• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.3
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• pp.375-391
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• 2022

This paper discussed and analyzed the interfacial stress distribution characteristic of adjacent cracks in Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) plate strengthened concrete slabs. One un-strengthened concrete test beam and four CFRP plate-strengthened concrete test beams were designed to carry out four-point flexural tests. The test data shows that the interfacial shear stress between the interface of CFRP plate and concrete can effectively reduce the crack shrinkage of the tensile concrete and reduces the width of crack. The maximum main crack flexural height in pure bending section of the strengthened specimen is smaller than that of the un-strengthened specimen, the CFRP plate improves the rigidity of specimens without brittle failure. The average ultimate bearing capacity of the CFRP-strengthened specimens was increased by 64.3% compared to that without CFRP-strengthen. This indicites that CFRP enhancement measures can effectively improve the ultimate bearing capacity and delay the occurrence of debonding damage. Based on the derivation of mechanical analysis model, the calculation formula of interfacial shear stress between adjacent cracks is proposed. The distributions characteristics of interfacial shear stress between certain crack widths were given. In the intermediate cracking region of pure bending sections, the length of the interfacial softening near the mid-span cracking position gradually increases as the load increases. The CFRP-concrete interface debonding capacity with the larger adjacent crack spacing is lower than that with the smaller adjacent crack spacing. The theoretical calculation results of interfacial bonding shear stress between adjacent cracks have good agreement with the experimental results. The interfacial debonding failure between adjacent cracks in the intermediate cracking region was mainly caused by the root of the main crack. The larger the spacing between adjacent cracks exists, the easier the interfacial debonding failure occurs.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.479-500
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• 2022

In this study, a new type of isolation bearing is proposed by combining S-shaped steel plate dampers (SSDs) with a spherical steel bearing, and the seismic control effect of a five-span standard high-speed railway bridge is investigated. The advantages of the proposed S-shaped steel damping friction bearing (SSDFB) are that it cannot only lengthen the structural periods, dissipate the seismic energy, but also prevent bridge unseating due to the restraint effectiveness of SSDs in the large relative displacements between the girders and piers. This study first presents a detailed description and working principle of the SSDFB. Then, mechanical modeling of the SSDFB was derived to fundamentally define its cyclic behavior and obtain key mechanical parameters. The numerical model of the SSDFB's critical component SSD was verified by comparing it with the experimental results. After that, parameter studies of the dimensions and number of SSDs, the friction coefficient, and the gap length of the SSDFBs were conducted. Finally, the longitudinal seismic responses of the bridge with SSDFBs were compared with the bridge with spherical bearing and spherical bearing with strengthened shear keys. The results showed that the SSDFB can not only significantly mitigate the shear force responses and residual displacement in bridge substructures but also can effectively reduce girder displacement and prevent bridge unseating, at a cost of inelastic deformation of the SSDs, which is easy to replace. In conclusion, the SSDFB is expected to be a cost-effective option with both multi-stage energy dissipation and restraint capacity, making it particularly suitable for seismic isolation application to high-speed railway bridges.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.351-363
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• 2023

Reducing the self-weight of reinforced concrete structures problem is discussed in this paper by using two types of self-weight reduction, the first is by using lightweight coarse aggregate (crushed brick) and the second is by using styropor block. Experimental and Numerical studies are conducted on (LWAC) lightweight aggregate reinforced concrete slabs, having styropor blocks with various sizes of blocks and the ratio of shear span to the effective depth (a/d). The experimental part included testing eleven lightweight concrete one-way simply supported slabs, comprising three as reference slabs (solid slabs) and eight as styropor block slabs (SBS) with a total reduction in cross-sectional area of (43.3% and 49.7%) were considered. The holes were formed by placing styropor at the ineffective concrete zones in resisting the tensile stresses. The length, width, and thickness of specimen dimensions were 1.1 m, 0.6 m, and 0.12 m respectively, except one specimen had a depth of 85 mm (which has a cross-sectional area equal to styropor block slab with a weight reduction of 49.7%). Two shear spans to effective depth ratios (a/d) of (3.125) for load case (A) and (a/d) of (2) for load case (B), (two-line monotonic loads) are considered. The test results showed under loading cases A and B (using minimum shear reinforcement and the reduction in cross-sectional area of styropor block slab by 29.1%) caused an increase in strength capacity by 60.4% and 54.6 % compared to the lightweight reference slab. Also, the best percentage of reduction in cross-sectional area is found to be 49.7%. Numerically, the computer program named (ANSYS) was used to study the behavior of these reinforced concrete slabs by using the finite element method. The results show acceptable agreement with the experimental test results. The average difference between experimental and numerical results is found to be (11.06%) in ultimate strength and (5.33%) in ultimate deflection.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2024

