Steel and Aluminium Structures: New Advances in Structural Design and Retrofitting Strategies

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Structural Integrity of Metals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 12686

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy
Interests: finite elements methods; steel structures; concrete structures; performance-based design; seismic assessment; numerical methods; masonry structures; seismic design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy
Interests: steel structures; aluminuum structures; local buckling; probabilistic methods; seismic design; fatigue behavior
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to present new, advanced research regarding steel and aluminum structures. In particular, our goal is to collect papers concerning experiments and numerical modeling of metal members, and new methodologies in structural design and retrofitting strategies when the structure is subjected to severe earthquakes. The fatigue and fracture behavior of steel materials and aluminium alloys, advanced studies on instability phenomena, new computational technologies performing detailed nonlinear static and/or dynamic analyses of realistic structural systems, and the use of metal members in the retrofitting strategies are included within the scope of this Special Issue.

The papers can include experimental tests, and numerical and analytical simulations in order to describe actual structural behavior.  

The Guest Editors are inviting high-quality original research articles focused both on the state-of-the-art and the newly developd techniques for seismic protection.

We are promoting the Special Issue through our institutional web page, by informing the entire Italian community of structural engineering professors and all the other foreign colleagues that are involved in several research projects with the Editors.

Example topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Experimental studies on steel and aluminium material;
  • Design of new steel structures;
  • New dissipative steel joint connections;
  • Seismic vulnerability assessment;
  • Applications of metal members in retrofitting strategies;
  • Dynamic analysis of structures;
  • Experimental research on soil–foundation interaction.
  • Stochastic and deterministic methods in seismic engineering

Dr. Elide Nastri
Dr. Alessandro Pisapia
Guest Editors

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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. Metals 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
  • aluminum
  • structural design
  • retrofitting strategies
  • seismic performance

