Jiyang Fu

Dynamic Stability of Euler Beams under Axial Unsteady Wind Force

Dynamic instability of beams in complex structures caused by unsteady wind load has occurred more frequently. However, studies on the parametric resonance of beams are generally limited to harmonic loads, while arbitrary dynamic load is rarely involved. The critical frequency equation for simply supported Euler beams with uniform section under arbitrary axial dynamic forces is firstly derived in this paper based on the Mathieu-Hill equation. Dynamic instability regions with high precision are then calculated by a presented eigenvalue method. Further, the dynamically unstable state of beams under the wind force with any mean or fluctuating component is determined by load normalization, and the wind-induced parametric resonant response is computed by the Runge-Kutta approach. Finally, a measured wind load time-history is input into the dynamic system to indicate that the proposed methods are effective. This study presents a new method to determine the wind-induced dynamic stability of Euler beams. The beam would become dynamically unstable provided that the parametric point, denoting the relation between load properties and structural frequency, is located in the instability region, no matter whether the wind load component is large or not.

Unified Practical Formulas for Vibration-Based Method of Cable Tension Estimation:

In this paper, unified practical formulas are proposed to estimate cable tension for vibrations under different boundaries. Correction coefficients are applied to the cable tensions calculated from the taut string theory. In these formulas, a dimensionless parameter η is introduced to represent the relative bending stiffness of the cable in lieu of the dimensionless parameter ξ in the previous formulas found in practice. Results have shown that the proposed formulas are accurate. For the fixed-fixed boundaries, the error in the estimated cable tensions for various frequencies is less than 3% for η ≤ 0.88, and less than 1% for η ≤ 0.55. For the fixed-hinged boundaries, the error in the estimated cable tensions for various frequencies is less than 1% for η ≤ 0.9. If there are multiple frequencies in the in-situ measurement, the proposed formulas can be used to identify the cable tension and bending stiffness simultaneously by solving a quadratic equation. The proposed formulas have been validated against several numerical examples as well as practical test cases.

Lateral-Torsional Buckling of Circular Steel Arches under Arbitrary Radial Concentrated Load

AbstractSteel arches are applied in many engineering structures because of their excellent capacity to resist various transverse loadings. Modified (or normalized) slenderness plays an important ro...

Experimental Study on the Welding Residual Stresses of Integral Joint Using Full-Scale Joint Model of a Steel Truss Bridge:

In order to study the residual stress distribution of the welded integral joint of steel truss bridge, a full-scale model was fabricated with the same welding process, same material as the real bridge in the bridge workshop. The residual stress state and distributions of residual stresses in the full-scale model were measured using blind-hole strain-gage method. The tested results show that high residual stress is caused during the welding process and the maximum tensile residual stress may reach the yield strength of the steel. Longitudinal tensile residual stress appears in the regions near the welding bead and changes to compressive stress at a certain distance from the welding bead, with the maximum tensile residual stress being in the centre of the welding bead. In butt-welding between two plates with different thicknesses, the value of welding residual stress in the thinner plate is lower than that of the thicker one. The results presented in this paper would be useful as references for developing measures of reducing the residual stress of integral joint in the fabrication of a real bridge.

Experimental and analytical investigation on the in-plane dynamic instability of arches owing to parametric resonance

When an arch is subjected to a periodic load, it may lose in-plane stability dynamically owing to parametric resonance. Previous investigations have been concentrated on in-plane dynamic buckling of pin-ended shallow arches. However, in engineering practice, fixed arches with different rise-to-span ratios are often encountered. Little research on in-plane dynamic instability of deep fixed arches has been reported in the literature. This paper is concerned with experimental and analytical investigations for in-plane dynamic instability of fixed circular arches with rise-to-span ratios 1/8–1/2 under a central periodic load owing to parametric resonance. Experiments are carried out to determine the in-plane frequency and damping ratio of arches, to investigate critical regions of frequencies and amplitudes of the periodic load for in-plane dynamic instability of arches, and to explore effects of the rise-to-span ratio and additional weights on dynamic instability. The analytical method for determining the region of excitation frequencies and amplitudes of the periodic load causing in-plane instability of the arch is established using the Hamilton’s principle by accounting for effects of additional concentrated weights. Comparisons of analytical solutions with test results show that they agree with each other quite well. These results show that the rise-to-span ratio significantly influences the bandwidth of regions of critical excitation frequencies for in-plane dynamic instability of arches. The critical frequencies of the periodic load and their bandwidth increase with a decrease of the rise–span ratio of the arch, whereas the corresponding amplitude of the periodic load decreases at the same time. It is also found that the central concentrated weight influences in-plane dynamic instability of arches significantly. As the weight increases, the critical frequencies of excitation and their bandwidth for in-plane dynamic instability of arches decreases, whereas the corresponding amplitude of excitation increases.

