• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.343-365
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• 2012

Steel suspension members subjected to tension and bending offer an economical and efficient alternative for many structural problems. This paper is concerned with the elastic and elastic-plastic behaviour of suspension members with bending stiffness subjected to vertical point and uniformly distributed loads. An experimental study is described which focuses on the response of three suspension members with various T-shaped steel hot rolled sections and geometric configurations. The tests enable direct assessment of the influence of a key parameter such as the sag-to-span ratio on the response of suspension members. Detailed nonlinear finite-element models are generated to provide a tool for theoretical analyses and to facilitate further understanding of the behaviour. Results demonstrate that experimentally obtained responses can generally be closely predicted numerically because there are relatively good agreements between finite element and tests results. The results and observations of subsequent numerical parametric studies offer an insight into the key factors that govern the behaviour of suspension members with bending stiffness in the elastic-plastic range.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.385-404
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• 2018

The study investigated an area of sustainable structural design that is often overlooked in practical engineering applications. Specifically, a novel method to simultaneously optimise the cost and embodied carbon performance of steel building structures was explored in this paper. To achieve this, a parametric design model was developed to analyse code compliant structural configurations based on project specific constraints and rigorous testing of various steel beam sections, floor construction typologies (precast or composite) and column layouts that could not be performed manually by engineering practitioners. Detailed objective functions were embedded in the model to compute the cost and life cycle carbon emissions of the different material types used in the structure. Results from a comparative numerical analysis of a real case study illustrated that the proposed optimisation approach could guide structural engineers towards areas of the solution space with realistic design configurations, enabling them to effectively evaluate trade-offs between cost and carbon performance. This significant contribution implied that the optimisation model could reduce the time required for the design and analysis of multiple structural configurations especially during the early stages of a project. Overall, the paper suggested that the deployment of automated design procedures can enhance the quality as well as the efficiency of the optimisation analysis.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.95-106
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• 2020

Castellated beams fabricated from standard I-sections are being used for several structural applications such as commercial and industrial buildings, multistory buildings, warehouses and portal frames in view of numerous advantages. The advantages include enhanced moment of inertia, stiffness, flexural resistance, reduction in weight of structure, by passing the used plate girders, the passage of service through the web openings etc. In the present study, experimental and numerical investigations were carried out on concrete encased steel castellated beams with hexagonal openings under flexural loading. Various positions of openings such as along the neutral axis, above the neutral axis and below the neutral axis were considered for the study. From the experimental findings, it has been observed that the load-carrying capacity of the castellated beam with web opening above neutral axis is found to be higher compared to other configurations. Nonlinear finite element analysis was performed by using general purpose finite element software ABAQUS considering the material nonlinearities. Concrete damage plasticity model was employed to model the nonlinearity of concrete and elasto-plastic model for steel. It has been observed that FE model could able to capture the behaviour of concrete encased steel castellated beams and the predicted values are in good agreement with the corresponding experimental values.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.269-287
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• 2023

The WGJ420 fire-resistant weathering (FRW) steel is developed and manufactured with standard yield strength of 420 MPa at room temperature, which is expected to significantly enhance the performance of steel structures with excellent fire and corrosion resistances, strong seismic capacity, high strength and ductility, good resilience and robustness. In this paper, the mechanical properties of FRW steel plates and buckling behavior of columns are investigated through tests at elevated temperatures. The stress-strain curves, mechanical properties of FRW steel such as modulus of elasticity, proof strength, tensile strength, as well as corresponding reduction factors are obtained and discussed. The recommended constitutive model based on the Ramberg-Osgood relationship, as well as the relevant formulas for mechanical properties are proposed, which provide fundamental mechanical parameters and references. A total of 12 FRW steel welded I-section columns with different slenderness ratios and buckling load ratios are tested under standard fire to understand the global buckling behavior in-depth. The influences of boundary conditions on the buckling failure modes as well as the critical temperatures are also investigated. In addition, the temperature distributions at different sections/locations of the columns are obtained. It is found that the buckling deformation curve can be divided into four stages: initial expansion stage, stable stage, compression stage and failure stage. The fire test results concluded that the residual buckling capacities of FRW steel columns are substantially higher than the conventional steel columns at elevated temperatures. Furthermore, the numerical results show good agreement with the fire test results in terms of the critical temperature and maximum axial elongation. Finally, the critical temperatures between the numerical results and various code/standard curves (GB 51249, Eurocode 3, AS 4100, BS 5950 and AISC) are compared and verified both in the buckling resistance domain and in the temperature domain. It is demonstrated that the FRW steel columns have sufficient safety redundancy for fire resistance when they are designed according to current codes or standards.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2013

