• Wind and Structures
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.133-151
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• 2023

This paper first provides a wide overview about the design codes and standards covering the use of Computational Wind Engineering / Computational Fluid Dynamics (CWE/CFD) for wind-sensitive structures and built environment. Second, the paper sets out the basic assumptions and underlying concepts of the new Annex T "Simulations by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD/CWE)" of the revised version "Guide for the assessment of wind actions and effects on structures" issued by the Advisory Committee on Technical Recommendations for Constructions of the Italian National Research Council in February 2019 and drafted by the members of the Special Interest Group on Computational Wind Engineering of the Italian Association for Wind Engineering (ANIV-CWE). The same group is currently advising UNI CT021/SC1 in supporting the drafting of the new Annex K - "Derivation of design parameters from wind tunnel tests and numerical simulations" of the revised Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-4: General actions - Wind actions. Finally, the paper outlines the subjects most open to development at the technical and applicative level.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.89-105
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• 2024

Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) method has exhibited broad application prospects in the nondestructive detection of interfacial debonding in steel-concrete composite structures (SCCS). However, due to the structural diversity of SCCS and the high stealthiness of interfacial debonding defects, the feasibility of MASW method needs to be investigated in depth. In this study, synthetic parametric study on MASW nondestructive debonding detection for SCCSs is performed. The aim is to quantitatively analyze influential factors with respect to structural composition of SCCS and MASW measurement mode. First, stress wave composition and propagation process in SCCS are studied utilizing 2D numerical simulation. For structural composition in SCCS, the thickness variation of steel plate, concrete core, and debonding defects are discussed. To determine the most appropriate sensor arrangement for MASW measurement, the effects of spacing and number of observation points, along with distances between excitation points, nearest boundary, as well as the first observation point, are analyzed individually. The influence of signal type and frequency of transient excitation on dispersion figures from forwarding analysis is studied to determine the most suitable excitation signal. The findings from this study can provide important theoretical guidance for MASW-based interfacial debonding detection for SCCS. Furthermore, they can be instrumental in optimizing both the sensor layout design and signal choice for experimental validation.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.281-291
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• 2004

The flutter characteristics of long span bridges are discussed from the point of the unsteady pressure distribution on bridge deck surface during heaving/torsional vibration related to the aerodynamic derivatives. In particular, it is explained that the coupling terms, which consist of $A_1^*$ and $H_3^*$, play a substantial role on the coupled flutter, in comparison with the flutter characteristics of various structural sections. Also the effect of the torsional/heaving frequency ratio of bridge structures on the flutter instability is discussed from the point of the coupling effect between heaving and torsional vibrations.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.117-142
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• 2015

The performance of bridges under strong wind and traffic is of great importance to set the traveling speed limit or to make operational decisions for severe weather, such as controlling traffic or even closing the bridge. Meanwhile, the vehicle's safety is highly concerned when it is running on bridges or highways under strong wind. During the past two decades, researchers have made significant contributions to the simulation of the wind-vehicle-bridge system and their interactive effects. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the overall performance of the bridge and traffic system under strong wind, including bridge structures and vehicles, and the associated mitigation efforts.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.391-402
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• 2011

It is clear from the former researches on reinforced concrete filled steel tubular (RCFT) structures that RCFT structures have higher strength and deformation capacity than concrete filled steel tubular (CFT) structures. However, in the case of actual applications to large-scaled structures, the thin-walled steel tube must be used from the view point of economic condition. Therefore, in this study, compression tests of RCFT columns which were made by thin-walled steel tube or small load-sharing ratio in cooperation with high strength concrete were carried out, meanwhile corresponding tests of CFT, reinforced concrete (RC), pure concrete and steel tube columns were done to compare with RCFT. By the a series of comparison and analysis, characteristics of RCFT columns were clarified, and following conclusions were drawn: RCFT structures can effectively avoided from brittle failure by the using of reinforcement while CFT structures are damaged due to the brittle failure; with RCFT structures, excellent bearing capacity can be achieved in plastic zone by combining the thin-walled steel tube with high strength concrete and reinforcement. The smaller load-sharing ratio can made the reinforcement play full role; Combination of thin-walled steel tube with high strength concrete and reinforcement is effective way to construct large-scaled structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.323-339
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• 2020

In steel framed-tube structures (SFTSs), the plastic hinges at beam-ends cannot be adequately improved because of the large cross sections of spandrel beams, which results in the lower ductility and energy dissipation capacities of traditional SFTSs. To address this drawback, high-strength steel fabricated SFTSs with bolted web-connected replaceable shear links (HSFTS-SLs) have been proposed. In this system, shear links use conventional steel and are placed in the middle of the deep spandrel beams to act as energy dissipative components. In this study, 2/3-scaled HSFTS-SL specimens were fabricated, and cyclic loading tests were carried out to study the seismic performance of both specimens. The finite element models (FEMs) of the two specimens were established and the numerical results were compared with the test results. The results showed that the specimens had good ductility and energy dissipation capacities due to the reliable deformation capacities. The specimens presented the expected failure modes. Using a shorter shear link can provide a higher load-carrying capacity and initial elastic lateral stiffness but induces lower ductility and energy dissipation capacity in HSFTS-SLs. The performance of the specimens was comparable to that of the original sub-structure specimens after replacing shear links. Additionally, the expected post-earthquake recoverability and resilience of the structures could be achieved by replacing shear links. The acceptable residual interstory drift that allows for easy replacement of the bolted web-connected shear link was 0.23%. The bolted web-connected shear links had reliable hysteretic responses and deformation capacities. The connection rotation had a notable contribution to total link rotation. The results of the numerical analysis run for the proposed FEMs were consistent with the test results. It showed that the proposed FEMs could be used to investigate the seismic performance of the HSFTS-SL.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.413-421
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• 2020

