Modal parameter identification and damping ratio estimation from the full-scale measurements of a typical Tibetan wooden structure

Tibetan heritage buildings have a high historical and cultural value. They have endured adverse environmental loadings over hundreds of years without significant damage. However, there are few reports on their structural characteristics under normal environmental loadings and their behavior under dynamic loadings. In this research, a typical Tibetan wooden wall-frame building is selected to study its dynamic characteristics. Field measurements of the structure were conducted under environmental excitation to collect acceleration responses. The stochastic subspace identification （SSI） method was adopted to calculate the structural modal parameters and obtain the out-of-plane vibration characteristics of the slab and frames. The results indicated that the wall-frame structure had a lower out-of-plane stiffness and greater in-plane stiffness due to the presence of stone walls. Due to poor identified damping ratio estimates from the SSI method, a method based on the variance upper bound was proposed to complement the existing variance lower bound method for estimating the modal damping ratio to address the significant damping variability obtained from different points and measurements. The feasibility of the proposed method was illustrated with the measured data from the floor slab of the structure. The variance lower and upper bound methods both provided consistent results compared to those from the traditional SSI method.

Dynamic shear modulus and damping ratio characteristics of undisturbed marine soils in the Bohai Sea,China

This paper presents results from a series of stress-controlled undrained cyclic triaxial tests on the undisturbed marine silty clay,silt,and fine sand soils obtained from the Bohai Sea,China.Emphasis is placed on the major factors for predominating the dynamic shear modulus(G)and damping ratio(λ)in the shear strain amplitude(γ_(a))from 10^(-5) to 10^(-2),involving depth,sedimentary facies types,and water content of marine soils.The empirical equations of the small-strain shear modulus(G_(max))and damping ratio(λ_(min))using a single-variable of depth H are established for the three marine soils.A remarkable finding is that the curves of shear modulus reduction(G/G_(max))and the damping ratio(λ)with increasing γ_(a) of the three marine soils can be simply determined through a set of explicit expressions with the two variables of depth H and water content W.This finding is validated by independent experimental data from the literature.At the similar depths,the G value of the marine soils of terrestrial facies is the largest,followed b_(y) the neritic facies,and the G value of the marine soils of abyssal facies is the smallest.The sedimentary facies types of the marine soils have slight effect on theλvalue.Another significant finding is that the shear modulus reduction curves plotted against the γ_(a) of the three marine soils at the similar depths are significantly below those of the corresponding terrigenous soils,while the damping curves plotted against γ_(a) are just the opposite.The results presented in this paper serve as a worthful reference for the evaluation of seabed seismic site effects in the Bohai Sea due to lack of experimental data.

Estimation of damping ratio of soil sites using microtremor

It is widely known that the seismic response characteristics of a soil site depends heavily on several key dynamic properties of the soil stratum,such as predominant frequency and damping ratio.A widely used method for estimating the predominant frequency of a soil site by using microtremor records,proposed by Nakamura,is investigated to determine its effectiveness in estimating the damping ratio.The authors conducted some microtremor measurements of soil sites in Hong Kong and found that Nakamura's method might also be used to estimate the damping ratio of a soil site.Damping ratio data from several typical soil sites were obtained from both Nakamura's ratio curves using the half power point method and resonant column tests.Regression analysis indicates that there is a strong correlation between the damping ratios derived from these two different approaches.

Influence of repeated freeze-thaw on dynamic modulus and damping ratio properties of silty sand

Under repeated freezing and thawing in deep seasonal frozen regions, the stability and strength of the soil are imposed in the form of large uneven settlement, instability and strength reduction, which affect the normal operation of railway lines. This study is to obtain the influencing rules of freeze-thaw on the dynamic properties （dynamic strain, confining pressure and compactness） of silty sand. Based on an amount of inner tests, the dynamic modulus and damping ratio properties of silty soil subjected to repeated freeze-thaw cycles were deeply researched and analyzed. The results are as follows： At the same dynamic strain, the relationship of dynamic stress and freeze-thaw cycles presents negative cor- relation, and the relationship of dynamic stress, confining pressure and compactness present positive correlation. The dynamic modulus double decreases while the damping ratio double increases with incremental increase in dynamic strain. The dynamic modulus sharply decreases while the damping ratio increases with incremental increase in freeze-thaw cycles, and then the changes level off after six freeze-thaw cycles. The dynamic modulus increases while the damping ratio decreases as the confining pressure and compactness increase at the same strain level.

