• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.189-206
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• 2017

Tanks are used to store a wide variety of liquids such as oil, gasoline and water. It is reported that, a large number of tanks have been damaged during severe earthquakes. Therefore, understanding their behavior under earthquake is an important subject for structural engineers. In this paper, a comprehensive study is presented on dynamic response of tanks. A parametric study has been completed on the rectangular storage tanks with aid of finite element method (FEM). Various parameters are investigated, such as; liquid height, density and earthquake with different peak ground acceleration (PGA). When investigating these parameters, modal and time history method is used. Six different earthquake records are used for time history analysis. The analysis results show that when the PGA increases by 10.7 times, the maximum displacements, stress, sloshing and base shear increase by 11.4, 22.6, 5.46 and 17.8 times, respectively and when the liquid height increases by two times, the absolute maximum values of stress, displacements, base shear and sloshing increase 1.65, 2.04, 2.05 and 1.34. Furthermore, values of sloshing increase with decrease in density.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.125-136
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• 2017

This study investigated the performance of a steel column standing on a reinforced concrete footing when it was subjected to collision of an eight-ton single unit truck. Finite element analyses of the structure with different connection schemes were performed using the finite element model of the truck, and the results showed that the behavior of the column subjected to the automobile impact depended largely on the column-footing connection detail. Various reinforcement schemes were investigated to mitigate the damage caused by the car impact. The probability of the model reinforced with a certain scheme to reach a given limit state was obtained by fragility analysis, and the effects of the combined reinforcement methods were investigated based on the equivalent fragility scheme. The analysis results showed that the reinforcement schemes such as increase of the pedestal area, decrease of the pedestal height, and the steel plate jacketing of the pedestal were effective in reducing the damage. As the speed of the automobile increased the contribution of the increase in the number of the anchor bolts and the dowel bars became more important to prevent crushing of the pedestal.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.68 no.4
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• pp.459-473
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• 2018

Temperature fields and temperature deformations induced by time-varying solar radiation, shadow, and heat exchange are of great importance for the ride safety and quality of the maglev system. Accurate evaluations of their effects on the dynamic performances are necessary to avoid unexpected loss of service performance. This paper presents a numerical approach to determine temperature effects on the maglev train/guideway interaction system. Heat flux density and heat transfer coefficient of different components of a 25 m simply supported concrete guideway on Shanghai High-speed Maglev Commercial Operation Line is calculated, and an appropriate section mesh is used to consider the time-varying shadow on guideway surfaces. Based on the heat-stress coupled technology, temperature distributions and deformation fields of the guideway are then computed via Finite Element method. Combining guideway irregularities and thermal deformations as the external excitations, a numerical maglev train/guideway interaction model is proposed to analyze the temperature effect. The responses comparison including and excluding temperature effect indicates that the temperature deformation plays an important role in amplifying the response of a running maglev, and the parameter analysis results suggest that climatic and environmental factors significantly affect the temperature effects on the coupled maglev system.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.4
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• pp.481-494
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• 2020

In this paper, a probability-based procedure to evaluate the performance of existing RC structures exposed to seismic and fire actions is presented. The procedure is demonstrated with reference to an existing old school building, located in Italy. The vulnerability assessment of the building highlights deficiencies under both static and seismic loads. Retrofit operations are designed to achieve the seismic safety. The idea of the work consists in assessing the performance of the existing and retrofitted building in terms of both the seismic and fire resistance. The seismic retrofit and fire resistance upgrading follow different paths, depending on the specific configuration of the building. A good seismic retrofit does not entail an improving of the fire resistance and vice versa. The goal of the current work is to study the variation of response due to the uncertainties considered in records/fire curves selection and to carry out the assessment of the studied RC structure by obtaining fragility curves under the effect of different records/temperature. The results show the fragility curves before and after retrofit operations and both in terms of seismic performance and fire resistance performance, measuring the percent improving for the different limit states.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.29-46
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• 2005

In this study, a wavelet packet based method is proposed for identifying damage occurrence and damage location for beam-like structures. This method assumes that the displacement or the acceleration response time histories at various locations along a beam-like structure both before and after damage are available for damage assessment. These responses are processed through a proper level of wavelet packet decomposition. The wavelet packet signature (WPS) that consists of wavelet packet component signal energies is calculated. The change of the WPS curvature between the baseline state and the current state is then used to identify the locations of possible damage in the structure. Two numerical studies, one on a 15-storey shear-beam building frame and another on a simply-supported steel beam, and an experimental study on a simply-supported reinforced concrete beam are performed to validate the proposed method. Results show the WPS curvature change can be used to locate both single and sparsely-distributed multiple damages that exist in the structure. Also the accuracy of assessment does not seem to be affected by the presence of 20-15dB measurement noise. One advantage of the proposed method is that it does not require any mathematical model for the structure being monitored and hence can potentially be used for practical application.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.179-196
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• 2013

