• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.123-139
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• 2019

Impact forces induced by external object collisions can cause serious damages to civil engineering structures. While accurate and prompt identification of such impact forces is a critical task in structural health monitoring, it is not readily feasible for civil structures because the force measurement is extremely challenging and the force location is unpredictable for full-scale field structures. This study proposes a novel approach for identification of impact force including its location and time history using a small number of multi-metric observations. The method combines an augmented Kalman filter (AKF) and Genetic algorithm for accurate identification of impact force. The location of impact force is statistically determined in the way to minimize the AKF response estimate error at measured locations and then time history of the impact force is accurately constructed by optimizing the error co-variances of AKF using Genetic algorithm. The efficacy of proposed approach is numerically demonstrated using a truss and a plate model considering the presence of modelling error and measurement noises.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.397-408
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• 2019

In this paper, a geometrically nonlinear meshfree analysis of 3D various forms of shell structures using the double director shell theory with finite rotations is proposed. This theory is introduced in the present method to remove the shear correction factor and to improve the accuracy of transverse shear stresses with the consideration of rotational degrees of freedom.The present meshfree method is based on the radial point interpolation method (RPIM) which is employed for the construction of shape functions for a set of nodes distributed in a problem domain. Discrete system of geometrically nonlinear equilibrium equations solved with the Newton-Raphson method is obtained by incorporating these interpolations into the weak form. The accuracy of the proposed method is examined by comparing the present results with the accurate ones available in the literature and good agreements are found.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.177-186
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• 2023

Reinforced concrete frames with a masonry infill panel is a structural typology frequently used worldwide. In seismic cases, the interaction between the masonry infill and the RC frames constitutes one of the most complex subjects in earthquake engineering. In this work, an enhancement of an existing numerical model is proposed to improve the estimation of lateral strength and stiffness of masonry-infilled frame structures and predict their probable failure modes. The proposed improvement is based on attributing corrective coefficients to the shear strength of each diagonal shear spring of the macro element, which simulates the masonry infill. The improved numerical model is validated by comparing the results with those of the original numerical model and with experimental results available in the literature. The enhanced macro element model can be used as a powerful, accessible tool for assessing the capacity and stiffness of masonry-infilled frame structures and predicting their probable failure modes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제89권4호
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• pp.399-409
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• 2024

Assessment of existing concrete bridges is a challenge for owners. It has greater economic impact when compared to designing new bridges. When using conventional linear analyses, judgment of the engineer is required to understand the behavior of redundant structures after the first element in the structural system reaches its ultimate capacity. The alternative is to use a predictive tool such as advanced nonlinear finite element analyses (ANFEA) to assess the overall structural behavior. This paper proposes a new reliability framework for the assessment of existing bridge structures using ANFEA. A general framework defined in previous works, accounting for material uncertainties and concrete model performance, is adapted to the context of the assessment of existing bridges. A "shifted" reliability problem is defined under the assumption of quasi-deterministic dead load effects. The overall exercise is viewed as a progressive pushover analysis up to structural failure, where the actual safety index is compared at each event to a target reliability index.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.93-105
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• 2022

The degrees of freedom (DOFs) of high-rise structures increase rapidly due to the need for refined analysis, which poses a challenge toward a computationally efficient method for numerical analysis of high-rise structures using the finite element method (FEM). This paper presented an efficient iterative method, an algebraic multigrid (AMG) with a Jacobi overrelaxation smoother preconditioned conjugate gradient method (AMG-CG) used for solving large-scale structural system equations running on heterogeneous platforms with parallel accelerator graphics processing units (GPUs) enabled. Furthermore, an AMG-CG FEM application framework was established for the numerical analysis of high-rise structures. In the proposed method, the coarsening method, the optimal relaxation coefficient of the JOR smoother, the smoothing times, and the solution method for the coarsest grid of an AMG preconditioner were investigated via several numerical benchmarks of high-rise structures. The accuracy and the efficiency of the proposed FEM application framework were compared using the mature software Abaqus, and there were speedups of up to 18.4x when using an NVIDIA K40C GPU hosted in a workstation. The results demonstrated that the proposed method could improve the computational efficiency of solving structural system equations, and the AMG-CG FEM application framework was inherently suitable for numerical analysis of high-rise structures.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.21-32
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• 2018

Prefabricated structures are constructed by bolted connections of separated members. The design and analysis of these structures are generally performed by defining fully hinges for the connection of separated members at the joint of junction. In practice, these connections are not fully hinged. Therefore, the assumption of semi-rigid connections (restrained or partially fixity) instead of fully hinge connections is a more realistic approach for bolted connections used in the prefabricated elements. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of semi-rigid connections on seismic performance of prefabricated structures. Nonlinear static analysis (pushover analysis) of a selected RC prefabricated structure is performed with SAP2000 structural analysis program by considering various partially fixity percentages for bolted connections. The target values of roof displacements obtained from the analyses according to ATC-40, FEMA-356, FEMA-440, and TEC-2007 codes are compared each other. The numerical results are given in tables and figures comparatively and discussed. The results show that the effects of semi-rigid connections should be considered in design and analysis of the prefabricated structures.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제8권3호
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• pp.311-325
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• 2011

