• Wind and Structures
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.403-418
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• 2020

To investigate the effects of central buckles on the dynamic behavior and flutter stability of long-span suspension bridges, four different connection options between the main cable and the girder near the mid-span position of the Aizhai Bridge were studied. Based on the flutter derivatives obtained from wind tunnel tests, formulations of self-excited forces in the time domain were obtained using a nonlinear least square fitting method and a time-domain flutter analysis was realized. Subsequently, the influences of the central buckles on the critical flutter velocity, flutter frequency, and three-dimensional flutter states of the bridge were investigated. The results show that the central buckles can significantly increase the frequency of the longitudinal floating mode of the bridge and have greater influence on the frequencies of the asymmetric lateral bending mode and asymmetric torsion mode than on that of the symmetric ones. As such, the central buckles have small impact on the critical flutter velocity due to that the flutter mode of the Aizhai Bridge was essentially the symmetric torsion mode coupled with the symmetric vertical mode. However, the central buckles have certain impact on the flutter mode and the three-dimensional flutter states of the bridge. In addition, it is found that the phenomenon of complex beat vibrations (called intermittent flutter phenomenon) appeared in the flutter state of the bridge when the structural damping is 0 or very low.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.775-792
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• 2014

Static loading tests were carried out in this study to investigate the effect of bar cutoff on the resistance of RC beam-column sub-assemblages under column loss. Two specimens were designed with continuous main reinforcement. Four others were designed with different types of bar cutoff in the mid-span and/or the beam-end regions. Compressive arch and tensile catenary responses of the specimens under gravitational loading were compared. Test results indicated that those specimens with approximately equal moment strength at the beam ends had similar peak loading resistance in the compressive arch phase but varied resistance degradation in the transition phase because of bar cutoff. The compressive bars terminated at one-third span could help to mitigate the degradation although they had minor contribution to the catenary action. Among those cutoff patterns, the K-type cutoff presented the best strength enhancement. It revealed that it is better to extend the steel bars beyond the mid-span before cutoff for the two-span beams bridging over a column vulnerable to sudden failure. For general cutoff patterns dominated by gravitational and seismic designs, they may be appropriately modified to minimize the influence of bar cutoff on the progressive collapse resistance.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.357-371
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• 2009

Test results of thirteen reinforced concrete corbels with shear span-to-depth ratio greater than unity are reported. The main variables studied were compressive strength of concrete, shear span-to-depth ratio and parameter of vertical stirrups. The test results indicate that the shear strengths of corbels increase with an increase in compressive strength of concrete and parameter of vertical stirrups. The shear strengths of corbels also increase with a decrease in shear span-to-depth ratio. The smaller the shear span-to-depth ratio of corbel, the larger the stiffness and the shear strength of corbel are. The higher the concrete strength of corbel, the higher the stiffness and the shear strength of corbel are. The larger the parameter of vertical stirrups, the larger the stiffness and the shear strength of corbel are. The softened strut-and-tie model for determining the shear strengths of reinforced concrete corbels is modified appropriately in this paper. The shear strengths predicted by the proposed model and the approach of ACI Code are compared with available test results. The comparison shows that the proposed model can predict more accurately the shear strengths of reinforced concrete corbels than the approach of ACI Code.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.337-351
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• 2022

As central-slotted box decks usually have excellent flutter performance, studies on this type of deck mostly focus on the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) control. Yet with the increasing span lengths, cable-supported bridges may have critical wind speeds of wind-induced static instability lower than that of the flutter. This is especially likely for bridges with a central-slotted box deck. As a result, the overall aerodynamic performance of such a bridge will depend on its wind-induced static stability. Taking a 1400 m-main-span cable-stayed bridge as an example, this study investigates the influence of a series of deck shape parameters on both static and flutter instabilities. Some crucial shape parameters, like the height ratio of wind fairing and the angle of the inner-lower web, show opposite influences on the two kinds of instabilities. The aerodynamic shape optimization conducted for both static and flutter instabilities on the deck based on parameter-sensitivity studies raises the static critical wind speed by about 10%, and the overall critical wind speed by about 8%. Effective VIV countermeasures for this type of bridge deck have also been proposed.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.183-190
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• 2022

A wide range of experimental bases and improved performance with different forms of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) have attracted researchers to produce eco-friendly and sustainable structures. The reinforced concrete (RC) beam's shear capacity has remained a complex phenomenon because of various parameters affecting. Design recommendations for the shear capacity of RC elements having FRP reinforcement need a more experimental database to improve design recommendations because almost all the recommendations replace different parameters with FRP's. Steel and FRP are fundamentally different materials. One is ductile and isotropic, whereas the other is brittle and orthotropic. This paper presents experimental results of the investigation on the beams with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforcement as longitudinal bars and stirrups. Total twelve beams with GFRP reinforcement were prepared and tested. The cross-section of the beams was rectangular of size 230 × 300 mm, and the total length was 2000 mm with a span of 1800 mm. The beams are designed for simply-supported conditions with the two-point load as per specified load positions for different beams. Flexural reinforcement provided is for the balanced conditions as the beams were supposed to test for shear. Two main variables, such as shear span and spacing of stirrups, were incorporated. The beams were designed as per American Concrete Institute (ACI) ACI 440.1R-15. Relation of VExp./VPred. is derived with axial stiffness, span to depth ratio, and stirrups spacing, from which it is observed that current design provisions provide overestimation, particularly at lower stirrups spacing.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.371-392
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• 2014

