• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.167-181
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• 2022

Soil liquefaction has been one of the most important concerns in geotechnical earthquake engineering in recent years, due to its damages to structures and its destructive effects. The cyclic liquefaction of silty sands, in particular, remains of great interest for both research and application. Although many factors are known that affect the liquefaction resistance of sands, the effect of fine grain content is perhaps one of the most studied and still controversial. In this study, 48 deformation-controlled cyclic simple shear tests were performed on BS and CS silt samples mixed with 5%, 15% and 30% by weight of Krk085, Krk042 and Krk025 sands in constant-volume conditions to determine the liquefaction potential of silty sands. The tests were carried out at 30% and 50% relative density and under 100 kPa effective stress. The results revealed that the liquefaction potential of silty sand increases with increasing average particle size ratio (D_50sand / d_50silt) of the mixture for a fixed silt content. Furthermore, for identical base sand, the liquefaction potentials of coarse grained sands increase with increasing silt content, while the respective potentials of fine grained sands generally decrease. However, this situation may vary depending on the silt grain structure and is affected by the nature of the fine grains. In addition, the variation of the void ratio interval was shown to provide a good intuition in determining the liquefaction potentials of silty sands, while the intergranular void ratio alone does not constitute a criterion for determining the liquefaction potentials of silty sands.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.59-71
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• 2023

Corrosion of the headed studs shear connectors is an important factor in the reduction of the durability and mechanical properties of the steel-concrete composite structure. In order to study the effect of stud corrosion on the mechanical properties in the negative moment region of steel-concrete composite beams, the corrosion of stud was carried out by accelerating corrosion method with constant current. Static monotonic loading was adopted to evaluate the cracking load, interface slip, mid-span deflection, and ultimate bearing capacity of four composite beams with varying corrosion rates of headed studs. The effect of stud corrosion on the stiffness of the composite beam's hogging moment zone during normal service stage was thoroughly examined. The results indicate that the cracking load decreased by 50% as the corrosion rate of headed studs increase to 10%. Meanwhile, due to the increase of interface slip and mid-span deflection, the bending stiffness dropped significantly with the same load. In comparison to uncorroded specimens, the secant stiffness of specimens with 0.5 times ultimate load was reduced by 25.9%. However, corrosion of shear studs had no obvious effect on ultimate bending capacity. Based on the experimental results and the theory of steel-concrete interface slip, a method was developed to calculate the bending stiffness in the negative bending moment region of composite beams during normal service stage while taking corrosion of headed studs into account. The validity of the calculation method was demonstrated by data analysis.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.416-421
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• 2023

Multifunctional composite materials capable of both load-carrying and energy functions are promising innovative candidates for the advancement of contemporary technologies owing to their relative feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and optimized performance. Carbon fiber (CF)-based structural batteries utilize the graphitic inherent structure to enable the employment of carbon fibers as electrodes, current collectors, and reinforcement, while the matrix system is an ion-conduction and load transfer medium. Although it is possible to enhance performance through the modification of constituents, there remains a need for a systematic design methodology scheme to streamline the commercialization of structural batteries. In this work, a bi-phasic epoxy-based ionic liquid (IL) modified structural battery electrolyte (SBE) was developed via thermally initiated phase separation. The polymer's morphological, mechanical, and electrochemical characteristics were studied. In addition, the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) between CF/SBE was investigated via microdroplet tests. The results accentuated the significance of considering IFSS and matrix plasticity in designing composite structural batteries. This approach is expected to lay the foundation for realizing smart structures with optimized performance while minimizing the need for extensive trial and error, by paving the way for a streamlined computational design scheme in the future.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.3
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• pp.219-232
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• 2024

