• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.165-183
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• 2022

Most transportation departments have recognized and developed procedures to address the ever-increasing weights of trucks traveling on bridges in a service today. Transportation agencies also recognize the issues with overheight vehicles' collisions with bridges, but few stakeholders have definitive countermeasures. Bridges are becoming more vulnerable to collisions from overheight vehicles. The exact response under lateral impact force is difficult to predict. In this paper, nonlinear impact analysis shows that the degree of deformation recorded through the modeling of the unprotected vehicle-girder model provides realistic results compared to the observation from the US-61 bridge overheight vehicle impact. The predicted displacements are 0.229 m, 0.161 m, and 0.271 m in the girder bottom flange (lateral), bottom flange (vertical), and web (lateral) deformations, respectively, due to a truck traveling at 112.65 km/h. With such large deformations, the integrity of an impacted bridge becomes jeopardized, which in most cases requires closing the bridge for safety reasons and a need for rehabilitation. We proposed different sacrificial cushion systems to dissipate the energy of an overheight vehicle impact. The goal was to design and tune a suitable energy absorbing system that can protect the bridge and possibly reduce stresses in the overheight vehicle, minimizing the consequences of an impact. A material representing a Sorbothane high impact rubber was chosen and modeled in ANSYS. Out of three sacrificial schemes, a sandwich system is the best in protecting both the bridge and the overheight vehicle. The mitigation system reduced the lateral deflection in the bottom flange by 89%. The system decreased the stresses in the bridge girder and the top portion of the vehicle by 82% and 25%, respectively. The results reveal the capability of the proposed sacrificial system as an effective mitigation system.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.105-118
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• 2023

The present work is an attempt to develop a simple and accurate finite element formulation for the assessment of thermal shock/thermally induced vibrations in pretwisted and tapered functionally graded material thin (FGM) blades obtained from Voigt and local representative volume elements (LRVE) homogenization models, based on neutral surface approach. The neutral surface of the FGM blade does not coincide with its mid-surface. A finite element model (FEM) is developed using first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and the FGM turbine blade is modelled according to the shallow shell theory. The top and the bottom layers of the FGM blade are made of pure ceramic and pure metal, respectively and temperature-dependent material properties are functionally graded in the thickness direction, the position of the neutral surface also depends on the temperature. The material properties are estimated according to two different homogenization models viz., Voigt or LRVE. The top layer of the FGM blade is subjected to high temperature and the bottom surface is either thermally insulated or kept at room temperature. The solution of the nonlinear profile of the temperature in the thickness direction is obtained from the Fourier law of heat conduction in the unsteady state. The results obtained from the present FEM are compared with the benchmark examples. Next, the effect of angle of twist, intensity of thermal shock, variable chord and span and volume fraction index on the transient response due to thermal shock obtained from the two homogenization models viz., Voigt and LRVE scheme is investigated. It is shown that there can be a significant difference in the transient response calculated by the two homogenization models for a particular set of material and geometric parameters.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.353-364
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• 2023

In this study, a method has been proposed for the static and dynamic nonlinear analysis of multi-storey buildings, which takes into account the contribution of axial deformations in vertical load-bearing elements, which are especially important in tall and narrow structures. Shear deformations on the shear walls were also taken into account in the study. The presented method takes into account the effects that are not considered in the fishbone and flexural-shear beam models developed in the literature. In the Fishbone model, only frame systems are modeled. In the flexural shear beam model developed for shear wall systems, shear deformations and axial deformations in the walls are neglected. Unlike the literature, with the model proposed in this study, both shear deformations in the walls and axial deformations in the columns and walls are taken into account. In the proposed model, multi-storey building is represented as a sandwich beam consisting of Timoshenko beams pieced together with a double-hinged beam. At each storey, the total moment capacities of the frame beams and the coupled beams in the coupled shear walls are represented as the equivalent shear capacity. On the other hand, The sums of individual columns and walls moment at the relevant floor level are represented as equivalent moment capacity at that floor level. At the end of the study, examples were solved to show the suitability of the proposed method in this study. The SAP2000 program is employed in analyses. In a conclusion, it is observed that among the solved examples, the proposed sandwich beam model gives good results. As can be seen from these results, it is seen that the presented method, especially in terms of base shear force, gives very close results to the detailed finite element method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.4
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• pp.443-459
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• 2023

