Search results

The purpose of this paper is the dynamic analysis and seismic damage assessment of steel sheet pile quay wall with inelastic behavior underground motions using several accelerograms.

Finite element analysis is conducted using the Plaxis 2D software to generate the numerical model of quay wall. The extension of berth 25 at the port of Bejaia, located in northeastern Algeria, represents a case study. Incremental dynamic analyses are carried out to examine variation of the main response parameters under seismic excitations with increasing Peak ground acceleration (PGA) levels. Two global damage indices based on the safety factor and bending moment are introduced to assess the relationship between PGA and the damage levels.

The results obtained indicate that the sheet pile quay wall can safely withstand seismic loads up to PGAs of 0.35 g and that above 0.45 g, care should be taken with the risk of reaching the ultimate moment capacity of the steel sheet pile. However, for PGAs greater than 0.5 g, it was clearly demonstrated that the excessive deformations with material are likely to occur in the soil layers and in the structural elements.

The main contribution of the present work is a new double seismic damage index for a steel sheet pile supported quay wharf. The numerical modeling is first validated in the static case. Then, the results obtained by performing several incremental dynamic analyses are exploited to evaluate the degradation of the soil safety factor and the seismic capacity of the pile sheet wall. Computed values of the proposed damage indices of the considered quay wharf are a practical helping tool for decision-making regarding the seismic safety of the structure.

This study aims to present the variations of optimal seismic control of reinforced cement concrete (RCC) structure using different structural systems. Different third-dimensional mathematical models are used to examine the responses of multistory flexibly connected frames subjected to earthquake excitations.

This paper examined a G + 50 multi-storied high-rise structure, which is analyzed using different combinations of moment resistant frames, shear walls, seismic outrigger systems and seismic dampers to observe the effectiveness during ground motion against soft soil conditions. The damping coefficients of added dampers, providing both upper and lower levels are taken into consideration. A finite element modeling and analysis is generated. Then the nature of the structure exposed to ground motion is captured with response spectrum analysis, using BNBC-2020 for four different seismic zones in Bangladesh.

The response of the structure is investigated according to the amplitude of the displacements, drifts, base shear, stiffness and torsion. The numerical results indicate that adding dampers at the base level can be the most effective against seismic control. However, placing an outrigger bracing system at the middle and top end with shear wall can be the most effective for controlling displacements and drifts.

The response of high-rise structures to seismic forces in Bangladesh’s soft soil conditions is examined at various levels in this study. This study is an original research which contributes to the knowledge to build earthquake resisting high-rises in Bangladesh.

This study aims to identify the primary research areas of modern methods of construction (MMC) along with its current trends and developments.

A combination of bibliometric and qualitative analysis is adopted to examine 1,957 MMC articles in the Scopus database. With the support of CiteSpace 6.1.R6, the clusters, leading authors, journals, institutions and countries in the field of MMC are examined.

Offsite construction, inter-modular connections, augmenting output, prefabricated concrete beams and earthquake-resilient prefabricated beam–column steel joints are the top five research areas in MMC. Among them, offsite construction and inter-modular connections are significantly focused, with many research articles. The potential for collaboration, among prominent authors such as Wang, J., Liu, Y. and Wang, Y., explains the recent rapid growth of the MMC field of research. With a total of 225 articles, Engineering Structures is the journal that has published the most articles on MMC. China is the leading country in this field, and the Ministry of Education China is the top institution in MMC.

The findings of this study bear significant implications for stakeholders in academia and industry alike. In academia, these insights allow researchers to identify research gaps and foster collaboration, steering efforts toward innovative and impactful outcomes. For industries using MMC practices, the clarity provided on MMC techniques facilitates the efficient adoption of best practices, thereby promoting collaboration, innovation and global problem-solving within the construction field.

This research study focuses on investigating the seismic performance of non-straight beams in steel structures and exploring the mechanism by which plastic hinges are formed within these beams. The findings contribute to the understanding of their behaviour under seismic loads and offer insights into their potential for enhancing the lateral resistance of the structure. The abstract of the study highlights the significance of corners in structural plans, where non-coaxial columns, diagonal elements or beams deviating from a straight path are commonly observed. Typically, these non-straight beams are connected to the columns using pinned connections, despite their unknown seismic behaviour. Recognizing the importance of generating plastic hinges in special moment resisting frames and the lack of previous research on the involvement of these non-straight beams, this study aims to address this knowledge gap.

