Seismic retrofitting of reinforced concrete frame structures using GFRP-tube-confined-concrete composite braces

This paper presents a new type of structural bracing intended for seismic retrofitting use in framed structures. This special composite brace, termed glass-fiber-reinforced-polymer （GFRP）-tube-confined-concrete composite brace, is comprised of concrete confined by a GFRP tube and an inner steel core for energy dissipation. Together with a contribution from the GFRP-tube confined concrete, the composite brace shows a substantially increased stiffness to control story drift, which is often a preferred feature in seismic retrofitting. An analysis model is established and implemented in a general finite element analysis program - OpenSees, for simulating the load-displacement behavior of the composite brace. Using this model, a parametric study of the hysteretic behavior （energy dissipation, stiffness, ductility and strength） of the composite brace was conducted under static cyclic loading and it was found that the area ratio of steel core to concrete has the greatest influence among all the parameters considered. To demonstrate the application of the composite brace in seismic retrofitting, a three-story nonductile reinforced concrete （RC） frame structure was retrofitted with the composite braces. Pushover analysis and nonlinear time-history analyses of the retrofitted RC frame structure was performed by employing a suite of 20 strong ground motion earthquake records. The analysis results show that the composite braces can effectively reduce the peak seismic responses of the RC frame structure without significantly increasing the base shear demand.

Equivalent linear model for seismic damage evaluation of single-degree-of-freedom systems representing reinforced concrete structures considering cyclic degradation behavior

In this study,a novel equivalent damping ratio model that is suitable for reinforced concrete(RC)structures considering cyclic degradation behavior is developed,and a new equivalent linearization analysis method for implementing the proposed equivalent damping ratio model for use in seismic damage evaluation is presented.To this end,Ibarra’s peak-oriented model,which incorporates an energy-based degradation rule,is selected for representing hysteretic behavior of RC structure,and the optimized equivalent damping for predicting the maximum displacement response is presented by using the empirical method,in which the effect of cyclic degradation is considered.Moreover,the relationship between the hysteretic energy dissipation of the inelastic system and the elastic strain energy of the equivalent linear system is established so that the proposed equivalent linear system can be directly integrated with the Park-Ang seismic model to implement seismic damage evaluation.Due to the simplicity of the equivalent linearization method,the proposed method provides an efficient and reliable way of obtaining comprehensive insight into the seismic performance of RC structures.The verification demonstrates the validity of the proposed method.

Numerical analysis on seismic performance of underground structures in liquefiable interlayer sites from centrifuge shaking table test

When an underground structure passes through a liquefiable soil layer,the soil liquefaction may pose a significant threat to the structure.A centrifuge shaking table test was performed to research the seismic response of underground structures in liquefiable interlayer sites,and a valid numerical model was obtained through simulation model test.Finally,the calibrated numerical model was used to perform further research on the influence of various distribution characteristics of liquefiable interlayers on the seismic reaction of underground structures.The key findings are as follows.The structure faces the most unfavorable condition once a liquefiable layer is located in the middle of the underground structure.When a liquefiable layer exists in the middle of the structure,the seismic reactions of both the underground structure and model site will increase with the rise of the thickness of the liquefiable interlayer.The inter-story drift of the structure in the non-liquefiable site is much smaller than that in the liquefiable interlayer site.The inter-story drift of the structure is not only associated with the site displacement and the soil-structure stiffness ratio but also closely associated with the slippage of the soil-structure contact interface under the condition of large deformation of the site.

Seismic Response Analysis of Steel Structure Isolation System Under Long-Period Seismic Motion

To analyze the seismic response of steel structure isolation systems under long-period seismic motion,a 9-story steel frame building was selected as the subject.Five steel structure finite element models were established using SAP2000.Response spectrum analysis was conducted on the seismic motion to determine if it adhered to the characteristics of long-period seismic motion.Modal analysis of each structural model revealed that the isolation structure significantly prolonged the structural natural vibration period and enhanced seismic performance.Base reactions and floor displacements of various structures notably increased under long-period seismic motion compared to regular seismic activity.Placing isolation bearings in the lower part of the structure proved more effective under long-period seismic motion.In seismic design engineering,it is essential to consider the impact of long-period seismic motion on structures and the potential failure of isolation bearings.

