• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.73-80
• /
• 2013

The dynamic characteristics of west coast sand were investigated in order to evaluate the design properties of the offshore wind turbine foundations to be constructed in the West Sea. Torsional shear tests were performed at different confining pressures and densities on specimens constituted by the dry fluviation method. The strain-dependent shear modulus and damping curves were obtained, together with modulus degradation curves. The results show that the confining pressure is more influential on the dynamic characteristics of the sand than the density. It was also found that the dynamic curves from this study were similar to those proposed by others. The modulus degradation ratio $G/G_{1st}$ varies slightly at a small strain level, but increases significantly once beyond the intermediate strain level.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.487-504
• /
• 2013

In the present work a new friction device, with a set of single or double rotational friction flanges and a link element, is described and tested. The mechanism may be applied for the strengthening of existing r/c or steel buildings as well as in new constructed buildings. The device has selectable variable behavior in different levels of displacement and an interlock mechanism that is provided by the link element. The link element may be designed to lock at preselected level of displacement, offering in this way an extra safety reserve against strong earthquakes. A summary of the existing literature about other similar mechanisms is initially presented in this paper. The proposed mechanism is presented and described in details. Laboratory experiments are presented in detail and the resulted response that proves the efficiency of the mechanism at selectable levels of strength capacity is discussed. Drawings of the mechanism attached to a r/c frame with connection details are also included. Finally a dynamic analysis of two r/c frames, with and without the proposed mechanism attached, is performed and the resulted response is given. The main conclusion is that the proposed mechanism is a cheap and efficient devise for the improvement of the performance of new or existing framed buildings to seismic loads.

• International journal of steel structures
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.1666-1683
• /
• 2018

To explore seismic behavior of blind bolted concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) frames infilled with precast sandwich composite wall panels (SCWPs), a series tests of blind bolted square CFST frames with precast SCWPs under lateral low-cyclic loading were conducted. The influence of the type of wall concrete, wall-to-frame connection and steel brace setting, etc. on the hysteretic curves and failure modes of the type of composite structure was investigated. The seismic behavior of the blind bolted CFST frames with precast SCWPs was evaluated in terms of lateral load-displacement relation curves, strength and stiffness degradation, crack patterns of SCWPs, energy dissipation capacity and ductility. Then, a finite element (FE) analysis modeling using ABAQUS software was developed in considering the nonlinear material properties and complex components interaction. Comparison indicated that the FE analytical results coincided well with the test results. Both the experimental and numerical results indicated that setting the external precast SCWPs could heighten the load carrying capacities and rigidities of the blind bolted CFST frames by using reasonable connectors between frame and SCWPs. These experimental studies and FE analysis would enable improvement in the practical design of the SCWPs in fabricated CFST structure buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.84 no.6
• /
• pp.823-829
• /
• 2022

This study considered the experimental parameters (Nano-graphene oxide reinforced polycarbonate, GFRP) under low-velocity impact load and vibration analysis. The effect of nano-graphene oxide (NGO) on a polycarbonate-based composite was studied. Two test procedures were adopted to obtain experimental results, vibration analysis. The mechanical tests were performed on damaged and non-damaged specimens to determine the damaging effect on the composite specimens. After the test was carried out, the effect of NGO was measured and damping factors were ascertained experimentally. 0. 2 wt% NGO was determined as the optimum amount that best affected the Vibration Analysis. The experiments revealed that the composite's damping properties were increased by adding the nanoparticles to 0.25 wt% and decreased slightly for the specimens with the highest nanoparticles content. Cyclic sinus loading was applied at a frequency of 3.5 Hz. This paper study the frequency effect of 3.5khz frequency damage on mechanical results. Found that high frequency will worthlessly affect the fatigue life in NGO/polycarbonate composite. In 3.5 Hz frequency, it was chosen to decrease the heat by frequency. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs were used to investigate the distribution of NGO on the polycarbonate matrix and revealed a homogeneous mixture of nano-composites and strong bonding between NGO and the polycarbonate which increased the damping properties and decreased vibration. Finally, experimental modal analysis was conducted after the high-velocity impact damage process to investigate the defect on the NGO polycarbonate composites.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.86 no.3
• /
• pp.417-430
• /
• 2023

As the key part in the reinforced concrete column-steel beam (RCS) frame, the beam-column joints are usually subjected the axial force, shear force and bending moment under seismic actions. With the aim to study the seismic behavior of RCS joints with and without RC slab, the quasi-static cyclic tests results, including hysteretic curves, slab crack development, failure mode, strain distributions, etc. were discussed in detail. It is shown that the composite action between steel beam and RC slab can significantly enhance the initial stiffness and loading capacity, but lead to a changing of the failure mode from beam flexural failure to the joint shear failure. Based on the analysis of shear failure mechanism, the calculation formula accounting for the influence of RC slab was proposed to estimate shear strength of RCS joint. In addition, the finite element model (FEM) was developed by ABAQUS and a series of parametric analysis model with RC slab was conducted to investigate the influence of the face plates thickness, slab reinforcement diameter, beam web strength and inner concrete strength on the shear strength of joints. Finally, the proposed formula in this paper is verified by the experiment and FEM parametric analysis results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.37-50
• /
• 2023

