PROBABILITY MODEL AND SOLUTION ON EARTHQUAKE EFFECTS COMBINATION IN ALONG WIND RESISTANT DESIGN OF TALL-FLEXIBLE BUILDINGS

A model on the earthquake effects combination in wind resistant design of high-rise flexible structures is proposed in accordance with the probability method. Based on the Turkstra criteria, the stochastic characters of wind velocity, earthquake ground acceleration and excitations occurrence probability are taken into account and then the combination of the earthquake effects in structure wind resistant design is analyzed with the convolution approach. The results indicate that as for the tall flexible buildings whose lateral force is governed by wind loading, the maximum lateral loads verification with respect to the wind resistant design combined with earthquake effects may be more unfavorable compared with that in terms of the earthquake resistant design involving wind effects.

Van Earthquake’s Effects on Mud-Brick Houses in Van and the Last Survived Buildings

The city of Van is located to the Eastern Region of Turkey and has experienced two large earthquakes recently. Van earthquakes have caused big damages and demolitions in the city center, districts and in villages. As a result of precautions works have been realized to remove its effects shortly. However, it can be seen that the either urban or rural areas of the city carry the earthquake’s traces. Damages that the eartquake left on the buildings formed the most apparent and standing ones of the traces. Mud-brick buildings are the primary of those damaged buildings both in the centre of Van and in villages. Especially roofs’ collapsing and then walls’ demolition for mud-brick houses which were abandoned, and therefore were not maintained properly for a long time, are quite familiar situations after the earthquake. However, inhabited and maintained houses have been survived sturdily by contrast of other houses with modern materials and they helpt life to continue after the earthquake. In this study, mud-brick houses which were survived after earthquakes in Van and in the villages will be discussed. Reasons for demolition of those demolished and the qualities of those surviving ones will be scrutinized. It is going to be discussed how the mud-brick material which is distinguishing and struggling to gain it deserves as an ecological material today to resist against natural disasters sturdily when it is applied in decent way in scope with examples in the city of Van. Purpose of this study is to document right and wrong usage of the mud-brick materials with examples.

Centrifuge tests for seismic response of single pile foundation supported wind turbines in sand influenced by earthquake history

This paper reports on two sets of centrifuge model tests of wind turbines in dry sand and saturated sand subjected to earthquake sequences.The wind turbine system is composed of a single pile foundation and a wind turbine.All tests were applied with liquefaction experiments and analysis projects(LEAP)waves to simplify the analysis.The objectives of the tests are to investigate:(1)the influence of earthquake history on the seismic response of wind turbines;(2)the influence of earthquake history on the dynamic pile-soil interaction;and(3)the influence of two different foundation types on the seismic response of wind turbines.The tests indicated that earthquake history has a significant influence on the natural frequency of the pile and the soil around the pile in the saturated sand,but has no obvious influence on the dry sand.The shear modulus of the soil and the acceleration amplification factor of the pile top in both tests increased and the maximum bending moment envelope of the single pile foundation shrunk.The stiffness of the p-y curve in saturated sand was increased by the earthquake history,while that in dry sand was not significantly affected.

The K Method for Estimating Earthquake Activity Parameters and Effect of the Boundary Uncertainty of the Source Region:Discussion on the Seismic Zoning Method

Two aspects of a new method,which can be used for seismic zoning,are introduced in this paper.On the one hand,the approach to estimate b value and annual activity rate proposed by Kijko and Sellevoll needs to use the earthquake catalogue.The existing earthquake catalogue contains both historical and recent instrumental data sets and it is inadequate to use only one part.Combining the large number of historical events with recent complete records and taking the magnitude uncertainty into account,Kijko’s method gives the maximum likelihood estimation of b value and annual activity rate,which might be more realistic.On the other hand,this method considers the source zone boundary uncertainty in seismic hazard analysis,which means the earthquake activity rate across a boundary of a source zone changes smoothly instead of abruptly and avoids too large a gradient in the calculated results.

