Experimental and numerical study of a steel plate-based damper for improving the behavior of concentrically braced frames

Denise-Penelope N. Kontoni,Ali Ghamari,Chanachai Thongchom 국제구조공학회 2023 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.47 No.2

Despite the high lateral stiffness and strength of the Concentrically Braced Frame (CBF), due to the buckling of its diagonal members, it is not a suitable system in high seismic regions. Among the offered methods to overcome the shortcoming, utilizing a metallic damper is considered as an appropriate idea to enhance the behavior of Concentrically Braced Frames (CBFs). Therefore, in this paper, an innovative steel damper is proposed, which is investigated experimentally and numerically. Moreover, a parametrical study was carried out to evaluate the effect of the mechanism (shear, shear-flexural, and flexural) considering buckling mode (elastic, inelastic, and plastic) on the behavior of the damper. Besides, the necessary formulas based on the parametrical study were presented to predict the behavior of the damper that they showed good agreement with finite element (FE) results. Both experimental and numerical results confirmed that dampers with the shear mechanism in all buckling modes have a better performance than other dampers. Accordingly, the FE results indicated that the shear damper has greater ultimate strength than the flexural damper by 32%, 31%, and 56%, respectively, for plates with elastic, inelastic, and plastic buckling modes. Also, the shear damper has a greater stiffness than the flexural damper by 43%, 26%, and 53%, respectively, for dampers with elastic, inelastic, and plastic buckling modes.

Mitigation of the seismic response of a cable-stayed bridge with soil-structure-interaction effect using tuned mass dampers

Denise-Penelope N. Kontoni,Ahmed Abdelraheem Farghaly 국제구조공학회 2019 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.69 No.6

A cable-stayed bridge (CSB) is one of the most complicated structures, especially when subjected to earthquakes and taking into consideration the effect of soil-structure-interaction (SSI). A CSB of a 500 m mid-span was modeled by the SAP2000 software and was subjected to four different earthquakes. To mitigate the harmful effect of the vibration generated from each earthquake, four mitigation schemes were used and compared with the non-mitigation model to determine the effectiveness of each scheme, when applying on the SSI or fixed CSB models. For earthquake mitigation, tuned mass damper (TMD) systems and spring dampers with different placements were used to help reduce the seismic response of the CBS model. The pylons, the mid-span of the deck and the pylon-deck connections are the best TMDs and spring dampers placements to achieve an effective reduction of the earthquake response on such bridges.

TMD effectiveness for steel high-rise building subjected to wind or earthquake including soil-structure interaction

Denise-Penelope N. Kontoni,Ahmed Abdelraheem Farghaly 한국풍공학회 2020 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.30 No.4

A steel high-rise building (HRB) with 15 stories was analyzed under the dynamic load of wind or four different earthquakes taking into consideration the effect of soil-structure interaction (SSI) and using tuned mass damper (TMD) devices to resist these types of dynamic loads. The behavior of the steel HRB as a lightweight structure subjected to dynamic loads is critical especially for wind load with effect maximum at the top of the building and reduced until the base of the building, while on the contrary for seismic load with effect maximum at the base and reduced until the top of the building. The TMDs as a successful passive resistance method against the effect of wind or earthquakes is used to mitigate their effects on the steel high-rise building. Lateral displacements, top accelerations and straining actions were computed to judge the effectiveness of the TMDs on the response of the steel HRB subjected to wind or earthquakes.

Effect of length and content of steel fibers on the flexural and impact performance of self-compacting cementitious composite panels

Denise-Penelope N. Kontoni,Behnaz Jahangiri,Ahmad Dalvand,Mozafar Shokri-Rad Techno-Press 2023 Advances in concrete construction Vol.15 No.1

One of the important problems of concrete placing is the concrete compaction, which can affect the strength, durability and apparent quality of the hardened concrete. Therefore, vibrating operations might be accompanied by much noise and the need for training the involved workers, while inappropriate functioning can result in many problems. One of the most important methods to solve these problems is to utilize self-compacting cementitious composites instead of the normal concrete. Due to their benefits of these new materials, such as high tensile, compressive, and flexural strength, have drawn the researchers' attention to this type of cementitious composite more than ever. In this experimental investigation, six mixing designs were selected as a base to acquire the best mechanical properties. Moreover, forty-eight rectangular composite panels with dimensions of 300 mm × 400 mm and two thickness values of 30 mm and 50 mm were cast and tested to compare the flexural and impact energy absorption. Steel fibers with volume fractions of 0%, 0.5% and 1% and with lengths of 25 mm and 50 mm were imposed in order to prepare the required cement composites. In this research, the composite panels with two thicknesses of 30 mm and 50 mm, classified into 12 different groups, were cast and tested under three-point flexural bending and repeated drop weight impact test, respectively. Also, the examination and comparison of flexural energy absorption with impact energy absorption were one of the other aims of this research. The obtained results showed that the addition of fibers of longer length improved the mechanical properties of specimens. On the other hand, the findings of the flexural and impact test on the self-compacting composite panels indicated a stronger influence of the long-length fibers.

