Special Issue "Damage to Civil Engineering Structures"

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2023 | Viewed by 1853

Special Issue Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, Neapolis University Pafos, Paphos 8082, Cyprus
Interests: structural robustness; progressive collapse; structural fire engineering; steel and composite structures; steelwork connections; numerical modelling; performance-based design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Civil engineering structures are frequently exposed to highly influential actions that may considerably affect their functioning condition, degrade their stiffness and strength, or cause substantial damage to key structural components which, under certain conditions, can lead to widespread collapse. These may include environmental effects; long-term vibration; seismic events; accidental events such as fire, blast, or impact; and others. Regardless of the cause and the extent of the damage, limiting the subsequent effects on the structural behaviour–either through timely rehabilitation, the appropriate strengthening of existing structures, or the proper design of new structures to effectively respond to such actions—is of the utmost importance. In this Special Issue, authors are kindly invited to submit high-quality original papers presenting new research developments, case studies, projects in progress, and review studies related to structural damage due to environmental actions, aging effects, or exposure to extreme loading conditions such as fire, explosion, or earthquake. Papers may cover new design methodologies aimed at minimizing the potential impact of the structural damage that may occur due to any of the above causes, novel rehabilitation approaches, assessment and upgrading methods, and controlled demolition of severely damaged structures.

Dr. Panagiotis Stylianidis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • structural robustness
  • progressive collapse
  • retrofit of structures
  • blast-resistant structures
  • structural fire resistance
  • seismic actions
  • fatigue of structures
  • rehabilitation methods
  • corrosion-affected structures
  • controlled demolition

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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Article
Blast-Resistance and Damage Behavior of Underwater Explosion for Concrete Gravity Dam Considering Concrete Strength Partition
Buildings 2023, 13(9), 2237; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13092237 - 03 Sep 2023
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Abstract
The consequences of dam damage caused by explosions, wars, and terrorist attacks are extremely serious, and they can cause casualties among downstream residents. Studying the damage behaviors of dams is a prerequisite for improving their anti-knock performance. Researchers view the dam as homogeneous [...] Read more.
The consequences of dam damage caused by explosions, wars, and terrorist attacks are extremely serious, and they can cause casualties among downstream residents. Studying the damage behaviors of dams is a prerequisite for improving their anti-knock performance. Researchers view the dam as homogeneous for research; but in reality, the concrete strength of the dam decreases from bottom to top. The partitioning of dam concrete strength can meet the different functional and economic requirements of a concrete gravity dam (referred to as concrete strength partition gravity dam (CSPGD)). Therefore, CSPGD shows a more complex dynamic performance and failure characteristics under the impact load of an underwater explosion. First, by investigating the current status of anti-knock research on CSPGDs, a fully coupled finite element numerical model for an underwater explosion of CSPGD was established. Considering the initial stress such as the self-weight of the dam, the upstream reservoir hydrostatic pressure, and the uplift pressure of the dam foundation during the service period, the anti-knock performance of CSPGD was studied. The results showed that the interface of CSPGD had a strain rate effect under the action of blast load, and it was easy to produce tensile failure at a low strain rate. In addition, the dynamic response and damage characteristics under different explosion scenarios such as explosive charge weight (w), detonation depth (D), and standoff distance (R) were further studied. The dam crest was always a weak anti-knock part, and the foundation anti-sliding stability was also very important to dam safety. Therefore, it was proposed and suggested to use the crack length of the dam crest and dam foundation to evaluate the overall anti-knock capacity of CSPGD. The study also found that the detonation depth affected the response time of dam damage and had a significant impact on the anti-knock performance of CSPGD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Damage to Civil Engineering Structures)
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Article
Cause Investigation of Fractures in the Anti-Arc Portion of the Gravity Dam’s Overflow and the Top of the Substation Tunnel
Buildings 2023, 13(6), 1531; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13061531 - 15 Jun 2023
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Abstract
Clarifying the origins of fractures and adopting acceptable repair plans are crucial for the design, maintenance, and safe operation of concrete gravity dams. In this research, numerical simulation is largely utilized to investigate the reasons for fractures in the anti-arc portion of the [...] Read more.
Clarifying the origins of fractures and adopting acceptable repair plans are crucial for the design, maintenance, and safe operation of concrete gravity dams. In this research, numerical simulation is largely utilized to investigate the reasons for fractures in the anti-arc portion of the concrete gravity dam and the top of a substation tunnel in Guangdong Province, China. The calculation parameters are chosen based on the design information and engineering expertise to model the temperature field and stress field distribution of the dam during both normal operation and severe weather. The study demonstrates that under the effect of severe structural restraints and high temperatures, the tensile stress at the top of the substation tunnel would be 2.64 MPa in the summer, which is more than the tensile strength by 1.5 MPa and causes deep cracks. The tensile stress reaches 3.0 MPa in the summer under the effect of severe weather near the top of the substation tunnel. When a cold wave strikes in the winter, the concrete’s tensile stress on the overflow dam surface rises from 1.6 MPa to 4.0 MPa, exceeding the tensile strength by 1.9 MPa, resulting in the formation of a connection fracture in the reverse arc section. Both the actual observed crack location and the monitoring findings of the crack opening, as determined by the crack gauge, agree with the modeling results. The technique to lessen the structural restrictions of a comparable powerhouse hydropower station is pointed out based on engineering expertise, and various and practical repair strategies are proposed to guarantee the structure’s safe operation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Damage to Civil Engineering Structures)
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Review

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Review
Survey on the Role of Beam-Column Connections in the Progressive Collapse Resistance of Steel Frame Buildings
Buildings 2023, 13(7), 1696; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13071696 - 02 Jul 2023
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Abstract
The behavior of steel frame buildings under progressive collapse conditions depends on a combination of several parameters, including the interplay between different collapse resistance mechanisms that are mobilized in different structural components. Previous studies have shown that the extent to which these mechanisms [...] Read more.
The behavior of steel frame buildings under progressive collapse conditions depends on a combination of several parameters, including the interplay between different collapse resistance mechanisms that are mobilized in different structural components. Previous studies have shown that the extent to which these mechanisms may contribute to progressive collapse resistance depends on the ability of the beam-column connections to undergo large inelastic deformations prior to reaching their deformation capacity limits. For this reason, and due to the important role of their flexural strength and tying capacity in the development of essential collapse resistance mechanisms, the response of beam-column connections is one of the most important features of progressive collapse performance. Based on the knowledge gained through previous studies on the mechanics of this problem, the role of these connections are critically reviewed in this paper by examining the results of several experimental studies that have been conducted during the past decade. The factors that may adversely affect progressive collapse resistance–such as the failure modes of certain connection types–are evaluated, and novel approaches to limiting these factors, which are currently under development, are reviewed. The assessment of these parameters leads to useful conclusions of practical significance while highlighting the aspects of these problems that need further study and understanding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Damage to Civil Engineering Structures)
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