• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.1245-1266
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• 2015

In this research, the cylindrical absorber made of expanded metal sheets under impact loading has been examined. Expanded metal sheets due to their low weight, effective collapse mechanism has a high energy absorption capacity. Two types of absorbers with different cells angle were examined. First, the absorber with cell angle ${\alpha}=0$ and then the absorber with angle cell ${\alpha}=90$. Experimental Study is done by drop Hammer device and numerical investigation is done by finite element of ABAQUS software. The output of device is acceleration-time Diagram which is shown by Accelerometer that is located on the picky mass. Also the output of ABAQUS software is shown by force-displacement diagram. In this research, the numerical and experimental study of the collapse type, force-displacement diagrams and effective parameters has been investigated. Similarly, the comparison between numerical and experimental results has been observed that these results are matched well with each other. From the obtained results it was observed that the absorber with cell angle ${\alpha}=0$, have symmetric collapse and had high energy absorption capacity but the absorber with cell angle ${\alpha}=90$, had global buckling and the energy absorption value was not suitable.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.135-148
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• 2007

A new finite shear wall element model and a method for calculation of 3D multi-storied only shear walled or shear walled - framed structures using finite shear wall elements assumed ideal elasto - plastic material are developed. The collapse load of the system subjected to factored constant gravity loads and proportionally increasing lateral loads is calculated with a method of load increments. The shape functions over the element are determined as a cubic variation along the story height and a linear variation in horizontal direction because of the rigid behavior of the floor slab. In case shear walls are chosen as only one element in every floor, correct solutions are obtained by using this developed element. Because of the rigid behavior of the floor slabs, the number of unknowns are reduced substantially. While in framed structures, classical plastic hinge hypothesis is used, in nodes of shear wall elements when vertical deformation parameter is exceeded ${\varepsilon}_e$, this node is accepted as a plastic node. While the system is calculated with matrix displacement method, for determination of collapse safety, plastic displacements and plastic deformations are taken as additional unknowns. Rows and columns are added to the system stiffness matrix for additional unknowns.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.447-457
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• 2019

The use of Tuned mass dampers (TMD) has proved to be effective in reducing the effects of vibrations caused by wind loads and far-field seismic action. However, its effectiveness in controlling the dynamic response of structures under near-fault earthquakes is still under discussion. In this case, the uncertainty about the TMD performance arises from the short significant duration of near-fault ground motions. In this work, the TMD effectiveness for increasing the safety margin against collapse of structures subjected to near-fault earthquakes is investigated. In order to evaluate the TMD performance in the proposed scenario, the nonlinear dynamic response of two reinforced concrete (RC) frames was analyzed. TMDs with different mass values were added to these structures, and a set of near-fault records with frequency content close to the fundamental frequency of the structure was employed. Through a series of nonlinear dynamic analysis, the minimum amplitude of each seismic record that causes the structural collapse was found. By comparing this value, called collapse acceleration, for the case of the structures with and without TMD, the benefit produced by the addition of the control device was established.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.765-779
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• 2020

Collapse of bridges in recent earthquakes demonstrates the need to deepen the understanding of the behaviour of these structures against seismic actions. This paper presents a highly detailed numerical model of an actual bridge subjected to extreme seismic action which results in its collapse. Normally, nonlinear numerical models have high difficulties to achieve convergence when reinforced concrete is intended to be represented. The main objective of this work is to determine the efficiency of different passive control strategies to prevent the structural collapse of an existing bridge. Metallic dampers and seismic isolation by decoupling the mass were evaluated. The response is evaluated not only in terms of reduction of displacements, but also in increasing of shear force and axial force in key elements, which can be a negative characteristic of the systems studied. It can be concluded that the use of a metallic damper significantly reduces the horizontal displacements and ensures the integrity of the structure from extreme seismic actions. Moreover, the isolation of the deck, which in principle seems to be the most effective solution to protect existing bridges, proves inadequate for the case analysed due to its dynamic characteristics and its particular geometry and an unpredictable type of axial pounding in the columns. This unexpected effect on the isolation system would have been impossible to identify with simplified models.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.5
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• pp.623-635
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• 2021

Previous studies have suggested the maximum experimental story shear force of beam-column joint frame does not reach its theoretical value due to beam-column joint failure when the column-to-beam moment capacity ratio was close to 1.0. It was also pointed out that under a certain amount of axial force, an axial collapse and a sudden decrease of lateral load-carrying capacity may occur at the joint. Although increasing joint transverse reinforcement could improve the lateral load-carrying capacity and axial load-carrying capacity of beam-column joint frame, the conditions considering varying axial force were still not well investigated. For this purpose, 7 full-scale specimens with no-axial force and 14 half-scale specimens with varying axial force are designed and subjected to static loading tests. Comparing the experimental results of the two types of specimens, it has indicated that introducing the varying axial force leads to a reduction of the required joint transverse reinforcement ratio which can avoid the beam-column joint failure. For specimens with varying axial force, to prevent beam-column joint failure and axial collapse, the lower limit of joint transverse reinforcement ratio is acquired when given a column-to-beam moment capacity ratio.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.42-48
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• 2013

