• Computers and Concrete
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.81-95
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• 2019

The unexpected seismic interaction of dry-assembled precast concrete frame structures typical of the European heritage with their precast cladding panels brought to extensive failures of the panels during recent earthquakes due to the inadequateness of their connection systems. Following this recognition, an experimental campaign of cyclic and pseudo-dynamic tests has been performed at ELSA laboratory of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission on a full-scale prototype of precast structure with vertical and horizontal cladding panels within the framework of the Safecladding project. The panels were connected to the frame structure by means of innovative arrangements of fastening systems including isostatic, integrated and dissipative. Many of the investigated configurations involved a strong frame-cladding interaction, modifying the structural behaviour of the frame turning it into highly non-linear since small deformation. In such cases, properly modelling the connections becomes fundamental in the framework of a design by non-linear dynamic analysis. This paper presents the peculiarities of the numerical models of precast frame structures equipped with the various cladding connection systems which have been set to predict and simulate the experimental results from pseudo-dynamic tests. The comparison allows to validate the structural models and to derive recommendations for a proper modelling of the different types of existing and innovative cladding connection systems.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.17-32
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• 2001

The Rosette-joining system is a completely new press-joining method for cold-formed steel structures. One Rosette-joint has a shear capacity equal to that of approximately four screws or rivets. The Rosette thin-walled steel truss system presents a new fully integrated prefabricated alternative to light-weight roof truss structures. The trusses are built up on special industrial production lines from modified top hat sections used as top and bottom chords and channel sections used as webs which are joined together with the Rosette press-joining technique to form a completed structure easy to transport and install. A single web section is used when sufficient but can be strengthened by double-nesting two separate sections or by using two lateral profiles where greater compressive axial forces are met. An individual joint in the truss can be strengthened by introducing a hollow bolt into the joint hole. The bolt gives the connection capacity a boost of approximately 20%. A series of laboratory tests have been carried out in order to verify the Rosette truss system in practice. In addition to compression tests on individual sections of different lengths, tests have also been done on small structural assemblies and on actual full-scale trusses of a span of 10 metres. Design calculations have been performed on selected roof truss geometries based on the test results, FE-analysis and on the Eurocode 3 and U.S.(AISI) design codes.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.193-204
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• 2008

This paper describes laboratory experiments modelling multiple tunnel construction in soft ground. A series of small-scale model tests have been conducted at approximately 1/50 scale in order to investigate the behaviours of existing tunnels in response to the construction of new tunnels in close proximity. The model tunnels were constructed in a consolidated Speswhite Kaolin clay using a tunnelling device involving an auger type cutter within a shield. Strain gauges and LVDTs were used for instrumenting the existing tunnels. The findings obtained from the analyses of these tests were compared to the field measurements involving the reconstruction of the Northern Line London Underground Ltd. tunnels at Old street, United Kingdom. The results were also compared to the ground movement measurements obtained from a separate set of tests undertaken using the same apparatus and experimental procedures.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.211-223
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• 2017

This research presented a numerical and experimental study on the seismic performance of first-generation base-isolated and fixed-base nuclear power plants (NPP). Three types of the base isolation system were applied to rehabilitate the first-generation nuclear power plants: frictional pendulum (FP), high-damping rubber (HDR) and lead-rubber (LR) base isolation. Also, an Excel program was proposed for the design of the abovementioned base isolators in accordance with UBC 97 and the Japan Society of Base Isolation Regulation. The seismic assessment was performed using the pushover and nonlinear time history analysis methods in accordance with the FEMA 356 regulation. To validate the adequacy of the proposed design procedure, two small-scale NPPs were constructed at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's structural laboratory and subjected to a pushover test for two different base conditions, fixed and HDR-isolated base. The results showed that base-isolated structures achieved adequate seismic performance compared with the fixed-base one, and all three isolators led to a significant reduction in the containment's tension, overturning moment and base shear.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.591-617
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• 2015

Standards for seismic assessment and retrofitting of buildings provide deformation limit states for structural members and connections. However, in order to perform fully consistent performance-based seismic analyses of soil-structure systems; deformation limit states must also be available for foundations that are vulnerable to nonlinear actions. Because such limit states have never been established in the past, a laboratory testing program was conducted to study the rotational capacity of small-scale foundation models under combined axial load and moment. Fourteen displacement-controlled monotonic and cyclic tests were performed using a cohesionless soil contained in a $2.0{\times}2.0{\times}1.2m$ container box. It was found that the foundation models exhibited a stable hysteretic behavior for imposed rotations exceeding 0.06 rad and that the measured foundation moment capacity complied well with Meyerhof's equivalent width concept. Simplified code-based soil-structure analyses of an 8-story building under an array of strong ground motions were also conducted to preliminary evaluate the implication of finite rotational capacity of vulnerable foundations. It was found that for the same soil as that of the experimental program foundations would have a deformation capacity that far exceeds the imposed rotational demands under the lateral load resisting members so yielding of the soil may constitute a reliable source of energy dissipation for the system.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.175-180
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• 2017

