• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.1
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• pp.145-156
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• 2020

There are separate merits and demerits to wood and steel. The combination of wood and steel as a compound section is able to improve the properties of both and ultimately increase their final bearing capacity. The composite cross-section made of steel and wood has higher hardness while showing more ductility and the local buckling of steel is delayed or completely prevented. The purpose of this study is to investigate the behavior of composite columns enclosed in wooden logs and the hollow sections of steel that will be examined in a laboratory environment under the axial load to determine the final bearing capacity and sample deformation. In terms of methodology, steel sheet and carbon fiber reinforced polymer sheet (FRP) are tested to construct hollow rectangular sections and reinforce timber. Besides, the method of connecting hollow sections and timber including glue and screw has been also investigated. As a result, timber lumber enclosed with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer sheets in which fibers are horizontally located at 90° are more resistant with better ductility.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.121-130
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• 2016

In an attempt to reach a balance of performances in homo-polypropylene based system, the effects of single and hybrid reinforcements inclusions comprising calcium carbonate nanoparticles (2, 4 and 6 phc) and glass fibers (10 wt.%) on the mechanical and thermal properties were investigated. Different samples were prepared by employing twin-screw extruder and injection molding machine. In morphological studies, the uniform distribution of glass fibers in PP matrix, relative adhesion between glass fibers and polymer, and existence of nanoparticles in polymer matrix were observed. $PP/CaCO_3$ (6 phc) as compared to pure PP and PP/GF had superior tensile and flexural strengths, impact resistance and deformation temperature under load (DTUL). $PP/GF/CaCO_3$ (6 phc) composite displayed comparable tensile and flexural strengths and impact resistance to neat PP, while its tensile and flexural moduli and deformation temperature under load (DTUL) were 436%, 99% and $26^{\circ}C$greater respectively. The maximum impact resistance was observed in $PP/CaCO_3$(6 phc). The highest DTUL was perceived in PP hybrid nanocomposite containing 10 wt.% glass fiber and 4 phc $CaCO_3$ nanoparticle.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.251-271
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• 2011

To make direct comparisons regarding the cyclic behavior of thin steel plate shear walls (TSPSWs) with different infill-to-boundary frame connections, two TSPSWs were tested under quasi-static conditions, one having the infill plate attached to the boundary frame members on all edges and the other having the infill plate connected only to the beams. Also, the bare frame that was used in the TSPSW specimens was tested to provide data for the calibration of numerical models. The connection of infill plates to surrounding frames was achieved through the use of self-drilling screws to fish plates that were welded to the frame members. The behavior of TSPSW specimens are compared and discussed with emphasis on the characteristics important in seismic response, including the initial stiffness, ultimate strength and deformation modes observed during the tests. It is shown that TSPSW specimens achieve significant ductility and energy dissipation while the ultimate failure mode resulted from infill plate fracture at the net section of the infill plate-to-boundary frame connection after substantial infill plate yielding. Experimental results are compared to monotonic pushover predictions from computer analysis using strip models and the models are found to be capable of approximating the monotonic behavior of the TSPSW specimens.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2019

Over the past decades, a great variety of dampers have been developed and applied to mechanical, aerospace, and civil structures to control structural vibrations. This study is focused on two emerging damper types, namely, eddy current dampers (ECDs) and electromagnetic damper (EMDs), both of which are regarded as promising alternatives to commonly-applied viscous fluid dampers (VFDs) because of their similar mechanical behavior. This study aims to enhance the damping densities of ECDs and EMDs, which are typically lower than those of VFDs, by proposing new designs with multiple improvement measures. The design configurations, mechanisms, and experimental results of the new ECDs and EMDs are presented in this paper. The further comparison based on the experimental results revealed that the damping densities of the proposed ECD and EMD designs are comparable to those of market-available VFDs. Considering ECDs and EMDs are solid-state dampers without fluid leakage problems, the results obtained in this study demonstrate a great prospect of replacing conventional VFDs with the improved ECDs and EMDs in future large-scale applications.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.315-323
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• 2022