The fire resistance performance of generic CFT columns has been verified through various tests and analyses and the columns are widely used for fire resistance designs abroad. In this study, 3 groups of specimens (Non-fire protection, reinforcement with steel fiber and fire resistance paint) are suggested in order to evaluate the fire resistance performance of interior anchor type concrete-filled steel tubular columns having efficient cross-sections through loaded heating tests. Axial deformation-time relationship and in-plane temperatures are compared to evaluate the fire resistance performance of the specimens associated with variables. Suggested from the fact that the interior anchors exposed to fire exert influence on fire resistance performance due to thermal expansion, the reinforcements using steel fiber and fire resistance paint are verified to mitigate contraction and improve fire resistance performance. The result obtained from the tests of interior anchor type concrete-filled tubular columns is expected to be used for effective fire resistance design in association with previously conducted studies.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2002

Many of the bridge systems, including the girders and cross-beams, and concrete decks behave as the special orthotropic plates. Such systems with boundary conditions other than Navier or Levy solution types, or with irregular cross sections, analytical solution is very difficult to obtain. Numerical method for eigenvalue problems are also very much involved in seeking such a solution. A method of calculating the natural frequency corresponding to the first mode of vibration of beam and tower structures with irregular cross-sections was developed and reported by Kim in 1974. Recently, this method was extended to two dimensional problems including composite laminates, and has been applied to composite plates with shear deformation effects. In this paper, application of this method to the specially orthotropic laminated plates with various boundary condition is accomplished and the result of analysis is presented.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.16 no.5 s.72
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• pp.671-682
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• 2004

This study investigated the effects of a shear slip on the deflection of steel-concretecomposite beams with partial shear interaction. Under the guidance of various current design codes, this deflection was related to the strength of shear connectors in the composite beams. In this paper, a shear connector stiffness based on exact solutions, regardless of loading conditions, was developed. The equivalent rigidity of composite beams that considered three different loading types was first derived, based on equilibrium and curvature compatibility, from which a general formula accounting for slips was developed. To validate this approach, the predicted maximum deflection under the proposed method was compared against currently used equations to calculate beam effective stiffness (AISC)Nie's equations, which have recently been proposed. For typical beams that were used in practice, shear slips might result in stiffness reduction of up to 18% for short-span beams. For full composite sections, the effective section modulus with the AISC specifications was larger than that of the present study, which meant that the specifications were not conservative. For partial composite sections, the AISC predictions were more conservative than those in the present study.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.393-403
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• 2019

Cold-formed steel (CFS) has a great potential to meet the global challenge of fast-track and durable construction. CFS members undergo large buckling instabilities due to their small wall thickness. CFS beams with corrugated webs have shown great resistance towards web buckling under flexure, when compared to the conventional I-sections. However, the magnitude of global imperfections significantly affects the performance of CFS members. This paper presents the first attempt made to experimentally study the effect of global imperfections on the structural efficiency of various strengthening schemes implemented in CFS beams with corrugated webs. Different strengthening schemes were adopted for two types of beams, one with large global imperfections and the other with small imperfections. Strength and stiffness characteristics of the beams were used to evaluate the structural efficiency of the various strengthening schemes adopted. Six tests were performed with simply supported end conditions, under four-point loading conditions. The load vs. mid-span displacement response, failure loads and modes of failure of the test specimens were investigated. The test results would compensate the lack of experimental data in this area of research and would help in developing numerical models for extensive studies for the development of necessary guidelines on the same. Strengthening schemes assisted in enhancing the member performance significantly, both in terms of strength and stiffness. Hence, providing an economic and time saving solution to such practical structural engineering problems.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.793-803
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• 2019

Concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) beam-columns are widely used owing to their good performance. They have high strength, ductility, large energy absorption capacity and low costs. Externally stiffened CFST beam-columns are not used widely due to insufficient design equations that consider all parameters affecting their behavior. Therefore, effect of various parameters (global, local slenderness ratio and adding hoop stiffeners) on the behavior of CFST columns is studied. An experimental study that includes twenty seven specimens is conducted to determine the effect of those parameters. Load capacities, vertical deflections, vertical strains and horizontal strains are all recorded for every specimen. Ratio between outer diameter (D) of pipes and thickness (t) is chosen to avoid local buckling according to different limits set by codes for the maximum D/t ratio. The study includes two loading methods on composite sections: steel only and steel with concrete. The case of loading on steel only, occurs in the connection zone, while the other load case occurs in steel beam connecting externally with the steel column wall. Two failure mechanisms of CFST columns are observed: yielding and global buckling. At early loading stages, steel wall in composite specimens dilated more than concrete so no full bond was achieved which weakened strength and stiffness of specimens. Adding stiffeners to the specimens increases the ultimate load by up to 25% due to redistribution of stresses between stiffener and steel column wall. Finally, design equations previously prepared are verified and found to be only applicable for medium and long columns.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.54-58
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• 2005

Large-scale model tests of welded tubular K-joints were carried out to observe the fatigue behavior of API 2W Gr.50 steel produced by POSCO. The fatigue crack behaviors for various loading conditions were measured and investigated around the critical joint sections. The experimental results have been verified with numerical approaches and were also compared with the IIW, DnV RP-C203 and API RP 2A-WSD design curves. The hot-spot stress method was applied in the study. The SCF factor for tubular K-joint was also obtaine.