• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.797-820
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• 2016

This paper simulates the hysteretic behavior of steel reinforced recycled concrete (SRRC) columns under cyclic loads using OpenSees software. The effective fiber model and displacement-based beam-column element in OpenSees is applied to each SRRC columns. The Concrete01 material model for recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) and Steel02 material model is proposed to perform the numerical simulation of columns. The constitutive models of RAC, profile steel and rebars in columns were assigned to each fiber element. Based on the modelling method, the analytical models of SRRC columns are established. It shows that the calculated hysteresis loops of most SRRC columns agree well with the test curves. In addition, the parameter studies (i.e., strength grade of RAC, stirrups strength, steel strength and steel ratio) on seismic performance of SRRC columns were also investigated in detail by OpenSees. The calculation results of parameter analysis show that SRRC columns suffered from flexural failure has good seismic performance through the reasonable design. The ductility and bearing capacity of columns increases as the increasing magnitude of steel strength, steel ratio and stirrups strength. Although the bearing capacity of columns increases as the strength grade of RAC increases, the ductility and energy dissipation capacity decreases gradually. Based on the test and numerical results, the flexural failure mechanism of SRRC columns were analysed in detail. The computing theories of the normal section of bearing capacity for the eccentrically loaded columns were adopted to calculate the nominal bending strength of SRRC columns subjected to vertical axial force under lateral cyclic loads. The calculation formulas of horizontal bearing capacity for SRRC columns were proposed based on their nominal bending strength.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.118-123
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• 2017

It is well known that water jetting is now widely used in the advanced cutting processes of polymers, metals, glass, ceramics, and composite materials because of some advantages, such as heatless and non-contacting cutting different from the laser beam machining. In this paper, we proposed the simulation model of waterjet by lengths and the inner spiral structure of the nozzle. The simulation results show that the outlet velocity of the nozzle is faster than the inlet. Furthermore, we found rapid velocity reduction after passing through the outlet. The nozzle of diameter ${\phi}500$ and length 70mm, shows the optimal fluid width and velocity distribution. Also, the nozzle with inner spiral structure shows a Gaussian distribution of velocity and this model is almost twice as fast as the model without spiral structure, within the effective standoff distance (2.5 mm). In the future, when inserting abrasive material into the waterjet, we plan to analyze the fluid flow and the particle behavior through a simulation model.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.745-757
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• 2018

The inclusion of a ductile steel bracing as means of repairing an earthquake-damaged bridge bent is evaluated and experimentally assessed for the purposes of restoring the damaged bent's strength and stiffness and further improving the energy dissipation capacity. The study is focused on substandard reinforced concrete multi-column bridge bents constructed in the 1950 to mid-1970 in the United States. These types of bents have numerous deficiencies making them susceptible to seismic damage. Large-scale experiments were used on a two-column reinforced concrete bent to impose considerable damage of the bent through increasing amplitude cyclic deformations. The damaged bent was then repaired by installing a ductile fuse steel brace in the form of a buckling-restrained brace in a diagonal configuration between the columns and using post-tensioned rods to strengthen the cap beam. The brace was secured to the bent using steel gusset plate brackets and post-installed adhesive anchors. The repaired bent was then subjected to increasing amplitude cyclic deformations to reassess the bent performance. A subassemblage test of a nominally identical steel brace was also conducted in an effort to quantify and isolate the ductile fuse behavior. The experimental data from these large-scale experiments were analyzed in terms of the hysteretic response, observed damage, internal member loads, as well as the overall stiffness and energy dissipation characteristics. The results of this study demonstrated the effectiveness of utilizing ductile steel bracing for restoring the bent and preventing further damage to the columns and cap beams while also improving the stiffness and energy dissipation characteristics.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.62-71
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• 2015

KCI 2012 and ACI318-11 contains development length provisions for the use of headed deformed bars in tension and does not allow their tension lap splices. In ACI318-11, the confinement factor, such as transverse reinforcement factor, is not used to calculate the development length of headed bars. The purpose of this experimental study is to evaluate the effect of confinement details to the lap splice performance of headed deformed reinforcing bars in grade SD400 and SD500. The confinement details are stirrups and tie-down bars in lap zone. Test results showed that specimens with only stirrups had the brittle failure and could not increase lap strengths, and that specimens with composite confinements by stirrups and tie-down bars had the flexural strengths over than nominal flexural strengths. Stirrups with tie-down bars can have an effect on improvement in lap splice of headed bars in grade SD400 and SD500.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2018

The RFI process can be applied to very thick structures without limiting the resin viscosity. When the proper thickness of the resin film cannot be set, the resin film creates either the non-impregnated section or the excessive resin contents and this leads to the deterioration of mechanical properties. Therefore, this study proposed a method for setting the resin film thickness in the RFI process. The fiber compaction behavior test was proposed by setting the proper resin film thickness and the properties of composites were evaluated through short beam shear strength test, compression test and porosity measurement to verify the proposed method. The evaluation of physical properties of composites was conducted and an appropriate level of resin film thickness was found based on the results of fiber compaction behavior test.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.226-238
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• 2008

