• Computers and Concrete
• /
• 제31권3호
• /
• pp.223-239
• /
• 2023

Geometric nonlinear performance simulation and analysis of complex modern buildings and industrial products require high-performance shell elements. Balancing multiple aspects of performance in the one geometric nonlinear analysis element remains challenging. We present a new shell element, flat shell DKMGQ-CR (Co-rotational Discrete Kirchhoff-Mindlin Generalized Conforming Quadrilateral), for linear and geometric nonlinear analysis of both thick and thin shells. The DKMGQ-CR shell element was developed by combining the advantages of high-performance membrane and plate elements in a unified coordinate system and introducing the co-rotational formulation to adapt to large deformation analysis. The effectiveness of linear and geometric nonlinear analysis by DKMGQ-CR is verified through the tests of several classical numerical benchmarks. The computational results show that the proposed new element adapts to mesh distortion and effectively alleviates shear and membrane locking problems in linear and geometric nonlinear analysis. Furthermore, the DKMGQ-CR demonstrates high performance in analyzing thick and thin shells. The proposed element DKMGQ-CR is expected to provide an accurate, efficient, and convenient tool for the geometric nonlinear analysis of shells.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• 제15권2호
• /
• pp.115-126
• /
• 2023

This paper investigates creep analysis of a plate made of Al-SiC functionally graded material using Mendelson's method of successive elastic solution. All mechanical and thermal material properties, except Poisson's ratio, are assumed to be variable along the thickness direction based on the volume fraction of reinforcement and thickness. First, the basic relations of the plate are derived using the Love-Kirchhoff plate theory. The solution of governing equations yields an elastic solution to start creep analysis. The creep behavior is demonstrated through Norton's equation based on Pandey's experimental results extracted for Al-SiC functionally graded material. A linear variation is assumed for temperature distribution along the thickness direction. The creep strain, as well as the thermal strain, are included in the governing equations derived from classical plate theory for mechanical strain. A successive elastic solution based on Mendelson's method is employed to derive the history of stresses, strains, and displacements over a long time. History of stresses and deformations are obtained over a long time to predict damage to the plate because of various loadings, and material composition along the thickness and planar directions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• 제84권5호
• /
• pp.675-684
• /
• 2022

The conventional single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system is appropriate for dynamic response analysis of paneltype structures without an opening. However, the typical building structures usually have four-sided fixed walls having an opening. Therefore, it may induce a considerable error when dynamic responses are estimated based on the conventional SDOF system, since the SDOF system cannot consider the effect of an opening during the SDOF analysis. For this reason, this study proposes a new SDOF system to consider the effect of an opening by adjusting its load-mass factor. The load-mass factor can be modified based on the assumption that the behaviors of the four-sided fixed wall with an opening is very similar to the behaviors of the same size wall without an opening, when the uniformly distributed blast loaded area is identical. In order to confirm a feasibility of the proposed SDOF system, a series of numerical simulations were carried out for the four-sided fixed reinforced concrete (RC) wall under a blast load. The dynamic responses estimated from the proposed SDOF system and the conventional SDOF system were compared with the dynamic responses evaluated from the finite element (FE) analysis. Especially, for the maximum dynamic responses except for 50% opening case, the proposed SDOF system had about 1.1% to 25.7% normalized errors while the conventional SDOF system had about 4.1% to 49.1% normalized errors.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• 제14권5호
• /
• pp.341-354
• /
• 2022

Treatment of solid waste building materials is a crucial method of disposal and an area of ongoing research. New standards for the treatment of solid waste building materials are necessary due to multisource features, huge quantities, and complicated compositions of solid waste. In this research, sustainable nanomaterial mixtures containing nano-paper waste (NPW) and nano-metakaolin (NMK) were used as a substitute for Portland cement. Portland cement was replaced with different ratios of NPW and NMK (0%, 4%, 8%, and 12% by weight of cement) while the cement-to-water ratio remained constant at 0.4 in all mortar mixtures. The fresh properties had a positive effect on them, and with the increase in the percentage of replacement, the fresh properties decreased. The results of compressive strength at 7 and 28 days and flexural strength at 28 days show that the nanomaterials improved the strength, but the results of NMK were better than those of NPW. The best replacement rate was 8%, followed by 4%, and finally 12% for both materials. The combination of NMK and NPW as a replacement (12% NMK + 12% NPW) showed less shrinkage than the others because of the high pozzolanic reactivity of the nanomaterials. The combination of NMK and NPW improved the microstructure by increasing the hydration volume and lowering the water in the cement matrix, as clearly observed in the C-S-H decomposition.

• Advances in Computational Design
• /
• 제8권1호
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2023

To consider the effects of the increasing speed of next-generation high-speed trains, the existing traffic safety code for railway bridges needs to be improved. This study suggests a numerical method of evaluating the new effects of this increasing speed on railway bridges. A prestressed concrete (PSC) box bridge with a 40 m span length on the Gyeongbu track sector is selected as a representative example of high-speed railway bridges in Korea. Numerical models considering the inertial mass forces of a 38-degree-of-freedom train and the interaction forces with the bridge as well as track irregularities are presented in detail. The vertical deflections and accelerations of the deck are calculated and compared to find the new effects on the bridge arising with increasing speed under simply and continuously supported boundary conditions. The ratios between the static and dynamic responses are calculated as the dynamic amplification factors (DAFs) under different running speeds to evaluate the traffic safety. The maximum deflection and acceleration caused by the running speed are indicated, and regression equations for predicting these quantities based on the speed are also proposed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• 제86권3호
• /
• pp.349-359
• /
• 2023

