• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.73 no.5
• /
• pp.487-500
• /
• 2020

Stiffeners can be utilised to enhance the strength of thin-walled wind turbine towers in engineering practise, thus, structural performance of wind turbine towers by means of different stiffening schemes should be compared to explore the optimal structural enhancement method. In this paper two alternative stiffening methods, employing horizontal or vertical stiffeners, for steel tubular wind turbine towers have been studied. In particular, two groups of three wind turbine towers of 50m, 150m and 250m in height, stiffened by horizontal rings and vertical strips respectively, were analysed by using FEM software of ABAQUS. For each height level tower, the mass of the stiffening rings is equal to that of vertical stiffeners each other. The maximum von Mises stresses and horizontal sways of these towers with vertical stiffeners is compared with the corresponding ring-stiffened towers. A linear buckling analysis is conducted to study the buckling modes and critical buckling loads of the three height levels of tower. The buckling modes and eigenvalues of the 50m, 150m and 250m vertically stiffened towers were also compared with those of the horizontally stiffened towers. The numbers and central angles of the vertical stiffeners are considered as design variables to study the effect of vertical stiffeners on the structural performance of wind turbine towers. Following an extensive parametric study, these strengthening techniques were compared with each other and it is obtained that the use of vertical stiffeners is a more efficient approach to enhance the stability and strength of intermediate and high towers than the use of horizontal rings.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.391-416
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this article is to strengthen concrete structures using buckling and non-buckling braces. Connection plates are modeled in three shapes including the effect of 1.5t hinge zone length, 2t one and without the zone (1.5t-CP, 2t-CP and WCP). According to the verification performed with ABAQUS software, the connection plates which are superior in ductility and strengthening are found. The results show adding steel braces in concrete moment frames increase the strength and stiffness of the structures up to about 12 and 3 times, respectively. The frame strength increased about 21 and 25 percent with considering the effect of 2t hinge length in connection plates compared to 1.5t-CPs and WCPs. Also the ductility of retrofitted frames with 2t-CP improved 2.06 times more than WCP ones. Thus, 2t-CP sample is the best choice for connecting steel braces to concrete moment frames for retrofitting them. Afterwards, optimum conditions for elemental coating in braces with no buckling are assessed. The length of concrete coatings could be reduced about 30 percent, and buckling did not occur. Therefore, the weight of restraining coating decreased, and its performance improved. It is worth noting that BRBs could be constructed with only steel materials, which have outer steel tubes too. In fact, only the square cross sections of the tube profiles are appropriate for removing the filler concrete, and the rectangular ones are prone to buckle around their weak axis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.377-387
• /
• 2008

The post-buckling behavior of slender members, such as the chord of truss structures generally implies extreme strength degradation. The buckling strength is usually determined as the performance of the compressed steel members, so it is important to understand the exact buckling behavior of a member in order to design the entire structure. A target analytical model is usually divided by beam or shell element when we simulate the buckling behavior of a compressed steel member such as atruss member. In this case, it is possible to accurately obtain the behavior, but such would be expensive and would require experience inanalysis even in monotonic loading. In this paper, we propose a consistent and convenient method to analyze the post-buckling behavior of elastoplastic compression members. The present methods are formulated to satisfy the second law of thermodynamics. Three numerical examples were tested to determine the validity of the proposed model in cyclic loading with comparable F.E.M results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.77 no.2
• /
• pp.197-215
• /
• 2021

Under a severe environment of multiple hazards such as earthquakes and winds, the life-cycle performance of engineering structures may inevitably be deteriorated due to the fatigue effect caused by long-term exposure to wind loads, which would further increase the structural vulnerability to earthquakes. This paper presents a framework for evaluating the lifetime structural seismic performance under the effect of wind-induced fatigue considering different sources of uncertainties. The seismic behavior of a high-rise steel-concrete composite frame with buckling-restrained braces (FBRB) during its service life is systematically investigated using the proposed approach. Recorded field data for the wind hazard of Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China from Jan. 1, 1980 to Mar. 31, 2019 is collected, based on which the distribution of wind velocity is constructed by the Gumbel model after comparisons. The OpenSees platform is employed to establish the numerical model of the FBRB and conduct subsequent numerical computations. Allowed for the uncertainties caused by the wind generation and structural modeling, the final annual fatigue damage takes the average of 50 groups of simulations. The lifetime structural performance assessments, including static pushover analyses, nonlinear dynamic time history analyses and fragility analyses, are conducted on the time-dependent finite element (FE) models which are modified in lines with the material deterioration models. The results indicate that the structural performance tends to degrade over time under the effect of fatigue, while the influencing degree of fatigue varies with the duration time of fatigue process and seismic intensity. The impact of wind-induced fatigue on structural responses and fragilities are explicitly quantified and discussed in details.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.24 no.5
• /
• pp.317-331
• /
• 2023

