No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Summary An experimental program was performed for evaluating the seismic response and fragilities of nonstructural lightweight steel drywall partitions, also considering the interaction with structural elements and other nonstructural building components, ie, outdoor façade walls. Therefore, in‐plane quasi‐static reversed cyclic tests were carried out on 8 specimens of indoor partition walls infilled in a frame and on 4 specimens of indoor partition walls connected at its ends with transversal outdoor façade walls. Constructive parameters under investigation include type of connections used for connecting the indoor partition walls to the surrounding elements, stud spacing, type of sheathing panels, and type of jointing finishing. The effect of the constructive parameters on the lateral response in secant stiffness and strength is examined. Furthermore, the main damage phenomena observed during the tests are reported and associated to 3 damage limit states distinguished for the required repair level for the tested partition walls. Fragility curves are used for the experimental assessment of seismic fragility of the tested specimens, in accordance with the interstorey drift limits required by the European code. Finally, the quantitative estimation of the repair action costs starting from the damage observation is also developed. The obtained results could be considered a starting point for developing the in‐plane seismic design assisted by testing of lightweight steel drywall partition walls.

In this paper, after a general presentation of the Submerged Floating Tunnel (SFT) as an attractive technical solution for waterway crossings, the SFT prototype to be built in Qiandao Lake (People's Republic of China) is introduced. The main peculiarities of such an innovative system are briefly summarized and the importance of realizing a SFT prototype is underlined. The types of action that the SFTs can be generally subjected to are illustrated and the specific load conditions for the SFT prototype in Qiandao Lake are presented. The numerical analyses carried out for investigating the system behaviour in presence of the environmental loads, such as waves, currents and earthquakes, are focused. Three cables configurations are considered for the hydrodynamic analyses, in order to select the most performing one, which is subsequently analyzed also under seismic loads. The model assumptions and the results of the performed analyses are shown and critically discussed. Finally, the displacement and strength safety checks are shown, which allow to state that the designed SFT prototype is able to withstand the environmental design actions in Qiandao Lake.

No abstract

The durability of metal structures is strongly influenced by damage due to atmospheric corrosion, whose control is a key aspect for design and maintenance of both new constructions and historical buildings. Nevertheless, only general provisions are given in European codes to prevent the effects of corrosion during the lifetime of metal structures. In particular, design guidelines such as Eurocode 3 do not provide models for the evaluation of corrosion depth that are able to predict the rate of thickness loss as a function of different influencing parameters. In this paper, the modeling approaches of atmospheric corrosion damage of metal structures, which are available in both ISO standards and the literature, are presented. A comparison among selected degradation models is shown in order to evaluate the possibility of developing a general approach to the evaluation of thickness loss due to corrosion