This paper presented an investigation into steel tubes encased high-strength concrete (STHC) composite walls, wherein steel tubes were embedded at the boundary elements of high-strength concrete walls. A series of cyclic loading tests was conducted to evaluate the failure pattern, hysteresis characteristics, load-bearing capacity, deformability, and strain distribution of STHC composite walls. The test results demonstrated that the bearing capacity and ductility of the STHC composite walls improved with the embedding of steel tubes at the boundary elements. An analytical method was then established to predict the flexural bearing capacity of the STHC composite walls, and the calculated results agreed well with the experimental values, with errors of less than 10%. Finally, a finite element modeling (FEM) was developed via the OpenSees program to analyze the mechanical performance of the STHC composite wall. The FEM was validated through test results; additionally, the influences of the axial load ratio, steel tube strength, and shear-span ratio on the mechanical properties of STHC composite walls were comprehensively investigated.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.87 no.4
• /
• pp.391-403
• /
• 2023

In this study, a new type of self-centering beam-column joint with tapered steel plate links is proposed. Firstly, mechanical property of the basic joint (with the prestressed steel strands only, to provide the self-centering ability) and the combined joint (with both the prestressed steel strands and tapered steel plate links, to provide self-centering and energy dissipation simultaneously) is theoretically analyzed. Then, three joints with different dimensions and combinations of tapered plate links are designed and tested through a series of quasi-static cyclic loading tests. Test results show that a nearly bilinear elastic moment-rotation relationship for the basic joint is obtained. With the addition of tapered steel plate links, typical flag-shape hysteretic curves are obtained, which indicates good self-centering and energy dissipating ability of the combined joint. By installing multiple tapered plate links, stiffness and bearing capacity of the beam-column joint can be enhanced. The theoretical moment-rotation relationships agree well with the test results. A simplified macro model of the proposed joint is developed using OpenSees, which simulates reasonably well its hysteretic behavior.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.237-252
• /
• 2023

The article describes the development of a novel dissipative bracing connection device (identified by the acronym DRBrC) for concentrically braced frames in steel and composite structures. The origins of the device trace back to the seminal work of Kelly, Skinner and Heine (1972), and, more directly related, to the PIN-INERD device, overcoming some of its limitations and greatly improving the replaceability characteristics. The connection device is composed of a rigid housing, connected to both the brace and the beam-column connection (or just the column), in which the axial force transfer is achieved by four-point bending of a dissipative pin. The experimental validation stages, presented in detail, consisted of a preliminary testing campaign, resulting in successive improvements of the original device design, followed by a systematic parametric testing campaign. That final campaign was devised to study the influence of the constituent materials (S235 and Stainless Steel, for the pin, and S355 and High Strength Steel, for the housing), of the geometry (four-point bending intermediate spans) and of the loading history (constant amplitude or increasing cyclic alternate). The main conclusions point to the most promising DRBrC device configurations, also presenting some suggestions in terms of the replaceability requirements.

• Coupled systems mechanics
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.503-517
• /
• 2023

Standard Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) approaches are based on pattern matching between two reconstructed volumes acquired at different stages. Such frameworks are limited by the number of scans (due to acquisition duration), and time-dependent phenomena can generally not be captured. Projection-based Digital Volume Correlation (P-DVC) measures displacement fields from series of 2D radiographs acquired at different angles and loadings, thus resulting in richer temporal sampling (compared to standard DVC). The sought displacement field is decomposed over a basis of separated variables, namely, temporal and spatial modes. This study utilizes an alternative route in which spatial modes are con-structed via scan-wise DVC, and thus only the temporal amplitudes are sought via P-DVC. This meth-od is applied to a glass fiber mat reinforced polymer specimen containing a machined notch, subjected to in-situ cyclic tension, and imaged via X-Ray Computed Tomography. Different temporal interpolations are exploited. It is shown that utilizing only one DVC displacement field (as spatial mode) was sufficient to properly capture the complex kinematics up to specimen failure.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.35-42
• /
• 2023

The purpose of this study is to experimentally analyze the seismic performance of column with RSB (Replaceable Steel Brace), a steel brace system with slot length as a variable. To evaluate the seismic performance of the RSB, three specimens were manufactured and subjected to cyclic loading tests. The length of the sliding slots were considered to be 5 mm and 10mm to enable the brace to resist the load from the initiation of flexural crack and shear crack. As a result of the test, the specimen reinforced with the RSB showed improved maximun load and effective stiffness, and energy dissipation capacity compared to the non-reinforced specimens. The specimens with 5mm sliding slot showed little difference in test result compared to the specimen with a 10mm sliding slot, indicating that the length of sliding slot has little influence on the effectiveness of RSB.