• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.135-144
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• 1995

Since structural systems may fail in any one of several failure modes, computation of system reliability is always difficult. A method using numerical quadrature for computing structural system reliability with either one or more than one failure mode is presented in this paper. Statistically correlated safety margin equations are transformed into a group of uncorrelated variables and the joint density function of these uncorrelated variables can be generated by using the Maximum Entropy Method. Structural system reliability is then obtained by integrating the joint density function with the transformed safety domain enclosed within a set of linear equations. The Gaussian numerical integration method is introduced in order to improve computational accuracy. This method can be used to evaluate structural system reliability for Gaussian or non-Gaussian variables with either linear or nonlinear safety boundaries. It is also valid for implicit safety margins such as computer programs. Both the theory and the examples show that this method is simple in concept and easy to implement.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.3010-3016
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• 2023

In recent years, the development of radioactive waste containers for nuclear facility decommissioning and dismantling is a critical issue because the Taiwan domestic boiling water reactor nuclear power plant is going to be decommissioned. The main purpose of this research is to design a metal container that meets the structural requirements of related regulations. At first, the shielding analysis was performed by varying dimensions of radioactive waste to determine the storage efficiency of the container. Then, a series of structural analyses for operational and accidental conditions of the container with full load were conducted, such as lifting, stacking, and drop impact conditions. On the other hand, the field drop impact tests were carried out to ensure structural integrity. The present research demonstrates the structural safety of the developed container for decommissioned nuclear facilities in Taiwan.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1996.04a
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• pp.34-35
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• 1996

The diffusional behavior of many non-solvents in glassy or semicrystalline polymers cannot be adequately described by a concentration-dependent form of Fick's law, especially when mass transfer is coupled with structural changes. Many mathematical models have been devised to interprete non-Fickian diffusion dominated by relaxation kinetics. In formulation of non-Fickian diffusion mathematics, therefore, the most important factor to consider is how relaxation effects can influence the governing constitutive equation and boundary conditions. That is, relaxation parameters can be accommodated by variable boundary conditions or a modified continuity equation, or both, depending on specific systems and conditions (Frish, 1980). Accoring to Astarita and Nicolais (1983), the model equations can be broadly categorized as continuous or discontinuous. Continuous model equations encompass phenomena where the structural change takes place gradually over the whole volume of the polymer sample (Crank, 1953; Long and Richman, 1961; Berens and Hopfenberg, 1978). On the other hand, discontinuous model equations deal with the phenomena where the morphological change appears to be abrupt (Li, 1984). Four mathematical models with different relaxation parameters were applied to fit the anomalous sorption data observed in fluoropolymers (PVDF, ECTFE). The fitted result for PVDF-benzene sorption data is shown in Fig. 1.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.679-698
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• 2002

In this paper some techniques for the dynamic analysis of non-classically damped linear systems are reviewed and compared. All these methods are based on a transformation of the governing equations using a basis of complex or real vectors. Complex and real vector bases are presented and compared. The complex vector basis is represented by the eigenvectors of the complex eigenproblem obtained considering the non-classical damping matrix of the system. The real vector basis is a set of Ritz vectors derived either as the undamped normal modes of vibration of the system, or by the load dependent vector algorithm (Lanczos vectors). In this latter case the vector basis includes the static correction concept. The rate of convergence of these bases, with reference to a parametric structural system subjected to a fixed spatial distribution of forces, is evaluated. To this aim two error norms are considered, the first based on the spatial distribution of the load and the second on the shear force at the base due to impulsive loading. It is shown that both error norms point out that the rate of convergence is strongly influenced by the spatial distribution of the applied forces.

• Architectural research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2000

Ever since Viollet-le-Due began to examine Gothic structural elements using his method of geometrical analysis in the nineteenth century, art and architectural historians and a few engineers have periodically attempted to ascertain the structural advantages of the various characteristic features of Gothic architecture. In none of these studies, however, has the way forces work within the lightweight and spacious masonry Gothic buildings been precisely interpreted. The approach taken by art and architectural historians has therefore tended to be primarily descriptive and to be based on intuitive assumptions. This study intend to analyze the Gothic non-vaulted nef unique(aisleless) structures of Lower Languedoc which has never been scientifically tested, and to provide as comprehensive an explanation as possible of the way in which these non-vaulted buildings work. In order to achieve this goal, this paper Is to examine, by means of finite element analysis. the links between the width of non-vaulted aisleless structures, the configuration of the arches, diaphragm arch, and the buttress. Finite element analysis with a computer provides a more accurate analysis than the methods of analysis that have been heretofore applied to Gothic structures, as well as permits us to visualize the global stress behavior of the structure. Combined with traditional methods of studying historical buildings, therefore, finite element analysis inevitably give us a broader understanding of the processes involved in the design and construction of medieval buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.591-607
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• 2004