Influence of Trailing-Edge Wear on the Vibrational Behavior of Wind Turbine Blades

To study the impact of the trailing-edge wear on the vibrational behavior of wind-turbine blades,unworn blades and trailing-edge worn blades have been assessed through relevant modal tests.According to these experiments,the natural frequencies of trailing-edge worn blades-1,-2,and-3 increase the most in the second to fourth order,thefifth order increases in the middle,and thefirst order increases the least.The damping ratio data indi-cate that,in general,thefirstfive-order damping ratios of trailing-edge worn blades-1 and trailing-edge worn blades-2 are reduced,and thefirstfive-order damping ratios of trailing-edge worn blades-3 are slightly improved.The mode shape diagram shows that the trailing-edge worn blades-1 and-2 have a large swing in the tip and the blade,whereas the second-and third-order vibration shapes of the trailing edge-worn blade-3 tend to be improved.Overall,all these results reveal that the blade’s mass and the wear area are the main fac-tors affecting the vibration characteristics of wind turbine blades.

Measurement of Vibrational Stiffness and Air Damping of Damselfly Wings

A simple cantilever beam vibration test method made of biomorph and insect wing, were used to measure the vibrational stiffness and the air damping of insect wings. Vibration tests were performed in vacuum pressures to atmosphere and the wing stiffness and air damping factor were measured. The test method was found to be a viable method for measuring wing stiffness, natural frequencies and mode shapes. The vibrational deformation of the insect wings was found to be combination of bending and torsion because of unsymmetrical geometry of wing. The measured stiffness (K) of damselfly wings varied from 0.18 to 0.31 N/m and the air damping ratio ranged from 0.72 to 0.79. The undamped natural frequency (fn) at 13 kPa varied from 249 to 299 Hz and at atmosphere it varied from 168 to 198 Hz.

Feasibility study of a large-scale tuned mass damper with eddy current damping mechanism

Tuned mass dampers （TMDs） have been widely used in recent years to mitigate structural vibration. However, the damping mechanisms employed in the TMDs are mostly based on viscous dampers, which have several well-known disadvantages, such as oil leakage and difficult adjustment of damping ratio for an operating TMD. Alternatively, eddy current damping （ECD） that does not require any contact with the main structure is a potential solution. This paper discusses the design, analysis, manufacture and testing of a large-scale horizontal TMD based on ECD. First, the theoretical model of ECD is formulated, then one large-scale horizontal TMD using ECD is constructed, and finally performance tests of the TMD are conducted. The test results show that the proposed TMD has a very low intrinsic damping ratio, while the damping ratio due to ECD is the dominant damping source, which can be as large as 15% in a proper configuration. In addition, the damping ratios estimated with the theoretical model are roughly consistent with those identified from the test results, and the source of this error is investigated. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the damping ratio in the proposed TMD can be easily adjusted by varying the air gap between permanent magnets and conductive plates. In view of practical applications, possible improvements and feasibility considerations for the proposed TMD are then discussed. It is confirmed that the proposed TMD with ECD is reliable and feasible for use in structural vibration control.

Structural vibration passive control and economic analysis of a high-rise building in Beijing

Performance analysis of the Pangu Plaza under earthquake and wind loads is described in this paper. The plaza is a 39-story steel high-rise building, 191 m high, located in Beijing close to the 2008 Olympic main stadium. It has both fluid viscous dampers （FVDs） and buckling restrained braces or unbonded brace （BRB or UBB） installed. A repeated iteration procedure in its design and analysis was adopted for optimization. Results from the seismic response analysis in the horizontal and vertical directions show that the FVDs are highly effective in reducing the response of both the main structure and the secondary system. A comparative analysis of structural seismic performance and economic impact was conducted using traditional methods, i.e., increased size of steel columns and beams and/or use of an increased number of seismic braces versus using FVD. Both the structural response and economic analysis show that using FVD to absorb seismic energy not only satisfies the Chinese seismic design code for a ＂rare＂ earthquake, but is also the most economical way to improve seismic performance both for one-time direct investment and long term maintenance.

