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Semi-rigid composite connections with precast hollowcore slabs are a newly developed technique with few applications in current construction practice. The research on the structural behaviour of this new type of connection is limited, with no existing method available to predict its important characteristics such as moment and rotation capacities. In this paper, based on the parametric studies of the three-dimensional finite element model and full-scale tests, analytical methods to calculate the moment and rotation capacity of this type of composite joint are proposed. A comparison between the proposed calculation method and the full-scale test results was made, and good agreement was obtained.

No / Composite construction incorporating steel beams and precast hollowcore slabs is a recently developed composite floor system for building construction. As the construction industry demands for rapid construction with reduction in cost and environmental impacts, this form of composite construction, which does not require major onsite concreting, has become very popular among the designers and engineers in the UK. This form of composite construction is so far limited to simple beam-column connections. A semi-rigid composite joint is developed which can provide sufficient moment and rotation capacity required for plastic analysis in composite beams design. An analytical model for the semi-rigid composite connection is proposed and is verified with the experimental data and good agreement is obtained.

The design of metal building roof and wall systems under uplift and suction wind loading is complicated because the laterally unbraced purlin and girt's free flange is compressed, and the cross-section rotates due to the shear flow. The objective of this thesis is to introduce a Direct Strength Method (DSM) prediction approach for simple span purlins and girts with one flange through-fastened under uplift or suction loading. This prediction method is also applicable for the case when rigid board insulation is placed between the metal panel and through-fastened flange. The prediction method is validated with a database of 62 simple span tests. To evaluate the prediction for the case when rigid board is used, 50 full-scale tests with rigid board insulation are conducted by the author of this thesis. In the experimental study panel failure, connection failure and member (purlin and girt) failure are observed, and they all limit the system's capacity. Another important contribution of this thesis is that it builds the foundation for future study of a general, mechanics-based limit state design approach for metal building roof and wall systems that can accommodate uplift and gravity loads, simple and continuous spans, and through-fastened and standing seam roofs. / Ph. D.

A multidisciplinary approach for the modeling and analysis of the performance of Olympic rowing boats is presented. The goal is to establish methodologies and tools that would determine the effects of variations in applied forces and rowers motions and weights on mean surge speed and oscillatory boat motions. The coupling between the rowers motions with the hull and water forces is modeled with a system of equations. The water forces are computed using several fluid dynamic models that have different levels of accuracy and computational cost. These models include a solution of the Reynolds Averaged Navier--Stokes equations complemented by a Volume of Fluid method, a linearized 3D potential flow simulation and a 2D potential flow simulation that is based on the strip theory approximation. These results show that due to the elongated shape of the boat, the use of Sommerfeld truncation boundary condition does not yield the correct frequency dependence of the radiative coefficients. Thus, the radiative forces are not computed in the time-domain problem by means of a convolution integral, accounting for flow memory effects, but were computed assuming constant damping and added mass matrices. The results also show that accounting for memory effects significantly improves the agreement between the strip theory and the RANS predictions. Further improvements could be obtained by introducing corrections to account for longitudinal radiative forces, which are completely neglected in the strip theory. The coupled dynamical system and the multi-fidelity fluid models of the water forces were then used to perform a sensitivity analysis of boat motions to variations in rowers weights, exerted forces and cadence of motion. The sensitivity analysis is based on the polynomial chaos expansion. The coefficients of each random basis in the polynomial chaos expansion are computed using a non-intrusive strategy. Sampling, quadrature, and linear regression methods have been used to obtain the these coefficients from the outputs generated by the system at each sampling point. The results show that the linear regression method provides a very good approximation of the PCE coefficients. In addition, the number of samples needed for the expansion, does not grow exponentially with the number of varying input parameters. For this reason, this method has been selected for performing the sensitivity analysis. The sensitivity of output parameters to variations in selected input parameters of the system are obtained by taking the derivatives of the expansion with respect to each input parameter. Three test cases are considered: a light-weight female single scull, a male quad scull, and a male coxless four. For all of these cases, results that relate the effects of variations in rowers weights, amplitudes of exerted forces and cadence of rowing on mean boat speed and energy ratio, defined as the ratio of kinetic energy of the forward motion to that of the oscillatory motions, are presented. These results should be useful in the design of rowing boats as well as in the training of rowers. / Ph. D.