Civil Engineering Commons^™

Structural Impacts Of Super Heavy Load (Shl) Vehicles On Transportation Infrastructure, Ali Morovatdar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Operation of non-conventional Super Heavy Load (SHL) vehicles is an ongoing challenge for transportation stakeholders and the traveling public across the nation. Despite facilitating the movement of heavy, large, and non-divisible loads, passages of such vehicles with complex loading configurations that typically weigh several folds of the permissible weight limits set forth by regulatory agencies have been adversely affecting the structural integrity of pavement facilities. This translates into accelerated damage of pavement structures, which in turn poses safety concerns for users of the transportation facilities. Accurate quantification of such detrimental impacts is the precursor to preserve the existing transportation facilities. …

Integrating Manufacturing Geometric Imperfections In The Inelastic Behavior Modeling Of Joints Used In Three-Dimensional Structures, Alfonso Andres Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Three-dimensional structures follow design practices on the common assumption that joints are either rigid, or pinned. However, the non-linear behavior of engagement of the joints is required to be incorporated into the analysis. This research is intended to incorporate manufacturing geometric imperfections into the mechanical analysis of reticulated space structures jointing systems. Imperfect jointing systems deviate from the as-designed models in such a way that the location of the connecting surfaces does not follow the designed interaction path between the component elements. However, current structural analysis methodologies do not consider manufacturing geometric imperfections and often fail to consider the stresses …

Modeling The Effects Of Manufacturing Geometric Imperfections In The Buckling Analysis Of Three-Dimensional Structures, Juan Carlos Salcido

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Reticulated three-dimensional structures follow design practices based on the common assumption that joints are either rigid, or pinned. However, the actual non-linear behavior of the jointing system interaction is required to be incorporated into the analysis of the structure to accurately predict its buckling stability. Besides, currently, there is a concern on how manufacturing imperfections of these jointing systems affect the global behavior of three-dimensional structures. This Dissertation incorporates and captures the effect that manufacturing geometric imperfections in the fir-tree jointing system produce in the non-linear buckling behavior of three-dimensional structures.

To understand the effect that initial manufacturing imperfections of …

Enhanced Finite Element Modeling Of The Thermo-Mechanical Responses Of Jointed Pcc Pavements Under Environmental And Traffic Loads, Mohammad Ali Zokaei Ashtiani

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP) are the most commonly used type of rigid pavement systems and the accurate modeling of their thermo-mechanical responses is of primary importance in a mechanistic-empirical pavement design procedure. In JPCP, the temperature gradient and resulting slab shape play a crucial role in the magnitude of stresses and deflections caused by the superimposed traffic loads. Temperature gradients through the slab depth can produce thermal curling in slabs and can also produce slab expansion and contraction, which leads to the generation of frictional tractions between slabs and foundation. The prediction of these frictional tractions is complicated by …