Resilient performance of self-centering hybrid rocking walls with curved interface under pseudo-static loading

Frame and rocking wall(FRW)structures have excellent resilient performance during earthquakes.However,the concrete at interfacial corners of rocking walls(RWs)is easily crushed due to local extreme compression during the rocking process.An innovative RW with a curved interface is proposed to prevent interfacial corners from producing local damage,enhancing its earthquake resilient performance(ERP).The precast wall panel with a curved interface is assembled into an integral self-centering hybrid rocking wall(SCRW)by two post-tensioned unbonded prestressed tendons.Moreover,two ordinary energy dissipation steel rebars and two shear reinforcements are arranged to increase the energy dissipation capacity and lateral resistance.Two SCRW specimens and one monolithic reinforced concrete(RC)shear wall(SW)were tested under pseudo-static loading to compare the ERPs of the proposed SCRW and the SW,focusing on studying the effect of the curved interface on the SCRW.The key resilient performance of rocking effects,failure modes,and hysteretic properties of the SCRW were explored.The results show that nonlinear deformations of the SCRW are concentrated along the interface between the SCRW and the foundation,avoiding damage within the SCRW.The restoring force provided by the prestressed tendons can effectively realize self-centering capacity with small residual deformation,and the resilient performance of the SCRW is better than that of monolithic SW.In addition,the curved interface of the SCRW makes the rocking center change and move inward,partially relieving the stress concentration and crush of concrete.The rocking range of the rocking center is about 41.4%of the width of the SCRW.

Test and simulation of full-scale self-centering beam-to-column connection

A new type of beam-to-column connection for steel moment flames, designated as a ＂self-centering connection,＂ is studied. In this connection, bolted top-and-seat angles, and post-tensioned （PT） high-strength steel strands running along the beam are used. The PT strands tie the beam flanges on the column flange to resist moment and provide self-centering force. After an earthquake, the connections have zero deformation, and can be restored to their original status by simply replacing the angles. Four full-scale connections were tested under cyclic loading. The strength, energy-dissipation capacity, hysteresis curve, as well as angles and PT strands behavior of the connections are investigated. A general FEM analysis program called ABAQUS 6.9 is adopted to model the four test specimens. The numerical and test results match very well. Both the test and analysis results suggest that： （1） the columns and beams remain elastic while the angles sustain plastic deformations for energy dissipation when the rotation of the beam related to the column equals 0.05 tad, （2） the energy dissipation capacity is enhanced when the thickness of the angle is increased, and （3） the number of PT strands has a significant influence on the behavior of the connections, whereas the distance between the strands is not as important to the performance of the connection.

Shake-table testing of a self-centering precast reinforced concrete frame with shear walls

The seismic performance of a self-centering precast reinforced concrete （RC） frame with shear walls was investigated in this paper. The lateral force resistance was provided by self-centering precast RC shear walls （SPCW）, which utilize a combination ofunbonded prestressed post-tensioned （PT） tendons and mild steel reinforcing bars for flexural resistance across base joints. The structures concentrated deformations at the bottom joints and the unbonded PT tendons provided the self-centering restoring force. A 1/3-scale model of a five-story self-centering RC frame with shear walls was designed and tested on a shake-table under a series of bi-directional earthquake excitations with increasing intensity. The acceleration response, roof displacement, inter-story drifts, residual drifts, shear force ratios, hysteresis curves, and local behaviour of the test specimen were analysed and evaluated. The results demonstrated that seismic performance of the test specimen was satisfactory in the plane of the shear wall; however, the structure sustained inter-story drift levels up to 2.45%. Negligible residual drifts were recorded after all applied earthquake excitations. Based on the shake-table test results, it is feasible to apply and popularize a self-centering precast RC frame with shear walls as a structural system in seismic regions.

