Eccentric braced frames have been a topic of research in seismic design over the past twenty years. The idea of eccentric bracing is a relatively new method used in practice to satisfy seismic design requirements. They have been proven to give reliable results in tests using simulated earthquake events, as well as provide an economical advantage over other framing methods. Two one-story eccentric braced frame models were created using computer generated finite element analysis. The example chosen for this study are discussed further. The maximum shear stress distribution in the link beam of the frame, using finite element analysis, will be investigated herein. The results of the shear stress produced gives insight to shear forces developed in the link beam of eccentric braced frames. The results of shear forces produced are compared with those calculated by structural engineers using commonly used hand calculated equations.

Inelastic behavior in steel special moment frames occurs through the development of plastic hinges at locations near the ends of the beam. The main objective of using a reduced beam connection is to force the formation of plastic hinges to be formed at the reduced beam section rather than at the ends of the beam which otherwise would lead to brittle failure of the beam-column connections. The beam has two reduced beam sections, each located at a certain distance from the face of the column, so that the plastic hinges are formed symmetrically at each of this section. When acted upon by lateral loads, the maximum moments occur at the ends of the beam. Therefore, the plastic hinges form at the reduced beam section. However, when a frame is subjected to a combination of gravity and lateral loads, the plastic hinge formation at one of the reduced beam section is not so clear and further analysis has to be done to study the effect. FEMA 350 indicates that the desired plastic hinge location is only valid for beams with gravity loads representing a small portion of the total flexural demand. If gravity demands significantly exceed 30% of the girder plastic capacity then further plastic analysis of the frame should be performed to determine the appropriate hinge locations. The scope of my thesis is mainly to study the combined effect of gravity and lateral loads on the formation of plastic hinges in steel moment frames with reduced beam section connections.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-29T15:08:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_4188_Dissertação Michelle Teixeira PDF.pdf: 1972164 bytes, checksum: 2eb713e7753f2f070e9fdfcb346ede5e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-09 / Esta investigação vincula-se ao Projeto FrameNet Brasil e tem como base teórica a Semântica de Frames, linha de estudos cunhada por Fillmore (2006), cujo postulado central é: as significações lingüísticas são relacionadas às cenas conceptuais. Essa linha teórica fundamenta-se na noção de frames, que são esquemas conceptuais organizados de tal modo que para compreender qualquer um de seus elementos constitutivos é necessária a compreensão de todos os outros. A linguagem é observada, sob essa ótica, como um fenômeno interligado a outras habilidades humanas. Descreveram-se, nesta pesquisa, as ocorrências lingüísticas do frame Experiência de dano corporal e seus elementos, considerando algumas unidades lexicais verbais que o evocam, a saber: Fraturar, Machucar, Contundir, Torcer, Cortar, Quebrar, Queimar, Deslocar e Distender. O objetivo do trabalho realizado é contribuir para a base de dados do projeto FrameNet Brasil, cujo foco é disponibilizar a rede de frames do português brasileiro. Como metodologia, utilizaram-se as diretrizes disponíveis para esse projeto (cf. Ruppenhofer et al (2006)), o qual prevê a busca de ocorrências em corpora da Língua Portuguesa falada no Brasil e a anotação lexicográfica. Esta anotação documenta as propriedades combinatórias sintáticas e semânticas (as valências) da unidade lexical por meio da rotulação semântica, isto é, da rotulação dos elementos de frame nucleares e não-nucleares, e de seus constituintes gramaticais (tipos sintagmáticos e funções gramaticais). Palavras-chave: Semântica de frames; FrameNet ; Frame Experiência de dano corporal.

The evaluation of fluid forces on vibrating framed structures in a fluid environment is of current significance in view of the activity in ocean engineering. Accurate knowledge of the fluid forces under conditions of variable separated flow is lacking. In this study an attempt has been made to find a general method of evaluation of fluid forces on cylinders for variable flow, using published data from tests of constant velocity flow, uniformly accelerated flow and wave motion. The parameters that appear to govern the variable flow forces are discussed and models for relating force magnitudes to these parameters are suggested. The dynamic response of framed structures in an ocean environment has not been investigated except for linear sinusoidal wave motion in deep water conditions. The response of shallow water structures to various types of wave forces, as well as to earthquake excitation, has been analysed numerically here, taking into account the interaction between the structure and fluid motions. The effect of the mass and drag parameters on the structure response has been studied. Governing load cases for the design of framed structures have been related to structural period and water depth. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

