2023

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/1807/126405

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 45
  • ItemOpen Access
    Analytical modeling of thick/stiffened base plates with internal anchor rods under eccentric compressive and tensile loads
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2024-10-14) Riahi Nouri, Abolfazl; Rohani Hajiagha, Abdollah; Vetr, Mohamad-Ghasem
    To date, some analytical issues of base plate connections such as the contribution of internal rows of tensile anchor rods and the case of eccentric tensile loads have not been addressed in design guidelines. In this paper, extended analytical approaches were proposed to obtain closed-form solutions capable to study such analysis cases. The predicted results were compared to those of existing experiments as well as numerical models for an example problem, illustrating fairly good agreement, since relative errors were less than 10%. The contribution of internal rows of tensile anchor rods in terms of their total forces was observed to be up to 90%. Moreover, the reduction in the relative errors of the predicted results of the proposed extended method, compared to conventional ones, was remarkable, up to 35%. The proposed computationally cost-effective approaches can be utilized in analyzing the base plate connections in engineering structures, in the design phase.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Binary Logistic Regression Model for Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity of Wyoming Highways
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-08-03) Tajnin, Mst Rahanuma; Roy, Uttara; Ksaibati, Khaled
    This study focuses on the factors affecting the retroreflectivity (RL) of longitudinal pavement marking using the data collected from four different functional classes of roads in Wyoming. Two different approaches were considered: the whole dataset was used in one approach, while in another, the dataset was classified based on functional classification. In both approaches, a binary logistic regression model was developed to investigate the factors affecting the probability of RL above the WYDOT’s marginal retroreflectivity level (125 and 100 mcd/m
  • ItemOpen Access
    Coupling a peatland hydrological model with a snowmelt module in order to model the snowmelt runoff in a boreal ombrotrophic peatland in eastern Québec (Canada).
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2024-09-12) Riahi, Khawla; St-Hilaire, André; Bourgault, Marc-André; Taillardat, Pierre; Prijac, Antonin; Garneau, Michelle
    Peatlands are relatively common in the province of Quebec (Canada) where they occupy about 12% of the surface. The hydrology of peatlands remains insufficiently documented, more specifically during the spring period where data are currently lacking in many regions, including in the Quebec boreal territory. The paucity of spring data is due to snowmelt that causes flooding in peatlands and along rivers, which makes hydrometry complicated during this period of the year. In this paper, the Peatland Hydrological Impact Model (PHIM) was coupled with a snowmelt module (CemaNeige) to simulate spring flows in an ombrotrophic peatland located in the Romaine River watershed (Quebec). Discharge data from two summer seasons (2019 and 2020) were used to calibrate the hydrological model. Despite the relatively short time series, the results show a good performance. The simulated spring flows resulting from the PHIM+CemaNeige combination are of the right order of magnitude.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Experiments on T-Stiffener and Doubler Plate Reinforced Moment Connections for Wide-Flange Beams and RHS Columns in Type LD MRFs: Recommendations for CSA S16
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2024-11-24) Clahane, Rebecca K.; Tousignant, Kyle
    Two beam-to-rectangular hollow section (RHS) column connections were investigated to assess the CSA S16:24 design requirements for limited-ductility (Type LD) moment resisting frames (MRFs). The first connection was reinforced externally using T-stiffeners, and the second had top and bottom flange plates welded to a doubler plate reinforced RHS wall. This paper presents a comparison of the CSA S16:24 design requirements for Type LD MRF connections to the AISC 341-22 design requirements for ordinary moment frames; a rational design approach for each of the two beam-to-column connections; and the results of an experimental program comprising two quasi-static and four reverse cyclic tests on full-scale assemblies. An evaluation of the connections’ strength, stiffness, and overall behaviour is made, and both connections are shown to meet the performance requirements of CSA S16:24 Clause 27.4.4.c). Recommendations are provided to facilitate the use of RHS columns in Type LD MRFs.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Coupling a peatland hydrological model with a snowmelt module in order to model the snowmelt runoff in a boreal ombrotrophic peatland in eastern Québec (Canada).
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2024-09-12) Riahi, Khawla; St-Hilaire, André; Bourgault, Marc-André; Taillardat, Pierre; Prijac, Antonin; Garneau, Michelle
    Peatlands are relatively common in the province of Quebec (Canada) where they occupy about 12% of the surface. The hydrology of peatlands remains insufficiently documented, more specifically during the spring period where data are currently lacking in many regions, including in the Quebec boreal territory. The paucity of spring data is due to snowmelt that causes flooding in peatlands and along rivers, which makes hydrometry complicated during this period of the year. In this paper, the Peatland Hydrological Impact Model (PHIM) was coupled with a snowmelt module (CemaNeige) to simulate spring flows in an ombrotrophic peatland located in the Romaine River watershed (Quebec). Discharge data from two summer seasons (2019 and 2020) were used to calibrate the hydrological model. Despite the relatively short time series, the results show a good performance. The simulated spring flows resulting from the PHIM+CemaNeige combination are of the right order of magnitude.
