Editor's Note

Readers are directed to the “General Information” section of the Journal (page ii) and the section on “Information for Authors” (page v). Beginning with this issue, these sections contain updated information that reflects more accurately the scope and objectives of the journal and manuscript submission procedures. I wish to reiterate some of these facts in this editorial.

The Journal of Structural Engineering (JSE) is the technical publication of the Technical Activities Division of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of ASCE. The purpose of the division is to advance “the art and science of structural design and construction by increasing the knowledge of physical properties of engineering materials, developing methods of analysis and design, and studying the merits of various types of structures, and methods of construction.” Technical papers published in the Journal are expected to remain consistent with this purpose. As such, the Journal publishes papers on fundamental knowledge that contributes to the state of the art and state of practice in structural engineering. Equally sought are papers that offer innovative and unique solutions to structural engineering problems, procedures and processes in analysis, design and construction that are inspirational and∕or pace-setting, and on relevant themes related to the safety and security of the built environment.

Many readers are probably unaware that many of the new journals published by ASCE were partly due to the dramatic increase in submissions to JSE in certain subject areas. The Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, the Journal of Bridge Engineering, and the Journal of Composites for Construction are examples of spin-offs from the structural journal that were necessary to alleviate overloaded associate editors and escalating backlogs. Authors must be cognizant of the aims and scope of each journal before submitting papers to ASCE.

ASCE currently publishes 30 journals in various branches of civil engineering. The editor, with assistance from the managing editors, reviews all submissions to ensure that the content of each paper is suitable for the Journal. Occasionally, papers are redirected to other divisions. To avoid delays resulting from the transfer of papers, authors are advised to carefully review the scope and objectives of the different journals published by ASCE. In particular, papers in the following subject areas are particularly susceptible to redirection: bridge engineering, fiber-reinforced composites, engineering mechanics, and engineering materials. A paper in any of the aforementioned four areas will be considered by JSE only if the central theme lies within the scope of one of the technical committees listed under the section “Information for Authors.”

The Journal of Structural Engineering has moved to an electronic submission and review system. Consequently, all manuscripts must be submitted electronically using PDF files (see section under “Information for Authors”).

The issue opens with a paper by Omika et al. investigating “Structural Responses of World Trade Center under Aircraft Attacks.” Based on detailed finite-element analysis, it is concluded that the second tower collapsed sooner than the first tower because of the difference in the stress state of the components after impact. The writers contend that as many as 32 core columns in the second tower were destroyed upon impact while only nine core columns were damaged by aircraft impact in the first tower.

The next group of papers deals with fire effects on structures. The effect of compartment size on thermal response is the subject of Wong’s paper “Size Effects on Temperatures of Structural Steel in Fire.” It is demonstrated that the amount of heat flux transmitted to steel members due to radiation is influenced by the compartment size. A simple formula is proposed by Ali et al. to determine the “Clearance between Single-Story Steel Frames and Firewalls” so that during an uncontrolled fire the frame can expand without contacting and damaging the wall. “Evaluation of Fire Endurance of Concrete Slabs Reinforced with Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bars” is the topic of the next paper by Kodur and Bisby. Based on numerical studies it is shown that FRP-reinforced concrete slabs have lower fire resistance than slabs reinforced with conventional reinforcement.

A two-part paper by Mansour and Hsu investigates the “Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Elements under Cyclic Shear.” The first paper reports on findings from experimental testing of 12 RC panels subjected to cyclic shear and the follow-on paper presents a theoretical model, an extension of the softened membrane model, to predict the load deformation behavior of RC membrane elements. The next paper by Russo et al. proposes a method for “Shear Strength Analysis and Prediction for RC Beams without Stirrups.” The semiempirical expression is shown to predict shear strength more consistently than other available equations in the literature. Lu and Chen develop a multivertical macroelement incorporating flexure, shear and axial interaction to simulate the behavior of coupled walls in their paper “Modeling of Coupled Shear Walls and Its Experimental Verification.” Simplified analytical expressions are presented by Mari and Hellesland to determine “Lower Slenderness Limits for Rectangular Reinforced-Concrete Columns.” The proposed limits are verified against results obtained from detailed nonlinear analyses.