Nowadays, many engineers believe that hybrid structures with reinforced concrete central core walls and perimeter steel frames offer an economical method to develop the strength and stiffness required for seismic design. As a result, a variety of such structures have recently been applied in actual construction. However, the performance-based seismic design of such structures has not been investigated systematically. In the performance-based seismic design, quantifying the seismic damage of complete structures by damage indices is one of the fundamental issues. Four damage states and the final softening index at each state for high-rise hybrid structures are suggested firstly in this paper. Based on nonlinear dynamic analysis, the relation of the maximum inter-story drift, the main structural characteristics, and the final softening index is obtained. At the same time, the relation between the maximum inter-story drift and the maximum roof displacement over the height is also acquired. A double-variable index accounting for maximum deformation and cumulative energy is put forward based on the pushover analysis. Finally, a case study is conducted on a high-rise hybrid structure model tested on shaking table before to verify the suggested quantities of damage indices.

• 센서학회지
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.218-222
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• 2016

Pure and V-doped NiO porous structures were prepared by the evaporation-induced surfactant assembly and subsequent pyrolysis of assembled structures, and their gas sensing characteristics were investigated. Pure NiO porous structures showed negligible gas responses (S=$R_g/R_a$, $R_g$: sensor resistance in analytic gas; $R_a$: sensor resistance in air) to 5 ppm trimethylamine (S=1.17) as well as other interfering gases such as ethanol, p-xylene, toluene, benzene and formaldehyde (S=1.02-1.13). In contrast, the V-doped NiO porous structures exhibited a high response and selectivity to 5 ppm trimethylamine (S=14.5) with low cross-responses to other interfering gases (S=4.0-8.7) at $350^{\circ}C$. The high gas response of V-doped NiO porous structures to trimethylamine was explained by electronic sensitization, that is, the increase in the chemoresistive variation due to the decrease in the hole concentration. The enhanced selectivity to trimethylamine was discussed in relation to the interaction between basic trimethylamine gas and acidic V catalysts.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제26권4호
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• pp.419-433
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• 2020

Investigation of structural integrity has been a critical issue in the field of civil engineering for years. Visual inspection is one of the most available methods to explore deteriorative components in structures. Still, this method is not applicable to invisible damage of structures. Alternatively, system identification methods are capable of tracking modal properties of structures over time. The deviation of these dynamic properties can serve as indicators to access structural integrity. In this study, a modal tracking technique using frequency-domain system identification from seismic responses of structures is proposed. The method first segments the measured signals into overlapped sequential portions and then establishes multiple Hankel matrices. Each Hankel matrix is then converted to the frequency domain, and a temporal-average frequency-domain Hankel matrix can be calculated. This study also proposes the frequency band selection that can divide the frequency-domain Hankel matrix into several portions in accordance with referenced natural frequencies. Once these referenced natural frequencies are unavailable, the first few right singular vectors by the singular value decomposition can offer these references. Finally, the frequency-domain stochastic subspace identification tracks the natural frequencies and mode shapes of structures through quick stabilization diagrams. To evaluate performance of the proposed method, a numerical study is carried out. Moreover, the long-term monitoring strong motion records at a specific site are exploited to assess the tracking performance. As seen in results, the proposed method is capable of tracking modal properties through seismic responses of structures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제53권6호
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• pp.1183-1200
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• 2015

Reinforcement corrosion can cause serious safety deterioration to aging concrete structures exposed in aggressive environments. This paper presents an approach for reliability analyses of deteriorating reinforced concrete structures affected by reinforcement corrosion on the basis of the representative symptoms identified during the deterioration process. The concrete cracking growth and rebar bond strength evolution due to reinforcement corrosion are chosen as key symptoms for the performance deterioration of concrete structures. The crack width at concrete cover surface largely depends on the corrosion penetration of rebar due to the expansive rust layer at the bond interface generated by reinforcement corrosion. The bond strength of rebar in the concrete correlates well with concrete crack width and decays steadily with crack width growth. The estimates of cracking development and bond strength deterioration are examined by experimental data available from various sources, and then matched with symptom-based lifetime Weibull model. The symptom reliability and remaining useful life are predicted from the predictive lifetime Weibull model for deteriorating concrete structures. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach for forecasting the performance of concrete structures subject to reinforcement corrosion. The results show that the corrosion rate has significant impact on the reliability associated with serviceability and load bearing capacity of reinforced concrete structures during their service life.