• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.745-752
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• 2007

In this study, the effects of flexible bodies in vehicle suspension components were investigated to enhance the accuracy of multibody dynamic simulation results. Front and rear suspension components were investigated. Subframes, a stabilizer bar, a tie rod, a front lower control arm, a front knuckle, and front struts were selected. Reverse engineering techniques were used to construct a virtual vehicle model. Hard points and inertia data of the components were measured with surface scanning equipment. The mechanical characteristics of bushings and dampers were obtained from experiments. Reaction forces calculated from the multibody dynamics simulations were compared with test results at the ball joint of the lower control arm in both time-history and range-pair counting plots. Simulation results showed that the flexibility of the strut component had considerable influence on the lateral reaction force. Among the suspension components, the flexibility of the sub-frame, steering knuckle and upper strut resulted in better correlations with test results while the other flexible bodies could be neglected.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.68 no.4
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• pp.423-442
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• 2018

In this paper, masonry infilled reinforced concrete (RC) frames are analyzed through a probabilistic approach. A macro-modeling technique, based on an equivalent diagonal pin-jointed strut, has been resorted to for modelling the stiffening contribution of the masonry panels. Since it is quite difficult to decide which mechanical characteristics to assume for the diagonal struts in such simplified model, the strut width is here considered as a random variable, whose stochastic characterization stems from a wide set of empirical expressions proposed in the literature. The stochastic analysis of the masonry infilled RC frame is conducted via the Probabilistic Transformation Method by employing a set of space transformation laws of random vectors to determine the probability density function (PDF) of the system response in a direct manner. The knowledge of the PDF of a set of response indicators, including displacements, bending moments, shear forces, interstory drifts, opens an interesting discussion about the influence of the uncertainty of the masonry infills and the resulting implications in a design process.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.437-449
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• 2020

It is quite apparent that engineering concerns related to the influence of masonry infills on seismic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is likely to remain relevant in the long term, as infill walls maintain their functionalities in construction practice. Within this framework, the present paper mainly deals with the issue in terms of modal expansion of effective earthquake forces and the resultant modal responses. An adequate determination of spatial distribution of effective earthquake forces over the height of the building is highly essential for both seismic analysis and design. The possible influence of infill walls is investigated by means of modal analyses of two-, three-, and four-bay RC frames with a number of stories ranging from 3 to 8. Both uniformly and non-uniformly infilled frames are considered in numerical analyses, where infill walls are simulated by adopting the model of equivalent compression strut. Consequently, spatial distribution of effective earthquake forces, modal static base shear force response of frames, modal responses of story shears from external excitation vector and lateral floor displacements are obtained. It is found that, infill walls and their arrangement over the height of the frame structure affect the spatial distribution of modal inertia forces, as well as the considered response quantities. Moreover, the amount of influence varies in stories, but is not very dependent to bay number of frames.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.417-430
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• 2021

Due to functional requirements, SRC column-RC beam abnormal joints with characteristics of strong beam weak column, variable column section, unequal beam height and staggered height exist in the Steel reinforced concrete (SRC) frame-bent main building structure of thermal power plant (TPP). This paper presents the experimental results of these abnormal joints through cyclic loading tests on five specimens with scaling factor of 1/5. The staggered height and whether adding H-shaped steel in beam or not were changing parameters of specimens. The failure patterns, bearing capacity, energy dissipation and ductile performance were analyzed. In addition, the stress mechanism of the abnormal joint was discussed based on the diagonal strut model. The research results showed that the abnormal exterior joints occurred shear failure and column end hinge flexural failure; reducing beam height through adding H-shaped steel in the beam of abnormal exterior joint could improve the crack resistance and ductility; the abnormal interior joints with different staggered heights occurred column ends flexural failure; the joint with larger staggered height had the higher bearing capacity and stiffness, but lower ductility. The concrete compression strut mechanism is still applicable to the abnormal joints in TPP, but it is affected by the abnormal characteristics.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.711-737
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• 2015

Steel Plate Shear Walls (SPSWs) have been accepted widely as an effective lateral load resisting system. For seismic performance evaluation of a multi-story building with SPSWs, detailed finite element models or a strip model can be used to represent the SPSW components. However, such models often require significant effort for tall or medium height buildings. In order to simplify the analysis process, discrete elements for the framing members can be used. This paper presents development of a simplified equivalent braced model to study the behavior of the SPSWs. The proposed model is expected to facilitate a simplification to the structural modeling of large buildings with SPSWs in order to evaluate the seismic performance using regular structural analysis tools. It is observed that the proposed model can capture the global behavior of the structures quite accurately and potentially aid in the performance-based seismic design of SPSW buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.4
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• pp.421-429
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• 2019

This paper presents an analytical model for the estimation of initial lateral stiffness of steel moment resisting frames with masonry infills. However, rather than focusing on the single bay-single storey substructure, the developed model attempts to estimate the global stiffness of multi-storey and multi-bay frames, using an assembly of equivalent springs and taking into account the shape of the lateral loading pattern. The contribution from each infilled frame panel is included as an individual spring, whose properties are determined on the basis of established diagonal strut macro-modeling approaches from the literature. The proposed model is evaluated parametrically against numerical results from frame analyses, with varying number of frame stories, infill openings, masonry thickness and modulus of elasticity. The performance of the model is evaluated and found quite satisfactory.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.205-213
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• 1997

In this study, dynamic analysis of a passenger car is carried out to analyze ride quality over a random road profile. The front suspension of the car is a MacPherson strut type and the rear suspension is a multi- link type. The following five different models are constructed and compared to see the effects of engine vibration and chassis flexibility in the ride quality. (1) one rigid chassis model, (2) a rigid chassis and rigid engine model, (3) a rigid engine and flexible chassis model with one vibration mode, (4) one flexible chassis model with six engine vibration modes and one chassis vibration mode, (5) one flexible chassis model with seven vibration modes and four static correction modes. The result shows that engine vibration modes and the first bending mode of the chassis are important in the ride quality.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.137-143
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• 1997

In this study, handling simulation of a passenger car is carried out to see the effects of suspension compliance, roll stabilizef bar and chassis flexibility. The front suspension of the car is a MacPherson strut type and the rear suspension is a multi-link type. The following five DADS models are constructed and compared to verify the effects of suspension compliance and chassis flexibility during lane change. (1) Vdhicle model without hard point compliance and stabilizer, (2) Vehicle model with hard point compoiance, (3) Vehicle model with hard point compliance and stabilizer, (4) Vehicle model with hard point compoiance, stabilizer, and one vibration mode of the chaxxis. (5) Vehicle model with hard point compliance, stabilizer, and three vibration modes of the chassis. The result shows that hard point compliance and stabilizer are significant in roll angle, and the flexibility of the chassis affects the yaw angle and yaw rate.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.111-112
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• 2009

A thick footing is a D-region and it cannot be designed according to Bernoulli's beam theory. Using a smeared nodal zone and a fan, the thick footing is modeled based on an actual stress flow. A design procedure for determining a depth of the footing and an amount and a development length of reinforcement is provided.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.121-122
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• 2009

Currently, the design methods for coping of concrete piers predict over-reinforcements. In this study comparison and analysis of internal and external design codes is performed. Non-linear analysis using FEA and strut-tie model was done to reduce reinforcements embedded in coping of concrete piers.