• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제4권1호
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• pp.1-8
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• 1996

A new error measure for a static finite element analysis is proposed. This error measure is a modification to the Zienkiewicz and Zhu energy norm. The new error estimator is a global error measure for the analysis and is independent of finite element model size and internal stresses, hence it is readily transportable to other error calculations. It is shown in this paper the the new error estimator also produces conservative error measurements, making it a suitable procedure to adopt in commerical packages.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.393-403
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• 2019

Cold-formed steel (CFS) has a great potential to meet the global challenge of fast-track and durable construction. CFS members undergo large buckling instabilities due to their small wall thickness. CFS beams with corrugated webs have shown great resistance towards web buckling under flexure, when compared to the conventional I-sections. However, the magnitude of global imperfections significantly affects the performance of CFS members. This paper presents the first attempt made to experimentally study the effect of global imperfections on the structural efficiency of various strengthening schemes implemented in CFS beams with corrugated webs. Different strengthening schemes were adopted for two types of beams, one with large global imperfections and the other with small imperfections. Strength and stiffness characteristics of the beams were used to evaluate the structural efficiency of the various strengthening schemes adopted. Six tests were performed with simply supported end conditions, under four-point loading conditions. The load vs. mid-span displacement response, failure loads and modes of failure of the test specimens were investigated. The test results would compensate the lack of experimental data in this area of research and would help in developing numerical models for extensive studies for the development of necessary guidelines on the same. Strengthening schemes assisted in enhancing the member performance significantly, both in terms of strength and stiffness. Hence, providing an economic and time saving solution to such practical structural engineering problems.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제22권5호
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• pp.1085-1114
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• 2016

This paper investigates the transverse impact response for ultra lightweight cement composite (ULCC) filled pipe-in-pipe structures through a parametric study using both a validated finite element procedure and a validated theoretical model. The parametric study explores the effect of the impact loading conditions (including the impact velocity and the indenter shape), the geometric properties (including the pipe length and the dimensions of the three material layers) as well as the material properties (including the material properties of the steel pipes and the filler materials) on the impact response of the pipe-in-pipe composite structures. The global impact responses predicted by the FE procedure and by the theoretical model agree with each other closely. The parametric study using the theoretical approach indicates the close relationships among the global impact responses (including the maximum impact force and the maximum global displacement) in specimens with the equivalent thicknesses, proposed in the theoretical model, for the pipe-in-pipe composite structures. In the pipe-in-pipe composite structure, the inner steel pipe, together with the outer steel pipe, imposes a strong confinement on the infilled cement composite and enhances significantly the composite action, leading to improved impact resistance, small global and local deformations.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.683-698
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• 2015

Railroad bridges form an integral part of railway infrastructure throughout the world. To accommodate increased axel loads, train speeds, and greater volumes of freight traffic, in the presence of changing structural conditions, the load carrying capacity and serviceability of existing bridges must be assessed. One way is through system identification of in-service railroad bridges. To dates, numerous researchers have reported system identification studies with a large portion of their applications being highway bridges. Moreover, most of those models are calibrated at global level, while only a few studies applications have used globally and locally calibrated model. To reach the global and local calibration, both ambient vibration tests and controlled tests need to be performed. Thus, an approach for system identification of a railroad bridge that can be used to assess the bridge in global and local sense is needed. This study presents system identification of a railroad bridge using free vibration data. Wireless smart sensors are employed and provided a portable way to collect data that is then used to determine bridge frequencies and mode shapes. Subsequently, a calibrated finite element model of the bridge provides global and local information of the bridge. The ability of the model to simulate local responses is validated by comparing predicted and measured strain in one of the diagonal members of the truss. This research demonstrates the potential of using measured field data to perform model calibration in a simple and practical manner that will lead to better understanding the state of railroad bridges.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.121-141
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• 2017

