• Wind and Structures
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-22
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• 2007

The suppression of aerodynamic response of long-span suspension bridges during erection and after completion by using single TMD and multi TMD is presented in this paper. An advanced finite-element-based aerodynamic model that can be used to analyze both flutter instability and buffeting response in the time domain is also proposed. The frequency-dependent flutter derivatives are transferred into a time-dependent rational function, through which the coupling effects of three-dimensional aerodynamic motions under gusty winds can be accurately considered. The modal damping of a structure-TMD system is analyzed by the state-space approach. The numerical examples are performed on the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge with a main span of 1990 m. The bridge is idealized by a three-dimensional finite-element model consisting of 681 nodes. The results show that when the wind velocity is low, about 20 m/s, the multi TMD type 1 (the vertical and horizontal TMD with 1% mass ratio in each direction together with the torsional TMD with ratio of 1% mass moment of inertia) can significantly reduce the buffeting response in vertical, horizontal and torsional directions by 8.6-13%. When the wind velocity increases to 40 m/s, the control efficiency of a multi TMD in reducing the torsional buffeting response increases greatly to 28%. However, its control efficiency in the vertical and horizontal directions reduces. The results also indicate that the critical wind velocity for flutter instability during erection is significantly lower than that of the completed bridge. By pylon-to-midspan configuration, the minimum critical wind velocity of 57.70 m/s occurs at stage of 85% deck completion.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.1133-1152
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• 2015

A frequency-domain method is developed for evaluating the earthquake input energy to two building structures connected by viscous dampers. It is shown that the earthquake input energies to respective building structures and viscous connecting dampers can be defined as works done by the boundary forces between the subsystems on their corresponding displacements. It is demonstrated that the proposed energy transfer function is very useful for clear understanding of dependence of energy consumption ratios in respective buildings and connecting viscous dampers on their properties. It can be shown that the area of the energy transfer function for the total system is constant regardless of natural period and damping ratio because the constant Fourier amplitude of the input acceleration, relating directly the area of the energy transfer function to the input energy, indicates the Dirac delta function and only an initial velocity (kinetic energy) is given in this case. Owing to the constant area property of the energy transfer functions, the total input energy to the overall system including both buildings and connecting viscous dampers is approximately constant regardless of the quantity of connecting viscous dampers. This property leads to an advantageous feature that, if the energy consumption in the connecting viscous dampers increases, the input energies to the buildings can be reduced drastically. For the worst case analysis, critical excitation problems with respect to the impulse interval for double impulse (simplification of pulse-type impulsive ground motion) and multiple impulses (simplification of long-duration ground motion) are considered and their solutions are provided.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.681-692
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• 2020

Conventional Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters (CPEH) have been extensively studied for maximizing their electrical output through material selection, geometric and structural optimization, and adoption of efficient interface circuits. In this paper, the performance of Stepped Piezoelectric Energy Harvester (SPEH) under harmonic base excitation is studied analytically, numerically and experimentally. The motivation is to compare the energy harvesting performance of CPEH and SPEHs with the same characteristics (resonant frequency). The results of this study challenge the notion of achieving higher voltage and power output through incorporation of geometric discontinuities such as step sections in the harvester beams. A CPEH consists of substrate material with a patch of piezoelectric material bonded over it and a tip mass at the free end to tune the resonant frequency. A SPEH is designed by introducing a step section near the root of substrate beam to induce higher dynamic strain for maximizing the electrical output. The incorporation of step section reduces the stiffness and consequently, a lower tip mass is used with SPEH to match the resonant frequency to that of CPEH. Moreover, the electromechanical coupling coefficient, forcing function and damping are significantly influenced because of the inclusion of step section, which consequently affects harvester's output. Three different configurations of SPEHs characterized by the same resonant frequency as that of CPEH are designed and analyzed using linear electromechanical model and their performances are compared. The variation of strain on the harvester beams is obtained using finite element analysis. The prototypes of CPEH and SPEHs are fabricated and experimentally tested. It is shown that the power output from SPEHs is lower than the CPEH. When the prototypes with resonant frequencies in the range of 56-56.5 Hz are tested at 1 m/s2, three SPEHs generate power output of 482 μW, 424 μW and 228 μW when compared with 674 μW from CPEH. It is concluded that the advantage of increasing dynamic strain using step section is negated by increase in damping and decrease in forcing function. However, SPEHs show slightly better performance in terms of specific power and thus making them suitable for practical scenarios where the ratio of power to system mass is critical.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.435-448
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• 2018

