FNM method for estimating reliability of existing bridges

Combined with current specifications and stress characteristics of concrete filled steel tubular （CFST） arch bridges, the determination principle of safe-middle-failure threestage mode is given. Accordingly, damage probability and failure probability and the corresponding reliability indices are calculated; a direct relationship between reliability indices and three-stage working status is made. Based on the three-stage working mode, a combined FNM （finite element-neural network- Monte-Carlo simulation） method is put forward to estimate the reliability of existing bridges. According to time-dependent reliability theory, subsequent service time is divided into several stages; minimum samples required by the Monte-Carlo method are generated by random sampling; training samples are calculated by the finite element method, and the training samples are extended by the neural network; failure probability and damage probability are calculated by the Monte-Carlo method. Thus, time dependent reliability indices are obtained, and the working status is judged. A case study is investigated to estimate the reliability of an actual bridge by the FNM method. The bridge is a CFST arch bridge with an 83.6 m span and it has been in operation for 10 years. According to analysis results, in the tenth year, the example bridge is still in safe status. This conclusion is consistent with the facts, which proves the feasibility of the FNM method for estimating the reliability of existing bridges.

ON THE EXISTENCE AND UNIQUENESS OF SOLUTION OF IMPLICIT HYBRID METHODS

In this paper the existence and uniqueness of the solution of implicit hybrid methods(IHMs)for solving the initial value problems(IVPs)of stiff ordinary differential equations(ODEs)is considered.We provide the coefficient condition and its judging criterion as well as the righthand condition to ensure the existing solution uniquely.

The influence of the underpassing frozen connecting passage on the deformation of the existing tunnel

Based on the engineering background of the contact channel between Shangyang and Gushan of Fuzhou Metro Line 2 undercrossing the existing tunnel line,the freezing temperature field of the contact channel,the displacement field of the existing tunnel line and the contact channel with different net distances and horizontal angles are analyzed by ANSYS finite element software and field measurement method.The obtained results indicate that during the freezing period,the temperature drops at different measuring holes are almost the same.The temperature near the bottom freezing tube drops faster than that far from the tube.It is found that the bilateral freezing technique improves the formation of the freezing wall in the intersection area.In this case,the intersection time of the cross-section is 7 days faster than that of the adjacent ordinary section.The change curve of the displacement of the surface uplift in different freezing periods with the distance from the center of the channel is“M”shaped.The maximum uplift displacement at 12 m from channel center is 25 mm.The vertical displacement of the measuring point located above the central axis of the connecting channel is large.The farther the point from the central axis,the smaller the corresponding vertical displacement.When the horizontal angle between the existing tunnel and the connecting channel is less than 60,the existing vertical displacement of the tunnel changes rapidly with the horizontal angle,reaching 0.17 mm/.Meanwhile,when the net distance is less than 6.1 m,the change rate of the vertical displacement of the tunnel is up to 2.4 mm/m.

Error Estimates of H^1-Galerkin Mixed Methods for the Viscoelasticity Wave Equation

H1-Galerkin mixed methods are proposed for viscoelasticity wave equation.Depending on the physical quantities of interest,two methods are discussed.The optimal error estimates and the proof of the existence and uniqueness of semidiscrete solutions are derived for problems in one space dimension.And the methods don＇t require the LBB condition.

LEVEL SET METHODS BASED ON DISTANCE FUNCTION

Some basic problems on the level set methods were discussed, such as the method used to preserve the distance junction , the existence and uniqueness of solution for the level set equations. The main contribution is to prove that in a neighborhood of the initial zero level set, the level set equations with the restriction of the distance function have a unique solution, which must be the signed distance function with respect to the evolving surface. Some skillful approaches were used: Noticing that any solution for the original equation was a distance function, the original level set equations were transformed into a simpler alternative form. Moreover, since the new system was not a classical one, the system was transformed into an ordinary one, for which the implicit function method was adopted.