Self-centering seismic retrofit scheme for reinforced concrete frame structures:SDOF system study

This paper presents the results of a parametric study of self-centering seismic retrofit schemes for reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings. The self-centering retrofit system features flag-shaped hysteresis and minimal residual deformation. For comparison purpose,an alternate seismic retrofit scheme that uses a bilinear-hysteresis retrofit system such as buckling-restrained braces (BRB) is also considered in this paper. The parametric study was carried out in a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system framework since a multi-story building structure may be idealized as an equivalent SDOF system and investigation of the performance of this equivalent SDOF system can provide insight into the seismic response of the multi-story building. A peak-oriented hysteresis model which can consider the strength and stiffness degradation is used to describe the hysteretic behavior of RC structures. The parametric study involves two key parameters -the strength ratio and elastic stiffness ratio between the seismic retrofit system and the original RC frame. An ensemble of 172 earthquake ground motion records scaled to the design basis earthquake in California with a probability of exceedance of 10% in 50 years was constructed for the simulation-based parametric study. The effectiveness of the two seismic retrofit schemes considered in this study is evaluated in terms of peak displacement ratio,peak acceleration ratio,energy dissipation demand ratio and residual displacement ratio between the SDOF systems with and without retrofit. It is found from this parametric study that RC structures retrofitted with the self-centering retrofit scheme (SCRS) can achieve a seismic performance level comparable to the bilinear-hysteresis retrofit scheme (BHRS) in terms of peak displacement and energy dissipation demand ratio while having negligible residual displacement after earthquake.

Seismic performance evaluation of a self-centering precast reinforced concrete frame structure

The seismic performance of a five-story,four-bay,self-centering precast reinforced concrete frame(SC-RCF),which was redesigned using the direct displacement-based design method,was analytically investigated.The analytical model of the overall structure was developed in OpenSees.The multi-spring contact element was adopted to simulate gap open-close behavior at connection interfaces.The limit states of external mild steel dampers and unbonded post-tensioning strands were considered.Static pushover analyses were performed up to the roof drift of 10%.The nonlinear dynamic responses under four groups of ground motions(with different fault distances and site conditions)at six hazard levels(from the service to the very rare earthquake(VRE))were compared.Incremental dynamic analyses were implemented to quantify the structural collapse risk.The results showed that the structural responses of SC-RCF were satisfactory under all levels of earthquakes.The collapse safety of the structure under earthquakes up to VRE1 was adequate,while the structure would collapse to a large extent under VRE2 and VRE3.

Numerical simulation of the seismic behavior of self-centering steel beam-column connections with bottom flange friction devices

A new type of steel moment resisting frame with bottom flange friction devices （BFFDs） has been developed to provide self-centering capacity and energy dissipation, and to reduce permanent deformations under earthquakes. This paper presents a numerical simulation of self-centering beam-column connections with BFFDs, in which the gap opening/closing at the beam-column interfaces is simulated by using pairs of zero-length elements with compression-only material properties, and the energy dissipation due to friction is simulated by using truss elements with specified hysteretic behavior. In particular, the effect of the friction bolt bearing against the slotted plate in the BFFDs was modeled, so that the increase in lateral force and the loss of friction force due to the bolt bearing could be taken into account. Parallel elastic-perfectly plastic gap （ElasticPPGap） materials in the Open System for Earthquake Engineering Simulation （OpenSees） were used with predefined gaps to specify the sequence that each bolt went into the bearing and the corresponding increase in bending stiffness. The MinMax material in OpenSees is used to specify the minimum and maximum values of strains of the ElasticPPGap materials. To consider the loss of friction force due to bok bearing, a number of parallel hysteretic materials were used, and the failure of these materials in sequence simulated the gradual loss of friction force. Analysis results obtained by using the proposed numerical model are discussed and compared with the test results under cyclic loadings and the seismic loading, respectively.

