• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.209-219
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• 2022

Offshore platforms in seismically active areas must be designed to survive in the face of intense earthquakes without a global structural collapse. This paper scrutinizes the seismic performance of a newly designed and established jacket type offshore platform situated in the entrance of the Gulf of Suez region based on the API-RP2A normalized response spectra during seismic events. A nonlinear finite element model of a typical jacket type offshore platform is constructed taking into consideration the effect of structure-soil-interaction. Soil properties at the site were manipulated to generate the pile lateral soil properties in the form of load deflection curves, based on API-RP2A recommendations. Dynamic characteristics of the offshore platform, the response function, output power spectral density and transfer functions for different elements of the platform are discussed. The joints deflection and acceleration responses demands are presented. It is generally concluded that consideration of the interaction between structure, piles and soil leads to higher deflections and less stresses in platform elements due to soil elasticity, nonlinearity, and damping and leads to a more realistic platform design. The earthquake-based analysis for offshore platform structure is essential for the safe design and operation of offshore platforms.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.375-388
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• 2022

In this work, limit elastic speed analysis of functionally graded porous rotating disks has been reported. The work proposes an effective approach for modeling the mechanical properties of a porous functionally graded rotating disk. Four different types of porosity models namely: uniform, symmetric, inner maximum, and outer maximum distribution are considered. The approach used is the variational principle, and the solution has been achieved using Galerkin's error minimization theory. The study aims to investigate the effect of grading indices, aspect ratio, porosity volume fraction, and porosity types on limit angular speed for uniform and variable disk geometries of constant mass. To validate the current study, finite element analysis has been used, and there is good agreement between the two methods. The study yielded a decrease in limit speed as grading indices and aspect ratio increase. The porosity volume fraction is found to be more significant than the aspect ratio effect. The research demonstrates a range of operable speeds for porous and non-porous disk profiles that can be used in industries as design data. The results show a significant increase in limit speed for an exponential disk when compared to other disk profiles, and thus, the study demonstrates a range of FG-based structures for applications in industries that will not only save material (lightweight structures) but also improve overall performance.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.661-672
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• 2022

The solution of contact problems is extremely important as we encounter many situations involving such problems in our daily lives. One of the most important parameters effective in solving contact problems is the materials of the parts in contact. While it is relatively easy to solve the contact mechanics of the systems created with traditional materials with a homogeneous microstructure and mechanical distribution, it may be more difficult to solve the contact problem of new generation materials that do not show a homogeneous distribution. As a result of this situation, it is seen that studies on contact problems of materials that do not exhibit such a homogeneous internal structure and mechanical properties are extremely limited in the literature. In this context, in this study, analytical and numerical analyzes of a contact problem created using functionally graded materials were carried out and the results were evaluated mutually. It has been decided that the contact areas and contact pressures acquired from numerical method are reasonably appropriate with the results obtained from the analytical method.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.887-898
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• 2021

This paper presents a simplified model to capture the nonlinear behavior of steel frames depending on the spread of plasticity method. New interaction formulae were derived to evaluate the plastic strength for I-shaped steel sections under uniaxial bending moment and axial compression load. Also, new empirical formulae were derived to evaluate the tangent stiffness modulus of steel I-shaped cross-sections considering the effect of the residual stresses suggested by the specifications in European Convention for Construction Steelworks (ECCS). The secant stiffness which depends on the tangent modulus is used to evaluate the internal forces. Based on stiffness matrix method, a finite element analysis program was developed for the nonlinear analysis of space steel frames using the derived formulae. Comparison between the proposed model results with those given by the fiber model shows very good agreement. Numerical examples were introduced to verify, check the accuracy, and evaluate the efficiency of the proposed model. The analysis results show that the new proposed model is accurate and able to minimize the solution time.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.419-429
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• 2022

In response to the sustainability requirements set in the EU Commission's "Green Deal" towards reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions, it is estimated that the structural design for deconstruction is going to contribute considerably to the sustainable development of the built environment. The demountability of multi-material structural systems basically depends on the shear connectors used in the structural system. This paper focuses on a type of demountable injected shear connector with an injected steel-reinforced resin (iSRR) which consists of spherical steel particles embedded in a resin. Its application to steel-to-concrete and steel-to-Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) decks is presented along with its benefits. In parallel, an overview of the experimental and numerical research on the evaluation of the mechanical properties of the demountable bolted connectors with iSRR is discussed. Last, detailed finite element (FE) models and a parametric study are performed to quantify the confinement level of the SRR material influenced by the oversized hole diameter.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.625-637
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• 2022