This study investigates the theoretical thermal buckling analyses of thick porous rectangular functionally graded (FG) plates with different geometrical boundary conditions resting on a Winkler-Pasternak elastic foundation using a new higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). This new theory has only four unknowns and involves indeterminate integral variables in which no shear correction factor is required. The variation of material properties across the plate's thickness is considered continuous and varied following a simple power law as a function of volume fractions of the constituents. The effect of porosity with two different types of distribution is also included. The current formulation considers the Von Karman nonlinearity, and the stability equations are developed using the virtual works principle. The thermal gradients are involved and assumed to change across the FG plate's thickness according to nonlinear, linear, and uniform distributions. The accuracy of the newly proposed theory has been validated by comparing the present results with the results obtained from the previously published theories. The effects of porosity, boundary conditions, foundation parameters, power index, plate aspect ratio, and side-to-thickness ratio on the critical buckling temperature are studied and discussed in detail.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.2A
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• pp.247-260
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• 2006

In this paper, an analytical method which can describe the structural behavior of prestressed concrete (PSC) bridges reinforced with the unbonded external tendon is developed. Since the unbonded external tendon is directly installed to the deviators while maintaining a straight configuration, it has a different deformation field from that of concrete and accompanies the secondary effect caused by the change of the primary eccentricity between concrete and external tendon. In advance, the friction slip at the deviators is also taken into consideration on the basis of the force equilibrium between the friction force and the driving force. Through correlation studies between experimental data and analytical results, it is verified that the proposed numerical model can effectively predict the structural behavior of PSC beam bridges with comparative precision.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.3A
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• pp.447-455
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• 2006

A general purpose of 4-node co-rotational resultant shell element is developed for the solution of nonlinear problems of reinforced concrete, steel and fiber-reinforced composite structures. The formulation of the geometrical stiffness presented here is defined on the mid-surface by using the second order kinematic relations and is efficient for analyzing thick plates and shells by incorporating bending moment and transverse shear resultant forces. The present element is free of shear locking behavior by using the ANS (Assumed Natural Strain) method such that the element performs very well as thin shells. Inelastic behaviour of concrete material is based on the plasticity with strain hardening and elasto-plastic fracture model. The plasticity of steel is based on Von-Mises Yield and Ivanov Yield criteria with strain hardening. The transverse shear stiffness of laminate composite is defined by an equilibrium approach instead of using the shear correction factor. The proposed formulation is computationally efficient and versitile for most civil engineering application and the test results showed good agreement.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.6A
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• pp.577-585
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• 2009

A 9-node degenerated shell finite element(FE), which has been developed for assessment of ultimate pressure capacity and nonlinear analysis for nuclear containment building is described in this paper. Reissner-Midnlin(RM) assumptions are adopted to develop the shell FE so that transverse shear deformation effects is considered. Material model for concrete prior to cracking is constructed based on the equivalent stress-equivalent strain relationship. Tension stiffening model, shear transfer mechanism and compressive strength reduction model are used to model the material behavior of concrete after cracking. Niwa and Aoyagi-Yamada failure criteria have been adapted to find initial cracking point in compression-tension and tension-tension region, respectively. Finally, the performance of the developed program is tested and demonstrated with several examples. From the numerical tests, the present results show a good agreement with experimental data or other numerical results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.2
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• pp.151-164
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• 2023