OPTIMIZING DESIGN OF MECHANICAL SELF-CENTERING DEVICE FOR SUSPENSION HEIGHT

Firstly, in view of the respective defects of existing self-centering devices for vehicle suspension height, the design scheme of the proposed mechanical self-centering device for suspension height is described. Taking the rear suspension of a certain light bus as a research example, the structures and parameters of the novel device are designed and ascertained. Then, the road excitation models, the performance evaluation indexes and the half-vehicle model are built, the simulation outputs of time and frequency domain are obtained with the road excitations of random and pulse by using MATLAB/Simulink software. So the main characteristics of the self-centering suspension are presented preliminarily. Finally, a multi-objective parameter design optimization model for the self-centering device is built by weighted sum approach, and optimal solution is obtained by adopting complex approach. The relevant choosing-type parameters for self-centering device components are deduced by using discrete variable optimal method, and the optimal results are verified and analyzed. So the performance potentials of the self-centering device are exerted fully in condition of ensuring overall suspension performances.

Seismic performance of a reinforced concrete building retrofitted with self-centering shape memory alloy braces

Self-centering earthquake-resistant structures have received increased attention due to their ability to reduce post-earthquake residual deformations and,thus,repair time and cost.This stimulated the development of recentering shape memory alloy(SMA)dampers that use superelastic nitinol wires to dissipate energy and self-center the structure.However,there are still a few case studies applications on full-scale RC buildings in the literature.Moreover,general guidelines or even simplified approaches for the practical design of SMA damped braces are still lacking.This paper focuses on evaluating the effect of using self-centering shape memory alloy dampers for buckling-restrained braces applied for the seismic retrofit of a complex RC building structure.A design method originally proposed for elastoplastic dampers was implemented to size the SMA dampers to be placed on selected spans and stories of a building.The effectiveness of the design procedure was demonstrated by nonlinear time-history analyses under different sets of earthquake strong ground motions.The analysis results show that the recentering shape memory alloy bracing system is effective in limiting the maximum transient inter-story drifts and reducing the residual inter-story drifts after strong seismic events,due to its excellent recentering behavior together with its not negligible energy dissipation capacity.

Experimental testing of RC shear wall seismic retrofit using selective weakening,self-centering and Ultra High performance concrete

Traditional retrofit methods often focus on increasing the structure’s strength,stiffness,or both.This may in-crease seismic demand on the structure and could lead to irreparable damage during a seismic event.This paper presents a retrofit method,integrating concepts of selective weakening and self-centering(rocking)to achieve low seismic damage for non-code compliant reinforced concrete shear walls.The proposed method involves con-verting traditional cast-in-place concrete shear walls into rocking walls,which helps to lower the shear demand,while allowing re-centering.Two large-scale lateral load tests were performed to validate the retrofit concept on a concrete shear wall designed according to pre-1970s standards.The design parameters investigated were amount of energy dissipating reinforcements and confinement enhancement.Two different methods using Ultra High Performance Concrete(UHPC)were investigated to provide additional confinement to boundary elements of older shear walls.Observations from the tests showed minimized damage and enhanced recentering in the retrofitted wall specimens.Use of UHPC in the boundary elements of the retrofitted walls provided additional confinement and reduced damage in the rocking corners.

Review of the energy-based design theory:Towards the application to self-centering systems

Self-centering systems exhibit superior performance during earthquake shaking with lower damage and less resid-ual deformations.Although the equivalent static force design procedure is the commonly used one for most structural systems for seismic applications,the cumulative damage and the effective duration of earthquakes cannot be explicitly considered,which has significantly affected the behaviors and post-earthquake performance of self-centering systems.Energy-based design theory(EBDT),which introduces the energy demand as the crit-ical parameter to establish relations with structural damage,has gained attention around the world in recent decades.The EBDT can provide comprehensive considerations for structural responses and damage in design procedures,especially for self-centering systems.However,few researches and actual energy design projects fo-cus on the use of EBDT for self-centering systems.This paper intends to present thorough review of several critical issues in EBDT.Meanwhile,pivotal gaps that need to be further investigated towards the application of EBDT to self-centering systems are identified and discussed in the paper.

