• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.391-416
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• 2018

The purpose of this article is to strengthen concrete structures using buckling and non-buckling braces. Connection plates are modeled in three shapes including the effect of 1.5t hinge zone length, 2t one and without the zone (1.5t-CP, 2t-CP and WCP). According to the verification performed with ABAQUS software, the connection plates which are superior in ductility and strengthening are found. The results show adding steel braces in concrete moment frames increase the strength and stiffness of the structures up to about 12 and 3 times, respectively. The frame strength increased about 21 and 25 percent with considering the effect of 2t hinge length in connection plates compared to 1.5t-CPs and WCPs. Also the ductility of retrofitted frames with 2t-CP improved 2.06 times more than WCP ones. Thus, 2t-CP sample is the best choice for connecting steel braces to concrete moment frames for retrofitting them. Afterwards, optimum conditions for elemental coating in braces with no buckling are assessed. The length of concrete coatings could be reduced about 30 percent, and buckling did not occur. Therefore, the weight of restraining coating decreased, and its performance improved. It is worth noting that BRBs could be constructed with only steel materials, which have outer steel tubes too. In fact, only the square cross sections of the tube profiles are appropriate for removing the filler concrete, and the rectangular ones are prone to buckle around their weak axis.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.689-697
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• 2017

Nowadays, there are a great number of various structures that have been retrofitted by using different FRP Composites. Due to this, more researches need to be conducted to know more the characteristics of these structures, not only that but also a comparison among them before and after the retrofitting is needed. In this research, a model steel structure is tested using a bench-scale earthquake simulator on the shake table, using recorded micro tremor data, in order to get the dynamic behaviors. Beams of the model steel structure are then retrofitted by using CFRP composite, and then tested on the Quanser shake table by using the recorded micro tremor data. At this stage, it is needed to evaluate the dynamic behaviors of the retrofitted model steel structure. Various types of methods of OMA, such as EFDD, SSI, etc. are used to take action in the ambient responses. Having a purpose to learn more about the effects of FRP composite, experimental model analysis of both types (retrofitted and no-retrofitted models) is conducted to evaluate their dynamic behaviors. There is a provision of ambient excitation to the shake table by using recorded micro tremor ambient vibration data on ground level. Furthermore, the Enhanced Frequency Domain decomposition is used through output-only modal identification. At the end of this study, moderate correlation is obtained between mode shapes, periods and damping ratios. The aim of this research is to show and determine the effects of CFRP Composite implementation on structural responses of the model steel structure, in terms of changing its dynamical behaviors. The frequencies for model steel structure and the retrofitted model steel structure are shown to be 34.43% in average difference. Finally, it is shown that, in order to evaluate the period and rigidity of retrofitted structures, OMA might be used.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2017

Recent seismic events occurred in Italy (Emilia-Romagna 2012, Abruzzo 2009) and worldwide (New Zealand 2010 and 2011) highlighted some of the weaknesses of precast concrete industrial buildings, especially those related to the connecting systems traditionally employed to fasten the cladding panels to the internal framing. In fact, one of the most commons fails it is possible to observe in such structural typologies is related to the out-of-plane collapse of the external walls due to the unsatisfactory behaviour of the connectors used to join the panels to the perimeter beams. In this work, the strengthening of a traditional industrial building, assumed as a case study, made by precast reinforced concrete is proposed by the adoption of a dual system allowing the reinforcement of the structure by acting both internally; by pendular columns and, externally, on the walls. In particular, traditional connections at the top of the walls are substituted by devices able to work as a slider with vertical axis while, the bottom of the walls is equipped with two or more hysteretic dampers working on the uplift of the cladding panels occurring under seismic actions. By means of this approach, the structure is stiffened; obtaining a reduction of the lateral drifts under serviceability limit states. In addition, its seismic behaviour is improved due to the additional source of energy dissipation represented by the dampers located at the base of the walls. The effectiveness of the suggested retrofitting approach has been checked by comparing the performance of the retrofitted structure with those of the structure unreinforced by means of both pushover and Incremental Dynamic Analyses (IDA) in terms of behaviour factor, assumed as a measure of the ductility capacity of the structure.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.1 s.41
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• pp.9-16
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• 2005

