Seismic performance evaluation of an infilled rocking wall frame structure through quasi-static cyclic testing

Earthquake investigations have illustrated that even code-compliant reinforced concrete frames may suffer from soft-story mechanism.This damage mode results in poor ductility and limited energy dissipation.Continuous components offer alternatives that may avoid such failures.A novel infilled rocking wall frame system is proposed that takes advantage of continuous component and rocking characteristics.Previous studies have investigated similar systems that combine a reinforced concrete frame and a wall with rocking behavior used.However,a large-scale experimental study of a reinforced concrete frame combined with a rocking wall has not been reported.In this study,a seismic performance evaluation of the newly proposed infilled rocking wall frame structure was conducted through quasi-static cyclic testing.Critical joints were designed and verified.Numerical models were established and calibrated to estimate frame shear forces.The results evaluation demonstrate that an infilled rocking wall frame can effectively avoid soft-story mechanisms.Capacity and initial stiffness are greatly improved and self-centering behavior is achieved with the help of the infilled rocking wall.Drift distribution becomes more uniform with height.Concrete cracks and damage occurs in desired areas.The infilled rocking wall frame offers a promising approach to achieving seismic resilience.

Conceptual study of X-braced frames with different steel grades using cyclic half-scale tests

In this paper, an experimental and analytical study of two half-scale steel X-braced flames with equal nominal shear strength under cyclic loading is described. In these tests, all members except the braces are similar. The braces are made of various steel grades to monitor the effects of seismic excitation. Internal stiffeners are employed to limit the local buckling and increase the fracture life of the steel bracing. A heavy central core is introduced at the intersection of the braces to decrease their effective length. Recent seismic specifications are considered in the design of the X-braced frame members to verify their efficiency. The failure modes of the X-braced frames are also illustrated. It is observed that the energy dissipation capacity, ultimate load capacity and ductility of the system increase considerably by using lower grade steel and proposed detailing. Analytical modeling of the specimens using nonlinear finite element software supports the experimental findings.

Liquefaction proneness of stratified sand-silt layers based on cyclic triaxial tests

Most studies on liquefaction have addressed homogeneous soil strata using sand or sand with fine content without considering soil stratification.In this study,cyclic triaxial tests were conducted on the stratified sand specimens embedded with the silt layers to investigate the liquefaction failures and void-redistribution at confining stress of 100 kPa under stress-controlled mode.The loosening of underlying sand mass and hindrance to pore-water flow caused localized bulging at the sand-silt interface.It is observed that at a silt thickness of 0.2H(H is the height of the specimen),nearly 187 load cycles were required to attain liquefaction,which was the highest among all the silt thicknesses with a single silt layer.Therefore,0.2H is assumed as the optimum silt thickness(t_(opt)).The silt was placed at the top,middle and bottom of the specimen to understand the effect of silt layer location.Due to the increase in depth of the silt layer from the top position(capped soil state)to the bottom,the cycles to reach liquefaction(N_(cyc,L))increased 2.18 times.Also,when the number of silt layers increased from single to triple,there was an increase of about 880%in N_(cyc,L).The micro-characterization analysis of the soil specimens indicated silty materials transported in upper sections of the specimen due to the dissipated pore pressure.The main parameters,including thickness(t),location(z),cyclic stress ratio(CSR),number of silt layers(n)and modified relative density(D_(r,m)),performed significantly in governing the lique-faction resistance.For this,a multilinear regression model is developed based on critical parameters for prediction of N_(cyc,L).Furthermore,the developed constitutive model has been validated using the data from the present study and earlier findings.

