Search results for " Structural"
showing 10 items of 1751 documents
Integrated emitter local loss prediction using artificial neural networks.
2010
This paper describes an application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to the prediction of local losses from integrated emitters. First, the optimum input-output combination was determined. Then, the mapping capability of ANNs and regression models was compared. Afterwards, a five-input ANN model, which considers pipe and emitter internal diameter, emitter length, emitter spacing, and pipe discharge, was used to develop a local losses predicting tool which was obtained from different training strategies while taking into account a completely independent test set. Finally, a performance index was evaluated for the test emitter models studied. Emitter data with low reliability were removed…
Multicriteria performance analysis of an integrated urban wastewater system for energy management
2017
AbstractThe optimization and management of an integrated urban wastewater system is a complex problem involving many processes and variables. The possible control options are defined by several management strategies that may differently impact the economic, operational or environmental performance of the system. The present paper aims to contribute to the environmental and energy sustainability of urban wastewater systems by means of a multicriteria performance analysis. The paper begins with a complete analysis of the system performance in several fields of interest (energy, environment, quality of service, operation, economy and financial resources), and it highlights the management stren…
Seismic response of braced frames with and without friction dampers
1995
Abstract The dynamic response of friction damped bracing systems and ordinary cross-bracing systems inserted into surrounding frames without lateral stiffness is analysed in order to compare the typical behaviour of the two different bracing systems. The cyclic force-displacement relationship in the two cases is accurately modelled on the basis of experimental and related numerical models which are available in the literature, and the structural dimensionless parameters defining the shapes of the cycles are stressed. Systems having the same average period of vibration in the elastic phase of the response are assumed to be comparable with one another, which leads to a relationship linking th…
Conceptual design of prestressed slab bridges through one-way flexural load balancing
2013
In this paper a study on prestressed concrete slab bridges is presented. A design philosophy based on the concept of load balancing through prestressing is proposed in order to minimize the effects of delayed deformations due to creep. Aspects related to the stress redistribution inside these bridges for time-dependent phenomena are analyzed and discussed, by applying the principles of aging linear visco-elasticity. Prestressing is seen as an equivalent external load which counterbalances the permanent loads applied to the bridge, nullifying the elastic deflections due to sustained loads, and thus avoiding the related delayed deformations. An optimization of the structural behavior through …
Serviceability and Ultimate Safety Checks of SegmentalConcrete Bridges through N-M and M-V Interaction Domains
2015
In current engineering practice, safety checks on serviceability and determinations of ultimate limit states of segmental bridges built by cantilevering are generally performed, either considering separately the contributions of axial force N, bending moment M, and shear force V, or considering the interaction effects through approximate expressions supplied by building codes. During construction stages and service life, the interaction between internal forces can be of fundamental importance in establishing the actual degree of structural safety and, for this reason, a different philosophy for performing checks in segmental bridges is proposed in this paper, plotting N-M and M-V interactio…
Simplified model for compressive response of RC column footing with square cross-section
2017
Abstract In this paper, a simplified calculus model for the prediction of the compressive response of RC column footing with a square cross-section is presented. As it is well-known RC concrete footing are designed adopting uniform contact pressures on the substrate and assuming a strut and tie model in deep members and a cantilever beam or slab model in flexible members. Deep and flexible members are distinguished in literature only based on the tangent of the angle expressed as the ratio between the depth and the shear span of the footing. In this paper, several subgrade contact pressures distribution for column footings (rigid or soft soils) were considered in developing a mechanical mod…
Partial Elastic Scheme Method in Cantilever Construction of Concrete Arch Bridges
2013
AbstractIn this paper, a study about stay stressing procedures of concrete arch bridges built by cantilevering with temporary stays is presented. Particularly, the partial elastic scheme method is proposed to find the initial cable forces, and a forward procedure is implemented to follow the actual sequence of construction by extending a procedure already applied to concrete cable–stayed bridges. The theoretical treatment is followed by a numerical application on a case study of a concrete arch bridge, and a comparison between initial cable forces found by the partial elastic scheme method and classical backward analysis is presented here. Results show the effectiveness of the proposed proc…
A parametric study of curved incrementally launched bridges
2013
Abstract The structural behaviour of incrementally launched bridges in the construction stages depends on different parameters involving deck, nose, supports and guide devices, because static schemes vary continuously with the advance of the deck above the piers. For this reason temporary stresses in the deck, during launching, are rather different from those occurring in service life. Horizontally curved launched bridges also present the effects of torsion induced by geometric curvature. A parametric study is presented in order to analyse the influence of design parameters on the construction of these bridges. Analyses were carried out by extending to curved beams a procedure based on the …
Analytical prediction of load deflection curves of external steel fibers R/C beam–column joints under monotonic loading
2015
Abstract In this paper a simplified analytical model able to reproduce the flexural behavior of external beam–column joints under monotonic loading is presented, to be used for pushover analysis. The subassemblage (beam, column and joint) is subjected to a constant vertical load acting on the column and to a monotonically increasing lateral force applied at the tip of the beam. The model is specific for hooked steel fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) and is designed to calculate the flexural response in the form of a load–deflection curve, of beam–column subassemblages. No bond failure and shear deformations are considered in the present paper. The model includes shear-to-moment interaction fo…
A practical approach for the strength evaluation of RC columns reinforced with RC jackets
2015
Abstract Reinforced concrete (RC) jacketing is nowadays one of the most common techniques adopted for seismic retrofitting of existing RC columns. It is used to increase load-carrying capacity and ductility of weak existing members by means of a simple and cheap method. The structural efficiency is related to two main effects: – the enlargement of the transverse cross section; – the confinement action provided by the external jacket to the inner core. Several theoretical and experimental studies were addressed in the past to investigate on how it is possible to calculate the strength enhancement due to these effects and to highlight the main key parameters influencing the structural behavio…