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CONTENTS
Volume 33, Number 3, November10 2019
 

Abstract
This study is aimed to predict the behaviour of channel shear connectors in composite floor systems at different temperatures. For this purpose, a soft computing approach is adopted. Two novel intelligence methods, including an Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) and a Genetic Programming (GP), are developed. In order to generate the required data for the intelligence methods, several push-out tests were conducted on various channel connectors at different temperatures. The dimension of the channel connectors, temperature, and slip are considered as the inputs of the models, and the strength of the connector is predicted as the output. Next, the performance of the ELM and GP is evaluated by developing an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Finally, the performance of the ELM, GP, and ANN is compared with each other. Results show that ELM is capable of achieving superior performance indices in comparison with GP and ANN in the case of load prediction. Also, it is found that ELM is not only a very fast algorithm but also a more reliable model.

Key Words
elevated temperature; channel shear connector; extreme learning machine; genetic programming; artificial neural network

Address
(1) Mahdi Shariati:
Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Viet Nam;
(2) Mohammad Saeed Mafipour, Alireza Bahadori:
School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran;
(3) Peyman Mehrabi:
Department of Civil Engineering, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran;
(4) Yousef Zandi:
Department of Civil Engineering, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran;
(5) Davoud Dehghani:
Department of Civil Engineering, Qeshm International Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qeshm, Iran;
(6) Ali Shariati, Nguyen Thoi Trung:
Division of Computational Mathematics and Engineering, Institute for Computational Science, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam;
(7) Ali Shariati, Nguyen Thoi Trung:
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam;
(8) Musab N.A. Salih:
School of civil engineering, faculty of engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia;
(9) Shek Poi-Ngian:
Construction Research Center (CRC), Institute for Smart Infrastructure & Innovative Construction (ISIIC), School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia.


Abstract
Foam ceramic materials contribute to the explosion effect weakening on concrete structures, due to the corresponding excellent energy absorption ability. The blast resistance of concrete members could be improved through steel-foam ceramics as protective cladding layers. An approach for the modeling of dynamic response of steel-foam ceramic protected reinforced concrete (Steel-FC-RC) slabs under blast loading was presented with the LS-DYNA software. The orthogonal analysis (five factors with five levels) under three degrees of blast loads was conducted. The influence rankings and trend laws were further analyzed. The dynamic displacement of the slab bottom was significantly reduced by increasing the thickness of steel plate, foam ceramic and RC slab, while the displacement decreased slightly as the steel yield strength and the compressive strength of concrete increased. However, the optimized efficiency of blast resistance decreases with factors increase to higher level. Moreover, an efficient design method was reported based on the orthogonal analysis.

Key Words
composite slabs; dynamic analysis; structural design; numerical analysis; sandwich composite

Address
(1) Xiaomeng Hou, Kunyu Liu, Shaojun Cao, Qin Rong:
Key Lab of Structures Dynamic Behavior and Control of the Ministry of Education, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China;
(2) Xiaomeng Hou, Kunyu Liu, Shaojun Cao:
Key Lab of the Smart Prevention and Mitigation of Civil Engineering Disasters of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China;
(3) Qin Rong:
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150080, China.

Abstract
Most of the recent studies have improved the efficiency of FRP jackets for increasing the compressive strength, shear strength, and ductility of reinforced concrete columns; however, the influence of FRP jackets on the flexural capacity is slight. Although new methods such as NSM (near surface mounted) are utilized to solve this problem, yet practical difficulties, behavior dependency on adhesives, and brittle failure necessitate finding better methods. This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the application of fiber-reinforced polymer fastened mechanically to the concrete columns to improve the flexural capacity of RC columns. For this purpose, mechanical fasteners were used to achieve the composite behavior of FRP and concrete columns. The experimental program included five reinforced concrete columns retrofitted by different methods using FRP subjected to constant axial compression and lateral cyclic loading. The experimental results showed that the use of the new method proposed in this paper increased the flexural strength and lateral load capacity of the columns significantly, and good composite action of FRP and RC column was achieved. Moreover, the experimental results were compared with the results obtained from the analytical study based on strain compatibility, and good proximity was reached.

