• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.281-294
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• 2016

The paper is devoted to study a mesh-free analysis method of structural elements of engineering structures based on B-spline Wavelet Basis Function. First, by employing the moving-least square method and the weighted residual method to solve the structural displacement field, the control equations and the stiffness equations are obtained. And then constructs the displacement field of the structure by using the m-order B-spline wavelet basis function as a weight function. In the end, the paper selects the plane beam structure and the structure with opening hole to carry out numerical analysis of deformation and stress. The Finite Element Method calculation results are compared with the results of the method proposed, and the calculation results of the relative error norm is compared with Gauss weight function as weight function. Therefore, the clarification verified the validity and accuracy of the proposed method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.999-1016
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• 2015

In this paper, we introduce a new method for assembly of shipbuilding blocks at sea and present its feasibility focusing on structural safety. The core concept of this method is to assemble ship building blocks by use of bolting, gluing and welding techniques at sea without dock facilities. Due to its independence of dock facilities, shipyard construction capability could be increased considerably by the proposed method. To show the structural safety of this method, a bulk carrier and an oil tanker were employed, and we investigated the structural behavior of those ships to which the new block assembly method was applied. The ship hull models attached with connective parts are analyzed in detail through finite element analyses, and the cargo capacity of the bulk carrier is briefly discussed as well. The results of these studies show the potential for applying this new block assembly method to practical shipbuilding.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.868-880
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• 2020

One of the main concerns in the structural integrity of offshore pipelines is mechanical damage from external loads. Pipelines are exposed to fatigue failure in welded joints due to geometric discontinuity. In addition, fatigue loads such as currents, waves, and platform motions may cause significant plastic deformation and fracture or leakage within a relatively low-cycle regime. The 2007 ASME Div. 2 Code adopts the master S―N curve for the fatigue evaluation of welded joints based on the mesh-insensitive structural stress. An extension to the master S―N curve was introduced to evaluate the low-cycle fatigue strength. This structural strain method uses the tensile properties of the material. However, the monotonic tensile properties have limitations in describing the material behavior above the elastic range because most engineering materials exhibit hardening or softening behavior under cyclic loads. The goal of this study is to extend the cyclic stress-strain behavior to the structural strain method. To this end, structural strain-based procedure was established while considering the cyclic stress-strain behavior and compared to the structural strain method with monotonic tensile properties. Finally, the improved prediction method was validated using fatigue test data from full-scale girth-welded pipes.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.367-382
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• 2015

This paper aims to conduct the reliability-based assessment of the welded joint in the orthotropic steel bridge deck by use of a mesh-insensitive structural stress (MISS) method, which is an effective numerical procedure to determine the reliable stress distribution adjacent to the weld toe. Both the solid element model and the shell element model are first established to investigate the sensitivity of the element size and the element type in calculating the structural stress under different loading scenarios. In order to achieve realistic condition assessment of the welded joint, the probabilistic approach based on the structural reliability theory is adopted to derive the reliability index and the failure probability by taking into account the uncertainties inherent in the material properties and load conditions. The limit state function is formulated in terms of the structural resistance of the material and the load effect which is described by the structural stress obtained by the MISS method. The reliability index is computed by use of the first-order reliability method (FORM), and compared with a target reliability index to facilitate the safety assessment. The results achieved from this study reveal that the calculation of the structural stress using the MISS method is insensitive to the element size and the element type, and the obtained structural stress results serve as a reliable basis for structural reliability analysis.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.703-708
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• 2017

The goal of this study is to evaluate behavior uncertainties of structures by using interval finite element analysis based on interval factor method as a specific non-stochastic tool. The interval finite element method, i.e., interval FEM, is a finite element method that uses interval parameters in situations where it is not possible to get reliable probabilistic characteristics of the structure. The present method solves the uncertainty problems of a 2D solid structure, in which structural characteristics are assumed to be represented as interval parameters. An interval analysis method using interval factors is applied to obtain the solution. Numerical applications verify the intuitive effectiveness of the present method to investigate structural uncertainties such as displacement and stress without the application of probability theory.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.111-127
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• 2018

