• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.230-241
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• 2022

Austenitic stainless steel has been widely used because of its good corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. However, intergranular corrosion can occur if the alloy is welded or aged. The objective of this study was to determine intergranular corrosion behaviors of austenitic medium carbon (0.05 wt%) and low carbon (0.02 wt%) stainless steel aged at several conditions. Alloys were evaluated according to ASTM A262 Practice A, ISO 12732 DL-EPR (double loop-electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation) test, and ASTM A262 Practice C. The degree of sensitization and intergranular corrosion rate were obtained. The relationship between the degree of sensitization and the intergranular corrosion rate showed a very large fluctuation. Such behavior might be related to whether two-dimension tests or three-dimension tests were performed. On the other hand, regardless of carbon content of alloys, when the intergranular corrosion rate increased, the degree of sensitization also increased. However, the DL-EPR test showed a higher sensitivity than the Huey test for differentiating the intergranular corrosion property at a low intergranular corrosion rate, while the Huey test had a higher sensitivity than the DL-EPR test for distinguishing the intergranular corrosion property at a high intergranular corrosion rate.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.407-426
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• 2022

Superior to traditional welded studs, high strength friction-grip bolted shear connectors facilitate the assembling and demounting of the composite members, which maximizes the potential for efficiency in the construction and retrofitting of new and old structures respectively. Hence, it is necessary to investigate the structural properties of high strength friction-grip bolts used in steel concrete composite beams. By means of push-out tests, an experimental study was conducted on post-installed high strength friction-grip bolts, considering the effects of different bolt size, concrete strength, bolt tensile strength and bolt pretension. The test results showed that bolt shear fracture was the dominant failure mode of all specimens. Based on the load-slip curves, uplifting curves and bolt tensile force curves between the precast concrete slab and steel beam obtained by push-out tests, the anti-slip performance of steel-concrete interface and shear behavior of bolt shank were studied, including the quantitative analysis of anti-slip load, and anti-slip stiffness, frictional coefficient, shear stiffness of bolt shank and ultimate shear capacity. Meanwhile, the interfacial anti-slip stiffness and shear stiffness of bolt shank were defined reasonably. In addition, a total of 56 push-out finite element models verified by the experimental results were also developed, and used to conduct parametric analyses for investigating the shear behavior of high-strength bolted shear connectors in steel-concrete composite beams. Finally, on ground of the test results and finite element simulation analysis, a new design formula for predicting shear capacity was proposed by nonlinear fitting, considering the bolt diameter, concrete strength and bolt tensile strength. Comparison of the calculated value from proposed formula and test results given in the relevant references indicated that the proposed formulas can give a reasonable prediction.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.105-112
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• 2021

Reduction of weld distortions and increase in productivity are some of the major goals of the shipbuilding industry. To address these issues, many researchers have attempted to apply new welding processes. In the shipbuilding industry, steel is the candidate material of choice owing to its good weldability. However, conventional welding techniques are not feasible for avoiding welding problems. Tip-rotating arc welding is one of the high-efficiency welding process that has several advantages, such as high welding speed, high melting rate, low heat input, and less distortion. The present study investigates the influence of the welding variables on the weld characteristics of tip-rotating arc welding. Welding was performed using EH36 as the base metal and SM-70s as the filler metal, which are widely used in shipbuilding. Basic experiments were conducted to understand the effects of the major welding variables, such as welding and tip-rotating speeds. The distortion and mechanical properties of the optimal welding conditions were used to evaluate the tip-rotating arc welding performance. Consequently, the feasibility of the tip-rotating arc welding process for joining steel components was investigated, so that the optimized welding conditions could be applied directly to ship body welding to enhance the quality of the welded joints.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.33-47
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• 2022

