• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.613-630
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• 1996

The homogenization method is used to develop a beam element in space for thermo-mechanical analysis of unidirectional composites. Local stress and temperature field in the microscale are described using the function of homogenization. The global (macroscopic) behaviour of the structure is supposed to be that of a beam. Beam-type kinematical hypotheses (including independent shear rotations) are hence applied and superposed on the microdescription. A macroscopic stiffness matrix for such a beam element is then developed which contains the microscale properties of the single cell of periodicity. The presented model enables us to analyse without too much computational effort complicated composite structures such as e.g. toroidal coils of a fusion reactor. We need only a FE mesh sufficiently fine for a correct description of the local geometry of a single cell and a few of the newly developed elements for the description of the global behaviour. An unsmearing procedure gives the stress and temperature field in the different materials of a single cell.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.2016-2024
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• 2005

In this work, a mixed beam approach that combines both the stiffness and the flexibility methods has been performed to analyze the coupled composite blades with closed, two-cell cross-sections. The Reissner's semi-complementary energy functional is used to derive the beam force-displacement relations. Only the membrane part of the shell wall is taken into account to make the analysis simple and also to deliver a clear picture of the mixed method. All the cross section stiffness coefficients as well as the distribution of shear across the section are evaluated in a closed-form through the beam formulation. The theory is validated against experimental test data, detailed finite element analysis results, and other analytical results for coupled composite blades with a two-cell airfoil section. Despite the simple kinematic model adopted in the theory, an accuracy comparable to that of two-dimensional finite element analysis has been obtained for cases considered in this study.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.1
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• pp.89-98
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• 2019

In this study, the mechanical bending behaviors of functionally graded porous nanobeams are investigated. Four types of porosity which are, the classical power porosity function, the symmetric with mid-plane cosine function, bottom surface distribution and top surface distribution are proposed in analysis of nanobeam for the first time. A comparison between four types of porosity are illustrated. The effect of nano-scale is described by the differential nonlocal continuum theory of Eringen by adding the length scale into the constitutive equations as a material parameter comprising information about nanoscopic forces and its interactions. The graded material is designated by a power function through the thickness of nanobeam. The beam is simply-supported and is assumed to be thin, and hence, the kinematic assumptions of Euler-Bernoulli beam theory are held. The mathematical model is solved numerically using the finite element method. Numerical results show effects of porosity type, material graduation, and nanoscale parameters on the static deflection of nanobeam.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.687-707
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• 2015

A finite element computer code for short-term analysis of steel-concrete composite structures is extended to study long-term effects under service loads, in the present work. Long-term effects are important in engineering design because they influence stress and strain distribution of the structural system and therefore contribute to the increment of deflections in these structures. For creep analysis, a rheological model based on a Kelvin chain, with elements placed in series, was employed. The parameters of the Kelvin chain were obtained using Dirichlet series. Creep and shrinkage models, proposed by the CEB FIP 90, were used. The shear-lag phenomenon that takes place at the concrete slab is usually neglected or not properly taken into account in the formulation of beam-column finite elements. Therefore, in this work, a three-dimensional numerical model based on the assemblage of shell finite elements for representing the steel beam and the concrete slab is used. Stud shear connectors are represented for special beam-column elements to simulate the partial interaction at the slab-beam interface. The two-dimensional representation of the concrete slab permits to capture the non-uniform shear stress distribution in the horizontal plane of the slab due to shear-lag phenomenon. The model is validated with experimental results of two full-scale continuous composite beams previously studied by other authors. Results are given in terms of displacements, bending moments and cracking patterns in order to shown the influence of long-term effects in the structural response and also the potentiality of the present numerical code.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2011

This paper presents the results of a study on the capability of nonlinear quasi-static finite element modelling in simulating the hysteretic behaviour of CFRP and GFRP-retrofitted RC exterior beam-column joints under cyclic loads. Four specimens including two plain and two CFRP/GFRP-strengthened beam-column joints tested by Mahini and Ronagh (2004) and other researchers are modelled using ANSYS. Concrete in compression is defined by the modified Hognestad model and anisotropic multi-linear model is employed for modelling the stress-strain relations in reinforcing bars while anisotropic plasticity is considered for the FRP composite. Both concrete and FRP are modelled using solid elements whereas space link elements are used for steel bars considering a perfect bond between materials. A step by step load increment procedure to simulate the cyclic loading regime employed in the testing. An automatically reforming stiffness matrix strategy is used in order to simulate the actual seismic performance of the RC concrete after cracking, steel yielding and concrete crushing during the push and pull loading cycles. The results show that the hysteretic simulation for all specimens is satisfactory and therefore suggest that the numerical model can be used as an inexpensive tool to design of FRP-strengthened RC beam-column joints under cyclic loads.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.89-107
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• 2011

