Experimental Study on Gasketed Bell and Spigot Joint Behaviour of Lined-Corrugated HDPE Pipe Subjected to Normal Fault

Although structural response of pipelines has been studied in relation to different geohazards, few studies have focused on the behaviour of flexible pipeline joints. In this paper, the response of a bell and spigot joint in a 600 mm diameter lined-corrugated High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe was investigated under the differential ground movements imposed using a facility that simulates a normal fault. Two experiments were undertaken in this facility. In the first experiment, the kinematic responses of the pipe joint (i.e. axial, shear displacements and rotational angles) were measured using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and string potentiometers. Strains were also monitored using optical fibres. In the second experiment, the pipe was sealed and leakage of the joint was captured through monitoring of internal vacuum pressure of the pipe. The results show that axial shortening, rotational angle and shear displacement of the pipe joint increased with increasing fault offsets. The joint began to leak when axial shortening, rotational angle and shear displacement of the pipe joint were 0.65 mm, 0.44° and 3.40 mm, respectively, and the joint clearly lost its functionality when those values were 0.85 mm, 0.58° and 4.32 mm.

High-rise building analysis considering construction stages: floor structure stiffness influence over vertical element axial shortening

<p>The studies of building structures accounting construction stages considered the optimization of embedded materials both at the design stage and at the construction stage. Axial shortening of the vertical load-bearing elements under the effect of gravitational loads and due to the characteristics of the building materials is an important point of structural analysis of tall buildings that should be considered. The present study analyzes the influence of the floor structure stiffness and the vertical load-bearing element / floor structure connection over the axial shortening of walls and columns which affects the distribution of normal forces in them. A computational model of a building structure with simplified geometry and loads is considered to emphasize the impact of the stiffness of the floor structure. The results of the solution of several variants of calculation models are compared. Generalized conclusions are given in the end.</p>

Post-Fire Performance of Square Concrete-Filled Steel Tube Columns under Uni-Axial Load

This paper presents experimental studies on the post-fire performance of concrete-filled steel tube (CSFT) columns under uni-axial load. The structural responses and axial load capacity of CSFT columns after exposure to elevated temperatures are investigated and discussed. All of the specimens are 750 mm in height, the nominal cross-section of the specimen is 150 mm x 150 mm, and have cylinder compressive strength of 18 MPa. The primary test parameters to be measured during the uni-axial compression test are wall thicknesses of the square tube (3.0 mm, 4.5 mm and 6.0 mm) and three different exposure to elevated temperatures (400°C, 600°C and 800°C). The results showed that the load-axial shortening relationship of the CSFT columns have a linear elastic response up to 80-90% of axial load capacity. After the axial load capacity is reached, the load-axial shortening curves are rarely becoming a nonlinear manner. It is also shown that the axial load capacity and ductility of the post-fire test columns are decreased significantly compared to the columns at ambient temperature, depending mainly on the elevated temperature. In addition, by comparing the axial load capacity of the test results with those obtained from the ACI design equation, the comparison results indicate that calculation formula in ACI code unconservative predicts the axial load capacity of the CSFT columns after exposure to elevated temperatures. Finally, the residual strength ratios are modified to both strength of concrete and steel tube under ambient temperature, and analyzed to evaluate the effect of post-fire behavior on the axial capacity of CFST columns.