The purpose of this paper is to present a design procedure of a friction damper for controlling elastic and inelastic responses of building structures under earthquake excitation. The equivalent damping and period increased by the friction damper are estimated using ATC-40 and ATC-55 procedures which provide equivalent linear system for bilinear one, and then a design formula to achieve target performance response level by the friction damper is presented. It is identified that there exists error between the responses obtained by this formula and by performing nonlinear analysis and the features of the error vary according to the hardening ratio, yield strength ratio, and structural period. Equations for compensating the error are proposed based on the least square method, and the results from numerical analysis indicate that the error is significantly reduced. The proposed formula can be used without much error for designing a friction damper for retrofitting a structure showing elastic or inelastic behavior.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.6
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• pp.675-684
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• 2020

An innovative retrofit method using pre-stressed steel strips and externally-bonded steel plates was presented in this paper. With the aim of exploring the seismic performance of the retrofitted RC interior joints, four 1/2-scale retrofitted joint specimens together with one control specimen were designed and subjected to constant axial compression and cyclic loading, with the main test parameters being the volume of steel strips and the existence of externally-bonded steel plates. The damage mechanism, force-displacement hysteretic response, force-displacement envelop curve, energy dissipation and displacement ductility ratio were analyzed to investigate the cyclic behavior of the retrofitted joints. The test results indicated that all the test specimens suffered a typical shear failure at the joint core, and the application of externally-bonded steel plates and that of pre-stressed steel strips could effectively increase the lateral capacity and deformability of the deficient RC interior joints, respectively. The best cyclic behavior could be found in the deficient RC interior joint retrofitted using both externally-bonded steel plates and pre-stressed steel strips due to the increased lateral capacity, displacement ductility and energy dissipation. Finally, based on the test results and the softened strut and tie model, a theoretical model for determining the shear capacity of the retrofitted specimens was proposed and validated.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.233-241
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• 2020

This paper is to investigate the retrofitting effect for a non-seismic reinforced concrete frame strengthened by perimeter steel moment frames with indirect integrity, which ameliorates the problems of the direct integrity method. To achieve this, first, full-scale tests were conducted to address the structural behavior of a two-story non-seismic reinforced concrete frame and a strengthened frame. The non-seismic frame showed a maximum strength of 185 kN because the flexural-shear failure at the bottom end of columns on the first floor was governed, and shear cracks were concentrated at the beam-column joints on the second floor. The strengthened frame possessed a maximum strength of 338 kN, which is more than 1.8 times that of the non-seismic specimen. A considerable decrease in the quantity of cracks for the strengthened frame was observed compared with the non-seismic frame, while there was the obvious appearance of the failure pattern due to the shear crack. The lateral-resisting capacity for the non-seismic bare frame and the strengthened frame may be determined per the specified shear strength of the reinforced columns in accordance with the distance to a critical section. The effective depth of the column may be referred to as the longitudinal length from the border between the column and the foundation. The lateral-resisting capacity for the non-seismic bare frame and the strengthened frame may be reasonably determined per the specified shear strength of the reinforced columns in accordance with the distance to a critical section. The effective depth of the column may be referred to as the longitudinal length from the border between the column and the foundation. The proposed method had an error of about 2.2% for the non-seismic details and about 4.4% for the strengthened frame based on the closed results versus the experimental results.

• KCI Concrete Journal
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.57-68
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• 2000

The effect of structure size on the nominal strength of unidirectional fiber-polymer composites, failing by propagation of a kink band with fiber microbuckling, is analyzed experimentally and theoretically. Tests of novel geometrically similar carbon-PEEK specimens, with notches slanted so as to lead to a pure kink band (without shear or splitting cracks), are conducted. The specimens are rectangular strips of widths 15.875, 31.75. and 63.5 mm (0.625, 1.25 and 2.5 in and gage lengths 39.7, 79.375 and 158.75 mm (1.563, 3.125 and 6.25 in.). They reveal the existence of a strong (deterministic. non-statistical) size effect. The doubly logarithmic plot of the nominal strength (load divided by size and thickness) versus the characteristic size agrees with the approximate size effect law proposed for quasibrittle failures in 1983 by Bazant This law represents a gradual transition from a horizontal asymptote, representing the case of no size effect (characteristic of plasticity or strength criteria), to an asymptote of slope -1/2 (characteristic of linear elastic fracture mechanics. LEFM) . The size effect law for notched specimens permits easy identification of the fracture energy of the kink bandand the length of the fracture process zone at the front of the band solely from the measurements of maximum loads. Optimum fits of the test results by the size effect law are obtained, and the size effect law parameters are then used to identify the material fracture characteristics, Particularly the fracture energy and the effective length of the fracture process zone. The results suggest that composite size effect must be considered in strengthening existing concrete structural members such as bridge columns and beams using a composite retrofitting technique.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.127-139
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• 2019

