Showing papers in "Structural Engineering and Mechanics in 2016"

Thermal stability of functionally graded sandwich plates using a simple shear deformation theory

Abstract: In the present work, a simple first-order shear deformation theory is developed and validated for a variety of numerical examples of the thermal buckling response of functionally graded sandwich plates with various boundary conditions. Contrary to the conventional first-order shear deformation theory, the present first-order shear deformation theory involves only four unknowns and has strong similarities with the classical plate theory in many aspects such as governing equations of motion, and stress resultant expressions. Material properties and thermal expansion coefficient of the sandwich plate faces are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The core layer is still homogeneous and made of an isotropic material. The thermal loads are considered as uniform, linear and non-linear temperature rises within the thickness direction. The results reveal that the volume fraction index, loading type and functionally graded layers thickness have significant influence on the thermal buckling of functionally graded sandwich plates. Moreover, numerical results prove that the present simple first-order shear deformation theory can achieve the same accuracy of the existing conventional first-order shear deformation theory which has more number of unknowns.

On thermal stability of plates with functionally graded coefficient of thermal expansion

Abstract: In this article, a four-variable refined plate theory is presented for buckling analysis of functionally graded plates subjected to uniform, linear and non-linear temperature rises across the thickness direction. The theory accounts for parabolic distribution of the transverse shear strains, and satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factor. Young\'s modulus and Poisson ratio of the FGM plates are assumed to remain constant throughout the entire plate. However, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the FGM plate varies according to a power law form through the thickness coordinate. Equilibrium and stability equations are derived based on the present theory. The influences of many plate parameters on buckling temperature difference such ratio of thermal expansion, aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio and gradient index will be investigated.

An efficient shear deformation theory for wave propagation of functionally graded material plates

Abstract: An efficient shear deformation theory is developed for wave propagation analysis of an infinite functionally graded plate in the presence of thermal environments. By dividing the transverse displacement into bending and shear parts, the number of unknowns and governing equations of the present theory is reduced, and hence, makes it simple to use. The thermal effects and temperature-dependent material properties are both taken into account. The temperature field is assumed to be a uniform distribution over the plate surface and varied in the thickness direction only. Material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent, and graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The governing equations of the wave propagation in the functionally graded plate are derived by employing the Hamilton\'s principle and the physical neutral surface concept. There is no stretching–bending coupling effect in the neutral surface-based formulation, and consequently, the governing equations and boundary conditions of functionally graded plates based on neutral surface have the simple forms as those of isotropic plates. The analytic dispersion relation of the functionally graded plate is obtained by solving an eigenvalue problem. The effects of the volume fraction distributions and temperature on wave propagation of functionally graded plate are discussed in detail. It can be concluded that the present theory is not only accurate but also simple in predicting the wave propagation characteristics in the functionally graded plate. The results carried out can be used in the ultrasonic inspection techniques and structural health monitoring.

A new 3-unknowns non-polynomial plate theory for buckling and vibration of functionally graded sandwich plate

Abstract: In this work a new 3-unknown non-polynomial shear deformation theory for the buckling and vibration analyses of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates is presented. The present theory accounts for non-linear in plane displacement and constant transverse displacement through the plate thickness, complies with plate surface boundary conditions, and in this manner a shear correction factor is not required. The main advantage of this theory is that, in addition to including the shear deformation effect, the displacement field is modelled with only 3 unknowns as the case of the classical plate theory (CPT) and which is even less than the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT). The plate properties are assumed to vary according to a power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents. Equations of motion are derived from the Hamilton

Strength prediction of rotary brace damper using MLR and MARS

Abstract: This study predicts the strength of rotary brace damper by analyzing a new set of probabilistic models using the usual method of multiple linear regressions (MLR) and advanced machine-learning methods of multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), Rotary brace damper can be easily assembled with high energy-dissipation capability. To investigate the behavior of this damper in structures, a steel frame is modeled with this device subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading. Several response parameters are considered, and the performance of damper in reducing each response is evaluated. MLR and MARS methods were used to predict the strength of this damper. Displacement was determined to be the most effective parameter of damper strength, whereas the thickness did not exhibit any effect. Adding thickness parameter as inputs to MARS and MLR models did not increase the accuracies of the models in predicting the strength of this damper. The MARS model with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.127 and mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.090 performed better than the MLR model with an RMSE of 0.221 and MAE of 0.181.

