• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.395-402
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• 2007

Probabilistic risk assessment was conducted on a hybrid cable-stayed bridge consisting of a steel-composite plate girder and a concrete girder with a long span, designed using the working stress design and strength design methods. The component reliabilities of the bridge's cables, pylons, girders, and steel-concrete conjunction were evaluated using the AFOSM(Advanced First Order Second Moment) algorithm and the simulation technique at the critical sections, based on the maximum axial force, shear, and positive and negative moments of the selected sections. For the analysis of system reliability, the hybrid cable-stayed bridge consisting of cables, pylons, and plate girders was modeled into combined failure modes, and for system reliability, the probabilities of failure and reliability index of the structural system were evaluated. Based on the results of this study, the critical failure modes of the hybrid cable-stayed bridge based on the bridge's structural characteristics are suggested, and the efficiency of the partial ETA technique for use in the risk assessment method was confirmed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.1139-1155
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• 2015

In this study, a new retrofitting method for improving the seismic performance of reinforced concrete column was presented, in which prestressed steel strips were utilized as retrofitting stuff to confine the reinforced concrete column transversely. In order to figure out the seismic performance of concrete column specimen retrofitted by such prestressed steel strips methods, a series of quasi-static tests of five retrofitted specimens and two unconfined column specimen which acted as control specimens were conducted. Based on the test results, the seismic performance including the failure modes, hysteresis performance, ductility performance, energy dissipation and stiffness degradation of all these specimens were fully investigated and analyzed. And furthermore the influences of some key parameters such as the axial force ratios, shear span ratios and steel strips spacing on seismic performance of those retrofitted reinforced concrete column specimens were also studied. It was shown that the prestressed steel strips provided large transverse confining effect on reinforced concrete column specimens, which resulted in improving the shearing bearing capacity, ductility performance, deformation capacity and energy dissipation performance of retrofitted specimens effectively. In comparison to the specimen which was retrofitted by the carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) strips method, the seismic performance of the specimens retrofitted by the prestressed steel strips was a bit better, and with much less cost both in material and labor. From this research results, it can be concluded that this new retrofitting method is really useful and has significant advantages both in saving money and time over some other retrofitting methods.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

The use of non-linear analysis of structures in a functional way for evaluating the structural seismic behavior has attracted the attention of the engineering community in recent years. The most commonly used functional method for analysis is a non-linear static method known as the "pushover method". In this study, for the first time, a cyclic pushover analysis with different loading protocols was used for seismic investigation of curved bridges. The finite element model of 8-span curved bridges in plan created by the ZEUS-NL software was used for evaluating different pushover methods. In order to identify the optimal loading protocol for use in astatic non-linear cyclic analysis of curved bridges, four loading protocols (suggested by valid references) were used. Along with cyclic analysis, conventional analysis as well as adaptive pushover analysis, with proven capabilities in seismic evaluation of buildings and bridges, have been studied. The non-linear incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) method has been used to examine and compare the results of pushover analyses. To conduct IDA, the time history of 20 far-field earthquake records was used and the 50% fractile values of the demand given the ground motion intensity were computed. After analysis, the base shear vs displacement at the top of the piers were drawn. Obtained graphs represented the ability of a cyclic pushover analysis to estimate seismic capacity of the concrete piers of curved bridges. Based on results, the cyclic pushover method with ISO loading protocol provided better results for evaluating the seismic investigation of concrete piers of curved bridges in plan.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.285-298
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• 2019

