• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.543-553
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• 2023

This study was conducted to propose a simple method to evaluate the load-carrying capacity of RC slab bridges, which have been most frequently constructed in Korea. A number of RC slab bridges have been considerably deteriorated associate with the long service year. However, since these bridges are not included in the 1st and 2nd class infrastructures due to their short span length, they have been relatively neglected compared to other bridge types in terms of safety management. In the previous theoretical study, a process (draft) was proposed for evaluating the damage of RC slab bridges using the relationship between the displacement response ratio and the stiffness reduction rate derived by the measured displacement and natural frequency. In this paper, to verify the validity of the proposed damage evaluation process (draft), the results to the actual bridges were compared with the safety grade and the Matsui's deterioration index. In addition, to enhance the practical applicability of the existing process (draft), an improved method approximately evaluating the load-carrying capacity using only the measured natural frequency was presented. If an error of 10% of the load-carrying capacity is allowed, it is judged that the proposed damage evaluation process can be appropriately used not only for evaluating the safety of RC slab bridges, but also for determining priorities for their maintenance.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.59 no.6
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• pp.1095-1120
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• 2016

This paper investigates the change of structural characteristics of steel cable-stayed bridges after cable failure. Cables, considered as the intermediate supports of cable-stayed bridges, can break or fail for several reasons, such as fire, direct vehicle clash accident, extreme weather conditions, and fatigue of cable or anchorage. Also, the replacement of cables can cause temporary disconnection. Because of the structural characteristics with various geometric nonlinearities of cable-stayed bridges, cable failure may cause significant change to the structural state and ultimate behavior. Until now, the characteristics of structural behavior after cable failure have rarely been studied. In this study, rational cable failure analysis is suggested to trace the new equilibrium with structural configuration after the cable failure. Also, the sequence of ultimate analysis for the structure that suffers cable failure is suggested, to study the change of ultimate behavior and load carrying capacity under specific live load conditions. Using these analysis methods, the statical behavior after individual cable failure is studied based on the change of structural configuration, and distribution of internal forces. Also, the change of the ultimate behavior and load carrying capacity under specific live load conditions is investigated, using the proposed analysis method. According to the study, significant change of the statical behavior and ultimate capacity occurs although just one cable fails.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Advanced Composite Structures
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.52-57
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• 2014

Due to the advantageous mechanical properties of the fiber reinforced polymeric plastics(FRP), their application in the construction industries is ever increasing trend, as a substitute of structural steel which is highly vulnerable under hazardous environmental conditions (i.e., corrosion, humidity, etc.). In this study, hybrid FRP-concrete composite pile (HCFFT) connection is suggested. The HCFFT is consisted of pultruded FRP unit module, filament wound FRP which is in the outside of mandrel composed of circular shaped assembly of pultruded FRP unit modules, and concrete which is casted inside of the circular tube shaped hybrid FRP pile. Therefore, pultruded FRP can increase the flexural load carrying capacity, filament wound FRP and concrete filled inside can increase axial load carrying capacity. In the study, connection capacity of HCFFT(small and mid size) is investigated throughout experiments and finite element method. From the results of experiments, we suggested the connection methods about HCFFT pile connection.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.649-662
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• 2020

Although several types of rigid shear connectors have been developed particularly to increase load-carrying capacity, application is limited due to the complicated details of such connection. In this study, push-out tests were performed for specimens with hybrid shear connectors using headed studs and shear plates to identify the effects of each parameter on the structural performance of such shear connection. The test parameters included steel ratios of headed stud to shear plate, connection length, and embedded depth of shear plates. The peak strength and residual strength were estimated using various shear transfer mechanisms such as stud shear, concrete bearing, and shear friction. The hybrid shear connectors using shear plates and headed studs showed large load-carrying capacity and deformation capacity. The peak strength was predicted by the concrete bearing strength of the shear plates. The residual strength was sufficiently predicted by the stud shear strength of headed studs or by shear friction strength of dowel reinforcing bars. Further, the finite element analysis was performed to verify the shear transfer mechanism of the connection with hybrid shear connector.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.373-384
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• 2007

For structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil infrastructures, displacement is a good descriptor of the structural behavior under all the potential disturbances. However, it is not easy to measure displacement of civil infrastructures, since the conventional sensors need a reference point, and inaccessibility to the reference point is sometimes caused by the geographic conditions, such as a highway or river under a bridge, which makes installation of measuring devices time-consuming and costly, if not impossible. To resolve this issue, a visionbased real-time displacement measurement system using digital image processing techniques is developed. The effectiveness of the proposed system was verified by comparing the load carrying capacities of a steel-plate girder bridge obtained from the conventional sensor and the present system. Further, to simultaneously measure multiple points, a synchronized vision-based system is developed using master/slave system with wireless data communication. For the purpose of verification, the measured displacement by a synchronized vision-based system was compared with the data measured by conventional contact-type sensors, linear variable differential transformers (LVDT) from a laboratory test.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.183-205
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• 2012

