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Load transfer analysis deals with an important function of engineering structure, which is the ability of structure in transferring imposed loads to the supporting points. Although stress value has proved to be an efficient index for performing the failure analysis, the necessity of defining an index for evaluation of structure stiffness has led to the introduction of the U* index theory. The U* index characterizes the internal stiffness distributions, as an indicator of the load transfer in the structure. Although U* index theory have been proven to be useful in design, it is missing necessary steps toward becoming a mature theory for structural analysis. Firstly, the U* index theory needed to be examined and validated by experimental testing. Therefore, an experimental setup was proposed and tested, and U* index theory was validated through comparison of results. Secondly, a systematic comparison between the conventional stresses analysis and the U* index analysis was lacking. Such comparison was made for structural analyses of a vehicle component. The results, also compared to observations of experimental testing showed that in some cases, application of conventional stress analysis might be limited or less precise. Thirdly, design modification capability is a significant feature of the U* index theory, and it was necessary to demonstrate that real life problems can benefit from this potential. In this study, sample structures representing the components of multiple passengers carrying vehicles were selected and analyzed by U* index theory and design modifications were proposed and implemented on the structure. Lastly, the U* index theory should be applicable to different types of problems, including nonlinear domain. Hence, to remove the limitations of linear analysis that is a part of the original theory, an extension of U* index theory to the nonlinear domain was proposed and tested. In summary, U* index theory provides an understandable explanation of load transfer in the structure and provides a general awareness regarding structural performance. He presented work showed that the existing methods of structural analysis have limitations in certain aspects that can be overcome by combining the perspective of U* index analysis to the existing structural analysis paradigm. / February 2017

Este trabalho de pesquisa foi realizado na busca de melhor entendimento do comportamento estrutural de pavimentos de concreto no que tange a transferência de carga em juntas, de quais os fatores que influenciam essa transferência de esforços nas juntas e a determinação, em caráter preliminar, de como as condições climáticas vigentes na área tropical dos estudos afeta o fenômeno. Para a realização dos experimentos foi empregada a pista experimental USP/FAPESP, construída em 1999, e até então não empregada para a determinação dos efeitos de transferência de cargas em juntas com e sem barra de transferência de carga. Paralelamente, para retroanalisar os parâmetros de transferência de carga, foram necessárias a avaliação e a análise estrutural de respostas a carregamentos dinâmicos das placas de concreto da pista experimental, possibilitando a determinação de diversos parâmetros em jogo, em especial, do módulo de elasticidade de concretos e do módulo de reação do subleito. Os estudos permitiram determinar que a ausência de barras de transferência de cargas em juntas transversais torna menos eficiente tal transferência além de apresentar nesse caso forte dependência da temperatura do concreto. Em juntas com barras de transferência de carga, para qualquer época do ano, a transferência de cargas é sempre igual ou superior a 90%, aproximadamente, independentemente da geometria das placas. Não existindo tais dispositivos o valor da transferência de cargas variou de 60 a 75%. Não foram observadas dependências importantes quanto a diferentes níveis de carregamento durante os testes, bem como para espessuras de placas de concreto, em placas com barras de transferência. Observou-se, também, embora em escala inferior ao que se narra na literatura passada, que o módulo de reação do subleito para carga de borda é maior que aquele para carga de centro. As faixas de valores de módulos de elasticidade para concretos de placas e para concretos compactados com rolo em sub-bases coincidiram com as faixas de valores encontrados em laboratório com medidas efetuadas na época da construção dos pavimentos. O processo de retroanálise com o programa ISLAB2000 mostrou-se um recurso valioso para a parametrização dos pavimentos de concreto estudados. / This research was proposed aiming an in deep study of the mechanism of load transfer across concrete pavement joints including the analysis of which factors influence such load transfers with special regards to the climate factors as concrete temperature. The concrete pavements under study were built in 1999 as a research supported by FAPESP, whose experimental sections has not been used before for such a goal. Backcalculation techniques were employed to analyze deflection data collected with FWD tests over the slabs and it was possible to define values for the test sections materials parameters like concrete modulus of elasticity and the modulus of subgrade reaction. Tests detected loss of load transfer efficiency on the dependence of concrete temperature for non dowelled joints. For dowelled joints, whatever the season of the year or period of the day, joint load transfer efficiency was at least 90% approximately. However, without dowels, efficiency ranged from 60 to 75%. No expressive dependence on the load level was observed during tests, as well as on the slab thicknesses, for cases of dowelled joints. It was observed the increase in the value of the modulus of subgrade reaction when loads were applied in joint position, although not so expressive as sometimes described in the literature. Ranges for concrete and rolled compacted concrete modulus of elasticity resulted similar to former values got from the construction period in laboratory. Therefore, backcalculation procedures using ISLAB2000 software is understood as a valuable tool for concrete slab characterization.

