• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.2
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• pp.153-162
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• 2020

Aiming at the mechanical and structural characteristics of the contact zone composite rock, the shear tests and numerical studies were carried out. The effects of the differences in mechanical properties of different materials and the normal stress on shear properties of contact zone composite samples were analyzed from a macro-meso level. The results show that the composite samples have high shear strength, and the interface of different materials has strong adhesion. The differences in mechanical properties of materials weakens the shear strength and increase the shear brittleness of the sample, while normal stress will inhibit these effect. Under low/high normal stress, the sample show two failure modes, at the meso-damage level: elastic-shearing-frictional sliding and elastic-extrusion wear. This is mainly controlled by the contact and friction state of the material after damage. The secondary failure of undulating structure under normal-shear stress is the nature of extrusion wear, which is positively correlated to the normal stress and the degree of difference in mechanical properties of different materials. The increase of the mechanical difference of the sample will enhance the shear brittleness under lower normal stress and the shear interaction under higher normal stress.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.723-738
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• 2017

Rock is a heterogeneous material, which introduces complexity in the analysis of rock slopes, since both the existing discontinuities within the rock mass and the intact rock contribute to the degradation of strength. Rock failure is often catastrophic due to the brittle nature of the material, involving the sliding along structural planes and the fracturing of rock bridge. This paper proposes an advanced discretization method of rock mass based on block theory. An in-house software, GeoSMA-3D, has been developed to generate the discrete fracture network (DFN) model, considering both measured and artificial joints. Measured joints are obtained from the photogrammetry analysis on the excavation face. Statistical tools then facilitate to derive artificial joints within the rock mass. Key blocks are searched to provide guidance on potential reinforcement measures. The discretized blocky system is subsequently implemented into a discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) code. Strength reduction technique is employed to analyze the stability of the slope, where the factor of safety can be obtained once excessive deformation of slope profile is observed. The combined analysis approach also provides the failure mode, which can be used to guide the choice of strengthening strategy if needed. Finally, an illustrated example is presented for the analysis of a rock slope of 20 m height inclined at $60^{\circ}$ using combined GeoSMA-3D and DDA calculation.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.438-447
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• 2007

This technical report is to introduce the research on SRM (Synthetic Rock Mass) which was presented in 2007 ISRM Congress at Lisbon by Prof, Fairhurst who speak with emphasis on its importance and potential in rock engineering. The Synthetic Rock Mass approach to jointed rock mass characterization (Pierce et al. 2007) is reviewed relative to existing empirical approaches and current understanding of jointed rock mass behaviour. The review illustrates how the key factors affecting the mechanical behaviour of jointed rock masses may be considered and demonstrates that the SRM approach constitutes a significant step forward in this field. This technique, based on two well-established methods, Bonded Particle Modelling in PFC-3D (Potyondy and Cundall, 2004) and Discrete Fracture Network simulation, employs a new sliding joint model that allows for large rock volumes containing thousands of pre-existing joints to be subjected to any non-trivial stress path. Output from SRM testing includes rock mass brittleness and strength, evolution of the full compliance matrix and primary fragmentation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.58 no.6
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• pp.1045-1075
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• 2016

Shallow footings are one of the most common types of foundations used to support mid-rise buildings in high risk seismic zones. Recent findings have revealed that the dynamic interaction between the soil, foundation, and the superstructure can influence the seismic response of the building during earthquakes. Accordingly, the properties of a foundation can alter the dynamic characteristics (natural frequency and damping) of the soil-foundation-structure system. In this paper the influence that shallow foundations have on the seismic response of a mid-rise moment resisting building is investigated. For this purpose, a fifteen storey moment resisting frame sitting on shallow footings with different sizes was simulated numerically using ABAQUS software. By adopting a direct calculation method, the numerical model can perform a fully nonlinear time history dynamic analysis to realistically simulate the dynamic behaviour of soil, foundation, and structure under seismic excitations. This three-dimensional numerical model accounts for the nonlinear behaviour of the soil medium and structural elements. Infinite boundary conditions were assigned to the numerical model to simulate free field boundaries, and appropriate contact elements capable of modelling sliding and separation between the foundation and soil elements are also considered. The influence of foundation size on the natural frequency of the system and structural response spectrum was also studied. The numerical results for cases of soil-foundation-structure systems with different sized foundations and fixed base conditions (excluding soil-foundation-structure interaction) in terms of lateral deformations, inter-storey drifts, rocking, and shear force distribution of the structure were then compared. Due to natural period lengthening, there was a significant reduction in the base shears when the size of the foundation was reduced. It was concluded that the size of a shallow foundation influences the dynamic characteristics and the seismic response of the building due to interaction between the soil, foundation, and structure, and therefore design engineer should carefully consider these parameters in order to ensure a safe and cost effective seismic design.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.277-297
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• 2014