The load-carrying capacity and structural behavior of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) structures is highly influenced by the grouting compactness in the steel tube. Due to the invisibility of the grout in the steel tube, monitoring of the grouting progress in such a structure is still a challenge. This paper develops an active sensing approach with combined piezoceramic-based smart aggregates (SA) and piezoceramic patches to monitor the grouting compactness of CFST bridge structure. A small-scale steel specimen was designed and fabricated to simulate CFST bridge structure in this research. Before casting, four SAs and two piezoceramic patches were installed in the pre-determined locations of the specimen. In the active sensing approach, selected SAs were utilized as actuators to generate designed stress waves, which were detected by other SAs or piezoceramic patch sensors. Since concrete functions as a wave conduit, the stress wave response can be only detected when the wave path between the actuator and the sensor is filled with concrete. For the sake of monitoring the grouting progress, the steel tube specimen was grouted in four stages, and each stage held three days for cement drying. Experimental results show that the received sensor signals in time domain clearly indicate the change of the signal amplitude before and after the wave path is filled with concrete. Further, a wavelet packet-based energy index matrix (WPEIM) was developed to compute signal energy of the received signals. The computed signal energies of the sensors shown in the WPEIM demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method in the monitoring of the grouting progress.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.543-568
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• 2013

This study explores the floor micro-vibrations induced by the automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in liquid-crystal-display (LCD) factories. The relationships between moving loads and both the vehicle weights and speeds were constructed by a modified Kanai-Tajimi (MKT) power spectral density (PSD) function whose best-fitting parameters were obtained through a regression analysis by using experimental acceleration responses of a small-scale three-span continuous beam model obtained in the laboratory. The AGV induced floor micro-vibrations under various AGV weights and speeds were then assessed by the proposed regressional MKT model. Simulation results indicate that the maximum floor micro-vibrations of the target LCD factory fall within the VC-B and VC-C levels when AGV moves at a lower speed of 1.0 m/s, while they may exceed the acceptable VC-B level when AGV moves at a higher speed of 1.5 m/s. The simulated floor micro-vibration levels are comparable to those of typical LCD factories induced by AGVs moving normally at a speed between 1.0 m/s and 2.0 m/s. Therefore, the numerical algorithm that integrates a simplified sub-structural multi-span continuous beam model and a proposed regressional MKT moving force model can provide a satisfactory prediction of AGV-induced floor micro-vibrations in LCD factories, if proper parameters of the MKT moving force model are adopted.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.95-104
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• 2006

The presence of cavitations under pavements or behind tunnel linings of concrete is likely to result in collapse. One method of detecting such voids by non-destructive means is low frequency type radar(GPR). By the way, the size and thickness of small cavitation can't be detected by the present radar technology with low frequency and low resolution when it apply to civil structures like that. To overcome these problems and limitations, this study aims to develope and propose a new analysis method for estimating the depth, cross-sectional size and thickness of cavitations using low frequency radar. A new proposed method is based on the experiments that are carried out for analyzing the correlation between the measurement values(the amplitudes of radar return) of low frequency radar and various type of cavitations. In this process, the threshold value for radar image processing which aims to represent only cavitations to be fitted size can be obtained. As the results, it is clarified that a proposed method has a possibility of estimating cavitation depth, size and thickness with good accuracy in laboratory scale.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.829-853
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• 2015

This is an experimental study to investigate the behaviour of piled raft system in different types of sandy soil. A small scale "prototype" model was tested in a sand box with load applied to the foundation through a compression jack and measured by means of load cell. The settlement was measured at the raft by means of dial gauges, three strain gauges were attached on piles to measure the strains and calculate the load carried by each pile in the group. Nine configurations of group ($1{\times}2$, $1{\times}3$, $1{\times}4$, $2{\times}2$, $2{\times}3$, $2{\times}4$, $3{\times}3$, $3{\times}4$ and $4{\times}4$) were tested in the laboratory as a free standing pile group (the raft not in contact with the soil) and as a piled raft (the raft in contact with the soil), in addition to tests for raft (unpiled) with different sizes. It is found that when the number of piles within the group is small (less than 4), there is no evident contribution of the raft to the load carrying capacity. The failure load for a piled raft consisting of 9 piles is approximately 100% greater than free standing pile group containing the same number of piles. This difference increases to about 4 times for 16 pile group. The piles work as settlement reducers effectively when the number of piles is greater than 6 than when the number of piles is less than 6. The settlement can be increased by about 8 times in ($1{\times}2$) free standing pile group compared to the piled raft of the same size. The effect of piled raft in reducing the settlement vanishes when the number of piles exceeds 6.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.5-11
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• 2013

This study introduces a densification technique of controlled low strength materials (CLSM) made with coal ashes by pump discharge pressure. Based on a small-scale laboratory test results, unit weight of CLSM around discharge pipe is greater than that of relatively some distant area from discharge pipe. It is also found that densification of CLSM depends on not only mixture rate of pond ash but also fly ash and location of discharge pipe.