Axial compression capacity (P_u) is a significant yet complex parameter of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns. This study offers a novel ensemble tool, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) supervised by equilibrium optimization (EO), for accurately predicting this parameter. Moreover, grey wolf optimization (GWO) and Harris hawk optimizer (HHO) are considered as comparative supervisors. The used data is taken from earlier literature provided by finite element analysis. ANFIS is trained by several population sizes of the EO, GWO, and HHO to detect the best configurations. At a glance, the results showed the competency of such ensembles for learning and reproducing the P_u behavior. In details, respective mean absolute errors along with correlation values of 4.1809% and 0.99564, 10.5947% and 0.98006, and 4.8947% and 0.99462 obtained for the EO-ANFIS, GWO-ANFIS, and HHO-ANFIS, respectively, indicated that the proposed EO-ANFIS can analyze and predict the behavior of CFST columns with the highest accuracy. Considering both time and accuracy, the EO provides the most efficient optimization of ANFIS and can be a nice substitute for experimental approaches.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.283-294
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• 2022

In this study, a new seismic retrofit scheme of building structures is developed by combining a steel moment frame and steel slit plates to be installed inside of an existing reinforced concrete frame. This device has the energy dissipation capability of slit dampers with slight loss of stiffness compared to the conventional steel frame reinforcement method. In order to investigate the seismic performance of the retrofit system, it was installed inside of a reinforced concrete frame and tested under cyclic loading. Finite element analysis was carried out for validation of the test results, and it was observed that the analysis and the test results match well. An analytical model was developed to apply the retrofit system to a commercial software to be used for seismic retrofit design of an example structure. The effectiveness of the retrofit scheme was investigated through nonlinear time-history response analysis (NLTHA). The cyclic loading test showed that the steel frame with slit dampers provides significant increase in strength and ductility to the bare structure. According to the analysis results of a case study building, the proposed system turned out to be effective in decreasing the seismic response of the model structure below the given target limit state.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.423-436
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• 2022

This paper proposes an innovative thin-walled square concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) column with an octagonal/circular lining steel tube, in which the outer steel tube and the inner liner are fabricated independently of each other and connected by slot-weld or self-tapping screw connections. Twelve thin-walled square CFST columns were tested under quasi-static loading, considering the parameters of liner type, connection type between the square tube and liner, yield strength of steel tube, and the axial load ratio. The seismic performance of the thin-walled square CFST columns is effectively improved by the octagonal and circular liners, and all the liner-stiffened specimens showed an excellent ductile behavior with the ultimate draft ratios being much larger than 1/50 and the ductility coefficients being generally higher than 4.0. The energy dissipation abilities of the specimens with circular liners and self-tapping screw connections were superior to those with octagonal liner and slot-weld connections. Based on the test results, both the finite element (FE) and simplified theoretical models were established, considering the post-buckling strength of the thin-walled square steel tube and the confinement effect of the liners, and the proposed models well predicted the hysteretic behavior of the liner-stiffened specimens.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.341-351
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• 2022

This paper presents an inelastic buckling behavior analysis of rectangular hollow steel tubes with geometrical imperfections under elevated temperatures. The main variables are the temperature loads, slenderness ratios, and exposure conditions at high temperatures. The material and structural properties of steels at different temperatures are based on Eurocode (EN 1993-1-2, 2005). In the elastic buckling analysis, the buckling strength decreases linearly with the exposure conditions, whereas the inelastic buckling analysis shows that the buckling strength decreases in clusters based on the exposure conditions of strong and weak axes. The buckling shape of the rectangular steel column in the elastic buckling mode, which depicts geometrical imperfection, shows a shift in the position at which bending buckling occurs when the lower section of the member is exposed to high temperatures. Furthermore, lateral torsional buckling occurs owing to cross-section deformation when the strong axial plane of the model is exposed to high temperatures. The elastic buckling analysis indicates a conservative value when the model is exposed to a relatively low temperature, whereas the inelastic buckling analysis indicates a conservative value at a certain temperature or higher. The comparative results between the inelastic buckling analysis and Eurocode 3 show that a range exists in which the buckling strength in the design equation result is overestimated at elevated temperatures, and the shapes of the buckling curves are different.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.747-759
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• 2021

Built-up Double-I (BD-I) columns have been commonly used for mid-rise steel-frame structures in Iran. These columns consist of two hot rolled IPE sections which are connected by two cover plates and fillet welds. Until 2017, BD-I columns were employed in intermediate moment resisting frames (MRF) using welded flange plate (WFP) connections. To evaluate the seismic behavior of the connections, four samples were made and tested based on cyclic loading according to AISC 341-16. It was concluded that typical samples cannot satisfy the seismic provisions related to intermediate MRFs. In contrast, the proposed connections retrofitted with two-part external diaphragms were able to satisfy not only the seismic requirements related to intermediate MRFs but also those related to special MRFs according to AISC. The numerical modeling of these samples was performed using ABAQUS finite element software. This study compared the hysteresis moment-rotation curves, plastic strains, and behavior modes in both experimental samples and numerical models.