SIMMER extension for multigroup energy structure search using genetic algorithm with different fitness functions

Mattia Massone,Fabrizio Gabrielli,Andrei Rineiski 한국원자력학회 2017 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.49 No.6

The multigroup transport theory is the basis for many neutronics modules. A significant point of the cross-section (XS) generation procedure is the choice of the energy groups' boundaries in the XS libraries, which must be carefully selected as an unsuitable energy meshing can easily lead to inaccurate results. This decision can require considerable effort and is particularly difficult for the common user, especially if not well-versed in reactor physics. This work investigates a genetic algorithm-based tool which selects an appropriate XS energy structure (ES) specific for the considered problem, to be used for the condensation of a fine multigroup library. The procedure is accelerated by results storage and fitness calculation speedup and can be easily parallelized. The extension is applied to the coupled code SIMMER and tested on the European Sustainable Nuclear Industrial Initiative (ESNII+) Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration (ASTRID)-like reactor system with different fitness functions. The results show that, when the libraries are condensed based on the ESs suggested by the algorithm, the code actually returns the correct multiplication factor, in both reference and voided conditions. The computational effort reduction obtained by using the condensed library rather than the fine one is assessed and is much higher than the time required for the ES search.

Polyvinyl-alcohol fiber-reinforced concrete with coarse aggregate in beam elements

Leonardo M. Massone,Jaime Reveco,Alejandro Arenas,Fabian Rojas Techno-Press 2023 Advances in computational design Vol.8 No.2

The use of fibers has been commonly considered in engineered cementitious composites, but their behavior with coarse aggregate in concrete has not been studied significantly, which is needed to meet structural performance objectives for design, such as ductility. This research analyzes the behavior of fiber-reinforced concrete with coarse aggregate with 0.62%, 1.23%, and 2% PVA (Polyvinyl-alcohol) content, varying the maximum aggregate size. Tensile (direct and indirect) and compressive concrete tests were performed. The PVA fiber addition in coarse aggregate concrete increased the ductility in compression, especially for the fiber with a larger aspect ratio, with a minor impact on strength. In addition, the tensile tests showed that the PVA fiber increased the tensile strength of concrete with coarse aggregate and, more significantly, improved the ductility. A selected mixture was used to build short and slender reinforced concrete beams to assess the behavior of structural members. PVA fiber addition in short beams changed the failure mode from shear to flexure, increasing the deflection capacity. On the other hand, the slender beam tests revealed negligible impact with the use of PVA.

Cumulative damage in RC frame buildings - The 2017 Mexico earthquake case

Leonardo M. Massone,Diego Aceituno,Julian Carrillo Techno-Press 2023 Advances in computational design Vol.8 No.1

The Puebla-Morelos Earthquake (Mw 7.1) occurred in Mexico in 2017 causing 44 buildings to collapse in Mexico City. This work evaluates the non-linear response of a 6-story reinforced concrete (RC) frame prototype model with masonry infill walls on upper floors. The prototype model was designed using provisions prescribed before 1985 and was subjected to seismic excitations recorded during the earthquakes of 1985 and 2017 in different places in Mexico City. The building response was assessed through a damage index (DI) that considers low-cycle fatigue of the steel reinforcement in columns of the first floor, where the steel was modeled including buckling as was observed in cases after the 2017 earthquake. Isocurves were generated with 72 seismic records in Mexico City representing the level of iso-demand on the structure. These isocurves were compared with the location of 16 collapsed (first-floor column failure) building cases consistent with the prototype model. The isocurves for a value greater than 1 demarcate the location where fatigue failure was expected, which is consistent with the location of 2 of the 16 cases studied. However, a slight increase in axial load (5%) or decrease in column cross-section (5%) had a significant detrimental effect on the cumulated damage, increasing the intensity of the isocurves and achieving congruence with 9 of the 16 cases, and having the other 7 cases less than 2 km away. Including column special detailing (tight stirrup spacing and confined concrete) was the variable with the greatest impact to control the cumulated damage, which was consistent with the absence of severe damage in buildings built in the 70s and 80s.

