Time-domain dynamic constitutive model suitable for mucky soil site seismic response

Soil nonlinear behavior displays noticeable effects on the site seismic response.This study proposes a new functional expression of the skeleton curve to replace the hyperbolic skeleton curve.By integrating shear modulus and combining the dynamic skeleton curve and the damping degradation coefficient,the constitutive equation of the logarithmic dynamic skeleton can be obtained,which considers the damping effect in a soil dynamics problem.Based on the finite difference method and the multi-transmitting boundary condition,a 1D site seismic response analysis program called Soilresp1D has been developed herein and used to analyze the time-domain seismic response in three types of sites.At the same time,this study also provides numerical simulation results based on the hyperbolic constitutive model and the equivalent linear method.The results verify the rationality of the new soil dynamic constitutive model.It can analyze the mucky soil site nonlinear seismic response,reflecting the deformation characteristics and damping effect of the silty soil.The hysteresis loop area is more extensive,and the residual strain is evident.

Numerical Simulation of the Seismic Response of a Horizontal Storage Tank Based on a SPH-FEM Coupling Method

A coupled numerical calculation method combining smooth particle hydrodynamics(SPH)and the finite element method(FEM)was implemented to investigate the seismic response of horizontal storage tanks.Anumericalmodel of a horizontal storage tank featuring a free liquid surface under seismic action was constructed using the SPH–FEM coupling method.The stored liquid was discretized using SPH particles,while the tank and supports were discretized using the FEM.The interaction between the stored liquid and the tank was simulated by using the meshless particle contact method.Then,the numerical simulation results were compared and analyzed against seismic simulation shaking table test data to validate the method.Subsequently,a series of numerical models,considering different liquid storage volumes and seismic effects,were constructed to obtain time history data of base shear and top center displacement,which revealed the seismic performance of horizontal storage tanks.Numerical simulation results and experimental data showed good agreement,with an error rate of less than 18.85%.And this conformity signifies the rationality of the SPH-FEM coupling method.The base shear and top center displacement values obtained by the coupled SPH-FEM method were only 53.3% to 69.1% of those calculated by the equivalent mass method employed in the current code.As the stored liquid volume increased,the seismic response of the horizontal storage tank exhibited a gradual upward trend,with the seismic response increasing from 73% to 388% for every 35% increase in stored liquid volume.The maximum von Mises stress of the tank and the supports remained below the steel yield strength during the earthquake.The coupled SPH-FEM method holds certain advantages in studying the seismic problems of tanks with complex structural forms,particularly due to the representation of the flow field distribution during earthquakes by involving reservoir fluid participation.

Seismic response comparison and sensitivity analysis of pile foundation in liquefiable and non-liquefiable soils

Case history investigations have shown that pile foundations are more critically damaged in liquefiable soils than non-liquefiable soils.This study examines the differences in seismic response of pile foundations in liquefiable and non-liquefiable soils and their sensitivity to numerical model parameters.A two-dimensional finite element(FE)model is developed to simulate the experiment of a single pile foundation centrifuge in liquefiable soil subjected to earthquake motions and is validated against real-world test results.The differences in soil-pile seismic response of liquefiable and non-liquefiable soils are explored.Specifically,the first-order second-moment method(FOSM)is used for sensitivity analysis of the seismic response.The results show significant differences in seismic response for a soil-pile system between liquefiable and non-liquefiable soil.The seismic responses are found to be significantly larger in liquefiable soil than in non-liquefiable soil.Moreover,the pile bending moment was mainly affected by the kinematic effect in liquefiable soil,while the inertial effect was more significant in non-liquefiable soil.The controlling parameters of seismic response were PGA,soil density,and friction angle in liquefiable soil,while the pile bending moment was mainly controlled by PGA,the friction angle of soil,and shear modulus of loose sand in non-liquefiable soil.

