• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제78권1호
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• pp.87-102
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• 2021

Long span cross-rope suspension structure is an innovative structural system evolved from typical Cross-Rope Suspension (CRS) guyed tower, a type of supporting system with short span suspension cable supporting overhead power transmission lines. In mountainous areas, the span length of suspension cable was designed to be extended to hundreds or over one thousand meters, which is applicable for crossing deep valleys. Vortex Induced Vibration (VIV) of overhead power transmission lines was considered to be one of the major factors of its fatigue and service life. In this paper, VIV and its controlling by Stockbridge damper for long span CRS was discussed. Firstly, energy balance method and finite element method for assessing VIV of CRS were presented. An approach of establishing FE model of long span CRS structure with dampers was introduced. The effect of Stockbridge damper for overall vibration of CRS was compared in both theoretical and numerical approaches. Results indicated that vibration characteristics of conductor in long span CRS compared with traditional tower-line system. Secondly, analysis on long span CRS including Stockbridge damper showed additional dampers installed were essential for controlling maximum dynamic bending stresses of conductors at both ends. Moreover, factors, including configuration and mass of Stockbridge damper, span length of suspension cable and conductor and number of spans of conductor, were assessed for further discussion on VIV controlling of long span CRS.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제32권5호
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• pp.571-582
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• 2019

This study aimed to assess the feasibility on the wide and long 9%Ni steel plate for use in the LNG storage inner tank shell. First, 5-m-wide and 15-m-long 9%Ni steel plates were test manufactured from a steel mill and specimens taken from the plates were tested for strength, toughness, and flatness to verify their performance based on international standards and design specifications. Second, plates with a thickness of 10 mm and 25 mm, a width of 4.8~5.0 m, and a length of 15 m were test fabricated by subjecting to pretreatment, beveling, and roll bending resulting in a final width of 4.5~4.8 m and a length of 14.8m with fabrication errors identical to conventional plates. Third, welded specimens obtained via shield metal arc welding used for vertical welding of inner tank shell and submerged arc welding used for horizontal welding were also tested for strength, toughness and ductility. Fourth, verification of shell plate material and fabrication was followed by test erection using two 25-mm-thick, 4.5-m-wide and 14.8-m-long 9%Ni steel plates. No undesirable welding failure or deformation was found. Finally, parametric design using wide and long 9%Ni steel plates was carried out, and a simplified design method to determine the plate thickness along the shell height was proposed. The cost analysis based on the parametric design resulted in about 2% increase of steel weight; however, the construction cost was reduced about 6% due to large reduction in welding work.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.265-277
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• 2019

Framed masonry wall structures represent a typical high-rise structural system that are also seismically vulnerable. During ground motions, they are excited in both in-plane and out-of-plane terms. The interaction between the frame and the infill during ground motion is a highly investigated phenomenon in the field of seismic engineering. This paper presents a numerical investigation of two distinct static out-of-plane loading methods for framed masonry wall models. The first and most common method is uniformly loaded infill. The load is generally induced by the airbag. The other method is similar to in-plane push-over method, involves loading of the frame directly, not the infill. Consequently, different openings with the same areas and various placements were examined. The numerical model is based on calibrated in-plane bare frame models and on calibrated wall models subjected to OoP bending. Both methods produced widely divergent results in terms of load bearing capabilities, failure modes, damage states etc. Summarily, uniform load on the panel causes more damage to the infill than to the frame; openings do influence structures behavior; three hinged arching action is developed; and greater resistance and deformations are obtained in comparison to the frame loading method. Loading the frame causes the infill to bear significantly greater damage than the infill; infill and openings only influence the behavior after reaching the peak load; infill does not influence initial stiffness; models with opening fail at same inter-storey drift ratio as the bare frame model.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.463-488
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• 2018