In this paper a simple mathematical model is presented for estimating the natural frequencies and corresponding mode shapes of a tall building with outrigger-belt truss system. For this purposes an equivalent continuum system is analyzed in which a tall building structure is replaced by an idealized cantilever continuum beam representing the structural characteristics. The equivalent system is comprised of a cantilever shear beam in parallel to a cantilever flexural beam that is constrained by a rotational spring at outrigger-belt truss location. The mathematical modeling and the derivation of the equation of motion are given for the cantilevers with identically paralleled and rotational spring. The equation of motion and the associated boundary conditions are analytically obtained by using Hamilton's variational principle. After obtaining non-trivial solution of the eigensystem, the resulting is used to determine the natural frequencies and associated mode shapes of free vibration analysis. A numerical example for a 40 story tall building has been solved with proposed method and finite element method. The results of the proposed mathematical model have good adaptation with those obtained from finite element analysis. Proposed model is practically suitable for quick evaluations during the preliminary design stages.

• 한국방재학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.02a
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• pp.75-78
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• 2007

The structural methodology in designing a transmission tower have been performed to assume a simple truss behavior. But there're quite differences between a simple truss behavior and a real one. A suitable explanation for a structural stability can be expressed as a semi-rigid connection instead of the assumed hinged connection. This study proposes an alternative structural analysis modelling strategy for the transmission tower design. Proposed element models are truss element model, beam element model, and combined beam-truss element model. The static finite element analysis shows that there's a moment distribution between a mainpost member and the other bracing member.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.261-284
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• 2004

Two enhancements to a recently developed plastic-damage-contact model for concrete are presented. The model itself, which uses planes of degradation that can undergo damage and separation but that can regain contact according to a contact law, is described. The first enhancement is a new damage evolution function which provides a completely smooth transition from the undamaged to the damaged state and from pre-peak to post-peak regions. The second is an improved contact function that governs the potential degree of contact with increasing opening on a crack plane. The use of a damage evolution function with a pre-peak has implications for the consistent tangent matrix/stress recovery algorithm developed for the model implementation, and amendments to this algorithm to accommodate the new function are described. A series of unpublished experimental tests on notched specimens undertaken in Cardiff in the mid 1990s are then described. These include notched beam tests as well as prismatic and cylindrical torsion tests. The tests are then considered in three dimensional finite element analyses using the modified Craft model implemented in the finite element program LUSAS. Comparisons between experimental and numerical data show reasonable agreement except that the numerical simulations do not fully describe the latter stages of the softening responses for the torsion examples. Finally, it is concluded that the torsion tests described provide useful benchmark examples for the validation of three-dimensional numerical models for concrete.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.219-236
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• 2023

In this paper, finite element modeling of the laser ultrasonics (LU) process in ablation regime is of interest. The momentum resulting from the removal of material from the specimen surface by the laser beam radiation in ablation regime is modeled as a pressure pulse. To model this pressure pulse, two equations are required: one for the spatial distribution and one for the temporal distribution of the pulse. Previous researchers have proposed various equations for the spatial and temporal distributions of the pressure pulse in different laser applications. All available equations are examined and the best combination of the temporal and spatial distributions of the pressure pulse that provides the most accurate results is identified. This combination of temporal and spatial distributions has never been used for modeling laser ultrasonics before. Then by using this new model, the effects of variations in pulse duration and laser spot radius on the shape, amplitude, and frequency spectrum of ultrasonic waves are studied. Furthermore, the LU in thermoelastic regime is simulated by this model and compared with LU in ablation regime. The interaction of ultrasonic waves with a defect is also investigated in the LU process in ablation regime. Good agreement of the results obtained from the new finite element model and available experimental data confirms the accuracy of the proposed model.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Advanced Composite Structures
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2013

The finite element analysis (FEA) is a numerical technique to find solutions of field problems. A field problem is approximated by differential equations or integral expressions. In a finite element, the field quantity is allowed to have a simple spatial variation in terms of linear or polynomial functions. This paper represents a review and an accuracy-study of the finite element method comparing the FEA results with the exact solution. The exact solutions were calculated by solid mechanics and FEA using matrix stiffness method. For this study, simple bar and cantilever models were considered to evaluate four types of basic elements - constant strain triangle (CST), linear strain triangle (LST), bi-linear-rectangle(Q4),and quadratic-rectangle(Q8). The bar model was subjected to uniaxial loading whereas in case of the cantilever model moment loading was used. In the uniaxial loading case, all basic element results of the displacement and stress in x-direction agreed well with the exact solutions. In the moment loading case, the displacement in y-direction using LST and Q8 elements were acceptable compared to the exact solution, but CST and Q4 elements had to be improved by the mesh refinement.