• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.1017-1029
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• 2016

When a welded circular hollow section (CHS) tubular joint is subjected to brace axial loading, failure position is located usually at the weld toe on the chord surface due to the weak flexural stiffness of the thin-walled chord. The failure mode is local yielding or buckling in most cases for a tubular joint subjected to axial load at the brace end. Especially when a cyclic axial load is applied, fracture failure at the weld toe may occur because both high stress concentration and welding residual stress along the brace/chord intersection cause the material in this region to become brittle. To improve the ductility as well as to increase the static strength, a tubular joint can be reinforced by increasing the chord thickness locally near the brace/chord intersection. Both experimental investigation and finite element analysis have been carried out to study the hysteretic behaviour of the reinforced tubular joint. In the experimental study, the hysteretic performance of two full-scale circular tubular T-joints subjected to cyclic load in the axial direction of the brace was investigated. The two specimens include a reinforced specimen by increasing the wall thickness of the chord locally at the brace/chord intersection and a corresponding un-reinforced specimen. The hysteretic loops are obtained from the measured load-displacement curves. Based on the hysteretic curves, it is found that the reinforced specimen is more ductile than the un-reinforced one because no fracture failure is observed after experiencing similar loading cycles. The area enclosed by the hysteretic curves of the reinforced specimen is much bigger, which shows that more energy can be dissipated by the reinforced specimen to indicate the advantage of the reinforcing method in resisting seismic action. Additionally, finite element analysis is carried out to study the effect of the thickness and the length of the reinforced chord segment on the hysteretic behaviour of CHS tubular T-joints. The optimized reinforcing method is recommended for design purposes.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.144-151
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• 2008

An experimental study has been conducted to investigate the effects of circular damage hole on the characteristics of airfoil performance. The damage on a wing created from a hit by anti-air artillery was modeled as a circular hole. Force balance measurements and static pressure measurements on the wing surface were carried out for the cases of having damage holes of 10% chord size at quarter chord and/or half chord positions. All experiments were conducted at Reynolds number of $2.85\times10^5$ based on the chord length. The surface pressure data show big pressure alterations near the circular damage holes. This abnormal surface pressure distribution produces shear stress that could lead to the acceleration of the structural degradation of the wing around the circular damage hole. However, in spite of the existence of circular damage holes, the measured force data indicated the only a slight decrease in lift accompanied by increase in drag compared to the results of undamaged one. The influence of damage hole on the aerodynamic performance was increased as the location of damage moved to the leading edge. The effect on the control force was insignificant when the damaged size was not large.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1511-1529
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• 2015

This article provides an analysis of the complex character of stress distribution in concrete in stub columns consisting of two HE160A steel sections held together with batten plates and filled with concrete. In such columns, evaluating the effect of concrete confinement and determining the extent of this confinement constitute a substantially complex problem. The issue was considered in close correspondence to rectangular cross section tubular elements filled with concrete, concrete-encased columns, as well as to steel-concrete columns in which reinforcement bars are connected with shackles. In the analysis of concrete confinement in two-chord columns, elements of computational methods developed for different types of composite cross sections were adopted. The achieved analytical results were compared with calculations based on test results.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.97-121
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• 2023

Through-the-thickness stress distribution in a tubular member has a profound effect on the fatigue behavior of tubular joints commonly found in steel offshore structures. This stress distribution can be characterized by the degree of bending (DoB). Although multi-planar joints are an intrinsic feature of offshore tubular structures and the multi-planarity usually has a considerable effect on the DoB values at the brace-to-chord intersection, few investigations have been reported on the DoB in multi-planar joints due to the complexity of the problem and high cost involved. In the present research, data extracted from the stress analysis of 243 finite element (FE) models, verified based on available parametric equations, was used to study the effects of geometrical parameters on the DoB values in two-planar tubular DYT-joints. Parametric FE study was followed by a set of nonlinear regression analyses to develop six new DoB parametric equations for the fatigue analysis and design of axially loaded two-planar DYT-joints.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1525-1540
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• 2018

A test rig with multi-functional purposes was specifically designed and manufactured to study the behavior of multi-planar welded tubular joints subjected to multi-planar concurrent axial loading. An experimental investigation was conducted on full-scale welded tubular joints with each consisting of one chord and eight braces under monotonic loading conditions. Two pairs or four representative specimens (two specimens for each joint type) were tested, in which each pair was reinforced with two kinds of different internal stiffeners at the intersections between the chords using welded rectangular hollow steel sections (RHSSs) and the braces using rolled circular hollow steel sections (CHSSs) and welded RHSSs. The effects of different internal stiffeners at the chord-brace intersection on the load capacity of joints under concurrent multi-planar axial compression/tension are discussed. The test results of joint strengths, failure modes, and load-stress curves are presented. Finite element analyses were performed to verify the experimental results. The study results show that the two different joint types with the internal stiffeners at the chord-brace intersection under axial compression/tension significantly increase the corresponding ultimate strength to far exceed the usual design strength. The load carrying capacity of welded tubular joints decreases with a higher degree of the manufacturing imperfection in individual braces at the tubular joints. Furthermore, the interaction effect of the concurrent axial loading applied at the welded tubular joint on member stress is apparent.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-22
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• 2022

