Sharif Digital Repository

Increasing the kinetic energy of the near-wall fluid by exciting shear layers is known as an effective method for flow separation control. So far, choosing the proper approach to apply excitations has been a challenging issue in the field of flow control. This work investigates flow control of airfoils in static stall and flutter conditions, employing shear layer excitation technique and plasma actuators. This research introduces a novel flow separation control, namely dual-point excitation of shear layers and compares its performance with the conventional single-point excitation method. Two airfoils (NACA 4415 and NACA 0015) have been considered as the baseline test-cases. In the first part... 

Block shear failure in the parent material is considered as a common potential failure mode in welded connections used in steel structures. However, there is only little research reported on the block shear failure of welded connections under multiaxial loading. Multiaxial loading is defined as loading not parallel or perpendicular to weld lines and in the case of in planar eccentricity results in torsional loads. In this research a nonlinear finite element model is developed to study the effect of connection geometry, weld group configuration, and eccentricity of lap splice connection on block shear capacity. The case studied concerns a 3 milimeter thick structural steel plate (CSA G40.21... 

Endothelial cells that cover the inner wall of blood cells and are sensitive to receiving mechanical signals play important role in regulating many vital activities of the human body especially the function of the cardiovascular system. One of the factors affecting the mechanical functions of these cells is the shear stress applied to them. Due to blood velocity increasing or decreasing the endothelial cells shear stress change and leads to some chemical reactions and finally releasing biochemical substances including Nitrogen-Monoxide and Calcium-ion. Nitrogen-Monoxide produced by endothelial cells by affecting the smooth muscle cells in the vessel wall causes dilating of the vessel wall,... 

Present research focuses on providing a reasonable solution for separation control through arrays of discrete wall jets. In this thesis, quasi-radial wall jet actuators have been introduced and theirs application in separation control (boundary layer control) have been investigated for the first time. This study includes two phases. The first phase is dedicated to investigation of physics and functional nature of wall jet actuators. In this phase, using numerical simulations, wall jet actuators in different situations have been studied and it was shown that arrays of quasi-radial jets have better performance than arrays of three-dimensional jets in creating a combine two-dimensional wall... 

This dissertation proposes a probabilistic framework for optimal calibration of design provisions based on the minimization of lifecycle cost (LCC) and its uncertainty. Subsequently, this framework is utilized to determine the optimal robust design base shear coefficient of building structures, and propose a methodology for codifying it while preserving the current structure of the base shear equation. In the first part of the proposed methodology, various structures are designed with different seismic base shears. Then, at each site, their LCC comprising the construction costs and seismic losses is calculated. Various types of seismic loss considered in this study include the direct... 

The present thesis has provided more fundamental understanding of granulation rate processes (such as coalescence, attrition and breakage) by investigating the effects of operating parameters on product properties. The studied process was wet granulation carried out in two high shear mixer granulators. Granulation duration, binder mass and impeller speed were considered as operating parameters and granule size distribution (measured by sieving) and granule binder distribution (measured by thermogravimetery method) were regarded as product properties. Experiments were conducted in two analogous cylindrical and conical high shear granulators. The obtained experimental and theoretical results... 

Performance of civil infrastructures, such as high-rise buildings, bridges, tunnels, offshore platforms and other structures may be critically influenced by existence of structural damages or even lead to devastating consequences. Structural Health Monitoring(SHM) and damage detection denotes the ability to monitor the performance of structure, detect and assess any damage at the earliest stage in order to reduce the life-cycle cost of structure and improve its reliability and safety. Generally, damage is defined as some changes in the physical properties of a structure, such as stiffness matrix. On the other hand, presence of damage causes changes in structural dynamic characteristics, such... 

This paper aims at investigating the seismic behavior of strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls using a 3D finite element analysis. A series of four different configurations of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites, four different schemes of steel elements and two different schemes of concrete jacket are utilized to compare the two methods of retrofitting RC shear walls with similar dimensions and reinforcement ratios. Nonlinear simulations of the RC shear walls are conducted under the action of lateral cyclic loading in ABAQUS Explicit software. In addition, the numerical modeling for RC walls strengthened by CFRP composites as well as steel elements are validated... 

In recent years, the development of the plate bonding repair technique has been shown to be applicable to many existing strengthening problems in the building industry. This technique may be defined as one in which composite sheets or plates of relatively small thickness are bonded with an epoxy adhesive to, in most cases, a concrete structure to improve its structural behaviour and strength. The sheets or plates do not require much space and give a composite action between the adherents. The old structure and the new bonded-on material create a new structural element that has a higher strength and stiffness than original one. According to the available methods of analysis and design for... 

Coupling beams have had a widespread application as performance enhancing devices within concrete structures and more recently, also in steel structures. However, the conventional coupling beams are not so efficient in coupling distant walls. In this paper, a novel form of coupling members, namely, Coupling Panels is proposed and then, the application for a nine-storey building is investigated. Coupling panels are steel plate shear walls which are exerted in the intermediate spans between adjacent shear walls, and act as a mega coupling beam. First, a verified finite element model is constructed to demonstrate coupling panel behavior along with its global structural mechanism. Subsequently,... 

