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.

Study of a new-type of steel buckling-restrained brace

The rectangle core plate of all-steel buckling-restrained braces(BRBs) usually exhibit obvious local buckling, due to the lack of longitudinal restraint from the encasing tube. To eliminate the undesirable effects, a novel steel BRB is proposed. In this new-type steel BRB, two T-shaped steels are adopted as the minor restraint elements to restrain the core plate instead of infilled concrete or mortar. Meanwhile, the ingot-iron material with low yielding strength and high elongation is applied to the steel core to study the mechanical properties of steel BRBs. To validate the theoretical requirements for the width-to-thickness ratio of the steel core and the thickness of angle steel, quasi-static tests of eight specimens were conducted. The tests focused on the energy dissipation capacity and failure modes of the proposed steel BRBs. Nonlinear finite element analysis was also carried out to validate the experimental results. Both the aforementioned results imply that appropriately designed steel BRBs can meet the performance requirements for BRB components.

Effect of strata restraint on seismic performance of prefabricated sidewall joints in fabricated subway stations

A disadvantage of the conventional quasi-static test method is that it does not consider the soil restraint effect.A new method to test the seismic performance of prefabricated specimens for underground assembled structures is proposed,which can realistically reflect the strata restraint effect on the underground structure.Laboratory work combined with finite element(FE)analysis is performed in this study.Three full-scale sidewall specimens with different joint forms are designed and fabricated.Indices related to the seismic performance and damage modes are analyzed comprehensively to reveal the mechanism of the strata restraint effect on the prefabricated sidewall components.Test results show that the strata restraint effect effectively improves the energy dissipation capacity,load-bearing capacity,and the recoverability of the internal deformation of the precast sidewall components.However,the strata restraint effect reduces the ductility of the precast sidewall components and aggravates the shear and bending deformations in the core region of the connection joints.Additionally,the strata restraint effect significantly affects the seismic performance and damage mode of the prefabricated sidewall components.An FE model that can be used to conduct a seismic performance study of prefabricated specimens for underground assembled structures is proposed,and its feasibility is verified via comparison with test data.

Hysteretic behavior of cambered surface steel tube damper:Theoretical and experimental research

A novel cambered surface steel tube damper(CSTD)with a cambered surface steel tube and two concave connecting plates is proposed herein.The steel tube is the main energy dissipation component and comprises a weakened segment in the middle,a transition segment,and an embedded segment.It is believed that during an earthquake,the middle weakened segment of the CSTD will be damaged,whereas the reliability of the end connection is ensured.Theoretical and experimental studies are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed CSTD.Formulas for the initial stiffness and yield force of the CSTD are proposed.Subsequently,two CSTD specimens with different steel tube thicknesses are fabricated and tested under cyclic quasi-static loads.The result shows that the CSTD yields a stable hysteretic response and affords excellent energy dissipation.A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effects of the steel tube height,diameter,and thickness on the seismic performance of the CSTD.Compared with equalstiffness design steel tube dampers,the CSTD exhibits better energy dissipation performance,more stable hysteretic response,and better uniformity in plastic deformation distributions.