• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.173-188
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• 2022

In modern buildings, glass is considered a structurally unsafe material due to its brittleness and unpredictable failure behavior. The possible use of structural glass elements (i.e., floors, beams and columns) is generally prevented by its poor tensile strength and a frequent occurrence of brittle failures. In this study an innovative modelling based on an equivalent thickness concept of laminated glass beam reinforced with FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer) composite material and of glass plates punched is presented. In particular, the novel numerical modelling applied to an embedding Carbon FRP-rod in the interlayer of a laminated structural glass beam is considered in order to increase both its failure strength, together with its post-failure strength and ductility. The proposed equivalent modelling of different specimens enables us to carefully evaluate the effects of this reinforcement. Both the responses of the reinforced beam and un-reinforced one are evaluated, and the corresponding results are compared and discussed. A novel equivalent modelling for reinforced glass beams using FRP composites is presented for FEM analyses in modern material components and proved estimations of the expected performance are provided. Moreover, the new suggested numerical analysis is also applied to laminated glass plates with wide holes at both ends for the technological reasons necessary to connect a glass beam to a structure. Obtained results are compared with an integer specimen. Experimental considerations are reported.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.475-490
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• 2021

With glass becoming a structural material there is a whole new approach for loading and ensuring the safety of construction. Due to its brittle nature, it is necessary to predict all possible problems so that structural integrity would not be endangered. In this paper, different approaches to modelling the glass elements are presented with references to the advantages, disadvantages, and application of each of them. The intention is clear, there is a need to improve and simplify the design guidelines. Given the increasing use of glass in construction it is not practical to produce experimental tests each time when the verification is needed. Today, architecture is bringing us different types of structures and every project presents a new challenge for engineers. A practical and simple approach is crucial for progress and efficiency. In this paper, different approaches to modelling glass are presented with an emphasis on soft body impact.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.77-90
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• 2017

Glazed curtain walls are façade systems frequently chosen in modern architecture for mid and high-rise buildings. From recent earthquakes surveys it is observed the large occurrence of non-structural components failure, such as storefronts and curtain walls, which causes sensitive economic losses and represents an hazard for occupants and pedestrians safety. In the present study, the behavior of curtain wall stick systems under seismic actions has been investigated through experimental in-plane racking tests conducted at the laboratory of the Construction Technologies Institute (ITC) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) on two full-scale aluminium/glass curtain wall test units. A finite element model has been calibrated according to experimental results in order to simulate the behavior of such components under seismic excitation. The numerical model investigates the influence of the interaction between glass panels and aluminium frame, the gasket friction and the stiffness degradation of aluminium-to-glass connections due to the high deformation level on the curtain walls behavior. This study aims to give a practical support to researchers and/or professionals who intend to numerically predict the lateral behavior of similar façade systems, so as to avoid or reduce the need of performing expensive experimental tests.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.21 no.B
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• pp.281-286
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• 2001

In this study, product design and prototype manufacturing of a plastic water-pump pulley has been tried. The designed model is supposed to be made of 33 % glass reinforced resin of which the tensile strength is 180 MPa, and has 24 ribs on each side to increase its structural strength. Structural analysis under a static load of 300 kgf acting on both edges of the belt has been carried out using a commercial finite element code, MARC. The analysis result showed the maximum effective stress near a rib of designed model would be at most 35 MPa (less than 20% of the tensile strength), therefore, the plastic product would be sufficiently safe under that loading condition. On the basis of the structural analysis, a prototype of the designed model has been manufactured by using the fused deposition modelling (FDM) method which is one of the rapid prototyping (RP) methods, using ABS resin and support materials. The CAD data exported to the RP system in STL format was prepared by a commercial solid modeling software, SolidWorks. It has been proved that the plastic pulley can successfully replace the existing flow-formed steel product.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.5
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• pp.671-678
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• 2020

In this work, the dynamic properties of a high performance concrete containing glass powder (GP) was studied. The GP is a new cementitious material obtained by recycling waste glass presenting pozzolanic activity. This eco-friendly material was incorporated in concrete mixes by replacing 20 and 30% of cement. The mechanical properties of building materials highly affect the response of the structure under dynamic actions. First, the resonant vibration frequencies were measured on concrete plate with free boundary conditions after 14, 28 and 90 curing days by using an alternative vibration monitoring technique. This technique measures the average frequencies of several excitations done at different points of the plate. This approach takes into account the heterogeneity of a material like concrete. So, the results should be more precise and reliable. For measuring the bending and torsion resonant frequencies, as well as the damping ratio. The dynamic properties of material such as dynamic elastic modulus and dynamic shear modulus were determined by modelling the plate on the finite element software ANSYS. Also, the instantaneous aroused frequency method and ultrasound method were used to determine the dynamic elastic modulus for comparison purpose, with the results obtained from vibration monitoring technique.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.3
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• pp.361-373
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• 2022