The purpose of this paper is to understand and model the slow current (~2 m/s) effects on the global response of a floating offshore platform in waves. A time-domain numerical simulation of full wave-current-body interaction by a quadratic boundary element method (QBEM) is applied to compute the hydrodynamic loads and motions of a floating body under the combined influence of waves and current. The study is performed in the context of linearized potential flow theory that is sufficient in understanding the leading-order current effect on the body motion. The numerical simulations are validated by quantitative comparisons of the hydrodynamic coefficients with the WAMIT prediction for a truncated vertical circular cylinder in the absence of current. It is found from the simulation results that the presence of current leads to a loss of symmetry in flow dynamics for a tension-leg platform (TLP) with symmetric geometry, resulting in the coupling of the heave motion with the surge and pitch motions. Moreover, the presence of current largely affects the wave excitation force and moment as well as the motion of the platform while it has a negligible influence on the added mass and damping coefficients. It is also found that the current effect is strongly correlated with the wavelength but not frequency of the wave field. The global motion of a floating body in the presence of a slow current at relatively small encounter wave frequencies can be satisfactorily approximated by the response of the body in the absence of current at the intrinsic frequency corresponding to the same wavelength as in the presence of current. This finding has a significant implication in the model test of global motions of offshore structures in ocean waves and currents.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• 제8권2호
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• pp.169-184
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• 2019

This research work presents a study that aims to assess the dynamic structural behaviour and also investigate the human comfort levels of a reinforced concrete building, when subjected to nondeterministic wind dynamic loadings, considering the effect of masonry infills on the global stiffness of the structural model. In general, the masonry fills most of the empty areas within the structural frames of the buildings. Although these masonry infills present structural stiffness, the common practice of engineers is to adopt them as static loads, disregarding the effect of the masonry infills on the global stiffness of the structural system. This way, in this study a numerical model based on sixteen-storey reinforced concrete building with 48 m high and dimensions of $14.20m{\times}15m$ was analysed. This way, static, modal and dynamic analyses were carried out in order to simulate the structural model based on two different strategies: no masonry infills and masonry infills simulated by shell finite elements. In this investigation, the wind action is considered as a nondeterministic process with unstable properties and also random characteristics. The fluctuating parcel of the wind is decomposed into a finite number of harmonic functions proportional to the structure resonant frequency with phase angles randomly determined. The nondeterministic dynamic analysis clearly demonstrates the relevance of a more realistic numerical modelling of the masonry infills, due to the modifications on the global structural stiffness of the building. The maximum displacements and peak accelerations values were reduced when the effect of the masonry infills (structural stiffness) were considered in the dynamic analysis. Finally, it can be concluded that the human comfort evaluation of the sixteen-storey reinforced concrete building can be altered in a favourable way to design.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제44권3호
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• pp.295-307
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• 2022

The objective of this research is to study experimentally the behavior of stiffened steel tubes (CFSTs). Considered parameters are stiffening methods by through-bolts or shear connectors with different configurations. In addition, the effect of global (ratio between length to diameter) and local (proportion between diameter to thickness) slenderness ratios are investigated. Load application either applied on steel only or both steel and concrete is studied as well. Case of loading on steel only happens when concrete inside the column shrinks. The purpose of the research is to improve the behavior of CFSTs by load transfer between them and different stiffening methods. A parametric experimental study that incorporates thirty-three specimens is carried out to highlight the impact of those parameters. Different outputs are recorded for every specimen such as load capacities, vertical deflections, longitudinal strains, and hoop strains. Two modes of failure occur, yielding and global buckling. Shear connectors and through-bolts improve the ultimate load by up to 5% for sections loaded at steel with different studied global slenderness and local slenderness equal 63.5. Meanwhile, shear connectors or through bolts increase the ultimate load by up to 6% for global slenderness up to 15.75 for sections loaded on composite with local slenderness equals 63.50. Recommendations for future design code development are outlined.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제31권5호
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• pp.419-432
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• 2023

