• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.5
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• pp.749-766
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• 2012

Structural control through integration of passive damping devices within the building structure has been increasingly implemented internationally in the last years and has proven to be a most promising strategy for earthquake safety. In the present paper an alternative configuration of an innovative energy dissipation mechanism that consists of slender tension only bracing members with closed loop and a hysteretic damper is investigated in its dynamic behavior. The implementation of the adaptable dual control system, ADCS, in frame structures enables a dual function of the component members, leading to two practically uncoupled systems, i.e., the primary frame, responsible for the normal vertical and horizontal forces and the closed bracing-damper mechanism, for the earthquake forces and the necessary energy dissipation. Three representative international earthquake motions of differing frequency contents, duration and peak ground acceleration have been considered for the numerical verification of the effectiveness and properties of the SDOF systems with the proposed ADCS-configuration. The control mechanism may result in significant energy dissipation, when the geometrical and mechanical properties, i.e., stiffness and yield force of the integrated damper, are predefined. An optimum damper ratio, DR, defined as the ratio of the stiffness to the yield force of the hysteretic damper, is proposed to be used along with the stiffness factor of the damper's- to the primary frame's stiffness, in order for the control mechanism to achieve high energy dissipation and at the same time to prevent any increase of the system's maximum base shear and relative displacements. The results are summarized in a preliminary design methodology for ADCS.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.669-681
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• 2017

The design of reinforced concrete buildings must satisfy the serviceability stiffness criteria in terms of maximum lateral deflections and inter story drift in order to prevent both structural and non-structural damages. Consideration of plastic hinge formation is also important to obtain accurate failure mechanism and ultimate strength of reinforced concrete frames. In the present study, an iterative procedure has been developed for the analysis of reinforced concrete frames with cracked elements and consideration of plastic hinge formation. The ACI and probability-based effective stiffness models are used for the effective moment of inertia of cracked members. Shear deformation effect is also considered, and the variation of shear stiffness due to cracking is evaluated by reduced shear stiffness models available in the literature. The analytical procedure has been demonstrated through the application to three reinforced concrete frame examples available in the literature. It has been shown that the iterative analytical procedure can provide accurate and efficient predictions of deflections and ultimate strength of the frames studied under lateral and vertical loads. The proposed procedure is also efficient from the viewpoint of computational time and convergence rate. The developed technique was able to accurately predict the locations and sequential development of plastic hinges in frames. The results also show that shear deformation can contribute significantly to frame deflections.

• Aerospace Engineering and Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.72-77
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• 2010

A hydraulic test on a filament wound case of Kick-Motor was conducted to evaluate the structural stiffness degradation and to confirm the burst performance. Failure criteria have been defined with bursting above 150% of MEOP(Maximum Expected Operation Pressure) and failure in the cylinder. The analysis result showed that filament fiber in the cylinder should be broken at about 2088psig. From a hydraulic test it has been verified that composite case meets the failure requirements, and that the stiffness does not decrease even after a year since the manufacturing.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.579-586
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• 2022

Pile-supported structures are installed on saturated sloping grounds, where the ground stiffness may decrease due to liquefaction during earthquakes. Thus, it is important to consider saturated sloping ground and pile interactions. In this study, we conduct a centrifuge test of a pile-supported structure, and analyze the p-y_p loops, p-y_p loops provide the correlation between the lateral pile deflection (y_p) and lateral soil resistance (p). In the dry sand model (UV67), the p-y_p loops stiffness increased as ground depth increased, and the p-y_p loops stiffness was larger by approximately three times when the pile moved to the upslope direction, compared with when it moved to the downslope direction. In contrast, no significant difference was observed in the stiffness with the ground depth and pile moving direction in the saturated sand model (SV69). Furthermore, we identify the unstable zone based on the result of the lateral soil resistance (p). In the case of the SV69 model, the maximum depth of the unstable zone is five times larger than that of the dry sand model, and it was found that the saturated sand model was affected significantly by kinematic forces due to slope failure.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.443-454
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• 2023