  • ItemOpen Access
    The Performance of Flexible Fluid-Structure Interaction Module for Saltmarsh Vegetation Under Flow and Wave Action
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-12-16) Henteleff, Ross; Stolle, Jacob; Markov, Acacia; NISTOR, Ioan; Sriram, V
    This paper evaluates the performance of a new flexible fluid-structure interaction (FSI) module in an open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software - REEF3D - for use in modelling saltmarsh vegetation. Unlike previous studies, which focussed on hydrodynamic response to plants (for example, wave attenuation) to check the accuracy of their numerical modelling efforts, this work attempts to replicate the plants’ drag force and motion behavior, based on results from several physical modelling studies. The flexible FSI module was found to consistently overestimate both the drag and motion of the numerical plants when compared to their physical counterparts. It is hypothesized that this is due to the module’s use of linearly elastic material theory for the flexible structures. This is arguably inadequate for the relatively flexible materials of saltmarsh vegetation.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Numerical Modeling of Ice Control on the Albany River, Ontario, Canada
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-09-20) Knack, Ian M.; Shaw, Jason; Groeneveld, Joe; McHenry, Joanne; Lavender, S. Thomas; Friday, W. Leo
    n/a
  • ItemOpen Access
    Experimental Study on the Drag force on Bridge Abutments
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-12-13) Azarmidokht, Hamid Reza; Zarrati, Amir Reza
    The drag force exerted on a bridge abutment, representative of wall-attached structures, is studied with different geometries in various flow conditions. The drag force was quantified by two methods here: 1) direct method by using strain gauges and 2) employing the conservation of momentum equation which takes advantage of the flow characteristics. . The momentum equation results differed considerably from the direct method, mainly related to even the smallest inaccuracy in depth measurements. We suggest a modified momentum equation to enhance accuracy because of its independence on downstream flow depth measurement. The experimental results also revealed that the constriction ratio at the bridge abutment section and the abutments geometric shape are the most influential parameters on the drag coefficient. On the other hand, the effect of flow characteristics is negligible. Finally, we proposed an empirical relationship to estimate the drag coefficient.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Post-Tensioned Timber Building Fitted with Dissipative Bracing System
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-12-12) Odikamnoro, Ikenna; Badal, Prakash Singh; Tesfamariam, Solomon
    A Post-tensioned (PT) timber building coupled with dissipative bracing systems is a sustainable seismic-resistant structural system. This system combines desirable qualities of self-centering, energy dissipation, and lightweight timber, which attracts lesser seismic force and contributes to a better resilient system. Despite significant advancement in the provision of these sustainable seismic-resistant timber-based structural archetypes, more study is required to derive a fuller knowledge of the behaviour of these innovative structural systems under a range of ground motion intensities and limited state capacities. Direct Displacement-based design, a performance-based design approach, is used for the design of this system, and performance assessment is carried out using nonlinear dynamic analysis. This study investigates the performance of the braced PT frame under different limit state considerations using ground motion records consistent with the NBC 2020 seismic hazard.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Ductility-related seismic modification factor for CLT shear-wall and Glulam moment-resisting frame dual system
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-12-12) Teweldebrhan, Biniam Tekle; Tesfamariam, Solomon
    The cross-laminated timber (CLT) shear-wall and glulam moment-resisting frame (CLTW-GMRF) dual system is a recently completed research prepared for the British Columbia (BC) Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd. With the introduction of new structural systems, the need to update existing building code becomes evident. Accordingly, this study evaluates the ductility-related force modification factor ($R_d$) of the CLTW-GMRF system for the National Building Code of Canada, utilizing the FEMA P-695 procedure. In two performance groups, sixteen archetype buildings are designed considering different building storey heights, CLT shear-wall locations, and wall-frame moment proportions. Numerical model of the systems is developed in OpenSees and incremental dynamic analyses are conducted using 30 bi-directional ground motion records that represent the seismicity of Vancouver, BC - Canada. Collapse margin ratios are calculated to assess the adequacy of the trial $R_d$ factors. The research determined that with an over-strength factor of 1.5, an $R_d$ of 3 is found to be acceptable for the system.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Nonlinear Modelling Parameters for Performance-Based Seismic Evaluation of Existing Wood Light-Frame Buildings in Canada
