• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.273-292
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• 2014

The effectiveness of a retrofitting method for concrete columns with particular weaknesses is experimentally evaluated and presented in this paper. Structural deficiencies namely the inadequacy of transverse reinforcement and short length of lap splices are very common in columns found in structures built prior to the 1960s and 1970s. Recent earthquakes worldwide have caused severe damages and collapses of these structures. Nevertheless, the importance of improving the load transfer capacity between the deficiently lap-spliced bars is usually underestimated during the strengthening procedures applied in old buildings, though critical for the safety of the residents' lives. Thus, the seismic performance of the enhanced columns is frequently overestimated. The retrofitting approach presented herein involves reinforced concrete jacketing of the column sub-assemblages and welding of the lap-spliced bars to prevent the splice failure and conform to the provisions of modern design Codes. The cyclic lateral loading response of poorly confined original column specimens with insufficient lap splices and the seismic behavior of the retrofitted columns are compared. Test results clearly demonstrate that the retrofitting procedure followed is an effective way of significantly improving the seismic performance of substandard columns found in old buildings.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.327-341
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• 2020

The use of high-strength steel and concrete in the construction industry has been gaining increasing attention over the past few decades. With it comes the need to utilise high-strength structural bolts to ensure the design load to be transferred safely through joint regions, where the space is limited due to the reduced structural dimensions. However, research on the behaviour of high-strength structural bolts under various loading combinations is still insufficient. Most of the current design specifications concerning high-strength structural bolts were established based on a very limited set of experimental results. Moreover, as experimental programs normally include limited design parameters for investigation, finite element analysis has become one of the effective methods to assist the understanding of the behaviour of structural components. An accurate and simple full-range stress-strain model for high-strength structural bolts under different loading combinations was therefore developed, where the effects of bolt fracture was included. The ultimate strength capacities of various structural bolts obtained from the present experimental program were compared with the existing design provisions. Furthermore, design recommendations concerning the pure shear and tension, as well as combined shear and tension resistance of Grade 10.9 high-strength structural bolts were provided.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.681-697
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• 2019

This paper numerically assesses the initial stiffness and moment capacity of stainless steel composite bolted joints with concrete-filled circular tubular (CFCT) columns. By comparing with existing design codes including EN 1993-1-8 and AS/NZS 2327, a modified component method was proposed to better predict the flexural performance of joints involving circular columns and curved endplates. The modification was verified with independent experimental results. A wide range of finite element models were then developed to investigate the elastic deformations of column face in bending which contribute to the corresponding stiffness coefficient. A new design formula defining the stiffness coefficient of circular column face in bending was proposed through regression analysis. Results suggest that a factor for the stiffness coefficient of endplate in bending should be reduced to 0.68, and more contribution of prying forces needs to be considered. The modified component method and proposed formula are able to estimate the structural behaviour with reasonable accuracy. They are expected to be incorporated into the current design provisions as supplementary for beam-to-CFCT column joints.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.539-562
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• 2016

The seismic behavior of a ${\frac{1}{2}}$ scaled, three-story three-bay RC frame with masonry infill walls was studied experimentally and numerically. Pseudo-dynamic test results showed that despite following the column design provisions of modern seismic codes and neglecting the presence of infill walls, shear induced damage is unavoidable in the boundary columns. A finite element model was validated by using the results of available one-story one-bay frame tests in the literature. Simulations of the examined test frame demonstrated that boundary columns are subjected to shear demands in excess of their shear capacity. Seismic assessment of the test frame was conducted by using ASCE/SEI 41-06 (2006) guidelines and the obtained results were compared with the damage observed during experiment. ASCE/SEI 41-06 method for the assessment of boundary columns was found unsatisfactory in estimating the observed damage. Damage estimations were improved when the strain limits were used within the plastic hinge zone instead of column full height.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

In the construction of flat plate slabs, which are widely used for tall buildings but have relatively low flexural stiffness, serviceability problems such as excessive deflections and cracks are of great concern. To prevent excessive deflections at service load levels, current design codes require the minimum slab thickness, but the requirement could be unconservative because it is independent on loading and elastic modulus of concrete, both of which have significant effects on slab deflections. In the present study, to investigate the effects of the construction load of shored slabs, reduced flexural stiffness and moment distribution of early-age slabs, and creep and shrinkage of concrete on immediate and time-dependent deflections, numerical analysis was performed using the previously developed numerical models. A parametric study was performed for various design and construction conditions of practical ranges, and a new minimum permissible thickness of flat plate slabs was proposed satisfying the serviceability requirement for deflection. The proposed minimum slab thickness was compared with current design code provisions and numerical analysis results, and it agreed well with the numerical analysis results.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.307-314
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• 2020

