Study on the FEM design of reinforced earth retaining wall with geogrid

At present,limit equilibrium method is often adopted in the design of reinforced earth retaining wall. Geotechnical engineers home and abroad have done a lot of work to improve the traditional calculation methods in recent years,while there are lots of defects. This paper first identifies the location of failure surface and safety factor through the finite element program of PLAXIS and then analyses the influencing factors of the stability of reinforced earth retaining wall with geogrid. The authors adopt strength reduction FEM (finite element method)in the design and stability analysis of reinforced earth retaining wall and have achieved some satisfying results. Without any assumptions,the new design method can automatically judge the failure mode of reinforced earth retaining wall,consider the influence of axial tensile stiffness of the reinforcement stripe on the stability of retaining wall,identify reasonable distance and length of the reinforcement stripe,and choose suitable parameters of reinforcement stripe,including strength,stiffness and pseudo-friction coefficient which makes the design optimal. It is proved through the calculation examples that this method is more reasonable,reliable and economical in the design of reinforced earth retaining wall.

Thermo-mechanical Design Considerations for First Wall of A-SSTR2

The finite element analysis and calculation were performed for the blanket first-wall made of SiC/SiC composite material for Advanced Steady-state Tokamak Reactor 2, A-SSTR2, which at present is conceptually designed in Naka Fusion research establishment, JAERI. Comparison analysis and design window were analyzed using the finite element code ADINA 7.4. Through a 2D calculation for various geometrical configurations and sensitive material properties, a fundamental guideline for the first wall and blanket design are established with respect to maximum temperature, thermal and mechanical stress for many configurations. To satisfy hydrodynamic requirement, a4d4 (the dimension of coolant channel is 4 mm x 8 mm, and the distance between neighboring channels is 4 mm) was chosen as a design point for high thermal conductivity up to 50 W/m.K. In order to find a good solution for lower conductivity, more elaborate work should be done in the future. Nonetheless, the outline of design window for a specific structural material is very useful for the future A-SSTR2 first wall design.

AN EFFICIENT ASSESSMENT METHOD FOR INTELLIGENT DESIGN RESULTS OF SHEAR WALL STRUCTURE BASED ON MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE,MATERIAL CONSUMPTION,AND EMPIRICAL RULES

Efficient methods for incorporating engineering experience into the intelligent generation and optimization of shear wall structures are lacking,hindering intelligent design performance assessment and enhancement.This study introduces an assessment method used in the intelligent design and optimization of shear wall structures that effectively combines mechanical analysis and formulaic encoding of empirical rules.First,the critical information about the structure was extracted through data structuring.Second,an empirical rule assessment method was developed based on the engineer's experience and design standards to complete a preliminary assessment and screening of the structure.Subsequently,an assessment method based on mechanical performance and material consumption was used to compare different structural schemes comprehensively.Finally,the assessment effectiveness was demonstrated using a typical case.Compared to traditional assessment methods,the proposed method is more comprehensive and significantly more efficient,promoting the intelligent transformation of structural design.

Application of the dividing wall column to olefin separation in fluidization methanol to propylene(FMTP) process

Dividing wall column(DWC)is shown to be energy efficient compared to conventional column sequence for multi components separation,which is used for olefin separation in fluidization methanol to propylene process in the present work.Detailed design for pilot DWC was performed and five control structures,i.e.composition control(CC),temperature control(TC),composition-temperature control(CC-TC),temperature difference control(TDC),double temperature difference control(DTDC)were proposed to circumvent feed disturbance.Sensitivity analysis and singular value decomposition(SVD)were used as criterion to select the controlled temperature locations in TC,CC-TC,TDC and DTDC control loops.The steady simulation result demonstrates that 25.7% and 30.2% duty can be saved for condenser and reboiler by substituting conventional column sequence with DWC,respectively.As for control structure selection,TC and TDC perform better than other three control schemes with smaller maximum deviation and shorter settling time.

