• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.4
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• pp.443-459
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• 2023

This study investigates the theoretical thermal buckling analyses of thick porous rectangular functionally graded (FG) plates with different geometrical boundary conditions resting on a Winkler-Pasternak elastic foundation using a new higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). This new theory has only four unknowns and involves indeterminate integral variables in which no shear correction factor is required. The variation of material properties across the plate's thickness is considered continuous and varied following a simple power law as a function of volume fractions of the constituents. The effect of porosity with two different types of distribution is also included. The current formulation considers the Von Karman nonlinearity, and the stability equations are developed using the virtual works principle. The thermal gradients are involved and assumed to change across the FG plate's thickness according to nonlinear, linear, and uniform distributions. The accuracy of the newly proposed theory has been validated by comparing the present results with the results obtained from the previously published theories. The effects of porosity, boundary conditions, foundation parameters, power index, plate aspect ratio, and side-to-thickness ratio on the critical buckling temperature are studied and discussed in detail.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.633-647
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• 2022

This paper presents the results from reliability analyses of the current Eurocode 4 (EN 1994-1-1) and AISC 360-16 design models for predicting the resistance of headed stud shear connectors within profiled steel sheeting, when the ribs are oriented transverse to the supporting beam. For comparison purposes, the performance of the alternative "Luxembourg" and "Stuttgart" model were also considered. From an initial database of 611 push-out tests, 269 cases were included in the study, which ensured that the results were valid over a wide range of geometrical and material properties. It was found that the current EN 1994-1-1 design rules deliver a corrected partial safety factor γ_M^* of around 2.0, which is significantly higher than the target value 1.25. Moreover, 179 tests fell within the domain of the concrete-related failure design equation. Notwithstanding this, the EN 1994-1-1 equations provide satisfactory results for re-entrant profiled sheeting. The AISC 360-16 design equation for steel failure covers 263 of the tests in the database and delivers 𝛾_M^*≈2.0. Conversely, whilst the alternative "Stuttgart" model provides an improvement over the current codes, only a corrected partial safety factor of 𝛾_M^*=1.47 is achieved. Finally, the alternative "Luxembourg" design model was found to deliver the required target value, with a corrected partial safety factor 𝛾_M^* between 1.21 and 1.28. Given the fact that the Luxembourg design model is the only model that achieved the target values required by EN 1990, it is recommended as a potential candidate for inclusion within the second generation of Eurocodes.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.513-525
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• 2023

This research presents the experimental and theoretical evaluations on circular steel-fiber-reinforced-concrete (SFRC) columns reinforced by glass-fiber-reinforced-polymer (GFRP) rebar under the axial compressive loading. Test programs were designed to investigate and compare the effect of different parameters on the structural behavior of columns by performing tests. Theses variables included conventional concrete (CC), fiber concrete (FC), steel/GFRP longitudinal rebars, and transversal rebars configurations. A total of 16 specimens were constructed and categorized into four groups in terms of different rebar-concrete configurations, including GFRP-rebar-reinforced-CC columns (GRCC), GFRP-rebar-reinforced-FC columns (GRFC), steel-rebar-reinforced-CC columns (SRCC) and steel-rebar- reinforced-FC columns (SRFC). Experimental observations displayed that failure modes and cracking patterns of four groups of columns were similar, especially in pre-peak branches of load-deflection curves. Although the average ultimate axial load of columns with longitudinal GFRP rebars was obtained by 17.9% less than the average ultimate axial load of columns with longitudinal steel rebars, the average axial ductility index (DI) of them was gained by 10.2% higher than their counterpart columns. Adding steel fibers (SFs) into concrete led to the increases of 7.7% and 6.7% of the axial peak load and the DI of columns than their counterpart columns with CC. The volumetric ratio had greater efficiency on peak loads and DIs of columns than the type of transversal reinforcement. A simple analytical equation was proposed to predict the axial compressive capacity of columns by considering the axial involvement of longitudinal GFRP rebars, volumetric ratio, and steel spiral/hoop rebar. There was a good correlation between test results and predictions of the proposed equation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.4
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• pp.433-443
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• 2023