The effects of foundation size on the seismic performance of buildings considering the soil-foundation-structure interaction

Abstract: Shallow footings are one of the most common types of foundations used to support mid-rise buildings in high risk seismic zones. Recent findings have revealed that the dynamic interaction between the soil, foundation, and the superstructure can influence the seismic response of the building during earthquakes. Accordingly, the properties of a foundation can alter the dynamic characteristics (natural frequency and damping) of the soil-foundation-structure system. In this paper the influence that shallow foundations have on the seismic response of a mid-rise moment resisting building is investigated. For this purpose, a fifteen storey moment resisting frame sitting on shallow footings with different sizes was simulated numerically using ABAQUS software. By adopting a direct calculation method, the numerical model can perform a fully nonlinear time history dynamic analysis to realistically simulate the dynamic behaviour of soil, foundation, and structure under seismic excitations. This three-dimensional numerical model accounts for the nonlinear behaviour of the soil medium and structural elements. Infinite boundary conditions were assigned to the numerical model to simulate free field boundaries, and appropriate contact elements capable of modelling sliding and separation between the foundation and soil elements are also considered. The influence of foundation size on the natural frequency of the system and structural response spectrum was also studied. The numerical results for cases of soil-foundation-structure systems with different sized foundations and fixed base conditions (excluding soil-foundation-structure interaction) in terms of lateral deformations, inter-storey drifts, rocking, and shear force distribution of the structure were then compared. Due to natural period lengthening, there was a significant reduction in the base shears when the size of the foundation was reduced. It was concluded that the size of a shallow foundation influences the dynamic characteristics and the seismic response of the building due to interaction between the soil, foundation, and structure, and therefore design engineer should carefully consider these parameters in order to ensure a safe and cost effective seismic design.

Teaching learning-based optimization for design of cantilever retaining walls

Abstract: A methodology based on Teaching Learning-Based Optimization (TLBO) algorithm is proposed for optimum design of reinforced concrete retaining walls. The objective function is to minimize total material cost including concrete and steel per unit length of the retaining walls. The requirements of the American Concrete Institute (ACI 318-05-Building code requirements for structural concrete) are considered for reinforced concrete (RC) design. During the optimization process, totally twenty-nine design constraints composed from stability, flexural moment capacity, shear strength capacity and RC design requirements such as minimum and maximum reinforcement ratio, development length of reinforcement are checked. Comparing to other nature-inspired algorithm, TLBO is a simple algorithm without parameters entered by users and self-adjusting ranges without intervention of users. In numerical examples, a retaining wall taken from the documented researches is optimized and the several effects (backfill slope angle, internal friction angle of retaining soil and surcharge load) on the optimum results are also investigated in the study. As a conclusion, TLBO based methods are feasible.

Neural-based prediction of structural failure of multistoried RC buildings

Abstract: Various vague and unstructured problems encountered the civil engineering/ designers that persuaded by their experiences. One of these problems is the structural failure of the reinforced concrete (RC) building determination. Typically, using the traditional Limit state method is time consuming and complex in designing structures that are optimized in terms of one/many parameters. Recent research has revealed the Artificial Neural Networks potentiality in solving various real life problems. Thus, the current work employed the Multilayer Perceptron Feed-Forward Network (MLP-FFN) classifier to tackle the problem of predicting structural failure of multistoried reinforced concrete buildings via detecting the failure possibility of the multistoried RC building structure in the future. In order to evaluate the proposed method performance, a database of 257 multistoried buildings RC structures has been constructed by professional engineers, from which 150 RC structures were used. From the structural design, fifteen features have been extracted, where nine features of them have been selected to perform the classification process. Various performance measures have been calculated to evaluate the proposed model. The experimental results established satisfactory performance of the proposed model.

