• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.337-348
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• 2020

Experimental testing has been considered as one of the most straightforward approaches to realize the structural behavior for earthquake engineering studies. Recently, novel and advanced experimental techniques, which combine numerical simulation with experimental testing, have been developed and applied to structural testing practically. However, researchers have to take the risk of damaging specimens or facilities during the process of developing and validating new experimental methods. In view of this, a small-scale structural laboratory has been designed and constructed in order to verify the effectiveness of newly developed experimental technique before it is applied to large-scale testing for safety concerns in this paper. Two orthogonal steel reaction walls and one steel T-slotted reaction floor are designed and analyzed. Accordingly, a large variety of experimental setups can be completed by installing servo-hydraulic actuators and fixtures depending on different research purposes. Meanwhile, a state-of-the-art digital controller and multiple real-time computation machines are allocated. The integration of hardware and software interfaces provides the feasibility and flexibility of developing novel experimental methods that used to be difficult to complete in conventional structural laboratories. A simple experimental demonstration is presented which utilizes part of the hardware and software in the small-scale structural laboratory. Finally, experimental layouts of future potential development and application are addressed and discussed, providing the practitioners with valuable reference for experimental earthquake engineering.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.5
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• pp.517-525
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• 2018

In this study, we investigate the vibration of single-walled carbon nanotubes embedded in a polymeric matrix using nonlocal elasticity theories with account arbitrary boundary conditions effects. A Winkler type elastic foundation is employed to model the interaction of nanobeam and the surrounding elastic medium. Influence of all parameters such as nonlocal small-scale effects, Winkler modulus parameter, vibration mode and aspect ratio of nanobeam on the vibration frequency are analyzed and discussed. The mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes and polymer matrix are treated and an analytical solution is derived using the governing equations of the nonlocal Euler-Bernoulli beam models. Solutions have been compared with those obtained in the literature and The results obtained show that the non-dimensional natural frequency is significantly affected by the small-scale coefficient, the vibrational mode number and the elastic medium.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.499-512
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• 2017

Traditional structural dynamic analysis and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of large scale concrete civil structures rely on manufactured embedding transducers to obtain structural dynamic properties. However, the embedding of manufactured transducers is very expensive and low efficiency for signal acquisition. In dynamic structural analysis and SHM areas, piezoelectric transducers are more and more popular due to the advantages like quick response, low cost and adaptability to different sizes. In this paper, the applicable feasibility assessment of the designed "artificial" piezoelectric transducers called Concrete Piezoelectric Smart Module (CPSM) in dynamic structural analysis is performed via three major experiments. Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA) based on Ibrahim Time Domain (ITD) Method is applied to experimentally extract modal parameters. Numerical modal analysis by finite element method (FEM) modeling is also performed for comparison. First ten order modal parameters are identified by EMA using CPSMs, PCBs and FEM modeling. Comparisons are made between CPSMs and PCBs, between FEM and CPSMs extracted modal parameters. Results show that Power Spectral Density by CPSMs and PCBs are similar, CPSMs acquired signal amplitudes can be used to predict concrete compressive strength. Modal parameter (natural frequencies) identified from CPSMs acquired signal and PCBs acquired signal are different in a very small range (~3%), and extracted natural frequencies from CPSMs acquired signal and FEM results are in an allowable small range (~5%) as well. Therefore, CPSMs are applicable for signal acquisition of dynamic responses and can be used in dynamic modal analysis, structural health monitoring and related areas.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.163-173
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• 2017

Structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil infrastructure using fiber Bragg grating sensor networks (FBGSNs) has received significant public attention in recent years. However, there is currently little research on the health-monitoring technology of high-piled wharfs in coastal ports using the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor technique. The benefits of FBG sensors are their small size, light weight, lack of conductivity, resistance corrosion, multiplexing ability and immunity to electromagnetic interference. Based on the properties of high-piled wharfs in coastal ports and servicing seawater environment and the benefits of FBG sensors, the SHM system for a high-piled wharf in the Tianjin Port of China is devised and deployed partly using the FBG sensor technique. In addition, the health-monitoring parameters are proposed. The system can monitor the structural mechanical properties and durability, which provides a state-of-the-art mean to monitor the health conditions of the wharf and display the monitored data with the BIM technique. In total, 289 FBG stain sensors, 87 FBG temperature sensors, 20 FBG obliquity sensors, 16 FBG pressure sensors, 8 FBG acceleration sensors and 4 anode ladders are installed in the components of the back platform and front platform. After the installation of some components in the wharf construction site, the good signal that each sensor measures demonstrates the suitability of the sensor setup methods, and it is proper for the full-scale, continuous, autonomous SHM deployment for the high-piled wharf in the costal port. The South 27# Wharf SHM system constitutes the largest deployment of FBG sensors for wharf structures in costal ports to date. This deployment demonstrates the strong potential of FBGSNs to monitor the health of large-scale coastal wharf structures. This study can provide a reference to the long-term health-monitoring system deployment for high-piled wharf structures in coastal ports.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.192-211
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• 2010

