• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.13-25
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• 2020

One of the most important aspects in structural health monitoring is the detection of fatigue damage. Structural components such as heavy-duty bolts work under high dynamic loads, and thus are prone to accumulate fatigue damage and cracks may originate. Those heavy-duty bolts are used, for example, in wind power generation and mining equipment. Therefore, the investigation of new and more effective monitoring technologies attracts a great interest. In this study the acoustic emission (AE) technology was employed to detect incipient damage during fatigue testing of a M36 bolt. Initial results showed that the AE signals have a high level of background noise due to how the load is applied by the fatigue testing machine. Thus, an advanced signal processing method in the time-frequency domain, the Hilbert-Huang Spectrum (HHS), was applied to reveal AE components buried in background noise in form of high-frequency peaks that can be associated with damage progression. Accordingly, the main contribution of the present study is providing insights regarding the detection of incipient damage during fatigue testing using AE signals and providing recommendations for further research.

• Advances in Automotive Engineering
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.21-39
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• 2018

Clutch energy is the thermal energy dissipated on the clutch disc, and it reaches its highest level during drive-off as a result of the difference between the angular speeds of the flywheel and clutch disc, and the torque transmitted. The thermal energy dissipated effects the clutch life. This study presents a new drive-off and thermal model to calculate the clutch energy for a rear wheel driven heavy-duty vehicle and to analyze the effects of clutch energy on temperatures of clutch pressure plate, flywheel and clutch housing. Three different driver profiles are used, based on the release of the clutch pedal in modulation zone: i) the pedal travels with the same speed all the way, ii) the travel speed of the pedal increases, iii) the travel speed of the pedal decreases. Vehicle test is performed to check the accuracy of the model. When compared to a simpler model that is widely used in the literature to calculate the clutch energy, the model used in this study calculates the clutch energy and angular speed behaviors of flywheel and transmission input shaft in better agreement with experimental results. Clutch wear and total clutch life are also estimated using the mean specific friction power.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.365-377
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• 2015

Large-amplitude vibration of overhead sign structures can cause unfavorable psychological responses in motorists, interfere with readability of the signs, and lead to fatigue cracking in the sign structures. Field experience in Texas suggests that an overhead sign structure can vibrate excessively when supported within the span of a highway bridge instead of at a bent. This study used finite element modeling to analyze the dynamic displacement response of three hypothetical sign structures subjected to truck-passage-induced vertical oscillations recorded for the girders from four actual bridges. The modeled sign bridge structures included several span lengths based on standard design practices in Texas and were mounted on precast concrete I-girder bridges. Results revealed that resonance with bridge girder vertical vibrations can amplify the dynamic displacement of sign structures, and a specific range of frequency ratios subject to undesirable amplification was identified. Based on these findings, it is suggested that this type of sign structure be located at a bridge bent if its vertical motion frequency is within the identified range of bridge structure excitation frequencies. Several alternatives are investigated for cases where this is not possible, including increasing sign structure stiffness, reducing sign mass, and installing mechanical dampers.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2018

Column is usually floating on the stone base directly with or without positioning tenon in traditional Chinese timber structure. Vertical load originated by the heavy upper structure would induce large friction force and compression force between interfaces of column foot and stone base. This study focused on the mechanical behaviors of column foot joint with consideration of the influence of vertical load. Mechanism of column rocking and stress state of column foot has been explored by theoretical analysis. A nonlinear finite element model of column foot joint has been built and verified using the full-scale test. The verified model is then used to investigate the mechanical behaviors of the joint subjected to cyclic loading with different static vertical loads. Column rocking mechanism and stress distributions of column foot were studied in detail, showing good agreement with the theoretical analysis. Mechanical behaviors of column foot joint and the effects of the vertical load on the seismic behavior of column foot were studied. Result showed that compression stress, restoring moment and stiffness increased with the increase of vertical load. An appropriate vertical load originated by the heavy upper structure would produce certain restoring moment and reset the rocking columns, ensuring the stability of the whole frame.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.321-335
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• 2014

Eight trace metals, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, were measured in the urban soil of Guwahati City, Assam, India from 31 sites representing five different types of land use, residential, commercial, industrial, public utilities, and roadside. Cd and Co occurred in very low concentrations (Cd << Co) in all types of land use without any significant variation from one type of land use to another. Ni concentrations were more than those of Co, and the concentrations depended on land use pattern. Average Cr and Cu concentrations were ${\geq}100mg/kg$, but Cr had a significantly higher presence in industrial land use. Pb concentrations showed similar trends. The two metals, Mn and Zn, were present in much larger amounts compared to the others with values ${\geq}300mg/kg$. Industrial and roadside soil contained much more Mn while commercial soil was enriched with Zn. Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) was used for elucidating the mobility characteristics of the eight heavy metals. Mn suffered the highest leaching from commercial land (9.9 mg/kg on average) and also from other types of land. Co, Cu and Pb showed higher leachability from commercial soils but the leached concentrations were less than those of Mn. The two metals, Zn and Ni, were leached from residential land in considerable amounts. The TCLP showed Mn to be the most leachable metal and Cr the least.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.431-453
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• 2015