The steel ribs which are used to enhance the supporting capability of the shotcrete are estimated to be very effective, but their characteristics depending on the types of steel support are not well understood enough to be considered in the design stage. This paper describes the behavior of the shotcrete reinforced by various types of steel supports. Through flexural toughness test, major strength parameters such as flexural tensile strength, equivalent flexural tensile strength and residual tensile strength were obtained and used in the numerical analyses. Test results show that steel rebar was not as dependable as H-beam or lattice girder but close examination of the test results revealed that the specimen was failed in shear because of the shorter span than desired. Therefore tests on the properly dimensioned specimens are necessary for valid evaluation of the steel rebar reinforced shotcrete. In the first set of numerical stability analyses, shotcrete and steel supports were modelled separately. Then compared with the second set of analyses in which shotcrete and steel supports were regarded as a composite material. The two results coincided reasonably and this equivalent model turned out to be useful.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.467-485
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• 2020

Genetic Algorithm (GA) is a meta-heuristic algorithm which is capable of providing robust solutions for optimal design of structural components, particularly those one needs considering many design requirements. Hence, it has been successfully used by engineers in the typology optimization of structural members. As a novel approach, this study employs GA in order for conducting a case study with high constraints on the optimum mechanical properties of reinforced concrete (RC) beams under different load combinations. Accordingly, unified optimum sections through a computer program are adopted to solve the continuous beams problem. Genetic Algorithms proved in finding the optimum resolution smoothly and flawlessly particularly in case of handling many complicated constraints like a continuous beam subjected to different loads as moments shear - torsion regarding the curbs of design codes.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.197-209
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• 2018

Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) is a material with increasing application in civil engineering. Here it is assumed that the material consists of a great number of rather small fibers embedded into the concrete matrix. It would be advantageous to predict the mechanical properties of FRC using nondestructive testing; unfortunately, many testing methods for concrete are not applicable to FRC. In addition, design methods for FRC are either inaccurate or complicated. In three-point bending tests of FRC prisms, it has been observed that fiber reinforcement does not break but simply pulls out during specimen failure. Following that observation, this work is based on an assumption that the main components of a simple and rather accurate FRC model are mechanical properties of the concrete matrix and fiber pullout force. Properties of the concrete matrix could be determined from measurements on samples taken during concrete production, and fiber pullout force could be measured on samples with individual fibers embedded into concrete. However, there is no clear relationship between measurements on individual samples of concrete matrix with a single fiber and properties of the produced FRC. This work presents an inverse model for FRC that establishes a relation between parameters measured on individual material samples and properties of a structure made of the composite material. However, a deterministic relationship is clearly not possible since only a single beam specimen of 60 cm could easily contain over 100000 fibers. Our inverse model assumes that the probability density function of individual fiber properties is known, and that the global sample load-displacement curve is obtained from the experiment. Thus, each fiber is stochastically characterized and accordingly parameterized. A relationship between fiber parameters and global load-displacement response, the so-called forward model, is established. From the forward model, based on Levenberg-Marquardt procedure, the inverse model is formulated and successfully applied.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1115-1144
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• 2015

Current climate conditions along with advances in technology make further design and verification methods for structural strength and reliability of wind turbine towers imperative. Along with the growing interest for "green" energy, the wind energy sector has been developed tremendously the past decades. To this end, the improvement of wind turbine towers in terms of structural detailing and performance result in more efficient, durable and robust structures that facilitate their wider application, thus leading to energy harvesting increase. The wind tower industry is set to expand to greater heights than before and tapered steel towers with a circular cross-section are widely used as more capable of carrying heavier loads. The present study focuses on the improvement of the structural response of steel wind turbine towers, by means of internal stiffening. A thorough investigation of the contribution of stiffening rings to the overall structural behavior of the tower is being carried out. These stiffening rings are placed along the tower height to reduce local buckling phenomena, thus increasing the buckling strength of steel wind energy towers and leading the structure to a behavior closer to the one provided by the beam theory. Additionally to ring stiffeners, vertical stiffening schemes are studied to eliminate the presence of short wavelength buckles due to bending. For the purposes of this research, finite element analysis is applied in order to describe and predict in an accurate way the structural response of a model tower stiffened by internal stiffeners. Moreover, a parametric study is being performed in order to investigate the effect of the stiffeners' number to the functionality of the aforementioned stiffening systems and the improved structural behavior of the overall wind converter.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1561-1580
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• 2015

No significant improvement has been observed on the seismic performance of the ordinary steel reinforced concrete (SRC) columns compared with the reinforced concrete (RC) columns mainly because I, H or core cross-shaped steel cannot provide sufficient confinement for core concrete. Two improved SRC columns by constructing with new-type section steel were put forward on this background: a cross-shaped steel whose flanges are in contact with concrete cover by extending the geometry of webs, and a rotated cross-shaped steel whose webs coincide with diagonal line of the column's section. The advantages of new-type SRC columns have been proved theoretically and experimentally, while construction measures and seismic behavior remain unclear when the new-type columns are joined onto SRC beams. Seismic behavior of SRC joints with new-type section steel were experimentally investigated by testing 5 specimens subjected to low reversed cyclic loading, mainly including the failure patterns, hysteretic loops, skeleton curves, energy dissipation capacity, strength and stiffness degradation and ductility. Effects of steel shape, load angel and construction measures on seismic behavior of joints were also analyzed. The test results indicate that the new-type joints display shear failure pattern under seismic loading, and steel and concrete of core region could bear larger load and tend to be stable although the specimens are close to failure. The hysteretic curves of new-type joints are plumper whose equivalent viscous damping coefficients and ductility factors are over 0.38 and 3.2 respectively, and this illustrates the energy dissipation capacity and deformation ability of new-type SRC joints are better than that of ordinary ones with shear failure. Bearing capacity and ductility of new-type joints are superior when the diagonal cross-shaped steel is contained and beams are orthogonal to columns, and the two construction measures proposed have little effect on the seismic behavior of joints.