• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.231-243
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• 2022

The earthquake with a magnitude of Mw 6.8, which occurred on January 24, 2020, hit Sivrice (Elazığ) province of Turkey. The earthquake area takes place on the East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ) located between the Arabian and Turkish plates, one of the most active seismic regions in Turkey. According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey (AFAD), 584 buildings collapsed, 6845 were heavily damaged, 1207 were moderately damaged, and 14389 were slightly damaged. The authors went to the region of earthquake after the mainshock to investigate the earthquake performances of masonry buildings. This paper presents the seismological aspects of the earthquake, acceleration records, and response spectra with different damping ratios. Furthermore, some typical damages and failure mechanisms on masonry buildings like rubble stone dwellings and minarets are discussed with illustrative photos. Although many major earthquakes have occurred in the region, similar mistakes are still being made in masonry building construction. In consequence, some suggestions viewpoint of the wooden tie beams, the corner details of masonry walls, the door and window openings, the metal fasteners and the earthquake codes are made to be more careful in masonry constructions at the end of the article.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.289-304
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• 2024

The seismic performance of traditional steel frame-shear wall structures was significantly improved by the application of self-centering steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) wall-panel structures in the steel frames. This novel resilience functionality can rapidly restore the structure after an earthquake. The presented steel frame with steel-reinforced concrete self-centering wall-panel structures (SF-SCW) was validated, indicating its excellent seismic performance. The seismic design method based on bear capacity cannot correctly predict the elastic-plastic performance of the structure, especially certain weak floors that might be caused by a major fracture. A four-level seismic performance index, including intact function, continued utilization, life safety, and near-collapse, was established to achieve the ideal failure mode. The seismic design method, based on structural displacement, was proposed by considering performance objectives of the different seismic action levels. The pushover analysis of a six-floor SF-SCW structure was carried out under the proposed design method and the results showed that this six-floor structure could achieve the predicted failure mode.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.133-151
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• 2023

This paper first provides a wide overview about the design codes and standards covering the use of Computational Wind Engineering / Computational Fluid Dynamics (CWE/CFD) for wind-sensitive structures and built environment. Second, the paper sets out the basic assumptions and underlying concepts of the new Annex T "Simulations by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD/CWE)" of the revised version "Guide for the assessment of wind actions and effects on structures" issued by the Advisory Committee on Technical Recommendations for Constructions of the Italian National Research Council in February 2019 and drafted by the members of the Special Interest Group on Computational Wind Engineering of the Italian Association for Wind Engineering (ANIV-CWE). The same group is currently advising UNI CT021/SC1 in supporting the drafting of the new Annex K - "Derivation of design parameters from wind tunnel tests and numerical simulations" of the revised Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-4: General actions - Wind actions. Finally, the paper outlines the subjects most open to development at the technical and applicative level.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.591-604
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• 2001

In this paper, a finite element with embedded displacement discontinuity which eliminates the need for remeshing of elements in the discrete crack approach is applied for the progressive fracture analysis of concrete structures. A finite element formulation is implemented with the extension of the principle of virtual work to a continuum which contains internal displacement discontinuity. By introducing a discontinuous displacement shape function into the finite element formulation, the displacement discontinuity is obtained within an element. By applying either a nonlinear or an idealized linear softening curve representing the fracture process zone (FPZ) of concrete as a constitutive equation to the displacement discontinuity, progressive fracture analysis of concrete structures is performed. In this analysis, localized progressive fracture simultaneous with crack closure in concrete structures under mixed mode loading is simulated by adopting the unloading path in the softening curve. Several examples demonstrate the capability of the analytical technique for the progressive fracture analysis of concrete structures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.685-702
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• 2010

In this paper, a nonlinear finite element procedure is presented for the dynamic analysis of reinforced concrete shell structures. A computer program, named RCAHEST (Reinforced Concrete Analysis in Higher Evaluation System Technology), was used. A 4-node flat shell element with drilling rotational stiffness was used for spatial discretization. The layered approach was used to discretize the behavior of concrete and reinforcement in the thickness direction. Material nonlinearity was taken into account by using tensile, compressive and shear models of cracked concrete and a model of reinforcing steel. The smeared crack approach was incorporated. The low-cycle fatigue of both concrete and reinforcing bars was also considered to predict a reliable dynamic behavior. The solution to the dynamic response of reinforced concrete shell structures was obtained by numerical integration of the nonlinear equations of motion using Hilber-Hughes-Taylor (HHT) algorithm. The proposed numerical method for the nonlinear dynamic analysis of reinforced concrete shell structures was verified by comparison of its results with reliable experimental and analytical results.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.71-82
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• 2020

