• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.391-401
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• 2018

Locally available Stainless Steel Wire Mesh (SSWM) bonded on a concrete surface with an epoxy resin is explored as an alternative method for the torsional strengthening of Reinforced Concrete (RC) beam in the present study. An experiment is conducted to understand the behavior of RC beams strengthened with a different configuration of SSWM wrapping subjected to pure torsion. The experimental investigation comprises of testing fourteen RC beams with cross section of $150mm{\times}150mm$ and length 1300 mm. The beams are reinforced with 4-10 mm diameter longitudinal bars and 2 leg-8 mm diameter stirrups at 150 mm c/c. Two beams without SSWM strengthening are used as control specimens and twelve beams are externally strengthened by six different SSWM wrapping configurations. The torsional moment and twist at first crack and at an ultimate stage as well as torque-twist behavior of SSWM strengthened specimens are compared with control specimens. Also the failure modes of the beams are observed. The rectangular beams strengthened with corner and diagonal strip wrapping configuration exhibited better enhancement in torsional capacity compared to other wrapping configurations. The numerical simulation of SSWM strengthened RC beam under pure torsion is carried out using finite element based software ABAQUS. Results of nonlinear finite element analysis are found in good agreement with experimental results.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.469-486
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• 2012

This paper presents Neuro-Fuzzy (NF) based empirical modelling of torsional strength of RC beams for the first time in literature. The proposed model is based on fuzzy rules. The experimental database used for NF modelling is collected from the literature consisting of 76 RC beam tests. The input variables in the developed rule based on NF model are cross-sectional area of beams, dimensions of closed stirrups, spacing of stirrups, cross-sectional area of one-leg of closed stirrup, yield strength of stirrup and longitudinal reinforcement, steel ratio of stirrups, steel ratio of longitudinal reinforcement and concrete compressive strength. According to the selected variables, the formulated NFs were trained by using 60 of the 76 sample beams. Then, the method was tested with the other 16 sample beams. The accuracy rates were found to be about 96% for total set. The performance of accuracy of proposed NF model is furthermore compared with existing design codes by using the same database and found to be by far more accurate. The use of NF provided an alternative way for estimating the torsional strength of RC beams. The outcomes of this study are quite satisfactory which may serve NF approach to be widely used in further applications in the field of reinforced concrete structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.67-85
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• 2017

This study investigates numerically the behavior of tilted angle shear connectors embedded in solid concrete slabs. Two different tilted angle connectors were used, titled angle with 112.5 and 135 degrees between the angle leg and steel beam flange. A nonlinear finite element model was developed to simulate and validate the experimental push-out tests. Parametric studies were performed to investigate the variations in concrete strength and connector's dimensions. The results indicate that the ultimate strength of a tilted angle shear connector is directly related to the square root of the concrete compressive strength. The effects of variations in the geometry of tilted angle connectors on the shear capacity are discussed in details. Based on the numerical analyses, two equations are proposed to estimate the ultimate capacity of tilted angle shear connectors of 112.5 and 135 degrees in the defined range of parameters.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.334-343
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• 2014

In this paper, we suggest a method to improve the fusion of an accelerometer and gyro sensor by using a Kalman filter to produce a more high-quality respiration signal to supplement the weakness of using a single accelerometer. To evaluate our proposed algorithm's performance, we developed a chest belt-type module. We performed experiments consisting of aerobic exercise and muscular exercises with 10 subjects. We compared the derived respiration signal from the accelerometer with that from our algorithm using the standard respiration signal from the piezoelectric sensor in the time and frequency domains during the aerobic and muscular exercises. We also analyzed the time delay to verify the synchronization between the output and standard signals. We confirmed that our algorithm improved the respiratory rate's detection accuracy by 4.6% and 9.54% for the treadmill and leg press, respectively, which are dynamic. We also confirmed a small time delay of about 0.638 s on average. We determined that real-time monitoring of the respiration signal is possible. In conclusion, our suggested algorithm can acquire a more high-quality respiration signal in a dynamic exercise environment away from a limited static environment to provide safer and more effective exercises and improve exercise sustainability.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.53-70
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• 2003

Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong is the longest suspension bridge in the world carrying both highway and railway. It has two H-shape concrete towers, each of which is composed of two reinforced concrete legs and four deep transverse prestressed concrete beams. A series of wind tunnel tests have been performed to measure the aerodynamic coefficients of the tower legs and transverse beams in various arrangements. A 1:100 scaled 3D rigid model of the full bridge tower assembled from various tower components has been constructed for different test cases. The aerodynamic coefficients of the lower and upper segments of the windward and leeward tower legs and those of the transverse beams at different levels, with and without the dummy bridge deck model, were measured as a function of yaw wind angle. The effects of wind interference among the tower components and the influence of the bridge deck on the tower aerodynamic coefficients were also investigated. The results achieved can be used as the pertinent data for the comparison of the computed and field-measured fully coupled buffeting responses of the entire bridge under yaw winds.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.295-316
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• 2008

