• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 1986

Welded connectors of the cover plates, the transverse stiffeners of the plate girders, and the gusset plates of the plates girders or box girders, were selected as studying objects. A simplified method of drawing the S-N curves in these welded joints by a computer program without the direct fatigue tests was established. The plots on the S-N curve using the values from the practical fatigue tests were compared with the results from the method of the computer programming. The results of these studies are as follows. It appeared that the fatigue life by calculation method was a little less than the practical fatigue life from the actual tests. The latter values included both life $N_c$ of occurrence of initial crack $a_i$ and the life $N_p$ of propagation of critical crack. On the other hand, the former values included only the life $N_p$. Therefore, these results should be considered as justifiable ones. Since the difference between the two results was not significant, the results by calculation method should be in the conservation side when the safety of the structures was considered. Consequently, the results by calculation method should be applicable to the fracture fatigue design of structure. For reference, the same fatigue tests were performed with the specimens of 3 pieces in each case made of the low-strength steel, SS 41. The results went unexpected showing that the fatigue strength was lower in the case of low-strength steel. That is, in the case of the cover plate, the fatigue strength became slowly higher than the case of high-strength steel, SWS 50. That was observed when the maximum testing stress was higher than $14kg/mm^2$. In addition, in the case of the transverse stiffener, the fatique strength became rapidly higher than the case of SWS 50. That was observed when the maximum testing stress was lower than $31kg/mm^2$. It was thought that more such fatigue tests should be performed for more reliable results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.799-813
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• 2020

Fatigue cracks of rib-to-deck (RD) joints have been frequently observed in the orthotropic steel decks (OSD) using conventional U-ribs (CU). Thickened edge U-rib (TEU) is proposed to enhance the fatigue strength of RD joints, and its effectiveness has been proved through fatigue tests. In-depth full-scale tests are further carried out to investigate both the fatigue strength and fractography of RD joints. Based on the test result, the mean fatigue strength of TEU specimens is 21% and 17% higher than that of CU specimens in terms of nominal and hot spot stress, respectively. Meanwhile, the development of fatigue cracks has been measured using the strain gauges installed along the welded joint. It is found that such the crack remains almost in semi-elliptical shape during the initiation and propagation. For the further application of TEUs, the design curve under the specific survival rate is required for the RD joints using TEUs. Since the fatigue strength of welded joints is highly scattered, the design curves derived by using the limited test data only are not reliable enough to be used as the reference. On this ground, an experiment-numerical hybrid approach is employed. Basing on the fatigue test, a probabilistic assessment model has been established to predict the fatigue strength of RD joints. In the model, the randomness in material properties, initial flaws and local geometries has been taken into consideration. The multiple-site initiation and coalescence of fatigue cracks are also considered to improve the accuracy. Validation of the model has been rigorously conducted using the test data. By extending the validated model, large-scale databases of fatigue life could be generated in a short period. Through the regression analysis on the generated database, design curves of the RD joint have been derived under the 95% survival rate. As the result, FAT 85 and FAT 110 curves with the power index m of 2.89 are recommended in the fatigue evaluation on the RD joint using TEUs in terms of nominal stress and hot spot stress respectively. Meanwhile, FAT 70 and FAT 90 curves with m of 2.92 are suggested in the evaluation on the RD joint using CUs in terms of nominal stress and hot spot stress, respectively.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.161-175
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• 1985

The simplified method drawing the S-N curves in welding joints of the cover plates, the transverse stiffners and the gusset plates of the plate girders by calculation and its computer program without the direct fatigue tests, was established. And the method was applied to the Young- Dong Great Bridge, the 3 th Han River Bridge and the Kang Chon Bridge. Before this, SS 41, SS 50, SWS 50 and SWS 58 were selected, then the compact tension specimens were made by the use of these materials, the things welded by these materials transversely and the ones longitudinally to the crack propagation direction. The fatigue tests were performed by the use of these 'specimens, and the values of material constants c and m were obtained. By these results the followings were obtained. It was showed that the fatigue: strength in the case of the cover plates was much lower than in the case of other two cases. It was showed that, in the case of the cover plates with the cover plates thicker the fatigue strength was lower, but besides this the fatigue strength was not much influenced by the size of specimens. It was showed that in the difference from this the fatigue strength was sensitively influenced by the values of c and m. It was showed that in accordance with the lower values of c and m the fatigue strength was fairly higher, in accordance with the lower values of m the gradient of the S-N curves was abrupter. It was considered that if such data were accumulated continuously, in the near future the basic pattern used availably in providing the indicater of the fatigue design of the plate girders, and presuming the life-proof of the existing plate girders.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.783-792
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• 2008