The majority of tubular joints commonly found in offshore jacket structures are multi-planar. Investigating the effect of loaded out-of-plane braces on the values of the stress concentration factor (SCF) in offshore tubular joints has been the objective of numerous research works. However, due to the diversity of joint types and loading conditions, a number of quite important cases still exist that have not been studied thoroughly. Among them are internally ring-stiffened two-planar TT-joints subjected to axial loading. In the present research, data extracted from the stress analysis of 243 finite element (FE) models, verified against available numerical and experimental data, was used to study the effects of geometrical parameters on the chord-side SCFs in two-planar tubular TT-joints reinforced with internal ring stiffeners subjected to two types of axial loading. Parametric FE study was followed by a set of nonlinear regression analyses to develop six new SCF parametric equations for the fatigue analysis and design of axially-loaded two-planar TT-joints reinforced with internal ring stiffeners.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.115-126
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• 2018

Internationally representative steel design standards have forbidden or limited the application of high-strength steels to tubular joints, partly because of concerns about their unique material characteristics such as high yield ratio. Most of design standards stipulate that for steels whose yield strengths exceed 355 or 360 MPa, the strength equations cannot be utilized or strength reduction factor below 1.0 should be multiplied. However, the mechanical background behind these limitations is not clear. Experimental testing of high-strength steel CHS (circular hollow section) X-joints recently conducted by the authors also clearly indicated that the current limitations might be unduly conservative. As a continuing work, extensive, test-validated numerical analyses were made to investigate the behavior of high-strength steel CHS X-joint under axial compression. Three steel grades covering ordinary to very high strength steels were considered in the analysis. Again it was found that the high strength penalty to the joint strength in current standards is too severe and needs to be relaxed. The high-strength steel joints under the effects of chord stress generally showed higher strength than the ordinary steel joints and their strengths were conservatively predicted by current standards. It is also emphasized that current format of the CHS X-joint strength equation does not reflect observed behavior and needs to be recast.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2012

This paper is about proposal of a calculation method and development of an analytical program for predicting crack width and deflection in structural concrete members. The proposed method numerically calculate stresses in steel rebar using a parabola-rectangle stress-strain curve and a modified tension stiffening factor considering the effect of the cover thickness. Based on the study results, a calculation method to predict crack width and deflection in reinforced concrete flexural members is proposed utilizing effective tension area and idealized tension chord as well as effective moment-curvature relationship considering tension stiffening effect. The calculation method was applied to the test specimens available in literatures. The study results showed that the crack width and deflections predicted by the proposed method were closed to the experimentally measured data compared the current design code provisions.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.8-18
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• 2015

A numerical simulation for a nonslender BWB UCAV configuration with a rounded leading edge and span of 1.0 m was performed to analyze its aerodynamic characteristics. Numerical results were compared with experimental data obtained at a free stream velocity of 50 m/s and at angles of attack from -4 to $26^{\circ}$. The Reynolds number, based on the mean chord length, is $1.25{\times}106$. 3D multi-block hexahedral grids are used to guarantee good grid quality and to efficiently resolve the boundary layer. Menter's shear stress transport model and two transition models (${\gamma}-Re_{\theta}$ model and ${\gamma}$ model) were used to assess the effect of the laminar/turbulent transition on the flow characteristics. Aerodynamic coefficients, such as drag, lift, and the pitching moment, were compared with experimental data. Drag and lift coefficients of the UCAV were predicted well while the pitching moment coefficient was underpredicted at high angles of attack and influenced strongly by the selected turbulent models. After assessing the pressure distribution, skin friction lines and velocity field around UCAV configuration, it was found that the transition effect should be considered in the prediction of aerodynamic characteristics of vortical flow fields.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1045-1062
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• 2015

Concrete-filled circular t steel tubular joints (CFSTJs) in practice are frequently subjected to fluctuated loadings caused by wind, earthquake and so on. As fatigue crack is sensitive to such cyclic loadings, assessment on performance of CFSTJs with crack-like defect attracts more concerns because both high stress concentration at the brace/chord intersection and welding residual stresses along weld toe cause the materials in the region around the intersection to be more brittle. Once crack initiates and propagates along the weld toe, tri-axial stresses in high gradient around the crack front exist, which may bring brittle fracture failure. Additionally, the stiffness and the load carrying capacity of the CFSTJs with crack may decrease due to the weakened connection at the intersection. To study the behaviour of CFSTJs with initial crack, experimental tests have been carried out on three full-scale CFCST T-joints with same configuration. The three specimens include one uncracked joint and two corresponding cracked joints. Load-displacement and load-deformation curves, failure mode and crack propagation are obtained from the experiment measurement. According to the experimental results, it can be found that he load carrying capacity of the cracked joints is decreased by more than 10% compared with the uncracked joint. The effect of crack depth on the load carrying capacity of CFCST T-joints seems to be slight. The failure mode of the cracked CFCST T-joints represents as plastic yielding rather than brittle fracture through experimental observation.