Mechanical Performance of Steel and Composite Beams

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2024) | Viewed by 12737

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, State University of Maringá, 5790 Colombo Av., Maringá, PR, Brazil
Interests: steel structures; beams with openings; buckling; and post-buckling analysis; fire resistance; composite structures

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Uberlândia, 2121 João Naves de Ávila Av, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
Interests: steel structures; beams with openings; buckling; and post-buckling analysis; fire resistance; composite structures

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya 42100, Turkey
Interests: composite materials; sustainability; concrete structures; steel structures; FRP; pultruded materials
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute original research to a Special Issue on the "Mechanical Performance of Steel and Composite Beams".

Steel is mainly used for structural purposes due to its rigidity, durability, flexibility in architecture, and high strength-to-weight ratio. Research and innovation in steel technology may soon take construction in entirely new directions. Stainless steel is a high-performance construction material that is synonymous with modern, resilient, and sustainable construction. In this way, the use of stainless steel in the case of bridges and other large modern structures is already a reality. Stainless steel is suitable when considering design life and lifecycle cost, future maintenance requirements, sustainability, and aesthetic demands.

Openings in beams can be made when necessary to install service ducts. This type of beam is more susceptible to instability problems and localized plasticization. For steel beams, using high-strength steel is an exciting solution. The forthcoming publication of the new Eurocode 3 – Design of steel structures – Part 1–13: Rules for beams with large web openings will undoubtedly boost research and publications in this area.

The use of composite structures is increasing in the construction industry due to their higher load-bearing capacity, better structural fire performance, and more significant potential to provide optimized structural solutions, effectively creating synergies between structural materials. Regarding composite structures, the new trends are innovative solutions combining different structural materials, such as steel and concrete (conventional and UHPC) as well as steel and CLT (cross-laminated wood), among others, applicable to buildings, bridges, infrastructure, and connectors at the interface of the most efficient materials. Various types of fibers in composite structures also deserve special attention in research. Regarding composite structures, there is still research on functionally graded materials (FGMs).

Additionally, steel and composite structures are prone to fire accidents, which is why fireproof systems are installed in residential and industrial buildings. New technologies and new fireproof materials can increase the longevity and strength of these structures, making them highly resistant to fire.

Finally, we highlight machine learning (ML), which has become the most successful branch of artificial intelligence (AI). It offers a unique opportunity to make structural engineering more predictable due to its ability to deal with complex nonlinear structural systems. There is a significant growth in research and techniques for implementing ML in structural engineering, thanks to recent advances in ML techniques and computational resources, as well as the availability of large datasets.

Thus, this Special Issue aims to gather accounts of research related to the “Mechanical Performance of Steel and Composite Beams".

We encourage you to submit manuscripts containing scientific findings on composite and steel beams based on theoretical and practice-oriented articles, including experimental and/or numerical studies, case studies, and review articles. Papers on one or more of the following subjects are especially welcomed:

  • Steel beams;
  • Composite beams;
  • Steel and reinforced concrete beams with web openings;
  • Nonlinear finite-element analysis;
  • Buckling or post-buckling analysis;
  • Machine learning;
  • Fire resistance;
  • Stainless steel;
  • Fibers;
  • Composite materials.

Dr. Carlos Humberto Martins
Dr. Alexandre Rossi
Dr. Yasin Onuralp Özkılıç
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • steel beams
  • composite beams
  • machine learning
  • stainless steel
  • fire resistance