The current paper discusses the dynamic and stability responses of cross-ply composite laminated plates by employing a refined quasi-3D trigonometric shear deformation theory. The proposed theory takes into consideration shear deformation and thickness stretching by a trigonometric variation of in-plane and transverse displacements through the plate thickness and assures the vanished shear stresses conditions on the upper and lower surfaces of the plate. The strong point of the new formulation is that the displacements field contains only 4 unknowns, which is less than the other shear deformation theories. In addition, the present model considers the thickness extension effects (ε_z≠0). The presence of the Winkler-Pasternak elastic base is included in the mathematical formulation. The Hamilton's principle is utilized in order to derive the four differentials' equations of motion, which are solved via Navier's technique of simply supported structures. The accuracy of the present 3-D theory is demonstrated by comparing fundamental frequencies and critical buckling loads numerical results with those provided using other models available in the open literature.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.283-299
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• 2023

Structural stability of floating platforms has long since been a crucial issue in the field of marine engineering. Excessive motions would not only deteriorate the operating conditions but also seriously impact the safety, service life, and production efficiency. In recent decades, several control devices have been proposed to reduce unwanted motions, and an attractive one is the tuned heave plate (THP). However, the THP system may reduce or even lose its effectiveness when it is mistuned due to the shift of dominant wave frequency. In the present study, a novel adaptive tuned heave plate (ATHP) is proposed based on inerter by adjusting its inertance, which allows to overcome the limitation of the conventional THP and realize adaptations to the dominant wave frequencies in real time. Specifically, the analytical model of a representative semisubmersible platform (SSP) equipped with an ATHP is created, and the equations of motion are formulated accordingly. Two optimization strategies (i.e., J₁ and J₂ optimizations) are developed to determine the optimum design parameters of ATHP. The control effectiveness of the optimized ATHP is then examined in the frequency domain by comparing to those without control and controlled by the conventional THP. Moreover, parametric analyses are systematically performed to evaluate the influences of the pre-specified frequency ratio, damping ratio, heave plate sizes, peak periods and wave heights on the performance of ATHP. Furthermore, a Simulink model is also developed to examine the control performance of ATHP in the time domain. It is demonstrated that the proposed ATHP could adaptively adjust the optimum inertance-to-mass ratio by tracking the dominant wave frequencies in real time, and the proposed system shows better control performance than the conventional THP.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.3
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• pp.255-272
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• 2023

Spatial cable systems can provide more transverse stiffness and torsional stiffness without sacrificing the vertical bearing capacity compared with conventional vertical cable systems, which is quite lucrative for long-span earth-anchored suspension bridges' development. Higher economy highlights the importance of refined form-finding analysis. Meanwhile, the internal connection between the lateral and vertical sags has not yet been specified. Given this, an analytic algorithm of form-finding for the earth-anchored suspension bridge with spatial cables is proposed in this paper. Through the geometric compatibility condition and mechanical equilibrium condition, the expressions for cable segment, the recurrence relationship between catenary parameters and control equations of spatial cable are established. Additionally, the nonlinear general reduced gradient method is introduced into fast and high-precision numerical analysis. Furthermore, the analytic expression of the lateral and vertical sags is deduced and discussed. This is very significant for the space design above the bridge deck and the optimization of the sag-to-span ratio in the preliminary design stage of the bridge. Finally, the proposed method is verified with the aid of two examples, one being an operational self-anchored suspension bridge (with spatial cables and a 260 m main span), and the other being an earth-anchored suspension bridge under design (with spatial cables and a 500 m main span). The necessity of an iterative calculation for hanger tensions on earth-anchored suspension bridges is confirmed. It is further concluded that the main cable and their connected hangers are in very close inclined planes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.3
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• pp.295-310
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• 2022

This paper proposes a modified bar simulation method for analyzing the shear lag effect of variable sectional box girder with multiple cells. This theoretical method formulates the equivalent area of stiffening bars and the allocation proportion of shear flows in webs, and re-derives the governing differential equations of bar simulation method. The feasibility of the proposed method is verified by the model test and finite element (FE) analysis of a simply supported multi-cell box girder with constant depth. Subsequently, parametric analysis is conducted to explore the mechanism of shear lag effect of varied sectional cantilever box girder with multiple cells. Results show that the shear lag behavior of variable box-section cantilever box girder is weaker than that of box girder with constant section. It is recommended to make the gradient of shear flow in the web with respect to span length vary as smoothly as possible for eliminating the shear lag effect of box girder. An effective countermeasure for diminishing shear lag effect is to increase the number of box chambers or change the variation manner of bridge depth. The shear lag effect of varied sectional cantilever box girder will get more server when the length of central flanges is shorter than 0.26 or longer than 0.36 times of total width of top flange, as well as the cantilever length exceeds 0.29 times of total length of box's flange. Therefore, the distance between central webs can adjust the shear lag effect of box girder. Especially, the width ratio of cantilever plate with respect to total length of top flange is proposed to be no more 1/3.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.161-180
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• 2023

