• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.473-489
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• 2002

A static linear programming formulation for minimum weight design of frames that is based on a matrix displacement method is presented in this paper. According to elementary theory of plasticity, minimum weight design of frames can be carried out by using only the equilibrium equations, because the system is statically determinate when at an incipient collapse state. In the present formulation, a statically determinate released frame is defined by introducing hinges into the real frame and the bending moments in yield constraints are expressed in terms of unit hinge rotations and the external loads respectively, by utilizing the matrix displacement method. Conventional Simplex algorithm with some modifications is utilized for the solution of linear programming problem. As the formulation is based on matrix displacement method, it may be easily adopted to the weight optimization of frames with displacement and deformation limitations. Four illustrative examples are also given for comparing the results to those obtained in previous studies.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.715-726
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• 2010

In this paper, a comparative study of metallic and non-metallic stiffened plates under a lateral pressure load is performed using conventional statistically determinate and SQP(Sequential Quadratic Programming) optimisation approaches. Initially, a metallic flat-bar stiffened plate is exemplified from the superstructure of a marine vessel and, subsequently, its structural topology is varied as hat-section stiffened FRP(Fibre Reinforced Plastics) single skin plates and monocoque FRP sandwich plates having a PVC foam core. These proposed structural alternatives are analysed using elastic closed-form solutions and SQP optimisation method under stress and deflection limits obtained from practice to calculate and optimise geometry dimensions and weights. Results obtained from the comparative study provide useful information for marine designers especially at the preliminary design stage where various building materials and structural configurations are dealt with.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.793-807
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• 2015

Constructing the influence lines of forces of statically indeterminate structures is a traditional issue in structural engineering and mechanics. However, the existing kinematic method for establishing these force influence lines is an indirect or mixed approach by combining the force method with the theorem of reciprocal displacements, which is yet inconsistent with the kinematic method for statically determinate structure. This paper proposes the direct kinematic method in conjunction with the load-displacement differential relation for exactly constructing influence lines of reaction and internal forces of indeterminate structures. Firstly, through applying the principle of virtual displacement, the formula for influence lines of reaction and internal forces of indeterminate structure via direct kinematic method is derived based on the released structure. Then, a computational approach with a clear concept and unified procedure as well as wide applicability based on the load-displacement differential relation of beam is suggested to achieve conveniently the closed-form expression of force influence lines, and exactly draw them. Finally, three representative examples for constructing force influence lines of statically indeterminate beams and frame illustrate the superiority of the proposed method.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.5 no.3 s.17
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• pp.91-100
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• 2005

The paper presents a direct method for the diplacement control and stiffness redesign using displacement and response force contribution factors. At first, these two kinds of factors are derived and the relationship between them is examined. An equation to evaluate the change of displacement according to the change of each member stiffness is proposed. For the statically determinate structures, the proposed equation gives the exact solution with no approximation. But it has some error in case of statically indeterminate structures because the redistribution of response forces is neglected in the equation. However, the equation may be very useful even for statically indeterminate structures because it provides the relationship between the member stiffness and the global displacement. The proposed method is expected to be useful for the displacement control of large space or hi-rise building structures where the stiffness design governs the design result.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.2854-2865
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• 1996

The concept of variable-geometry truss structure(VGTS) is introduced as a class of actively controlled adaptive structure. VGTS can purposefully vary its geometric configurations by changing the lengths of some members of the structure. General kinematics and inverse kinematics of a statically determinate VGTS(variable geometry truss structure) are studied. The solution technique is based on the Jacobian matrix obtained via joint equilibrium equations. Pseudoinverse control method is applied to resolve the redundancy of a large VGTS. two types of actuator layout of octahedral type VGTS, VG truss and Stewart platform, are compared. Introducing the concept of performance index, Stewart platform based layout was found to has less consumption energy and manipulation time. A functional VGTS model with 3 octahedral modules is designed and manufactured for the labaratory demonstration. Six vertically located length-variable members are used to create general 6 d.o.f. motions.