• Computers and Concrete
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2012

This paper presents the details of studies conducted on hollow concrete block masonry (HCBM) units and wall panels. This study includes, compressive strength of unit block, ungrouted and grouted HCB prisms, flexural strength evaluation, testing of HCBM panels with and without opening. Non-linear finite element (FE) analysis of HCBM panels with and without opening has been carried out by simulating the actual test conditions. Constant vertical load is applied on the top of the wall panel and then lateral load is applied in incremental manner. The in-plane deformation is recorded under each incremental lateral load. Displacement ductility factors and response reduction factors have been evaluated based on experimental results. From the study, it is observed that fully grouted and partially reinforced HCBM panel without opening performed well compared to other types of wall panels in lateral load resistance and displacement ductility. In all the wall panels, shear cracks originated at loading point and moved towards the compression toe of the wall. The force reduction factor of a wall panel with opening is much less when compared with fully reinforced wall panel with no opening. The displacement values obtained by non-linear FE analysis are found to be in good agreement with the corresponding experimental values. The influence of mortar joint has been included in the stress-strain behaviour as a monolith with HCBM and not considered separately. The derived response reduction factors will be useful for the design of reinforced HCBM wall panels subjected to lateral forces generated due to earthquakes.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.20-27
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• 2021

The present study presents a nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) approach using the general program of Abaqus to evaluate the seismic response of unreinforced masonry walls strengthened with the steel bar truss system developed in the previous investigation. For finite element models of masonry walls, the concrete damaged plasticity (CDP) and meso-scale methods were considered on the basis of the stress-strain relationships under compression and tension and shear friction-slip relationship of masonry prisms proposed by Yang et al. in order to formulate the interface characteristics between brick elements and mortars. The predictions obtained from the FEA approach were compared with test results under different design parameters; as a result, a good agreement could be observed with respect to the crack propagation, failure mode, rocking strength, peak strength, and lateral load-displacement relationship of masonry walls. Thus, it can be stated that the proposed FEA approach shows a good potential for designing the seismic strengthening of masonry walls.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.1
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• pp.13-31
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• 2019

A nonlinear finite element model (FEM) using ATENA-3D software to simulate the axially compressive behavior of circular steel tube confined concrete (CSTCC) columns infilled with ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) was presented in this paper. Some modifications to the material type "CC3DNonlinCementitious2User" of UHPC without and with the incorporation of steel fibers (UHPFRC) in compression and tension were adopted in FEM. The predictions of utimate strength and axial load versus axial strain curves obtained from FEM were in a good agreement with the test results of eighteen tested columns. Based on the results of FEM, the load distribution on the steel tube and the concrete core was derived for each modeled column. Furthermore, the effect of bonding between the steel tube and the concrete core was clarified by the change of friction coefficient in the material type "CC3DInterface" in FEM. The numerical results revealed that the increase in the friction coefficient leads to a greater contribution from the steel tube, a decrease in the ultimate load and an increase in the magnitude of the loss of load capacity. By comparing the results of FEM with experimental results, the appropriate friction coefficient between the steel tube and the concrete core was defined as 0.3 to 0.6. In addition to the numerical evaluation, eighteen analytical models for confined concrete in the literature were used to predict the peak confined strength to assess their suitability. To cope with CSTCC stub and intermediate columns, the equations for estimating the lateral confining stress and the equations for considering the slenderness in the selected models were proposed. It was found that all selected models except for EC2 (2004) gave a very good prediction. Among them, the model of Bing et al. (2001) was the best predictor.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.513-538
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• 2022

This paper reports on experiments addressing the buckling and collapse behavior of an innovative built-up cold-formed steel (CFS) columns. The built-up column consists of four individual CFS lipped channels, two of them placed back-to-back at the web using two self-drilling screw fasteners at specified spacing along the column length, while the other two channels were connected flange-to-flange using one self-drilling screw fastener at specified spacing along the column length. In total, 12 experimental tests are reported, covering a wide range of column lengths from stub to slender columns. The initial geometric imperfections and material properties were determined for all test specimens. The effect of screw spacing, load-versus axial shortening behaviour and buckling modes for different lengths and screw spacing were investigated. Nonlinear finite element (FE) models were also developed, which included material nonlinearities and initial geometric imperfections. The FE models were validated against the experimental results, both in terms of axial capacity and failure modes of built-up CFS columns. Furthermore, using the validated FE models, a parametric study was conducted which comprises 324 models to investigate the effect of screw fastener spacing, thicknesses and wide range of lengths on axial capacity of back-to-back and flange-to-flange built-up CFS channel sections. Using both the experimental and FE results, it is shown that design in accordance with the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and Australia/New Zealand (AS/NZS) standards is slightly conservative by 6% on average, while determining the axial capacity of back-to-back and flange-to-flange built-up CFS channel sections.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.539-552
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• 2022

