• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.419-433
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• 2021

In composite structures, shear connectors are crucial components to resist the relative slip between the steel and concrete, and thereby to achieve the composite actions. In the service stage, composite structures are usually in elastic state, so the elastic stiffness of the shear connection is a quite important parameter in the structural analysis of composite structures. Nevertheless, the existing studies mainly focus on the load-slip relationship rather than the tangent stiffness at the initial elastic stage. Furthermore, when composite beams subjected to torque or local load, shear connections are affected by both tensile force and shear force. However, the stiffness of shear connections under combined effects appears not to have been discussed hitherto. This paper investigates the initial elastic stiffness of stud connections under combined effects of biaxial forces. The initial expression and the relevant parameters are obtained by establishing a simplified analytical model of the stud connection. Afterwards, parametric finite element analysis is performed to investigate the effects of the relevant factors, including the stud length, stud diameter, elastic modulus of concrete, elastic modulus of steel and volume ratio of reinforcement. The feasibility of the proposed modelling has been proved by comparing with sufficient experimental tests. Based on the analytical analysis and the extensive numerical simulations, design equations for predicting the initial elastic stiffness of stud connections are proposed. The comparison between the equations and the data of finite element models demonstrates that the equations are accurate enough to serve for engineering communities.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2019

This study investigates the applicability of composite polyurea to contain fiber reinforcement like fiber glass, steel fiber and carbon nanotube. Polyurea as elastomer is an excellent water-proofing material with many mechanical characteristics such as high tensile strength, ductility, high rate of expansion and contraction, and so on. The reinforcing fibers can be utilized for improving the load-carrying capacity of concrete structures. The polyurea plays a role to improve the ductility and toughness. Composite polyurea takes the mechanical advantages of the fibers and the polyurea. The test variables include the type of reinforcing fiber, its spraying thickness, and its weight ratio contained in the composite polyurea. It is observed that the load-carrying capacity, and the ductility and toughness are improved with the increase in the spraying thickness and the weight ratio contained in the composite polyurea. It is expected that the composite polyurea can be widely utilized in enhancing the structural and seismic performance.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.339-344
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• 2021

Composite materials offer distinct and unique properties that are not naturally inherited in the individual materials that make them. One of the most attractive composites to manufacture is the aluminum alloy matrix composite, because it usually combines easiness of availability, light weight, strength, and other favorable properties. In the current work, Powder Metallurgy Method (PMM) is used to prepare Al2024 matrix composites reinforced with different mixing ratios of yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃) particles. The tests performed on the composites include physical, mechanical, and tribological, as well as microstructure analysis via optical microscope. The results show that the experimental density slightly decreases while the porosity increases when the reinforcement ratio increases within the selected range of 0 ~ 20 wt%. Besides this, the yield strength, tensile strength, and Vickers hardness increase up to a 10 wt% Y₂O₃ ratio, after which they decline. Moreover, the wear results show that the composite follows the same paradigm for strength and hardness. It is concluded that this composite is ideal for application when higher strength is required from aluminum composites, as well as lighter weight up to certain values of Y₂O₃ ratio.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.173-188
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• 2022

In modern buildings, glass is considered a structurally unsafe material due to its brittleness and unpredictable failure behavior. The possible use of structural glass elements (i.e., floors, beams and columns) is generally prevented by its poor tensile strength and a frequent occurrence of brittle failures. In this study an innovative modelling based on an equivalent thickness concept of laminated glass beam reinforced with FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer) composite material and of glass plates punched is presented. In particular, the novel numerical modelling applied to an embedding Carbon FRP-rod in the interlayer of a laminated structural glass beam is considered in order to increase both its failure strength, together with its post-failure strength and ductility. The proposed equivalent modelling of different specimens enables us to carefully evaluate the effects of this reinforcement. Both the responses of the reinforced beam and un-reinforced one are evaluated, and the corresponding results are compared and discussed. A novel equivalent modelling for reinforced glass beams using FRP composites is presented for FEM analyses in modern material components and proved estimations of the expected performance are provided. Moreover, the new suggested numerical analysis is also applied to laminated glass plates with wide holes at both ends for the technological reasons necessary to connect a glass beam to a structure. Obtained results are compared with an integer specimen. Experimental considerations are reported.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.8-15
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• 2021

Cold forging is a method in which molding is performed at room temperature. It has a high material recovery rate and dimensional precision and produces excellent surface quality, and it is mainly used for the production of bolted or housing products. The lifespan of cold forging molds is generally determined by the wear of the mold, plastic deformation of the mold, and fatigue strength. Cold forging molds are frequently damaged due to fatigue destruction rather than wear and plastic deformation in a high-temperature environment as it is molded at room temperature without preheating the raw material and mold. Based on the results analyzed through FEM, an effective mold structure design method was proposed by analyzing the changes in tensile and compressive stresses on molds according to the number of molds and reinforcement rings and comparing the product geometry and mold stress using three existing mold models.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.407-421
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• 2022