Accuracy of the half-power bandwidth method with a third-order correction for estimating damping in multi-DOF systems

A third-order correction was recently suggested to improve the accuracy of the half-power bandwidth method in estimating the damping of single DOF systems.This paper analyzes the accuracy of the half-power bandwidth method with the third-order correction in damping estimation for multi-DOF linear systems.Damping ratios in a two-DOF linear system are estimated using its displacement and acceleration frequency response curves,respectively.A wide range of important parameters that characterize the shape of these response curves are taken into account.Results show that the third-order correction may greatly improve the accuracy of the half-power bandwidth method in estimating damping in a two-DOF system.In spite of this,the half-power bandwidth method may significantly overestimate the damping ratios of two-DOF systems in some cases.

The damping model for sea waves covered by oil films of a finite thickness

In combination with a wave action balance equation, a damping model for sea waves covered by oil films of a finite thickness is proposed. The damping model is not only related to the physical parameters of the oil film, but also related to environment parameters. Meanwhile, the parametric analyses have been also conducted to understand the sensitivity of the damping model to these parameters. And numerical simulations demonstrate that a kinematic viscosity, a surface/interfacial elasticity, a thickness, and a fractional filling factor cause more significant effects on a damping ratio than the other physical parameters of the oil film. From the simulation it is also found that the influences induced by a wind speed and a wind direction are also remarkable. On the other hand, for a thick emulsified oil film, the damping effect on the radar signal induced by the reduction of an effective dielectric constant should also be taken into account. The simulated results are compared with the damping ratio evaluated by the 15 ENVISAT ASAR images acquired during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill accident.

Research on Influence of Damping Material on Structure Performance of Torpedo

Reducing the self-noise and radiated noise of torpedo is an effective way to enhance its detection and concealment capabilities.After discussing the basic principle on noise and vibration control and main noise sources in torpedo,the application of damping treatment for noise and vibration absorption was proposed in this paper.Compared composite materials(damping and metal materials)used as segment joint,their different contributions to the damping performance of base structure were investigated.The results show that the damping material can be used as segment joint effectively in vibration control.Taking cantilever beam as an example,four different damping treatments were compared in natural frequency and damping loss factor,the results show the influences of different damping layer layouts on the structure damping performance,and offer a reference for the torpedo shell design.

Operational Mode Identification Based on Sliding Time Window Method and Eigensystem Realization Algorithm

The identification result of operational mode is eurychoric while operational mode identification is investigated under ambient excitation,which is influenced by the signal size and the time interval.The operational mode identification method,which is based on the sliding time window method and the eigensystem realization algorithm(ERA),is investigated to improve the identification accuracy and stability.Firstly,the theory of the ERA method is introduced.Secondly,the strategy for decomposition and implementation is put forward,including the sliding time window method and the filtration method of modes.At last,an example is studied,where the model of a cantilever beam is built and the white noise exciting is input.Results show that the operational mode identification method can realize the modes,and has high robustness to the signal to noise ratio and signal size.

Research of Magnesium Alloy Wheel Vibration Performance Based on Finite Element Method

As the automotive industry is increasingly demanding on energy saving and environmental protection,people are taking more attention on the lightweight design and comfort of automobiles.Wheel vibration is one of the most important parts of a vehicle performance.The dynamic characteristics of the vehicle are determined by the modal parameters of the vehicle system.The wheel also has a great influence on the vibration.Based on finite element method,we analyze wheel vibration performance.This research studies the effect of different damping properties on wheel frequency.By comparing of acceleration and speed of the wheel,we can improve the vibration performance of the vehicle.

Analysis of vibration attenuation characteristics of large thickness carbon fiber composite laminates

The vibration attenuation and damping characteristics of carbon fiber reinforced composite laminates with different thicknesses were investigated by hammering experiments under free boundary constraints in different directions.The dynamic signal testing and analysis system is applied to collect and analyze the vibration signals of the composite specimens,and combine the self-spectrum analysis and logarithmic decay method to identify the fundamental frequencies of different specimens and calculate the damping ratios of different directions of the specimens.The results showed that the overall stiffness of the specimen increased with the increase of the specimen thickness,and when the thickness of the sample increases from 24mm to 32mm,the fundamental frequency increases by 35.1%,the vibration showed the same vibration attenuation and energy dissipation characteristics in the 0°and 90°directions of the specimen,compared with the specimen in the 45°direction,which was less likely to be excited and had poorer vibration attenuation ability,while the upper and lower surfaces of the same specimen showed slightly different attenuation characteristics to the vibration,the maximum difference of damping capacity between top and bottom surfaces of CFRP plates is about 70%.

