Abstract Corrugated steel plate walls (CSPWs) are extensively utilized as high-performance, lightweight, and ductile lateral load-resisting elements in prefabricated steel structures. However, premature out-of-plane buckling compromises their lateral load-bearing capacity and energy dissipation performance, which poses a critical bottleneck to their widespread engineering application. To address this issue, this study proposes a self-buckling-restrained corrugated steel plate wall (SBR-CSPW), based on the core design principle that the elastoplastic shear buckling load of the corrugated steel plate is not lower than its ultimate shear capacity. Six SBR-CSPW specimens were designed with key variable parameters, namely, steel plate thickness, width, corrugation orientation, corrugation amplitude, and boundary constraint conditions. A series of cyclic quasi-static tests and refined finite-element (FE) simulations were performed to systematically investigate the seismic performance and deformation characteristics of the proposed wall system. Experimental results indicated that all specimens sustained cyclic loading up to an interstory drift ratio of 2% without weld failure or buckling of edge restraint columns. Only the wall panel of Specimen W2 exhibited slight out-of-plane buckling, whereas no significant shear buckling was observed in the wall panels of the other specimens, thereby largely achieving the preset performance objective of self-buckling restraint. The developed refined FE models are in good agreement with the experimental results, with the relative errors of the load-bearing capacity at an interstory drift ratio of 2% mostly limited to within 10%; the models are also capable of accurately capturing the hysteretic response and out-of-plane deformation characteristics of the SBR-CSPWs. This study provides robust experimental evidence and a validated design reference for the engineering application of SBR-CSPWs in prefabricated steel structures in high-seismic-intensity regions.
Abstract Adhesives have demonstrated promise for use in the steel industry as they provide strength and stiffness throughout the entire connection area without introduction of residual stresses. Moreover, the controlled environment of prefabrication plants is ideal for adhesive connection assembly. Despite success in other heavy structural settings including glue- and cross-laminated timber construction and concrete anchoring systems, adhesives remain underutilized and relatively unexplored in steel construction. For broad acceptance of adhered connections, a complete understanding of their behavior in service and extreme conditions is required. The performance of adhered steel connections under elevated temperatures is evaluated in this first of its kind study through the testing of 46 single lap splices adhered with two adhesives under steady-state (SS) and transient state protocols at the Multi-Hazard Resilient Structures Lab at Johns Hopkins University. Both adhesives demonstrated sensitivity to elevated temperatures, though the acrylic adhesive tested in this study showed greater resistance to temperature than the epoxy. From this novel set of experimental data, unique strength retention curves were developed for both types of adhesive connections. These can be used to predict performance at elevated temperatures and design resilient adhesive steel connections. In aggregate, the results demonstrate that the tested structural adhesives can be used in steel connections provided they are adequately insulated with fire protection.
Abstract Conventional seismic dampers may exhibit reduced effectiveness under horizontal excitations acting from arbitrary directions and often provide limited control of residual deformation. To overcome this limitation, a new multidirectional deformation-amplified shape memory alloy (MDSMA) damper is developed to mitigate structural seismic responses and residual deformations. The device integrates radially arranged shape memory alloy (SMA) wires with a lever-spherical hinges displacement amplification mechanism, enabling multidirectional energy dissipation and self-centering behavior. A geometrically and mechanically coupled analytical model is established to describe the damper response, and horizontal quasi-static cyclic tests are conducted to evaluate its hysteretic behavior and to examine the effects of displacement amplification ratio, SMA prestrain, and loading direction. The results showed that prestrain and displacement amplification significantly influenced the damper performance: specimens without prestrain exhibited flag-shaped hysteresis, whereas introducing prestrain produced fuller loops and markedly enhanced energy dissipation at small displacement amplitudes. Increasing the amplification ratio activated SMA deformation earlier and increased restoring force via lever action, improving energy dissipation efficiency under limited deformation demands. The damper demonstrated stable hysteretic responses across different loading directions, and the proposed model captured these behaviors well. Finally, numerical case studies on a representative 3-story steel frame indicated that MDSMA dampers reduced roof peak displacement by about 15%–20% and roof residual displacement by more than 80%, with low sensitivity to the seismic loading direction. These findings suggest that the proposed MDSMA damper provides a promising self-centering solution for multidirectional seismic response control in building structures.
Abstract Structural damage identification is essential for the serviceability assessment of beam structures. This paper presents a practical method that directly computes modal curvature from strain measurements and utilizes modal curvature difference (MCD) for damage detection. Numerical simulations established that strain has better sensitivity to structural damage than displacement, demonstrating the method’s numerical stability, effective control of truncation errors, and accurate performance under nonuniform sensor arrangements. Field validation was conducted through bolt loosening monitoring in a monopole tower. Under artificial excitation, the method identified bolt loosening, with the MCD magnitude indicating relative damage severity and its location and sign providing localization. The tests further revealed distinct variations in sensitivity across different layer flanges. Wind-induced vibration tests simulated the complete health-damage-repair monitoring process, demonstrating the method’s capability to identify bolt loosening under natural excitation while maintaining stable MCD responses. An in-service case study identifies typhoon-induced bolt loosening using sparse nonuniform sensors, confirming its applicability in real-world conditions. Further, the study discovered a distance attenuation effect in the MCD, suggesting the potential to infer the approximate circumferential position of loose bolts by comprehensively analyzing MCD changes from sensors in adjacent orientations.
Abstract Steel–concrete–steel (SCS) composite structures with multiple steel webs and ribs demonstrate exceptional performance in terms of strength, ductility, impact resistance, blast resistance, waterproofness, and construction efficiency. Compared with traditional engineering structures, SCS composites are a competitive alternative for applications in areas such as submarine tunnels, high-rise building, large-span structures, protective structures, and offshore construction. The superior performance of these structures leads to broad application prospects, but a series of practical issues remain unsolved, especially in terms of shear mechanisms. SCS composite structures with steel webs cannot be designed using traditional one-dimensional truss theory. Because megastructures need to account for construction loads, stiffening measures commonly are applied to the web, which makes the structural mechanism more complex. To address this problem, a series of shear tests was designed for SCS composite structures with stiffened steel webs. By studying the failure modes, ductility evolution, and web stress states, the impact of web stiffeners on the shear mechanism of the structure was clarified. Contrary to common sense, it was found that the existence of additional stiffeners in the webs can negatively influence the shear capacity due to the interruption of the force path in concrete. This would be more typical in scenarios in which the concrete is not thick. A reduction factor is introduced to describe this impact, and the proposed theoretical model predicts the shear capacity with higher accuracy than existing theories, providing more information for practical engineering design.
