• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.507-521
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• 1997

The ultimate behavior of a reinforced concrete hyperbolic paraboloid saddle shell under uniformly distributed vertical load is investigated using an inelastic, large displacement finite-element program originally developed at North Carolina State University. Unlike with the author's previous study which shows that the saddle shell possesses a tremendous capacity to redistribute the stresses, introducing tension stiffening in the model the cracks developed are no longer through cracks and formed as primarily bending cracks. Even though with small tension stiffening effect, the behavior of the shell is changed markedly from the one without tension stiffening effect. The load-deflection curves are straight and the slope of the curves is quite steep and remains unchanged with varying the tension stiffening parameters. The failure of the shell took place quite suddenly in a cantilever mode initiated by a formation of yield lines in a direction parallel to the support-to-support diagonal. The higher the tension stiffening parameters the higher is the ultimate load. The present study shows that the ultimate behavior of the shell primarily depends on the concrete tensile characteristics, such as tensile strength (before cracking) and the effective tension stiffening (after cracking). As the concrete characteristics would vary over the life of the shell, a degree of uncertainty is involved in deciding a specified ultimate strength of the saddle shell studied. By the present study, however, the overload factors based on ACI 318-95 are larger than unity for all the cases studied except that the tension stiffening parameter is weak by 3 with and without the large displacement effect, which shows that the Lin-Scordelis saddle shell studied here is at least safe.

• Laser Solutions
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.25-36
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• 2004

This study was performed to clarification of the formation of weld discontinuities in the dissimilar laser fusion zone. Welding parameters were beam power of 1300, 1430, 1560, and 1700 W and travel speed of 1, 1.3, and 1.7 m/min. Most cavities in the fusion zone were observed near the tip. Cavities in the fusion zone observed to be formed and grown from pores in the tip. More cavities were formed as the beam position moves to the tip side. Small cavities were decreased but large cavities were increased when the energy input increased. W content in the fusion zone was increased with heat input and as the beam position close to the tip. In the fusion zone, W content in the dendrite boundary was increased with heat input. Considering the propagation path and fracture morphology, cracks were solidification cracking, and were initiated and propagated along the dendrite boundaries. The formation of cracks might be related with the W rich ${\mu}$ phase which was formed in the grain boundaries and dendrite boundaries.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.131-147
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• 2013

In this paper, constraint-based fracture mechanics analyses of hollow cylinders with internal circumferential crack under tensile loading are conducted. Finite element analyses of the cracked cylinders are carried out to determine the fracture parameters including elastic T-stresses, and fully-plastic J-integrals. Linear elastic finite element analysis is conducted to obtain the T-stresses, and elastic-plastic analysis is conducted to obtain the fully plastic J-integrals. A wide range of cylinder geometries are studied, with cylinder radius ratios of $r_i/r_o$ = 0.2 to 0.8 and crack depth ratio a/t = 0.2 to 0.8. Fully plastic J-integrals are obtained for Ramberg-Osgood power law hardening material of n = 3, 5 and 10. These fracture parameters are then used to construct conventional and constraint-based failure assessment diagrams (FADs) to determine the maximum load carrying capacity of cracked cylinders. It is demonstrated that these tensile loaded cylinders with circumferential cracks are under low constraint conditions, and the load carrying capacity are higher when the low constraint effects are properly accounted for, using constraint-based FADs, comparing to the predictions from the conventional FADs.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.323-331
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• 2019

The presence of defects in nature changes the physical parameters of the rock. In this paper, by studying the rock-like specimens with conjugated fractures, the horizontal angle and length are changed, and the physical parameters and failure modes of the specimens under uniaxial compression test are analyzed and compared with the results of simulation analysis. The experimental results show that the peak strength and failure mode of the rock-like specimens are closely related to the horizontal angle. When the horizontal angle is $45^{\circ}$, the maximum value is reached and the tensile failure mode is obtained. The fracture length affects the germination and propagation path of the cracks. It is of great significance to study the failure modes and mechanical properties of conjugated fracture rock-like specimens to guide the support of fractured rock on site.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.4
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• pp.417-426
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• 2019

Buckling is one of the major causes of failure in thin-walled plate members and the presence of cracks with different lengths and locations in such structures may adversely affect this phenomenon. This study focuses on the buckling stability assessment of centrally and non-centrally cracked plates with small-, intermediate-, and large-size cracks, and different aspect ratios as well as support conditions, subjected to uniaxial compression. To this end, numerical models of the cracked plates were created through singular finite element method using a computational code developed in MATLAB. Eigen-buckling analyses were also performed to study the stability behavior of the plates. The numerical results and findings of this research demonstrate the effectiveness of the crack length and location on the buckling capacity of thin plates; however, the degree of efficacy of these parameters in plates with various aspect ratios and support conditions is found to be significantly different. Overall, careful consideration of the aspect ratio, support conditions, and crack parameters in buckling analysis of plates is crucial for efficient stability design and successful application of such thin-walled members.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.351-360
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• 2020