The substance of the use of the derived non-linear creep constitutive equations under variable stress levels (see first part of the paper, Kmet 2004) is explained and the strategy of their application is outlined using the results of one-step creep tests of the steel spiral strand rope as an example. In order to investigate the creep strain increments of cables an experimental set-up was originally designed and a series of tests were carried out. Attention is turned to the individual main steps in the production and application procedure, i.e., to the one-step creep tests, definition of loading history, determination of the kernel functions, selection and definition of constitutive equation and to the comparison of the resulting values considering the product and the additive forms of the approximation of the kernel functions. To this purpose, the parametrical study is performed and the results are presented. The constitutive equations of non-linear creep of cable under variable stress history offer a strong tool for the real simulation of stochastic variable load history and prediction of realistic time-dependent response (current deflection and stress configuration) of structures with cable elements. By means of suitable stress combination and its gradual repeating various loads and times effects can be modelled.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2020

Turkey is a transcontinental country located partly in Asia and partly in Europe, and hosted by diverse civilizations including Hittite, Urartu, Lydia, Phrygia, Pontius, Byzantine, Seljuk's and Ottomans. At various times, these built many historic monuments representing the most significant characteristics of their civilizations. Today, these monuments contribute enormously to the esthetic beauty of environment and important to many cities of Turkey in attracting tourism. The survival of these monuments depends on the investigation of structural behavior and implementation of needed repairing and/or strengthening applications. Hence, many countries have made deeper investigations and regulations to assess their monuments' structural behavior. This paper presents the dynamic behavior investigation of a monumental masonry mosque, the "İskenderpaşa Mosque" in Trabzon (Turkey), by performing an experimental examination with non-destructive testing. The dynamic behavior investigation was carried out by determining the dynamic characteristic called as natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios. The experimental dynamic characteristics were extracted by Operational Modal Analysis (OMA). In addition, Finite Element (FE) model of masonry mosque was constructed in ANSYS software and the numerical dynamic characteristics such as natural frequencies and mode shapes were also obtained and compared to experimental ones. The paper aims at presenting the non-destructive testing procedure of a masonry mosque as well as the comparison of experimental and numerical dynamic characteristics obtained from the mosque.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.127-136
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• 2007

In this paper, the equations of the scaled boundary finite element method are derived for non-homogeneous half plane and analyzed numerically In the scaled boundary finite element method, partial differential equations are weaken in the circumferential direction by approximation scheme such as the finite element method, and the radial direction of equations remain in analytical form. The scaled boundary equations of non-homogeneous half plane, its elastic modulus varies as power function, are newly derived by the virtual work theory. It is shown that the governing equation of this problem is the Euler-Cauchy equation, therefore, the logarithm mode used in the half plane problem is not valid in this problem. Two numerical examples are analysed for the verification and the feasibility.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.155-160
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• 2001

Actual engineering structure is frequently very complex, and parts of structure are designed independently by different engineers. Also each structure contains so many degree of freedom. For these reason, methods have been developed which permits the structure to be divided into components or substructures, with analysis being done on a small substructure in order to obtain a full structural system. In such case, because of different mesh size among finite element model (FEM) or different matching points among FEM models and experimentally obtained models, their interfacing points may be non-matching. Solving this non-matching problem is useful to other application such as structural dynamic modification or model updating. In this work, virtual node concept is introduced. Lagrange multipliers are used to enforce the interface compatibility constraint, and interface displacement is approximated by polynomial presentation. The governing equation of whole structure is derived using hybrid variational principle. The eigenvalue of whole structure are calculated using the determinant search method. The number of degree of freedom in the eigenvalue problem can be drastically reduced to just the number of interface degree of freedom. Some numerical simulation is performed to show usefulness of synthesis method.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.651-659
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• 2002

Component Mode Synthesis (CMS) is a dynamic substructuring technique to get an approximate eigensolutions of large degree-of-freedom structures divisible into several components. But, In practice. most of large structures are modeled by different teams of engineers. and their respective finite element models often require different mesh resolutions. As a result, the finite element substructure models can be non-conforming and/or incompatible. In this work, A hybrid version of component mode synthesis using a localized lagrange multiplier to treat the non-conforming mesh problem was derived. Evolution Strategies (ESs) is a stochastic numerical optimization technique and has shown a robust performance for solving deterministic problems. An ESs conducts its search by processing a population of solutions for an optimization problem based on principles from natural evolution. An optimization example for raising the first natural frequency of a plate structure using beam stiffeners was presented using hybrid component mode synthesis and robust evolution strategies (RES) optimization technique. In the example. the design variables are the positions and lengths of beam stiffeners.