In the previous research, the axial compressive capacity models for the glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP)-reinforced circular concrete compression elements restrained with GFRP helix were put forward based on small and noisy datasets by considering a limited number of parameters portraying less accuracy. Consequently, it is important to recommend an accurate model based on a refined and large testing dataset that considers various parameters of such components. The core objective and novelty of the current research is to suggest a deep learning model for the axial compressive capacity of GFRP-reinforced circular concrete columns restrained with a GFRP helix utilizing various parameters of a large experimental dataset to give the maximum precision of the estimates. To achieve this aim, a test dataset of 61 GFRP-reinforced circular concrete columns restrained with a GFRP helix has been created from prior studies. An assessment of 15 diverse theoretical models is carried out utilizing different statistical coefficients over the created dataset. A novel model utilizing the group method of data handling (GMDH) has been put forward. The recommended model depicted good effectiveness over the created dataset by assuming the axial involvement of GFRP main bars and the confining effectiveness of transverse GFRP helix and depicted the maximum precision with MAE = 195.67, RMSE = 255.41, and R2 = 0.94 as associated with the previously recommended equations. The GMDH model also depicted good effectiveness for the normal distribution of estimates with only a 2.5% discrepancy from unity. The recommended model can accurately calculate the axial compressive capacity of FRP-reinforced concrete compression elements that can be considered for further analysis and design of such components in the field of structural engineering.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.88 no.4
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• pp.389-403
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• 2023

In order to explore the influence of tooth root cracks on the dynamic characteristics of multi-stage planetary gear transmission systems, a concentrated parameter method was used to construct a nonlinear dynamic model of the system with 30-DOF in bending and torsion, taking into account factors such as crack depth, length, angle, error, time-varying meshing stiffness (TVMS), and damping. In the model, the energy method was used to establish a TVMS model with cracks, and the influence of cracks on the TVMS of the system was studied. By using the Runge- Kutta method to calculate the differential equations of system dynamics, a series of system vibration diagrams containing cracks were obtained, and the influence of different crack parameters on the vibration of the system was analyzed. And vibration testing experiments were conducted on the system with planetary gear cracks. The results show that when the gear contains cracks, the TVMS of the system will decrease, and as the cracks intensify, the TVMS will decrease. When cracks appear on the II-stage planetary gear, the system will experience impact effects with intervals of rotation cycles of the II-stage planetary gear. There will be obvious sidebands near the meshing frequency doubling, and the vibration trajectory of the gear will also become disordered. These situations will become more and more obvious as the degree of cracks intensifies. Through experiments, the theoretical results are in good agreement with experimental results, verifying the correctness of the theoretical model. This provides a theoretical basis for fault diagnosis and reliability research of the system.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.88 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2023

In this study, forced vibration behavior of a piezo magneto electric sandwich Timoshenko beam is investigated. It is assumed a sandwich beam with porous core and graphene platelet reinforced composite (GPLRC) in facesheets subjected to magneto-electro-elastic and temperature-dependent material properties. The magneto electro platelets are under linear function along with the thickness that includes a cosine function and magnetic and electric constant potentials. The governing equations of motion are derived using modified strain gradient theory for microstructures. The effects of material length scale parameters, temperature change, different distributions of porous, various patterns of graphene platelets, and the core to face sheets thickness ratio on the natural frequency and excited frequency of a sandwich Timoshenko beam are scrutinized. Various size-dependent methods effects such as MSGT, MCST, and CT on the natural frequency is considered. Moreover, the final results affirm that the increase in porosity coefficient and volume fractions lead to an increase in the amount of natural frequency; while vice versa for the increment in the aspect ratio. From forced vibration analysis, it is understood that by increasing the values of volume fraction and the length thickness of GPL, the maximum deflection of a sandwich beam decreases. Also, it is concluded that increasing the temperature, the thickness of GPL, and the initial force leads to a decrease in the maximum deflection of GPL. It is also shown that resonance phenomenon occurs when the natural and excitation frequencies become equal to each other. Outcomes also reveal that the third natural frequency owns the minimum value of both deflection and frequency ratio and the first natural frequency has the maximum.