• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제32권6호
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• pp.615-625
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• 2023

Initial geometrical imperfection is an important factor affecting the structural characteristics of plate and shell structures. Studying the effect of geometrical imperfection on the structural characteristics of cylindrical shell is beneficial to explore the thermal post-buckling response characteristics of cylindrical shell. Therefore, we devote to investigating the thermal post-buckling behavior of graphene platelets reinforced mental foam (GPLRMF) cylindrical shells with geometrical imperfection. The properties of GPLRMF material with considering three types of graphene platelets (GPLs) distribution patterns are introduced firstly. Subsequently, based on Donnell nonlinear shell theory, the governing equations of cylindrical shell are derived according to Eulerian-Lagrange equations. Taking into account two different boundary conditions namely simply supported (S-S) and clamped supported (C-S), the Galerkin principle is used to solve the governing equations. Finally, the impact of initial geometrical imperfections, the GPLs distribution types, the porosity distribution types, the porosity coefficient as well as the GPLs mass fraction on the thermal post-buckling response of the cylindrical shells are analyzed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제46권5호
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• pp.649-658
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• 2023

Although some scholars have studied the thermal post-buckling of graphene platelets strengthened metal foams (GPLRMFs) plates, they have not considered the influence of initial geometrical imperfection. Inspired by this fact, the present paper studies the thermal post-buckling characteristics of GPLRMFs plates with initial geometrical imperfection. Three kinds of graphene platelets (GPLs) distribution patterns including three patterns have been considered. The governing equations are derived according to the first-order plate theory and solved with the help of the Galerkin method. According to the comparison with published paper, the accuracy and correctness of the present research are verified. In the end, the effects of material properties and initial geometrical imperfection on the thermal post-buckling response of the GPLRMFs plates are examined. It can be found that the presence of initial geometrical imperfection reduces the thermal post-buckling strength. In addition, the present study indicates that GPL-A pattern is best way to improve thermal post-buckling strength for GPLRMFs plates, and the presence of foams can improve the thermal post-buckling strength of GPLRMFs plates, the Foam- II and Foam- I patterns have the lowest and highest thermal post-buckling strength. Our research can provide guidance for the thermal stability analysis of GPLRMFs plates.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제45권5호
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• pp.749-766
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• 2022

This paper investigates the seismic performance of exposed RCFST column-base joints, in which the high-strength steel bars (USD 685) are set through the column and reinforced concrete foundation without any base plate and anchor bolts. Three specimens with different axial force ratios (n = 0, 0.25, and 0.5) were tested under cyclic loadings. Finite element analysis (FEA) models were validated in the basic indexes and failure mode. The hysteresis behavior of the exposed RCFST column-base joints was studied by the parametrical analysis including six parameters: width of column (D), width-thickness ratio (D/t), axial force ratio (n), shear-span ratio (L/D), steel tube strength (f_y) and concrete strength (f_c). The bending moment of the exposed RCFST column-base joint increased with D, f_y and f_c. But the D/t and L/D play a little effect on the bending capacity of the new column-base joint. Finally, the calculation formula is proposed to assess the bending moment capacities, and the accuracy and stability of the formula are verified.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제48권4호
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• pp.405-417
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• 2023

In order to strengthen the reinforced concrete T-beams having insufficient shear strength, several strengthening techniques are available in the literature. In this study, three different strengthening strategies were numerically studied. First one is affixing steel plates to the beam surfaces. Second one includes tightening external steel bars vertically similar to beam stirrups. The last one is simultaneous application of these two strengthening procedures which is particularly proposed in this work. Available experimental test series in the literature were handled in the study. Finite element (FE) models of reinforced concrete beam specimens having sufficient (Beam-1) and low shear capacity (Beam-2) were created within ABAQUS environment. Strengthened beams with different techniques were also modelled to reflect improved shear capacity. FE simulations made it possible to investigate parameters that were not examined during the previous experimental studies. The results of the analyses were then compared and found consistent with the experimentally obtained data. Experimental and FEM analysis results are in agreement between 1% (closest) and 6%. (maximum). Beam-2 was stregthened with 5 new porposed methods. The rate of increase in shear strength varies between 33% and 64%. It was found that, the strengthening techniques were fairly useful in improving the shear capacity of the considered girder. The model with the proposed strengthening alternative has accomplished a higher load carrying capacity, ductility and stiffness than all of the other models.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제32권2호
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• pp.83-99
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• 2023

The temperature prediction approaches of three important locations in an operational longitudinal slab track-bridge structure by using three typical neural network methods based on the field measuring platform of four meteorological factors and internal temperature. The measurement experiment of four meteorological factors (e.g., ambient temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, and humidity) temperature in the three locations of the longitudinal slab and base plate of three important locations (e.g., mid-span, beam end, and Wide-Narrow Joint) were conducted, and then their characteristics were analyzed, respectively. Furthermore, temperature prediction effects of three locations under five various meteorological conditions are tested by using three neural network methods, respectively, including the Artificial Neural Network (ANN), the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). More importantly, the predicted effects of solar radiation in four meteorological factors could be identified with three indicators (e.g., Root Means Square Error, Mean Absolute Error, Correlation Coefficient of R2). In addition, the LSTM method shows the best performance, while the CNN method has the best prediction effect by only considering a single meteorological factor.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제48권5호
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• pp.599-610
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• 2023

