• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.199-207
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• 2003

The Timoshenko beam model has been known as the most accurate model for representing beam structures. However, the Timoshenko beam model may give rise to a significant error when it is applied to multi-stepped beam structures. This paper is intended to demonstrate the modeling error of Timoshenko beam based finite element model for multi-stepped beam structures and to suggest a new modeling method to improve the accuracy. A tentative bending spring is introduced into the stepped section to represent the softening effect due to the presence of step. This paper also proposes a finite element modeling method in the light with the tentative bending spring model for the step softening effect. The proposed method rigorously adapts computation results from a commercial finite element code. The validity of the proposed method is demonstrated through a series of simulation and experiment.

• 한국방재학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.83.2-83.2
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• 2010

Stepped I-beams having increased moment of inertia at one end(singly stepped beam) or both ends(doubly stepped beams) can often be seen in construction of bridges due to material economy and easy fabrication of the section. This paper presents the results of the parametric study of lateral torsional buckling of monosymmetric stepped I-beams with constant depth subjected to equal and opposite end moments applied at the end of the beam. Design recommendations were made based on the finite element results of the models having different combinations of monosymmetric ratio, stepped length ratio, flange thickness ratio and flange width ratio,. The proposed approximation is acceptable based on the parameters given having mostly conservative results. The proposed equation can be further used to extend the study to different loading conditions.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1990.04a
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• pp.12-17
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• 1990

Stepped bean with immovable ends for large amplitude of vibration including effects of longitudinal displacement, shear deformation and rotary inertia is investigated for free and forced vibration using finite element method. Modified harmonic force matrix is introduced for analysis of vibration with finite amplitude of the stepped beam under uniform hamonic loading and beam with nonuniform harmonic loading. Numerical examples of stepped beam with various support conditions are analysed for deflections and natural frequencies. Results show that the proposed method is valid and efficient.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.788-791
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• 2002

The Timoshenko beam model has been acknowledged as the most accurate model for representing beam structures. However, the Timoshenko beam model may give rise to significant error when it is applied to multi-stepped beam structures. This paper is intended to demonstrate and improve the modeling error of Timoshenko beam theory for multi-stepped team structures. A tentative bending spring is introduced to represent the stiffness change around a step in beams. This paper proposes a finite element modeling method in the light with the bending spring. The proposed method is rigorously compared with commercial finite element codes. The validity of the proposed method is also demonstrated through an experiment..

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.401-410
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• 2008

The natural frequency of a beam plays an important role in not only vibration analysis but also understanding its dynamic characteristics. It is complicated to analyse the natural frequency of a stepped beam with discontinuously varying section. Approximate analysis methods such as Rayleigh-Ritz method, FEM, etc. are frequently used for the vibration analysis of stepped beams. In such a case, accuracy of these methods depends upon the number of partitioned elements, the number of the iterations in calculation and the assumed mode shape. This study presents an approximate analysis method for the fundamental natural frequency analysis of stepped cantilever beam, using equivalent beam transformation technique. Validity and usefulness are verified by comparing the proposed method with FEM for several example problems.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.7-13
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• 2010

Stepped I-beams having increased moment of inertia at one end (singly stepped beam) or both ends (doubly stepped beams) can often be seen in construction of bridges due to material economy and easy fabrication of the section. This paper presents the results of the parametric study of lateral torsional buckling of monosymmetric stepped I-beams with constant depth subjected to uniform moment. Design recommendations were made based on the finite element results of the models having different combinations of monosymmetric ratio, stepped length ratio, flange thickness ratio and flange width ratio. The proposed approximation is acceptable based on the parameters given having mostly conservative results. The proposed equation can be further used to extend the study to different loading conditions.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.19 no.1 s.71
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• pp.55-62
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• 2006

The natural frequency of a beam plays a critical role in the dynamic analysis of beams. Especially it is a complicated and difficult task to analyse the natural frequency of a stepped beam with an irregularly varying section. The lumped mass methods, multi-degree of freedom analyses, are mainly used for the analysis of this kind of stepped beams. The accuracy of these methods are determined by the number of the partitions of elements, the number of the iterations in calculation, and the accuracy of assumed mode shapes. This study presents a method of transformation from symmetrically stepped beams to an equivalent beam and a method of the eigenvalue analysis. Appropriateness and utility of this method are demonstrated by comparing examples from other literatures and various models.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.67-75
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• 1990

A stepped beam with immovable ends under the free and forced vibrations with large amplitude is investigated by using the finite element method to show the effects of longitudinal displacement, shear deformation and rotary inertia. A modified harmonic force matrix is introduced for analysis of finite amplitude vibration of the stepped beam under uniform harmonic loading and a beam under nonuniform harmonic loading. Numerical examples are analysed for deflections and natural frequencies of stepped beam under various support conditions. Results show that the proposed method is valid and efficient.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.623-640
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• 2015

This paper presents techniques to harvest higher voltage from piezoelectric cantilever energy harvester by structural alteration. Three different energy harvesting structures are considered namely, stepped cantilever beam, stepped cantilever beam with rectangular and trapezoidal cavity. The analytical model of three energy harvesting structures are developed using Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. The thickness, position of the rectangular cavity and the taper angle of the trapezoidal cavity is found to shift the neutral axis away from the surface of the piezoelectric element which in turn increases the generated voltage. The performance of the energy harvesters is evaluated experimentally and is compared with regular piezoelectric cantilever energy harvester. The analytical and experimental investigations reveal that, the proposed energy harvesting structures generate higher output voltage as compared to the regular piezoelectric cantilever energy harvesting structure. This work suggests that through simple structural modifications higher energy can be harvested from the widely reported piezoelectric cantilever energy harvester.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 2009

This paper investigates inelastic lateral-torsional buckling of stepped beams subjected to uniformly distributed load and end moments. A three-dimensional finite-element program ABAQUS (2007) and a regression program MINITAB(2006) were used to analytically develop new design equation for singly and doubly stepped beams with simple boundary condition. The flanges of the smaller cross-section in the stepped beams were fixed at 30.48 by 2.54 cm, whereas the width and thickness of the flanges of the larger cross-section varied. The web thickness and height of the beams were kept at 1.65 cm and 88.9 cm, respectively. The ratios of the flange thickness, flange width, and stepped length of beam are considered with analytical parameters. Two groups of 27 cases and 36 cases, respectively, were analyzed for doubly and singly stepped beams in the inelastic buckling range. The combined effects of residual stresses and geometrical imperfection on inelastic lateral-torsional buckling of beams are considered. The distributions of residual stress of the cross-section is same as shown in Pi and Trahair (1995) and the initial geometric imperfection of the beam is set by central displacement equal to 0.1% of the unbraced length of beam. The comparisons between results from proposed equations and the results from finite element analyses were presented in this paper. The maximum differences of two results are of 13% for the doubly stepped beam and 10% for the singly stepped beam. The proposed equations definitely improve current design methods for the inelastic lateral-torsional buckling problem and increase efficiency in building and bridge design.