• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.603-623
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• 2022

This article is dedicated to predict the natural frequencies of joined conical shell structures made of Functionally Graded Material (FGM). The structure includes two conical segments. The equivalent material properties are found by using the rule of mixture based on Voigt model. In addition, three well-known patterns are employed for distribution of material properties throughout the thickness of the structure. The main objective of the present research is to propose a novel exponential pattern and obtain the related equivalent material properties. Furthermore, the Donnell type shell theory is used to obtain the governing equations of motion. Note that these equations are obtained by employing First-order Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT). In order to discretize the governing system of differential equations, well-known and efficient semi-analytical scheme, namely Generalized Differential Quadrature Method (GDQM), is utilized. Different boundary conditions are considered for various types of single and joined conical shell structures. Moreover, an applicable modification is considered for the continuity conditions at intersection position. In the first step, the proposed formulation is verified by solving some well-known benchmark problems. Besides, some new numerical examples are analyzed to show the accuracy and high capability of the suggested technique. Additionally, several geometric and material parameters are studied numerically.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.407-421
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• 2022

Prefabricated hybrid wind turbine towers (WTTs) are promising due to height increase. This study proposes the use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) to develop a new type of WTT without the need to use reinforcement. It is demonstrated that the UHPC WTT structure without reinforcing bars could achieve performance similar to that of reinforced concrete WTTs. To simplify the design of WTT, a design approach for the calculation of stresses at the horizontal joints of a WTT is proposed. The stress distribution near the region of the horizontal joint of the WTT structure under normal operating conditions and different load actions is studied using the proposed approach, which is validated by the finite element method. A further parametric study shows that the degree of prestressing and the bending moment both significantly affect the principal stress. The shear-to-torsion ratio also shows a significant influence on the principal tensile stress.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.345-353
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• 2022

The configuration of an open ground floor (pilotis) is a common and very critical irregularity observed in multistory reinforced concrete frame structures. The characteristics and the geometrical formation of the beams of the first story proved to be a critical parameter for the overall seismic behavior of this type of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures. In this work the combination of open ground floor (pilotis) morphology with very strong perimetrical beams at the level of the first story is studied. The observation of the seismic damages and the in situ measurements of the fundamental period of four buildings with this morphology and Π-shaped plan view are presented herein. Further analytical results of a pilotis type Π-shaped RC structure are also included in the study. From the measurements and the analytical results yield that the open ground floor configuration greatly influences the fundamental period whereas this morphology in combination with strong beams can lead to severe local shear damages in the columns of the ground floor. The structural damage was limited in the columns of the ground floor and yet based on the changes of the in situ measured fundamental period the damaged level is assessed as DI=88%. Furthermore, due to the Π-shape of the plan view the tendency of the parts of the building to move independently strongly influences the distribution of the damages over the ground floor vertical elements.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.765-777
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• 2022

Ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) can be used in the UHPC-steel composite structures especially for bridge structures to achieve high stiffness and high fatigue resistance with low self-weight. The structural performances of UHPC-steel composite slabs subjected to hogging moment have a significant influence on the global stiffness and durability of UHPC-steel composite structures. In order to study the structural behaviors of non-steam-cured UHPC-steel composite slabs subjected to negative moment, five composite slabs combined the thin UHPC layers to steel plates via shear stud connecters with the diameter of 16mm were fabricated and tested under negative moment. The test program aimed to investigate the effect of stud spacing and longitudinal reinforcement ratios on the failure mode, load-deflection behaviors, cracking patterns, bond-slips, and carrying capacities of composite slabs subjected to negative moment. In addition, direct tensile tests for the dog-bone UHPC specimens with longitudinal reinforcement bars were carried out to study the effect of reinforcement bars on the tensile strength of UHPC in the thin structure members. Based on the experimental results, analytical models were also developed to predict the cracking load and ultimate load of UHPC-steel composite slabs subjected to negative moment.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.6
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• pp.729-742
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• 2023

It is a recent attraction to the mechanical scientists to investigate state of wave propagation, buckling and vibration in the sport balls to observe the importance of different parameters on the performance of the players and the quality of game. Therefore, in the present study, we aim to investigate the wave propagation in handball game ball in term of mass of the ball and geometrical parameters wit incorporation of the viscoelastic effects of the ball material into account. In this regard, the ball is modeled using thick shell structure and classical elasticity models is utilized to obtain the equation of motion via Hamilton's principle. The displacement field of the ball model is obtained using first order shear deformation theory. The resultant equations are solved with the aid of generalized differential quadrature method. The results show that mass of the ball and viscoelastic coefficient have considerable influence on the state of wave propagation in the ball shell structure.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.83-106
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• 2023

