Aseismic performances of constrained damping lining structures made of rubber-sand-concrete

Flexible damping technology considering aseismic materials and aseismic structures seems be a good solution for engineering structures.In this study,a constrained damping structure for underground tunnel lining,using a rubber-sand-concrete(RSC)as the aseismic material,is proposed.The aseismic performances of constrained damping structure were investigated by a series of hammer impact tests.The damping layer thickness and shape effects on the aseismic performance such as effective duration and acceleration amplitude of time-domain analysis,composite loss factor and damping ratio of the transfer function analysis,and total vibration level of octave spectrum analysis were discussed.The hammer impact tests revealed that the relationship between the aseismic performance and damping layer thickness was not linear,and that the hollow damping layer had a better aseismic performance than the flat damping layer one.The aseismic performances of constrained damping structure under different seismicity magnitudes and geological conditions were investigated.The effects of the peak ground acceleration(PGA)and tunnel overburden depth on the aseismic performances such as the maximum principal stress and equivalent plastic strain(PEEQ)were discussed.The numerical results show the constrained damping structure proposed in this paper has a good aseismic performance,with PGA in the range(0.2-1.2)g and tunnel overburden depth in the range of 0-300 m.

Selection and modification of ground motion records using Newmark-Hall spectrum as target spectrum for long-period structures

Input ground motions have significant impacts on the uncertainty of structural responses in time-history analysis.In this study,records were selected and scaled for the evaluation of mean structural responses according to the target spectrum.The Newmark-Hall spectrum is closely related to seismic response of short,medium and long-period structures,so it was taken as the target spectrum here.The nonlinear time-history analyses of 9-story and 20-story steel moment-resisting frame structures were carried out as examples.They represent medium and long-period buildings,respectively.Three target spectra with risk of 50%,10%and 2%probabilities for exceedance in 50 years were calculated by the average Newmark-Hall spectrum method for three ground motion sets developed in the SAC Steel Project.The predicted structural mean responses of these Newmark-Hall spectra were compared with those calculated by the average spectral acceleration method for the same record set.It is found that both methods have similar accuracy for estimating the structural mean response.However,the method proposed herein is more effective in reducing the variability of the structural responses.Also,the proposed method is more advantageous for the time-history analysis of long-period structures or structures with more severe nonlinear responses under strong seismic excitations.

Influence of earthquake ground motion incoherency on multi-support structures

A linear response history analysis method is used to determine the influence of three factors:geometric incoherency,wave-passage,and local site characteristics on the response of lnulti-support structures subjected to differential ground motions.A one-span frame and a reduced model of a 24-span bridge,located in Las Vegas,Nevada are studied,in which the influence of each of the three factors and their combinations are analyzed.It is revealed that the incoherency of earthquake ground motion can have a dramatic influence on structural response by modifying the dynamics response to uniform excitation and inducing pseudo-static response,which does not exist in structures subjected to uniform excitation.The total response when all three sources of ground motion incoherency are included is generally larger than that of uniform excitation.

Theoretical Study of Geometric Structures for Ground-state Al_nC(n=2-7) Clusters

With the aid of the molecular orbital DMol3 program,the energetics and electronic structures of several AlnC（n = 2-7） configurations have been searched and calculated by improved minimum energy paths（MEPs） by setting ＂imaging product＂.A new high symmetry,supervalence isomer of Al5C cluster,i.e.,D5h-Al5C,at the local minimum in the MEPs is detected.Several parameters,such as binding energy,HOMO-LUMO energy gap,vertical electron detachment energy and electron affinity energy,are calculated to characterize and evaluate the stability of three Al5C configurations,i.e.,D5h-Al5C,Cs-Al5C and C1-Al5C.The results show that the D5h-Al5C cluster is the ground state structure instead of Cs-Al5C.Due to the formation of many central σ bonds after polymerizing for D5h-Al5C,the decrease of the energy for HOMO orbit results in more territory for HOMO electrons of dislocation effect,then the energy difference between HOMO and LUMO is increasing to enhance the stability of molecules to produce such supervalence structure of Al5C cluster.The configuration evolution between D5h-Al5C,Cs-Al5C and C1-Al5C and the synthesis preference in the mode of Al5 ＋ C → Al5C reveals that the Cs-Al5C and C1-Al5C con-figurations are permissive to coexist with D5h-Al5C structure in energetics.