Seismic design of low-rise steel building frames with self-centering hybrid damping connections

This paper develops a practice-oriented seismic design procedure for an emerging lateral force resisting system.The system combines the favorable re-centering feature with the attractive hybrid damping capacity.The system overcomes the detrimental frame expansion effect that occurs in conventional self-centering building frames without the cost of building space.Following the proposed design procedure,multiple designs with different parameters to achieve performance objectives were performed for a representative three-story building in which the considered lateral force resisting system is used to resist the seismic forces.Nonlinear response history analyses were performed for the designs to evaluate the applicability and adequacy of the proposed design approach.Based on the analyses conducted in this research,it was found that the considered system designed using the proposed approach can meet both transient and residual inter-story drift requirements specified for the selected performance objectives.While an initial design per the proposed design approach may be inadequate,the re-design strategy recommended can help transform the design to an acceptable one after only one round of modification.Moreover,the composition of hybrid damping may affect the maximum floor acceleration responses.In this study,the maximum floor acceleration can be reduced 12.75%at most by replacing hysteretic damping with viscous damping.This should be included in design consideration in the proposed approach through adjusting the hybrid damping composition.

Experimental study of the restoring force mechanism in the self-centering beam （SCB）

In the past, several self-centering （SC） seismic systems have been developed. However, examples of selfcentering systems used in practice are limited due to unusual field construction practices, high initial cost premiums and deformation incompatibility with the gravity framing. A self centering beam moment frame （SCB-MF） has been developed that mitigates several of these issues while adding to the advantages of a typical SC system. The self-centering beam （SCB） is a shop-fabricated, self-contained structural component that when implemented in a moment resisting frame can bring a building back to plumb after an earthquake. This paper describes the SCB concepts and experimental program on five SCB specimens at two-third scale relative to a prototype building. Experimental results are presented including the global force-deformation behavior. The SCBs are shown to undergo 5%-6% story drift without any observable damage to the SCB body and columns. Strength equations developed for the SCB predict the moment capacity well, with a mean difference of 6% between experimental and predicted capacities. The behavior of the restoring force mechanism is described. The limit states that cause a loss in system＇s restoring force which lead to a decrease in the selfcentering capacity of the SCB-MF, are presented.

Self-centering steel plate shear walls for improving seismic resilience

As part of a Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation research project led by researchers at the University of Washington with collaborators at University at Buffalo, and Taiwan National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, a self-centering steel plate shear wall （SC-SPSW） system has been developed to achieve enhanced seismic performance objectives, including recentering. The SC-SPSW consists of thin steel infill panels, referred to as web plates that serve as the primary lateral load-resisting and energy dissipating element of the system. Post- tensioned （PT） beam-to-column connections provide system recentering capabilities. A performance-based design procedure has been developed for the SC-SPSW, and a series of nonlinear response history analyses have been conducted to verify intended seismic performance at multiple hazard levels. Quasi-static subassembly tests, quasi-static and shake table tests of scaled three-story specimens, and pseudo-dynamic tests of two full-scale two-story SC-SPSWs have been conducted. As a culmination of this multi-year, multi-institutional project, this paper will present an overview of the SC- SPSW numerical and experimental research programs. This paper will also discuss innovative PT connection and web plate designs that were investigated to improve constructability, resilience, and seismic performance and that can be applied to other self-centering and steel plate shear wall systems.