For steel-concrete girders made composite using shear studs, initial damage on studs induced by weld defect, unexpected overloading, fatigue and others might degrade the service performance and even threaten the structural safety. This paper conducted a numerical study to investigate the static behavior of damaged stud shear connectors that were embedded in ultra high performance concrete (UHPC). Parameters included damage degree and damage location. The material nonlinear behavior was characterized by multi-linear stress-strain relationship and damage plasticity model. The results indicated that the shear strength was not sensitive to the damage degree when the damage occurred at 2/3d (d is the stud diameter) from the stud root. An increased stud area would be engaged in resisting shear force as the distance of damage location from stud root increased and the failure section becomes inclined, resulting in a less reduction in the shear strength and shear stiffness. The reduction factor was proposed to consider the degradation of the shear strength of the damaged stud. The reduction factor can be calculated using two approaches: a linear relationship and a square relationship with the damage degree corresponding to the shear strength dominated by the section area and the nominal diameter of the damaged stud. It was found that the proposed method is preferred to predict the shear strength of a stud with initial damage.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.1
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• pp.49-57
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• 2020

This paper presents a full-scale experimental test to investigate the flexural behavior of an innovative dovetail ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) joint designed for the 5^th Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. The test specimen had a dimension of 3600 × 1600 × 170 mm, in accordance with the real bridge. The failure mode, crack pattern and structural response were presented. The ductility and stiffness degradation of the tested specimens were explicitly discussed. Test results indicated that different from conventional reinforced concrete slabs, well-distributed cracks with small spacing were observed for UHPC joint slabs at failure. The average nominal flexural cracking strength of the test specimens was 7.7 MPa, signifying good crack resistance of the proposed dovetail UHPC joint. It is recommended that high grade reinforcement be cooperatively used to take full advantage of the superior mechanical property of UHPC. A new ductility index, expressed by dividing the ultimate deflection by flexural cracking deflection, was introduced to evaluate the post-cracking ductility capacity. Finally, a strut-and-tie (STM) model was developed to predict the ultimate strength of the proposed UHPC joint.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09b
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• pp.61-67
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• 2010

Thick soft clay deposits which are generally located at the west and south coast of the Korean peninsula have complicated characteristics according to their orientation and formation history. Thus, several geotechnical problems could possibly occur when those soft clay deposits are used as foundations for marine structures. Deep cement mixing (DCM) method is one of the most widely used soft soil improvement method for various marine structures, nowadays. DCM method injects binders such as cement into the soft ground directly and mixes with the in-situ soil to improve the strength and other geotechnical properties sufficiently. However, the natural impacts induced by dynamic motions such as ocean waves, wind, typhoon, and tusnami give significant influences on the stability of marine structures and their underlaying foundations. Thus, the dynamic properties become important design criteria to insure the seismic stability of marine structures. In this study, the dynamic behavior of cemented Busan clay is evaluated. Laboratory unconfined compression test and resonant column test are performed on natural in-situ soil and cement mixed specimens to confirm the strength and strain-dependent dynamic behavior variation induced by cement mixing treatment. Results show that the unconfined compressive strength and shear modulus increase with curing time and cement content increment. Finally, the optimized cement mixing ratio for sufficient dynamic stability is obtained through this study. The results of this study are expected to be widely used to improve the reliability of seismic design for marine structures.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.237-250
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• 2022

Structural health monitoring (SHM) plays an important role in ensuring the safety and functionality of critical civil infrastructure. In recent years, numerous researchers have conducted studies to develop computer vision and machine learning techniques for SHM purposes, offering the potential to reduce the laborious nature and improve the effectiveness of field inspections. However, high-quality vision data from various types of damaged structures is relatively difficult to obtain, because of the rare occurrence of damaged structures. The lack of data is particularly acute for fatigue crack in steel bridge girder. As a result, the lack of data for training purposes is one of the main issues that hinders wider application of these powerful techniques for SHM. To address this problem, the use of synthetic data is proposed in this article to augment real-world datasets used for training neural networks that can identify fatigue cracks in steel structures. First, random textures representing the surface of steel structures with fatigue cracks are created and mapped onto a 3D graphics model. Subsequently, this model is used to generate synthetic images for various lighting conditions and camera angles. A fully convolutional network is then trained for two cases: (1) using only real-word data, and (2) using both synthetic and real-word data. By employing synthetic data augmentation in the training process, the crack identification performance of the neural network for the test dataset is seen to improve from 35% to 40% and 49% to 62% for intersection over union (IoU) and precision, respectively, demonstrating the efficacy of the proposed approach.