In this work, the static behavior of FGM macro and nano-plates under thermomechanical loading. Equilibrium equations are determined by using virtual work principle and local and non-local theory. The novelty of the current model is using a new displacement field with four variables and a warping function considering the effect of shear. Through this analysis, the considered sandwich FGM macro and nanoplates are a homogeneous core and P-FGM faces, homogeneous faces and an E-FGM core and finally P-FGM faces and an E-FGM core. The analytical solution is obtained by using Navier method. The model is verified with previous published works by other models and very close results are obtained within maximum 1% deviation. The numerical results are performed to present the influence of the various parameters such as, geometric ratios, material index as well as the scale parameters are investigated. The present model can be applicable for sandwich FG plates used in nuclear, aero-space, marine, civil and mechanical applications.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.473-480
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• 2023

Acid rain of soils has a significant impact on mechanical properties. An X-ray diffraction test, scanning electron microscope (SEM) test, laser particle size analysis test, and triaxial unconsolidated undrained (UU) test were carried out in red clay soils with different compaction degrees under the effect of different concentrations of acid. The experiments demonstrated that: the dissolution effect of acid rain on colluvium weakened with the increase in the compacting degree under the condition of certain pH values, i.e., the damage to the structure of red clay soil was relatively light, where the number of newly increased pores in the soil decreased and the agglomeration of soil particles increased; for the same compacting degree, the structural gap decreased, and the agglomeration increased with the increase in the pH value (acidity decreases) of the acid rain; the dissolution rate of Si, Al, Fe, and other elemental minerals and cement in red clay soil was found to be higher under the effect of acid rain, in turn destroying the original structure of the soil body and producing a large number of pores. This is macroscopically expressed as the decrease of the soil cohesion and internal friction angle, thereby reducing the shear strength of the soil body.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.127-140
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• 2023

The vibration of microtubule in human cells is the source of electrical field around it and inside cell structure. The induction of electrical field is a direct result of the existence of dipoles on the surface of the microtubules. Measuring the electrical fields could be performed using nano-scale sensors and the data could be transformed to other computers using internet of things (IoT) technology. Processing these data is feasible by artificial intelligence-based methods. However, the first step in analyzing the vibrational behavior is to study the mechanics of microtubules. In this regard, the vibrational behavior of the microtubules is investigated in the present study. A shell model is utilized to represent the microtubules' structure. The displacement field is assumed to obey first order shear deformation theory and classical theory of elasticity for anisotropic homogenous materials is utilized. The governing equations obtained by Hamilton's principle are further solved using analytical method engaging Navier's solution procedure. The results of the analytical solution are used to train, validate and test of the deep neural network. The results of the present study are validated by comparing to other results in the literature. The results indicate that several geometrical and material factors affect the vibrational behavior of microtubules.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.519-529
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• 2022

Sandwich structures with the superior mechanical properties such as high stiffness and strength-to-weight ratio, good thermal insulation, and high energy absorption capacity are used today in aerospace, automotive, marine, and civil engineering industries. These structures are composed of moderately stiff, thin face sheets that withstand the majority of transverse and in-plane loads, separated by a thick, lightweight core that resists shear forces. In this research, the finite element technique is used to simulate a sandwich panel with a truss core under axial compressive stress using ABAQUS software. A review of past experimental studies shows that the bondline between the core and face sheets plays a vital role in the critical failure load. Therefore, this modeling analyzes the damage initiation modes and debonding between face sheet and core by cohesive surface contact with traction-separation model. According to the results obtained from the modeling, it can be observed that the adhesive stiffness has a significant influence on the critical failure load of the specimens. To achieve the full strength of the structure as a continuum, a lower limit is obtained for the adhesive stiffness. By providing this limit stiffness between the core and the panel face sheets, sudden failure of the structure can be prevented.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.43.5-44
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• 2021

In the local Universe, the gravitational effects of mass density fluctuations exert perturbations on galaxies' redshifts on top of Hubble's Law, called 'peculiar velocities'. These peculiar velocities provide an excellent way to test the cosmological model in the nearby Universe. In this talk, we present new cosmological constraints using peculiar velocities measured with the 2MASS Tully-Fisher survey (2MTF), 6dFGS peculiar-velocity survey (6dFGSv), the Cosmicflows-3 and Cosmicflows-4TF compilation. Firstly, the dipole and the quadrupole of the peculiar velocity field, commonly named 'bulk flow' and 'shear' respectively, enable us to test whether our cosmological model accurately describes the motion of galaxies in the nearby Universe. We develop and use a new estimators that accurately preserves the error distribution of the measurements to measure these moments. In all cases, our results are consistent with the predictions of the Λ cold dark matter model. Additionally, measurements of the growth rate of structure, fσ8 in the low-redshift Universe allow us to test different gravitational models. We developed a new estimator of the "momentum" (density weighted peculiar velocity) power spectrum and use joint measurements of the galaxy density and momentum power spectra to place new constraints on the growth rate of structure from the combined 2MTF and 6dFGSv data. We recover a constraint of fσ8=0.404+0.082-0.081 at an effective redshift zeff=0.03. This measurement is also fully consistent with the expectations of General Relativity and the Λ Cold Dark Matter cosmological model.