Since the isolation bearings undergo large displacements in base-isolated structures, impact with adjacent structures is inevitable. Therefore, in this investigation, the effect of impact on seismic response of isolated structures mounted on double concave friction pendulum (DCFP) bearings subjected to near field ground motions is considered. A non-linear viscoelastic model of collision is used to simulate structural pounding more accurately. 2-, 4- and 8-story base-isolated buildings adjacent to fixed-base structures are modeled and the coupled differential equations of motion related to these isolated systems are solved in the MATLAB environment using the SIMULINK toolbox. The variation of seismic responses such as base shear, displacement in the isolation system and superstructure (top floor) is computed to study the impact condition. Also, the effects of variation of system parameters: isolation period, superstructure period, size of seismic gap between two structures, radius of curvature of the sliding surface and friction coefficient of isolator are contemplated in this study. It is concluded that the normalized base shear, bearing and top floor displacement increase due to impact with adjacent structure. When the distance between two structures decreases, the base shear and displacement increase comparing to no impact condition. Besides, the increase in friction coefficient difference also causes the normalized base shear and displacement in isolation system and superstructure increase in comparison with bi-linear hysteretic behavior of base isolation system. Totally, the comparison of results indicates that the changes in values of friction coefficient have more significant effects on 2-story building than 4- and 8-story buildings.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.372-380
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• 2007

Surface damage due to subsidence is an inevitable consequence of underground mining, which may be immediate or delayed for many years. The surface damage due to abandoned underground mine is observed to be two subsidence types such as simple sinkhole or trough formation to a large scale sliding of the ground from with in the subsided area. An evaluation of the risk of a subsidence occurrence is vital in the areas affected by mining subsidence. For a subsidence prediction or a risk evaluation, there has been used various methods using empirical models, profile functions, influence functions and numerical models. In this study, a simple but efficient evaluation method of subsidence hazard is suggested, which is based on a diffusion theory and uses just information about geometry of caving and topography. The diffusion model has an analogous relationship with granular model which can explain a mechanism of subsidence. The diffusion model is applied for the evaluation of subsidence hazard in abandoned metal and coal mines. The model is found to be a simple but efficient tool because it needs information of geometry of caving and gangway and the topography.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.527-538
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• 2017

The evaluation of the loss-of-support conditions of frictional beam-to-column connections using simplified numerical models describing the transverse response of a portal-like structure is presented in this paper considering the effects of the seismic-hazard disaggregation. Real earthquake time histories selected from European Strong-motion Database (ESD) are used to show the effects of the seismic-hazard disaggregation on the beam loss-of-support conditions. Seismic events are classified according to different values of magnitudes, epicentral distances and soil conditions (stiff or soft soil) highlighting the importance of considering the characteristics of the seismic input in the assessment of the loss-of-support conditions of frictional beam-to-column connections. A rigid and an elastic model of a frame of a precast industrial building (2-DoF portal-like model) are presented and adopted to find the minimum required friction coefficient to avoid sliding. Then, the mean value of the minimum required friction coefficient with an epicentral distance bin of 10 km is calculated and fitted with a linear function depending on the logarithm of the epicentral distance. A complete parametric analysis varying the horizontal and vertical period of vibration of the structure is performed. Results show that the loss-of-support condition is strongly influenced by magnitude, epicentral distance and soil conditions determining the frequency content of the earthquake time histories and the correlation between the maxima of the horizontal and vertical components. Moreover, as expected, dynamic characteristics of the structure have also a strong influence. Finally, the effect of the column nonlinear behavior (i.e. formation of plastic hinges at the base) is analyzed showing that the connection and the column are a series system where the maximum force is limited by the element having the minimum strength. Two different longitudinal reinforcement ratios are analyzed demonstrating that the column strength variation changes the system response.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.225-236
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• 2001

