• Computers and Concrete
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.283-291
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• 2020

The present paper researches post-buckling behaviors of geometrically imperfect concrete beam resting on elastic foundation reinforced with graphene oxide powders (GOPs) based on finite element method (FEM). Distribution of GOPs are considered as uniform and linearly graded through the thickness. Geometric imperfection is considered as first buckling mode shape of the beam, the GOP reinforced beam is rested in initial position. The material properties of GOP reinforced composite have been calculated via employment of Halpin-Tsai micromechanical scheme. The provided refined beam element verifies the shear deformation impacts needless of any shear correction coefficient. The post-buckling load-deflections relations have been calculated via solving the governing equations having cubic non-linearity implementing FEM. Obtained findings indicate the importance of GOP distributions, GOP weight fraction, matrix material, geometric imperfection, shear deformation and foundation parameters on nonlinear buckling behavior of GOP reinforced beam.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.4
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• pp.451-463
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• 2020

In this paper, a new semi-analytical solution for estimating the pull-in parameters of electrically actuated functionally graded (FG) nanobeams is proposed. All the bulk and surface material properties of the FG nanoactuator vary continuously in thickness direction according to power law distribution. Here, the modified couple stress theory (MCST) and Gurtin-Murdoch surface elasticity theory (SET) are jointly employed to capture the size effects of the nanoscale beam in the context of Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. According to the MCST and SET and accounting for the mid-plane stretching, axial residual stress, electrostatic actuation, fringing field, and dispersion (Casimir or/and van der Waals) forces, the nonlinear nonclassical equation of motion and boundary conditions are obtained derived using Hamilton principle. The proposed semi-analytical solution is derived by employing Galerkin method in conjunction with the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method. The proposed solution approach is validated with the available literature. The freestanding behavior of nanoactuators is also investigated. A parametric study is conducted to illustrate the effects of different material and geometrical parameters on the pull-in response of cantilever and doubly-clamped FG nanoactuators. This model and proposed solution are helpful especially in mechanical design of micro/nanoactuators made of FGMs.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.307-318
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• 2019

This is the first attempt to consider the nonlinear bending analysis of porous functionally graded (FG) thick annular and circular nanoplates resting on Kerr foundation. The size effects are captured based on modified couple stress theory (MCST). The material properties of the porous FG nanostructure are assumed to vary smoothly through the thickness according to a power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituent materials. The elastic medium is modeled by Kerr elastic foundation which consists of two spring layers and one shear layer. The governing equations are extracted based on Hamilton's principle and two variables refined plate theory. Utilizing generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM), the nonlinear static behavior of the nanostructure is obtained under different boundary conditions. The effects of various parameters such as material length scale parameter, boundary conditions, and geometrical parameters of the nanoplate, elastic medium constants, porosity and FG index are shown on the nonlinear deflection of the annular and circular nanoplates. The results indicate that with increasing the material length scale parameter, the nonlinear deflection is decreased. In addition, the dimensionless nonlinear deflection of the porous annular nanoplate is diminished with the increase of porosity parameter. It is hoped that the present work may provide a benchmark in the study of nonlinear static behavior of porous nanoplates.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.2
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• pp.181-190
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• 2019

Topology optimization of structures seeking the best distribution of mass in a design space to improve the structural performance and reduce the weight of a structure is one of the most comprehensive issues in the field of structural optimization. In addition to structures stiffness as the most common objective function, frequency optimization is of great importance in variety of applications too. In this paper, an efficient multi-objective Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimization (BESO) method is developed for topology optimization of frequency and stiffness in continuum structures simultaneously. A software package including a Matlab code and Abaqus FE solver has been created for the numerical implementation of multi-objective BESO utilizing the weighted function method. At the same time, by considering the weaknesses of the optimized structure in single-objective optimizations for stiffness or frequency problems, slight modifications have been done on the numerical algorithm of developed multi-objective BESO in order to overcome challenges due to artificial localized modes, checker boarding and geometrical symmetry constraint during the progressive iterations of optimization. Numerical results show that the proposed Multiobjective BESO method is efficient and optimal solutions can be obtained for continuum structures based on an existent finite element model of the structures.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.37-48
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• 2008

Flow fields inside feeder pipes have been simulated numerically using a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) code to calculate the shear stress distribution, which is the most important factor in predicting the local regions of feeder pipes highly susceptible to FAC (flow-accelerated corrosion)-induced wall thinning. The CFD approach, with schemes used in this study, to simulate the flow situations inside the CANDU feeder pipes has been verified as it showed a good agreement between the investigation results for the failed feedwater pipe at Surry unit 2 plant in the U.S. and the CFD calculation. Sensitivity studies of the three geometrical parameters, such as angle of the first and second bends, length of the first span between the grayloc hub and the first bend, and length of the second span between the first and the second bends have been performed. CFD analysis reveals that the local regions of feeder pipes of Wolsung unit 1 in Korea, on which wall thickness measurements have been performed so far, are not coincident with the worst regions predicted by the present CFD analysis located in the connection region of straight and bend pipe near the inlet part of the bend intrados. Finally, based on the results of the present CFD analysis, a guide to the selection of the weakest local positions where the measurement of wall thickness should be performed with higher priority has been provided.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.2
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• pp.153-163
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• 2019

