• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.169-187
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• 2019

This work presents a practical detailed finite element (FE) approach for the three-dimensional (3D) free-vibration analysis of actual aircraft and spacecraft-type lightweight and thin honeycomb sandwich panels. It consists of calling successively in $MATLAB^{(R)}$, via a developed user-friendly GUI, a detailed 3D meshing tool, a macrocommands language translator and a commercial FE solver($ABAQUS^{(R)}$ or $ANSYS^{(R)}$). In contrary to the common practice of meshing finely the faces and core cells, the proposed meshing tool represents each wall of the actual hexagonal core cells as a single two-dimensional (2D) 4 nodes quadrangularshell element or two 3 nodes triangular ones, while the faces meshes are obtained simply using the nodes at the core-faces interfaces. Moreover, as the same 2D FE interpolation type is used for meshing the core and faces, this leads to an automatic handling of their required FE compatibility relations. This proposed approach is applied to a sample made of very thin glass fiber reinforced polymer woven composite faces and a thin aluminum alloy hexagonal honeycomb core. The unknown or incomplete geometric and materials properties are first collected through direct measurements, reverse engineering techniques and experimental-FE modal analysis-based inverse identification. Then, the free-vibrations of the actual honeycomb sandwich panel are analyzed experimentally under different boundary conditions and numerically using different mesh basic cell shapes. It is found that this approach is accurate for the first few modes used for pre-design purpose.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.559-569
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• 2019

The bond strength between composite laminates and concrete is a key factor that controls the behavior of concrete members strengthened with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets, which can be affected by several parameters such as thermal stresses and surface preparation. This article presents the result of an experimental study on the bond strength between FRP sheets and concrete at ambient temperature after specimens had been exposed to elevated temperatures of up to $200^{\circ}C$. For this purpose, 30 specimens of plain concrete with dimensions of $150{\times}150{\times}350mm$ were prepared. Three different conventional surface preparation methods (sandblasting, wire brushing and hole drilling) were considered and compared with a new efficient method (fiber implantation). Deformation field during each experiment was monitored using particle image velocimetry. The results showed that, the specimens which were prepared by conventional surface preparation methods, preserved their bond integrity when exposed to temperature below glass transition temperature of epoxy resin (about $60^{\circ}C$). Beyond this temperature, the bond strength and stiffness decreased significantly (about 50%) in comparison with control specimens. However, the specimens prepared by the proposed method displayed higher bond strengths of up to 32% and 90% at $25^{\circ}C$ and $200^{\circ}C$, respectively.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.3
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• pp.305-312
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• 2019

This paper investigates the effect of utilizing vacuum bagging process to enhance the bond behavior between fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites and concrete substrate. Sixty specimens were prepared and tested using double-shear bond test. The effect of various parameters such as vacuum, fiber type, and FRP sheet length and width on the bond strength were investigated. The experimental results revealed that utilizing vacuum leads to improve the bond behavior between FRP composites and concrete. Both the ultimate bond forces and the maximum displacements were enhanced when applying the vacuum which leads to reduction in the amount of FRP materials needed to achieve the required bond strength compared with the un-vacuumed specimens. The efficiency of the enhancement in bond behavior due to vacuum highly depends on the fiber type; using carbon fiber showed higher enhancement in the bond strength compared to the glass fiber when vacuum was applied. On the contrary, specimens with glass fiber showed higher enhancement in the maximum slippage compared to specimens with carbon fibers. Utilizing vacuum does not affect the debonding failure modes but lead to increase in the amount of attached concrete on the surface of the debonded FRP sheet.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.22-29
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• 2019

Chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) -bamboo charcoal/silica (CS-PVA-BC/SI) hybrid fillers with compatibilized styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) composites were fabricated by the interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) method. The structure and composition of the composite samples were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The viscoelastic behaviors of the rubber composites and their vulcanizates were explored using a rubber processing analyzer (RPA) in the rheometer, strain sweep and temperature sweep modes. The storage and loss moduli of SBR increased significantly with the incorporation of different hybrid fillers, which was attributed to the formation of an interphase between the hybrid fillers and rubber matrix, and the effective dispersion of the hybrid fillers. The mechanical properties (hardness, tensile strength, oxygen transmission rate, and swelling rate) of the composite samples were characterized in detail. From the results of the mechanical test, it was found that BC-CS-PVA0SBR had the best mechanical properties. Therefore, the BC-CS-PVA hybrid filler provided the best reinforcement effects for the SBR latex in this research.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.433-441
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• 2019

The aim of this research is reinforcing of concrete with variety of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) configurations and investigates the load capacity and ductility of these connections using an experimental investigation. Six scaled-down RC exterior joints were tested under moderately monotonic loads. The results show that, the shape of the FRP had a different effect on the joint capacity and the connection ductility coefficient. The greatest effect on increasing the ductility factor was seen in the sample where two reinforcement plates were used on both sides of the beam web (RCS5 sample). For the sample with the presence of FRP plates at the top and bottom of the beam (RCS3 sample), the ductility factor was reduced even the load capacity of this sample increased. Except for the RCS3 sample, the rest of the samples exhibited an increase in the ductility factor due to the FRP reinforcement.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1284-1296
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• 2018

