• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.207-223
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• 2012

This paper deals with critical thermal buckling load optimization of symmetrically laminated four layered angle-ply plates with one or two different intermediate line supports. The design objective is the maximization of the critical thermal buckling load and a design variable is the fibre orientation in the layers. The first order shear deformation theory and nine-node isoparametric finite element model are used for the finite element solution of the laminates. The modified feasible direction (MFD) method is used for the optimization routine. For this purpose, a program based on FORTRAN is used. Finally, the numerical analysis is carried out to investigate the effects of location of the internal line supports, plate aspect ratios and boundary conditions on the optimal designs and the results are compared.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.231-244
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• 2001

The strengthening of reinforced concrete structures using externally bonded steel or advanced fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) composites is becoming increasingly common. A key factor affecting the behaviour and reliability of such strengthened structures is the bond strength between the steel or FRP plate and the concrete substrate. Several different experimental set-ups have previously been used to determine bond strength. This paper presents a careful finite element analysis of the stress distributions in these test set-ups. Results show that stress distributions can be significantly different for different set-ups, for similar materials and geometry.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.327-336
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• 2019

This paper presents geometrically nonlinear behavior of cracked fiber reinforced composite beams by using finite element method with and the first shear beam theory. Total Lagrangian approach is used in the nonlinear kinematic relations. The crack model is considered as the rotational spring which separate into two parts of beams. In the nonlinear solution, the Newton-Raphson is used with incremental displacement. The effects of fibre orientation angles, the volume fraction, the crack depth and locations of the cracks on the geometrically nonlinear deflections of fiber reinforced composite are examined and discussed in numerical results. Also, the difference between geometrically linear and nonlinear solutions for the cracked fiber reinforced composite beams.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.5
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• pp.687-704
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• 2023

This study aims to examine the structural response of glass fibre-reinforced polymer (Glass-FRP) reinforced geopolymer electronic waste aggregate concrete (GEWC) compression elements under axial compression for sustainable development. The research includes the fabrication of nine GEWC circular compression elements with different reinforcement ratios and a 3-D nonlinear finite element model using ABAQUS. The study involves a detailed parametric analysis to examine the impact of various parameters on the behavior of GEWC compression elements. The results indicate that reducing the vertical distance of glass-FRP ties improves the ductility of GEWC compression elements, and those with eight longitudinal rebars have higher axial load-carrying capacities. The finite element predictions were in good agreement with the testing results, and the put forwarded empirical model shows higher accuracy than previous models by involving the confinement effect of lateral glass-FRP ties on the axial strength of GEWC compression elements. This research work contributes to minimizing the carbon footprint of cement manufacturing and electronic waste materials for sustainable development.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.579-588
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• 2017

Creep and shrinkage are the main types of volume change with time in concrete. These changes cause deflection, cracking and stresses that affect durability, serviceability, long-term reliability and structural integrity of civil engineering infrastructure. Although laboratory test may be undertaken to determine the deformation properties of concrete, these are time-consuming, often expensive and generally not a practical option. Therefore, relatively simple empirically design code models are relied to predict the creep strain. This paper reviews the accuracy of creep and shrinkage predictions of reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls structures strengthened with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates, which is characterized by a widthwise varying fibre volume fraction. This review is yielded by three commonly used international "code type" models. The assessed are the: CEB-FIP MC 90 model, ACI 209 model and Bazant & Baweja (B3) model. The time-dependent behavior was investigated to analyze their seismic behavior. In the numerical formulation, the adherents and the adhesives are all modelled as shear wall elements, using the mixed finite element method. Several tests were used to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method. Numerical results from the present analysis are presented to illustrate the significance of the time-dependency of the lateral displacements and eigenfrequencies modes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.4
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• pp.551-561
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• 2022

In this paper, the effect of fire conditions according to ISO 834 standard on the behavior of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) reinforced steel beams coated with gypsum-based mortar has been investigated numerically. To study the efficiency of these beams, 3D coupled temperature-displacement finite element analyzes have been conducted. Mechanical and thermal characteristics of three different parts of composite beams, i.e., steel, CFRP plate, and fireproof coating, were considered as a function of temperature. The interaction between steel and CFRP plate has been simulated employing the adhesion model. The effect of temperature, CFRP plate reinforcement, and the fireproof coating thickness on the deformation of the beams have been analyzed. The results showed that within the first 120 min of fire exposure, increasing the thickness of the fireproof coating from 1 mm to 10 mm reduced the maximum temperature of the outer surface of the steel beam from 380℃ to 270℃. This increase in the thickness of the fireproof layer decreased the rate of growth in the temperature of the steel beam by approximately 30%. Besides excellent thermal resistance and gypsum-based mortar, the studied fireproof coating method could provide better fire resistance for steel structures and thus can be applied to building materials.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2006