Widespread damages from extreme winds have attracted lots of attentions of the resilience assessment of power distribution systems. With many related environmental parameters as well as numerous power infrastructure components, such as poles and wires, the increased challenge of power asset management before, during and after extreme events have to be addressed to prevent possible cascading failures in the power distribution system. Many extreme winds from weather events, such as hurricanes, generate widespread damages in multiple areas such as the economy, social security, and infrastructure management. The livelihoods of residents in the impaired areas are devastated largely due to the paucity of vital utilities, such as electricity. To address the challenge of power grid asset management, power system clustering is needed to partition a complex power system into several stable clusters to prevent the cascading failure from happening. Traditionally, system clustering uses the Binary Decision Diagram (BDD) to derive the clustering result, which is time-consuming and inefficient. Meanwhile, the previous studies considering the weather hazards did not include any detailed weather-related meteorologic parameters which is not appropriate as the heterogeneity of the parameters could largely affect the system performance. Therefore, a fragility-based network hierarchical spectral clustering method is proposed. In the present paper, the fragility curve and surfaces for a power distribution subsystem are obtained first. The fragility of the subsystem under typical failure mechanisms is calculated as a function of wind speed and pole characteristic dimension (diameter or span length). Secondly, the proposed fragility-based hierarchical spectral clustering method (F-HSC) integrates the physics-based fragility analysis into Hierarchical Spectral Clustering (HSC) technique from graph theory to achieve the clustering result for the power distribution system under extreme weather events. From the results of vulnerability analysis, it could be seen that the system performance after clustering is better than before clustering. With the F-HSC method, the impact of the extreme weather events could be considered with topology to cluster different power distribution systems to prevent the system from experiencing power blackouts.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.91 no.3
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• pp.263-277
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• 2024

The primary aim of this study is to introduce an innovative configuration for stirrup hooks in reinforced concrete beams and analyze the impact of factors such as stirrup spacing, placement, and hook lengths on the structural performance of reinforced concrete beam elements. A total of 18 specimens were produced and subjected to reversed cyclic loading, with two specimens serving as reference specimens and the remaining 16 specimens utilizing a specifically developed stirrup hook configuration. The experiment used reinforced concrete beams scaled down to half their original size. These beams were built with a shear span-to-depth ratio of 3 (a/d=3). The experimental samples were divided into two distinct groups. The first group comprises nine test specimens that consider the contribution of concrete to shear strength, while the second group consists of nine test specimens that do not consider this contribution. The preparation of reference beam specimens for both groups involved the utilization of standard hooks. The stirrup hooks in the test specimens are configured with a 90-degree angle positioned at the midpoint of the bottom section of the beam. The criteria considered in this study included the distance between hooks, hook angle, stirrup spacing, hook orientation, and hook length. In the experimental group examining the contribution of concrete on shear strength, it was noted that the stirrup hooks of both the R1 reference specimen and specific test specimens displayed indications of opening. However, when the contribution of concrete on shear strength was not considered, it was observed that none of the stirrup hooks proposed in the R0 reference specimen and test specimens showed any indications of opening. Neglecting the contribution of concrete in the assessment of shear strength yielded more favorable outcomes regarding structural robustness. The study found that the strength values obtained using the suggested alternative stirrup hook were similar to those of the reference specimens. Furthermore, all the test specimens successfully achieved the desired strengths.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.34-43
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• 2012