Seismic response of continuous span bridges through fiber-based finite element analysis

It is widely recognized that nonlinear time-history analysis constitutes the most accurate way to simulate the response of structures subjected to strong levels of seismic excitation. This analytical method is based on sound underlying principles and has the capability to reproduce the intrinsic inelastic dynamic behavior of structures. Nonetheless, comparisons with experimental results from large-scale testing of structures are still needed, in order to ensure adequate levels of confidence in this numerical methodology. The fiber modelling approach employed in the current endeavor inherently accounts for geometric nonlinearities and material inelasticity, without a need for calibration of plastic hinges mechanisms, typical in concentrated plasticity models. The resulting combination of analysis accuracy and modelling simplicity, allows thus to overcome the perhaps not fully justifiable sense of complexity associated to nonlinear dynamic analysis. The fiber-based modelling approach is employed in the framework of a finite element program downloaded from the Intemet for seismic response analysis of framed structures. The reliability and accuracy of the program are demonstrated by numerically reproducing pseudo-dynamic tests on a four span continuous deck concrete bridge. Modelling assumptions are discussed, together with their implications on numerical results of the nonlinear time-history analyses, which were found to be in good agreement with experimental results.

Seismic response analysis of continuous rigid frame bridge considering canyon topography effects under incident SV waves

To evaluate the importance of the canyon topography effects on large structures, based on a rigid frame bridge across a 137-m-deep and 600-m-wide canyon, the seismic response of the canyon site is analyzed using a two-dimensional finite element model under different seismic SV waves with the assumptions of vertical incidence and oblique incidence to obtain the ground motions, which are used as the excitation input on the pier foundations of the bridge with improved large mass method. The results indicate that canyon topography has significant influences on the ground motions in terms of inci- dent angle. The peak ground acceleration values vary greatly from the bottom of the canyon to the upper comers. Under ver- tical incident SV waves, at the upper comers of canyon the peak ground accelerations greatly increase; whereas the peak ground accelerations diminish at the bottom comers of canyon. Under oblique incident SV waves, the shaking of the canyon slope perpendicular to the incidence direction is much more severe than that of the opposite side of canyon. And the ground surface has been characterized by larger deformations in the case of oblique incident waves. It is also concluded that the low piers and frame of the continuous rigid frame bridge ape more sensitive to the multi-support seismic excitations than the flexible high piers. The canyon topography as well as the oblique incidence of the waves brings the continuous rigid frame bridge severe responses, which should be taken into account in bridge design.

Seismic Response of Submerged Floating Tunnel Tether

A mathematical equation for vibration of submerged floating tunnel tether under the effects of earthquake and parametric excitation is presented. Multi-step Galerkin method is used to simplify this equation and the fourth-order Runge-Kuta integration method is used for numerical analysis. Finally, vibration response of submerged floating tunnel tether subjected to earthquake and parametric excitation is analyzed in a few numerical examples. The results show that the vibration response of tether varies with the seismic wave type; the steady maximum mid-span displacement of tether subjected to seismic wave keeps constant when parametric resonance takes place; the transient maximum mid-span displacement of tether is related to the peak value of input seismic wave acceleration.

Seismic response analysis of arch dam-water-rock foundation systems

The effect of water compressibility on the seismic responses of arch dams is not well understood.In this paper,a numerical model is developed with rigorous representation of the dynamic interaction between arch dam-water- rock foundation.The model is applied to the seismic response analysis of an arch dam with a height of 292m designed to a seismic intensity of IX.It is shown that consideration of the water compressibility clearly decreases the stress responses at key positions of the dam,while the added mass model gives a conservative estimate.

Seismic Response Control of Offshore Platform Structures with Shape Memory Alloy Dampers

In this study, the seismic response control of offshore platform structures with Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) dampers is investigated. A new SMA damper and its restoring force model are introduced for the calculation of seismic response reduction. Based on an actual platform structure and its mechanical model, the parameters which may affect the rate of shock absorption are analyzed, such as the number, position and characteristics of the SMA dampers and the condition of the site where the platform is located. The results show that the SMA damper is an effective control device for offshore platforms and satisfactory control can be achieved by proper selection of the parameters.