Steel shear walls are used to strengthen steel and concrete structures. One such system is Partial Attached Steel Shear Walls (PASSW), which are only connected to frame beams. This system offers both structural and architectural advantages. This study first calibrated the numerical model of RC frames with and without PASSW using an experimental sample. The seismic performance of the RC frame was evaluated by 30 non-linear static analyses, which considered stiffness, ductility, lateral strength, and energy dissipation, to investigate the effect of PASSW width and column axial load. Based on numerical results and a curve fitting technique, a lateral stiffness equation was developed for frames equipped with PASSW. The effect of the shear wall location on the concrete frame was evaluated through eight analyses. Nonlinear dynamic analysis was performed to investigate the effect of the shear wall on maximum frame displacement using three earthquake records. The results revealed that if PASSW is designed with appropriate stiffness, it can increase the energy dissipation and ductility of the frame by 2 and 1.2 times, respectively. The stiffness and strength of the frame are greatly influenced by PASSW, while axial force has the most significant negative impact on energy dissipation. Furthermore, the location of PASSW does not affect the frame's behavior, and it is possible to have large openings in the frame bay.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.81-98
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• 1999

The influence of tunnelling on buildings has become an important issue in urban areas. The problem is an interactive one: not only do tunnelling settlements affect existing structures, but existing structures affect tunnel-induced soil movements. In order to examine the constraint of surface settlement and the degradation of building damage parameters, 3-dimensional elasto-plastic finite element analyses are peformed. Also, in this paper, the results of the parametric studies for the variations of the damage parameters due to the ground movements are presented by utilizing 2-dimensional elasto-plastic finite element models, totally 162 models. The width of a structure, its bending and axial stiffness, its position relative to the tunnel and the depth of tunnel are considered. The interaction is shown by reference to commonly-used building damage parameters, namely angular distortion, deflection ratio, maximum building settlements, maximum differential settlements and horizontal strain. By introducing relative stiffness parameters which combine the bending and axial stiffness of the structure with its width and stiffness of soil, design curves are established. These give a guide as to the likely modification of the greenfield settlement trough caused by a surface structure. They can be used to give initial estimates of likely building damage.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.756-759
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• 2004

We present a piezoelectric actuator using stiffness control and stroke amplification mechanism in order to make large lateral displacement. In this work, we suggest stiffness control approach that generates lateral displacement by increasing the vertical stiffness and reducing the lateral stiffness using additional structure. In addition, an additional structure of a serpentine spring amplifies the lateral displacement like leverage structure. The suggested lateral PZT actuator (bellows actuator) consists of serpentine spring and PZT/electrode layer which is located at the edge of the serpentine spring. The edge of the serpentine spring prevents the vertical motion of PZT layer, while the other edge of the serpentine spring makes stroke amplification like leverage structure. We have determined dimensions of the bellows actuator using ANSYS simulation. Length, width and thickness of PZT layer are 135$\mu$m, 20$\mu$m and 0.4$\mu$m, respectively. Dimensions of the silicon serpentine spring are thickness of 25$\mu$m, length of 300$\mu$m, and width of 5$\mu$m. The bellows actuator has been fabricated by SOI wafer with 25$\mu$m-top silicon and 1$\mu$m-buried oxide layer. The bellows actuator shows the maximum 3.93$\pm$0.2$\mu$m lateral displacement at 16V with 1Hz sinusoidal voltage input. In the frequency response test, the fabricated bellows actuator showed consistent displacement from 1Hz to 1kHz at 10V. From experimental study, we found the bellows actuator using thin film PZT and silicon serpentine spring generated mainly laterally displacement not vertical displacement at 16V, and serpentine spring played role of stroke amplification.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.205-211
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• 2014