Validation of the seismic response of an RC frame building with masonry infill walls - The case of the 2017 Mexico earthquake

Albornoz, Tania C.,Massone, Leonardo M.,Carrillo, Julian,Hernandez, Francisco,Alberto, Yolanda Techno-Press 2022 Advances in computational design Vol.7 No.3

In 2017, an intraplate earthquake of Mw 7.1 occurred 120 km from Mexico City (CDMX). Most collapsed structural buildings stroked by the earthquake were flat slab systems joined to reinforced concrete (RC) columns, unreinforced masonry, confined masonry, and dual systems. This article presents the simulated response of an actual six-story RC frame building with masonry infill walls that did not collapse during the 2017 earthquake. It has a structural system similar to that of many of the collapsed buildings and is located in a high seismic amplification zone. Five 3D numerical models were used in the study to model the seismic response of the building. The building dynamic properties were identified using an ambient vibration test (AVT), enabling validation of the building's finite element models. Several assumptions were made to calibrate the numerical model to the properties identified from the AVT, such as the presence of adjacent buildings, variations in masonry properties, soil-foundation-structure interaction, and the contribution of non-structural elements. The results showed that the infill masonry wall would act as a compression strut and crack along the transverse direction because the shear stresses in the original model (0.85 MPa) exceeded the shear strength (0.38 MPa). In compression, the strut presents lower stresses (3.42 MPa) well below its capacity (6.8 MPa). Although the non-structural elements were not considered to be part of the lateral resistant system, the results showed that these elements could contribute by resisting part of the base shear force, reaching a force of 82 kN.

A Hysteretic Constitutive Model for Reinforced Concrete Panel Elements

Kutay Orakcal,Leonardo M. Massone,Denizhan Ulugtekin 한국콘크리트학회 2019 International Journal of Concrete Structures and M Vol.13 No.7

A simple yet effective constitutive model-referred to as the “Fixed Strut Angle Model” (FSAM)-is presented in this paper for simulating the nonlinear axial/shear behavior of reinforced concrete membrane (panel) elements subjected to generalized and reversed cyclic loading conditions. In the formulation of the FSAM, normal stresses in cracked concrete are calculated along fixed crack (strut) directions. Shear stresses developing along crack surfaces, which are calculated using a simple friction-based constitutive relationship, are superimposed with the concrete stresses along the struts, for obtaining the total stress field in concrete. Model predictions were compared with panel tests results available in the literature, at various global and local response levels. The model was demonstrated to reasonably capture the overall response characteristics of reinforced concrete panels, including hysteretic shear stress vs. strain behavior, shear stress capacity, hysteretic shear stiffness attributes, ductility, pinching behavior, governing failure mode, principal strain and stress directions, and local deformations.

Ensemble techniques and hybrid intelligence algorithms for shear strength prediction of squat reinforced concrete walls

Mohammad Sadegh Barkhordari,Leonardo M. Massone Techno-Press 2023 Advances in computational design Vol.8 No.1

Squat reinforced concrete (SRC) shear walls are a critical part of the structure for both office/residential buildings and nuclear structures due to their significant role in withstanding seismic loads. Despite this, empirical formulae in current design standards and published studies demonstrate a considerable disparity in predicting SRC wall shear strength. The goal of this research is to develop and evaluate hybrid and ensemble artificial neural network (ANN) models. State-of-the-art population-based algorithms are used in this research for hybrid intelligence algorithms. Six models are developed, including Honey Badger Algorithm (HBA) with ANN (HBA-ANN), Hunger Games Search with ANN (HGS-ANN), fitness-distance balance coyote optimization algorithm (FDB-COA) with ANN (FDB-COA-ANN), Averaging Ensemble (AE) neural network, Snapshot Ensemble (SE) neural network, and Stacked Generalization (SG) ensemble neural network. A total of 434 test results of SRC walls is utilized to train and assess the models. The results reveal that the SG model not only minimizes prediction variance but also produces predictions (with R²= 0.99) that are superior to other models.

