Research on the confinement effect of concrete in the rocking behavior of prestressed concrete tower segments remains limited. This study developed a test setup for specimens with large cross-sectional size and unbonded post-tensioned (PT) tendons. Six joint specimens were tested to investigate the effects of reinforcement ratio, axial load ratio, and confinement type on cyclic responses. Results show that weaker confinement significantly decreases the bearing capacity and ductility of gap-opening joints, when the transverse reinforcement ratio ρt is reduced from 1.13 % to 0.23 %, the positive peak load Fp of the specimen decreases by 27 %, and the ductility factor u falls by 54 %. Conversely, higher axial load ratios suppress joint opening but reduce deformation and energy dissipation capacities, as the axial compression ratio n increases from 0.23 to 0.46, the positive peak displacement Δp of the specimen decreases by 52 %, and the ductility factor u decreases by 79 %. Furthermore, a computational tool, WT Box, was developed to predict the compression–bending capacity after decompression. The predicted “yield” bending moments closely matched experimental results, with differences below 10 % for all the specimens.
{"title":"Effect of confinement on the rocking response of prestressed concrete tower segments under combined compression and bending loads","authors":"Shangcheng Chen , Sheng Xu , Yuhang Wang , Dongping Zhu , Xiaogang Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122343","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122343","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Research on the confinement effect of concrete in the rocking behavior of prestressed concrete tower segments remains limited. This study developed a test setup for specimens with large cross-sectional size and unbonded post-tensioned (PT) tendons. Six joint specimens were tested to investigate the effects of reinforcement ratio, axial load ratio, and confinement type on cyclic responses. Results show that weaker confinement significantly decreases the bearing capacity and ductility of gap-opening joints, when the transverse reinforcement ratio <em>ρ</em><sub>t</sub> is reduced from 1.13 % to 0.23 %, the positive peak load <em>F</em><sub>p</sub> of the specimen decreases by 27 %, and the ductility factor <em>u</em> falls by 54 %. Conversely, higher axial load ratios suppress joint opening but reduce deformation and energy dissipation capacities, as the axial compression ratio <em>n</em> increases from 0.23 to 0.46, the positive peak displacement <em>Δ</em><sub>p</sub> of the specimen decreases by 52 %, and the ductility factor <em>u</em> decreases by 79 %. Furthermore, a computational tool, WT Box, was developed to predict the compression–bending capacity after decompression. The predicted “yield” bending moments closely matched experimental results, with differences below 10 % for all the specimens.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11763,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Structures","volume":"353 ","pages":"Article 122343"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146184789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122296
Pandeng Zheng, Pan Zhang, Tao Yu
Web crippling is a critical failure mode of pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (PGFRP) profiles under transverse concentrated loads. Due to the anisotropic and brittle nature of PGFRP profiles, their web crippling behaviour is significantly different from steel profiles. This paper first presents a systematic experimental study involving local bearing tests on PGFRP profiles with three representative shapes of cross-sections (i.e., channel section, box section and I-section). The test specimens were purchased from four different suppliers, and their material properties are comprehensively characterized for analysis and comparison of the web crippling test results. Other test variables included the loading configuration and the bearing length. The digital image correlation (DIC) technique was adopted to monitor the variation of strains over the web of the specimens for investigating of the mechanism of load transfer and failure, and the DIC results allowed the effective bearing length of PGFRP profiles with three different shapes of cross-sections to be experimentally obtained for the first time. The effects of key parameters on the web crippling behaviour of PGFRP profiles and the mechanism behind are thoroughly discussed based on the test results, which are then compared with the predictions from design formulas in the existing studies to assess their applicability. Based on the experimental results, new design formulas were developed for different loading and failure configurations.
