Evaluation of collapse resistance of RC frame structures for Chinese schools in seismic design categories B and C

According to the Code for Seismic Design of Buildings （GB50011-2001）, ten typical reinforced concrete （RC） frame structures, used as school classroom buildings, are designed with different seismic fortification intensities （SFIs） （SFI=6 to 8.5） and different seismic design categories （SDCs） （SDC=B and C）. The collapse resistance of the frames with SDC=B and C in terms of collapse fragility curves are quantitatively evaluated and compared via incremental dynamic analysis （IDA）. The results show that the collapse resistance of structures should be evaluated based on both the absolute seismic resistance and the corresponding design seismic intensity. For the frames with SFI from 6 to 7.5, because they have relatively low absolute seismic resistance, their collapse resistance is insufficient even when their corresponding SDCs are upgraded from B to C. Thus, further measures are needed to enhance these structures, and some suggestions are proposed.

Estimation of Aleatory Randomness by S_(a)(T_(1))-Based Intensity Measures in Fragility Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Frame Structures

Based on the multiple stripes analysis method,an investigation of the estimation of aleatory randomness by S_(a)(T_(1))-based intensity measures(IMs)in the fragility analysis is carried out for two typical low-and mediumrise reinforced concrete(RC)frame structures with 4 and 8 stories,respectively.The sensitivity of the aleatory randomness estimated in fragility curves to various S_(a)(T_(1))-based IMs is analyzed at three damage limit states,i.e.,immediate occupancy,life safety,and collapse prevention.In addition,the effect of characterization methods of bidirectional ground motion intensity on the record-to-record variability is investigated.It is found that the damage limit state of the structure has an important influence on the applicability of the ground motion IM.The S_(a)(T_(1))-based IMs,considering the effect of softened period,can maintain lower record-to-record variability in the three limit states,and the S_(a)(T_(1))-based IMs,considering the effect of higher modes,do not show their advantage over S_(a)(T_(1)).Furthermore,the optimal multiplier C and exponentαin the dual-parameter ground motion IM are proposed to obtain a lower record-to-record variability in the fragility analysis of different damage limit state.Finally,the improved dual-parameter ground motion IM is applied in the risk assessment of the 8-story frame structure.

High-temperature Resistance Performance of An Inorganic Adhesive for Concrete Structures Strengthened with CFRP Sheets

Organic epoxy matrices have been widely used in the FRP reinforcing technique, but they have serious disadvantages of poor high-temperature resistance. An inorganic adhesive is invented to replace the organic adhesive. For the inorganic adhesive at normal temperature and different high temperatures, the microstructure and phase composition are investigated by means of X-ray diffraction （XRD） and SEM respectively. Results show that inorganic adhesive can resist at least 600 ℃ high temperature. Fire-resistance performance of inorganic adhesive can meet the requirements of fiber reinforced polymer （FRP） strengthened RC structures.

PREDICTION OF FATIGUE LIVES OF RC BEAMS STRENGTHENED WITH CFL UNDER RANDOM LOADING

The investigation on fatigue lives of reinforced concrete （RC） structures strength- ened with fiber laminate under random loading is important for the repairing or the strengthening of bridges and the safety of the traffic. In this paper, two methods are developed for predicting the fatigue lives of RC structures strengthened with carbon fiber [aminate （CFL） under random loading based on a residual life and a residual strength model. To discuss the efficiency of the model, 12 RC beams strengthened with CFL are tested under random loading by the MTS810 testing system. The predicted residual strength approximately agrees with test results.