One of the most suitable methods in structural design is seismic separator. Lead-Rubber Bearing (LRB) is one of the most well-known separation systems which can be used in different types of structures. This system mitigates the earthquake acceleration prior to transferring to the structure efficiently. However, the performance of this system in concrete structures with different heights have not been evaluated thoroughly yet. This paper aims to evaluate the performance of LRB separation system in concrete structures with different heights. For this purpose, three, 16, and 23 story concrete structures are equipped by LRB and exposed to a far-field earthquake. Next, a time history analysis is conducted on each of the structures. Finally, the performance of the concrete structures is compared with each other in the term of their response to the earthquakes and the formation of plastic hinges. The results of the paper show that the rate of change in acceleration response and the ratio of drift along the height of 8 and 23 stories concrete structures are more than those of the 16-stories, and the use of LRB reduces the formation of plastic joints.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.73-79
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• 2011

The various properties of concrete have been required, as civil engineering structures are getting larger and complicated. Therefore, the high performance of concrete, such as high strength, high fluidity, and low hydration heat, has been investigated largely. In this study, the properties of lightweight concrete-reducing self-weight of structure member have been studied in order to check the applicability of lightweight aggregate concrete to structural material. The experiments on compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, unit weight, and modulus of elasticity have been conducted with varying PLC, LWCI, LWCII, LWCII-SF5, LWCII-SF15 to check the basic properties. The compressive strength of 21MPa was obtained easily by using lightweight aggregate concrete and the addition of silica fume to increase the compressive strength slightly. To use lightweight aggregate concrete for civil engineering structures, systematic and rigorous studies are necessary.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.115-134
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• 2003

The Ting Kau Bridge in Hong Kong is a cable-stayed bridge comprising two main spans and two side spans. The bridge deck is supported by three towers, an end pier and an abutment. Each of the three towers consists of a single reinforced concrete mast which reduces its section in steps, and it is strengthened by transverse cables and struts in the transverse vertical plane. The bridge deck is supported by four inclined planes of cables emanating from anchorages at the tower tops. In view of the threat from typhoons, the dynamic behaviour of long-span cable-supported bridges in the region is always an important consideration in their design. This paper is devoted to the ambient vibration measurements of the bridge for evaluation of dynamic characteristics including the natural frequencies and mode shapes. It also describes the modelling of the bridge. A few finite element models are developed and calibrated to match with the field data and the results of subsequent structural health monitoring of the bridge.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.357-382
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• 2015

This paper provides an overview of the use of different Distributed Optical Fiber Sensor systems (DOFSs) to perform Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) in the specific case of civil engineering structures. Nowadays, there are several methods available for extracting distributed measurements from optical fiber, and their use have to be according with the aims of the SHM performance. The continuous-in-space data is the common advantage of the different DOFSs over other conventional health monitoring systems and, depending on the particular characteristics of each DOFS, a global and/or local health structural evaluation is possible with different accuracy. Firstly, the fundamentals of different DOFSs and their principal advantages and disadvantages are presented. Then, laboratory and field tests using different DOFSs systems to measure strain in structural elements and civil structures are presented and discussed. Finally, based on the current applications, conclusions and future trends of DOFSs in SHM in civil structures are proposed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.6
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• pp.831-849
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• 2022

One of the most prevalent causes of reinforced concrete (RC) structural deterioration is chloride-induced corrosion. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive insight into the environmental effect of RC's chloride ingress process. The first step is to investigate how relative humidity, temperature, and wind influence chloride ingress into concrete. The probability of initiation time of chloride-induced corrosion is predicted using a probabilistic model that considers these aspects. Parametric analysis is conducted on several factors impacting the corrosion process, including the depth of concrete cover, surface chloride concentration, relative humidity, and temperature to expose environmental features. According to the findings, environmental factors such as surface chloride concentration, relative humidity and temperature substantially impact on the time to corrosion initiation. The long- and short-distance impacts are also examined. The meteorological data from the National Meteorological Center of China are collected and used to analyze the environmental characteristics of the chloride ingress issue for structures along China's coastline. Finally, various recommendations are made for improving durability design against chloride attacks.