• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.641-653
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• 2018

This paper presents experiment and bearing capacity analyses of steel dual-lintel column (SDC) joints in Chinese traditional style buildings. Two SDC interior joints and two SDC exterior joints, which consisted of dual box-section lintels, circular column and square column, were designed and tested under low cyclic loading. The force transferring mechanisms at the panel zone of SDC joints were proposed. And also, the load-strain curves at the panel zone, failure modes, hysteretic loops and skeleton curves of the joints were analyzed. It is shown that the typical failure modes of the joints are shear buckling at bottom panel zone, bending failure at middle panel zone, welds fracturing at the panel zone, and tension failure of base metal in the heat-affected zone of the joints. The ultimate bearing capacity of SDC joints appears to decrease with the increment of axial compression ratio. However, the bearing capacities of exterior joints are lower than those of interior joints at the same axial compression ratio. In order to predict the formulas of the bending capacity at the middle panel zone and the shear capacity at the bottom panel zone, the calculation model and the stress state of the element at the panel zone of SDC joints were studied. As the calculated values showed good agreements with the test results, the proposed formulas can be reliably applied to the analysis and design of SDC joints in Chinese traditional style buildings.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.485-509
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• 2015

This paper presents the experimental results obtained by applying frequency-domain structural health monitoring techniques to assess the damage suffered on a special type of damper called Web Plastifying Damper (WPD). The WPD is a hysteretic type energy dissipator recently developed for the passive control of structures subjected to earthquakes. It consists of several I-section steel segments connected in parallel. The energy is dissipated through plastic deformations of the web of the I-sections, which constitute the dissipative parts of the damper. WPDs were subjected to successive histories of dynamically-imposed cyclic deformations of increasing magnitude with the shaking table of the University of Granada. To assess the damage to the web of the I-section steel segments after each history of loading, a new damage index called Area Index of Damage (AID) was obtained from simple vibration tests. The vibration signals were acquired by means of piezoelectric sensors attached on the I-sections, and non-parametric statistical methods were applied to calculate AID in terms of changes in frequency response functions. The damage index AID was correlated with another energy-based damage index -ID- which past research has proven to accurately characterize the level of mechanical damage. The ID is rooted in the decomposition of the load-displacement curve experienced by the damper into the so-called skeleton and Bauschinger parts. ID predicts the level of damage and the proximity to failure of the damper accurately, but it requires costly instrumentation. The experiments reported in this paper demonstrate a good correlation between AID and ID in a realistic seismic loading scenario consisting of dynamically applied arbitrary cyclic loads. Based on this correlation, it is possible to estimate ID indirectly from the AID, which calls for much simpler and less expensive instrumentation.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.461-473
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• 2022

Energy-saving block and invisible multiribbed frame composite wall (EBIMFCW) is an important shear wall, which is composed of energy-saving blocks, steel bars and concrete. This paper conducted seismic performance tests on six 1/2-scale EBIMFCW specimens, analyzed their failure process under horizontal reciprocating load, and studied the effect of axial compression ratio on the wall's hysteresis curve and skeleton curve, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, stiffness degradation, bearing capacity degradation. A formula for calculating the peak bearing capacity of such walls was proposed. Results showed that the EBIMFCW had experienced a long time deformation from cracking to failure and exhibited signs of failure. The three seismic fortification lines of the energy-saving block, internal multiribbed frame, and outer multiribbed frame sequentially played important roles. With the increase in axial compression ratio, the peak bearing capacity and ductility of the wall increased, whereas the initial stiffness decreased. The change in axial compression ratio had a small effect on the energy dissipation capacity of the wall. In the early stage of loading, the influence of axial compression ratio on wall stiffness and strength degradation was unremarkable. In the later stage of loading, the stiffness and strength degradation of walls with high axial compression ratio were low. The displacement ductility coefficients of the wall under vertical pressure were more than 3.0 indicating that this wall type has good deformation ability. The limit values of elastic displacement angle under weak earthquake and elastic-plastic displacement angle under strong earthquake of the EBIMFCW were1/800 and 1/80, respectively.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.157-175
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• 2016

It was found that the lateral stiffness changes obvious at the transfer position of the section configuration from SRC to RC. This particular behavior leads to that the transfer columns become as the important elements in SRC-RC hybrid structures. A comprehensive study was conducted to investigate the seismic behavior of SRC-RC transfer columns based on a low cyclic loading test of 16 transfer columns compared with 1 RC column. Test results shows three failure modes for transfer columns, which are shear failure, bond failure and bend failure. Its seismic behavior was completely analyzed about the failure mode, hysteretic and skeleton curves, bearing capacity deformation ability, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation. It is further determined that displacement ductility coefficient of transfer columns changes from 1.97 to 5.99. The stiffness of transfer columns are at the interval of SRC and RC, and hence transfer columns can play the role of transition from SRC to RC. All specimens show similar discipline of stiffness degradation and the process can be divided into three parts. Some specimens of transfer column lose bearing capacity swiftly after shear cracking and showed weak energy dissipation ability, but the others show better ability of energy dissipation than RC column.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.253-267
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• 2014

Based on the test on a 1/2.5-scaled model of a two-bay and three-story inner frame composed of reinforced concrete beams and lattice steel reinforced concrete (SRC) irregular section columns under low cyclic reversed loading, the failure process and the features of the frame were observed. The subsequence of plastic hinges of the structure, the load-displacement hysteresis loops and the skeleton curve, load bearing capacity, inter-story drift ratio, ductility, energy dissipation and stiffness degradation were analyzed. The results show that the lattice SRC inner frame is a typical strong column-weak beam structure. The hysteresis loops are spindle-shaped, and the stiffness degradation is insignificant. The elastic-plastic inter-story deformation capacity is high. Compared with the reinforced concrete frame with irregular section columns, the ductility and energy dissipation of the structure are better. The conclusions can be referred to for seismic design of this new kind of structure.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2010