This study examines the seismic behaviour and plastic hinge formation of non-straight beams in steel structures. Non-straight beams are beams that connect non-coaxial columns and diagonal elements, or deviate from a linear path. They are usually pinned to the columns, and their seismic contribution is unknown. A critical case with a 12-m non-straight beam is analysed using Abaqus software. Different models are created with varying cross-section shapes and connection types between the non-straight beams. The models are subjected to lateral monotonic and cyclic loads in one direction. The results show that non-straight beams increase the lateral stiffness, strength and energy dissipation of the models compared to disconnected beams that act as two cantilevers.

The analysis results reveal several key findings. The inclusion of non-straight beams in the models leads to increased lateral stiffness, strength and energy dissipation compared to the scenario where the beams are disconnected and act as two cantilever beams. Plastic hinges are formed at both ends of the non-straight beam when a 3% drift is reached, contributing to energy damping and introducing plasticity into the structure. These results strongly suggest that non-straight beams play a significant role in enhancing the lateral resistance of the system. Based on the seismic analysis results, this study recommends the utilization of non-straight beams in special moment frames due to the formation of plastic hinges within these beams and their effective participation in resisting lateral seismic loads. This research fills a critical gap in understanding the behaviour of non-straight beams and provides valuable insights for structural engineers involved in the design and analysis of steel structures.

The authors believe that this research will greatly contribute to the knowledge and understanding of the seismic performance of non-straight beams in steel structures.

The purpose of this study is to follow up on the structural and fatigue analysis of car wheel rims with carbon fibre composites in order to ensure the vehicular safety. The wheel is an essential element of the vehicle suspension system that supports the static and dynamic loads encountered during its motion. The rim provides a firm base to hold the tire and supports the wheel, and it is also one of the load-bearing elements in the entire automobile as the car's weight and occupants' weight act upon it. The wheel rim should be strong enough to withstand the load with such a background, ensuring vehicle safety, comfort and performance. The dimensions, shape, structure and material of the rim are crucial factors for studying vehicle handling characteristics that demand automobile designers' concern.

In the present study, solid models of three different wheel rims, namely, R-1, R-2 and R-3, designed for three different cars, are modelled in SOLIDWORKS. Different carbon composite materials of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), namely, PEEK 90 HMF 40, PEEK 450 CA 30, PEEK 450 GL 40 and carbon fibre reinforced polymer-unidirectional (CFRP-UD) are used as rim materials for conducting the structural and fatigue analysis using ANSYS Workbench.

The results thus obtained in the analyses are used to identify the better carbon fibre composite material for the wheel rim such that it gives better structural properties and less fatigue. The R-3 model rim has shown better structural properties and less fatigue with PEEK 90 HMF 40 material.

The carbon composite materials used in this study have shown promissory results that can be used as an alternative for aluminium, steel and other regular materials.

This empirical paper investigates how entrepreneurial firms change their business models in the context of internationalization by identifying different forms of business model innovation (BMI) and exploring the interrelationship between BMI and internationalization.

Based on the dynamic states approach of entrepreneurship (Levie and Lichtenstein, 2010), this paper analyses primary and secondary data from nine European firms following a multiple case study approach.

This paper presents four patterns of radical change and eight types of incremental adaption with-in business models in the context of internationalization. We describe these BMI patterns and types, and we also show how they contribute to increasing involvement in international business activities and the internationalization-related triggers that might cause them.

This paper contributes to a better understanding of the BMI process in the course of internationalization. It also highlights the complex interrelationship between BMI and internationalization by building on a progressive theoretical approach.

This study's main goal is to expand the theoretical perspective and discuss the unique influence of age and tenure on R&D teams' incremental innovation outcomes. We answer scholars call for additional research on age-related processes by testing pathways through which older employees can benefit organizational performance. The current study advances the literature by relating to the context-related process of cohesion and investigating its moderating influence on the relationship between team antecedents (i.e. age and tenure) and incremental innovation.

This research sample consists of 108 R&D teams operating in six mature high-tech organizations located in Israel. The participating entities design and manufacture state-of-the-art innovations in the semiconductors, communications and information technology sectors. The number of teams in each participating entity was 35, 21, 21, 19, 7 and 5, respectively. The sample consisted of 443 R&D employees and 212 team leaders/managers. The total sample comprised 655 participants. Team members filled out questionnaires to assess the independent variables. The dependent-variable questionnaire focusing on the team's incremental innovation accomplishments was completed by two managers for each team.

We found a negative association between team members' age and incremental innovation. Hypothesis 2, which predicted a positive association between team members' tenure and incremental innovation, was marginally supported. The interaction between team members' age and team members' tenure on incremental innovation was marginally supported. Hypothesis 4, which predicted that the negative association between team members' age and incremental innovation would be mitigated when the level of team cohesion is low, was supported. Hypothesis 5, which assumed that the positive association between team members' tenure and incremental innovation would be stronger when the level of cohesion is high, was supported.