Study on the Influence of Aspect Ratio on the Seismic Response and Overturning Resistance of a New Staggered Story Isolated Structure

The aspect ratio of the structure has a significant impact on the overall stability of the ultra high-rise building. A large aspect ratio of the structure increases the risk of overturning and reduces the lateral stiffness of the structure, leading to significant tensile and compressive stresses in the isolated bearings. To study the effect of aspect ratio on the seismic response and overturning resistance of a new staggered story isolated structure, three models with different aspect ratios were established. Nonlinear time-history analysis of the three models was conducted using ETABS finite element software. The results indicate that the overturning moment and overturning resistance moment of the superstructure in the new staggered story isolated structure increase with an increasing aspect ratio. However, the increase in the overturning moment of the superstructure is much greater than the increase in the overturning resistance moment, resulting in a decrease in the overturning resistance ratio of the superstructure with an increasing aspect ratio. The overturning moment and overturning resistance moment of the substructure in the new staggered story isolated structure decrease with an increasing aspect ratio. However, the decrease in the overturning moment of the substructure is greater than the decrease in the overturning resistance moment, leading to an increase in the overturning resistance ratio of the substructure with an increasing aspect ratio. The decrease in the overturning resistance ratio of the superstructure in the new staggered story isolated structure is much greater than the increase in the overturning resistance ratio of the substructure. Therefore, as the aspect ratio of the overall structure increases, the overturning resistance ratio of the superstructure and the entire structure decreases.

The role of viscoelastic damping on retrofitting seismic performance of asymmetric reinforced concrete structures

The primary purpose of this research is to improve the seismic response of a complex asymmetric tall structure using viscoelastic(VE) dampers. Asymmetric structures have detrimental effects on the seismic performance because such structures create abrupt changes in the stiffness or strength that may lead to undesirable stress concentrations at weak locations. Structural control devices are one of the effective ways to reduce seismic impacts, particularly in asymmetric structures. For passive vibration control of structures, VE dampers are considered among the most preferred devices for energy dissipation. Therefore, in this research, VE dampers are implemented at strategic locations in a realistic case study structure to increase the level of distributed damping without occupying significant architectural space and reducing earthquake vibrations in terms of story displacements(drifts) and other design forces. It has been concluded that the seismic response of the considered structure retrofitted with supplemental VE dampers corresponded well in controlling the displacement demands. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that seismic response in terms of interstory drifts was effectively mitigated with supplemental damping when added up to a certain level. Exceeding the supplemental damping from this level did not contribute to additional mitigation of the seismic response of the considered structure. In addition, it was found that the supplemental damping increased the total acceleration of the considered structure at all floor levels, which indicates that for irregular tall structures of this type, VE dampers were only a good retrofitting measure for earthquake induced interstory deformations and their use may not be suitable for acceleration sensitive structures. Overall, the research findings demonstrate how seismic hazards to these types of structures can be reduced by introducing additional damping into the structure.

Describe the Process of Retrofitting Existing Buildings and Evaluate the Effectiveness of it in Improving the Seismic Performance of Structures in Earthquake-prone Regions

At present,earthquakes are a serious problem for building.Severe damages and collapses of buildings were caused by earthquakes in different degrees.It is reported that there are more than 68,858 deaths and hundreds of billions RMB losses in the May 12,2008 Great Wenchuan Earthquake[16].So,more attention should be paid to seismic technology.In order to face the challenges of earthquake on building,the seismic retrofitting was put forward,which“is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity,ground motion,or soil failure due to earthquakes”[2].

Self-centering seismic retrofit scheme for reinforced concrete frame structures:SDOF system study

This paper presents the results of a parametric study of self-centering seismic retrofit schemes for reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings. The self-centering retrofit system features flag-shaped hysteresis and minimal residual deformation. For comparison purpose,an alternate seismic retrofit scheme that uses a bilinear-hysteresis retrofit system such as buckling-restrained braces (BRB) is also considered in this paper. The parametric study was carried out in a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system framework since a multi-story building structure may be idealized as an equivalent SDOF system and investigation of the performance of this equivalent SDOF system can provide insight into the seismic response of the multi-story building. A peak-oriented hysteresis model which can consider the strength and stiffness degradation is used to describe the hysteretic behavior of RC structures. The parametric study involves two key parameters -the strength ratio and elastic stiffness ratio between the seismic retrofit system and the original RC frame. An ensemble of 172 earthquake ground motion records scaled to the design basis earthquake in California with a probability of exceedance of 10% in 50 years was constructed for the simulation-based parametric study. The effectiveness of the two seismic retrofit schemes considered in this study is evaluated in terms of peak displacement ratio,peak acceleration ratio,energy dissipation demand ratio and residual displacement ratio between the SDOF systems with and without retrofit. It is found from this parametric study that RC structures retrofitted with the self-centering retrofit scheme (SCRS) can achieve a seismic performance level comparable to the bilinear-hysteresis retrofit scheme (BHRS) in terms of peak displacement and energy dissipation demand ratio while having negligible residual displacement after earthquake.

