• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.265-277
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• 2020

Recently, the concept of "drive-by" bridge monitoring system using indirect measurements from a passing vehicle to extract key parameters of a bridge has been rapidly developed. As one of the most key parameters of a bridge, the natural frequency has been successfully extracted theoretically and in practice using indirect measurements. The frequency of bridge is generally calculated applying Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) directly. However, it has been demonstrated that with the increase in vehicle velocity, the estimated frequency resolution of FFT will be very low causing a great extracted error. Moreover, because of the low frequency resolution, it is hard to detect the frequency drop caused by any damages or degradation of the bridge structural integrity. This paper will introduce a new technique of bridge frequency extraction based on Hilbert Transform (HT) that is not restricted to frequency resolution and can, therefore, improve identification accuracy. In this paper, deriving from the vehicle response, the closed-form solution associated with bridge frequency removing the effect of vehicle velocity is discussed in the analytical study. Then a numerical Vehicle-Bridge Interaction (VBI) model with a quarter car model is adopted to demonstrate the proposed approach. Finally, factors that affect the proposed approach are studied, including vehicle velocity, signal noise, and road roughness profile.

• Advances in Energy Research
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• 제4권3호
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• pp.223-237
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• 2016

The excess use of conventional sources of energy by the industries and power sector result in acute shortage of energy produced by fossil fuel. To overcome this energy crisis, biomass feedstock is used to produce syngas or producer gas. For cleaning the dust particle present in the producer gas cyclone separators are largely used. In this paper we investigate the performance parameters of cyclone separator mainly efficiency and pressure drop for different feedstock. Cyclone performance has been evaluated based on experimentation and empirical approach using Leith and Licht model. The same has also been calculated by using turbulent RSM in Ansys Fluent for Wood and Coconut shell feedstock. Experimental results show that using feed stock with 10 % Calcium oxide (CaO) by weight, the efficiency of cyclone got reduced from 71.87% to 70.75% for wood feed stock, whereas in case of coconut shell, the cyclone efficiency got reduced from 78% to 73.44%. It is also seen that Leith and Licht model and Reynolds stress model (RMS) predicts very close to the particle collection efficiency evaluated by using experimental data.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.417-439
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• 2015

Many methods are developed for strengthening of reinforced concrete structural members against the effects of shear. One of the commonly used methods in recent years is turned out to be bonding of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP). Impact loading is one of the important external effects on the reinforced concrete structural members during service period among the others. The determination of magnitude, the excitation time, deformations and stress due to impact loadings are complicated and rarely known. In recent year impact behavior of reinforced concrete members have been researched with experimental studies by using drop-weight method and numerical simulations are done by using finite element method. However the studies on the strengthening of structural members against impact loading are very seldom in the literature. For this reason, in this study impact behavior of shear deficient reinforced concrete beams that are strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) strips are investigated experimentally. Compressive strength of concrete, CFRP strips spacing and impact velocities are taken as the variables in this experimental study. The acceleration due to impact loading is measured from the specimens, while velocities and displacements are calculated from these measured accelerations. RC beams are modeled with ANSYS software. Experimental result and simulations result are compared. Experimental result showed that impact behaviors of shear deficient RC beams are positively affected from the strengthening with CFRP strip. The decrease in the spacing of CFRP strips reduced the acceleration, velocity and displacement values measured from the test specimens.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.29-39
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• 2021

This study aimed to develop a method for the determination of the damaged story in reinforced concrete (RC) structure with ambient vibrations, based on modified jerk energy methodology. The damage was taken as a localized reduction in the stiffness of the structural member. For loading, random white noise excitation was used, and dynamic responses from the finite element model (FEM) of 4 story RC shear frame were extracted at nodal points. The data thus obtained from the structure was used in the damage detection and localization algorithm. In the structure, two damage configurations have been introduced. In the first configuration, damage to the structure was artificially caused by a local reduction in the modulus of elasticity. In the second configuration, the damage was caused, using the Elcentro1940 and Kashmir2005 earthquakes in real-time history. The damage was successfully detected if the frequency drop was greater than 5% and the mode shape correlation remained less than 0.8. The results of the damage were also compared to the performance criteria developed in the Seismostruct software. It is demonstrated that the proposed algorithm has effectively detected the existence of the damage and can locate the damaged story for multiple damage scenarios in the RC structure.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.81-89
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• 2021

Uniaxial compression tests were conducted on sandstone-CGFB composite samples with different interface angles, and their strength, acoustic emission (AE), and failure characteristics were investigated. Three macro-failure patterns were identified: the splitting failure accompanied by local spalling failure in CGFB (Type-I), the mixed failure with small sliding failure along with the interface and Type-I failure (Type-II), and the sliding failure along with the interface (Type-III). With an increase of interface angle β measured horizontally, the macro-failure pattern changed from Type-I to Type-II, and then to Type-III, and the uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus generally decreased. Due to the small sliding failure along with the interface in the composite sample with β of 45°, AE events underwent fluctuations in peak values at the later post-peak failure stage. The composite samples with β of 60° occurred Type-III failure before the completion of initial compaction stage, and the post-peak stress-time curve initially exhibited a slow decrease, followed by a steep linear drop with peaks in AE events.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제38권2호
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• pp.165-176
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• 2021

