Resilience-incorporated seismic risk assessment of precast concrete frames with“dry”connections

A resilience-incorporated risk assessment framework is proposed and demonstrated in this study to manifest the advantageous seismic resilience of precast concrete frame(PCF)structures with“dry”connections in terms of their low damage and rapid recovery.The framework integrates various uncertainties in the seismic hazard,fragility,capacity,demand,loss functions,and post-earthquake recovery.In this study,the PCF structures are distinguished from ordinary reinforced concrete frame(RCF)structures by characterizing multiple limit states for the PCF based on its unique damage mechanisms.Accordingly,probabilistic story-wise pushover analyses are performed to yield story-wise capacities for the predefined limit states.In the seismic resilience analysis,a step-wise recovery model is proposed to idealize the functionality recovery process,with separate considerations of the repair and non-repair events.The recovery model leverages the economic loss and downtime to delineate the stochastic post-earthquake recovery curves for the resilience loss estimation.As such,contingencies in the probabilistic post-earthquake repairs are incorporated and the empirical judgments on the recovery parameters are largely circumvented.The proposed framework is demonstrated through a comparative study between two“dry”connected PCFs and one RCF designed as alternative structural systems for a prototype building.The results from the risk quantification indicate that the PCFs show reduced loss hazards and lower expected losses relative to the RCF.Particularly,the PCF equipped with energy dissipation devices at the“dry”connections largely reduces the expected economic loss,downtime,and resilience loss by 29%,56%,and 60%,respectively,compared to the RCF.

Development of a new connection for precast concrete walls subjected to cyclic loading

The Industrialized Building System （IBS） was recently introduced to minimize the time and cost of project construction. Accordingly, ensuring the integration of the connection of precast components in IBS structures is an important factor that ensures stability of buildings subjected to dynamic loads from earthquakes, vehicles, and machineries. However, structural engineers still lack knowledge on the proper connection and detailed joints o fiBS structure construction. Therefore, this study proposes a special precast concrete wall-to-wall connection system for dynamic loads that resists multidirectional imposed loads and reduces vibration effects （PI2014701723）. This system is designed to connect two adjacent precast wall panels by using two steel U-shaped channels （i.e., male and female joints）. During casting, each joint is adapted for incorporation into a respective wall panel after considering the following conditions： one side of the steel channel opens into the thickness face of the panel; a U-shaped rubber is implemented between the two channels to dissipate the vibration effect; and bolts and nuts are used to create an extension between the two U-shaped male and female steel channels. The developed finite element model of the precast wall is subjected to cyclic loads to evaluate the performance of the proposed connection during an imposed dynamic load. Connection performance is then compared with conventional connections based on the energy dissipation, stress, deformation, and concrete damage in the plastic range. The proposed precast connection is capable of exceeding the energy absorption of precast walls subjected to dynamic load, thereby improving its resistance behavior in all principal directions.

Seismic performance of interior precast concrete beam-column connections with T-section steel inserts under cyclic loading

An experimental investigation was conducted to study the performance of precast beam-column concrete connections using T-section steel inserts into the concrete beam and joint core,under reversed cyclic loading.Six 2/3-scale interior beam-column subassemblies,one monolithic concrete specimen and five precast concrete specimens were tested.One precast specimen was a simple connection for a gravity load resistant design.Other precast specimens were developed with different attributes to improve their seismic performance.The test results showed that the performance of the monolithic specimen M1 represented ductile seismic behavior.Failure of columns and joints could be prevented,and the failure of the frame occurred at the flexural plastic hinge formation at the beam ends,close to the column faces.For the precast specimens,the splitting crack along the longitudinal lapped splice was a major failure.The precast P5 specimen with double steel T-section inserts showed better seismic performance compared to the other precast models.However,the dowel bars connected to the steel inserts were too short to develop a bond.The design of the precast concrete beams with lap splice is needed for longer lap lengths and should be done at the beam mid span or at the low flexural stress region.

Simplified full-depth precast concrete deck panel systems for accelerated bridge construction

A simplified full-depth precast concrete deck panel system for accelerating bridge construction （ABC） is introduced and a finite dement analysis （FEA） is con- ducted to investigate the static and dynamic responses of this conceptual deck system. The FEA results are compared to those of the traditional full-depth precast concrete deck panel system. The comparison results show that the mechanical behavior of the new deck system is different from that of the traditional deck system. The concrete decks in the new system act as two-way slabs, instead of the one-way slab in the traditional system. Meanwhile, the connections in both the longitudinal and transverse direc- tions may need to accommodate the negative moments. Compared to those in the traditional system, the longitu- dinal nominal stress at middle span increases a lot in the new deck system and the effective flange width varies significantly. In addition, the dynamic results show that the impact factor is influenced by the spacing of connections. Finally, some design concerns of the new deck system are proposed.

