• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.291-304
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• 2015

Compared with the identification of linear structures, it is more challenging to conduct identification of nonlinear structure systems, especially when the locations of structural nonlinearities are not clear in structural systems. Moreover, it is highly desirable to develop methods of parametric identification using partial measurements of structural responses for practical application. To cope with these issues, an identification method is proposed in this paper for the detection and parametric identification of structural nonlinear restoring forces using only partial measurements of structural responses. First, an equivalent linear structural system is proposed for a nonlinear structure and the locations of structural nonlinearities are detected. Then, the parameters of structural nonlinear restoring forces at the locations of identified structural nonlinearities together with the linear part structural parameters are identified by the extended Kalman filter. The proposed method simplifies the identification of nonlinear structures. Numerical examples of the identification of two nonlinear multi-story shear frames and a planar nonlinear truss with different nonlinear models and locations are used to validate the proposed method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.3
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• pp.347-359
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• 2017

Blast resistant gates are required to be lightweight and able to mitigate extreme loading effect. This may be achieved through innovative design of a gate and its supporting frame. The first is well covered in literature while the latter is often overlooked. The design of supporting frame depends mainly on the boundary conditions and corresponding reaction forces. The later states the novelty and the aim of this paper, namely, the analysis of reaction forces in supporting structure of rectangular steel gates subjected to "far-field explosions". Flat steel plate was used as simplified gate structure, since the focus was on reaction forces rather than behaviour of gate itself. The analyses include both static and dynamic cases using analytical and numerical methods to emphasize the difference between both approaches, and provide some practical hints for engineers. The comprehensive study of reaction forces presented here, cover four different boundary conditions and three length to width ratios. Moreover, the effect of explosive charge and stand-off distance on reaction forces was also covered. The analyses presented can be used for a future design of a possible "blast absorbing supporting frame" which will increase the absorbing properties of the gate. This in return, may lead to lighter and more operational blast resistant gates.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.2
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• pp.293-304
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• 2021

Structural failure due to seismic pounding between two adjacent buildings is one of the major concerns in the context of structural damage. Pounding between adjacent structures is a commonly observed phenomenon during major earthquakes. When modelling the structural response, stiffness of impact spring elements is considered to be one of the most important parameters when the impact force during collision of adjacent buildings is calculated. Determining valid and realistic stiffness values is essential in numerical simulations of pounding forces between adjacent buildings in order to achieve reasonable results. Several impact model stiffness values have been presented by various researchers to simulate pounding forces between adjacent structures. These values were mathematically calculated or estimated. In this study, a linear spring impact element model is used to simulate the pounding forces between two adjacent structures. An experimental model reported in literature was adopted to investigate the effect of different impact element stiffness k on the force intensity and number of impacts simulated by Finite Element (FE) analysis. Several numerical analyses have been conducted using SAP2000 and the collected results were used for further mathematical evaluations. The results of this study concluded the major factors that may actualise the stiffness value for impact element models. The number of impacts and the maximum impact force were found to be the core concept for finding the optimal range of stiffness values. For the experimental model investigated, the range of optimal stiffness values has also been presented and discussed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.145-171
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• 2015

Due to earthquakes, many structures suffered extensive damages that were attributed to the torsional effect caused by mass, stiffness or strength eccentricity. Due to this type of asymmetry torsional moments are generated that are imposed by means of additional shear forces developed at the vertical resisting structural elements of the buildings. Although the torsional effect on the response of reinforced concrete buildings was the subject of extensive research over the last decades, a quantitative index measuring the amplification of the shear forces developed at the vertical resisting elements due to lateral-torsional coupling valid for both elastic and elastoplastic response states is still missing. In this study a reliable index capable of assessing the torsional effect is proposed. The performance of the proposed index is evaluated and its correlation with structural response quantities like displacements, interstorey drift, base torque, shear forces and upper diaphragm's rotation is presented. Torsionally stiff, mass eccentric single-story and multistory structures, subjected to bidirectional excitation, are considered and nonlinear dynamic analyses are performed using natural records selected for three hazard levels. It was found that the proposed index provides reliable prediction of the magnitude of torsional effect for all test examples considered.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Marine Engineers Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.144-148
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• 2005