Coseismic Effects of the 2011 Magnitude 9.0 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake Measured at Far East Russia Continental Coast by Gravity and GPS Methods

This work presents the results of complex gravity observation performed at Shults Cape, Gamov peninsula (42.58°N, 131.15°E), Russia. Absolute laser gravimeter GABL type and Scintrex type relative gravimeter were used for measurement. To investigate the accuracy of tidal corrections we compared the observed tidal parameters of the main tidal waves O1 and M2 with modeled ones computed from 6 different ocean tidal models: CSR4, FES02, FES04, GOT00, NAO99 and TPX06. After discussion a theoretical model based on TPX06 ocean tides model and DDW99 non hydrostatic body tides model was used for tidal correction of absolute gravity data. Preliminary estimate of gravity effect induced by the Tohoku-Oki earthquake of11 March 2011Mw = 9.0 at Primorye territory (Russia) was found to be 5.1 ± 2.0 μGal. Co-seismic crustal displacements revealed by GPS data at Far EastRussiacontinental coast are also investigated. Volumetric dilatation of this area is observed at +1.7 × 10-8 level.

Time derivative of earthquake acceleration

Unlike acceleration, velocity, and displacement, the time derivative ofacceleration (TDoA) of ground motion has not been extensively studied. In this paper, the basiccharacteristics of TDoA are evaluated based on records from the 1999 Chi-Chi, earthquake (Mw 7.6)and one of its aftershocks (Mw 6.2). It is found that the maximum TDoA at a free-field station wasover 31,200 cm/s3 (31.8 g/s); and the duration of 'strong' TDoA, between the first and the last timepoints exceeding 2,000 cm/s3 (2 g/s), was almost one minute near the epicenter area. Since groundTDoA sensors are not commonly available, the time series are calculated by direct numericaldifferentiation of acceleration time series. Relative error analysis shows that the error isnon-transitive and total error is within 4%. The density function of TDoA amplitude, frequencycontent and spatial distribution of peak ground jerk (PGJ) are evaluated. The study also includesexamination of some TDoA responses from a seven-story building and comparison of ground TDoA withthe limit TDoA used in the transportation industry for ride comfort. Some potential impacts of TDoAon humans have also been reviewed.

Review on the study of topographic effect on seismic ground motion

Topographic effect study is a very important research topic in seismology, seismic engineering,earthquake engineering, engineering earthquake construction and engineering seismology. This paper focuses on its present development status. Post-earthquake investigation has found that the existence of topography caused more serious earthquake damage. The actual seismographs also recorded the topographic amplification effect of 6 to 7 times and even more than 10 times. Numerical simulation is an important technique to study topographic effect, which complements the lack of observed records. However researches on 3-D topographic effect are not enough and need to be studied deeper. To find the main influence factors and the quantitative relationship between topography and ground motion are required very urgently. Obviously the achievements not only can be applied in the earthquake resistant design, but also can provide the quantitative pre-earthquake disaster prediction and quantitative post-earthquake disaster evaluation.

Analysis of coseismic effect on temperature in the Three Gorges well network

Through the Three Gorges well network, we examine different coseismic changes in water temperature caused by local earthquakes since 2008, and offer a mechanistic explanation.The relations between the coseismic changes in water temperature and the parameters of distant and local earthquakes are deduced.

Characteristics and triggering mechanism of Xinmo landslide on 24 June 2017 in Sichuan, China

At 5: 39 AM on 24 June 2017, a huge landslide-debris avalanche occurred on Fugui Mountain at Xinmo village, Diexi town, Maoxian county, Sichuan province, China. The debris blocked the Songpinggou River for about 2 km, resulting in a heavy loss of both human lives and properties(10 deaths, 3 injuries, 73 missing, and 103 houses completely destroyed). The objectives of this paper are to understand the overall process and triggering factors of this landslide and to explore the affecting factors for its long term evolution before failure. Post event surveys were carried out the day after the landslide occurrence. Information was gathered from literature and on-site investigation and measurement. Topography, landforms, lithology, geological setting, earthquake history, meteorological and hydrological data of the area were analysed. Aerial photographs and other remote sensing information were used for evaluation and discussion. Eye witnesses also provided a lot of helpful information for us to understand the process of initiation, development and deposition. The depositional characteristics of the moving material as well as the traces of the movement,the structural features of the main scarp and the seismic waves induced by the slide are presented and discussed in detail in this paper. The results show that the mechanism of the landslide is a sudden rupture of the main block caused by the instability of a secondary block at a higher position. After the initiation, the failed rock mass at higher position overloaded the main block at the lower elevation and collapsed in tandem. Fragmentation of the rock mass occurred later, thus forming a debris avalanche with high mobility. This landslide case indicates that such seismic events could influence geological hazards for over 80 years and this study provides reference to the long term susceptibility and risk assessment of secondary geological hazards from earthquake.