Structural performance of a façade precast concrete sandwich panel enabled by a bar-type basalt fiber-reinforced polymer connector

In this study,a novel diagonally inserted bar-type basalt fiber reinforced polymer(BFRP)connector was proposed,aiming to achieve both construction convenience and partially composite behavior in precast concrete sandwich panels(PCSPs).First,pull-out tests were conducted to evaluate the anchoring performance of the connector in concrete after exposure to different temperatures.Thereafter,direct shear tests were conducted to investigate the shear performance of the connector.After the test on the individual performance of the connector,five façade PCSP specimens with the bar-type BFRP connector were fabricated,and the out-of-plane flexural performance was tested under a uniformly distributed load.The investigating parameters included the panel length,opening condition,and boundary condition.The results obtained in this study primarily indicated that 1)the bar-type BFRP connector can achieve a reliable anchorage system in concrete;2)the bar-type BFRP connector can offer sufficient stiffness and capacity to achieve a partially composite PCSP;3)the boundary condition of the panel considerably influenced the out-of-plane flexural performance and composite action of the investigated façade PCSP.

Cyclic performance and simplified pushover analyses of precast segmental concrete bridge columns with circular section

In recent years, precast segmental concrete bridge columns became prevalent because of the benefits of accelerated construction, low environmental impact, high quality and low life cycle costs. The lack of a detailed configuration and appropriate design procedure to ensure a comparable performance with monolithic construction has impeded this structural system from being widely used in areas of high seismicity. In this study, precast segmental bridge column cyclic loading tests were conducted to investigate the performance of unbonded post-tensioned segmental bridge columns. One monolithic and two precast segmental columns were tested. The preeast segmental column exhibited minor damage and small residual displacement after the maximum 7% cyclic drift; energy dissipation （ED） can be enhanced byadding ED bars. The experimental results were modeled by a simplified pushover method （SPOM）, as well as a fiber model （FIBM） finite element method. Forty-five cases of columns with different aspect ratios, axial load ratios and ED bar ratios were analyzed with the SPOM and FIBM, respectively. Using these parametric results, a simplified design method was suggested by regressive analysis. Satisfactory correlation was found between the experimental results and the simplified design method for preeast segmental columns with different design parameters.

Seismic Behaviour of Beam-Column Joints of Precast and Partial Steel Reinforced Concrete

A beam-column joint of precast and partial steel reinforced concrete( PPSRC) is proposed for precast reinforced concrete frames. The PPSRC consists of partial steel and reinforced concrete. The partial steel is located in the core joint region and the connections between concrete members. This paper presents an experimental study of a series of PPSRC specimens. These specimens are tested under low cyclic loading.Experimental results demonstrate that the bearing capacity of the PPSRC specimens is 3 times that of the ordinary reinforced concrete( RC) beam-column joints. The strength and stiffness degradation rates are slower compared with that of the RC beam-column joints. In addition,the strength of the core joint region and the connections is higher than other parts of the PPSRC specimens. Beam failure occurs firstly for the PPSRC specimens,followed by column failure and connections failure. The failure of the core joint region occurs finally.Test results show that the seismic performance of the PPSRC is better than that of the ordinary RC beam-column joints.

Substructure hybrid testing of reinforced concrete shear wall structure using a domain overlapping technique

An online hybrid test was carried out on a 40-story 120-m high concrete shear wall structure. The structure was divided into two substructures whereby a physical model of the bottom three stories was tested in the laboratory and the upper 37 stories were simulated numerically using ABAQUS. An overlapping domain method was employed for the bottom three stories to ensure the validity of the boundary conditions of the superstructure. Mixed control was adopted in the test. Displacement control was used to apply the horizontal displacement, while two controlled force actuators were applied to simulate the overturning moment, which is very large and cannot be ignored in the substructure hybrid test of high-rise buildings. A series of tests with earthquake sources of sequentially increasing intensities were carried out. The test results indicate that the proposed hybrid test method is a solution to reproduce the seismic response of high-rise concrete shear wall buildings. The seismic performance of the tested precast high-rise building satisfies the requirements of the Chinese seismic design code.

Ductility improvement of GFRP-RC beams using precast confined concrete block in compression zone

Fiber-reinforced polymers(FRPs)have received considerable research attention because of their high strength,corrosion resistance,and low weight.However,owing to the lack of ductility in this material and the quasi-brittle behavior of concrete,FRP-reinforced concrete(FRP-RC)beams,even with flexural failure,do not fail in a ductile manner.Because the limited deformation capacity of FRP-RC beams depends on the ductility of their compression zones,the present study proposes using a precast confined concrete block(PCCB)in the compression zone to improve the ductility of the beams.A control beam and four beams with different PCCBs were cast and tested under four-point bending conditions.The control beam failed due to shear,and the PCCBs exhibited different confinements and perforations.The goal was to find an appropriate PCCB for use in the compression zone of the beams,which not only improved the ductility but also changed the failure mode of the beams from shear to flexural.Among the employed blocks,a ductile PCCB with low equivalent compressive strength increased the ductility ratio of the beam to twice that of the control beam.The beam failed in pure flexure with considerable deformation capacity and without significant stiffness reduction.