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 7175 KiB  
Article
Stability Analysis of “321” Prefabricated Highway Steel Truss Bridge
by Haifang He, Yulong Zhou, Shoushan Cheng, Ning An, Hongyi Liu and Zhixuan Fei
Buildings 2024, 14(6), 1626; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14061626 - 1 Jun 2024
Viewed by 713
Abstract
The “321” prefabricated highway steel truss bridge is widely used for highway rescue, disaster relief, and emergency traffic. This paper uses a 33 m double-row monolayer “321” prefabricated highway steel truss bridge to analyze its mechanical properties and component stability. The actual traffic [...] Read more.
The “321” prefabricated highway steel truss bridge is widely used for highway rescue, disaster relief, and emergency traffic. This paper uses a 33 m double-row monolayer “321” prefabricated highway steel truss bridge to analyze its mechanical properties and component stability. The actual traffic flow capacity of a total weight of 53.32 tons is used in this study. The results show that the maximum internal force in the truss chord (including the stiffening chord) occurs in the middle span section when a centrally distributed load is applied. Meanwhile, the maximum internal force of truss diagonal members and truss vertical bars appears at the fulcrum section. Under the eccentrically distributed load, the maximum internal forces of truss chords (including stiffening chords) appear in the middle span section, which is closest to the vehicle load, while the maximum internal forces of truss diagonal members and truss vertical bars appear in the fulcrum section, which is closest to the vehicle load. While the maximum internal forces under the eccentrically distributed load are greater than the maximum internal forces under the centered-layout load, under the vehicle load, truss chords (including stiffening chords) are prone to buckling instability, and the buckling mode is mainly reverse out-of-plane buckling. The inclined members of the truss are prone to buckling instability, and the buckling mode is mainly the combination of out-of-plane bending and two-way out-of-plane bending. Truss vertical bars have good stability and are not easy to buckle. The main conclusions of this paper can provide references for the optimal design and operation safety of prefabricated highway steel truss bridges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Performance of Steel and Composite Beams)
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21 pages, 4285 KiB  
Article
Stacking Ensemble-Based Machine Learning Model for Predicting Deterioration Components of Steel W-Section Beams
by A. Khoshkroodi, H. Parvini Sani and M. Aajami
Buildings 2024, 14(1), 240; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14010240 - 16 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1173
Abstract
The collapse evaluation of the structural systems under seismic loading necessitates identifying and quantifying deterioration components (DCs). In the case of steel w-section beams (SWSB), three distinct types of DCs have been derived. These deterioration components for steel beams comprise the following: pre-capping [...] Read more.
The collapse evaluation of the structural systems under seismic loading necessitates identifying and quantifying deterioration components (DCs). In the case of steel w-section beams (SWSB), three distinct types of DCs have been derived. These deterioration components for steel beams comprise the following: pre-capping plastic rotation (θp), post-capping plastic rotation (θpc), and cumulative rotation capacity (Λ). The primary objective of this research is to employ a machine learning (ML) model for accurate determination of these deterioration components. The stacking model is a powerful combination of meta-learners, which is used for better learning and performance of base learners. The base learners consist of AdaBoost, Random Forest (RF), and XGBoost. Among various machine learning algorithms, the stacking model exhibited superior functioning. The evaluation metrics of the stacking model were as follows: R2 = 0.9 and RMSE = 0.003 for θp, R2 = 0.97 and RMSE = 0.012 for θpc, and R2 = 0.98 and RMSE = 0.09 for Λ. The significance of input variables, specifically the web-depth-over-web-thickness ratio (h/tw) and the flange width-to-thickness ratio (bf/2tf), in determining the deterioration components was assessed using the Shapley Additive Explanations model. These parameters emerged as the most crucial factors in the evaluation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Performance of Steel and Composite Beams)
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16 pages, 3811 KiB  
Article
Shear and Bending Performances of Reinforced Concrete Beams with Different Sizes of Circular Openings
by Yasin Onuralp Özkılıç, Ceyhun Aksoylu, Ibrahim Y. Hakeem, Nebi Özdöner, İlker Kalkan, Memduh Karalar, Sergey A. Stel’makh, Evgenii M. Shcherban’ and Alexey N. Beskopylny
Buildings 2023, 13(8), 1989; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13081989 - 4 Aug 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1916
Abstract
The present study pertains to the effects of transverse opening diameters and shear reinforcement ratios on the shear and flexural behavior of RC beams with two web openings across different spans, i.e., a single opening in each half-span. Within the scope of the [...] Read more.
The present study pertains to the effects of transverse opening diameters and shear reinforcement ratios on the shear and flexural behavior of RC beams with two web openings across different spans, i.e., a single opening in each half-span. Within the scope of the study, a total of 12 RC beams with five different opening diameter-to-beam depth ratios (0, 0.20, 0.27, 0.33, 0.40, and 0.47) and two shear reinforcement ratios were tested to failure under four-point bending. The load capacities, ductilities, rigidities and energy dissipation capacities in the elastic and plastic ranges of beam behavior were compared. Furthermore, the load capacities of the beams were compared to the existing analytical shear strength formulations in the literature. The test results indicated that whether an RC beam with openings has adequate or inadequate amounts of shear reinforcement, the frame-type shear failure becomes much more pronounced with increasing opening diameter. The reductions in the load capacity and modulus of toughness with increasing opening diameter are more considerable in the presence of inadequate amounts of shear reinforcement, while the beam ductility is less affected in shear-deficient RC beams with openings as compared to the ones with adequate shear reinforcement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Performance of Steel and Composite Beams)