Beam-column joints are a critical component of reinforced concrete frame structures. They are responsible for transferring forces between adjoining beams and columns while limiting story drifts and maintaining structural integrity. During severe loading, beam-column joints deform significantly, affecting, and sometimes governing, the overall response of frame structures. While most failure modes for beam and column elements are commonly considered in plastic-hinge-based global frame analyses, the beam-column joint failure modes, such as concrete shear and reinforcement bond slip, are frequently omitted. One reason for this is the dearth of published guidance on what type of hinges to use, how to derive the joint hinge properties, and where to place these hinges. Many beam-column joint models are available in literature but their adoption by practicing structural engineers has been limited due to their complex nature and lack of practical application tools. The objective of this study is to provide a comparative review of the available beam-column joint models and present a practical joint modeling approach for integration into commonly used global frame analysis software. The presented modeling approach uses rotational spring models and is capable of modeling both interior and exterior joints with or without transverse reinforcement. A spreadsheet tool is also developed to execute the mathematical calculations and derive the shear stress-strain and moment-rotation curves ready for inputting into the global frame analysis. The application of the approach is presented by modeling a beam column joint specimen which was tested experimentally. Important modeling considerations are also presented to assist practitioners in properly modeling beam-column joints in frame analyses.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제26권4호
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• pp.261-267
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• 2024

With the increase in the exploitation depth of offshore oil and gas, it is possible to control the global buckling of deep-sea pipelines by the snake lay method. Previous studies mainly focused on the analysis of critical buckling force and critical temperature of pipelines under the snake-like laying method, and pipelines often suffer structural failure due to seismic disasters during operation. Therefore, seismic action is a necessary factor in the design and analysis of submarine pipelines. In this paper, the seismic action of steel pipes in the operation stage after global buckling has occurred under the active control method is analyzed. Firstly, we have established a simplified finite element model for the entire process cycle and found that this modeling method is accurate and efficient, solving the problem of difficult convergence of seismic wave and soil coupling in previous solid analysis, and improving the efficiency of calculations. Secondly, through parameter analysis, it was found that under seismic action, the pipe diameter mainly affects the stress amplitude of the pipeline. When the pipe wall thickness increases from 0.05 m to 0.09 m, the critical buckling force increases by 150%, and the maximum axial stress decreases by 56%. In the pipe soil interaction, the greater the soil viscosity, the greater the pipe soil interaction force, the greater the soil constraint on the pipeline, and the safer the pipeline. Finally, the pipeline failure determination formula was obtained through dimensionless analysis and verified, and it was found that the formula was accurate.

• 산경연구논집
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• 제10권10호
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• pp.67-79
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• 2019

Purpose - The purpose of this study was to explore the model that supports the recipient country by using the ODA (Official Development Assistance) project and at the same time fits the global start-up/employment support of donor country with CSV business model. Specifically, we wanted to examine the feasibility of the project based on the existing ODA projects. Research design, data, and methodology - As the methodology, case studies and interview were conducted as well as literature studies. The case analysis is based on a press release of the entire KOICA's ODA project, which has been implemented for one year, based on 2017. After consideration, the actual results and future feasibility were analyzed. The interviews were conducted on senior Korean officials and Indian officials involved in Vietnam's ODA project. Results - As a result, some of the project cases applied and analyzed according to the model of this study were judged to be highly potential. Based on the results of this analysis, as the model derived from this study pursues, the global business model is developed under the CSV (Creating Shared Value) strategy through ODA projects to support recipient countries and global start-up/employment support of donor country. The possibility of simultaneously pursuing this model based on CSV business model was also confirmed. Conclusions - In the past, free aid agencies like KOICA focused solely on supporting recipient countries, but in terms of sustainability, they could discover the potential of supporting the global start-up/employment of the donor country using CSV business model in ODA project. In this study, we tried to find the theoretical background and potential possibilities in some ODA projects based on CSV business model. As a result of the analysis of KOICA ODA projects in 2017 and interviews, some ODA projects could be used to improve the economic development of the recipient country as well as the global start-up/employment of the donor country. Therefore, it is necessary for the ministries of the government to promote ODA projects to understand the framework that achieves these two objectives simultaneously and to promote ODA projects based on various strategic considerations.