This paper aims to develop a deteriorated bridge maintenance strategy that ensures the safe operation of steel structures and minimizes total risk. Five common failure modes are considered for bridge: flexure, shear, deflection, fatigue girder, chloride attack concrete deck. Time-dependent system reliability analyses carried out find probability under these modes. Risk-cost optimization is then...

The authors of this experimental research work have made an attempt to experimentally investigate the ultimate flexural load of ferrocement slabs of size 700mm. X 200mm. X 15mm. (thickness) reinforced with PVC coated steel weld mesh, and compare the results with slabs using GI-coated steel weld mesh, by varying the number of layers from 1-3. Ordinary Portland Cement, locally available river san...

This study concerns improvement of flexural stiffness/strength of concrete members reinforced with externally bonded, aluminum-glass fiber composite (AGC) beams. An experimental program, consisting of seven reinforced concrete slabs and seven reinforced concrete beams strengthened in flexure with AGC beams, was initiated under four-point bending in order to evaluate three parameters: the cross-...

Integrated non-destructive testing (NDT) method consisting of acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC) was used to monitor evaluate the load-behaviour shear-critical reinforced concrete beams subjected corrosion. Measurement data in forms mechanical load, deflection, surface strain AE signals were processed collectively analysed facilitate interpretation damage development cha...

This Note presents a new asymmetric flexure design, the double parallelogram-tilted-beam double parallelogram (DP-TDP) flexure, that enables two times higher stroke in electrostatic comb-drive actuators, compared to the traditional symmetrically paired double parallelogram (DP-DP) flexure, while maintaining the same device footprint. Because of its unique kinematic configuration, the DP-TDP fle...

As a kind of important flexible joint, two-axis flexure hinges can realize in-plane and out-of-plane motions and can be used for constructing flexure-based spatial compliant mechanisms. The paper introduces a common two-axis elliptical-arc-filleted flexure hinge that is generated by two different elliptical-arc-filleted cutout profiles and that provides some new hinge types. The analytical comp...

Creep response of a full-scale floor system fabricated with composite wood I-joists and oriented strand board (OSB sheathing) was measured for 280 days at sustained uniform loads of 20 psf (0.96 kPa). Creep responses of bare I-joists and 3-joist T-beams with OSB sheathing (glued and unglued tongue and groove sheathing joints) were measured under similar load levels and duration. The creep defle...

A novel flexure hinge named half circular-elliptical hybrid flexure hinge was presented. Based on Castigliano’s Displacement Theorem, the compliance equations of the novel flexure hinge were formulated. A computer aided analysis and parametric design program of the half circular-elliptical hybrid flexure hinge was developed by VC++6.0. A specific half circular-elliptical hybrid flexure hinge wa...

This paper presents an experimental investigation and nonlinear finite element analysis (NLFEA), using the numerical tool ANSYS©, carried out on shear diagonal cracking effect behaviour of reinforced-concrete (RC) beams made normal strength concrete (NSC) high-strength (HSC), with without transverse reinforcement. Beams were tested four-point bending, by means digital image correlation (DIC). I...

The simplest elasticity model of the foundation underlying a slender beam under flexure was conceived by Winkler, requiring local proportionality between soil reactions and deflection. Such an approach leads to well-posed elastostatic elastodynamic problems, but as highlighted Wieghardt, it provides elastic responses that are not technically significant for wide variety engineering applications...