bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Experimental behaviour of optimized hybrid coupled shear walls
Authors: Natali Agnese , Morelli Francesco , Salvatore Walter 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis paper shows the experimental structural behaviour of an optimized solution for hybrid coupled shear walls, which are seismic‐resistant systems composed of a reinforced concrete wall, with two side steel columns connected by beams ‐ the dissipative element. The optimized solution is proposed to upgrade the global behaviour of the system, with the aim of reducing the bending moment at the base of the reinforced concrete wall. Indeed, previous experimental tests demonstrated that the wall may suffer from early cracking at the base, despite the possibility of controlling the base bending moment thanks to properly balancing stiffness and resistance of the different components of the system. The optimized solution is numerically developed and designed with the philosophy of redistributing bending at the base of the wall by removing the lateral portions of the concrete and replacing them with a couple of steel hinged profiles, to control the deformations and absorb the torque. The central concrete part of the wall is kept but reduced to the minimum, to transfer the shear, only, reaching closely hinged‐like conditions. Two different solutions are proposed for the central reduced part of the wall: in the first case, the cross section is gradually reduced to the base, while in the second one, the wall is connected through a steel pin to the base. Both solutions are tested under monotonic load for a preliminary assessment of the actual benefits at the base of the wall compared to the original proposal.
Hysteretic behaviour of welded connections with highly inelastic panel zones
Authors: Skiadopoulos Andronikos , Lignos Dimitrios G. , Arita Masaki , Hiroshima Satoru 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe current practice in capacity‐designed steel moment resisting frames (MRFs) worldwide allows for limited shear yielding in the column web panel zone. As such, inelastic deformations concentrate near the beam ends, thereby leading to flexural strength deterioration due to local buckling often at modest lateral drift demands. Experiments on post‐Northridge welded connections suggest that prior to a story drift angle of 5% rad, panel zone kinking does not induce fracture for panel zone shear distortions of up to 10γy. Within such a context, this paper presents an alternative design of a welded moment connection with highly inelastic panel zones. The connection features simplified weld details including a customised beveled backing bar that can be kept in place after the completion of the complete joint penetration welds at the beam flange‐to‐column flange joint. Full scale experiments suggest that the hysteretic response of the connection remains stable up until a story drift angle of 8% rad. The specimen did not exhibit visible structural damage prior to story drift angles of 4% rad, which are characteristic to a maximum considered earthquake. Modest local buckling occurred near the beam ends only after a story drift angle of 5% rad, which is a typical drift threshold in current collapse assessment methodologies. This paper summarises the primary findings of the experimental program for one of the test specimens.
Finite Element Modelling of a Transmission Steel Lattice Tower Based on LiDAR Point Cloud Data
Authors: Wrzosek Filip 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis article presents an innovative modelling method, which can serve as a set of guidelines for future applications related to point cloud data processing of steel lattice structures used for FEA modelling purposes. This method is fully automated, resulting in repeatable results and saving time required for manual data processing. The study investigated two types of input point cloud data, aerial and terrestrial, and compared the resulting model to an idealized model based on design documentation. Results showed that the LiDAR point cloud data is a good source of information for reconstructing a geometric CAD model and can be implemented in FEA. The impact of point cloud data usage for FEA modelling is demonstrated by investigating differences between FEA results of the point cloud‐based and idealized models, allowing for an understanding of the influence of real‐life imperfections on force redistribution across the analyzed structure and ultimate forces reached by members loaded in compression. This modelling method and analysis can serve as guidelines for future applications related to point cloud data pro‐cessing of steel lattice structures used for FEA modelling purposes.
Fatigue strength of tubular welded connections in offshore floating platforms
Authors: Papatheocharis Theocharis , Plakias George T. , Zervaki Anna D. , Karamanos Spyros A. , Perdikaris Philip C. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe work reported in the present paper is part of a European research program aimed at developing a hybrid tension‐leg floating platform, suitable for combined offshore wind and wave energy exploitation. Eight (8) fatigue tests on welded tubular joint specimens are performed, which represent the full penetration brace‐to‐cylindrical column welded connections of the project prototype structure. The large‐diameter columns are reinforced internally with a grid of longitudinal and transverse stiffeners fillet welded to the shell. The specimens are approximately 1/6‐scale physical models made of S355 grade steel, and subjected to cyclic loading under constant load amplitude histories. The brace‐to‐cylinder welds are semiautomatic, and high‐frequency mechanical impact treatment is applied in four specimens. The experiments are supported by post‐fracture metallographic examination and finite element analyses. The results indicate two locations for fatigue crack initiation: brace‐to‐cylinder crown and cylinder‐to‐stiffener connection.
Burnout resistance of concrete‐filled steel tubular (CFST) columns under realistic fire conditions
Authors: Szymkuc Wojciech , Malendowski Michal , Glema Adam 
Published: September 2023

