• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.279-293
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• 2019

The overall seismic performance of existing pre 1960-70s reinforced concrete (RC) structures is significantly affected by the inadequate length of columns' lap-spliced reinforcement. Due to this crucial structural deficiency, the cyclic response is dominated by premature bond - slip failure, strength and stiffness degradation, poor energy dissipation capacity and low ductility. Recent earthquakes worldwide highlighted the importance of improving the load transfer mechanism between lap-spliced bars, while it was clearly demonstrated that the failure of lap splices may result in a devastating effect on structural integrity. Extensive experimental and analytical research was carried out herein, to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of strengthening techniques applied to RC columns with lap-spliced reinforcement and also accurately predict the columns' response during an earthquake. Ten large scale cantilever column subassemblages, representative of columns found in existing pre 1970s RC structures, were constructed and strengthened by steel or RC jacketing. The enhanced specimens were imposed to earthquake-type loading and their lateral response was evaluated with respect to the hysteresis of two original and two control subassemblages. The main variables examined were the lap splice length, the steel jacket width and the amount of additional confinement offered by the jackets. Moreover, an analytical formulation proposed by Tsonos (2007a, 2019) was modified appropriately and applied to the lap splice region, to calculate shear stress developed in the concrete and predict if yielding of reinforcement is achieved. The accuracy of the analytical method was checked against experimental results from both the literature and the experimental work included herein.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.231-251
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• 2019

In the present study, a numerical and experimental investigation has been carried out on the seismic behavior of RC columns of a bridge which damaged under corrosive environments and retrofitted by various techniques including combined application of CFRP sheets and steel profiles. A novel hybrid retrofitting procedure, including the application of inner steel profiles and outer peripheral CFRP sheets, has been proposed for strengthening purpose. Seven large-scale RC columns of a Girder Bridge have been tested in the laboratory under the influence of simultaneous application of constant axial load and the lateral cyclic displacements. Having verified the finite element modeling, using ABAQUS software, the effects of important parameters such as the corrosion percentage of steel rebars and the number of CFRP layers have been evaluated. Based on the results, retrofitting of RC columns of the bridge with the proposed technique was effective in improving some measures of structural performance such as lateral strength degradation and higher energy absorption capability. However, the displacement ductility was not considerably improved whereas the elastic stiffness of the specimens has been increased.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.11-22
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• 2019

A comprehensive assessing approach for durability of reinforced concrete structures dealing with the corrosion process of rebar subjected to the attack of aggressive agent from environment was proposed in this paper. Corrosion of rebar was suggested in the form of combination of global corrosion and pitting. Firstly, for the purposed of considering the influence of rebar's radius, a type of Plane Corrosion Model (PCM) based on uniform corrosion of rebar was introduced. By means of FE simulation approach, global corrosion process of rebar regarding PCM and LCM (Linear Corrosion Model) was regressed and compared according to the data from Laboratoire $Mat{\acute{e}}riaux$ et $Durabilit{\acute{e}}$ des Constructions (LMDC). Secondly, pitting factor model of rebar in general descend law with corrosion degree was introduced in terms of existing experimental data. Finally, with the comprehensive numerical simulation, the durability of an existing arch bridge was studied in depth in deterministic way, including diffusion process and sectional strength of typical cross section of arch, crossbeam and deck slab. Evolution of structural capacity considering life-cycle rehabilitation strategy indicated the degradation law of durability of reinforced arch bridges.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.119-129
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• 2019

Many reinforced concrete (RC) buildings constructed prior to 1980's lack important features guaranteeing ductile response under earthquake excitation. Structural components in such buildings, especially columns, do not satisfy the reinforcement details demanded by current seismic design codes. Columns with deficient reinforcement details may suffer significant damage when subjected to cyclic lateral loads. They can also experience rapid lateral strength degradation induced by shear failure. The objective of this study is to accurately simulate the load-deformation response of RC columns experiencing shear failure. In order to do so, model parameters are calibrated to the load-deformation response of 40 RC column specimens failed in shear. Multivariate stepwise regression analyses are conducted to develop the relationship between the model parameters and physical parameters of RC column specimens. It is shown that the proposed predictive equations successfully estimated the model parameters of RC column specimens with great accuracy. The proposed equations also showed better accuracy than the existing ones.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.43-50
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to improve the seismic performance of RC framed buildings such as piloti buildings and school facilities. For this purpose, a half size RC frame specimen (SFD) was made and the inside of frame was reinforced with steel frame and S type strut steel damper. The experimental results are compared with those of the previous studies under the same conditions. The comparative specimens are non-reinforced specimen (BF) and damper reinforced specimen (AFD) that confined the column with an aramid sheet. As a result of comparing the maximum strength, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation capacity, SFD specimen was evaluated to be better than comparative specimens. According to the experimental results and FE analysis results, it was confirmed that the shear deformation was concentrated in the steel damper. And it was showed that cracks were concentrated at the upper and lower ends of the strut of the S type damper, and the final failure was observed at struts. From this, it was verified that the steel damper appropriately dissipates energy due to the lateral load.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.97-107
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• 2021

