• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.330-336
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• 2002

A quantum-chemical investigation on the conformations and electronic properties of bis[2-{2-methoxy-4,6-di(t-butyl)phenyl}ethenyl]benzenes (MBPBs) as building block for ${\pi}$-conjugate polymer are performed in order to display the effects of t-butyl and methoxy group substitution and of kink(ortho and meta) linkage. The conjugation length of the polymers can be controlled by substituents and kink linkages of backbone. Structures for the molecules, o-, m-, and p-MBPBs as well as unsubstituted o-, m-, and p-DSBs were fully optimized by using semiempirical AM1, PM3 methods, and ab initio HF method with 3-21G(d) basis set. The potential energy curves with respect to the change of single torsion angle are obtained by using semiempirical methods and ab initio HF/3-21G(d) basis set. The curves are similar shape in the molecules with respect to the position of vinylene groups. It is shown that the conformations of the molecules are compromised between the steric repulsion interaction and the degree of the conjugation. Electronic properties of the molecules were obtained by applying the optimized structures and geometries to the ZINDO/S method. ZINDO/S analysis performed on the geometries obtained by AM1 method and HF/3-21G(d) level is reported. The absorption wavelength on the geometries obtained by AM1 method is much longer than that by HF/3-21G(d) level. The absorption wavelength of MBPBs are red shifted with comparison to that of corresponding DSBs in the same torsion angle because of electron donating substituents. The absorption wavelength of isomers with kink(orth and meta) linkage is shorter than that of para linkage.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.449-472
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• 2016

This paper studies the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) walls with encased cold-formed and thin-walled (CFTW) steel truss, which can be used as an alternative to the conventional RC walls or steel reinforced concrete (SRC) composite walls for high-rise buildings in high seismic regions. Seven one-fourth scaled RC wall specimens with encased CFTW steel truss were designed, manufactured and tested to failure under reversed cyclic lateral load and constant axial load. The test parameters were the axial load ratio, configuration and volumetric steel ratio of encased web brace. The behaviors of the test specimens, including damage formation, failure mode, hysteretic curves, stiffness degradation, ductility and energy dissipation, were examined. Test results indicate that the encased web braces can effectively improve the ductility and energy dissipation capacity of RC walls. The steel angles are more suitable to be used as the web brace than the latticed batten plates in enhancing the ductility and energy dissipation. Higher axial load ratio is beneficial to lateral load capacity, but can result in reduced ductility and energy dissipation capacity. A volumetric ratio about 0.25% of encased web brace is believed cost-effective in ensuring satisfactory seismic performance of RC walls. The axial load ratio should not exceed the maximum level, about 0.20 for the nominal value or about 0.50 for the design value. Numerical analyses were performed to predict the backbone curves of the specimens and calculation formula from the Chinese Code for Design of Composite Structures was used to predict the maximum lateral load capacity. The comparison shows good agreement between the test and predicted results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2009.09a
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• pp.976-984
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• 2009

This study proposes a simple method that uses a simple mass-spring model to predict the natural frequency of a soil-pile-structure system in sandy soil. This model includes a pair of matrixes, i.e., a mass matrix and a stiffness matrix. The mass matrix is comprised of the masses of the pile and superstructure, and the stiffness matrix is comprised of the stiffness of the pile and the spring coefficients between the pile and soil. The key issue in the evaluation of the natural frequency of a soil-pile system is the determination of the spring coefficient between the pile and soil. To determine the reasonable spring coefficient, subgrade reaction modulus, nonlinear p-y curves and elastic modulus of the soil were utilized. The location of the spring was also varied with consideration of the infinite depth of the pile. The natural frequencies calculated by using the mass-spring model were compared with those obtained from 1-g shaking table model pile tests. The comparison showed that the calculated natural frequencies match well with the results of the 1-g shaking table tests within the range of computational error when the three springs, whose coefficients were calculated using Reese's(1974) subgrade reaction modulus and Yang's (2009) dynamic p-y backbone curves, were located above the infinite depth of the pile.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.507-513
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• 2019

