• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.75-92
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• 2016

The design of a semi-active (SA) control system addressed to mitigate wind induced structural demand to high wind turbine towers is discussed herein. Actually, the remarkable growth in height of wind turbines in the last decades, for a higher production of electricity, makes this issue pressing than ever. The main objective is limiting bending moment demand by relaxing the base restraint, without increasing the top displacement, so reducing the incidence of harmful "p-delta" effects. A variable restraint at the base, able to modify in real time its mechanical properties according to the instantaneous response of the tower, is proposed. It is made of a smooth hinge with additional elastic stiffness and variable damping respectively given by springs and SA magnetorheological (MR) dampers installed in parallel. The idea has been physically realized at the Denmark Technical University where a 1/20 scale model of a real, one hundred meters tall wind turbine has been assumed as case study for shaking table tests. A special control algorithm has been purposely designed to drive MR dampers. Starting from the results of preliminary laboratory tests, a finite element model of such structure has been calibrated so as to develop several numerical simulations addressed to calibrate the controller, i.e., to achieve as much as possible different, even conflicting, structural goals. The results are definitely encouraging, since the best configuration of the controller leaded to about 80% of reduction of base stress, as well as to about 30% of reduction of top displacement in respect to the fixed base case.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.343-351
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• 2018

Purpose: Recently, As the size of the structure increased, the necessity of reducing its weight was raised. To reduce weight In concrete structures, a hollow slab is proposed as an alternative for weight reduction effect. Method: It is difficult to construct the hollow body due to buoyancy, and the shear performance is insufficient due to the decreased cross section. Slabs were fabricated using unidirectional hollow bodies such as PVC pipes, and experiments were conducted about construction performance and structural performance. Results: The buoyancy preventive device has been improved the construction performance by preventing floating hollow body, it has been confirmed that it has adequate performance to be used as a hollow slab system because it has enough expected shear performance. Coclusion: Hollow ratio has a little connection with bending performance, but after the yielding load, it is necessary to consider the secondary stiffness of structure, and is is supposed that the decrease of shear performance with the increase of hollow core ratio can be complemented with shear reinforcement.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.2
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• pp.207-217
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• 2018

In past years, numerous problems have vexed engineers with regard to buckling, corrosion, bending, and overloading in damaged steel structures. This article sets out to investigate the possible effects of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and steel plates for retrofitting deficient steel square hollow section (SHS) columns. The effects of axial loading, stiffness, axial displacement, the position and shape of deficient region on the length of steel SHS columns, and slenderness ratio are examined through a detailed parametric study. A total of 14 specimens was tested for failure under axial compression in a laboratory and simulated using finite element (FE) analysis based on a numerical approach. The results indicate that the application of CFRP sheets and steel plates also caused a reduction in stress in the damaged region and prevented or retarded local deformation around the deficiency. The findings showed that a deficiency leads to reduced load-carrying capacity of steel SHS columns and the retrofitting method is responsible for the increase in the load-bearing capacity of the steel columns. Finally, this research showed that the CFRP performed better than steel plates in compensating the axial force caused by the cross-section reduction due to the problems associated with the use of steel plates, such as in welding, increased weight, thermal stress around the welding location, and the possibility of creating another deficiency by welding.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.259-263
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• 2023

This study investigated the open hole tensile (OHT) properties of carbon fiber/epoxy composites and compared them to bolt joint tensile (BJT) properties. The net nominal modulus and strength (1376 MPa) were found to be higher than the gross nominal strength (1041 MPa), likely due to increasing hole size. The OHT and BJT specimens exhibited similar stiffness, as expected without bolt rotation causing secondary bending. OHT specimens experienced a sharp drop in stress indicating unstable crack propagation, delamination, and catastrophic failure. BJT specimens failed through shear out on the bolt side and bearing failure on the nut side, involving fiber kinking, matrix splitting, and delamination, resulting in lower strength compared to OHT specimens. The strength retention of carbon fiber/epoxy composites with open holes was 66%. Delamination initiation at the hole's edge caused a reduction in the stress concentration factor. Filling the hole with a bolt suppressed this relieving mechanism, leading to lower strength in BJT specimens compared to OHT specimens. Bolt joint efficiency was calculated as 15%. The reduction in strength in bolted joints was attributed to fiber-matrix splitting and delamination, aligning with Hart Smith's bolted joint efficiency diagram. These findings contribute to materials selection and structural reliability estimation for carbon fiber/epoxy composites. They highlight the behavior of open hole and bolt joint configurations under tensile loading, providing valuable insights for engineering applications.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.930-935
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the stiffness reduction and damping ratio of reinforced concrete hollow slabs and to analyze their performance, and to study the effect of the damping effect of hollow bodies and the stiffness reduction on the serviceability of slabs. Method: Test specimen was made in a size of 0.6m^*0.21m^*3.6m to evaluate the vibration effect of the slab, and the hollow ratio was set in six steps from 0.0% to 30% to measure the change in rigidity and damping according to the change in the hollow ratio. Result: As the hollow ratio increases, rigidity decreases and the natural frequency decreases, but as the mass decreases, the natural frequency increases gradually. Since energy is hardly dissipated up to the hollow ratio of 20%, the hollow ratio should be reduced by 30%. Conclusion: It was found that the bending strength degradation of the slab with a hollow ratio of about 30% is minimized, but an appropriate natural frequency can be maintained, and a certain damping effect can be obtained.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.125-131
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• 2018