While the recent high demand for mega-tall buildings has led to the development of high-performance and high-strength steels, the requirements for architectural-structure-performance steel have been raised as engineers recognize the potential damage that an earthquake can wreak on a tall building. A 600MPa-class steel has emerged to meet such need, and many studies are currently exploring its practical applications on civil engineering works and mega-tall buildings. The available data on the horizontal-force behaviors of structures built with such new steel, however, are still insufficient. There is an urgent need to look into its design data, especially its toughness, and to compare the plastic strain ratios of column-to-beam connections using high-strength steel and regular steel. One of the first studies on the behavior of a column-to-beam connection using 600MPa-class steel (SM570 TMC), this thesis analyzes such steel's structural performance by conducting a structural test on seismic resistance on a full-scale column-to-beam welded connection with non-scallop and recommended-scallop details. Compared with the previous studies on SM490, this thesis evaluates the weldability of SM570 TMC and presents the latter's seismic design data for use in testing its practical application.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.649-656
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• 2019

Flux cored arc welding (FCAW), which is used widely in many fields, such as shipyards, bridge structures, construction machinery, and plant industry, is an alternative to shielded metal arc welding (SMAW). FCAW is used largely in the welding of carbon and alloy steel because it can be welded in all poses and obtain excellent quality in the field under a range of working conditions. In this study, the mechanical properties of welded parts were analyzed after different welding of SS400 and SM490A using FCAW. The following conclusions were drawn. The tensile test results satisfied the KS standard tensile strength in the range of 400~510 N/mm2 in all welding positions. The bending test confirmed that most of the specimens did not show surface breakage or other defects during bending and exhibited sufficient toughness, even after plastic deformation. The hardness test results were lower than the standard value of 350 Hv of KS B 0893. Similar to the hardness test, were greater than the KS reference value. The macro test revealed no internal flaws, non-metallic inclusions, bubbles or impurities on the entire cross section of the weld, and there were no concerns regarding lamination.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.17 no.3 s.76
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• pp.357-363
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• 2005

There is a great need for high-strength steel especially for the high-rise steel building structure. High-strength steels, however, may have mechanical properties that are significantly different from those of the conventional steels. The application of high-strength steels to building structures should be reviewed as to whether the inelastic behavior equivalent to that of conventional steels can be attained or not. In this study, SM570TMC steel was tested to evaluate buckling strength under axial compressive force. The comparison tests for local buckling strength evaluation of box-type and H-shaped welded columns were performed with variable width-thickness ratios. As for the experimental check, the maximum strength of stub column was determined by local buckling as far as the limit of width-to-thickness ratio was satisfied with current design codes. Also, the strength of the stub column did not decrease suddenly by local buckling before maximum strength even when the ratio is not satisfied. The buckling strength of SM570TMC steel was higher than both ASD (Allowable Stress Design) and LRFD (Load and Resistance Factor Design) specifications.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.43-51
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• 2012

The Demolition blasting has been applied for buildings and structures so far. In this study, however, a confined vessel blasting filled with water has been focused. A small amount of explosives were placed in a sealed vessel with water, perfect elastic body, supposed as a relay agent in it, and the blasting aspect was observed. Blasting pressure was standardized by Abel's equation of state. In result, if there was a relay agent in it, the pressure vessel was torn apart with smaller power than its tensile strength. If there was not, it needed 7.1~8.5 times as much power as the previous one, and the blasting pressure had not also affected the demolition and it had gone or vanished until it reached a certain point, In terms of pressure vessel made by steel, the elastic-plastic failure was took a place, and the first yield point happened along the welded area as a form of heating plastic failure we thought.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.385-402
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• 2004