Reinforced soil and Expanded Polystyrenes (EPS) mixture (RSEM) is a geomaterial which has many merits, such as light weight, wide strength range, easy for construction, and economic feasibility. It has been widely applied to improve soft ground, solve bridge head jump, fill cavity in pipeline and widen highway. Reutilizing dredged sediment to produce RSEM as earthfill can not only consume a large amount of waste sediment but also significantly reduce the construction cost. Therefore, there is an urgent need understand the basic stress-strain characteristics of reinforced dredged sediment-EPS mixture (RDSEM). A series of cyclic triaxial tests were then carried out on the RDSEM and control clay. The effects of cement content, EPS beads content and confining pressure on the cyclic stress-strain behaviour of RDSEM were analyzed. It is found that the three stages of dynamic stress-strain relationship of ordinary soil, vibration compaction stage, vibration shear stage and vibration failure stage are also applicative for RDSEM. The cyclic stress-strain curves of RDSEM are lower than that of control clay in the vibration compaction stage because of its high moisture content. The slopes of backbone curves of RDSEMs in the vibration shear stage are larger than that of control clay, indicating that the existence of EPS beads provides plastic resistance. With the increase of cement content, the cyclic stress-strain relationship tends to be steeper. Increasing cement content and confining pressure could improve the cyclic strength and cyclic stiffness of RDSEM.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.241-248
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• 2018

To study the mechanical properties of joints in ancient timber buildings in depth, the force mechanism of the through-tenon joints was analyzed, also the theoretical formulas of the moment-rotation angles of the joints with different loosening degrees were deduced. To validate the rationality of the theoretical calculation formulas, six joint models with 1/3.2 scale ratio, including one intact joint and five loosening joints, were fabricated and tested under cyclic loading. The specimens underwent the elastic stage, the plastic stage and the destructive stage, respectively. At the same time, the moment-rotation backbone curves of the tenon joints with different looseness were obtained, and the theoretical calculation results were validated when compared with the experimental results. The results show that the rotational moment and the initial rotational stiffness of the tenon joints increase gradually with the increase of the friction coefficient. The increase of the tenon section height can effectively improve the bearing capacity of the through-tenon joints. As the friction coefficient of the wood and the insertion length of the tension increase, the embedment length goes up, whereas it decreases with the increase of section height. With the increase of the looseness, the bearing capacity of the joint is reduced gradually.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.908-916
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• 2010

Fullerene-60 nanoparticles were used for studying their effect on the low-density polyethylene (LDPE) biodegradation efficiency of two potential polymer-degrading consortia comprising three bacterial strains each. At a concentration of 0.01% (w/v) in minimal broth lacking dextrose, fullerene did not have any negative influence upon the consortia growth. However, fullerene was found to be detrimental for bacterial growth at higher concentrations (viz., 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1%). Although addition of 0.01% fullerene into the biodegradation assays containing 5mg/ml LDPE subsided growth curves significantly, subsequent analysis of the degraded products revealed an enhanced biodegradation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) revealed breakage and formation of chemical bonds along with the introduction of ${\nu}C$-O frequencies into the hydrocarbon backbone of LDPE. Moreover, simultaneous thermogravimetric-differential thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTG-DTA) revealed a higher number of decomposition steps along with a 1,000-fold decrease in the heat of reactions (${\Delta}H$) in fullerene-assisted biodegraded LDPE, suggesting the probable formation of multiple macromolecular byproducts. This is the first report whereby fullerene-60, which is otherwise considered toxic, has helped to accelerate the polymer biodegradation process of bacterial consortia.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.5
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• pp.601-621
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• 2019