Existing research on confined concrete filled steel tubular (CCFT) columns has been mainly focused on static or cyclic loading. In this paper, square section CCFT and CFT columns were tested under both static and impact loading, using a 10,000 kN capacity compression test machine and a drop weight testing equipment. Research parameters included bonded and unbonded fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) wraps, with carbon, basalt and glass FRPs (or CFRP, BFRP, and GFRP), respectively. Time history curves for impact force and steel strain observed are discussed in detail. Experimental results show that the failure modes of specimens under impact testing were characterized by local buckling of the steel tube and cracking at the corners, for both CCFT and CFT columns, similar to those under static loading. For both static and impact loading, the FRP wraps could improve the behavior and increase the loading capacity. To analyze the dynamic behavior of the composite columns, a finite element, FE, model was established in LS-DYNA. A simplified method that is compared favorably with test results is also proposed to predict the impact load capacity of square CCFT columns.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제77권4호
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• pp.509-521
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• 2021

The neighbouring gaps at the mortise-tenon joint in traditional timber structure, which leads to the complexity of the joint, are considered to impair the mechanical performance of the joint. In this paper, numerical simulation of loose joint was conducted to examine the deformation states, stress distributions, and bearing capacities, which was verified by full-scale test. On the basis of the experimental and numerical results, a simplified mechanics model with gaps has been proposed to present the bending capacity of the loose joint. Besides, the gap effects and parameter studies on the influences of tenon height, friction coefficient, elastic modulus and axial load were also investigated. As a result, the estimated relationship between moment and rotation angle of loose joint showed the agreement with the numerical results, demonstrating validity of the proposed model; The bending bearing capacity and rotational stiffness of loose joint had a certain drop with the increasing of gaps; and the tenon height may be the most important factor affecting the mechanical behaviors of the joint when it is subjected to repeated load; Research results can provide important references on the condition assessments of the existing mortise-tenon joint.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.173-181
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• 2022

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) flat sheet hydrophobic membranes were prepared using 16 wt% PVDF in Dimethyl acetamide (DMAc) by phase inversion technique for desalination application using Membrane Distillation (MD). In this work, the effect of coagulation mediums such as ethanol and water as well their synergistic behavior on the fabricated PVDF membrane morphology was studied using SEM. Moreover, other characteristics required for the membrane distillation applications namely porosity, hydrophobicity and tensile strength were measured using the gravimetric method, sessile drop method and universal testing machine respectively. It was observed that the membrane morphology paradigm shifted from the finger-like structure to the sponge-like structure on increasing the ethanol concentration in coagulant. The porosity of the fabricated membrane was under the required MD range and found to be 57.3% at 16 weight % of PVDF in DMAc solvent under a pure ethanol coagulant bath. Moreover, the top surface contact angle ranges from 85° to 115° on increasing the bath concentration from CBC 0 to CBC 100 at 16 weight % of PVDF in DMAc solvent.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제42권2호
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• pp.191-207
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• 2022

Undoubtedly, the employment of direct bond interaction between steel and concrete is preceding the other mechanisms because of its ease of construction. However, the large scatter in the experimental data about the issue has hindered the efforts to characterize bond strength. In the following research, the direct bond interaction and bond-slip behavior of CFTs with circular cross-section were examined through repeated load-reversed push-out tests until four cycles of loading. The influence of different parameters including the diameter of the tube and the use of shear tabs were assessed. Moreover, the utilization of expansive concrete and external spirals was proposed and tested as ways of improving bond strength. According to the results section dimensions, tube slenderness, shrinkage potential of concrete, interface roughness and confinement are key factors in a natural bond. Larger diameters will lead to a considerable drop in bond strength. The use of shear tabs by their associated bending moments increases the bond stress up to eight times. Furthermore, employment of external spirals and expansive concrete have a sensible effect on enhancing bonds. Macro-locking was also found to be the main component in achieving bond strength.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제28권6호
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• pp.737-744
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• 2021

In this study, structural health monitoring (SHM) methods of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) were investigated using electrical resistance. The developed sensing technique monitored electrical resistance in accordance with the impact damage of a CFRP. The changes in electrical resistances with multiple electrode sets enabled SHM without extra sensors so that this technique can be called self-sensing. Moreover, this study proposed electrodes only at peripheral side of a structure to minimize the number of electrodes compared to those in an array which has square number of sensors as the sensing area increases. For the intensive investigation, electromechanical sensitivity in terms of electrode distance was analyzed and optimized under drop weight impact testing. Then, SHM methods with electrodes in an array and electrodes in peripheral edges were comparatively investigated. The developed methods successfully localized impact damages into 2D coordinates. Furthermore, damage severity can be shown with a damage map by calculating electrical resistance change ratio. Therefore, structural health self-sensing system using electrical resistance was successfully developed with the minimum number of electrodes.