• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.297-314
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• 2009

When the temperature of a structure varies, there is a tendency to produce changes in the shape of the structure. The resulting actions may be of considerable importance in the analysis of the structures having non-prismatic members. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the modeling, analysis and behavior of the non-prismatic members subjected to temperature changes with the aid of finite element modeling. The fixed-end moments and fixed-end forces of such members due to temperature changes were computed through a comprehensive parametric study. It was demonstrated that the conventional methods using frame elements can lead to significant errors, and the deviations can reach to unacceptable levels for these types of structures. The design formulas and the dimensionless design coefficients were proposed based on a comprehensive parametric study using two-dimensional plane-stress finite element models. The fixed-end actions of the non-prismatic members having parabolic and straight haunches due to temperature changes can be determined using the proposed approach without necessitating a detailed finite element model solution. Additionally, the robust results of the finite element analyses allowed examining the sources and magnitudes of the errors in the conventional analysis.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.723-738
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• 2014

Prestressing is the most commonly employed technique in bridges and long span beams in commercial buildings as prestressing results in slender section with higher load carrying capacities. This work is an attempt to study the performance of a minimum weight prestressed concrete beam adopting a non-prismatic section so that there will be a reduction in the volume of concrete which in turn reduces the self-weight of the structure. The effect of adopting a non-prismatic section on parameters like prestressing force, area of prestressing steel, bending stresses, shear stresses and percentage loss of prestress are established theoretically. The analysis of non-prismatic prestressed beams is based on the assumption of pure bending theory. Equations are derived for dead load bending moment, eccentricity, and depth at any required section. Based on these equations an algorithm is developed which does the stress checks for the given section for every 500 mm interval of the span. Limit state method is used for the design of beam and finite difference method is used for finding out the deflection of a non-prismatic beam. All the parameters of nonprismatic prestressed concrete beams are compared with that of the rectangular prestressed concrete members and observed that minimum weight design and economical design are not same. Minimum weight design results in the increase in required area of prestressing steel.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.689-703
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• 2011

A new perturbation method is introduced to study the undamped free vibration of a non-prismatic Timoshenko beam for its natural frequencies and vibration modes. For simplicity, the natural modes of vibration of its corresponding prismatic Euler-Bernoulli beam with the same length and boundary conditions are used as Ritz base functions with necessary modifications to account for shear strain in the Timoshenko beam. The new method can transform two coupled partial differential equations governing the transverse vibration of the non-prismatic Timoshenko beam into a set of nonlinear algebraic equations. It significantly simplifies the solution process and is applicable to non-prismatic beams with various boundary conditions. Three examples indicated that the new method is more accurate than the previous perturbation methods. It successfully takes into account the effect of shear deformation of Timoshenko beams particularly at the free end of cantilever structures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.561-582
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• 2012

Despite popularity of FEM in analysis of static and dynamic structural problems and the routine applicability of FE softwares, analytical methods based on simple mathematical relations is still largely sought by many researchers and practicing engineers around the world. Development of such analytical methods for analysis of free vibration of non-prismatic beams is also of primary concern. In this paper a new and simple method is proposed for determination of vibration frequencies of non-prismatic beams under variable axial forces. The governing differential equation is first obtained and, according to a harmonic vibration, is converted into a single variable equation in terms of location. Through repetitive integrations, integral equation for the weak form of governing equation is derived. The integration constants are determined using the boundary conditions applied to the problem. The mode shape functions are approximated by a power series. Substitution of the power series into the integral equation transforms it into a system of linear algebraic equations. Natural frequencies are determined using a non-trivial solution for system of equations. Presented method is formulated for beams having various end conditions and is extended for determination of the buckling load of non-prismatic beams. The efficiency and convergence rate of the current approach are investigated through comparison of the numerical results obtained to those obtained using available finite element software.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.345-352
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• 1989

Upsetting of non-circular blocks is characterized by the three-dimensional deformation with lateral sidewise spread as well as axial bulging along thickness. A kinematically admissible velocity field for the upsetting of prismatic or non-prismatic blocks is proposed which considers the different frictional conditions at the top and bottom surfaces of a billet. From the proposed velocity field the upper-bound load and the deformed configuration are determined by minimizing the total power consumption with respect to some chosen parameters. Experiments are carried out with annealed SM 15C steel billets at room temperature for different billet shapes and frictional conditions. The theoretical predictions both in the forging load and the deformed configurations are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental observations. Therefore, the velocity field proposed in this work can be used for the prediction of forging load and deformation in upsetting of prismatic or non-prismatic blocks, considering the different frictional conditions at two flat dies.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.849-866
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• 2012