In the last decades, research efforts have been spent to investigate the effect of prestressing on the dynamic behaviour of prestressed concrete (PSC) beams. Whereas no agreement has been reached among the achievements obtained by different Researchers and among the theoretical and the experimental results for simply supported beams, very few researches have addressed this problem in continuous PSC beams. This topic is, indeed, worthy of consideration bearing in mind that many relevant bridges and viaducts in the road and railway networks have been designed and constructed with this structural scheme. In this paper the attention is, thus, focused on the dynamic features of continuous PSC bridges taking into account the effect of prestressing. This latter, in fact, contributes to the modification of the distribution of the bending stress along the beam, also by means of the secondary moments, and influences the flexural stiffness of the beam itself. The dynamic properties of a continuous, two spans bridge connected by a nonlinear spring have been extracted by solving an eigenvalue problem in different linearized configurations corresponding to different values of the prestress force. The stiffness of the nonlinear spring has been calculated considering the mechanical behaviour of the PSC beam in the uncracked and in the cracked stage. The application of the proposed methodology to several case studies indicates that the shift from the uncracked to the cracked stage due to an excessive prestress loss is clearly detectable looking at the variation of the dynamic properties of the beam. In service conditions, this shift happens for low values of the prestress losses (up to 20%) for structure with a high value of the ratio between the permanent load and the total load, as happens for instance in long span, continuous box bridges. In such conditions, the detection of the dynamic properties can provide meaningful information regarding the structural state of the PSC beam.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.479-495
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• 2019

In tied-arch bridges, the way the arch and the deck are connected may become crucial. The deck is usually suspended from hangers made out of steel pinned cables capable of resisting axial forces only. However, a proper structural response may be ensured by fixing and stiffening the hangers in order to resist, additionally, shear forces and bending moments. Thus, this paper studies the effect of different pinned and stiffened hanger arrangements on the structural behavior of the tied-arch bridges, with the intention of providing designers with useful tools at the early steps of design. Longitudinally and transversally stiffened hangers (and the effect of hinges at the hangers and their locations) are studied separately because the in-plane and the out-of-plane behavior of the bridge are uncoupled due to its symmetry. As a major conclusion, regarding the in-plane behavior, hangers composed of cables (either with vertical, $Nielsen-L\ddot{o}hse$ or network arrangements) are recommended due to its low cost and ease of erection. Alternatively, longitudinally stiffened hangers, fixed at both ends, can be used. Regarding the out-of-plane behavior, and in addition to three-dimensional arrangements of cables, of limited effectiveness, transversally stiffened hangers fixed at both ends are the most efficient arrangement. A configuration almost as efficient and, additionally, cheaper and easier to build can be achieved by locating a hinge at the end corresponding to the most flexible structural element (normally the arch). Its efficiency is further improved if the cross-section tapers from the fixed end to the pinned end.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.109-121
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• 2019

This paper presents the second part of the modeling for the strap combined footings, this part shows a mathematical model for design of strap combined footings subject to axial load and moments in two directions to each column considering the soil real pressure acting on the contact surface of the footing for one and/or two property lines of sides opposite restricted, the pressure is presented in terms of an axial load, moment around the axis "X" and moment around the axis "Y" to each column, and the methodology is developed using the principle that the derived of the moment is the shear force. The first part shows the optimal contact surface for the strap combined footings to obtain the most economical dimensioning on the soil (optimal area). The classic model considers an axial load and a moment around the axis "X" (transverse axis) applied to each column, i.e., the resultant force from the applied loads is located on the axis "Y" (longitudinal axis), and its position must match with the geometric center of the footing, and when the axial load and moments in two directions are presented, the maximum pressure and uniform applied throughout the contact surface of the footing is considered the same. A numerical example is presented to obtain the design of strap combined footings subject to an axial load and moments in two directions applied to each column. The mathematical approach suggested in this paper produces results that have a tangible accuracy for all problems and it can also be used for rectangular and T-shaped combined footings.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.717-734
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• 2018

This paper presents the flexural performance of steel beam-to-column joints composed of hollow structural section beams and columns. A finite element (FE) model was developed incorporating geometrical and material nonlinearities to evaluate the behaviour of joints subjected to bending moments. The numerical outcomes were validated with experimental results and compared with EN1993-1-8. The demountability of the structure was discussed based on the tested specimen. A parametric analysis was carried out to investigate the effects of steel yield strength, end-plate thickness, beam thickness, column wall thickness, bolt diameter, number of bolts and location. Consequently, an analytical model was derived based on the component method to predict the moment-rotation relationships for the sub-assemblies with extended end-plates. The accuracy of the proposed model was calibrated by the experimental and numerical results. It is found that the FE model is fairly reliable to predict the initial stiffness and moment capacity of the joints, while EN1993-1-8 overestimates the initial stiffness extensively. The beam-to-column joints are shown to be demountable and reusable with a moment up to 53% of the ultimate moment capacity. The end-plate thickness and column wall thickness have a significant influence on the joint behaviour, and the layout of double bolt-rows in tension is recommended for joints with extended end-plates. The derived analytical model is capable of predicting the moment-rotation relationship of the structure.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.373-385
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• 2019