This paper presents an investigation of the effect of inclined stiffeners on the load-carrying capacity of simply-supported hot-rolled steel I-beams under various load conditions. The study is carried out using finite element analysis. A series of beams modeled using 3-D solid finite elements with consideration of initial geometric imperfections, residual stresses, and material nonlinearity are analyzed with and without inclined stiffeners to show how the application of inclined stiffeners can offer a noticeable increase in their lateral-torsional buckling (LTB) capacity. The analysis results have shown that the amount of increase in LTB capacity is primarily dependent on the location of the inclined stiffeners and the lateral unsupported length of the beam. The width, thickness and inclination angle of the stiffeners do not have as much an effect on the beam's lateral-torsional buckling capacity when compared to the stiffeners' location and beam length. Once the optimal location for the stiffeners is determined, parametric studies are performed for different beam lengths and load cases and a design equation is developed for the design of such stiffeners. A design example is given to demonstrate how the proposed equation can be used for the design of inclined stiffeners not only to enhance the beam's bearing capacity but its lateral-torsional buckling strength.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.475-487
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• 2010

Most of steel structures in various industries are subjected to corrosion due to environmental exposure. Corrosion damage is a serious problem for these structures which may reduce their carrying capacity. These aging structures require maintenance and in many cases, replacement. The goal of this research is to consider the effects of corrosion by developing a model that estimates corrosion loss as a function of exposure time. The model is formulated based on average measured thickness data collected from three severely corroded I-beams (nearly 30 years old). Since corrosion is a time-dependent parameter. Analyses were performed to calculate the lateral buckling capacity of steel beam in terms of exposure time. Minimum curves have been developed for assessment of the remaining lateral buckling capacity of ordinary I-beams based on the loss of thicknesses in terms of exposure time. These minimum curves can be used by practicing engineers for better estimates on the service life of corrosion damaged steel beams.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.1327-1336
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• 2013

In this study, the effects of corrugated webs on the ultimate behavior of horizontally curved I-shaped girders are investigated. Because of the geometric characteristics of corrugated plates, corrugated webs can be used for enhancing torsional and warping stiffness of plate girders. Many researches have been conducted to study the effects of corrugated webs on the ultimate behavior of straight girders. But, the studies of the ultimate behavior of horizontally curved girders with corrugated webs, which generally show out-of plane behavior manly, have been rarely performed so far. By performing inelastic-nonlinear analysis, the ultimate behavior of curved girders with corrugated webs is studied in this paper. Laterally unsupported length and subtended angle of girders, and length of height of corrugation of webs are considered as the geometric parameters which would be expected to affect the ultimate behavior. By this analytical study with considering the geometric parameters, the changes of ultimate behavior and load carrying capacity of curved girders with corrugated webs are investigated. Also, the effects of corrugated webs on the increase of load carrying capacity for curved girders are studied with comparing to the capacity of general curved girders with flat webs. According to the analytical results, corrugated webs can be used to increase the ultimate load carrying capacity of curved girders, because of their high torsional and warping stiffness. But, it is also indicated that they may decrease the load carrying capacity of curved girders which have relatively small subtended angle or initial curvature, because of an accordion effect.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.315-322
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• 2011

The importance of aquafarming is increasing all over the world, however the coastal environment in the semi-closed inner bay has been aggravated due to the long term production and the high stocking density. For the sustainable aquafarming, there is a requirement for a eco-friendly fishery management by the estimation of ecological carrying capacity. The model development and application is still in the initial step, because it has to consider the whole ecosystem and all culture activities. As an alternative, there is a requirement for ecological indicator to assess the ecological performance. This study tried the estimation of ecological carrying capacity using ecological indicator. The production and the facility of the oyster farms was 4,935M/T, $49ind./m^3$ in Geoje-Hansan Bay(2008). Filtration pressure indicator was 0.203 which could provide a guidance on the present level of culture development. According to the environmental characteristics and the present oyster farms in Geoje-Hansan Bay, the newly assessed filtration pressure for the acceptable ecological carrying capacity was 0.102. Consequently, ecological carrying capacity in Geoje-Hansan Bay was 2,480M/T, $25ind./m^3$ and this represents the level of culture that can be introduced into Geoje-Hansan Bay without leading to significant changes to ecological process, species, populations or communities. Our study utilized the ecological indicator to estimate ecological carrying capacity of oyster farming for sustainable productivity and this could be the scientific basis for the eco-friendly fishery management.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.225-243
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• 2019

Cold-formed steel (CFS) sections when used as primary load carrying members often require additional strengthening for retrofitting purposes. In some cases, it is also necessary to reduce deflections in order to satisfy serviceability requirements. The introduction of angle sections, screwed to the webs so as to act as external stiffeners, has the potential to both increase flexural strength as well as reduce deflections. This paper presents the results of ten four-point bending tests, on built-up CFS sections, both open and closed, with different stiffening arrangements. In the laboratory tests, the stiffening arrangements increased the moment capacity and stiffness of the CFS beams by up to 85% and 100% respectively. The increase in moment capacity was more evident for the open sections, while that reduction in deflection was largest for the closed sections.