In most framed structures the nonlinearities and the damages are localized, extending over a limited length of the structural member. In order to capture the details of the local damage, the segments of a member that have entered the nonlinear range may need to be analyzed using the three-dimensional element (3D) model whereas the rest of the member can be analyzed using the simpler one-dimensional (1D) element model with fewer degrees of freedom. An Element-Coupling model was proposed to couple the small scale solid 3D elements with the large scale 1D beam elements. The mixed dimensional coupling is performed imposing the kinematic coupling hypothesis of the 1D model on the interfaces of the 3D model. The analysis results are compared with test results of a reinforced concrete pipe column and a structure consisting of reinforced concrete columns and a steel space truss subjected to static and dynamic loading. This structure is a reduced scale model of a direct air-cooled condenser support platform built in a thermal power plant. The reduction scale for the column as well as for the structure was 1:8. The same structures are also analyzed using 3D solid elements for the entire structure to demonstrate the validity of the Element-Coupling model. A comparison of the accuracy and the computational effort indicates that by the proposed Element-Coupling method the accuracy is almost the same but the computational effort is significantly reduced.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.69-82
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• 2020

In this paper, a new explicit analytical formula is derived for the critical buckling load of Double Walled Carbon Nanotubes (DWCNTs) embedded in Winkler elastic medium without taking into account the effects of the nonlocal parameter, which indicates the effects of the surrounding elastic matrix combined with the intertube Van der Waals (VdW) forces. Furthermore, we present a model which predicts that the critical axial buckling load embedded in Winkler, Pasternak or Kerr elastic medium under axial compression using the nonlocal Donnell shell theory, this model takes into account the effects of internal small length scale and the VdW interactions between the inner and outer nanotubes. The present model predicts that the critical axial buckling load of embedded DWCNTs is greater than that without medium under identical conditions and parameters. We can conclude that the embedded DWCNTs are less susceptible to axial buckling than those without medium.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.5
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• pp.487-497
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• 2019

Rapid advances in the engineering applications can bring further areas to provide the opportunity to manipulate anisotropic structures for direct productivity in design of micro/nano-structures. For the first time, magnetic affected wave characteristics of nanosize plates made of anisotropic material is investigated via the three-dimensional bi-Helmholtz nonlocal strain gradient theory. Three small scale parameters are used to predict the size-dependent behavior of the nanoplates more accurately. After owing governing equations of wave motion, an analytical approach based harmonic series is utilized to fine the wave frequency as well as phase velocity. It is observed that the small scale parameters, magnetic field and wave number have considerable influence on the wave characteristics of anisotropic nanoplates. Due to the lack of any study on the mechanics of three-dimensional bi-Helmholtz gradient plates made of anisotropic materials, it is hoped that the present exact model may be used as a benchmark for future works of such nanostructures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.62-68
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• 2019

The aim of this study was to interpret the structure and dynamics of a transfer shuttle system as a material supply device for small machine tools. The following conclusions were obtained by performing a structural interpretation of the material supply equipment with respect to workload and the dynamical interpretation of a flexible multibody carriage shuttle. When a 1,000-kg workload was applied to a fork lift, the safety factor was approximately 1.86. To conservatively assess the integrity of the structure, a 1,000-kg workload would be proper. In the case of a deflection of the fork system, the width increased with increasing time. The greatest deflection occurred at 5.5 s, which was the largest increase in the time point of the fork system.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.73 no.6
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• pp.685-698
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• 2020

The dynamic stability of a functionally graded polymer microbeam reinforced by graphene oxides subjected to a periodic axial force is investigated. The microbeam is assumed to rest on an elastic substrate and is subjected to various immovable boundary restraints. The weight fraction of graphene oxides nanofillers is graded across the beam thickness. The effective Young's modulus of the functionally graded graphene oxides reinforced composite (FG-GORC) was determined using modified Halpin-Tsai model, with the mixture rule used to evaluate the effective Poisson's ratio and the mass density. An improved third order shear deformation theory (TSDT) is used in conjunction with the Chebyshev polynomial-based Ritz method to derive the Mathieu-Hill equations for dynamic stability of the FG-GORC microbeam, in which the scale effect is taken into account based on modified couple stress theory. Then, the Mathieu-Hill equation was solved using Bolotin's method to predict the principle unstable regions of the FG-GORC microbeams. The numerical results show the effects of the small scale, the graphene oxides nanofillers as well as the elastic substrate on the dynamic stability behaviors of the FG-GORC microbeams.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.1
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• pp.49-57
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• 2020

This paper presents a full-scale experimental test to investigate the flexural behavior of an innovative dovetail ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) joint designed for the 5^th Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. The test specimen had a dimension of 3600 × 1600 × 170 mm, in accordance with the real bridge. The failure mode, crack pattern and structural response were presented. The ductility and stiffness degradation of the tested specimens were explicitly discussed. Test results indicated that different from conventional reinforced concrete slabs, well-distributed cracks with small spacing were observed for UHPC joint slabs at failure. The average nominal flexural cracking strength of the test specimens was 7.7 MPa, signifying good crack resistance of the proposed dovetail UHPC joint. It is recommended that high grade reinforcement be cooperatively used to take full advantage of the superior mechanical property of UHPC. A new ductility index, expressed by dividing the ultimate deflection by flexural cracking deflection, was introduced to evaluate the post-cracking ductility capacity. Finally, a strut-and-tie (STM) model was developed to predict the ultimate strength of the proposed UHPC joint.