• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.391-406
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• 2009

Viscoelastic materials store as well as dissipate energy to the thermal domain under deformation. Two efficient modelling techniques reported in literature use coupled (thermo-mechanical) ATF (Augmenting Thermodynamic Fields) displacements and ADF (Anelastic Displacement Fields) displacements, to represent the constitutive relationship in time domain by using certain viscoelastic parameters. Viscoelastic parameters are first extracted from the storage modulus and loss factor normally reported in hand books with the help of Genetic Algorithm and then constitutive relationships are used to obtain the equations of motion of the continuum after discretizing it with finite beam elements. The equations of motion are solved to get the frequency response function and modal damping ratio. The process may be applied to study the dynamic behaviour of composite beams and rotors comprising of several viscoelastic layers. Dynamic behaviour of a composite beam, formed by concentric layers of steel and aluminium is studied as an example.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.71-88
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• 2004

In this paper the capacity of Covariance Proper Transformation (CPT) analyses to provide information about the wind loading mechanisms of bluff bodies is investigated through the application to square cylinders. CPT is applied to the fluctuating pressure distributions on a single cylinder, as well as on a pair of cylinders in the tandem and side by side arrangements, with different separations. Both smooth and turbulent flow conditions are considered. First, through the analysis of the contributions of each CPT mode to the total fluctuating aerodynamic forces, a correspondence between modes and aerodynamic components is sought, which is then verified through examination of the mode shapes. When a correspondence between modes and aerodynamic components is found, an attempt is made to separate the different frequency contributions to the aerodynamic forces, provided by each mode. From the analyses it emerges that (a) in most cases each mode is associated to one single force component, that (b) retaining a limited number of modes allows reproducing the aerodynamic forces with a rather good accuracy, and that (c) each mode is mainly associated with one frequency of excitation.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.57-61
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• 2009

The present work deals with the prediction, through models and experimental evaluation, of the bending strength of roller compacted concrete (RCC) for pavement applications. This concrete was manufactured using low cement proportioning (150 to $250\;kg/m^3$). The characterization of hardened RCC was carried out by experimental measurements of bending strengths. The predictions of these characteristics were achieved using empirical models. Comparison, of the values found in experiments with those empirically obtained, was made in order to choose and to propose the adapted and the most reliable models of prediction. The study showed that the bending strengths of the RCC mixture, experimentally found, can be also identified by models.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2019

Compressive ability is one of the most important mechanical properties of concrete material. The compressive failure process of concrete is pretty complex with internal tension, shear damage and friction between cracks. To simulate the complex fracture process of concrete at meso level, methodology for meso-structural analysis of concrete specimens is developed; the zero thickness cohesive elements are pre-inserted to simulate the crack initiation and propagation; the constitutive applied in cohesive element is established to describe the mechanism of crack separation, closure and friction behavior between the fracture surfaces. A series of simulations were carried out based on the model proposed in this paper. The results reproduced the main fracture and mechanical feature of concrete under compression condition. The effect of key material parameters, structure size, and aggregate content on the concrete fracture pattern and loading carrying capacities was investigated. It is found that the inner friction coefficient has a significant influence on the compression character of concrete, the compression strength raises linearly with the increase of the inner friction coefficient, and the fracture pattern is sensitive to the mesostructure of concrete.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.171-186
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• 2024

In the present paper, thermal buckling characteristics of functionally graded rectangular plates made of porous material that are integrated with surface-bonded piezoelectric actuators subjected to the combined action of thermal load and constant applied actuator voltage are investigated by utilizing a Navier solution method. The uniform temperature rise loading is considered. Thermomechanical material properties of FGM plates are assumed to be temperature independent and supposed to vary through thickness direction of the constituents according to power-law distribution (P-FGM) which is modified to approximate the porous material properties with even and uneven distributions of porosities phases. The governing differential equations of stability for the piezoelectric FGM plate are derived based on higher order shear deformation plate theory. Influences of several important parameters on the critical thermal buckling temperature are investigated and discussed in detail.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.18 no.1E
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• pp.23-28
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• 2006