A Method of Reinforcement and Vibration Reduction of Girder Bridges Using Shape Memory Alloy Cables

Bending and torsional vibrations caused by moving vehicle loads are likely to affect the traffic safety and comfort for girder bridges with limited torsional rigidity. This paper studies the use of cables made of shape memory alloy (SMA) as the devices of reinforcement and vibration reduction for girder bridges. The SMA cables are featured by their small volume, expedient installation. To investigate their effect on the vibration of girder bridges, theoretical analysis, numerical simulation and experimental study were conducted in this paper. For bending vibration, the governing equations of the girder with and without SMA cables subjected to moving vehicle loads were derived, while for torsional vibration, the finite element (FE) simulations were used instead. The results of bending and torsional vibrations obtained by the analytical approach and FE simulations, respectively, were compared with the experimental ones from model testing. It was confirmed that the SMA cables can restrain the vibration of the girder bridge effectively.

Full-scale tests of wind effects on a long span roof structure

Full-scale measurements are regarded as the most reliable method to evaluate wind effects on large buildings and structures. Some selected results are presented in this paper from the full-scale measurement of wind effects on a long-span steel roof structure during the passage of Typhoon Fanapi. Some field data, including wind speed and direction, acceleration responses, etc., were continuously and simultaneously recorded during the passage of the typhoon. Comprehensive analysis of the measured data is conducted to evaluate the typhoon-generated wind characteristics and its effects on a long-span steel roof. The first four natural frequencies and their vibration mode shapes of the Guangzhou International Sports Arena (GISA) roof are evaluated by the stochastic subspace identification (SSI) method and comparisons with those from finite element (FE) analysis are made. Meanwhile, damping ratios of the roof are also identified by the SSI method and compared with those identified by the random decrement method; the amplitude-dependent damping behaviors are also discussed. The fullscale measurement results are further compared with the corresponding wind tunnel test results to evaluate its reliability. The results obtained from this study are valuable for academic and professional engineers involved in the design of large-span roof structures.

Nonlinear Buckling Analysis of Functionally Graded Graphene Reinforced Composite Shallow Arches with Elastic Rotational Constraints under Uniform Radial Load

The buckling behavior of functionally graded graphene platelet-reinforced composite (FG-GPLRC) shallow arches with elastic rotational constraints under uniform radial load is investigated in this paper. The nonlinear equilibrium equation of the FG-GPLRC shallow arch with elastic rotational constraints under uniform radial load is established using the Halpin-Tsai micromechanics model and the principle of virtual work, from which the critical buckling load of FG-GPLRC shallow arches with elastic rotational constraints can be obtained. This paper gives special attention to the effect of the GPL distribution pattern, weight fraction, geometric parameters, and the constraint stiffness on the buckling load. The numerical results show that all of the FG-GPLRC shallow arches with elastic rotational constraints have a higher buckling load-carrying capacity compared to the pure epoxy arch, and arches of the distribution pattern X have the highest buckling load among four distribution patterns. When the GPL weight fraction is constant, the thinner and larger GPL can provide the better reinforcing effect to the FG-GPLRC shallow arch. However, when the value of the aspect ratio is greater than 4, the flakiness ratio is greater than 103, and the effect of GPL’s dimensions on the buckling load of the FG-GPLRC shallow arch is less significant. In addition, the buckling model of FG-GPLRC shallow arch with elastic rotational constraints is changed as the GPL distribution patterns or the constraint stiffness changes. It is expected that the method and the results that are presented in this paper will be useful as a reference for the stability design of this type of arch in the future.

Wind-induced vibration of a long span space truss structure

In this paper, characteristic of wind-induced vibration of a a long span space truss structure was studied. Wind tunnel test was conducted in a boundary wind tunnel, based on which displacement along Z direction under all wind directions are discussed, and vibrations of typical nodals are emphasized. It is shown that the upwards corner of the roof may course greater peak displacement in this area than that in other areas. On the other hand, modal vibration of part area may be much greater than that of others, which may enhance the danger of local wind induced structural damage of these areas.

Spatial coherency statistical model of ground motion

Based on parts of the earthquake records collected in SMART-I array and Chiba array, the spatial coherency of the ground motion components was studied among the frequency domain. Three coherencies??different components from different stations of the ground motion, same components from different stations and different components from the same station, were taken into account. The range and the cumulative distribution density function of the decoherence coefficient value for each case were determined through the statistical methods. Finally, a statistical model of the coherency function was presented.