Energy-Efficiency Retrofitting Strategies for Existing Residential Building Envelope System—A Case Study in China

With the rapid development of urbanization, the Chinese government has put equal emphasis on construction and retrofitting. But those projects did not achieve optimal effect because of the lack of targeted and systematic design guidance system. In this study, it first analyzes existing retrofitting methods and sorts into five retrofitting types as a basis, and then, captures the combi-nations and permutations of retrofitting methods and materials by parts and layers to build a database. After that, it combines different kinds of ap-proaches by hierarchical matrix method to conclude the most efficient strat-egy. This study also selects typical residential buildings built between 1980 and 2000 in cold climate area of Northeast China as the research objects to test the integrity and effectiveness. As the results of this paper, it provides systematic guidance and multiple performance-based retrofitting strategies of the existing residential envelope system, which can improve indoor ther-mal comfort with low energy consumption.

Current situation and development trend of design methods for subgrade structure of high speed railways

Purpose–This method will become a new development trend in subgrade structure design for high speed railways.Design/methodology/approach–This paper summarizes the structural types and design methods of subgrade bed for high speed railways in China,Japan,France,Germany,the United States and other countries based on the study and analysis of existing literature and combined with the research results and practices of high speed railway subgrade engineering at home and abroad.Findings–It is found that in foreign countries,the layered reinforced structure is generally adopted for the subgrade bed of high speed railways,and the unified double-layer or multi-layer structure is adopted for the surface layer of subgrade bed,while the simple structure is adopted in China;in foreign countries,different inspection parameters are adopted to evaluate the compaction state of fillers according to their respective understanding and practice,while in China,compaction coefficient,subsoil coefficient and dynamic deformation modulus are adopted for such evaluation;in foreign countries,the subgrade top deformation control method,the subgrade bottom deformation control method,the subsurface fill strength control method are mainly adopted in subgrade bed structure design of high speed railways,while in China,dynamic deformation control of subgrade surface and dynamic strain control of subgrade bed bottom layer is adopted in the design.However,the cumulative deformation of subgrade caused by train cyclic vibration load is not considered in the existing design methods.Originality/value–This paper introduces a new subgrade structure design method based on whole-process dynamics analysis that meets subgrade functional requirements and is established on the basis of the existing research at home and abroad on prediction methods for cumulative deformation of subgrade soil.

The Existence of Solutions for Kirchhoff-Type Equations with General Singular Terms

We study the existence of solutions for Kirchhoff-type equations.Firstly,we use the Sobolev inequality and the weakly lower semi-continuity of the norm to prove that the corresponding function can reach the global minimum.Then,we use the variational method and some analytical techniques to obtain the existence of the positive solution of the equation whenλis small enough.

THE SPACE-TIME FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR PARABOLIC PROBLEMS

Adaptive space-time finite element method, continuous in space but discontinuous in time for semi-linear parabolic problems is discussed. The approach is based on a combination of finite element and finite difference techniques. The existence and uniqueness of the weak solution are proved without any assumptions on choice of the spacetime meshes. Basic error estimates in L-infinity (L-2) norm, that is maximum-norm in time, L-2-norm in space are obtained. The numerical results are given in the last part and the analysis between theoretic and experimental results are obtained.

Existence and iteration of monotone positive solutions for a third-order two-point boundary value problem

The existence of nondecreasing positive solutions for the nonlinear third-order twopoint boundary value problem u′″（t） ＋ q（t）f（t,u（t）,u′（t）） = 0, 0 〈 t 〈 1, u（0） = u″（0） = u′（1） = 0 is studied. The iterative schemes for approximating the solutions are obtained by applying a monotone iterative method.

An H^1-Galerkin Expanded Mixed Element Method for Semi-linear Hyperbolic Wave Equation

An H1-Galerkin expanded mixed finite element method is discussed for a class of second order semi-linear hyperbolic wave equations. By using the mixed formulation, we can get the optimal approximation for three variables: the scalar unknown, its gradient and its flux(coefficient times the gradient), simultaneously. We also prove the existence and uniqueness of semi-discrete solution. Finally, we obtain some numerical results to illustrate the efficiency of the method.