Key Words
FRP; RC columns; mechanical fasteners; flexural strengthening

Address
(1) Navideh Mahdavi:
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Marand Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marand, Iran;
(2) Abbas Ali Tasnimi:
Department of Structural Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract
Steel storage racks are slender structures whose overall behavior and the capacity depend largely on the flexural behavior of the base-plate to upright connections and on the behavior of beam-to-column connections. The base-plate upright connection assembly details, anchor bolt position in particular, associated with the high-rise steel storage racks differ from those of normal height steel storage racks. Since flexural behavior of high-rise rack base connection is hitherto unavailable, this investigation experimentally establishes the flexural behavior of base-plate upright connections of high-rise steel storage racks. This investigation used an enhanced test setup and considered nine groups of three identical tests to investigate the influence of factors such as axial load, base plate thickness, anchor bolt size, bracket length, and upright thickness. The test observations show that the base-plate assembly may significantly influence the overall behavior of such connections. A rigid plate analytical model and an elastic plate analytical model for the overall rotations stiffness of base-plate upright connections with concentric anchor bolts were constructed, and were found to give better predictions of the initial stiffness of such connections. Analytical model based parametric studies highlight and quantify the interplay of components and provide a means for efficient maximization of overall rotational stiffness of concentrically anchor bolted high-rise rack base-plate upright connections.

Key Words
steel storage racks; base connections; concentric anchor bolts; flexural behavior; experimental; initial stiffness; moment capacity; component method; analytical models for the base plate; parametric study

Address
(1) Xianzhong Zhao, Zhaoqi Huang, Yue Wang:
Department of Structural Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China;
(2) Xianzhong Zhao:
State Key Laboratory of Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China;
(3) Ken S. Sivakumaran:
Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L7, Canada.

Abstract
This paper aims to investigate the axial load behavior and stability strength of square tubed steel-reinforced concrete (TSRC) columns. Unlike concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) column, the outer steel tube of a TSRC column is mainly used to provide confinement to the core concrete. Ten specimens were tested under axial compression, and the main test variables included length-to-width ratio (L/B) of the specimens, width-to-thickness ratio (B/t) of the steel tubes, and with or without stud shear connectors on the steel sections. The failure mode, ultimate strength and load-tube stress response of each specimen were summarized and analyzed. The test results indicated that the axial load carried by square tube due to friction and bond of the interface increased with the increase of L/B ratio, while the confinement effect of tube was just the opposite. Parametric studies were performed through ABAQUS based on the test results, and the feasibility of current design codes has also been examined. Finally, a method for calculating the ultimate strength of this composite column was proposed, in which the slenderness effect on the tube confinement was considered.

Key Words
steel-reinforced concrete; square tubed column; axial load; column curve; design method

Address
(1) Biao Yan, Weiqing Zhu:
School of Highway, Chang'an University, Xi'an 710064, China;
(2) Dan Gan, Xuhong Zhou:
Key Laboratory of New Technology for Construction of Cities in Mountain Area (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400045, China.

Abstract
Reinforced concrete walls and buckling restrained braces are effective structural elements that are used to resist seismic loads. In this paper, the behavior of the reinforced concrete walls coupled with buckling restrained braces is investigated. In such a system, there is not any conventional reinforced concrete coupling beam. The coupling action is provided only by buckling restrained braces that dissipate energy and also cause coupling forces in the wall piers. The studied structures are 10-, 20- and 30-story ones designed according to the ASCE, ACI-318 and AISC codes. Wall nonlinear model is then prepared using the fiber elements in PERFORM-3D software. The responses of the systems subjected to the forward directivity near-fault (NF) and ordinary far-fault (FF) ground motions at maximum considered earthquake (MCE) level are studied. The seismic responses of the structures corresponding to the inter-story drift demand, curvature ductility of wall piers, and coupling ratio of the walls are compared. On average, the results show that the inter-story drift ratio for the examined systems subjected to the far-fault events at MCE level is less than allowable value of 3%. Besides, incremental dynamic analysis is used to examine the considered systems. Results of studied systems show that, the taller the structures, the higher the probability of their collapse. Also, for a certain peak ground acceleration of 1 g, the probability of collapse under NF records is more than twice this probability under FF records.

Key Words
reinforced concrete walls; buckling restrained braces; coupling action; earthquake; near-field

Address
Department of Civil Engineering, Mahdishahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahdishahr, Iran.


Abstract
Axially functionally graded (AFG) beams are a new class of composite structures that have continuous variations in material and/or geometrical parameters along the axial direction. In this study, the exact analytical solutions for the free vibration of AFG and uniform beams with general elastic supports are obtained by using Euler.Bernoulli beam theory. The elastic supports are modeled with linear rotational and lateral translational springs. Moreover, the material and/or geometrical properties of the AFG beams are assumed to vary continuously and together along the length of the beam according to the power-law forms. Accordingly, the accuracy, efficiency and capability of the proposed formulations are demonstrated by comparing the responses of the numerical examples with the available solutions. In the following, the effects of the elastic end restraints and AFG parameters, namely, gradient index and gradient coefficient, on the values of the first three natural frequencies of the AFG and uniform beams are investigated comprehensively. The analytical solutions are presented in tabular and graphical forms and can be used as the benchmark solutions. Furthermore, the results presented herein can be utilized for design of inhomogeneous beams with various supporting conditions.