This paper presents a technique for determining the optimal number of elements in stochastic finite element analysis based on reliability analysis. Using the change-of-variable perturbation stochastic finite element approach, the probability density function of the dynamic responses of stochastic structures is explicitly determined. This method combines the perturbation stochastic finite element method with the change-of-variable technique into a united model. To further examine the relationships between the random fields, discretization of the random field parameters, such as the variance function and the scale of fluctuation, is also performed. Accordingly, the reliability index is calculated based on the explicit probability density function of responses with Gaussian or non-Gaussian random fields in any number of elements corresponding to the random field discretization. The numerical examples illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for a one-dimensional cantilever reinforced concrete column and a two-dimensional steel plate shear wall. The benefit of this method is that the probability density function of responses can be obtained explicitly without the use simulation techniques. Any type of random variable with any statistical distribution can be incorporated into the calculations, regardless of the restrictions imposed by the type of statistical distribution of random variables. Consequently, this method can be utilized as a suitable guideline for the efficient implementation of stochastic finite element analysis of structures, regardless of the statistical distribution of random variables.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• 제25권3호
• /
• pp.149-160
• /
• 2023

Over the course of the last 4-5 years, India's northeastern region have widely used Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) blocks to construct load-bearing masonry structures. The aim of this investigation is to examine the shear characteristics of AAC masonry triplet assemblage strengthened by using two techniques, i.e., the bead joint (BJ) and the bed-head joint (BHJ) technique. Three unique variations of wire mesh were involved in the strengthening method. Furthermore, three strengthening configurations were used to strengthen each of the three wire mesh variations and the two-strengthening method, i.e. (-), L and (Z) configuration. The unreinforced and reinforced triplet masonry wallets were tested under direct shear test. From the results obtained, the 'BJ'triplet masonry wallets observed an enhanced in shear strength of about 2.23% to 23.33 % whereas the 'BHJ' triplet masonry wallets observed an enhanced in shear strength of about 22.92% to 50.69%. The "BHJ" strengthening method effectively enhance the shear strength of the triplet masonry wallets compared to the "BJ" and the "UR" wallets with an increase in capacity as the wire mesh strength increases. Furthermore, in terms of the strengthening configuration, the (Z) configuration performs better, followed by the (L) and (-) configuration demonstrating the strengthening configuration effectiveness.

• Coupled systems mechanics
• /
• 제12권4호
• /
• pp.365-389
• /
• 2023

Dynamic analysis of a typical concrete gravity dam-reservoir system is formulated by FE-(FE-TE) approach (i.e., Finite Element-(Finite Element-Truncation Element)). In this technique, dam and reservoir are discretized by plane solid and fluid finite elements. Moreover, the H-W (i.e., Hagstrom-Warburton) high-order condition imposed at the reservoir truncation boundary. This task is formulated by employing a truncation element at that boundary. It is emphasized that reservoir far-field is excluded from the discretized model. The formulation is initially reviewed which was originally proposed in a previous study. Thereafter, the response of Pine Flat dam-reservoir system is studied due to horizontal and vertical ground motions for two types of reservoir bottom conditions of full reflective and absorptive. It should be emphasized that study is carried out under high order of H-W condition applied on the truncation boundary. The initial part of study is focused on the time harmonic analysis. In this part, it is possible to compare the transfer functions against corresponding responses obtained by FE-(FE-HE) approach (referred to as exact method). Subsequently, the transient analysis is carried out. In that part, it is only possible to compare the results for low and high normalized reservoir length cases. Therefore, the sensitivity of results is controlled due to normalized reservoir length values.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• 제32권2호
• /
• pp.209-232
• /
• 2023

A comprehensive study was conducted to design economical foundations for a number of buildings on soft cohesive soil in the southern coastal regions of Iran. Both static and seismic loads were considered in the design process. Cyclic experiments indicated that the cohesive soil of the area has potential for softening. Consequently, the major challenge in the design stages was relatively high dimensions of settlement, under both static and seismic loadings. Routine soil-improvement methods were too costly for the vast area of the project. After detailed numerical modeling of different scenarios, we concluded that, in following a performance-based design approach and applying a special time schedule of construction, most of the settlement would dissipate during the construction of the buildings. Making the foundation as rigid as possible was another way to prevent any probable differential settlement. Stiff subgrade of stone and lime mortar under the grid foundation and a reinforced concrete slab on the foundation were considered as appropriate to this effect. In favor of an economical design, in case the design earthquake strikes the site, the estimations indicate no collapse of the buildings even if considerable uniform settlements may occur. This is a considerable alternative design to costly soil-improvement methods.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• 제24권5호
• /
• pp.345-352
• /
• 2023

This paper studied the effect of soil-structure interaction (SSI) on the seismic response and retrofit of a reinforced concrete structure with a soft-first story for different soil types. A 5-story structure built on a 30m deep homogeneous soil mass was considered as a case study structure, and steel column jacketing and steel bracing were chosen as seismic retrofit methods. Seismic responses of a fixed-base and a flexible base structure subjected to seven scaled earthquake records were obtained using the software OpenSees to investigate the effect of soil on seismic response and retrofit. The nonlinearBeamColumn elements with the fiber sections were used to simulate the nonlinear behavior of the beams and columns. Soil properties were defined based on shear wave velocity according to categorized site classes defined in ASCE-7. The finite element model of the soil was made using isoparametric four-noded quadrilateral elements and the nonlinear dynamic responses of the combined system of soil and structure were calculated in the OpenSees. The analysis results indicate that the soil-structure interaction plays an important role in the seismic performance and retrofit of a structure with a soft-first story. It was observed that column steel jacketing was effective in the retrofit of the model structure on a fixed base, whereas stronger retrofit measures such as steel bracing were needed when soil-structure interaction was considered.