• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2017

Finite element model updating is very effective procedure to determine the uncertainty parameters in structural model and minimize the differences between experimentally and numerically identified dynamic characteristics. This procedure can be practiced with manual and automatic model updating procedures. The manual model updating involves manual changes of geometry and analyses parameters by trial and error, guided by engineering judgement. Besides, the automated updating is performed by constructing a series of loops based on optimization procedures. This paper addresses the ambient vibration based finite element model updating of long span reinforced concrete highway bridges using manual model updating procedure. Birecik Highway Bridge located on the $81^{st}km$ of Şanliurfa-Gaziantep state highway over Firat River in Turkey is selected as a case study. The structural carrier system of the bridge consists of two main parts: Arch and Beam Compartments. In this part of the paper, the arch compartment is investigated. Three dimensional finite element model of the arch compartment of the bridge is constructed using SAP2000 software to determine the dynamic characteristics, numerically. Operational Modal Analysis method is used to extract dynamic characteristics using Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition method. Numerically and experimentally identified dynamic characteristics are compared with each other and finite element model of the arch compartment of the bridge is updated manually by changing some uncertain parameters such as section properties, damages, boundary conditions and material properties to reduce the difference between the results. It is demonstrated that the ambient vibration measurements are enough to identify the most significant modes of long span highway bridges. Maximum differences between the natural frequencies are reduced averagely from %49.1 to %0.6 by model updating. Also, a good harmony is found between mode shapes after finite element model updating.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.6
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• pp.765-779
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• 2019

Most of the existing evaluation criteria of vibration serviceability rely on the peak acceleration of the structure rather than that of the people keeping their own body unmoved on the structure who is the real receiver of structural vibrations. In order to accurately assess the vibration serviceability, therefore, a full path assessment approach of vibration serviceability based on vibration source, path and receiver is not only tentatively proposed in this paper, taking the peak acceleration of receiver into account, but also introduce a probability procedure to provide more instructive information instead of a single value. In fact, semi-rigid supported on both sides of the structure is more consistent with the actual situation than simply supported or clamped due to the application of the prefabricated footbridge structures. So, the footbridge is regarded as a beam with semi-rigid supported on both sides in this paper. The differential quadrature-integral quadrature coupled method is not only to handle different type of boundary conditions, but also after being further modified via the introduction of an approximation procedure in this work, the time-varying system problem caused by human-structure interaction can be solved well. The analytical results of numerical simulations demonstrate that the modified differential quadrature-integral quadrature coupled method has higher reliability and accuracy compared with the mode superposition method. What's more, both of the two different passive control measures, the tuned mass damper and semi-rigid supported, have good performance for reducing vibrations. Most importantly, semi-rigid supported is easier to achieve the objective of reducing vibration compared with tuned mass damper in design stage of structure.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.34-47
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• 2019

This case study is concerned with the project of the explosive demolition for the DCRE Incheon plant located in Hakik district in Incheon city. The building was severely aging due to the high temperature and sea winds of hundreds of degrees emitted by chimney-shaped steel structures inside the building. Due to this, the concrete of the column and the beam fell off and rusted rebar were exposed, and some of the slabs were severely damaged, making it difficult for workers to access the structure. Therefore, it is not possible to apply a mechanical demolition method in which heavy equipment enters the interior of the building, and an explosive demolition method was applied to allow the building to be demolished without dismantling the internal facilities of the building. The order of blasting proceeded in the order of (1) building ${\rightarrow}$ (2) chimney 2 ${\rightarrow}$ (3) chimney 1. A total of 406 electronic detonators (Unitronic 600) was used to sequentially initiate the explosives installed at appropriate in building and chimneys.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.4
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• pp.433-444
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• 2019

