• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.62 no.5
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• pp.619-629
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• 2017

This paper focuses on the study of complete dynamic modeling and maximum dynamic load carrying capacity computation of N-flexible links and N-flexible joints mobile manipulator undergoing large deformation. Nonlinear dynamic analysis relies on the Timoshenko theory of beams. In order to model the system completely and precisely, structural and joint flexibility, nonlinear strain-displacement relationship, payload, and non-holonomic constraints will be considered to. A finite element solution method based on mixed method is applied to model the shear deformation. This procedure is considerably more involved than displacement based element and shear deformation can be readily included without inducing the shear locking in the element. Another goal of this paper is to present a computational procedure for determination of the maximum dynamic load of geometrically nonlinear manipulators with structural and joint flexibility. An effective measure named as Moment-Height Stability (MHS) measure is applied to consider the dynamic stability of a wheeled mobile manipulator. Simulations are performed for mobile base manipulator with two flexible links and joints. The results represent that dynamic stability constraint is sensitive when calculating the maximum carrying load. Furthermore, by changing the trajectory of end effector, allowable load also changes. The effect of torsional spring parameter on the joint deformation is investigated in a parametric sensitivity study. The findings show that, by the increase of torsional stiffness, the behavior of system approaches to a system with rigid joints and allowable load of robot is also enhanced. A comparison is also made between the results obtained from small and large deformation models. Fluctuation range in obtained figures for angular displacement of links and end effector path is bigger for large deformation model. Experimental results are also provided to validate the theoretical model and these have good agreement with the simulated results.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.177-186
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• 2023

Reinforced concrete frames with a masonry infill panel is a structural typology frequently used worldwide. In seismic cases, the interaction between the masonry infill and the RC frames constitutes one of the most complex subjects in earthquake engineering. In this work, an enhancement of an existing numerical model is proposed to improve the estimation of lateral strength and stiffness of masonry-infilled frame structures and predict their probable failure modes. The proposed improvement is based on attributing corrective coefficients to the shear strength of each diagonal shear spring of the macro element, which simulates the masonry infill. The improved numerical model is validated by comparing the results with those of the original numerical model and with experimental results available in the literature. The enhanced macro element model can be used as a powerful, accessible tool for assessing the capacity and stiffness of masonry-infilled frame structures and predicting their probable failure modes.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1053-1063
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• 2016

As concrete is most usable material in construction industry it's been required to improve its quality. Nowadays, nanotechnology offers the possibility of great advances in construction. For the first time, the nonlinear buckling of straight concrete columns armed with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) resting on foundation is investigated in the present study. The column is modelled with Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. The characteristics of the equivalent composite being determined using the Mori-Tanaka model. The foundation around the column is simulated with spring and shear layer. Employing nonlinear strains-displacements, energy methods and Hamilton's principal, the governing equations are derived. Differential quadrature method (DQM) is used in order to obtain the buckling load of structure. The influences of volume percent of SWCNTs, geometrical parameters, elastic foundation and boundary conditions on the buckling of column are investigated. Numerical results indicate that reinforcing the concrete column with SWCNTs, the structure becomes stiffer and the buckling load increases with respect to concrete column armed with steel.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.567-578
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• 2016

As concrete is most usable material in construction industry it's been required to improve its quality. Nowadays, nanotechnology offers the possibility of great advances in construction. For the first time, the nonlinear buckling of straight concrete columns armed with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) resting on foundation is investigated in the present study. The column is modelled with Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theories. The characteristics of the equivalent composite being determined using mixture rule. The foundation around the column is simulated with spring and shear layer. Employing nonlinear strains-displacements, energy methods and Hamilton's principal, the governing equations are derived. Differential quadrature method (DQM) is used in order to obtain the buckling load of structure. The influences of volume percent of SWCNTs, geometrical parameters, elastic foundation and boundary conditions on the buckling of column are investigated. Numerical results indicate that reinforcing the concrete column with SWCNTs, the structure becomes stiffer and the buckling load increases with respect to concrete column armed with steel.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.276-282
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• 2013

This paper proposes an ultrasonic method for measurement of linear and hysteretic interfacial stiffness of contacting surfaces between two steel plates subjected to nominal compression pressure. Interfacial stiffness was evaluated by the reflection and transmission coefficients obtained from three consecutive reflection waves from solid-solid surface using the shear wave. A nonlinear hysteretic spring model was proposed and used to define the quantitative interfacial stiffness of interface with the reflection and transmission coefficients. Acoustic model for 1-D wave propagation across interfaces is developed to formulate the reflection and transmission waves and to determine the linear and nonlinear hysteretic interfacial stiffness. Two identical plates are put together to form a contacting surface and pressed by bolt-fastening to measure interfacial stiffness at different states of contact pressure. It is found from experiment that the linear and hysteretic interfacial stiffness are successfully determined by the reflection and transmission coefficient at the contact surfaces through ultrasonic pulse-echo measurement.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.6
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• pp.701-709
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• 2017

