Optimum Tuned Mass Dampers for Structures at Rock and Soil Sites

In optimum design of tuned mass dampers (TMD), several factors are effective. One of the most important factors is the characteristics of the excitation. Earthquake excitations recorded at soil and rock sites show different characteristics in period and damping. In this paper, optimum TMD properties are separately searched for seismic structures at soil sites and rock sites. For each optimization, six different earthquake records were used. A design methodology was used by employing harmony search (HS). The approach was applied to a ten story structure with one second critical period. Although more damping ratio for TMD is needed for soil sites than rock sites, TMD is more effective for rock sites than soil sites. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Bat algorithm for optimization of reinforced concrete columns

In structural mechanics, when the design contains two different materials with opposite mechanical behaviours and costs, the optimum design cannot exactly found. In that case, numerical optimization algorithms are a good source. Reinforced concrete design shows that behaviour since concrete is a cheap material comparing to steel while the tensile strength of concrete is very low to use. The cross sections are effective on the stresses and balance of tensile and compressive forces. This situation shows the importance of the dimension optimization of reinforced concrete members. Also, the number and size of the reinforcements need an optimization. The place of the reinforcements is effective on the place of tensile forces in the calculation of axial force and flexural moment capacity. In this paper, reinforced concrete columns are optimized for the cost minimization by employing a bio-inspired metaheuristic algorithm called bat algorithm. The idealization of the echolocation behaviour of bats is the inspiration of the bat algorithm. Differently from the algorithms, the bat algorithm uses global and local optimization with a changeable probability. The optimization process considers the security measures and slenderness of the according to the design regulation called ACI 318. The slenderness is taken into consideration by using a magnified design flexural moment, which is factored by a value defined according to the buckling load and axial load of columns. The proposed approach is applied for different numerical cases and the results are compared with the approach using harmony search algorithm. The present approach is effective for the optimization problem. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The Optimization of Slender Reinforced Concrete Columns

Slenderness is an important issue in design of reinforced concrete (RC) columns. Especially for long columns, second order effects may be not so small to neglect, but the calculation of second order effects may take too much time. For that reason, ACI 318 design code includes a simple approach in order to increase the flexural moment of columns according to their slenderness. Thus, second order effects are considered. In optimization, the effect of slenderness can be considered by using the factored design flexural moments. In this paper, harmony search (HS) algorithm is employed to find the optimum design variables of slender RC columns. These design variables are web width, height, diameter and number of reinforcements. The optimization objective is total cost of materials including concrete and steel. The developed method is effective to find the optimal design for axial force, flexural moment and shear force values. As numerical examples, optimum design of columns with different lengths, but with the same loadings and material properties were investigated. Thus, the effect of slenderness was seen on the optimum costs. By the increase of column length, increase of total material cost is more than a linear increase. This situation shows us the effect of slenderness on optimum RC columns (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Optimum design of laminated composite plates under dynamic excitation

An integrated model for optimum weight design of symmetrically laminated composite plates subjected to dynamic excitation is presented in this work. Optimum design procedure based on flexibility and strength criteria is presented. The objective is to determine the optimum thicknesses of the laminate layers and its optimum orientations without exhibiting any failure according to Tsai-Wu failure criterion. The finite element method, based on Mindlin plate theory, is used in conjunction with an optimization method in order to determine the optimum design. Newmark algorithm, as an implicit time integration scheme, is used to discretize the time domain and calculate the transient response of the laminated composite plate. Exterior penalty method is exploited for the constrained minimization procedure. Fletcher-Powell algorithm is used for the unconstrained minimization process. To verify the capability and efficiency of the proposed model, three examples are solved. The examples deal with flexibility and stress constraints for different boundary conditions under various dynamic excitations.     