Shear studs are often used to connect steel girders and concrete deck to form a composite bridge system. The application of precast concrete deck to steel-concrete composite bridges can improve the strength of decks and reduce the shrinkage and creep effect on the long-term behavior of structures. How to ensure the connection between steel girders and concrete deck directly influences the composite behavior between steel girder and precast concrete deck as well as the behavior of the structure system. Compared with traditional multi-I girder systems, a twin-I girder composite bridge system is more simplified but may lead to additional requirements on the shear studs connecting steel girders and decks due to the larger girder spacing. Up to date, only very limited quantity of researches has been conducted regarding the behavior of shear studs on twin-I girder bridge systems. One convenient way for steel composite bridge system is to cast concrete deck in place with shear studs uniformly-distributed along the span direction. For steel composite bridge system using precast concrete deck, voids are included in the precast concrete deck segments, and they are casted with cast-in-place concrete after the concrete segments are erected. In this paper, several sets of push-out tests are conducted, which are used to investigate the heavier of shear studs within the voids in the precast concrete deck. The test data are analyzed and compared with those from finite element models. A simplified shear stud model is proposed using a beam element instead of solid elements. It is used in the finite element model analyses of the twin-I girder composite bridge system to relieve the computational efforts of the shear studs. Additionally, a parametric study is developed to find the effects of void size, void spacing, and shear stud diameter and spacing. Finally, the recommendations are given for the design of precast deck using void for twin I-girder bridge systems.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.48-61
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• 2018

This case study is concerned with the project of the explosive demolition for the KOGAS office building located in Bundang district in Seongnam city. Since the office building was a kind of long-span beam structures, a mechanical demolition method using jacking support systems was considered in the beginning of the project. With consideration of the excessive reinforcement cost, uncertainty of safety, and prolonged construction period, however, the original plan was later changed to use an explosive demolition method. For the purpose of protecting nearby buildings and facilities during the collapse process, the explosive initiation sequence was elaborately designed to bring down the building structure towards its front left corner. A total of over 550 electronic detonators (Unitronic 600) was used to sequentially initiate the explosives installed at appropriate columns in the first, second, and fifth floors. To diminish dust production, water bags of small and large sizes were respectively installed at each column and on the floors to be blasted. As such, every effort was exercised to mitigate overall noise, dust, and shock vibrations that could be generated during the explosive demolition process for the office building.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.53-72
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• 2019

Safety measures for tower cranes are extremely important among the seismic countermeasures at high-rise building construction sites. In particular, the collapse of a tower crane from a high position is a very serious catastrophe. An example of such an accident due to an earthquake is the case of the Taipei 101 Building (the author was the project director), which occurred on March 31, 2002. Failure of the bolted joints of the tower-crane mast was the direct cause of the collapse. Therefore, it is necessary to design for this eventuality and to take the necessary measures on construction sites. This can only be done by understanding the precise dynamic behavior of mast joints during an earthquake. Consequently, we created a new hybrid-element model (using beam, shell, and solid elements) that not only expressed the detailed behavior of the site joints of a tower-crane mast during an earthquake but also suppressed any increase in the total calculation time and revealed its behavior through computer simulations. Using the proposed structural model and simulation method, effective information for designing safe joints during earthquakes can be provided by considering workability (control of the bolt pretension axial force and other factors) and less construction cost. Notably, this analysis showed that the joint behavior of the initial pretension axial force of a bolt is considerably reduced after the axial force of the bolt exceeds the yield strength. A maximum decrease of 50% in the initial pretension axial force under the El Centro N-S Wave ($v_{max}=100cm/s$) was observed. Furthermore, this method can be applied to analyze the seismic responses of general temporary structures in construction sites.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2019

Internal ring beams are primary components of new ring-stiffened cooling towers. In this study, numerical simulation of the internal flow field of a cooling tower with three ring beams under wind-thermal coupling effect is performed. The studied cooling tower is a 220-m super-large hyperbolic indirect natural draft cooling tower that is under construction in China and will be the World's highest cooling tower, the influence of peripheral radiators in operating cooling tower is also considered. Based on the simulation, the three-dimensional effect and distribution pattern of the wind loads on inner surface of the cooling tower is summarized, the average wind pressure distributions on the inner surface before and after the addition of the ring beams are analyzed, and the influence pattern of ring beams on the internal pressure coefficient value is derived. The action mechanisms behind the air flows inside the tower are compared. In addition, the effects of internal ring beams on temperature field characteristics, turbulence kinetic energy distribution, and wind resistance are analyzed. Finally, the internal pressure coefficients are suggested for ring-stiffened cooling towers under wind-thermal coupling effect. The study shows that the influence of internal stiffening ring beams on the internal pressure and flow of cooling towers should not be ignored, and the wind-thermal coupling effect should also be considered in the numerical simulation of cooling tower flow fields. The primary conclusions presented in this paper offer references for determining the internal suction of such ring-stiffened cooling towers.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.334-339
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• 2019

