Research Scholar
Weihui Zhong, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering (China)
Halil Sezen, Faculty Mentor
Biography
Weihui Zhong, male, born on January 21, 1980, is a J-1 Visiting Scholar at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering. He comes from Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, China, and has become an Associate Professor majored in Structural Engineering for three years. He achieved PhD. degree in 2009, and the research is about dynamic stability of steel structure. As director, he has involved in 5 projects and 13 research papers, and has participated several Chinese specifications revised and 4 books published. During at Ohio State, he conducts research on the progressive collapse of steel building structures.
What is the issue or problem addressed in your research?
Columns of steel frame structures may fail due to explosion, collision, fire or other reasons, and may cause structural collapse. The partial or complete collapse of the building is called progressive collapse. To make sure that the steel frame structure has good anti-collapse properties, the model of anti-collapse mechanism should be established to analyze the distribution of internal forces and to provide the basis for the design of steel frame structures against unexpected loads.
Currently, the model of anti-collapse mechanism is based on the removing damage column, and then focusing on the response of neighboring beams and columns. For simplicity, the restraint at beam ends is only considered fixed or free. This idea makes the column constrain beam too high or too low. The internal forces by the traditional model are inconsistent with the actual behavior. Also, the transmission path of structural loads needs to be assessed. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a more realistic model of anti-collapse mechanism.
What methodology did you use in your research?
After the introduction of rotational stiffness at beam ends, the traditional model of anti-collapse mechanism is being improved and the corresponding calculation formulas for internal forces are derived. Then based on the Alternate Load Path Method, the overall model of steel frame is being established by the finite element program ANSYS. Through parametric analysis, the reasonableness of the improved model and the performance of members are investigated.
What are the purpose/rationale and implications of your research?
Through the introduction of rotational stiffness at beam ends and the analysis of overall model of steel frame, the traditional model of anti-collapse mechanism is being improved. The description of anti-collapse mechanical performance is being realized. This provides a basis for the further research to improve collapse resistance of steel buildings when they are subjected to extreme loads.