This study presents a comprehensive nonlinear dynamic approach to investigate the linear and nonlinear vibration of sandwich plates fabricated from functionally graded materials (FGMs) resting on an elastic foundation. Higher-order shear deformation theory and Hamilton's principle are employed to obtain governing equations. The Runge-Kutta method is employed together with the commercially available mathematical software MAPLE 14 to solve the set of nonlinear dynamic governing equations. Method validity is evaluated by comparing the results of this study and those of previous research. Good agreement is achieved. The effects of temperature change on frequencies are investigated considering various temperatures and various volume fraction index values, N. As the temperature increased, the plate frequency decreased, whereas with increasing N, the plate frequency increased. The effects of the side-to-thickness ratio, c/h, on natural frequencies were investigated. With increasing c/h, the frequencies increased nonlinearly. The effects of foundation stiffness on nonlinear vibration of the sandwich plate were also studied. Backbone curves presenting the variation of maximum displacement with respect to plate frequency are presented to provide insight into the nonlinear vibration and dynamic behavior of FGM sandwich plates.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.47-56
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• 2003

In this paper, the cyclic soil behavior model. which can accommodate the cyclic hardening, was developed by modifying the original parallel IWAN model. In order to consider the irrecoverable plastic strain of soil. the cyclic threshold strain, above which the backbone curve deviates from the original curve, was defined and the accumulated strain was determined by summation of the strains above the cyclic threshold in the stress-strain curve with applying Masing rule on unloading and reloading curves. The isotropic hardening elements are attached to the original parallel IWAN model and the slip stresses in the isotropic hardening elements are shown to increase according to the hardening functions. The hardening functions have a single parameter to account for the cyclic hardening and are defined by the symmetric limit cyclic loading test in forms of accumulated shear strain. The model development procedures are included in this paper and the verifications of developed model are discussed in the companion paper.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2020

The top-and-seat angles with double web angles are commonly used in the design of beam-to-column joints in Asian and North American countries. The seismic behavior analysis of these joints with large cross-section size of beam and column (often connected by four or more bolts) is a challenge due to the effects from the relatively larger size of stiffened angles and the composite action from the adjacent concrete slab. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the seismic performance of exterior composite beam-to-column joints with stiffened angles under cyclic loading. Four full-scale composite joints with different configuration (only one specimen contain top angle in concrete slab) were designed and tested. The joint specimens were designed by considering the effects of top angles, longitudinal reinforcement bars and arrangement of bolts. The behavior of the joints was carefully investigated, in terms of the failure modes, slippage, backbone curves, strength degradation, and energy dissipation abilities. It was found that the slippage between top-and-seat angles and beam flange, web angle and beam web led to a notable pinching effect, in addition, the ability of the energy dissipation was significantly reduced. The effect of anchored beams on the behavior of the joints was limited due to premature failure in concrete, the concrete slab that closes to the column flange and upper flange of beam plays an significant role when the joint subjected to the sagging moment. It is demonstrated that the ductility of the joints was significantly improved by the staggered bolts and welded longitudinal reinforcement bars.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.617-628
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• 2017

In order to study the failure mode and seismic behavior of the interior-joint in steel traditional-style buildings, a single beam-column joint and a double beam-column joint were produced according to the relevant building criterion of ancient architectural buildings and the engineering instances, and the dynamic horizontal loading test was conducted by controlling the displacement of the column top and the peak acceleration of the actuator. The failure process of the specimens was observed, the bearing capacity, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, strength and stiffness degradation of the specimens were analyzed by the load-displacement hysteresis curve and backbone curve. The results show that the beam end plastic hinge area deformed obviously during the loading process, and tearing fracture of the base metal at top and bottom flange of beam occurred. The hysteresis curves of the specimens are both spindle-shaped and plump. The ultimate loads of the single beam-column joint and double beam-column joint are 48.65 kN and 70.60 kN respectively, and the equivalent viscous damping coefficients are more than 0.2 when destroyed, which shows the two specimens have great energy dissipation capacity. In addition, the stiffness, bearing capacity and energy dissipation capacity of the double beam-column joint are significantly better than that of the single beam-column joint. The ductility coefficients of the single beam-column joint and double beam-column joint are 1.81 and 1.92, respectively. The cracks grow fast when subjected to dynamic loading, and the strength and stiffness degradation is also degenerated quickly.