Key Words
axially functionally graded beams; elastic supports; natural frequencies; free vibration; exact analysis; Euler-Bernoulli beam theory

Address
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Quchan University of Technology, P.O. Box. 94771-67335, Quchan, Iran.


Abstract
Fatigue failure of a grid structure using bolt-sphere joints is liable to occur in a high-strength bolt due to the alternating and reciprocal actions of a suspension crane. In this study, variable amplitude fatigue tests were carried out on 20 40 Cr steel alloy M30 high-strength bolts using an MTS fatigue testing machine, and four cyclic stress amplitude loading patterns, Low-High, High- Low, Low-High-Low, and High-Low-High, were tested. The scanning electron microscope images of bolt fatigue failure due to variable amplitude stress were obtained, and the fractographic analysis of fatigue fractures was performed to investigate the fatigue failure mechanisms. Based on the available data from the constant amplitude fatigue tests, the variable amplitude fatigue life of an M30 high-strength bolt in a bolt-sphere joint was estimated using both Miner's rule and the Corten-Dolan model. Since both cumulative damage models gave similar predictions, Miner's rule is suggested for estimating the variable-amplitude fatigue life of M30 high-strength bolts in a grid structure with bolt-sphere joints; the S-N fatigue curve of the M30 high-strength bolts under variable amplitude loading was derived using equivalent stress amplitude as a design parameter.

Key Words
grid structure; bolt-sphere joint; M30 high-strength bolt; variable amplitude fatigue; cumulative fatigue damage; S-N curve

Address
College of Civil Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, 79 West Yingze Street, Taiyuan, Shanxi, People's Repulic of China.


Abstract
The ultrasonic guided wave-based technique has become one of the most promising methods in non-destructive evaluation and structural health monitoring, because of its advantages of large area inspection, evaluating inaccessible areas on the structure and high sensitivity to small damage. To further advance the development of damage detection technologies using ultrasonic guided waves for the inspection of welded components in structures, the transmission characteristics of the ultrasonic guided waves propagating through welded joints with various types of defects or damage in steel plates are studied and presented in this paper. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model considering the different material properties of the mild steel, high strength steel and austenitic stainless steel plates and their corresponding welded joints as well as the interaction condition of the steel plate and welded joint, is developed. The FE model is validated against analytical solutions and experimental results reported in the literature and is demonstrated to be capable of providing a reliable prediction on the features of ultrasonic guided wave propagating through steel plates with welded joints and interacting with defects. Mode conversion and scattering analysis of guided waves transmitted through the different types of weld defects in steel plates are performed by using the validated FE model. Parametric studies are undertaken to elucidate the effects of several basic parameters for various types of weld defects on the transmission performance of guided waves. The findings of this research can provide a better understanding of the transmission behaviour of ultrasonic guided waves propagating through welded joints with defects. The method could be used for improving the performance of guided wave damage detection methods.

Key Words
ultrasonic guided wave; transmission; weld; steel plate; damage detection; finite element model

Address
(1) Xinpei Liu, Brian Uy:
School of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Sydney, NSW2006, Australia;
(2) Abhijit Mukherjee:
School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia.

Abstract
Initial thermo-elastic and steady state creep deformation of a rotating functionally graded simple blade is studied using first-order shear deformation theory. A variable thickness model for cantilever beam has been considered. The blade geometry and loading are defined as functions of length so that one can define his own blade profile and loading using any arbitrary function. The blade is subjected to a transverse distributed load, an inertia body force due to rotation and a distributed temperature field due to a thermal gradient between the tip and the root. All mechanical and thermal properties except Poisson's ratio are assumed to be longitudinally variable based on the volume fraction of reinforcement. The creep behaviour is modelled by Norton's law. Considering creep strains in stress strain relation, Prandtl-Reuss relations, Norton' law and effective stress relation differential equation in term of effective creep strain is established. This differential equation is solved numerically. By effective creep strain, steady state stresses and deflections are obtained. It is concluded that reinforcement particle size and form of distribution of reinforcement has significant effect on the steady state creep behavior of the blade.

Key Words
simple blade; functionally graded material; steady state creep; first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT)

Address
Department of Solid Mechanics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Kashan, I.R. Iran.


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