• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.43-65
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• 2012

The primary objective of this study was to identify concrete contribution to the initial shear strength of reinforced concrete (RC) hollow columns under lateral loading. Seven large-scale RC rectangular hollow column specimens were tested under monotonic or cyclic lateral loads. The most important design parameter was column length-to-depth aspect ratio ranging between 1.5 and 3.0, and the other test variables included web area ratio, hollow section ratio, and loading history. The tests showed that the initial shear strength reduced in a linear pattern as the column aspect ratio increased, and one specimen tested under cyclic loading achieved approximately 83% of the shear strength of the companion specimen under monotonic loading. Also, several pioneering shear models proposed around the world, all of which were mainly based on tests for columns with solid sections, were reviewed and compared with the test results of this study, for their possible applications to columns with hollow sections. After all, an empirical equation was proposed for concrete contribution to the initial shear strength of RC hollow columns based on fundamental mechanics and the test results.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.941-946
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• 2001

The objectives of this study are to investigate effective stiffness of Rectangular reinforced concrete bridge columns. It is reasonable to use yielding effective stiffness of columns in seismic bridge design, especially in case that plastic hinges form at the bridge columns. In this study, the material nonlinear analysis was conducted for 3, 240 column sections of which variables were the concrete compressive stress, the steel yielding stress, the longitudinal steel location parameter, the longitudinal steel ratio, the axial load level, and the diameter of section. Based on the analytical results, an effective stiffness including two variables(longitudinal steel ratio and axial load ratio) was proposed by regression analyses, and it is compared with test results and the proposed equation for yielding effective stiffness of circular bridge columns.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.505-514
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• 2009

This paper describes the structural behavior and the ultimate strengths of circular hollow steel (CHS) sections based on a series of compression tests. The ultimate strengths of CHS section columns are mainly dependent on both diameter-thickness ratio and column slenderness ratio. For the CHS sections with a high diameter-thickness ratio, an elastic or an inelastic local buckling may occur prior to the overall buckling, and it may decrease the column strength. Test sections were fabricated from SM400 steel plate of 2.8 mm and 3.2 mm in thickness and were tested to failure. The diameter-thickness ratios of the test sections ranged from 45 to 170 to investigate the effect of local buckling on the column strength. The compression tests indicated that the CHS sections of lower diameter-thickness ratio than the yield limit in the current design specifications showed an inelastic local buckling and a significant post-buckling strength in the local mode. Their ultimate stresses were larger than the nominal yield stress. It was known that the allowable stresses of the sections predicted by the Korean Highway Bridge Design Specifications (2005) were too conservative in comparison with test results. The Direct Strength Method which was newly developed was calibrated for application to the CHS sections by the experimental and numerical results. The Direct Strength Method proposed can predict properly the ultimate strength of CHS section columns whether a local buckling and an overall buckling occur nearly simultaneously or not.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.851-865
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• 2014

Full penetration welded steel moment-resisting frame (SMRF) structures with welded box sections are widely employed in steel bridges, where a large number of steel bridges have been in operation for over fifty years in Japan. Welding defects such as incomplete penetration at the beam-column connections of these existing SMRF steel bridge piers were observed during inspection. Previous experiments conducted by the authors' team indicate that gusset stiffeners (termed fillets in this study) at the beam-web-to-column-web joint of the beam-column connections may play an important role on the seismic performance of the connections. This paper aims to experimentally study the effect of the fillet radius on seismic performance of the connections with large welding defects. Four specimens with different sizes of fillet radii were loaded under quasi-static incremental cyclic loading, where different load-displacement relations and cracking behaviors were observed. The experimental results show that, as the size of the fillet radius increases, the seismic performance of the connections can be greatly improved.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.383-396
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• 2012

In order to develop a verification method for extremely low cycle fatigue (ELCF) of steel structures, the initiation mechanism of ductile cracks is investigated in the present study, which is the first step of brittle fracture, occurred in steel bridge piers with thick-walled sections. For this purpose, a total of six steel columns with small width-thickness ratios were tested under cyclic loading. It is found that ductile cracks occurred at the column base in all the specimens regardless of cyclic loading histories subjected. Moreover, strain history near the crack initiation location is illustrated and an index of energy dissipation amount is proposed to evaluate deformation capacity of structures.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.10 no.4 s.50
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• pp.85-94
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• 2006

In the design of bridge piers in seismic area, the ductility requirement is the most important factor. In order to enhance the seismic performance of RC columns, it is necessary to make the ductility of columns larger by covering RC columns with steel tubes or confining RC columns by arranging transverse reinforcements such as hoop ties closely. Using core steel composite columns is useful as one of the reinforcing RC columns. In this paper, quasi-static tests on concrete encased composite columns with single core steel or multiple steel elements were performed to investigate the seismic performance of the composite columns. Eight concrete-encased composite specimens were fabricated. The cross-sections of these specimens are composed of concrete-encased H-shaped structural steel columns and a concrete-encased circular tube with partial in-filled concrete. Test parameters were the amount of the transverse reinforcements, type and number of encased steel member. Through the tests, it was evaluated the ductility of SRC composite specimens. It has become clear from the test results that encased steel elements makes the deformation capacity of the columns to be larger. The displacement ductility and lateral strength of specimen with concrete-encased circular tube were indicated the biggest value.