• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.60 no.3
• /
• pp.471-488
• /
• 2016

This study predicts the strength of rotary brace damper by analyzing a new set of probabilistic models using the usual method of multiple linear regressions (MLR) and advanced machine-learning methods of multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), Rotary brace damper can be easily assembled with high energy-dissipation capability. To investigate the behavior of this damper in structures, a steel frame is modeled with this device subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading. Several response parameters are considered, and the performance of damper in reducing each response is evaluated. MLR and MARS methods were used to predict the strength of this damper. Displacement was determined to be the most effective parameter of damper strength, whereas the thickness did not exhibit any effect. Adding thickness parameter as inputs to MARS and MLR models did not increase the accuracies of the models in predicting the strength of this damper. The MARS model with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.127 and mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.090 performed better than the MLR model with an RMSE of 0.221 and MAE of 0.181.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.719-734
• /
• 2018

Prior to the introduction of modern seismic guidelines, it was a common practice to provide straight bar anchorage for beam bottom reinforcement of gravity load designed building. Exterior joints with straight bar anchorages for beam bottom reinforcements are susceptible to sudden anchorage failure under load reversals and hence require systematic seismic upgradation. Hence in the present study, an attempt is made to upgrade exterior beam-column sub-assemblage of a three storied gravity load designed (GLD) building with single steel haunch. Analytical formulations are presented for evaluating the haunch forces in single steel haunch retrofit. Influence of parameters that affect the efficacy and effectiveness of the single haunch retrofit are also discussed. The effectiveness of the single haunch retrofit for enhancing seismic performance of GLD beam-column specimen is evaluated through experimental investigation under reverse cyclic loading. The single steel haunch retrofit had succeeded in preventing the anchorage failure of beam bottom bars of GLD specimen, delaying the joint shear damage and partially directing the damage towards the beam. A remarkable improvement in the load carrying capacity of the upgraded GLD beam-column sub-assemblage is observed. Further, a tremendous improvement in the energy dissipation of about 2.63 times that of GLD specimen is observed in the case of upgraded GLD specimen. The study also underlines the efficacy of single steel haunch retrofit for seismic upgradation of deficient GLD structures.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.391-405
• /
• 2020

The use of passive energy dissipation devices has been widely used in the construction industry to minimize the probability of damage occurred under intense ground motion. In this study, collapse margin ratio (CMR) and fragility curves are the main parameters in the assessment to characterize the collapse safety of the structures. The assessment is done on three types of RC frame structures, incorporating three types of dampers, viscoelastic, friction, and BRB dampers. The Incremental dynamic analyses (IDA) were performed by simulating an array of 20 strong ground motion (SGM) records considering both far-field and near-field seismic scenarios that were followed by fragility curves. With respect to far-field ground motion records, the CMR values of the selected frames indicate to be higher and reachable to safety margin more than those under near-field ground motion records that introduce a high devastating impact on the structures compared to far-field excitations. This implies that the near field impact affects the ground movements at the site by attenuation the direction and causing high-frequency filtration. Besides that, the results show that the viscoelastic damper gives better performance for the structures in terms of reducing the damages compared to the other energy dissipation devices during earthquakes.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.228-236
• /
• 2018

The performance of a porous swash bulkhead for the reduction of the resonant liquid motion in a swaying rectangular tank was investigated based on the assumption of linear potential theory. The Galerkin method (Porter and Evans, 1995) was used to solve the potential flow model by adding a viscous frictional damping term to the free-surface condition. By comparing the experimental results and the analytical solutions, we verified that the frictional damping coefficient was 0.4. Darcy's law was used to consider the energy dissipation at a porous bulkhead. The tool that was developed with a built-in frictional damping coefficient of 0.4 was confirmed by small-scale experiments. Using this tool, the free-surface elevation, hydrodynamic force (added mass, damping coefficient) on a wall, and the horizontal load on a bulkhead were assessed for various combinations of porosity and submergence depth. It was found that the vertical porous bulkhead can suppress sloshing motions significantly when properly designed and by selecting the appropriate porosity(${\approx}0.1$) and submergence depth.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.45-61
• /
• 2016

The domestic and foreign scholars conducted many studies on mechanical properties of wave web steel beam and high-strength spiral stirrups confined concrete columns. Based on the previous research work, studies were conducted on the anti-seismic property of the end plate bolt connected wave web steel beam and high-strength spiral stirrups confined concrete column nodes applied with pre-tightening force. Four full-size node test models in two groups were designed for low-cycle repeated loading quasi-static test. Through observation of the stress, distortion, failure process and failure mode of node models, analysis was made on its load-carrying capacity, deformation performance and energy dissipation capacity, and the reliability of the new node was verified. The results showed that: under action of the beam-end stiffener, the plastic hinges on the end of wave web steel beam are displaced outward and played its role of energy dissipation capacity. The study results provided reliable theoretical basis for the engineering application of the new types of nodes.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.38 no.10
• /
• pp.1200-1205
• /
• 2014

