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Increased demand for reliable public transit is motivating new and innovative transportation solutions. Monorail trains are quickly being established as transportation solutions for dense urban areas, due to their unobtrusive infrastructure. To obtain maximum value from investments made, the infrastructure is required to last longer than typical reinforced concrete. This thesis will explore the use of glass-fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars as reinforcement in concrete guideway beams as a means of avoiding the deterioration problems that plague steel-reinforced concrete. This thesis includes a two part investigation: a full-scale field application of a GFRP-reinforced concrete guideway beam (690 mm x 1,500 mm x 11,600 mm), compared to a typical steel-reinforced beam (both installed on a 1.86 km long monorail test track); and a laboratory study of a scaled-down version of the GFRP-reinforced beam to better predict behaviour beyond typical service load levels. A total of 450 test passes of a two-car monorail train were observed over the two instrumented beams on the track. These passes were performed at vehicle loads ranging from fully unloaded for the first testing phase, up to the maximum allowable design service load. At each stage of testing, vehicle speeds ranged from as low as 5 km/h to as high as 90 km/h, allowing for the dynamic behaviour of the guideway to be observed and quantified. Deflections, strains, and cracks were recorded and compared with code/guideline limitations as well as to numerical predictions to determine which design tools were most effective and could predict behaviour accurately. In the laboratory, the half-scale GFRP-reinforced beam was tested statically to failure, and the behaviour was compared to the same modelling tools used in the field study. Based on the testing performed, the GFRP-reinforced concrete beams performed satisfactorily and met all serviceability requirements, but did not perform as well as the steel-reinforced beam (as a result of the reduced stiffness of GFRP). The use of non-prestressed GFRP-reinforced beams should be limited to applications where spans are of comparable length to the field study. To maintain satisfactory performance, guideway spans significantly longer will need to continue to be design as prestressed beams. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2014-01-31 15:15:31.307

Large structures exposed to the environment such as the collinear omni and large panel communication antennas in this research suffer damage from cyclic wind, rain, hail, ice load and impacts from birds and stones. Stresses from self-weight, ice loading and wind gusts will produce deformations of the structure that will lead to performance deterioration of the antenna. In order to avoid such a case, it is important to understand the static, dynamic and aerodynamic behavior of these structures and thus optimization can be achieved. In this research the current fluid-structure interaction methods are used to model, simulate and analyze these communication antennas in order to assess whether failure would occur under service loads. The FEA models developed are verified against analytical models and/or experiments. Different antenna configurations are compared based on their capacity to minimize vibration effects, stress-induced deformations and aerodynamic loading effects.

VecTor is a suite of computer programs developed for the nonlinear finite element analysis of reinforced concrete structures. Due to the substantial nature of output data produced by the programs, accessing pertinent analysis information is not easily accomplished. A graphics-based post-processor would greatly improve the overall utility of the VecTor programs by allowing the multitude of information to be visually displayed and manipulated for the purposes of data synthesis and rapid verification of results. The intent of this manual is to demonstrate a post-processor program which reads and displays the results of VecTor-based analyses in a robust and straightforward manner. The proposed post-processor program, named Janus, will provide the user with the capability to display both local and global response characteristics. Janus will allow the user to comprehensively recall and manipulate structural analysis results on a model-wide basis as well as display pertinent information for individually specified elements of interest.

VecTor is a suite of computer programs developed for the nonlinear finite element analysis of reinforced concrete structures. Due to the substantial nature of output data produced by the programs, accessing pertinent analysis information is not easily accomplished. A graphics-based post-processor would greatly improve the overall utility of the VecTor programs by allowing the multitude of information to be visually displayed and manipulated for the purposes of data synthesis and rapid verification of results. The intent of this manual is to demonstrate a post-processor program which reads and displays the results of VecTor-based analyses in a robust and straightforward manner. The proposed post-processor program, named Janus, will provide the user with the capability to display both local and global response characteristics. Janus will allow the user to comprehensively recall and manipulate structural analysis results on a model-wide basis as well as display pertinent information for individually specified elements of interest.

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Bio-membranes: A Biological Approach to Architecture The desire to introduce an area of study which can potentially inform the field of architecture on a theoretical as well as on a practical level, is the primary aim of this creative project. More specifically, the interest of this work is focused on the identification of useful processes deriving from the world of biology and their utilization in the world of architecture. The designation of an alternative path for perceiving and understanding processing and principles that may be of use in the reconfiguration of various architectural design applications is in quest. In search of a biological model that can potentially inform the field of architecture and provide enough feedback concerning the understanding of "processing" and "principles", biomembrane systems have been designated as the appropriate subject of study. The study and analysis of the structural and functional aspects of the bio-membranes as well as the extraction of useful principles that are derived from this study consist the first part of this work. The second part describes the implementation of these principles into various architectural applications while it challenges existing paradigms and introduces new ways of looking into the realm of architectural theory. / Department of Architecture

Steel moment frames are often used in structures to provide lateral strength and stiffness to the structure. These frames are subject to failure modes including buckling in the out of plane direction in a lateral-torsional buckling mode. This failure mode is influenced by interactions of the members through their connections. While the flexural behaviour has been studied in depth and for some time, the effect of torsional warping interaction between members has not been studied extensively. This work presents an analysis of the effect of including the effects of warping interaction or neglecting them, as is done in the current design practice. The issues of inelastic behaviour are considered, as well as the case of torsionally sensitive members. A joint element model is created to treat the warping displacements and their continuity through the joint. The study finds that the current practice of neglecting the warping displacement continuity appears to be a conservative assumption. It is recommended that the present practice of neglecting the effects of warping in analysis of frames continues. / Structural Engineering

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