Stiffness profile spectral composition & geometry deterioration of railway tracks

This work addresses the contribution of the wavelength composition of the spectrum of the rail support stiffness profile to the expected long-term settlement. To that aim, purely harmonic stiffness variations of different wavelength are studied. The frequency-domain model with a double periodicity level previously developed by the first and...

Behaviour of steel-reinforced concrete columns under combined torsion based on ABAQUS FEA

A computational model for studying the mechanical performance of steel-concrete columns under combined torsion is established via ABAQUS. The model is validated by experimental results. Through numerical simulations, the influence of the axial load ratio, torsion-bending ratio, concrete strength, steel ratio, longitudinal reinforcement ratio,...

Experimental application of FRF-based model updating approach to estimate soil mass and stiffness mobilised under pile impact tests

The dynamic response of structures in contact with soil is receiving increasing interest and there is a growing need for more accurate models capable of simulating the behaviour of these systems. This is particularly important in the field of offshore wind turbines, where accurate estimates of system frequency are needed to avoid resonance, and...

An iterative method to infer distributed mass and stiffness profiles for use in reference dynamic beam-Winkler models of foundation piles from frequency response functions

Accurate characterisation of soil behaviour in Dynamic-Soil-Structure Interaction (DSSI) applications remains a significant challenge. Knowledge of the operational soil-structure interaction stiffness is important for applications ranging from earthquake engineering to offshore structures subjected to wind and wave loading. A number of...

Thermal and structural performance of tow-placed, variable stiffness panels

The structural response of two variable stiffness composite panels under thermal and mechanical loads are characterized using experiments and analyses. These panels are advanced composite structures where the fiber angle varies continuously within each ply, and are manufactured using an advanced tow placement system. Both variable stiffness...