{"title":"Web crippling behaviour of pultruded GFRP profiles with different shapes of cross-sections","authors":"Pandeng Zheng, Pan Zhang, Tao Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122296","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122296","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Web crippling is a critical failure mode of pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (PGFRP) profiles under transverse concentrated loads. Due to the anisotropic and brittle nature of PGFRP profiles, their web crippling behaviour is significantly different from steel profiles. This paper first presents a systematic experimental study involving local bearing tests on PGFRP profiles with three representative shapes of cross-sections (i.e., channel section, box section and I-section). The test specimens were purchased from four different suppliers, and their material properties are comprehensively characterized for analysis and comparison of the web crippling test results. Other test variables included the loading configuration and the bearing length. The digital image correlation (DIC) technique was adopted to monitor the variation of strains over the web of the specimens for investigating of the mechanism of load transfer and failure, and the DIC results allowed the effective bearing length of PGFRP profiles with three different shapes of cross-sections to be experimentally obtained for the first time. The effects of key parameters on the web crippling behaviour of PGFRP profiles and the mechanism behind are thoroughly discussed based on the test results, which are then compared with the predictions from design formulas in the existing studies to assess their applicability. Based on the experimental results, new design formulas were developed for different loading and failure configurations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11763,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Structures","volume":"353 ","pages":"Article 122296"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146185242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122338
Yansong Liu , Meng Zou , Yingchun Qi , Ruizhe Wu , Jiangquan Li , Jiafeng Song , Shucai Xu , Weiguang Fan , Qingyu Yu
The prediction of deformation patterns and full-field stress responses in thin-walled tubes driven by unit cell images remains largely unexplored. Two major challenges exist: how to directly construct finite element models of thin-walled tubes from 2D unit cell images to enable structural response simulation, and how to achieve multimodal, temporal response prediction based on a single image. To address these issues, this study proposes an integrated image-driven prediction framework that fuses a generative adversarial network with a temporal modeling network, enabling direct generation of 10-frame stress evolution sequences under axial compression from a static unit cell image. To support data-driven modeling, we developed a highly automated simulation platform, which streamlines the entire pipeline from image-based structure generation to automated modeling and finite element simulation, allowing for the construction of a large-scale image-to-stress dataset. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed fusion model improves the average peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index measure (SSIM) on the test set by 14.70 % and 5.68 %, respectively, compared to the original Pix2Pix model, while maintaining an average inference time of only 0.0288 s per image, highlighting both accuracy and efficiency. Moreover, the model exhibits strong robustness across key metrics such as stress area ratio, Hausdorff boundary distance, and high-stress region error. On previously unseen test configurations, the average relative error of the predicted mean stress is approximately 4.65 %. This study presents a highly efficient and scalable paradigm for full-field response modeling and rapid performance prediction of complex structures in an image-driven manner.
{"title":"Image-driven multimodal prediction of deformation and stress evolution in thin-walled structures","authors":"Yansong Liu , Meng Zou , Yingchun Qi , Ruizhe Wu , Jiangquan Li , Jiafeng Song , Shucai Xu , Weiguang Fan , Qingyu Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122338","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122338","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The prediction of deformation patterns and full-field stress responses in thin-walled tubes driven by unit cell images remains largely unexplored. Two major challenges exist: how to directly construct finite element models of thin-walled tubes from 2D unit cell images to enable structural response simulation, and how to achieve multimodal, temporal response prediction based on a single image. To address these issues, this study proposes an integrated image-driven prediction framework that fuses a generative adversarial network with a temporal modeling network, enabling direct generation of 10-frame stress evolution sequences under axial compression from a static unit cell image. To support data-driven modeling, we developed a highly automated simulation platform, which streamlines the entire pipeline from image-based structure generation to automated modeling and finite element simulation, allowing for the construction of a large-scale image-to-stress dataset. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed fusion model improves the average peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index measure (SSIM) on the test set by 14.70 % and 5.68 %, respectively, compared to the original Pix2Pix model, while maintaining an average inference time of only 0.0288 s per image, highlighting both accuracy and efficiency. Moreover, the model exhibits strong robustness across key metrics such as stress area ratio, Hausdorff boundary distance, and high-stress region error. On previously unseen test configurations, the average relative error of the predicted mean stress is approximately 4.65 %. This study presents a highly efficient and scalable paradigm for full-field response modeling and rapid performance prediction of complex structures in an image-driven manner.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11763,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Structures","volume":"353 ","pages":"Article 122338"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146153740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122326
Jinchao Gu , Xiongyan Li , Wei Wang , Wenfeng Du , Zhuang Xia , Suduo Xue
Bolted spherical joints (BSJs) are critical components in spatial grid structures. Traditionally, they consist of solid steel spheres and bolt holes, offering good manufacturability and versatility but limited potential for weight reduction and performance enhancement. This study proposes an intelligent lightweight design method that integrates topology optimization (TO) and deep learning. A design database was first established using the SIMP method. A three-dimensional Least Squares Generative Adversarial Network (3D-LSGAN) was then trained to generate innovative structural designs. After post-processing, the performance of these designs was evaluated and optimized using a TOPSIS-based multi-attribute decision-making approach. Validation on a double-layer grid structure shows that the optimal intelligent design maintains acceptable maximum von Mises stress levels across multiple loading conditions, significantly improves stress distribution uniformity, and achieves mass reductions of 83.86 % and 5.46 % compared with the initial and single-TO designs, respectively. These results demonstrate that the proposed framework provides an effective approach for the intelligent and lightweight design of BSJs.
