Search results for " Structural"
showing 10 items of 1751 documents
Evaluation of Subgrade Resilient Modulus Predictive Model for Use in Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide
2006
The characterization of unbound materials in the mechanistic–empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG), also known as the 2002 design guide, is reviewed, and this characterization is applied to Minnesota subgrades. The main emphasis is on the collection of k1-, k2-, and k3-parameters for Minnesota fine-grained soils and the procedure for the interpretation of the resilient modulus test to provide an input to the multilayer elastic theory (MLET) analysis (Level 2 input). This is an important aspect of adaptation of the MEPDG, because the guide recommends measurement of resilient moduli from laboratory testing, but the procedure does not specify how to interpret the test data to obtain an input …
A new dynamic identification technique: application to the evaluation of the equivalent strut for infilled frames
2003
A new time domain identification technique for systems under Gaussian white noise input is presented, requiring for its application the measurement of the system response but no information about input intensity. The technique proposed is based on the statistic moment equations derived by using a special class of mathematical models named "potential models". These models allow one to determine fundamental properties of the response statistics, making it possible to identify stiffness and dissipation features of a structural system, and also to determine the excitation input. The technique proposed is here applied to the identification of the strut equivalent to the infill of a single story-…
Explicit equations for uniform flow depth
2017
Conventional approach in uniform open channel flow is to express the resistance coefficient in the Manning, Darcy-Weisbach or Chezy form. However, for practical cross-sections, including rectangular and trapezoidal ones, the governing equation is implicit in the uniform water depth. For these sections the water depth, corresponding to known values of the flow discharge, slope channel and resistance coefficient, is presently obtained by trial and error procedure. In this paper exact analytical solutions of uniform flow depth for rectangular and trapezoidal section have been obtained in the form of fast converging power series.
A penalty-based finite element interface technology
2002
Abstract An effective and robust interface element technology able to connect independently modeled finite element subdomains is presented. This method has been developed using the penalty constraints and allows coupling of finite element models whose nodes do not coincide along their common interface. Additionally, the present formulation leads to a computational approach that is very efficient and completely compatible with existing commercial software. A significant effort has been directed toward identifying those model characteristics (element geometric properties, material properties and loads) that most strongly affect the required penalty parameter, and subsequently to developing si…
An open-source GA framework for optimizing the seismic upgrading design of RC frames through BRBs
2022
Abstract Optimizing seismic upgrading interventions in reinforced concrete (RC) structures is a difficult task, due to the inner non-linearity of the analyses usually performed. Additionally, it is well known that the displacement demand to the structure depends from the mass and stiffness of the system, and consequently its definition cannot be made a-priori. This paper presents the application of a soft-computing method -i.e. Genetic Algorithm (GA)- for the shaping optimization of code-compliant seismic upgrading interventions on plane RC frames through Buckling-Restrained Braces (BRB). The metaheuristic procedure allows to minimize the cost while ensuring the required safety level, witho…
Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows, Part II: Metaheuristics
2005
This paper surveys the research on the metaheuristics for the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (VRPTW). The VRPTW can be described as the problem of designing least cost routes from one depot to a set of geographically scattered points. The routes must be designed in such a way that each point is visited only once by exactly one vehicle within a given time interval; all routes start and end at the depot, and the total demands of all points on one particular route must not exceed the capacity of the vehicle. Metaheuristics are general solution procedures that explore the solution space to identify good solutions and often embed some of the standard route construction and improvemen…
Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows, Part I: Route Construction and Local Search Algorithms
2005
This paper presents a survey of the research on the vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW). The VRPTW can be described as the problem of designing least cost routes from one depot to a set of geographically scattered points. The routes must be designed in such a way that each point is visited only once by exactly one vehicle within a given time interval, all routes start and end at the depot, and the total demands of all points on one particular route must not exceed the capacity of the vehicle. Both traditional heuristic route construction methods and recent local search algorithms are examined. The basic features of each method are described, and experimental results for Solom…
Project duration evaluated using affine arithmetic
2016
A civil engineering work can be performed by organizing the available resources (manpower, equipment and materials) in many different ways. Each different configuration results in a realization time and a cost that a building company has to bear. To produce reliable duration forecasts and money savings, it is essential to take into account all the uncertainties involved in the project operations. Generally, since it is impractical to process numerous uncertain variables - also undefined from a statistical point of view -, traditional probabilistic methods involve application difficulties for complex environments such as construction sites. To properly handle this issue, the authors propose …
α-stable distributions for better performance of ACO in detecting damage on not well spaced frequency systems
2014
Abstract In this paper, the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is modified through α -stable Levy variables and applied to the identification of incipient damage in structural components. The main feature of the proposed optimization is an improved ability, which derives from the heavy tails of the stable random variable, to escape from local minima. This aspect is relevant since the objective function used for damage detection may have many local minima which render very challenging the search of the global minimum corresponding to the damage parameter. As the optimization is performed on the structural response and does not require the extraction of modal components, the method is pa…
Stochastic analysis of external and parametric dynamical systems under sub-Gaussian Levy white-noise
2008
In this study stochastic analysis of non-linear dynamical systems under α-stable, multiplicative white noise has been conducted. The analysis has dealt with a special class of α-stable stochastic processes namely sub-Gaussian white noises. In this setting the governing equation either of the probability density function or of the characteristic function of the dynamical response may be obtained considering the dynamical system forced by a Gaussian white noise with an uncertain factor with α/2- stable distribution. This consideration yields the probability density function or the characteristic function of the response by means of a simple integral involving the probability density function …