In order to make reliable earthquake-resistant design of civil engineering structures, one of the most important considerations in a region with high seismicity is to pay attention to the local soil condition of regions. It is aimed in the current study at specifying dynamic soil characteristics of Kirikkale city center conducting the 1-D equivalent linear and non-linear site response analyses. Due to high vulnerability and seismicity of the city center of Kirikkale surrounded by active many faults, such as the North Anatolian Fault (NAF), the city of Kirikkale is classified as highly earthquake-prone city. The first effort to determine critical site response parameter is to perform the seismic hazard analyses of the region through the earthquake record catalogues. The moment magnitude of the city center is obtained as $M_w=7.0$ according to the recorded probability of exceedance of 10% in the last 50 years. Using the data from site tests, the 1-D equivalent linear (EL) and nonlinear site response analyses (NL) are performed with respect to the shear modulus reduction and damping ratio models proposed in literature. The important engineering parameters of the amplification ratio, predominant site period, peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration values are predicted. Except for the periods between the period of T=0.2-1.0 s, the results from the NL are obtained to be similar to the EL results. Lower spectral acceleration values are estimated in the locations of the city where the higher amplification ratio is attained or vice-versa. Construction of high-rise buildings with modal periods higher than T=1.0 s are obtained to be suitable for the city of Kirikkale. The buildings at the city center are recommended to be assessed with street survey rapid structural evaluation methods so as to mitigate seismic damages. The obtained contour maps in this study are estimated to be effective for visually characterizing the city in terms of the considered parameters.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.476-483
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• 2011

The aerial application using an unmanned helicopter has been already utilized and an attitude controller would be developed to enhance the operational convenience and safety of the operator. For a preliminary study of designing flight controller, a state space model for an RC helicopter would be identified. Frequency sweep flight tests were performed and time history data were acquired in the previous study. In this study, frequency response of the flight test data of a small unmanned helicopter was analyzed by using the CIFER software. The time history flight data consisted of three replications each for collective pitch, aileron, elevator and rudder sweep inputs. A total of 36 frequency responses were obtained for the four control stick inputs and nine outputs including linear velocities and accelerations and angular velocities in 3-axis. The results showed coherence values higher than 0.6 for every primary control inputs and corresponding on-axis outputs for the frequency range from 0.07 to 4 Hz. Also the analysis of conditioned frequency response showed its effectiveness in evaluating cross coupling effects. Based on the results, the dynamic characteristics of the model helicopter can further be analyzed in terms of transfer functions and the undamped natural frequency and damping ratio of each critical mode.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.153-160
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• 2020

In this paper, we present a hydrostatic bearing design and rotordynamic analysis of a pump-and-drive turbine module for a 250-kW supercritical CO₂ cycle application. The pump-and-drive turbine module consists of the pump and turbine wheel, assembled to a shaft supported by two hydrostatic radial and thrust bearings. The rated speed is 21,000 rpm and the rated power is 143 kW. For the bearing operation, we use high-pressure CO₂ as the lubricant, which is supplied to the bearing through the orifice restrictor. We calculate the bearing stiffness and flow rate for various orifice diameters, and then select the diameter that provides the maximum bearing stiffness. We also conduct a rotordynamic analysis based on the design parameters of the pump-and-drive turbine module. The predicted Campbell diagram shows that there is no critical speed below the rated speed, owing to the high stiffness of the bearings. Furthermore, the predicted damping ratio indicates that there is no unstable mode. We conduct the operating tests for the pump and drive turbine modules within the supercritical CO₂ cycle test loop. The pressurized CO₂, at a temperature of 136℃, is supplied to the turbine and we monitor the shaft vibration during the test. The test results show that there is no critical speed below the rated speed, and the shaft vibration is controlled to below 3 ㎛.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.343-360
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• 2017

The post-flutter state of streamlined steel box girder is studied in this paper. Firstly, the nonlinear aerodynamic self-excited forces of the bridge deck cross section were investigated by CFD dynamic mesh technique and then the nonlinear flutter derivatives were identified on this basis. Secondly, based on the 2-degree-of-freedom (DOF) coupling flutter theory, the torsional amplitude and the nonlinear flutter derivatives were introduced into the traditional direct flutter calculation method, and the original program was improved to the "post-flutter state analysis program" so that it can predict not only the critical flutter velocity but also the movement of the girder in the post-flutter state. Finally, wind tunnel tests were set to verify the method proposed in this paper. The results show that the effect of vertical amplitude on the nonlinear flutter derivatives is negligible, but the torsional amplitude is not; with the increase of wind speed, the post-flutter state of streamlined steel box girder includes four stages, namely, "little amplitude zone", "step amplitude zone", "linearly growing amplitude zone" and "divergence zone"; damping ratio has limited effect on the critical flutter velocity and the steady state response in the post-flutter state; after flutter occurs, the vibration form is a single frequency vibration coupled with torsional and vertical DOF.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.355-369
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• 2022

