• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.617-628
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• 2019

As an extremely destructive accident, progressive collapse is defined as the spread of an initial local failure from element to element, resulting eventually in the collapse of an entire structure or disproportionately large of it. To prevent the occurrence of it and evaluate the ability of structure resisting progressive collapse, the nonlinear static procedure is usually adopted in the whole structure design process, which considered dynamic effect by utilizing Dynamic Increase Factor (DIF). In current researches, the determining of DIF is performed in full-rigid frame, however, the performance of beam-column connection in the majority of existing frame structures is not full-rigid. In this study, based on the component method proposed by EC3 guideline, the expression of extended endplate connection performance is further derived, and the connection performance is taken into consideration when evaluated the performance of structure resisting progressive collapse by applying the revised plastic P-M hinge. The DIF for structures with extended endplate beam-column connection have been determined and compared with the DIF permitted in current GSA guideline, the necessity of considering connection stiffness in determining the DIF have been proved.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.209-224
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• 2019

This paper describes a study of the mapping relationship between the vertical deformation of bridge structures and rail deformation of high-speed railway, taking the interlayer interactions of the bridge subgrade CRTS II ballastless slab track system (HSRBST) into account. The differential equations and natural boundary conditions of the mapping relationship between the vertical deformation of bridge structures and rail deformation were deduced according to the principle of stationary potential energy. Then an analytical model for such relationship was proposed. Both the analytical method proposed in this paper and the finite element numerical method were used to calculate the rail deformations under three typical deformations of bridge structures and the evolution of rail geometry under these circumstances was analyzed. It was shown that numerical and analytical calculation results are well agreed with each other, demonstrating the effectiveness of the analytical model proposed in this paper. The mapping coefficient between bridge structure deformation and rail deformation showed a nonlinear increase with increasing amplitude of the bridge structure deformation. The rail deformation showed an obvious "following feature"; with the increase of bridge span and fastener stiffness, the curve of rail deformation became gentler, the track irregularity wavelength became longer, and the performance of the rail at following the bridge structure deformation was stronger.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.561-576
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• 2022

Heritage timber structures represent the history and culture of a nation. These structures have been inherited from previous generations; however, they inevitably exhibit deterioration over time, potentially leading to structural deficiencies. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) offers the potential to assess operational anomalies, deterioration, and damage through processing and analysis of data collected from transducers and sensors mounted on the structure. This paper reports on the design and implementation of a long-term SHM system on the Feiyun Wooden Pavilion in China, a three-story timber building built more than 500 years ago. The principles and features of the design and implementation of SHM systems for heritage timber buildings are systematically discussed. In total, 104 sensors of 6 different types are deployed on the structure to monitor the environmental effects and structural responses, including air temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, structural temperatures, strain, inclination, and acceleration. In addition, integrated data acquisition and transmission subsystem using a newly developed software platform are implemented. Selected preliminary statistical and correlation analysis using one year of monitoring data are presented to demonstrate the condition assessment capability of the system based on the monitoring data.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.393-409
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• 2014

Across-wind response is often the cause of significant structural vibrations that in turn cause fatigue damage to welded and other connections. The efficacy of low-cost helical strakes to mitigate such adverse response is presented for a traffic signal structure. Field observations are made on a prototype structure in a natural wind environment without and with helical strakes installed on the cantilevered arm. Through continuous monitoring, the strakes were found to be effective in reducing across-wind response at wind speeds less than 10 m/s. Estimates of fatigue life are made for four different geographical locations and wind environments. Results for the class of traffic signal structure show that helical arm strakes are most effective in locations with benign wind environments where the average annual wind speed is not more than the vortex shedding wind speed, which for this investigation is 5 m/s. It is concluded that while strakes may be effective, it is not the panacea to mitigating connection fatigue at all locations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.381-390
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• 2008

This paper proposed a conceptual design of bascule bridge, which is a new kind of movable bridge with an aim of reducing the weight of superstructure. Compared with the traditional bascule bridge, the light bascule bridge chooses cable-stayed bridge with inclined pylon as its superstructure; therefore, the functions of balance-weight and structure will fuse into one. Otherwise, it adopts moving counterweight to adjust its center of gravity (CG) to open or close the bridge. In order to lighten the superstructure, it uses contact springs to auxiliary retract, and intelligent prestressing system (IPS) to control the main girder's deformation. Simultaneously the vibration control scheme of structure is discussed. Starting from establishing the mechanical model of bridge, this article tries to analyze the conditions that the design parameters of structure and attachments should satisfy to. After the design procedure was presented, an example was also adopted to explain the primary design process of this kind bridge.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.365-378
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• 2012

In this study, strength reduction factors are investigated for SDOF systems with period range of 0.1-3.0 s with elastoplastic behavior considering soil structure interaction for 64 different earthquake motions recorded on different site conditions such as rock, stiff soil, soft soil and very soft soil. Soil structure interacting systems are modeled and analyzed with effective period, effective damping and effective ductility values differing from fixed-base case. For inelastic time history analyses, Newmark method for step by step time integration was adapted in an in-house computer program. Results are compared with those calculated for fixed-base case. A new equation is proposed for strength reduction factor of interacting system as a function of structural period of system (T), ductility ratio (${\mu}$) and period lengthening ratio (T/T). It is concluded that soil structure interaction reduces the strength reduction factors for soft soils, therefore, using the fixed-base strength reduction factors for interacting systems lead to non-conservative design forces.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.365-379
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• 2020