A probabilistic analysis of Miner\'s law for different loading conditions

Abstract: In this paper, the normalized variable V=(log N-B)(log Ao-C), as derived from the probabilistic S-N field of Castillo and Canteli, is taken as a reference for calculation of damage accumulation and probability of failure using the Miner number in scenarios of variable amplitude loading. Alternative damage measures, such as the classical Miner and logarithmic Miner, are also considered for comparison between theoretical lifetime prediction and experimental data. The suitability of this approach is confirmed for it provides safe lifetime prediction when applied to fatigue data obtained for riveted joints made of a puddle iron original from the Fao bridge, as well as for data from experimental programs published elsewhere carried out for different materials (aluminium and concrete specimens) under distinct variable loading histories.

Wave propagation in a two-temperature fiber-reinforced magneto-thermoelastic medium with three-phase-lag model

Abstract: A general model of equations of the two-temperature theory of generalized thermoelasticity is applied to study the wave propagation in a fiber-reinforced magneto-thermoelastic medium in the context of the three-phase-lag model and Green-Naghdi theory without energy dissipation. The material is a homogeneous isotropic elastic half-space. The exact expression of the displacement components, force stresses, thermodynamic temperature and conductive temperature is obtained by using normal mode analysis. The variations of the considered variables with the horizontal distance are illustrated graphically. Comparisons are made with the results of the two theories in the absence and presence of a magnetic field as well as a two-temperature parameter. A comparison is also made between the results of the two theories in the absence and presence of reinforcement.

Isogeometric method based in-plane and out-of-plane free vibration analysis for Timoshenko curved beams

Abstract: In-plane and out-of-plane free vibration analysis of Timoshenko curved beams is addressed based on the isogeometric method, and an effective scheme to avoid numerical locking in both of the two patterns is proposed in this paper. The isogeometric computational model takes into account the effects of shear deformation, rotary inertia and axis extensibility of curved beams, and is applicable for uniform circular beams, and more complicated variable curvature and cross-section beams as illustrated by numerical examples. Meanwhile, it is shown that, the Cp–1-continuous NURBS elements remarkably have higher accuracy than the finite elements with the same number of degrees of freedom. Nevertheless, for in-plane or out-of-plane vibration analysis of Timoshenko curved beams, the NURBS-based isogeometric method also exhibits locking effect to some extent. To eliminate numerical locking, the selective reduced one-point integration and B projection element based on stiffness ratio is devised to achieve locking free analysis for in-plane and out-of-plane models, respectively. The suggested integral schemes for moderately slender models obtain accurate results in both dominated and non-dominated regions of locking effect. Moreover, this strategy is effective for beam structures with different slenderness. Finally, the influence factors of structural parameters of curved beams on their natural frequency are scrutinized.

Development of a 2D isoparametric finite element model based on the layerwise approach for the bending analysis of sandwich plates

Abstract: The aim of this work is the development of a 2D quadrilateral isoparametric finite element model, based on a layerwise approach, for the bending analysis of sandwich plates. The face sheets and the core are modeled individually using, respectively, the first order shear deformation theory and the third-order plate theory. The displacement continuity condition at the interfaces \'face sheets-core\' is satisfied. The assumed natural strains method is introduced to avoid an eventual shear locking phenomenon. The developed element is a four-nodded isoparametric element with fifty two degrees-of-freedom (52 DOF). Each face sheet has only two rotational DOF per node and the core has nine DOF per node: six rotational degrees and three translation components which are common for the all sandwich layers. The performance of the proposed element model is assessed by six examples, considering symmetric/unsymmetric composite sandwich plates with different aspect ratios, loadings and boundary conditions. The numerical results obtained are compared with the analytical solutions and the numerical results obtained by other authors. The results indicate that the proposed element model is promising in terms of the accuracy and the convergence speed for both thin and thick plates.