{"title":"Intelligent lightweight design of bolted spherical joints in spatial grid structures based on topology optimization with 3D-LSGAN predictor","authors":"Jinchao Gu , Xiongyan Li , Wei Wang , Wenfeng Du , Zhuang Xia , Suduo Xue","doi":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122326","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122326","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bolted spherical joints (BSJs) are critical components in spatial grid structures. Traditionally, they consist of solid steel spheres and bolt holes, offering good manufacturability and versatility but limited potential for weight reduction and performance enhancement. This study proposes an intelligent lightweight design method that integrates topology optimization (TO) and deep learning. A design database was first established using the SIMP method. A three-dimensional Least Squares Generative Adversarial Network (3D-LSGAN) was then trained to generate innovative structural designs. After post-processing, the performance of these designs was evaluated and optimized using a TOPSIS-based multi-attribute decision-making approach. Validation on a double-layer grid structure shows that the optimal intelligent design maintains acceptable maximum von Mises stress levels across multiple loading conditions, significantly improves stress distribution uniformity, and achieves mass reductions of 83.86 % and 5.46 % compared with the initial and single-TO designs, respectively. These results demonstrate that the proposed framework provides an effective approach for the intelligent and lightweight design of BSJs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11763,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Structures","volume":"353 ","pages":"Article 122326"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146154151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-10DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122328
Nahid Khodabakhshi , Theodora Mouka , Elias G. Dimitrakopoulos , David Trujillo , Alireza Khaloo
Full-culm bamboo is an eco-friendly construction material with remarkable mechanical properties. Due to the complex material properties and the tubular geometry, bamboo culms can fail under bending in a variety of mechanisms/modes. This study focuses on the effect of circumferential tension-shear interaction and the bimodulus elastic model (different compressive and tensile elastic moduli) on the failure of bamboo culms under flexure. Specifically, it compares the failure moment of these modes with the corresponding failure moment for longitudinal compression failure (disregarding the bimodulus behavior), splitting due to circumferential tension, shear parallel to the fibers, and Brazier instability. Findings indicate that bamboo culms under flexure are more likely either to fail under longitudinal compression (thick-walled culms) or to split at the side due to the interaction of shear and circumferential tension (thin-walled culms). Moreover, considering the bimodulus behavior results in a more precise longitudinal compression failure prediction compared to the standard bending theory. This study also validates the analytical approaches via conducting four-point flexural tests. It highlights the importance of mixed-mode failure and of the bimodulus elastic approach, contrary to the usual practice of disregarding these features in determining the failure moment of bamboo culms under flexure. Furthermore, the occurring strength values constitute a close approximation to the bending strength obtained according to ISO 22157:2019, effectively minimizing the need for bending tests and enabling accurate predictions based solely on culm geometric parameters and generic material properties.