Cylinder frame manufactured by casting is assembled with the components such as cylinder head, cylinder liner and main bearing cap, etc. The mechanical contact between all of the neighboring components due to bolt tightening was taken into consideration. The loads used in structural analysis were the bolt tightening forces induced by hydraulic jack and the dynamic forces calculated from kinematic analysis. The difference of forces between the neighboring cylinders was taken into account. The maximum stress, stress amplitude and mean stress calculated from the results of structural analyses were used to evaluate the static and fatigue strength. Gray cast iron which is material of cylinder frame has the material characteristics of very small elongation and different strength in tension and compression. Based on such an material characteristics, the strength evaluation of cylinder frame was carried out with in-house program developed internally.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.169-183
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• 2014

For the reliable design of substructure supporting offshore wind turbines it is very important to reduce the effects of wave forces. Since the substructure is strongly influenced by the effects of wave forces as the size of substructure increases. In the present study, the hybrid substructure with multi-cylinder is newly suggested to reduce the effects of wave forces. Using diffraction theory the scattering waves in a fluid region are expressed by an Eigenfunction expansion method with three dimensional potential theory to calculate the wave force acting on the hybrid substructure. The wave force and wave run-up acting on the hybrid substructure is presented to examine the water wave interaction according to the variation of cylindrical size and the distance among cylinders. It is found that the suggested hybrid substructure with multi-cylinder is very useful to reduce the effects of wave forces acting on the substructure for offshore wind turbines.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.882-889
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• 2008

A humanoid is a robot with its overall appearance based on that of the human body. When the humanoid moves or walks, dynamic forces act on the body structure. Although the humanoid keeps the balance by using a precise control, the dynamic forces generate unexpected deformation or vibration and cause difficulties on the control. Generally, the structure of the humanoid is designed by the designer's experience and intuition. Then the structure can be excessively heavy or fragile. A humanoid design scenario for a systematic design is proposed to reduce the weight of the structure while sufficient strength is kept. Lower parts of the humanoid are selected to apply the proposed design scenario. Multi-body dynamics is employed to calculate the external dynamic forces on the parts and structural optimization is carried out to design the lower parts. Because structural optimization using dynamic forces directly is fairly difficult, linear dynamic response structural optimization using equivalent static loads is utilized. Topology and shape optimizations are adopted for two steps of initial and detailed designs, respectively. Various commercial software systems are used for analysis and optimization. Improved designs are obtained and the design results are discussed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.267-279
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• 2004

This paper presents an improved Monte Carlo simulation for the probabilistic determination of initial cable forces of cable-stayed bridges under dead loads using the response surfaces method. A response surface (i.e. a quadratic response surface without cross-terms) is used to approximate structural response. The use of the response surface eliminates the need to perform a deterministic analysis in each simulation loop. In addition, use of the response surface requires fewer simulation loops than conventional Monte Carlo simulation. Thereby, the computation time is saved significantly. The statistics (e.g. mean value, standard deviation) of the structural response are calculated through conventional Monte Carlo simulation method. By using Monte Carlo simulation, it is possible to use the existing deterministic finite element code without modifying it. Probabilistic analysis of a truss demonstrates the proposed method' efficiency and accuracy; probabilistic determination of initial cable forces of a cable-stayed bridge under dead loads verifies the method's applicability.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1998.04a
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• pp.390-397
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• 1998

An approach to identifying input forces is proposed using measured structural dynamic responses and its analytical model. The identification of input forces is a reverse process and ill-conditioned problem. Its solution is unstable and generally case dependent. In this paper, the ill-condition is described considering characteristic matrix which is defined by reduced dynamic stiffness matrix. Special attention is focused on the condition number of a characteristic matrix used in the solution algorithm of this reverse process. Simple example is presented in support of the ill-condition of a reverse process.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.38-44
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• 2007

The structural response characteristics of Tension leg platforms(TLPs) in waves are examined for presenting the basic data for structural design of TLPs. The numerical approach is based on a combination of the three dimensional source distribution method and the structural response analysis method, in which the superstructure of TLP is assumed to be flexible instead of rigid. Hydrodynamic and hydrostatic forces on the submerged surface of a TLP have been accurately calculated by excluding the assumption of the slender body theory. The hydrodynamic interactions among TLP members, such as columns and pontoons, and the structural damping are included in structural analysis. The mooring forces are estimated as the sum of pretension of tendons and variational tension due to longitudinal displacements. Stiffness matrices of elastic beam elements connecting nodes are formulated by ordinary method of three dimensional frame analysis. The equation of motion about the whole structure is obtained by the sum of forces and moments acting on each nodes.