Characteristics of seismic responses at liquefied and non-liquefied sites with same site conditions

To understand the characteristics of seismic response at liquefied sites, a liquefiable site and a non-liquefiable site were selected, separated by about 500 m and having the same site conditions as Class D in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program （NEHRP）. A suite of earthquake records on rock sites are selected and scaled to the spectrum of the Joyner, Boore, and Fumal （JBF） attenuation model for a magnitude 7.5 earthquake at a distance of 50 km. The scaled records were then used to excite the two sites. The effect of pore-water pressure was investigated using the effective stress analysis method, and nonlinear soil behavior was modeled by a soil bounding surface model. Comparisons for spectra, peak ground acceleration （PGA）, peak ground displacement （PGD） and permanent displacement were performed. Results show that the mean ground response spectrum at the non-liquefied site is close to the estimated ground response spectrum from the JBF model, but the mean ground response spectrum at the liquefied site is much lower than the estimated ground response spectrum from the JBF model for periods of up to 1.3 s. The mean PGA at the non-liquefied site is about 1.6-1.7 times as large as that at the liquefied site, but the mean peak ground displacement （PGD） at the non-liquefied site has a slight difference with that at the liquefied site. The mean permanent displacements at the liquefied site are larger than those at the non-liquefied site, particularly at the liquefied layer.

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.

Seismic responses of slopes with different angles in coral sand

This paper investigates the seismic responses of slopes in coral sand taken from a reef island in the South China Sea.A series of shaking table model tests were conducted to explore the responses of soil acceleration,excess pore pressure,and slope displacement for three slope angles(5°,10°,and 15°).The results show that the excess pore pressure ratio of the slope decreases due to an increase in the initial shear stress when the slope angle increases.The acceleration response of the soil increases with the increase of the slope angle.The slope displacement presents substantial increments as the excess pore pressure ratio increases.In addition,the lateral movement,and slope settlement present substantial increments as the slope angle increases.No liquefaction is observed under a dynamic excitation of 0.2 g in the coral sand site.Under a dynamic excitation of 0.4 g,the site liquefies quickly,the acceleration amplification factor decreases,and the lateral movement and the settlement of the slope surface both increase compared with that under 0.2 g excitation.For the slope with an angle of 15°at 0.4 g,the flow distance of the sand strip increase by 289.47%compared with that in the 5°case.The lateral movement of the slope surface near the water level line is substantially larger than that away from the water line.The largest settlement is observed near the middle section of the slope(below the water level)under a dynamic excitation of 0.2 g.In contrast,the largest settlement under a dynamic excitation of 0.4 g occurs at the top of the slope.

Seismic Responses of Asymmetric Base-Isolated Structures under Near-Fault Ground Motion

An inter-story shear model of asymmetric base-isolated structures incorporating deformation of each isolation bearing was built, and a method to simultaneously simulate bi-directional near-fault and far-field ground motions was proposed. A comparative study on the dynamic responses of asymmetric base-isolated structures under near-fault and far-field ground motions were conducted to investigate the effects of eccentricity in the isolation system and in the superstructures, the ratio of the uncoupled torsional to lateral frequency of the superstructure and the pulse period of near-fault ground motions on the nonlinear seismic response of asymmetric base-isolated structures. Numerical results show that eccentricity in the isolation system makes asymmetric base-isolated structure more sensitive to near-fault ground motions, and the pulse period of near-fault ground motions plays an import role in governing the seismic responses of asymmetric base-isolated structures.

Influence of fabric anisotropy on seismic responses of foundations

Earthquakes, as one of the well-known natural disasters, are highly destructive and unpredictable.Foundation failure due to liquefaction induced by earthquakes can cause casualties as well as significantdamage to the building itself. Fabric anisotropy of soil grains is considered to be an important factor indynamic soil response based on previous researches and laboratory tests. However, the limited availabilityof real physical data makes it less persuasive. In this study, a shake table installed on ageotechnical centrifuge is used to provide the designed seismic motions, and therefore, to simulate therealistic earthquake motion to foundations. Important parameters in the responses such as acceleration,excess pore pressure and deformation are evaluated to investigate the influence. Implications for designare also discussed. 2015 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting byElsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

RESEARCH ON THE INELASTIC SEISMIC RESPONSES OF SHEAR-TYPE MULTISTORY BUILDINGS WITH REGULAR ASYMMETRY

The inelastic seismic responses of shear-type multistorey buildings with regular asymmetry were analyzed. The effects of the fundamental lateral period, the fundamental frequency ratio of translational to torsional, the eccentric ratio, earthquake intensity and orthogonal earthquake excitations on inelastic displacement and ductility were studied respectively. Numerical results show that aforementioned factors influence the seismic responses of the buildings. The effect of the orthogonal input of ground motion is likely to be restricted to the moving status of eccentric elements.