AbstractIn this paper, we investigate the structural behaviour of concrete‐filled steel tubular (CFST) columns under various fires. Our contribution is based on two fire scenarios in modelled FDS with subsequent 3D FE numerical analysis (Abaqus), where material properties are defined for heating and cooling using user subroutines. Our goal is to examine the burnout resistance of CFST columns under different realistic fire scenarios involving varying number of burning cars.The loss of compressive strength of concrete due to high temperature is irreversible. Hence, the burnout resistance is affected by the field of the highest temperatures reached inside the column. Moreover, the pre‐existing load affects the deformation of the column during heating and influences the post‐fire behaviour. The analysis is performed in several steps: first, results from the CFD models are extracted and appropriately mapped, then the heat transfer analysis between fire and solid is performed, and the resulting temperature history of the CFST column is calculated. Subsequently, a mechanical analysis is performed, where (1) the column is loaded, (2) the analysis of the column's structural fire behaviour is carried out, (3) if the column sur‐vives burnout, then in the last step, it is loaded until failure.
Performance of short links with flush and extended end plate connections using FEM analysis
Authors: Plaitano Francesco , Stratan Aurel , Chesoan Adriana , Nastri Elide 
Published: September 2023

AbstractEccentrically braced frames are commonly used as a seismic resistant system, due to the good balance of stiffness and ductility. Bolted links have been proposed in the past to allow replacing the damaged dissipative components following a strong earthquake. The goal of this research work is to investigate the influence of the connection type on the performance of bolted links using the Finite Element Analysis. Numerical models of links are first calibrated using past experimental tests. Modelling criteria adopted to replicate the experimental behaviour of the links highlighted in the tests are reported. The achieved results obtained regarding a flush end plate bolted link and an extended end plate bolted link with different lengths are then used as benchmark to assess the influence of the link length and type of connections adopted on the response of the links. The Finite Element Method is used to investigate alternative solutions to the tested ones. Finally, the investigated options are compared to determine the advantages and disadvantages of each solution.
In‐plane quasi‐static tests for the evaluation of seismic demand on Power Actuated Fasteners (PAF)
Authors: Fiorino Luigi , Campiche Alessia , Grzesik Peter , Landolfo Raffaele 
Published: September 2023

AbstractRecent research showed that the damage in non‐structural components significantly affects the seismic behaviour of structures, indeed it is crucial to evaluate the seismic behaviour of non‐structural components. For this purpose, the University of Naples “Federico II” started a cooperation with the Hilti Corporation, to evaluate the seismic demand on fasteners connecting drywalls to supporting elements. In particular, the seismic displacement demand on Power Actuated Fasteners (PAF) was obtained through quasi‐static in‐plane cyclic tests on full‐scale drywall partitions.Test specimens consisted of 2285 mm long and 2600 mm high partition walls and in total seven tests were carried‐out at the Lab of the Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture. A specific test set‐up was developed for the experimental tests and the optimal instrumentation layout was studied to allow to capture the significant measurements on PAFs. A FEMA 461 protocol was employed for all the tests.The paper summarizes the experimental program, describing wall configurations, test set‐up, loading protocol and instrumentation layout. A special focus is dedicated to the comments of experimental results.
Assessment of Eurocode 3 Shear Design Provisions for Cold‐Formed Steel Beams with Web Holes
Authors: Gatheeshgar Perampalam , Bock Marina , Chandrasiri Dilanka , Suntharalingam Thadshajini 
Published: September 2023

AbstractCold‐formed steel beams are often provided with web holes to accommodate service conduits. These web holes result in reduced structural strength. Accurate estimation of the structural strength, including shear strength, is crucial during the design phase. There are a lot of studies available in the literature investigating the shear strength reduction in cold‐formed steel beams due to web holes. However, the experiments and parametric finite element results were not assessed against Eurocode 3 shear design provisions. Therefore, the shear design of cold‐formed steel beams with web holes is investigated herein. Existing experimental and parametric finite element analysis data on cold‐formed steel beams with circular web holes were collected from the literature. The accuracy of the current Eurocode 3 shear design provisions was then assessed using the collected data. The comparisons showed that the current Eurocode 3 shear design provisions were not suitable to estimate the shear strength of cold‐formed steel beams with web holes. Finally, Eurocode 3 shear design provisions are extended to capture the effect of web holes and verified against the available shear tests and finite element results. It was found that the new extended shear design proposal offers improved accuracy and consistency in shear strength predictions.
Experimental study on earthquake‐induced pounding between steel structures
Authors: Sołtysik Barbara , Jankowski Robert 
Published: September 2023

