In this paper, the dynamic response of saturated and layered soils under harmonic waves is modeled using the finite element method. The numerical results are then verified by corresponding analytical solutions which are also developed by the author. The equations governing the dynamics of porous media are written in their fully dynamic form and possible simplifications are introduced based on the presence of inertial terms associated with solid and fluid phases. The response variations are presented in terms of pore water pressure and shear stress distributions within the layers. It is determined that a set of non-dimensional parameters and their respective ratios as a result of layering play a major role in the dynamic response.

This study presents static and dynamic assessments on the steel structures. Pushover analysis (POA) and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) were run on moment resisting steel frames. The IDA study involves successive scaling and application of each accelerogram followed by assessment of the maximum response. Steel frames are subjected to nonlinear inelastic time history analysis for 14 different scaled ground motions, 7 near field and 7 far field. The results obtained from POA on the 3, 6 and 9 storey steel frames show consistent results for both uniform and triangular lateral loading. Uniform loading shows that the steel frames exhibits higher base shear than the triangular loading. The IDA results show that the far field ground motions has caused all steel frame design within the research to collapse while near field ground motion only caused some steel frames to collapse. The POA can be used to estimate the performance-based-seismic-design (PBSD) limit states of the steel frames with consistency while the IDA seems to be quite inconsistent. It is concluded that the POA can be consistently used to estimate the limit states of steel frames while limit state estimations from IDA requires carefully selected ground motions with considerations of important parameters.

To develop a methodology for evaluating fire resistance of high strength Q460 steel columns, the load bearing capacity of high strength Q460 steel columns is investigated. The current approach of evaluating load bearing capacity of mild steel columns at room temperature is extended to high strength Q460 steel columns with due consideration to high temperature properties of high strength Q460 steel. The critical temperature of high strength Q460 steel column is presented and compared with mild steel columns. The proposed approach was validated by comparing the predicted load capacity with that evaluated through finite element analysis and test results. In addition, parametric studies were carried out by employing the proposed approach to study the effect of residual stress and geometrical imperfections. Results from parametric studies show that, only for a long column (slenderness higher than 75), the magnitude and distribution mode of residual stress have little influence on ultimate load bearing capacity of high strength Q460 steel columns, but the geometrical imperfections have significant influence on any columns. At a certain slenderness ratio, the stability factor first decreases and then increases with temperature rise.

This study presents the results of an experimental investigation that compares the mechanical properties, fracture behavior, creep, and shrinkage of a chemically-based self-consolidating concrete (SCC) mix with that of a corresponding conventional concrete (CC) mix. The CC and SCC mix designs followed conventional proportioning in terms of aggregate type and content, cement content, air content, water-cementitiuos materials (w/cm) ratio, and workability. Then, using only chemical admixtures, the authors converted the CC mix to an SCC mix with all of the necessary passing, filling, flowability, and stability requirements typically found in SCC. The high fluidity was achieved with a polycarboxylate-based high-range water-reducing admixture, while the enhanced stability was accomplished with an organic, polymer-based viscosity-modifying admixture. The comparison indicated that the SCC and CC mixes had virtually identical tensile splitting strengths, flexural strengths, creep, and shrinkage. However, the SCC mix showed higher compressive strengths and fracture energies than the corresponding CC mix.

In recent years, an emerging technology termed high-strength concrete (HSC) has become popular in construction industry. Present study describes an experimental research on the behavior of high-strength concrete beams in ultimate and service state. Six simply supported beams were tested, by applying comprising two symmetric concentrated loads. Tests are reported in this study on the flexural behavior of high-strength reinforced concrete (HSRC) beams made with coarse and fine aggregate together with Microsilica. Test parameter considered includes effect of being compressive reinforcement. Based on the obtained results, the behavior of such members is more deeply reviewed. Also a comparison between theoretical and experimental results is reported here. The beams were made from concrete having compressive strength of 66.81–77.72 N/mm² and percentage reinforcement ratio (ρ/ρ_b) in the range of 0.56% – 1.20%. The ultimate moment for the tested beams was found to be in a good agreement with that of the predicted ultimate moment based on ACI 318-11, ACI 363 and CSA-04 provisions. The predicted deflection based classical formulation based on code provisions for serviceability requirements is found to underestimate the maximum deflection of HSC reinforced beams at service load.

In this paper, an advanced explicit finite volume flow model in two-dimensions is presented for simulating supercritical coastal flows and morphological changes in a tidal/coastal inlet and barrier islands due to storm surges and waves. This flow model is coupled with existing wave-action model and sediment transport model. The resulting integrated coastal process model is capable of simulating flows induced by extreme conditions such as waves, surge tides, river flood flows, etc., and morphological changes induced by rapid coastal currents and waves. This developed supercritical flow model is based on the solution of the conservative form of the nonlinear shallow water equations with the effects of the Coriolis force, uneven bathymetry, wind stress, and wave radiation stresses. The forward Euler scheme is used for the unsteady term; and the convective term is discretized using the Godunov-type shock-capturing scheme along with the HLL Riemann solver on non-uniform rectilinear grids. The accuracy of the developed model is investigated by solving an experimental dam-break test case. Barrier island breaching, overflow and overwash due to severe storm attack are simulated and the predicted morphological changes associated to the events are analyzed to investigate the applicability of the model in a coast where all the physical forces are present.

The paper examines the correlations to obtain rough estimates of the shear wave velocity V_S from non-seismic dilatometer tests (DMT) and cone penetration tests (CPT). While the direct measurement of V_S is obviously preferable, these correlations may turn out useful in various circumstances. The experimental results at six international research sites suggest that the DMT predictions of V_S from the parameters I_D (material index), K_D (horizontal stress index), M_DMT (constrained modulus) are more reliable and consistent than the CPT predictions from q_c (cone resistance), presumably because of the availability, by DMT, of the stress history index K_D.

The construction of the North Square Shopping Center of the Shanghai South Railway Station is a large scale complex top-down deep excavation project. The excavation is adjacent to several current and newly planned Metro lines, and influenced by a neighboring Exchange Station excavation. The highly irregular geometry of this excavation greatly increases the complexity in 3D Finite Element modeling. The advanced numerical modeling described in this paper includes detailed structural and geotechnical behavior. Important features are considered in the analysis, e.g., 1) the small-strain stiffness of the soil, 2) the construction joints in the diaphragm wall, 3) the shrinkage in the concrete floor slabs and beams, 4) the complex construction sequences, and 5) the shape effect of the deep excavation. The numerical results agree well with the field data, and some valuable conclusions are generated.