Self-centering characteristics of a petal-shaped capsule robot

Based on the multiple wedge effects, a petal-shaped capsule robot(PCR) is proposed, and the self-centering phenomenon of the PCR is discovered. For investigating the self-centering characteristics, an innovative concept of the instantaneous fluid membrane(FM) thickness, along with the dynamic FM thickness, is proposed; thus a dynamic FM thickness model and a hydrodynamic pressure(HP) model are derived when the PCR axis deviates from the pipe axis under the effect of gravity. A kinematics equation during suspending process in the vertical direction and a swimming kinematics equation in axial direction are derived respectively. Four capsule robots with different eccentricities of the tiles were manufactured and tested, the theoretical and experimental results show that the HP gradient is a fundamental reason for the self-centering phenomenon. The PCR with the self-centering ability can directly avoid the contact with the bottom of the gastrointestinal(GI) tract, achieving the excellent obstacle surmounting ability in the GI complex environment with the less twisted impact on the GI tract, which has a promising application prospect in the GI diagnosis.

Validation of a steel dual-core self-centering brace （DC-SCB） for seismic resistance： from brace member to one-story one-bay braced frame tests

A steel dual-core self-centering brace （DC-SCB） is an innovative structural member that provides both energy dissipation and self-centering properties to structures, reducing maximum and residual drifts of structures in earthquakes. The axial deformation capacity of the DC-SCB is doubled by a parallel arrangement of two inner cores, one outer box and two sets of tensioning elements. This paper presents cyclic test results of a DC-SCB component and a full- scale one-story, one-bay steel frame with a DC-SCB. The DC-SCB that was near 8 m-long was tested to evaluate its cyclic behavior and durability. The DC-SCB performed well under a total of three increasing cyclic loading tests and 60 low- cycle fatigue loading tests without failure. The maximum axial load of the DC-SCB was near 1700 kN at an interstory drift of 2.5%. Moreover, a three-story dual-core self-centering braced frame （DC-SCBF） with a single-diagonal DC-SCB was designed and its first-story, one-bay DC-SCBF subassembly specimen was tested in multiple earthquake-type loadings. The one-story, one-bay subassembly frame specimen performed well up to an interstory drift of 2% with yielding at the column base and local buckling in the steel beam; no damage of the DC-SCB was found after all tests. The maximum residual drift of the DC-SCBF caused by beam local buckling was 0.5% in 2.0% drift cycles.

Parametric study of hexagonal castellated beams in post-tensioned self-centering steel connections

The effects o f important parameters (beam reinforcing plates, initial post-tensioning, and material properties o f steel angles) on the behavior o f hexagonal castellated beams in post-tensioned self-centering (PTSC) connections undergone cyclic loading up to 4% lateral drift have been investigated by finite element (FE) analysis using ABAQUS. The PTSC connection is comprised o f bolted top and bottom angles as energy dissipaters and steel strands to provide self-centering capacity. The FE analysis has also been validated against the experimental test. The new formulations derived from analytical method has been proposed to predict bending moment o f PTSC connections. The web-post buckling in hexagonal castellated beams has been identified as the dominant failure mode when excessive initial post-tensioning force is applied to reach greater bending moment resistance, so it is required to limit the highest initial post-tensioning force to prevent this failure. Furthermore, properties o f steel material has been simulated using bilinear elastoplastic modeling with 1.5% strain-hardening which has perfectly matched with the real material of steel angles. It is recommended to avoid using steel angles with high yielding strength since they lead to the yielding o f bolt shank. The necessity o f reinforcing plates to prevent beam flange from local buckling has been reaffirmed.

Seismic design and analysis of a high-rise self-centering wallbuilding:Case study

Post-tensioning self-centering walls are a well-developed and resilient technology.However,despite extensive research,the application of this technology has previously been limited to low-rise buildings.A ten-story selfcentering wall building has now been designed and constructed using the state-of-art design methodologies and construction detailing,as described in this paper.The building is designed in accordance with direct displacement-based design methodology,with modification of seismic demand due to relevant issues including higher-mode effects,second order effects,torsional effects,and flexural deformation of wall panels.Wall sections are designed with external energydissipating devices of steel dampers,and seismic performance of such designed self-centering walls is evaluated through numerical simulation.It is the first engineering project that uses self-centering walls in a high-rise building.The seismic design procedure of such a high-rise building,using self-centering wall structures,is comprehensively reviewed in this work,and additional proposals are put forward.Description of construction detailing,including slotted beams,flexible wall-to-floor connections,embedded beams,and damper installation,is provided.The demonstration project promotes the concept of seismic resilient structures and contributes to the most appealing city planning strategy of resilient cities at present.The paper could be a reference for industry engineers to promote the self-centering wall systems worldwide.