Optimum stacking sequence of composite laminates for maximum strength

A method is presented for maximum strength optimum design of symmetric composite laminates subjected to in-plane and transverse loadings. The finite element method based on shear deformation theory is used for the analysis of composite laminates. Ply orientation angles are chosen as design variables. The quadratic failure criterion which is meant to predict fracture, is used as an object function for optimum stacking sequence design of a laminated plate. The Broydon-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno optimization technique is employed to solve the optimization problem effectively. Numerical results are given for various loading conditions, boundary conditions, and aspect ratios. The results show that the quadratic failure criterion such as Tsai-Hill theory is effective for the optimum structural design of composite laminates.Presented at the Ninth International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, October 1995).Published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 393–404, May–June, 1995.     

韧脆转变的一种细观随机模糊统计分析

对不同温度和应力状态下40Cr材料进行大子样宏观试验和细观观测,提出了一种新的材料断裂韧脆转变统计随机模糊模型。该模型认为,在统计意义上,材料的韧性断裂为空穴机制,临界空穴扩张比参数可以作为韧性断裂的判据;材料的脆性断裂可以用内嵌币状裂纹的脆性断裂模型来模拟,为此测量断裂特征长度,提出并具体计算了控制币状裂纹失稳扩张的细观临界应力强度因子;在韧脆转变区域内,这两种机理并存并相互竞争,为此提出了模糊准则。对模型参数进行了测量和统计分析,给出分布规律,给出了计算断裂特征的概率模型。计算了韧脆转变区域内的细观机制变化和宏观响应。结果表明,该模型及分析方法可以很好地模拟应力状态及温度对韧脆转变的影响。     

Conditions of the ductile-brittle transition in failure of polymer materials

Conclusions The polymer materials are characterized by the transition from ductile to brittle fracture with increasing loading rate and decreasing temperature. The brittle fracture susceptibility of the material can be determined on the basis of the critical size of the defect/ crack. The measure of the cracking resistance of plastics can often be represented by the material scale of the crack length. The quality of the critical size of the defect/crack to the material scale of the crack length can be used as a criterion determining the conditions of transition from ductile to brittle fracture.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 5, pp. 779–785, September–October, 1988.     

Damping Of Pedestrian‐Induced Bridge Vibrations By Tuned Liquid Column Dampers

The excessive lateral vibrations of Londons Millenium Bridge and the Toda Park Bridge in Japan due to a large number of crossing pedestrians have raised an unexpected problem in footbridge constructions. Secondary tuned structures, like the conventional tuned mass damper (TMD) or the tuned liquid damper (TLD) were installed to the bridge in order to suppress these vibrations. In the present investigation it is proposed to apply the more efficient and more economic tuned liquid column damper (TLCD), which relies on the motion of a liquid mass in a sealed tube to counteract the external motion, while a built‐in orifice plate induces turbulent damping forces that dissipate kinetic energy. For optimal tuning of TLCDs the natural frequency and equivalent linear damping coefficient have to be chosen suitable, likewise to the conventional TMDs, as given in Den Hartog [1]. The advantages of TLCDs are: simple tuning of natural frequency and damping, low cost of design and maintenance and a simple construction. A mathematical model of a three degree‐of‐freedom (DOF) bridge coupled with an optimal tuned TLCD is derived and analyzed numerically. Furthermore, a small scale experimental model set‐up has been constructed in the laboratory of the TU‐Insitute. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions and indicate that TLCDs are effective damping devices for the undesired pedestrian induced footbridge vibrations. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Design of an optimal tuned mass damper for a system with parametric uncertainty

Structural control is becoming an attractive alternative for enhanced performance of civil engineering structures subject to seismic and wind loads. However, in order to guarantee stability and performance of structures when implemented with a passive or active control technique, there is a need to include information of uncertainty in the structural models due to the fact that civil engineering structures are time variant and nonlinear. These variations in the structure are often due to parameters such as variable live loads and inelastic behavior and, in cases, may be modeled as parametric uncertainty. The design of an optimal tuned mass damper (TMD) for a one degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system with parametric uncertainty is presented in this paper. The optimization of the connection between the absorber and the primary structure is cast as a constant feedback problem which is solved using structured singular value, μ, synthesis with D-K iteration and decentralized H _∞ design. Results are presented of the TMD that minimize the harmonic response of the primary structure represented by a set of systems within an uncertainty set.     