An Application of Direct Ritz Method for Random Seismic Responses of Jacket Platforms

In this paper, the jacket platform is simulated by a non-uniform cantilever beam subjected to axial force. Based on the Hamilton theory, the equation of bending motion is developed and solved by the classical Ritz method combined with the pseudo-excitation method for random responses with non-classical damping. Usually, random responses of this continuous structure are obtained by orthogonality of modes, and some normal modes of the structure are needed, causing inconvenience for the analysis of the non-uniform beam whose normal modes are not easy to be obtained. However, if the pseudo-excitation method is extended to calculate random responses by combining it with the classical Ritz method, the responses of a non-uniform beam, such as auto-PSD function, cross-PSD and higher spectral moments, can be solved directly avoiding the calculation of normal modes. The numerical results show that the present method is effective and useful in aseismic design of platforms.

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.

Topographic seismic effects and avalanche hazard:A case study of Mount Siella(L’Aquila,Central Italy)

In mountainous areas,snow avalanches could be triggered by the shaking produced by earthquakes.The forces induced by the earthquake can cause an irregular increase of shear strength load down the slope,for the presence of complex surface and buried morphologies.Topographic irregularities generate maximum effects of waves amplification linked to wavelengths comparable to the horizontal dimension of the topographic feature.For this reason,the selected time-histories represent an appropriate input for the two-dimensional numerical response analyses when a dynamic phenomenon produce the resonant motion of a whole mountain.This represents an important earthquake-induced hazard in snow-covered mountain areas with high probability of seismic events.Some valleys are located in regions with scare ground motion data and investments on infrastructures are not always accompanied by adequate protection against earthquake-induced avalanches.The paper points out a simple deterministic approach for selecting a set of real accelerograms applied to a real case of Siella Mountain(Central Italy)where a large avalanche destroying a tourist facility of Rigopiano resort on 18 January 2017.The selected time histories were used as input for the two-dimensional numerical model of the subsoil to evaluate the topographic seismic amplification in ridge and compare it with the results of other authors.These methods suggest that morphology-related inertial effects should be considered as an overload action on snow layers when controlling multi-hazard studies and spatial planning.

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.

Quantitative estimation of bubble volume fraction of submarine seep plumes by modeling seismic oceanography data

Submarine seep plumes are a natural phenomenon in which different types of gases migrate through deep or shallow subsurface sediments and leak into seawater in pressure gradient.When detected using acoustic data,the leaked gases frequently exhibit a flame-like structure.We numerically modelled the relationship between the seismic response characteristic and bubble volume fraction to establish the bubble volume fraction in the submarine seep plume.Results show that our models are able to invert and predict the bubble volume fraction from field seismic oceanography data,by which synthetic seismic sections in different dominant frequencies could be numerically simulated,seismic attribute sections(e.g.,instantaneous amplitude,instantaneous frequency,and instantaneous phase)extracted,and the correlation between the seismic attributes and bubble volume fraction be quantitatively determined with functional equations.The instantaneous amplitude is positively correlated with bubble volume fraction,while the instantaneous frequency and bubble volume fraction are negatively correlated.In addition,information entropy is introduced as a proxy to quantify the relationship between the instantaneous phase and bubble volume fraction.As the bubble volume fraction increases,the information entropy of the instantaneous phase increases rapidly at the beginning,followed by a slight upward trend,and finally stabilizes.Therefore,under optimal noise conditions,the bubble volume fraction of submarine seep plumes can be inverted and predicted based on seismic response characteristics in terms of seismic attributes.

An extended multiple-support response spectrum method incorporating fluid-structure interaction for seismic analysis of deep-water bridges

The effects of ground motion spatial variability(GMSV)or fluid-structure interaction(FSI)on the seismic responses of deep-water bridges have been extensively examined.However,there are few studies on the seismic performance of bridges considering GMSV and FSI effects simultaneously.In this study,the original multiple-support response spectrum(MSRS)method is extended to consider FSI effect for seismic analysis of deep-water bridges.The solution of hydrodynamic pressure on a pier is obtained using the radiation wave theory,and the FSI-MSRS formulation is derived according to the random vibration theory.The influence of FSI effect on the related coefficients is analyzed.A five-span steel-concrete continuous beam bridge is adopted to conduct the numerical simulations.Different load conditions are designed to investigate the variation of the bridge responses when considering the GMSV and FSI effects.The results indicate that the incoherence effect and wave passage effect decrease the bridge responses with a maximum percentage of 86%,while the FSI effect increases the responses with a maximum percentage of 26%.The GMSV and FSI effects should be included in the seismic design of deep-water bridges.

Multi dimensional Seismic Response Analysis of Base Isolated Frame Structure with 3D Isolator

The three dimensional lead rubber dish spring bearing (3DB) is proposed in this paper. The 3DB is composed of lead rubber bearing (LRB) and dish spring bearing (DSB) with damper in series. The 3DB put forward in this paper is effective in the resolution of difficulties in strong vertical capacity and vertical damping of three dimensional isolation bearings. It effectively suppresses rocking motions as well. The analytical model and motion equations of multi dimensional seismic responses of 3D base isolated frame structures are established. Taking a five storey frame structure as an example, an extensive simulation analysis is carried out. The results show that the 3D base isolated structure with the proposed 3DB is effective in 3D isolation; it can reduce seismic responses by 50 % compared to a non isolated structure. Therefore, the 3D isolation problem in building can be solved easily and effectively with the 3DB proposed in this paper.