Test and numerical investigations on static and dynamic characteristics of extra-wide concrete self-anchored suspension bridge under vehicle loads

The present work is aimed at studying the mechanic properties of the extra-wide concrete self-anchored suspension bridge under static and dynamic vehicle loads. Based on the field test using 12 heavy trucks and finite element simulations, the static deformations of different components, stress increments and distributions of the girder, as well as the vibration characteristics and damping ratio of the Hunan Road Bridge were analyzed, which is the widest self-anchored suspension bridge in China at present. The dynamic responses were calculated using the Newmark-β integration method assisted by the simulation models of bridge and vehicles, the influences on the dynamic impact coefficient(DIC) brought by the vehicle parameters, girder width, eccentricity travel and deck flatness were also researched. The spatial effect of the girder is obvious due to the extra width, which performs as the stress increments distribute unevenly along the transverse direction, and the girder deflections and stress increments of the upper plate change as a "V" and "M" shape respectively under the symmetrical vehicle loads affected by the shear lag effect, cross slope and local effect of the wheels, the maximum of stress increments are located in the junctions with the inner webs. The obvious girder torsional deformation and the apparent unevenness of the hanger forces between the two cable planes under the eccentric vehicle loads, together with the mode shapes such as the girder transverse bending and torsion which appear relatively earlier, all reflect the weakened torsional rigidity of the extra-wide girder. The transverse displacements of towers are more obvious than the longitudinal ones. As for the influences on the DIC, the static effect of the heavier vehicles plays a major role when pass through with a higher speed and the changes of vehicle suspension stiffness generate greater impacts than the suspension damp. The values of DIC in the vehicle-running side during the eccentric travel, affected by the restricts from the static effects of the eccentric moving trucks, are significantly smaller than the vehicle-free side, the increase in the road roughness is the most sensitive one among the above influential factors. The results could provide references for the design, static and dynamic response analysis of the similar extra-wide suspension bridges.

Analysis of the dynamic characteristics and stochastic simulation on variations of beach volumes

This paper analyzes the dynamic characteristics of the variations of the beach volumes for three level zonesof the Yanjing Beach in the Shuidong Bay of the western Guangdong Province by using the methods of dynamic systemanalysis and the multi-dimensional spectral estimation. The results show that the variations of the beach volume arecharaCterized by the multiband oscillations with a dominant semimonth period. Upwards the low tide level, the beachtends to be stable. The estimates of the partial coherences and the partial phases indicate that the variations of thebeach volumes are mainly the results of the direct actions of the waves which are influenced by the tidal level changesand driven by the wind stress. The simulation results of the beach volume series for different beach heart zones bythreshold mixed regressive models indicate that the influence of the tide on the variations of the beach volumes is weakened and the direct actions of the wave energy and the wind stress are apparently enhanced with the increase of thebeach height.(This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.)

Experimental studies on behavior of fully grouted reinforced-concrete masonry shear walls

An experimental study is conducted on fully grouted reinforced masonry shear walls (RMSWs) made from concrete blocks with a new configuration. Ten RMSWs are tested under reversed cyclic lateral load to investigate the influence of different reinforcements and applied axial stress values on their seismic behavior. The results show that flexural strength increases with the applied axial stress, and shear strength dominated by diagonal cracking increases with both the amount of horizontal reinforcement and applied axial stress. Yield displacement, ductility, and energy dissipation capability can be improved substantially by increasing the amount of horizontal reinforcement. The critical parameters for the walls are derived from the experiment: displacement ductility values corresponding to 15% strength degradation of the walls reach up to 2.6 and 4.5 in the shear and flexure failure modes, respectively; stiffness values of flexure- and shear-dominated walls rapidly degrade to 17%–19% and 48%–57% of initial stiffness at 0.50 Dmax (displacement at peak load). The experiment suggests that RMSWs could be assigned a higher damping ratio (～14%) for collapse prevention design and a lower damping value (～7%) for a fully operational limit state or serviceability limit state.

