• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.215-229
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• 2024

Because of the various patterns of deep-water inrush and complicated mechanisms, accurately predicting mine water inflows is always a difficult problem for coal mine geologists. In study presented in this paper, the water inrush channels were divided into four basic water diversion structures: aquifer, rock fracture zone, fracture zone and goaf. The fluid flow characteristics in each water-conducting structure were investigated by laboratory tests, and multistructure and multisystem coupling flow analysis models of different water-conducting structures were established to describe the entire water inrush process. Based on the research of the water inrush flow paths, the analysis model of different water inrush space structures was established and applied to the prediction of mine water inrush inflow. The results prove that the conduction sequence of different water-conducting structures and the changing rule of permeability caused by stress changes before and after the peak have important influences on the characteristics of mine water-gushing. Influenced by the differences in geological structure and combined with rock mass RQD and fault conductivity characteristics and other mine exploration data, the prediction of mine water inflow can be realized accurately. Taking the water transmitting path in the multistructure as the research object of water inrush, breaking through the limitation of traditional stratigraphic structure division, the prediction of water inflow and the estimation of potentially flooded area was realized, and water bursting intensity was predicted. It is of great significance in making reasonable emergency plans.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.319-334
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• 2024

The current theories on the interaction between surrounding rock and support in deep-buried tunnels do not consider the form of pre-reinforcement support or the flexibility of primary support, leading to a discrepancy between theoretical solutions and practical applications. To address this gap, a comprehensive mechanical model of the tunnel with pre-reinforced rock was established in this study. The equations for internal stress, displacement, and the radius of the plastic zone in the surrounding rock were derived. By understanding the interaction mechanism between flexible support and surrounding rock, the three-dimensional construction analysis solution of the tunnel could be corrected. The validity of the proposed model was verified through numerical simulations. The results indicate that the reduction of pre-deformation significantly influences the final support pressure. The pre-reinforcement support zone primarily inhibits pre-deformation, thereby reducing the support pressure. The support pressure mainly affects the accelerated and uniform movement stage of the surrounding rock. The generation of support pressure is linked to the deformation of the surrounding rock during the accelerated movement stage. Furthermore, the strength of the pre-reinforcement zone of the surrounding rock and the strength of the shotcrete have opposite effects on the support pressure. The parameters of the pre-reinforcement zones and support materials can be optimized to achieve a balance between surrounding rock deformation, support pressure, cost, and safety. Overall, this study provides valuable insights for predicting the deformation of surrounding rock and support pressure during the dynamic construction of deep-buried weak rock tunnels. These findings can guide engineers in improving the construction process, ensuring better safety and cost-effectiveness.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.85-100
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• 2024

In light of extreme value distribution probability, an improved prediction method of the Recurrence Period Wind Speed (RPWS) is constructed considering wind direction, with the Equivalent Independent Wind Direction Number (EIWDN) introduced as a parameter variable. Firstly, taking the RPWS prediction of Beijing city as an example, the traditional Cook method is used to predict the RPWS of each wind direction based on the measured wind speed data in Beijing area. On basis of the results, the empirical formulae to determine the parameter variables are fitted to construct an improved expression of the non-exceedance probability of the RPWS. In this process, the statistical model of the optimal threshold is established, and thus the independent wind speed samples exceeding the threshold are extracted and fitted to follow the Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD) model for analysis. In addition, the Extreme Value Type I (EVT I) distribution model is used to predict and analyze the RPWS. To verify its wide applicability, the improved method is further used in cities like Jinan, Nanjing, Wuxi, Shanghai and Shenzhen to predict and analyze the RPWS of each wind direction, and the prediction results are compared against those gained via the traditional Cook method and the whole direction. Results show that the 50-year RPWS results predicted by the improved method are basically consistent with those predicted by the traditional method, and the RPWS prediction values of most wind directions are within the envelope range of the whole wind direction prediction value. Compared with the traditional method, the improved method can readily predict the RPWS under different return periods through empirical formulae, and avoid the repeated operation process and some assumptions in the traditional Cook method, and then improve the efficiency of prediction. In addition, the improved RPWS prediction results corresponding to the GPD model are slightly larger than those of the EVT I distribution model.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.269-283
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• 2024