One of the leading causes for the damage of various underground structures during an earthquake is soil liquefaction, and among this liquefaction-induced uplift of these structures is a major concern. In this study, finite-difference modelling is carried out to study the liquefaction-induced uplift of an underground structure of 5 m diameter (D) with and without the replacement of the in-situ fine sand around the structure with the coarse sand. Soil replacements are carried out by three methods: replacement of soil above the structure, around the structure, and below the structure. The soil behaviour is represented using the elastic-perfectly plastic Mohr-Coulomb model, where the pore pressures were computed using Finn-Byrne formulation. The predicted pore pressure and uplift of the structure due to sinusoidal input motion were validated with the centrifuge tests reported in the literature. Based on numerical studies, an empirical equation is developed for the determination of liquefaction-induced maximum uplift of the underground structure without replacement of the in-situ sand. It is found that the replacement of soil around the structure with 2D width and spacing of D can reduce the maximum uplift by 50%.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.531-543
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• 2023

Base isolation is one of the most widely implemented and well-known technique to reduce structural vibration and damages during an earthquake. However, while the base-isolated structure reduces storey drift significantly, it also increases the base drifts causing many practical problems. This study proposes the use of Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) wires for the reduction in base drift while controlling the overall structure vibrations. A multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) structure along with base isolators and Shape-Memory-Alloys (SMA) wires in diagonal is tested experimentally and analytically. The isolation bearing considered in this study consists of laminates of steel and silicon rubber. The performance of the proposed structure is evaluated and studied under different loadings including harmonic loading and seismic excitation. To assess the seismic performance of the proposed structure, shake table tests are conducted on base-isolated MDOF frame structure incorporating SMA wires, which is subjected to incremental harmonic and historic seismic loadings. Root mean square acceleration, displacement and drift are analyzed and discussed in detail for each story. To better understand the structure response, the percentage reduction of displacement is also determined for each story. The result shows that the reduction in the response of the proposed structure is much better than conventional base-isolated structure.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.417-427
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• 2023

If the center of mass and center of stiffness or strength of a structure plan do not coincide, the structure is considered asymmetric. During an earthquake, in addition to lateral vibration, the structure experiences torsional vibration as well. Lateraltorsional coupling in asymmetric structures in the plan will increase lateral displacement at the ends of the structure plan and, as a result, uneven deformation demand in seismically resistant frames. The demand for displacement in resistant frames depends on the magnitude of transitional displacement to rotational displacement in the plan and the correlation between these two. With regard to the inability to eliminate the asymmetrical condition due to various reasons, such as architectural issues, this study has attempted to use supplemental viscous dampers to decrease the correlation between lateral and torsional acceleration or displacement in the plan. This results in an almost even demand for lateral deformation and acceleration of seismic resistant frames. On this basis, using the concept of Torsional Balance, adequate distribution of viscous dampers for the decrease of this correlation was determined by transferring the "Empirical Center of Balance" (ECB) to the geometrical center of the structure plan and thus obtaining an equal mean square value of displacement and acceleration of the plan edges. This study analyzed stiff and flexible torsional structures with one-way and two-way mass asymmetry in the Opensees software. By implementing the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, the optimum formation of dampers for controlling lateral displacement and acceleration is determined. The results indicate that with the appropriate distribution of viscous dampers, not only does the lateral displacement and acceleration of structure edges decrease but the lateral displacement or acceleration of the structure edges also become equal. It is also observed that the optimized center of viscous dampers for control of displacement and acceleration of structure depends on the amount of mass eccentricity, the ratio of uncoupled torsional-to-lateral frequency, and the amount of supplemental damping ratio. Accordingly, distributions of viscous dampers in the structure plan are presented to control the structure's torsion based on the parameters mentioned.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.153-163
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• 2017

The underlying goal of the present paper is to investigate soil and structural uncertainties on impedance functions and structural response of soil-shallow foundation-structure (SSFS) system using Monte Carlo simulations. The impedance functions of a rigid massless circular foundation resting on the surface of a random soil layer underlain by a homogeneous half-space are obtained using 1-D wave propagation in cones with reflection and refraction occurring at the layer-basement interface and free surface. Firstly, two distribution functions (lognormal and gamma) were used to generate random numbers of soil parameters (layer's thickness and shear wave velocity) for both horizontal and rocking modes of vibration with coefficients of variation ranging between 5 and 20%, for each distribution and each parameter. Secondly, the influence of uncertainties of soil parameters (layer's thickness, and shear wave velocity), as well as structural parameters (height of the superstructure, and radius of the foundation) on the response of the coupled system using lognormal distribution was investigated. This study illustrated that uncertainties on soil and structure properties, especially shear wave velocity and thickness of the layer, height of the structure and the foundation radius significantly affect the impedance functions, and in same time the response of the coupled system.