The paper presents a comparison between a semi-implicit time integration linear finite element implementation and fully-implicit nonlinear Newton-Raphson finite element implementation of a triphasic small strain mixture formulation of an elastic partially saturated porous medium. The pore air phase pressure pa is assumed atmospheric, i.e., $p_a$ = 0, although the formulation and implementation are general to handle increase in pore air pressure as a result of loading, if needed. The solid skeleton phase is assumed linear isotropic elastic and partially saturated 'consolidation' in the presence of surface infiltration and traction is simulated. The verification of the implementation against an analytical solution for partially saturated pore water flow (no deformation) and comparison between the two implementations is presented and the important of the porosity-dependent nature of the partially saturated permeability is assessed on comparison with a commercial code for the partially saturated flow with deformation. As a result, the response of partially saturated permeability subjected to the porosity influences on the saturation of a soil, and the different behaviors of the partially saturated soil between staggered and monolithic coupled programs is worth of attention because the negative pore water pressure in the partially saturated soil depends on the difference.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.409-419
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• 2017

In order to analyze the vibration control effect of viscous damper in the concrete archaized buildings with lintel-column joints under seismic action, 3 specimens were tested under dynamic excitation. Two specimens with viscous damper were defined as the controlled component and one specimen without viscous damper was specified as the non-controlled component. The loading process and failure patterns were obtained from the test results. The failure characteristics, skeleton curves and mechanical behavior such as the load-displacement hysteretic loops, load carrying capacity, degradation of strength and rigidity, ductility and energy dissipation of the joints were analyzed. The results indicate that the load-bearing capacity of the controlled component is significantly higher than that of the non-controlled component. The former component has an average increase of 27.4% in yield load and 22.4% in ultimate load, respectively. Meanwhile, the performance of displacement ductility and the ability of energy dissipation for the controlled component are superior to those of the non-controlled component as well. Compared with non-controlled component, equivalent viscous damping coefficients are improved by 27.3%-30.8%, the average increase is 29.0% at ultimate load for controlled component. All these results reflect that the seismic performance of the controlled component is significantly better than that of the non-controlled component. These researches are helpful for practical application of viscous damper in the concrete archaizing buildings with lintel-column joints.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.73 no.5
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• pp.543-554
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• 2020

This paper aims to investigate the seismic performance of RC short columns and long columns with welding stirrups. Through the low-cyclic horizontal loading test of specimens, the seismic performance indexes such as failure modes, hysteretic curve, skeleton curve, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, stiffness degradation and strength degradation were emphatically analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of shear span ratio, stirrups ratio and axial compression ratio on the performance of specimens were studied. The results showed that the seismic performance of the RC short columns with welding stirrups were basically the same as that of the RC short columns with traditional stirrups, but the seismic performance of RC long columns with welding stirrups was better than that of RC long columns with traditional stirrups. The seismic performance of RC short columns and long columns with welding stirrups could be improved by increasing stirrup ratio and shear span ratio and reducing axial pressure ratio. Moreover, the welding stirrup have the advantages of steel saving, industrialization and standardization production, convenient construction, and reducing time, which indicated that the welding stirrups could be applied in practical engineering.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.75-87
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• 2021

Because the hydraulic/mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soil is more complicated than that of saturated soil, one of the most important issues in modelling unsaturated soil is to properly couple its stress-strain relationship with its water retention characteristics. Based on the results of a series of tests, the stress-strain relationship and the changes in suction and saturation of unsaturated completely decomposed granite (CDG, also called Masado) vary substantially under different loading/hydraulic conditions. To precisely model the hydraulic/mechanical behaviour of unsaturated Masado, in this study, the superloading concept was firstly introduced into an existing saturated/unsaturated constitutive model to consider the structural influences. Then a water retention curve (WRC) model considering the volumetric change in the soil, in which the skeleton and scanning curves of the water retention characteristics were assumed to shift in parallel in accordance with the change in the void ratio, was proposed. The proposed WRC model was incorporated into the constitutive model, and the validity of the newly proposed model was verified using the results of tests conducted on unsaturated Masado, including water retention, oedometer and triaxial tests. The accuracy of the proposed model in describing the stress-strain relationship and the variations in suction and saturation of unsaturated Masado is satisfactory.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.91-100
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• 2012

Soil-water characteristic curves (SWCCs), which represent a physical property in partially saturated soils, show the relation between volumetric water content and matric suction. The SWCCs exhibit hysteresis during wetting and drying, however experimental expressions used to describe SWCCs have generally ignored the hysteresis. In addition, the shape of SWCC may depend on the void ratio which is changed by soil skeleton deformations or hysteretic behavior under various loading conditions. Hence, it is necessary to understand, both empirically and analytically, the relationship between soil skeleton deformations and the SWCCs of various soils. The typical SWCCs experimentally have drying, wetting, and the second drying curve. The measurement of a complete set of hysteretic curves is severely time-consuming and difficult works, then the first drying curve of SWCC is generally determined to estimate the hydraulic conductivity and shear strength function of partially saturated soils. This paper presents the hydraulic-mechanical behavior of partially saturated soils (weathered soil and silty soil) for volume changes and hysteresis in SWCCs regarding the difference between the first drying and wetting curve.