Recent studies emphasize the importance of pivot stiffness in the analysis of tilting pad bearings (TPBs). The present paper develops a finite element model of the pad pivot and compares the predicted pivot stiffness to the results of Hertzian contact model calculations. Specifically, a finite element analysis generates tetrahedral mesh models with ~40,000 nodes for a ball-socket pivot and ~50,000 nodes for a rocker-back pivot. These models assume a frictionless boundary condition in the contact area. Increasing the applied loads on the pad in conjunction with increasing time steps ensures rapid convergence during the nonlinear numerical analysis. Predictions are performed using the developed finite element model for increasing the differential diameters between the pad pivot (or ball) and the bearing housing (or socket). The predictions show that the pivot contact area increases with decreasing differential diameters and increasing applied loads. Further, the maximum deformation occurring at the pivot center increases with increasing differential diameters and increasing applied loads. The pivot stiffness increases nonlinearly with decreasing differential diameters and increasing applied loads. Comparisons of results of the developed finite element model to those of Hertzian contact model calculations assuming a small contact area show that the latter model underestimates the pivot stiffnesses predicted by the finite element models of the ball-socket and rocker-back pivots, particularly for small differential diameters. This result implies the need for cautionduring the design of pivot stiffness by the Hertzian contact model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.163-180
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• 2009

In the design of tall reinforced concrete (R/C) buildings, the serviceability stiffness criteria in terms of maximum lateral displacement and inter-story drift must be satisfied to prevent large second-order P-delta effects. To accurately assess the lateral deflection and stiffness of tall R/C structures, cracked members in these structures need to be identified and their effective member flexural stiffness determined. In addition, the implementation of the geometric nonlinearity in the analysis can be significant for an accurate prediction of lateral deflection of the structure, particularly in the case of tall R/C building under lateral loading. It can therefore be important to consider the cracking effect together with the geometric nonlinearity in the analysis in order to obtain more accurate results. In the present study, a computer program based on the iterative procedure has been developed for the three dimensional analysis of reinforced concrete frames with cracked beam and column elements. Probability-based effective stiffness model is used for the effective flexural stiffness of a cracked member. In the analysis, the geometric nonlinearity due to the interaction of axial force and bending moment and the displacements of joints are also taken into account. The analytical procedure has been demonstrated through the application of R/C frame examples in which its accuracy and efficiency in comparison with experimental and other analytical results are verified. The effectiveness of the analytical procedure is also illustrated through a practical four story R/C frame example. The iterative procedure provides equally good and consistent prediction of lateral deflection and effective flexural member stiffness. The proposed analytical procedure is efficient from the viewpoints of computational effort and convergence rate.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.169-184
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• 2019

This research work presents a study that aims to assess the dynamic structural behaviour and also investigate the human comfort levels of a reinforced concrete building, when subjected to nondeterministic wind dynamic loadings, considering the effect of masonry infills on the global stiffness of the structural model. In general, the masonry fills most of the empty areas within the structural frames of the buildings. Although these masonry infills present structural stiffness, the common practice of engineers is to adopt them as static loads, disregarding the effect of the masonry infills on the global stiffness of the structural system. This way, in this study a numerical model based on sixteen-storey reinforced concrete building with 48 m high and dimensions of $14.20m{\times}15m$ was analysed. This way, static, modal and dynamic analyses were carried out in order to simulate the structural model based on two different strategies: no masonry infills and masonry infills simulated by shell finite elements. In this investigation, the wind action is considered as a nondeterministic process with unstable properties and also random characteristics. The fluctuating parcel of the wind is decomposed into a finite number of harmonic functions proportional to the structure resonant frequency with phase angles randomly determined. The nondeterministic dynamic analysis clearly demonstrates the relevance of a more realistic numerical modelling of the masonry infills, due to the modifications on the global structural stiffness of the building. The maximum displacements and peak accelerations values were reduced when the effect of the masonry infills (structural stiffness) were considered in the dynamic analysis. Finally, it can be concluded that the human comfort evaluation of the sixteen-storey reinforced concrete building can be altered in a favourable way to design.