• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제74권3호
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• pp.313-323
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• 2020

Non-destructive tests are commonly used in construction industry to access the quality and strength of concrete. However, till date there is no non-destructive testing method that can be adopted to evaluate the bond condition of reinforced concrete beams. In this regard, the presented research work details the use of ultra-sonic pulse velocity test method to evaluate the bond condition of reinforced concrete beam. A detailed experimental research was conducted by testing four identical reinforced concrete beam samples. The samples were loaded in equal increments till failure and ultra-sonic pulse velocity readings were recorded along the length of the beam element. It was observed from experimentation that as the cracks developed in the sample, the ultra-sonic wave velocity reduced for the same path length. This reduction in wave velocity was used to identify the initiation, development and propagation of internal micro-cracks along the length of reinforcement. Using the developed experimental methodology, researchers were able to identify weak spots in bond along the length of the specimen. The proposed method can be adopted by engineers to access the quality of bond for steel reinforcement in beam members. This allows engineers to carryout localized repairs thereby resulting in reduction of time, cost and labor needed for strengthening. Furthermore, the methodology to apply the proposed technique in real-world along with various challenges associated with its application have also been highlighted.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• 제4권4호
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• pp.337-364
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• 2015

In this paper we present methodology for parameters identification of constitutive model which is able to present behavior of a connection between two members in a structure. Such a constitutive model for frame connections can be cast in the most general form of the Timoshenko beam, which can present three failure modes. The first failure mode pertains to the bending in connection, which is defined as coupled plasticity-damage model with nonlinear softening. The second failure mode is seeking to capture the shearing of connection, which is defined as plasticity with linear hardening and nonlinear softening. The third failure mode pertains to the diffuse failure in the members; excluding it leads to linear elastic constitutive law. Theoretical formulation of this Timoshenko beam model and its finite element implementation are presented in the second section. The parameter identification procedure that will allow us to define eighteen unknown parameters is given in Section 3. The proposed methodology splits identification in three phases, with all details presented in Section 4 through three different examples. We also present the real experimental results. The conclusions are stated in the last section of the paper.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.8-15
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• 2019

A high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) is recognized as the best candidate reactor for next generation nuclear reactors. Helium is used to be the coolant in the core of the HTGR with temperature expected to exceed $900^{\circ}C$ at the core outlet. Several iron- and nickel-based superalloys, including Alloy 800H, Hastelloy X, and Alloy 617, are potential structural materials for intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) in an HTGR. Oxidation behaviors of three selected alloys (Hastelloy X, Alloy 800H, and Alloy 617) were investigated at four different temperatures from $650^{\circ}C$ to $950^{\circ}C$ under helium environments with various concentrations of $O_2$ and $H_2O$. Preliminary results showed that chromium oxide as the primary protective layer was observed on surfaces of the three tested alloys. Based on results of mass gain and SEM analyses, Hastelloy X alloy exhibited the best corrosion resistance in all corrosion tests. Further details on the oxidation mechanism of these alloys are presented in this study.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제68권5호
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• pp.519-526
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• 2018

In this article, experimental training of the commercial available shape memory alloy fibre (SMA) fibre under the combined thermomechanical loading is reported. SMA has the ability to sense a small change in temperature (${\geq}10^{\circ}C$) and activated under the external loading and results in shape change. The thermomechanical characteristics of SMA at different temperature and mechanical loading are obtained through an own lab-scale experimental setup. The analysis is conducted for two types of the medium using the liquid nitrogen (cold cycle) and the hot water (heat cycle). The experimental data indicate that SMA act as a normal wire for Martensite phase and activated behavior i.e., regain the original shape during the Austenite phase only. To improve the confidence of such kind of behavior has been verified by inspecting the composition of the wire. The study reveals interesting conclusion i.e., while SMA deviates from the equiatomic structure or consist of foreign materials (carbon and oxygen) except nickel and titanium may affect the phase transformation temperature which shifted the activation phase temperature. Also, the grain structure distortion of SMA wire has been examined via the scanning electron microscope after the thermomechanical cycle loading and discussed in details.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.749-758
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• 2018

This article derived a hybrid coupling technique using the higher-order displacement polynomial and three soft computing techniques (teaching learning-based optimization, particle swarm optimization, and artificial bee colony) to predict the optimal stacking sequence of the layered structure and the corresponding frequency values. The higher-order displacement kinematics is adopted for the mathematical model derivation considering the necessary stress and stain continuity and the elimination of shear correction factor. A nine noded isoparametric Lagrangian element (eighty-one degrees of freedom at each node) is engaged for the discretisation and the desired model equation derived via the classical Hamilton's principle. Subsequently, three soft computing techniques are employed to predict the maximum natural frequency values corresponding to their optimum layer sequences via a suitable home-made computer code. The finite element convergence rate including the optimal solution stability is established through the iterative solutions. Further, the predicted optimal stacking sequence including the accuracy of the frequency values are verified with adequate comparison studies. Lastly, the derived hybrid models are explored further to by solving different numerical examples for the combined structural parameters (length to width ratio, length to thickness ratio and orthotropicity on frequency and layer-sequence) and the implicit behavior discuss in details.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제70권6호
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• pp.683-702
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• 2019

