Search results for "Structural engineering"
showing 10 items of 1998 documents
Post-Buckling Analysis of Damaged Multilayered Composite Stiffened Plates by Rayleigh-Ritz Method
2016
A Rayleigh-Ritz approach for the analysis of buckling and post-buckling behavior of cracked composite stiffened plates is presented. The structure is modeled as the assembly of plate elements modeled by the first order shear deformation theory and taking geometric nonlinearities into account through the von Karman’s theory assumptions. Continuity along the plate elements connected edges and the enforcement of rigid and elastic restraints of the plate boundaries are obtained by using penalty techniques, which also allow to straightforwardly implement efficient crack modeling strategies. General symmetric and unsymmetric stacking sequences are considered and numerical procedures have been dev…
Recommendation of RILEM TC237-SIB on fragmentation test for recycled asphalt
2019
This recommendation describes how to characterize the reclaimed asphalt through the fragmentation test. The guidelines given hereafter are based on the results of a round robin test organized by the RILEM Technical Committee 237-SIB ‘‘Testing and characterization of sustainable innovative bituminous materials and systems’’ and provide information on the testing procedure, data analysis and indications for the preparation of a test report.
Toward more realistic viscosity measurements of tyre rubber–bitumen blends
2014
AbstractThe measurement of rheological properties of the tyre rubber bitumen blends is often challenging due to presence of suspended tyre rubber’s crumbs. Furthermore, the phase separation during the course of measurements makes the viscosity of these non-homogeneous blends difficult to ascertain. In this study, a new dual helical impeller was designed and manufactured to be used with a rotational viscometer in order to have a real-time control of the viscosity while performing a laboratory mixing of the blends. Layer based manufacturing techniques showed to be a convenient method to produce complex shaped impeller prototypes before manufacturing the more expensive stainless steel assembly…
Optimisation of liquid rubber modified bitumen for road pavements and roofing applications
2020
Abstract Polymer Modified Bitumens (PMBs) are largely used for pavement and roofing membranes applications with Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene Block copolymer (SBS) playing a major role in both markets despite its constantly increasing price due to the rising demand for quality bitumen modifiers. On the other hand, there is an increasing trend of recycling end of life tyres generating Recycled Tyre Rubber (RTR) at affordable price. This investigation aims at engineering a modified bitumen with a combination of Liquid Rubber (LR), a homogeneous blend of 50–70% RTR pre-processed in combination with heavy oils, and a wax denominated Ethylene Bis Stearamide (EBS). In the first phase, the effect of L…
Artificial Ground Motions and Nonlinear Response of RC Structures
2020
The selection of seismic inputs for nonlinear dynamic analysis is widely debated, mainly focusing on the advantages and disadvantages provided by the choice of natural, simulated, or artificial records. This work proves the differences in the structural behavior of RC buildings when using accelerograms with different levels of stationarity. Initially, nonlinear response under three sets of accelerograms equivalent in terms of pseudo acceleration spectrum is evaluated and compared. Then, the results of incremental dynamic analyses are compared by the statistical point of view considering different levels of irregularity for the reference structure.
Mixed finite elements for nonlocal elastic multilayered composite plate refined theories
2020
Abstract A novel mixed finite element formulation for the layerwise analysis of nonlocal multilayered composite plates is presented. The finite elements are formulated starting from the weak form of a set of governing equations for the laminate layers that were deduced via the Reissner Mixed Variational Theorem. The primary variables, namely displacements and out-of-plane stresses, are expressed at layer level as through-the-thickness expansions of suitable selected functions with coefficients approximated by the finite element scheme. The through-the-thickness expansion order is considered as a free parameter. This way, finite elements for different refined higher order plate theories can …
Cold recovery during regasification of LNG part one: Cold utilization far from the regasification facility
2010
The paper deals with cold recovery during LNG regasification. The applications analyzed pertain to the use in deep freezing agro food industry and in space air conditioning facilities in commercial sector (Supermarkets and Hypermarkets) of cold recovered from the regasification process. A modular LNG regasification unit is proposed having the regasification capacity of 2 billion standard cubic meters/year of gas and it is based on use of a Power Cycle working with Ethane, this unit allows operation of cold energy transfer, contained in LNG to be regasified, in a range of temperatures suitable for multipurpose use of cold, reducing regasification process irreversibility. Some electric energy…
Cold recovery during regasification of LNG part two: applications in an Agro Food Industry and a Hypermarket
2011
Abstract The paper deals with the cold energy available during LNG regasification, which can be recovered and utilized both inside the LNG regasification area and at a distance, such as in deep freezing agro food industry facilities and for space conditioning in the commercial and residential sector (e.g. Supermarkets and Hypermarkets). The feasibility study of this kind of application has been carried out at DREAM, Palermo University, within the framework of a research program. The results of a feasibility study of the kind of venture proposed, starting from its conceptual design and with a thorough thermodynamic and economic analysis, demonstrated the suitability and the profitability of …
Numerical Simulation of Friction Stir Welding by Natural Element Methods
2008
In this work we address the problem of numerically simulating the Friction Stir Welding process. Due to the special characteristics of this welding method (i.e., high speed of the rotating pin, very large deformations, etc.) finite element methods (FEM) encounter several difficulties. While Lagrangian simulations suffer from mesh distortion, Eulerian or Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) ones still have difficulties due to the treatment of convective terms, the treatment of the advancing pin, and many others. Meshless methods somewhat alleviate these problems, allowing for an updated Lagrangian framework in the simulation. Accuracy is not affected by mesh distortion (and hence the name mes…
A preliminary comparison between finite element and meshless simulations of extrusion
2009
In this paper the extrusion process of a cross-shaped profile was investigated. In particular, the study was focused on the distortion of extruding profiles when the workpiece and die axis are not aligned. The process was simulated using the finite element method (FEM) and the natural element method (NEM), both implemented in an updated-Lagrangian formulation, in order to avoid the burden associated with the description of free surfaces in ALE or Eulerian formulations. Furthermore, an experimental equipment was developed in order to obtain reliable data in terms of deformed entity, required process load and calculated pressure. At the end, a comparison between the numerical predictions and …