The roughness of rock joint is one of the most important parameters in developing the shear resistance and the tendency of dilation. Due to the damage accumulated with shearing displacement, the roughness angle is lowered continuously. It is known that dilation, shear strength hardening, and softening are directly related to the degradation of asperities. Much effort has been directed to incorporate the complicated damage mechanism of asperities into a constitutive model fur rock joints. This study presents an elasto-plastic formulation of joint behavior including elastic deformability, dilatancy and asperity surface damage. It is postulated that the plastic portion of incremental displacement 7an be decomposed into contributions from both sliding along the asperity surface and damage of asperity. Numerical cyclic shear tests are presented to illustrate th? performance of the derived incremental stress-displacement relation. A laboratory cyclic shear test is also simulated. Numerical examples reveal that the elasto-plastic joints model is promising.

• Journal of Korean Dental Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.66-79
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• 2014

Purpose: To analyze the amount and pattern of tooth movement and the changes in arch dimension of mandibular dentition after orthodontic treatment using a new three-dimensional (3D)-indirect superimposition method. Materials and Methods: The samples consisted of fifteen adult patients with class I bialveolar protrusion and minimal anterior crowding, treated by extraction of four first premolars with conventional sliding mechanics. After superimposition of 3D-virtual maxillary models before and after treatment using best-fit method, 3D-virtual mandibular model at each stage was placed into a common coordinate of superimposition using 3D-bite information, which resulted in 3D-indirect superimposition for mandibular dentition. The changes in mandibular dental and arch dimensional variables were measured with Rapidform 2006 (INUS Technology). Paired t-test was used for statistical analysis. Result: The anterior teeth moved backward, displaced laterally, and inclined lingually. The posterior teeth showed statistically significant contraction toward midsagittal plane. The amounts of backward movement of anterior teeth and forward movement of posterior teeth showed a ratio of 6 : 1. Although the inter-canine width increased slightly (0.8 mm, P<0.05), the inter-second premolar, inter-first molar, and inter-second molar widths decreased significantly with similar amounts (2.2 mm, P<0.05; 2.3 mm, P<0.01; 2.3 mm, P<0.001). The molar depth decreased (6.7 mm, P<0.001) but canine depth did not change. Conclusion: A new 3D-indirect superimposition of the mandibular dentitions using best-fit method and 3D-bite information can present a guideline for virtual treatment planning in terms of tooth position and arch dimension.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.775-799
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• 2012

This work approaches the structural performance of masonry arches that have a small ratio between number of vossoirs and span length. The aim of this research is to compare and validate three different methods of analysis (funicular limit analysis F.L.A., kinematic limit analysis K.L.A. and plane stress Finite Element Analysis F.E.A.) with an experimental campaign. 18 failure tests with arches of different shapes and boundary conditions have been performed. The basic failure mechanism was the formation of enough hinges in the geometry. Nevertheless, in few cases, sliding between vossoirs also played a relevant influence. Moreover, few arches didn't reach the collapse. The FLA and KLA didn't find a solution close to the experimental values for some of the tests. The low number of vossoirs and joints become a drawback for an agreement between kinematic mechanism, equilibrium of forces and geometry constraints. FLA finds a lower bound whereas KLA finds an upper bound of the ultimate load of the arch. FEA is the most reliable and robust method and it can reproduce most of the mechanism and ultimate loads. However, special care is required in the definition of boundary conditions for FEA analysis. Scientific justification of the more suitability of numerical methods in front of classic methods at calculating arches with a few vossoirs is the main original contribution of the paper.