• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.88 no.5
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• pp.501-519
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• 2023

This paper introduces a new hybrid structural connection joint that combines shear walls with section steel beams, fundamentally resolving the construction complexity issue of requiring pre-embedded connectors in the connection between shear walls and steel beams. Initially, a quasi-static loading scheme with load-deformation dual control was employed to conduct low-cycle repeated loading experiments on five new connection joints. Data was acquired using displacement and strain gauges to compare the energy dissipation coefficients of each specimen. The destruction process of the new connection joints was meticulously observed and recorded, delineating it into three stages. Hysteresis curves and skeleton curves of the joint specimens were plotted based on experimental results, summarizing the energy dissipation performance of the joints. It's noteworthy that the addition of shear walls led to an approximate 17% increase in the energy dissipation coefficient. The energy dissipation coefficients of dog-bone-shaped connection joints with shear walls and cover plates reached 2.043 and 2.059, respectively, exhibiting the most comprehensive hysteresis curves. Additionally, the impact of laminated steel plates covering composite concrete floors on the stiffness of semi-rigid joint ends under excessive stretching should not be disregarded. A comparison with finite element analysis results yielded an error of merely 2.2%, offering substantial evidence for the wide-ranging application prospects of this innovative joint in seismic performance.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.385-398
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• 2023

The parameters of the multiple-vertical-line-element model (MVLEM) of reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls are often empirically determined, which causes large simulation errors. To improve the simulation accuracy of the MVLEM for RC shear walls, this paper proposed a novel method to determine the MVLEM parameters using the artificial neural network (ANN). First, a comprehensive database containing 193 shear wall specimens with complete parameter information was established. And the shear walls were simulated using the classic MVLEM. The average simulation errors of the lateral force and drift of the peak and ultimate points on the skeleton curves were approximately 18%. Second, the MVLEM parameters were manually optimized to minimize the simulation error and the optimal MVLEM parameters were used as the label data of the training of the ANN. Then, the trained ANN was used to generate the MVLEM parameters of the collected shear walls. The results show that the simulation error of the predicted MVLEM was reduced to less than 13% from the original 18%. Particularly, the responses generated by the predicted MVLEM are more identical to the experimental results for the testing set, which contains both flexure-control and shear-control shear wall specimens. It indicates that establishing MVLEM for RC shear walls using ANN is feasible and promising, and that the predicted MVLEM substantially improves the simulation accuracy.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.287-308
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• 2023

The main objective of this article is to highlight the progress made in the development of new materials that have been gradually used by humans until today. Of course, this progress must be associated with other parameters in order to guarantee sustainable development. For this, today, it has become urgent to reduce the consumption of cement by resorting to its partial or total replacement by other similar materials in order to reduce CO₂ emissions in our environment. This should certainly help to develop greener building materials. In this study, it was decided to proceed with the partial or total replacement of Portland cement type CEM II/B-L-42.5N by slate and lime that had not undergone any previous transformation. The results obtained revealed that the mortar whose substitution compared to the replacement of cement (100%) cement and sand (0/4) confers better kinetics than those of the series composed of(100%) cement and fraction rubble (0/1).

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.257-270
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• 2023

In this study, the feasibility and applicability of a friction damper with a vertical installation scheme are investigated. This device is composed of a steel section and two friction hinges at both ends which dissipate seismic energy. Due to its small width and vertical installation scheme, the proposed damper can minimize the interference with architectural functions. To evaluate the performance of the proposed damper, its mechanical behavior is theoretically evaluated and the required formulas for the yield strength and elastic stiffness are derived. The theoretical formulas are verified by establishing the analytical model of the damper in the SAP2000 software and comparing their results. To further investigate the performance of the developed damper, the provided analytical model is applied to a 4-story reinforced concrete (RC) structure and its performance is evaluated before and after retrofit under the Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE) hazard level. The seismic performance is thoroughly evaluated in terms of maximum interstory drift ratio, displacement time history, residual displacement, and energy dissipation. The results show that the proposed damper can be efficiently used to protect the structure against seismic loads.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.88 no.4
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• pp.311-322
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• 2023

Riverine flood is one of the critical natural threats to river-crossing bridges. As floods are the most-occurred natural hazard worldwide, survival probability of bridges due to floods must be assessed in a speedy but precise manner. In this regard, the paper presents a reliability-based approach for a rapid assessment of failure probability of vulnerable bridge components under floods. This robust method is generic in nature and can be applied to both concrete and steel girder bridges. The developed methodology essentially utilizes limit state performance functions, expressed in terms of capacity and flood demand, for probable failure modes of various vulnerable components of bridges. Advanced First Order Reliability Method (AFORM), Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS), and Latin Hypercube Simulation (LHS) techniques are applied for the purpose of reliability assessment and developing flood fragility curves of bridges in which flow velocity and water height are taken as flood intensity measures. Upon validating the proposed method, it is applied to a case study bridge that experiences the flood scenario of a river in Gujarat, India. Research outcome portrays how effectively and efficiently the proposed reliability-based method can be applied for a quick assessment of flood vulnerability of bridges in any flood-prone region of interest.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.553-565
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• 2023

