Flexural behaviour of structural fibre composite sandwich beams in flatwise and edgewise positions

The flexural behaviour of a new generation composite sandwich beams made up of glass fibre-reinforced polymer skins and modified phenolic core material was investigated. The composite sandwich beams were subjected to 4-point static bending test to determine their strength and failure mechanisms in the flatwise and the edgewise positions. The results of the experimental investigation showed that the composite sandwich beams tested in the edgewise position failed at a higher load with less deflection compared to specimens tested in the flatwise position. Under flexural loading, the composite sandwich beams in the edgewise position failed due to progressive failure of the skin while failure in the flatwise position is in a brittle manner due to either shear failure of the core or compressive failure of the skin followed by debonding between the skin and the core. The results of the analytical predictions and numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results

Timber composite floor beams under 2 years lon-term load

The long-term behaviour of composite beams is characterised by the response of its component parts (flanges and webs) to load, moisture content, temperature and relative humidity of the environment. This paper reports the results of a two years long-term test on two 6 m span composite floor beams made of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) under service load performed in an indoor, semi-controlled, and unheated environment. The environmental conditions were characterized by artificially induced cyclic air humidity with quasi-constant temperature. These conditions can be characterized as reasonably severe and presumably close to service class 3 according to Eurocode 5. During the test, the mid-span deflection, moisture content and air humidity were monitored. The paper recommends a creep factor for design of timber composite beams in severe environmental conditions

Optimal design of an aeroelastic wing structure with seamless control surfaces

This article presents an investigation into the concept and optimal design of a lightweight seamless aeroelastic wing (SAW) structure for small air vehicles. Attention has been first focused on the design of a hingeless flexible trailing edge (TE) control surface. Two innovative design features have been created in the SAW TE section: an open sliding TE and a curved beam and disc actuation mechanism. This type of actuated TE section allows for the SAW having a camber change in a desirable shape and minimum control power demand. This design concept has been simulated numerically and demonstrated by a test model. For a small air vehicle of large sweep back wing, it is noted that significant structural weight saving can be achieved. However, further weight saving is mainly restricted by the aeroelastic stability and minimum number of carbon/epoxy plies in a symmetric layup rather than the structural strength. Therefore, subsequent effort was made to optimize the primary wing box structure. The results show that an initial structural weight can be reduced significantly under the strength criterion. The resulting reduction of the wing box stiffness and aeroelastic stability and control effectiveness can be improved by applying the aeroelastic tailoring. Because of the large swept angle and resulting lightweight and highly flexible SAW, geometrical non-linearity and large bending-torsion aeroelastic coupling have been considered in the analysis

Finite element modelling of moisture related and visco-elastic deformations in inhomogeneous timber beams

Wood is a hygro-mechanical, non-isotropic and inhomogeneous material concerning both modulus of elasticity (MOE) and shrinkage properties. In stress calculations associated with ordinary timber design, these matters are often not dealt with properly. The main reason for this is that stress distributions in inhomogeneous glued laminated members (glulam) and in composite beams exposed to combined mechanical action and variable climate conditions are extremely difficult to predict by hand. Several experimental studies of Norway spruce have shown that the longitudinal modulus of elasticity and the longitudinal shrinkage coefficient vary considerably from pith to bark. The question is how much these variations affect the stress distribution in wooden structures exposed to variable moisture climate. The paper presents a finite element implementation of a beam element with the aim of studying how wooden composites behave during both mechanical and environmental load action. The beam element is exposed to both axial and lateral deformation. The material model employed concerns the elastic, shrinkage, mechano-sorption and visco-elastic behaviour of the wood material. It is used here to simulate the behaviour of several simply-supported and continuous composite beams subjected to both mechanical and environmental loading to illustrate the advantages this can provide. The results indicate clearly both the inhomogeneity of the material and the variable moisture action occurring to have had a significant effect on the stress distribution within the cross-section of the products that were studie

The lateral stability of timber beams and arches

Imperial Users onl

Numerical Study on the Behaviour of Built-up Cold-Formed Steel Corrugated Web Beams End Connections

Corrugated web beams made of cold-formed steel components represent an economical solution for structures, offering high flexural capacity and deformation rigidity. For conventional corrugated web beams, made of thick plates for the flanges and thin sinusoidal steel sheets for the web, the elements can be joined by standard bolted end-plate connections. In the case of corrugated web beams made of thin-walled cold-formed steel components only, additional plates are required to accommodate the shape and position of the profiles. A large experimental program was carried out on corrugated web beams made of cold-formed steel elements. One of the objectives was to determine the capacity of these beams and the influence of several parameters on the response of the beam, but also very important were the end connections of these beams. The recordings obtained from the tests were used to validate a numerical model. Based on the validation of the numerical model, finite element analyses were performed to study four solutions for end connections to facilitate assembly, optimise the number of bolts, and increase the capacity and rigidity. Although the connection can be improved for assembling reasons with the presented solutions, the overall capacity is limited by the components subjected to compression that lose their stability. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-04-01 Full Text: PD