{"title":"Analytical and experimental investigations on failure of bamboo culms in bending: Effects of shear-tension interaction and bimodulus material behavior","authors":"Nahid Khodabakhshi , Theodora Mouka , Elias G. Dimitrakopoulos , David Trujillo , Alireza Khaloo","doi":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122328","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122328","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Full-culm bamboo is an eco-friendly construction material with remarkable mechanical properties. Due to the complex material properties and the tubular geometry, bamboo culms can fail under bending in a variety of mechanisms/modes. This study focuses on the effect of circumferential tension-shear interaction and the bimodulus elastic model (different compressive and tensile elastic moduli) on the failure of bamboo culms under flexure. Specifically, it compares the failure moment of these modes with the corresponding failure moment for longitudinal compression failure (disregarding the bimodulus behavior), splitting due to circumferential tension, shear parallel to the fibers, and Brazier instability. Findings indicate that bamboo culms under flexure are more likely either to fail under longitudinal compression (thick-walled culms) or to split at the side due to the interaction of shear and circumferential tension (thin-walled culms). Moreover, considering the bimodulus behavior results in a more precise longitudinal compression failure prediction compared to the standard bending theory. This study also validates the analytical approaches via conducting four-point flexural tests. It highlights the importance of mixed-mode failure and of the bimodulus elastic approach, contrary to the usual practice of disregarding these features in determining the failure moment of bamboo culms under flexure. Furthermore, the occurring strength values constitute a close approximation to the bending strength obtained according to ISO 22157:2019, effectively minimizing the need for bending tests and enabling accurate predictions based solely on culm geometric parameters and generic material properties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11763,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Structures","volume":"353 ","pages":"Article 122328"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146185615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-10DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122295
Zhining Jiang , Qiang Qing , Jinghai Gong
Flexible cable structures have been widely used in buildings such as large stadiums and exhibition centers due to their significant mechanical advantages. Flexible cable structures need to be formed by tensioning. However, during the tensioning process of flexible cable structures, the system exhibits a geometrically variable state due to insufficient stiffness, posing significant challenges to its tensioning simulation analysis, especially for large-span cable structures. Current research on tensioning simulation methods for such structures primarily focuses on the nonlinear finite element method (NLFEM) and the vector-form intrinsic finite element method (VFIFE). However, nonlinear FEM is prone to matrix ill-conditioning and iterative non-convergence problems, and VFIFE has great difficulty in conducting collaborative tensioning analysis of cable structures and supporting structures. Furthermore, difficulties exist in determining the initial state of cables during the tensioning process of flexible cable structures. Therefore, this paper proposes a simulation method for the tensioning process of flexible cable structures that couples the NLFEM with the VFIFE method: The VFIFE is used to analyze the tensioning process of flexible cable structures, while NLFEM is employed to analyze the supporting structure to obtain the influence of the supporting structure's deformation on the tensioning process of flexible cable structures. Meanwhile, this paper also proposes a method for determining the initial configuration of cables. The applicability of the proposed method is first validated through experiments in relevant literature. Subsequently, this paper successfully simulates the tensioning process of Tongren Olympic Sports Center, a spoke-type cable-truss—one of typical flexible cable structure configurations, with a long span of 263.3 m and a short span of 245.3 m. It obtains the spatial positions of cable structure nodes, axial forces of cables and rods, lengths and tensions of tooling cables, as well as node deformations and member internal forces of the supporting structure during tensioning. The advantages and disadvantages of the two tensioning schemes are comparatively analyzed, thereby providing technical support for the final scheme of the actual project.
{"title":"Coupling analysis method for the construction tensioning simulation process of flexible cable structures","authors":"Zhining Jiang , Qiang Qing , Jinghai Gong","doi":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122295","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122295","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Flexible cable structures have been widely used in buildings such as large stadiums and exhibition centers due to their significant mechanical advantages. Flexible cable structures need to be formed by tensioning. However, during the tensioning process of flexible cable structures, the system exhibits a geometrically variable state due to insufficient stiffness, posing significant challenges to its tensioning simulation analysis, especially for large-span cable structures. Current research on tensioning simulation methods for such structures primarily focuses on the nonlinear finite element method (NLFEM) and the vector-form intrinsic finite element method (VFIFE). However, nonlinear FEM is prone to matrix ill-conditioning and iterative non-convergence problems, and VFIFE has great difficulty in conducting collaborative tensioning analysis of cable structures and supporting structures. Furthermore, difficulties exist in determining the initial state of cables during the tensioning process of flexible cable structures. Therefore, this paper proposes a simulation method for the tensioning process of flexible cable structures that couples the NLFEM with the VFIFE method: The VFIFE is used to analyze the tensioning process of flexible cable structures, while NLFEM is employed to analyze the supporting structure to obtain the influence of the supporting structure's deformation on the tensioning process of flexible cable structures. Meanwhile, this paper also proposes a method for determining the initial configuration of cables. The applicability of the proposed method is first validated through experiments in relevant literature. Subsequently, this paper successfully simulates the tensioning process of Tongren Olympic Sports Center, a spoke-type cable-truss—one of typical flexible cable structure configurations, with a long span of 263.3 m and a short span of 245.3 m. It obtains the spatial positions of cable structure nodes, axial forces of cables and rods, lengths and tensions of tooling cables, as well as node deformations and member internal forces of the supporting structure during tensioning. The advantages and disadvantages of the two tensioning schemes are comparatively analyzed, thereby providing technical support for the final scheme of the actual project.