Longitudinal fracture behavior of non-linear elastic beam configurations is studied in terms of the strain energy release rate. It is assumed that the beams exhibit continuous material inhomogeneity along the width as well as along the height of the crosssection. The Ramberg-Osgood stress-strain relation is used for describing the non-linear mechanical behavior of the inhomogeneous material. A solution to strain energy release rate is derived that holds for inhomogeneous beams of arbitrary cross-section under combination of axial force and bending moments. Besides, the solution may be applied at any law of continuous distribution of the modulus of elasticity in the beam cross-section. The longitudinal crack may be located arbitrary along the beam height. The solution is used to investigate a longitudinal crack in a beam configuration of rectangular cross-section under four-point bending. The crack is located symmetrically with respect to the beam mid-span. It is assumed that the modulus of elasticity varies continuously according a cosine law in the beam cross-section. The longitudinal fracture behavior of the inhomogeneous beam is studied also by applying the J-integral approach for verification of the non-linear solution to the strain energy release rate derived in the present paper. Effects of material inhomogeneity, crack location along the beam height and non-linear mechanical behavior of the material on the longitudinal fracture behavior are evaluated. Thus, the solution derived in the present paper can be used in engineering design of inhomogeneous non-linear elastic structural members to assess the influence of various material and geometrical parameters on longitudinal fracture.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.47-66
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• 2021

This work addresses the free vibration analysis of Functionally Graded Porous (FGP) nanocomposite truncated conical shells with Graphene PLatelet (GPL) reinforcement. In this study, three different distributions for porosity and three different dispersions for graphene platelets have been considered in the direction of the shell thickness. The Halpin-Tsai equations are used to find the effective material properties of the graphene platelet reinforced materials. The equations of motion are derived based on the higher-order shear deformation theory and Sanders's theory. The Fourier Differential Quadrature (FDQ) technique is implemented to solve the governing equations of the problem and to obtain the natural frequencies of the truncated conical shell. The combination of FDQ with higher-order shear deformation theory allows a very accurate prediction of the natural frequencies. The precision and reliability of the proposed method are verified by the results of literature. Moreover, a wide parametric study concerning the effect of some influential parameters, such as the geometrical parameters, porosity distribution, circumferential wave numbers, GPLs dispersion as well as boundary restraint conditions on free vibration response of FGP-GPL truncated conical shell is also carried out and investigated in detail.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.2
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• pp.147-161
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• 2023

Based on the ideas of variational differential quadrature (VDQ) and finite element method (FEM), a numerical approach named as VDQFEM is applied herein to study the large deformations of plate-type structures under static loading with arbitrary shape hole made of functionally graded graphene platelet-reinforced composite (FG-GPLRC) in the context of higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). The material properties of composite are approximated based upon the modified Halpin-Tsai model and rule of mixture. Furthermore, various FG distribution patterns are considered along the thickness direction of plate for GPLs. Using novel vector/matrix relations, the governing equations are derived through a variational approach. The matricized formulation can be efficiently employed in the coding process of numerical methods. In VDQFEM, the space domain of structure is first transformed into a number of finite elements. Then, the VDQ discretization technique is implemented within each element. As the last step, the assemblage procedure is performed to derive the set of governing equations which is solved via the pseudo arc-length continuation algorithm. Also, since HSDT is used herein, the mixed formulation approach is proposed to accommodate the continuity of first-order derivatives on the common boundaries of elements. Rectangular and circular plates under various boundary conditions with circular/rectangular/elliptical cutout are selected to generate the numerical results. In the numerical examples, the effects of geometrical properties and reinforcement with GPL on the nonlinear maximum deflection-transverse load amplitude curve are studied.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.345-353
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• 2022

The configuration of an open ground floor (pilotis) is a common and very critical irregularity observed in multistory reinforced concrete frame structures. The characteristics and the geometrical formation of the beams of the first story proved to be a critical parameter for the overall seismic behavior of this type of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures. In this work the combination of open ground floor (pilotis) morphology with very strong perimetrical beams at the level of the first story is studied. The observation of the seismic damages and the in situ measurements of the fundamental period of four buildings with this morphology and Π-shaped plan view are presented herein. Further analytical results of a pilotis type Π-shaped RC structure are also included in the study. From the measurements and the analytical results yield that the open ground floor configuration greatly influences the fundamental period whereas this morphology in combination with strong beams can lead to severe local shear damages in the columns of the ground floor. The structural damage was limited in the columns of the ground floor and yet based on the changes of the in situ measured fundamental period the damaged level is assessed as DI=88%. Furthermore, due to the Π-shape of the plan view the tendency of the parts of the building to move independently strongly influences the distribution of the damages over the ground floor vertical elements.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.6
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• pp.707-722
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• 2022

In this study, a new refined hyperbolic shear deformation theory (RHSDT) is developed using an equivalent single-layer shell displacement model for the static bending and free vibration response of cross-ply laminated composite spherical shells. It is based on a new kinematic in which the transverse displacement is approximated as a sum of the bending and shear components, leading to a reduction of the number of unknown functions and governing equations. The proposed theory uses the hyperbolic shape function to account for an appropriate distribution of the transverse shear strains through the thickness and satisfies the boundary conditions on the shell surfaces without requiring any shear correction factors. The shell governing equations for this study are derived in terms of displacement from Hamilton's principle and solved via a Navier-type analytical procedure. The validity and high accuracy of the present theory are ascertained by comparing the obtained numerical results of displacements, stresses, and natural frequencies with their counterparts generated by some higher-order shear deformation theories. Further, a parametric study examines in detail the effect of both geometrical parameters (i.e., side-to-thickness ratio and curvature-radius-to-side ratio), on the bending and free vibration response of simply supported laminated spherical shells, which can be very useful for many modern engineering applications and their optimization design.