Sharif Digital Repository

A mixed shear-flexural beam element, which is called VM link element, is introduced. Dissimilar multi-surfaces in the shear-flexural space and non zero off diagonal components in flexibility matrixes are used for more realistic modeling of inelastic shear-flexural interaction. For preventing of intersecting among the yield surfaces, a new non-associated flow rule and a new kinematic hardening rule are developed. Capability of this element is examined for shear links used in eccentrically braced frames analysis for cyclic loading. It is shown that, the proposed link element is in a good agreement with the existing test results  

This study presents analysis on the vibration behavior of the two-dimensional functionally graded (2D-FG) nano and microbeams which are made of two kinds of porous materials for the first time, based on Timoshenko beam theory. The material of the nano and microbeams is modeled as 2D-FGMs according to the power law. The Eringen's nonlocal elasticity and the modified couple stress theories are used, respectively in case of nano and microbeams. The boundary conditions are considered as clamped (CC), simply supported (SS), clamped–simply supported (CS), and cantilever (CF). The governing equations are solved using the generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM). The effects of FG power... 

In project-based organizations, many practical cases show there is a considerable knowledge gap between project-level and organization level. To bridge such gap, organizations can exploit knowledge intensive human resources, new organizational structures and new information and communication technologies. But all these three dimensions could have trivial effect when there is no central attention toward the content of knowledge that is to be managed. In this paper, we postulated a three layer framework for this problem that its main contribution is that the content of knowledge is at the center of attention, while all other three dimensions of any knowledge management system (HR, Organization... 

In this study, a thorough analysis of image reconstruction in an active millimetre-wave (MMW) cylindrical imaging system is performed. To improve the system's performance in terms of the total cost as well as the coupling effect, sparse multistatic arrays are desired. Nevertheless, the existing reconstruction methods fail to operate in sparse multi-static antenna-array systems. Therefore, to address these shortcomings, in this study, at first, the existing MMW mono-static cylindrical image reconstruction methods are modified in both single-frequency and wideband reconstruction platforms. Moreover, in order to further improve the image quality and the system cost, a sparse multi-static... 

Over the past few decades considerable experimental and numerical studies have been conducted on the Reinforced Concrete columns to Steel beams (RCS) connections. Most of those researches have focused on studying the joint failure modes and ultimate joint strength of specimens utilizing strong beams and columns with weak joints. In this paper, two interior RCS connections were designed based on the Strong Column-Weak Beam (SCWB) criterion. Both specimens were tested under quasi-static reversed cyclic loading. The tested specimens were modeled by a finite element method, which verified with experimental results. Several models with different joint details were investigated using the verified... 

The paper describes an experimental research on fracture characteristics of self-compacting concrete (SCC). Three point bending tests conducted on 154 notched beams with different water to cement (w/c) ratios. The specimens were made from mixes with various w/c ratios from 0.7 to 0.35. For all mixes, common fracture parameters were determined using two different methods, the work-of-fracture method (WFM) and the size effect method (SEM). Test results showed that with decrease of w/c ratio from 0.7 to 0.35 in SCC: (a) the fracture toughness increases linearly: (b) the brittleness number is approximately doubled: (c) the effective size of the process zone cf in SEM and the characteristic... 

Good knowledge of fracture parameters and cracking behavior of self-compacting concrete (SCC) from early ages until the SCC becomes mature plays an important role in design of SCC structure and also in evaluation of durability and consequently prevention of damage. In this paper, variation of fracture parameters and corresponding ductility behavior of SCC at different ages (e.g. 3days, 7days, 28days and 90days) for SCC mixes with w/c ratios of 0.45 and 0.65 have been experimentally studied. To do so, three-point bending tests were carried out on 120 notched beams. Then, size effect method (SEM) and work of fracture method (WFM) were applied to interpret the results. The results of analyses... 

The Cauchy-Born hypothesis (CB) provides a hierarchical approach in the molecular theory of crystal elasticity to relate the continuum and atomic deformations. This kinematic theory has been extensively used as the constitutive law of continuum regions in multi-scale models. In these models, the fine scale is proposed to describe the real behavior of crystalline structure wherever the continuum description fails. The main objective of this article is to investigate the stability and size-dependency of CB hypothesis in three-dimensional applications by direct comparison of information between atomistic and continuous description of a medium. The Sutton-Chen many-body potential is used for the... 

We study a variant of the problem of spanning colored objects where the goal is to span colored objects with two similar regions. We dedicate our attention in this paper to the case where objects are points lying on the real line and regions are intervals. Precisely, the goal is to compute two intervals together spanning all colors. As the main ingredient of our algorithm, we first introduce a kinetic data structure to keep track of minimal intervals spanning all colors. Then we present a novel algorithm using the proposed KDS to compute a pair of intervals which together span all the colors with the property that the largest one is as small as possible. The algorithm runs in O(n2 log n)... 

A set of stress-strain relations for normal-strength concrete and mild steel bars embedded in concrete is presented in this paper. The salient features of the proposed constitutive laws are: 1) considering the effect of reinforcement ratio on average stressstrain relationships of cracked concrete; and 2) considering the gradual reduction of average stiffness of steel bars embedded in concrete. Equilibrium, compatibility, and constitutive relationships were incorporated into an algorithm to obtain a procedure for analyzing reinforced concrete membrane elements. Corroboration with data from panel test specimens shows that the presented model provides good predictions for the entire... 