A destructive earthquake, the magnitude of this earthquake was 7.2, hit Van, Turkey on October 23, 2011. After this devastating earthquake, a moderate earthquake which had 5.7 magnitude on November 9, 2011 occurred in Edremit, Van. These earthquakes caused heavy damages and collapses in many reinforced concrete buildings with loss of lives. In this paper, characteristics of ground motions of these earthquakes were studied and, deficiencies in structural elements and engineering faults such as poor workmanship and quality of construction, soft and weak stories, strong beam-weak column, short column, large overhang, hammering and unconfined gable wall were investigated. According to the observations, it was seen that, low quality of structural materials, lack of engineering services, inappropriate design and construction with insufficient detailing of the structural elements were the main reasons of heavy damages.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.515-525
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• 2018

This paper presents a numerical study on the performance of reinforced concrete (RC) bridge structures subjected to heavy goods vehicle (HGV) collision. The objectives of this study are to investigate the dynamic response and failure modes of different types of bridges under impact loading as well as to give an insight into the simplified methods for modeling bridge structures. For this purpose, detailed finite-element models of HGV and bridges are established and verified against the full-scale collision experiment and a recent traffic accident. An intensive parametric study with the consideration of vehicle weight, vehicle velocity, structural type, simplified methods for modeling bridges is conducted; then the failure mode, impact force, deformation and internal force distribution of the validated bridge models are discussed. It is observed that the structural type has a significant effect on the force-transferring mechanism, failure mode and dynamic response of bridge structures, thus it should be considered in the anti-impact design of bridge structures. The impact force of HGV is mainly determined by the impact weight, impact velocity and contact interface, rather than the simplification of the superstructure. Furthermore, to reduce the modeling and computing cost, it is suggested to utilize the simplified bridge model considering the inertial effect of the superstructure to evaluate the structural impact behavior within a reasonable precision range.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.225-237
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• 2018

The sorption of metal ions with low-cost adsorbents plays an important role in sustainable development. In the present study, the efficacy of sugarcane bagasse, rain tree fruits (samaneasaman), banana stem and their mixtures, used as bio-sorbents, in the removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution is evaluated. Batch studies are conducted, and residual ions were measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)-atomic spectrometer. Effect of pH, initial metal ion concentration, reaction time and adsorbent dosage are studied. The Pb(II) removal efficiency was observed to be 97.88%, 98.60% and 91.74% for rain tree fruits, banana stem and a mixture of adsorbents respectively. The highest Cu(II) ion removal was observed for sugarcane bagasse sorbent with an efficiency of 82.10% with a pH of 4.5 and a reaction time of 90 min. Finally, desorption studies were carried out to study the leaching potential of adsorbent, and it was found that the adsorbent is stable in water than the other leaching agents such as HCl, ammonium acetate, Sodium EDTA. Hence, these adsorbents can be effectively used for the removal of these heavy metals.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2023

The studies on the effect of different plastic properties (e.g., types, shapes, presence of additivies) on the sorption of contaminants in the agricultural environment are limited. In this study, Cu and Pb, the commonly found heavy metals in the environment, were used to investigate the sorption capacities of microplastics (MPs). The Pb sorption capacity increased in the order of polystyrene (PS)<polyethylene (PE)<polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The estimated Cu sorption capacity was greater for the PE films than the PE fragments, while the sorption strength was greater for the PE fragments. This suggests that the shapes of MPs can affect the contaminant sorption capacities. With the PE fragments, the Pb sorption capacity was greater than the Cu sorption capacity by 10-12 times. Also, the Pb and Cu sorption capacities were greater for the PE fragments with additives than the PE fragment without additives. After the sorption of Pb or Cu on MPs, the toxic effects of the Pb or Cu solutions were decreased, suggesting that the toxic effects of contaminants can be affected by the co-presence of MPs in the environment. Overall, the results show that different types and shapes of MPs and the presence of additives can affect the heavy metal sorption capacities of MPs.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.209-221
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• 2023

The Mw=7.7 (Pazarcık-Kahramanmaraş) and Mw=7.6 (Elbistan-Kahramanmaraş) earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye on 06.02.2023 with 9 hours' intervals, caused great losses of life and property as the biggest catastrophe in the instrumental period. The earthquakes affecting an area of 14% of the country were enormous and caused a great deal of loss of life and damage. Numerous buildings have collapsed or damaged at different levels, both in the city centers and in rural areas. Within the scope of this study, masonry structure damage built from different types of materials in the earthquake region was taken into consideration. In this study, the damage and causes of such masonry structures that do not generally receive engineering services were examined and explained in detail. Insufficient interlocking between wall-wall and wall-roof, inadequate masonry, lack of horizontal and vertical bond beams, usage of low-strength materials, poor workmanship, and heavy earthen roof are commonly caused to structural damages. Separation at the corner point and out-of-plane mechanism in structural walls, and heavy earthen roof damages are common types of damage in masonry structures.