Shear connectors are key elements that ensure integrity in a composite system. The primary purpose of a shear connector is to bring a high degree of interaction between composite elements. A wide variety of connectors are available for hot-rolled composite construction, connected to the beam through welding. However, with cold-formed members being very thin, welding of shear connectors is not desirable in cold-formed composite constructions. Shear connectors for cold-formed elements are limited in studies as well as in the market. Hence in this study, three different types of shear connectors, namely, single-channel, double channel, and self-tapping screw, were considered, and their performance assessed by the Push-out test as per Eurocode 4. The connection between channel shear connectors and the beam was made using self-tapping screws to avoid welding. The performance of the connectors was analyzed based on their ultimate capacity, characteristic capacity, ductility, and slippage during loading. Strength to weight ratio was also carried out to understand the proposed connectors' suitability for conventional ones. The results showed relatively higher initial stiffness and ductility for double channel connectors than other connectors. Also, self-tapping screws had a higher strength to weight ratio with low ductility.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.575-585
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• 2022

Due to its biofilm formation and colonization of the osteocyte-lacuno canalicular network (OLCN), Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) implant-associated bone infection (SIABI) is difficult to cure thoroughly, and may occur recurrently subsequently after a long period dormant. It is essential to explore an alternative therapeutic strategy that can eradicate the pathogens in the infected foci. To address this, the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement and Fe3O4 nanoparticles compound cylinder were developed as implants based on their size and mechanical properties for the alternative magnetic field (AMF) induced thermal ablation, The PMMA mixed with optimized 2% Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles showed an excellent antibacterial efficacy in vitro. It was evaluated by the CFU, CT scan and histopathological staining on a rabbit 1-stage transtibial screw model. The results showed that on week 7, the CFU of infected soft tissue and implants, and the white blood cells (WBCs) of the PMMA+2% Fe₃O₄+AMF group decreased significantly from their controls (p<0.05). PMMA+2% Fe₃O₄+AMF group did not observe bone resorption, periosteal reaction, and infectious reactive bone formation by CT images. Further histopathological H&E and Gram Staining confirmed there was no obvious inflammatory cell infiltration, neither pathogens residue nor noticeably burn damage around the infected screw channel in the PMMA+2% Fe₃O₄+AMF group. Further investigation of nanoparticle distributions in bone marrow medullary and vital organs of heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney. There were no significantly extra Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were observed in the medullary cavity and all vital organs either. In the current study, PMMA+2% Fe₃O₄+AMF shows promising therapeutic potential for SIABI by providing excellent mechanical support, and promising efficacy of eradicating the residual pathogenic bacteria in bone infected lesions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.131-136
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• 2016

Currently, an EDM tapping procedure has comprised some parts of the engraving discharge process for the press die. Usually, tapping has been used in cases where we are unable to mechanically machine using steelwork processes due to an increase in the hardness of a material after heat treatment in relation to a design change or missing process. Here, we analyze the influence of discharge tap shape on discharge time, discharge current, and the number of repetition conditions when a cold-work tool steel (STD11) has been treated with a discharge tapped by a screw-shaped cu electrode. The most important influence on processing condition has been determined to be the number of discharge repetitions. As this number increases, the angle reduction of a thread closes to an angle of the electrode via a power generation reduction. The optimal combination of conditions has been determined to be three discharge repetitions, $180{\mu}s$ of discharge time (same as existing regulations), and 25.4A of peak current. A 0.2749db advantage has emerged after comparing between this combination of optimal conditions and the SN rate of existing regulations.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.131-157
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• 2014

