• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 1985

The main purpose of this work is to investigate the effects of the wall thickness, the ultrasonic frequency, and the acoustic impedance of wall material on the liquid-film thickness measurement by an ultrasonic pulse echo method. A series of liquid-film thickness measurements in a horizontal air-water stratified system was performed employing a plate-type and a tube-type test sections. Measurements were repeated changing (1) the wall thickness of the test section and (2) the transducer frequency. Also, in an effort to improve the accuracy of the measurement and to exam me the effect of acoustic impedance of wall material on the measurement by an ultrasonic technique, two different stand-off rods, one made of stainless steel and the other polyacrylate, were used in the liquid-film thickness measurement. These experimental results are discussed and compared with the actual film thicknesses.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.587-606
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• 2013

The given paper presents a new approach in design of seismic isolation systems of base isolated buildings. The idea is to install not one big size rubber bearing under the columns and/or shear walls, or one by one with certain spacing under the load-bearing walls, but to install a group/cluster of small size bearings, in order to increase the overall effectiveness of the isolation system. The advantages of this approach are listed and illustrated by the examples. Also the results of analyses of some buildings where the approach on installation of clusters of rubber bearings was used in their isolation systems are given for two cases: i) when the analyses are carried out based on the provisions of the Armenian Seismic Code, and ii) when the time history analyses are carried out. Obtained results are compared and discussed. Paper also presents, as an example, detailed analysis and design of the 18-story unique building in one of the residential complexes in Yerevan. Earthquake response analyses of this building were carried out in two versions, i.e. when the building is base isolated and when it is fixed base. Several time histories were used in the analyses. Comparison of the obtained results indicates the high effectiveness of the proposed structural concepts of isolation systems and the need for further improvement of the Seismic Code provisions regarding the values of the reduction factors. A separate section in the paper dedicated to the design of high damping laminated rubber-steel bearings and to results of their tests.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.323-334
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• 2021

Concrete structures may rarely collapse in fire incidents but fire induced damage to structural members is inevitable as a result of material degradation and thermal expansion. This requires certain repairing measures to be applied to restore the performance of post-fire members. A brief review on investigation of post-fire damage of concrete material and concrete structural members is presented in this paper, followed by a review of post-fire repair research regarding various types of repairing techniques (FRP, steel plate, and concrete section enlargement) and different type of structural members including columns, beams, and slabs. Particularly, the fire scenarios adopted in these studies leading to damage are categorized as three levels according to the duration of gas-phase temperature above 600℃ (t₆₀₀). The repair effectiveness in terms of recovered performance of concrete structural members compared to the initial undamaged performance has been summarized and compared regarding the repairing techniques and fire intensity levels. The complied results have shown that recovering the ultimate strength is achievable but the stiffness recovery is difficult. Moreover, the current fire loading scenarios adopted in the post-fire repair research are mostly idealized as constant heating rates or standard fire curves, which may have produced unrealistic fire damage patterns and the associated repairing techniques may be not practical. For future studies, the realistic fire impact and the system-level structural damage investigation are necessary.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.3003-3011
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• 2021

A FAC (flow-accelerated corrosion) test was performed for a straight pipe composed of the SA335 Gr P22 and SA106 Gr B (SA106-SA335-SA106) types of steel with welds as a function of the flow rate in the range of 7-12 m/s at 150 ℃ and with DO < 5 ppb at pH levels ranging from 7 to 9.5 up to a cumulative test time of 7200 h using the FAC demonstration test facility. Afterward, the experimental pipe was examined destructively to investigate opposite effects as well as entrance effects. In addition, the FAC rate obtained using a pipe specimen with a 50 mm inner diameter was compared with the rate obtained from a rotating cylindrical electrode. The effects of the complicated fluid flows at the elbow and orifice of the pipeline were also evaluated using another test section designed to examine the independent effects of the orifice and the elbow depending on the distance and the combined effects on orifice and elbow. The tests were performed under the following conditions: 130-150 ℃, DO < 5 ppb, pH 7 and a flow rate of 3 m/s. The FAC rate was determined using the thickness change obtained from commercial room-temperature ultrasonic testing (UT).

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.273-294
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• 2019

In this paper is presented the minimum cost (optimal design) for reinforced concrete circular isolated footings based on an analytic model. This model considers a load and two moments in directions of the X and Y axes, and the pressure has a variation linear, these are the effects that act on the footing. The minimum cost (optimal design) and the Maple program are shown in Flowcharts. Two numerical experiments are shown to obtain the minimum cost design of the two materials that are used for a circular footing supporting an axial load and moments in two directions in accordance to the code of the ACI (American Concrete Institute), and it is compared against the current design (uniform pressure). Also, the same examples are developed through the normal procedure to verify the minimum cost (optimal design) presented in this document, i.e., the equations of moment, bending shear and punching shear are used to check the thickness, and after, the steel areas of the footing are obtained, and it is compared against the current design (uniform pressure). Results section show that the optimal design is more accurate and more economical than to any other model. Therefore, it is concluded that the optimized design model presented in this paper should be used to obtain the minimum cost design for the circular isolated footings.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.541-558
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• 2019