EXISTENCE AND UNIQUENESS OF SOLUTIONS TO THE DYNAMIC EQUATIONS FOR KOITER SHELLS

In this paper, the dynamic equations for Koiter shells have been studied by Galerkin method, the existence and uniqueness to the solutions are proved.

EXISTENCE RESULTS FOR DEGENERATE ELLIPTIC EQUATIONS WITH CRITICAL CONE SOBOLEV EXPONENTS

In this paper, we study the existence result for degenerate elliptic equations with singular potential and critical cone sobolev exponents on singular manifolds. With the help of the variational method and the theory of genus, we obtain several results under different conditions.

GLOBAL EXISTENCE AND POINTWISE ESTIMATES OF SOLUTIONS TO GENERALIZED KURAMOTO-SIVASHINSKY SYSTEM IN MULTI-DIMENSIONS

The Cauchy problem of the generalized Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation in multidimensions(n ≥ 3) is considered. Based on Green's function method, some ingenious energy estimates are given. Then the global existence and pointwise convergence rates of the classical solutions are established. Furthermore, the L^p convergence rate of the solution is obtained.

GLOBAL EXISTENCE AND L^p ESTIMATES FOR SOLUTIONS OF DAMPED WAVE EQUATION WITH NONLINEAR CONVECTION IN MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SPACE

In this article, the author studies the Cauchy problem of the damped wave equation with a nonlinear convection term in multi-dimensions. The author shows that a classical solution to the Cauchy problem exists globally in time under smallness condition on the initial perturbation. Furthermore, the author obtains the L^p （2 ≤ p ≤ ∞） decay estimates of the solution.

GLOBAL EXISTENCE OF CLASSICAL SOLUTIONS TO THE HYPERBOLIC GEOMETRY FLOW WITH TIME-DEPENDENT DISSIPATION

In this article, we investigate the hyperbolic geometry flow with time-dependent dissipation（δ2 gij）/δt2＋μ/（（1 ＋ t）λ）（δ gij）/δt=-2 Rij,on Riemann surface. On the basis of the energy method, for 0 〈 λ ≤ 1, μ 〉 λ ＋ 1, we show that there exists a global solution gij to the hyperbolic geometry flow with time-dependent dissipation with asymptotic flat initial Riemann surfaces. Moreover, we prove that the scalar curvature R（t, x） of the solution metric gij remains uniformly bounded.

EXISTENCE OF SOLUTIONS FOR GRADIENT SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATION TO DIFFUSION PROBLEMS INVOLVING NONCONVEX ENERGIES

In this paper, we establish the existence of solutions for gradient systems ofevolution under some type （M） and semi-coerciveness conditions. The main result is appliedin order to solve nonlinear diffusion equations involving nonconvex energies.

Global Existence, Asympotic Behavior and Uniform Attractors for Thermoelastic Systems

In this paper, we first establish the global existence and asymptotic behavior of solutions by multiplicative techniques, then further prove the existence of a uniform attractor for a thermoelastic system by using the method of uniform contractive functions. We finally investigate an alternative result of solutions for the semilinear thermoelastic systems by virtue of the semigroup method.

Global Existence,Asymptotic Behavior and Uniform Attractors of Timoshenko Systems with Gurtin-Pipkin Thermal Law

In this paper,we first establish the global existence and asymptotic behavior of solutions by using the semigroup method and multiplicative techniques,then further prove the existence of a uniform attractor for Timoshenko systems with Gurtin-Pipkin thermal law by using the method of uniform contractive functions.The main advantages of this method is that we need only to verify compactness condition with the same type of energy estimates as that for establishing absorbing sets.Moreover,we also investigate an alternative result of solutions to the semilinear Timoshenko systems by virtue of the semigroup method.

Global Existence, Asymptotic Behavior and Uniform Attractors for Damped Timoshenko Systems

In this paper, we consider the Timoshenko system as an initial-boundary value problem in a one-dimensional bounded domain. And then we establish the global existence and asymptotic behavior of solution by using the semigroup method and multiplicative techniques, then further prove the existence of a uniform attractor by using the method of uniform contractive function. The main advantage of this method is that we need only to verify compactness condition with the same type of energy estimate as that for establishing absorbing sets.