“Behavior of Headed Stud Shear Connectors in Composite Beam” is analytically examined by Lam and El-Lobody. The proposed model is validated against experimental push-off tests and specified data in design codes. Lee et al. present findings from “Experimental Study of Cyclic Seismic Behavior of Steel-Moment Connections Reinforced with Ribs.” Rib reinforcement in conjunction with trimming the beam flange in the form of a radius-cut is found to move plastic hinging and local buckling of the beam away from the rib tip. A two-part paper by Choo et al. deals with “Static Strength of T-joints Reinforced with Doubler or Collar Plates.” The first part contains results of an experimental study of axially loaded T-joints with varying brace-to-chord and chord-diameter to chord wall-thickness ratios. This is followed by finite-element simulations of the experiments. In addition to providing information on finite-element solution strategies, the study demonstrates the effectiveness of strength enhancement through proper proportioning of the doubler plate.

The next three papers focus on seismic effects. Water pressure variations along concrete cracks with moving walls are investigated experimentally and theoretically by Javanmardi et al. in “Seismic Water Pressure in Cracked Concrete Gravity Dams: Experimental Study and Theoretical Modeling.” A simplified method to estimate dynamic uplift in crack opening mode is proposed for use in seismic dam stability evaluation. Results of quasistatic bending tests are reported by Filiatrault and Stearns in “Flexural Properties of Flexible Conductors Interconnecting Electrical Substation Equipment.” The force-deformation response of the conductors is found to be linear elastic with negligible energy dissipation. Akkar and Miranda assess the accuracy of five approximate methods to estimate inelastic seismic demands in their paper “Statistical Evaluation of Approximate Methods for Estimating Maximum Deformation Demands on Existing Structures.” In general all methods produce relatively good results for long period (greater than $1.0\mathrm{s}$ ) structures while the scatter is significant for different methods for short periods.

The final set of technical papers deal with timber structures. “Strengthening Timber Bridge Beams Using Carbon Fiber” is shown by Buell and Saadatmanesh to increase the load carrying capacity of existing timber bridges. In addition to improvement in flexural and shear strength, the carbon fibers are found to also nominally increase the stiffness of the beam. A nonlinear numerical model is developed by Kharouf et al. to study the “Postelastic Behavior of Single- and Double-Bolt Timber Connections.” Connection capacities estimated by the proposed model are bounded by elastic and fully plastic model predictions. This issue of the Journal closes with a technical note by Kim and Mander on “Theoretical Shear Strength of Concrete Columns Due to Transverse Steel.”

Fujino, Y., Hashimoto, S., and Abe, M. (2005). “Damage analysis of Hanshin expressway viaducts during 1995 Kobe earthquake. I: Residual inclination of RC piers.” J. Bridge Eng., 10(1).

Hashimoto, S., Fujino, Y., and Abe, M. (2005). “Damage analysis of Hanshin expressway viaducts during 1995 Kobe earthquake. II: Damage mode of RC single piers.” J. Bridge Eng., 10(1).

Hashimoto, S., Fujino, Y., and Abe, M. (2005). “Damage analysis of Hanshin expressway viaducts during 1995 Kobe earthquake. III: 3-span continuous girder bridges.” J. Bridge Eng., 10(1).

Ju, F., and Choo, Y. S. (2005). “Dynamic analysis of tower cables.” J. Eng. Mech., 131(1).

Mohamed, O. A., Byrd, D. E., and Dow, J. O. (2005). “Improved modeling capabilities with reduced-order integration.” J. Eng. Mech., 131(1).

Park, J. S., and Stallings, J. M. (2005). “Lateral-torsional buckling of stepped beams with continuous bracing.” J. Bridge Eng., 10(1).

Roberts, T. M. (2005). “Lateral pedestrian excitation of footbridges.” J. Bridge Eng., 10(1).

Roeder, C. W., MacRae, G., Leland, A., and Rospo, A. (2005). “Extending the fatigue life of riveted coped stringer connections.” J. Bridge Eng., 10(1).

Smith, R. G., Reiter, W. F., Vitupier, G., and Lovejoy, S. C. (2005). “Nonlinear modeling of flexible cable loads on large sheaves.” J. Bridge Eng., 10(1).