Study on the effect of the infill walls on the seismic performance of a reinforced concrete frame

Motivated by the seismic damage observed to reinforced concrete （RC） frame structures during the Wenchuan earthquake, the effect of infill walls on the seismic performance of a RC frame is studied in this paper. Infill walls, especially those made of masonry, offer some amount of stiffness and strength. Therefore, the effect of infill walls should be considered during the design of RC frames. In this study, an analysis of the recorded ground motion in the Wenehuan earthquake is performed. Then, a numerical model is developed to simulate the infill walls. Finally, nonlinear dynamic analysis is carried out on a RC frame with and without infill walls, respectively, by using CANNY software. Through a comparative analysis, the following conclusions can be drawn. The failure mode of the frame with infill walls is in accordance with the seismic damage failure pattern, which is strong beam and weak column mode. This indicates that the infill walls change the failure pattern of the frame, and it is necessary to consider them in the seismic design of the RC frame. The numerical model presented in this paper can effectively simulate the effect of infill walls on the RC frame.

Slotted Hole Effect on Damage Mechanism of Gymnasium Building with RC Frame and Steel Roof

On the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake, gymnasium buildings exhibited the unexpected structural damages, which prevented a use as evacuation shelters in during- and post-disaster periods. The major failure occurring on the connection between the RC column top and steel roof as well as the cracks in the RC column base was observed during the emergent inspection. According to the earlier studies, it was implied that the presence of the slotted hole possibly deteriorates the seismic capacity;however, the length of slotted hole was fixed at a certain value. Facing this concern, this research attempts to clarify the influence of the slotted hole length through a comprehensive parametric study by pushover and seismic response analyses. In conclusion, it has been discovered that the slotted hole deteriorates the seismic capacity for the connection failure up to almost 50% of that without slotted hole. Moreover, the discrepancy of characteristics obtained by the static and dynamic analyses is originated by means of the presence of slotted hole. This slotted hole effect should be noted by structural engineers and researchers to provide the adequate seismic diagnosis and strengthening.

Performance of masonry enclosure walls:lessons learned from recent earthquakes

This paper discusses the issue of performance requirements and construction criteria for masonry enclosure and infill walls. Vertical building enclosures in European countries are very often constituted by non-load-bearing masonry walls, using horizontally perforated clay bricks. These walls are generally supported and confined by a reinforced concrete frame structure of columns and beams/slabs. Since these walls are commonly considered to be nonstructural elements and their influence on the structural response is ignored, their consideration in the design of structures as well as their connection to the adjacent structural elements is frequently negligent or insufficiently detailed. As a consequence, nonstructural elements, as for wall enclosures, are relatively sensitive to drift and acceleration demands when buildings are subjected to seismic actions. Many international standards and technical documents stress the need for design acceptability criteria for nonstructural elements, however they do not specifically indicate how to prevent collapse and severe cracking, and how to enhance the overall stability in the case of moderate to high seismic loading. Furthermore, a review of appropriate measures to improve enclosure wall performance and both in-plane and out-of-plane integrity under seismic actions is addressed.

Modeling the Synergetic Effect of Various Factors on Chloride Transport in Nonsaturated Concrete

Diffusion has been systematically described as the main mechanism of chloride transport in reinforced concrete（RC） structure, especially when the concrete is in a saturated state. However, the single mechanism of diffusion is not able to describe the actual chloride ingress in the nonsaturated concrete. Instead, it is dominated by the interaction of diffusion and convection. With the synergetic effects of various factors taken into account, this study aimed to modify and develop an analytical convection- diffusion coupling model for chloride transport in nonsaturated concrete. The model was verified by simulation of laboratory tests and field measurement. The results of comparison study demonstrate that the analytical model developed in this study is efficient and accurate in predicting the chloride profiles in the nonsaturated concrete.

Three dimensional temporal characteristics of ground motions and building responses in Wenchuan earthquake

In this paper, analytical results from 3D temporal characteristics of the responses of an RC frame building subjected to both a large aflershock and the main shock of Wenchuan M8.0 earthquake are presented. The ground motion records from the main shock were obtained from three nearby stations. The acceleration records were analyzed in terms of instantaneous tangential acceleration αv normal acceleration αN, Euclidean norm of acceleration vector lal, velocity vector ｜v｜, displacement vector ｜d｜, temporal curvature κ,κt, and temporal torsion γ and γt.Results of the kinematic relationship between the above factors and some additional in depth information obtained from extensive analyses are provided and discussed.