Single span historic bridges often contain non-prismatic members identified with a varying depth along their span lengths. Commonly, the symmetric parabolic height variations having the constant haunch length ratio of 0.5 have been selected to lower the stresses at the high bending moment points and to maintain the deflections within the acceptable limits. Due to their non-prismatic geometrical configuration, their assessment, particularly the computation of fixed-end horizontal forces (FEFs) and fixed-end moments (FEMs) becomes a complex problem. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the behavior of non-prismatic beams with symmetrical parabolic haunches (NBSPH) having the constant haunch length ratio of 0.5 using finite element analyses (FEA). FEFs and FEMs due to vertical loadings as well as the stiffness coefficients and the carry-over factors were computed through a comprehensive parametric study using FEA. It was demonstrated that the conventional methods using frame elements can lead to significant errors, and the deviations can reach to unacceptable levels for these types of structures. Despite the robustness of FEA, the generation of FEFs and FEMs using the nodal outputs of the detailed finite element mesh still remains an intricate task. Therefore, this study advances to propose effective formulas and dimensionless estimation coefficients to predict the FEFs, FEMs, stiffness coefficients and carry-over factors with reasonable accuracy for the analysis and re-evaluation of the NBSPH. Using the proposed approach, the fixed-end reactions due to vertical loads, and also the stiffness coefficients and the carry-over factors of the NBSPH can be determined without necessitating the detailed FEA.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.221-238
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• 2008

Numerical solution to buckling analysis of beams and columns are obtained by the method of differential quadrature (DQ) and harmonic differential quadrature (HDQ) for various support conditions considering the variation of flexural rigidity. The solution technique is applied to find the buckling load of fully or partially embedded columns such as piles. A simple semi- inverse method of DQ or HDQ is proposed for determining the flexural rigidities at various sections of non-prismatic column ( pile) partially and fully embedded given the buckling load, buckled shape and sub-grade reaction of the soil. The obtained results are compared with the existing solutions available from other numerical methods and analytical results. In addition, this paper also uses a recently developed technique, known as the differential transformation (DT) to determine the critical buckling load of fully or partially supported heavy prismatic piles as well as fully supported non-prismatic piles. In solving the problem, governing differential equation is converted to algebraic equations using differential transformation methods (DT) which must be solved together with applied boundary conditions. The symbolic programming package, Mathematica is ideally suitable to solve such recursive equations by considering fairly large number of terms.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.27-35
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• 2007

This study presents a non -prismatic beam element for modeling the elastic and inelastic behavior of the steel beam, which has the post-Northridge connections in steel moment frames that are subjected to earthquake ground motions. The elastic stiffness matrix for non-prismatic members with reduced beam section (RES) connection is in the closed-form. The plasticity model is of a discrete type and is composed of a series of nonlinear hinges connected by rigid links. The hardening rules can model the inelastic behavior for monotonic and random cyclic loading, and the effects of local buckling. Verification and calibration of the model are presented in a companion paper.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.787-796
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• 2015

When the temperature of a structure varies, there is a tendency to produce changes in the shape of the structure. The resulting actions may be of considerable importance in the analysis of the structures having non-prismatic members. The computation of design forces for the non-prismatic beams having symmetrical parabolic haunches (NBSPH) is fairly difficult because of the parabolic change of the cross section. Due to their non-prismatic geometrical configuration, their assessment, particularly the computation of fixed-end horizontal forces and fixed-end moments becomes a complex problem. In this study, the efficiency of the Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS) in predicting the design forces and the design moments of the NBSPH due to temperature changes was investigated. Previously obtained finite element analyses results in the literature were used to train and test the ANN and ANFIS models. The performances of the different models were evaluated by comparing the corresponding values of mean squared errors (MSE) and decisive coefficients ($R^2$). In addition to this, the comparison of ANN and ANFIS with traditional methods was made by setting up Linear-regression (LR) model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.347-358
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• 2018

The main aim of this research was to investigate the shear strength of non-prismatic steel fiber reinforced concrete beams under monotonic loading considering different parameters. Experimental program included tests on fifteen non-prismatic reinforced concrete beams divided into three groups. For the first and the second groups, different parameters were taken into consideration which are: steel fibers content, shear span to minimum depth ratio ($a/d_{min}$) and tapering angle (${\alpha}$). The third group was designed mainly to optimize the geometry of the non-prismatic concrete beams with the same concrete volume while the steel fiber ratio and the shear span were left constant in this group. The presence of steel fibers in concrete led to an increase in the load-carrying capacity in a range of 10.25%-103%. Also, the energy absorption capacity was increased due to the addition of steel fibers in a range of 18.17%-993.18% and the failure mode was changed from brittle to ductile. Tapering angle had a clear effect on the shear strength of test specimens. The increase in tapering angle from ($7^{\circ}$) to ($12^{\circ}$) caused an increase in the ultimate shear capacity for the test specimens. The maximum increase in ultimate load was 45.49%. The addition of steel fibers had a significant impact on the post-cracking behavior of the test specimens. Empirical equation for shear strength prediction at cracking limit state was proposed. The predicted cracking shear strength was in good agreement with the experimental findings.