Sharif Digital Repository

At present study, Endurance Time (ET) method that is a new dynamic pushover procedure is introduced and its application in predicting concrete arch dam behavior in linear domain is investigated. In this method structure is subjected to gradually intensifying acceleration functions. DEZ arch dam was selected as case study. FE model of dam-reservoir-foundation was excited in three levels of MCL, MDL, DBL using six records scaled based on design spectrum of the site and results were compared with those obtained from ET analyses. It was found that results obtained from ET method at equivalent target time are in good agreement with extreme results obtained from exciting the system using natural... 

At the present study, application of endurance time analysis (ETA) method in seismic evaluation of arch dams is investigated. ETA is a time-history based dynamic pushover procedure, which utilizes a set of predesigned intensifying acceleration functions to estimate the responses of the structural systems in various seismic excitation levels. Dez dam was chosen as the case study and all contraction and peripheral joints were modeled based on as-built drawings. The reservoir was modeled as a compressible medium and the foundation was assumed to be massless. Results show that ETA method is able to estimate dynamic responses of the dam with acceptable accuracy in comparison with time history... 

One of the methods in limiting tensile stresses in arch dams and removing stress concentrations at the dam-foundation interface is setting the dam body on a concrete saddle called a Pulvino. In the present study, the effects of Pulvino and peripheral joints on the static behavior and seismic performance of arch dams are investigated. Dez Dam with a height of 203 m was selected as a case study and all contraction joints of the dam body were modeled using the discrete crack approach based on as-built drawings. Also, the surrounding rock was modeled as a mass-less medium tied to Pulvino. The dam-reservoirfoundation system was analyzed under static loads accounting for stage construction... 

A novel and robust approach is proposed to find the optimum shape of concrete arch dams located on any unsymmetrical shape of a valley. The approach is capable of finding the optimum shape for any given valley type in suitable time, based on abutment stability analysis, against thrust forces from an arch dam. The behavior and stability of a concrete arch dam is strongly dependent on the bedrock on which the dam rests. The stability of the abutment is considered a constraint in the proposed approach. In addition, a new objective function is introduced to decrease the final volume of the arch dam. Furthermore, a computer program was developed, which takes the effect of the dam foundation... 

A large portion of the railway bridge stock in many countries is comprised of masonry arch bridges. During recent years, more attention has been paid to the maintenance of such structures. Rehabilitation and retrofitting methods have been proposed to enhance the performance of masonry arch bridges and extend their service life. Because a large portion of forces exerted on such structures comes from the railway track and passing trains, structural elements are added to the track to reduce the forces transmitted to bridges. One such element is the ballast mat, which, according to suppliers, has a positive impact on the structural performance of the track. This paper tries to assess the effects... 

Damage assessment of concrete arch dams is carried out through nonlinear Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) of a typical arch dam. In this study the Morrow Point arch dam is subjected to a set of 12 three-component earthquakes each scaled to 12 increasing intensity levels. The dam-foundation interaction effects have been investigated by varying foundation's modulus of elasticity to be equal and half of dam concrete's modulus of elasticity. Damage propagation through the dam body is investigated and various IDA curves are created. The performance and various limit-states of the dam structure are examined based on the obtained results. Simple damage indices are proposed through comparison of... 

Concrete arch dam is a complex geometric structure and designing such a structure requires experience and high knowledge. One of the important parameters in designing concrete arch dams is the tensile stress in arch concrete material. The static analysis results of high arch dam structure depend on structure analysis model, intensively. Stage construction is needed to be focused in modeling high arch dams. In this study, the necessity of considering stage construction in static analysis of dam structure is focused. Modeling stage construction uses Birth and Death technique of elements. Therefore, six stage construction models are provided including applying dam wall weight outright, two... 

In the present paper, effects of non-uniform excitation due to spatially variation of seismic waves under the reservoir bottom on linear and nonlinear responses of arch dams are studied. Foundation is assumed to be massed and infinite elements are utilized to model semi-infinite medium via the far-end boundary of the foundation FE model. A continuum crack propagation model based on the smeared crack approach in 3D space is introduced. Reservoir's water is assumed compressible and the coupled system is solved using the staggered method. As a case study, Amir-Kabir double curvature arch dam in Iran is selected to investigate seismic behavior of the system. Two cases are analyzed in which wave... 

The purpose of this paper is to determine the optimal shape of double curvature concrete arch dams by using the sensitivity of design objective to design variables. Design sensitivities quantify the relationship between the design variables such as thickness of crown cantilever, left and right abutment thickness, crown cantilever upstream profile, radius of curvature of water and air faces on one hand and the objective function such as the volume of the concrete arch dam on the other hand. For this aim, first a methodology was developed to provide interface between a finite element method and an optimization algorithm for shape optimization of double curvature concrete arch dams. The... 

In this study, multi-criteria shape optimization of an asymmetrical doublecurvature arch dam is presented. Simultaneous cost minimization of dam construction and maximum allowable tensile stress are investigated for an economical and safe design approach in the current study. Pareto front method was used to balance both the economy and safety of the design simultaneously, which can be difficult for both analysts and decision-makers. A non-dominated solution based on the important parameters of dam analysis and design is presented. To help decision-makers in their decision, two different methods are proposed. These methods for the case of an arch dam are Lombardi coefficient and equilibrium... 

