• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.173-178
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• 2000

The purpose of this work is to develop a transurethral suppository containing prostaglandin $E_1\;(PGE_1)$, which stabilizes the drug, gives no irritation to physiological body and enhances the erectile response of $PGE_1.\;PGE_1$ transurethral suppositories were prepared with various amounts of compositions such as saturated polyglycolysed glyceride $(Suppocire^{\circledR}\;AP,\;SAP)$, polyoxyethylene hydrogenated castor oil (HCO-50) and ethanol. The melting points, viscosities and $PGE_1$ release of the suppositories were investigated. Ocular irritation test was carried out after application of $PGE_1$ suppository to rabbit's eye. The intracavernous pressure (ICP), penile length and duration of erectile response were determined after transurethral administration of $PGE_1$ suppository and compared with those after intracavernosal injection of $PGE_1$ solution to cats. HCO-50 hardly affected the melting points and viscosities of $PGE_1$ suppositories. Additionally, $PGE_1$ transurethral suppositories, whose melting point ranges was $34-35^{\circ}C$, was speedily melted in physiological body. HCO-50 significantly decreased the dissolution rates of $PGE_1$ from the suppositories. Dissolution mechanism analysis showed the release of $PGE_1$ was proportional to the square root of time, indicating that $PGE_1$ might be released from the suppositories by Fickian diffusion. The release rate of $PGE_1$ from $PGE_1$ suppository [PGE1/SAP/HCO-50/ethanol (1/94.5/2.5/2%)] was about 80% within 2 h. This $PGE_1$ suppository gave no significant irritation to the ocular tissue, expecting that it gave no irritation to the urethral tissue less sensive than ocular tissue. Furthermore, $PGE_1$ in this suppository was stable at $4^{\circ}C$ for 2 years. This suppository increased the ICP and penile erection similar to those of injectable $PGE_1$ solution. However, it gave 2.5-fold increased duration of erectile response than injectable $PGE_1$ solution. Our results suggested that it gave more effective erectile response than injectable $PGE_1$ solution in cats. It is concluded that this $PGE_1$ suppository with good safety, excellent stability and enhanced erectile response, could be a more effective and convenient transurethal delivery system of $PGE_1$.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.393-407
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• 2020

The braced tube frame system, a combination of perimeter frame and bracing frame, is one of the systems used in tall buildings. Due to the implementation of this system in tall buildings and the high rigidity resulting from the use of general bracing, providing proper ductility while maintaining the strength of the structure when exposing to lateral forces is essential. Also, the high stress at the connection of the beam to the column may cause a sudden failure in the region before reaching the required ductility. The use of Reduced Beam Section connection (RBS connection) by focusing stress in a region away from beam to column connection is a suitable solution to the problem. Because of the fact that RBS connections are usually used in moment frames and not tested in tall buildings with braced tube frames, they should be investigated. Therefore, in this research, three tall buildings in height ranges of 20, 25 and 30 floors were modeled and designed by SAP2000 software, and then a frame in each building was modeled in PERFORM-3D software under two RBS-free system and RBS-based system. Nonlinear time history dynamic analysis is used for each frame under Manjil, Tabas and Northridge excitations. The results of the Comparison between RBS-free and RBS-based systems show that the RBS connections increased the absorbed energy level by reducing the stiffness and increasing the ductility in the beams and structural system. Also, by increasing the involvement of the beams in absorbing energy, the columns and braces absorb less energy.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.745-765
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• 2014

In this paper, it is aimed to determine the finite element model updating effects on the structural behavior of long span concrete highway bridges. Birecik Highway Bridge located on the 81stkm of Sanliurfa-Gaziantep state highway over Firat River in Turkey is selected as a case study. The bridge consist of fourteen spans, each of span has a nearly 26m. The total bridge length is 380m and width of bridge is 10m. Firstly, the analytical dynamic characteristics such as natural frequencies and mode shapes are attained from finite element analyses using SAP2000 program. After, experimental dynamic characteristics are specified from field investigations using Operational Modal Analysis method. Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition method in the frequency domain is used to extract the dynamic characteristics such as natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios. Analytically and experimentally identified dynamic characteristics are compared with each other and finite element model of the bridge is updated to reduce the differences by changing of some uncertain parameters such as section properties, damages, boundary conditions and material properties. At the end of the study, structural performance of the highway bridge is determined under dead load, live load, and dynamic loads before and after model updating to specify the updating effect. Displacements, internal forces and stresses are used as comparison parameters. From the study, it is seen that the ambient vibration measurements are enough to identify the most significant modes of long span highway bridges. Maximum differences between the natural frequencies are reduced averagely from %46.7 to %2.39 by model updating. A good harmony is found between mode shapes after finite element model updating. It is demonstrated that finite element model updating has an important effect on the structural performance of the arch type long span highway bridge. Maximum displacements, shear forces, bending moments and compressive stresses are reduced %28.6, %21.0, %19.22, and %33.3-20.0, respectively.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.109-117
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• 2017