This work is the first to apply nonlocal theory and a variety of deformation plate theories to study the issue of forced vibration and buckling in organic nanoplates, where the effect of the drag parameter inside the structure has been taken into consideration. Whereas previous research on nanostructures has treated the nonlocal parameter as a fixed value, this study accounts for its effect, and finds that its value fluctuates with the thickness of each layer. This is also a new point that no works have mentioned for organic plates. On the foundation of the notion of potential movement, the equilibrium equation is derived, the buckling issue is handled using Navier's solution, and the forced oscillation problem is solved using the finite element approach. Additionally, a set of numerical examples exhibiting the forced vibration and buckling response of organic nanoplates are shown. These findings indicate that the nonlocal parameter and the drag parameter of the structure have a substantial effect on the mechanical responses of organic nanoplates.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.567-576
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• 2023

In this study, a 3D microstructure-based model is established to simulate the effective thermal conductivity of cement paste, covering varying influencing factors associated with microstructure and thermal transfer mechanisms. The virtual cement paste divided into colloidal C-S-H and heterogeneous paste are reconstructed based on its structural attributes. Using the two-level hierarchical cement pastes as inputs, a lattice Boltzmann model for heat conduction is presented to predict the thermal conductivity. The results suggest that due to the Knudsen effect induced by the nanoscale pore, the thermal conductivity of air in C-S-H gel pore is significantly decreased, maximumly accounting for 3.3% thermal conductivity of air at the macroscale. In the cement paste, the thermal conductivities of dried and saturated cement pastes are stable at the curing age larger than 100 h. The high water-to-cement ratio can decrease the thermal conductivity of cement paste.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.88 no.1
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• pp.67-81
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• 2023

The reinforced concrete (RC) structures might need strengthening or upgradation due to adverse environmental conditions, design defects, modification requirements, and to prolong the expected lifespan. The RC beams have been efficiently strengthened using the near surface mounted (NSM) approach over the externally bonded reinforcing (EBR) system. In this study, the performance of RC beam elements strengthened with NSM-steel rebars was investigated using an experimental program and nonlinear finite element modeling (FEM). Nine medium-sized, rectangular cross-section RC beams total in number made up for the experimental evaluation. The beams strengthened with varying percentages of NSM reinforcement, and the number of grooves was assessed in four-point bending experiments up to failure. Based on the experimental evaluation, the load-displacement response, crack features, and failure modes of the strengthened beams were recorded and considered. According to the experimental findings, NSM steel greatly improved the flexural strength (up to about 84%) and stiffness of RC beams. The flexural response of the tested beams was simulated using a 3D non-linear finite element (FE) model. The findings of the experiments and the numerical analysis showed good agreement. The effect of the NSM groove and reinforcement on the structural response was then assessed parametrically.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.481-496
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• 2024

Internal erosion around pipes can lead to the failure of earth dams through various mechanisms. This study investigates the displacement patterns in earth dam models under three different failure modes due to internal erosion, using digital image correlation (DIC) methods. Three failure modes—erosion along a pipe (FM1), pipe leakage leading to soil erosion (FM2), and erosion in a pipe due to defects (FM3)—are analyzed using two- and three-dimensional image- processing techniques. The internal displacement of the cross-sectional area and the surface displacement of the downstream slope in the dam models are monitored using an image acquisition system. Physical model tests reveal that FM1 exhibits significant displacement on the upper surface of the downstream slope, FM2 shows focused displacement around the pipe defect, and FM3 demonstrates increased displacement on the upstream slope. The variations in internal and surface displacements with time depend on the segmented area and failure mode. Analyzing the relationships between internal and surface displacements using Pearson correlation coefficients reveals various displacement patterns for the segmented areas and failure modes. Therefore, the image-based characterization methods presented in this study may be useful for analyzing the displacement distribution and behavior of earth dams around pipes, and further, for understanding and predicting their failure mechanisms.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.509-518
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• 2024

In this study, we investigated the effect of shear-key placement on the performance of grouted connections in offshore wind-turbine structures. Considering the challenges of height control during installation, we designed and analyzed three grouted connection configurations. We compared the crack patterns and strain distribution in the shear keys under axial loading. The results indicate that the misalignment of shear keys significantly influences the ultimate load capacity of grouted connections. Notably, when the shear keys were positioned facing each other, the ultimate load decreased by approximately 15%, accompanied by the propagation of irregular cracks in the upper shear keys. Furthermore, the model with 50% misalignment in the shear-key placement exhibited the highest ultimate strength, indicating a more efficient load resistance than the reference model. This indicates that tensile-load-induced cracking and the formation of compressive struts in opposite directions significantly affect the structural integrity of grouted connections. These results demonstrate the importance of considering buckling effects in the design of grouted connections, particularly given the thin and slender nature of the inner sleeves. This study provides valuable insights into the design and analysis of offshore wind-turbine structures, highlighting the need for refined design formulas that account for shifts in shear-key placement and their structural implications.