Seismic performances of dyke on liquefiable soils

Various field investigations of earthquake disaster cases have confirmed that earthquake-induced liquefaction is a main factor causing significant damage to dyke,research on seismic performances of dyke is thus of great importance.In this paper,seismic responses of dyke on liquefiable soils were investigated by means of dynamic centrifuge model tests and three-dimensional（3D） effective stress analysis method which is based on a multiple shear mechanism model and a liquefaction front.For the prototype scale centrifuge tests,sine wave input motions with peak accelerations 0.806 m/s2,1.790 m/s2 and 3.133 m/s2 of varied amplitudes were adopted to study the seismic performances of dyke on the saturated soil layer foundation with relative density of approximately 30%.Then,corresponding numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the distribution and variations of deformation,acceleration,excess pore-water pressure（EPWP）,and behaviors of shear dilatancy in the dyke and the liquefiable soil foundation.Moreover,detailed discussions and comparisons between numerical simulations and centrifuge tests were also presented.It is concluded that the computed results have a good agreement with the measured results by centrifuge tests.The physical and numerical models both indicate that the dyke hosted on liquefiable soils subjected to earthquake motions has exhibited larger settlement and lateral spread：the stronger the motion is,the larger the dyke deformation is.Compared to soils in the deep ground under the dyke and the free field,the EPWP ratio is much smaller in the shallow liquefiable soil beneath the dyke in spite of large deformation produced.For the same overburden depth soil from free site and the liquefiable foundation beneath dyke,the characteristics of effective stress path and stress-strain relations are different.All these results may be of theoretical and practical significance for seismic design of the dyke on liquefiable soils.

Seismic response of large-span spatial structures under multi-support and multidimensional excitations including rotational components

To achieve rational and precise seismic response predictions of large span spatial structures(LSSSs),the inherent non-uniformity and multidimensionality characteristics of earthquake ground motions should be properly taken into consideration.However,due to the limitations of available earthquake stations to record seismic rotational components,the effects of rocking and torsional earthquake components are commonly neglected in the seismic analyses of LSSSs.In this study,a newly developed method to extract the rocking and torsion components at any point along the area of a deployed dense array from the translational earthquake recordings is applied to obtain the rotational seismic inputs for a LSSS.The numerical model of an actual LSSS,the Dalian International Conference Center(DICC),is developed to study the influences of multi-support and multidimensional excitations on the seismic responses of LSSSs.The numerical results reveal that the non-uniformity and multidimensionality of ground motion input can considerably affect the dynamic response of the DICC.The specific degree of influence on the overall and local structural displacements,deformations and forces are comprehensively investigated and discussed.

Seismic analysis of structures with a fractional derivative model of viscoelastic dampers

Viscoelastic dampers are now among some of the preferred energy dissipation devices used for passive seismic response control.To evaluate the performance of structures installed with viscoelastic dampers,different analytical models have been used to characterize their dynamic force deformation characteristics.The fractional derivative models have received favorable attention as they can capture the frequency dependence of the material stiffness and damping properties observed in the tests very well.However,accurate analytical procedures are needed to calculate the response of structures with such damper models.This paper presents a modal analysis approach,similar to that used for the analysis of linear systems,for solving the equations of inotion with fractional derivative terms for arbitrary forcing functions such as those caused by earthquake induced ground motions.The uncoupled modal equations still have fractional derivatives,but can be solved by numerical or analytical procedures.Both numerical and analytical procedures are formulated.These procedures are then used to calculate the dynamic response of a multi-degree of fleedom shear beam structure excited by ground motions. Numerical results demonstrating the response reducing effect of viscoelastic dampers are also presented.

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.

Parallel computation of seismic analysis of high arch dam

Parallel computation programs are developed for three-dimensional meso-mechanics analysis of fully-graded dam concrete and seismic response analysis of high arch dams （ADs）, based on the Parallel Finite Element Program Generator （PFEPG）. The computational algorithms of the numerical simulation of the meso-structure of concrete specimens were studied. Taking into account damage evolution, static preload, strain rate effect, and the heterogeneity of the meso-structure of dam concrete, the fracture processes of damage evolution and configuration of the cracks can be directly simulated. In the seismic response analysis of ADs, all the following factors are involved, such as the nonlinear contact due to the opening and slipping of the contraction joints, energy dispersion of the far-field foundation, dynamic interactions of the dam-foundation- reservoir system, and the combining effects of seismic action with all static loads. The correctness, reliability and efficiency of the two parallel computational programs are verified with practical illustrations.