Crustal Structure Revealed by a Deep Seismic Sounding Profile of Baijing-Gaoming-Jinwan in the Pearl River Delta

The Pearl River Estuary area, located in the middle part of the southern China coastal seismic belt, has long been considered a potential source of strong earthquakes above magnitude 7.0. To scientifically assess the potential strong earthquake risk in this area, a three-dimensional artificial seismic sounding experiment, consisting of a receiving array and seabed seismograph, was performed to reveal the deep crustal structure in this region. We used artificial ship-borne air-gun excitation shots as sources, and fixed and mobile stations as receivers to record seismic data from May to August 2015. This paper presents results along a line from the western side of the Pearl River Estuary to the western side of the Baijing-Gaoming-Jinwan profile. A two-dimensional velocity structure was constructed using seismic travel-time tomography. The inversion results show that the Moho depth is 27 km in the coastal area and 30 km in the northwest of the Pearl River Estuary area, indicating that the crust thins from land to sea. Two structural discontinuities and multiple low-velocity anomalies appear in the crustal section. Inside both discontinuity zones, a low-velocity layer, with a minimum velocity of 6.05 km s^(-1), exists at a depth of about 15 km, and another, with a minimum velocity of 6.37 km s^(-1), exists at a depth of about 21.5 km between the middle and lower crust. These low velocities suggest that the discontinuities may consist of partly molten material. Earthquakes with magnitudes higher than 5.0 occurred in the low-velocity layer along the profile. The deep Kaiping-Enping fault, rooted in the crust, may be one of the most important channels for deep material upwelling and is related to tectonic movement since the Cretaceous in the Pearl River Delta tectonic rift basin.

Seismic isolation analysis of FPS bearings in spatial lattice shell structures

A theoretical model of a friction pendulum system （FPS） is introduced to examine its application for the seismic isolation of spatial lattice shell structures. An equation of motion of the lattice shell with FPS bearings is developed. Then, seismic isolation studies are performed for both double-layer and single-layer lattice shell structures under different seismic input and design parameters of the FPS. The influence of frictional coefficients and radius of the FPS on seismic performance are discussed. Based on the study, some suggestions for seismic isolation design of lattice shells with FPS bearings are given and conclusions are made which could be helpful in the application of FPS.

Joint land-sea seismic survey and research on the deep structures of the Bohai Sea areas

This paper presents the survey and research work of two land-sea profiles in the Bohai Sea, China, carried out in 2010-2011, including the seismic sources on land and in the sea, the ocean bottom seismographs （OBS） and their recovery, the coupling of OBS and the environment noise in sea area, the data quality of OBSs, and the result of data analysis. We focused on the investigation of crustal structures revealed by the two NE／EW-trending joint land-sea profiles. In combination with the Pn-velocity distribution and gravity- magnetic inversion results in the North China Craton, we propose that the undulation of the Moho interface in the Bohai and surrounding areas is not strong, and the lithospheric thinning is mainly caused by the thinning of its mantle part. The research result indicates that obvious lateral variations of Moho depth and seismic velocity appear nearby all the large-scale faults in Bohai Sea, and there is evidence of underplating and reforming of the lower crust by mantle material in the Bohai area. However, geophysical evidence does not appear to support the ＂mantle plume＂ or ＂delamination＂ model for the North China Craton destruction. The crustal structure of the Bohai Sea revealed ＂a relatively normal crust and obviously thinned mantle lid＂, local velocity anomalies and instability phenomena in the crust. These features may represent a combined effect of North China-Yangtze collision at an early stage and the remote action of Pacific plate subduction at a late stage.