Analytical solutions for static bending of edge cracked micro beams

Abstract: In this study, static bending of edge cracked micro beams is studied analytically under uniformly distributed transverse loading based on modified couple stress theory. The cracked beam is modelled using a proper modification of the classical cracked-beam theory consisting of two sub-beams connected through a massless elastic rotational spring. The deflection curve expressions of the edge cracked microbeam segments separated by the rotational spring are determined by the Integration method. The elastic curve functions of the edge cracked micro beams are obtained in explicit form for cantilever and simply supported beams. In order to establish the accuracy of the present formulation and results, the deflections are obtained, and compared with the published results available in the literature. Good agreement is observed. In the numerical study, the elastic deflections of the edge cracked micro beams are calculated and discussed for different crack positions, different lengths of the beam, different length scale parameter, different crack depths, and some typical boundary conditions. Also, the difference between the classical beam theory and modified couple stress theory is investigated for static bending of edge cracked microbeams. It is believed that the tabulated results will be a reference with which other researchers can compare their results.

An investigation into the influence of thermal loading and surface effects on mechanical characteristics of nanotubes

Abstract: In this paper the differential transformation method (DTM) is utilized for vibration and buckling analysis of nanotubes in thermal environment while considering the coupled surface and nonlocal effects. The Eringen`s nonlocal elasticity theory takes into account the effect of small size while the Gurtin-Murdoch model is used to incorporate the surface effects (SE). The derived governing differential equations are solved by DTM which demonstrated to have high precision and computational efficiency in the vibration analysis of nanobeams. The detailed mathematical derivations are presented and numerical investigations are performed while the emphasis is placed on investigating the effect of thermal loading, small scale and surface effects, mode number, thickness ratio and boundary conditions on the normalized natural frequencies and critical buckling loads of the nanobeams in detail. The results show that the surface effects lead to an increase in natural frequency and critical buckling load of nanotubes. It is explicitly shown that the vibration and buckling of a nanotube is significantly influenced by these effects and the influence of thermal loadings and nonlocal effects are minimal.

Wave propagation in functionally graded composite cylinders reinforced by aggregated carbon nanotube

Abstract: This work reports wave propagation in the nanocomposite cylinders that reinforced by straight single-walled carbon nanotubes based on a mesh-free method. Moving least square shape functions have been used for approximation of displacement field in weak form of motion equation. The straight carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are assumed to be oriented in specific or random directions or locally aggregated into some clusters. In this simulation, an axisymmetric model is used and also the volume fractions of the CNTs and clusters are assumed to be functionally graded along the thickness. So, material properties of the carbon nanotube reinforced composite cylinders are variable and estimated based on the Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka approach. The effects of orientation, aggregation and volume fractions of the functionally graded clusters and CNTs on dynamic behavior of nanocomposite cylinders are studied. This study results show that orientation and aggregation of CNTs have significant effects on the effective stiffness and dynamic behaviors.

Analysis of functionally graded beam using a new first-order shear deformation theory

Abstract: A new first-order shear deformation theory is developed for dynamic behavior of functionally graded beams. The equations governing the axial and transverse deformations of functionally graded plates are derived based on the present first-order shear deformation plate theory. The governing equations and boundary conditions of functionally graded beams have the simple forms as those of isotropic plates. The influences of the volume fraction index and thickness-to-length ratio on the fundamental frequencies are discussed. The accuracy of the present solutions is verified by comparing the obtained results with the existing solutions.

Flexural strengthening of RC Beams with low-strength concrete using GFRP and CFRP

Abstract: The Turkish Earthquake Code was revised in 1998 and 2007. Before these Codes, especially 1998, reinforced concrete (RC) beams with low flexural and shear strength were widely used in the building. In this study, the RC specimens have been produced by taking into consideration the RC beams with insufficient shear and tensile reinforcement having been manufactured with the use of concrete with low strength. The performance of the RC specimens strengthened with different wrapping methods by using of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) composites have been examined in terms of flexural strength, ductility and energy absorption capacity. In the strengthening of the RC elements, the use of GFRP composites instead of CFRP composites has also been examined. For this purpose, the experimental results of the RC specimens strengthened by wrapping with CFRP and GFRP are presented and discussed. It has been concluded that although the flexural and shear strengths of the RC beams strengthened with GFRP composites are lower than those of beams reinforced with CFRP, their ductility and energy absorption capacities are very high. Moreover, the RC beams strengthened with CFRP fracture are more brittle when compared to GFRP.

