• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.775-789
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• 2012

This paper focuses on post-buckling analysis of functionally graded Timoshenko beam subjected to thermal loading by using the total Lagrangian Timoshenko beam element approximation. Material properties of the beam change in the thickness direction according to a power-law function. The beam is clamped at both ends. The considered highly non-linear problem is solved by using incremental displacement-based finite element method in conjunction with Newton-Raphson iteration method. As far as the authors know, there is no study on the post-buckling analysis of functionally graded Timoshenko beams under thermal loading considering full geometric non-linearity investigated by using finite element method. The convergence studies are made and the obtained results are compared with the published results. In the study, with the effects of material gradient property and thermal load, the relationships between deflections, end constraint forces, thermal buckling configuration and stress distributions through the thickness of the beams are illustrated in detail in post-buckling case.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.359-374
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• 2011

In this paper, the influence of fibre orientation and aspect ratio on stability analysis of simply supported skew plates subjected to in plane loading is studied by using a four noded hybrid plate finite element. The formulation of the element is based on Hellinger-Reissner variational principle. The element is developed by combining a hybrid plane stress element and a hybrid plate element. Some numerical problems are solved and the effects of skew angle, aspect ratio, fibre orientation and loading type on the critical buckling loads are highlighted.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.335-350
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• 2018

This paper presents numerical modelling, modal testing, finite element model updating, linear and nonlinear earthquake behavior of a reinforced concrete building model. A 1/2 geometrically scale, two-storey, reinforced concrete frame model with raft base were constructed, tested and analyzed. Modal testing on the model using ambient vibrations is performed to illustrate the dynamic characteristics experimentally. Finite element model of the structure is developed by ANSYS software and dynamic characteristics such as natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios are calculated numerically. The enhanced frequency domain decomposition method and the stochastic subspace identification method are used for identifying dynamic characteristics experimentally and such values are used to update the finite element models. Different parameters of the model are calibrated using manual tuning process to minimize the differences between the numerically calculated and experimentally measured dynamic characteristics. The maximum difference between the measured and numerically calculated frequencies is reduced from 28.47% to 4.75% with the model updating. To determine the effects of the finite element model updating on the earthquake behavior, linear and nonlinear earthquake analyses are performed using 1992 Erzincan earthquake record, before and after model updating. After model updating, the maximum differences in the displacements and stresses were obtained as 29% and 25% for the linear earthquake analysis and 28% and 47% for the nonlinear earthquake analysis compared with that obtained from initial earthquake results before model updating. These differences state that finite element model updating provides a significant influence on linear and especially nonlinear earthquake behavior of buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.373-385
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• 2009

The purpose of this paper is to study shear locking-free parametric earthquake analysis of thick and thin plates using Mindlin's theory, to determine the effects of the thickness/span ratio, the aspect ratio and the boundary conditions on the linear responses of thick and thin plates subjected to earthquake excitations. In the analysis, finite element method is used for spatial integration and the Newmark-${\beta}$ method is used for the time integration. Finite element formulation of the equations of the thick plate theory is derived by using higher order displacement shape functions. A computer program using finite element method is coded in C++ to analyze the plates clamped or simply supported along all four edges. In the analysis, 17-noded finite element is used. Graphs are presented that should help engineers in the design of thick plates subjected to earthquake excitations. It is concluded that 17-noded finite element can be effectively used in the earthquake analysis of thick and thin plates. It is also concluded that, in general, the changes in the thickness/span ratio are more effective on the maximum responses considered in this study than the changes in the aspect ratio.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.883-898
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• 2017

To eliminate the holding and gluing problems making the direct tensile strength test hard to be applied, a new method of testing specimens prepared using lathe machine to make the dog bone shape is assessed whether it could be applied to determine accurate direct tensile strength values of rock materials. A series of numerical modelling analyses was performed using finite element method to investigate the effect of different specimen and steel holder geometries. In addition to numerical modelling study, a series of direct tensile strength tests was performed on three different groups of rock materials and a rock-like cemented material to compare the results with those obtained from the finite element analyses. A proper physical property of the lathed specimens was suggested and ideal failure of the dog bone shaped specimens was determined according to the results obtained from this study.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.83-94
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• 2012

