• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.6
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• pp.723-736
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• 2019

The efficacy of a technique for the rehabilitation and strengthening of RC beam-column connections damaged due to cyclic loading was investigated. The repair mainly uses epoxy resin infused under pressure into the damaged region to retrieved back the lost capacity and then strengthening using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets for capacity enhancement. Three common types of reduced scale RC exterior beam-column connections namely (a) beam-column connection with beam weak in flexure (BWF) (b) beam-column connections with beam weak in shear (BWS) and (c) beam-column connections with column weak in shear (CWS) subjected to reversed cyclic loading were considered for the experimental investigation. The rehabilitated and strengthened specimens were also subjected to similar cyclic displacement. Important parameters related to seismic capacity such as strength, stiffness degradation, energy dissipation, and ductility were evaluated. The rehabilitated connections exhibited equal or better performance and hence the adopted rehabilitation strategies could be considered as satisfactory. Confinement of damaged region using FRP sheet significantly enhanced the seismic capacity of the connections.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.319-326
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• 2001

Fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of natural rubber/ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (NR/EPDM) blend vulcanizates under dynamic tearing condition was investigated by using a fracture mechanics approach. It appeared that variation of crack growth rate with blend compositions was dependent on the level of imposed tearing energy G. At low tearing energy region, the FCG rates of the blend were lower as the EPDM content was increased, while at high tearing energy region, the trend was reversed. Over the measured range of tearing energy G, all blend compositions showed the lower crack growth rates compared to the average of properties of component elastomers. When the blends were thermally aged, the fatigue resistance of the blends was deteriorated in proportion to the concentration of EPDM phase. Fatigue crack growth behavior of the blends was supposed to be associated with the inhomogeneities of the crosslink structure of the blends arising from cure incompatibility of the EPDM and NR when they are sulphur cured.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.123-141
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• 2005

Design details pertaining to the connection between some recently developed fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite deck systems and the supporting girders require openings through cells of the deck. This significantly changes the stress distribution in these components. As a result, the conventional assumptions that deck designs are controlled by their stiffness, and not strength, needs a closer examination. This paper proposes an analytical method to investigate the stress states and failure mechanisms using a type of "global-local" modeling perspective, incorporating classical lamination theory and first ply failure criterion with use of appropriate stress concentration factors around the cutouts. The use of a "smeared-stress" approach is presented as a potential means of simplifying certain FRP specific complexities, while still enabling prediction of overall failure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.349-364
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• 2010

The impact behaviour and the impact-induced damage in laminated composite cylindrical shell subjected to transverse impact by a foreign object are studied using three-dimensional non-linear transient dynamic finite element formulation. A layered version of 20 noded hexahedral element incorporating geometrical non-linearity is developed based on total Langragian approach. Non-linear system of equations resulting from non-linear strain displacement relation and non-linear contact loading are solved using Newton-Raphson incremental-iterative method. Some example problems of graphite/epoxy cylindrical shell panels are considered with variation of impactor and laminate parameters and influence of geometrical non-linear effect on the impact response and the resulting damage is investigated.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.6
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• pp.979-999
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• 2016

Stainless steel wire mesh (SSWM) is an alternative material for strengthening of structural elements similar to fiber reinforced polymer (FRP). Finite element (FE) method based Numerical investigation for evaluation of axial strength of SSWM strengthened plain cement concrete (PCC) and reinforced cement concrete (RCC) columns is presented in this paper. PCC columns of 200 mm diameter with height 400 mm, 800 mm and 1200 mm and RCC columns of diameter 200 mm with height of 1200 mm with different number of SSWM wraps are considered for study. The effect of concrete grade, height of column and number of wraps on axial strength is studied using finite element based software ABAQUS. The results of numerical simulation are compared with experimental study and design guidelines specified by ACI 440.2R-08 and CNR-DT 200/2004. As per numerical analysis, an increase in axial capacity of 15.69% to 153.95% and 52.39% to 109.06% is observed for PCC and RCC columns respectively with different number of SSWM wraps.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.2
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• pp.163-175
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• 2019