Optimizing the Qusai-static Folding and Deploying of Thin-Walled Tube Flexure Hinges with Double Slots

The thin-walled tube flexure（TWTF） hinges have important potential application value in the deployment mechanisms of satellite and solar array, but the optimal design of the TWTF hinges haven＇t been completely solved, which restricts their applications. An optimal design method for the qusai-static folding and deploying of TWTF hinges with double slots is presented based on the response surface theory. Firstly, the full factorial method is employed to design of the experiments. Then, the finite element models of the TWTF hinges with double slots are constructed to simulate the qusai-static folding and deploying non-linear analysis. What＇s more, the mathematical model of the TWTF flexure hinge quasi-static folding and deploying properties are derived by the response surface method. Considering of small mass and high stability, the peak moment of quasi-static folding and deploying as well as the lightless are set as the objectives to get the optimal performances. The relative errors of the objectives between the optimal design results and the FE analysis results are less than 7%, which demonstrates the precision of the surrogate models. Lastly, the parameter study shows that both the slots length and the slots width both have significant effects to the peak moment of quasi-static folding and deploying of TWTF hinges with double slots. However, the maximum Mises stress of quasi-static folding is more sensitive to the slots length than the slots width. The proposed research can be applied to optimize other thin-walled flexure hinges under quasi-static folding and deploying, which is of great importance to design of flexure hinges with high stability and low stress.

Wall Conditioning Operation on the HL-2A Tokamak and Conceptual Design for the Device Modification

During the 2006 experiment campaign of HL-2A, about 2000 shots have been implemented, the plasma current of 433 kA and 3.0 s duration have been obtained. The wall conditioning methods such as glow discharge cleating （GDC） , siliconization and Ti sublimation were applied. The experiment results of wall conditioning research will be introduced in this report. At the same time, the conceptual design of modification of HL-2A tokamak has obtained great progress, two modification schemes have been obtained, and the conceptual design results will be presented.

An approach for optimization of the wall thickness (weight) of a thick-walled cylinder under axially non-uniform internal service pressure distribution

Today, improving the weight/load carrying capacity ratio of a part is the matter of studies in most of the scientific and industrial areas.Autofrettage dimensions, the amount of material removed from outer and inner radius while manufacturing and the service pressure applied affect the residual stress distribution throughout the wall thickness and hence the load-bearing capacity of a thick-walled cylinder. Calculation of residual stresses after autofrettage process and optimization of autofrettage outline dimensions by using the amount of service pressures applied are common issues in literature.In this study, mandrel-cylinder tube interference dimensions were renovated by using traditional methods for swage autofrettage process of a gun barrel. Also, the residual stresses in the cylinder after autofrettage process, inside and outside material removal process and the variable service pressure throughout the cylinder applied were taken into consideration and incorporated into the design. By using the constrained optimization method, wall thickness(thus the weight) was optimized(minimized)to achieve the specified safety factor along the length of the cylinder. For the same cylinder, the results of the suggested analytical/with residual stress calculation approach were compared to analytical/without residual stress calculation results and numerical topology optimization method calculation results. Since the experimental measurement results are not yet available, it was not possible to compare them with the calculation results.The suggested approach enabled 22.9% extra weight reduction in proportion to numerical topology optimization and enabled 4.2% extra weight reduction in proportion to analytical/without residual stress optimization.Using this approach, the gain from residual stresses after autofrettage operation, the loss of residual stresses after material removal, and the effects of service pressures can be taken into account for each stage of design.

Improving the structural efficiency of textured threedimensional concrete printing wall by architectural design

Three-dimensional concrete printing(3DCP)technology begins to be adopted into construction application worldwide.Recent studies have focused on producing a higher concrete quality and offering a user-friendly construction process.Still,the 3DCP construction cost is unlikely to be lower than that of conventional construction,which is especially important for projects where the cost is sensitive.To broaden the 3DCP construction applications,reduction of the quantity of 3DCP material usage is needed.This work aims to perform structural analysis of several patterns of geometric textured 3DCP shell wall structures.21 different cantilevered textured patterns of 3DCP shell wall structures were architecturally designed and then subjected to structural analysis by a finite element method(FEM).The results indicated that by designing appropriate patterns,the structural performance to weight ratio could be improved up to 300%.The study therefore offers an innovative design process for constructing 3DCP housing and suggests preconstruction analysis methods for 3DCP shell wall structures.

