Search results for " Civil and Structural Engineering"
showing 10 items of 59 documents
Analytical prediction of the shear connection capacity in composite steel–concrete trussed beams
2016
Steel–concrete trussed composite beams are a particular types of composite girders constituted by a steel truss embedded in a concrete core. The truss is typically composed by a steel plate or a precast concrete slab working as bottom chord while coupled rebars are generally used to form the upper chord. Moreover, a system of ribbed or smooth steel rebars welded to the plate and forming the diagonals of the truss, works as web reinforcement. In the present study, the attention is focused on the evaluation of the shear resistance of the connection between bottom steel plate (the bottom chord) and concrete core through the diagonal bars of the truss developing a mechanical model able to accou…
Compressive behaviour of eccentrically loaded slender masonry columns confined by FRP
2018
Abstract Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) confinement represents an effective tool for retrofitting masonry piers or columns enhancing their structural performance. This technique has been widely studied in the literature mainly with reference to short columns, while no extensive information is available on the influence of second order effects on its efficacy in case of slender members. Within this framework, the presented study concerns a simplified method able to assess the effects of FRP confinement on the compressive behaviour of slender masonry columns. A proper constitutive law of FRP confined masonry in compression is adopted for performing a sectional analysis, in which also consider…
Analytical Prediction of the Flexural Response of External RC Joints with Smooth Rebars
2018
Nel presente lavoro viene presentato un modello analitico in forma chiusa in grado di riprodurre la risposta flessionale monotonica di nodi esterni trave-colonna in c.a. con armature lisce. La colonna viene sottoposta a carico verti-cale costante e la trave ad una forza laterale crescente monotonicamente applicata all’estremità. Il modello si basa sul comportamen-to flessionale di trave e colonna adottando un modello di cerniera plasticità concentrata che include lo scorrimento delle armature della trave. Si assume un dominio sforzo normale-momento bilineare semplificato da cui viene derivato il momento ultimo associato alla forza assiale di progetto. Per il nodo viene adottato un modello c…
Ultimate Shear of RC Beams with Corroded Stirrups and Strengthened with FRP
2019
Transverse reinforcement plays a key role in the response behavior of reinforced concrete beams. Therefore, corrosion of steel stirrups may change the failure mode of elements from bending to shear, leading to a brittle and catastrophic crisis. It is important to strengthen reinforced concrete beams with corroded stirrups to enhance the shear resistance. This paper presents a formulation, based on the modified compression field theory, to estimate the ultimate shear of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with FRP, because of stirrup corrosion. The detrimental effect of corrosion on steel stirrup yield strength was taken into account by introducing an empirical decay law. The effective st…
Modelling and optimization of a passive structural control design for a spar-type floating wind turbine
2014
Abstract Compared with fixed-bottom installation, deep water floating wind turbine has to undergo more severe structural loads due to extra degrees of freedom. Aiming for effective load reduction, this paper deals with the evaluation of a passive structural control design for a spar-type floating wind turbine, and the proposed strategy is to install a tuned mass damper (TMD) into the spar platform. Firstly, a mathematical model for wind turbine surge-heave-pitch motion is established based on the D’Alembert’s principle of inertial forces. Then, parameter estimation is performed by comparing the outputs from the proposed model and the state-of-the-art simulator. Further, different optimizati…
Optimal design of an electro-hydraulic valve for heavy-duty vehicle clutch actuator with certain constraints
2016
Abstract The main objective of this paper is to investigate the sensitivity analysis and optimal design of a proportional solenoid valve (PSV) operated pressure reducing valve (PRV) for heavy-duty automatic transmission clutch actuators. The nonlinear electro-hydraulic valve model is developed based on fluid dynamics. In order to implement the sensitivity analysis and optimization for the PRV, the PSV model is validated by comparing the results with data obtained from a real test-bench. The sensitivity of the PSV pressure response with regard to the structural parameters is investigated by using Sobol׳s method. Finally, simulations and experimental investigations are performed on the optimi…
Assessment of tools for urban energy planning
2019
Abstract In recent years, studies and policies have encouraged the diffusion of distributed energy supply technologies and large integration of renewable sources. This increases the need for new professionals in energy planning. Several computational tools for energy planning have been developed as described in the technical literature. However, energy planners of urban/district areas engaged in the transition towards smart systems related to buildings energy services require well-documented tools to evaluate the combination of available energy sources by proper conversion technologies. With this, after a scientific review, we selected 17 tools targeted on an urban/districts scale that can …
Structural verification and manufacturing procedures of the cooling system, for DEMO divertor target (OVT)
2019
The paper presents the design activities and testing plan of a vertical target mock-up, developed within the pre-conceptual design phase for DEMO Work Package DIV-1 “Divertor Cassette Design and Integration” - EUROfusion Power Plant Physics & Technology (PPPT) program. Activities concerning the Divertor Outboard Vertical Target cooling mock-up are presented in term of CAD model, thermal-hydraulic numerical simulation, structural analysis, structural integrity verification and manufacturing procedure. Moreover, the mechanical dimensions of support systems for Plasma Facing Components (PFCs), manifold and diffuser have been analyzed in detail, in order to avoid structural fault during the tes…
Parameters affecting the fundamental period of infilled RC frame structures
2015
Despite the fact that the fundamental period appears to be one of the most critical parameters for the seismic design of structures according to the modal superposition method, the so far available in the literature proposals for its estimation are often conflicting with each other making their use uncertain. Furthermore, the majority of these proposals do not take into account the presence of infills walls into the structure despite the fact that infill walls increase the stiffness and mass of structure leading to significant changes in the fundamental period numerical value. Toward this end, this paper presents a detailed and in-depth analytical investigation on the parameters that affect…
A macro-modelling approach for the analysis of infilled frame structures considering the effects of openings and vertical loads
2015
During the last decades, several macro-models have been proposed for the modelling of the infill panels' contribution to the lateral strength of frames. Despite all this effort, a robust model, which takes into account the influence of the vertical load, is not yet available. Furthermore, the influence of the very common case of infill walls with openings, such as windows and doors, has been neglected in all the code provisions that have been published so far. In this paper, an updated macro-model, based on the equivalent pin-jointed diagonal compressive strut, is presented. The proposed macro-model is able to represent the stiffening effect of the infill panel with openings by taking into …