• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.617-630
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• 2010

Different types of moment resisting connections are commonly used to transfer the induced seismic moments between frame elements in an earthquake resisting structure. The local connection behavior may drastically affect the global seismic response of the structure. In this study, the finite element and experimental seismic investigations are implemented on two frequently used connection type to evaluate the local behavior and to reveal the failure modes. An alternative connection type is then proposed to eliminate the unfavorable brittle fracture modes resulted from probable poor welding quality. This will develop a reliable predefined ductile plastic mechanism forming away from the critical locations. Employing this technique, the structural reliability of the moment resisting connections shall be improved by achieving a controllable energy dissipation source in form of yielding of the cover plates.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.463-475
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• 2021

Desgagné and de Micheaux (2018) proposed an alternative univariate normality test to the Jarque-Bera test. The proposed statistic is based on the sample second power skewness and kurtosis while the Jarque-Bera statistic uses sample Pearson's skewness and kurtosis that are the third and fourth standardized sample moments, respectively. In this paper, we generalize their statistic to a multivariate version based on orthogonalization or an empirical standardization of data. The proposed multivariate statistic follows chi-squared distribution approximately. A simulation study shows that the proposed statistic has good control of type I error even for a very small sample size when critical values from the approximate distribution are used. It has comparable power to the multivariate version of the Jarque-Bera test with exactly the same idea of the orthogonalization. It also shows much better power for some mixed normal alternatives.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2015

Macroscopic hysteresis loops and microscopic magnetic moment distributions have been determined by a three-dimensional (3D) model for exchange-coupled Sm-Co/${\alpha}-Fe$/Sm-Co trilayers with in-plane collinear easy axes. These results are carefully compared with the popular one-dimensional (1D) micromagnetic models and recent experimental data. It is found that the results obtained from the two methods match very well, especially for the remanence and coercivity, justifying the calculations. Both nucleation and coercive fields decrease monotonically as the soft layer thickness $L^s$ increases while the largest maximum energy product (roughly 50 MGOe) occurs when the thicknesses of hard and soft layers are 5 nm and 15 nm, respectively. Moreover, the calculated angular distributions in the thickness direction for the magnetic moments are similar. Nevertheless, the calculated nucleation and pinning fields as well as the energy products by 3D OOMMF are systematically smaller than those given by the 1D model, due mainly to the stray fields at the corners of the films. These demagnetization fields help the magnetic moments at the corners to deviate from the previous saturation state and facilitate the nucleation. Such an effect enhances as $L^s$ increases. When the thicknesses of hard and soft layers are 10 nm and 20 nm, respectively, the pinning field difference is as large as 30%, while the nucleation fields have opposite signs.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.163-173
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• 2018

The design wind pressure for low-rise buildings in the ASCE 7-10 is defined by procedures that are categorized into the Main Wind Force-Resisting System (MWFRS) and the Components and Cladding (C&C). Some of these procedures were originally developed based on steel portal frames of industrial buildings, while the residential structures are a completely different structural system, most of which are designed as low-rise light-frame wood constructions. The purpose of this study is to discuss the rationality (or irrationality) of the extension of the wind loads calculated by the ASCE 7-10 to the light-frame wood residential buildings that represent the most vulnerable structures under extreme wind conditions. To serve this purpose, the same approach as used in the development of Chapter 28 of the ASCE 7-10 that envelops peak responses is adopted in the present study. Database-assisted design (DAD) methodology is used by applying the dynamic wind loads from Louisiana State University (LSU) database on a typical residential building model to assess the applicability of the standard by comparing the induced responses. Rather than the postulated critical member demands on the industrial building such as the bending moments at the knee, the maximum values at the critical points for wood frame buildings under wind loads are used as indicators for the comparison. Then, the critical members are identified through these indicators in terms of the displacement or the uplift force at connections and roof envelope. As a result, some situations for each of the ASCE 7 procedures yielding unconservative wind loads on the typical low-rise residential building are identified.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1440-1463
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• 2018

The Wagner coefficient is a key parameter used to describe the inelastic lateral-torsional buckling (LTB) behaviour of the I-beam, since even for a doubly-symmetric I-section with residual stress, it becomes a monosymmetric I-section due to the characteristics of the non-symmetrical distribution of plastic regions. However, so far no theoretical derivation on the energy equation and Wagner's coefficient have been presented due to the limitation of Vlasov's buckling theory. In order to simplify the nonlinear analysis and calculation, this paper presents a simplified mechanical model and an analytical solution for doubly-symmetric I-beams under pure bending, in which residual stresses and yielding are taken into account. According to the plate-beam theory proposed by the lead author, the energy equation for the inelastic LTB of an I-beam is derived in detail, using only the Euler-Bernoulli beam model and the Kirchhoff-plate model. In this derivation, the concept of the instantaneous shear centre is used and its position can be determined naturally by the condition that the coefficient of the cross-term in the strain energy should be zero; formulae for both the critical moment and the corresponding critical beam length are proposed based upon the analytical buckling equation. An analytical formula of the Wagner coefficient is obtained and the validity of Wagner hypothesis is reconfirmed. Finally, the accuracy of the analytical solution is verified by a FEM solution based upon a bi-modulus model of I-beams. It is found that the critical moments given by the analytical solution almost is identical to those given by Trahair's formulae, and hence the analytical solution can be used as a benchmark to verify the results obtained by other numerical algorithms for inelastic LTB behaviour.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.247-253
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• 2017

