Hiroyuki Fuyama

An interactive computer assisted system for conceptual structural design of steel buildings

Abstract Computer programs that perform structural analysis and routine design calculations are readily available and widely used by the design profession. However, there exist few practical computer tools that assist engineers in the conceptual design of structures. This paper describes the development of a prototype system, BERT (building engineering and reasoning tool), for the conceptual design of moment resisting steel frame structures. Given the loading conditions and building configuration, BERT has the capability to select efficient member sizes through reasoning about the behavior of the structure. Different configurations can be evaluated by means of a cost estimating scheme that incorporates steel material, fabrication and erection costs. This paper focuses on a discussion of the object-oriented representation and reasoning schemes employed in the implementation of the design system.

Computation of Input Energy to Test Structure on Shaking Table Test

In case of destruction test on shaking table, the energy, dissipated in the process of collapse, could be employed as one of indexes to grasp the test structure strength. In general, for the vibration systems, internal dissipated energies are equal to externally supplied energies. Considering the shaking table and test structure as one vibration system, the input energy generated by actuators of shaking table can be used to estimate the dissipated energy during collapse of the test structure. This paper describes followings. (1) Derive computation method of dissipated energy based on information of shaking table system. (2) Show validity of computation method Results of numerical simulation employing shaking table simulator.Copyright

Cable Tray Ultimate Strength Test Employing a Large Shaker Table

Ultimate behaviors of cable trays, used in nuclear plants, have not been well studied since cable trays are designed based on conservative design criteria. In this study, by employing a large shaker table, an ultimate strength test was conducted for cable trays used in nuclear power plants. This report describes the results of shaker table test. The following results were obtained: 1) In an S2 * earthquake, the damping ratio was so large — more than 30% due to the rubbing of cables — that a large response was not present and the strains in the support were within the elastic limits. 2) The support was strong enough to sustain the cable trays even when the strain in the support was 20 times larger than elastic strain.Copyright