Nonlinear analysis of a riverine platform under earthquake and environmental loads

Farghaly, Ahmed Abdelraheem,Kontoni, Denise-Penelope N. Techno-Press 2018 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.26 No.6

A realistic FEM structural model is developed to predict the behavior, load transfer, force distribution and performance of a riverine platform under earthquake and environmental loads. The interaction between the transfer plate and the piles supporting the platform is investigated. Transfer plate structures have the ability to redistribute the loads from the superstructure above to piles group below, to provide safe transits of loads to piles group and thus to the soil, without failure of soil or structural elements. The distribution of piles affects the distribution of stress on both soil and platform. A materially nonlinear earthquake response spectrum analysis was performed on this riverine platform subjected to earthquake and environmental loads. A fixed connection between the piles and the platform is better in the design of the piles and the prospect of piles collapse is low while a hinged connection makes the prospect of damage high because of the larger displacements. A fixed connection between the piles and the platform is the most demanding case in the design of the platform slab (transfer plate) because of the high stress values developed.

Comparisons of smart damping treatments based on FEM modeling of electromechanical impedance

Providakis, C.P.,Kontoni, D.P.N.,Voutetaki, M.E.,Stavroulaki, M.E. Techno-Press 2008 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.4 No.1

In this paper the authors address the problem of comparing two different smart damping techniques using the numerical modelling of the electro-mechanical impedance for plate structures partially treated with active constrained layer damping treatments. The paper summarizes the modelling procedures including a finite element formulation capable of accounting for the observed behaviour. The example used is a smart cantilever plate structure containing a viscoelastic material (VEM) layer sandwiched between a piezoelectric constrained layer and the host vibrating plate. Comparisons are made between active constrained layer and active damping only and based on the resonance frequency amplitudes of the electrical admittance numerically evaluated at the surface of the piezoelectric model of the vibrating structure.

Train induced dynamic response of a pedestrian tunnel under a four-track surface railway for different soil water contents

Farghaly, Ahmed Abdelraheem,Kontoni, Denise-Penelope N. Techno-Press 2018 Geomechanics & engineering Vol.16 No.4

A reinforced concrete pedestrian tunnel is constructed under a four-track surface railway. Heavy rainfall and soil exposure to drying lead to soil with different water content throughout the year. A railway is an open utility that is subject to rainfall without control on the quantity of the water on it and when there is a tunnel under a railway, the water content of the soil around the tunnel is very influential. This research shows the effects of change of water content in the soil around a pedestrian tunnel under a four-track surface railway. The pedestrian tunnel and the soil block around the tunnel are modeled in 3D by the FEM and are studied under the vibrations induced by the moving trains on the four-track surface railway for different soil water contents and the effects of the soil water content on the dynamic behavior of the tunnel and the surrounding soil are demonstrated.

Mitigation of seismic pounding between two L-shape in plan high-rise buildings considering SSI effect

Ahmed Abdelraheem Farghaly,Denise-Penelope N. Kontoni Techno-Press 2023 Coupled systems mechanics Vol.12 No.3

Unsymmetrical high-rise buildings (HRBs) subjected to earthquake represent a difficult challenge to structural engineering, especially taking into consideration the effect of soil-structure interaction (SSI). L-shape in plan HRBs suffer from big straining actions when are subjected to an earthquake (in x- or y-direction, or both x- and y- directions). Additionally, the disastrous effect of seismic pounding may appear between two adjacent unsymmetrical HRBs. For two unsymmetrical L-shape in plan HRBs subjected to earthquake in three different direction cases (x, y, or both), including the SSI effect, different methods are investigated to mitigate the seismic pounding and thus protect these types of structures under the earthquake effect. The most effective technique to mitigate the seismic pounding and help in seismically protecting these adjacent HRBs is found herein to be the use of a combination of pounding tuned mass dampers (PTMDs) all over the height (at the connection points) together with tuned mass dampers (TMDs) on the top of both buildings.

Comparisons of smart damping treatments based on FEM modeling of electromechanical impedance

C. P. Providakis,D.-P. N. Kontoni,M. E. Voutetaki,M. E. Stavroulaki 국제구조공학회 2008 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.4 No.1

In this paper the authors address the problem of comparing two different smart damping techniques using the numerical modelling of the electro-mechanical impedance for plate structures partially treated with active constrained layer damping treatments. The paper summarizes the modelling procedures including a finite element formulation capable of accounting for the observed behaviour. The example used is a smart cantilever plate structure containing a viscoelastic material (VEM) layer sandwiched between a piezoelectric constrained layer and the host vibrating plate. Comparisons are made between active constrained layer and active damping only and based on the resonance frequency amplitudes of the electrical admittance numerically evaluated at the surface of the piezoelectric model of the vibrating structure.