Probabilistic safety assessment of self-centering steel braced frame

The main drawback of conventional braced frames is implicitly accepting structural damage under the design earthquake load, which leads to considerable economic losses. Controlled rocking self-centering system as a modem low-damage system is capable of minimizing the drawbacks of conventional braced frames. This paper quantifies main limit states and investigates the seismic performance of self-centering braced frame using a Probabilistic Safety Assessment procedure. Margin of safety, confidence level, and mean annual frequency of the self-centering archetypes for their main limit states, including PT yield, fuse fracture, and global collapse, are established and are compared with their acceptance criteria. Considering incorporating aleatory examined. Results of the investigation indicate that the provide the adequate margin of safety against exceeding and epistemic uncertainties, the efficiency of the system is design of low- and mid-rise self-centering archetypes could the undesirable limit-states.

Poetic Reconstruction of “Self-Centered” in the Cross-Cultural Theatre

In cross-cultural theaters of the drama field,it has become a universal trend to integrate tradition and modernity as well as China and the West in the cultural exchange between different nations.Such a normality brings some new opportunities to the dramatic creation of youth directors while posing greater challenges.As to opportunities,it can make the stage processing of directors more distinctive while enriching their aesthetic pursuits;the challenge lies in how to endow the work with contemporary expression without breaking away from tradition.Nowadays,more and more directors are seeking“poetic reconstruction”in cross-cultural theaters,and keen direction artists are exploring how to better express the connotation of their work,including the inner feelings of roles,their subconsciousness,and transmitting the unfinished meaningful words delicately at the special time and space offered by the stage,and make use of the unique vocabulary of directors to form new aesthetic experience and expressive effects,so as to enlighten the audience to make rational reflection in addition to having emotional consonance.Therefore,“poetic reconstruction of‘self-centered’”is critical in cross-cultural theatrical creation.In view of this condition,I will take the creation of Xi,an experimental drama,as an example,and discuss how directors reconstruct“self-centered”poetry in the cross-cultural theaters to form distinctive and unique expressions,so as to accomplish beneficial exploration of the co-existence of philosophy and beauty in the combination of classicism and contemporaneity and the process of taking in everything.

An Experimental and Analytical Study on Cross-Laminated Bamboo Rocking Walls with Friction Dampers

Cross-laminated bamboo(CLB)have a high strength to weight ratio and stable bidirectional mechanical properties.Inspired by the investigation on cross-laminated timber(CLT)rocking walls,CLB rocking walls with conventional friction dampers(CFDs)are studied in this paper.To investigate the mechanical properties of the CLB rocking wall,seven tests are conducted under a cyclic loading scheme,and different test parameters,including the existence of the CFDs,the moment ratio,and the loading times,are discussed.The test results show a bilinear behavior of the CLB rocking wall.The small residual displacements of the CLB rocking wall demonstrate an idealized self-centering capacity.The cumulative energy dissipation curves indicate that the energy dissipation capacity of the CLB rocking wall can be greatly improved with CFDs.The limit states of the CLB rocking wall under a lateral force are proposed based on the strains,stress,and damage level of the CLB material and posttensioned rebar.In addition,an analytical model of the CLB rocking wall is developed based on the proposed limit states of the CLB rocking wall to evaluate the hysteretic response of the CLB rocking wall,and the model is validated by the experimental data.The comparison results show the potential value of the analytical model for engineering design.