In current study, for the first time, Nonlinear Bending of a skew microplate made of a laminated composite strengthened with graphene nanosheets is investigated. A mixture of mechanical and thermal stresses is applied to the plate, and the reaction is analyzed using the First Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT). Since different percentages of graphene sheets are included in the multilayer structure of the composite, the characteristics of the composite are functionally graded throughout its thickness. Halpin-Tsai models are used to characterize mechanical qualities, whereas Schapery models are used to characterize thermal properties. The microplate's non-linear strain is first calculated by calculating the plate shear deformation and using the Green-Lagrange tensor and von Karman assumptions. Then the elements of the Couple and Cauchy stress tensors using the Modified Coupled Stress Theory (MCST) are derived. Next, using the Hamilton Principle, the microplate's governing equations and associated boundary conditions are calculated. The nonlinear differential equations are linearized by utilizing auxiliary variables in the nonlinear solution by applying the Frechet approach. The linearized equations are rectified via an iterative loop to precisely solve the problem. For this, the Differential Quadrature Method (DQM) is utilized, and the outcomes are shown for the basic support boundary condition. To ascertain the maximum values of microplate deflection for a range of circumstances-such as skew angles, volume fractions, configurations, temperatures, and length scales-a parametric analysis is carried out. To shed light on how the microplate behaves in these various circumstances, the resulting results are analyzed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.127-142
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• 2024

The amount of wave propagation through a rubber concrete construction is the subject of the current investigation. Rubber tire waste was used to make two different types of cement mixtures. One type contains sand substitute in amounts ranging from 15% to 60% of the total volume, while the other has gravel with diameters of 3/8 and 8/15 and 15% sand in the same mixture. A wide variety of concrete forms and compositions were created, and their viscous and solid state characteristics were assessed, along with their short-, medium-, and long-term strengths. Diffusion, density, mechanical strength resistance to compressive force, and ultrasound wave propagation were also assessed. The water-to-cement ratio and plasticizer were used in this investigation. In the second part of the study, an analytical model is presented that simulates the experimental model in predicting the speed of waves and the frequencies accompanying them for this type of mixture. Higher order shear deformation beam theory for wave propagation in the rubberized concrete beam is developed, considering the bidirectional distribution, which is primarily expressed by the density, the Poisson coefficient, and Young's modulus. Hamilton's concept is used to determine the governing equations of the wave propagation in the rubberized concrete beam structure. When the analytical and experimental results for rubber concrete beams were compared, the outcomes were very comparable. The addition of rubber gravel and sandy rubber to the mixture both resulted in a discernible drop in velocities and frequencies, according to the data.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.381-395
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• 2024

With the wide application of urban subway tunnels, the foundation pits of new stations and existing subway tunnels are becoming increasingly close, and even zero-distance close-fitting construction has taken place. To optimize the construction support scheme, the existing tunnel's vertical displacement is theoretically analyzed using the two-stage analysis method to understand the action mechanism of the construction of zero-distance deep large foundation pits on both sides of the existing stations; a three-dimensional numerical calculation is also performed for further analysis. First, the additional stress field on the existing tunnel caused by the unloading of zero-distance foundation pits on both sides of the tunnel is derived based on the Mindlin stress solution of a semi-infinite elastic body under internal load. Then, considering the existing subway tunnel's joints, shear stiffness, and shear soil deformation effect, the tunnel is regarded as a Timoshenko beam placed on the Kerr foundation; a sixth-order differential control equation of the tunnel under the action of additional stress is subsequently established for solving the vertical displacement of the tunnel. These theoretical calculation results are then compared with the numerical simulation results and monitoring data. Finally, an optimized foundation pit support scheme is obtained considering the pit corner effect and external corner failure mode. The research shows a high consistency between the monitoring data,analytical and numerical solution, and the closer the tunnel is to the foundation pit, the more uplift deformation will occur. The internal corner of the foundation pit can restrain the deformation of the tunnel and the retaining structure, while the external corner can cause local stress concentration on the diaphragm wall. The proposed optimization scheme can effectively reduce construction costs while meeting the safety requirements of foundation pit support structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.343-356
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• 2016