For super long-span bridges, the aerodynamic forces induced by the flow passing the box girder should be considered carefully. And the Reynolds number sensitively of aerodynamic characteristics is one of considerable issue. In the study, a numerical study on the Reynolds number sensitivity of aerodynamic characteristic (flow pattern, pressure distribution and aerodynamic forces) of a twin-box girder were carried out using large eddy simulation (LES) with the dynamic Smagorinsky-Lilly subgrid model. The results show that the aerodynamic characteristics have strong correlation with the Reynolds number. At the leading edge, the flow experiences attachment, departure, and reattachment stages accompanying by the laminar transition into turbulence, causing pressure plateaus to form on the surface, and the pressure plateaus gradually shrinks. Around the gap, attributing that the flow experiences stages of laminar cavity flow, the wake with alternate shedding vortices, and turbulent cavity flow in sequence with an increase in the Reynolds number, the pressures around the gap vary greatly with the Reynold number. At the trailing edge, the pressure gradually recovers as the flow transits to turbulence (the flow undergoes wake instability, shear layer transition-reattachment station), In addition, at relative high Reynolds numbers, the drag force almost does not change, however, the lift force coefficient gradually decreases with an increase in Reynolds number.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.55-66
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• 2022

Tall buildings are often subjected to steady and unsteady forces due to external wind flows. Measurement and mitigation of these forces becomes critical to structural design in engineering applications. Over the last few decades, many approaches such as modification of the external geometry of structures have been investigated to mitigate wind-induced load. One such proven geometric modification involved the rounding of sharp corners. In this work, we systematically analyze the impact of rounded corner radii on the reducing the flow-induced loading on a square cylinder. We perform 3-Dimensional (3D) simulations for high Reynolds number flows (Re=1 × 105) which are more likely to be encountered in practical applications. An Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) method capable of capturing flow accurately at large Reynolds numbers is employed in this study. The IDDES formulation uses a k-ω Shear Stress Transport (SST) model for near-wall modelling that prevents mesh-induced separation of the boundary layer. The effects of these corner modifications are analyzed in terms of the resulting variations in the mean and fluctuating components of the aerodynamic forces compared to a square cylinder with no geometric changes. Plots of the angular distribution of the mean and fluctuating coefficient of pressure along the square cylinder's surface illustrate the effects of corner modifications on the different parts of the cylinder. The windward corner's separation angle was observed to decrease with an increase in radius, resulting in a narrower and longer recirculation region. Furthermore, with an increase in radius, a reduction in the fluctuating lift, mean drag, and fluctuating drag coefficients has been observed.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2022

In this article, the flexural and shear capacity of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete beams (UHPFRC) using two kinds of rebars, including GFRP and steel rebars, are experimentally investigated. For this purpose, six UHPFRC beams (250 × 300 × 1650 mm) with three reinforcement ratios (ρ) of 0.64, 1.05, and 1.45 were constructed using 2% steel fibers by volume. Half of the specimens were made of UHPFRC reinforced with GFRP rebars, while the other half were reinforced with conventional steel rebars. All specimens were tested to failure in four-point bending. Both the load-deformation at mid-span and the failure pattern were studied. The results showed that utilizing GFRP bars increases the flexural strength of UHPFRC beams in comparison to those made of steel bars, but at the same time, it reduces the post-cracking strain hardening. Furthermore, by increasing the percentage of longitudinal bars, both the post-cracking strain hardening and load-bearing capacity increase. Comparing the experiment results with some of the available equations and provisions cited in the valid design codes reveals that some of the equations to predict the flexural strength of UHPFRC beams reinforced with conventional steel and GFRP bars are reasonably conservative, while Khalil and Tayfur model is un-conservative. This issue makes it essential to modify the presented equations in this research for predicting the flexural strength of UHPFRC beams using GFRP bars.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.105-118
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• 2023

The present work is an attempt to develop a simple and accurate finite element formulation for the assessment of thermal shock/thermally induced vibrations in pretwisted and tapered functionally graded material thin (FGM) blades obtained from Voigt and local representative volume elements (LRVE) homogenization models, based on neutral surface approach. The neutral surface of the FGM blade does not coincide with its mid-surface. A finite element model (FEM) is developed using first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and the FGM turbine blade is modelled according to the shallow shell theory. The top and the bottom layers of the FGM blade are made of pure ceramic and pure metal, respectively and temperature-dependent material properties are functionally graded in the thickness direction, the position of the neutral surface also depends on the temperature. The material properties are estimated according to two different homogenization models viz., Voigt or LRVE. The top layer of the FGM blade is subjected to high temperature and the bottom surface is either thermally insulated or kept at room temperature. The solution of the nonlinear profile of the temperature in the thickness direction is obtained from the Fourier law of heat conduction in the unsteady state. The results obtained from the present FEM are compared with the benchmark examples. Next, the effect of angle of twist, intensity of thermal shock, variable chord and span and volume fraction index on the transient response due to thermal shock obtained from the two homogenization models viz., Voigt and LRVE scheme is investigated. It is shown that there can be a significant difference in the transient response calculated by the two homogenization models for a particular set of material and geometric parameters.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.437-454
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• 2022