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-11-09) Doudak, Ghasan; Bérubé, Antoine; Morshedi, Esmaeil; Fathi-Fazl, Reza; Fazileh, Farrokh; Cai, Zhen
    The mechanical behaviour of wood light-frame shearwalls is difficult to explain unless system-level performance is taken into account. Although the behaviour of wood light-frame shearwalls with wood structural panels is consistent with and represented by the behaviour of the panel to framing nail joints, comprehensive seismic evaluation guidelines for Canadian practice are currently lacking. This paper presents a critical review of the available literature on performance-based seismic evaluation of wood light-frame buildings through nonlinear analysis approach. To verify the applicability of these standards in Canada, the procedure outlined in these documents are compared to available experimental testing. Nonlinear pushover analysis is performed on two representative wood light-frame buildings in Montréal and Vancouver. Results are compared, and further discussion is provided on the adequacy of each document to Canadian practice.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Preface to the Special Issue on River Ice and Infrastructure
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-11-05) Burrell, Brian C.; Ghobrial, Tadros
    This preface presents the need for such a special issue on river ice and infrastructure and introduces its different papers categorized by types of infrastructure.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Implementing Survival Analysis to Capture Stochastic Characteristics of Saturation Flow Rate Considering the Impacts of Adverse Road-weather Conditions
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-10-18) Hirose, Ryutaro; Mehran, Babak; Pani, Agnivesh; Omrani, Reza; Sahu, Prasanta
    Saturation flow rate (SFR) variations were analyzed using the video data collected at a signalized intersection in Winnipeg, Canada, to investigate the implications of adverse Road-weather (RW) conditions for SFR distributions and characteristics. Survival analysis was implemented to develop stochastic SFR distribution functions considering censored data and a statistical analysis method was developed for determining the optimal critical vehicle (CV) for measurement of saturation headway. The analysis findings suggest that adverse RW conditions decrease SFR significantly and moves CV to the front of the queue while having little impact on SFR considering heavy vehicles (HV). Furthermore, the findings imply that the conventional SFR estimation method overestimates the probability of saturation at a given flow rate. The proposed analysis method reveals stochastic characteristics of SFR and provides a method to estimate SFR distributions under different RW conditions, which is essential for improving the operation of signalized intersections, particularly in cold regions.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Exploring the Low-Temperature Performance of MPP-Modified Asphalt Binders and Mixtures Using Wet Method
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-11-14) Qabur, Ali; Baaj, Hassan; El-Hakim, Mohab
    Thermal cracking significantly impacts the structural integrity of flexible pavements, particularly in colder regions like Canada. Limited studies investigated the impact of plastic modification of asphalt binders and mixtures using the wet method on the low-temperature performance of asphalt materials. The plastic material utilized in this project is multi-layer plastic packaging (MPP). This study aims to determine whether MPP can be integrated to enhance the performance of the MPP-modified binder and MPP-modified mixtures, especially considering that MPP accounts for just over 40% of total plastic usage, making it the largest end-use market segment. This research evaluates the impact on rheological and mechanical behaviour when introducing MPP additives to conventional hot mix asphalt. This study used the wet method to test MPP-modified asphalt materials at 2%, 4%, and 8% (by weight of the asphalt binder). Test results demonstrate that the MPP modification percentage should ideally not exceed 2% as blends with 4% MPP or higher exhibited lower performance at low temperatures.