The behaviors of the curved bridges which has been constructed in the RAMP or Interchange are very complicate and different than orthogonal bridges according to the variations of radius of curvature, skew angle and spacing of shoes. Occasionally, the camber of girder and negative reactions can be occurred due to bending and torsional moment. In this study, the effects on the negative reaction in the curved bridge were investigated on the basis of design variables such as radius of curvature, skew angle, and spacing of shoes. For this study, the twin-steel box girder curved bridge with single span which is applicable for the RAMP bridges with span length(L) of 50.0m and width of 9.0m was chosen and the structural analysis to calculate the reactions was conducted using 3-dimensional equivalent grillage system. The value of negative reaction in curved bridges depends on the plan structures of bridges, the formations of structural systems, and the boundary conditions of bearing, so, radius of curvature, skew angle, and spacing of shoes among of design variables were chosen as the parameter and the load combination according to the design standard were considered. According to the results of numerical analysis, the negative reaction in curved bridge increased with an decrease of radius of curvature, skew angle, and spacing of shoes, respectively. Also, in case of skew angle of $60^{\circ}$ the negative reaction has been always occurred without regard to ${\theta}/B$, and in case of skew angle of $75^{\circ}$ the negative reaction hasn't been occurred in ${\theta}/B$ below 0.27 with the radius of curvature of 180m and in ${\theta}/B$ below 0.32 with the radius of curvature of 250m, and in case of skew angle of $90^{\circ}$ the negative reaction hasn't been occurred in the radius of curvature over 180m and in ${\theta}/B$ below 0.38 with the radius of curvature of 130m, The results from this study indicated that occurrence of negative reaction was related to design variables such as radius of curvature, skew angle, and spacing of shoes, and the problems with the stability including negative reaction will be expected to be solved as taken into consideration of the proper combinations of design variables in design of curved bridge.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.343-348
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• 2007

To assess the environmental risks of transgenic chili pepper with PepEST gene on non-target organisms before it exposes to the agro-ecosystem environments, we conducted the three sets of green peach aphids (Myzus persicas S.) life table experiment under laboratory conditions (Temp. $25^{\circ}C$, R.H. 50-70%, Photoperiod L16 : D8) in series during 2005-2006. We measured the net reproductive rate ($R_0)^*$, the intrinsic rate of increase ($r_m$), the mean generation time ($T_c$), $fecundity^*$, life span, and reproduction period between non-transgenic chili peppers and transgenic chili peppers, respectively. The life span of green peach aphids from three sets was 31, 27, 25 days, and the period of life span was similar to the general average length of green peach aphids, 25-29 days. Although the first reproduction of transgenic pepper was similar to the non transgenic pepper (P>0.05), the fecundity and the net reproductive rate ($R_o$) by using Jackknife method of transgenic pepper were lower than those of non transgenic pepper (P<0.05). Conclusively, we observed the adverse effect from our results but we should execute further experiments to confirm the results at the fields with the similar way.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.429-440
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• 2021

During the growing period, the integrated solar radiation inside the greenhouse was 12.7MJ·m^-2d^-1, and which was 90% of the average daily global radiation outside the greenhouse, 14.1MJ·m^-2d^-1. The 24-hour average temperature inside the greenhouse from July to August, which has the highest temperature of the year, was 3.04℃ lower than the outside temperature, and 4.07℃ lower after the rainy season. Before the operation of fog cooling system, the average daily RH (%) was lowered to a minimum of 40% (20% for daytime), making it inappropriate for paprika cultivation, but after the operation of fog system, the daily RH during the daytime increased to 70 to 85%. The average humidity deficit increased to a maximum of 12.7g/m³ before fog supply, but decreased to 3.7g/m³ between July and August after fog supply, and increased again after October. The daytime residual CO₂ concentration inside the greenhouse was 707 ppm on average during the whole growing period. The marketable yield of paprika harvested from July 27th to November 23rd, 2020 was higher in 'DSP-7054' and 'Allrounder' with 14,255kg/10a and 14,161kg/10a, respectively, followed by 'K-Gloria orange', 'Volante' and 'Nagono'. There were significant differences between paprika cultivars in fruit length, fruit diameter, soluble solids (°Brix), and flash thickness (mm) of paprika produced in summer season at large single-span plastic greenhouse. The soluble solids content was higher in the orange cultivars 'DSP-7054' and 'Naarangi' and the flesh thickness was higher in the yellow and orange cultivars, with 'K-Gloria orange' and 'Allrounder' being the thickest. The marketable yield of paprika, which was treated with cooling and heating treatments in the root zone, increased by 16.1% in the entire cultivars compared to the untreated ones, increased by 16.5% in 'Nagano', 10.3% in the 'Allrounder', 20.2% in the 'Naarangi', and 17.3% in 'Raon red'.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.334-342
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• 2016

