• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.519-529
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• 2022

Sandwich structures with the superior mechanical properties such as high stiffness and strength-to-weight ratio, good thermal insulation, and high energy absorption capacity are used today in aerospace, automotive, marine, and civil engineering industries. These structures are composed of moderately stiff, thin face sheets that withstand the majority of transverse and in-plane loads, separated by a thick, lightweight core that resists shear forces. In this research, the finite element technique is used to simulate a sandwich panel with a truss core under axial compressive stress using ABAQUS software. A review of past experimental studies shows that the bondline between the core and face sheets plays a vital role in the critical failure load. Therefore, this modeling analyzes the damage initiation modes and debonding between face sheet and core by cohesive surface contact with traction-separation model. According to the results obtained from the modeling, it can be observed that the adhesive stiffness has a significant influence on the critical failure load of the specimens. To achieve the full strength of the structure as a continuum, a lower limit is obtained for the adhesive stiffness. By providing this limit stiffness between the core and the panel face sheets, sudden failure of the structure can be prevented.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 2013

HTB (hybrid truss bridge) steel truss webs instead of concrete webs in prestressed box girder bridges has been widely used in, because of its structural benefit such as relatively less self-weight and good aesthetics due to open web structure. Since the core technology of this bridge is the connection system between concrete slabs and steel truss members, several connection systems were proposed and experimentally evaluated. Also, the selected joint system was applied to the real bride design and construction. The researches were performed on the connection system, since it can affect the global behavior of this bridge such as flexural and fatigue behaviors as well as the local behavior around the connection region. The evaluation study showned that HTB applied to a curved bridge or a eccentric loading bridge, characteristic has a weak torsional capacity compared to an ordinary PSC box girder bridges due to the open structure of HTB. In this study, three box shaped hybrid truss specimens were made and the torsional test and evaluation for them were performed in order to find out the torsional behavior of HTB according to the connection system.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.4
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• pp.417-432
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• 2019

Seismic performance analysis of steel-brace reinforced concrete (RC) frame using topology optimization in highly seismic region was discussed in this research. Topology optimization based on truss-like material model was used, which was to minimum volume in full-stress method. Optimized bracing systems of low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise RC frames were established, and optimized bracing systems of substructure were also gained under different constraint conditions. Thereafter, different structure models based on optimized bracing systems were proposed and applied. Last, structural strength, structural stiffness, structural ductility, collapse resistant capacity, collapse probability and demolition probability were studied. Moreover, the brace buckling was discussed. The results show that bracing system of RC frame could be derived using topology optimization, and bracing system based on truss-like model could help to resolve numerical instabilities. Bracing system of topology optimization was more effective to enhance structural stiffness and strength, especially in mid-rise and high-rise frames. Moreover, bracing system of topology optimization contributes to increase collapse resistant capacity, as well as reduces collapse probability and accumulated demolition probability. However, brace buckling might weaken beneficial effects.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.4
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• pp.495-508
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• 2021

This study devises a novel approach, namely quadruple 1D convolutional neural network, for detecting connection stiffness reduction in steel truss bridge structure using experimental and numerical modal data. The method is developed based on expertise in two domains: firstly, in Structural Health Monitoring, the mode shapes and its high-order derivatives, including second, third, and fourth derivatives, are accurate indicators in assessing damages. Secondly, in the Machine Learning literature, the deep convolutional neural networks are able to extract relevant features from input data, then perform classification tasks with high accuracy and reduced time complexity. The efficacy and effectiveness of the present method are supported through an extensive case study with the railway Nam O bridge. It delivers highly accurate results in assessing damage localization and damage severity for single as well as multiple damage scenarios. In addition, the robustness of this method is tested with the presence of white noise reflecting unavoidable uncertainties in signal processing and modeling in reality. The proposed approach is able to provide stable results with data corrupted by noise up to 10%.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.379-403
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• 2012

In recent years, the need for optimal design of structures under time-history loading aroused great attention in researchers. The main problem in this field is the extremely high computational demand of time-history analyses, which may convert the solution algorithm to an illogical one. In this paper, a new framework is developed to solve the size optimization problem of steel truss structures subjected to ground motions. In order to solve this problem, the covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy algorithm is employed for the optimization procedure, while a generalized regression neural network is utilized as a meta-model for fitness approximation. Moreover, the computational cost of time-history analysis is decreased through a wavelet analysis. Capability and efficiency of the proposed framework is investigated via two design examples, comprising of a tower truss and a footbridge truss.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.511-528
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• 2021