Investigation of a proposed long span timber floor for non-residential applications

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Design of floor systems for commercial and multi-residential buildings in many parts of the world is currently dominated by the use of structural materials other than timber, such as reinforced concrete systems. Recent research in Australia has shown that the major barriers to using timber in non-residential buildings are the fire performance and the lack of designer confidence in commercial and industrial timber-based constructions. In this regard, significant research initiatives have commenced in Australia and New Zealand with the aim of developing timber and timber hybrid systems for large span commercial and industrial applications. This PhD research provides a detailed procedure for designing and investigating the short term static behaviour of a proposed long span timber floor system for non-residential applications that meets serviceability and ultimate limit design criteria, with the use of timber as the only structural load bearing part of the system. The specimen’s responses to long-term loading, in-plane loading, dynamic excitation, cyclic loading and loading history are outside the scope of this PhD research. Moreover, other aspects of performance such as assessment of acoustic performance, dynamic performance and the possible interconnection systems alongside floor modules are not covered in the scope of this research project. In this study the behaviour of two types of LVL are investigated through a number of experimental and analytical tests. As a result of the tension and compression tests, a suitable constitutive law is developed which can accurately capture the stress-strain relationship and the failure behaviour of LVL, and it can also be incorporated into FE analysis of any LVL beam with similar structural features to the tested specimens. Further, the results of the full scale four point bending tests on LVL sections are used to identify the behaviour of LVL up to the failure point and to develop a finite element model to capture the behaviour and failure of LVL. Moreover, after investigating the long span timber floors, one system is proposed to be fabricated for the extensive experimental and numerical investigation. The experimental investigation involved subjecting the full scale proposed floor modules (6m and 8m clear span LVL modules) to both serviceability and ultimate limit state static loading to assess the strength and serviceability performance of the proposed system. A continuum-based finite element model is also developed to capture the behaviour and failure of the long span LVL modules and to adequately predict the serviceability and ultimate limit performance of the proposed floor system. To evaluate the partially-composite strength and serviceable performance of LVL floor system, a series of push-out tests are conducted on the fabricated timber connections using normal screws as the shear connectors, and the stiffness of the connections are assessed at serviceability and ultimate limit state. A number of LVL beams (3.5m “T” shaped beams) were also fabricated using only normal screws as the load bearing shear connectors at the interfaces, and are tested under serviceability and ultimate limit state loads with different screw spacing. Furthermore, a closed-form prediction analysis is conducted to calculate the partially-composite ultimate load of the beams. A comparison between the experimental results and the closed-from predicted results is undertaken, and the results are used for predicting the partially-composite behaviour of long span 6m and 8m LVL modules. The results of the full scale experimental tests together with the numerical investigation provide a robust model for predicting the performance of any timber beams with similar structural features to the proposed system while the dimensions and spans can be varied according to special requirements such as dynamic performance or fire resistance requirements

Behavior of Metallic and Composite Structures (Second Volume)

Various types of metallic and composite structures are used in modern engineering practice. For aerospace, car industry, and civil engineering applications, the most important are thin-walled structures made of di erent types of metallic alloys, brous composites, laminates, and multifunctional materials with a more complicated geometry of reinforcement including nanoparticles or nano bres. The current applications in modern engineering require analysis of structures of various properties, shapes, and sizes (e.g., aircraft wings) including structural hybrid joints, subjected to di erent types of loadings, including quasi-static, dynamic, cyclic, thermal, impact, penetration, etc.The advanced metallic and composite structures should satisfy multiple structural functions during operating conditions. Structural functions include mechanical properties such as strength, sti ness, damage resistance, fracture toughness, and damping. Non-structural functions include electrical and thermal conductivities, sensing, actuation, energy harvesting, self-healing capability, electromagnetic shielding, etc.The aim of this SI is to understand the basic principles of damage growth and fracture processes in advanced metallic and composite structures that also include structural joints. Presently, it is widely recognized that important macroscopic properties, such as macroscopic sti ness and strength, are governed by processes that occur at one to several scales below the level of observation. A thorough understanding of how these processes influence the reduction of sti ffness and strength forms the key to the design of improved innovative structural elements and the analysis of existing ones