Experimental research on oil fi lm thickness and its microwave scattering during emulsifi cation

Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) plays a major role in identifying oil spills on the sea surface.However,obtaining information of oil spill thickness(volume) is still a challenge.Emulsification is an important process affecting the thickness and normalized radar cross section(NRCS) of oil film.Experiments of crude oil emulsification with C-band fully-polarized scatterometer were conducted combining airborne hyperspectral imaging spectrometer and 3 D laser scanner observation data,to provide experimental parameters and method to support accurate remote sensing monitoring on marine oil spill.It is further proved that through quantitative homogeneous emulsified oil spill experiments,to a certain extent,the NRCS of oil film increased during the emulsification process of crude oil.The backscattering mechanism of crude oil emulsification was explored using a semi-empirical model(SEM);the change of oil film NRCS was modulated by its dielectric constant and surface roughness,in which the dielectric constant showed a dominant effect.The relationship between thickness and NRCS of oil film was studied under two experimental conditions.The differences of NRCS between oil film and adjacent seawater(Δσ~0) and the damping ratio(DR) were found to have a linear relationship with oil thickness,which were best in the vertical polarization mode(VV) at 45° incident angle during the quantitative crude oil homogeneous emulsification process.In the natural emulsification process of continuous oil spill in which oil film was mixed with both crude oil and emulsified oil,an empirical equation of oil film thickness is preliminarily established.The Δσ~0,DR,and the empirical equation of oil film thickness were applied to the marine continuous oil spill incident on a 19-3 oil platform with spaceborne SAR image and successfully explained the distribution of the relative thickness of the oil film.

Test on dynamic characteristics of subgrade of heavy-haul railway in cold regions

Dynamic characteristics of heavy-haul railway subgrade under vibratory loading in cold regions are investigated via low-temperature dynamie triaxial tests with multi-stage eyelic loading process. The relationship between dynamic shear stress and dynamic shear strain of frozen soil of subgrade under train loading and the influence of freezing temperatures on dynamic constitutive relation, dynamic shear modulus and damping ratio are observed in this study. Test results show that the dynamic constitutive relations of the frozen soils with different freezing temperatures comply with the hyperbolic model, in which model parameters a and b decrease with increasing freezing temperature. The dynamic shear modulus of the frozen soils decreases with increasing dynamic shear strains initially, followed by a relatively smooth attenuation tendency, whereas increases with decreasing freezing temperatures. The damping ratios decrease with decreasing freezing temperatures. Two linear functions are defined to express the linear relationships between dynamic shear modulus （damping ratio） and freezing temperature, respectively, in which corresponding linear coefficients are obtained through multiple regression analysis of test data.

3D Effects on Vortex-Shedding Flow and Hydrodynamic Coefficients of A Vertically Oscillating Cylinder with A Bottom-Attached Disk

Vortex-shedding flow induced by the vertical oscillation of a cylinder with bottom-attached disks of different diameter ratio Dd/Dc and thickness ratio td/Dc is studied by a 3D （three-dimensional） numerical model developed in this paper, and compared with the results obtained through 2D （two-dimensional） numerical model. The high-order upwind scheme is applied to stabilize the computation, and convergence is accelerated by the multi-grid method. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the differences between the 2D and 3D simulation results reveal the 3D effect on the flow field characteristics and hydrodynamic coefficients of the vertically oscillating cylinder with a bottom-attached disk. The 3D effect on the fluid field is mainly reflected in the significance of three vortex-shedding patterns： ωx has a greater effect on the flow fields around the sharp edges relative to the vortices generated in the 2D simulation. In the slice along the axial orientation, the vortex effect of ωy along the radial axis is smaller than that of ωx along the circumferential direction, indicating the radial effect on the velocity more pronounced than the circumferential effect around the sharp edges of the disk. The rotational interaction ωz of the fluid in the horizontal plane during the heave motion is insignificant. Based on the 2D and 3D simulation results, the turning points that separate the increasing regimes of the added mass coefficient and damping ratio are identified. The dependence of the turning point on the diameter ratio Dd/Dc and thickness ratio td/Dc are discussed in detail.