Sharif Digital Repository

Usage of masonry system in many regions of the world like the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, India, and China is still significantly high, despite their highly energy and intensive emission. Most of the failures in this system are caused by low ductility of cement mortars. This type of failure could be seen in masonry structures in areas in east Iran after Kermanshah earthquake in 2017. The present study investigates the shear bond characteristics of structures constructed by masonry using green materials. “Taftan” natural pozzolan and two types of rice husk ash (RHA) were used in mix design of used mortars as green materials. In this investigation, a modified direct shear test... 

In this study, the effect of through-thickness shear (TTS) stress has been examined on the prediction of forming limit diagrams (FLDs). Determination of the FLD is based on the Marciniak–Kuczynski (M–K) model with some modifications on the stress states for consideration of the TTS stress effects. For solving the equations, the Newton–Raphson method has been used. Furthermore, the Nakazima test has been simulated to investigate the stress state which occurs in the sheet during the test. Results showed that the formability of sheet metal could be better as the through-thickness stress increased. Also, implementation of TTS stress in the present model, the corresponding FLD has better... 

In this study, the effect of through-thickness shear (TTS) stress has been examined on the prediction of forming limit diagrams (FLDs). Determination of the FLD is based on the Marciniak–Kuczynski (M–K) model with some modifications on the stress states for consideration of the TTS stress effects. For solving the equations, the Newton–Raphson method has been used. Furthermore, the Nakazima test has been simulated to investigate the stress state which occurs in the sheet during the test. Results showed that the formability of sheet metal could be better as the through-thickness stress increased. Also, implementation of TTS stress in the present model, the corresponding FLD has better... 

In this study, the effect of through-thickness shear (TTS) stress has been examined on the prediction of forming limit diagrams (FLDs). Determination of the FLD is based on the Marciniak–Kuczynski (M–K) model with some modifications on the stress states for consideration of the TTS stress effects. For solving the equations, the Newton–Raphson method has been used. Furthermore, the Nakazima test has been simulated to investigate the stress state which occurs in the sheet during the test. Results showed that the formability of sheet metal could be better as the through-thickness stress increased. Also, implementation of TTS stress in the present model, the corresponding FLD has better... 

Rock joints play an important role in the behavior of rock masses under normal and shear loading conditions. Numerical simulation of the behavior of jointed rock masses is not an easy task due to complexities involved in the problem such as joint roughness, joint shear strength, hardening and softening phenomenon and mesh dependency. In this study for modeling purposes, a visco-plastic multilaminate model considering hardening and softening effects has been employed. For providing the necessary data for numerical simulation, a series of laboratory experiments have been carried out on regular tooth-shape asperities made by gypsum, under constant normal load conditions. Shear stress-shear... 

In this study, the experimental finding of two half-scale interior prefabricated Reinforced Concrete column to Steel beam (RCS) sub-assemblage with proposed joint formations with and without web panel in the junction is presented. Previous researches about RCS have been performed to study shear strength of steel web panel in the joint by modeling joint component, however rarely have been conducted to evaluate joint shear resistance experimentally. Over the past 30 years, noticeable analytical and experimental assessments have been performed on the cast in place RCS joints, but seldom have been done on the prefabricated RCS. The steel beams in the proposed joint are attached to the expanded... 

In this work, the behavior of some internal microstructural models with different mobility tensors has been studied for polymer melts and solutions under steady and transient simple shear and elongational flows. The time evolution equations for conformation and stress tensors in the models reviewed have their root in the Generalized Poisson bracket formalism. Two different families of conformational models have been selected for this study. The first family is based on the Modified Finitely Extensible Nonlinear Elastic (FENE-P) energy while the second uses a Volume Preserving Conformational Rheological (VPCR) model based on the Hookean Helmholtz free energy function. Several expressions for... 

Cemented coarse-grained alluvium is present in a vast area of Tehran city. Iran including its suburbs. This deposit consists of gravely sand to sandy gravel with some cobbles and is dominantly cemented by carbonaceous materials. In order to understand the mechanical behaviour of this soil, a series of triaxial compression tests were performed on uncemented, artificially cemented and destructured samples. Hydrated lime was used as the cementation agent for sample preparation to model the Tehran deposit. The tests were performed on cemented samples after an appropriate time for curing. The tests on cemented samples show that a shear zone appears as the shear stress approaches the peak shear... 

We investigate the effect of directed short- and long-range connections in a simple model of a small-world network. Our model is one in which we can determine many quantities of interest by an exact analytical method. We calculate the function [formula presented] defined as the number of sites affected up to time T when a naive spreading process starts in the network. As opposed to shortcuts, the presence of unfavorable bonds has a negative effect on this quantity. Hence, the spreading process may not be able to affect all of the network. We define and calculate a quantity identified as the average size of the accessible world in our model. The interplay of shortcuts and unfavorable bonds on... 

The present study investigates the dynamic filtration of concentrated slurry fluids containing colloidal clay particles under different salinity, shear flow, and flux rate conditions. The dynamic filtration study was carried out by the filtration cell equipped with a rotating disk to apply shear stress over the membrane surface. A 3D CFD simulation has been implemented to model the hydrodynamic flows inside the filtration cell to obtain the wall shear stress (WSS) on the membrane surface at different disk rotation speeds. The thickness and surface patterns of fouling were captured utilizing a surface profilometer. First, the cake-filtration model was used to predict the flux rate and fouling... 

