Influence of Vertical Irregularity on the Seismic Behavior of Base Isolated RC Structures with Lead Rubber Bearings under Pulse-Like Earthquakes

Nowadays,an extensive number of studies related to the performance of base isolation systems implemented in regular reinforced concrete structures subjected to various types of earthquakes can be found in the literature.On the other hand,investigations regarding the irregular base-isolated reinforced concrete structures’performance when subjected to pulse-like earthquakes are very scarce.The severity of pulse-like earthquakes emerges from their ability to destabilize the base-isolated structure by remarkably increasing the displacement demands.Thus,this study is intended to investigate the effects of pulse-like earthquake characteristics on the behavior of low-rise irregular base-isolated reinforced concrete structures.Within the study scope,investigations related to the impact of the pulse-like earthquake characteristics,irregularity type,and isolator properties will be conducted.To do so,different values of damping ratios of the base isolation system were selected to investigate the efficiency of the lead rubber-bearing isolator.In general,the outcomes of the study have shown the significance of vertical irregularity on the performance of base-isolated structures and the considerable effect of pulse-like ground motions on the buildings’behavior.

Effect of Alternation of Aging and Seawater Erosion on Properties of Rubber Material Used in Lead Rubber Bearing

An artificially accelerated alternation of aging and seawater erosion test of rubber materials used in lead rubber bearing(LRB)was performed,mainly to study the time-varying laws of rubber materials mechanical properties.Time-varying laws of the Mooney–Rivlin and Neo-Hookean constitutive parameters of rubber materials under the alternation of aging and seawater erosion were also analyzed.Results indicate that the rubber material mechanical properties were significantly affected by alternation of aging and seawater erosion.Hardness and elongation stress increased exponentially with test time.And 120 days after the test,the hardness increased by 14%,the maximum percentage increase in stress of 124.76%occurred at 100%constant elongation and the minimum percentage increase in stress of 68.32%occurred at 300%constant elongation;Tensile strength and elongation at break decreased by 44.96%and 53.09%.Besides,constitutive parameters of Mooney–Rivlin and Neo-Hookean all changed greatly with test duration.Finally,time-varying laws of constitutive parameters were verified by comparing the simulated and experimental results of the lead rubber bearing’s stiffness.Research results are of great significance to the seismic performance research and life-cycle performance analysis of offshore traffic engineering such as cross-sea bridges and bridges in the marine environment.

Effect of Lead-Rubber Bearing Isolators in Reducing Seismic Damage for a High-Rise Building in Comparison with Normal Shear Wall System

Seismic earthquakes are a real danger for the construction evolution of high rise buildings.The rate of earthquakes around the world is noteworthy in a wide range of construction areas.In this study,we present the dynamic behavior of a high-rise RC building with dynamic isolators(lead-rubber-bearing),in comparison with a traditional shear wall system of the same building.Seismic isolation has been introduced in building construction to increase the structural stability and to protect the non-structural components against the damaging effects of an earthquake.In order to clarify the influence of incorporating lead rubber bearing isolators in the seismic response and in reducing seismic damages;a comparative study is performed between a fixed base system(shear wall system)and an isolated base system(Lead Rubber Bearing)on an irregular high rise reinforced concrete(RC)building located in Beirut consisting of 48 storeys almost asymmetric orthogonally.For this purpose,a non-linear analysis of a real earthquake acceleration record(EI Centro seismic signal)is conducted,so that the mode shapes,the damping ratio and the natural frequencies of the two models are obtained using ETABS software.The results prove a substantial elongation of the building period,as well as a reduction in the building displacement,the roof acceleration,the inter-storey drift ratio and the base shear force of isolated building relative to fixed-base building.This study proves that this technology is applicable to high rise buildings with acceptable results.

Experimental and Finite Element Analysis for Multi-lead Rubber Bearings:A Comparative Study

The mechanical properties of multi-lead rubber bearings （MLRBs） were investigated by experiment and finite element analysis. First, the vertical stiffness, horizontal stiffness and yielded shear force were tested for four MLRB specimens and two specimens of the single-lead rubber bearings （ SLRBs）. Then, the MLRBs were modeled by the explicit finite element analysis software ANSYS/ LS-DYNA, in order to evaluate the horizontal force-displacement hysteretic curves under static vertical and dynamical horizontal loadings. The disagreement between the tested and theoretical values was less than 11.4%, and MLRBs and SLRBs were similar in vertical stiffness, pre-yield stiffness and yield stiffness.

