• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2017

Seismic performance of hybrid steel frames defined as mixture of rigid and semi-rigid connections is investigated in this paper. Three frames with 10, 15 and 20 stories are designed with fully rigid connections and then with 4 patterns for semi-rigid connection placement, some of beam to column rigid connections would turn to semi-rigid. Each semi-rigid connection is considered with 4 different moment capacities and all rigid and semi-rigid frames consisting of 51 models are subjected to 5 selected earthquake records for nonlinear analysis. Maximum story drifts, roof acceleration and base shear are extracted for those 5 earthquake records and average values are obtained for each case. Based on numerical results for the proposed hybrid frames, story drifts remain in allowable range and the reductions in the maximum roof acceleration of 22, 29 and 25% and maximum base shear of 33, 31 and 54% occur in those 10, 15 and 20-story frames, respectively.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.455-468
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• 2019

The behavior of pile-deck connections of pile-supported marginal wharfs subjected to earthquake loading is of key importance to ensure a good performance of this type of structures. Two precast-pretensioned pile-deck connections used in the construction of pile-supported marginal wharfs were tested under cyclic loading. The first is a connection with simple reinforcement details and light steel ratio developed for use where moderate pile-deck rotation demands are expected in the wharf. The second is specifically developed to sustain the large rotation, shear force and bending moment demands, as required for the shortest piles in a marginal wharf. Data obtained from the test program is used in the paper to calibrate an equivalent plastic hinge length that can be incorporated into nonlinear analysis models of these structures when prestressed pile-deck connections with duct embedded dowels are used.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.353-370
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• 2020

This paper describes a new type of replaceable fuse for moment resisting frames. Column-tree connections with beam splice connections are frequently preferred in the moment resisting frames since they eliminate field welding and provide good quality. In the column-tree connections, a part of the beam is welded to the column in the shop and the rest of the beam is bolted with the splice connection in the field. In this study, a replaceable reduced beam section (R-RBS) connection is proposed in order to eliminate welding process and facilitate assembly at the site. In the proposed R-RBS connection, one end is connected by a beam splice connection to the beam and the other end is connected by a bolted end-plate connection to the column. More importantly is that the proposed R-RBS connection allows the replacement of the damaged R-RBS easily right after an earthquake. Pursuant to this goal, experimental and numerical studies have been undertaken to investigate the performance of the R-RBS connection. An experimental study on the RBS connection was used to substantiate the numerical model using ABAQUS, a commercially available finite element software. Additionally, five different finite element models were developed to conduct a parametric study. The results of the analysis were compared in terms of the moment and energy absorption capacities, PEEQ, rupture and tri-axiality indexes. The design process as well as the optimum dimensions of the R-RBS connections are presented. It was also demonstrated that the proposed R-RBS connection satisfies AISC criteria based on the nonlinear finite element analysis results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1215-1237
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• 2015

The majority of connections in moment resisting frames are considered as being fully-rigid. Consequently, the real behavior of the connection, which has some level of flexibility, is ignored. This may result in inaccurate predictions of structural response. This study investigates the influence of flexibility of the extended end-plate connections in the steel moment frames. This is done at two levels. First, the actual micro-behavior of extended end-plate moment connections is explored with respect to joint flexibility. Then, the macro-behavior of frames with end-plate moment connections is investigated using modal, nonlinear static pushover and incremental dynamic analyses. In all models, the P-Delta effects along with material and geometrical nonlinearities were included in the analyses. Results revealed considerable differences between the behavior of the structural frame with connections modeled as fully-rigid versus those when flexibility was incorporated, specifically difference occurred in the natural periods, strength, and maximum inter-story drift angle.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.475-492
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• 2013

Since the beginning of the 90 s, depending on the growth of the industrial sector in Turkey, factory constructions have been increased. The cost of precast concrete buildings is lower than the steel ones for this reason the precast structural systems are used more. Precast concrete structural elements are mostly as strong as not to have damage in the earthquake but weakness of connections between elements causes unexpected damages of structure during earthquake. When looking at the previous researches, it can be seen that there is a lack of studies about socket type base connections although there were many experimental and analytical studies about the connections of precast structural elements. The aim of this study is to investigate the stress transfer mechanism between column and the socket base wall with finite element method. For the finite element analysis ANSYS software was used. A finite element model was created which is the simulation of experimental research executed by Canha et al. (2009) under vertical and horizontal forces. Results of experimental research and finite element analysis were compared to create a successful simulation of experimental program. After determining the acceptable parameters, models of socket bases were created. Model dimensions were chosen according to square section column sizes 400, 450, 500, 550 and 600 mm which were mostly used in industrial buildings. As a result of this study, stress distribution at center section of the socket base models were observed and it is found that stress distribution affects triangular at the half of socket bottom and top.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.2
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• pp.221-231
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• 2019