In the present paper a mechanical model to predict the compressive response of high strength short concrete columns with square cross-section confined by transverse steel is presented. The model allows one to estimate the equivalent confinement pressures exercised by transverse steel during the loading process taking into account of the interaction of the stirrups with the inner core both in the plane of the stirrups and in the space between two successive stirrups. The lateral pressure distributions at hoop levels are obtained by using a simple model of elastic beam on elastic medium simulating the interaction between stirrups and concrete core, including yielding of steel stirrups and damage of concrete core by means of the variation in the elastic modulus and in the Poisson's coefficient. Complete stress-strain curves in compression of confined concrete core are obtained considering the variation of the axial forces in the leg of the stirrup during the loading process. The model was compared with some others presented in the literature and it was validated on the basis of the existing experimental data. Finally, it was shown that the model allows one to include the main parameters governing the confinement problems of high strength concrete members such as: - the strength of plain concrete and its brittleness; - the diameter, the pitch and the yielding stress of the stirrups; - the diameter and the yielding stress of longitudinal bars; - the side of the member, etc.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2018

In orthopedic surgery and in particular in total hip arthroplasty, the implant fixation is carried out using a surgical cement called polymethylmethacrylat (PMMA). This cement has to insure a good adhesion between implant and bone and a good load distribution to the bone. By its fragile nature, the cement can easily break when it is subjected to a high stress gradient by presenting a craze zone in the vicinity of inclusion. The focus of this study is to analyze the effect of inclusion in some zone of cement in which the loading condition can lead to the crack opening leading to their propagation and consequently the aseptic loosening of the THR. In this study, the fracture behavior of the bone cement including a strange body (bone remain) from which the onset of a crack is supposed. The effect of loading condition, the geometry, the presence of both crack and inclusion on the stress distribution and the fracture behavior of the cement. Results show that the highest stresses are located around the sharp tip of bony inclusion. Most critical cracks are located in the middle of the cement mantle when they are subjected to one leg standing state loading during walking.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.405-421
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• 2020

Quayside container cranes are important delivery machineries located in the most frontiers of container terminals, where strong wind attacks happen occasionally. Since the previous researches on quayside container cranes mainly focused on the mean wind load and static response characteristics, the fluctuating wind load and dynamic response characteristics require further investigations. In the present study, the aerodynamic wind loads on quayside container cranes were obtained from wind tunnel tests. The probabilistic and spectral models of the fluctuating aerodynamic loads were established. Then the joint probabilistic distributions of dynamic wind-induced responses were derived theoretically based on a series of Gaussian and independent assumption of resonant components. Finally, the results were validated by time domain analysis using wind tunnel data. It is concluded that the assumptions are acceptable. And the presented approach can estimate peak dynamic sliding force, overturning moments and leg uplifts of quayside container cranes effectively and efficiently.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.183-199
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• 1998

This paper discusses some of the findings arising from long-term monitoring of the wind effects on a transmission tower located on an exposed site in South-West England. Site wind speeds have been measured, together with the foundation loads at the base of each of the four legs. The results show good correlation between the wind speeds and leg strains (loads) for a given wind direction, as expected, for wind speeds in excess of 10 m/s. Comparisons between the measured strains and those determined from the UK Code of Practice for lattice towers (BS8100), for the same wind speed and direction, show that the Code over-estimates most of the measured foundation loads by a moderate amount of about 14% at the higher wind speeds. This tends to confirm the validity of the Code for assessing design foundation loads. A finite element analysis model has been used to examine the dynamic behaviour of the tower and conductor system. This shows that, in the absence of the conductor, the tower alone has similar natural frequencies of approximately 2.2 Hz in the both the first (transversal) and second (longitudinal) modes, whilst for the complete system and conductor oscillations dominate, giving similar frequencies of approximately 0.1 Hz for both the first and second modes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.385-407
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• 2015

This paper deals with the problem of the global stabilization for a class of tension leg platform (TLP) nonlinear control systems. It is well known that, in general, the global asymptotic stability of the TLP subsystems does not imply the global asymptotic stability of the composite closed-loop system. Finding system parameters for stabilizing the control system is also an issue need to be concerned. In this paper, we give additional sufficient conditions for the global stabilization of a TLP nonlinear system. In particular, we consider a class of NN based Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy TLP systems. Using the so-called parallel distributed compensation (PDC) controller, we prove that this class of systems can be globally asymptotically stable. The proper design of system parameters are found by a swarm intelligence algorithm called Evolved Bat Algorithm (EBA). An illustrative example is given to show the applicability of the main result.