• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.141-156
• /
• 2019

This paper presents the flexural behaviour of stainless steel beam-to-tubular column joints with extended endplates subjected to static loading. Moment-rotation relationships were investigated numerically by using Abaqus software with geometric and material nonlinearity considered. The prediction of damages among components was achieved through ductile damage models, and the influence of initial geometric imperfections and residual stresses was evaluated in large fabricated stainless steel joints involving hollow columns and concrete-filled columns. Parametric analysis was subsequently conducted to assess critical factors that could affect the flexural performance significantly in terms of the initial stiffness and moment resistance. A comparison between codes of practice and numerical results was thereafter made, and design recommendations were proposed for further applications. Results suggest that the finite element model can predict the structural behaviour reasonably well with the component damage consistent with test outcomes. Initial geometric imperfections and residual stresses are shown to have little effect on the moment-rotation responses. A series of parameters that can influence the joint behaviour remarkably include the strain-hardening exponents, stainless steel strength, diameter of bolts, thickness of endplates, position of bolts, section of beams and columns. AS/NZS 2327 is more reliable to predict the joint performance regarding the initial stiffness and moment capacity compared to EN 1993-1-8.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.337-350
• /
• 2019

The objective of this paper is to investigate the confinement coefficient of concrete-filled square stainless steel tubular (CFSSST) stub columns under axial loading. A fine finite 3D solid element model was established, which utilized a constitutive model of stainless steel considering the strain-hardening characteristics and a triaxial plastic-damage constitutive model of concrete with features of the parameter certainty under axial compression. The finite element analysis results revealed that the increased ultimate bearing capacity of CFSSST stub columns compared with their carbon steel counterparts was mainly due to that the composite action of CFSSST stub columns is stronger than that of carbon steel counterparts. A further parametric study was carried out based on the verified model, and it was found that the stress contribution of the stainless steel tube is higher than the carbon steel tube. The stress nephogram was simplified reasonably in accordance with the limit state of core concrete and a theoretical formula was proposed to estimate the ultimate bearing capacity of square CFSSST stub columns using superposition method. The predicted results showed satisfactory agreement with both the experimental and FE results. Finally, the comparisons of the experimental and predicted results using the proposed formula and the existing codes were illustrated.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.72 no.3
• /
• pp.313-327
• /
• 2019

Damage evolution in the form of void nucleation, propagation and coalescence is the primary cause that is responsible for the ductile failure of microalloyed steels. The Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) damage model has proven to be extremely robust for characterizing the microscopic damage behavior of ductile metals. Nonetheless, successful applications of the model on a given metal type are limited by the correct identification of damage parameters as well as the validation of the calculated void growth rate. The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, we aim to identify the damage parameters of the GTN model for Q345 steel (Chinese code), due to its extensive application in mechanical and civil industries in China. The identification of damage parameters is facilitated by the well-suited response surface methodology, followed by a complete analysis of variance for evaluating the statistical significance of the identified model. Second, taking notched Q345 cylinders as an example, finite element simulations implemented with the identified GTN model are performed in order to analyze their microscopic damage behavior. In particular, the void growth rate predicted from the simulations is successfully correlated with experimentally measured acoustic emissions. The quantitative correlation suggests that during the yielding stage the void growth rate increases linearly with the acoustic emissions, while in the strain-hardening and softening period the dependence becomes an exponential function. The combined experimental and finite element approach provides a means for validating simulated void growth rate against experimental measurements of acoustic emissions in microalloyed steels.

• Coupled systems mechanics
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.273-287
• /
• 2019

Elastoplastic analysis of an annular disc, being fully constrained on its outer rim and interacting with a purely elastic inclusion perfectly bonded with its inner rim, is conducted to study its plastic deformation and residual stress under thermal cycles. The system is termed the composite disc. Quasi-static plane-strain deformation is assumed, and the von Mises yield criterion with or without the Ludwik hardening rule is adopted in our finite element calculations. Effects of multiple material properties simultaneously being temperature dependent on the plastic behavior of the composite disc are considered. Residual stress is analyzed from a complete loading and unloading cycle. Results are discussed for various inclusion radii. It is found that when temperature dependent material properties are considered, the maximum residual stress may be greater than the maximum stress inside the disc at the temperature-loaded state due to lower temperature having larger yield stress. Temperature independent material properties overestimate stresses inside materials, as well as the elastic irreversible temperature and plastic collapse temperature.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.589-599
• /
• 2019

Conventional buckling restrained braces used in concentrically braced frames are expected to yield in both tension and compression without major degradation of capacity under severe seismic ground motions. One of the weakness points of a standard buckling restrained braced frame is the low post-yield stiffness and thus large residual deformation under moderate to severe ground motions. This phenomenon can be attributed to low post-yield stiffness of core member in a BRB. This paper introduces a multi-core buckling restrained brace. The multi-core term arises from the use of more than one core component with different steel materials, including high-performance steel (HPS-70W) and stainless steel (304L) with high strain hardening properties. Nonlinear dynamic time history analyses were conducted on variety of diagonally braced frames with different heights, in order to compare the seismic performance of regular and multi-core buckling restrained braced frames. The results exhibited that the proposed multi-core buckling restrained braces reduce inter-story and especially residual drift demands in BRBFs. In addition, the results of seismic fragility analysis designated that the probability of exceedance of residual drifts in multi-core buckling restrained braced frames is significantly lower in comparison to standard BRBFs.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
• /
• v.35 no.5
• /
• pp.125-132
• /
• 2019