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29 pages, 8406 KiB  
Article
Analytical Assessment of the Structural Behavior of a Specific Composite Floor System at Elevated Temperatures Using a Newly Developed Hybrid Intelligence Method
by Shaoyong Han, Zhun Zhu, Mina Mortazavi, Ahmed M. El-Sherbeeny and Peyman Mehrabi
Buildings 2023, 13(3), 799; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030799 - 17 Mar 2023
Cited by 43 | Viewed by 1810
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to study the performance of a composite floor system at different heat stages using artificial intelligence to derive a sustainable design and to select the most critical factors for a sustainable floor system at elevated temperatures. In [...] Read more.
The aim of this paper is to study the performance of a composite floor system at different heat stages using artificial intelligence to derive a sustainable design and to select the most critical factors for a sustainable floor system at elevated temperatures. In a composite floor system, load bearing is due to composite action between steel and concrete materials which is achieved by using shear connectors. Although shear connectors play an important role in the performance of a composite floor system by transferring shear force from the concrete to the steel profile, if the composite floor system is exposed to high temperature conditions excessive deformations may reduce the shear-bearing capacity of the composite floor system. Therefore, in this paper, the slip response of angle shear connectors is evaluated by using artificial intelligence techniques to determine the performance of a composite floor system during high temperatures. Accordingly, authenticated experimental data on monotonic loading of a composite steel-concrete floor system in different heat stages were employed for analytical assessment. Moreover, an artificial neural network was developed with a fuzzy system (ANFIS) optimized by using a genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), namely the ANFIS-PSO-GA (ANPG) method. In addition, the results of the ANPG method were compared with those of an extreme learning machine (ELM) method and a radial basis function network (RBFN) method. The mechanical and geometrical properties of the shear connectors and the temperatures were included in the dataset. Based on the results, although the behavior of the composite floor system was accurately predicted by the three methods, the RBFN and ANPG methods represented the most accurate values for split-tensile load and slip prediction, respectively. Based on the numerical results, since the slip response had a rational relationship with the load and geometrical parameters, it was dramatically predictable. In addition, slip response and temperature were determined as the most critical factors affecting the shear-bearing capacity of the composite floor system at elevated temperatures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Performance of Steel and Composite Beams)
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15 pages, 14805 KiB  
Article
Influence of Wetting Conditions and Concrete Strength of Both Substrate and Repair Material on the Bond Capacity of Repaired Joints
by Vinicius Brother dos Santos, Ana Paula Pereira dos Santos Silva, Bernardo Lopes Poncetti, Lucas Dezotti Tolentino, Pablo Augusto Krahl and Romel Dias Vanderlei
Buildings 2023, 13(3), 643; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030643 - 28 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1935
Abstract
Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is an appropriate material to repair and rehabilitate aged structures due to its excellent properties, such as high compressive strength and durability. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of applying UHPC in old buildings as a rehabilitation or repair [...] Read more.
Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is an appropriate material to repair and rehabilitate aged structures due to its excellent properties, such as high compressive strength and durability. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of applying UHPC in old buildings as a rehabilitation or repair material, but the bond between concretes needs more investigation. In this sense, the bond between normal-strength concrete (NSC) and UHPC is currently being studied. Three main parameters are responsible for ensuring a good bond: the surface treatment of the substrate (roughness), the wetting conditions, and the mechanical strength of the substrate. Thus, the present study investigated the bond between concretes experimentally. The concrete of the substrate was carried out in three grades: C25, C45, and C60. The repair concretes were C25, C45, C60, and UHPC. The following parameters were evaluated: wetting conditions, air surface dry (ASD), saturated surface dry (SSD), substrate strength, and repair concrete strength. All models received surface treatment by wire brushing. Slant shear and splitting tensile tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical behavior and the failure modes of the bond between concretes. The bond strength was classified and compared to existing predicting models. The results showed that most expressive strength gains occurred in SSD models with lower strength substrates and UHPC. Furthermore, the influence of surface wetting conditions becomes smaller as the strength of the substrate is reduced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Performance of Steel and Composite Beams)
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Review