An experimentally measured single footfall trace (SFT) from a walking subject needs to be extended into a continuous force curve, which can then be used as load for floor vibration serviceability assessment, or on which further analysis like discrete Fourier transform can be conducted. This paper investigates the accuracy, applicability and parametrical sensitivity of four extension methods, Methods I to IV, which extends the SFT into a continuous time history by the walking step rate, stride time, double support proportion and the double support time, respectively. Performance of the four methods was assessed by comparing their results with the experimentally obtained reference footfall traces in the time and frequency domain, and by comparing the vibrational response of a concrete slab subjected to the extended traces to that of reference traces. The effect of the extension parameter on each method was also explored through parametrical analysis. This study finds that, in general, Method I and II perform better than Method III and IV, and all of the four methods are sensitive to their extension parameter. When reliable information of walking rate or gait period is available in the test, Methods I or II is a better choice. Otherwise, Method III, with the suggested extension parameter of double support time proportion, is recommended.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2014

The use of Buckling Restrained Braces (BRB) for enhancing the performance of the buildings is gaining wider acceptance. This paper presents the first application of these devices in a major high-rise building in the Philippines. A 50-storey residential reinforced concrete building tower, with ductile core wall, with BRB system is investigated. The detailed modeling and design procedure of buckling restrained brace system is presented for the optimal design against the two distinct levels of earthquake ground motions; serviceable behavior for frequent earthquakes and very low probability of collapse under extremely rare earthquakes. The stiffness and strength of the buckling restrained brace system are adjusted to optimize the performance of the structural system under different levels of earthquakes. Response spectrum analysis is conducted for Design Basis Earthquake level and Service level, while nonlinear time history analysis is performed for the most credible earthquake. The case study results show the effectiveness of buckling restrained braces.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.9 no.1 s.26
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• pp.33-37
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• 2005

This paper deals with parametric studies for the structural response of LNG Storage Tank steel roof behavior acoording to change in design condition. In the design of steel roof, it may be required to represent a stable behavior under many loading conditions and those of combinations. We fulfill the analysis the steel roof behavior during concret placing and additionally change the design variabls like H beam, pressure and steel roof plate thickness. On the basis of the obtained results from this studies a guideline for a more reasonable design of LNG storage tank steel roof is introduced.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.391-406
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• 2008

This study attempts to develop a real-time debonding monitoring system for carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) strengthened structures by continuously inspecting the bonding condition between the CFRP layer and the host structure. The uniqueness of this study is in developing a new concept and theoretical framework of nondestructive testing (NDT), in which debonding is detected without relying on previously-obtained baseline data. The proposed reference-free damage diagnosis is achieved based on the concept of time reversal acoustics (TRA). In TRA, an input signal at an excitation point can be reconstructed if the response signal measured at another point is reemitted to the original excitation point after being reversed in the time domain. Examining the deviation of the reconstructed signal from the known initial input signal allows instantaneous identification of damage without requiring a baseline signal representing the undamaged state for comparison. The concept of TRA has been extended to guided wave propagations within the CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beams to improve the detectibility of local debonding. Monotonic and fatigue load tests of large-scale CFRP-strengthened RC beams are conducted to demonstrate the potential of the proposed reference-free debonding monitoring system. Comparisons with an electro-mechanical impedance method and an inferred imaging technique are provided as well.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.5
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• pp.593-603
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• 2017

A high-efficiency simplified modelling approach is proposed for investigating the nonlinear responses of reinforced concrete linings of shield tunnels. Material and geometric nonlinearities are considered in the analysis of the lining structures undergoing large deformation before ultimately losing the load-carrying capacity. A beam-spring element model is developed to capture the force-transfer mechanism between lining segments and radial joints. The developed model is validated by comparing analyzed results to experimental results of a single-ring lining structure under two loading conditions: the ground overloading and the lateral unloading respectively. The results show that the lining structure under the lateral unloading due to excavation on the both sides of the tunnel is more vulnerable compared to the case of ground overloading on the top of the tunnel. A parameter study is conducted and results indicate that the lateral pressure coefficient has the greatest influence on the behaviour of the lining structure.