• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.507-513
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• 2019

Reinforced soil and Expanded Polystyrenes (EPS) mixture (RSEM) is a geomaterial which has many merits, such as light weight, wide strength range, easy for construction, and economic feasibility. It has been widely applied to improve soft ground, solve bridge head jump, fill cavity in pipeline and widen highway. Reutilizing dredged sediment to produce RSEM as earthfill can not only consume a large amount of waste sediment but also significantly reduce the construction cost. Therefore, there is an urgent need understand the basic stress-strain characteristics of reinforced dredged sediment-EPS mixture (RDSEM). A series of cyclic triaxial tests were then carried out on the RDSEM and control clay. The effects of cement content, EPS beads content and confining pressure on the cyclic stress-strain behaviour of RDSEM were analyzed. It is found that the three stages of dynamic stress-strain relationship of ordinary soil, vibration compaction stage, vibration shear stage and vibration failure stage are also applicative for RDSEM. The cyclic stress-strain curves of RDSEM are lower than that of control clay in the vibration compaction stage because of its high moisture content. The slopes of backbone curves of RDSEMs in the vibration shear stage are larger than that of control clay, indicating that the existence of EPS beads provides plastic resistance. With the increase of cement content, the cyclic stress-strain relationship tends to be steeper. Increasing cement content and confining pressure could improve the cyclic strength and cyclic stiffness of RDSEM.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2011

This paper presents the results of a study on the capability of nonlinear quasi-static finite element modelling in simulating the hysteretic behaviour of CFRP and GFRP-retrofitted RC exterior beam-column joints under cyclic loads. Four specimens including two plain and two CFRP/GFRP-strengthened beam-column joints tested by Mahini and Ronagh (2004) and other researchers are modelled using ANSYS. Concrete in compression is defined by the modified Hognestad model and anisotropic multi-linear model is employed for modelling the stress-strain relations in reinforcing bars while anisotropic plasticity is considered for the FRP composite. Both concrete and FRP are modelled using solid elements whereas space link elements are used for steel bars considering a perfect bond between materials. A step by step load increment procedure to simulate the cyclic loading regime employed in the testing. An automatically reforming stiffness matrix strategy is used in order to simulate the actual seismic performance of the RC concrete after cracking, steel yielding and concrete crushing during the push and pull loading cycles. The results show that the hysteretic simulation for all specimens is satisfactory and therefore suggest that the numerical model can be used as an inexpensive tool to design of FRP-strengthened RC beam-column joints under cyclic loads.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.121-134
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• 2012

The paper presents the results of identification, monotonous and cyclic triaxial tests on a potentially liquefiable soil from the Guadeloupe island. The material is a very soft clayey soil whose susceptibility to liquefaction is not clear when referring to index properties such as grain size distribution, plasticity, etc. The classifications found in the literature indicate that the material has rather a "clay-like" behaviour, i.e., is not very susceptible to liquefaction, but its properties are very close to the threshold values given by the authors. Cyclic triaxial tests carried out on the material under different conditions show that liquefaction is possible for a relatively important level of cyclic deviator or number of cycles. The second part of the paper is devoted to the study of the recovery of the soil after liquefaction and possibly reconsolidation. For the specimens tested without reconsolidation, that simulated the soil immediately after an earthquake, the recovery is nearly non-existent but the drop in pore pressure during extension results in a small available strength. On the contrary, after reconsolidation, the increase in strength of the liquefied specimens is quite large, compared to the initial state, but with unchanged failure envelopes.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.573-599
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• 2014

A new type of connection for steel-concrete composite bridges was developed by the Steel Structures Laboratory of Ecole Poytechinque $F{\acute{e}}d{\acute{e}}rale$ de Lausanne. Resistance to longitudinal shear is based on the development of shear stresses in the confined interfaces which form the connection. Confinement is provided by the reinforced concrete slab which encloses the connection and restrains the uplift (lateral separation) of the interfaces by developing normal stresses. The experimental investigation of the interfaces, under static and cyclic loading, enabled the development of the laws describing the structural behaviour of each interface. Those laws were presented by the authors in previous papers. The current paper focuses on the continuity of the research. It presents the experimental investigation on the new connection by means of push-out tests on specimens submitted to static and cyclic shear loading. Investigation revealed that the damage in the connection, due to cyclic loading, is expressed by the accumulation of a residual slip. A safe fatigue failure criterion is proposed for the connection which enabled the verification of the connection for the fatigue limit state with respect to the limit of fatigue. A numerical model is developed which takes into account the laws describing the interface behaviour and the analytical expressions for the confinement effect, the latter obtained by performing finite element analysis. This numerical model predicts the shear resistance of the connection and enables to assess its fatigue limit which is necessary for the fatigue design proposed.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.173-181
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• 2006

