• Composites Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.21-30
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• 2005

Vacuum hot pressing has been used for the development of titanium metal matrix composites using foil-fiber-foil method. Heterogeneous microstructures prior to and following consolidation have been quantified, and the relations to densification behavior investigated. As shown by the results, dramatic variations of the microstructures including equiaxed $\alpha$, transformed $\beta$ and $ Widmanst\ddot{a}tten$ $\alpha$ are obtained during the process according to the fiber distributions. The dependence of microstructures on the consolidation then has been explained in terms of the change in mechanisms such as grain growth and recrystallization that occur with changing levels of inhomogeneity of deformation. Further, micro-mechanics based constitutive model enabling the evolution of density over time together with the evolutions of microstructure to be predicted has been developed. The mode developed is then implemented into finite element scheme so that practical process simulation has been carried out.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.17 no.6 s.90
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• pp.939-946
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• 2005

The stiffness properties of heterogeneous concrete materials and their degradation were investigated at different-levels of observations with aids of the opportunities and limitations of multi-resolution wavelet analysis. The successive Haw transformations lead to a recursive separation of the stiffness properties and the response into coarse-and fine-scale features. In the limit, this recursive process results in a homogenization parameter which is an average measure of stiffness and strain energy capacity at the coarse scale. The basic concept of multi-resolution analysis is illustrated with one and two-dimensional model problems of a two-phase particulate composite representative of the morphology of concrete materials. The computational studies include the meso-structural features of concrete in the form of a hi-material system of aggregate particles which are immersed in a hardened cement paste taking due to account of the mismatch of the two elastic constituents.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.250-257
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• 2018

We developed new composites by combining the solid waste from Low-Density Polyethylene in the form of plastic bag (PB) and biomass from rice husk (RH),in the form of $(RH)_x(PB)_{1-x}$ (x = (1, 0.9, 0.7, 0.5)), as alternative fuels for electrical energy sources, and for providing the best solution to reduce environmental pollution. Elemental compositions were obtained by using proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and the thermal characteristics were obtained from thermogravimetric analysis. The compositions of carbon and hydrogen from the ultimate analysis show significant increases of 20-30% with increasing PB in the composite. The activation energy for RH is 101.22 kJ/mol; for x = 0.9 and 0.7, this increases by 4 and 6 magnitude, respectively, and for x = 0.5, shows remarkable increase to 165.30 kJ/mol. The range of temperature of about $480-660^{\circ}C$ is required for combustion of the composites $(RH)_x(PB)_{1-x}$ (x = (1, 0.9, 0.7, 0.5)) to perform the complete combustion process and produce high energy. In addition, the calorific value was determined by using bomb calorimetry, and shows value for RH of 13.44 MJ/kg, which increases about 30-40% with increasing PB content, indicating that PB has a strong effect of increasing the energy realized to generate electricity.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.21-31
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• 2017

To control the stochastic vibration of a vibration-sensitive instrument supported on a beam, the beam is designed as a sandwich structure with magneto-rheological visco-elastomer (MRVE) core. The MRVE has dynamic properties such as stiffness and damping adjustable by applied magnetic fields. To achieve better vibration control effectiveness, the optimal bounded parametric control for the MRVE sandwich beam with supported mass under stochastic and deterministic support motion excitations is proposed, and the stochastic and shock vibration suppression capability of the optimally controlled beam with multi-mode coupling is studied. The dynamic behavior of MRVE core is described by the visco-elastic Kelvin-Voigt model with a controllable parameter dependent on applied magnetic fields, and the parameter is considered as an active bounded control. The partial differential equations for horizontal and vertical coupling motions of the sandwich beam are obtained and converted into the multi-mode coupling vibration equations with the bounded nonlinear parametric control according to the Galerkin method. The vibration equations and corresponding performance index construct the optimal bounded parametric control problem. Then the dynamical programming equation for the control problem is derived based on the dynamical programming principle. The optimal bounded parametric control law is obtained by solving the programming equation with the bounded control constraint. The controlled vibration responses of the MRVE sandwich beam under stochastic and shock excitations are obtained by substituting the optimal bounded control into the vibration equations and solving them. The further remarkable vibration suppression capability of the optimal bounded control compared with the passive control and the influence of the control parameters on the stochastic vibration suppression effectiveness are illustrated with numerical results. The proposed optimal bounded parametric control strategy is applicable to smart visco-elastic composite structures under deterministic and stochastic excitations for improving vibration control effectiveness.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.2
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• pp.143-152
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• 2019