Nonlinear static and vibration analysis of Euler-Bernoulli composite beam model reinforced by FG-SWCNT with initial geometrical imperfection using FEM

Abstract: In this paper, the nonlinear static and free vibration analysis of Euler-Bernoulli composite beam model reinforced by functionally graded single-walled carbon nanotubes (FG-SWCNTs) with initial geometrical imperfection under uniformly distributed load using finite element method (FEM) is investigated. The governing equations of equilibrium are derived by the Hamilton\'s principle and von Karman type nonlinear strain-displacement relationships are employed. Also the influences of various loadings, amplitude of the waviness, UD, USFG, and SFG distributions of carbon nanotube (CNT) and different boundary conditions on the dimensionless transverse displacements and nonlinear frequency ratio are presented. It is seen that with increasing load, the displacement of USFG beam under force loads is more than for the other states. Moreover it can be seen that the nonlinear to linear natural frequency ratio decreases with increasing aspect ratio (h/L) for UD, USFG and SFG beam. Also, it is shown that at the specified value of (h/L), the natural frequency ratio increases with the increasing the values amplitude of waviness while the dimensionless nonlinear to linear maximum deflection decreases. Moreover, with considering the amplitude of waviness, the stiffness of Euler-Bernoulli beam model reinforced by FG-CNT increases. It is concluded that the R parameter increases with increasing of volume fraction while the rate of this parameter decreases. Thus one can be obtained the optimum value of FG-CNT volume fraction to prevent from resonance phenomenon.

Thermo-mechanical vibration analysis of temperature-dependent porous FG beams based on Timoshenko beam theory

Abstract: In this paper thermo-mechanical vibration analysis of a porous functionally graded (FG) Timoshenko beam in thermal environment with various boundary conditions are performed by employing a semi analytical differential transform method (DTM) and presenting a Navier type solution method for the first time. The temperature-dependent material properties of FG beam are supposed to vary through thickness direction of the constituents according to the power-law distribution which is modified to approximate the material properties with the porosity phases. Also the porous material properties vary through the thickness of the beam with even and uneven distribution. Two types of thermal loadings, namely, uniform and linear temperature rises through thickness direction are considered. Derivation of equations is based on the Timoshenko beam theory in order to consider the effect of both shear deformation and rotary inertia. Hamilton\'s principle is applied to obtain the governing differential equation of motion and boundary conditions. The detailed mathematical derivations are presented and numerical investigations are performed while the emphasis is placed on investigating the effect of several parameters such as porosity distributions, porosity volume fraction, thermal effect, boundary conditions and power-low exponent on the natural frequencies of the FG beams in detail. It is explicitly shown that the vibration behavior of porous FG beams is significantly influenced by these effects. Numerical results are presented to serve benchmarks for future analyses of FG beams with porosity phases.

The investigation crack problem through numerical analysis

Abstract: This paper presents a comparative study of finite element method (FEM) and analytical method for the plane problem of a layered composite containing an internal perpendicular crack in literature. The layered composite consists of two elastic layers having different elastic constants and heights. External load is applied to the upper elastic layer by means o a rigid punch and the lower elastic layer rests on two simple supports. Numerical simulations are realized by the world wide code ANYS software. Two dimensional analysis of the problem is carried out and the results are verified by comparison with solutions reported in literature. Main goal of the numerical simulation is to investigate the normal stress ${\sigma}_x$(0, y), stress intensity factors at the crack factor and the crack opening displacements.

