• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.71-88
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• 2010

Soil nailing technique is being widely used for stabilization of vertical cuts because of its economic, environment friendly and speedy construction. Global stability and lateral displacement are the two important stability criteria for the soil nail walls. The primary objective of the present study is to evaluate soil nail wall stability criteria under the influence of in-situ soil variability. Finite element based numerical experiments are performed in accordance with the methodology of $2^3$ factorial design of experiments. Based on the analysis of the observations from numerical experiments, two regression models are developed, and used for reliability analyses of global stability and lateral displacement of the soil nail wall. A 10 m high prototype soil nail wall is considered for better understanding and to highlight the practical implications of the present study. Based on the study, lateral displacements beyond 0.10% of vertical wall height and variability of in-situ soil parameters are found to be critical from the stability criteria considerations of the soil nail wall.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.401-414
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• 2014

The economic consequences of large earthquakes require a revolutionary change in the seismic performance objective of residential and commercial buildings. The majority of total construction costs consist of non-structural and architectural costs. Therefore, the aim of this research is to upgrade current Life Safety performance objectives and to offset adverse effects on country's economy after an occurrence of large earthquakes. However, such a proposal cannot easily prove the feasibility of cost-benefit analysis in structural design. In this paper, six generic reinforced concrete frames and dual system structures designed based on Turkish Seismic Code were used in cost analysis. The study reveals that load bearing structural systems with Immediate Occupancy performance level in seismic zones can be achieved with negligible costs.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.187-194
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• 2018

Application the pile group foundation to reduce overall settlement of the foundation and also avoid a very fruitful settlement of foundations, inconsistent was carried out. In such a case, in event that the Foundation, not as a mere pile group, which as a system consisting of a broad foundation with pile Group, economic design criteria will be provided in spite of high safety. A new approach in the design of the Foundation can be introduced as the piles are just a tool to improve the parameters of soil hardness; that it can work with detachable piles from raft. Centralized arrangement of piles as the most optimal layout of piles in reducing inconsistent settlement, which is the lowest value of resulting layout in this differential settlement. Using the combination of piles connected and disconnected to form the raft, bending moment created in the raft is reduced. It also concentrated arrangements have greatest effect in reducing amount of moment applied to the raft.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.315-324
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• 2018

With rapid economic growth, numerous deep excavation projects for high-rise buildings and subway transportation networks have been constructed in the past two decades. Deep excavations particularly in thick deposits of soft clay may cause excessive ground movements and thus result in potential damage to adjacent buildings and supporting utilities. Extensive plane strain finite element analyses considering small strain effect have been carried out to examine the wall deflections for excavations in soft clay deposits supported by diaphragm walls and bracings. The excavation geometrical parameters, soil strength and stiffness properties, soil unit weight, the strut stiffness and wall stiffness were varied to study the wall deflection behaviour. Based on these results, a multivariate adaptive regression splines model was developed for estimating the maximum wall deflection. Parametric analyses were also performed to investigate the influence of the various design variables on wall deflections.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.433-439
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• 2020

Tunnels are one of the most important constructions in civil engineering. The damage to these structures caused enormous costs. Therefore, the safe and economic design of these structures has long been considered. However, both applied loads on the tunnels as well as the resistance of the structural members are naturally uncertain parameters, hence, the design of these structures requires considering the probabilistic approaches. This study aims to determine the load and resistant factors of lining tunnels concerning the earthquake extreme events limit state function. For this purpose, tunnels that have been designed according to the previous design codes (AASHTO Tunnel LRFD 2017) and using reliability analysis, the optimum reliability of these structures for different loading scenarios is determined. In this paper, the tunnel is considered circular. Finally, the proper load and resistance factors are calculated corresponding to the obtained target reliability. Based on the performed calibration earthquake extreme events limit state function, the result of this study can be recommended to AASHTO Tunnel LRFD 2017.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.501-508
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• 2021

The turbine industry demands a reliable design with affordable cost. As technological advances begin to support turbines of huge sizes, and the increasing importance of wind turbines from day to day make design safety conditions more important. Wind turbines are exposed to environmental conditions that can affect their installation, durability, and operation. International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61400-1 design load cases consist of analyses involving wind turbine operating conditions. This design load cases (DLC) is important for determining fatigue loads (i.e., forces and moments) that occur as a result of expected conditions throughout the life of the machine. With the help of FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence), an open source software, the NREL 5MW land base wind turbine model was used. IEC 61400-1 wind turbine design standard procedures assessed turbine behavior and fatigue damage to the tower base of dynamic loads in different design conditions. Real characteristic wind speed distribution and multi-directional effect specific to the site were taken into consideration. The effect of these conditions on the economic service life of the turbine has been studied.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.603-623
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• 2015