Residual drifts after an earthquake can incur huge repair costs and might need to replace the infrastructure because of its non-reparability. Proper functioning of bridges is also essential in the aftermath of an earthquake. In order to mitigate pounding and unseating damage of bridges subjected to earthquakes, a self-adaptive Ni-Ti shape memory alloy (SMA)-cable-based frictional sliding bearing (SMAFSB) is proposed considering self-adaptive centering, high energy dissipation, better fatigue, and corrosion resistance from SMA-cable component. The developed novel bearing is associated with the properties of modularity, replaceability, and earthquake isolation capacity, which could reduce the repair time and increase the resilience of highway bridges. To evaluate the super-elasticity of the SMA-cable, pseudo-static tests and numerical simulation on the SMA-cable specimens with a diameter of 7 mm are conducted and one dimensional (1D) constitutive hysteretic model of the SMAFSB is developed considering the effects of gap, self-centering, and high energy dissipation. Two types of the SMAFSB (i.e., movable and fixed SMAFSBs) are applied to a two-span continuous reinforced concrete (RC) bridge. The seismic vulnerabilities of the RC bridge, utilizing movable SMAFSB with the constant gap size of 60 mm and the fixed SMAFSBs with different gap sizes (e.g., 0, 30, and 60 mm), are assessed at component and system levels, respectively. It can be observed that the fixed SMAFSB with a gap of 30 mm gained the most retrofitting effect among the three cases.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.407-426
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• 2022

Superior to traditional welded studs, high strength friction-grip bolted shear connectors facilitate the assembling and demounting of the composite members, which maximizes the potential for efficiency in the construction and retrofitting of new and old structures respectively. Hence, it is necessary to investigate the structural properties of high strength friction-grip bolts used in steel concrete composite beams. By means of push-out tests, an experimental study was conducted on post-installed high strength friction-grip bolts, considering the effects of different bolt size, concrete strength, bolt tensile strength and bolt pretension. The test results showed that bolt shear fracture was the dominant failure mode of all specimens. Based on the load-slip curves, uplifting curves and bolt tensile force curves between the precast concrete slab and steel beam obtained by push-out tests, the anti-slip performance of steel-concrete interface and shear behavior of bolt shank were studied, including the quantitative analysis of anti-slip load, and anti-slip stiffness, frictional coefficient, shear stiffness of bolt shank and ultimate shear capacity. Meanwhile, the interfacial anti-slip stiffness and shear stiffness of bolt shank were defined reasonably. In addition, a total of 56 push-out finite element models verified by the experimental results were also developed, and used to conduct parametric analyses for investigating the shear behavior of high-strength bolted shear connectors in steel-concrete composite beams. Finally, on ground of the test results and finite element simulation analysis, a new design formula for predicting shear capacity was proposed by nonlinear fitting, considering the bolt diameter, concrete strength and bolt tensile strength. Comparison of the calculated value from proposed formula and test results given in the relevant references indicated that the proposed formulas can give a reasonable prediction.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.1A
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• pp.237-246
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• 2006

In order to evaluate the seismic performance of damaged reinforced concrete members, particularly bridge piers, an inelastic time-dependent element is proposed. The proposed element enables increased characteristics due to structural intervention(i.e., repair or retrofitting) to be accurately reflected to the degraded strength and stiffness of the members. The inelastic time-dependent element having both birth and death time can freely be activated within the user-defined time intervals during static and dynamic time-history analysis. Comparative studies are carried out for reinforced concrete bridge piers that are repaired and retrofitted. Analytical predictions using the developed element show reasonable correlation with experimental results. Also conducted is a nonlinear time-history analysis of a reinforced concrete bridge under multiple earthquakes. The comparative analytical results prove the validation of current development. In all, it is concluded that the present element is capable of providing salient features for the healthy evaluation of seismic performance and hence seismic stability assessment of RC bridge piers being repaired and retrofitted.