Biocompositesmade up of starch and jute fibres are biodegradable and environmentally friendly materials for sustainable development. In this study, corn starch has been separately modified with 15% pine rosin and 40% glutaraldehyde, and 30% glycerol is used as a plasticizer. The composites have been prepared for three different volume proportions of matrix and jute fibre such as 60:40, 70:30 and 80:20 by using a hot compression moulding machine. The effects of pine rosin and glutaraldehyde on mechanical properties have been studied. Pine rosin modified starch jute composites have shown higher tensile and flexural properties as compared with glutaraldehyde modified starch jute composite. The highest tensile strength and modulus are found at 60:40 matrix and jute fibre volume proportion of pine rosin modified starch jute composite which are 13.97 MPa and 782.94 MPa respectively. Similar trends were found in flexural strength and modulus for pine rosin modified starch jute composite having matrix to jute fibre proportion 60:40 which are 29.18 MPa and 1107.76 MPa respectively. But, in case of impact strength, glutaraldehyde modified starch jute composite having matrix to jute fibre proportion 80:20 have shown highest impact strength that is 59.05 KJ/m². Starch-jute composite with glutaraldehyde shows 33% more water absorbency as compared to composite having pine rosin as cross linker. Highest FTIR graph indicates that the number of -OH group is much lower in case of pine rosin modified starch than glutatraldehyde modified starch which indicates that bonds formed by pine rosin are much stronger than the bonds formed by glutaraldehyde. The surface morphology of the composite was influenced by pine rosin and glutaraldehyde which is shown in the SEM image.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.299-319
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• 2024

Due to higher strength-to-weight ratio of composite laminates, they find uses in many weight-sensitive applications like aerospace, automobile and marine structures. From a reliability point of view, accurate prediction of failure of these structures is important. Due to the complexities in the manufacturing processes of composite laminates, there is a variation in the material properties and geometric parameters. Hence stochastic aspects are important while designing the composite laminates. Many existing works of composite laminate failure analysis are based on the deterministic approach but it is important to consider the randomness in the material properties, geometry and loading to predict accurate failure loads. In this paper the statistics of the ultimate failure load of the [0/θ]_s laminated composite plate (LCP) containing the edge crack and voids subjected to the tensile loading are presented in terms of the mean and coefficient of variance (COV). The objective is to better the efficacy of laminate failure by predicting the statistics of the ultimate failure load of LCP with random material, geometric and loading parameters. The stochastic analysis is done by using the extended finite element method (XFEM) combined with the second-order perturbation technique (SOPT). The ultimate failure load of the LCP is obtained by ply-by-ply failure analysis using the ply discount method combined with the Tsai-Wu failure criterion. The aim is to know the effect of the stacking sequence, crack length, crack angle, location of voids and number of voids on the mean and corresponding COV of the ultimate failure load of LCP is investigated. The results of the ultimate failure load obtained by the present method are in good agreement with the existing experimental and numerical results. It is observed that [0/θ]_s LCPs are very sensitive to the randomness in the crack length, applied load, transverse tensile strength of the laminate and modulus of elasticity of the material, so precise control of these parameters is important. The novelty of the present study is, the stochastic implementation in XFEM for the failure prediction of LCPs containing crack and voids.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.391-403
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• 2024

The flexural behavior of composite sandwich wall panels with different thicknesses, numbers of holes, and hole forms, and arrangement form of longitudinal steel bar (uniform type and concealed-beam type) are investigated. A total of twelve composite sandwich wall panels are prepared, utilizing modified polystyrene particles mixed with foam concrete for the flexural performance test. The failure pattern of the composite sandwich wall panels is influenced by the extruded polystyrene panel (XPS) panel thickness and the reinforcement ratio in combination, resulting in both flexural and shear failure modes. Increasing the XPS panel thickness causes the specimens to transition from flexural failure to shear failure. An increase in the reinforcement ratio leads to the transition from flexural failure to shear failure. The hole form on the XPS panel and the steel bar arrangement form affect the loading behavior of the specimens. Plum-arrangement hole form specimens exhibit lower steel bar strain and deflection compared to linear-arrangement hole form specimens. Additionally, specimens with concealed beam-type steel bar display lower steel bar strain and deflection than uniform-type steel bar specimens. However, the hole form and steel bar arrangement form have a limited impact on the ultimate load. Theoretical formulas for cracking load are provided for both fully composite and non-composite states. When compared to the experimental values, it is observed that the cracking load of the specimens with XPS panels closely matches the calculations for the non-composite state. An accurate prediction model for the ultimate load of fully composite wall panels is developed. These findings offer valuable insights into the behavior of composite sandwich wall panels and provide a basis for predicting their performance under various design factors and conditions.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.141-161
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• 2024