Section model test, as the most commonly used method to evaluate the aerostatic and aeroelastic performances of long-span bridges, may be carried out under different conditions of incoming wind speed, geometric scale and wind tunnel facilities, which may lead to potential Reynolds number (Re) effect, model scaling effect and wind tunnel scale effect, respectively. The Re effect and scale effect on aerostatic force coefficients and aeroelastic characteristics of streamlined bridge decks were investigated via 1:100 and 1:60 scale section model tests. The influence of auxiliary facilities was further investigated by comparative tests between a bare deck section and the deck section with auxiliary facilities. The force measurement results over a Re region from about 1×10⁵ to 4×10⁵ indicate that the drag coefficients of both deck sections show obvious Re effect, while the pitching moment coefficients have weak Re dependence. The lift coefficients of the smaller scale models have more significant Re effect. Comparative tests of different scale models under the same Re number indicate that the static force coefficients have obvious scale effect, which is even more prominent than the Re effect. Additionally, the scale effect induced by lower model length to wind tunnel height ratio may produce static force coefficients with smaller absolute values, which may be less conservative for structural design. The results with respect to flutter stability indicate that the aerodynamic-damping-related flutter derivatives 𝘈^*₂ and 𝐴^*₁𝐻^*₃ have opposite scale effect, which makes the overall scale effect on critical flutter wind speed greatly weakened. The most significant scale effect on critical flutter wind speed occurs at +3° wind angle of attack, which makes the small-scale section models give conservative predictions.

• Magazine of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.241-252
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• 1998

The objective of the research stated herein is to observe the actual responses of a low-rise nonseismic moment-resisting reinforced concrete frame subjected to varied levels of earthquake ground motions. First, the reduction scale for the model was determined as 1 : 5 considering the capacity of the shaking table to be used and the model was manufactured according to the similitude law. This model was, then, subjected to the shaking table motions simulating Taft N21E component earthquake ground motions, whose peak ground accelations (PGAs) were modified to 0.12g, 0.2g, 0.3g, and 0.4g. The lateral accelerations and displacements at each story and local deformations at the critical reginos of the structure were measured. The base shear was measured by using self-made load cells. Before and after each earthquake simulation test, free vibration tests were performed to find the change in the natural period and damping ratio of the model. The test data on the global and local behaviors are interpreted. The model showed the linear elastic behavior under the Taft N21E motion with the PGA if 0.12g, which represents the design earthquake in Korea. The maximum base shear was 1.8tf, approximately 4.7 times the design base shear. The model revealed fairly good resistance to the higher level of earthquake simulation tests. The main components of its resistance to the high level of earthquakes appeared to be 1) the high overstrength, 2) the elongation of the fundamental period, and 3) the minor energy dissipation by inelastic deformations. The drifts of the model under these tests were approximately within the allowable limit.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2006

The seismic safety of reinforced concrete containment building can be evaluated by probabilistic analysis considering randomness of earthquake, which is more rational than deterministic analysis. In the safety assessment of earthquake-resistant structures by the deterministic theory, it is not easy to consider the effects of random variables but the reliability theory and random vibration theory are useful to assess the seismic safety with considering random effects. The reliability assessment of reinforced concrete containment building subjected to earthquake load includes the structural analysis considering random variables such as load, resistance and analysis method, the definition of limit states and the reliability analysis. The reliability analysis procedure requires much time and labor and also needs to get the high confidence in results. In this study, random vibration analysis of containment building is performed with random variables as earthquake load, concrete compressive strength, modal damping ratio. The seismic responses of critical elements of structure are approximated at the most probable failure point by the response surface method. The response surface method helps to figure out the quantitative characteristics of structural response variability. And the limit state is defined as the failure surface of concrete under multi-axial stress, finally the limit state probability of failure can be obtained simply by first-order second moment method. The reliability analysis for the multiaxial strength limit state and the uniaxial strength limit state is performed and the results are compared with each other. This study concludes that the multiaxial failure criterion is a likely limit state to predict concrete failure strength under combined state of stresses and the reliability analysis results are compatible with the fact that the maximum compressive strength of concrete under biaxial compression state increases.