Development of a modified Mooney-Rivlin constitutive model for rubber to investigate the effects of aging and marine corrosion on seismic isolated bearings

In this study, aging and marine corrosion tests of a large number of rubber material and rubber bearings have been carried out. The constitutive Mooney-Rivlin model parameters for a rubber isolated bearing have been determined. By applying the least-square method to the experimental data, the relationships between the aging time and the marine corrosion time with the constants in the constitutive model for a rubber beating have been derived. Next, the Mooney-Rivlin model has been modified accordingly. Further, using the modified Mooney-Rivlin model and the Abaqus software, the performance of the rubber isolated bearings has been simulated. The simulation results have been compared to the experimental results so as to verify the accuracy of the modified model. The comparison shows that the maximum errors for the vertical and horizontal stiffnesses are 16.8% and 0.49%, respectively. Since these errors are considered acceptable, the accuracy of the modified constitutive model can be considered verified. The results of this study can provide theoretical support for the performance study on rubber isolated bearings under the complex ocean environment and the life-cycle performance evaluation of bridges and other offshore structures.

Rapid report of seismic damage to buildings in the 2022 M 6.8 Luding earthquake,China

The report summarizes the observed damage to a variety of buildings near the epicenter of the M6.8 Luding earthquake in Sichuan Province,China.They include base-isolated buildings,multi-story reinforced concrete(RC)frame buildings,and masonry buildings.The near-field region is known to be tectonically highly active,and the local intensity level is the highest,that is,0.4g peak ground acceleration(PGA)for the design basis earthquake,in the Chinese zonation of seismic ground motion parameters.The extent of damage ranged from the weak-story collapse that claimed lives to the extensive nonstructural damage that suspended occupancy.The report highlights the first observation of the destruction of rubber bearings and viscous dampers in the isolation layer of Chinese seismically isolated buildings.It also features the rare observation of the brittle shear failure of RC columns in moment-resisting frames in a region of such a high seismic design requirement.Possible reasons that may have attributed to the reported damage are suggested by providing facts observed in the field.However,careful forensic analyses are needed before any conclusive judgment can be made.

Simulation of the response of base-isolated buildings under earthquake excitations considering soil flexibility

The accurate analysis of the seismic response of isolated structures requires incorporation of the flexibility of supporting soil. However, it is often customary to idealize the soil as rigid during the analysis of such structures. In this paper, seismic response time history analyses of base-isolated buildings modelled as linear single degree-of-freedom （SDOF） and multi degree-of-freedom （MDOF） systems with linear and nonlinear base models considering and ignoring the flexibility of supporting soil are conducted. The flexibility of supporting soil is modelled through a lumped parameter model consisting of swaying and rocking spring-dashpots. In the analysis, a large number of parametric studies for different earthquake excitations with three different peak ground acceleration （PGA） levels, different natural periods of the building models, and different shear wave velocities in the soil are considered. For the isolation system, laminated rubber bearings （LRBs） as well as high damping rubber bearings （HDRBs） are used. Responses of the isolated buildings with and without SSI are compared under different ground motions leading to the following conclusions： （1） soil flexibility may considerably influence the stiff superstructure response and may only slightly influence the response of the flexible structures; （2） the use of HDRBs for the isolation system induces higher structural peak responses with SSI compared to the system with LRBs; （3） although the peak response is affected by the incorporation of soil flexibility, it appears insensitive to the variation of shear wave velocity in the soil; （4） the response amplifications of the SDOF system become closer to unit with the increase in the natural period of the building, indicating an inverse relationship between SSI effects and natural periods for all the considered ground motions, base isolations and shear wave velocities; （5） the incorporation of SSI increases the number of significant cycles of large amplitude accelerations for all the stories, especially for earthquakes with low and moderate PGA levels; and （6） buildings with a linear LRB base-isolation system exhibit larger differences in displacement and acceleration amplifications, especially at the level of the lower stories.