Forensic engineering is the application of engineering principles covering the investigation of constructed facilities and systems that fail to perform as intended, causing personal injury or damage to property, environmental, economy etc. In the year 2012, two collapsed accidents of the large scaffolding system in national thermal power station occurred one after another, causing many casualties. In this study, we had performed to investigate the collapsed accident of scaffolding system occurred in the a thermal power station of two accidents. First, the investigation about the collapsed accidents site had performed to understand collapsed state and structures of the scaffolding system. Second, reviewing the materials concerning about the applied weight on the scaffolding system had performed. The applied weight is sum of the weights of the 15 workers, additional materials for coating work and dispersed and loaded shot ball on the foothold etc. the applied weight that calculated exceed more three times than the safe working load. Third, we had confirmed the install state of the materials of the scaffolding system by reviewing the quantity of the materials on the manual and the real system. Last, structural analysis had performed to evaluate structural integrity of the scaffolding system using Ansys. Through a series of this processes, the definite accidents causes of the collapsed scaffolding system revealed. Through these studies, the collapse accident that may occur in the scaffolding system in thermal power station can be minimized by performing specialized and systematic investigation on the accidents in terms of Forensic engineering.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.117-143
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• 2017

The attack of environmental aggressive agents progressively reduces the structural reliability of buildings and infrastructures and, in the worst exposition conditions, may even lead to their collapse in the long period. A change in the material and sectional characteristics of a structural element, due to the environmental damaging effects, changes its mechanical behaviour and varies both the internal stress redistribution and the kinematics through which it reaches its ultimate state. To identify such a behaviour, the evolution of both the damaging process and its mechanical consequences have to be taken into account. This paper presents a computational approach for the analysis of reinforced and prestressed concrete elements under sustained loading conditions and subjected to given damaging scenarios. The effects of the diffusion of aggressive agents, of the onset and development of the corrosion state in the reinforcement and the corresponding mechanical response are studied. As known, the corrosion on the reinforcing bars influences the damaging rate in the cracking pattern evolution; hence, the damage development and the mechanical behaviours are considered as coupled phenomena. The reliability of such an approach is validated in modelling the diffusion of the aggressive agents and the changes in the mechanical response of simple structural elements whose experimental behaviour is reported in Literature. A second set of analyses studies the effects of the corrosion of the tendons of a P.C. beam and explores potentially unexpected structural responses caused by corrosion under different aggressive exposition. The role of the different types and of the different positions of the damaging agents is discussed. In particular, it is shown how the collapse mode of the beam may switch from flexural to shear type, in case corrosion is caused by a localized chloride attack in the shear span.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.151-164
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• 2017

This article aims to investigate the possible retrofitting of a deficient building with soft story failure mode by connecting it to an adjacent building which is designed based on current code with friction dampers at all floors. Low cost and high performance reliability along with significant energy dissipation pertaining to stable hysteretic loops may be considered in order to choose the proper damper for connecting adjacent buildings. After connecting two neighbouring floors by friction dampers, the sliding forces of dampers at various stories are set in two arrangements: uniform sliding force and then variable sliding force. In order to account for the stochastic nature of the seismic events, incremental dynamic analyses are employed prior and after the installation of the friction dampers at the various floors. Based on these results, fragility curves and mean annual rate of exceedance of serviceability and ultimate limit states are obtained. The results of this study show that the collapse mode of the deficient building can affect the optimum arrangement of sliding forces of friction dampers at Collapse Prevention (CP) performance level. In particular, the Immediate Occupancy (IO) performance level is not tangible to the sliding force arrangement and it depends solely on sliding force value. Generally it can be claimed that this rehabilitation scheme can turn the challenge of pounding two adjacent buildings into the opportunity of dissipating a large amount of the seismic input energy by the friction dampers, thus improving significantly the poor seismic performance of the deficient structure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.91 no.5
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• pp.487-502
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• 2024

This study introduces a novel 'multi-mushroom' structural system designed to improve seismic performance in lowrise buildings. Traditional low-rise structures tend to favor sliding over rocking due to their smaller aspect ratios despite the rocking system's superior seismic response reduction. Rocking designs allow structures to pivot at their base during seismic events, reducing damage by dissipating energy. The proposed multi-mushroom system divides the building into four equal sections with small gaps in between, each capable of independent rocking. Numerical analyses are conducted using scaled earthquake records from far- and near-source events to evaluate this system's performance. The results indicated that the multimushroom system significantly reduces plastic hinge formation compared to conventional designs. The system also demonstrated enhanced beam performance and a robust base girder, contributing to reduced collapse vulnerability. The 3-story model exhibited the most favorable behavior, effectively mitigating peak roof drift values, where the rocking system achieved a 21% reduction in mean roof displacement for near-field records and 15% for far-field records. However, the 5-story configuration showed increased roof displacement, and the 7-story model recorded higher incidences of collapse prevention (CP) hinges, indicating areas for further optimization. Overall, the multi-mushroom system enhances seismic resilience by minimizing plastic hinge formation and improving structural integrity. While the system shows significant promise for low-rise buildings, challenges related to roof displacement and inter-story drift ratio in taller structures necessitate further research. These findings suggest that the multi-mushroom system offers a viable solution for seismic risk reduction, contributing to safer and more sustainable urban development in earthquake-prone areas.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.490-494
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• 2008

U-Channel Bridge is effective bridge type, because its edge beam performs role of barrier and enables to reduce additional dead loads. Although it is effective to reduce additional dead loads, there is possibility of bridge collapse under impact load due to car crash. Also, edge beam must have ability to induce safe driving and prevent falling accidents. Therefore, it requires behavior analysis and property investigation through the vehicle impact crashing edge beam. This study presents method of structural analysis of U-channel bridge and investigates design specifications for the effect of the edge beam under the vehicle impact. Also, it carries out stability investigation of behavior of edge beam and slab, based on Korean Highway Bridge Design Specifications and AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specification.