Abstract
In this study, modal parameters such as natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios of RC frames with low strength are determined for different construction stages using ambient vibration test. For this purpose full scaled, one bay and one story RC frames are produced and tested for plane, brick infilled and brick in-filled with plaster conditions. Measurement time, frequency span and effective mode number are determined by considering similar studies and literature. To obtain experimental dynamic characteristics, Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition and Stochastic Subspace Identification techniques are used together. It is shown that the ambient vibration measurements are enough to identify the most significant modes of RC frames. The results indicate that modal parameters change significantly depending on the construction stages. In addition, Infill walls increase stiffness and change the mode shapes of the RC frame. There is a good agreement between mode shapes obtained from brick in-filled and in-filled with plaster conditions. However, some differences are seen in plane frame, like expected. Dynamic characteristics should be verified using finite element analysis. Finally, inconsistency between experimental and analytical dynamic characteristics should be minimize by finite element model updating using some
uncertain parameters such as material properties, boundary condition and section properties to reflect the current behavior of the RC frames.
Abstract
In this paper, fuel tank of the locomotive ER 24 has been studied. Firstly the behavior of fuel and air during the braking time has been investigated by using a two-phase model. Then, the distribution of pressure on the surface of baffles caused by sloshing has been extracted. Also, the fuel tank has been modeled and analyzed using Finite Element Method (FEM) considering loading conditions suggested by the DIN EN 12663 standard and real boundary conditions. In each loading condition, high stressed areas have been identified. By comparing the distribution of pressure caused by sloshing phenomena and suggested loading conditions, optimization of the tank has been taken into consideration. Moreover, internal baffles have been investigated and by modifying their geometric properties, search of the design space has been done to reach the optimal tank. Then, in order to reduce the mass and manufacturing cost of the fuel tank, Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have been employed. It is shown that compared to the primary design, the optimized fuel tank not only provides the safety conditions, but also reduces mass and manufacturing cost by %39 and %73, respectively.
Address
A. Karkhaneh Yousefi, H. Nahvi : Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
M. Shariat Panahi : School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Inaccurate predictions of effective stiffness for reinforced concrete (RC) columns having plain (undeformed) longitudinal rebars may lead to unsafe performance assessment and strengthening of existing deficient frames. Currently utilized effective stiffness models cover RC columns reinforced with deformed longitudinal rebars. A database of 47 RC columns (33 columns had continuous rebars and the remaining had spliced reinforcement) that were longitudinally reinforced with plain rebars was compiled from literature. The existing effective stiffness equations were found to overestimate the effective stiffness of columns with plain rebars for all levels of axial loads. A new approach that considers the contributions of flexure, shear and bond slip to column deflections prior to yielding was proposed. The new effective stiffness formulations were simplified without loss of generality for columns with and without lap-spliced plain rebars. In addition, the existing stiffness models for the columns with deformed rebars were improved while taking poor bond characteristics of plain rebars into account.
Key Words
reinforced concrete; columns; effective stiffness; plain rebars; guidelines
Address
Okan Ozcan : Department of Civil Engineering, Akdeniz University, 07058, Antalya, Turkey
Abstract
Locking phenomenon is a mesh problem and can be staved off with mesh refinement. If the studier is not preferred going to the solution with increasing mesh size or the computer memory can stack over flow than using higher order plate finite element or using integration techniques is a solution for this problem. The purpose of this paper is to show the shear locking phenomenon can be avoided by increase low order finite element mesh size of the plates and to study shear locking-free analysis of thick plates using Mindlin\'s theory by using higher order displacement shape function and to determine the effects of various parameters such as the thickness/span ratio, mesh size on the linear responses of thick plates subjected to uniformly distributed loads. A computer program using finite element method is coded in C++ to analyze the plates clamped or simply supported along all four edges. In the analysis, 4-, 8- and 17-noded quadrilateral finite elements are used. It is concluded that 17-noded finite element converges to exact results much faster than 8-noded finite element, and that it is better to use 17-noded finite element for shear-locking free analysis of plates.