The scale and nature of the recent earthquakes in the world and the related earthquake disaster index coerce the concerned community to become anxious about it. Therefore, it is crucial that seismic lateral load effect will be appropriately considered in structural design. Application of seismic isolation system stands as a consistent alternative against this hazard. The objective of the study is to evaluate the structural and economic feasibility of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings with base isolation located in medium risk seismic region. Linear and nonlinear dynamic analyses as well as linear static analysis under site-specific bi-directional seismic excitation have been carried out for both fixed based (FB) and base isolated (BI) buildings in the present study. The superstructure and base of buildings are modeled in a 3D finite element model by consistent mass approach having six degrees of freedom at each node. The floor slabs are simulated as rigid diaphragms. Lead rubber bearing (LRB) and High damping rubber bearing (HDRB) are used as isolation device. Change of structural behaviors and savings in construction costing are evaluated. The study shows that for low to medium rise buildings, isolators can reduce muscular amount of base shears, base moments and floor accelerations for building at soft to medium stiff soil. Allowable higher horizontal displacement induces structural flexibility. Though incorporating isolator increases the outlay, overall structural cost may be reduced. The application of base isolation system confirms a potential to be used as a viable solution in economic building design.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 2023

This study shows the summary of the economic performance of excess electricity conversion to hydrogen as well as methane and returned conversion to electricity using a fuel cell. The methane production process has been examined in a previous study. Here, this study focuses on the conversion of methane to electricity. As a part of this study, capital expenditure (CAPEX) is estimated under various sized plants (0.3, 3, 9, and 30 MW). The study shows a method for economic optimization of electricity generation using a fuel cell. The CAPEX and operating expenditure (OPEX) as well as the feed cost are used to calculate the discounted cash flow. Then the levelized cost of returned electricity (LCORE) is estimated from the discounted cash flow. This study found the LCORE value was ¢10.2/kWh electricity when a 9 MW electricity generating fuel cell was used. A methane production plant size of 1,500 Nm³/hr, a methane production cost of $11.47/mcf, a storage cost of $1/mcf, and a fuel cell efficiency of 54% were used as a baseline. A sensitivity analysis was performed by varying the storage cost, fuel cell efficiency, and excess electricity cost by ±20%, and fuel cell efficiency was found as the most dominating parameter in terms of the LCORE sensitivity. Therefore, for the best cost-performance, fuel cell manufacturing and efficiency need to be carefully evaluated. This study provides a general guideline for cost performance comparison with LCORE.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.1133-1153
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• 2016

In this article, an additive performance ratio method using structural analysis of both 2D and 3D is introduced to mitigate the complexity of work evaluating structural performances of numerous steel outrigger alternatives in multi-story buildings, especially high-rise buildings. The combined structural analysis process enables to be the design of economic, safe, and as constructional demanding structures by exploiting the advantages of steel, namely: excellent energy dissipation and ductility. First the approach decides the alternative of numerous steel outriggers by a simple 2D analysis module and then the alternative is evaluated by 3D analysis module. Initial structural analyses of outrigger types are carried out through MIDAS Gen 2D modeling, approximately, and then the results appeal structural performance and lead to decide some alternative of outrigger types. ETABS 3D modeling is used with respect to realization and evaluation of exact structural behaviors. The approach reduces computational burden in compared to existing concepts such as full 3D analysis methods. The combined 2D and 3D tools are verified by cycle and displacement tests including comprehensive nonlinear dynamic simulations. The advantages and limitations of the Additive Performance Ratio Approach are highlighted in a case study on a high rise steel-composite building, which targets at designing the optimized alternative to the existing original outrigger for lateral load resisting system.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.365-380
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• 2021

Although traditional steel-concrete composite beams have excellent structural characteristics, it cannot meet the requirement of quick assembly and repair in the engineering. This paper presents a study on static behavior of bolt connected steel-concrete composite beam without post-cast zone. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed with its accuracy and reliability validated by available experimental results. The analysis results show that in the normal service stage, the bolt is basically in the state of unidirectional stress with the loss of pretightening can be ignored. Parametric studies are presented to quantify the effects of the post-cast zone, size and position of splicing gap on the behavior of the beam. Based on the studies, suggested size of gap and installation order were proposed. It is also confirmed that optimized concrete slab in mid-span can reduce the requirement of construction accuracy.