In this manuscript, an advanced damage-plasticity model is utilized to simulate response of concrete structures under high-velocity impact. Due to presence of large deformations, it is necessary to incorporate the damage-plasticity model into the finite deformation framework. In high-velocity impact, severe numerical problems could be encountered while updating stress values due to the sudden increase in their levels, especially for the complicated material model used in this study. To overcome these obstacles, an enhancement is made in the nonlinear system of equations of stress- updating procedure. In addition, an adaptive multi-step numerical algorithm is introduced which improves the... 

Reduced web section beams in shear-yielding moment-resistant steel frames are used for energy dissipating of earthquakes. The finite element analysis indicates that failure mode of these beams are governed by the combination of shear force and flexural moment. Therefore the analysis of frames with reduced web section beams needs consideration of shear-flexural interaction in those sections. In the present paper, modeling and analysis of reduced web section beams are investigated by using a special element which is called VM link element. The elastic and inelastic shear and flexural deformations and tangential stiffnesses in this link element are considered by using the multi- surfaces... 

A single storey full-scale unreinforced brick masonry building with confined walls was designed based on Iranian building code and constructed on the shaking table facility of EERC of Sharif University of Technology. The model consisted of plain brick masonry walls confined with concrete tie columns and steel bond beams and had a typical jack-arch roof system. Wall panels included openings of different dimensions making it possible to investigate the effects of shape, geometry and location of openings. The model was subjected to several seismic excitations, consisting of scaled records of Bam 2003, Tabas 1978 and Elcentro 1940 earthquakes as well as a harmonic acceleration with a gradually... 

This paper presents results of an experimental study to evaluate a new retrofit technique for strengthening shear deficient short concrete beams and columns. In this technique a mortar jacket reinforced with expanded steel meshes is used for retrofitting. Twelve short reinforced concrete specimens, including eight retrofitted ones, were tested. Six specimens were tested under a constant compressive axial force of 15% of column axial load capacity based on original concrete gross section, Ag, and the concrete compressive strength, fc′. Main variables were the spacing of ties in original specimens and the volume fraction of expanded metal in jackets. Original specimens failed before reaching... 

Seismic behavior of beam-to-column connections can be improved by shifting the location of inelasticity away from the column’s face. Such connections can be achieved by reducing the flange area at a specific distance from the beam-column connection, called reduced beam section (RBS), or by reducing web area by introducing a perforation into the web, called reduced web section (RWS). This paper presents a parametric study that is carried out on the effect of the perforation size, perforation location, and the beam span length in the RWS connections, using finite element modeling. Next, an interaction formula is derived for design purposes, and a step by step design method is developed.... 

This paper presents a formulation of fuzzy optimization for uncertainties in natural gas in fuel constraints for hourly individual unit and total unit fuel consumptions. Security Constrained Unit Commitment (SCUC) is usually a mixed integer programming and gas load flow has a non-linear equation a genetic algorithm is proposed to solve natural gas transmission network. A fuzzy mixed integer programming optimization is briefly discussed and adapted to deal with security constrained unit commitment schedule. Finally, two case studies are investigated (IEEE 6-bus system with 7-node natural gas transmission grid and the IEEE 118-bus power system linked with 14-node gas transmission test system)... 

The development of new technologies has confronted the entire domain of science and industry with issues of big data's scalability as well as its integration with the purpose of forecasting analytics in its life cycle. In predictive analytics, the forecast of near-future and recent past - or in other words, the now-casting - is the continuous study of real-time events and constantly updated where it considers eventuality. So, it is necessary to consider the highly data-driven technologies and to use new methods of analysis, like machine learning and visualization tools, with the ability of interaction and connection to different data resources with varieties of data regarding the type of big... 

Because of the complicated buckling characteristics of Y-shaped bracings, calculation of their strength is beyond routine engineering procedures. A method based on slope-deflection equations incorporating stability functions has been used for computation of buckling eigenvalues and effective length factors. Lateral strength is computed based on the least buckling strength of bracing members. This study is limited to bracings with similar sections and fixed end connections resisting out-of-plane rotation. Lateral strengths predicted by the analytical method for two cases are compared with experimental results on full-scale specimens. It is shown that the proposed analytical method predicts... 

This article aims to study the buckling and free vibrational behavior of axially functionally graded (AFG) nanobeam under thermal effect for the first time. The temperature is considered to be constant and variable along thickness and different boundary conditions. The governing equation is developed using the Hamilton’s principle considering the axial force. The Euler–Bernoulli beam theory is used to model the nanobeam, and Eringen’s nonlocal elasticity theory is utilized to consider the nano-size effect. The generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM) is used to solve the equations. The small-scale parameter, AFG power index, thermal distribution, different functions of temperature... 

Complex nature of diagonal tension accompanied by the formation of new cracks as well as closing and propagating preexisting cracks has deterred researchers to achieve an analytical and mathematical procedure for accurate predicting shear behavior of reinforced concrete, and there is the lack of a unique theory accepted universally. Shear behavior of reinforced concrete is studied in this paper based on recently developed constitutive laws for normal strength concrete and mild steel bars using the nonlinear finite element method. The salient feature of these stress-strain relations is to account the interactive effects of concrete and embedded bars on each other in a smeared rotating crack...