Concentrically braced frames (CBFs) possess high stiffness and strength against lateral loads; however, they suffer from low energy absorption capacity against seismic loads due to the susceptibility of CBF diagonal elements to bucking under compression loading. To address this problem, in this study, an innovative damper was proposed and investigated experimentally and numerically. The proposed damper comprises main plates and includes a flange plate angled at θ and a trapezius-shaped web plate surrounded by the plate at the top and bottom sections. To investigate the damper behaviour, dampers with θ = 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° were evaluated with different flange plate thicknesses of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mm. Dampers with θ = 0° and 90° create rectangular-shaped and I-shaped shear links, respectively. The results indicate that the damper with θ = 30° exhibits better performance in terms of ultimate strength, stiffness, overstrength, and distribution stress over the damper as compared to dampers with other angles. The hysteresis curves of the dampers confirm that the proposed damper acts as a ductile fuse. Furthermore, the web and flange plates contribute to the shear resistance, with the flange carrying approximately 80% and 10% of the shear force for dampers with θ = 30° and 90°, respectively. Moreover, dampers that have a larger flange-plate shear strength than the shear strength of the web exhibit behaviours in linear and nonlinear zones. In addition, the over-strength obtained for the damper was greater than 1.5 (proposed by AISC for shear links). Relevant relationships are determined to predict and design the damper and the elements outside it.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.745-760
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• 2021

Dynamic buckling of structure is one of the failure modes that needs to be considered since it may result in catastrophic failure of the structure in a short period of time. For a thin fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) plate under compression, buckling is an inherent hazard which will be intensified by the existence of defects like holes, cracks, and delamination. On the other hand, the growth of the delamination is another prime concern for thin FRP plates. In the current paper, reinforcing the plates against buckling is realized by using SMA wires in the form of stitches. A numerical framework is proposed to simulate the dynamic instability emphasizing the effect of the SMA stitches in suppressing delamination growth. The suggested algorithm is more accurate than the other methods when considering the transformation point of the SMA wires and the modeling of the cohesive zone using simple and yet reliable technique. The computational design of the method by producing the line by line orders leads to a simple algorithm for simulating the super-elastic behavior. The Lagoudas constitutive model of the SMA material is implemented in the form of user material subroutines (VUMAT). The normal bilinear spring model is used to reproduce the cohesive zone behavior. The nonlinear finite element formulation is programmed into FORTRAN using the Newmark-beta numerical time-integration approach. The obtained results are compared with the results obtained by the finite element method using ABAQUS/Explicit solver. The obtained results by the proposed algorithm and those by ABAQUS are in good agreement.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.6A
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• pp.577-585
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• 2009

A 9-node degenerated shell finite element(FE), which has been developed for assessment of ultimate pressure capacity and nonlinear analysis for nuclear containment building is described in this paper. Reissner-Midnlin(RM) assumptions are adopted to develop the shell FE so that transverse shear deformation effects is considered. Material model for concrete prior to cracking is constructed based on the equivalent stress-equivalent strain relationship. Tension stiffening model, shear transfer mechanism and compressive strength reduction model are used to model the material behavior of concrete after cracking. Niwa and Aoyagi-Yamada failure criteria have been adapted to find initial cracking point in compression-tension and tension-tension region, respectively. Finally, the performance of the developed program is tested and demonstrated with several examples. From the numerical tests, the present results show a good agreement with experimental data or other numerical results.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.307-328
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• 2024

The concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model is widely used to simulate concrete behaviour using either implicit or explicit analysis methods. To effectively execute the models and resolve convergence issues in implicit analysis, activating the viscosity parameter of this material model is a common practice. Despite the frequent application of implicit analysis to analyse concrete structures with the CDP model, the viscosity parameter significantly varies among available models and lacks consistency. The adjustment of the viscosity parameter at the element/structural level disregards its indirect impact on the material. Therefore, the accuracy of the numerical model is confined to the validated range and might not hold true for other values, often explored in parametric studies subsequent to validations. To address these challenges and develop a unified numerical model for varied conditions, a quasi-static analysis using the explicit solver was conducted in this study. Fifteen thick flat plates tested under load control with different geometries and different eccentric loads were considered to verify the accuracy of the model. The study first investigated various concrete material behaviours under compression and tension as well as the concrete tensile strength to identify the most reliable models from previous methodologies. The study compared the results using both implicit and explicit analysis. It was found that, in implicit analysis, the viscosity parameter should be as low as 0.0001 to avoid affecting material properties. However, at the structural level, the optimum value may need adjustment between 0.00001 to 0.0001 with changing geometries and loading type. This observation raises concerns about further parametric study if the specific value of the viscosity parameter is used. Additionally, activating the viscosity parameter in load control simulations confirmed its inability to capture the peak load. Conversely, the unified explicit model accurately simulated the behaviour of the test specimens under varying geometries, load eccentricities, and column sizes. This study recommends restricting implicit solutions to the viscosity values proposed in this research. Alternatively, for highly nonlinear problems under load control simulation, explicit analysis stands as an effective approach, ensuring unified parameters across a wide range of applications without convergence problems.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.106-113
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• 1997