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 3942 KiB  
Article
Some Considerations on the Behaviour of Bolted Stainless-Steel Beam-to-Column Connections: A Simplified Analytical Approach
by Sina Sarfarazi, Rabee Shamass, Ida Mascolo, Gaetano Della Corte and Federico Guarracino
Metals 2023, 13(4), 753; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13040753 - 12 Apr 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1934
Abstract
Stainless-steel has proven to be a first-class material with unique mechanical properties for a variety of applications in the building and construction industry. High ductility, strain hardening, durability and aesthetic appeal are only a few of them. From a specific point of view, [...] Read more.
Stainless-steel has proven to be a first-class material with unique mechanical properties for a variety of applications in the building and construction industry. High ductility, strain hardening, durability and aesthetic appeal are only a few of them. From a specific point of view, its nonlinear stress–strain behaviour appears capable of providing a significant increase in the rotational capacity of stainless-steel connections. This, in turn, may provide significant benefits for the overall response of a structure in terms of capacity and ductility. However, the bulk of the research on stainless-steel that has been published so far has mostly ignored the analysis of the deformation capabilities of the stainless-steel connections and has mostly focused on the structural response of individual members, such as beams or columns. For such a reason, the present study aims to contribute to the general understanding of the behaviour of stainless-steel connections from a conceptual, numerical and design standpoint. After a brief review of the available literature, the influence of the use of stainless-steel for column–beam connections is discussed from a theoretical standpoint. As a novel contribution, a different approach to compute the pseudo-plastic moment resistance that takes into account the post-elastic secant stiffness of the stainless-steel is proposed. Successively, a refined finite element model is employed to study the failure of stainless-steel column–beam connections. Finally, a critical assessment of the employment of carbon-steel-based design guidelines for stainless-steel connections provided by the Eurocode 3 design (EN 1993-1-8) is performed. The findings prove the need for the development of novel design approaches and more precise capacity models capable of capturing the actual stainless-steel joint response and their impact on the overall ductility and capacity of the whole structure. Full article
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17 pages, 2619 KiB  
Article
Effectiveness of Design Procedures in Counteracting Second Order Effects in Steel Moment Resisting Frames
by Francesca Barbagallo, Melina Bosco, Andrea Floridia, Edoardo M. Marino and Pier Paolo Rossi
Metals 2023, 13(2), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13020321 - 4 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1256
Abstract
The seismic response of structures is always influenced by second order (P–Δ) effects. The importance of these effects becomes significant when the structure experiences large plastic deformations. Seismic codes indicate that P–Δ effects may be counteracted by means of an [...] Read more.
The seismic response of structures is always influenced by second order (P–Δ) effects. The importance of these effects becomes significant when the structure experiences large plastic deformations. Seismic codes indicate that P–Δ effects may be counteracted by means of an increase of the lateral strength required by a first order analysis, but the expressions of the Strength Amplification Factor (SAF) given in codes are often criticized by researchers. This paper proposes and validates a formulation of the SAF for Moment Resisting Frames (MRFs), which is a generalization of that derived in the past by some of the authors based on the response of SDOF systems. To this end, in a first stage of the research a set of steel MRFs is designed and analyzed neglecting P–Δ effects. The seismic response is determined by nonlinear static and incremental dynamic analyses and the mean annual frequency of exceedance of the Significant Damage (SD) and Near Collapse (NC) limit states is computed. In a second stage, each structure is re-designed and analyzed considering P–Δ effects. P–Δ effects are counteracted in design according to provisions of European, American and Canadian seismic codes or according to other formulations proposed in literature, such as that proposed by Bernal and that proposed by the authors. The accuracy of the design provisions accounting for P–Δ effects is determined by comparing the response of the structures designed in the first and in the second stages. Full article
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14 pages, 2576 KiB  
Article
Equivalent Modeling of Bolted Connections under Transverse Load Using Iwan-Based Material Properties
by Dong Jiang, Minrui Wang, Yuhang Sun and Xiaochen Hang
Metals 2023, 13(1), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13010091 - 1 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1805
Abstract
The nonlinear characteristics of bolted connections are of significant importance for analyzing the mechanical performance of structures. The Iwan model is well-known and has been widely applied; its limitation is that it is not convenient for complex structures with multiple bolted connections. To [...] Read more.
The nonlinear characteristics of bolted connections are of significant importance for analyzing the mechanical performance of structures. The Iwan model is well-known and has been widely applied; its limitation is that it is not convenient for complex structures with multiple bolted connections. To simplify the modeling process, a material with the force-displacement characteristics of the Iwan model is proposed and applied to the bolted connection region, which can convert the nonlinearity of the bolted connection into the nonlinearity of the material. The constitutive relation of the proposed Iwan-based material is determined by the force-displacement equation of the bolted connection under load and the elastic-plastic hypothesis. The proposed Iwan-based material is implemented using the UMAT subroutine of ABAQUS, and the properties of the Iwan-based material are assigned to a solid finite element for an equivalent modeling of bolted connections. Through comparisons with the s imul ation results of the AIBE, the feasibility of the equivalent modeling method for the force-displacement relationship of the original Iwan model is verified, and through comparisons with the simulation results and experimental results of a detailed 3D FE model of the bolted connection, the universality of the equivalent modeling method is verified. The results show that the equivalent modeling method can well restore the statics characteristics of bolted structures under cyclic loading and can be applied to complex combined structures. The method is more convenient for establishing the finite element model of bolted connections and has more flexibility in adjusting parameters than traditional methods. Full article
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26 pages, 10097 KiB  
Article
Simplified Evaluation of Plastic Rotation Demand for Existing EBFs Equipped with Short Links
by Rosario Montuori, Elide Nastri, Vincenzo Piluso and Paolo Todisco
Metals 2022, 12(6), 1002; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12061002 - 10 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1666
Abstract
The seismic events that occurred in the last decades have highlighted the importance of a correct design of the structures in seismic areas and the seismic inadequacy of a large part of the built heritage. Modern codes are still lacking in terms of [...] Read more.
The seismic events that occurred in the last decades have highlighted the importance of a correct design of the structures in seismic areas and the seismic inadequacy of a large part of the built heritage. Modern codes are still lacking in terms of prescriptions for the evaluation of the seismic performance of existing buildings. The present work proposes a simplified method for the evaluation of the demand in terms of plastic rotation for short links of steel Eccentrically Braced Frames (EBFs). A relationship for the evaluation of the demand, that exploits elastic analysis and rigid-plastic analysis extended to the second-order effects, is proposed. The calibration of this relationship was carried out on 420 EBFs equipped with short links designed according to three different approaches. The 420 frames have been also used to analyze the behavior in the plastic range of EBF type structures equipped with short links. The study also provides an extensive analysis on the influence of plastic redistribution capacity on the demand in terms of plastic rotations of links, corresponding to the achievement of the maximum bearing capacity. The obtained relation can be exploited as an assessment tool by comparing the demand with the link capacity. Moreover, from a performance-based design point of view, the same can be used for predicting the required ultimate plastic rotation as a function of the plastic redistribution capacity of the structure. Full article
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22 pages, 9128 KiB  
Article
Effect of Stiffener Strength on the Failure Mode of Stiffened Plate under Confined Explosion: Experimental Studies
by Wei Xu, Pengyu Chen, Mao Li, Liuwei Mao and Hailiang Hou
Metals 2022, 12(5), 859; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12050859 - 17 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2515
Abstract
The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of stiffener strength on the failure mode of an outer-stiffened plate subjected to confined blast loading. A relatively rigid box with one open side was designed, to provide a confined space, and the [...] Read more.
The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of stiffener strength on the failure mode of an outer-stiffened plate subjected to confined blast loading. A relatively rigid box with one open side was designed, to provide a confined space, and the stiffened plate was fixed onto the open side. Various field blast experiments of stiffened plates with different dimensions were conducted. Transducers were placed on typical points to record the overpressure history. The post-explosion deformation was drawn utilizing the 3D scanner technique, and the failure modes of the stiffened plates were examined in detail. The effect of plate thickness, stiffener thickness, stiffener height, and stand-off distance on the failure mode of the stiffened plate is discussed. It was shown that two typical failure modes were observed in the stiffened plates, namely uniform global dome deformation and nonuniform dome deformation, with local lattice along the stiffeners. The transformation of these two deformation modes originated from the relative strength of the stiffener compared to the plate, hence a relative strength factor was proposed to clarify the division. Full article
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Review

