• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2017

PURPOSES : This paper presents a finite element model to accurately represent the soil-post interaction of single guardrail posts in sloping ground. In this study, the maximum lateral resistance of a guardrail post has been investigated under static and dynamic loadings, with respect given to several parameters including post shape, embedment depth, ground inclination, and embedment location of the steel post. METHODS : Because current analytical methods applied to horizontal ground, including Winkler's elastic spring model and the p-y curve method, cannot be directly applied to sloping ground, it is necessary to seek an alternative 3-D finite element model. For this purpose, a 3D FHWA soil model for road-base soils, as constructed using LS-DYNA, has been adopted to estimate the dynamic behavior of single guardrail posts using the pendulum drop test. RESULTS : For a laterally loaded guardrail post near slopes under static and dynamic loadings, the maximum lateral resistance of a guardrail post has been found to be reduced by approximately 12% and 13% relative to the static analysis and pendulum testing, respectively, due to the effects of ground inclination. CONCLUSIONS : It is expected that the proposed soil material model can be applied to guardrail systems installed near slopes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.95-112
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• 1994

This paper describes the formulation and application of a dynamic model for a conventional rail track subjected to arbitary loading functions that simulate wheel/rail impact forces. The rail track is idealized as a periodic elastically coupled beam system resting on a Winkler foundation. Modal parameters of the track structure are first obtained from the natural vibration characteristics of the beam system, which is discretized into a periodic assembly of a specially-constructed track element and a single beam element characterized by their exact dynamic stiffness matrices. An equivalent frequency-dependent spring coefficient representing the resilient, flexural and inertial characteristics of the rail support components is introduced to reduce the degrees of freedom of the track element. The forced vibration equations of motion of the track subjected to a series of loading functions are then formulated by using beam bending theories and are reduced to second order ordinary differential equations through the use of mode summation with non-proportional modal damping. Numerical examples for the dynamic responses of a typical track are presented, and the solutions resulting from different rail/tie beam theories are compared.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.2180-2186
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• 2002

In a micro-scale contact, capillary force and van der Waals interaction significantly influence the contact between asperities of rough surfaces. Little is, however, known about the variation of these surface forces as a function of chemical property of the surface (wet angle), relative humidity and deformation of asperities in the real area of contact. A better understanding of these surface forces is of great necessity in order to find a solution for reducing friction and adhesion of micro surfaces. The objective of this study is to investigate the surface forces in micro-scale rough surface contact. We proposed an effective method to analyze capillary and van der Waals forces in micro-scale contact. In this method, Winkler spring model was employed to analyze the contact of rough surfaces that were obtained from atomic force microscopy (AFM) height images. Self-mated contact of DLC(diamond like carbon) coatings was analyzed, as an example, by the proposed model. It was shown that the capillary force was significantly influenced by relative humidity and wet angle of the DLC surface. The deformation of asperities to a critical magnitude by external loading led to a considerable increase of both capillary and van der Waals forces.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1101-1111
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• 2018

This study aims to present accurate soil modeling and validation of a single roadside guardrail post as well as a single concrete pile installed near cut slopes or compacted sloping embankment. The conventional Winkler's elastic spring model and p-y curve approach for horizontal ground cannot directly be applied to sloping ground where ultimate soil resistance is significantly dependent on ground inclination. In this study, both grid-based 3-D FE model and particle-based SPH (smoothed particle hydrodynamics) model available in LS-DYNA have been adopted to predict the static behavior of a laterally loaded guardrail post. The SPH model has potential to eliminate any artificial soil stiffness due to the deterioration of the node-connected Lagrangian soil mesh. For this purpose, this study comprises two parts. Firstly, only 3-D FE modeling has been tested to show the numerical validity for a single concrete pile in sloping ground using Mohr-Coulomb material. However, this material option cannot be implemented for SPH elements. Nevertheless, Mohr-Coulomb model has been used since this material model requires six input soil data that can be obtained from the comparative papers in literatures. Secondly, this work is extended to compute the lateral resistance of a guardrail post located near the slope using the hybrid approach that combines Lagrange FE elements and SPH elements by the suitable node-merging option provided by LS-DYNA. For this analysis, the FHWA soil material developed for application to road-base soils has been used and also allows the application of SPH element.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.509-518
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• 2017

The objective of the present paper is to investigate the bending behavior with stretching effect of carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (CNTRC) beams. The beams resting on the Pasternak elastic foundation, including a shear layer and Winkler spring, are considered. The single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are aligned and distributed in polymeric matrix with different patterns of reinforcement. The material properties of the CNTRC beams are estimated by using the rule of mixture. The significant feature of this model is that, in addition to including the shear deformation effect and stretching effect it deals with only 4 unknowns without including a shear correction factor. The single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are aligned and distributed in polymeric matrix with different patterns of reinforcement. The material properties of the CNTRC beams are assessed by employing the rule of mixture. The equilibrium equations have been obtained using the principle of virtual displacements. The mathematical models provided in this paper are numerically validated by comparison with some available results. New results of bending analyses of CNTRC beams based on the present theory with stretching effect is presented and discussed in details. the effects of different parameters of the beam on the bending responses of CNTRC beam are discussed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.5
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• pp.685-697
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• 2022

Nanotechnology has become one of the interesting technique used in material science and engineering. However, it is low used in civil engineering structures. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the static behavior of concrete plates reinforced with silica-nanoparticles. Due to agglomeration effect of silica-nanoparticles in concrete, Voigt's model is used for obtaining the equivalent nano-composite properties. Furthermore, the plate is simulated mathematically with higher order shear deformation theory. For a large use of this study, the concrete plate is assumed resting on a Pasternak elastic foundation, including a shear layer, and Winkler spring interconnected with a Kerr foundation. Using the principle of virtual work, the equilibrium equations are derived and by the mean of Hamilton's principle the energy equations are obtained. Finally, based on Navier's technique, closed-form solutions of simply supported plates have been obtained. Numerical results are presented considering the effect of different parameters such as volume percent of SiO₂ nanoparticles, mechanical loads, geometrical parameters, soil medium, on the static behavior of the plate. The most findings of this work indicate that the use of an optimum amount of SiO₂ nanoparticles on concretes increases better mechanical behavior. In addition, the elastic foundation has a significant impact on the bending of concrete slabs.