Cyclic shear behavior of en-echelon joints under constant normal stiffness conditions

To reveal the mechanism of shear failure of en-echelon joints under cyclic loading,such as during earthquakes,we conducted a series of cyclic shear tests of en-echelon joints under constant normal stiffness(CNS)conditions.We analyzed the evolution of shear stress,normal stress,stress path,dilatancy characteristics,and friction coefficient and revealed the failure mechanisms of en-echelon joints at different angles.The results show that the cyclic shear behavior of the en-echelon joints is closely related to the joint angle,with the shear strength at a positive angle exceeding that at a negative angle during shear cycles.As the number of cycles increases,the shear strength decreases rapidly,and the difference between the varying angles gradually decreases.Dilation occurs in the early shear cycles(1 and 2),while contraction is the main feature in later cycles(310).The friction coefficient decreases with the number of cycles and exhibits a more significant sensitivity to joint angles than shear cycles.The joint angle determines the asperities on the rupture surfaces and the block size,and thus determines the subsequent shear failure mode(block crushing and asperity degradation).At positive angles,block size is more greater and asperities on the rupture surface are smaller than at nonpositive angles.Therefore,the cyclic shear behavior is controlled by block crushing at positive angles and asperity degradation at negative angles.

Cyclic behavior test of a new double-arch steel gate

A new double-arch structure for the gate used as tidal barrage and sluice was adopted in Caoe River Dam in China. It was a spatial structure made up of the right arch, the invert arch, the chord, etc., and was designed to bear bilateral loads. To research the cyclic behavior of the new double-arch structure, a scale-model cyclic test was conducted. First, the test setup and test method were presented in detail, and according to the test results, the cyclic behavior and failure characteristics of this structure were discussed. Then by analyzing the test cyclic envelope curve, it was found the curve was divided into three stages: the elastic stage, the local plastic stage and the failure stage at the local yield point and structural yield point. The gate model has local yield strength and structural yield strength, with both their values being bigger than that of the designing load. Therefore, the gate is safe enough for the projects. At last, dynamic property of the gate was analyzed considering additional mass of the water. It was found that the tidal bore shock would not cause resonance vibration of the gate.

Assessment of cyclic deformation and critical stress amplitude of jointed rocks via cyclic triaxial testing

Jointed rock specimens with a natural replicated joint surface oriented at a mean dip angle of 60were prepared,and a series of cyclic triaxial tests was performed at different confining pressures and cyclic deviatoric stress amplitudes.The samples were subjected to 10,000 loading-unloading cycles with a frequency of 8 Hz.At each level of confining pressure,the applied cyclic deviatoric stress amplitude was increased incrementally until excessive deformation of the jointed rock specimen was observed.Analysis of the test results indicated that there existed a critical cyclic deviatoric stress amplitude(i.e.critical dynamic deviatoric stress)beyond which the jointed rock specimens yielded.The measured critical dynamic deviatoric stress was less than the corresponding static deviatoric stress.At cyclic deviatoric stress amplitudes less than the critical dynamic deviatoric stress,minor cumulative residual axial strains were observed,resulting in hysteretic damping.However,for cyclic deviatoric stresses beyond the critical dynamic deviatoric stress,the plastic strains increased promptly,and the resilient moduli degraded rapidly during the initial loading cycles.Cyclic triaxial test results showed that at higher confining pressures,the ultimate residual axial strain attained by the jointed rock specimen decreased,the steadystate dissipated energy density and steady-state damping ratio per load cycle decreased,while steadystate resilient moduli increased.

Cyclic Shear Tests on Key Connection Joints of Modularized Constructions

Modularized construction is a new type of prefabricated building system with green environmental protection and excellent performance. There are few studies on the seismic performance of its key connection joint. This paper presents a new type of assembled connection joint for the high-rise modularized construction. Cyclic shear tests of full-scale joints were carried out, and the key indexes of their seismic performances including the hysteretic performance, ductility, and energy dissipation capacity were analyzed and obtained. The results show that the hysteresis loops of longitudinal and lateral cyclic shear tests were both plump in shapes. The ductility coefficients were 4.54 and 4.98, and the energy dissipation coefficients were 1.83 and 1.43, respectively. The test joint had good ductility and energy dissipation capacity. The positions of yield failure of specimens were mainly concentrated in the connection areas between the column and short beam or end-plate. The research can provide the technical reference for the seismic design and engineering application of related modularized constructions.