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) has high compressive and tensile strengths due to the particle packing, and its ductile behavior can be ensured by utilizing steel fibers. However, since the UHPC members exhibit different characteristics of crack behavior and tensile behavior from normal concrete, the tension stiffening and cracking characteristics of the UHPC should be accurately modeled for the design and analysis of the UHPC members. In this study, uniaxial tension tests was conducted on the UHPC members with strands, where the test variables were diameter and reinforcing ratio of strands. Detailed analyses were also conducted to identify the tensile characteristics and crack behavior of the UHPC members. By comparing the test results with current code provisions and other models proposed by existing researchers, their applicability for estimation of crack behavior of the UHPC members was examined.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.46 no.9
• /
• pp.563-571
• /
• 2008

The influence of annealing treatment on dynamic deformation behavior of ultra-fine grained aluminum alloys was investigated in this study. After equal-channel angular pressing at $200^{\circ}C$, most of the grains were considerably reduced to nearly equiaxed grains of $0.3{\mu}m$ in size. With an increment of various annealing treatments for 1 hour, resultant microstructures were found to be fairly stable at temperatures up to $200^{\circ}C$, suggesting that static recovery would be dominantly operative, whereas grain growth was pronounced above $250^{\circ}C$. The tensile test results showed that yield and ultimate tensile strengths decreased, but elongation-to-failure and strain hardening rate increased with increasing annealing temperature. The dynamic deformation behavior retrieved with a series of torsional tests was explored with respect to annealed microstructures. Such mechanical response was analyzed in relation to resultant microstructure and fracture mode.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.48 no.3
• /
• pp.335-351
• /
• 2023

This research studies the primary resonance and nonlinear vibratory responses of multilayer functionally graded shallow (MFGS) shells under external excitations. The shells considered with functionally graded porous (FGP) core and resting on two types of nonlinear viscoelastic foundations (NVEF) governed by either a linear model with two parameters of Winkler and Pasternak foundations or a nonlinear model of hardening/softening cubic stiffness augmented by a Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic model. The shells considered have three layers, sandwiched by functionally graded (FG), FGP, and FG materials. To investigate the influence of various porosity distributions, two types of FGP middle layer cores are considered. With the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), Hooke's law, and von-Kármán equation, the stress-strain relations for the MFGS shells with FGP core are developed. The governing equations of the shells are consequently derived. For the sake of higher accuracy and reliability, the P-T method is implemented in numerically analyzing the vibration, and the method of multiple scales (MMS) as one of the perturbation methods is used to investigate the primary resonance. The results of the present research are verified with the results available in the literature. The analytical results are compared with the P-T method. The influences of material, geometry, and nonlinear viscoelastic foundation parameters on the responses of the shells are illustrated.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.347-360
• /
• 2022

Fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (FRCC) have emerged as a response to the calls for strong, ductile and sustainable concrete mixes. FRCC has shown outstanding mechanical properties and ductility where special fibres are used in the mixes to give it the strength and the ability to exhibit strain hardening. With the possibility of designing the FRCC mixes to include sustainable constituents and by-products materials such as fly ash, FRCC started to emerge as a green alternative as well. To be able to design mixes that achieve these conflicting properties in concrete, there is a need to understand the composition effect on FRCC and optimize these compositions. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the influence of FRCC compositions on the properties of fresh and hardened of FRCC and then to optimize these mix compositions using factorial design approach. Three factors, water-to-binder ratio (w/b), mineral admixtures (total of fly ash and metakaolin by cement content (MAR)), and metakaolin content (MK), were investigated to determine their effects on the properties of fresh and hardened FRCC. The results show the importance of combining both FA and MK in obtaining a satisfactory fresh and mechanical properties of FRCC. Models were suggested to elucidate the role of the studied factors and a method for optimization was proposed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.409-422
• /
• 2022

The use of calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement as a rapid-hardening cement admixture or eco-friendly alternate for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) has been attempted over the years, but the cost of CSA cement and availability of suitable aluminium resource prevent its wide practical application. To propose an effective ground improvement design in sandy soil, this study aims at blending a certain percentage of CSA with OPC to find an optimum blend that would have fast-setting behavior with a lower carbon footprint than OPC without compromising the mechanical properties of the cemented sand. Compared to the 100% CSA case, initial speed of strength development of blended cement is relatively low as it is mixed with OPC. It is found that 80% OPC and 20% CSA blend has low initial strength but eventually produces equivalent ultimate strength (28 days curing) to that of CSA treated sand. The specific OPC-CSA blend (80:20) exhibits significantly higher strength gain than using pure OPC, thus allowing effective geotechnical designs for sustainable and controlled ground improvement. Further parametric studies were conducted for the blended cement under various curing conditions, cement contents, and curing times. Wet-cured cement treated sand had 33% lower strength than that of dry-cured samples, while the stiffness of wet-cured samples was 25% lower than that of dry-cured samples.