Orthogonal expansion of ground motion and PDEM-based seismic response analysis of nonlinear structures

This paper introduces an orthogonal expansion method for general stochastic processes. In the method, a normalized orthogonal function of time variable t is first introduced to carry out the decomposition of a stochastic process and then a correlated matrix decomposition technique, which transforms a correlated random vector into a vector of standard uncorrelated random variables, is used to complete a double orthogonal decomposition of the stochastic processes. Considering the relationship between the Hartley transform and Fourier transform of a real-valued function, it is suggested that the first orthogonal expansion in the above process is carried out using the Hartley basis function instead of the trigonometric basis function in practical applications. The seismic ground motion is investigated using the above method. In order to capture the main probabilistic characteristics of the seismic ground motion, it is proposed to directly carry out the orthogonal expansion of the seismic displacements. The case study shows that the proposed method is feasible to represent the seismic ground motion with only a few random variables. In the second part of the paper, the probability density evolution method （PDEM） is employed to study the stochastic response of nonlinear structures subjected to earthquake excitations. In the PDEM, a completely uncoupled one-dimensional partial differential equation, the generalized density evolution equation, plays a central role in governing the stochastic seismic responses of the nonlinear structure. The solution to this equation will yield the instantaneous probability density function of the responses. Computational algorithms to solve the probability density evolution equation are described. An example, which deals with a nonlinear frame structure subjected to stochastic ground motions, is illustrated to validate the above approach.

Strong ground movement induced by mining activities and its effect on power transmission structures

Surface mining activities may introduce damages to nearby infrastructure. Concerns are put forward by the power company about structural integrity of electric power transmission structures in areas where coal mining activities cause strong ground vibrations. Common practice in the power industry is to limit ground motion by specifying maximum Peak Particle Velocity. So far, there is a lack of industry-wide recognized guidelines on how ground vibration limits should be set for the transmission structures. In order to develop a defense strategy to protect power transmission lines against strong ground motions in mining areas, a systematic research work was conducted to establish strong ground vibration characteristics and to study impacts of ground excitations on transmission pole structures. Ground movements were recorded using geophones and wireless tri-axial sensing units. The process of generating ground motion response spectra via analyzing actual ground motion measurements is described in the paper. These spectra developed based on peak particle velocities were used as a basis for spectral analysis performed using validated Finite Element models to obtain structural displacements, reactions and stress states of the transmission pole structures in the mining sites. A quantitative ground motion limit was established by comparing structural responses with the corresponding design requirements.

The effects of torsional ground motion on thin cylindric shell structures

The effects of torsional component of earthquake ground motion on thin cylindric shell structures were investigated qualitatively and quantitatively.The results show that the contributions of torsional component to structural response are related to the height,the radius-to-height ratio,and the stiffness of the structure.The structural response caused by torsional component can not be neglected for the containment structure of nuclear power plant and the industrial oil tank.

Defected Ground Structure Multiple Input-Output Antenna For Wireless Applications

