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Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures

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A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 10279

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Hongfei Chang

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Guest Editor

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmental Impact and Structural Safety in Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Interests: sustainable steel structure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Bo Xu

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China
Interests: modular steel builings; FRP-Steel tube confined recycled concrete column; machine learning prediction method for structural performance

Dr. Yuner Huang

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Guest Editor

School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JU, UK
Interests: steel structures; modular construction; advanced metallic material; structural integrity; offshore infrastructure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As a result of long-term service, the degradation of material, elements, connections, and structural systems can threaten the safety of building infrastructures, or even lead to collapse. Life cycle safety and performance improvement for engineering structures is critical for the sustainability of buildings and infrastructures. The present Special Issue aims to explore the development of life cycle safety evaluation and performance improvement for engineering structures, including the development of degradation and durability of material, damage detection and evaluation, structural safety analysis, and structural design and methods for the structure reinforcement. The thematic scope includes experimental research, numerical analysis, and theoretical analysis of materials and structures. Studies on methods for parametric modeling, design, and performance improvement for engineering structures are also welcomed.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

Durability of concrete and steel structures;
Damage detection and evaluation of engineering material or structure;
Repairing methods for aged engineering structures;
Methods for parametric modeling of aged engineering structures;
Resilience development of buildings and highway infrastructure;
Resilience development of marine structures.

Dr. Hongfei Chang
Dr. Bo Xu
Dr. Yuner Huang
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

life cycle safety
durability
corrosion
performance improvement
damage detection
sustainable engineering structures
repair
retrofit
reinforcement

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 6331 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Study of the Bending Performance of Cold-Formed Steel Channel Beams Considering the Corner Hardening Effect

by Rong-Gui Liu, Bo Xu, Feng Zhang, Sheng-Nan Peng, Chen Yang, Mao-Wei Chen, Su-Hang Chen and Ming-Zhi Xie

Buildings 2023, 13(9), 2149; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13092149 - 24 Aug 2023

Viewed by 1376

Abstract

Cold-formed steel channel beam components are increasingly used in lightweight steel buildings owing to the high strength–weight ratio. However, the influence of cold working processes, in relation to corner regions, and how this impacts the bending behavior of channel beams lacks thorough evaluation. In the present study, a series of coupon and bending tests were conducted and the numerical simulation and analytical derivation were supplemented, aiming to investigate the bending performance of cold-formed steel channel beams considering the reinforcement effect in corner regions. The results show that the engineering stress–strain relationships of the flat and corner coupons conformed to the trilinear models with different characteristic parameters. The yielding and ultimate strengths of the corner specimens was increased by 50% and 7%, respectively, compared to the flat coupons due to the cold-bending technique. The strain distribution of the cold-formed channel beams accord with the plane section while the stresses at the corners were 35% higher than those at the flanges, indicting the different mechanical response of the flat and corner regions. The component-based model for cold-formed steel channel beams was established to exactly describe the influence of the cold-bending action, which was greatly validated by the experimental and numerical data with the errors of typical parameters less than 9%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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18 pages, 10235 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Seismic Behavior of RC Buildings through the Direct Modeling of Masonry Infill Walls

by Abdelkader Nour, Sidi Mohammed El-Amine Bourdim and Mohammed Issam Eddine Terki Hassaine

Buildings 2023, 13(7), 1576; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13071576 - 21 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 923

Abstract

The direct modeling of masonry infill walls on many buildings, based on damage recorded by various past earthquakes, has become increasingly necessary in order to identify the seismic behavior of these elements, which constitute an important part of reinforced concrete buildings. In this paper, several 3D models were analyzed by the nonlinear static (pushover) method, when ignoring, and when considering, masonry infill walls. The finite element software SAP analyzed the proposed models. These models represent low and mid-rise reinforced concrete buildings infilled with double-leaf hollow bricks. The properties of materials used in Algeria, either in the frame elements or the infill elements, were used. The results obtained were compared according to two parameters, the natural time period of the building and the pushover curve, by varying the values of the dead load and the concrete compressive strength. The results were discussed according to the suggested parameters. The results showed that indirect modeling of such walls, either by taking assumptions embedded in the seismic behavior factor or by means of the macro-modal, can lead to a poor appreciation of the seismic behavior of such buildings. Consequently, direct modeling of walls by the infill of the real void showed acceptable results to some extent. This contributes greatly towards understanding the seismic behavior of this type of building. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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15 pages, 8326 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Anchor Behavior of One-Side Bolt with Flip-Top Collapsible Washer

by Lin Li, Dejun Mu, Yong Liu, Zhaowei Li, Qixiang Yin and Hongfei Chang

Buildings 2023, 13(6), 1571; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13061571 - 20 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1303