Water infiltration associated with natural precipitation events or other artificial activities such as pipe leaks in expansive soils significantly influence the engineering properties; namely, coefficient of permeability, shear strength and volume change behavior. For this reason, it is challenging to design or construct geotechnical infrastructure within or with expansive soils. Several billions of dollars losses, world-wide, can be attributed to the repairing, redesigning and retrofitting of infrastructure constructed with or within expansive soils, annually. Piles are widely used as foundations in expansive soils extending conventional design procedures based on the principles of saturated soil mechanics. However, the behavior of piles in unsaturated expansive soils is significantly different from conventional non-expansive saturated soils. Three significant changes arise as water infiltrates into expansive soil around the pile. Firstly, soil volume expansion contributes to ground heave in vertical direction. Secondly, volume expansion restriction leads to development of the lateral swelling pressure resulting in an increment in the lateral earth pressure in the horizontal direction. Thirdly, pile-soil interface shear strength properties change due to variations in water content (matric suction) of the surrounding soil. These three changes are closely related to matric suction variations that arise during the water infiltration process. For this reason, a rational methodology is necessary for the pile load transfer mechanism analysis based on the mechanics of unsaturated soils. Studies presented in this thesis are directed towards developing simple methods to predict the load transfer mechanism changes of piles in expansive soils upon infiltration. More emphasis is directed towards the prediction of the pile mechanical behavior which includes the pile head load-displacement relationship, the pile axial force (shaft friction) distribution and the pile base resistance using unsaturated mechanical as a tool. The function of matric suction as an independent stress state variable on the mechanical behavior pile is highlighted. More specifically, following studies were conducted: (i) Previous studies on various factors influencing the load transfer mechanisms of piles in unsaturated expansive soils are summarized and discussed to give a background of current research. More specifically, state-of-the-art reviews are summarized on the application of piles in expansive soils, mobilization of lateral swelling pressure, mobilization of unsaturated pile-soil interface shear strength and methods available for the load transfer analysis of piles in expansive soils. (ii) Employing unsaturated soil mechanics as a tool, theoretical methods are proposed for estimating the lateral earth pressure variations considering the mobilization of lateral swelling pressure. The proposed methods are verified using two large-scale laboratory studies and two field studies from published literatures. (iii) The shear displacement method and load transfer curve methods used traditionally for pile load transfer mechanisms analysis for saturated soils were modified to extend their applications for unsaturated expansive soils. The influence of volume change characteristics and unsaturated soil properties on unsaturated expansive soils are considered in these methods. The validation of the modified shear displacement method and modified load transfer curve method were established using a large-scale model test performed in the geotechnical engineering lab of University of Ottawa and a field case study results from the published literature. (iv) A large-scale model pile infiltration test conducted in a typical expansive soil from Regina in Canada in the geotechnical lab of University of Ottawa is presented and interpreted using the experimental data of volumetric water content suction measurements and shear strength data. The results of the comprehensive experiment studies are also used to validate the proposed modified shear displacement method and modified load transfer curve method achieving reasonable good comparisons. The proposed modified shear displacement method and modified load transfer curve method are simple and require limited number soil properties including the soil water characteristic curve (SWCC), matric suction profile upon wetting and drying and some soil physical properties. Due to these advantages, they can be easily and conveniently applied in engineering practice for prediction of the mechanical behavior of piles in unsaturated expansive soils, which facilitate practicing engineers to produce sound design of pile foundation in unsaturated expansive soils in a simplistic manner.

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In this dissertation, the artificial intelligent Petri nets is applied to find the optimal switching operation for service restoration and feeder loading balance for 18-feeders distribution systems that containing the whole 24-hours load profiles of service zones. After the fault location has been identified and isolated for a system fault contingency, the Petri nets model with inference mechanism is derived and applied to solve the optimal load transfer among distribution feeders. For system normal operation condition, the load balancing among distribution feeders is obtained by the Petri nets model to enhance the operation efficiency of distribution systems. The switching operation, which will result in the loading balance among distribution feeders, is derived by the Petri nets model according to the loading cost of distribution systems. To determine the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, a Taipower (Taiwan Power Company) distribution system which serves a mixed types of customers is selected to perform the computer simulation. It is found that the Petri nets approach can enhance the solution process of fault restoration with proper load transfer and improve feeder load balance for distribution systems by considering the load characteristics of the service customers.

No description available.

