Study of Nonlinear Seismic Response and TMD Primary Control of the Cable-Stayed Bridge Section of the Third Macao-Taipa Bridge

The practical design of the cable-stayed bridge of the 3rd Macao-Taipa bridge is investigated by the finite element analysis program ANSYS, and 3-D elements BEAM188 and BEAM4 are adopted to create a dynamic calculation model. In order to analyze the material nonlinear seismic response of the cable-stayed bridge, the nonlinear behaviors of the ductile plastic hinges of the bridge towers are taken into account by employing the nonlinear rotational spring element COMBIN40. To simulate a major earthquake, three earthquake records were chosen using a wave-choosing program and input into the bridge structure along longitudinal and transversal directions. Comparisons of the linear and nonlinear seismic responses of the cable-stayed bridge are performed. In addition, a study of TMD primary control is carried out using element MASS21 and element COMBIN14, and it is indicated that the effects of mitigation monitoring are evident.

Nonlinear Seismic Response of Rock Tunnels Crossing Inactive Fault under Obliquely Incident Seismic P Waves

The failure mechanism of tunnels crossing faults is a critical issue for tunnels located in seismically active regions. This study aims to investigate the nonlinear response of rock tunnels crossing inactive faults under obliquely incident seismic P waves. Based on the equivalent nodal force method together with the viscous-spring boundary, an incident method for the site, which contains fault and is subjected to obliquely incident seismic P waves, is developed first. Then, based on the proposed incident method, the nonlinear response and the failure process of the tunnel crossing inactive fault are numerically studied. The numerical results show that the failure mechanism of the tunnel crossing inactive fault can be attributed to the combined action of the seismic waves and its associated fault slippage. Finally, parameter studies are conducted to investigate the effects of the wave impedance ratio of the fault to the surrounding rock and the incident angle of P waves. By the parameter analysis, it can be concluded that:(1) with decreasing the wave impedance ratio of the fault to the surrounding rock, the seismic response of the tunnel increases significantly;(2) the seismic response of the tunnel increases first and then decreases with the increasing of the incident angle of P waves. This study offers the insight for further research on the seismic stability of tunnels crossing inactive faults.

Seismic Responses of Asymmetric Base-Isolated Structures under Near-Fault Ground Motion

An inter-story shear model of asymmetric base-isolated structures incorporating deformation of each isolation bearing was built, and a method to simultaneously simulate bi-directional near-fault and far-field ground motions was proposed. A comparative study on the dynamic responses of asymmetric base-isolated structures under near-fault and far-field ground motions were conducted to investigate the effects of eccentricity in the isolation system and in the superstructures, the ratio of the uncoupled torsional to lateral frequency of the superstructure and the pulse period of near-fault ground motions on the nonlinear seismic response of asymmetric base-isolated structures. Numerical results show that eccentricity in the isolation system makes asymmetric base-isolated structure more sensitive to near-fault ground motions, and the pulse period of near-fault ground motions plays an import role in governing the seismic responses of asymmetric base-isolated structures.

Parallel computation of seismic analysis of high arch dam

Parallel computation programs are developed for three-dimensional meso-mechanics analysis of fully-graded dam concrete and seismic response analysis of high arch dams （ADs）, based on the Parallel Finite Element Program Generator （PFEPG）. The computational algorithms of the numerical simulation of the meso-structure of concrete specimens were studied. Taking into account damage evolution, static preload, strain rate effect, and the heterogeneity of the meso-structure of dam concrete, the fracture processes of damage evolution and configuration of the cracks can be directly simulated. In the seismic response analysis of ADs, all the following factors are involved, such as the nonlinear contact due to the opening and slipping of the contraction joints, energy dispersion of the far-field foundation, dynamic interactions of the dam-foundation- reservoir system, and the combining effects of seismic action with all static loads. The correctness, reliability and efficiency of the two parallel computational programs are verified with practical illustrations.

Seismic analysis of high-speed railway irregular bridge–track system considering V-shaped canyon effect

To explore the effect of canyon topography on the seismic response of railway irregular bridge-track system that crosses a V-shaped canyon, seismic ground motions of the horizontal site and V-shaped canyon site were simulated through theoretical analysis with 12 earthquake records selected from the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center(PEER) Strong Ground Motion Database matching the site condition of the bridge.Nonlinear seismic response analyses of an existing 11-span irregular simply supported railway bridge-track system were performed under the simulated spatially varying ground motions. The effects of the V-shaped canyon topography on the peak ground acceleration at bridge foundations and seismic responses of the bridge-track system were analyzed. Comparisons between the results of horizontal and V-shaped canyon sites show that the top relative displacement between adjacent piers at the junction of the incident side and the back side of the V-shaped site is almost two times that of the horizontal site, which also determines the seismic response of the fastener. The maximum displacement of the fastener occurs in the V-shaped canyon site and is 1.4 times larger than that in the horizontal site. Neglecting the effect of V-shaped canyon leads to the inappropriate assessment of the maximum seismic response of the irregular high-speed railway bridge-track system. Moreover, engineers should focus on the girder end to the left or right of the two fasteners within the distance of track seismic damage.

Probability-based analytical model for predicting the post-earthquake residual deformation of SDOF systems

A probability-based analytical model for predicting the seismic residual deformation of bilinear single-degreeof-freedom(SDOF)systems with a kinematic/Takeda hysteretic model is proposed based on a statistical analysis of the nonlinear time history response,and the proposed model explicitly incorporates the influence of record-to-record variability.In addition,the influence of primary parameters such as the natural vibration period,relative yield force coefficient,stiffness ratio and peak ground acceleration(PGA)on the seismic residual/maximum deformation ratio(dR/dm)are investigated.The results show that significant dispersion of the dR/dm ratio is observed for SDOF systems under different seismic ground motion records,and the dispersion degree is influenced by the model parameters and record-to-record variability.The statistical distribution of the dR/dm results of SDOF systems can be described by a lognormal distribution.Finally,a case study for seismic residual deformation and reparability assessment of the bridge structure designed with a single pier is carried out to illustrate the detailed analytical procedure of the probability-based analytical model proposed in this study.

Semi-active model predictive control for 3rd generation benchmark problem using smart dampers

A semi-active strategy for model predictive control （MPC）, in which magneto-rheological dampers are used as an actuator, is presented for use in reducing the nonlinear seismic response of high-rise buildings. A multi-step predictive model is developed to estimate the seismic performance of high-rise buildings, taking into account of the effects of nonlinearity, time-variability, model mismatching, and disturbances and uncertainty of controlled system parameters by the predicted error feedback in the multi-step predictive model. Based on the predictive model, a Kalman-Bucy observer suitable for semi-active strategy is proposed to estimate the state vector from the acceleration and semi-active control force feedback. The main advantage of the proposed strategy is its inherent stability, simplicity, on-line real-time operation, and the ability to handle nonlinearity, uncertainty, and time-variability properties of structures. Numerical simulation of the nonlinear seismic responses of a controlled 20-story benchmark building is carried out, and the simulation results are compared to those of other control systems. The results show that the developed semi-active strategy can efficiently reduce the nonlinear seismic response of high-rise buildings.