Abstract

With the development of blind bolts that can be installed from the outer side of a section, the application of steel pipe hollow sections in prefabricated structures has become possible. The novel one-side bolt with a flip-top collapsible washer (FTW-OSB) is proposed, which can fold the washer at the end of the bolt to achieve a simple and efficient installation. Firstly, the components and installation process of the FTW-OSB are introduced. Additionally, axial tensile tests were carried out on three types of new bolts, and the failure mode, load–displacement curve, and ultimate capacity were analyzed. Based on this, the finite element model was verified, and through a series of finite element parameter analyses, the influence of washer size and construction, the friction coefficient, and the contact surface size on the new bolt were analyzed and optimized. The results show that the L-shaped washer can prevent washer rotation and has better anchoring performance than the I-shaped washer. The washer thickness, height, and upper contact surface size are the key factors affecting the anchoring performance of the FTW-OSB bolt. Among these factors, when the washer thickness increases from 0.1 d₀ to 0.3 d₀, the ultimate capacity and initial stiffness of the FTW-OSB bolt increase by 136.5% and 100.3%, respectively. The lower contact surface size and friction coefficient can be ignored. The failure model of the FTW-OSB is mainly washer shear failure and bolt tension failure. By effectively adjusting the washer thickness, side wall height, and upper contact surface size, shear failure of the washer can be avoided and an anchoring performance can be achieved that is the same as that of the same type of 10.9-grade ordinary high-strength bolt. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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16 pages, 4607 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Earthquake Analysis of an Old RC Minaret Retrofitting with Shape Memory Alloy

by Zakaria Matari, Sidi Mohammed El-Amine Bourdim, Hugo Rodrigues and Tahar Kadri

Buildings 2023, 13(5), 1121; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13051121 - 23 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1139

Abstract

Existing seismic vulnerability has become a topical of actuality, concerning both new and old buildings. Several techniques have been used to allow structures to better resist seismic events. In recent years, these have been so-called intelligent materials such as shape memory alloys (SMAs) due to their superelasticity and their ease in returning to their initial state after deformation, which can reach 10%. In the present article, nickel–titanium SMA is considered in a minaret of an old church transformed into a mosque to control the seismic response in terms of displacements, stresses and accelerations. The assessment of the seismic behavior was performed based on a modal and then transient analysis with Ansys software. The main objective was to determine the effectiveness of the addition of shape memory alloys by varying their number. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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15 pages, 7035 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Integral Water Tank on the Seismic Performance of Slender Structure: An Experimental Study

by Bing Xu, Zhenyu Han, Lang Wang, Qin Liu, Xueyuan Xu and Huihui Chen

Buildings 2023, 13(3), 736; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030736 - 10 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1221

Abstract

The slender structure is prone to be affected by horizontal force; therefore, the seismic performance needs to be considered carefully. Meanwhile, due to the low cost and good performance on the seismic resistance of the Tuned liquid dampers (TLDs) system, it has been widely used for vibration control. Regarding the abovementioned background, in this study, we conduct the experiment to investigate the seismic performance of the slender structure with the integral water tank, and two designed parameters (the placement location and the water level of the water tank) are studied. The experimental phenomenon and the structural accelerations are recorded to be analyzed further and discussed, then a useful design guide for an integral water tank is summarized. Finally, some practical and helpful advice and conclusions are put forward for the design of the water tank that is used for the purpose of seismic resistance in the slender structure. Our research can fill the blank in the research on the integral water tank of TLDs system, which also has good potential to achieve the enhancement of slender structure seismic performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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21 pages, 6142 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Laboratory and Field Testbed Evaluation of the Performance of Recycled Asphalt Mixture Using High-Penetration Asphalt

by Sang-Yum Lee, Young-Min Kim and Tri Ho Minh Le

Buildings 2023, 13(2), 529; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13020529 - 15 Feb 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1435

Abstract

The application of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) on a large scale is highly promoted to meet the current needs of carbon neutrality and sustainable development purposes. However, a majority of RAP mixture productions are currently relying on the restoring effects provided by the rejuvenators. Therefore, the study focuses on the feasibility of using high penetration asphalt binder (HPAB) in RAP mixture as a replacement for conventional rejuvenators. In this study, a recycled asphalt pavement mixture containing HPAB (RAP-H) was developed to resolve the cracking issue of RAP pavement in winter seasons owing to the rigid behavior of aged binders. To verify the applicability of the RAP-H mixture, the results of the quality standard test and mechanical performance test were compared with the reference RAP mixture having rejuvenator (RAP-R). Through the fatigue cracking test, by using Overlay Tester (OT) device, it was found that all specimens did not reach 93% load reduction after 1000 OT cycles, indicating a satisfied stress-bearing capacity. Additionally, the highest dynamic modulus of 27,275 MPa was found in the modified HPAB mixture, and this result is 4.4% higher than that of the reference mix. In the full-scale testbed, the long-term field applicability of the proposed approach was verified through field test construction. The measurement in practice reveals that the elastic modulus of RAP-H back-calculated from the FWD (Falling Weight Deflectometer) test is increased by more than 50% compared to RAP-R, which resulted in excellent performance characteristics of the HPAB pavement layer. In addition to the efficiency in the surface layer, an improved elastic modulus of the sub-base and subgrade layers in the HPAB section was found to be at 28.6% and 19.5%, respectively, compared to the RAP-R mix. In general, the performance of RAP-H satisfied all of the domestic and international quality and performance standards. The field test results confirmed the possibility of field application by showing performance higher than conventional recycled asphalt pavement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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27 pages, 15087 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy-Saving Design Strategies of Zero-Energy Solar Buildings—A Case Study of the Third Solar Decathlon China