Modal identification is a type of system identification, which studies on the modal parameters of systems by using modal test. In the case of using operational or ambient modal analysis, there is no need to measure excitation, and the system output data are adequate for identification purposes. These modal parameters of system are of great importance from the engineering point of view particularly in the area of system identification, damage detection, and condition monitoring. In a fully-automated identification approach, the modal parameters are extracted without intervention of a specialized user. In this study, a Fully Automated Operational Modal Identification algorithm is developed to... 

A three-dimensional finite element analysis was carried out to determine the annual variation of temperature and thermal stresses of a concrete arch dam. Appropriate heat transfer boundary conditions in the dam body were used for air and reservoir temperature as well as solar radiation variations. Karaj arch dam in Iran was used as a case study. The rate of convergence of the numerical solution is examined. Results of the finite element analysis show that probable cracks occur in a very narrow region of the downstream face. Thermal loads have the most significant effects for causing downstream cracks in comparison with self-weigh and hydrostatic loads. The cracked areas of downstream face... 

This paper deals with the investigation of the size-dependent nature of nonlinear dynamics, in a doubly clamped shallow nano-arch actuated by spatially distributed electrostatic force. We employ strain gradient theory together with the Euler-Bernoulli and shallow arch assumptions in order to derive the nonlinear partial differential equation governing the transverse motion of the arch with mid-plane stretching effects. Using the Galerkin projection method, we derive the lumped single degree of freedom model which is then used for the study of the size effects on the nonlinear snap-through and pull-in instabilities of the arch nano-electro-mechanicalsystem (NEMS). Moreover, using strain... 

Construction of underground structures in urban areas is a very challenging work. There are generally two methods of construction, an open cut-and-cover and underground method. To eliminate the subsurface and surface disturbance and street traffic problems, underground method is preferred. The stress redistribution caused by underground excavation induces movements and deformation in the earth mass and ultimately at the ground surface. This is more pronounced in large space excavations. Generally pre-supporting system is used to control ground deformation and thus enhance its stability. In this paper an innovative pre-supporting system is presented. Concrete Arch Pre-supporting System (CAPS)... 

Seismic performance and safety of a jointed arch dam, as an arch-shaped mass concrete structure, are investigated through the nonlinear incremental dynamic analysis. In this way, 12 proper ground motions are selected, each of them is scaled to 12 successively increasing intensity levels and applied to the dam. Three and seven contraction joints are inserted within the dam body, and stage construction is taken into account. Several main assumptions including dam–reservoir–foundation dynamic interaction, absorbing boundary conditions at the far-ends of the reservoir and foundation, and material and joint nonlinearities are considered. The failure modes of the dam are determined according to... 

In this paper, a computational technique is presented based on a concrete plastic-damage model to investigate the effect of FRP strengthening of reinforced concrete arches. A plastic-damage model was utilized to capture the behavior of concrete. The interface between the FRP and concrete was modeled using a cohesive fracture model. In order to validate the accuracy of the damage-plastic model, a single element was employed under monotonic tension, monotonic compression, and cyclic tension loads. An excellent agreement was observed between the predefined strain-stress curve and that obtained by the numerical model. Furthermore, the accuracy of the cohesive fracture model was investigated by... 

Construction of underground structures in urban areas is a very challenging work. There are generally two methods of their construction, an open cut-and-cover and underground method. To eliminate the subsurface and surface disturbance and street traffic problems, underground method is preferred. The stress redistribution caused by underground excavation induces movements in the earth mass and ultimately at the ground surface. This is more pronounced in large space excavations. Generally pre-supporting system is used to control ground deformation and thus enhance its stability. In this paper an innovative pre-supporting system is presented. Concrete Arch Pre-supporting System (CAPS) is... 

Construction of underground structures in urban areas is a very challenging work. There are generally two methods of their construction, an open cut-and-cover and underground method. To eliminate the subsurface and surface disturbance and street traffic problems, underground method is preferred. The stress redistribution caused by underground excavation induces movements in the earth mass and ultimately at the ground surface. This is more pronounced in large space excavations. Generally pre-supporting system is used to control ground deformation and thus enhance its stability. In this paper an innovative pre-supporting system is presented. Concrete Arch Pre-supporting System (CAPS) is... 

In this paper, a computational technique is presented based on a concrete plastic-damage model to investigate the effect of FRP strengthening of reinforced concrete arches. A plastic-damage model was utilized to capture the behavior of concrete. The interface between the FRP and concrete was modeled using a cohesive fracture model. In order to validate the accuracy of the damage-plastic model, a single element was employed under monotonic tension, monotonic compression, and cyclic tension loads. An excellent agreement was observed between the predefined strain-stress curve and that obtained by the numerical model. Furthermore, the accuracy of the cohesive fracture model was investigated by... 

Background: Using foot orthoses for managing medial knee osteoarthritis (MKOA) is common, although its effectiveness is in debate. Most orthoses are placed inside the shoe as a lateral wedged insole. Thus, most studies in this area have focused on the effect of insoles used with shoes. This study compared the effects of a lateral wedge with subtalar strap (combined insole) used while barefoot and lateral wedged insole fitted within sandal on pain, function and external knee adduction moment (EKAM) in patients with MKOA to consider which orthotic treatment is better. Methods: In this quasi-experimental pretest–posttest study, 29 participants with medial knee osteoarthritis were divided into...