scale test were consistent with the theoretical and simulated data. Notably, the hysteresis area of the ECFPS was 35.11% larger than that of a conventional friction pendulum. Lastly, a six-story planar frame structure was established through SAP2000 for a time history analysis. The isolation performances of ECFPS and FPS were compared. The results revealed that, under horizontal seismic action, the horizontal seismic response of the bottom layer of the ECFPS isolation structure is greater than that of the FPS, the horizontal vibration response of the top layer of the ECFPS isolation structure is smaller than that of the FPS, and the axial force at the bottom of the columns of the ECFPS isolation structure is smaller than that of the FPS isolation structure. Therefore, the reliable uplift-restraining performance is facilitated by the electromagnetic force generated by the device.