Seismic dissipation devices can play a crucial role in mitigating earthquake damages, loss of life and post-event repair and downtime costs. This research investigates the use of ring springs with high-force-to-volume (HF2V) dissipaters to create damage-free, recentring connections and structures. HF2V devices are passive rate-dependent extrusion-based devices with high energy absorption characteristics. Ring springs are passive energy dissipation devices with high self-centring capability to reduce the residual displacements. Dynamic behaviour of a system with nonlinear structural stiffness and supplemental hybrid damping via HF2V devices and ring spring dampers is used to investigate the design space and potential. HF2V devices are modelled with design forces equal to 5% and 10% of seismic weight and ring springs are modelled with loading stiffness values of 20% and 40% of initial structural stiffness and respective unloading stiffness of 7% and 14% of structural stiffness (equivalent to 35% of their loading stiffness). Using a suite of 20 design level earthquake ground motions, nonlinear response spectra for 8 different configurations are generated. Results show up to 50% reduction in peak displacements and greater than 80% reduction in residual displacements of augmented structure compared to the baseline structure. These gains come at a cost of a significant rise in the base shear values up to 200% mainly as a result of the force contributed by the supplemental devices.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.203-211
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• 2009

In flows with deformation rates larger than the inverse Rouse time of the polymer chain, chains are stretched and their confining tubes become increasingly anisotropic. The pressures exerted by a polymer chain on the walls of an anisotropic confinement are anisotropic and limit chain stretch. In the Molecular Stress Function (MSF) model, chain stretch is balanced by an interchain pressure term, which is inverse proportional to the $3^{rd}$ power of the tube diameter and is characterized by a tube diameter relaxation time. We show that the tube diameter relaxation time is equal to 3 times the Rouse time in the limit of small chain stretch. At larger deformations, we argue that chain stretch is balanced by two restoring tensions with weights of 1/3 in the longitudinal direction of the tube (due to a linear spring force) and 2/3 in the lateral direction (due to the nonlinear interchain pressure), both of which are characterized by the Rouse time. This approach is shown to be in quantitative agreement with transient and steady-state elongational viscosity data of two monodisperse polystyrene melts without using any nonlinear parameter, i.e. solely based on the linear-viscoelastic characterization of the melts. The same approach is extended to model experimental data of four styrene-butadiene random copolymer melts in shear flow. Thus for monodisperse linear polymer melts, for the first time a constitutive equation is presented which allows quantitative modeling of nonlinear extension and shear rheology on the basis of linear-viscoelastic data alone.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.461-481
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• 2016

The research described in this paper investigates the seismic behaviour of lightly reinforced concrete (RC) bearing sandwich panels, heavily conditioned by shear deformation. A numerical model has been prepared, within an open source finite element (FE) platform, to simulate the experimental response of this emerging structural system, whose squat-type geometry affects performance and failure mode. Calibration of this equivalent mechanical model, consisting of a group of regularly spaced vertical elements in combination with a layer of nonlinear springs, which represent the cyclic behaviour of concrete and steel, has been conducted by means of a series of pseudo-static cyclic tests performed on single full-scale prototypes with or without openings. Both cantilevered and fixed-end shear walls have been analyzed. After validation, this numerical procedure, including cyclic-related mechanisms, such as buckling and subsequent slippage of reinforcing re-bars, as well as concrete crushing at the base of the wall, has been used to assess the capacity of two- and three-dimensional low- to mid-rise box-type buildings and, hence, to estimate their strength reduction factors, on the basis of conventional pushover analyses.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.691-714
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• 2017

Rotating fluid induced vibration and instability of embedded piezoelectric nano-composite separators subjected to magnetic and electric fields is the main contribution of present work. The separator is modeled with cylindrical shell element and the structural damping effects are considered by Kelvin-Voigt model. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are used as reinforcement and effective material properties are obtained by mixture rule. The perturbation velocity potential in conjunction with the linearized Bernoulli formula is used for describing the rotating fluid motion. The orthotropic surrounding elastic medium is considered by spring, damper and shear constants. The governing equations are derived on the bases of classical shell theory (CST), first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and sinusoidal shear deformation theory (SSDT). The nonlinear frequency and critical angular fluid velocity are calculated by differential quadrature method (DQM). The detailed parametric study is conducted, focusing on the combined effects of the external voltage, magnetic field, visco-Pasternak foundation, structural damping and volume percent of SWCNTs on the stability of structure. The numerical results are validated with other published works as well as comparing results obtained by three theories. Numerical results indicate that with increasing volume fraction of SWCNTs, the frequency and critical angular fluid velocity are increased.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.97-105
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• 2013

In this paper, the a static experiment of on two reinforced concrete (RC) frame sub-assemblages was conducted to evaluate the seismic behaviors of existing RC frames that were not designed to support a seismic load. The specimens were a one span and actual-sized. One of them had two columns with the same stiffness, but the other had two columns with different stiffness values. As Regarding the test results, lots of many cracks occurred on the surfaces of the columns and beam-column joints for the two specimens, but the cover concrete splitting hardly occurred was minimal until the test ends. In the case of the specimen with the same stiffness offor the two columns, the flexural collapse of the left-side column occurred. However, in the case of the specimen with different stiffness values for of the two columns, the beam-column joint finally collapsed, even though the shear strength of the joint was designed to be strong enough to support the lateral collapse load. The nonlinear Nonlinear static analysis of the two specimens was also conducted using the uniaxial spring model, and the analytical results successfully simulated the nonlinear behaviour of the specimens in accordance with the test results.