by Gang Yao, Yuan Chen, Yuxi Lin and Yiguo Wang

Buildings 2023, 13(2), 405; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13020405 - 1 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1920

Abstract

Solar Decathlon is a multi-disciplinary international competition that integrates energy-saving design strategies to design, build and operate zero-energy solar houses. This study focused on the 15 entries in the third Solar Decathlon China. It summarized their energy-saving design strategies into strategies of architectural design, equipment management, energy acquisition and intelligent regulation, and extracted a total of 22 key design elements. Based on the scoring results of the competition, this study analyzed the application of different design strategies with qualitative analysis; through quantitative analysis, 22 design elements were associated with the score, and the impact of different strategies on the score was comprehensively analyzed. As revealed in the data, design concept, functional structure and application type of renewable energy are significantly correlated with and have a great impact on the score; in contrast, building area and thermal buffer space are not significantly correlated with the score. On the basis of data analysis, this study provides a quantitative decision basis for the energy-saving design strategy of zero-energy buildings, and establishes an empirical model for the design of zero-energy solar buildings in Zhangbei County, Zhangjiakou City. This paper is helpful for the design practice and application of subsequent studies on ZEBs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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17 pages, 7810 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seismic Performance of Built-In Continuous-Column Steel Moment Frame with Low-Damage CPSFC at Column Bases

by Chengyu Li, Runing Bai, Bo He and Aizhu Zhu

Buildings 2023, 13(1), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13010066 - 27 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1397

Abstract

Integrating the concepts of frictional energy dissipation and low-damage mechanism, this paper proposes a built-in continuous-column (BCC) steel moment frame structure with low-damage cover plate slip-friction connections (CPSFCs) at the column bases. The slip-friction connections can convert the buckling energy dissipation of the column into frictional energy dissipation, and the continuous column can improve the lateral deformation mode of the structure under seismic action. The strength and stiffness deterioration characteristics of the material were considered in the simulation of the seismic performance of the structure, and the simplified numerical models of CPSFCs and continuous columns were established in OpenSees. Comparative analyses were carried on a seven-story steel frame, steel moment frame (SMF) with CPSFCs at the column bases (CPSFC–SMF), and a built-in continuous column steel frame (BCCF) with CPSFC at the column bases (CPSFC–BCCF). The results showed that CPSFC slightly reduced the bearing capacity of the steel moment frame but minished the structural stiffness degradation and increased the ductility of the structure. The setting of CPSFC changed the plasticity hinge sequence of the structure, resulting in a homogeneous deformation between stories. The CPSFC–BCCF had the best damage pattern and the most uniform inter-story energy dissipation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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22 pages, 7744 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Failure Performance of the Thin-Walled Steel-Reinforced Concrete Pier under Low Cyclic Loading

by Huihui Chen, Bing Xu, Qin Liu and Jianfeng Gu

Buildings 2022, 12(9), 1412; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12091412 - 8 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1251

Abstract

Recently, the light-type pier can be easily observed in urban elevated roads and bridge structures. This type of pier is broadly used in the field of structural engineering. The Thin-Walled Steel-Reinforced Concrete Pier (TSRCP), as the typical pier of the light-type piers, shows a better mechanical performance than the conventional reinforced concrete pier due to the enhancement of the H-shape steel. In terms of the TSRCP, the designed parameters, including the depth–width ratio (DWR) and axial compression ratio (ACR), have been determined in this study as the concerned variables. Then, a low cyclic loading experiment is conducted based on the three test specimens to investigate the effects of the concerned variables on the failure of the specimens. Meanwhile, some comparative studies are carried out based on the failure processes and modes, critical loading values (cracking, yielding and ultimate state), strain and ductility. The obtained experimental results demonstrate that all specimens illustrate a bending failure mode under the vertical and horizontal low cyclic loadings. Furthermore, for the concerned variables, the increasing DWR will reduce the ultimate bearing capacity of the TSRCP but enhance the plastic deformation. For the ACR, the decrease positively affects the cracking load, further improving the ultimate bearing capacity; however, the deformation capacity will be restrained. Finally, Abaqus is adopted to model the failure processes of three specimens; the comparative study has been conducted based on the simulated and experimental results. After that, the effects of the concerned variables on the failure performances are discussed. Meanwhile, the horizontal ultimate bearing capacity calculated equation for the TSRCP was deduced and validated based on the experimental and simulated data; the verification proves that the proposed equation can obtain a good result. In this study, the complex calculated process of the original equation can be simplified, which not only provides a convenient and useful way to design and manufacture this type of component but can serve as a guideline for validating the practical engineering applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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14 pages, 4570 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Study on Freezing Mode to Reduce Frost Heave