The effect of nanofluids on the heat transfer performance of a pulsating heat pipe has been experimentally investigated. Water-based diamond nanofluid and aluminium oxide ($Al_2O_3$) nanofluid were tested in the concentration range of 0.5-5%. The pulsating heat pipe was constructed using clear Pyrex tubes of 1.85 mm in inner diameter in order to visualize the pulsating action. The total number of turns was eight each for heated and cooled parts. The supply temperatures of heating water and cooling water were fixed at $80^{\circ}C$ and $25^{\circ}C$ respectively. The liquid charging ratio of the nanofluid was 50-70%. The test results showed that the case of 5% concentration of diamond nanofluid showed 18% increase in heat transfer rate compared to pure water. The case of 0.5% concentration of $Al_2O_3$ nanofluid showed 24% increase in heat transfer rate compared to pure water. But the increase of $Al_2O_3$ nanofluid concentration up to 3% did not show further enhancement in heat transfer. It is also observed that the deposited nanoparticles on the tube wall played a major role in enhanced evaporation of working fluid and this could be the reason for the enhancement of heat transfer by a nanofluid, not the enhanced thermal conductivity of the nanofluid.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.253-267
• /
• 2014

Based on the test on a 1/2.5-scaled model of a two-bay and three-story inner frame composed of reinforced concrete beams and lattice steel reinforced concrete (SRC) irregular section columns under low cyclic reversed loading, the failure process and the features of the frame were observed. The subsequence of plastic hinges of the structure, the load-displacement hysteresis loops and the skeleton curve, load bearing capacity, inter-story drift ratio, ductility, energy dissipation and stiffness degradation were analyzed. The results show that the lattice SRC inner frame is a typical strong column-weak beam structure. The hysteresis loops are spindle-shaped, and the stiffness degradation is insignificant. The elastic-plastic inter-story deformation capacity is high. Compared with the reinforced concrete frame with irregular section columns, the ductility and energy dissipation of the structure are better. The conclusions can be referred to for seismic design of this new kind of structure.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.8 no.6
• /
• pp.1277-1297
• /
• 2015

Post-tensioned precast segmental bridge columns have shown high level of strength and ductility, and low residual displacement, which makes them suffer minor damage after earthquake loading; however, there is still lack of confidence on their lateral response against severe seismic loading due in part to their low energy dissipation capacity. This study investigates the influence of major design factors such as post-tensioning force level, strands position, columns aspect ratio, steel jacket and mild steel ratio on seismic performance of self-centring segmental bridge columns in terms of lateral strength, residual displacement and lateral peak displacement. Seismic analyses show that increasing the continuous mild steel ratio improves the lateral peak displacement of the self-centring columns at different levels of post-tensioning (PT) forces. Such an increase in steel ratio reduces the residual drift in segmental columns with higher aspect ratio more considerably. Suggestions are proposed for the design of self-centring segmental columns with various aspect ratios at different target drifts.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.261-273
• /
• 2012

This study proposes and examines a circular composite bridge pier for seismic resistance. The axial and flexural strengths of the proposed bridge pier are provided by the longitudinal reinforcing bars and the concrete, while the transverse reinforcements used in the conventional reinforced concrete pier are replaced by the steel tube. The shear strength of this composite pier relies on the steel tube and the concrete. This system is similar to the steel jacketing method which strengthens the existing reinforced concrete bridge piers. However, no transverse shear reinforcing bar is used in the proposed composite bridge pier. A series of experimental studies is conducted to investigate the seismic resistant characteristics of the proposed circular composite pier. The effects of the longitudinal reinforcing bars, the shear span-to-diameter ratio, and the thickness of the steel tube on the performance of strength, ductility, and energy dissipation of the proposed pier are discussed. The experimental results show that the strength of the proposed circular composite bridge pier can be predicted accurately by the similar method used in the reinforced concrete piers with minor modification. From these experimental studies, it is found that the proposed circular composite bridge pier not only simplifies the construction work greatly but also provides excellent ductility and energy dissipation capacity under seismic lateral force.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.405-420
• /
• 2014

This paper examines the nonlinear behaviour of corrugated steel plate shear walls under lateral pushover load. One of the innovations in these types of walls which have used in recent years is the use of the corrugated steel shear walls rather un-stiffness plates. In the last decades many experimental studies have been done on the on the corrugated steel shear walls. A finite element analysis that includes both material and geometric nonlinearities is employed for the investigation. A comparison is made between the behaviour of steel shear walls with sinusoidal corrugated plate and trapezoidal corrugated plate. The effects of parameters such as the thickness of the corrugated plate, the corrugation depth in the corrugated plates and the corrugation length of the infill of the corrugated plates, are investigated. The results of this study have demonstrated that in the wall with constant dimensions, the trapezoidal plates have higher energy dissipation, ductility and ultimate bearing than sinusoidal waves, while decreasing the steel material consumption.