Substructure design optimization and nonlinear responses control analysis of the mega-sub controlled structural system (MSCSS) under earthquake action

The newly proposed mega sub-controlled structure system(MSCSS)and related studies have drawn the attention of civil engineers for practice in improving the performance and enhancing the structural effectiveness of mega frame structures.However,there is still a need for improvement to its basic structural arrangement.In this project,an advanced,reasonable arrangement of mega sub-controlled structure models,composed of three mega stories with different numbers and arrangements of substructures,are designed to investigate the control performance of the models and obtain the optimal model configuration(model with minimum acceleration and displacement responses)under strong earthquake excitation.In addition,the dynamic parameters that affect the performance effectiveness of the optimal model of MSCSS are studied and discussed.The area of the relative stiffness ratio RD,with different mass ratio MR,within which the acceleration and displacement of the optimal model of MSCSS reaches its optimum(minimum)value is considered as an optimum region.It serves as a useful tool in practical engineering design.The study demonstrates that the proposed MSCSS configuration can efficiently control the displacement and acceleration of high rise buildings.In addition,some analytical guidelines are provided for selecting the control parameters of the structure.

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.

Experimental Studies of the Practicability of a New Type Tuned Mass Damper System

Based on the principle of Tuned Mass Damper (TMD),the test of a new quake reduction system was investigated.The main structure of the system is connected with the top floor through Laminated Rubber Bearing (LRB) to make up a huge TMD system suspended structure. It was shown from the test that the new TMD quake reduction system can reduce the acceleration of the top floor by more than one quarter if the parameters are chosen efficiently.Since the good effectiveness and easy availability, this system has the practical value in earth quake engineering.

Research on Practicability and Feasibility for a New-Type Tuned Mass Damper System-TMD

Based on the principle of tuned mass damper (TMD). the method of using laminated rubber bearing (LRB) to connect TMD with structure is discussed in this paper. This is a new type of TMD system-suspended structure. To test the function of quake-reduction and the possibility of application, this paper explores the suspended top floor through shaking table test. In the model test, an electro-hydraulic shaking table was used. The main structure model was a four-story steel frame structure. The block to combat the structural quake was a concrete block. LRB was used to connect the block to the main structure. In order to analyze the efficiency of TMD, the fundamental frequencies of the main structure and block of TMD were measured separately first. Then. the frequencies of the main structure with the block and without the block were compared respectively under sine and imitative quake waves. The test shows that this new-typeTMD system is effective in combating the structural quake often reducing the acceleration of the top floor by more than 25 %. Because of the easy availability of the method, it is endowed with practical feasibility.

THE POWER FLOW AND TRAVELING WAVE APPROACH TO THE VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF BASE-ISOLATED MULTI-STOREY BUILDINGS

The receptance approach to periodic structure theory is applied to study the wave propagation and vibration power flow into a base-isolated multi-storey building due to horizontal harmonic ground motion.Multi-storey buildings and laminated rubber bearings have been modeled as periodic systems in this paper. Although the simplified model considered is quite simple,it is expected that it will bring forth the key differences between continuous and a single freedom systems.The results indicate that the isolation effectiveness depends on not only the number of storeys of the laminated rubber bearings but also the frequency characteristics of the superstructure.

Numerical investigation on seismic performance of a shallow buried underground structure with isolation devices

A design procedure for improving the seismic performance of unequal-span underground structures by installing isolation devices at the top end of columns is proposed based on the seismic failure mode of frame-type underground structures and the design concept of critical support columns.A two-dimensional finite element model(FEM)for a soil-underground structure with an unequal-span interaction system was established to shed light on the effects of a complex subway station with elastic sliding bearings(ESB)and lead rubber bearings(LRB)on seismic mitigation.It was found that the stiffness and internal force distribution of the underground structure changed remarkably with the installation of isolation devices at the top end of the columns.The constraints of the beam-column joints were significantly weakened,resulting in a decrease in the overall lateral stiffness and an increase in the structural lateral displacement.The introduction of the isolation device effectively reduces the internal force and seismic damage of the frame column;however,the tensile damage to the isolation structure,such as the roof,bottom plate,and sidewall,significantly increased compared to those of the non-isolation structure.Although the relative slip of the ESB remains within a controllable range under strong earthquake excitation as well as frame columns with stable vertical support and self-restoration functions,the LRB shows a better performance during seismic failure and better lateral displacement response of the unequal-span underground structure.The analysis results provide new ideas and references for promoting the application of seismic isolation technology in underground structures.

