In this paper, a methodology to simulate the whole-building behaviour of the tall building under fire is developed by the author using a 3-D nonlinear finite element method. The mechanical and thermal material nonlinearities of the structural members, such as the structural steel members, concrete slabs and reinforcing bars were included in the model. In order to closely simulate the real condition under the conventional fire incident, in the simulation, the fire temperature was applied on level 9, 10 and 11. Then, a numerical investigation on the whole-building response of the building in fire was made. The temperature distribution of the floor slabs, steel beams and columns were predicted. In addition, the behaviours of the structural members under fire such as beam force, column force and deflections were also investigated.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of stiffened element and edge stiffener in the behaviour and flexural strength of built-up cold-formed steel beams. An experimental and analytical analysis of CFS channel sections in four different geometries is conducted, including simple channel sections, a stiffened channel section with or without edge stiffeners. Nonlinear finite element models are developed using finite element analysis software package ANSYS. The FEA results are verified with the experimental results. Further, the finite element model is used for parametric studies by varying the depth, thickness, and the effect of stiffened element, edge stiffener and their interaction with compression flanges on stiffened built-up cold-formed steel beams with upright edge stiffeners. In addition, the flexural strength predicted by the finite element analysis is compared with the design flexural strength calculated by using the North American Iron and Steel Institute Specifications for cold-formed steel structures (AISI: S100-2007) and suitable suggestion is made.

Seismic performance of structures depends on the force flow mechanism inside the structure. Discontinuity regions, like beam-column joints, are often affected during earthquake event due to the complex and discontinuous load paths. The evaluation of shear strength and identification of failure mode of the joint region are helpful to (i) define the strength hierarchy of the beam-column sub-assemblage, (ii) quantify the influence of different parameters on the behaviour of beam-column joint and, (iii) develop suitable and adequate strengthening scheme for the joints, if required, to obtain the desired strength hierarchy. In view of this, it is very important to estimate the joint shear strength and identify the failure modes of the joint region as it is the most critical part in any beam-column sub-assemblage. One of the most effective models is softened strut and tie model which was developed by incorporating force equilibrium, strain compatibility and constitutive laws of cracked reinforced concrete. In this study, softened strut and tie model, which incorporates force equilibrium equations, compatibility conditions and material constitutive relation of the cracked concrete, are used to simulate the shear strength behaviour and to identify failure mechanisms of the beam-column joints. The observations of the present study will be helpful to arrive at the design strategy of the joints to ensure the desired failure mechanism and strength hierarchy to achieve sustainability of structural systems under seismic loading.

In this paper an electromechanically coupled isogeometric finite element is utilized to analyse Lamb wave excitation with piezoceramic actuators. An effective actuator design reduces the energy needed for Lamb wave excitation, which is beneficial if a structural health monitoring system should be applied for a structure. For a better understanding of the actuator behavior the piezoeceramics are studied both free and bonded at a structure. The numerical part of the analysis is performed utilizing isogeometric finite elements. To obtain the optimal performance for the numerical analysis the effect of k-refinement of the isogeometric element with respect to the convergence is studied and discussed. The optimal numerical setup with the best convergence rate is proposed and is validated with free piezoeceramic actuators. The validated model is then utilized to study the impact of actuator shape and adhesive bondline effect to the wave amplitude. The study shows that simplified analytical equations do not predict the optimal excitation frequencies for all piezoceramic designs accurately.