Optimization of cylindrical composite shells with regard to their critical mode of imperfections

This study deals with the optimum design of composite shells under external pressure with material strength and loss of stability according to the critical mode of imperfections taken as the failure criterion. The problem of optimum design is solved and the critical mode is obtained by nonlinear optimum programming for which the geometric and initial imperfection parameters are treated as variables. Numerical results are obtained for a cylindrical composite shell supported freely at its ends. The effect of shear forces between layers on the load-carrying capacity of the shell is also investigated.Presented at the 10th International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, April 20–23, 1998).Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 34, No. 5, pp. 613–620, September–October, 1998.     

爆炸和冲击载荷下金属材料及结构的动态失效仿真

通过数值模拟研究爆炸冲击载荷下金属材料和结构的动态失效规律,对表征爆炸冲击毁伤效应及设计新型抗冲击结构有重要意义.强动载下金属材料失效涉及材料大变形、热力耦合、材料状态变化等多个复杂物理过程,给数值仿真带来了极大挑战,其中包括裂纹、剪切带等复杂失效模式的几何描述、动态失效准则的确定、塑性与损伤耦合演化的描述等问题.针对这些挑战性问题,基于能量变分建立描述金属动态失效过程的热弹塑性相场理论和计算模型,实现了断裂与剪切带失效模式的统一描述,并提出了其显式有限元高效求解策略.进一步将该模型应用于爆炸冲击载荷下金属脆韧失效模式转变、绝热剪切带(ASBs)自组织及冲击波作用下薄壁圆盘失效形式转变三个典型金属动态失效问题,验证了理论模型的准确性及计算模型的稳健性.该工作为后续开展基于仿真的爆炸冲击毁伤评估及防护结构设计研究奠定了基础.     

多重约束下空间桁架结构抗风优化

目前复杂结构的抗风优化研究大多集中于高层建筑,很少针对风敏感的大跨屋盖结构．考虑强度、刚度和几何尺寸等多重约束,基于虚功原理和Lagrange乘子将抗风优化转化为无约束问题,编制数值程序整合有限元计算和优化分析两部分,然后对杆件数为10080的实际双层柱面网壳进行优化设计,讨论了设计变量可行域、初始值和调整步选择等对优化结果的影响．研究表明,采用本文方法可实现对空间桁架结构进行多重约束下的高效抗风优化设计,网壳总重降低约37%,风致响应分布不均使得有必要设定可行域下限,而设计变量初值和调整步选择不影响最后的优化结果．     

An analysis of the joint operation of a CFRP concrete in flexural elements

The strength and fracture mechanism of the contact zone between a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) and concrete in flexural structural elements is investigated. Two methods for calculating the shear force in the contact zone are considered, one of which takes into account the compliance of the zone and gives results agreeing rather well with experimental data for beams, regardless of the way the CFRP is fastened to concrete. The method of shear stresses is good for beams with in significant shear strains between CFRP and concrete. A method allowing for hardening of the contact zone is suggested. It is shown that the fracture mechanism of the zone depends on the way of fastening the CFRP and the depth the adhesive penetrates into concrete. __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 687–700, September–October, 2007.     

Investigation of the local behavior of different cohesive zone models

Cohesive interface elements are well suited for three-dimensional crack propagation analyses as long as the crack path is known. This is the case e.g. in delamination analyses of laminated composite structures or failure analyses of adhesively bonded joints. Actually, they are widely used in such applications for both brittle and ductile systems. As long as the strength and fracture toughness of the material are accurately captured it is generally accepted that the shape of the cohesive law has little to no influence on the mechanical behavior of the investigated structures. However, when having a look on the local behavior of different cohesive zone models, such as stress distribution in the fracture process zone, the results exhibit certain differences. These will be studied in the present contribution. Especially the local stress distribution will be investigated and the effect on the computational efficiency will be pointed out. (© 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

An improved closed-form solution to interfacial stresses in rc beams strengthened with a composite plate