Fracture behavior of fly ash concrete containing silica fume

Abstract: Effect of silica fume on fresh properties, compressive strength at 28 days and fracture behavior of fly ash concrete composite were studied in this paper. Test results indicated that the fluidity and flowability of fly ash concrete composites decreased and fly ash concrete composite are more cohesive and appear to be sticky with the addition of silica fume. Addition of silica fume was very effective in improving the compressive strength at 28 days of fly ash concrete composite, and the compressive strength of fly ash concrete composite has a trend of increase with the increase of silica fume content. Results also indicated that all the fracture parameters of effective crack length, fracture toughness, fracture energy, the critical crack opening displacement and the maximum crack opening displacement of fly ash concrete composite decreased with the addition of silica fume. When the content of silica fume increased from 3% to 12%, these fracture parameters decreased gradually with the increase of silica fume content. Furthermore, silica fume had great effect on the relational curves of the three-point bending beam specimen. As the silica fume content increased from 3% to 12%, the areas surrounded by the three relational curves and the axes were becoming smaller and smaller, which indicated that the capability of concrete composite containing fly ash to resist crack propagation was becoming weaker and weaker.

Seismic performance and optimal design of framed underground structures with lead-rubber bearings

Abstract: Lead-rubber bearings (LRBs) have been used worldwide in seismic design of buildings and bridges owing to their stable mechanical properties and good isolation effect. We have investigated the effectiveness of LRBs in framed underground structures on controlling structural seismic responses. Nonlinear dynamic time history analyses were carried out on the well-documented Daikai Station, which collapsed during the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu earthquake. Influences of strength ratio (ratio of yield strength of LRBs to yield strength of central column) and shear modulus of rubber on structural seismic responses were studied. As a displacement-based passive energy dissipation device, LRBs reduce dynamic internal forces of framed underground structures and improve their seismic performance. An optimal range of strength ratios was proposed for the case presented. Within this range, LRBs can dissipate maximum input earthquake energy. The maximum shear and moment of the central column can achieve more than 50% reduction, whereas the maximum shear displacement of LRBs is acceptable.

Thermo-mechanical postbuckling of symmetric S-FGM plates resting on Pasternak elastic foundations using hyperbolic shear deformation theory

Abstract: In this work, an analytical formulation based on both hyperbolic shear deformation theory and stress function, is presented to study the nonlinear post-buckling response of symmetric functionally graded plates supported by elastic foundations and subjected to in-plane compressive, thermal and thermo-mechanical loads. Elastic properties of material are based on sigmoid power law and varying across the thickness of the plate (S-FGM). In the present formulation, Von Karman nonlinearity and initial geometrical imperfection of plate are also taken into account. By utilizing Galerkin procedure, closed-form expressions of buckling loads and post-buckling equilibrium paths for simply supported plates are obtained. The effects of different parameters such as material and geometrical characteristics, temperature, boundary conditions, foundation stiffness and imperfection on the mechanical and thermal buckling and post-buckling loading capacity of the S-FGM plates are investigated.

Suggesting a new testing device for determination of tensile strength of concrete

Abstract: A compression to tensile load transforming (CTT) device was developed to determine indirect tensile strength of concrete material. Before CTT test, Particle flow code was used for the determination of the standard dimension of physical samples. Four numerical models with different dimensions were made and were subjected to tensile loading. The geometry of the model with ideal failure pattern was selected for physical sample preparation. A concrete slab with dimensions of $15{\times}19{\times}6cm$ and a hole at its center was prepared and subjected to tensile loading using this special loading device. The ratio of hole diameter to sample width was 0.5. The samples were made from a mixture of water, fine sand and cement with a ratio of 1-0.5-1, respectively. A 30-ton hydraulic jack with a load cell applied compressive loading to CTT with the compressive pressure rate of 0.02 MPa per second. The compressive loading was converted to tensile stress on the sample because of the overall test design. A numerical modeling was also done to analyze the effect of the hole diameter on stress concentrations of the hole side along its horizontal axis to provide a suitable criterion for determining the real tensile strength of concrete. Concurrent with indirect tensile test, the Brazilian test was performed to compare the results from two methods and also to perform numerical calibration. The numerical modeling shows that the models have tensile failure in the sides of the hole along the horizontal axis before any failure under shear loading. Also the stress concentration at the edge of the hole was 1.4 times more than the applied stress registered by the machine. Experimental Results showed that, the indirect tensile strength was clearly lower than the Brazilian test strength.