In order to evaluate the modified installation methods of roof ventilation devices, derived from the previous experiment ('investigation into the optimum capacity of roof ventilation devices and their deployment'), the conventional and modified (improved) roof ventilation systems were installed in the single-span plastic greenhouse for growing oriental melons. The roof vents ($60{\varphi}$) and roof fans (maximum air capacity of $38m^3/min$) were installed in the spacing of 15m (FT, modified 'side vent+roof fan' ventilation) and 6m (TT, modified 'side vent+roof vent' ventilation) respectively on the roof of greenhouses for the modified roof ventilation treatments, and 20m (FC, conventional 'side vent+roof fan' ventilation) and 8m (TC, conventional 'side vent+roof vent' ventilation) for the conventional ones. The stem diameter, leaf blade lengh, petiole length, and leaf width were lower in the FT and TT treatments than those in the conventional treatments, FC and TC. Although the fruit weight and total yields were slightly lower in the FT and TT treatments, the marketable fruit ratio (%) were higher, as a result of increased fruiting ratio (%) in these treatments, than those of FC and TC. The marketable yields (kg/10a) in the FT and TT treatments were 8,391 kg/10a and 7,283 kg/10a, which were respectively 661 kg/10a and 487 kg/10a higher than those in the treatments of FC and TC. The modified installation methods of roof fan resulted in production of more female flowers and lower fruit drop ratio (%) compared to conventional meathods. In the treatment of the conventional ventilation with roof vent, the fruit weight, fruit length & width, and flesh thickness were higher than in other treatments, but there were no significant differences in the fruit width and flesh thickness among the treatments.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.276-282
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• 2017

The aim of this study was to compare and analyze air temperature and humidity distribution and energy consumptions according to using air circulation fans in single-span greenhouses. The greenhouses located in Cheongnam-myeon, Cheongyang-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. There were cherry tomatoes in the greenhouses and the size of greenhouses was as follows;ridge height : 3.2 m, wide : 6 m, length : 95 m. The heating system was composed of a hot-water boiler and 6 FCUs(Fan Coil Unit)-4 FCUs were on bottom with duct and 2 FCUs were installed at 2.0 m. A total of 18 air circulation fans(impeller's diameter : 230 mm) were bilaterally arranged in 2 rows in the experimental greenhouse. The sensors for measuring air temperature and humidity were located at a quarter and three quarters of a length. The height of sensors were 0.8 m, 1.8 m. To calculate energy consumption in greenhouses, water temperature at inlet and outlet in a water pump, volume of water were measured. Form February 3rd to March 23th, temperature, humidity and energy consumptions were measured during heating time(6pm~7am). In a greenhouse without fans, the average differences of temperature and humidity were $0.75^{\circ}C$, 2.31%, respectively. The operation of fans showed their differences to $0.42^{\circ}C$, 1.8%. The standard deviation of temperature and humidity between measuring points in the greenhouse with fans was lower than the greenhouse without fans. Total energy consumptions in a greenhouse without fans were 4,673 kWh. In the greenhouse with fans, the total energy consumptions were 4,009 kWh. The energy consumptions in a greenhouse with fans 14.2% were less than the greenhouse without fans. Therefore, air circulation makes temperature and humidity uniform and saves energy consumptions for heating.