• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.617-628
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• 2019

As an extremely destructive accident, progressive collapse is defined as the spread of an initial local failure from element to element, resulting eventually in the collapse of an entire structure or disproportionately large of it. To prevent the occurrence of it and evaluate the ability of structure resisting progressive collapse, the nonlinear static procedure is usually adopted in the whole structure design process, which considered dynamic effect by utilizing Dynamic Increase Factor (DIF). In current researches, the determining of DIF is performed in full-rigid frame, however, the performance of beam-column connection in the majority of existing frame structures is not full-rigid. In this study, based on the component method proposed by EC3 guideline, the expression of extended endplate connection performance is further derived, and the connection performance is taken into consideration when evaluated the performance of structure resisting progressive collapse by applying the revised plastic P-M hinge. The DIF for structures with extended endplate beam-column connection have been determined and compared with the DIF permitted in current GSA guideline, the necessity of considering connection stiffness in determining the DIF have been proved.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.265-279
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• 2019

The self-centering capacity and energy dissipation performance have been recognized critically for increasing the seismic performance of structures. This paper presents an innovative steel moment frame with self-centering steel reinforced concrete (SRC) wall panel incorporating replaceable energy dissipation devices (SF-SCWD). The self-centering mechanism and energy dissipation mechanism of the structure were validated by cyclic tests. The earthquake resilience of wall panel has the ability to limit structural damage and residual drift, while the energy dissipation devices located at wall toes are used to dissipate energy and reduce the seismic response. The oriented post-tensioned strands provide additional overturning force resistance and help to reduce residual drift. The main parameters were studied by numerical analysis to understand the complex structural behavior of this new system, such as initial stress of post-tensioning strands, yield strength of damper plates and height-width ratio of the wall panel. The static push-over analysis was conducted to investigate the failure process of the SF-SCWD. Moreover, nonlinear time history analysis of the 6-story frame was carried out, which confirmed the availability of the proposed structures in permanent drift mitigation.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.561-576
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• 2022

Heritage timber structures represent the history and culture of a nation. These structures have been inherited from previous generations; however, they inevitably exhibit deterioration over time, potentially leading to structural deficiencies. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) offers the potential to assess operational anomalies, deterioration, and damage through processing and analysis of data collected from transducers and sensors mounted on the structure. This paper reports on the design and implementation of a long-term SHM system on the Feiyun Wooden Pavilion in China, a three-story timber building built more than 500 years ago. The principles and features of the design and implementation of SHM systems for heritage timber buildings are systematically discussed. In total, 104 sensors of 6 different types are deployed on the structure to monitor the environmental effects and structural responses, including air temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, structural temperatures, strain, inclination, and acceleration. In addition, integrated data acquisition and transmission subsystem using a newly developed software platform are implemented. Selected preliminary statistical and correlation analysis using one year of monitoring data are presented to demonstrate the condition assessment capability of the system based on the monitoring data.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.45-56
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• 2023

Vibration-based structural health monitoring is used to ensure the safety of structures by installing sensors in structures. The peak picking method, one of the applications of vibration-based structural health monitoring, is a method that analyze the dynamic characteristics of a structure using the peaks of the frequency response function. However, the results may vary depending on the person predicting the peak point; further, the method does not predict the exact peak point in the presence of noise. To overcome the limitations of the existing peak picking methods, this study proposes a new method to automate the modal analysis process by utilizing long short-term memory, a type of recurrent neural network. The method proposed in this study uses the time series data of the frequency response function directly as the input of the LSTM network. In addition, the proposed method improved the accuracy by using the phase as well as amplitude information of the frequency response function. Simulation experiments and lab-scale model experiments are performed to verify the performance of the LSTM network developed in this study. The result reported a modal assurance criterion of 0.8107, and it is expected that the dynamic characteristics of a civil structure can be predicted with high accuracy using data without experts.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.369-388
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• 2022

Composite effect between steel and recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) in steel reinforced-RAC (SRRAC) structures can effectively improve RAC's adverse mechanical properties due to the natural defects of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA). However, the performance of SRRAC after thermal exposure will have a great impact on the safety of the structure. In this paper, firstly, the mechanical properties of SRRAC structures after high temperatures exposure were tested, including 24 SRRAC columns and 32 SRRAC beams. Then, the change rules of beams and columns performance with the maximum temperature and replacement percentage were compared. Finally, the formulas to evaluate the residual bearing capacity of SRRAC beams and columns after exposure to high temperatures were established. The experimental results show that the maximum exposure temperature can be judged by the apparent phenomenon and mass loss ratio of RAC. After high temperatures exposure, the mechanical properties of SRRAC beams and columns change significantly, where the degradation of bearing capacity and stiffness is the most obvious. Moreover, it is found that the degradation degree of compression member is more serious than that of flexural member. The formulas of residual bearing capacity established by introducing influence coefficient of material strength agree well with the experimental results.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.245-259
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• 2024