Preliminary investigation of seismic damage to two steel space structures during the 2013 Lushan earthquake

Severe damage to steel space structures is rarely reported when compared to other structural systems damaged during past major earthquakes around the world. Two gymnasiums of steel space structures in downtown Lushan County that were damaged during the 2013 M7.0 Lushan earthquake in China were investigated and the observations are summarized in this paper. Typical damage to these two steel space structures ranges from moderate to severe. Moderate damage includes global buckling and dislocation of bolted connections of truss members, and inelastic elongation of anchor bolts and sliding of pedestal plates of supports. Severe damage includes member fracture caused by local buckling, and fracture failure of anchor bolts and welds. The distribution of structural damage to these two structures is described in detail and future research opportunities are suggested.

Crustal structure beneath the Qilian Orogen Zone from multiscale seismic tomography

The Qilian Orogen Zone(QOZ), located in the north margin of the Tibetan Plateau, is the key area for understanding the deformation and dynamics process of Tibet. Numerous geological and geophysical studies have been carried out on the mechanics of the Tibetan Plateau deformation and uplift; however, the detailed structure and deformation style of the Qilian Orogen Zone have remained uncertain due to poor geophysical data coverage and limited resolution power of inversion algorithms. In this study, we analyze the P-wave velocity structure beneath the Qilian Orogen Zone, obtained by applying multi-scale seismic tomography technique to P-wave arrival time data recorded by regional seismic networks. The seismic tomography algorithm used in this study employs sparsity constraints on the wavelet representation of the velocity model via L1-norm regularization. This algorithm can deal efficiently with uneven-sampled volumes, and can obtain multi-scale images of the velocity model. Our results can be summarized as follows:(1) The crustal velocity structure is strongly inhomogeneous and consistent with the surface geological setting. Significant low-velocity anomalies exist in the crust of northeastern Tibet, and slight high-velocity anomalies exist beneath the Qaidam Basin and Alxa terrane.(2)The Qilian Orogen Zone can be divided into two main parts by the Laji Shan Faults: the northwestern part with a low-velocity feature, and the southeastern part with a high-velocity feature at the upper and middle crust.(3) Our tomographic images suggest that northwestern and southeastern Qilian Orogen Zones have undergone different tectonic processes. In the northwest Qilian Orogen Zone, the deformation and growth of the Northern Tibetan Plateau has extended to the Heli Shan and Beida Shan region by northward overthrusting at the upper crust and thickening in the lower crust. We speculate that in the southeast Qilian Orogen Zone the deformation and growth of the Northern Tibet Plateau were of strike-slip style at the upper crust; in the lower crust, the evidence suggests ductile shear extrusion style and active frontage extension to the Alxa terrane.(4) The multi-scale seismic tomography technique provides multiscale analysis and sparse constraints, which has allowed to us obtain stable, high-resolution results.

Resilience-based retrofitting of existing urban RC-frame buildings using seismic isolation

The improvement of the seismic resilience of existing reinforced-concrete(RC) frame buildings, which is essential for the seismic resilience of a city, has become a critical issue. Although seismic isolation is an effective method for improving the resilient performance of such buildings, target-oriented quantitative improvements of the resilient performance of these buildings have been reported rarely. To address this gap, the seismic resilience of two existing RC frame buildings located in a high seismic intensity region of China were assessed based on the Chinese Standard for Seismic Resilience Assessment of Buildings. The critical engineering demand parameters(EDPs) affecting the seismic resilience of such buildings were identified. Subsequently, the seismic resilience of buildings retrofitted with different isolation schemes(i.e., yield ratios) were evaluated and compared, with emphasis on the relationships among yield ratios, EDPs, and levels of seismic resilience. Accordingly, to achieve the highest level of seismic resilience with respect to the Chinese standard, a yield ratio of 3% was recommended and successfully applied to the target-oriented design for the seismic-resilience improvement of an existing RC frame building. The research outcome can provide an important reference for the resilience-based retrofitting of existing RC frame buildings using seismic isolation in urban cities.

The Analysis of Seismic Data Structure and Oil and Gas Prediction

In this paper, a new concept called numerical structure of seismic data is introduced and the difference between numerical structure and numerical value of seismic data is explained. Our study shows that the numerical seismic structure is closely related to oil and gas-bearing reservoir, so it is very useful for a geologist or a geophysicist to precisely interpret the oil-bearing layers from the seismic data. This technology can be applied to any exploration or production stage. The new method has been tested on a series of exploratory or development wells and proved to be reliable in China. Hydrocarbon-detection with this new method for 39 exploration wells on 25 structures indi- cates a success ratio of over 80 percent. The new method of hydrocarbon prediction can be applied for: (1) depositional environment of reservoirs with marine fades, delta, or non-marine fades (including fluvial facies, lacustrine fades); (2) sedimentary rocks of reservoirs that are non-marine clastic rocks and carbonate rock; and (3) burial depths range from 300 m to 7000 m, and the minimum thickness of these reservoirs is over 8 m (main frequency is about 50 Hz).