This paper presents a finite element model for predicting the monotonic behaviour of bolted endplate joints connecting steel-concrete composite walls and steel beams. The demountable Hollo-bolts are utilised to facilitate the quick installation and dismantling for replacement and reuse. In the developed model, material and geometric nonlinearities were included. The accuracy of the developed model was assessed by comparing the numerical results with previous experimental tests on hollow/composite column-to-steel beam joints that incorporated endplates and Hollo-bolts. In particular, the Hollo-bolts were modelled with the expanded sleeves involved, and different material properties of the Hollo-bolt shank and sleeves were considered based on the information provided by the manufacture. The developed models, therefore, can be applied in the present study to simulate the wall-to-beam joints with similar structural components and characteristics. Based on the validated model, the authors herein compared the behaviour of wall-to-beam joints of two commonly utilised composite walling systems (Case 1: flat steel plates with headed studs; Case 2: lipped channel section with partition plates). Considering the ease of manufacturing, onsite erection and the pertinent costs, composite walling system with flat steel plates and conventional headed studs (Case 1) was the focus of present study. Specifically, additional headed studs were pre-welded inside the front wall plates to enhance the joint performance. On this basis, a series of parametric studies were conducted to assess the influences of five design parameters on the behaviour of bolted endplate wall-to-beam joints. The initial stiffness, plastic moment capacity, as well as the rotational capacity of the composite wall-to-beam joints based on the numerical analysis were further compared with the current design provision.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.6
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• pp.715-728
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• 2022

A new type of buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) with a longitudinally profiled steel plate working as the core (LPBRB) is proposed and experimentally investigated. Different from conventional BRBs with a constant thickness core, both stiffness and strength of the longitudinally profiled steel core along its longitudinal direction can change through itself variable thickness, thus the construction of LPBRB saves material and reduces the processing cost. Four full-scale component tests were conducted under quasi-static cyclic loading to evaluate the seismic performance of LPBRB. Three stiffening methods were used to improve the fatigue performance of LPBRBs, which were bolt-assembled T-shaped stiffening ribs, partly-welded stiffening ribs and stiffening segment without rib. The experimental results showed LPBRB specimens displayed stable hysteretic behavior and satisfactory seismic property. There was no instability or rupture until the axial ductility ratio achieved 11.0. Failure modes included the out-of-plane buckling of the stiffening part outside the restraining member and core plate fatigue fracture around the longitudinally profiled segment. The effect of the stiffening methods on the fatigue performance is discussed. The critical buckling load of longitudinally profiled segment is derived using Euler theory. The local bulging behavior of the outer steel tube is analyzed with an equivalent beam model. The design recommendations for LPBRB are presented finally.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.1-11
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• 2022

In this study, an electric resistance dual-spot welding process using a copper electrode inserted in a heating electrode is suggested for the spot welding of AZ31 magnesium sheets. This spot-welding process involves two heating methods for welding at the interfacial zone between the magnesium sheets, one of which is the heating method by thermal conduction from the heating electrode heated by the welding current induced to the steel electrode, and the other heating method uses the electric resistance between the contacted surfaces of the two sheets by the welding current induced to the copper electrode. This welding process includes the welding variables, such as the current induced in the heating electrode and the copper electrode, and the outer diameters of the heating electrode. This is because the heat conducted from the heating electrode can be maintained at a higher temperature in the welding zone, which has a slow cooling effect on the nugget of the melted metal after the welding step. The pressure exerted during the pressing of the magnesium sheets by the heating electrode can be increased around the nugget zone at the spot-welding zone. Thus, it not only reduces the warping effect of the elastoplastic deformation of sheets, but also the corona bond can make it less prone to cracking at the welded zone, thereby reducing the number of nuggets expelled out of the corona bond. In conclusion, it was known that an electric resistance dual spot welding process using the copper electrode inserted in the heating electrode can improve the welding properties in the electric resistance spot welding process of AZ31 magnesium sheets.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.11
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• pp.4072-4083
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• 2022