A precision tribometer consisting of a cantilever was designed to measure frictional forces in the micro-Newton range. As frictional forces are measured based on the bending of the cantilever, vibration of the cantilever is the most significant factor affecting the quality of the friction measurement. Therefore, improved design of the tribometer with double cantilevers and a connecting plate that united the two cantilevers mechanically was suggested. For the verification of the modified design of the tribometer, numerical analysis and experiments were conducted. Examination using the finite element method revealed that the tribometer with a double cantilever and a connecting plate exhibited faster damping characteristics than the tribometer with a single cantilever. In the experiment, effectiveness of the double cantilever and connecting plate for vibration reduction was also confirmed. Vibration of the tribometer with double cantilever decreased eight times faster than that of the tribometer with a single cantilever. The faster damping of the double cantilever design is attributed to the mechanical interaction at the contacting surfaces between the cantilever and the connecting plate. Tribotesting using the tribometer with a single cantilever resulted in random fluctuation of frictional forces due to the stick-slip behavior. However, using the tribometer with a double cantilever and connecting plate for the tribotest gave relatively uniform and steady measurement of frictional forces. Increased stiffness owing to using a double cantilever and mechanical damping of the connecting plate were responsible for the stable friction signal.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.273-286
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• 2020

The pile group foundation is widely used for gravity pier of high-speed railway bridges in China. If a moderate or strong earthquake occurs, the pile-surrounding soil will exhibit obvious nonlinearity and significant pile group effect. In this study, an improved pushover analysis model for the pile group foundation with consideration of pile group effect is presented and validated by the quasi-static test. The improved model uses simplified springs to simulate the soil lateral resistance, side friction and tip resistance. PM (axial load-bending moment) plastic hinge model is introduced to simulate the impact of the axial force changing of pile group on their elastic-plastic characteristics. The pile group effect is considered in stress-stain relations of the lateral soil resistance with a reduction factor. The influence factors on nonlinear characteristics and plastic hinge distribution of the pile group foundation are discussed, including the pier height, longitudinal reinforcement ratio and stirrup ratio of the pile, and soil mechanical parameters. Furthermore, the displacement ductility factor, resistance increase factor and yielding stiffness ratio are provided to evaluate the seismic performance of soil-pile system. A case study for the pile group foundation of a railway simply supported beam bridge with a 32 m-span is conducted by numerical analysis. It is shown that the ultimate lateral force of pile group is not determined by the yielding force of the single one in these piles. Therefore, the pile group effect is essential for the seismic performance evaluation of the railway bridge with pile group foundation.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.135-149
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• 2017

The prediction of the actual ultimate capacity of confined concrete columns requires partial confinement utilization under eccentric loading. This is attributed to the reduction in compression zone compared to columns under pure axial compression. Modern codes and standards are introducing the need to perform extreme event analysis under static loads. There has been a number of studies that focused on the analysis and testing of concentric columns. On the other hand, the augmentation of compressive strength due to partial confinement has not been treated before. The higher eccentricity causes smaller confined concrete region in compression yielding smaller increase in strength of concrete. Accordingly, the ultimate eccentric confined strength is gradually reduced from the fully confined value $f_{cc}$ (at zero eccentricity) to the unconfined value $f^{\prime}_c$ (at infinite eccentricity) as a function of the ratio of compression area to total area of each eccentricity. This approach is used to implement an adaptive Mander model for analyzing eccentrically loaded columns. Generalization of the 3D moment of area approach is implemented based on proportional loading, fiber model and the secant stiffness approach, in an incremental-iterative numerical procedure to achieve the equilibrium path of $P-{\varepsilon}$ and $M-{\varphi}$ response up to failure. This numerical analysis is adapted to assess the confining effect in rectangular columns confined with conventional lateral steel. This analysis is validated against experimental data found in the literature showing good correlation to the partial confinement model while rendering the full confinement treatment unsafe.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.156-162
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• 2008

The fatigue durability test using the actual size beam was performed with a cramp joint in order to apply to the highway bridge deck slab. Three types of beam were investigated for durability performance by considering stress conditions in real bridge deck slabs, 1) A beam with major shear force applied at the joint (RC Type) 2) A beam with major bending moments applied at the joint (PSC Type) 3) A beam with the pure shear applied at the joint. The experiment for beams with cramp joints showed that the cramp joint had enough durability for fatigue regardless of the overlaid length of the looped distribution bars under the current design strength level. Moreover, it was clarified that the enough durability for fatigue under the load repetition was achieved by increasing the joint span grater than 1.5D with the consideration of the deformation due to reduction in joint stiffness.

• Composites Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.50-54
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• 2007

The Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC), an electro-active polymer, has many advantages including bending actuation, low weight, low power consumption, and flexibility. These advantages coincide with the requirements of a bio-related application. Thus, IPMC is promising materials for bio-mimetic actuator and sensor applications. Before applying IPMC to actual application, basic mechanical properties of IPMC should be studied in order to utilize IPMC for practical uses. Therefore, IPMCs are fabricated to investigate the mechanical characteristics. Nafion is used as a base ionic polymer. Mason samples cast with various thicknesses are used to test the thickness effects of IPMC. Subsequently, IPMC is fabricated using the chemical reduction method. The deformation, blocking force and frequency response of the IPMC actuator are important properties. In this present study, the performances of the IPMC actuators, including the deformation, blocking force and natural frequency, are then obtained according to only the input voltage and IPMC dimensions. Finally, the empirical performance model and the equivalent stiffness model of the IPMC actuator are established using experiments results.