Papers by Author: Nelson Lam

Abstract: Yield penetration or slip deformation is characterised by a rigid body rotation of the column associated with a gap opening at the column-foundation interface from the penetration of inelastic strain in the tensile reinforcement embedded in the foundation. The rigid-body end rotation increases the total drift significantly and has to be separated from flexural deformation obtained from curvature distribution over the column height. The yield penetration deformation model is developed based on a displacement-controlled principle using a new approach where the local steel strain as a function of the column global displacement is presented. In order to solve the strain incompatibility between steel and concrete, a correlation between compressive concrete strain and neutral axis depth is developed and a complete algorithm is presented that modifies the fibre cross section analysis to operate under curvature control as a function of top column displacement instead of strain control.

Abstract: This paper investigates the behaviour of a bio-inspired finite element composite model (that mimics the structure of nacre, the inner layer of molluscan shells) under blast loading. Nacre, which has attracted the attention of researchers over the past few decades, comprises 95% aragonite, brittle voronoi-like polygonal tablets that are joined by an organic matrix and arranged in a brick and mortar type structure. In this work, the finite element model developed herein was constructed using voronoi diagrams and geometric algorithms capable of automatically generating staggered layers of voronoi-like aluminium tablets bonded together by a vinylester adhesive layer. Many studies have led to the belief that the magnificent toughness of nacre is mainly attributed to the inter-platelet adhesive bonds. Results obtained from the finite element analysis show that this is indeed true, and it is imperative that the adhesive bond exhibits adequate toughness in order to be able to spread damage across the entire composite, thereby delaying localised failure.

Abstract: Considerable amount of studies on the ductility and flexural behaviour of normal and high strength concrete elements under static load can be found in literature. However, most of the previous theoretical investigations on moment-curvature (M-φ) relationship of concrete elements to calculate curvature ductility and flexural capacity did not take account of the strain-rate effect on the material models. M-φ analysis of concrete elements under dynamic loading are often conducted with material models developed for quasi-static load by applying Dynamic Increase Factors (DIF) to the material properties to reflect the strain-rate effect. Depending on magnitude and duration of applied dynamic load, element stiffness and boundary condition strain-rate varies over the cross section. Thus, the application of DIF to modify peak material properties often fails to reflect the strain-rate effect reliably. The improvement of using material model which incorporated strain-rate in its constitutive equations has been explored in this study. The effects of reinforcement amount, grade and concrete strength on curvature ductility for different strain rates have been studied using material models which have strain-rate effects included in theirs formulation. Based on the parametric study, a simple formula to estimate curvature ductility for concrete elements under explosive loads (high strain-rates) has been proposed.