Static and Dynamic Analyses of Long-Span Spatial Steel-Cable-Membrane Hybrid Structures

With the increment of the complexity of structural systems and the span of spatial structures, the interactions between parts of the structures, especially between some flexible substructures, become too complex to be analyzed clearly. In this paper, taking an actual gymnasium of a long-span spatial steel-cable-membrane hybrid structure as the calculation model, the static and dynamic analyses of the hybrid structures are performed by employing the global analysis of the whole hybrid structure and the substructural analysis of the truss arch substructure, the cable-membrane substructure, etc. In addition, the comparison of stresses and displacements of structural members in the global and substructural analyses is made. The numerical results show that serious errors exist in the substructural analysis of the hybrid structure, and the global analysis is necessary for the hybrid structure under the excitation of static loads and seismic loads.

Study on dynamic response of embedded long span corrugated steel culverts using scaled model shaking table tests and numerical analyses

A series of scaled-model shaking table tests and its simulation analyses using dynamic finite element method were performed to clarify the dynamic behaviors and the seismic stability of embedded corrugated steel culverts due to strong earth-quakes like the 1995 Hyogoken-nanbu earthquake. The dynamic strains of the embedded culvert models and the seismic soil pressure acting on the models due to sinusoidal and random strong motions were investigated. This study verified that the cor-rugated culvert model was subjected to dynamic horizontal forces (lateral seismic soil pressure) from the surrounding ground, which caused the large bending strains on the structure; and that the structures do not exceed the allowable plastic deformation and do not collapse completely during strong earthquake like Hyogoken-nanbu earthquake. The results obtained are useful for design and construction of embedded long span corrugated steel culverts in seismic regions.

Thermal Activation Analyses of Dynamic FractureToughness of High Strength Low Alloy Steels

A formula is derived for determining the influence of temperature and loading rate on dynamic fracture toughness of a high strength low alloy steel (HQ785C) from thermal activation analysis of the experimental results of three-point bend specimens as well as introducing an Arrhenius formula. It is shown that the results obtained by the given formula are in good agreement with the experimental ones in the thermal activation region. The present method is also valuable to describe the relationship between dynamic fracture toughness and temperature and loading rate of other high strength low alloy steels.

Earthquake simulation test of circular reinforced concrete bridge column under multidirectional seismic excitation

Structures behave multi-directionally when subjected to earthquake excitation. Thus, it is essential to evaluate the effect of multidirectional loading on the dynamic response and seismic performance of reinforced concrete bridge columns in order to develop more advanced and reliable design procedures. To investigate such effects, a 1/4 scaled circular reinforced concrete bridge column specimen was tested under two horizontal and one vertical components of a strong motion that has long duration with several strong pulses. Damage progress of reinforced concrete columns subjected to strong excitation was evaluated from the test. The test results demonstrate that the lateral force response in the principal directions become smaller than computed flexural capacity due to the bilateral flexural loading effects, and that the lateral response is not significantly affected by the fluctuation of the axial force because the horizontal response and axial force barely reached the maximum simultaneously due to difference of the predominant natural periods between the vertical and the horizontal directions. Accuracy of fiber analyses is discussed using the test results.

Design of the upstream decay pipe window of the long baseline neutrino facility

The beam windows of high-energy beam lines are important,and it is sometimes difficult to design because it is necessary to ensure particle propagation with minimum disturbance and fulfill mechanical requirements at the same time.The upstream decay pipe window of the long baseline neutrino facility at Fermilab has an extremely large diameter(1.8 m),with a thickness of only 1.5 mm to separate the helium atmosphere in the decay pipe and the nitrogen atmosphere on the other side.Furthermore,the center of this dish-shaped window is expected to be a200-mm-diameter beryllium dish welded to the outside aluminum alloy A6061,and this welded combination must withstand extreme conditions of a 2.4-MW,high-energy proton beam without leakage.These severe conditions make the design of this window an unprecedented challenge.This paper describes the static thermal-structural analyses based on which the structure has been optimized,as well as dynamic analyses for understanding the shockwave effects originating in the beam.After optimization,the maximum von Mises stresses in the window decreased significantly in both normal operation and accident cases,making our design very reasonable.