Failure Mode Detection of Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls Using Ensemble Deep Neural Networks

Mohammad Sadegh Barkhordari,Leonardo M. Massone 한국콘크리트학회 2022 International Journal of Concrete Structures and M Vol.16 No.4

Reinforced concrete structural walls (RCSWs) are one of the most efficient lateral force-resisting systems used in buildings, providing sufficient strength, stiffness, and deformation capacities to withstand the forces generated during earthquake ground motions. Identifying the failure mode of the RCSWs is a critical task that can assist engineers and designers in choosing appropriate retrofitting solutions. This study evaluates the efficiency of three ensemble deep neural network models, including the model averaging ensemble, weighted average ensemble, and integrated stacking ensemble for predicting the failure mode of the RCSWs. The ensemble deep neural network models are compared against previous studies that used traditional well-known ensemble models (AdaBoost, XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost) and traditional machine learning methods (Naïve Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbors, Decision Tree, and Random Forest). The weighted average ensemble model is proposed as the best-suited prediction model for identifying the failure mode since it has the highest accuracy, precision, and recall among the alternative models. In addition, since complex and advanced machine learning-based models are commonly referred to as black-box, the SHapley Additive exPlanation method is also used to interpret the model workflow and illustrate the importance and contribution of the components that impact determining the failure mode of the RCSWs.

Seismic Performance of High-rise Concrete Buildings in Chile

Lagos, Rene,Kupfer, Marianne,Lindenberg, Jorge,Bonelli, Patricio,Saragoni, Rodolfo,Guendelman, Tomas,Massone, Leonardo,Boroschek, Ruben,Yanez, Fernando Council on Tall Building and Urban Habitat Korea 2012 International journal of high-rise buildings Vol.1 No.3

Chile is characterized by the largest seismicity in the world which produces strong earthquakes every $83{\pm}9years$ in the Central part of Chile, where it is located Santiago, the capital of Chile. The short interval between large earthquakes magnitude 8.5 has conditioned the Chilean seismic design practice to achieve almost operational performance level, despite the fact that the Chilean Code declares a scope of life safe performance level. Several Indexes have been widely used throughout the years in Chile to evaluate the structural characteristics of concrete buildings, with the intent to find a correlation between general structural conception and successful seismic performance. The Indexes presented are related only to global response of buildings under earthquake loads and not to the behavior or design of individual elements. A correlation between displacement demand and seismic structural damage is presented, using the index $H_o/T$ and the concrete compressive strain ${\varepsilon}_c$. Also the Chilean seismic design codes pre and post 2010 Maule earthquake are reviewed and the practice in seismic design vs Performance Based Design is presented. Performance Based Design procedures are not included in the Chilean seismic design code for buildings, nevertheless the earthquake experience has shown that the response of the Chilean buildings has been close to operational. This can be attributed to the fact that the drift of most engineered buildings designed in accordance with the Chilean practice falls below 0.5%. It is also known by experience that for frequent and even occasional earthquakes, buildings responded elastically and thus with "fully operational" performance. Taking the above into account, it can be said that, although the "basic objective" of the Chilean code is similar to the SEAOC VISION2000 criteria, the actual performance for normal buildings is closer to the "Essential/Hazardous objective".

High-Strength Reinforcing Steel Bars: Low Cycle Fatigue Behavior Using RGB Methodology

Jorge E. Egger,Fabian R. Rojas,Leonardo M. Massone 한국콘크리트학회 2021 International Journal of Concrete Structures and M Vol.15 No.5

Low cycle fatigue life of high-strength reinforcing steel bars (ASTM A706 Grade 80), using photogrammetry by RGB methodology is evaluated. Fatigue tests are performed on specimens under constant axial displacement with total strain amplitudes ranging from 0.01 to 0.05. The experimental observations indicate that buckling of high-strength reinforcing bars results in a damaging degradation of their fatigue life performance as the slenderness ratio increases, including an early rebar failure as the total strain amplitude increases since it achieves the plastic range faster. In addition to this, the results show that the ratio of the ultimate tensile strength to yield strength satisfies the minimum of 1.25 specified in ASTM A706 for reinforcement. On the other hand, the RGB methodology indicates that the axial strains measured by photogrammetry provide more accurate data since the registered results by the traditional experimental setup do not detect second-order effects, such as slippage or lengthening of the specimens within the clamps. Moreover, the RGB filter is faster than digital image correlation (DIC) because the RGB methodology requires a fewer computational cost than DIC algorithms. The RGB methodology allows to reduce the total strain amplitude up to 45% compared to the results obtained by the traditional setup. Finally, models relating total strain amplitude with half-cycles to failure and total strain amplitude with total energy dissipated for multiple slenderness ratios (L/d of 5, 10, and 15) are obtained.

INPUSTRIAL STRATEGY FOR GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS OF KOREAN INDUSTIES 7

Rob Masson,Kap-Young Jeong 한국경제연구원 1996 한국경제연구원 연구보고서 Vol.1996 No.26