Testing and modeling of cyclically loaded rock anchors

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration(NPRA) is planning for an upgrade of the E39 highway route at the westcoast of Norway. Fixed links shall replace ferries at seven fjord crossings. Wide spans and large depths at the crossings combined with challenging subsea topography and environmental loads call for an extension of existing practice. A variety of bridge concepts are evaluated in the feasibility study. The structures will experience significant loads from deadweight, traffic and environment. Anchoring of these forces is thus one of the challenges met in the project. Large-size subsea rock anchors are considered a viable alternative. These can be used for anchoring of floating structures but also with the purpose of increasing capacity of fixed structures. This paper presents first a thorough study of factors affecting rock anchor bond capacity. Laboratory testing of rock anchors subjected to cyclic loading is thereafter presented. Finally, the paper presents a model predicting the capacity of a rock anchor segment, in terms of a ribbed bar, subjected to a cyclic load history. The research assumes a failure mode occurring in the interface between the rock anchor and the surrounding grout. The constitutive behavior of the bonding interface is investigated for anchors subjected to cyclic one-way tensile loads. The model utilizes the static bond capacity curve as a basis, defining the ultimate bond sbuand the slip s1 at τ. A limited number of input parameters are required to apply the model. The model defines the bond-slip behavior with the belonging rock anchor capacity depending on the cyclic load level(τcy/τ), the cyclic load ratio(R= τcy/τcy), and the number of load cycles(N). The constitutive model is intended to model short anchor lengths representing an incremental length of a complete rock anchor.

Model test of the influence of cyclic water level fluctuations on a landslide

Many landslides in reservoir areas continuously deform under cyclic water level fluctuations due to reservoir operations. In this paper,a landslide model, developed for a typical colluvial landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, is used to study the effect of cyclic water level fluctuations on the landslide. Five cyclic water level fluctuations were implemented in the test, and the fluctuation rate in the last two fluctuations doubled over the first three fluctuations. The pore water pressure and lateral landslide profiles were obtained during the test. A measurement of the landslide soil loss was proposed to quantitatively evaluate the influence of water level fluctuations. The test results show that the first water level rising is most negative to the landslide among the five cycles. The fourth drawdown with a higher drawdown rate caused further large landslide deformation. An increase of the water level drawdown rate is much more unfavorable to the landslide than an increase of the water level rising rate. In addition, the landslide was found to have an adaptive ability to resist subsequent water level fluctuations after undergoing large deformation during a water level fluctuation. The landslide deformation and observations in the field were found to support the test results well.

Monotonic and Cyclic Pushover Tests of Wood Beam-Column Connections:Ancient Chinese Tenon Joint vs Typical and Simplified US Connections

Wood beam-column frame is a popular structural system in United States and in ancient China. Chinese wood beam-column frame structures showed better seismic resistance properties than the US ones.The tenon joint is one of the reasons.This study performed monotonic and cyclic pushover tests to understand the behavior of Chinese tenon joints versus the behavior of the commonly used US wood beam-column connections. The test results indicate that the typical US wood beam-column connection is very strong under monotonic loads.The ancient Chinese tenon joint has the best behavior under cyclic loads.

Field testing of stiffened deep cement mixing piles under lateral cyclic loading

Construction of seaside and underground wall bracing often uses stiffened deep cement mixed columns （SDCM）. This research investigates methods used to improve the level of bearing capacity of these SDCM when subjected to cyclic lateral loading via various types of stiffer cores. Eight piles, two deep cement mixed piles and six stiffened deep cement mixing piles with three different types of cores, H shape cross section prestressed concrete, steel pipe, and H-beam steel, were embedded though soft clay into medium-hard clay on site in Thailand. Cyclic horizontal loading was gradually applied until pile failure and the hysteresis loops of lateral load vs. lateral deformation were recorded. The lateral carrying capacities of the SDCM piles with an H-beam steel core increased by 3-4 times that of the DCM piles. This field research clearly shows that using H-beam steel as a stiffer core for SDCM piles is the best method to improve its lateral carrying capacity, ductility and energy dissipation capacity.