Este trabalho de pesquisa foi realizado na busca de melhor entendimento do comportamento estrutural de pavimentos de concreto no que tange a transferência de carga em juntas, de quais os fatores que influenciam essa transferência de esforços nas juntas e a determinação, em caráter preliminar, de como as condições climáticas vigentes na área tropical dos estudos afeta o fenômeno. Para a realização dos experimentos foi empregada a pista experimental USP/FAPESP, construída em 1999, e até então não empregada para a determinação dos efeitos de transferência de cargas em juntas com e sem barra de transferência de carga. Paralelamente, para retroanalisar os parâmetros de transferência de carga, foram necessárias a avaliação e a análise estrutural de respostas a carregamentos dinâmicos das placas de concreto da pista experimental, possibilitando a determinação de diversos parâmetros em jogo, em especial, do módulo de elasticidade de concretos e do módulo de reação do subleito. Os estudos permitiram determinar que a ausência de barras de transferência de cargas em juntas transversais torna menos eficiente tal transferência além de apresentar nesse caso forte dependência da temperatura do concreto. Em juntas com barras de transferência de carga, para qualquer época do ano, a transferência de cargas é sempre igual ou superior a 90%, aproximadamente, independentemente da geometria das placas. Não existindo tais dispositivos o valor da transferência de cargas variou de 60 a 75%. Não foram observadas dependências importantes quanto a diferentes níveis de carregamento durante os testes, bem como para espessuras de placas de concreto, em placas com barras de transferência. Observou-se, também, embora em escala inferior ao que se narra na literatura passada, que o módulo de reação do subleito para carga de borda é maior que aquele para carga de centro. As faixas de valores de módulos de elasticidade para concretos de placas e para concretos compactados com rolo em sub-bases coincidiram com as faixas de valores encontrados em laboratório com medidas efetuadas na época da construção dos pavimentos. O processo de retroanálise com o programa ISLAB2000 mostrou-se um recurso valioso para a parametrização dos pavimentos de concreto estudados. / This research was proposed aiming an in deep study of the mechanism of load transfer across concrete pavement joints including the analysis of which factors influence such load transfers with special regards to the climate factors as concrete temperature. The concrete pavements under study were built in 1999 as a research supported by FAPESP, whose experimental sections has not been used before for such a goal. Backcalculation techniques were employed to analyze deflection data collected with FWD tests over the slabs and it was possible to define values for the test sections materials parameters like concrete modulus of elasticity and the modulus of subgrade reaction. Tests detected loss of load transfer efficiency on the dependence of concrete temperature for non dowelled joints. For dowelled joints, whatever the season of the year or period of the day, joint load transfer efficiency was at least 90% approximately. However, without dowels, efficiency ranged from 60 to 75%. No expressive dependence on the load level was observed during tests, as well as on the slab thicknesses, for cases of dowelled joints. It was observed the increase in the value of the modulus of subgrade reaction when loads were applied in joint position, although not so expressive as sometimes described in the literature. Ranges for concrete and rolled compacted concrete modulus of elasticity resulted similar to former values got from the construction period in laboratory. Therefore, backcalculation procedures using ISLAB2000 software is understood as a valuable tool for concrete slab characterization.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis student team Jaguar has been participating in the electric Formula SAE (FSAE) vehicle competitions in the past few years. There is an urgent need to develop a design tool for improving the performance of the vehicle. In this thesis, multibody dynamics (MBD) models have been developed which allow the student team to improve their vehicle design, while reducing the required time and actual testing costs. Although there were some studies about MBD analyses for vehicles in literature, a detailed modeling study of key parameters is still missing. Specifically, the effect of suspension system on the vehicle performance is not well studied. The objective of the thesis is to develop an MBD based model to improve the FSAE vehicle’s performance. Based on the objective and knowledge gap, the following research tasks are proposed: (1) MBD modeling of current suspension systems; (2) Modification of suspension systems, and (3) Evaluation of performance of modified suspension systems. The models for the front suspension system, rear suspension system, and full assembly are created, and a series of MBD analyses are conducted. The parameters of the vehicle by conducting virtual tests on the suspension model and overall vehicle model are studied. In this work, two main virtual tests are performed. First, parallel wheel travel test on suspension system, in which the individual suspension system is subject to equal force on both sides. The test helps understand the variation in stability parameters, such as camber angle, toe angle, motion ratio, and roll center location. Second, skid-pad test on full assembly of the vehicle. The test assists in understanding the vehicle’s behavior in constant radius cornering and the tire side slip angle variation, as it is one of the important parameters controlling alignment of the vehicle in this test. Based on the vehicle’s dynamics knowledge obtained from the existing vehicle, a modified version of the FSAE vehicle is proposed, which can provide a better cornering performance with minimum upgrades and cost possible. Based on the results from the parallel wheel travel test and skid-pad test, the lateral load transfer method is used to control the vehicle slip, by making changes to the geometry of the vehicle and obtaining appropriate roll center height for both front and rear suspension system. The results show that the stiffness in front suspension system and rear suspension system are controlled by manipulating roll center height. This study has provided insightful understanding of the parameters and forces involved in suspension system and their variations in different events influencing vehicle stability. Moreover, the MBD approach developed in this work can be readily extended to other commercial vehicles and sports vehicles.

No description available.