The strengthening of concrete structures in situ with externally bonded fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composite sheets is increasingly being used for the repair and rehabilitation of existing structures. However, debonding along the FRP-concrete interface can lead to premature failure of the structures. The interfacial stresses have played a significant role in understanding this premature debonding failure of such repaired structures. In this paper, an improved theoretical analysis of the interfacial stresses is presented for a simply supported concrete beam bonded with a FRP plate. The shear strains of the adherends have been included in the present theoretical analysis by assuming a parabolic distribution of shear stress across their thickness. Contrary to some existing studies, the assumption that both adherends have the same curvature is not used in the present investigation. The results of this numerical study are beneficial for understanding the mechanical behavior of material interfaces and for the design of hybrid FRP-reinforced concrete structures.     

Biaxial orientation of amorphous linear polymers

The mechanical properties of biaxially oriented polymethyl methacrylate, obtained on a broad range of stretch ratios and under a variety of orientation conditions, have been investigated. There is a fundamental difference between the variation of the forced elastic limit with increase in stretch ratio, which is monotone increasing, and the variation of such properties as the brittle strength, brittle temperature, true strength and elongation at break, which have an optimum at a certain stretch ratio. It is shown that the presence of an optimum is associated with the transformation of the supermolecular structures in the process of biaxial high-elastic deformation. A relation is established between the mechanical properties of biaxially oriented polymethyl methacrylate (orientation hardening) and the density of the molecular network.For communication 1 see [3].Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 586–593, July–August, 1971.     

Analysis and design of damped structures

Damping can be one of the more perplexing aspects of structural dynamics because it is much less intuitive and “clean-cut” than concepts like stiffness and mass. Nevertheless, analysts should not view damping simply as an unfortunate side issue in structural dynamics, but as an opportunity for creative design work aimed at suppression of unwanted vibrations. This paper presents a review of some basic concepts in damping and how damping is treated in finite element analysis. It also presents some new techniques that have been developed to support optimization of damping for structures.     

Passive damping of bridge vibrations by tuned liquid column gas dampers

Sealed tuned liquid column gas dampers, i.e. with a gas spring effect taken into account, TLCGD, are ideally suited to increase the effective structural damping of bridges when vibrating in the critical low frequency band, substituting the classical mechanical damper (TMD). The evident features of TLCGD are no moving mechanical parts, cheap and easy implementation, low maintenance costs and simple modification of the natural frequency (by means of altering the equilibrium gas pressure). Modal tuning in analogy to the classical mechanical damper, TMD, in the design stage is subsequently followed by fine-tuning in state space, rendering the absorber parameter (frequency and damping) optimal and, when designing smaller units in parallel action, yields the control even more robust. The equilibrium gas-pressure is the main control parameter to optimize the absorber frequency when the volume of the individual gas vessel above the liquid-gas interface is properly selected. U- or V-shaped TLCGD with horizontal extension maximized, are proposed to reduce dominating horizontal vibrations of long-span bridges (including pedestrian bridges), and in the case of the cantilever method of bridge construction to allow the increase of the maximum length of the cantilever, despite of wind-gusts. An alternate design, VTLCGD provides the control force vertically, and thus counteracts dominating vertical, traffic-induced vibrations. The horizontal length of the absorber is kept to a minimum. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Stiffness and damping models for the oil film in line contact elastohydrodynamic lubrication and applications in the gear drive

Innovative stiffness and damping models for oil films are developed to account for the impacts in both normal and tangential directions. Given that these models are applied to a gear drive in line contact elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL), the combined stiffness is derived from the stiffness of both the oil film and gear tooth while the combined damping is established from the damping of these parts. The effects of three fundamental parameters (contact force, rotation speed, and tooth numbers) of the gear drive in line contact EHL on the combined stiffness and damping are then investigated. The results reveal that the small normal and tangential stiffness of the lubricant can alleviate meshing impact and shear vibration, while the impact and friction heat can be reduced by using an oil film with either a large normal damping or small tangential damping. Given that its amplitude and fluctuation are closely related to shear rate, effective viscosity, entrainment velocity, and curvature radii, the improved combined stiffness and damping can be obtained by rationally matching the geometric and operating parameters.