Assessment of load carrying capacity and fatigue life expectancy of a monumental Masonry Arch Bridge by field load testing: a case study of veresk

Abstract: Masonry arch bridges present a large segment of Iranian railway bridge stock. The ever increasing trend in traffic requires constant health monitoring of such structures to determine their load carrying capacity and life expectancy. In this respect, the performance of one of the oldest masonry arch bridges of Iranian railway network is assessed through field tests. Having a total of 11 sensors mounted on the bridge, dynamic tests are carried out on the bridge to study the response of bridge to test train, which is consist of two 6-axle locomotives and two 4-axle freight wagons. Finite element model of the bridge is developed and calibrated by comparing experimental and analytical mid-span deflection, and verified by comparing experimental and analytical natural frequencies. Analytical model is then used to assess the possibility of increasing the allowable axle load of the bridge to 25 tons. Fatigue life expectancy of the bridge is also assessed in permissible limit state. Results of F.E. model suggest an adequacy factor of 3.57 for an axle load of 25 tons. Remaining fatigue life of Veresk is also calculated and shown that a 0.2% decrease will be experienced, if the axle load is increased from 20 tons to 25 tons.

Analysis on mechanical behavior of dovetail mortise-tenon joints with looseness in traditional timber buildings

Abstract: To study the effect of looseness on mechanical behavior of dovetail mortise-tenon joints, five dovetail mortise-tenon joints, including one intact joint and four loose joints, were fabricated and tested under cycle lateral loadings, and non-linear finite element models using the software ABAQUS were also developed. The effects of looseness on stress distribution, rotational stiffness and bearing capacity of joints were studied based on the analysis of test and simulation results. The results indicate that the hysteretic loops are anti-Z-shaped and present typical characteristics of pinching and slippage, the envelop curves of joints are classified as following two stages: elastic and strengthening stage. The peak stress, rotational stiffness and bearing capacity of joints were reduced due to looseness. The moment-rotation theoretical model of intact joint was simplified in terms of the relation of construction dimensions for buildings, and the moment-rotation theoretical model considering the effect of looseness was proposed and validated.

Structural safety redundancy-based design method for structure with viscous dampers

Abstract: A simple design process is proposed for supplemental viscous dampers based on structural safety redundancy. In this process, the safety redundancy of the primary structure without a damper is assessed by the capacity and response spectra. The required damping ratio that should be provided by the supplemental dampers is estimated by taking the structural safety redundancy as a design target. The arrangement of dampers is determined according to the drift distribution obtained by performing pushover analysis. A benchmark model is used to illustrate and verify the validity of this design process. The results show that the structural safety redundancy of the structure provided by the viscous dampers increases to approximately twice that of the structure without a damper and is close to the design target. Compared with the existing design methods, the proposed process can estimate the elastic-plastic response of a structure more easily by using static calculation, and determine the required damping ratio more directly without iterative calculation or graphical process. It can be concluded that the proposed process is simple and effective.

Seismic performance of RC-column wrapped with Velcro

Abstract: A seismic strengthening method using Velcro is proposed to improve the seismic performance of columns in RC frame structures. The proposed method was evaluated experimentally using three fabricated RC specimens. Velcro was wrapped around the columns of the RC-frame specimen to prevent concrete spall falling. The reinforcing performance of the Velcro was determined from comparison of results on seismic performance (i.e., strength, displacement, failure mode, displacement ductility capacity and amount of dissipated energy). As the displacement of the reinforced specimens was increased, the amount of dissipated energy increased drastically, and the displacement-ductility-capacity of the reinforced specimens also increased. The final failure mode of RC frame structure was changed. As a result, it was concluded that the proposed seismic strengthening method using Velcro could be used to increase the displacement ductility of RC columns, and could be used to change the final failure mode of RC-frame structures.