Search results for "Structural Engineering"
showing 10 items of 1998 documents
A strategy for the finite element modeling of FRP-confined concrete columns subjected to preload
2018
Abstract Compressive behavior of columns strengthened by means of an outer elastic confinement provided e.g. by fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) jackets has become a main topic in the field of structural retrofitting. In details, the problem of the response assessment of strengthened columns is still under study. Many analytical formulations have been proposed to describe the compressive behavior of confined concrete under both monotonic and cyclic loads. However, the effect of a stress/strain level in the columns already present prior to apply the confinement has been generally neglected until now, also because of the lack of well defined strategies of modeling. In this frame, here, (1) a FE…
Analytical stress-strain law of FRP confined masonry in compression: Literature review and design provisions
2017
Abstract The use of Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) wraps has become common in practical applications to retrofit existing columns with poor structural features. Wrapping the member with one or more FRP sheets makes it possible to induce confinement action and enhance strength and ductility. This application has been widely studied and adopted in reinforced concrete members for about twenty years, while its suitability to masonry columns and piers has been investigated during the last decade. The results of several studies were summarized in different design expressions for calculating effective confinement pressure, ultimate compressive stress and strain, and the overall trend of the stress…
Finite element analysis of the out-of-plane behavior of FRP strengthened masonry panels
2017
Abstract In the present study a numerical model is proposed for the response of out-of-plane loaded calcarenite masonry walls strengthened with vertical CFRP strips applied on the substrate by means of epoxy resin. A simplified structural scheme is considered consisting in a beam fixed at one end, subjected to constant axial load and out-of-plane lateral force monotonically increasing. Two different constraint conditions are taken into account: in the first one, the panel is assumed free to rotate at the top end while, in the second one, the rotation is restrained. Three-dimensional finite elements are used for the calcarenite parts and an equivalent constitutive law available in the litera…
Thermal–mechanical and thermal–hydraulic integrated study of the Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead Test Blanket Module
2010
Abstract The Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead Test Blanket Module (HCLL-TBM) is one of the two TBM to be installed in an ITER equatorial port since day 1 of operation, with the specific aim to investigate the main concept functionalities and issues such as high efficiency helium cooling, resistance to thermo-mechanical stresses, manufacturing techniques, as well as tritium transport, magneto-hydrodynamics effects and corrosion. In particular, in order to show a DEMO-relevant thermo-mechanical and thermal–hydraulic behavior, the HCLL-TBM has to meet several requirements especially as far as its coolant thermofluid-dynamic conditions and its thermal–mechanical field are concerned. The present paper…
Formulation of a truss element for modelling the tensile response of FRCM strips
2022
Modelling the tensile behaviour of Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) is not a straightforward task due to the inner complexity of the mechanics of this kind of composite materials. In fact, after that the matrix is cracked, the compatibility between the fibre and the surrounding mortar is lost and the system behaves as two separate elements connected by a brittle interface. For this reason, several research studies proposed computational approaches for evaluating the tensile behaviour of FRCM composites, usually referring to brick-based 3D Finite Element Models (FEM) or to complex numerical procedures. This paper shows the formulation of a simplified coupled truss element for mod…
Influence of the Mean Load Value in Fatigue Block Loading on Strains
2014
This paper presents the results of the fatigue tests of the specimens made from S3555 steel and aluminum alloy AlCu4MgSi subjected to bending block loading with mean load value. The influence of the changes of the mean load conditions was investigated. During the tests strains were registered and relation between the load and the strains was analyzed. In the case of S355 steel it was observed, that additional hardening occurs when higher value of the mean load is applied at the beginning of the block loading. Other case, when the mean load was increased from zero to maximum, a creep effect of the material was registered. For the specimens made from aluminum alloy similar processes were not …
Laminated Glass Members in Compression: Experiments and Modeling
2014
It is well known that structural glass members are made by assembling thin laminated panels, which can be connected with different bonding techniques; for instance, with steel devices or with structural adhesives. The latter are very commonly used because they do not reduce the transparency of the member and make it possible to avoid stress concentrations because of the presence of holes. This technique is used to make up columns in glazing structures and different applications of the technique can be found in contemporary architecture. As evidenced by the literature, one of the most important problems in such members is caused by buckling phenomena, resulting from the slenderness of the pa…
Analysis of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of the DEMO Water-Cooled Lithium Lead breeding blanket module under normal operation steady state conditi…
2015
Within the framework of DEMO R&D activities, a research cooperation has been launched between ENEA, the University of Palermo and CEA to investigate the thermo-mechanical behaviour of the outboard equatorial module of the DEMO1 Water-Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL) blanket under normal operation steady state scenario. The research campaign has been carried out following a theoretical-computational approach based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) and adopting a qualified commercial FEM code. In particular, two different 3D FEM models (Model 1 and Model 2), reproducing respectively the central and the lateral poloidal-radial slices of the WCLL blanket module, have been set up. A particular attent…
Micromechanisms of load transfer in a unidirectional carbon fibre–reinforced epoxy composite due to fibre failures. Part 2: Influence of viscoelastic…
2006
A local three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis (FEA), of the mechanisms governing composite damage (in the region around a fibre break), has been carried out. The model considers viscoelastic and plastic matrix behaviours with and without debonding at the broken fibre/matrix interface. The finite element analysis has shown that even a simple viscoelastic law describing the behaviour of the epoxy resin leads to an increasing load on the neighbouring intact fibres, as a function of time. The plastic behaviour of the matrix has been shown to have consequences on reloading after unloading. In contrast to other studies reported in the literature, the calculations were carried out on diff…
On the thermal and thermomechanical assessment of the “Optimized Conservative” helium-cooled lithium lead breeding blanket concept for DEMO
2018
Abstract Within the framework of EUROfusion R&D activities a research campaign has been performed at CEA-Saclay, in close collaboration with the University of Palermo, in order to investigate thermal and thermomechanical performances of the “Optimized Conservative” concept of DEMO Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead breeding blanket (HCLL). Attention has been paid to the HCLL outboard equatorial module (OEM) when subjected to the steady state nominal loading scenario. To this purpose three simplified 3D models, characterized by an increasing level of detail, have been set-up taking into account, firstly, a single radial-toroidal slice, then a basic module geometric unity composed by two adjacent sli…