• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.375-384
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• 2016

In the current Korea highway bridge design code (KHBDC), the criteria of concrete bridge decks are mainly based on short span decks of steel plate girder bridge, there are very little the specific criteria of long span decks in the twin steel plate girder bridge. Therefore, to put more rational and practical design criteria of the long span decks on the code, the complements of the related criteria are required in the current design code. This paper proposed the design bending moments of decks with 6.0~12.0m span for KL-510 load in direction to bridge (longitudinal direction) and perpendicular direction to bridge (transverse direction). The effects of orthotropic concrete decks, stiffness of steel girders and multiple lane loading factors (MLLF) were reflected in the design bending moments. The proposed design bending moments were compared to the design bending moments with DB-24 load.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.687-707
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• 2015

A finite element computer code for short-term analysis of steel-concrete composite structures is extended to study long-term effects under service loads, in the present work. Long-term effects are important in engineering design because they influence stress and strain distribution of the structural system and therefore contribute to the increment of deflections in these structures. For creep analysis, a rheological model based on a Kelvin chain, with elements placed in series, was employed. The parameters of the Kelvin chain were obtained using Dirichlet series. Creep and shrinkage models, proposed by the CEB FIP 90, were used. The shear-lag phenomenon that takes place at the concrete slab is usually neglected or not properly taken into account in the formulation of beam-column finite elements. Therefore, in this work, a three-dimensional numerical model based on the assemblage of shell finite elements for representing the steel beam and the concrete slab is used. Stud shear connectors are represented for special beam-column elements to simulate the partial interaction at the slab-beam interface. The two-dimensional representation of the concrete slab permits to capture the non-uniform shear stress distribution in the horizontal plane of the slab due to shear-lag phenomenon. The model is validated with experimental results of two full-scale continuous composite beams previously studied by other authors. Results are given in terms of displacements, bending moments and cracking patterns in order to shown the influence of long-term effects in the structural response and also the potentiality of the present numerical code.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.227-236
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• 2020

Non-destructive exploration using elastic waves has been widely used to characterize rock mass properties. Wave propagation in jointed rock masses is significantly governed by the characteristics and orientation of discontinuities. The relationship between spatial heterogeneity (i.e., joint spacing) and wavelength for elastic waves propagating through jointed rock masses have been investigated previously. Discontinuous rock masses can be considered as an equivalent continuum material when the wavelength of the propagating elastic wave exceeds the spatial heterogeneity. However, it is unclear how stress-dependent long-wavelength elastic waves propagate through a repetitive rock-joint system with multiple joints. A preliminary numerical simulation was performed in in this study to investigate long-wavelength elastic wave propagation in regularly jointed rock masses using the three-dimensional distinct element code program. First, experimental studies using the quasi-static resonant column (QSRC) testing device are performed on regularly jointed disc column specimens for three different materials (acetal, aluminum, and gneiss). The P- and S-wave velocities of the specimens are obtained under various normal stress levels. The normal and shear joint stiffness are calculated from the experimental results using an equivalent continuum model and used as input parameters for numerical analysis. The spatial and temporal sizes are carefully selected to guarantee a stable numerical simulation. Based on the calibrated jointed rock model, the numerical and experimental results are compared.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.5
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• pp.645-655
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• 2017

To determine the seismic applicability of a long-span railway concrete upper-deck arch bridge with concrete-filled steel-tube (CFST) rigid skeleton ribs, some fundamental principles and seismic approaches for long-span bridges are investigated to update the design methods in the current Code for Seismic Design of Railway Engineering of China. Ductile and mixed isolation design are investigated respectively to compare the structural seismic performances. The flexural moment and plastic rotation demands and capacities are quantified to assess the seismic status of the ductile components. A kind of triple friction pendulum (TFP) system and lead-plug rubber bearing are applied simultaneously to regularize the structural seismic demands. The numerical analysis shows that the current ductile layout with continuous rigid frame approaching spans should be strengthened to satisfy the demands of rare earthquakes. However, the mixed isolation design embodies excellent seismic performances for the continuous girder approaching span of this railway arch bridge.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.193-200
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• 2017

To overcome the difficulty of performing multi-point response spectrum analysis for engineering structures under spatially varying ground motions (SVGM) using the general finite element code such as ANSYS, an approach has been developed by improving the modelling of the input ground motions in the spectral analysis. Based on the stochastic vibration analyses, the cross-power spectral density (c-PSD) matrix is adopted to model the stationary SVGM. The design response spectra are converted into the corresponding PSD model with appropriate coherency functions and apparent wave velocities. Then elements of c-PSD matrix are summarized in the row and the PSD matrix is transformed into the response spectra for a general spectral analysis. A long-span high-pier bridge under multiple support excitations is analyzed using the proposed approach considering the incoherence, wave-passage and site-response effects. The proposed approach is deemed to be an efficient numerical method that can be used for seismic analysis of large engineering structures under SVGM.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.519-546
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• 2015