Key Words
thick plate; shear locking; Mindlin\'s theory; finite element method; 8-noded finite element; 17-noded finite element
Address
Y.I. Ozdemir: Department of Civil Engineering, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey
Y. Ayvaz: Civil Enginnering Department, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
Abstract
Due to the confinement effects, Steel-Straps Tensioning Technique (SSTT) can significantly enhance the strength and ductility of high-strength concrete (HSC) members (Moghaddam et al. 2008). However, the enhancement especially in strength may result in slender member and more susceptible to instability (Jiang and Teng 2012a). This instability is particularly significant in HSC member as it inherent the brittle nature of the material (Galano et al. 2008). The current slenderness limit expression used in the design is mainly derived from the experiment and analysis results based on Normal strength concrete (NSC) column and therefore the direct application of these slenderness limit expressions to the HSC column is being questioned. Besides, a particular slenderness limit for the SSTT-confined HSC column which incorporated the pre-tensioned force and multilayers effects is not yet available. Hence, an analytical study was carried out in the view of developing a simple equation in order to determine the slenderness limit for HSC column confined with SSTT. Based on the analytical results, it was concluded that the existing slenderness limit expressions used in the design are appropriate for neither HSC columns nor SSTTconfined HSC columns. In this paper, a slenderness limit expression which has incorporated the SSTTconfinement effects is proposed. The proposed expression can also be applied to unconfined HSC columns.
Abstract
Due to the lack of effective longitudinal constraint for center tower, structural stiffness of three-tower suspension bridge becomes less than that of two-tower suspension bridge, and therefore it becomes more susceptible to the seismic action. By taking a three-tower suspension bridge-the Taizhou Highway Bridge over the Yangtze River with two main spans of 1080 m as example, structural dynamic
characteristics and seismic performance of the bridge is investigated, and the effects of cable\'s sag to span ratio, structural stiffness of the center tower, and longitudinal constraint of the girder on seismic response of the bridge are also investigated, and the favorable structural system is discussed with respect to seismic performance. The results show that structural response under lateral seismic action is more remarkable, especially for the side towers, and therefore more attentions should be paid to the lateral seismic performance and also the side towers. Large cable\'s sag, flexible center tower and the longitudinal elastic cable between the center tower and the girder are favorable to improve structural seismic performance of long-span three-tower suspension bridges.
Key Words
three-tower suspension bridge; structural dynamic characteristics; seismic performance; structural system
Address
Xin-Jun Zhang and Guo-Ning Fu : College of Civil Engineering Architecture, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, P.R. China
Abstract
In the present research, fatigue behavior of chopped strand mat/epoxy composites has been studied with two different techniques. First, the normalized stiffness degradation approach as a well-known model for unidirectional and laminated composites was utilized to predict the fatigue behavior of chopped strand mat/epoxy composites. Then, the capability of the fatigue damage accumulation model for chopped strand mat/epoxy composites was investigated. A series of tests has been performed at different stress levels to evaluate both models with the obtained results. The results of evaluation indicate a better correlation of the normalized stiffness degradation technique with experimental results in comparison with the fatigue damage accumulation model.
Key Words
fatigue; normalized stiffness degradation; damage accumulation; short fibers; chopped strand mat
Address
M.M. Shokrieh, M. Esmkhani and F. Taheri-Behrooz : Composites Research Laboratory, Center of Excellence in Experimental Solid Mechanics and Dynamics, School of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, 16846-13114 Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The girder of self-anchored suspension bridge is subjected to large compression force applied by main cables. So, serious damage of the girder due to breakage of hangers may cause collapse of the whole bridge. With the time increasing, the hangers may break suddenly for their resistance capacities decrease due to corrosion. Using nonlinear static and dynamic analysis methods and adopting 3D finite element model, the responses of a concrete self-anchored suspension bridge to sudden breakage of hangers are studied in this paper. The results show that the sudden breakage of a hanger has significant effects on tensions of the hangers next to the broken hanger, bending and torsion moments of the girder, moments of the towers and reaction forces of the bearings. The results obtained from dynamic analysis method are very different from those obtained from static analysis method. The maximum tension of hanger produced by breakage of a hanger exceeds 2.2 times of its initial value, the maximum dynamic amplification factor reaches 2.54, which is larger than the value of 2.0 recommended for cable-stayed bridge in PTI codes. If two adjacent hangers on the same side of bridge break one after another, the maximum tension of other hangers exceeds 3.0 times of its initial value. If the safety factor adopted to design hanger is too small, or the hangers have been exposed to corrosion, the bridge may collapse due to breakage of two adjacent hangers.
Key Words
self-anchored suspension bridge; sudden breakage of hanger; responses; static analysis; dynamic analysis
Address
Wenliang Qiu, Meng Jiang and Zhe Zhang : School of civil engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, PR China