Monitoring civil structures periodically is necessary for ensuring the fitness of the structures. Cracks on inner and outer surfaces of the building plays a vital role in indicating the health of the building. Conventionally, human visual inspection techniques were carried up to human reachable altitudes. Monitoring of high rise infrastructures cannot be done using this primitive method. Also, there is a necessity for more accurate prediction of cracks on building surfaces for ensuring the health and safety of the building. The proposed research focused on developing an efficient crack classification model using Transfer Learning enabled EfficientNet (TL-EN) architecture. Though many other pre-trained models were available for crack classification, they rely on more number of training parameters for better accuracy. The TL-EN model attained an accuracy of 0.99 with less number of parameters on large dataset. A bench marked METU dataset with 40000 images were used to test and validate the proposed model. The surfaces of high rise buildings were investigated using vision enabled Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAV). These UAV is fabricated with TL-EN model schema for capturing and analyzing the real time streaming video of building surfaces.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.688-706
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• 2024

Austenitic stainless steels (ASS) are extensively employed in various sectors such as nuclear, power, petrochemical, oil and gas because of their excellent structural strength and resistance to corrosion. SS304 and SS316 are the predominant choices for piping, pressure vessels, heat exchangers, nuclear reactor core components and support structures, but they are susceptible to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in chloride-rich environments. Over the course of several decades, extensive research efforts have been directed towards evaluating SCC using diverse methodologies and models, albeit some uncertainties persist regarding the precise progression of cracks. This review paper focuses on the application of Acoustic Emission Technique (AET) for assessing SCC damage mechanism by monitoring the dynamic acoustic emissions or inelastic stress waves generated during the initiation and propagation of cracks. AET serves as a valuable non-destructive technique (NDT) for in-service evaluation of the structural integrity within operational conditions and early detection of critical flaws. By leveraging the time domain and time-frequency domain techniques, various Acoustic Emission (AE) parameters can be characterized and correlated with the multi-stage crack damage phenomena. Further theories of the SCC mechanisms are elucidated, with a focus on both the dissolution-based and cleavage-based damage models. Through the comprehensive insights provided here, this review stands to contribute to an enhanced understanding of SCC damage in stainless steels and the potential AET application in nuclear industry.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.79-93
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• 2013

One of the biggest problems affecting bridges is the transverse cracking and deterioration of concrete bridge decks. The causes of early age cracking are primarily attributed to plastic shrinkage, temperature effects, autogenous shrinkage, and drying shrinkage. The cracks can be influenced by material characteristics, casting sequence, formwork, climate conditions, geometry, and time dependent factors. The cracking of bridge decks not only creates unsightly aesthetic condition but also greatly reduces durability. It leads to a loss of functionality, loss of stiffness, and ultimately loss of structural safety. This investigation consists of field, laboratory, and analytical phases. The experimental and field testing investigate the early age transverse cracking of bridge decks and evaluate the use of sealant materials. The research identifies suitable materials, for crack sealing, with an ability to span cracks of various widths and to achieve performance criteria such as penetration depth, bond strength, and elongation. This paper also analytically examines the effect of a wide range of parameters on the development of cracking such as the number of spans, the span length, girder spacing, deck thickness, concrete compressive strength, dead load, hydration, temperature, shrinkage, and creep. The importance of each parameter is identified and then evaluated. Also, the AASHTO Standard Specification limits liveload deflections to L/800 for ordinary bridges and L/1000 for bridges in urban areas that are subject to pedestrian use. The deflection is found to be an important parameter to affect cracking. A set of recommendations to limit the transverse deck cracks in bridge decks is also presented.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.191-204
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• 2015

Control of the mechanical behavior of composite materials and structures under monotonic and dynamic loads for cracks and damage is a vast and complex area of research. The modeling of the different physical phenomena and behavior characteristics of a composite material during deformation play an important role in the structural design. Our study aims to analyze numerically the energy release rate parameter G of a composite laminated plate (glass or boron / epoxy) cross-ply [$+{\alpha}$, $-{\alpha}$] in the presence of a crack between two circular notches under the effect of several parameters such as fiber orientation ${\alpha}$, the crack orientation ${\beta}$, the orientation ${\gamma}$ of the two considered circular notches and the effect of mechanical properties. Our results show clearly that both notches orientation has more effect on G than the cracks and fibers orientations.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.121-129
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• 2006

This study look into the mechanisms of growth and magnification of the cracks and delamination in the pre-cracked RC beams repaired with carbon fiber sheets. The experimental parameters were loading type, loading speed and crack. In the experiments, it was confirmed that a failure of beams began with development and propagation of the stepped delamination in the below the loading point due to the rapid change of shear force, but mechanisms of the failure were not influenced with loading type, loading speed and pre-cracks. Particularly, in the case of beams having the pre-cracks, growth of crack concentrated at the special crack below the loading point and led to failure of the beam by delamination due to magnification of crack.