Seismic response of tall building considering soil-pile-structure interaction

The seismic behavior of tall buildings can he greatly affected by non-linear soil-pile interaction during strong earthquakes.In this study a 20-storey building is examined as a typical structure supported on a pile foundation for different conditions:(1) rigid base,i.e.no deformation in the foundation:(2) linear soil-pile system;and (3) nonlinear soil-pile system. The effects of pile foundation displacements on the behavior of tall building are investigated,and compared with the behavior of buildings supported on shallow foundation.With a model of non-reflective boundary between the near field and far field, Novak's method of soil-pile interaction is improved.The computation method for vibration of pile foundations and DYNAN computer program are introduced comprehensively.A series of dynamic experiments have been done on full-scale piles, including single pile and group,linear vibration and nonlinear vibration,to verify the validity of boundary zone model.

Experimental study on the seismic response of braced reinforced concrete frame with irregular columns

A 15-storey K-braced reinforced concrete model frame with irregular columns, i.e., T-shaped, L-shaped, as well as ＋-shaped columns, was constructed and tested on the six-degree-of-freedom shaking table at the State Key Laboratory for Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering in Tongji, China. Two types of earthquake records, El-Centro wave （south-north direction） and Shanghai artificial wave （SHAW） with various peak accelerations and principal-secondary sequences, were input and experimentally studied. Based on the shaking table tests and theoretical analysis, several observations can be made. The failure sequence of the model structure is brace→beam→column→joints, so that the design philosophy for several lines of defense has been achieved. Earthquake waves with different spectrums not only influence the magnitude and distribution of the earthquake force and the storey shear force, but also obviously affect the magnitude of the displacement response. The aftershock seismic response of previously damaged reinforced concrete braced frames with irregular columns possesses the equivalent elastic performance characteristic. Generally speaking, from the aspects of failure features and drift ratio, this type of reinforced concrete structure provides adequate earthquake resistance and can be promoted for use in China.

Seismic response of skewed RC box-girder bridges

It is critical to ensure the functionality of highway bridges after earthquakes to provide access to important facilities. Since the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, there has been a better understanding of the seismic performance of bridges. Nonetheless, there are no detailed guidelines addressing the performance of skewed highway bridges. Several parameters affect the response of skewed highway bridges under both service and seismic loads which makes their behavior complex. Therefore, there is a need for more research to study the effect of skew angle and other related factors on the performance of highway bridges. This paper examines the seismic performance of a three-span continuous concrete box girder bridge with skew angles from 0 to 60 degrees, analytically. Finite element （FE） and simplified beam-stick （BS） models of the bridge were developed using SAP2000. Different types of analysis were considered on both models such as： nonlinear static pushover, and linear and nonlinear time history analyses. A comparison was conducted between FE and BS, different skew angles, abutment support conditions, and time history and pushover analysis. It is shown that the BS model has the capability to capture the coupling due to skew and the significant modes for moderate skew angles. Boundary conditions and pushover load profile are determined to have a major effect on pushover analysis. Pushover analysis may be used to predict the maximum deformation and hinge formation adequately.

Simulation of the seismic response of sedimentary basins with constant-gradient velocity along arbitrary direction using boundary element method:SH case

We presented a boundary element method using the approximate analytical Green＇s function given by Sanchez-Sesma et al. Coordinate transform is introduced to extend the method to deal with the model with constant-gradient velocity along oblique direction. The method is validated by comparing the numerical results with other independent methods. This method provides a useful tool for analyzing local site effects. We computed seismic response for two series of models. The results in both frequency and time domains are analyzed and show complex amplification patterns. The fundamental mode of resonance is dependent not only on the velocity at the free surface but also on the velocity distribution of the whole basin. For the higher modes of vibration the heterogeneous basin also has its own characteristic.

Engineering characteristics of near-fault vertical ground motions and their effect on the seismic response of bridges

A wide variety of near-fault strong ground motion records were collected from various tectonic environments worldwide and were used to study the peak value ratio and response spectrum ratio of the vertical to horizontal component of ground motion, focusing on the effect of earthquake magnitude, site conditions, pulse duration, and statistical component. The results show that both the peak value ratio and response spectrum ratio are larger than the 2/3 value prescribed in existing seismic codes, and the relationship between the vertical and horizontal ground motions is comparatively intricate. In addition, the effect of the near-fault ground motions on bridge performance is analyzed, considering both the material nonlinear characteristics and the P-A effect.