In a tornadic wind field, the vertical velocity component in certain regions of tornadoes can be significant, forming one of the major differences between tornadic wind fields and synoptic straight-line wind fields. To better understand the wind characteristics of tornadoes and properly estimate the action of tornadoes on civil structures, it is important to ensure that all the attributes of tornadoes are captured. Although Doppler radars have been used to measure tornadic wind fields, they can only directly provide information on quasi-horizontal velocity. Therefore, lots of numerical simulations and experimental tests in previous research ignored the vertical velocity at the boundary. However, the influence of vertical velocity in tornadic wind fields is not evaluated. To address this research gap, this study is to use an approach to derive the vertical velocity component based on the horizontal velocities extracted from the radar-measured data by mass continuity. This approach will be illustrated by using the radar-measured data of Spencer Tornado as an example. The vertical velocity component is included in the initial inflow condition in the CFD simulation to assess the influence of including vertical velocity in the initial inflow condition on the entire tornadic wind field.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.447-460
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• 2022

In this article, wave propagation in functional gradation plates (FG) resting on an elastic foundation with two parameters is studied using a new quasi-three-dimensional (3D) higher shear deformation theory (HSDT). The new qausi-3D HSOT has only five variables in fields displacement, which means has few numbers of unknowns compared with others quasi-3D. This higher shear deformation theory (HSDT) includes shear deformation and effect stretching with satisfying the boundary conditions of zero traction on the surfaces of the FG plate without the need for shear correction factors. The FG plates are considered to rest on the Winkler layer, which is interconnected with a Pasternak shear layer. The properties of the material graded for the plates are supposed to vary smoothly, with the power and the exponential law, in the z-direction. By based on Hamilton's principle, we derive the governing equations of FG plates resting on an elastic foundation, which are then solved analytically to obtain the dispersion relations. Numerical results are presented in the form of graphs and tables to demonstrate the effectiveness of the current quasi-3D theory and to analyze the effect of the elastic foundation on wave propagation in FG plates.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.151-162
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• 2017

In practical engineering, the friction damper is a widely used energy dissipation device because of its large deformation capacity, stable energy dissipation capability, and cost effectiveness. While based on conventional friction dampers, the double-sliding friction damper (DSFD) being proposed is different in that it features two sliding friction forces, i.e., small and large sliding friction forces, rather than a single-sliding friction force of ordinary friction dampers. The DSFD starts to deform when the force sustained exceeds the small-sliding friction force, and stops deforming when the deformation reaches a certain value. If the force sustained exceeds the large sliding friction force, it continues to deform. Such a double-sliding behavior is expected to endow structures equipped with the DSFD better performance in both small and large earthquakes. The configuration and working mechanism of the DSFD is described and analyzed. Quasi-static loading tests and finite element analyses were conducted to investigate its hysteretic behavior. Finally, time history analysis of the single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) and multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) systems were performed to investigate the seismic performance of DSFD-equipped structures. For the purpose of comparison, tests on systems equipped with conventional friction dampers were also performed. The proposed DSFD can be realized perfectly, and the DSFD-equipped structures provide better performances than those equipped with conventional friction dampers in terms of interstory drift and floor acceleration. In particular, for the MDOF system, the DSFD helps the structural system to have a uniform distributed interstory drift.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.667-683
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• 2009

FE model-based dynamic analysis has been widely used to predict the dynamic characteristics of civil structures. In a physical point of view, an FE model is unavoidably different from the actual structure as being formulated based on extremely idealized engineering drawings and design data. The conventional model updating methods such as direct method and sensitivity-based parameter estimation are not flexible for model updating of complex and large structures. Thus, it is needed to develop a model updating method applicable to complex structures without restriction. The main objective of this paper is to present the model updating method based on the hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) by combining the genetic algorithm as global optimization method and modified Nelder-Mead's Simplex method as local optimization method. This FE model updating method using HGA does not need the derivation of derivative function related to parameters and without application of complicated inverse analysis methods. In order to allow its application on diversified and complex structures, a commercial FEA tool is adopted to exploit previously developed element library and analysis algorithms. Moreover, an output-level objective function making use of measurement and analytical results is also presented to update simultaneously the stiffness and mass of the analysis model. The numerical examples demonstrated that the proposed method based on HGA is effective for the updating of the FE model of bridge structures.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.493-506
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• 2017

Wind-induced response behavior of long-span roof structures is very complicated, showing significant contributions of multiple vibration modes. The largest load effects in a huge number of members should be considered for the sake of the equivalent static wind loads (ESWLs). Studies on essential matters and necessary conditions of the universal ESWLs are discussed. An efficient method for universal ESWLs on long-span roof structures is proposed. The generalized resuming forces including both the external wind loads and inertial forces are defined. Then, the universal ESWLs are given by a combination of eigenmodes calculated by proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) analysis. Firstly, the least squares method is applied to a matrix of eigenmodes by using the influence function. Then, the universal ESWLs distribution is obtained which reproduces the largest load effects simultaneously. Secondly, by choosing the eigenmodes of generalized resuming forces as the basic loading distribution vectors, this method becomes efficient. Meanwhile, by using the constraint equations, the universal ESWLs becomes reasonable. Finally, reproduced largest load effects by load-response-correlation (LRC) ESWLs and universal ESWLs are compared with the actual largest load effects obtained by the time domain response analysis for a long-span roof structure. The results demonstrate the feasibility and usefulness of the proposed universal ESWLs method.