Seismic performance of precast hollow bridge piers with different construction details

Currently the design scheme ofprecast hollow concrete bridge piers will be adopted in bridge design in China, but there is no code including specific design details of precast segmental piers in high seismic risk area. For comparative study of seismic performance of the hollow bridge piers which had different design details, six specimens of hollow section bridge pier were designed and tested. The specimens consist of the monolithic cast-in-place concrete bridge pier, precast segmental prestressed pier with cast-in-place joint and precast segmental concrete bridge pier with dry joints. Results show that all specimens have good displacement capacity. The bridge pier with bonded prestressed strands exhibits better energy dissipation capacity and higher strength. The un-bonded prestressed strand bridge pier displays less residual plastic displacement and energy dissipation capacity. The bridge pier with both bonded prestressed strands at the edge of the section and un-bonded in the center of the section not only exhibits more ductility capacity and less residual plastic displacement, but also shows better energy dissipation capacity. Compared with experimental results of prestressed bridge columns, analytical result demonstrates the developed numerical analysis model would provide the reasonable and accurate results.

Seismic design and analysis of a high-rise self-centering wallbuilding:Case study

Post-tensioning self-centering walls are a well-developed and resilient technology.However,despite extensive research,the application of this technology has previously been limited to low-rise buildings.A ten-story selfcentering wall building has now been designed and constructed using the state-of-art design methodologies and construction detailing,as described in this paper.The building is designed in accordance with direct displacement-based design methodology,with modification of seismic demand due to relevant issues including higher-mode effects,second order effects,torsional effects,and flexural deformation of wall panels.Wall sections are designed with external energydissipating devices of steel dampers,and seismic performance of such designed self-centering walls is evaluated through numerical simulation.It is the first engineering project that uses self-centering walls in a high-rise building.The seismic design procedure of such a high-rise building,using self-centering wall structures,is comprehensively reviewed in this work,and additional proposals are put forward.Description of construction detailing,including slotted beams,flexible wall-to-floor connections,embedded beams,and damper installation,is provided.The demonstration project promotes the concept of seismic resilient structures and contributes to the most appealing city planning strategy of resilient cities at present.The paper could be a reference for industry engineers to promote the self-centering wall systems worldwide.

Long-range laser ranging using superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors

We demonstrate laser-ranging results for non-cooperative targets at ranges of 237 m and 19 km using superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors （SSPD）. We upgrade the kilohertz rate laser-ranging system with a newly developed SSPD module, and the equivalent detection diameter is enlarged to 50 gm with a fiber and micro-lenses. Both retroreflectors and non-cooperative surfaces of aluminum foil, a solar panel, and a concrete panel at distances of 237 m and 19 km, whose echoes are of single-photon level, are ranged with sub-centimeter precision. Experimental signal-to-noise ratio curves with the product of quantum efficiency and system transmittance are obtained, which indicates that our system, with an average laser power of 0.8 W and a receiving aperture of 1.2 m, may be capable for space debris ranging at a distance of 800 km. This work suggests that SSPDs have the potential to be used for space debris surveillance.

Self-centring segmental retaining walls—A new construction system for retaining walls

This paper reports on an experimental study on a new self-centring retaining wall system.Four post-tensioned segmental retaining walls(PSRWs)were experimentally tested.Each of the walls was constructed using seven T-shaped concrete segments with a dry stack.The walls were tested under incrementally increasing cyclic lateral load.The effect of the wall height,levels of post-tensioning(PT)force,and bonded versus unbonded condition of PT reinforcement on the structural behavior of the PSRWs was investigated.The results showed that such PSRWs are structurally adequate for water retaining structures.According to the results,increasing the wall height decreases initial strength but increases the deformation capacity of the wall.The larger deformation capacity and ductility of PSRW make it a suitable structural system for fluctuating loads or deformation,e.g.,seawall.It was also found that increasing the PT force increases the wall’s stiffness;however,reduces its ductility.The residual drift and the extent of damage of the unbonded PSRWs were significantly smaller than those of the bonded ones.Results suggest that this newly developed self-centring retaining wall can be a suitable structural system to retain lateral loads.Due to its unique deformation capacity and self-centring behavior,it can potentially be used for seawall application.

Effect of earth reinforcement,soil properties and wall properties on bridge MSE walls

Mechanically stabilized earth(MSE)retaining walls are popular for highway bridge structures.They have precast concrete panels attached to earth reinforcement.The panels are designed to have some lateral movement.However,in some cases,excessive movement and even complete dislocation of the panels have been observed.In this study,3-D numerical modeling involving an existing MSE wall was undertaken to investigate various wall parameters.The effects of pore pressure,soil cohesion,earth reinforcement type and length,breakage/slippage of reinforcement and concrete strength,were examined.Results showed that the wall movement is affected by soil pore pressure and reinforcement integrity and length,and unaffected by concrete strength.Soil cohesion has a minor effect,while the movement increased by 13–20 mm for flexible geogrid reinforced walls compared with the steel grid walls.The steel grid stresses were below yielding,while the geogrid experienced significant stresses without rupture.Geogrid reinforcement may be used taking account of slippage resistance and wall movement.If steel grid is used,non-cohesive soil is recommended to minimize corrosion.Proper soil drainage is important for control of pore pressure.