This paper performs for the first time a simultaneous optimization for members sections along with semi-rigid beam-to-column connections for space steel frames with fixed, semi-rigid, and hinged bases using a biogeography-based optimization algorithm (BBO) and a genetic algorithm (GA). Furthermore, a member's sections optimization for a fully fixed space frame is carried out. A real and accurate simulation of semi-rigid connection behavior is considered in this study, where the semi-rigid base connections are simulated using Kanvinde and Grilli (2012) nonlinear model, which considers deformations in different base connection components under the applied loads, while beam-to-column connections are modeled using the familiar Frye and Morris (1975) nonlinear polynomial model. Moreover, the $P-{\Delta}$ effect and geometric nonlinearity are considered. AISC-LRFD (2016) specification constraints of the stress and displacement are considered as well as section size fitting constraints. The optimization is applied to two benchmark space frame examples to inspect the effect of semi-rigidity on frame weight and drift using BBO and GA algorithms.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.307-319
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• 2020

The upper chords in half-through truss bridges are prone to buckling due to a lack of the upper transverse connections. Taking into account geometric and material nonlinearity, nonlinear finite-element analysis of a simple supported truss bridge was carried out to exhibit effects of different types of initial imperfections. A half-wave of initial imperfection was proved to be effective in the nonlinear buckling analysis. And a parameter analysis of initial imperfections was also conducted to reveal that the upper chords have the greatest impact on the buckling, followed by the bottom chords, vertical and diagonal web members. Yet initial imperfections of transverse beams have almost no effect on the buckling. Moreover, using influence surface method, the combinatorial effects of initial imperfections were compared to demonstrate that initial imperfections of the upper chords play a leading role. Furthermore, the equivalent effective length coefficients of the upper chord were derived to be 0.2~0.28 by different methods, which implies vertical and diagonal web members still provide effective constraints for the upper chord despite a lack of the upper transverse connections between the two upper chords. Therefore, the geometrical and material nonlinear finite-element method is effective in the buckling analysis due to its higher precision. Based on nonlinear analysis and installation deviations of members, initial imperfection of l/500 is recommended in the nonlinear analysis of half-through truss bridges without initial imperfection investigation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.3
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• pp.355-365
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• 2020

In this study, considering the hydroelastic response represented by the springing and whipping phenomena, we propose a method of estimating the fatigue damage in the longitudinal connections of ships. First, we screened the design sea states using a load transfer function based on the frequency domain. We then conducted a time domain fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis using WISH-FLEX, an in-house code based on the weakly nonlinear approach. To obtain an effective and robust analytical result of the hydroelastic response, we also conducted an experimental model test with a 1/50-scale backbone-based model of a ship, and compared the experimental results with those obtained from the FSI analysis. Then, by combining the results obtained from the hydroelastic response with those obtained from the numerical fatigue analysis, we developed a fatigue damage estimation method. Finally, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed method, we evaluated the fatigue strength for the longitudinal connections of the real ship and compared it with the results obtained from the model tests.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.22 no.51
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• pp.99-108
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• 1999

B-ISDN link dimensioning is often known as a difficult problem because of the characteristics of Asynchronous Transfer Mode(ATM) such as various Quality of Services of different service requirements, and the statistical multiplexing resulting from virtual path/virtual circuit connections. In this paper, we propose a nonlinear integer optimization model for dimensioning B-ISDN considering the statistical multiplexing effects of virtual path connections(VPCs) and the modularity of resources allocated to a transmission link. The algorithm based on the simultaneous linear approximation technique as well as some numerical results will be also presented.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.143-152
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• 2017

This paper focuses on the seismic performance of pallet-type steel storage rack structures in their down aisle direction. As evidenced by experimental research, the seismic response of storage racks in the down-aisle direction is strongly affected by the nonlinear moment-rotation response of the beam-to-column connections. In their down-aisle direction, rack structures are designed to resist lateral seismic loads with typical moment frames utilizing proprietary beam-to-column moment-resisting connections. These connections are mostly boltless hooked type connections and they exhibit significantly large rotations resulting in large lateral frame displacements when subjected to strong ground motions. In this paper, typical hooked boltless beam-to-column connections are studied experimentally to obtain their non-linear reversed cyclic moment-rotation response. Additionally, a compound type connection involving the standard hooks and additional bolts were also tested under similar conditions. The simple introduction of the additional bolts within the hooked connection is considered to be a practical way of structural upgrade in the connection. The experimentally evaluated characteristics of the connections are compared in terms of some important performance indicators such as maximum moment and rotation capacity, change in stiffness and accumulated energy levels within the cyclic loading protocol. Finally, the obtained characteristics were used to carry out seismic performance assessment of rack frames incorporating the tested beam-to-column connections. The assessment involves a displacement based approach that utilizes a simple analytical model that captures the seismic behavior of racks in their down-aisle direction. The results of the study indicate that the proposed method of upgrading appears to be a very practical and effective way of increasing the seismic performance of hooked connections and hence the rack frames in their down-aisle direction.