Dynamic loading of structures often causes excursions of stresses well into the inelastic range, and the influence of the geometric changes on the dynamic response is also significant in many cases. Therefore, both material and geometric nonlinearity effects should be considered in case that a dynamic load acts on the structure. A structure in a nuclear power plant is a structure of importance which puts emphasis on safety. A nuclear container is a pressure vessel subject to internal pressure and this structure is constructed by a reinforced concrete or a pre-stressed concrete. In this study, the material nonlinearity effect on the dynamic response is formulated by the elasto-viscoplastic model highly corresponding to the real behavior of the material. Also, the geometrically nonlinear behavior is taken into account using a total Lagrangian coordinate system, and the equilibrium equation of motion is numerically solved by a central difference scheme. The constitutive relation of concrete is modeled according to a Drucker-Prager yield criterion in compression. The reinforcing bars are modeled by a smeared layer at the location of reinforcements, and the steel layer model under Von Mises yield criteria is adopted to represent an elastic-plastic behavior. To investigate the dynamic response of a nuclear reinforced concrete containment structure, the steel-ratios of 0, 3, 5 and 10 percent, are considered. The results obtained from the analysis of an example were summarized as follows 1. As the steel-ratio increases, the amplitude and the period of the vertical displacements in apex of dome decreased. The Dynamic Magnification Factor(DMF) was some larger than that of the structure without steel. However, the regular trend was not found in the values of DMF. 2. The dynamic response of the vertical displacement and the radial displacement in the dome-wall junction were shown that the period of displacement in initial step decreased with the steel-ratio increases. Especially, the effect of the steel on the dynamic response of radial displacement disapeared almost. The values of DMF were 1.94, 2.5, 2.62 and 2.66, and the values increased with the steel-ratio. 3. The characteristics of the dynamic response of radial displacement in the mid-wall were similar to that of dome-wall junction. The values of DMF were 1.91, 2.11, 2.13 and 2.18, and the values increased with the steel-ratio. 4. The amplitude and the period of the hoop-stresses in the dome, the dome-wall junction, and the mid-wall were shown the decreased trend with the steel-ratio. The values of DMF were some larger than those of the structure without steel. However, the regular trend was not found in the values of DMF.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.337-353
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• 2018

The present study focuses on examining the structural behaviour of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete (SFRC) beams under high rates of loading largely associated with impact problems. Fibres are added to the concrete mix to enhance ductility and energy absorption, which is important for impact-resistant design. A simple, yet practical non-linear finite-element analysis (NLFEA) model was used in the present study. Experimental static and impact tests were also carried out on beams spanning 1.3 meter with weights dropped from heights of 1.5 m and 2.5 m, respectively. The numerical model realistically describes the fully-brittle tensile behaviour of plain concrete as well as the contribution of steel fibres to the post-cracking response (the latter was allowed for by conveniently adjusting the constitutive relations for plain concrete, mainly in uniaxial tension). Suitable material relations (describing compression, tension and shear) were selected for SFRC and incorporated into ABAQUS software Brittle Cracking concrete model. A more complex model (i.e., the Damaged Plasticity concrete model in ABAQUS) was also considered and it was found that the seemingly simple (but fundamental) Brittle Cracking model yielded reliable results. Published data obtained from drop-weight experimental tests on RC and SFRC beams indicates that there is an increase in the maximum load recorded (compared to the corresponding static one) and a reduction in the portion of the beam span reacting to the impact load. However, there is considerable scatter and the specimens were often tested to complete destruction and thus yielding post-failure characteristics of little design value and making it difficult to pinpoint the actual load-carrying capacity and identify the associated true ultimate limit state (ULS). To address this, dynamic NLFEA was employed and the impact load applied was reduced gradually and applied in pulses to pinpoint the actual failure point. Different case studies were considered covering impact loading responses at both the material and structural levels as well as comparisons between RC and SFRC specimens. Steel fibres were found to increase the load-carrying capacity and deformability by offering better control over the cracking process concrete undergoes and allowing the impact energy to be absorbed more effectively compared to conventional RC members. This is useful for impact-resistant design of SFRC beams.