Structural Engineering Commons^™

Computationally Modeling The Human-Structure Interaction Response Of An Occupied Cantilevered Structure, Brennan Smith

Honors Theses

There is a limited understanding of the impact that passive human occupants have on a dynamic structural system, referred to as Human-Structure Interaction (HSI). Cantilevers are naturally prone to excessive vibrations due to their long unsupported spans, and cantilevered structures such as those commonly found in the seating area of a stadium facility or concert hall are designed to support a high density of occupancy.

This study determined that HSI in cantilevered structures can be modeled using a simple two-degree-of-freedom system. The results of the model were validated by data that was collected on a small-scale laboratory structure intentionally designed …

Experimental Investigation Of The Long-Term Bending Deflection And Creep Performance Of Cross-Laminated Timber (Clt), Aaron Desantis

All Theses

Rising popularity in mass timber construction for residential and commercial projects has escalated the need to develop and increase understanding of mass timber products both from a strength and serviceability perspective. For cross-laminated timber (CLT) there is a significant lack of research on the creep characteristics also known as long-term deflection behavior. Creep is particularly important for products such as CLT that are used for floors with longer spans. Full-scale creep testing was conducted using 5-ply CLT panels over the course of 6 months in a controlled environment under dry service condition. Testing resulted in average final deflections 1.73 times …

Lateral-Torsional Instability And Biaxial Flexure Of Continuous Gfrp Beams Including Warping And Shear Deformations, Waverly G. Hampton

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation presents an experimental and theoretical study of the lateral-torsional instability and biaxial flexure of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) beams including warping and shear deformation effects. The theoretical analysis is based on three simultaneous differential equations of equilibrium with new terms added to account for shear deformation effects. To solve these equations, algorithms based upon a central finite-difference approach are then developed. The experimental study is conducted on a series of single- and multi-span beams subjected to concentrated loads. The predicted beam behavior agreed well with that observed experimentally. The investigation revealed that the ASCE-LRFD Prestandard for pultruded …

Structural Design Of Pool House In The City Of Columbia, Nathan F. Gates

Senior Theses

This report presents a structural design for a one-story pool house in the City of Columbia. The most important part of the project was determining critical horizontal and vertical loads, and designing each member in accordance to those governing loads. The loads we analyzed were dynamic, dead, live and seismic. By means of the LRFD method, the greatest possible load combination was calculated, combining the previously mentioned loads. These load combinations were different for each analysis, as the loading pressures will change depending on what structural system is being analyzed. This comprises the large part of the report and of …

Thermal Bridging In Concrete Sandwich Walls, Taylor J. Sorensen, Robert J. Thomas, Sattar Dorafshan, Marc Maguire

Faculty Publications

Energy efficiency requires continuity of the insulation system in structural and architectural details.

Effect Of Column Axial Load On Skewed Smf Rbs Connection Demands, Clovis Desrochers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Steel buildings in high seismic areas often require special structural systems to transfer large lateral forces induced by earthquake accelerations. The selection of an appropriate seismic steel system (braced frame, moment frame, shear wall, etc.) is often influenced by architectural considerations. Moment frame configurations offer the most architectural flexibility, but are limited by code prequalification requirements that limit the use of non-orthogonal (skewed) beam-column connection geometries. A recent study has investigated laterally skewed moment frame connections, indicating that skew increases the potential for column twist and column flange yielding; however, it is unclear how realistic column axial loads will affect …

Daylighting And Thermo-Electrical Performance Of An Autonomous Suspended Particle Device Evacuated Glazing, Aritra Ghosh

Doctoral

Suspended particle device (SPD) glazing is an AC powered switchable glazing. PV powered SPD evacuated (vacuum) glazing was proposed with the potential of reducing the heating demand, cooling demand and artificial lighting demand of a building. To achieve an autonomous SPD vacuum glazing, semi empirical simulation and outdoor characterisation was explored in this thesis. Transmission of SPD glazing (area 0.058 m2) varied from 5% when opaque to 55% when transparent in the presence of 110 V, 0.07 W AC supply was characterised in outdoor test cell in Dublin. The SPD glazing has variable spectral transmission in the presence of variable …

Weighing The Financial And Sustainable Benefits Of High Performance Structures In Seismically Active Regions, Alia Talina Barajas

Master's Theses

This thesis investigated the potential advantages and disadvantages of high performance structures by comparing the financial and environmental impacts of a performance based four-story office building to one designed to meet minimum code-level requirements.

To generate a comparison, the lateral system of a four-story structure utilizing buckling restrained braced frames was designed to meet code-level requirements per the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE 7-05) and again to meet the immediate occupancy criteria defined by ASCE 41-06 Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings. The following was then performed:

• Test the structural performance of …

Validation Of Adaptive Aeroelastic Finite Element Program For Two Dimensional Flow Past A Suspension Bridge Girder Section Using Unstructured Grids., Shanique Murray

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The flow around suspension bridge decks was traditionally investigated using wind tunnel experiments. Computer modeling, an alternative to wind tunnel testing is now being used to simulate the wind flow around a bridge cross section. This alternative is less expensive and takes less time compared to wind tunnel experiments. The motion of flow around a bridge deck is described by a set of partial differential equations called Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations. Flow features such as velocity, pressure and vorticity are predicted by solving these equations. These flow features are then used to compute flow parameters such as aerodynamic drag, lift and …

Undergraduate Summer Research In Structural Engineering, Norbert J. Delatte

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

For the last seven years, a summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates site in structural engineering, funded by the National Science Foundation, has operated at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During this time, 33 students from 22 colleges and universities have participated in the site. Participants are recruited nationally and have come from as far away as California and Puerto Rico. The program is intended to provide students interested in graduate studies with an introduction to research methods, and to provide students who will not continue their studies past a bachelor of science in civil engineering with a better understanding …

Closure To “Another Look At The L’Ambiance Plaza Collapse,” By Rachel Martin And Norbert J. Delatte, Norbert J. Delatte

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Concrete Cracking In Coastal Areas, S. R. Mpinzire

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The paper discusses cracking and corrosion of reinforced concrete (RC) structures in coastal zones where aggressive action of salt burdened air is the primary cause of concrete deterioration. Case studies are presented, along with discussion of possible remedies including local demolition, reconstruction and epoxy injection as well as concrete treatment.

Transport Matrices Of Finite Beams Resting On Elastic Foundations, M. W. Giger

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

A method of derivation of the coefficients of the transport matrix for a finite element resting on one and two-parameter elastic foundation soils is outlined. The coefficients are summarized for both the Bernoulli–Euler and the Timoshenko beam model in tabular form, for general reference. In addition, bounds on the parameters describing beam/soil flexure, beam and soil shear, which govern the validity of the two-parameter elastic solutions are provided in graphical form.