In this paper the predictive equations for collapse assessment of shear links used in eccentric braced frames are developed. An extensive database including results of over 70 cyclic tests on steel wide flange shear links is collected and the structural parameters governing the hysteresis behavior are calibrated using a simplified numerical model. The methodology of calibration is to minimize the discrepancy between the experimental hysteresis loops and the corresponding numerical results using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. The objective function of PSO algorithm is minimized by iterating parameters that govern the hysteresis behavior of the numerical model. Stepwise... 

The present study aims to evaluate the effect of the shear-lag on non-rectangular RC shear walls and develop equations to determine the axial stress and strain distributions and calculate the effective flange width. Research has shown that a non-rectangular shear wall under a lateral load experiences the largest axial stress and strain in the flange-web cojunction. This phenomenon is referred to as the shear-lag effect and reduces the bending capacity of the shear wall. As a result, the effective flange width is typically defined to consider the shear lag effect. The present work first reviewed the literature on the effects of shear lag on non-rectangular RC shear walls. Then, flanged shear... 

One of the lateral-load bearing systems that has been recommended since almost 40 years ago is the steel plate shear wall (SPSW) system, which consists of a steel plate surrounded by beams and columns in each story. As for the performance of SPSWs, it is assumed that the boundary members of the wall’s plate, i.e. beams and columns, have sufficient stiffness and strength, so that they would not yield by the tensile stresses exerted due to the post-buckling behavior of the plate (tension field); and the global stability of the structure is still maintained. This assumption leads to significantly increased dimensions of the sections applied in the wall’s boundary members, particularly its... 

Shear modulus and damping ratio are the most important parameters for evaluating and designing the performance of geotechnical systems under dynamic loads. According to the definition, the secant shear modulus is the slope of the hysteresis shear stress-shear strain loop. Also, the damping ratio indicates the dissipation of wave energy during propagation in the soil. This research presents an experimental laboratory study on the effect of non-plastic fines content and hydraulic hysteresis on the Gmax of unsaturated sand-silt mixtures. A significant part of the previous research has been done to determine Shear modulus and damping ratio parameters. It has been done in completely saturated or... 

This study aims for investigating a novel type of Steel Plate Shear Wall (SPSW) system in which the plate to boundary column connections are eliminated and the plate is reinforced with side, horizontal or cross stiffeners. SPSWs are one of the best lateral load resisting systems specially in high-rise buildings which makes it to be widely used in modern construction projects. SPSW system was first used in Japan and United States and found its way to other countries through the next years. In contrary to United States, stiffened SPSWs are more popular in Japan as it is a high seismic area. Despite the numerous advantages of this system, the main drawback of SPSWs is the large column sections... 

Over the last years, terrorist attacks and accidental explosions have brought on a need for research in the field of structural engineering to study the response of a building subjected to blast loading conditions. An explosion within or surrounding a building, not only can have disastrous effects causing both structural damage or failure, but may also lead to the death of human beings.In order to prevent these catastrophes and gain a better understanding of responses of the buildings and lateral resisting systems with different characteristics, the study of the behavior of the lateral resisting systems under blast loading conditions is essential. This research will also aid in the... 

In Ultrasonic Assisted Machining (UAM) a mechanical vibration is added to the relative motion of the tool and workpiece. The frequency of vibration is typically from 20kHz to 100kHz and the amplitude is in the range of 10 to 20 microns. Experiments show that using this method improves the machining performance. Reduction in machining forces and tool wear and improving the cooling condition are some of the advantages of UAM. In this work, the forces of ultrasonic assisted milling are investigated. Applying thin shear plane theorem provides an acceptable theoretical base with minimum dependence on experimental data to analyze machining forces. To evaluate the model and find the effect of... 

Recently, corrugated steel plate shear walls (CSPSWs) have been shown to be an efficient lateral force resisting system for building structures. Corrugated plates have higher out-of-plane stiffness and improved buckling stability in comparison with flat plates which result in improved hysteretic behavior. The application of CSPSWs in tall buildings requires a wide range of thicknesses for the infill plates. Yet, the available range of thicknesses of corrugated plates is limited because of the restrictions associated with the process of cold forming. One solution to this problem is to use two corrugated plates as an infill plate. In this research, the cyclic performance of double corrugated... 

Concrete filled double-steel-plate (CFDSP) composite wall is a new lateral resisting system that recently used in design and strengthening of high-rise buildings. This CFDSP composite wall is composed of concrete filled steel tubular columns at the two boundaries and concrete filled double-steel-plate wall body. The main advantage of this system is the interaction between steel and concrete which delays local buckling of steel plates. Also, steel jacket increases the strength of concrete in result of confinement effects. Furthermore, these systems have lower thickness compared to ordinary concrete shear walls. Hence, they have less structural weight which reduces the earthquake force.... 

Regarding the advantages of steel shear walls compared with other lateral load-bearing systems, the need for having better knowledge on their performance becomes more obvious. While much study, either theoretically or experimentally, have been conducted on these systems in the past, less attention has been paid to their nonlinear behaviour. This has happened where in many practical situations some parts of such systems experience nonlinearity. Therefore, it is necessary to study the nonlinear behaviour of such walls either individually or as part of a framing system. In this project, using Finite Elements Methods (FEM), the behaviour of a number of samples of an innovative steel shear wall,...