In this paper,the investigation of a novel compact 2×2,2×1,and 1×1 Ultra-Wide Band(UWB)based Multiple-Input Multiple-Output(MIMO)antenna with Defected Ground Structure(DGS)is employed.The proposed Electromagnetic Radiation Structures(ERS)is composed of multiple radiating elements.These MIMO antennas are designed and analyzed with and without DGS.The feeding is introduced by a microstrip-fed line to significantly moderate the radiating structure’s overall size,which is 60×40×1 mm.The high directivity and divergence characteristics are attained by introducing the microstripfed lines perpendicular to each other.And the projected MIMO antenna structures are compared with others by using parameters like Return Loss(RL),Voltage Standing Wave Ratio(VSWR),Radiation Pattern(RP),radiation efficiency,and directivity.The same MIMO set-up is redesigned with DGS,and the resultant parameters are compared.Finally,the Multiple Input and Multiple Output Radiating Structures with and without DGS are compared for result considerations like RL,VSWR,RP,radiation efficiency,and directivity.This projected antenna displays an omnidirectional RP with moderate gain,which is highly recommended for human healthcare applications.By introducing the defected ground structure in bottom layer the lower cut-off frequencies of 2.3,4.5 and 6.0 GHz are achieved with few biological effects on radio propagation in human body communications.The proposed design covers numerous well-known wireless standards,along with dual-function DGS slots,and it can be easily integrated into Wireless Body Area Networks(WBAN)in medical applications.This WBAN links the autonomous nodes that may be situated either in the clothes,on-body or beneath the skin of a person.This system typically advances the complete human body and the inter-connected nodes through a wireless communication channel.

Seismic Responses of Asymmetric Base-Isolated Structures under Near-Fault Ground Motion

An inter-story shear model of asymmetric base-isolated structures incorporating deformation of each isolation bearing was built, and a method to simultaneously simulate bi-directional near-fault and far-field ground motions was proposed. A comparative study on the dynamic responses of asymmetric base-isolated structures under near-fault and far-field ground motions were conducted to investigate the effects of eccentricity in the isolation system and in the superstructures, the ratio of the uncoupled torsional to lateral frequency of the superstructure and the pulse period of near-fault ground motions on the nonlinear seismic response of asymmetric base-isolated structures. Numerical results show that eccentricity in the isolation system makes asymmetric base-isolated structure more sensitive to near-fault ground motions, and the pulse period of near-fault ground motions plays an import role in governing the seismic responses of asymmetric base-isolated structures.

Comparison of Characteristics of Periodic and Non-Periodic Defected Ground Structures

The filter characteristic of defected ground structure (DGS) is analyzed and the equivalent circuit of C-shaped DGS is extracted. The characteristics of non-periodic and periodic DGS with different dimensions are compared. Then the DGS is simulated and optimized with software, and the circuit board is manufactured and measured.The non-periodic structure is simple in structure and small in size and ripple compared with the periodic structure.Though the stop band of the non-periodic structure is narrow, it can meet the requirement of application. The C-shaped structure with two stop bands can select frequency in a special band.

Seismic intensity investigation of the 2001 M=6.0 Yajiang-Kangding earthquake and discussion on its background of seismogenic structures

An M=6.0 earthquake occurred on February 23, 2001 in the western Sichuan Province, China. The macro seismic epicenter situated in the high mountain-narrow valley region between Yajiang and Kangding counties. According to field investigation in the region, the intensity of epicentral area reached VIII and the areas with intensity VIII, VII and VI are 180 km2, 1 472 km2 and 3 998 km2, respectively. The isoseismals are generally in elliptic shape with major axis trending near N-S direction. The earthquake destroyed many buildings and produced some phenomena of ground failure and mountainous disasters in the area with intensity VIII. This event may be resulted from long-term activities of the Litang fault and Yunongxi fault, two main faults in the western Sichuan. The movements between the main faults made the crust stress adjusted and concentrated, and finally the earthquake on a secondary fault in the block released a quite large energy.

Rapid Prediction of Structural Responses of Double-Bottom Structures in Shoal Grounding Scenario

This study presents a simplified analytical model for predicting the structural responses of double-bottom ships in a shoal grounding scenario. This solution is based on a series of analytical models developed from elastic-plastic mechanism theories for different structural components, including bottom girders, floors, bottom plating, and attached stiffeners. We verify this simplified analytical model by numerical simulation, and establish finite element models for a typical tanker hold and a rigid indenter representing seabed obstacles. Employing the LS-DYNA finite element solver, we conduct numerical simulations for shoal-grounding cases with a wide range of slope angles and indentation depths. In comparison with numerical simulations, we verify the proposed simplified analytical model with respect to the total energy dissipation and the horizontal grounding resistance. We also investigate the interaction effect of deformation patterns between bottom structure components. Our results show that the total energy dissipation and resistances predicted by the analytical model agree well with those from numerical simulations.