Elliptic-braced simple resisting frame as a new lateral bracing system installed in the middle bay of frame in building facades has been recently introduced. This system not only creates a problem for opening space from the architectural viewpoint but also improves the structural behavior. Despite the researches on the seismic performance of lateral bracing systems, there are few studies performed on the effect of the stiffness parameters on the elastic story drift and calculation of period in simple braced steel frames. To overcome this shortcoming, in this paper, for the first time, an analytical solution is presented for calculating elastic lateral stiffness in a simple steel frame equipped with elliptic brace subjected to lateral load. In addition, for the first time, in this study, a precise formulation has been developed to evaluate the elastic stiffness variation in a steel frame equipped with a two-dimensional single-story single-span elliptic brace using strain energy and Castigliano's theorem. Thus, all the effective factors, including axial and shear loads as well as bending moments of elliptic brace could be considered. At the end of the analysis, the lateral stiffness can be calculated by an improved and innovative relation through the energy method based on the geometrical properties of the employed sections and specification of the used material. Also, an equivalent element of an elliptic brace was presented for the ease of modeling and use in linear designs. Application of the proposed relation have been verified through a variety of examples in OpenSees software. Based on the results, the error percentage between the elastic stiffness derived from the developed equations and the numerical analyses of finite element models was very low and negligible.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.375-389
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• 2023

In this study, free vibration analysis of functionally graded (FG) porous truncated conical shell panels reinforced by graphene platelets (GPLs) has been investigated for the first time. Additionally, the effect of three different types of porosity distribution and five different types of GPLs patterns on dynamic response of the shell are also studied. Halpin-Tsai micromechanical model and Voigt's rule are used to determine Young modulus, shear modulus and Poisson's ratio with mass densities of the shell, respectively. The main novelties of present study are: applying 3D elasticity theory and the finite element method in conjunction with Rayleigh-Ritz method to give more accurate results unlike other simplified shell theories, and also presenting a general 3D solution in cylindrical coordinate system that can be used for analyses of different structures such as circular, annular and annular sector plates, cylindrical shells and panels, and conical shells and panels. A convergence study is performed to justify the correctness of the obtained solution and numerical results. The impact of porosity and GPLs patterns, the volume of voids, the weight fraction of graphene nanofillers, semi vertex and span angles of the cone, and various boundary conditions on natural frequencies of the functionally graded panel have been comprehensively studied and discussed. The results show that the most important parameter on dynamic response of FG porous truncated conical panel is the weight fraction of nanofiller and adding 1% weight fraction of nanofiller could increase 57% approximately the amounts of natural frequencies of the shell. Moreover, the porosity distribution has great effect on the value of natural frequency of structure rather than the porosity coefficient.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.2A
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• pp.149-159
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• 2010

This paper presents an experimental study on the structural behavior of composite CFT truss girder bridge with full depth precast panels. The length of span is 20,000 mm. The CFT truss girder is a tubular truss composed of chord members made of concrete-filled and hollow circular tubes. To determine fundamental structural characteristics such as the strength and deformation properties of composite CFT truss girder bridge, static and dynamic tests were conducted. The natural frequencies calculated by the FEM are in good agreement with experimental results obtained from dynamic test. Bracing have only a small effect on the natural frequencies of composite CFT truss girder bridge as indicated by the FEM results. The yield strength and deformation of the composite CFT truss girder bridges were investigated through a static bending test. Besides, the test results showed that uniform distribution of shear connectors can be applicable in composite CFT truss girder bridges.