As the common cast-in-place construction works fails to meet the enormous construction demand under rapid economic growth, the development of prefabricated structure instead becomes increasingly promising in China. For the prefabricated structure, its load carrying connection joint play a key role in maintaining the structural integrity. Therefore, a novel end plate bolt connecting joint between fully prefabricated pre-stressed concrete beam and high-strength reinforcement-confined concrete column was proposed. Under action of low cycle repeated horizontal loadings, comparative tests are conducted on 6 prefabricated pre-stressed intermediate joint specimens and 1 cast-in-place joint specimen to obtain the specimen failure modes, hysteresis curves, skeleton curves, ductility factor, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation capacity and other seismic indicators, and the seismic characteristics of the new-type prefabricated beam-column connecting joint are determined. The test results show that all the specimens for end plate bolt connecting joint between fully prefabricated pre-stressed concrete beam and high-strength reinforcement-confined concrete column have realized the design objectives of strong column weak beam. The hysteretic curves for specimens are good, indicating desirable ductility and energy dissipation capacity and seismic performances, and the research results provide theoretical basis and technical support for the promotion and application of prefabricated assembly frames in the earthquake zone.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.52-59
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• 2015

In this paper, the vibration control effect of the isotropic damping devices (so-called Kagome dampers) was investigated by applying the Kagome dampers to a 20-story frame structure apartment. A new Kagome Damper System (KGDS) composed of the dampers and supporting column was proposed and numerical analyses were performed to investigate the effects of stiffness ratio between controlled structure and supporting column, the damper size and the number of the dampers. The numerical analysis results of a structure with KGDS up to the third story showed that the stiffness ratio should be higher than 6.4 and the damper size be at least $700{\times}700mm$ to effectively reduce the base shear and the maximum drift of the uppermost story. When the KGDS was installed up to the fifth story, the stiffness ratio should be higher than 7.0 and damper size needs to be at least $500{\times}500mm$ for obtaining the target performance.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.30-38
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• 2016

Flame structure of co-firing coal and palm kernel shell (PKS) was investigated in a pulverized coal swirl burner by particle image velocimetry (PIV). The pulverized coal swirl flame is operated with a PKS blending ratio of 10%, 20%, and 30%. For all operating conditions, flame structures such as internal recirculation zone (IRZ), outer recirculation zone (ORZ), and exhaust tube vortex (ETV) were observed. In the center of flame, the strong velocity gradient is occurred at the stagnation point where the volatile gas combustion actively takes place and the acceleration is increased with higher PKS blending ratio. OH radical shows the burned gas region at the stagnation point and shear layer between IRZ and ORZ. In addition, OH radical intensity increases for a co-firing condition because of high volatile matter from PKS. Because the volatile gas combustion takes place at lower temperature, co-firing condition (more than 20%) leads to oxygen deficiency and reduces the combustibility of coal particle near the burner. Therefore, increasing PKS blending ratio leads to higher OH radical intensity and lower temperature.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.510-519
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• 2009

Ship structure is composed of the welded mixture members which are plate and stiffeners. Ship structure is also influenced by variable loadings such as wave and inertia load. There have been several fatigue damage problems on the connection between longitudinal and transverse web due to wide usage of high tensile steel and adoption of wide web space to improve shipbuilding productivity. It is impossible to estimate the fatigue lives for all connection details through refined fatigue analysis. It is necessary to use the simplified approach for the fatigue life estimation of the connection details. PLUS analysis, which is suggested by the classification society, is one of the simplified approaches and is widely adopted to get fatigue lives for the connection details along whole cargo hold area. However, ship building yards still have difficulties to get fatigue lives due to large amount of calculation and time even if this approach reduce the time and amount of calculation. This paper treats the computing system developed to reduce efforts of estimating the fatigue lives. The influence factors of mean shear stress and local dynamic pressure are easily calculated and fatigue lives for all hot spots can be estimated automatically by the developed computing system. It is possible to reduce computing time and efforts to get the fatigue lives for the connection details between longitudinals and transverse webs along the ship. This system was applied to get fatigue lives on the connection details of a VLCC and verified the availability.