Experimental investigation on shear strength deterioration at the interface between different rock types under cyclic loading

The shear strength deterioration of bedding planes between different rock types induced by cyclic loading is vital to reasonably evaluate the stability of soft and hard interbedded bedding rock slopes under earthquake;however,rare work has been devoted to this subject due to lack of attention.In this study,experimental investigations on shear strength weakening of discontinuities with different joint wall material(DDJM)under cyclic loading were conducted by taking the interface between siltstone and mudstone in the Shaba slope of Yunnan Province,China as research objects.A total of 99 pairs of similar material samples of DDJM(81 pairs)and discontinuities with identical joint wall material(DIJM)(18 pairs)were fabricated by inserting plates,engraved with typical surface morphology obtained by performing three-dimensional laser scanning on natural DDJMs sampled from field,into mold boxes.Cyclic shear tests were conducted on these samples to study their shear strength changes with the cyclic number considering the effects of normal stress,joint surface morphology,shear displacement amplitude and shear rate.The results indicate that the shear stress vs.shear displacement curves under each shear cycle and the peak shear strength vs.cyclic number curves of the studied DDJMs are between those of DIJMs with siltstone and mudstone,while closer to those of DIJMs with mudstone.The peak shear strengths of DDJMs exhibit an initial rapid decline followed by a gradual decrease with the cyclic number and the decrease rate varies from 6%to 55.9%for samples with varied surface morphology under different testing conditions.The normal stress,joint surface morphology,shear displacement amplitude and shear rate collectively influence the shear strength deterioration of DDJM under cyclic shear loading,with the degree of influence being greater for larger normal stress,rougher surface morphology,larger shear displacement amplitude and faster shear rate.

Dynamic performance of angle-steel concrete columns under low cyclic loading-I:Experimental study

This paper describes low cyclic loading testing of nine angle-steel concrete column （ASCC） specimens. In the tests, the influence of the shear-span ratio, axial compression ratio and shear steel plate ratio on the hysteretic behavior, energy dissipation, strength degradation, stiffness degradation, skeleton curve and ductility of the ASCCs is studied. Based on the test results, some conclusions are presented. The P-A and sectional M -φ hysteretic models for the ASCCs are presented in a companion paper （Zheng and Ji, 2008）.

Experimental study of hollow rectangular bridge column performance under vertical and cyclically bilateral loads

To investigate the seismic performance of hollow reinforced concrete （RC） bridge columns of rectangular cross section under constant axial load and cyclically biaxial bending, five specimens were tested. A parametric study is carried out for different axial load ratios, longitudinal reinforcement ratios and lateral reinforcement ratios. The experimental results showed that all tested specimens failed in the flexural failure mode and their ultimate performance was dominated by flexural capacity, which is represented by the rupture/buckling of tensile longitudinal rebars at the bottom of the bridge columns. Biaxial force and displacement hysteresis loops showed significant stiffness and strength degradations, and the pinching effect and coupling interaction effect of both directions severely decrease the structural seismic resistance. However, the measured ductility coefficient varying from 3.5 to 5.7 and the equivalent viscous damping ratio varying from 0.19 and 0.26 can meet the requirements of the seismic design. The hollow RC rectangular bridge columns with configurations of lateral reinforcement in this study have excellent performance under bidirectional earthquake excitations, and may be considered as a substitute for current hollow RC rectangular section configurations described in the Guideline for Seismic Design of Highway Bridges （JTG/T B02-01-2008）. The length of the plastic hinge region was found to approach one sixth of the hollow RC rectangular bridge column height for all specimen columns, and it was much less than those specified in the current JTG/T. Thus, the length of the plastic hinge region is more concentrated for RC rectangular hollow bridge columns.