The latest earthquake's costly repairs and economic disruption were brought on by excessive residual drift. Self-centering systems are one of the most efficient ways in the current generation of seismic resistance system to get rid of and reduce residual drift. The mechanics and behavior of the self-centering system in response to seismic forces were impacted by a number of important factors. The amount of post-tensioning (PT) force, which is often employed for the standing posture after an earthquake, is the first important component. The energy dissipater element is another one that has a significant impact on how the self-centering system behaves. Using the damper as a replaceable and affordable tool and fuse in self-centering frames has been recommended to boost energy absorption and dampening of structural systems during earthquakes. In this research, the self-centering steel moment frame connections are equipped with cushion flexural dampers (CFDs) as an energy dissipator system to increase energy absorption, post-yielding stiffness, and ease replacement after an earthquake. Also, it has been carefully considered how to reduce permanent deformations in the self-centering steel moment frames exposed to seismic loads while maintaining adequate stiffness, strength, and ductility. After confirming the FE model's findings with an earlier experimental PT connection, the behavior of the self-centering connection using CFD has been surveyed in this study. The FE modeling takes into account strands preloading as well as geometric and material nonlinearities. In addition to contact and sliding phenomena, gap opening and closing actions are included in the models. According to the findings, self-centering moment-resisting frames (SF-MRF) combined with CFD enhance post-yielding stiffness and energy absorption with the least amount of permeant deformation in a certain CFD thickness. The obtained findings demonstrate that the effective energy dissipation ratio (β), is increased to 0.25% while also lowering the residual drift to less than 0.5%. Also, this enhancement in the self-centering connection with CFD's seismic performance was attained with a respectable moment capacity to beam plastic moment capacity ratio.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.4
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• pp.547-560
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• 2022

By presetting various reinforcement diameters in topology optimization with the discrete model finite element analysis, an algorithm of bidirectional evolutionary structural optimization of multi-level reinforcement diameter is presented to obtain the optimal reinforcement topologies which describe the degree of stress of different parts. The results of a comparative study on different reinforcement feasible domain demonstrate that the more angle types of reinforcement are arranged in the initial domain, the higher utilization rate of reinforcement of the optimal topology becomes. According to the nonlinear finite element analysis of some deep beam examples, the ones designed with the optimization results have a certain advantage in ultimate bearing capacity, although their failure modes are greatly affected by the reinforcement feasible domain. Furthermore, the bearing capacity can be improved when constructional reinforcements are added in the subsequent design. However the adding would change the relative magnitude of the bearing capacity between the normal and inclined section, or the relative magnitude between the flexural and shear capacity within the inclined section, which affects the failure modes of components. Meanwhile, the adding would reduce the deformation capacity of the components as well. It is suggested that the inclined reinforcement and the constructional reinforcement should be added properly to ensure a desired ductile failure mode for components.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.509-519
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• 2024

In this study, the static analysis of carbon nanotube-reinforced composites (CNTRC) beams resting on a Winkler-Pasternak elastic foundation is presented. The developed theories account for higher-order variation of transverse shear strain through the depth of the beam and satisfy the stress-free boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the beam. To study the effect of carbon nanotubes distribution in functionally graded (FG-CNT), we introduce in the equation of CNT volume fraction a new exponent equation. The SWCNTs are assumed to be aligned and distributed in the polymeric matrix with different patterns of reinforcement. The rule of mixture is used to describe the material properties of the CNTRC beams. The governing equations were derived by employing Hamilton's principle. The models presented in this work are numerically provided to verify the accuracy of the present theory. The analytical solutions are presented, and the obtained results are compared with the existing solutions to verify the validity of the developed theories. Many parameters are investigated, such as the Pasternak shear modulus parameter, the Winkler modulus parameter, the volume fraction, and the order of the exponent in the volume fraction equation. New results obtained from bending and stresses are presented and discussed in detail. From the obtained results, it became clear the influence of the exponential CNTs distribution and Winkler-Pasternak model improved the mechanical properties of the CNTRC beams.