Evaluation of collapse resistance of RC frame structures for Chinese schools in seismic design categories B and C

According to the Code for Seismic Design of Buildings （GB50011-2001）, ten typical reinforced concrete （RC） frame structures, used as school classroom buildings, are designed with different seismic fortification intensities （SFIs） （SFI=6 to 8.5） and different seismic design categories （SDCs） （SDC=B and C）. The collapse resistance of the frames with SDC=B and C in terms of collapse fragility curves are quantitatively evaluated and compared via incremental dynamic analysis （IDA）. The results show that the collapse resistance of structures should be evaluated based on both the absolute seismic resistance and the corresponding design seismic intensity. For the frames with SFI from 6 to 7.5, because they have relatively low absolute seismic resistance, their collapse resistance is insufficient even when their corresponding SDCs are upgraded from B to C. Thus, further measures are needed to enhance these structures, and some suggestions are proposed.

Vector-intensity measure based seismic vulnerability analysis of bridge structures

This paper presents a method for seismic vulnerability analysis of bridge structures based on vector-valued intensity measure （viM）, which predicts the limit-state capacities efficiently with multi-intensity measures of seismic event. Accounting for the uncertainties of the bridge model, ten single-bent overpass bridge structures are taken as samples statistically using Latin hypercube sampling approach. 200 earthquake records are chosen randomly for the uncertainties of ground motions according to the site condition of the bridges. The uncertainties of structural capacity and seismic demand are evaluated with the ratios of demand to capacity in different damage state. By comparing the relative importance of different intensity measures, Sa（T1） and Sa（T2） are chosen as viM. Then, the vector-valued fragility functions of different bridge components are developed. Finally, the system-level vulnerability of the bridge based on viM is studied with Duunett- Sobel class correlation matrix which can consider the correlation effects of different bridge components. The study indicates that an increment IMs from a scalar IM to viM results in a significant reduction in the dispersion of fragility functions and in the uncertainties in evaluating earthquake risk. The feasibility and validity of the proposed vulnerability analysis method is validated and the bridge is more vulnerable than any components.

Seismic Velocity Structure and Composition of the Continental Crust of Eastern China

On the basis of a one-by-one latitude-longitude grid three-dimensional seismic velocity model, the crustal P-wave velocity structure in eastern China (105-125°E and 18-41°N) is obtained, and a set of geotherms for each grid is established for P-T correction on P-wave velocities. The average depths of sub-crustal layers and their average P-wave velocities of 18 tectonic units in eastern China are exhibited. Our result presents a 32-34 km thick crust beneath eastern China, which is thinner than previous studies, with an average velocity of 6.54 km/s, corresponding to a 5 kg/m3 variation in crustal mean density. The thicker upper but thinner middle and lower crust results in a lower average seismic velocity of eastern China. An intermediate crustal composition with a SiO2 content of 59.7 wt% has been estimated. However, there exists a significant lateral variation in the crustal structures among the tectonic units of eastern China. The structure and composition features of some regions in eastern China indicate that extension has played an important role in the continental crust evolution of eastern China.

Seismic evaluation of rocking structures through performance assessment and fragility analysis

Numerical studies have been conducted for low- and medium-rise rocking structures to investigate their efficiency as earthquake-resisting systems in comparison with conventional structures. Several non-linear time-history analyses have been performed to evaluate seismic performance of selected cases at desired ground shaking levels, based on key parameters such as total and flexural story drifts and residual deformations. The Far-field record set is selected as input ground motions and median peak values of key parameters are taken as best estimates of system response. In addition, in order to evaluate the probability of exceeding relevant damage states, analytical fragility curves have been developed based on the results of the incremental dynamic analysis procedure. Small exceedance probabilities and acceptable margins against collapse, together with minor associated damages in main structural members, can be considered as superior seismic performance for medium-rise rocking systems. Low-rise rocking systems could provide significant performance improvement over their conventional counterparts notwithstanding certain weaknesses in their seismic response.