Effect of rock joint roughness on its cyclic shear behavior

Rock joints are often subjected to dynamic loads induced by earthquake and blasting during mining and rock cutting. Hence, cyclic shear load can be induced along the joints and it is important to evaluate the shear behavior of rock joint under this condition. In the present study, synthetic rock joints were prepared with plaster of Paris(Po P). Regular joints were simulated by keeping regular asperity with asperity angles of 15°-15° and 30°-30°, and irregular rock joints which are closer to natural joints were replicated by keeping the asperity angles of 15°-30° and 15°-45°. The sample size and amplitude of roughness were kept the same for both regular and irregular joints which were 298 mm×298 mm×125 mm and 5 mm, respectively. Shear test was performed on these joints using a large-scale direct shear testing machine by keeping the frequency and amplitude of shear load under constant cyclic condition with different normal stress values. As expected, the shear strength of rock joints increased with the increases in the asperity angle and normal load during the first cycle of shearing or static load. With the increase of the number of shear cycles, the shear strength decreased for all the asperity angles but the rate of reduction was more in case of high asperity angles. Test results indicated that shear strength of irregular joints was higher than that of regular joints at different cycles of shearing at low normal stress. Shearing and degradation of joint asperities on regular joints were the same between loading and unloading, but different for irregular joints. Shear strength and joint degradation were more significant on the slope of asperity with higher angles on the irregular joint until two angles of asperities became equal during the cycle of shearing and it started behaving like regular joints for subsequent cycles.

Effect of Cyclic Loading Frequency on Undrained Behaviors of Undisturbed Marine Clay

Based on a series of cyclic triaxial tests, the effect of cyclic frequency on the undrained behaviors of undisturbed marine clay is investigated. For a given dynamic stress ratio, the accumulated pore water pressure and dynamic strain increase with the number of cycles. There exists a threshold value for both the accumulated pore water pressure and dynamic strain, below which the effect of cyclic frequency is very small, but above which the accumulated pore water pressure and dynamic strain increase intensely with the decrease of cyclic frequency for a given number of cycles. The dynamic strength increases with the increase of cyclic frequency, whereas the effect of cyclic frequency on it gradually diminishes to zero when the number of cycles is large enough, and the dynamic strengths at different frequencies tend to the same limiting minimum dynamic strength. The test results demonstrate that the reasons for the frequency effect on the undrained soil behaviors are both the creep effect induced by the loading rate and the decrease of sample effective confining pressure caused by the accumulated pore water pressure.

Dynamic behaviour of weathered red mudstone in Sichuan(China)under triaxial cyclic loading

The construction of a high-speed railway(HSR) in Southwest China is being hindered by a severe shortage of high-quality subgrade materials. However, red mudstone is widely distributed in the Sichuan Basin of China. The ability to use weathered red mudstone(WRM) to fill subgrade beds by controlling its critical stress and cumulative strain would enable substantial savings in project investments and mitigate damage to the ecological environment. To better understand the dynamic behaviour of WRM, both monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests were performed. The evolution of the cumulative strain vs. increased loading cycles was measured. The influences of confining pressure and loading cycles on the dynamic modulus, damping ratio, critical cyclic stress ratio(CSR), and dynamic stress level(DSL) were investigated. The relationship between the CSR and loading cycles under different failure strain criteria(0.1%-1.0%) was analysed. The prediction model of cumulative strain was also evaluated. The results indicated that the shear strength of WRM sufficiently meets the static strength requirements of subgrade. The critical dynamic stress of WRM can thus satisfy the dynamic stress-bearing requirement of the HSR subgrade. The critical CSR decreases and displays a power function with increasing confining pressure. As the confining pressure increases, the DSL remains relatively stable, ranging between 0.153 and 0.163. Furthermore, the relationship between the dynamic strength and loading cycles required to cause failure was established. Finally, a newly developed model for determining cumulative strain was established. A prediction exercise showed that the model is in good agreement with the experimental data.