This paper examines the flexural performance of concrete beams reinforced with glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars under fatigue loading. Experiments were carried out on concrete beams of size 1500×200×100 mm reinforced with 10 mm and 13 mm diameter GFRP bars under fatigue loading. Experimental investigations revealed that fatigue loading affects both strength and serviceability properties of GFRP reinforced concrete. Experimental results indicated that (i) the concrete beams experienced increase in deflection with increase in number of cycles and failed suddenly due to snapping of rebars and (ii) the fatigue life of concrete beams drastically decreased with increase in stress level. Analytical model presented a procedure for predicting the deflection of concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars under cyclic loading. Deflection of concrete beams was computed by considering the aspects such as stiffness degradation, force equilibrium equations and effective moment of inertia. Nonlinear finite element (FE) analysis was performed on concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars. Appropriate constitutive relationships for concrete and GFRP bars were considered in the numerical modelling. Concrete non linearity has been accounted through concrete damage plasticity model available in ABAQUS. Deflection versus number of cycles obtained experimentally for various beams was compared with the analytical and numerical predictions. It was observed that the predicted values are comparable (less than 20% difference) with the corresponding experimental observations.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.167-181
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• 2023

The determination of the blast protection level and the corresponding minimum load-bearing capacity for a laminated glass (LG) window is of crucial importance for safety and security design purposes. In this paper, the focus is given to the window response under near-field blast loading, i.e., where relatively small explosives would be activated close to the target, representative of attack scenarios using small commercial drones. In general, the assessment of the load-bearing capacity of a window is based on complex and expensive experiments, which can be conducted for a small number of configurations. On the other hand, nowadays, validated numerical simulations tools based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) are available to partially substitute the physical tests for the assessment of the performance of various LG systems, especially for the far-field blast loading. However, very little literature is available on the LG window performance under near-field blast loads, which differs from far-field situations in two points: i) the duration of the load is very short, since the blast wavelength tends to increase with the distance and ii) the load distribution is not uniform over the window surface, as opposed to the almost plane wave configuration for far-field configurations. Therefore, the current study focuses on the performance assessment and structural behaviour of LG windows under near-field blasts. Typical behavioural trends are investigated, by taking into account possible relevant damage mechanisms in the LG window components, while size effects for target LG windows are also addressed under a multitude of blast loading configurations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.207-210
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• 2002

This paper is concerned with the experiments on the active vibration control of a plate with piezoceramic sensors and actuators. The natural frequencies of the composite plate featured by a piezo-film sensor and piezo-ceramic actuator are calculated by using the modal analysis method. Modal coordinates are introduced to obtain the state equations of the structural system. Six natural frequencies were considered in the modelling, because robust control theory which has inherent robustness to structured uncertainty is adopted to suppress the transients vibrations of a glass fiber reinforced(GFR) composite beam. A robust controller satisfying the nominal performance and robust performance is designed using robust theory based on the structured singular value. Simulations were carried out with the designed controller and effectiveness of the robust control strategy was verified by results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.105-126
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• 2016

In the present study, modelling and vibration control of axially moving laminated Carbon nanotubes/fiber/polymer composite (CNTFPC) plate under initial tension are investigated. Orthotropic visco-Pasternak foundation is developed to consider the influences of orthotropy angle, damping coefficient, normal and shear modulus. The governing equations of the laminated CNTFPC plates are derived based on new form of first-order shear deformation plate theory (FSDT) which is simpler than the conventional one due to reducing the number of unknowns and governing equations, and significantly, it does not require a shear correction factor. Halpin-Tsai model is utilized to evaluate the material properties of two-phase composite consist of uniformly distributed and randomly oriented CNTs through the epoxy resin matrix. Afterwards, the structural properties of CNT reinforced polymer matrix which is assumed as a new matrix and then reinforced with E-Glass fiber are calculated by fiber micromechanics approach. Employing Hamilton's principle, the equations of motion are obtained and solved by Hybrid analytical numerical method. Results indicate that the critical speed of moving laminated CNTFPC plate can be improved by adding appropriate values of CNTs. These findings can be used in design and manufacturing of marine vessels and aircrafts.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2017

Nanocomposites reinforced with carbon nanotube fibers exhibit greater stiffness, strength and damping properties in comparison to conventional composites reinforced with carbon/glass fibers. Consequently, most of the nanocomposite research is focused in understanding the dynamic characteristics, which are highly useful in applications such as vibration control and energy harvesting. It has been observed that those nanocomposites show better stiffness when the geometry of nanotubes is straight as compared to curvilinear although nanotube agglomeration may exist. In this work the damping behavior of the nanocomposite is characterized in terms of loss factor under the presence of nanotube agglomerations. A micro stick-slip damping model is used to compute the damping properties of the nanocomposites with multiwall carbon nanotubes. The present formulation considers the slippage between the interface of the matrix and the nanotubes as well as the slippage between the interlayers in the nanotubes. The nanotube agglomerations model is also presented. Results are computed based on the loss factor expressed in terms of strain amplitude and nanotube agglomerations. The results show that although-among the various factors such as the material properties (moduli of nanotubes and polymer matrix) and the geometric properties (number of nanotubes, volume fraction of nanotubes, and critical interfacial shear stresses), the agglomeration of nanotubes significantly influences the damping properties of the nanocomposites. Therefore the full potential of nanocomposites to be used for damping applications needs to be analyzed under the influence of nanotube agglomerations.