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), plates bonding repair method is one of the simple repair methods for cracked steel structures. In this study, the influence of width of CFRP plates on bending fatigue life of out-of-plane gusset joint strengthened with CFRP plates was investigated from the experimental and numerical point of view. In the bending fatigue test of cracked out-of-plane gusset joint strengthened with CFRP plates, the effect of width of CFRP plates on crack growth life was clarified experimentally. Namely, it was revealed that the crack growth life becomes larger with increasing the width of CFRP plates. In the numerical approach, the stress intensity factor (SIF) at the surface point of a semi-elliptical surface crack was estimated based on the linear fracture mechanics. Furthermore, the extended fatigue life of cracked out-of-plane gusset joint strengthened with CFRP plates was evaluated by using the estimated SIF at the surface point and the empirical formula of the aspect ratio of semi-elliptical crack. As the results of numerical analysis, the estimated fatigue life of the specimen strengthened with CFRP plates showed the good agreement with the test results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.189-200
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• 2021

The compressive strength of circular concrete filled steel tubular (C-CFST) stubs strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is studied theoretically. According to previous experimental results, the failure process and mechanism of circular CFRP-concrete filled steel tubular (C-CFRP-CFST) stubs is analyzed, and the loading process is divided into 3 stages, i.e., elastic stage, elasto-plastic stage and failure stage. Based on continuum mechanics, the theoretical model of C-CFRP-CFST stubs under axial compression is established based on the assumptions that steel tube and concrete are both in three-dimensional stress state and CFRP is in uniaxial tensile stress state. Equations for calculating the yield strength and the ultimate strength of C-CFRP-CFST stubs are deduced. Theoretical predictions from the presented equations are compared with existing experimental results. There are a total of 49 tested specimens, including 15 ones for comparison of yield strength and 44 ones for comparison of ultimate strength. It is found that the predicted results of most specimens are within an error limit of 10%. Finally, simplified equations for calculating both yield strength and ultimate strength of C-CFRP-CFST stubs are proposed.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.55-75
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• 2021

The lightweight superstructure is beneficial for bridges in remote areas and emergency erection. In such weight-sensitive applications, the combination of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) as a material and box-beams as a structural system have enormous scope. This combination offers various advantages, but as a thin-walled structure, their designs are often governed by buckling criteria. FRP box-beams lose their stability either by flange or web buckling mode. In this paper, the web buckling behavior of simply supported FRP box-beam subjected to transverse load has been studied by modeling full box-beam to consider the effect of real state of stress (stress variation in length direction) and boundary conditions (rotational restraint at web-flange junction). A parametric study by varying the sectional geometry and fiber orientation is carried out by using ANSYS software. The accuracy of the FE models was ensured by verifying them against the available results provided in the literature. With the help of developed database the influential parameters (i.e., αs, βw, δw and γ) affecting the web bucklings are identified. Design trends have been developed which will be helpful to the designers in the preliminary stage. Finally, the importance of governing parameters and design trends are demonstrated through pedestrian bridge design.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.6
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• pp.737-749
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• 2020

A hybrid bridge deck is proposed, which includes steel bars, concrete and glass-fiber-reinforced-polymer (GFRP) plates with channel sections. The steel bar in the negative moment region can increase the flexural stiffness, improve the ductility, and reduce the GFRP ratio. Three continuous decks with different steel bar ratios and a simply supported deck were fabricated and tested to study the mechanical performance. The failure mode, deflection, strain distribution, cracks and support reaction were tested and discussed. The steel bar improves the mechanical performance of continuous decks, and a theoretical method is proposed to predict the deformation and the shear capacity. The experimental results show that all specimens failed with shear failure in the positive moment region. The increase of steel bar ratio in the negative moment region can achieve an enhancement in the flexural stiffness and reduce the deflection without increasing GFRP. Moreover, the continuous deck can achieve a yield load, and the negative moment can be carried by GFRP plates after the steel bar yields. Finally, a nonlinear analytical method for the deflection calculation was proposed and verified, with considering the moment redistribution, non-cracked sections and nonlinearity of material. In addition, a simplified calculation method was proposed to predict the shear capacity of GFRP-concrete decks.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.3
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• pp.315-335
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• 2023

Limited studies are available on the mathematical estimates of the compressive strength (CS) of glass fiber-embedded polymer (glass-FRP) compressive elements. The present study has endeavored to estimate the CS of glass-FRP normal strength concrete (NSTC) compression elements (glass-FRP-NSTC) employing two various methodologies; mathematical modeling and artificial neural networks (ANNs). The dataset of 288 glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements was constructed from the various testing investigations available in the literature. Diverse equations for CS of glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements suggested in the previous research studies were evaluated employing the constructed dataset to examine their correctness. A new mathematical equation for the CS of glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements was put forwarded employing the procedures of curve-fitting and general regression in MATLAB. The newly suggested ANN equation was calibrated for various hidden layers and neurons to secure the optimized estimates. The suggested equations reported a good correlation among themselves and presented precise estimates compared with the estimates of the equations available in the literature with R²= 0.769, and R² =0.9702 for the mathematical and ANN equations, respectively. The statistical comparison of diverse factors for the estimates of the projected equations also authenticated their high correctness for apprehending the CS of glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements. A broad parametric examination employing the projected ANN equation was also performed to examine the effect of diverse factors of the glass-FRP-NSTC compression elements.