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14 pages, 290 KiB  
Review
Relevance of Environmental Factors in the Steel Life Cycle for a Transition toward Circular Sustainable Production and Consumption Systems: A Joint Bibliometric and Bibliographic Analysis
by Marco Casazza and Fabrizio Barone
Metals 2023, 13(3), 592; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13030592 - 14 Mar 2023
Viewed by 2415
Abstract
The design of steel structures has evolved thanks to the increased ability to model the behavior of more complex structures. However, further constraints arise from the need for a transition toward more sustainable production and consumption systems. In particular, the assessment of the [...] Read more.
The design of steel structures has evolved thanks to the increased ability to model the behavior of more complex structures. However, further constraints arise from the need for a transition toward more sustainable production and consumption systems. In particular, the assessment of the economic benefits and efficiency of existing production systems should be integrated with assessment of environmental, economic and social sustainability. In the case of steel, and limited to the environmental dimension, the literature covers various study areas, ranging from the analysis of resource flows to the assessment of steel’s environmental impacts. However, an integrated view of existing peer-reviewed studies is currently missing. The purpose of this work is to overcome this shortcoming with a review that considers and integrates research on the steel life cycle from various perspectives: analysis of material flows; quantification of emissions; environmental monitoring and indicators; and circular economy aspects, including reuse and recycling. This study is based on a deep bibliometric and bibliographical analysis of the above-cited aspects, including the key topics, authors and journals, to single out some potential research directions that have previously been neglected. The results of the analyses indicate that, even though discussed in the literature, the redesign of products is still lacking adequate consideration. The same gap was also evidenced when it came to studies on the management of waste materials and recommissioning. There is also still a lack of knowledge on the possible meaningful indicators of environmental sustainability in the case of steel. Moreover, while digital technologies that enable sustainability are being intensely developed and widely implemented, the design, testing and application of sensors for the environmental monitoring of steel production is under-studied and the interaction of environmental factors with steel structures is poorly addressed. Finally, this work evidenced poor attention with respect to water and soil pollution generated in different phases of the steel life cycle. All these aspects should be considered in future research, which would also have a beneficial effect in the implementation of informed policies for a transition toward a circular and sustainable steel life cycle. Full article
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