Seismic ultimate bearing capacity of strip footings on slope

The influence of earthquake forces on ultimate bearing capacity of foundations on sloping ground was studied. A solution to seismic ultimate bearing capacity of strip footings on slope was obtained by utilizing pseudo-static analysis method and taking the effect of intermediate principal stress into consideration. Based on limit equilibrium theory, the formulae for computing static bearing capacity factors, Nq, Nc, Nγ, and dynamic bearing capacity factors, Nqd, Ned, Nγd, which are associated with surcharge, cohesion and self-weight of soils respectively, were presented. A great number of analysis calculations were carried out to obtain the relationship curves of the static and dynamic bearing capacity factors versus various calculation parameters. The curves can serve as the practical engineering design. The calculation results also show that when the values of horizontal and vertical seismic coefficients are 0.2, the dynamic bearing capacity factors Nqd, Ned and Nγd, in which the effects of intermediate principal stress are taken into consideration, increase by 4%-42%, 3%-27% and 34%-57%, respectively.

Seismic Response Analysis of Long-Span Suspen-Dome under Multi-Support Excitations

A practical suspen-dome project, Changzhou Gym roof, is adopted as an example and its transient analysis based on the multi-support excitations of the earthquake wave is carried out. Compared with the single support excitation, the position and value of the maximum stress under multi-support excitations both change and the amount of elements with obvious changes is large and more than 70% of the total. Moreover, when other terms are not changed, this influence will decrease as the span decreases, but increa...

The formation of the Wulipo landslide and the resulting debris flow in Dujiangyan City, China

The Wulipo landslide, triggered by heavy rainfall on July 10, 2013, transformed into debris flow,resulted in the destruction of 12 houses, 44 deaths, and 117 missing. Our systematic investigation has led to the following results and to a new understanding about the formation and evolution process of this hazard. The fundamental factors of the formation of the landslide are a high-steep free surface at the front of the slide mass and the sandstone-mudstone mixed stratum structure of the slope. The inducing factor of the landslide is hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressure change caused by heavy continuous rainfall. The geological mechanical model of the landslide can be summarized as "instability-translational slide-tension fracture-collapse" and the formation mechanism as "translational landslide induced by heavy rainfall". The total volume of the landslide is 124.6×104 m3, and 16.3% of the sliding mass was dropped down from the cliff and transformed into debris flow during the sliding process, which enlarged 46.7% of the original sliding deposit area. The final accumulation area is found to be 9.2×104 m2. The hazard is a typical example of a disaster chain involving landslide and its induced debris flow. The concealment and disaster chain effect is the main reason for the heavy damage. In future risk assessment, it is suggested to enhance the research onpotential landslide identification for weakly intercalated slopes. By considering the influence of the behaviors of landslide-induced debris flow, the disaster area could be determined more reasonably.

Study on optimum arrangement of hysteretic dampers in frame structure

The earthquake mitigation effect of hysteretic dampers is not only related to the number, stiffness, strength, deformation ability of dampers but also to the strength and stiffness of the structure. This paper studied the condition that structures should be in when the hysteretic dampers mitigated seismic action most effectively and made appropriate numerical analysis to verify the effectiveness of theory derivation. The inelastic seismic responses were analyzed for the SDOF system that the shear strength ratio of the damper system was taken differently and the result showed that when the ratio was in the vicinity of the optimum strength ratio of the damper system, the displacement of the structure was minimum and the energy dissipation of dampers was maximum, which indicated that the dampers mitigated seismic action most effectively. The result also indicated that the hysteretic dampers had significant earthquake mitigation effect when the strength ratio β changed in a relatively wide range.

Seismological Activities in Laos1

This report describes briefly the natural conditions and effect of earthquakes in Laos. Though Laos is not severely affected by earthquakes, it is doing its best to start seismological activity through the bilateral cooperation with China and with other ASEAN countries and through the framework of ASEAN-China cooperation.

Conclusions on the Implementation of Regulation of the National Significant Seismic Monitoring and Protection Regions from 1996 to 2012 in the Chinese Mainland

The regulation of the National Significant Seismic Monitoring and Protection Regions(NSSMPR for short) is defined by the Law of the Peoples Republic of China on Protecting Against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters.The first stage of implementation of the regulation of NSSMPR in the Chinese mainland was finished from 1996 to 2005.The second stage is being carried on from 2006 to 2020.With the support of the National Social Science Foundation,this paper follows up and evaluates the implementation of the regulation of NSSMPR from 1996 to 2012 in the Chinese mainland.Based on analysis of earthquake examples and investigation data,we find that the effect of disaster mitigation is good,and on this basis,some suggestions are proposed to improve the regulation of NSSMPR.