Coastal reclamation has created large flat lands, part of which is an attractive site to construct greenhouse complexes for the horticulture industry. Wind environments over these coastal lands are entirely different from those of the inland area, and demand increased structural safety. The objective of this study is to evaluate the structural safety of two single-span greenhouses, peach type and even-span type, under the wind characteristics of coastal reclaimed lands. The wind pressure coefficients acting on the walls and roofs of two greenhouses were measured by wind tunnel experiments, and those acting on the roofs were approximately two times larger than those suggested by the existing design guidelines. Consequently, structural analysis conducted by SAP2000 showed that greenhouse structures designed by the existing guidelines might lead to structural failure under coastal wind conditions because their maximum allowable wind speeds were lower than the design wind speed. Especially, the peach type greenhouse constructed in a reclaimed land could be damaged by approximately 48 % of the design wind speed and needed improvement of structural designs. This study suggested increasing the spacing of rafters with thicker pipes for the peach type greenhouse to enhance economic feasibility of the building under strong wind conditions of reclaimed lands.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.373-388
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• 2010

The updated finite element model of K$\ddot{o}$m$\ddot{u}$rhan Highway Bridge on the Firat River located on the $51^{st}$ km of Elazi$\breve{g}$-Malatya highway is obtained by using analytical and experimental results. The 2D and 3D finite element model of the bridge is created by using SAP2000 structural analyses software, and the dynamic characteristics of the bridge are determined analytically. The experimental measurements are carried out by Operational Modal Analysis Method under traffic induced vibrations and the dynamic characteristics are obtained experimentally. The vibration data are gathered from the both box girder and the deck of the bridge, separately. Due to the expansion joint in the middle of the bridge, special measurement points are selected when experimental test setups constitute. Measurement duration, frequency span and effective mode number are determined by considering similar studies in literature. The Peak Picking method in the frequency domain is used in the modal identification. At the end of the study, analytical and experimental dynamic characteristic are compared with each other and the finite element model of the bridge is updated by changing some uncertain parameters such as material properties and boundary conditions. Maximum differences between the natural frequencies are reduced from 10% to 2%, and a good agreement is found between natural frequencies and mode shapes after model updating.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.541-561
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• 2010

This paper presents finite element analyses, experimental measurements and finite element model updating of an arch type steel laboratory bridge model using semi-rigid connections. The laboratory bridge model is a single span and fixed base structure with a length of 6.1 m and width of 1.1m. The height of the bridge column is 0.85 m and the maximum arch height is 0.95 m. Firstly, a finite element model of the bridge is created in SAP2000 program and analytical dynamic characteristics such as natural frequencies and mode shapes are determined. Then, experimental measurements using ambient vibration tests are performed and dynamic characteristics (natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios) are obtained. Ambient vibration tests are performed under natural excitations such as wind and small impact effects. The Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition method in the frequency domain and the Stochastic Subspace Identification method in the time domain are used to extract the dynamic characteristics. Then the finite element model of the bridge is updated using linear elastic rotational springs in the supports and structural element connections to minimize the differences between analytically and experimentally estimated dynamic characteristics. At the end of the study, maximum differences in the natural frequencies are reduced on average from 47% to 2.6%. It is seen that there is a good agreement between analytical and experimental results after finite element model updating. Also, connection percentages of the all structural elements to joints are determined depending on the rotational spring stiffness.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.405-429
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• 2014

In this paper, it is aimed to determine the structural behavior of suspension bridges considering construction stages and different soil conditions. Bosporus Suspension Bridge connecting the Europe and Asia in Istanbul is selected as an example. Finite element model of the bridge is constituted using SAP2000 program considering existing drawings. Geometric nonlinearities are taken into consideration in the analysis using P-Delta large displacement criterion. The time dependent material strength of steel and concrete and geometric variations is included in the analysis. Time dependent material properties are considered as compressive strength, aging, shrinkage and creep for concrete, and relaxation for steel. To emphases the soil condition effect on the structural behavior of suspension bridges, each of hard, medium and soft soils are considered in the analysis. The structural behavior of the bridge at different construction stages and different soil conditions has been examined. Two different finite element analyses with and without construction stages are carried out and results are compared with each other. At the end of the analyses, variation of the displacement and internal forces such as bending moment, axial forces and shear forces for bridge deck and towers are given in detail. Also, displacement and stresses for bridge foundation are given with detail. It can be seen from the analyses that there are some differences between both analyses (with and without construction stages) and the results obtained from the construction stages are bigger. It can be stated that the analysis without construction stages cannot give the reliable solutions. In addition, soil condition have effect on the structural behavior of the bridge. So, it is thought that construction stage analysis using time dependent material properties, geometric nonlinearity and soil conditions effects should be considered in order to obtain more realistic structural behavior of suspension bridges.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.169-186
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• 2013