Structural deterioration arises due to aging, environmental effects, deficiencies during design and construction phase, and overloading. Experimental and numerical investigations are carried out in this study to evaluate the performance of control and flexural deficient reinforced concrete (RC) beams under monotonic loading. Three levels of flexural deficiency are considered in this study. After confirming load carrying capacities of control and flexural deficient beams, the flexural deficient RC beams are strengthened with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) fabric. CFRP strengthened RC beams are tested under monotonic loading and compared with the performance of control specimen. Further, non-linear finite element analyses are also carried out to evaluate the flexural performance of control, deficient and CFRP strengthened flexural deficient RC beams. There is good correlation between results of experimental and numerical investigations. Numerical approach presented in this study can be adopted for assessing the adequacy of CFRP retrofit measure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.5
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• pp.545-556
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• 2021

The present experimental study evaluated the seismic performance of six engineered cementitious composite (ECC) columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates under cyclic lateral loading. The ECC columns damaged and crushed in the first stage of cyclic tests were repaired using the ECC with a certain polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber and strengthened with flexural and sheer CFRP laminates and then re-assessed under the cyclic loading. The effects of some variables were examined on lateral displacement, energy absorption and dissipation, failure modes, crack patterns, load bearing capacity and plasticity, and the obtained results were compared with those of the first stage of cyclic tests. The results showed that retrofitting the ECC columns can improve their performance, plasticity and load-bearing threshold, delayed the concrete failure, changed the failure modes and increased the energy absorbed by the strengthened columns element by over 50%.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2022

The various DNA-protein interactions associated with the expression of genetic information involve double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) bending. Due to the importance of the formation of the dsDNA bending structure, dsDNA bending properties have long been investigated in the biophysics field. Conventionally, DNA bendability is characterized by innate averaging data from bulk experiments. The advent of single-molecule methods, such as atomic force microscopy, optical and magnetic tweezers, tethered particle motion, and single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurement, has provided valuable tools to investigate not only the static structures but also the dynamic properties of bent dsDNA. Here, we reviewed the single-molecule methods that have been used for investigating dsDNA bendability and new findings related to dsDNA bending. Single-molecule approaches are promising tools for revealing the unknown properties of dsDNA related to its bending, particularly in cells.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.6
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• pp.729-736
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• 2022

Earth is facing a serious problem of pollution and scarcity of energy sources. The synthetic fibers used in automobile and Aerospace manufacturing sectors are non-renewable and harmful to environment. International Agency such as FAA and SAE is forcing for green fuel, green materials and structures. Further exploration is much needed to understand its potential in structural applications. In the current study, hemp and Jute fibre based composites were developed and tested for assessing their suitability for possible applications in automobile and aerospace sectors. Composites were undergone tensile test, water absorption test, and fatigue analysis to understand its behavior under various loading conditions. The finite element analysis has been carried out to understand the fatigue behaviour of composites. The results revealed that the usage of hemp and jute fibre reinforced composites can improve mechanical properties and have shown a viable alternative to replace synthetic fibres such as glass fibres for specific applications. Hemp reinforced bio-composites have shown better performance as compared to Jute reinforced bio-composites while water resistance characteristics for hemp is poorer to jute fibres.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.1
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• pp.71-81
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• 2024

Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bars have now been widely adopted as an alternative to traditional steel reinforcements in infrastructure and civil industries worldwide due variety of merits. This paper presents a numerical methodology to investigate FRP bar-reinforced beam-column joint behavior under quasi-static loading. The proposed numerical model is validated with test results considering load-deflection behavior, damage pattern at beam-column joint, and strain variation in reinforcements, wherein the results are in agreement. The numerical model is subsequently employed for parametric investigation to enhance the end-span beam-column joint performance using different joint reinforcement systems. To reduce the manufacturing issue of bend in the FRP bar, the headed FRP bar is employed in a beam-column joint, and performance was investigated at different column axial loads. Headed bar-reinforced beam-column joints show better performance as compared to beam-column joints having an L-bar in terms of concrete damage, load-carrying capacity, and joint shear strength. The applicability and efficiency of FRP bars at different story heights have also been investigated with varying column axial loads.