Prefabricated hybrid wind turbine towers (WTTs) are promising due to height increase. This study proposes the use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) to develop a new type of WTT without the need to use reinforcement. It is demonstrated that the UHPC WTT structure without reinforcing bars could achieve performance similar to that of reinforced concrete WTTs. To simplify the design of WTT, a design approach for the calculation of stresses at the horizontal joints of a WTT is proposed. The stress distribution near the region of the horizontal joint of the WTT structure under normal operating conditions and different load actions is studied using the proposed approach, which is validated by the finite element method. A further parametric study shows that the degree of prestressing and the bending moment both significantly affect the principal stress. The shear-to-torsion ratio also shows a significant influence on the principal tensile stress.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.129-137
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• 2022

Compo-casting method is one of the popular technique to produce metal based matrix composites. But, one of the main challenges in this process is un-uniform spreading of reinforced subdivisions (particles) inside the metallic matrix and the lack of desirable mechanical properties of the final produced composites due to the low bonding strength among the metal matrix and reinforcement particles. To remove these difficulties and to promote the mechanical properties of these kind of composites, the WARM ARB technique was utilized as supplementary technique to heighten the mechanical and microstructural evolution of the casted Al/Al₂O₃ composite strips. The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of these composites have been considered versus different WARM ARB cycles by tensile test, average Vickers micro hardness test, wear test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM results revealed that during the higher warm- ARB cycles, big alumina clusters are broken and make a uniform distribution of alumina particles. It was shown that cumulating the forming cycles improved the mechanical properties of composites. In general, combined compo-casting and ARB process would consent making Al/Al₂O₃ composites with high consistency, good microstructural and mechanical properties.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.264-269
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• 2023

Spent coffee grounds (SCG) are a ubiquitous byproduct of coffee consumption, representing a significant waste management challenge, as well as an untapped resource for economic development and sustainability. Improper disposal of SCG can result in environmental problems such as methane emissions and leachate production. This study aims to investigate the physicochemical properties of SCG and their potential as a reinforcement material in polypropylene (PP) to fabricate an eco-friendly composite via extrusion and injection molding, with SCG filler ratios ranging from 5-20%. To evaluate the effect of SCG on the morphological and mechanical properties of the bio- composite, thermogravimetric analysis, SEM, tensile, flexural, and impact tests were conducted. The results demonstrated that the addition of SCG lead to a slight increase in brittleness of the composite but did not significantly affect its mechanical properties. Impressively, the presence of a significant organic component in SCG contributed to the enhanced thermal performance of PP/SCG composites. This improvement was evident in terms of increased thermal stability, delayed onset of degradation, and higher maximum degradation temperature as compared to pure PP. These findings suggest that SCG has potential as a filler material for PP composites, with the ability to enhance the material's properties without compromising overall performance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2021.11a
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• pp.172-173
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• 2021

With the development of nano-reinforcement technology and the increasing concern for environmental issues, TiO₂ nanomaterials have received wide attention as an additive besides carbon nanomaterials that can be used to enhance the mechanical properties of cement-based materials. Also, TiO₂-based materials can allow cement-baned materials with photocatalytic capability, providing a potentially effective approach to reduce environmental problems. In this work, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and degradation of methylene blue solution were used as target to assess the effect of TiO₂ nanotubes on the mechanical strength and photocatalytic effect of hardened cement paste at different curing time. According to the strength results, the optimum amount of TiO₂ was identified as 0.5% of the weight of cement. Meanwhile, the TiO₂ nanotubes-reinforced specimen exhibited better photocatalytic effect in the early stage of curing.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.131-143
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• 2023

The CFRP bar was used to achieve more ductile and durable headed-stud shear connectors in composite components. Three series of push-out tests were firstly conducted, including specimens reinforced with pure steel fibers, steel and CFRP bars. The distributed stress was measured by the commercial PPP-BOTDA (Pre-Pump-Pulse Brillouin optical time domain analysis) optical fiber sensor with high spatial resolution. A series of numerical analyses using non-linear FE models were also made to study the shear force transfer mechanism and crack response based on the test results. Test results show that the CFRP bar increases the shear strength and stiffness of the large diameter headed-stud shear connection, and it has equivalent reinforcing effects on the stud shear capacity as the commonly used steel bar. The embedded CFRP bar can also largely improve the shear force transfer mechanism and decrease the tensile stress in the transverse direction. The parametric study shows that low content steel fibers could delay the crack initiation of slab around the large diameter stud, and the CFRP bar with normal elastic modulus and the standard reinforcement ratio has good resistance to splitting crack growth in headed stud shear connectors.