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11763,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Structures","volume":"353 ","pages":"Article 122295"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146185613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-10DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122319
Jingfeng Zhang , Jie Ma , Jizhuang Guo , Jiaxin Luo , Han Bao , Huaimao Yang
Rockfall impacting bridge accidents are characterized by strong randomness, complex dynamic processes, and severe disaster consequences. Taking actual accident of bridge damaged by rockfall impact as research prototype, an intrusion detection algorithm of fallen rocks intruding into bridge clearance limits is developed. Additionally, a coupled rockfall-bridge damage assessment method integrating trajectory simulation and intrusion detection algorithm is proposed. The irrationality of traditional rockfall impact on bridge analysis has been addressed by establishing an integrated analysis framework which includes rockfall motion simulation, intrusion detection algorithm and bridge dynamic analysis. The major work is as follows: (1) The three-dimensional rockfall trajectory simulation determines the range and stagnation point of fallen rocks, effectively revealing distribution of threats to bridge structure and accurately locating high-risk impact zones; (2) The detection algorithm of fallen rocks intruding into bridge clearance limits enables the determination of collisions risk, the localization of impact locations and the extraction of impact parameters; (3) A high-fidelity finite element model is established to replicate bridge plastic damage and conduct residual performance assessment. The rationality and accuracy of the proposed framework are validated by comparing with actual accident. The proposed analysis framework can provide a scientific tool for transportation route selection, bridge structural protection, as well as disaster risk assessment.
{"title":"A coupled rockfall-bridge damage assessment method integrating trajectory simulation and intrusion detection","authors":"Jingfeng Zhang , Jie Ma , Jizhuang Guo , Jiaxin Luo , Han Bao , Huaimao Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122319","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122319","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rockfall impacting bridge accidents are characterized by strong randomness, complex dynamic processes, and severe disaster consequences. Taking actual accident of bridge damaged by rockfall impact as research prototype, an intrusion detection algorithm of fallen rocks intruding into bridge clearance limits is developed. Additionally, a coupled rockfall-bridge damage assessment method integrating trajectory simulation and intrusion detection algorithm is proposed. The irrationality of traditional rockfall impact on bridge analysis has been addressed by establishing an integrated analysis framework which includes rockfall motion simulation, intrusion detection algorithm and bridge dynamic analysis. The major work is as follows: (1) The three-dimensional rockfall trajectory simulation determines the range and stagnation point of fallen rocks, effectively revealing distribution of threats to bridge structure and accurately locating high-risk impact zones; (2) The detection algorithm of fallen rocks intruding into bridge clearance limits enables the determination of collisions risk, the localization of impact locations and the extraction of impact parameters; (3) A high-fidelity finite element model is established to replicate bridge plastic damage and conduct residual performance assessment. The rationality and accuracy of the proposed framework are validated by comparing with actual accident. The proposed analysis framework can provide a scientific tool for transportation route selection, bridge structural protection, as well as disaster risk assessment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11763,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Structures","volume":"353 ","pages":"Article 122319"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146185248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-10DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122287
Omar Al-Mansouri , Fatima Ben Mouhou , Romain Mège , Nicolas Pinoteau , Roberto Piccinin , Peter Schillinger , Philipp Strater , Sébastien Rémond
Post-installed bonded anchors are widely used in steel-to-concrete connections where high load capacity and flexibility in anchor positioning are required. Despite improvements in polymer-based adhesives, elevated temperatures near or above the glass transition temperature significantly reduce bond resistance. The fire performance of bonded anchors and post-installed reinforcement is assessed in Europe according to EAD 330499–02–0601 and EAD 330087–02–0601, while EOTA TR 082 complements EN 1992–4 for fire design. This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation on two bonded anchor products to provide background for current European fire-design provisions. Confined pull-out tests were performed in cracked (0.3 mm) and uncracked concrete at ambient temperature, followed by electrically heated tests to characterize the combined thermal and mechanical effects of cracking along the embedment depth. Additional furnace tests following the ISO 834–1 fire curve were conducted. Results were compared with design calculations based on the Resistance Integration Method to evaluate conservatism. The findings clarify the origin and justification of the fire design rules applied to bonded anchors in Europe.