Experimental Study on Cyclic Mechanics Characteristic of Saturated Soft Clay Strata

Failure criterion of saturated soft clay is studied under cyclic loads through different experiments. A large number of cyclic torsional shear and cyclic triaxial tests on saturated soft clay under unconsolidated undrained condition are conducted. From the test result analysis, it is seen that the failure of saturated soft clay under static and cyclic loads satisfies Mises criterion. The result from different test stress states is not related to the test stress states or confining pressures. It can be applied in general stress states. Then according to the Mises criterion, the equivalent relationship on failure moment between the test stress state and the general stress state can be established. So the cyclic mechanics characteristics of saturated soft clay at failure moment are clarified in this paper. Furthermore, a theory basis is provided for using pseudo-static elasto-plastic cyclic strength model to evaluate cyclic bearing capacity.

Numerical analysis of loess and weak intercalated layer failure behavior under direct shearing and cyclic loading

The mechanical behavior of the joints inside a loess layer is greatly important in weak intercalation studies owing to its involvement in a wide range of landslides in the loess region in China.The shear behavior of the joints in the loess stratum during direct shear and cyclic loadings was investigated using the PFC2D discrete element software.Loess mudstone and mudstone with weak intercalated layer materials were subjected to direct testing,and cyclic shear tests were conducted with consideration to the influence of normal stress and shear velocity.The macroscopic properties and damage patterns were obtained for six numerical configurations;namely,loess-weathered mudstone with 0°,10°,and-10°joints and weathered mudstone with 0°,10°,and-10°weak intercalated layers.The numerical test results revealed that,in the direct shear tests,the shear stress and shear displacement of the samples increased with the normal stress.In the cyclic shear tests with a total cycle number N=20,the shear stress-shear strain curve of the six different configurations exhibited a hysteresis loop.The numerical tests also revealed that,under cyclic shear,the normal stress and shear velocity affected the shear strength.The degree of damage increased as the shear velocity decreased from 0.1 mm/s to 0.005 mm/s for all six numerical configurations.Compared with the damage pattern of the direct shear tests,the damage of the cyclic shear tests mainly comprised shear cracks and fractures,some shaking consolidation settlement and fewer shear strain occurred around the joints.In the direct shear tests,more compression cracks and fractures occurred in the samples.The damage mainly developed along the joints,and shearing-off damage occurred.The results obtained by this study further elucidate the failure mechanism and microscopic damage response of the joints in the loess stratum in Northwest China.

Dynamic properties and liquefaction behaviour of cohesive soil in northeast India under staged cyclic loading

Estimation of strain-dependent dynamic soil properties, e.g. the shear modulus and damping ratio, along with the liquefaction potential parameters, is extremely important for the assessment and analysis of almost all geotechnical problems involving dynamic loading. This paper presents the dynamic properties and liquefaction behaviour of cohesive soil subjected to staged cyclic loading, which may be caused by main shocks of earthquakes preceded or followed by minor foreshocks or aftershocks, respectively. Cyclic triaxial tests were conducted on the specimens prepared at different dry densities （1.5 g/cm3 and 1.75 g/cm3） and different water contents ranging from 8% to 25%. The results indicated that the shear modulus reduction （G/Gmax） and damping ratio of the specimen remain unaffected due to the changes in the initial dry density and water content. Damping ratio is significantly affected by confining pressure, whereas G/Gmax is affected marginally. It was seen that the liquefaction criterion of cohesive soils based on single-amplitude shear strain （3.75% or the strain at which excess pore water pressure ratio becomes equal to 1, whichever is lower） depends on the initial state of soils and applied stresses. The dynamic model of the regional soil, obtained as an outcome of the cyclic triaxial tests, can be successfully used for ground response analysis of the region.