• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.91-99
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• 2010

In this study, the advanced numerical algorithm is developed which can performed the static and dynamic stochastic finite element analysis by considering the effect of uncertainties included in the member stiffness of steel cable-stayed bridges and seismic load. After conducting the linear and nonlinear initial shape analysis, the advanced numerical algorithm is the assessment tool which can performed structural the response analysis considering the static linearity and non-linearity of before or after induced intial tensile force, and examined the reliability assessment more efficiently. The verification of the developed numerical algorithm is evaluated by analyzing the regression analysis and coefficient of correlation using the direct monte carlo simulation. Also, the dynamic response characteristic and coefficient of variation of the steel cable-stayed bridge is calculated by considering the uncertainty of random variables using the developed numerical algorithm. In addition, the quantitative structural safety of the steel cable-stayed bridges is evaluated by conducting the reliability assessment based upon the dynamic stochastic finite element analysis result.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-27
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• 2015

In this paper Fragility Curves (FCs) relevant to existing RC framed building types representative of the Italian building population designed only to vertical load and regular in-plan have been derived from an extensive campaign of non-linear dynamic analyses. In the generation of the FCs, damage states according to the EMS98 scale have been considered while the intensity measure has been defined by adopting an integral parameter, such as the Housner intensity. FCs have been generated by varying different parameters, including building age, number of storeys, presence and position of infill panels, plan dimensions, external beams stiffness and concrete strength. In order to verify the effectiveness of the damage prediction, comparisons were made between the results obtained from the proposed FCs with those deriving from both prominent fragility studies available in the technical literature and damage distributions observed in past earthquakes. Results show that damage grades obtained by adopting the proposed FCs are generally lower than those provided by the other approaches considered. A comparison with real damage data, shows that the proposed FCs generally estimate more severe damage distributions than those observed in past earthquakes, although they give lower differences with respect to the other approaches.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.23-43
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• 2010

In this paper, a nonlinear model is developed using the component method in order to represent the response of steel connections under various loading conditions and temperature variations. The model is capable of depicting the behaviour of a number of typical connection types including endplate forms (extended and flush) and angle configurations (double web, top and seat, and combined top-seat-web) in both steel and composite framed structures. The implementation is undertaken within the finite element program ADAPTIC, which accounts for material and geometric nonlinearities. Verification of the proposed connection model is carried out by comparing analytical simulations with available results of isolated joint tests for the ambient case, and isolated joint as well as sub-frame tests for elevated temperature conditions. The findings illustrate the reliability and efficiency of the proposed model in capturing the stiffness and strength properties of connections, hence highlighting the adequacy of the component approach in simulating the overall joint behaviour at elevated temperature.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.1157-1176
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• 2014

The objective of this research is to develop a practical design and assessment approach of steel frames with steel slit walls (SSWs) that focuses on the damage-control behavior to enhance the structural resilience. The yielding sequence of SSWs and frame components is found to be a critical issue for the damage-control behavior and the design of systems. The design concept is validated by the full-scale experiments presented in this paper. Based on a modified energy-balance model, a procedure for designing and assessing the system motivated by the framework regarding the equilibrium of the energy demand and the energy capacity is proposed. The damage-control spectra constructed by strength reduction factors calculated from single-degree-of-freedom systems considering the post stiffness are addressed. A quantitative damage-control index to evaluate the system is also derived. The applicability of the proposed approach is validated by the evaluation of example structures with nonlinear dynamic analyses. The observations regarding the structural response and the prediction during selected ground motions demonstrate that the proposed approach can be applied to damage-control design and assessment of systems with satisfactory accuracy.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.1091-1111
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• 2015

Base isolation is an effective method for protecting structures against earthquake hazard. It elongates the period of vibration and introduces supplemental damping to the structural system. The stiffness, damping and displacement are coupled forcing the code seismic design procedure to be unnecessarily complicated. In addition, the force reduction factor -a key parameter in the design procedurehas not been well addressed by seismic design codes at the high levels of damping due to the pronounced difference between pseudo and actual accelerations. In this study, a comparison has been conducted to evaluate eight different methods, in the literature, for calculating the force reduction factor due to damping. Accordingly, a simplified seismic analysis procedure has been proposed based on the well documented N2 method. Comprehensive analysis has been performed for base-isolated structure models for direct application and verification of the proposed procedure. The results have been compared with those of the European code EC8, the nonlinear time history analysis and investigations in the literature, where good agreement has been reported. In addition, a discussion has been elaborated for the resulted response of the base-isolated structure models with respect to the dynamic characteristics of the base isolation system.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 2017