The buckling-restrained braced frames with eccentric configurations (BRBFECs) are stable cyclic behavior and high energy absorption capacity. Furthermore, they have an architectural advantage for creating openings like eccentrically braced frames (EBFs). In the present study, it has been suggested to use the performance-based plastic design (PBPD) method to calculate the design base shear of the BRBFEC systems. Moreover, in this study, to reduce the required steel material, it has been suggested to use the performance-based practical design (PBPD) method instead of the force-based design (FBD) method for the design of this system. The 3-, 6-, and 9-story buildings with the BRBFEC system were designed, and the finite element models were modeled. The seismic performance of the models was investigated using two suits of ground motions representing the maximum considered earthquake (MCE) and design basis earthquake (DBE) seismic hazard levels. The results showed that the models designed with the suggested method, which had lower weights compared to those designed with the FBD method, had a desirable seismic performance in terms of maximum story drift and ductility demand under earthquakes at both MCE and DBE seismic hazard levels. This suggests that the steel weights of the structures designed with the PBPD method are about 13% to 18% lesser than the FBD method. However, the residual drifts in these models were higher than those in the models designed with the FBD method. Also, in earthquakes at the DBE hazard level, the residual drifts in all models except the PBPD-6s and PBPD-9s models were less than the allowable reparability limit.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.114-119
• /
• 2008

The modern automotive industry develops innovative vehicle designs to meet increasing stability of car and performance demands of their customers. The improvement of frame rigidity by the structural foam is thought to be an effective means to improve the performance because of high applicability and minimum weight. The object of this paper is to examine the use of structural foam in a hat section as an optimum reinforcing means, to compare the reinforcing performance of structural foam versus a plastic reinforcement. The result of this paper indicated that reinforcing efficiencies are achieved by structural foam and plastic reinforcement shape.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.80 no.5
• /
• pp.609-623
• /
• 2021

Buckling restrained bracing (BRB) was firstly introduced in Japan construction industry in year 1989. With time, BRB performance has been advanced to self-centering BRB (SC-BRB) which has exceptional energy dissipation, addressing the improvement in the structure performance in post-seismic affect. Although the BRB performance specifications are defined in design codes of several countries, specific design provisions are not generally provided since BRBs are usually considered a manufactured device. Furthermore, most of review papers focused on BRB rather than SC-BRB. Thus, this paper explores the background of both BRB and SC-BRB. The importance of self-centering components in BRB and literature related to it have been studied. This review study also highlights the significance of corrosion-resistance materials in the configuring BRB and SC-BRB since most of such members are made of carbon steel that is susceptible to corrosion.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.71-79
• /
• 2023

In this study, a prefabricated buckling brace (PF-BRB) was proposed, and a test specimen was manufactured based on the design formula for the initial shape and structural performance tests were performed. As a result of the experiment, all standard performance requirements presented by KDS 41 17 00 and MOE 2021 were satisfied before and after replacement of the reinforcement module, and no fracture of the joint module occurred. As a result of the incremental load test, the physical properties showed a significant difference in the stiffness ratio after yielding under the compressive load of the envelope according to the experimental results. It is judged necessary to further analyze the physical properties according to the experimental results through finite element analysis in the future.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.91-103
• /
• 2014

High performance steel for bridges(HSB 800) with a minimum tensile stress of 800MPa was recently developed. However, the study for local buckling behavior of plate girders considering interactive effects of flanges and webs is still insufficient. In this study, the flange local buckling(FLB) strength of plate girders with HSB 800 was evaluated by nonlinear finite element analysis. The flanges and webs of plate girders having I-section were modeled as 3D shell elements in the nonlinear analysis. Initial imperfection and residual stress were imposed on the plate girder. The high performance steel was modeled as a multi-linear material. Thus, parametric study of compression flanges with a compact, noncompact and slender web was performed. The flange local buckling behavior of plate girders was analyzed, and the nonlinear analysis results were compared with the nominal flexural strength of both AASHTO LRFD(2012) and KHBDC LSD(2012) codes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.627-636
• /
• 2012

Recently, high performance(strength) steels have been utilized to structural materials in buildings and bridges with the demand for high-rise and long-span of main structures. This paper is a series of basic study for the design specification of structural members using high performance steel, material properties of high performance rolled steel building structures; material properties of HSA800 steel was compared with the requirements of Korean Standards(KS) for HSA800. Welded H-shape stub columns with variables of width-to-thickness ratios are planned in order to investigate the local buckling behaviors and check the current design limit of width-to-thickness ratio and uniaxial compressive tests are carried out. In addition, the buckling behaviors of stub columns obtained finite element analysis were compared with those of test results.