A large number of building inventory in Canada and elsewhere in the world consists of non-ductile reinforced concrete frames, with or without masonry infill panels. These structures suffer damage when seismic force demands are higher than their force capacities. Therefore, seismic retrofitting of such frame buildings for drift control remains to be a viable option for improved building performance. A retrofit methodology has been developed in the current research project, which involves diagonal bracing of frames with prestressing strands. An experimental research project has been conducted to assess the effectiveness of diagonal prestressing in non-ductile reinforced concrete frame buildings. The experimental program consists of two large-scale single-bay single-storey reinforced concrete frames, with a height of 3.0m and a span length of 3.5 m. The frames were designed and built to reflect the 1960’s practice in Canada, without the seismic requirements of current building codes, and hence are seismically deficient. They were retrofitted with diagonally placed prestressing strands, having two different areas of steel, prestressed to 40% of the strand capacity. One of the frames was retested after the failure of the strands, with a new set of strands without any prestressing, forming the third test. The results indicate that lateral bracing reinforced concrete frames with high-strength prestressing strands is an effective strategy for controlling lateral drift and hence potential damage in buildings during strong earthquakes. Prestressing of the strands increases initial stiffness, as compared to non-prestressed cables, and provide superior performance. The area of diagonally placed steel (including the number of strands) and the level of initial prestressing depend on the required level of upgrade in the building in terms of seismic force requirements. The design procedure recommended in this thesis may be employed for implementing the technology. The thesis presents the details of the experimental program, and the test results. It also provides analytical verification of the approach, with a step-by-step design procedure.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T23:01:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo877_1.pdf: 2006855 bytes, checksum: 7dcd83f4481f1b207d4a601ce71e08d0 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Baseando-se nas perspectivas histórico-relacional e semiótica das relações sociais, este estudo teve por objetivo investigar como professores e alunos constroem vínculos e quais as formas de vinculação construídas a partir da mediação de diferentes conteúdos curriculares. De acordo com a literatura, estes interlocutores apresentam muitos problemas relacionais que interferem no processo ensino-aprendizagem e podem tornar-se o lócus de múltiplas expressões de violência. Fez-se pertinente uma investigação processual de como esses sujeitos se envolvem em ações de demanda e atenção, produzindo laços significativos entre si, a fim de construirmos um melhor entendimento dessa relação. Foram utilizados registros audiovideográficos e de observações participantes de uma aula de matemática e uma aula de história em salas de 5ª série da rede pública de ensino, além de entrevistas individuais com os professores envolvidos. As sessões registradas foram submetidas a uma microanálise e macroanálise, para as quais identificamos como unidade frames de vinculação : controle, ajuda e avaliação. Estes frames foram categorizados quanto à dimensão dos conteúdos que mediaram à vinculação (curricular ou não-centralmente curricular), aos temas recorrentes, à sua freqüência e distribuição no tempo da aula. As análises mostraram que os processos de vinculação professor-aluno foram estabelecidos principalmente a partir de frames de controle, e pela mediação predominante de conteúdos não-centralmente curriculares em ambas as aulas, havendo algumas diferenças entre estas nos outros frames de vinculação e na forma como os interlocutores mediaram semioticamente as ações de vinculação

Master of Engineering

Reusing RAP in the base layer became a common practice in the last decade. However, some crucial issues must be resolved to succeed in using RAP satisfying the standard specifications as a base layer. The most important unknown factor is the mechanistic behavior of RAP. This question may be satisfied by understanding the role of RAP in terms of whether it just behaves as a black rock or has a stabilizing effect with traditional aggregates used for base layer. The first stage of this study is modeling the structural behavior of RAP via prediction MR. This stage then comprises comparing the predicted results to actual measured data under several field conditions. The second stage focuses on the modeling behavior of PD. This stage takes in consideration two sets of data, the first is for the measured PD data calculated from MR test. While another traditional set of measured data for PD from repeated tri-axial loading (RTL) test either single or multi-stage is collected for the same RAP sources used in the first stage. The third stage concerns on MR-PD relationship. It indicates the typical relationship for the MR-PD behavior that can be understood for the RAP in base layer. The fourth and last stage is essential to investigate the Poisson’s ratio of RAP blends and its effectiveness on both parameters MR and PD. This ratio is measured during un-confined compression test. Two main testing conditions: various water and RAP contents are taken in consideration during this measurement for different RAP/Aggregate sources. This study proves that both prediction models used in the MEPDG for prediction of both parameters MR and PD are totally significant for RAP/Aggregate blends used for pavement base layer. The prediction is at the highest accuracy at water content levels close to OMC%, MDD and with 50% to 75% RAP content. In addition, it is proved that Poisson’s ratio is an effective parameter on both MR and PD parameters especially with variation of water content. This conclusion recommends to take in consideration Poisson’s ratio as an effective parameter in MR and PD prediction models used in MEPDG software. / National Science Foundation (NSF)

<p>The results of this work are the closed-form expressions for the tangent and secant stiffness matrices of the 3-node Mindlin frame element. From the study of two solution methods and the behavior of the three elements, several conclusions have been made as follows:</p> <a>1. Because the Mindlin frame element uses quadratic polynoms for the interpolation functions, at least two elements are needed for modelling a member of a plane frame structure.</p> <p> 2. The Mindlin frame element will give a more flexible structure due to the shear deformation effect, but the effect is not always significant.</p> <p> 3. The Mindlin frame element requires about twice degree-of-freedoms than the Bernoulli-Euler frame element requirement.</p> <p> 4. The formulation of tangent stiffness matrix can be simplified, in condition that the internal forces calculations are done using the appropriate nonlinear formulation. The calculation of the tangent stiffness matrix and the internal element forces can be done using different formulations.</p> / Master of Science

In 2011, Porismita Borah published "Conceptual Issues in Framing Theory: A Systematic Examination of a Decade’s Literature" to shed light on the status of framing research, and attempt to answer several scholars' criticisms of framing research practices (Carragee and Roefs 2004, D'Angelo, 2002, Entman, 1993). Borah argues that framing research has several areas of necessary improvement, and her prescription is for future research to be able to examine specific framing issues or effects, but also be able to connect with broader understandings of framing. The following content analysis of framing research, conducted between the year 2000 and 2013, seeks to examine the current state of framing literature, and whether or not scholarship is advancing optimally. The hope is to examine partially if Borah's concerns remain relevant to current framing research. Additionally, the current study seeks to expand the questions asked of framing research in multiple ways. What follows is an account of framing, as a theory broadly. Borah's role in attempting to measure the state of framing research is explained, and then I show how research can be expanded in several areas to be more inclusive. Then, new avenues of inquiry will be opened, particularly in regard to power, and social relationships, to delve deeper into whether or not framing research can be improved in terms of accuracy and efficacy. Following those sections is an explanation of the way my research questions have been operationalized, an account of the methodology employed by this study, our findings, and a discussion of the data and it’s meaningful portions.