{"title":"Fire performance of bonded anchors in cracked concrete: Experimental and numerical investigation","authors":"Omar Al-Mansouri , Fatima Ben Mouhou , Romain Mège , Nicolas Pinoteau , Roberto Piccinin , Peter Schillinger , Philipp Strater , Sébastien Rémond","doi":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122287","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122287","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Post-installed bonded anchors are widely used in steel-to-concrete connections where high load capacity and flexibility in anchor positioning are required. Despite improvements in polymer-based adhesives, elevated temperatures near or above the glass transition temperature significantly reduce bond resistance. The fire performance of bonded anchors and post-installed reinforcement is assessed in Europe according to EAD 330499–02–0601 and EAD 330087–02–0601, while EOTA TR 082 complements EN 1992–4 for fire design. This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation on two bonded anchor products to provide background for current European fire-design provisions. Confined pull-out tests were performed in cracked (0.3 mm) and uncracked concrete at ambient temperature, followed by electrically heated tests to characterize the combined thermal and mechanical effects of cracking along the embedment depth. Additional furnace tests following the ISO 834–1 fire curve were conducted. Results were compared with design calculations based on the Resistance Integration Method to evaluate conservatism. The findings clarify the origin and justification of the fire design rules applied to bonded anchors in Europe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11763,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Structures","volume":"353 ","pages":"Article 122287"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146185247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-10DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122334
Anling Zhang , Jiadi Liu , Zhihua Chen , Hongrui Wang , Peng Sun
As an essential form of temporary construction, assembled-type light steel (ATLS) modular houses play a vital role, particularly in emergency response and disaster relief operations. The seismic performance of their structural connections is fundamental to ensuring overall safety. This study systematically investigates the influence of the connecting plate thickness of the corner fitting, bolt grade, internal stiffeners within the corner fitting, bolt arrangement, and bolt preload on the seismic behavior of corner post-to-corner fitting connections through full-scale quasi-static tests. The experiments revealed three primary failure modes: local buckling of the corner post, bolt pull-out, and a composite failure involving both. The results indicate that increasing the thickness of the connecting plate on the corner fitting from 8 mm to 12 mm enhanced the positive and negative yield loads by 20.27 % and 26.59 %, respectively. The incorporation of internal stiffeners in the corner fitting increased the connection stiffness by approximately 18 %. In contrast, the bolt grade and preload magnitude had a relatively limited effect on the connection's bearing capacity. The mechanical behavior is analyzed using a validated finite element model. All tested connections are classified as semi-rigid according to EC3 (). A component-based spring model is developed to predict the initial rotational stiffness and shows good agreement with test results, with average discrepancies of 6.3 % under positive and 7.1 % under negative loading, and a maximum error below 12 %. Based on this, a method for calculating the ultimate moment capacity is proposed, providing a theoretical basis and practical reference for the seismic design of ATLS modular houses.