Engineering structures often suffer significant damage in the horizontal outflow region of downburst. The wall jet model, which simplifies the simulation device by only modeling the horizontal outflow region of downburst, has been widely employed to study downburst flow characteristics. However, research on downburst wind fields over hilly terrain using the wall jet model is limited, and the relationship between the downburst wind fields generated by wall jet and impinging jet remains unclear. This study investigates the flow characteristics of downburst-like wind over a 3D ideal hill model using wind tunnel tests with the wall jet and impinging jet models. The effects of hill height, slope, shape, and radial position on the speed-up ratio are examined using the wall jet flow. The results indicate that slope and radial position significantly affect the speed-up ratio, while hill height have a slight impact and shape have a minimal impact. Additionally, this study investigates the wind field characteristics over flat terrain using the impinging jet, and investigated the connection between the impinging jet model and the wall jet. Based on this connection, a comparison of the downburst-like flow characteristics over the same 3D ideal hill using the wall jet and impinging jet models is conducted, which further validates the reliability of the wall jet model for studying downburst flow characteristics over hilly terrain.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.405-418
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• 2024

To study the influence of different reduced beam section (RBS) on the mechanical performance of modular boltedwelded hybrid connection joints (MHCJs), this article uses ABAQUS to establish and verify the finite element model (FEM) of the test specimens on the basis of quasi-static test research. Based on, 14 joint models featuring different RBS are devised to evaluate their influence on seismic behavior, such as joint failure mode, bending moment (M)-rotation angle (θ) curve, ductility, and energy consumption. The results indicate that when the flange and web are individually weakened, they alleviate to some extent the concentrated stress of the core module (CM) and column end steel skeleton in the joint core area, but both increase the stress on the flange connecting plate (FCP). At the same time, the impact of both on seismic performance such as bearing capacity, stiffness, and energy consumption is relatively small. When simultaneously weakening the flange and web of the steel beam, forming plastic hinges at the weakened position of the beam end, significantly alleviated the stress concentration of the CM and the damage at the FCP, improving the overall deformation and energy consumption capacity of joints. But as the weakening size of the web increases, the overall bearing capacity of the joint shows a decreasing trend.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.419-434
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• 2024

A flat slab is a structural system where columns directly support it without the presence of beam elements. However, despite its wide advantages, this structural system undergoes a major deficiency where stresses are concentrated around the column perimeter, resulting in the progressive collapse of the entire structure as a result of losing the shear transfer mechanisms at the cracked interface. Predicting the punching shear capacity of RC flat slabs is a challenging problem where the factors contributing to the overall slab strength vary broadly in their significance and effect extent. This study proposed a new expression for predicting the slab's capacity in punching shear using a nonuniform concrete tensile stress distribution assumption to capture, as well as possible, the induced strain effect within a thick RC flat slab. Therefore, the overall punching shear capacity is composed of three parts: concrete, aggregate interlock, and dowel action contributions. The factor of the shear span-to-depth ratio (a_v/d) was introduced in the concrete contribution in addition to the aggregate interlock part using the maximum aggregate size. Other significant factors were considered, including the concrete type, concrete grade, size factor, and the flexural reinforcement dowel action. The efficiency of the proposed model was examined using 86 points of published experimental data from 19 studies and compared with five code standards (ACI318, EC2, MC2010, CSA A23.3, and JSCE). The obtained results revealed the efficiency and accuracy of the model prediction, where a covariance value of 4.95% was found, compared to (13.67, 14.05, 15.83, 19.67, and 20.45) % for the (ACI318, CSA A23.3, MC2010, EC2, and JSCE), respectively.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.127-148
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• 2024

Estimating cable tension is important in the maintenance of cable structures, such as cable-stayed bridges. In practice, the higher-order vibration method based on natural frequencies is used. In recent years, dampers have been installed onto cables to suppress aerodynamic vibration. Because the higher-order vibration method is suitable to cables without a damper, the damper must be removed before using this method. Because damper removal is time-consuming and labor-intensive, a previous study proposed a tension estimation method for a cable with a damper based on the natural frequencies, which does not require the damper's removal. However, the previous method relies on the modeling accuracy of the damper's complex stiffness. The damper design formula, while intended for design purposes, does not consistently reflect the damper's actual complex stiffness. Therefore, the estimation accuracy deteriorates when the damper's actual complex stiffness deviates from the damper design formula. With this background, this paper introduces a novel tension estimation method based on mode shapes, which circumvents damper modeling errors since mode shapes are independent of the damper's complex stiffness. In the numerical verification using 90 models, the proposed method estimated tension accurately with an estimation error within 0.59%. In the experimental verification, the proposed method estimated tension accurately with an estimation error within 4.17% except for one case, while the previous method had an estimation error of 44% when the damper design formula was used. The proposed method was found to be superior to the previous method in terms of accuracy and practicality by numerical simulation and experiment.