• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.3
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• pp.311-325
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• 2020

In applying the spectral stochastic finite element methods to the frequency response analysis, the conventional methods are known to give unstable and inaccurate results near the natural frequencies. To address this issue, a new sensitivity based stabilized formulation for stochastic frequency response analysis is proposed in this paper. The main difference over the conventional spectral methods is that the polynomials of random variables are applied to both numerator and denominator in approximating the harmonic response solution. In order to reflect the resonance behavior of the structure, the denominator polynomials is constructed by utilizing the natural frequency sensitivity and the random mode superposition. The numerator is approximated by applying a polynomial chaos expansion, and its coefficients are obtained through the Galerkin or the spectral projection method. Through various numerical studies, it is seen that the proposed method improves accuracy, especially in the vicinities of structural natural frequencies compared to conventional spectral methods.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.129-152
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• 2008

This paper considers the solution of the stochastic differential equations (SDEs) with random operator and/or random excitation using the spectral SFEM. The random system parameters (involved in the operator) and the random excitations are modeled as second order stochastic processes defined only by their means and covariance functions. All random fields dealt with in this paper are continuous and do not have known explicit forms dependent on the spatial dimension. This fact makes the usage of the finite element (FE) analysis be difficult. Relying on the spectral properties of the covariance function, the Karhunen-Loeve expansion is used to represent these processes to overcome this difficulty. Then, a spectral approximation for the stochastic response (solution) of the SDE is obtained based on the implementation of the concept of generalized inverse defined by the Neumann expansion. This leads to an explicit expression for the solution process as a multivariate polynomial functional of a set of uncorrelated random variables that enables us to compute the statistical moments of the solution vector. To check the validity of this method, two applications are introduced which are, randomly loaded simply supported reinforced concrete beam and reinforced concrete cantilever beam with random bending rigidity. Finally, a more general application, randomly loaded simply supported reinforced concrete beam with random bending rigidity, is presented to illustrate the method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.281-294
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• 2008

In this paper, linear elastic isotropic structures under the effects of both stochastic operators and stochastic excitations are studied. The analysis utilizes the spectral stochastic finite elements (SSFEM) with its two main expansions namely; Neumann and Homogeneous Chaos expansions. The random excitation and the random operator fields are assumed to be second order stochastic processes. The formulations are obtained for the system solution of the two dimensional problems of plane strain and plate bending structures under stochastic loading and relevant rigidity using the previously mentioned expansions. Two finite element programs were developed to incorporate such formulations. Two illustrative examples are introduced: the first is a reinforced concrete culvert with stochastic rigidity subjected to a stochastic load where the culvert is modeled as plane strain problem. The second example is a simply supported square reinforced concrete slab subjected to out of plane loading in which the slab flexural rigidity and the applied load are considered stochastic. In each of the two examples, the first two statistical moments of displacement are evaluated using both expansions. The probability density function of the structure response of each problem is obtained using Homogeneous Chaos expansion.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.15-39
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• 2013

The sensitivities of a structural response due to variation of its design parameters are prerequisite in the majority of the algorithms used for fundamental problems in engineering as system uncertainties, identification and probabilistic assessments etc. The paper presents the concept of probabilistic sensitivity of suspension bridges with respect to near-fault ground motion. In near field earthquake ground motions, large amplitude spectral accelerations can occur at long periods where many suspension bridges have significant structural response modes. Two different types of suspension bridges, which are Bosporus and Humber bridges, are selected to investigate the near-fault ground motion effects on suspension bridges random response sensitivity analysis. The modulus of elasticity is selected as random design variable. Strong ground motion records of Kocaeli, Northridge and Erzincan earthquakes are selected for the analyses. The stochastic sensitivity displacements and internal forces are determined by using the stochastic sensitivity finite element method and Monte Carlo simulation method. The stochastic sensitivity displacements and responses obtained from the two different suspension bridges subjected to these near-fault strong-ground motions are compared with each other. It is seen from the results that near-fault ground motions have different impacts stochastic sensitivity responses of suspension bridges. The stochastic sensitivity information provides a deeper insight into the structural design and it can be used as a basis for decision-making.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.193-200
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• 2017

To overcome the difficulty of performing multi-point response spectrum analysis for engineering structures under spatially varying ground motions (SVGM) using the general finite element code such as ANSYS, an approach has been developed by improving the modelling of the input ground motions in the spectral analysis. Based on the stochastic vibration analyses, the cross-power spectral density (c-PSD) matrix is adopted to model the stationary SVGM. The design response spectra are converted into the corresponding PSD model with appropriate coherency functions and apparent wave velocities. Then elements of c-PSD matrix are summarized in the row and the PSD matrix is transformed into the response spectra for a general spectral analysis. A long-span high-pier bridge under multiple support excitations is analyzed using the proposed approach considering the incoherence, wave-passage and site-response effects. The proposed approach is deemed to be an efficient numerical method that can be used for seismic analysis of large engineering structures under SVGM.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2012