A Two Mobilized-Plane Model is proposed for monotonic and cyclic soil response including liquefaction. This model is based on two mobilized planes: a plane of maximum shear stress, which rotates, and a horizontal plane which is spatially fixed. By controlling two mobilized planes, the model can simulate the principal stress rotation effect associated with simple shear from different $K_0$ states. The proposed model gives a similar skeleton behaviour for soils having the same mean stress, regardless of $K_0$ conditions as observed in laboratory tests. The soil skeleton behaviour observed in cyclic drained simple shear tests, including compaction during unloading and dilation at large strain is captured in the model. Undrained monotonic and cyclic response is predicted by imposing the volumetric constraint of the water on the drained or skeleton behaviour. This constitutive model is incorporated into the dynamic coupled stress-flow finite difference program of FLAC (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua). The model was first calibrated with drained simple shear tests on Fraser River sand, and verified by comparing predicted and measured undrained behaviour of Fraser River sand using the same input parameters.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.243-260
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• 2008

The present article summarises the fundamental characteristics of concrete behaviour which underlie the formulation of an engineering finite element model capable of realistically predicting the behaviour of (plain or reinforced) concrete structural forms in a wide range of problems ranging from static to impact loading without the need of any kind of re-calibration. The already published evidence supporting the proposed formulation is complemented by four additional typical case studies presented herein; for each case, a comparative study is carried out between numerical predictions and the experimental data which reveals good agreement. Such evidence validates the material characteristics upon which the FE model's formulation is based and provides an alternative explanation regarding the behaviour of structural concrete and how it should be modelled which contradicts the presently (widely) accepted assumptions adopted in the majority of FE models used to predict the behaviour of concrete.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.177-178
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• 2006

The results of monotonic and cyclic uniaxial compression tests, in which the deviatoric component of the stress is predominant, carried out on green and recrystallized iron compacts with different levels of density are presented and discussed in order to analyse the macro and micro-mechanisms governing the mechanical behaviour of non-sintered PM materials. The plastic deformation of the particles, especially at the contact areas between neighbouring grains, produces an internal friction responsible for the main features observed in the behaviour of green metallic compacts. These results show important discrepancies with the plasticity models, Cam-Clay and Drucker-Prager Cap.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.317-334
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• 2014

The work is concerned with an investigation of the advantages stemming from the use of lightweight aggregate concrete in earthquake-resistant reinforced concrete construction. As the aseismic clauses of current codes make no reference to lightweight aggregate concrete beams made of lightweight aggregate concrete but designed in accordance with the code specifications for normal weight aggregate concrete, together with beams made from the latter material, are tested under load mimicking seismic action. The results obtained show that beam behaviour is essentially independent of the design method adopted, with the use of lightweight aggregate concrete being found to slightly improve the post-peak structural behaviour. When considering the significant reduction in deadweight resulting from the use of lightweight aggregate concrete, the results demonstrate that the use of this material will lead to significant savings without compromising the structural performance requirements of current codes.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.123-138
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• 2018

Eccentrically braced frames (EBF) represent an optimal structural solution for seismic prone areas, being able to provide high dissipative capacity and good elastic stiffness, to withstand strong seismic events without significant loss of bearing capacity and to avoid damage to non-structural elements in case of low and moderate earthquakes. The accurate knowledge of the cyclic behaviour of the dissipative links, characterizing the whole performance of EBFs, is required to optimize the structural properties and to refine the design techniques adopted for multi-storey buildings' analysis. Reliable numerical models for the links, at the same time requiring a limited computational effort, are then needed. The present work shows the results of a wide experimental test campaign executed on real-scale one storey/one bay frames with horizontal and vertical links, together with the elaboration of a simple semi-analytical model for the quick representation of the cyclic behaviour of shear links.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.221-234
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• 2014

A nonlinear finite element analysis using ANSYS is used to evaluate the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete exterior beam-column joints. The behavior of the finite element models under cyclic loading is compared with the experimental results. Two beam-column joint specimens (SH and SHD) with square hoop confinement in joint and throughout the column with detailing as per IS 13920 are studied. The specimen SHD was provided with additional diagonal bars from column to beam to relocate the plastic hinge formation from beam-column interface. The load-displacement relationship, joint shear stress and strain in beam obtained from numerical study showed good agreement with the experimental results. This investigation proves that seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete beam-column joints under reversed cyclic loading can be evaluated successfully using finite element modeling and analysis.