• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.459-480
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• 2001

The damage suffered by steel structures during the Northridge (1994) and Kobe (1995) earthquakes indicates that the fully restrained (FR) connections in steel frames did not behave as expected. Consequently, researchers began studying other possibilities, including making the connections more flexible, to reduce the risk of damage from seismic loading. Recent experimental and analytical investigations pointed out that the seismic response of steel frames with partially restrained (PR) connections might be superior to that of similar frames with FR connections since the energy dissipation at PR connections could be significant. This beneficial effect has not yet been fully quantified analytically. Thus, the dissipation of energy at PR connections needs to be considered in analytical evaluations, in addition to the dissipation of energy due to viscous damping and at plastic hinges (if they form). An algorithm is developed and verified by the authors to estimate the nonlinear time-domain dynamic response of steel frames with PR connections. The verified algorithm is then used to quantify the major sources of energy dissipation and their effect on the overall structural response in terms of the maximum base shear and the maximum top displacement. The results indicate that the dissipation of energy at PR connections is comparable to that dissipated by viscous damping and at plastic hinges. In general, the maximum total base shear significantly increases with an increase in the connection stiffness. On the other hand, the maximum top lateral displacement $U_{max}$ does not always increase as the connection stiffness decreases. Energy dissipation is considerably influenced by the stiffness of a connection, defined in terms of the T ratio, i.e., the ratio of the moment the connection would have to carry according to beam line theory (Disque 1964) and the fixed end moment of the girder. A connection with a T ratio of at least 0.9 is considered to be fully restrained. The energy dissipation behavior may be quite different for a frame with FR connections with a T ratio of 1.0 compared to when the T ratio is 0.9. Thus, for nonlinear seismic analysis, a T ratio of at least 0.9 should not be considered to be an FR connection. The study quantitatively confirms the general observations made in experimental results for frames with PR connections. Proper consideration of the PR connection stiffness and other dynamic properties are essential to predict dynamic behavior, no matter how difficult the analysis procedure becomes. Any simplified approach may need to be calibrated using this type of detailed analytical study.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.15 no.4 s.65
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• pp.423-433
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• 2003

Many study have been performed to describe the elastic and inelastic behavior of H-shaped beams with web openings that generally concentrated on the monotonic loading condition and concentric web opening. The findings of the studies led Darwin to propose formulas for the design of beams with web openings considering local buckling. While the formulas are simple and useful in real situation, more studies arc needed on their cyclic loading condition. In this experimental study, 12 H-shaped beams with web openings under cyclic loading condition were investigated. The dimension criteria based on the formulas proposed by Darwin were examined. The suitability of existing design formulas and the effects of plastic hinges on beams with web openings and of local buckling around web openings on the beam strength under cyclic loading were also studied. This was done by observing their behavior with various dimensional openings, eccentric per cent, and stiffeners.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.718-725
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• 2002

A wall type friction damper is newly Proposed in this paper to improve the performance of R/C framed structures under earthquake loads. Although traditional dampers are usually placed as bracing members, the application ot bracing-type dampers into R/C structures is not as simple as those of steel structures due to the connection between R/C members and dampers and the stress concentration in connection region. Proposed damper is consisted of Teflon-sheet slider and R/C shear wall. The damper can also avoid stress concentration and reduce P-Δ effect. To evaluate the performance of proposed damper, nonlinear dynamic analyses are carried on 10 story and 3 bay R/C structures with numerical model for the damper. It is shown that the damper reduces the inter-story drifts and the time-historic responses; especially the damper prevents from forming plastic hinges on the lower columns.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.825-832
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• 2010

Although a critical section reaches its flexural strength in reinforced concrete structures, the structure does not always fail because moment redistribution occurs during the formation of plastic hinges. Inelastic deformation in a plastic hinge region results in plastic rotation. A plastic hinge mainly depends on material characteristics. In this study, a plastic hinge length and plastic rotation are evaluated using the flexural curvature distribution which is derived from the material models given in Eurocode 2. The influence on plastic capacity the limit values of the material model used, that is, ultimate strain of concrete and steel and hardening ratio of steel(k), are investigated. As results, it is appeared that a large ultimate strain of concrete and steel is resulting in large plastic capactiy and also as a hardening ratio of steel increases, the plastic rotation increases significantly. Therefore, a careful attention would be paid to determine the limit values of material characteristics in the RC structures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.88 no.5
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• pp.451-462
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• 2023

Lumped Damage Mechanics (LDM) is a theory proposed in the late eighties, which assumes that structural collapse may be analyzed as a two-phase phenomenon. In the first (pre-localization) stage, energy dissipation is a continuous process and it may be modelled by means of the classic versions of the theory of plasticity or Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM). The second, post-localization, phase can be modelled assuming that energy dissipation is lumped in zones of zero volume: inelastic hinges, hinge lines or localization surfaces. This paper proposes a new LDM formulation for cracking in concrete structures in tension. It also describes its numerical implementation in conventional finite element programs. The results of three numerical simulations of experimental tests reported in the literature are presented. They correspond to plain and fiber-reinforced concrete specimens. A fourth simulation describes also the experimental results of a new test using the digital image correlation technique. These numerical simulations are also compared with the ones obtained using conventional Cohesive Fracture Mechanics (CFM). It is then shown that LDM conserves the advantages of both, CDM and CFM, while overcoming their drawbacks.