Stochastic seismic response of structures with added viscoelastic dampers modeled by fractional derivative

Viscoelastic dampers,as spplementary energy dissipation devices,have been used in building structures un- der seismic excitation or wind loads.Different analytical models have been proposed to describe their dynamic force deform- ation characteristics.Among these analytieal models,the fractional derivative models have attracted more attention as they can capture the frequency dependence of the material stiffness and damping properties observed from tests very well.In this paper,a Fourier-transform-based technique is presented to obtain the fractional unit impulse function and the response of structures with added viscoelastic dampers whose foree-detormation relationship is described by a fractional derivative mod- el.Then,a Duhamel integral-type expression is suggested for the response analysis of a fractional damped dynamie system subjected to deterministic or random excitation.Through numerical verification,it is shown that viscoelastic dampers are ef- fective in reducing structural responses over a wide frequency range,and the proposed schmnes can be used to accurately predict the stochastic seismic response of structures with added viscoelastic dampers described by a Kelvin model wills frac- tional derivative.

Optimal design and effectiveness evaluation for inerter-based devices on mitigating seismic responses of base isolated structures

The optimal design and effectiveness of three control systems,tuned viscous mass damper(TVMD),tuned inerter damper(TID)and tuned mass damper(TMD),on mitigating the seismic responses of base isolated structures,were systematically studied.First,the seismic responses of the base isolated structure with each control system under white noise excitation were obtained.Then,the structural parameter optimizations of the TVMD,TID and TMD were conducted by using three different objectives.The results show that the three control systems were all effective in minimizing the root mean square value of seismic responses,including the base shear of the BIS,the absolute acceleration of structural SDOF,and the relative displacement between the base isolation floor and the foundation.Finally,considering the superstructure as a structural MDOF,a series of time history analyses were performed to investigate the effectiveness and activation sensitivity of the three control systems under far field and near fault seismic excitations.The results show that the effectiveness of TID and TMD with optimized parameters on mitigating the seismic responses of base isolated structures increased as the mass ratio increases,and the effectiveness of TID was always better than TMD with the same mass ratio.The TVMD with a lower mass ratio was more efficient in reducing the seismic response than the TID and TMD.Furthermore,the TVMD,when compared with TMD and TID,had better activation sensitivity and a smaller stroke.

Identification of Parameters in 2D-FEM of Valve Piping System within NPP Utilizing Seismic Response

Nuclear power plants(NPP)contain plenty of valve piping systems(VPS’s)which are categorized into high anti-seismic grades.Tasks such as seismic qualification,health monitoring and damage diagnosis of VPS’s in its design and operation processes all depend on finite element method.However,in engineering practice,there is always deviations between the theoretical and the measured responses due to the inaccurate value of the structural parameters in the model.The structure parameters identification of VPS within NPP is still an unexplored domain to a large extent.In this paper,the initial 2D-finite element model(FEM)for VPS with a DN80 gate valve was updated by utilizing seismic response.The objective function used in the model updating procedure is the vibration control equation error of the VPS.The experimental results show that the updated 2D-FEM can accurately predict the original dynamic characteristic of the VPS.It was also found the Rayleigh damping coefficients corresponding to the VPS vary slightly with the change in seismic excitation amplitude.The research displayed the complete procedure of updating the complex structured initial FEM by utilizing seismic response,and the results show that the parameters can be accurately identified even if the seismic response used for updating merely contained the fundamental frequency information of the structure.