{"title":"Seismic performance of corner post-corner fitting connections in assembled-type light steel modular house","authors":"Anling Zhang , Jiadi Liu , Zhihua Chen , Hongrui Wang , Peng Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122334","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122334","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As an essential form of temporary construction, assembled-type light steel (ATLS) modular houses play a vital role, particularly in emergency response and disaster relief operations. The seismic performance of their structural connections is fundamental to ensuring overall safety. This study systematically investigates the influence of the connecting plate thickness of the corner fitting, bolt grade, internal stiffeners within the corner fitting, bolt arrangement, and bolt preload on the seismic behavior of corner post-to-corner fitting connections through full-scale quasi-static tests. The experiments revealed three primary failure modes: local buckling of the corner post, bolt pull-out, and a composite failure involving both. The results indicate that increasing the thickness of the connecting plate on the corner fitting from 8 mm to 12 mm enhanced the positive and negative yield loads by 20.27 % and 26.59 %, respectively. The incorporation of internal stiffeners in the corner fitting increased the connection stiffness by approximately 18 %. In contrast, the bolt grade and preload magnitude had a relatively limited effect on the connection's bearing capacity. The mechanical behavior is analyzed using a validated finite element model. All tested connections are classified as semi-rigid according to EC3 (<span><math><mrow><mn>0.5</mn><msub><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>b</mi></mrow></msub><mi>E</mi><msub><mrow><mi>I</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>b</mi></mrow></msub><mo>/</mo><msub><mrow><mi>L</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>b</mi></mrow></msub><msub><mrow><mo>≤</mo><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>j</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>ini</mi></mrow></msub><mo>≤</mo><msub><mrow><mi>k</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>b</mi></mrow></msub><mi>E</mi><msub><mrow><mi>I</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>b</mi></mrow></msub><mo>/</mo><msub><mrow><mi>L</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>b</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></math></span>). A component-based spring model is developed to predict the initial rotational stiffness and shows good agreement with test results, with average discrepancies of 6.3 % under positive and 7.1 % under negative loading, and a maximum error below 12 %. Based on this, a method for calculating the ultimate moment capacity is proposed, providing a theoretical basis and practical reference for the seismic design of ATLS modular houses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11763,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Structures","volume":"353 ","pages":"Article 122334"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146185246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-10DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122264
Wenzheng Teng , Xuhong Zhou , Jiepeng Liu , Hongtuo Qi , Hang Yin , Chenxu Liu , Shouwang Sun
The increasing complexity of modern steel structures in civil engineering necessitate advanced finite element modeling techniques for structural health monitoring (SHM). Conventional manual approaches for converting point clouds into finite element models demonstrate low efficiency and accuracy, particularly when modeling structures with complex geometric features. This study develops a "Segmentation-Reconstruction" two-stage framework for automated generation of high-fidelity finite element meshes from steel shell element point cloud. Firstly, a geometric feature-based point cloud segmentation method decomposes the point cloud into finite element-friendly patches while reducing fragmentation. Secondly, a three-stage mesh optimization algorithm is proposed to progressively generate high-quality grids. Experimental evaluations using both the ABC benchmark dataset and actual steel structure scanning data demonstrate that our method achieves superior segmentation accuracy compared to existing networks, while the reconstructed meshes preserve sharp geometric features and reduce average mesh complexity. Validation of static loading cases on the ABAQUS platform confirms the engineering reliability of the reconstructed FE mesh. This study proposes a systematic approach to resolve the inherent conflict between discrete sampling and continuous reconstruction, advancing point cloud reverse engineering for mechanical analysis and structural health monitoring.
{"title":"Automated finite element modeling method for steel structure shell element point cloud based on a \"Segmentation-Reconstruction\" framework","authors":"Wenzheng Teng , Xuhong Zhou , Jiepeng Liu , Hongtuo Qi , Hang Yin , Chenxu Liu , Shouwang Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122264","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.engstruct.2026.122264","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing complexity of modern steel structures in civil engineering necessitate advanced finite element modeling techniques for structural health monitoring (SHM). Conventional manual approaches for converting point clouds into finite element models demonstrate low efficiency and accuracy, particularly when modeling structures with complex geometric features. This study develops a \"Segmentation-Reconstruction\" two-stage framework for automated generation of high-fidelity finite element meshes from steel shell element point cloud. Firstly, a geometric feature-based point cloud segmentation method decomposes the point cloud into finite element-friendly patches while reducing fragmentation. Secondly, a three-stage mesh optimization algorithm is proposed to progressively generate high-quality grids. Experimental evaluations using both the ABC benchmark dataset and actual steel structure scanning data demonstrate that our method achieves superior segmentation accuracy compared to existing networks, while the reconstructed meshes preserve sharp geometric features and reduce average mesh complexity. Validation of static loading cases on the ABAQUS platform confirms the engineering reliability of the reconstructed FE mesh. This study proposes a systematic approach to resolve the inherent conflict between discrete sampling and continuous reconstruction, advancing point cloud reverse engineering for mechanical analysis and structural health monitoring.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11763,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Structures","volume":"353 ","pages":"Article 122264"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146185616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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