The aim of this paper is to determine the effect of soil-structure interaction and time dependent material properties on behavior of concrete box-girder highway bridges. Two different finite element analyses, one stage and construction stage, have been carried out on Komurhan Bridge between Elazi$\breve{g}$ and Malatya province of Turkey, over Fırat River. The one stage analysis assume that structure was built in a second and material properties of structure not change under different loads and site conditions during time. However, construction stage analysis considers that construction time and time dependent material properties. The main and side spans of bridge are 135 m and 76 m, respectively. The bridge had been constructed in 3 years between 1983 and 1986 by balanced cantilever construction method. The parameters of soil-structure interaction (SSI), time dependent material properties and construction method are taken into consideration in the construction stage analysis while SSI is single parameter taking into consideration in the one stage analysis. The 3D finite element model of bridge is created the commercial program of SAP2000. Time dependent material properties are elasticity modulus, creep and shrinkage for concrete and relaxation for steel. Soft, medium, and firm soils are selected for evaluating SSI in both analyses. The results of two different finite element analyses are compared with each other. It is seen that both construction stage and SSI have a remarkable effect on the structural behavior of the bridge.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.67-77
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• 2017

In this paper, it is aimed to present a comparative study about the structural behavior of tall buildings consisting of different type of materials such as concrete, steel or timber using finite element analyses and experimental measurements on shaking table. For this purpose, two 1/60 scaled 28 and 30-stories wooden building models with $40{\times}40cm$ and $35{\times}35cm$ ground/floor area and 1.45 m-1.55 m total height are built in laboratory condition. Considering the frequency range, mode shapes, maximum displacements and relative story drifts for structural models as well as acceleration, displacement and weight limits for shaking table, to obtain the typical building response as soon as possible, balsa is selected as a material property, and additional masses are bonded to some floors. Finite element models of the building models are constituted in SAP2000 program. According to the main purposes of earthquake resistant design, three different earthquake records are used to simulate the weak, medium and strong ground motions. The displacement and acceleration time-histories are obtained for all earthquake records at the top of building models. To validate the numerical results, shaking table tests are performed. The selected earthquake records are applied to first mode (lateral) direction, and the responses are recorded by sensitive accelerometers. Comparisons between the numerical and experimental results show that shaking table tests are enough to identify the structural response of wooden buildings. Considering 20%, 10% and 5% damping rations, differences are obtained within the range 4.03-26.16%, 3.91-65.51% and 6.31-66.49% for acceleration, velocity and displacements in Model-1, respectively. Also, these differences are obtained as 0.49-31.15%, 6.03-6.66% and 16.97-66.41% for Model-2, respectively. It is thought that these differences are caused by anisotropic structural characteristic of the material due to changes in directions parallel and perpendicular to fibers, and should be minimized using the model updating procedure.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.625-641
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• 2020

The realistic modeling of the beam-column semi-rigid connection in steel frames attracted the attention of many researchers in the past for the seismic analysis of semi-rigid frames. Comparatively less studies have been made to investigate the behavior of steel frames with semi-rigid connections under different types of earthquake. Herein, the seismic behavior of semi-rigid steel frames is investigated under both far and near-field earthquakes. The semi-rigid connection is modeled by the multilinear plastic link element consisting of rotational springs. The kinematic hysteresis model is used to define the dynamic behavior of the rotational spring, describing the nonlinearity of the semi-rigid connection as defined in SAP2000. The nonlinear time history analysis (NTHA) is performed to obtain response time histories of the frame under scaled earthquakes at three PGA levels denoting the low, medium and high-level earthquakes. The other important parameters varied are the stiffness and strength parameters of the connections, defining the degree of semi-rigidity. For studying the behavior of the semi-rigid frame, a large number of seismic demand parameters are considered. The benchmark for comparison is taken as those of the corresponding rigid frame. Two different frames, namely, a five-story frame and a ten-story frame are considered as the numerical examples. It is shown that semi-rigid frames prove to be effective and beneficial in resisting the seismic forces for near-field earthquakes (PGA ≈ 0.2g), especially in reducing the base shear to a considerable extent for the moderate level of earthquake. Further, the semi-rigid frame with a relatively weaker beam and less connection stiffness may withstand a moderately strong earthquake without having much damage in the beams.