by Kun Hu, Yan Wu, Zhaoguo Gao, Shaowei Wang and Zhao Yang

Buildings 2022, 12(9), 1367; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12091367 - 2 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1311

Abstract

Frost heave is an important factor affecting the safety and practicability of buildings in cold regions or artificial freezing engineering. In order to reduce frost heave, frost-susceptible silty clay was used in a one-dimensional frost heave testing system in three different freezing modes. The results show that, compared with the continuous freezing mode, frost heave in the intermittent freezing mode and the continuous-intermittent freezing mode is reduced by 14.4% and 43.6%, respectively. These results clearly demonstrate that frost heave can be restrained in the continuous-intermittent freezing mode more effectively than in the other two freezing modes. The periodic step growth on the frost heave curves in the continuous-intermittent freezing mode is the main reason for this, as explained by the frost heave theory in this paper. To acquire appropriate settings on the cold end temperature, frost heave tests were carried out at different amplitudes and periods of temperature change in the continuous-intermittent freezing mode. The frost heave decreases with the increase of the amplitude of temperature change and period of temperature change. The power function growth, periodic step growth and periodic polyline growth are shown on the frost heave curves at different periods of temperature change of 2, 4, and 8 h, respectively. Due to the good inhibition effect of frost heave, periodic step growth will be a better way to reduce frost heave, which is of great significance to the life cycle safety of buildings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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15 pages, 4679 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Corrosion Damage Identification of Towering Steel Headframe Based on Parametric Modeling and Data Fusion

by Rui Zhang, Hongfei Chang, Zhaowei Li, Xinyi Song, Jianchao Yang and Junwu Xia

Buildings 2022, 12(8), 1215; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12081215 - 11 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1134

Abstract

The mine hoisting headframe is a typical towering truss structure, and its damage is complicated after long-term service, which affects the safety of the structure. To achieve rapid identification of corrosion damage on a towering steel headframe, the degradation law of headframe under different damage was analyzed via parametric modeling method and verified via field measurement. The results show that the influence range of element corrosion damage is localized, and a 50% corrosion rate of the bottom column will lead to a collapse risk of the headframe. After that, the single index method, of superimposed curvature mode difference and modal flexibility difference curvature, is used to identify corrosion damage of headframe column. The results indicate that the single index method is susceptible to interference in the undamaged position and leads to error identification. The improved multi-index data fusion damage identification method based on D-S evidence matrix is proposed, through which the multi-position damages in headframe structure can be identified accurately. Compared to the one-stage fusion method, the improved two-stage fusion method is more robust, with an increase of 42.9% in identification accuracy, and a reduction of 75% in misjudgment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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Review

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21 pages, 52076 KiB

Open AccessReview

Mechanical Behaviors of Inter-Module Connections and Assembled Joints in Modular Steel Buildings: A Comprehensive Review

by Chen Yang, Bo Xu, Junwu Xia, Hongfei Chang, Xiaomiao Chen and Renwei Ma

Buildings 2023, 13(7), 1727; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13071727 - 6 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2844

Abstract

Modular steel buildings offer the advantages of time-saving construction, reduced on-site work, and less resource waste. The mechanical behavior of modular connections is complex, depending on the type of connecting method and the load-transferring path. The aim of this paper is to offer an overview of the methods for creating inter-module connections. First, we discuss the existing inter-module connections, including vertical connections, horizontal connections, and module-to-concrete-core-wall connections. Then, the mechanical performance and simplified models of the inter-module connections are reviewed in detail; these have a significant influence on the development of modular steel buildings. Finally, the prospects of module-to-module connection are summarized. Despite the increasing amount of research that explores module-to-module connections, fully modular buildings have not yet been achieved, hindering the further development and use of modular steel buildings. In this context, self-locking connections and laminated double-beam connections are proposed, with the aim of promoting the increased use of modular steel buildings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Safety and Performance Improvement for Sustainable Engineering Structures)

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