In this study, the ground motion was synthesized using the finite fault model by the stochastic green function method, and the difference in the ground motions was evaluated by using various values of the source parameters. An earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.5 was assumed for the example fault model. The distribution of the slip in the fault plane was calculated using the statistical data of the asperity area. The source parameters considered in this study were the location of the hypocenter in the fault plane and the ratio of the rupture to the shear wave velocity, the rise time, the corner frequency of the source spectrum, and a high frequency filter. The values of the parameters related to the stochastic element source model were adjusted for different tectonic regions, and the others were selected for several possible cases. The response spectra were constructed from the synthesized ground motion time history and compared with the different parameter values. The frequency range affected by each parameter and the differences of the spectral accelerations were evaluated.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.46-53
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• 1998

The aim of the present study is to develop a direct structural analysis system for more reliable and effective structural safety estimation of floating tripe ocean structures. In this system, the following three modules are included; i.e., a rigid body motion analysis module based on the three dimensional panel method, a structural analysis module, and a stochastic analysis module based on short and long term spectral analysis techniques. The structural analysis module consists of the general purpose finite element analysis program NASTRAN and the automatic load data generation program LOADGEN. As an illustrative example, the developed system is applied to structural design of a PILOT Barge Mounted Plant(BMP). Results of the structural analysis are compared with those obtained using a two dimensional strip method.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.203-225
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• 2013

An analysis framework for vehicle-bridge dynamic interaction system under turbulent wind is proposed based on the relevant theory of wind engineering and dynamics. Considering the fluctuating properties of wind field, the stochastic wind velocity time history is simulated by the Auto-Regressive method in terms of power spectral density function of wind field. The bridge is represented by three-dimensional finite element model and the vehicle by a multi-rigid-body system connected by springs and dashpots. The detailed calculation formulas of unsteady aerodynamic forces on bridge and vehicle are derived. In addition, the form selection of wind barriers, which are applied as the windbreak measures of newly-built railways in northwest China, is studied based on the suggested evaluation index, and the suitable values about height and porosity rate of wind barriers are studied. By taking a multi-span simply-supported box-girder bridge as a case study, the dynamic response of the bridge and the running safety indices of the train traveling on the bridge with and without wind barriers are calculated. The limit values of train speed with respect to different wind velocities are proposed according to the allowance values in the design code.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.43 no.3 s.147
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• pp.351-361
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• 2006

The fatigue strength analysis of VLFS is carried out by using a 3-dimensional plate finite element model with a zooming technology which performs the modeling of wide portions of the structure by a coarse mesh but the concerned parts by a very fine mesh of t by t level. And a stepwise substructure modeling technique for global loading conditions is applied which uses the motion response of the global structure from 2-D plate hydroelastic analysis as the enforcing nodal displacements of the concern 3-D structural zooming model. Seven incident wave angles and whole ranges of frequency domains of wave spectrum are considered. In order to consider the effect of breakwater, the modified JONSWAP wave spectrum is used. Applying the wave data of installation region, the longterm spectrum analysis is done based on stochastic process and the fatigue life of the structure is estimated. Finally some design considerations from the view point of fatigue strength analysis of VLFS are discussed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.367-382
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• 2007

A nonlinear numerical method was developed to assess the stability of suspension bridge catwalks under a wind load. A section model wind tunnel test was used to obtain a catwalk's aerostatic coefficients, from which the displacement-dependent wind loads were subsequently derived. The stability of a suspension bridge catwalk was analyzed on the basis of the geometric nonlinear behavior of the structure. In addition, a full model test was conducted on the catwalk, which spanned 960 m. A comparison of the displacement values between the test and the numerical simulation shows that a numerical method based on a section model test can be used to effectively and accurately evaluate the stability of a catwalk. A case study features the stability of the catwalk of the Runyang Yangtze suspension bridge, the main span of which is 1490 m. Wind can generally attack the structure from any direction. Whenever the wind comes at a yaw angle, there are six wind load components that act on the catwalk. If the yaw angle is equal to zero, the wind is normal to the catwalk (called normal wind) and the six load components are reduced to three components. Three aerostatic coefficients of the catwalk can be obtained through a section model test with traditional test equipment. However, six aerostatic coefficients of the catwalk must be acquired with the aid of special section model test equipment. A nonlinear numerical method was used study the stability of a catwalk under a yaw wind, while taking into account the six components of the displacement-dependent wind load and the geometric nonlinearity of the catwalk. The results show that when wind attacks with a slight yaw angle, the critical velocity that induces static instability of the catwalk may be lower than the critical velocity of normal wind. However, as the yaw angle of the wind becomes larger, the critical velocity increases. In the atmospheric boundary layer, the wind is turbulent and the velocity history is a random time history. The effects of turbulent wind on the stability of a catwalk are also assessed. The wind velocity fields are regarded as stationary Gaussian stochastic processes, which can be simulated by a spectral representation method. A nonlinear finite-element model set forepart and the Newmark integration method was used to calculate the wind-induced buffeting responses. The results confirm that the turbulent character of wind has little influence on the stability of the catwalk.