The Application of Pile Foundation Bearing-Retaining Wall Combination Structure in a Mountainous Urban High Fill Project

Pile foundation bearing-retaining wall combination structure is a new type of support structure developed in recent years.This article focuses on the characteristics,advantages,and application scope of the support structure,while combining a variety of algorithms,according to different geological conditions and slope stability,as well as summarizes the pile foundation bearing-retaining wall combination structure force analysis and design methods,taking a high-fill road project in Chongqing as an example.The application of this support structure under special conditions,such as thicker soil layer,steeper sliding surface,weak foundation,and limited slope release conditions,is presented,which illustrates the technical advantages of this support structure and proving that it has several other advantages,including clear force mechanism as well as economic and reasonable structure,thus providing reference for similar projects.

An evaluation of force-based design vs.direct displacement-based design of jointed precast post-tensioned wall systems

The unique features of jointed post-tensioned wall systems, which include minimum structural damage and re-centering capability when subjected to earthquake lateral loads, are the result of using unbonded post-tensioning to attach the walls to the foundation, along with employing energy dissipating shear connectors between the walls. Using acceptance criteria defined in terms of inter-story drift, residual drift, and floor acceleration, this study presents a multiplelevel performance-based seismic evaluation of two five-story unbonded post-tensioned jointed precast wall systems. The design and analysis of these two wall systems, established as the direct displacement-based and force-based solutions for a prototype building used in the PREcast Seismic Structural Systems （PRESSS） program, were performed at 60% scale so that the analysis model could be validated using the PRESSS test data. Both buildings satisfied the performance criteria at four levels of earthquake motions although the design base shear of the direct displacement-based jointed wall system was 50% of that demanded by the force-based design method. The study also investigated the feasibility of controlling the maximum transient inter-story drift in a jointed wall system by increasing the number of energy dissipating shear connectors between the walls but without significantly affecting its re-centering capability.

Limit equilibrium analysis for stability of soil nailed slope and optimum design of soil nailing parameters

Reinforcement of slopes using soil nailing can effectively improve slope stability, and it has been widely used in upgrading cut slopes. Based on the assumptions of stresses on the slip surface, a new method for analyzing the stability of a slope reinforced with soil nails was established in the limit equilibrium theory framework, by considering that slope sliding occurs owing to shear failure of the slip surface, which subjects to Mohr–Coulomb(M–C) strength criterion. Meanwhile, in order to easily analyze the stability of a soil nailed slope in actual engineering and facilitate optimum design of parameters for soil nailing, factor of safety(FOS) contour curve charts were drawn on the basis of the established linear proportional relationship between the spacing of soil nails and slope height, and the length of soil nails and slope height. Then, by analyzing and verifying the results obtained from classic examples, some conclusions can be got as follows: 1) The results obtained from the current method are close to those obtained from the traditional limit equilibrium methods, and the current method can provide a strict solution for the slope FOS as it satisfies all the static equilibrium conditions of a sliding body, thus confirming the feasibility of the current method; 2) The slope FOS contour curve charts can be used not only to reliably analyze the stability of a soil nailed slope, but also to design optimally the parameters of soil nailing for the slope with a certain safety requirement.