This study addresses the load capacity prediction of circular concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns under axial compression using current design codes. Design methods given in the Chinese code CECS 28:2012 (2012), American code AISC 360-10 (2010) and EC4 (2004) are presented and described briefly. A wide range of experimental data of 353 CFST columns is used to evaluate the applicability of CECS 28:2012 in calculating the strength of circular CFST columns. AISC 360-10 and EC4 (2004) are also compared with the test results. The comparisons indicate that all three codes give conservative predictions for both short and long CFST columns. The effects of concrete strength, steel strength and diameter-to-thickness ratio on the accuracy of prediction according to CECS 28:2012 are discussed, which indicate a possibility of extending the limitations on the material strengths and diameter-to-thickness ratio to higher values. A revised equation for slenderness reduction factor in CECS 28:2012 is given.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.579-588
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• 2017

Creep and shrinkage are the main types of volume change with time in concrete. These changes cause deflection, cracking and stresses that affect durability, serviceability, long-term reliability and structural integrity of civil engineering infrastructure. Although laboratory test may be undertaken to determine the deformation properties of concrete, these are time-consuming, often expensive and generally not a practical option. Therefore, relatively simple empirically design code models are relied to predict the creep strain. This paper reviews the accuracy of creep and shrinkage predictions of reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls structures strengthened with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates, which is characterized by a widthwise varying fibre volume fraction. This review is yielded by three commonly used international "code type" models. The assessed are the: CEB-FIP MC 90 model, ACI 209 model and Bazant & Baweja (B3) model. The time-dependent behavior was investigated to analyze their seismic behavior. In the numerical formulation, the adherents and the adhesives are all modelled as shear wall elements, using the mixed finite element method. Several tests were used to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method. Numerical results from the present analysis are presented to illustrate the significance of the time-dependency of the lateral displacements and eigenfrequencies modes.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.433-439
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• 2020

Tunnels are one of the most important constructions in civil engineering. The damage to these structures caused enormous costs. Therefore, the safe and economic design of these structures has long been considered. However, both applied loads on the tunnels as well as the resistance of the structural members are naturally uncertain parameters, hence, the design of these structures requires considering the probabilistic approaches. This study aims to determine the load and resistant factors of lining tunnels concerning the earthquake extreme events limit state function. For this purpose, tunnels that have been designed according to the previous design codes (AASHTO Tunnel LRFD 2017) and using reliability analysis, the optimum reliability of these structures for different loading scenarios is determined. In this paper, the tunnel is considered circular. Finally, the proper load and resistance factors are calculated corresponding to the obtained target reliability. Based on the performed calibration earthquake extreme events limit state function, the result of this study can be recommended to AASHTO Tunnel LRFD 2017.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.43-57
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• 2022

One of the instances which demand structural engineer's greatest attention and upgradation is the changing live load requirement in bridge design code. The challenge increases in developing countries as the pace of infrastructural growth is being catered by the respective country codes with bigger and heavier vehicles to be considered in the design. This paper presents the case study of India where Indian Roads Congress (IRC) codes in its revised version from 2014 to 2017 introduced massive Special vehicle (SV) around 40 m long and weighing 3850 kN to be considered in the design of road bridges. The code does not specify the minimum distance between successive special vehicles unlike other loading classes and hence the consequences of it form the motivation for this study. The effect of SV in comparison with Class 70R, Class AA, Class A, and Class B loading is studied based on the maximum bending moment with moving load applied in Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis. The spans considered in the analysis varied from 10 m to 1991 m corresponding to the span of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (longest bridge span in the world). A total of 182 analyses for 7 types of vehicles (class B, class A, class 70R tracked, class 70R wheeled, class AA tracked, AA wheeled, and Special vehicle) on 26 different span lengths is carried out. The span corresponding to other vehicles which would equal the bending moment of a single SV is presented along with a comparison relative to Standard Uniformly Distributed Load. Further, the results are presented by introducing a new parameter named Intensity Factor which is proven to relate the effect of axle spacing of vehicle on the normalized bending moment developed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.91-108
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• 2017

Superstructures and isolation systems of seismically isolated buildings located close to active faults may observe increased seismic demands resulting from long-period and high-amplitude velocity and displacement pulses existent in near-fault ground motions as their fundamental periods may be close to or coincident with these near-fault pulse periods. In order to take these effects into account, the 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC97) has specified near-source factors that scale up the design spectrum depending on the closest distance to the fault, the soil type at the site, and the properties of the seismic source. Although UBC97 has been superseded by the 2015 International Building Code in the U.S.A., UBC97 near-source factors are still frequently referred in the design of seismically isolated buildings around the world. Therefore it is deemed necessary and thus set as the aim of this study to assess the necessity and the adequacy of near-source factors for seismically isolated buildings. Benchmark buildings of different heights with isolation systems of different properties are used in comparing seismic responses obtained via time history analyses using a large number of historical earthquakes with those obtained from spectral analyses using the amplified spectrums established through UBC97 near-source factors. Results show that near-source factors are necessary but inadequate for superstructure responses and somewhat unconservative for base displacement response.