• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.21-32
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• 2018

Prefabricated structures are constructed by bolted connections of separated members. The design and analysis of these structures are generally performed by defining fully hinges for the connection of separated members at the joint of junction. In practice, these connections are not fully hinged. Therefore, the assumption of semi-rigid connections (restrained or partially fixity) instead of fully hinge connections is a more realistic approach for bolted connections used in the prefabricated elements. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of semi-rigid connections on seismic performance of prefabricated structures. Nonlinear static analysis (pushover analysis) of a selected RC prefabricated structure is performed with SAP2000 structural analysis program by considering various partially fixity percentages for bolted connections. The target values of roof displacements obtained from the analyses according to ATC-40, FEMA-356, FEMA-440, and TEC-2007 codes are compared each other. The numerical results are given in tables and figures comparatively and discussed. The results show that the effects of semi-rigid connections should be considered in design and analysis of the prefabricated structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.323-339
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• 2020

In steel framed-tube structures (SFTSs), the plastic hinges at beam-ends cannot be adequately improved because of the large cross sections of spandrel beams, which results in the lower ductility and energy dissipation capacities of traditional SFTSs. To address this drawback, high-strength steel fabricated SFTSs with bolted web-connected replaceable shear links (HSFTS-SLs) have been proposed. In this system, shear links use conventional steel and are placed in the middle of the deep spandrel beams to act as energy dissipative components. In this study, 2/3-scaled HSFTS-SL specimens were fabricated, and cyclic loading tests were carried out to study the seismic performance of both specimens. The finite element models (FEMs) of the two specimens were established and the numerical results were compared with the test results. The results showed that the specimens had good ductility and energy dissipation capacities due to the reliable deformation capacities. The specimens presented the expected failure modes. Using a shorter shear link can provide a higher load-carrying capacity and initial elastic lateral stiffness but induces lower ductility and energy dissipation capacity in HSFTS-SLs. The performance of the specimens was comparable to that of the original sub-structure specimens after replacing shear links. Additionally, the expected post-earthquake recoverability and resilience of the structures could be achieved by replacing shear links. The acceptable residual interstory drift that allows for easy replacement of the bolted web-connected shear link was 0.23%. The bolted web-connected shear links had reliable hysteretic responses and deformation capacities. The connection rotation had a notable contribution to total link rotation. The results of the numerical analysis run for the proposed FEMs were consistent with the test results. It showed that the proposed FEMs could be used to investigate the seismic performance of the HSFTS-SL.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.71-96
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• 2011

Existing reinforced concrete (RC) beams can be strengthened with externally bolted steel plates to the sides of beams. The effectiveness of this type of bolted side-plate (BSP) beam can however be affected by partial interaction between the steel plates and RC beams due to the mechanical slip of bolts. To avoid over-estimation of the flexural strength and ensure accurate prediction of the load-deformation response of the beams, the effect of partial interaction has to be properly considered. In this paper, a special non-linear macro-finite-element model that takes into account the effects of partial interaction is proposed. The RC beam and the steel plates are modelled as two different elements, interacting through discrete groups of bolts. A layered method is adopted for the formulation of the RC beam and steel plate elements, while a special non-linear model based on a kinematic hardening assumption for the bolts is used to simulate the bolt group effect. The computer program SiBAN was developed based on the proposed approach. Comparison with the available experimental results shows that SiBAN can accurately predict the partial interaction behaviour of the BSP beams. Further numerical simulations show that the interaction between the RC beam and the steel plates is greatly reduced by the formation of plastic hinges and should be considered in analyses of the strengthened beams.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.305-325
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• 2020

Beams of steel frame-tube structures (SFTSs) typically have span-to-depth ratios of less than five. This makes a flexural beam unsuitable for such an application because the plastic hinges at the beam-ends cannot be adequately developed. This leads to lower ductility and energy dissipation capacities of SFTSs. To address this, SFTSs with bolted web-connected replaceable shear links (SFTS-BWSLs) are proposed. In this structural system, a web-connected replaceable shear link with a back-to-back double channel section is placed at the mid-length of the deep beam to act as a ductile fuse. This allows energy from earthquakes to be dissipated through link shear deformation. SFTS and SFTS-BWSL buildings were examined in this study. Several sub-structures were selected from each designed building and finite element models were established to study their respective hysteretic performance. The seismic behavior of each designed building was observed through static and dynamic analyses. The results indicate that the SFTS-BWSL and SFTS have similar initial lateral stiffness and shear leg properties. The SFTS-BWSL had lower strength, but higher ductility and energy dissipation capacities. Compared to the SFTS, the SFTS-BWSL had lower interstory drift, base shear force, and story shear force during earthquakes. This design approach could concentrate plasticity on the shear link while maintaining the residual interstory drift at less than 0.5%. The SFTS-BWSL is a reliable resistant system that can be repaired by replacing shear links damaged due to earthquakes.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.691-708
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• 2018

An innovative Hybrid Passive Resistive configuration for Truss Girder Frames (HPR-TGFs) is introduced in the present study. The proposed system is principally consisting of Fluid Viscous Dampers (FVDs) and Buckling Restrained Braces (BRBs) as its seismic resistive components. Concurrent utilization of these devices will develop an efficient energy dissipating mechanism which is able to mitigate lateral displacements as well as the base shear, simultaneously. However, under certain circumstances which the presence of FVDs might not be essential, the proposed configuration has the potential to incorporate double BRBs in order to achieve the redundancy of alternative load bearing paths. This study is extending the modern Direct Displacement Based Design (DDBD) procedure as the design methodology for HPR-TGF systems. Based on a series of nonlinear time history analysis, it is demonstrated that the design outcomes are almost identical to the pre-assumed design criteria. This implies that the ultimate characteristics of HPR-TGFs such as lateral stiffness and inter-story drifts are well-proportioned through the proposed design procedure.