Experimental study on seismic response and progressive failure characteristics of bedding rock slopes

Bedding rock slopes are common geological features in nature that are prone to failure under strong earthquakes. Their failures induce catastrophic landslides and form barrier lakes, posing severe threats to people’s lives and property. Based on the similarity criteria, a bedding rock slope model with a length of3 m, a width of 0.8 m, and a height of 1.6 m was constructed to facilitate large-scale shaking table tests.The results showed that with the increase of vibration time, the natural frequency of the model slope decreased, but the damping ratio increased. Damage to the rock mass structure altered the dynamic characteristics of the slope;therefore, amplification of the acceleration was found to be nonlinear and uneven. Furthermore, the acceleration was amplified nonlinearly with the increase of slope elevation along the slope surface and the vertical section, and the maximum acceleration amplification factor(AAF) occurred at the slope crest. Before visible deformation, the AAF increased with increasing shaking intensity;however, it decreased with increasing shaking intensity after obvious deformation. The slope was likely to slide along the bedding planes at a shallow depth below the slope surface. The upper part of the slope mainly experienced a tensile-shear effect, whereas the lower part suffered a compressive-shear force. The progressive failure process of the model slope can be divided into four stages, and the dislocated rock mass can be summarized into three zones. The testing data provide a good explanation of the dynamic behavior of the rock slope when subjected to an earthquake and may serve as a helpful reference in implementing antiseismic measures for earthquake-induced landslides.

Study of the seismic response of a recycled aggregate concrete frame structure

Based on six-degree-of-freedom three-dimensional shaking table tests, the seismic response of a recycled aggregate concrete （RAC） frame was obtained. The analysis results indicate that the maximum story shear force and overturning moment reduce proportionally along the height of the model under the same earthquake wave. The story shear force, base shear coefficient and overturning moment of the structure increase progressively as the acceleration amplitude increases. The base shear coefficient is primarily controlled by the peak ground acceleration （PGA）. The relationships between the PGA and the shear coefficient as well as between the PGA and the dynamic amplification factor are obtained by mathematical fitting. The dynamic amplification factor decreases rapidly at the elastic-plastic stage, but decreases slowly with the development of the elastic-plasticity stage. The results show that the RAC frame structure has reasonable deformability when compared with natural aggregate concrete frame structures. The maximum inter-story drift ratios of the RAC frame model under frequent and rare intensity 8 test phases are 1/266 and 1/29, respectively, which are larger than the allowable value of 1/500 and 1/50 according to Chinese seismic design requirements. Nevertheless, the RAC frame structure does not collapse under base excitations with PGAs from 0.066 g up to 1.170 g.

Seismic response control with density-variable tuned liquid dampers

In this paper, the seismic effectiveness of a density-variable tuned liquid damper （DVTLD） with a sloping bottom is experimentally investigated through a series of shake table tests on a 1/4-scale, 3-story frame structure and numerically simulated by a new semi-analytical model. Special attention was given to reducing the first peak and maximum response under near- and far-field ground motions, and the robustness of a density-variable control system consisting of multiple DVTLDs with closely-spaced frequencies. Adaptable to earthquake excitations, the density-variable control system has been demonstrated to be more effective and more robust than its corresponding traditional tuned liquid damper in suppressing story drift and floor acceleration of the structure. Numerical simulations of the DVTLD-controlled structure agreed very well in phase with experimental results but somewhat overestimated the amplitude of the structural response.

Seismic Response Analysis of Structure with Cooperation of Laminated Rubber Bearing and Wind-Resistant Support

The purpose is to study the seismic reduction effect of an isolated structure,with wind-resistant bearings( WRBs) setting on its isolation layer to withstand great wind load,and the working mechanism of the WRB. In this paper,two isolation models with /without WRBs,taking an actual engineering as the background,are established in the finite element software ETABS. The one with WRBs has horizontal damping coefficient less than 0. 40 while the other between 0. 40 and 0. 53. WRBs are simulated by Plastic 1element and the collaborative work between them and isolation layer is described by a mechanical model. Time history analysis is conducted on the models to compare their responses under earthquake excitations. Results show that the one with WRBs,but less lead-rubber bearings( LRBs),has better damping effect than the other,although they both can meet wind requirements. It is also shown that under normal conditions and small earthquakes,WRBs function well and the isolation layer will not yield; under moderate earthquakes,WRBs will yield and be destroyed to stop functioning but without affecting the damping effect of the upper structure.Additionally, the total yield shear force provided by LRBs is proposed to be close to the standard value of wind load.