This research's results regarding the negative influence of R&D employees' age on incremental innovation are crucial for managers and team leaders in the high-tech industry. Following the age stereotype, many of them avoid recruiting and assigning older employees to R&D teams dealing in innovation creation and development. They should expand their perspective and consider additional attributes in order to assign the employees that best match the team's mission. The results show that R&D teams produce high and similar levels of incremental innovation when the level of team members' tenure is high, regardless of their age.

This study benefited from a relatively high number of respondents and teams from leading high-tech organizations, a high response rate and a research design that made it possible to establish a linkage between data on the independent variables and data on incremental innovation collected from separate independent sources. The data on the dependent variable—incremental innovation—was based on independent assessments made by two managers for each team. The study's measurements were based on leading studies on innovation.

Small businesses are facing evolving environments, with a resulting need to shift their traditional approaches toward new business models (BMs). Many face difficulties within this transition process due to their specific resource constraints. Based on this, incremental changes to the BM – business model transition (BMT) – are proposed as comprising a suitable framework for entrepreneurial small businesses.

This study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) to cover a broad range of relevant literature within a final sample of 89 articles. The SLR method was chosen to integrate research in a systematic, transparent and reproducible way. For qualitative analysis and framework derivation, the study draws on a thematic ontological analysis.

The broad search criteria, focusing on BM, incremental BM changes and small businesses, pave the way for a comprehensive overview of multiple research streams of BM concepts (e.g. digital and sustainable BM). The main contribution of this work is the resulting holistic BMT framework, comprising the main parts BM innovation, external antecedents (transition of environment, entrepreneurial ecosystem), internal antecedents (dynamic capabilities, entrepreneurial orientation, resilience, strategy) and output (firm performance).

The framework provides guidance for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial managers to implement and complete BMT in small businesses. Furthermore, the presented paper sets a future research agenda focusing on small businesses structured according to the derived framework.

This study provides the first SLR of existing BM concepts with a small-business specific perspective on BMI and a focus on various incremental BM changes.

Firms are driven to ride on the digital wave in today’s open innovation ecosystem. This study aims to explore the effect of digital transformation (DT) on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) firms’ innovation ambidexterity, namely, radical versus incremental innovation, respectively. Meanwhile, the authors evaluated the moderating role of the complexity of R&D collaboration portfolio (i.e. organizational diversity and geographic diversity) in the above relationships.

Using a panel data set of 171 Chinese listed firms in the information and communications technology services industry from 2010 to 2018, the proposed hypotheses were empirically attested.

It is found that DT has a positive relationship with radical innovation and an inverted U-shaped relationship with incremental innovation. In terms of the R&D collaboration portfolio, organizational diversity positively moderates the relationships between DT and innovation ambidexterity, respectively. The geographic diversity weakens the inverted U-shaped effect of DT on incremental innovation; however, its moderating role in the link between DT and radical innovation is not empirically verified.

Extant scholars mainly addressed the interplay between KIBS firms and their manufacturing clients, while this study reveals the different consequences of DT on KIBS firms’ innovation ambidexterity to highlight the role of KIBS firms is an independent and essential innovator in a knowledge-driven economy. Notably, the findings contribute to knowledge management (KM) and R&D literature by confirming the diversity of the R&D collaboration portfolio is a critical KM strategy for KIBS firms to develop and promote external knowledge resources.

Digital technologies create myriad innovation opportunities and have inspired the establishment of many new start-ups in recent years. Despite the growing knowledge on digital entrepreneurship, few studies explore how start-ups exploit these opportunities to achieve entrepreneurial success. The purpose of this paper is to explore start-ups’ capabilities for successful delivery of digital artefacts in a cloud computing infrastructure.

Empirical data were collected during a qualitative case study of an established start-up in the Chinese market by interviewing 41 interviewees. Informed by the notion of dynamic capabilities and using the Gioia methodology, the case firm's life cycle was analysed in detail.

The study identifies start-ups’ ordinary and dynamic capabilities for successful development and delivery of digital services. The findings provide insights into a portfolio of start-ups’ capabilities, namely adaptation, networking, reengineering and refinement.

The study suggests that start-ups’ capabilities and underlying entrepreneurial actions determine the degree to which adoption of digital technologies create and transfer value to customers. The study offers specific insights into how start-ups successfully develop and deliver digital artefacts in a cloud infrastructure based on entrepreneurs' prior expertise, vision and accumulated experience.