Abstract: While the use of cast-in-place concrete for an airfield and highway pavement overlay is very common, the application of precast concrete elements is very limited today. The main reasons consist of high production costs and complex structural behavior. Despite that, several precast concrete systems have been developed and tested with the aim to provide a system with rapid construction. The contribution deals with the reinforcement design of a hexagonal element developed for a proposed airfield pavement system. The sub-base course of the system is composed of compacted recycled concrete aggregates and fiber reinforced concrete with recycled aggregates place on top of it. The selected element belongs to a group of precast concrete elements which are being considered for the construction of a surface course. Both high costs of full-scale experiments and the need to investigate various elements force to simulate their behavior in a numerical analysis software by using finite element method instead of performing expensive experiments. The simulation of the selected element was conducted on a nonlinear model in order to obtain such results which could fully compensate results from experiments. The main objective was to design reinforcement of the precast concrete element subject to quasi-static loading from airplanes with respect to geometrical imperfections, manufacturing imperfections, tensile stress in reinforcement, compressive stress in concrete and crack width. The obtained findings demonstrate that the position and the presence of imperfection in a pavement highly affect the stress distribution in the precast concrete element. The precast concrete element should be heavily reinforced to fulfill all the demands. Using under-reinforced concrete elements would lead to the formation of wide cracks and cracks permanently open.
Abstract: There is little published research about the influence of execution methods on structural behavior. Structural analysis is typically based on a constructed building, considering the actions of all forces under which it was designed. However, during construction, execution loads do not match those designed, and in some cases the loads begin to act when the concrete has not yet reached its maximum strength. Changes to structural element support conditions may occur, resulting in unforeseen alterations to the structure’s behavior. Shoring is an example of a construction process that, if executed improperly, will directly influence the structural performance, and may result in unpredicted cracks and displacements. The NBR 14931/2004 standard, which guides the execution of reinforced concrete structures, mentions that shoring must be executed in a way that avoids unpredicted loads and that it may be removed after previous analysis of the structure’s behavior by the professional responsible for the structure’s design. Differences in structural behavior are reduced for small spans. It is important to qualify and quantify how the incorrect placement of shores can compromise a structure’s safety. The results of this research allowed a more precise acknowledgment of the relationship between spans and loads, for which the influence of execution processes can be considerable, and reinforced that civil engineering practice must be performed with the presence of a qualified professional, respecting existing standards’ guidelines.
Abstract: GJ steel is a new type of high-performance structural steel which has been increasingly adopted in practical engineering. Q460GJ structural steel has a nominal yield strength of 460 MPa, which does not decrease significantly with the increase of steel plate thickness like normal structural steel. Thus, Q460GJ structural steel is normally used in medium-walled welded sections. However, research works on the residual stress in GJ steel members are few though it is one of the vital factors that can affect the member and structural behavior. This article aims to investigate the residual stresses in welded I-shaped sections fabricated from Q460GJ structural steel plates by experimental tests. A total of four full scale welded medium-walled I-shaped sections were tested by sectioning method. Both circular curve correction method and straightening measurement method were adopted in this study to obtain the final magnitude and distribution of the longitudinal residual stresses. In addition, this paper also explores the interaction between flanges and webs. And based on the statistical evaluation of the experimental data, a multilayer residual stress model is proposed.
Abstract: In this study, Ti-5Al-2.5Fe alloy was prepared by powder metallurgy. The elemental titanium, aluminum, and iron powders were mechanically alloyed for 10 h in a vacuum atmosphere. A stainless steel jar and stainless steel balls were used for mechanical alloying. The alloyed powders were then sintered by vacuum hot pressing at 950 °C for a soaking time of 30 minutes. Pure titanium was also sintered at the same conditions for comparison of mechanical properties and microstructural behavior. The samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, XRD analysis, and optical microscopy. Results showed that, after mechanical alloying, a homogeneous distribution of the elements was obtained, and desired a-b structure was determined. Ti-5Al-2.5Fe alloy was successfully produced, and the alloy showed enhanced mechanical properties compared to the commercial pure titanium.
Abstract: The ductility is an important parameter in the nonlinear behavior of portal structures reinforced concrete. It may be explained by the ability of the structure to deform in the plastic range, or the geometric characteristics in the map may influence the overall ductility. Our study is based on the influence of geometric slenderness (Lx / Ly) on the overall ductility of these structures, a study is made on a structure has 05 floors with varying the column section of 900 cm², 1600 cm² and 1225 cm². A slight variation in global ductility is noticed as (Lx/Ly) varies; however, column sections can control satisfactorily the plastic behavior of buildings.
Abstract: Modular structural systems are constructed using a
method that they are assembled with prefabricated unit modular
frames on-site. This provides a benefit that can significantly reduce
building construction time. The structural design is usually carried out
under the assumption that their load-carrying mechanism is similar to
that of traditional steel moment-resisting systems. However, both
systems are different in terms of beam-column connection details
which may strongly influence the lateral structural behavior. Specially,
the presence of access holes in a beam-column joint of a unit modular
frame could cause undesirable failure during strong earthquakes.
Therefore, this study carried out finite element analyses (FEMs) of
unit modular frames to investigate the cyclic behavior of beam-column
joints with the access holes. Analysis results show that the unit
modular frames present stable cyclic response with large deformation
capacities and their joints are classified into semi-rigid connections
even if there are access holes.
Abstract: Using ETABS software, this study analyzed 23
buildings to evaluate effects of mistakes during construction phase on
buildings structural behavior. For modelling, two different loadings
were assumed: 1) design loading and 2) loading due to the effects of
mistakes in construction phase. Research results determined that
considering traditional construction methods for buildings resulted in
a significant increase in dead loads and consequently intensified the
displacements and base-shears of buildings under seismic loads.
Abstract: Demanding structural safety under various loading conditions, has focused attention on their variation and structural elements behavior due to these variations. Jacket structures are designed for a specific water level (LAT). One of the important issues about these kinds of structures is the water level rise. For example, the level of water in the Caspian Sea has risen by 2.5m in the last fifteen years and is continuing to rise. In this paper, the structural behavior of one typical shallow or medium water jacket platform (a four-leg steel jacket platform in 55m water depth) under water level rise has been studied. The time history of Von Mises stress and nodal displacement has chosen for evaluating structural behavior. The results show that dependent on previous water depth and structural elements position; different structural elements have different behavior due to water level rise.
Abstract: Appropriate and progressive tool for analyzing behavior of low volume roads are probabilistic models used in reliability analyses. The necessary part of the probabilistic model is the deterministic model of structural behavior. The FE model of low volume roads is created in the ANSYS software. It is able to determine the state of stress and deformation in any point of the structure and thus generate data required for the reliability analysis. The paper compares two material constitutive models used for modeling of unbound non-homogenous materials used in low volume roads. The first model is linear elastic model according to Hook theory (H model), the second one is nonlinear elastic-plastic Drucker-Prager model (D-P model).