Assessment of a monumental concrete arch bridge with a total length of 210 meters having three major spans of 30 meters and a height of 65 meters, which is located in an earthquake-prone region in southern part of the country is presented in this study. Three-dimensional finite element model of the bridge was generated using a commercially available general finite element analysis software and based on the outcomes of a series of in-depth acceleration measurements that were conducted on-site, the model was refined. By using the structural parameters obtained from the dynamic and the static tests, calibrated model of the bridge structure was obtained and this model was used for necessary calculations regarding structural assessment and evaluation.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.305-312
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• 2006

In the case of hospital buildings, where seismic design requirements are very high, existing structuresand especially those attacked by past earthquakes, appear, often, unable to fulfil the necessary safety prerequisites. In this paper, the retrofitting of hospital buildings is investigated, using alternative methods of repair and strengthening. Analysis of an existing hospital building in Patras, Greece, is performed. The load-bearing system is a reinforced concrete system. Two solutions are proposed: strengthening using concrete jackets around column and beam elements and application of viscoelastic dampers for the increase of the stability of the structure. Adequate finite element models are constructed for each case and conclusions are drawn on the efficiency of each rehabilitation method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.73 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2020

In rail industry, noise reduction is a concern to decrease environmental pollution. The current study focuses on rail damper modeling and improvement of the model through validation with experimental results. Accurate modeling and simulation of rail dampers, specifically tuned rail dampers with layers interconnected by bolt joints, shall enable objective-oriented improvement of their design. In this work, to improve the damper model cone pressure theory is applied in the FE model and the sensitivity analysis is then applied to gradually improve the FE model. The improved model yields higher Modal Assurance Criterion (MAC) values and lower frequencies deviation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.897-920
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• 2016

The objective is to determine the mechanical properties of the composites formed in two types, theoretically. The first composite includes micro-particles in a matrix while the second involves long, thin fibers. A fictitious, homogeneous, linear-elastic and isotropic single material named as effective material is considered during calculation which is based on the equality of the strain energies of the composite and effective material under the same loading conditions. The procedure is carried out with volume integrals considering a unique strain energy in a body. Particularly, the effective elastic shear modulus has been calculated exactly for small-particle composites by the same procedure in order to determine of bulk modulus thereof. Additionally, the transverse shear modulus of fiber reinforced composites has been obtained through a simple approach leading to the practical equation. The results have been compared not only with the outcomes in the literature obtained by different method but also with those of finite element analysis performed in this study.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.51-69
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• 2015

In recent years, the use of fiber reinforced polymer composites has increased because of their unique features. They have been used widely in the aircraft and space industries, medical and sporting goods and automotive industries. Thanks to their beneficial and various advantages over traditional materials such as high strength, high rigidity, low weight, corrosion resistance, low maintenance cost, aesthetic appearance and easy demountable or moveable construction. In this paper, it is aimed to determine and compare the geometrically nonlinear static and dynamic analysis results of footbridges using steel and glass fiber reinforced polymer composite (GFRP) materials. For this purpose, Halgavor suspension footbridge is selected as numerical examples. The analyses are performed using three identical footbridges, first constructed from steel, second built only with GFRP material and third made of steel- GFRP material, under static and dynamic loadings using finite element method. In the finite element modeling and analyses, SAP2000 program is used. Geometric nonlinearities are taken into consideration in the analysis using P-Delta criterion. The numerical results have indicated that the responses of the three bridges are different and that the response values obtained for the GFRP composite bridge are quite less compared to the steel bridge. It is understood that GFRP material is more useful than the steel for the footbridges.