Special track systems used to divert a train to other directions or other tracks are generally called 'railway turnout'. A traditional turnout system consists of steel rails, switches, crossings, steel plates, fasteners, screw spikes, timber bearers, ballast and formation. The wheel rail contact over the crossing transfer zone has a dip-like shape and can often cause detrimental impact loads on the railway track and its components. The large impact also emits disturbing noises (either impact or ground-borne noise) to railway neighbors. In a brown-field railway track where an existing aged infrastructure requires renewal or maintenance, some physical constraints and construction complexities may dominate the choice of track forms or certain components. With the difficulty to seek for high-quality timbers with dimensional stability, a methodology to replace aged timber bearers in harsh dynamic environments is to adopt an alternative material that could mimic responses and characteristics of timber in both static and dynamic loading conditions. A critical review has suggested an application of an alternative material called fibre-reinforced foamed urethane (FFU). The full-scale capacity design makes use of its comparable engineering characteristics to timber, high-impact attenuation, high damping property, and a longer service life. A field trial to investigate in-situ behaviours of a turnout grillage system using an alternative material, 'fibre-reinforced foamed urethane (FFU)' bearers, has been carried out at a complex turnout junction under heavy mixed traffics at Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. The turnout junction was renewed using the FFU bearers altogether with new special track components. Influences of the FFU bearers on track geometry (recorded by track inspection vehicle 'AK Car'), track settlement (based on survey data), track dynamics, and acoustic characteristics have been measured. Operational train pass-by measurements have been analysed to evaluate the effectiveness of the replacement methodology. Comparative studies show that the use of FFU bearers generates higher rail and sleeper accelerations but the damping capacity of the FFU help suppress vibration transferring onto other track components. The survey data analysis suggests a small vertical settlement and negligible lateral movement of the turnout system. The static and dynamic behaviours of FFU bearers appear to equate that of natural timber but its service life is superior.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.167-194
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• 2016

This paper investigates the Synergetics based Damage Detection Method (SDDM) for frame structures by using surface-bonded PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) patches. After analyzing the mechanism of pattern recognition from Synergetics, the operating framework with cooperation-competition-update process of SDDM was proposed. First, the dynamic identification equation of structural conditions was established and the adjoint vector (AV) set of original vector (OV) set was obtained by Generalized Inverse Matrix (GIM).Then, the order parameter equation and its evolution process were deduced through the strict mathematics ratiocination. Moreover, in order to complete online structural condition update feature, the iterative update algorithm was presented. Subsequently, the pathway in which SDDM was realized through the modified Synergetic Neural Network (SNN) was introduced and its assessment indices were confirmed. Finally, the experimental platform with a two-story frame structure was set up. The performances of the proposed methodology were tested for damage identifications by loosening various screw nuts group scenarios. The experiments were conducted in different damage degrees, the disturbance environment and the noisy environment, respectively. The results show the feasibility of SDDM using piezoceramic sensors and actuators, and demonstrate a strong ability of anti-disturbance and anti-noise in frame structure applications. This proposed approach can be extended to the similar structures for damage identification.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.615-626
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• 2019

Inerter-based damping devices (IBBDs), which consist of inerter, spring and viscous damper, have been extensively investigated in vehicle suspension systems and demonstrated to be more effective than the traditional control devices with spring and viscous damper only. In the present study, the control performance on cable vibration reduction was studied for four different inerter-based damping devices, namely the parallel-connected viscous mass damper (PVMD), series-connected viscous mass damper (SVMD), tuned inerter dampers (TID) and tuned viscous mass damper (TVMD). Firstly the mechanism of the ball screw inerter is introduced. Then the state-space formulation of the cable-TID system is derived as an example for the cable-IBBDs system. Based on the complex modal analysis, single-mode cable vibration control analysis is conducted for PVMD, SVMD, TID and TVMD, and their optimal parameters and the maximum attainable damping ratios of the cable/damper system are obtained for several specified damper locations and modes in combination by the Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm. Lastly, optimal design of PVMD is developed for multi-mode vibration control of cable, and the results of damping ratio analysis are validated through the forced vibration analysis in a case study by numerical simulation. The results show that all the four inerter-based damping devices significantly outperform the viscous damper for single-mode vibration control. In the case of multi-mode vibration control, PVMD can provide more damping to the first four modes of cable than the viscous damper does, and their maximum control forces under resonant frequency of harmonic forced vibration are nearly the same. The results of this study clearly demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of PVMD in cable vibration control.