Improved design of special boundary elements for T-shaped reinforced concrete walls

This study examines the design provisions of the Chinese GB 50011-2010 code for seismic design of buildings for the special boundary elements of T-shaped reinforced concrete walls and proposes an improved design method. Comparison of the design provisions of the GB 50011-2010 code and those of the American code ACI 318-14 indicates a possible deficiency in the T-shaped wall design provisions in GB 50011-2010. A case study of a typical T-shaped wall designed in accordance with GB 50011-2010 also indicates the insufficient extent of the boundary element at the non-flange end and overly conservative design of the flange end boundary element. Improved designs for special boundary elements ofT-shaped walls are developed using a displacement-based method. The proposed design formulas produce a longer boundary element at the non-flange end and a shorter boundary element at the flange end, relative to those of the GB 50011-2010 provisions. Extensive numerical analysis indicates that T-shaped walls designed using the proposed formulas develop inelastic drift of 0.01 for both cases of the flange in compression and in tension.

A case study on behaviors of composite soil nailed wall with bored piles in a deep excavation

A complete case of a deep excavation was explored. According to the practical working conditions, a 3D non-linear finite element procedure is used to simulate a deep excavation supported by the composite soil nailed wall with bored piles in soft soil. The modified cam clay model is employed as the constitutive relationship of the soil in the numerical simulation. Results from the numerical analysis are fitted well with the field data, which indicate that the research approach used is reliable. Based on the field data and numerical results of the deep excavation supported by four different patterns of the composite soil nailed wall, the significant corner effect is founded in the 3D deep excavation. If bored piles or soil anchors are considered in the composite soil nailed wall, they are beneficial to decreasing deformations and internal forces of bored piles, cement mixing piles, soil anchors, soil nailings and soil around the deep excavation. Besides, the effects due to bored piles are more significant than those deduced from soil anchors. All mentioned above prove that the composite soil nailed wall with bored piles is feasible in the deep excavation.

Reactive dividing wall column for hydrolysis of methyl acetate:Design and control

Reactive distillation and dividing wall column distillation are two kinds of effective separation technologies,and their integrated configuration,reactive dividing wall column(RDWC),presents attractive advantages.In this study,the rigorous simulation of RDWC for methyl acetate hydrolysis is performed,and sensitivity analysis is conducted to obtain the minimum reboiler duty.Then a comparison is made between the conventional process and RDWC process,and it shows that 20.1% energy savings can be achieved by RDWC process.In addition,the dynamic characteristic of RDWC is studied and an effective control strategy is proposed.The simple PI control scheme with three temperature loops can obtain reasonable control performance and maintain products at desired purities.It is proved that this RDWC process is an energy efficiency alternative with good controllability.

Shortcut Method of Design and Energy-Saving Analysis of Sargent Dividing Wall Column

The Sargent dividing wall column can implement four products separation sequences in one column based on Fully Thermally Coupled Distillation Column. The initial design parameters are required for the design optimization or dynamic control of the Sargent dividing wall column, and in order to make the rigorous simulation of the Sargent dividing wall column more conducive to convergence, a ten column model for complex Sargent column is established in this paper,and the shortcut design method of this model is proposed. The internal minimum vapor and liquid flow are obtained by the Underwood equations and the mass balance method and the V-min method. The separation for a 4-component shortcut mixture of pentane, hexane, heptane and octane was considered, while the initial values of design parameters and the ratio of vapor-liquid distribution of each column were calculated by using the shortcut design method of a ten column model. And by comparing the shortcut calculations with rigorous simulation results, the practicality and reliability of shortcut calculations were verified. The reason for energy saving was analyzed based on back-mixing. A virtual heat exchanger is proposed to make the Sargent dividing wall column more energy efficient.

Assessment of seismic design response factors of concrete wall buildings

To verify the seismic design response factors of high-rise buildings, five reference structures, varying in height from 20- to 60-stories, were selected and designed according to modern design codes to represent a wide range of concrete wall structures. Verified fiber-based analytical models for inelastic simulation were developed, considering the geometric nonlinearity and material inelasticity of the structural members. The ground motion uncertainty was accounted for by employing 20 earthquake records representing two seismic scenarios, consistent with the latest understanding of the tectonic setting and seismicity of the selected reference region （UAE）. A large number of Inelastic Pushover Analyses （IPAs） and Incremental Dynamic Collapse Analyses （IDCAs） were deployed for the reference structures to estimate the seismic design response factors. It is concluded that the factors adopted by the design code are adequately conservative. The results of this systematic assessment of seismic design response factors apply to a wide variety of contemporary concrete wall buildings with various characteristics.