Horizontal displacement of high-rise building is an essential index for assessing the structural performance and safety. In this paper, a novel inclinometer-based method is proposed to address this issue and an algorithm based on three spline interpolation principle is presented to estimate the horizontal displacement of high-rise buildings. In this method, the whole structure is divided into different elements by different measured points. The story drift angle curve of each element is modeled as a three spline curve. The horizontal displacement can be estimated after integration of the story drift angle curve. A numerical example is designed to verify the proposed method and the result shows this method can effectively estimate the horizontal displacement with high accuracy. After that, this method is applied to a practical slender structure - Shanghai Tower. Nature frequencies identification and deformation monitoring are conducted from the signal of inclinometers. It is concluded that inclinometer-based technology can not only be used for spectrum analysis and modal identification, but also for monitoring deformation of the whole structure. This inclinometer-based technology provides a novel method for future structural health monitoring.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.261-274
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• 2014

An accurate finite element (FE) model of a structure is essential for predicting reliably its dynamic characteristics. Such a model is used to predict the effects of structural modifications for dynamic design of the structure. These modifications may be imposed by design alterations for operating reasons. Most of the model updating techniques neglect damping and so these updated models can't be used for accurate prediction of vibration amplitudes. This paper deals with the basic formulation of damped finite element model updating method and its use for structural dynamic modifications. In this damped damped finite element model updating method, damping matrices are updated along with mass and stiffness matrices. The damping matrices are updated by updating the damping coefficients. A case involving actual measured data for the case of F-shaped test structure, which resembles the skeleton of a drilling machine is used to evaluate the effectiveness of damped FE model updating method for accurate prediction of the vibration levels and thus its use for structural dynamic modifications. It can be concluded from the study that damped updated FE model updating can be used for structural dynamic modifications with confidence.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.231-244
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• 2013

An efficient method is proposed here to identify multiple damage cases in structural systems using the concepts of flexibility matrix and strain energy of a structure. The flexibility matrix of the structure is accurately estimated from the first few mode shapes and natural frequencies. Then, the change of strain energy of a structural element, due to damage, evaluated by the columnar coefficients of the flexibility matrix is used to construct a damage indicator. This new indicator is named here as flexibility strain energy based index (FSEBI). In order to assess the performance of the proposed method for structural damage detection, two benchmark structures having a number of damage scenarios are considered. Numerical results demonstrate that the method can accurately locate the structural damage induced. It is also revealed that the magnitudes of the FSEBI depend on the damage severity.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.587-602
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• 2016

In structural reliability analysis, the response surface method is widely adopted because of its numerical efficiency. It should be understood that the response function must approximate the actual limit state function accurately in the main region influencing failure probability where it is evaluated. However, the size of main region influencing failure probability was not defined clearly in current response surface methods. In this study, the concept of sub-region of interest is constructed, and an improved response surface method is proposed based on the sub-region of interest. The sub-region of interest can clearly define the size of main region influencing failure probability, so that the accuracy of the evaluation of failure probability is increased. Some examples are introduced to demonstrate the efficiency and the accuracy of the proposed method for both numerical and implicit limit state functions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.160-165
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• 1997

Structural boundary condition is very important as a part of a structural system because it determines the dynamic characteristics of the structure. It is often to experience that experimental measurements of structural dynamic characteristics are somewhat different from the analytical predictions in which idealized boundary conditions are usually assumed. However, real structural boundary conditions are not so ideal; not perfectly clamped, for instance. Thus this paper introduces a new method to determine the non-ideal structural boundary conditions in the frequency domain. In this method, structural boundary conditions are modeled by both extensional (vertical) and torsional elastic springs. The effective springs are then determined from experimental FRFs (frequency response functions) by using the spectral element method (SEM). For a cantilevered beam experiments are conducted to determine the real boundary conditions in terms of effective springs. Dynamic characteristics (analytically predicted) based on identified boundary conditions are found to be much closer to experimental measurements when compared with those based on ideal boundary conditions.