Accurate flood frequency and magnitude estimation has a critical role in flood risk management and damage reduction. In United States, Log Pearson Type-III (LP-III) distribution with method of moments for parameter estimation has been uniformly and consistently employed in estimating design floods. After the first version of flood frequency guidelines (Bulletin 15) was published in 1967, the revised version Bulletin 17B has been employed since 1982 up to now. A new version of flood frequency guidelines, Bulletin 17C, is prepared and about to come out soon. In the current study, we analyzed the new features of the upcoming Bulletin 17C and presented case studies applying its new features. From the presented results, we see what critical components in the new design flood frequency guideline we could learn.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.471-487
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• 2004

Modular steel scaffolds are commonly used as supporting scaffolds in building construction, and traditionally, the load carrying capacities of these scaffolds are obtained from limited full-scale tests with little rational design. Structural failure of these scaffolds occurs from time to time due to inadequate design, poor installation and over-loads on sites. In general, multi-storey modular steel scaffolds are very slender structures which exhibit significant non-linear behaviour. Hence, secondary moments due to both $P-{\delta}$ and $P-{\Delta}$ effects should be properly accounted for in the non-linear analyses. Moreover, while the structural behaviour of these scaffolds is known to be very sensitive to the types and the magnitudes of restraints provided from attached members and supports, yet it is always difficult to quantify these restraints in either test or practical conditions. The problem is further complicated due to the presence of initial geometrical imperfections in the scaffolds, including both member out-of-straightness and storey out-of-plumbness, and hence, initial geometrical imperfections should be carefully incorporated. This paper presents an extensive numerical study on three different approaches in analyzing and designing multi-storey modular steel scaffolds, namely, a) Eigenmode Imperfection Approach, b) Notional Load Approach, and c) Critical Load Approach. It should be noted that the three approaches adopt different ways to allow for the non-linear behaviour of the scaffolds in the presence of initial geometrical imperfections. Moreover, their suitability and accuracy in predicting the structural behaviour of modular steel scaffolds are discussed and compared thoroughly. The study aims to develop a simplified and yet reliable design approach for safe prediction on the load carrying capacities of multi-storey modular steel scaffolds, so that engineers can ensure safe and effective use of these scaffolds in building construction.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.395-402
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• 2007

Probabilistic risk assessment was conducted on a hybrid cable-stayed bridge consisting of a steel-composite plate girder and a concrete girder with a long span, designed using the working stress design and strength design methods. The component reliabilities of the bridge's cables, pylons, girders, and steel-concrete conjunction were evaluated using the AFOSM(Advanced First Order Second Moment) algorithm and the simulation technique at the critical sections, based on the maximum axial force, shear, and positive and negative moments of the selected sections. For the analysis of system reliability, the hybrid cable-stayed bridge consisting of cables, pylons, and plate girders was modeled into combined failure modes, and for system reliability, the probabilities of failure and reliability index of the structural system were evaluated. Based on the results of this study, the critical failure modes of the hybrid cable-stayed bridge based on the bridge's structural characteristics are suggested, and the efficiency of the partial ETA technique for use in the risk assessment method was confirmed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.259-274
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• 2003

In this paper, a novel numerical solution technique, the differential cubature method is employed to study the buckling problems of thick plates with arbitrary quadrilateral planforms and non-uniform boundary constraints based on the first order shear deformation theory. By using this method, the governing differential equations at each discrete point are transformed into sets of linear homogeneous algebraic equations. Boundary conditions are implemented through discrete grid points by constraining displacements, bending moments and rotations of the plate. Detailed formulation and implementation of this method are presented. The buckling parameters are calculated through solving a standard eigenvalue problem by subspace iterative method. Convergence and comparison studies are carried out to verify the reliability and accuracy of the numerical solutions. The applicability, efficiency, and simplicity of the present method are demonstrated through solving several sample plate buckling problems with various mixed boundary constraints. It is shown that the differential cubature method yields comparable numerical solutions with 2.77-times less degrees of freedom than the differential quadrature element method and 2-times less degrees of freedom than the energy method. Due to the lack of published solutions for buckling of thick rectangular plates with mixed edge conditions, the present solutions may serve as benchmark values for further studies in the future.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.357-371
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• 2016

Column base connections are critical components in steel structures because they transfer axial forces, shear forces and moments to the foundation. Exposed column bases are quite commonly used in low- to medium-rise buildings. To investigate shear transfer in exposed column base plates, four large scale specimens were subjected to a combination of axial load (compression or tension) and lateral shear deformations. The main parameters examined experimentally include the number of anchor rod, arrangement of anchor rod, type of lateral loading, and axial force ratio. It is observed that the shear resisting mechanism of exposed column base changed as the axial force changed. When the axial force is in compression, the resisting mechanism is rotation type, and the shear force will be resisted by friction force between base plate and mortar layer. The specimens could sustain inelastic deformation with minimal strength deterioration up to column rotation angle of 3%. The moment resistance and energy dissipation will be increased as the number of anchor rods increased. Moreover, moment resistance could be further increased if the anchor rods were arranged in details. When the axial force is in tension, the resisting mechanism is slip type, and the shear force will be resisted by the anchor rods. And the shear resistance was reduced significantly when the axial force was changed from compression to tension. The test results indicated that the current design approach could estimate the moment resistance within reasonable acceptance, but overestimate the shear resistance of exposed column base.