Optimized Simulation Design of Double Glass Curtain Wall Shading System in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone

The glass curtain wall is widely favored by the owners for its good appearance modeling efthct. In using process, however, excessive energy consumption, low level indoor eomtort and other problems of glass curtain wall are often exposed. Aiming at office buildings in hot Summer and cold Winter zone, taking the optimization of thermal comfort of double glass curtain wall in the summer and the reduetion of building energy consumption throughout the year as the breakthrough point, using the method of energy simulation analysis, through changing the size of internal shading component in the simulated room, this paper analyzes and summarizes the variation law of its energy consumption value, to explore the relatively reasonable design plan of shading systems of the building with glass curtain wall.

A "TIME-SPACE" RELATED DESIGN METHOD OF FREEZING WALL

Artificially ground freezing (AGF) is one of the main methods to establish temporary support for shaft sinking in unstable water bearing strata. Domde (1915) formula based on frozen soil strength has widely been used for designing freezing wall thickness. However, it can not ensure the stability of freezing wall, nor guarantee the safety of shaft construction as frozen depth increases in unstable water bearing strata. F A. Auld (1985, 1988)[1,2] presented a design method of freezing wall, which is on the basis of strength and stability, together with deformation of freezing wall. This paper, according to the practice in China, describes a "time -space" related design method for deep freezing wall. The method is based on "time-space" concept, which includes influence of excavation rate of advance, unsupported length of freezing wall and the sump state on inward deformation of freezing wall, and the allowable pipe deformation caused by inward deformation of freezing wall. Finally, successful application of this method to the large scale coal mine-Jining No. 2 Mine[3] in Shandong Province of China is presented. It saved much investment compared with F. A. Auld’s design for the same mine.

Discussion on Structure Design and Optimization of Building Curtain Wall

To discuss the structure design and optimization of building curtain wall, the dynamic characteristics of point supported glass curtain wall system are analyzed by the finite element method. The various technologies are made use of, and according to the characteristics of the structure system, the finite element analysis model with steel structure glass plate beam element and shell element as the basic elements is established. Then, the dynamic characteristics are analyzed, and the modal parameters such as inherent frequency and vibration type are identified. The research results show that the node displacement response power spectrum under the load of wind is obtained, which provides the basis for rationally optimizing the structure. Based on the above findings, it is concluded that the optimization design based on finite element model has a wide significance, which is a useful attempt to reduce the blindness of design and has great engineering significance and application value.

Seismic Evaluation and Retrofitting of Existing Hospital Building in the Sudan

Sudan is not free from earthquakes. It has experienced many earthquakes during the recent history, and the previous studies on this field demonstrated this argument. This paper focuses on the study of seismic performance of existing hospital buildings in Sudan. The paper focused on studying design of reinforced concrete columns of a hospital building considering two load cases;case one is the design load including combinations of dead, live and wind loads and case two includes dead, live and seismic loads. The building was designed according to the Regulation of Egyptian Society for Earthquake Engineering (ESEE), using the linear static method (equivalent static method). The analysis and design were performed using the SAP2000 version 14 software package. The design results obtained from the two cases of loading were compared observing that the design based on case one was unsafe to withstand the additional load came from earthquake, because the cross sections and area of steel for the most of building columns are under the required values that needed to resist the loads of case two. If the building is constructed according to the design using the loadings of case one, this situation needs remedy. This paper suggested two solutions for this problem based on strengthening the weak columns by inserting reinforced concrete shear walls in the direction of y axis affected by seismic load. Solution one suggests shear walls of length 2.5 m with different wall thicknesses (15 cm, 20 cm, 25 cm and 30 cm), whereas solution two suggests shear walls of length 4.5 m and 15 cm width. It was found that solution one solved the problem partially because some columns were still unsafe, but solution two solved the problem completely and all columns were safe.