Sharif Digital Repository

Mechanical properties and microstructural analysis of Expanded Perlite Aggregate (EPA) concretes are presented. Using 10% EPA, the effects of using various types of fibre were investigated. For all specimens, fibrous and non-fibrous, the compressive and the splitting tensile strengths were obtained. Complete stress–strain curves for fibre-reinforced specimens were obtained. A new index for representing the toughness of fibre-reinforced Perlite concretes is introduced. The addition of fibres substantially increased the splitting tensile strength. Steel fibres with “indentations” had the best performance in this regard. Regarding the toughness, specimens with “hooked” steel fibres performed... 

Irregular buildings constitute a large portion of the modern urban structures. Based on experiences of past earthquakes, irregular configuration of buildings or asymmetrical distribution of structural properties trigger an increase in seismic demand, intensifying the vulnerability of the structure. In this work, the effects of splitting in levels, classified as vertical irregularity, on the seismic behaviour of some 3D steel structures are studied. Studied models consisted of five-, ten- and fifteen-storey 3D steel special moment-resisting frames, split just in one direction, with six different plans. Equivalent static method together with a special pattern for distributing the base shear,... 

Purpose: The paper aims to report a fire test conducted on a three-dimensional frame in order to investigate the behaviour of bare steel flush end-plate connections with relatively low thickness at elevated temperatures. Design/methodology/approach: A half-scale model was fabricated and exposed to modified (scaled) ISO 834 heating curve using a semi-open furnace. The maximum temperature inside the furnace reached 1,026 °C. Findings: The rotations of connections are reported and compared with those of a previous study on an exactly the same model with thick end-plates. Various modes of failure such as local buckling of the beams flanges and lateral-torsional buckling of beams were observed... 

Purpose: The paper aims to report a fire test conducted on a three-dimensional frame in order to investigate the behaviour of bare steel flush end-plate connections with relatively low thickness at elevated temperatures. Design/methodology/approach: A half-scale model was fabricated and exposed to modified (scaled) ISO 834 heating curve using a semi-open furnace. The maximum temperature inside the furnace reached 1,026 °C. Findings: The rotations of connections are reported and compared with those of a previous study on an exactly the same model with thick end-plates. Various modes of failure such as local buckling of the beams flanges and lateral-torsional buckling of beams were observed... 

A new general semi-rigid beam-to-column connection for skeletal structures, also applicable to offshore platforms, was devised. In a previous paper (OMAE02-28264), the general features of this joint together with some proposed details for its use in fabricating new platforms, as well as retrofitting and repair of existing platforms, were introduced. Moreover, the results of some quasi-static tests on the 'original' version of the connection, in which the energy-dissipating elements (tubes) of the connection are laid in a parallel relation to the axis of bending, were reported. Here, in this paper, the results of recent experimental work on the 'alternate' version of the connection, in which... 

A three-dimensional (3D) finite element model (FEM) is developed to predict the progressive fatigue damage with provision for stochastic distribution of material properties. Fatigue damage model for low and high cycle fatigue considering plastic deformation is implemented in the FEM and the results are presented for Al 6061-T6, Al 7075-T6, Ti 6Al-4V and SS 316. Comparisons of the numerical and experimental results of stress-life reveal the validity of the approach. Also presented is the result of an investigation showing the effect of element types, element size, variation of material properties, and initial flaws on the randomness of fatigue life. The present fatigue damage simulation... 

The history of the building structures damaged during previous earthquakes reveal that one of the causes of these damages was the existence of some sort of irregularity in the structure of these buildings. In this work, the effects of irregularities due to the split in the levels of various parts of some 2D steel structures (Split Level) on their seismic behaviour are studied. The studied frames consist of five-, ten- and fifteen-storey frames, each with 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 cm split between the storey levels of the two parts (sides) of the building. The modal analysis of these frames showed that a high percentage of their base shear is transferred to the foundation through the... 

In this letter, both the number of participating nodes and spatial dispersion are incorporated to establish a bi-objective optimization problem for maximizing the quality of aggregation under interference and delay constraints in tree-based wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The formulated problem is proved to be NP-hard with respect to Weighted-sum scalarization and a distributed heuristic aggregation scheduling algorithm, named SDMAX, is proposed. Simulation results show that SDMAX not only gives a close approximation of the Pareto-optimal solution, but also outperforms the best, to our knowledge, existing alternative proposed so far in the literature  

A new structural connection, already discussed in previous papers, with very special and, in some respects, unique, features, such as having very high rotational capacity in bending, and high shear deformation capacity under shear, hence high energy-dissipation capacity under either type of loading, was developed. Specimens of either variant of this joint, fabricated with steel components, were already tested under bending and shear in a mainly separate manner. However, due to the particular shape of the connection, and its ability to be extruded in aluminium, in the most recent work the behaviour of its aluminium specimens under shear loading was studied. A series of specimens fabricated... 

A new 'universal' structural joint with multiple applications was devised. Its application as a 'beam-to-column joint' was already investigated experimentally, and proven to be promising. The results were reported in previous OMAE conferences and elsewhere. Another fruitful application conceived for this joint is in the context of joining (diagonal) braces to the frame members of a structure. In particular, in chevron (inverted V) bracing systems, where the dominating exchanged forces between the combined diagonal braces and the horizontal brace (beam) are 'shear,' the use of the devised joint as a joining member can substantially improve the overall behaviour of the structure under dynamic... 

A new beam-to-column and bracing-to-frame connection that can tolerate high rotational and shear overload is described. The connection is a self-contained separate entity that comprises two parallel attachment plates between which two circular tubes are laid and fixed through welding. The whole combination can also be produced by extrusion, where the plates are laid in an orthogonal relation with the axis of bending. In the welded version, the two plates are laid in a parallel relation with the axis of bending  

As the reinforcing bars used in concrete structures located in earthquake-prone areas experience strain rates higher than normal quasi-static ones, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the behaviour of such materials under these rates of loading. In this work, in order to study the behaviour of grade A-III reinforcing-bar steel (based on the GOST standard, a set of technical standards maintained by the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification), a number of monotonic tests on its tensile and compressive strength on (short and long) specimens at various strain rates, 0·002, 0·01, 0·02 and 0·04 s-1, experienced during earthquakes, were carried out.... 

A new semi-rigid beam-to-column, as well as bracing-to-frame, connection has been developed. In addition to its application in building structures, due to its special features and characteristics, it can best lend itself to offshore jackets, where fracture caused by fatigue has always been a major concern. The adverse effects of welding, material embrittlement, residual stresses, etc., pronounced by cyclic loading on such structures, can be overcome by using this new connection. Moreover, it can be easily used in the structure of various modules used in the topside of platforms and FPSOs. The particular feature of this connection is its geometry, which is so devised that it allows much...