  • ItemOpen Access
    The Cyclic Performance of Column Base Plate Connections Using Different Types of Stiffeners
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-10-10) Al-Sharmootee, Mohammed; Lavasani, Seyed Hossein Hosseini; Hosseini, Mir Hamid; Ali, Mahmoud
    Column base connections represent the support system of a structure, and they should be strong enough to sustain the transmitted demands between the columns and foundation. This study describes numerically the performance of strengthened column base plate connections under cyclic loading. Four types of stiffeners were considered in the analysis: bracket plates, angles, channels with vertical stiffeners, and built-up stiffeners. The efficiency of used stiffeners, the cyclic performance of the strengthened connections, along with the failure modes were investigated. The numerical results showed that all the proposed strengthening methods have sufficient flexural strength and stiffness higher than the column. A pinched hysteretic response was observed for all strengthened connections under the applied cyclic loading. The built-up stiffener presented the maximum moment capacity and rotational stiffness among the other configurations. Using strengthened connections with more stiffeners made the anchor rods the fuse elements in the connection.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Estimating ice forces on a bridge pier using field observations and a deformation model
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-07-07) Rødtang, Einar; Alfredsen, Knut; Høyland, Knut
    This technical note qualitatively and quantitatively described the ice run that took place in Sokna river, Trøndelag, Norway on the 23rd of January 2020. Metrological and hydrological data is described. Stranded ice floe size distribution data is presented and analysed. This shows that the maximal ice floe dimension is well described by generalized exponential (shape=2.77,scale=1.42) or log-logistic distributions (alpha=3.57,lambda =1.15). A custom-built steel load panel had been mounted on Sokna bridge preceding the ice run, however due to technical difficulties no forces were recorded. Hindcast calculations using Solidworks based on the permanent deflections experienced by this load panel have been carried out to estimate ice forces experienced by Sokna bridge. These show that the real peak ice force experienced by the 0.8m i diameter cylindrical bridge piers must have been within the range 1.1-5.5MN. This range is compared to predictions made by standards for predicting ice forces on bridge piers.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Nonlinear Modelling of the Association between Winter Weather Severity and Maintenance Expenditures
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-09-23) Qi, Yan; Velpur, Varun Reddy
    The winter weather severity plays a crucial role in determining the resources required for winter maintenance activities. This study utilized non-linear models to examine the relationship between winter weather variables (temperature, wind speed, and snowfall) and winter maintenance expenditures (labor, material, and equipment) based on data from the state of Illinois. The data was collected and aggregated by year and district to align with the expenditure data, and the state was divided into three climatic zones, with separate models developed for each. The ROUT method was employed to identify and eliminate outliers before conducting non-linear modeling. The best-fitting model was selected using cross-validation and R2 evaluation. The results demonstrate that the chosen non-linear models effectively depict the connection between winter weather and winter maintenance expenses. These findings can aid agencies in efficiently allocating resources for winter maintenance.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Evaluating the Dynamic Behavior of Railway-Bridge Transition Zone; Numerical and Field Measurements
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-09-05) Heydari, Hamidreza
    Short-span bridges are one of the most frequent infrastructures along railway tracks where railway track stiffness suddenly changes. The sudden variation in the vertical stiffness of railway tracks increases dynamic loads and causes numerous defects in ballasted railroads. The approach slab is a practical technique used in railway-bridge transition zones. As the dimensional shape of the approach slab plays a significant role in the dynamic response of transition zones, this study evaluated the effects of its main geometric parameters. A 3D-model of the railway portal bridge, including the approach slab, was built using the FE method and analyzed by imposing moving wheel loads as a series of acting force points along rail elements. The model was validated with field-obtained results acquired through a laser/camera-based measuring technique. Then, some sensitivity analyses were performed to find optimized geometric dimensions of approach slabs to improve the dynamic behavior of railway-bridge transition zones.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Characteristics of Naturally Formed Semitruck Platoons on Interstate Highways and Their Implications for Truck Platooning Field Deployment
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-10-09) Hu, Xiaoqiang; Peng, Cheng; Bao, Jieyi; Jiang, Yi; Li, Shuo
    This paper presents an effort to address urgent issues associated with semitruck platooning. The weigh-in-motion data was first examined to determine the characteristics of naturally formed semitruck platoons. A safety-based two-vehicle platoon model was then utilized to determine the critical headways for assessing the safety of semitruck platooning in various driving scenarios. The possibilities for passenger vehicles to cut into semitruck platoons were assessed using actual vehicle headway data. Finally, the potential impacts of semitruck platooning on typical interstate highway pavements were assessed using finite element analysis. Most semitruck platoons consist of 2 to 3 vehicles. An optimal platoon gap of 0.94 s was identified for connected and automated semitruck platooning. The potential impacts of truck platooning on concrete pavement were negligible for a platoon gap greater than 0.2 s. The maximum possible impact was less than 4% in terms of the service life reduction for interstate asphalt pavement.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Evaluation of WIM Data Consistency based on Temporal Axle Load Spectra
    (Canadian Science Publishing, 2023-09-28) Masud, Muhammad Munum; Haider, Syed Waqar; Selezneva, Olga; Wolf, Dean J.
    The test truck data collected immediately before and after calibration are used to assess the WIM measurement errors. An alternative approach is needed to characterize temporal variations in WIM data consistency. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate the relative consistency in WIM loading over time for different sensor types and quantify the relative accuracy of axle loads based on axle load spectra data for various sensors. Analysis of ALS data over time shows that for single ALS, there is a significant difference in peak loads between the bending plate and quartz piezo sensor measurements. The results show that calibration frequencies longer than one year may be acceptable for the bending plate sensors; however, at least one year for quartz piezo, and less than a year for piezo cable sensors, are recommended.