Natural rubber/nitrile butadiene rubber/hindered phenol composites with high-damping properties

New natural rubber(NR)/nitrile butadiene rubber(NBR)/hindered phenol(AO-80)composites with high-damping properties were prepared in this study.The morpholo-gical,structural,and mechanical properties were characterized by atomic force micro-scopy(AFM),polarized Fourier transform infrared spectrometer(FTIR),dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer(DMTA),and a tensile tester.Each composite consisted of two phases:the NR phase and the NBR/AO-80 phase.There was partial compat-ibility between the NR phase and the NBR/AO-80 phase,and the NR/NBR/AO-80(50/50/20)composite exhibited a co-continuous morphology.Strain-induced crystal-lization occurred in the NR phase at strains higher than 200%,and strain-induced orientation appeared in the NBR/AO-80 phase with the increase of strain from 100%to 500%.The composites had a special stress–strain behavior and mechanical properties because of the simultaneous strain-induced orientation and strain-induced crystalliza-tion.In the working temperature range of a seismic isolation bearing,the composites(especially the NR/NBR/AO-80(50/50/20)composite)presented a high loss factor,high area of loss peak(TA),and high hysteresis energy.Therefore,the NR/NBR/AO-80 rubber composites are expected to have important application as a high-perfor-mance damping material for rubber bearing.

Shake table tests of different seismic isolation systems on a large scale structure subjected to low to moderate earthquakes

Seismic isolation systems designed for extreme events may likely experience low to moderate earthquakes during the design life of the structure rather than the extreme event itself.In new seismic building design codes, low and moderate earthquakes are also mandatory to be investigated in Turkey and some other countries. One of the main reasons is to protect the integrity of non-structural elements or machines during these types of earthquakes. The selection of appropriate seismic isolation is typically decided based on their forcedisplacement characteristics and amount of energy dissipation per cycle. The same energy dissipation per cycle(EDC) can be achieved by high force-low displacement or low force-high displacement response. The focus of this research is given to identify the performance of ball rubber bearing isolation systems compared to different or similar EDC units such as elastomeric bearings and lead rubber bearings through a series of shake table tests performed at low to moderate earthquake levels. Shake table tests were conducted on an almost full scale short span bridge. The tests have revealed that the ball rubber bearings are superior to elastomeric bearings in terms of EDC and can match EDC of LRB. However, although LRB and BRB have the same EDC, BRB is more beneficial to use under low to moderate earthquakes since BRB can transmit less force with larger displacement compared to LRB and LRB can sometimes stay in elastic range with an ineffective EDC as a stiffer elastomeric bearing.

ELASTOMERIC SEISMIC-PROTECTION ISOLATORS FOR BUILDINGS AND BRIDGES

A giant earthquake of magnitude 9.0 occurred in Pacific Ocean off of Tohoku District Japan on March 11,2011. The highest seismic intensity of 7 in JMA scale was recorded in Miyagi. In the Tohoku district, around 230 buildings are seismically isolated （hereafter, SI） mainly by elastomeric isolators （seismic rubber bearings）. According to the official survey reports by several organizations （for example）, the records of those buildings have verified the effectiveness of the seismic isolation. The response acceleration of the SI buildings was reduced by 30% to 50% of the input ground acceleration. Additionally, the difference of the conditions inside the room between SI and the fixed-base buildings was obvious as well as the damage in main structures of the buildings. The displacements of the isolators by the earthquake were around 200 mm according to the records of the instruments. As a result, the performance of SI buildings and the elastomeric isolators in the Tohoku District -- Off the Pacific Ocean Earthquake 2011 were excellent, and the efficiency of the seismic isolation was verified by the records of many buildings in wide area.