AbstractPounding between adjacent structures has been repeatedly observed during major earthquakes. The phenomenon may cause some local damage at the points of interactions, it may also lead to substantial destruction, permanent deformations or total collapse of colliding structures. The effects of earthquake‐induced structural pounding have been studied for more than three decades now. However, most of the studies concerned masonry as well as reinforced concrete structures and investigations on steel structures are very limited. The aim of the present paper is to show the results of the shaking table experimental investigation focused on earthquake‐induced pounding between three models of steel structures in a row. The models were constructed out of four steel columns made from rectangular box section with additional steel skew bracings so as to prevent transverse and torsional vibrations. To obtain different dynamic characteristics of the models, additional plates were added at the top of each tower. Two configurations were investigated. In the first one, two plates were mounted on the external structures and only one plate at the top of the middle tower. In the second configuration, only one plate was mounted at the top of external towers and two plates on the middle structure. Firstly, the free vibration tests were conducted. Then, the steel towers with different in‐between gap sizes were tested under different earthquakes. The results of the study confirm that interactions between insufficiently separated steel structures may significantly influence the structural behaviour during earthquakes. In most of the cases, pounding has resulted in the increase in the peak responses. In some cases, however, it has played a positive role leading to the decrease in the structural response under seismic excitation. Anyway, even if the response is reduced, interactions should be prevented at the design stage of steel structures since they may result in considerable damage at the points of impacts.
Metrics for the assessment of structural design efficiency applied to steel‐framed industrial buildings
Authors: Ljubinković Filip , Conde Jorge Conde , Gervásio Helena , da Silva Luís Simões 
Published: September 2023

AbstractStructural efficiency is an important criterion for any sound design. It is, however, an ambiguous and subtle quality, currently lacking a rigorous definition. In this paper, an objective index is introduced, able to measure structural efficiency and quality of design. The index is based on utilization factors calculated in accordance with the Eurocode design expressions. To show the competence of the proposed metrics, a set of realistic cases of steel portal frames is studied in this paper, being a typology that can be fully described with a limited number of parameters, and whose design is highly influenced by instability phenomena, which is specific to steel structures. Finally, a real case study of steel industrial shed that illustrates the application of the Design Efficiency Index is presented and its structural efficiency evaluated.
A review on long‐term behaviour of steel‐concrete composite structures
Authors: Wang Youtian , Khan Mahbub , Li Dongxu , Uy Brian , Thai Huu‐Tai , Ngo Tuan 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe exceptional structural performance of steel‐concrete composite structures, which harness the advantages of both steel and concrete, has garnered considerable attention. Following a summary of the fundamental time‐dependent characteristics of concrete, this paper reviews the existing studies about the long‐term behaviour of various steel‐concrete composite components, including slabs, beams, columns and walls. For composite slabs, nonuniform shrinkage occurs along the thickness direction. The long‐term behaviour of composite beams is significantly affected by the degree of shear connection. While the creep and shrinkage effects of composite columns are substantially reduced in comparison to reinforced concrete columns, stress redistribution may cause yielding or buckling of the steel tube. However, there is currently limited research available on the long‐term behaviour of composite walls with profiled steel plates, and no studies have been conducted on composite walls made of double‐skinned flat steel faceplates infilled with concrete. This lack of knowledge may lead to design uncertainties for composite coupled wall‐frame structures. To bridge this gap, the authors are currently conducting a corresponding long‐term experimental program.
Assessment of steel‐concrete composite floors dynamic response when subjected to people walking
Authors: Aguiar Jefferson , Ferreira Bárbara , Carvalho Hermes , da Silva José Guilherme Santos 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis work aims to assess the people‐structure dynamic interaction effect on the steel‐concrete composite floor's structural behaviour, based on of experimental tests and numerical modelling. The investigated structure is associated to a steel‐concrete composite floor building with total area of 1300 m2. In this investigation, biodynamic systems like “spring‐mass‐damper” models with one degree of freedom (SDOF) were used to simulate the people's walking on the floor. The numerical model, developed for the floor building dynamic analysis, adopted the usual mesh refinement techniques present in finite element method (FEM) simulations implemented in the ANSYS software. Based on the experimental results calibration, the floor dynamic response was analysed to study the influence of the people's step frequencies, number of people walking and stationary on the floor, structural damping, and different trajectories of people walking. The floor dynamic response was determined based on the displacement and acceleration values, and compared with those calculated utilising traditional dynamic loading mathematical models. After that, the structural system dynamic response maximum values were compared with the recommended limits proposed in design codes for excessive vibration's assessments to study the human comfort.
Review and outlook about the use of high strength steel in encased composite columns
Authors: Obiala Renata , Anwaar Omer , Yang Jie , Zanon Riccardo 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe trends of the modern construction are recognized for many years; go large span, go light structures, go sustainable, and keep it simple. In the holistic approach to construction a column remains one of the key structural elements.This article presents benefits of the application of high strength steel; namely the potential of using S500 and S550 for encased composite columns. The study shows the increase of the buckling capacity and reduction of weight and consequently reduction of the carbon footprint especially when applying XCarb® steel. The results are presented for a single member as well as for an internal column of a 156m high office building.It is assumed in the analyses that the simplified design method for composite columns defined in EN1994‐1‐1:2004 is applicable to higher steel grades and higher concrete compression classes. Different typologies of the encased steel cross sections are considered: simple H section in rectangular encasement, and cruciform section.
Review of the damage equivalence factors for steel railway bridges in the Eurocodes
Authors: Martinolli Stefan , Kroyer Robert , Taras Andreas 
Published: September 2023