In this study, the vibration test method to nondestructively evaluate the possibility of vehicle BSR (Buzz, Squeak, Rattle) noise generation in spot-welded structures was proposed. The weld quality was predicted by analyzing the local vibration transmission characteristics for the beam-shaped structure attached to testing spots. The bending stiffness was evaluated from the identified vibration properties. From the change in the stiffness, the weld quality was evaluated. For verification of the proposed method, the welded specimens were fabricated with partial changes in welding parameters. The local vibration transfers were measured. The frequency bands affected by the weld quality was identified. The capability of evaluating the welding parameters including defect position and quality variations was investigated. The proposed method enables fast quality evaluation to minimize the possibility of BSR noise generation in the manufactured vehicle.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.681-692
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• 2020

Conventional Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters (CPEH) have been extensively studied for maximizing their electrical output through material selection, geometric and structural optimization, and adoption of efficient interface circuits. In this paper, the performance of Stepped Piezoelectric Energy Harvester (SPEH) under harmonic base excitation is studied analytically, numerically and experimentally. The motivation is to compare the energy harvesting performance of CPEH and SPEHs with the same characteristics (resonant frequency). The results of this study challenge the notion of achieving higher voltage and power output through incorporation of geometric discontinuities such as step sections in the harvester beams. A CPEH consists of substrate material with a patch of piezoelectric material bonded over it and a tip mass at the free end to tune the resonant frequency. A SPEH is designed by introducing a step section near the root of substrate beam to induce higher dynamic strain for maximizing the electrical output. The incorporation of step section reduces the stiffness and consequently, a lower tip mass is used with SPEH to match the resonant frequency to that of CPEH. Moreover, the electromechanical coupling coefficient, forcing function and damping are significantly influenced because of the inclusion of step section, which consequently affects harvester's output. Three different configurations of SPEHs characterized by the same resonant frequency as that of CPEH are designed and analyzed using linear electromechanical model and their performances are compared. The variation of strain on the harvester beams is obtained using finite element analysis. The prototypes of CPEH and SPEHs are fabricated and experimentally tested. It is shown that the power output from SPEHs is lower than the CPEH. When the prototypes with resonant frequencies in the range of 56-56.5 Hz are tested at 1 m/s2, three SPEHs generate power output of 482 μW, 424 μW and 228 μW when compared with 674 μW from CPEH. It is concluded that the advantage of increasing dynamic strain using step section is negated by increase in damping and decrease in forcing function. However, SPEHs show slightly better performance in terms of specific power and thus making them suitable for practical scenarios where the ratio of power to system mass is critical.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.37-44
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• 2017

Due to structural characteristics, construction costs and duration of a modular system would be saved by minimizing the schedule on the job site. As such, it is crucial to develop a connection that can guarantee stiffness while allowing for simple assembling. Particularly, the mid- to high-rise construction of the modular system necessitates the securing of the structural stability and seismic performance of multi-unit frames and connections, and thus, the stiffness of unit-assembled structures needs to be re-evaluated and designed. However, evaluating a frame consisting of slender members and reinforcing materials is a complicated process. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the structural characteristics of a modular unit connection based a method for reinforcing connection brackets and hinges while minimizing the loss of the cross section. Toward this end, the study modeled the beam-to-column connection of a modular system with the proposed connection, and produced a specimen which was used to perform a cycling loading test. The study compared the initial stiffness, the attributes of the hysteretic behavior, and the maximum flexural moment, and observed whether the model acquired the seismic performance, compared to the flexural strength of the steel moment frame connection that is required by the Korean Building Code. The test results showed that the proposed connection produced a similar initial stiffness value to that of the theoretical equation, and its maximum strength exceeded the theoretical strength. Furthermore, the model with a larger ceiling bracket showed higher seismic performance, which was further increased by the reinforcement of the plate.