Small strain shear modulus, Gmax, is one of the most important parameters for the characterization of the behavior of earth structures subjected to static or dynamic loading conditions. This research presents an experimental laboratory study on the effect of non-plastic fines content and hydraulic hysteresis on the Gmax of unsaturated sandy soils. In this regard, clean Firoozkuh No. 161 silica sand which is classified as poorly graded sand was mixed with different percentages of non-plastic Firoozkuh silt. A set of bender element tests were carried out using two modified triaxial devices. The modifications on these two apparatus were to add HAV ceramic discs for air–water control of... 

The interface behavior of rock and concrete and between layers of concrete highly affects the performance of concrete dam structures. In this investigation, a modified direct shear test was implemented in the laboratory to evaluate the interface behavior between (1) rock and conventional vibrated concrete (CVC), (2) rock and roller compacted concrete (RCC), (3) CVC and RCC and (4) two layers of RCC. Series of in situ shear tests were also performed between rock and concrete. The friction angle and cohesion for all tested interface were determined and analyzed. The effect of uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of concrete on the interface behavior was determined. Additionally, the effect of... 

A new universal structural joint was developed. While in bending it has a high rotational capacity, which can be accompanied by large bending stiffness and strength, in shear, it also has a very high shear deformation capacity, which can again be accompanied with large shear stiffness and strength. While the former characteristic makes it a good candidate for being used as a beam-to-column joint, the latter makes it highly applicable in connecting braces of a braced frame to the frame members. The experimental study carried out previously on this joint, concentrated on the performance of its steel specimens under 'monotonie' shear loading as well as that of its aluminium specimens under both... 

Atomistic simulation was used to study the deformation and fracture mechanisms of Ni-Si interfaces under tensile and shear loads dependent on the crystal structure of interface zone. Modified embedded atom method (MEAM) potential was utilized for molecular dynamics (MD) modeling. The simulation includes analysis of common neighbors, coordination number, least-square atomic local strain, and radial distribution function. The profound effect of interface crystallography on the tensile and shear deformation is shown. The highest tensile strength is obtained for interfaces with high plane density due to lowest atomic disorder while under shear loading planes with low density exhibit a high local... 

Infill materials in rock joints usually cause a reduction in the joint shear strength. The shear behavior of rock discontinuities depends upon whether they are clean and unfilled or filled, so this concern invites accurate understanding of the shear behavior and strength of infilled joints. A series of constant normal load direct shear tests was performed to investigate the shear strength of artificial samples with infilled rough joint surfaces having different asperity and infill characteristics. The current study focuses on the effects of factors that influence the shear strength of infilled rock joints samples, with emphasis on forward and reverse shearing. In the forward cycle, the front... 

A new study is conducted with the aid of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to investigate the effect of shear modulus value of the interlayer van der Waals (vdWs) interactions on free vibration of cantilever multi-layer graphene nanoribbons (MLGNRs). The corresponding calibrated nonlocal parameters of the nonlocal model are obtained accordingly. The vdWs interactions are treated as the cores between every two adjacent graphene layers and their equivalent shear modulus is calculated using MD simulation. The obtained resonant frequencies via the nonlocal sandwich model are compared to the MD simulation results to calibrate the nonlocal parameter. Results reveal a strong conclusion that the... 

In this paper the performance of light weight K-braced cold formed steel (CFS) shear panels under cyclic loading is experimentally evaluated. It is generally known that the brace-stud connection details has an important effect on the performance of the braced CFS shear panels in terms of lateral stiffness, energy dissipation, and ductility factor. In this study, four full-scale, 2.4 m × 2.4 m, braced CFS shear panels made of C-sections were tested. It was observed that proper modification of the currently utilized braced to stud connections in K-braced, CFS shear panels could enhance their performance considerably by increasing their ultimate shear resistance up to 7 folds. Furthermore,... 

Structural engineers have recognized unstiffened Steel Plate Shear Wall (SPSW) as an economical lateral resisting system due to the post-buckling capacity, energy dissipation, and deformability. This study investigates practical application of an added Energy Absorbent Element (EAE), subjoined to the SPSW in order to improve seismic behavior of the SPSW. The EAE is an aluminum shear panel with or without bracings and surrounding frame. Furthermore, a series of parametric studies are implemented to examine the effect of dimensions, position, and formation of the EAE. It is assumed that the lateral loading is applied as quasi-static loading. Further, nonlinearity of the material and the... 

In this study, the energy concept along with the first- and third-order shear deformation theories (FSDT and TSDT) are used to predict the large deflection and through the thickness stress of FGM plates. These responses are studied and discussed as a function of plate thickness and the order "n" of a power law function which is considered for the through the thickness variation of the properties of the FGM plate. The results show that the energy method powered by the FSDT and FSDT is capable of predicting the effects of plate thickness on the deformation and the through the thickness stress. Here, also the effects of power "n" on the plate response is clearly depicted. Notably, the...