In Special Concentrically Braced Frames (SCBFs), vertical and horizontal components of the brace force must be resisted by column and beam, respectively but normal force component existing at the gusset plate-to-column and beam interfaces, creates out-of-plane action making distortion in column and beam faces adjacent to the gusset plate. It is a main concern in Hollow Structural Section (HSS) columns and beams where their webs and gusset plate are not in the same plane. In this paper, a new gusset plate passing through the HSS columns and beams, named as through gusset plate, is proposed to study the force transfer mechanism in such gusset plates of SCBFs compared to the case with conventional gusset plates. For this purpose, twelve SCBFs with diagonal brace and HSS columns and twelve SCBFs with chevron brace and HSS columns and beams are considered. For each frame, two cases are considered, one with through gusset plates and the other with conventional ones. Based on numerical results, using through gusset plates prevents distortion and out-of-plane deformation at HSS column and beam faces adjacent to the gusset plate helping the entire column and beam cross-sections to resist respectively vertical and horizontal components of the brace force. Moreover, its application increases energy dissipation, lateral stiffness and strength around 28%, 40% and 32%, respectively, improving connection behavior and raising the resistance of the normal force components at the gusset plate-to-HSS column and beam interfaces to approximately 4 and 3.5 times, respectively. Finally, using such through gusset plates leads to better structural performance particularly for HSS columns and beams with larger width-to-thickness ratio elements.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.239-248
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• 2019

In this study, the out-of-plane seismic resistance of lightly-reinforced existing walls strengthened with thick RC jacket was investigated. The thick RC jacket with a thickness of 500 mm was placed at one side of the thin existing wall with a thickness of 150 mm. At the interface between the wall and RC jacket, a tee-shaped steel section with a number of anchor bolts and dowel bars was used as the shear connector. To investigate the connection performance and strengthening effects, the cyclic loading tests of four jacketed wall specimens were performed. The tests showed that the flexural strength of the jacketed walls under out-of-plane loading was significantly increased. During the initial behavior, the tee shear connector transferred forces successfully at the interface without slip. However, as the cracking, spalling, and crushing of the concrete increased in the exiting walls, the connection performance at the interface was significantly degraded and, consequently, the strength of the jacketed walls was significantly decreased. The flexural strength of the jacketed walls with tee shear connector was estimated considering the full and partial composite actions of the tee shear connector.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.392-397
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• 2018

In this study, the development purpose is to replace steel Tie Rod of commercial vehicle to the carbon composite by a braiding process. CFRP tie rod was designed to meet the performance requirements of existing products by designing the cross section of the core for braiding weaving and the structural design of the joint between the core and the carbon fiber. The specimens were fabricated by braiding method and applied to structural analysis through test evaluation. The manufacturing process proceeded from braiding to infusion through post-curing process. The test evaluation of the final product was satisfactorily carried out by sequentially performing tensile test, torsion test, compression test and fatigue test. In addition, the weight of CFRP tie rod could be reduced by about 37% compared to existing products.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.135-146
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• 2019

Deep beam has high section modules compared with shallow beam of the same weight. However, deep beam has low rotational capacity and high possibility of brittle failure so it is not possible to apply deep beams with a long span to intermediate moment frames, which should exhibit a ductility of 0.02rad of a story drift angle of steel moment frames. Accordingly, KBC and AISC limit the beam depth for intermediate and special moment frame to 750mm and 920mm respectively. The purpose of this paper is to improve the seismic performance of intermediate moment frame with 1200mm depth beam. In order to enhance vulnerability of plastic deformation capacity of deeper beam, Multi-Reduced Taper Beam(MRTB) shape that thickness of beam flange is reinforced and at the same time some part of the beam flange width is weakened are proposed. Based on concept of multiple plastic hinge, MRTB is intended to satisfy the rotation requirement for intermediate moment frame by dividing total story drift into each hinge and to prevent the collapse of the main members by inducing local buckling and fracture at the plastic hinge location far away from connection. The seismic performance of MRTB is evaluated by cyclic load test with conventional connections type WUF-W, RBS and Haunch. Some of the proposed MRTB connection satisfies connection requirements for intermediate moment frame and shows improved the seismic performance compared to conventional connections.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.37-44
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• 2017

Due to structural characteristics, construction costs and duration of a modular system would be saved by minimizing the schedule on the job site. As such, it is crucial to develop a connection that can guarantee stiffness while allowing for simple assembling. Particularly, the mid- to high-rise construction of the modular system necessitates the securing of the structural stability and seismic performance of multi-unit frames and connections, and thus, the stiffness of unit-assembled structures needs to be re-evaluated and designed. However, evaluating a frame consisting of slender members and reinforcing materials is a complicated process. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the structural characteristics of a modular unit connection based a method for reinforcing connection brackets and hinges while minimizing the loss of the cross section. Toward this end, the study modeled the beam-to-column connection of a modular system with the proposed connection, and produced a specimen which was used to perform a cycling loading test. The study compared the initial stiffness, the attributes of the hysteretic behavior, and the maximum flexural moment, and observed whether the model acquired the seismic performance, compared to the flexural strength of the steel moment frame connection that is required by the Korean Building Code. The test results showed that the proposed connection produced a similar initial stiffness value to that of the theoretical equation, and its maximum strength exceeded the theoretical strength. Furthermore, the model with a larger ceiling bracket showed higher seismic performance, which was further increased by the reinforcement of the plate.