AbstractProper fatigue design is essential for the sustainable operation of bridge structures. The fatigue design concept in the Eurocodes follows the damage equivalent concept allowing to conduct this relatively extensive design check as efficiently as possible. However, those factors cover a rather complex phenomenon and the code provides them in a standardized format. The actually required values are typically lower, but the parameter calibration and the included reserves are non‐transparent from the design standards.The objective of this paper is to recall the methodology for calibration of the damage equivalence factors and to review the damage equivalence factors given for steel railway bridges in EN 1993‐2. After a discussion on the assumptions in the Eurocode in context with the damage equivalent concept, the presented methodology is applied to recalculate the damage equivalence factors for the railway traffic spectrums in Eurocode 3. The obtained results verify the damage equivalence factors in the Eurocode 3 and figure out the span‐dependent safety margins in those factors. To investigate the influence of the traffic spectrum, the damage equivalence factors were also determined for a traffic spectrum provided by the Swiss national railway authorities for comparative purpose.
Machine learning‐based predictions of buckling behaviour of cold‐formed steel structural elements
Authors: Mojtabaei Seyed Mohammad , Becque Jurgen , Khandan Rasoul , Hajirasouliha Iman 
Published: September 2023

AbstractDesigning thin‐walled structural members is a complex process due to the possibility of multiple instabilities. This study aimed to develop machine learning algorithms to predict the buckling behavior of thin‐walled channel elements under axial compression or bending. The algorithms were trained using feed‐forward multi‐layer Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), with the input variables including the cross‐sectional dimensions, the thickness, the presence and location of intermediate stiffeners, and the element length. The output data included the elastic critical buckling load or moment, as well as a modal decomposition of the buckled shape into the pure buckling mode categories: local, distortional and global buckling. The Finite Strip Method (FSM) and the Equivalent Nodal Force Method (ENFM) were used to prepare the sample output for training. To ensure the accuracy of the developed algorithms, the ANN models were subjected to a K‐fold cross‐validation technique and featured optimized hyperparameters. The results showed that the trained algorithms had a remarkable accuracy of 98% in predicting the elastic critical buckling loads and modal decomposition of the critical buckled shapes.
Numerical Assessment of The Robustness of a Corner‐supported Modular Steel Building
Authors: Heng Si Hwa , Hyland David , Hough Michael , McCrum Daniel 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThis paper investigates the robustness of a 6‐storey corner‐supported Modular Steel Building (MSB) under notional ground floor corner column removal (i.e. alternate path method). The robustness assessment investigates the following structural effects that were frequently ignored for the sake of simplicity in existing numerical modelling approaches: (1) semi‐rigidity in the beam‐to‐column connections, and (2) initial out‐of‐straightness (geometric imperfection) in the compression members. Commonly, the welded connections between the beams and square hollow section columns are modelled as fully rigid, however, this may overestimate the actual robustness of MSBs as fully rigid connections often have a higher energy absorption capacity. Similarly, modelling a perfectly straight column could overestimate the actual robustness of MSBs. Comparing the model with semi‐rigid connections to that with fully rigid connections, an additional 30% vertical displacement was observed at the point of removal. However, geometric imperfections in the columns and diagonal braces did not cause any increase in building displacement/drift after removal. This highlights the importance of modelling the semi‐rigidity in the connections especially when the connections involve joining hollow sections.