• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.25-43
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• 2016

This paper presents the results of an experimental study investigating the effects of anchorage systems used in externally bonded steel plates on the strength and ductility of reinforced concrete structures. In the literature, diagonal steel plates bonded to frames were designed to be more flexible than the connections to eliminate the possible effect of the connection flexibility. However, to better evaluate the performance of the strengthened structures, the strength and behavior of connections should also be considered. The purpose of this study was to experimentally investigate the effects of different connection types of steel plates bonded to the frame using anchors on the strengthened RC structures. For this purpose, eleven specimens were designed to simulate the interior and exterior connection behavior. Two of these were used as the control beams and remaining nine for the investigation of the functionality of the end steel plates. Experimental results show that the load carrying capacity of the strengthened beams is directly related to the connection types of the steel plates. For the interior connections, L-shaped end plates that were strengthened using steel anchors must have adequate stiffness to prevent its shape. While, for the exterior connections, the connection with three anchors carried more load than the other exterior connections.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.663-677
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• 2023

The self-centering energy-dissipating coupled wall panels (SECWs) possess a dual capacity of resiliency and energy dissipation. Used in steel frames, the SECWs can localize the damage of structures and reduce residual drifts. Based on OpenSEES, the nonlinear models were established and validated by experimental results. The seismic design procedure of steel frame with SECW structures (SF-SECW) was proposed in accordance with four-level seismic fortification objectives. Nonlinear time-history response analyses were carried out to validate the reasonability of seismic design procedure for 6-story and 12-story structures. Results show that the inter-story drifts of designed structures are less than drift limits. According to incremental dynamic analyses (IDA), the fragility curves of mentioned-above structure models under different limit states were obtained. The results indicate that designed structures have good seismic performance and meet the seismic fortification objectives.

• 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.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.783-794
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• 2020

Steel-concrete-steel sandwich composite wall is composed of two external steel plates and infilled concrete core. Internal mechanical connectors are used to enhance the composite action between the two materials. In this paper, the compressive behavior of a novel sandwich composite wall was studied. The steel trusses were applied to connect the steel plates to the concrete core. Three short specimens with different truss spacings were tested under compressive loading. The boundary columns were not included. It was found that the failure of walls started from the buckling of steel plates and followed by the crushing of concrete. Global instability was not observed. It was also observed that the truss spacing has great influence on ultimate strength, buckling stress, ductility, strength index, lateral deflection, and strain distribution. Three modern codes were introduced to calculate the capacity of walls. The comparisons between test results and code predictions show that AISC 360 provides significant underestimations while Eurocode 4 and CECS 159 offer overestimated predictions.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.333-346
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• 2019

Foam ceramic materials contribute to the explosion effect weakening on concrete structures, due to the corresponding excellent energy absorption ability. The blast resistance of concrete members could be improved through steel-foam ceramics as protective cladding layers. An approach for the modeling of dynamic response of steel-foam ceramic protected reinforced concrete (Steel-FC-RC) slabs under blast loading was presented with the LS-DYNA software. The orthogonal analysis (five factors with five levels) under three degrees of blast loads was conducted. The influence rankings and trend laws were further analyzed. The dynamic displacement of the slab bottom was significantly reduced by increasing the thickness of steel plate, foam ceramic and RC slab, while the displacement decreased slightly as the steel yield strength and the compressive strength of concrete increased. However, the optimized efficiency of blast resistance decreases with factors increase to higher level. Moreover, an efficient design method was reported based on the orthogonal analysis.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.405-413
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• 2020

Current study on the buckling analysis of steel plate in composite structures normally focuses on applying finite element method to derive the buckling stress. However, it is time consuming, computationally complicated and tedious for general use in design by civil engineers. Therefore, in this study an analytical study is conducted to predict the buckling behavior of steel plates in composite structures. Hand calculation method was proposed based on energy principle. Novel buckling shapes with biquadratic functions along both loaded and unloaded direction were proposed to satisfy the boundary condition. Explicit solutions for predicting the critical local buckling stress of steel plate is obtained based on the Rayleigh-Ritz approach. The obtained results are compared with both experimental and numerical data. Good agreement has been achieved. Furthermore, the influences of key factors such as aspect ratio, width to thickness ratio, and elastic restraint stiffness on the local buckling performance are comprehensively discussed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.395-405
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• 2005

This work introduces to the international scientific community the Chinese Code on fire safety design of steel building structures. The aim of the Code is to prevent the structure of a steel building subjected to fire from collapsing, ensure safe evacuation of building occupants, and reduce the cost for repairing the damages of the structure caused by fire. The main contents of the Code is presented in this paper, including the fire duration requirements of structural components, fundamental requirements on fire safety design of steel components, temperature increasing of atmosphere and components in fire, loading effect and capacity of various components in fire, and procedure for fire-resistant design of steel components. The analytical approach is employed in the Code and the effectiveness of the Code is validated through experiments.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.331-348
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• 2010

Ample research effort has been oriented into developing damage indices with the aim of estimating in a reasonable manner the consequences, in terms of structural damage and deterioration, of severe plastic cycling. Although several studies have been devoted to calibrate damage indices for steel and reinforced concrete members; currently, there is a challenge to study and calibrate the use of such indices for the practical evaluation of complex structures. The aim of this paper is to introduce an energy-based damage index for multi-degree-of-freedom steel buildings that accounts explicitly for the effects of cumulative plastic deformation demands. The model has been developed by complementing the results obtained from experimental testing of steel members with those derived from analytical studies regarding the distribution of plastic demands on several steel frames designed according to the Mexico City Building Code. It is concluded that the approach discussed herein is a promising tool for practical structural evaluation of framed structures subjected to large energy demands.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.473-491
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• 2013

The primary objectives of this paper are to describe the buckling patterns and to determine the squash load of steel plate-concrete (SC) walls. The major variables in this study were the width-thickness (B/t) ratio and yield strength of surface steel plates. Six SC walls were tested, and the results include the maximum strength, buckling pattern of steel plates, strength of headed studs, and behavior of headed studs. Based on the test results, the effects of the B/t ratio on the compressive strength are also discussed. The paper also presents recommended effective length coefficients and discusses the effects of varying the yield strength of the steel plate, and the effects of headed studs on the performance of SC structures based on the test results and analysis.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.371-382
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• 2017

Concrete filled steel tubes are extensively applied in engineering structures due to their resistance to high tensile and compressive load and convenience in construction. But one major flaw, their vulnerability to environmental attack, can severely reduce the strength and life of these structures. Degradation due to corrosion of steel confining the concrete is one of the major durability problems faced by civil engineers to maintain these structures. The problem accelerates as inner surface of steel tube is in contact with concrete which serves as electrolyte. If it remains unnoticed, it further accelerates and can be catastrophic. This paper discusses a non-destructive degradation monitoring technique for early detection corrosion in steel tubes in CFST members. Due to corrosion, damage in the form of debonding and pitting occurs in steel sections. Guided ultrasonic waves have been used as a feasible and attractive solution for the detection and monitoring of corrosion damages in CFST sections. Guided waves have been utilized to monitor the effect of notch and debond defects in concrete filled steel tubes simulating pitting and delamination of steel tubes from surrounding concrete caused by corrosion. Pulse transmission has been used to monitor the healthy and simulated damaged specimens. A methodology is developed and successfully applied for the monitoring of concrete filled steel tubular sections undergoing accelerated chloride corrosion. The ultrasonic signals efficiently narrate the state of steel tube undergoing corrosion.