Composite steel plate deep beam (CDB) is proposed as a lateral resisting member, which is constructed by steel plate and reinforced concrete (RC) panel, and it is connected with building frame through high-strength bolts. To investigate the seismic performance of the CDB, tests of two 1/3 scaled specimens with different length-to-height ratio were carried out under cyclic loads. The failure modes, load-carrying capacity, hysteretic behavior, ductility and energy dissipation were obtained and analyzed. In addition, the nonlinear finite element (FE) models of the specimens were established and verified by the test results. Besides, parametric analyses were performed to study the effect of length-to-height ratio, height-to-thickness ratio, material type and arrangement of RC panel. The experimental and numerical results showed that: the CDBs lost their load-carrying capacity because of the large out-of plane deformation and yield of the tension field formed on the steel plate. By increasing the length-to-height ratio of steel plate, the load-carrying capacity, elastic stiffness, ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the specimens were significantly enhanced. The ultimate loading capacity increased with increasing the length-to-height ratio of steel plate and yield strength of steel plate; and such capacity increased with decreasing of height-to-thickness ratio of steel plate and gap. Finally, a unified formula is proposed to calculate their ultimate loading capacity, and fitting formula on such indexes are provided for designation of the CDB.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.431-446
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• 2017

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. In this study, buckling of horizontal concrete columns reinforced with Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles is analyzed. Due to the presence of ZnO nanoparticles which have piezoelectric properties, the structure is subjected to electric field for intelligent control. The Column is located in foundation with vertical springs and shear modulus constants. Sinusoidal shear deformation beam theory (SSDBT) is applied to model the structure mathematically. Micro-electro-mechanic model is utilized for obtaining the equivalent properties of system. Using the nonlinear stress-strain relation, energy method and Hamilton's principal, the motion equations are derived. The buckling load of the column is calculated by Difference quadrature method (DQM). The aim of this study is presenting a mathematical model to obtain the buckling load of structure as well as investigating the effect of nanotechnology and electric filed on the buckling behavior of structure. The results indicate that the negative external voltage applied to the structure, increases the stiffness and the buckling load of column. In addition, reinforcing the structure by ZnO nanoparticles, the buckling load of column is increased.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 2018

This paper presents a beam finite element model of a vibrate wind blade in large elastic deformation subjected to the aerodynamic, centrifugal, gyroscopic and gravity loads. The gyroscopic loads applied to the blade are induced by her simultaneous vibration and rotation. The proposed beam finite element model is based on a simplex interpolation method and it is mainly intended to the numerical analysis of wind blades vibration in large elastic deformation. For this purpose, the theory of the sheared beams and the finite element method are combined to develop the algebraic equations system governing the three-dimensional motion of blade vibration. The applicability of the theoretical approach is elucidated through an original case study. Also, the static deformation of the used wind blade is assessed by appropriate software using a solid finite element model in order to show the effectiveness of the obtained results. To simulate the nonlinear dynamic response of wind blade, the predictor-corrector Newmark scheme is applied and the stability of numerical process is approved during a large time of blade functioning. Finally, the influence of the modified geometrical stiffness on the amplitudes and frequencies of the wind blade vibration induced by the sinusoidal excitation of gravity is analyzed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.243-251
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• 2018

The dynamic responses of a rocking wall-moment frame (RWMF) with a post-tensioned cable are investigated. The nonlinear equations of motions are developed, which can be categorized as a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model. The model is validated through comparison of the rocking response of the rigid rocking wall (RRW) and displacement of the moment frame (MF) against that obtained from Finite Element analysis when subjected ground motion excitation. A comprehensive parametric analysis is carried out to determine the seismic performance factors of the RWMF systems under near-fault trigonometric pulse excitation. The horizontal displacement of the RWMF system is compared with that of MF structures without RRW, revealing the damping effect of the RRW. Frame displacement spectra excited by trigonometric pulses and recorded earthquake ground motions are constructed. The effects of pulse type, mass ratio, frame stiffness, and wall slenderness variations on the displacement spectra are presented. The paper shows that the coupling with a RRW has mixed results on suppressing the maximum displacement response of the frame.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.6
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• pp.629-641
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• 2018

The paper describes the development of a two-dimensional (2D) co-rotational nonlinear beam finite element that includes advanced path-following capabilities for detecting bifurcation instability in elasto-plasticity of steel elements subjected to fire without introducing imperfections. The advantage is twofold: i) no need to assume the magnitude of the imperfections and consequent reduction of the model complexity; ii) the presence of possible critical points is checked at each converged time step based on the actual load and stiffness distribution in the structure that is affected by the temperature field in the elements. In this way, the buckling modes at elevated temperature, that may be different from the ones at ambient temperature, can be properly taken into account. Moreover, an improved displacement predictor for estimating the displacement field allowed significant reduction of the computational cost. A co-rotational framework was exploited for describing the beam kinematic. In order to highlight the potential practical implications of the developed finite element, a parametric analysis was performed to investigate how the beam element compares both with the EN1993-1-2 buckling curve and with experimental tests on axially compressed steel members. Validation against experimental data and numerical outcomes obtained with commercial software is thoroughly described.