Ultrasonic impact treatment (UIT) is carried out on the Ni-based alloy stainless steel pipe gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) girth weld, the differences of microstructure, microhardness and shear strength distribution of the joint before and after ultrasonic shock are studied by microhardness test and shear punch test. The results show that after UIT, the plastic deformation layer is formed on the outside surface of the Ni-based alloy overlayer, single-phase austenite and γ type precipitates are formed in the overlayer, and a large number of columnar crystals are formed on the bottom side of the overlayer. The average microhardness of the overlayer increased from 221 H V to 254 H V by 14.9%, the shear strength increased from 696 MPa to 882 MPa with an increase of 26.7% and the transverse average residual stress decreased from 102.71 MPa (tensile stress) to -18.33 MPa (compressive stress), the longitudinal average residual stress decreased from 114.87 MPa (tensile stress) to -84.64 MPa (compressive stress). The fracture surface has been appeared obvious shear lip marks and a few dimples. The element migrates at the fusion boundary between the Ni-based alloy overlayer and the austenitic stainless steel joint, which is leaded to form a local martensite zone and appear hot cracks. The welded joint is cooled by FA solidification mode, which is forming a large number of late and skeleton ferrite phase with an average microhardness of 190 H V and no obvious change in shear strength. The base metal is all austenitic phase with an average microhardness of 206 H V and shear strength of 696 MPa.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.11
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• pp.4146-4158
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• 2022

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) has been widely utilized in military and civil protective structures to resist intensive loadings attributed to its excellent properties, e.g., high tensile/compressive strength, high dynamic toughness and impact resistance. At present, aiming to improve the defects of the traditional vertical concrete cask (VCC), i.e., the external storage facility of spent fuel, with normal strength concrete (NSC) shield, e.g., heavy weight and difficult to fabricate/transform, the feasibility of UHPC applied in the shield of VCC is numerically examined considering its high radiation and corrosion resistance. Firstly, the finite element (FE) analyses approach and material model parameters of NSC and UHPC are verified based on the 1/3 scaled VCC tip-over test and drop hammer test on UHPC members, respectively. Then, the refined FE model of prototypical VCC is established and utilized to examine its dynamic behaviors and damage distribution in accidental tip-over and end-drop events, in which the various influential factors, e.g., UHPC shield thickness, concrete ground thickness, and sealing methods of steel container are considered. In conclusion, by quantitatively evaluating the safety of VCC in terms of the shield damage and vibrations, it is found that adopting the 300 mm-thick UHPC shield instead of the conventional 650 mm-thick NSC shield can reduce about 1/3 of the total weight of VCC, i.e., about 50 t, and 37% floor space, as well as guarantee the structural integrity of VCC during the accidental drop simultaneously. Besides, based on the parametric analyses, the thickness of concrete ground in the VCC storage site is recommended as less than 500 mm, and the welded connection is recommended for the sealing method of steel containers.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.115-126
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• 2007

The tilting-train is very attractive to the railroad users in the world because it runs with high speed in curved track using pre-existing infrastructure. The tilting-train has a unique allowable speed and mechanism expecially in curved track. Therefore, it should be evaluated in terms of the stability of the train operation and roadbed. In this study, when the tilting-train is being operated with the allowable speed, the behavior of the roadbed is evaluated by examining the settlement and bearing capacity of the roadbed. Additionally, the stability of the roadbed is estimated in the condition of soft roadbed influenced by the weather effects and cyclic train loading. The numerical results show that the roadbed settlements satisfy the allowable settlement when Young's moduli of the upper roadbed and in-situ soil are more than $2,300t/m^2\;and\;3,300t/m^2$, respectively, in the continuous welded rail (CWR) and $3,800t/m^2\;and\;4,600t/m^2$, respectively, in the rail joint.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.13-27
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• 2023

Fatigue crack is a fatal problem for steel structures. Early detection and maintenance can help extend the service life and prevent hazards. This paper presents the ultrasonic guided waves-based (UGWs-based) fatigue crack detection of a steel I-beam. The semi-analytical finite element model has been built to obtain the wave propagation characteristics. Damage indices in both time and frequency domains were analyzed by considering the characteristic variations of UGWs including the amplitude, phase angle, and wave packet energy. The pulse-echo and pitch-catch methods were combined in the detection scheme. Lab-scale experiments were conducted on welded steel I-beams to verify the proposed method. Results show that the damage indices based on the characteristic variations in the time domain can identify and localize the fatigue crack before it enters the rapid growth stage. The damage severity can be reasonably evaluated by analyzing the time-domain damage indices. Two nonlinear damage indices in the frequency domain give earlier warnings of the fatigue crack than the time-domain damage indices do. The identification results based on the above two nonlinear indices are found to be less consistent under various excitation frequencies. More robust nonlinear techniques needed to be searched and tested for early crack detection in steel I-beams in further study.