Long-span cable-supported bridges are flexible structures vulnerable to unsymmetric loadings such as railway traffic and strong wind. The torsional dynamic response of long-span cable-supported bridges under running trains and/or strong winds may deform the railway track laid on the bridge deck and affect the running safety of trains and the comfort of passengers, and even lead the bridge to collapse. Therefore, it is eager to figure out the torsional dynamic response of long-span cable-supported bridges under running trains and/or strong winds. The Tsing Ma Bridge (TMB) in Hong Kong is a suspension bridge with a main span of 1,377 m, and is currently the world's longest suspension bridge carrying both road and rail traffic. Moreover, this bridge is located in one of the most active typhoon-prone regions in the world. A wind and structural health monitoring system (WASHMS) was installed on the TMB in 1997, and after 17 years of successful operation it is still working well as desired. Making use of one-year monitoring data acquired by the WASHMS, the torsional dynamic responses of the bridge deck under rail traffic and strong winds are analyzed. The monitoring results demonstrate that the differences of vertical displacement at the opposite edges and the corresponding rotations of the bridge deck are less than 60 mm and $0.1^{\circ}$ respectively under weak winds, and less than 300 mm and $0.6^{\circ}$ respectively under typhoons, implying that the torsional dynamic response of the bridge deck under rail traffic and wind loading is not significant due to the rational design.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.52-59
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• 2012

An analytical model is presented to predict the static behavior of the long-span prestressed concrete bridge deck(the long-span PSC deck). The finite element analysis is performed and the results are compared with that of the previous experimental test. The load-deflection relationship curves by FEM are in good agreement with the results reported in the previous study. The failure mode of all test specimens is predicted by the punching shear in this study. It is also observed in the previous experimental test. The main objective of this paper is presenting supportive method to predict static behavior of the long-span PSC deck slab. It is not simulating the punching shear behavior graphically.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.607-614
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• 2001

This paper describes the design and construction of main Arch bridge using Ultra-high performance concrete, Ductal in the Sunyudo pedestrian bridge project. Ductal is a new family of cementing materials with remarkable properties. Its mechanical characteristics reach unique values, with compressive strength in industrial use of 180 to 230 MPa and bending tensile strength of 50 to 80 MPa. By the use of Ductal, main Arch bridge crossing the Han-river is designed to the span 120m-long with optimized $\pi$ shape section.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.57-82
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• 2010

The 486m-long roof of Shenzhen Citizens Centre is one of the world's longest spatial lattice roof structures. A comprehensive numerical study of wind effects on the long-span structure is presented in this paper. The discretizing and synthesizing of random flow generation technique (DSRFG) recently proposed by two of the authors (Huang and Li 2008) was adopted to produce a spatially correlated turbulent inflow field for the simulation study. The distributions and characteristics of wind loads on the roof were numerically evaluated by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods, in which Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations (RANS) Model were employed. The main objective of this study is to explore a useful approach for estimations of wind effects on complex curved roof by CFD techniques. In parallel with the numerical investigation, simultaneous pressure measurements on the entire roof were made in a boundary layer wind tunnel to determine mean, fluctuating and peak pressure coefficient distributions, and spectra, spatial correlation coefficients and probability characteristics of pressure fluctuations. Numerical results were then compared with these experimentally determined data for validating the numerical methods. The comparative study demonstrated that the LES integrated with the DSRFG technique could provide satisfactory prediction of wind effects on the long-span roof with complex shape, especially on separation zones along leading eaves where the worst negative wind-induced pressures commonly occur. The recommended LES and inflow turbulence generation technique as well as associated numerical treatments are useful for structural engineers to assess wind effects on a long-span roof at its design stage.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.217-247
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• 2016

Five extended cylindrical reticulated shells are proposed by changing distribution rule of diagonal rods based on three fundamental types. Modeling programs for fundamental types and extended types of cylindrical reticulated shell are compiled by using the ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL). On this basis, conditional formulas are derived when the grid shape of cylindrical reticulated shells is equilateral triangle. Internal force analysis of cylindrical reticulated shells is carried out. The variation and distribution regularities of maximum displacement and stress are studied. A shape optimization program is proposed by adopting the sequence two-stage algorithm (RDQA) in FORTRAN environment based on the characteristics of cylindrical reticulated shells and the ideas of discrete variable optimization design. Shape optimization is achieved by considering the objective function of the minimum total steel consumption, global and locality constraints. The shape optimization for three fundamental types and five extended types is calculated with the span of 30 m~80 m and rise-span ratio of 1/7~1/3. The variations of the total steel consumption along with the span and rise-span ratio are analyzed with contrast to the results of shape optimization. The optimal combination of main design parameters for five extended cylindrical reticulated shells is investigated. The total steel consumption affected by distribution rule of diagonal rods is discussed. The results show that: (1) Parametric modeling method is simple, efficient and practical, which can quickly generate different types of cylindrical reticulated shells. (2) The mechanical properties of five extended cylindrical reticulated shells are better than their fundamental types. (3) The total steel consumption of cylindrical reticulated shells is optimized to be the least when rise-span ratio is 1/6. (4) The extended type of three-way grid cylindrical reticulated shell should be preferentially adopted in practical engineering. (5) The grid shape of reticulated shells should be designed to equilateral triangle as much as possible because of its reasonable stress and the lowest total steel consumption.