The present study aims to analyze the magneto-electro-elastic (MEE) vibration of a functionally graded carbon nanotubes reinforced composites (FG-CNTRC) cylindrical shell. Electro-magnetic loads are applied to the structure and it is located on an elastic foundation which is simulated by visco-Pasternak type. The properties of the nano-composite shell are assumed to be varied by temperature changes. The third-order shear deformation shells theory is used to describe the displacement components and Hamilton's principle is employed to derive the motion differential equations. To obtain the results, Navier's method is used as an analytical solution for simply supported boundary condition and the effect of different parameters such as temperature variations, orientation angle, volume fraction of CNTs, different types of elastic foundation and other prominent parameters on the natural frequencies of the structure are considered and discussed in details. Design more functional structures subjected to multi-physical fields is of applications of this study results.

• Applied Microscopy
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• 제49권
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• pp.1.1-1.10
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• 2019

Joints of three-dimensional (3D) rutile-type (r) tin dioxide ($SnO_2$) nanowire networks, produced by the flame transport synthesis (FTS), are formed by coherent twin boundaries at $(101)^r$ serving for the interpenetration of the nanowires. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods, i.e. high resolution and (precession) electron diffraction (PED), were utilized to collect information of the atomic interface structure along the edge-on zone axes $[010]^r$, $[111]^r$ and superposition directions $[001]^r$, $[101]^r$. A model of the twin boundary is generated by a supercell approach, serving as base for simulations of all given real and reciprocal space data as for the elaboration of three-dimensional, i.e. relrod and higher order Laue zones (HOLZ), contributions to the intensity distribution of PED patterns. Confirmed by the comparison of simulated and experimental findings, details of the structural distortion at the twin boundary can be demonstrated.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.252-257
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• 2019

Fabrication of soft magnetic composite powders for the $Fe_2O_3-Ca$ system by mechanical alloying(MA) has been investigated at room temperature. It is found that soft magnetic composite powders in which CaO is dispersed in ${\alpha}-Fe$ matrix are obtained by MA of $Fe_2O_3$ with Ca for 5 hours. Changes in magnetization and coercivity also reflect the details of the solidstate reduction process of hematite by pure metal of Ca during MA. The saturation magnetization of MA powders increases with increasing MA time and reaches a maximum value of 65 emu/g after 7 hours of MA. The average grain size of ${\alpha}-Fe$ in MA powders, estimated by diffraction line-width, gradually decreases with increasing MA time and reaches 52 nm after 5 hours of MA. It can also be seen that the coercivity of the 5-hour MA sample is fairly high at 190 Oe, suggesting that the grain refinement of already-produced ${\alpha}-Fe$ tends to clearly occur during MA.

• 한국지진공학회논문집
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• 제25권6호
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• pp.251-259
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• 2021

Current seismic fragility functions for buildings were developed by defining damage state threshold based on story drift concerning foreign references and using the capacity spectrum method based on spectral displacement. In this study, insufficient details and dependence on the core location of piloti-type buildings were not reflected in the fragility function because it was developed before the Pohang earthquake. In order to develop an improved one for piloti-type buildings, several types of core were selected, damage state threshold was determined based on the capacity of structural members, and three-dimensional analyses were utilized. As a result, seismic fragility functions based on spectral acceleration were developed for various core locations and different shear strengths of the column stirrup. The fragility of piloti-type buildings significantly varied according to core location, an additional single wall, and whether the contribution of column stirrup was included or not. To estimate fragility more reasonably, it is necessary to prepare the parameters to reflect actual state well.

• 대한건축학회논문집:구조계
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• 제35권10호
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• pp.181-190
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• 2019

In this study, four reinforced concrete coupling beams were subjected to cyclic lateral loading test to evaluate the structural performance of coupling beam according to volume fraction of steel fiber. For this purpose, the volume fraction of steel fiber(0%, 1%, 2%) and transverse reinforcement spacing were determined as the main parameter. According to the test results, the maximum strength of D-40C-s100-0 was 1.15, 1.13, 1.05 times higher than D-40C-s300-0, D-40C-s300-1, D-40C-s300-2, respectively. The maximum strength of coupling beams with mitigated rebar details increases as the volume fraction of steel fiber increases. Although steel fiber 2% reinforced specimen(D-40C-s300-2) did not satisfy the amount of transverse reinforcement required for seismic design of coupling beam, the overall performance including to maximum strength, ductility and energy dissipation capacity was similar to the control specimen(D-40C-s100-0). As a result, the use of steel fiber with 2% reinforcement can partially replace the transverse reinforcement in diagonally reinforced concrete coupling beam.