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23 pages, 11821 KiB  
Review
Non-Linear Analysis of Flat Slabs Prestressed with Unbonded Tendons Submitted to Punching Shear
by Heraldo Brigo, Luana J. Ashihara, Marília G. Marques and Elyson A. P. Liberati
Buildings 2023, 13(4), 923; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13040923 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1896
Abstract
This article describes a numerical study for the evaluation of the punching shear behavior of non-adherent prestressed flat slabs without shear reinforcement. Nonlinear three-dimensional models were used, along with the finite element method (FEA) through the ATENA software in order to validate the [...] Read more.
This article describes a numerical study for the evaluation of the punching shear behavior of non-adherent prestressed flat slabs without shear reinforcement. Nonlinear three-dimensional models were used, along with the finite element method (FEA) through the ATENA software in order to validate the constitutive models adopted for concrete and steel. The numerical results were compared with the experimental results. The results revealed a good agreement among load capacity, deformations, and cracking panorama, as well as the relation between numerical and experimental failure loads. After validation, a parametric study was carried out to analyze the influence of tendon spacing, slab thickness, and column rectangularity in prestressed flat slabs. Finally, the results obtained in the numerical models in relation to the failure load were compared with the estimated values for the failure load according to the main normative predictions dealing with the flat slab system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Performance of Steel and Composite Beams)
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35 pages, 8553 KiB  
Review
Lateral Distortional Buckling Resistance Predictions of Composite Alveolar Beams: A Review
by Vinicius Moura de Oliveira, Alexandre Rossi, Felipe Piana Vendramell Ferreira, Adriano Silva de Carvalho and Carlos Humberto Martins
Buildings 2023, 13(3), 808; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030808 - 19 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1971
Abstract
Few studies have investigated the structural behavior of steel-concrete composite alveolar beams in hogging bending regions. Their resistance can be reached by lateral distortional buckling (LDB), coupling LDB and local failure modes, or limit states of cracking or crushing in the concrete slab. [...] Read more.
Few studies have investigated the structural behavior of steel-concrete composite alveolar beams in hogging bending regions. Their resistance can be reached by lateral distortional buckling (LDB), coupling LDB and local failure modes, or limit states of cracking or crushing in the concrete slab. This case is characteristic of continuous or cantilever elements. Another critical issue is that the design and calculation recommendations only address the LDB verification on steel-concrete composite beams without web openings, thus disregarding the interaction between the buckling modes. Furthermore, it is necessary to use adaptations of these formulations for beams with web openings. This review paper aims to evaluate the different approaches for standard code adaptations to verify the LDB resistance of the beams in question and to highlight the investigations that addressed this issue. The addressed adaptations consist of different approaches which determine the cross-section geometric properties in the central region of the openings, the so-called double T section, in the region of the web posts (solid section), and the averages between the solid section and double T section. The accuracy of the formulations in question is verified against experimental results from the literature. Furthermore, discussions and suggestions for further studies are presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanical Performance of Steel and Composite Beams)
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