In this study, stochastic responses of a cable-stayed bridge subjected to the spatially varying earthquake ground motion are investigated for variable local soil cases and wave velocities. Quincy Bay-view cable-stayed bridge built on the Mississippi River in Illinois, USA selected as a numerical example. The bridge is composed of two H-shaped concrete towers, double plane fan type cables and a composite concrete-steel girder deck. The spatial variability of the ground motion is considered with the coherency function, which is represented by the components of incoherence, wave-passage and site-response effects. The incoherence effect is investigated by considering Harichandran and Vanmarcke model, the site-response effect is outlined by using hard, medium and soft soil types, and the wave-passage effect is taken into account by using 1000, 600 and 200 m/s wave velocities for the hard, medium and soft soils, respectively. Mean of maximum response values obtained from the analyses are compared with those of the specific cases of the ground motion model. It is concluded that the obtained results from the bridge model increase as the differences between local soil conditions cases of the bridge supports change from firm to soft. Moreover, the variation of the wave velocity has important effects on the responses of the deck and towers as compared with those of the travelling constant wave velocity case. In addition, the variability of the ground motions should be considered in the analysis of long span cable-stayed bridges to obtain more accurate results in calculating the bridge responses.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.1
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• pp.53-66
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• 2021

The determination of the damage index to reveal the performance level of a structure can constitute the seismic risk generalization approach based on the parametric analysis. This study implemented this concept to one kind of civil engineering structure that is the concrete gravity dam. Different cases of the structure exhibit their individual responses, which constitute different considerations. Therefore, this approach allows the parametric study of concrete as well as soil for evaluating the seismic nature in the generalized case. To ensure that the target algorithm applicable to most of the concrete gravity dams, a very simple procedure has been considered. In order to develop a correlated algorithm (by response surface methodology; RSM) between the ground motion and the structural property, randomized sampling was adopted through a stochastic method called half-fractional central composite design. The responses in the case of fluid-foundation-dam interaction (FFDI) make it more reliable by introducing the foundation as being bounded by infinite elements. To evaluate the seismic generalization of FFDI models, incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) was carried out under the impacts of various earthquake records, which have been selected from the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center data. Here, the displacement-based damage indexed fragility curves have been generated to show the variation in the seismic pattern of the dam. The responses to the sensitivity analysis of the various parameters presented here are the most effective controlling factors for the concrete gravity dam. Finally, to establish the accuracy of the proposed approach, reliable verification was adopted in this study.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2021

This work focused on the novel numerical tool for the bending responses of carbon nanotube reinforced composites (CNTRC) beams. The higher order shear deformation beam theory (HSDT) is used to determine strain-displacement relationships. A new exponential function was introduced into the carbon nanotube (CNT) volume fraction equation to show the effect of the CNT distribution on the CNTRC beams through displacements and stresses. To determine the mechanical properties of CNTRCs, the rule of the mixture was employed by assuming that the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)are aligned and distributed in the matrix. The governing equations were derived by Hamilton's principle, and the mathematical models presented in this work are numerically provided to verify the accuracy of the present theory. The effects of aspect ratio (l/d), CNT volume fraction (Vcnt), and the order of exponent (n) on the displacement and stresses are presented and discussed in detail. Based on the analytical results. It turns out that the increase of the exponent degree (n) makes the X-beam stiffer and the exponential CNTs distribution plays an indispensable role to improve the mechanical properties of the CNTRC beams.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.6
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• pp.703-710
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• 2019

While fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) materials have been largely used in the retrofitting of concrete buildings, its application has been limited because of some problems such as de-bonding of FRP layers from the concrete surface. This paper is the part of a wide experimental and analytical investigation about flexural retrofitting of reinforced concrete (RC) columns using FRP and mechanical fasteners (MF). A new generation of MF is proposed, which is applicable for retrofitting of RC columns. Furthermore, generally, to evaluate a retrofitted structure the nonlinear static and dynamic analyses are the most accurate methods to estimate the performance of a structure. In the nonlinear analysis of a structure, accurate modeling of structural elements is necessary for estimation the reasonable results. So for nonlinear analysis of a structure, modeling parameters for beams, columns, and beam-column joints are essential. According to the concentrated hinge method, which is one of the most popular nonlinear modeling methods, structural members shall be modeled using concentrated or distributed plastic hinge models using modeling parameters. The nonlinear models of members should be capable of representing the inelastic response of the component. On the other hand, in performance based design to make a decision about a structure or design a new one, numerical acceptance should be determined. Modeling parameters and numerical acceptance criteria are different for buildings of different types and for different performance levels. In this paper, a new method was proposed for FRP retrofitted columns to avoid FRP debonding. For this purpose, mechanical fasteners were used to achieve the composite behavior of FRP and concrete columns. The experimental results showed that the use of the new method proposed in this paper increased the flexural strength and lateral load capacity of the columns significantly, and a good composition of FRP and RC column was achieved. Moreover, the modeling parameters and acceptance criteria were presented, which were derived from the experimental study in order to use in nonlinear analysis and performance-based design approach.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.533-545
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• 2021

What is desirable in engineering is to bring the engineering model as close to reality as possible while the simplicity of model is also considered. In recent years, several studies have been performed on nanocomposites but some of these studies are somewhat far from reality. For example, in many of these studies, the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are assumed completely straight, flawless and uniformly distributed throughout the matrix but by studying nanocomposites, we find that this is not the case. In this paper, three steps have been taken to bring the presented models for nanocomposites closer to reality. One is that assuming the straightness of nanotubes is removed and the waviness is considered. Also, the nanotubes are not considered to be pristine and the influence of defect is included in accordance with reality. In addition, the approximation of uniform distribution of nanotubes is ignored and according to experimental observations, the effect of nanotube aggregation is considered. As far as we know, this is the first study on these three topics together in an article. Moreover, we also include the size effects in our models for nanocomposites. To show the accuracy of our models, our results are calibrated with experimental results and compared with theoretical model. For numerical examples, we present the buckling behaviors of nanocomposites including the size effects using nonlocal theory and compare the results of our models with the results of models with above-mentioned approximations.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.121-139
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• 2021

Ultra-high strength concrete (UHSC) encased steel columns are receiving growing interest in high-rise buildings owing to their economic and architectural advantages. However, UHSC encased steel columns are not covered by the modern fire safety design code. A total of 14 fire tests are conducted on UHSC (120 MPa) encased steel columns under constant axial loads and exposed to ISO-834 standard fire. The effect of load ratio, slenderness, stirrup spacing, cross-section size and concrete cover to core steel on the fire resistance and failure mode of the specimens are investigated. The applicability of the tabulated method in EC4 (EN 1994-1-2-2005) and regression formula in Chinese code (DBJ/T 15-81-2011) to fire resistance of UHSC encased steel columns are checked. Generally, the test results reveal that the vertical displacement-heating time curves can be divided into two phases, i.e. thermal expansion and shortening to failure. It is found that the fire resistance of column specimens increases with the increase of the cross-section size and concrete cover to core steel, but decreases with the increase of the load ratio and slenderness. The EC4 method overestimates the fire resistance up to 186% (220 min), while the Chinese code underestimates it down to 49%. The Chinese code has a better agreement than EC4 with the test results since the former considers the effect of the load ratio, slenderness, cross section size directly in its empirical formula. To estimate the fire resistance precisely can improve the economy of structural fire design of ultra-high strength concrete encased steel columns.