Strengthening of existing old structures has traditionally been accomplished by using conventional materials and techniques, viz., externally bonded steel plates, steel or concrete jackets, etc. Alternatively, fibre reinforced polymer composite (FRPC) products started being used to overcome problems associated with conventional materials in the mid 1950s because of their favourable engineering properties. Effectiveness of FRPC materials has been demonstrated through extensive experimental research throughout the world in the last two decades. However there is a need to use refined analytical tools to simulate response of strengthened system. In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop a numerical model of strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beams with FRPC laminates. Material models for RC beams strengthened with FRPC laminates are described and verified through a nonlinear finite element (FE) commercial code, with the help of available experimental data. Three dimensional (3D) FE analysis has been performed by assuming perfect bonding between concrete and FRPC laminate. A parametric study has also been performed to examine effects of various parameters like fibre type, stirrup's spacing, etc. on the strengthening system. Through numerical simulation, it has been shown that it is possible to predict accurately the flexural response of RC beams strengthened with FRPC laminates by selecting an appropriate material constitutive model. Comparisons are made between the available experimental results in literature and FE analysis results obtained by the present investigators using load-deflection and load-strain plots as well as ultimate load of the strengthened beams. Furthermore, evaluation of crack patterns from FE analysis and experimental failure modes are discussed at the end.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.649-665
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• 2009

This paper reports part of a comprehensive research study conducted at the University of Queensland on the ability of CFRP web-bonded systems in strengthening an exterior beam-column joint subjected to monotonic loads. One 1/2.2 scaled plain and four CFRP repaired/retrofitted joints subjected to monotonic loads were analysed using the nonlinear finite-element program ANSYS and the results were calibrated against experiments. The ANSYS model was employed in order to account for tension stiffening in concrete after cracking and a modified version of the Hognestad's model was used to model the concrete compressive strength. The stress-strain properties of main steel bars were modelled using multilinear isotropic hardening model and the FRPs were modelled as anisotropic materials. A perfect bond was assumed as nodes were shared between adjacent elements irrespective of their type. Good agreement between the numerical predictions and the experimental observation of the failure mechanisms for all specimens were observed. Closeness of these results proved that the numerical analysis can be used by design engineers for the analysis of web-bonded FRP strengthened beam-column joints with confidence.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.267-282
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• 2013

This paper presents the behavior and design of axially loaded normal and steel fiber reinforced concrete in-filled steel tube (SFRCFT) columns, to examine the contribution of steel fibers on the compressive strength of the composite columns. Non-linear finite element analysis model (FEA) using ANSYS software has been developed and used in the analysis. The confinement effect provided by the steel tube is considered in the analysis. Comparisons of the analytical model results, along with other available experimental outputs from literature have been done to verify the structural model. The compressive strength and stiffness of SFRC composite columns were discussed, and the interpretation of the FEA model results has indicated that, the use of SFRC as infill material has a considerable effect on the strength and stiffness of the composite column. The analytical model results were compared with the existing design methods of composite columns - (EC4, AISC/LRFD and the Egyptian code of Practice for Steel Construction, ECPSC/LRFD). The comparison indicated that, the results of the FEA model were evaluated to an acceptable limit of accuracy. The code design equations were modified to introduce the steel fiber effect and compared with the results of the FEA model for verification.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.121-133
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• 1995

It is well known that two-dimensional simplified third-order theories satisfy the layer interface continuity of transverse shear strains, thus these theories violate the continuity of transverse shear stresses when two consecutive layers differ either in fibre orientation or material. The third-order theories considered herein involve four/or five dependent unknowns in the displacement field and satisfy the condition of vanishing of transverse shear stresses at the bounding planes of the plate. The objective of this investigation is to examine (i) the flexural response prediction accuracy of these third-order theories compared to exact elasticity solution (ii) the effect of layer interface continuity conditions on the flexural response. To investigate the effect of layer interface continuity conditions, three-dimensional elasticity solutions are developed by enforcing the continuity of different combinations of transverse stresses and/or strains at the layer interfaces. Three dimensional twenty node solid finite element (having three translational displacements as degrees of freedom) without the imposition of any of the conditions on the transverse stresses and strains is also employed for the flexural analysis of the laminated plates for the purposes of comparison with the above theories. These shear deformation theories and elasticity approaches in terms of accuracy, adequacy and applicability are examined through extensive numerical examples.