Nearly 400 composite railway bridge decks of a new kind belonging to the trough type with U-shaped cross section have been constructed in Belgium over the last fifteen years. The construction of these bridge decks is rather complex with the preflexion of precambered steel girders, the prestressing of a concrete slab and the addition of a 2nd phase concrete. Until now, they have been designed with a classical computation method using a pseudo-elastic analysis with modular ratios. Globally, they perform according to the expectations but variability has been observed between the measured and the computed camber of these bridge decks just after the transfer of prestressing and also at long-term. A statistical analysis of the variability of the relative difference between the measured camber and the computed camber is made for a sample of 36 bridge decks using no less than 10 variables. The most significant variables to explain this variability at prestressing are the ratio between the maximum tensile stress reached in the steel girders during the preflexion and the yield strength and the type of steel girder. For the same sample, the long-term camber under permanent loading is computed by two methods and compared with measurements taken one or two years after the construction. The camber computed by the step-by-step method shows a better agreement with the measured camber than the camber computed by the classical method. The purpose of the paper is to report on the statistical analysis which was used to determine the most significant parameters to consider in the modeling in order to improve the prediction of the behaviour of these composite railway bridge decks.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.1017-1029
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• 2016

When a welded circular hollow section (CHS) tubular joint is subjected to brace axial loading, failure position is located usually at the weld toe on the chord surface due to the weak flexural stiffness of the thin-walled chord. The failure mode is local yielding or buckling in most cases for a tubular joint subjected to axial load at the brace end. Especially when a cyclic axial load is applied, fracture failure at the weld toe may occur because both high stress concentration and welding residual stress along the brace/chord intersection cause the material in this region to become brittle. To improve the ductility as well as to increase the static strength, a tubular joint can be reinforced by increasing the chord thickness locally near the brace/chord intersection. Both experimental investigation and finite element analysis have been carried out to study the hysteretic behaviour of the reinforced tubular joint. In the experimental study, the hysteretic performance of two full-scale circular tubular T-joints subjected to cyclic load in the axial direction of the brace was investigated. The two specimens include a reinforced specimen by increasing the wall thickness of the chord locally at the brace/chord intersection and a corresponding un-reinforced specimen. The hysteretic loops are obtained from the measured load-displacement curves. Based on the hysteretic curves, it is found that the reinforced specimen is more ductile than the un-reinforced one because no fracture failure is observed after experiencing similar loading cycles. The area enclosed by the hysteretic curves of the reinforced specimen is much bigger, which shows that more energy can be dissipated by the reinforced specimen to indicate the advantage of the reinforcing method in resisting seismic action. Additionally, finite element analysis is carried out to study the effect of the thickness and the length of the reinforced chord segment on the hysteretic behaviour of CHS tubular T-joints. The optimized reinforcing method is recommended for design purposes.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.447-462
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• 2020

The paper aims to investigate the mechanical mechanism and seismic effect of stiffeners in blind bolt endplate connection to CFST column. A precise 3D finite element model with considering the cyclic properties of concrete and steel materials was established, and the efficiency was validated through monotonic and cyclic test data. The deforming pattern and the seismic performance of the unstiffened and stiffened blind bolt endplate connections were investigated. Then a parametric analysis was conducted to analyze the contribution of stiffeners and the joint working behaviors with endplate under cyclic load. The joint stiffness classifications were compared and a supplement stiffness classification method was proposed, and the energy dissipation ability of different class connections were compared and discussed. Results indicated that the main deformation pattern of unstiffened blind bolt endplate connections was the local bending of end plate. The vertical stiffeners can effectively alleviate the local bending deformation of end plate. And influence of stiffeners in thin endplate and thick endplate was different. Based on the stiffness of external diaphragm welded connection, a more detailed rigidity classification was proposed which included the pin, semi-rigid, quasi-rigid and rigid connection. Beam was the main energy dissipation source for rigid connection. For the semi-rigid and quasi-rigid connection, the extended endplate, stiffeners and steel beam would all participate in the energy dissipation.