A comprehensive study on seismic performance of wood frame building in hilly regions is presented. Specifically, seismic fragility assessment of a typical wood frame building at various locations of the northeast region of India are demonstrated. A three-dimensional simplified model of the wood frame building is developed with due consideration to nonlinear behaviour of shear walls under lateral loads. In doing so, a trilinear model having improved capability to capture the force-deformation behaviour of shear walls including the strength degradation at higher deformations is proposed. The improved capability of the proposed model to capture the force-deformation behaviour of shear wall is validated by comparing with the existing experimental results. The structural demand values are obtained from nonlinear time history analysis (NLTHA) of the three-dimensional wood frame model considering the effect of uncertainty due to record to record variation of ground motions and structural parameters as well. The ground motion bins necessary for NLTHA are prepared based on the identified hazard level from probabilistic seismic hazard analysis of the considered locations. The maximum likelihood estimates of the lognormal fragility parameters are obtained from the observed failure cases and the seismic fragilities corresponding to different locations are estimated accordingly. The results of the numerical study show that the wood frame constructions commonly found in the region are likely to suffer minor cracking or damage in the shear walls under the earthquake occurrence corresponding to the estimated seismic hazard level; however, poses negligible risk against complete collapse of such structures.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1666-1683
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• 2018

To explore seismic behavior of blind bolted concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) frames infilled with precast sandwich composite wall panels (SCWPs), a series tests of blind bolted square CFST frames with precast SCWPs under lateral low-cyclic loading were conducted. The influence of the type of wall concrete, wall-to-frame connection and steel brace setting, etc. on the hysteretic curves and failure modes of the type of composite structure was investigated. The seismic behavior of the blind bolted CFST frames with precast SCWPs was evaluated in terms of lateral load-displacement relation curves, strength and stiffness degradation, crack patterns of SCWPs, energy dissipation capacity and ductility. Then, a finite element (FE) analysis modeling using ABAQUS software was developed in considering the nonlinear material properties and complex components interaction. Comparison indicated that the FE analytical results coincided well with the test results. Both the experimental and numerical results indicated that setting the external precast SCWPs could heighten the load carrying capacities and rigidities of the blind bolted CFST frames by using reasonable connectors between frame and SCWPs. These experimental studies and FE analysis would enable improvement in the practical design of the SCWPs in fabricated CFST structure buildings.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.11
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• pp.722-727
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• 2009

The bipolar plates are not only the major part of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack in weight and volume, but also a significant contributor to the stack costs. Stainless steels are considered to be good candidates for bipolar plate materials of the PEMFC due to their low cost, high strength and easy machining, as well as corrosion resistance. In this paper, 316L stainless steel with and without nitrogen ion implantation were tested in simulated PEMFC environments for application as bipolar plates. The results showed that the nitride formed by nitrogen ion implantation contributed the decrease of the interfacial contact resistance without degradation of corrosion property. The combination of excellent properties indicated that nitrogen ion implanted stainless steel could be potential candidate materials as bipolar plates in PEMFC. Current efforts have focused on optimizing the condition of ion implantation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.4
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• pp.559-569
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• 2021

This study was conducted to investigate the residual bearing capacity of steel-concrete composite beams under high-cycle fatigue loading through experiments and theoretical analysis. Six test beams with stud connectors were designed and fabricated for static, complete fatigue, and partial fatigue tests. The failure modes and the degradation of several mechanical performance indicators of the composite beams under high-cycle fatigue loading were analyzed. A calculation method for the residual bearing capacity of the composite beams after certain quantities of cyclic loading cycles was established by introducing nonlinear fatigue damage models for concrete, steel beam, and shear connectors beginning with the material residual strength attenuation process. The results show that the failure mode of the composite beams under the given fatigue load appears to be primarily affected by the number of cycles. As the number of fatigue loadings increases, the failure mode transforms from mid-span concrete crushing to stud cutting. The bearing capacity of a 3.0-m span composite beam after two million fatigue cycles is degraded by 30.7% due to premature failure of the stud. The calculated values of the residual bearing capacity method of the composite beam established in this paper agree well with the test values, which indicates that the model is feasibly applicable.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.109-118
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• 2021

In the periodic surveillance material test for the spacer component of fuel channel assembly in CANDU, a microstructural characterization analysis is required in addition to the mechanical property evaluation test. In this study, detailed microstructure analysis and simple mechanical property evaluation of archive spacer parts were conducted to indirectly support the surveillance test and assist in the study of spacer material degradation. We investigated the microstructural characteristics of the spacer garter spring coil through comparative analysis with the plate material. The main microstructure characteristics of the garter spring coil X-750 are represented by the fine grain size distribution, the ordering phase distribution developed inside the matrix, the high dislocation density inside the grains, and the arrangement of coarse carbides. In addition, the yield strength of the garter spring coil X-750 was indirectly evaluated to be approximately 1 GPa. We also established an analytical method to elucidate the microstructural evolution of the radioactive spacer garter spring coil X-750 based on Canadian research experiences. Finally, we confirmed the measurement technique for helium bubble formation through TEM examination on the helium implanted X-750 material.