There are recently some advances in solving numerically topology optimization problems for large-scaled trusses based on ground structure approach. A disadvantage of this approach is that the final design usually includes many bars, which is difficult to be produced in practice. One of efficient tools is a so-called filter scheme for the ground structure to reduce this difficulty and determine several distinct bars. In detail, this technique is valuable for practical uses because unnecessary bars are filtered out from the ground structure to obtain a well-defined structure during the topology optimization process, while it still guarantees the global equilibrium condition. This process, however, leads to a singular system of equilibrium equations. In this case, the minimization of least squares with Tikhonov regularization is adopted. In this paper, a proposed algorithm in controlling optimal Tikhonov parameter is considered in combination with the filter scheme due to its crucial role in obtaining solution to remove numerical singularity and saving computational time by using sparse matrix, which means that the discrete optimal topology solutions depend on choosing the Tikhonov parameter efficiently. Several numerical examples are investigated to demonstrate the efficiency of the filter parameter control algorithm in terms of the large-scaled optimal topology designs.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.693-710
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• 1998

This paper concerns studies on the shape formation of post-tensioned and shaped steel domes. The post-tensioned and shaped steel domes, assembled initially at ground level in an essentially flat condition, are shaped to a curved space form and erected into the final position by means of a post-tensioning technique. Based on previous studies on this shape formation principle, three post-tensioned and shaped steel domes have been constructed. The results of the shape formation tests and finite element analyses are reported in this paper. It is found that the first two test domes did not furnish a part-spherical shape as predicted by finite element analyses, because the movements of some mechanisms were not controlled sufficiently. With a revised post-tensioning method, the third dome obtained the theoretical prediction. The test results of the three post-tensioned and shaped domes have shown that a necessary condition to form a desired space shape from a planar layout with low joint stiffnesses is that the movements of all the existing mechanisms must be effectively controlled as indicated by the finite element analysis. The extent of the maximum elastic deformation of a post-tensioned and shaped steel structure is determined by the strength of the top chords and their joints. However, due to the semi-rigid characteristic of the top chord joints, the finite element analyses cannot give a close prediction for the maximum elastic deformations of the post-tensioned and shaped steel domes. The results of the current studies can be helpful for the design and construction of this type of structure.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.501-523
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• 2016

Electromechanical impedance (EMI) based structural health monitoring is performed by measuring the variation in the impedance due to the structural local damage. The impedance signals are acquired from the piezoelectric patches that are bonded on the structural surface. The impedance variation, which is directly related to the mechanical properties of the structure, indicates the presence of local structural damage. Two traditional EMI-based damage detection methods are based on calculating the difference between the measured impedance signals in the frequency domain from the baseline and the current structures. In this paper, a new structural damage detection approach by analyzing the time domain impedance responses is proposed. The measured time domain responses from the piezoelectric transducers will be used for analysis. With the use of the Time Frequency Autoregressive Moving Average (TFARMA) model, a damage index based on Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) is defined to identify the existence of the structural local damage. Experimental studies on a space steel truss bridge model in the laboratory are conducted to verify the proposed approach. Four piezoelectric transducers are attached at different locations and excited by a sweep-frequency signal. The impedance responses at different locations are analyzed with TFARMA model to investigate the effectiveness and performance of the proposed approach. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach is very sensitive and robust in detecting the bolt damage in the gusset plates of steel truss bridges.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.69-69
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• 1999

Design of Dangsan Steel Railway Bridge(a part of Seoul Subway Line NO. 2), which is supposed to be replaced after its 15years survice, was done, and the reconstruction has begun in Dec. 1997. The design include new superstruc-ture and bridge piers, retrofitting of the foun-dation, rail system, electric and signal, etc. In this paper, design of the structure is mainly summarized. The main span superstructure, across Han river, is composite section which is com-posed of steel box and reinforced concrete deck slab with 9 span continuous. The superstructure for the approaches is bottom througth type 2-cell steel box girder with steel floor system and concrete deck slab with 3 or 4 span continuous. The bridge piers was planned to be reconstructed based upon the result from the various investi-gations, while the foundation(cassion and pile foundation) was planned to be retrofitted. For superstructure erection, the method of combination of barge bent and heavy lifting and the launching truss method was investigated for the main span and approach spans, respectively.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.259-272
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• 2017

In this study, recently developed swarm intelligence algorithm called Social Spider Optimization (SSO) approach and its enhanced version of SSO algorithm with spider jump techniques is used to develop a structural optimization technique for steel space structures. The improved version of SSO uses adaptive randomness probability in generating new solutions. The objective function of the design optimization problem is taken as the weight of a steel space structure. Constraints' functions are implemented from American Institute of Steel Construction-Load Resistance factor design (AISC-LRFD) and Ad Hoc Committee report and practice which cover strength, serviceability and geometric requirements. Three steel space structures are optimized using both standard SSO and SSO with spider jump (SSO_SJ) algorithms and the results are compared with those available in the literature in order to investigate the performance of the proposed algorithms.