High-rise buildings with vertical setback are widely used in practice. From the field investigation of the past earthquakes, it was found that such kind of vertically irregular high-rise building structures easily suffer severe damage during strong earthquakes. This paper presents an extensive study on the earthquake responses of moment-resisting frame structures (MFS) popularly applied in high-rise buildings with vertical setback. Four groups of MFS are designed, including three groups of structures with vertical setback and one group of structures with the lateral stiffness varying along the building height but without vertical setback. The numerical models of the structures are established, and the time history analysis of the structures under different levels of earthquakes is conducted. The earthquake responses of the structures are compared. The influence of the ratio between the horizontal setback dimension and the previous plan dimension, the eccentricity of setback, and the position where the setback occurs on the seismic performance of structures is studied. The rationality of the provisions for the structures with vertical setback specified in the current design codes is checked by the findings from this study.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.279-293
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• 2021

Most of the existing seismic codes for RC buildings consider only a scenario earthquake for analysis, often characterized by the response spectrum at the specified location. However, any real earthquake event often involves occurrences of multiple earthquakes within a few hours or days, possessing similar or even higher energy than the first earthquake. This critically impairs the rehabilitation measures thereby resulting in the accumulation of structural damages for subsequent earthquakes after the first earthquake. Also, the existing seismic provisions account for the non-linear response of an RC building frame implicitly by specifying a constant response modification factor (R) in a linear elastic design. However, the 'R' specified does not address the changes in structural configurations of RC moment-resisting frames (RC MRFs) viz., building height, number of bays present, bay width, irregularities arising out of mass and stiffness changes, etc. resulting in changed dynamic characteristics of the structural system. Hence, there is an imperative need to assess the seismic performance under sequential earthquake ground motions, considering the adequacy of code-specified 'R' in the representation of dynamic characteristics of RC buildings. Therefore, the present research is focused on the evaluation of the non-linear response of medium-rise 3D RC MRFs with and without vertical irregularities under bi-directional sequential earthquake ground motions using non-linear dynamic analysis. It is evident from the results that collapse probability increases, and 'R' reduces significantly for various RC MRFs subjected to sequential earthquakes, pronouncing the vulnerability and inadequacy of estimation of design base shear by code-specified 'R' under sequential earthquakes.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.439-452
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• 2021

The concept of Performance objective assessment is extended to wind engineering. This approach applies using the Database-Assisted Design technique, relying on the aerodynamic database provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). A structural model of a low-rise building is analyzed to obtain influence coefficients for internal forces and displacements. Combining these coefficients with time histories of pressure coefficients on the envelope produces time histories of load effects on the structure, for example knee and ridge bending moments, and eave lateral drift. The peak values of such effects are represented by an extreme-value Type I Distribution, which allows the estimation of the gust wind speed leading to the mean hourly extreme loading that cause specific performance objective compromises. Firstly a fully correlated wind field over large tributary areas is assumed and then relaxed to utilize the denser pressure tap data available but with considerably more computational effort. The performance objectives are determined in accordance with the limit state load combinations given in the ASCE 7-16 provisions, particularly the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) method. The procedure is then repeated for several wind directions and different dominant opening scenarios to determine the cases that produce performance objective criteria. Comparisons with two approaches in ASCE 7 are made.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.649-661
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• 2021

This paper presents experimental and analytical studies to understand the behavior of crumb rubber concrete (CRC)-filled fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) and steel tube double skin column (DSC) and beam (DSB) members under cyclic loading. The main test variable was the percentage of rubber which ranged from 0 to 40%. For column members, different heights corresponding to different aspect ratios were examined to understand the to understand the effect of DSCs' slenderness on the cyclic response of the columns. the. The behavior of the specimens in terms of failure mode, strain development, energy dissipation, load-displacement response were presented and compared. The ability of the current provisions of the Australian codes to predict the capacity of such double skin members was also evaluated based on the test results. This study concluded that the reduction in the concrete strength was more severe at the material level compared to structural level. Also, as the load changed from axial compression in columns to pure moment in beams the negative effect of rubber percentage on the strength became less significant.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.2
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• pp.127-142
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• 2024

In recent decades, pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) members including those of box sections have attracted the attention of researchers. Nevertheless, the lack of uniform and consistent material properties, simplified design methods, and practical design codes have so far been the main barrier for field applications. Consequently, this paper highlights the existing knowledge concerning the flexural behavior of pultruded GFRP profiles and their failure modes. In particulate, it reviews the most commonly accepted design expressions and code provisions addressing the flange local buckling of pultruded GFRP box beams as the most likely failure mode. In addition, the material characterization of GFRP sections is described in detail along with the standard test methods to quantify the material characterization of GFRP laminates. It is shown that the critical flange local buckling stresses of pultruded GFRP box beams can be predicted with reliable accuracy using the expressions promulgated by ASCE (1984) (in which the flange plates are considered simply-supported at web-flange junction) and EUR 27666. The expressions stipulated in ASCE (2010) highly overestimates the critical flange local buckling stresses of GFRP box beams resulting in unconservative predictions.