This paper presents a useful in-plane structural analysis of low-rise blind-bolted composite frames with semi-rigid joints. Analytical models were used to predict the moment-rotation relationship of the composite beam-to-column flush endplate joints that produced accurate and reliable results. The comparisons of the analytical model with test results in terms of the moment-rotation response verified the robustness and reliability of the model. Abaqus software was adopted to conduct frame analysis considering the material and geometrical non-linearities. The flexural behaviour of the composite frames was studied by applying the lateral loads incorporating wind and earthquake actions according to the Australian standards. A wide variety of frames with a varied number of bays and storeys was analysed to determine the bending moment envelopes under different load combinations. The design models were finalized that met the strength and serviceability limit state criteria. The results from the frame analysis suggest that among lateral loads, wind loads are more critical in Australia as compared to the earthquake loads. However, gravity loads alone govern the design as maximum sagging and hogging moments in the frames are produced as a result of the load combination with dead and live loads alone. This study provides a preliminary analysis and general understanding of the behaviour of low rise, semi-continuous frames subjected to lateral load characteristics of wind and earthquake conditions in Australia that can be applied in engineering practice.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제69권2호
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• pp.193-204
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• 2019

This paper presents results from experimental and numerical studies on the response of steel-concrete composite box bridge girders under certain localized fire exposure conditions. Two composite box bridge girders, a simply supported girder and a continuous girder respectively, were tested under simultaneous loading and fire exposure. The simply supported girder was exposed to fire over 40% of its span length in the middle zone, and the two-span continuous girder was exposed to fire over 38% of its length of the first span and full length of the second span. A measurement method based on comparative rate of deflection was provided to predict the failure time in the hogging moment zone of continuous composite box bridge girders under certain localized fire exposure condition. Parameters including transverse and longitudinal stiffeners and fire scenarios were introduced to investigate fire resistance of the composite box bridge girders. Test results show that failure of the simply supported girder is governed by the deflection limit state, whereas failure of the continuous girder occurs through bending buckling of the web and bottom slab in the hogging moment zone. Deflection based criterion may not be reliable in evaluating failure of continuous composite box bridge girder under certain fire exposure condition. The fire resistance (failure time) of the continuous girder is higher than that of the simply supported girder. Data from fire tests is successfully utilized to validate a finite element based numerical model for further investigating the response of composite box bridge girders exposed to localized fire. Results from numerical analysis show that fire resistance of composite box bridge girders can be highly influenced by the spacing of longitudinal stiffeners and fire severity. The continuous composite box bridge girder with closer longitudinal stiffeners has better fire resistance than the simply composite box bridge girder. It is concluded that the fire resistance of continuous composite box bridge girders can be significantly enhanced by preventing the hogging moment zone from exposure to fire. Longitudinal stiffeners with closer spacing can enhance fire resistance of composite box bridge girders. The increase of transverse stiffeners has no significant effect on fire resistance of composite box bridge girders.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제70권2호
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• pp.169-178
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• 2019

The replacement of damaged components is an important task for long-span bridges. Conventional strategy for component replacement is to close the bridge to traffic, so that the influence of the surrounding environment is reduced to a minimum extent. However, complete traffic interruption would bring substantial economic losses and negative social influence nowadays. This paper investigates traffic control technologies without interruption for component replacement of long-span bridges. A numerical procedure of traffic control technologies is proposed incorporating traffic microsimulation and site-specific data, which is then implemented through a case study of cable replacement of a long-span cable-stayed bridge. Results indicate traffic load effects on the bridge are lower than the design values under current low daily traffic volume, and therefore cable replacement could be conducted without traffic control. However, considering a possible medium or high level of daily traffic volume, traffic load effects of girder bending moment and cable force nearest to the replaced cable become larger than the design level. This indicates a potential risk of failure, and traffic control should be implemented. Parametric studies show that speed control does not decrease but increase the load effects, and flow control using lane closure is not effectual. However, weight control and gap control are very effective to mitigate traffic load effects, and it is recommended to employ a weight control with gross vehicle weight no more than 65 t or/and a gap control with minimum vehicle gap no less than 40 m for the cable replacement of the case bridge.