In this study, the general theory of fractality is discussed to provide a fundamental understanding of fractal geometry applied to heterogeneous material surfaces like pavement surface and rock surface. It is well known that many physical phenomena and systems are chaotic, random and that the features of roughness are found at a wide spectrum of length scales from the length of the sample to the atomic scales. Studying the mechanics of these physical phenomena, it is absolutely necessary to characterize such multi scaled rough surfaces and to know the structural property of such surfaces at all length scales relevant to the phenomenon. This study emphasizes the role of fractal geometry to characterize the roughness of various surfaces. Pavement roughness and rock surface roughness were examined to correlate their roughness property to fractality.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.548-557
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• 2010

An ultrasonic resonance scattering spectroscopy technique is developed and applied for reconstructing elastic constants of a transversely isotropic cylindrical component. Immersion ultrasonic measurements are performed on tube samples made from a boron/aluminum composite material to obtain resonance frequencies and dispersion curves of different guided wave modes propagating in the tube. Theoretical analysis on the acoustic resonance scattering from a transversely isotropic cylindrical tube is also performed, from which complete backscattering and resonance scattering spectra and theoretical dispersion curves are calculated. A sensitive change of the dispersion curves to the elastic properties of the composite tube is observed for both normal and oblique incidences; this is exploited for a systematic evaluation of damage and elastic constants of the composite tube samples. The elastic constants of two boron/aluminum composite tube samples manufactured under different conditions are reconstructed through an optimization procedure in which the residual between the experimental and theoretical phase velocities (dispersion curves) is minimized.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.251-262
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• 2015

The current paper aims at investigating the nonlinear dynamical behaviour of an electrically actuated microcantilever. The microcantilever is excited by a combination of AC and DC voltages. The nonlinear equation of motion of the microcantilever is obtained by means of force and moment balances. A high-dimensional Galerkin scheme is then applied to reduce the equation of motion to a discrete model. A numerical technique, based on the pseudo-arclength continuation method, is used to solve the discretized model. The electrostatic deflection of the microcantilever and static pull-in instabilities, due to the DC voltage, are analyzed by plotting the so-called DC voltage-deflection curves. At the simultaneous presence of the DC and AC voltages, the nonlinear dynamical behaviour of the microcantilever is analyzed by plotting frequency-response and force-response curves.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.1
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• pp.69-75
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• 2019

The plates made of two materials joined to each other having the different coefficient of thermal expansions are frequently encountered in the industrial applications. The stress analysis of these members under the effect of high-temperature variation has great importance in design. In this study, the stress analysis of the experimental model developed for the problem considered here was performed by the method of photothermoelasticity. The thermal strains were formed by the mechanical way and these were fixed by the strain freezing method. For the stress measurements, the method of slicing is applied which provides three-dimensional stress analysis. The analytical solution in the literature was compared with the related stress distribution obtained from the model. Moreover, the axisymmetric finite element model developed for the problem was solved by ABAQUS and the results obtained here compared with those of the experimental model and the analytical solution. As a result of this study, this experimental method and numerical model can be used for these type of thermal stress problems which have not been comprehensively analyzed yet.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.999-1016
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• 2015

In this paper, we introduce a new method for assembly of shipbuilding blocks at sea and present its feasibility focusing on structural safety. The core concept of this method is to assemble ship building blocks by use of bolting, gluing and welding techniques at sea without dock facilities. Due to its independence of dock facilities, shipyard construction capability could be increased considerably by the proposed method. To show the structural safety of this method, a bulk carrier and an oil tanker were employed, and we investigated the structural behavior of those ships to which the new block assembly method was applied. The ship hull models attached with connective parts are analyzed in detail through finite element analyses, and the cargo capacity of the bulk carrier is briefly discussed as well. The results of these studies show the potential for applying this new block assembly method to practical shipbuilding.