To avoid debonding failure, a novel type of hybrid anchorage (HA) is proposed in this study that uses a slotted plate to lock the ends of the fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) sheet in addition to the usual bonding over the substrate of the strengthened member. An experimental investigation was performed on three groups of RC beams, which differed from one another in either concrete strength or steel reinforcement ratio. The test results indicate that the end self-locking of the CFRP sheet can improve the failure ductility, ultimate capacity of the beams and its utilization ratio. Although intermediate debonding occurred in all the strengthened beams, it was not a fatal mode of failure for the three specimens with end anchorage. Among them, FRP rupture occurred in the beam with higher concrete strength and lower steel reinforcement ratio, whereas the other two failed by concrete crushing. The beam strengthened by HA obtained a relatively high percentage of increase in ultimate capacity when the rebar ratio or concrete strength decreased. The expressions in the literature were inspected to calculate the critical loads at intermediate debonding, FRP rupturing and concrete crushing after debonding for the strengthened beam. Then, the necessity of further research is addressed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.103-117
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• 2023

This paper presents an investigation on the shear resistance of corrugated web steel beams (CWBs) with a circular web opening. A total of five specimens with different diameters of web openings were designed and tested with vertical load applied on the top flange at mid-span. The ultimate strengths, failure modes, and load versus middle displacement curves were obtained from the tests. Following the tests, numerical models of the CWBs were developed and validated against the test results. The influence of the web plate thickness, steel grade, opening diameter, and location on the shear strength of the CWBs was extensively investigated. An XGBoost machine learning model for shear resistance prediction was trained based on 256 CWB samples. The XGBoost model with optimal hyperparameters showed excellent accuracy and exceeded the accuracy of the available design equations. The effects of geometric parameters and material properties on the shear resistance were evaluated using the SHAP method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제86권4호
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• pp.573-587
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• 2023

A conventional tuned mass damper (TMD) provides a passive control option to suppress the structures' wind- or earthquake-induced vibrations. However, excessive displacements of the TMD raise concerns in the practical implementation. Therefore, this study proposes a novel TMD designed for and deployed on a high-rise sightseeing tower. The device consists of an integrated two-way slide rail mount and an eddy current damper (ECD) with a stroke control mechanism. This stroke control mechanism allows the damping coefficient to automatically increase when the stroke reaches a predetermined value, preventing excessive damper displacements during large earthquakes. The corresponding two-stage damping parameters are designed with a variable-thickness copper plate to enable the TMD stroke within a specified range. Thus, this study discusses the detailed design schemes of the device components in TMD. The designed two-stage damping parameters are also numerically verified, and the structural responses with/without the TMD are compared. As seen in the results, the proposed TMD yields effective control authority to limit the acceleration response within a comfort level. In addition, this TMD resolves the spatial availability for the damper movement in high-rise buildings by the controllable damping mechanism.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.194-204
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• 2023

Models based on diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) have been extensively used to explore the mechanisms of dendritic particle aggregation phenomena. The physical and chemical properties of systems in which DLA aggregates emerge are given in their fractal. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of the growth of electrodeposited copper dendrites in flat plate electrochemical cells from a fractal perspective. The effects of growth time, applied voltage, copper ion concentration, and electrolyte acidity on the morphology and fractal dimension of deposited copper were examined. 'Phase diagram' set out the variety of electrodeposited copper fractal morphology analysed by metallographic microscopy. The box counting method confirms that the electrodeposited dendritic structures manifestly exhibit fractal character. It was found that with the increase of the voltage and copper ion concentration. The fractal copper size becomes larger and its morphology shifts towards a dendritic structure, with the fractal dimension fluctuating around 1.60-1.70. In addition, the morphology of the deposited copper is significantly affected by the acidity of the electrolyte. The increase in acidity from 0.01 to 1.00 mol/L intensifies the hydrogen precipitation side reactions and the overflow path of hydrogen bubbles affects the fractal growth of copper dendrites.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.54-57
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• 2023

Recently, requirements for improving the convenience of constructing BIPV (Building Integrated Photo Voltaic) modules had increased. To solve this problem, we fabricated shingled PV modules integrated with bent steel plates for building integrated photovoltaics. These PV modules could be constructed directly on the roof without the installation structure. We found optimal lamination conditions with supporting structures to fabricate a module on a bent steel plate. Moreover, we applied a shingled design to PV modules integrated with bent steel plates to achieve a high electrical output power. The shingled module with bent steel plates shows 142.80 W of solar-to-power conversion in 0.785 m² area.