Ground Penetrating Radar Survey of Dam Structures of Kazakhstan on example of Aktobe and Karatomar Water Storage Basins

Ground penetrating radar surveys of technical condition of Karatomar and Aktobe water storage basins on the river Tobol are shown. In this article we have shown that dams have problems with cavities and identified longitudinal dimensions of anomalous zones of decompression.

A modified Kelvin impact model for pounding simulation of base-isolated building with adjacent structures

Base isolation can effectively reduce the seismic forces on a superstructure, particularly in lowto medium-rise buildings. However, under strong near-fault ground motions, pounding may occur at the isolation level between the baseisolated building （BIB） and its surrounding retaining walls. To effectively investigate the behavior of the BIB pounding with adjacent structures, after assessing some commonly used impact models, a modified Kelvin impact model is proposed in this paper. Relevant parameters in the modified Kelvin model are theoretically derived and numerically verified through a simple pounding case. At the same time, inelasticity of the isolated superstructure is introduced in order to accurately evaluate the potential damage to the superstructure caused by the pounding of the BIB with adjacent structures. The reliability of the modified Kelvin impact model is validated through numerical comparisons with other impact models. However, the difference between the numerical results from the various impact analytical models is not significant. Many numerical simulations of BIBs are conducted to investigate the influence of various design parameters and conditions on the peak inter-story drifts and floor accelerations during pounding. It is shown that pounding can substantially increase floor accelerations, especially at the ground floor where impacts occur. Higher modes of vibration are excited during poundings, increasing the inter-story drifts instead of keeping a nearly rigid-body motion of the superstructure. Furthermore, higher ductility demands can be imposed on lower floors of the superstructure. Moreover, impact stiffness seems to play a significant role in the acceleration response at the isolation level and the inter-story drifts of lower floors of the superstructure. Finally, the numerical results show that excessive flexibility of the isolation system used to minimize the floor accelerations may cause the BIB to be more susceptible to pounding under a limited seismic gap.

Topology Optimization of Compliant Mechanisms with Geometrical Nonlinearities Using the Ground Structure Approach

The majority of topology optimization of compliant mechanisms uses linear finite element models to find the structure responses.Because the displacements of compliant mechanisms are intrinsically large,the topological design can not provide quantitatively accurate result.Thus,topological design of these mechanisms considering geometrical nonlinearities is essential.A new methodology for geometrical nonlinear topology optimization of compliant mechanisms under displacement loading is presented.Frame elements are chosen to represent the design domain because they are capable of capturing the bending modes.Geometrically nonlinear structural response is obtained by using the co-rotational total Lagrange finite element formulation,and the equilibrium is solved by using the incremental scheme combined with Newton-Raphson iteration.The multi-objective function is developed by the minimum strain energy and maximum geometric advantage to design the mechanism which meets both stiffness and flexibility requirements, respectively.The adjoint method and the direct differentiation method are applied to obtain the sensitivities of the objective functions. The method of moving asymptotes（MMA） is employed as optimizer.The numerical example is simulated to show that the optimal mechanism based on geometrically nonlinear formulation not only has more flexibility and stiffness than that based on linear formulation,but also has better stress distribution than the one.It is necessary to design compliant mechanisms using geometrically nonlinear topology optimization.Compared with linear formulation,the formulation for geometrically nonlinear topology optimization of compliant mechanisms can give the compliant mechanism that has better mechanical performance.A new method is provided for topological design of large displacement compliant mechanisms.

Numerical Analyses of Bearing Capacity of Deep-Embedded Large-Diameter Cylindrical Structure on Soft Ground Against Lateral Loads

Presented in this paper is a three-dimensional plastic limit analysis method of bearing capacity of the deeply-embedded large-diameter cylindrical structure in the cross-anisotmpic soft ground. The most likely failure mechanism is assumed to be of a composite rupture surface which is composed of an individual wedge in the passive zone or two wedges in both active and passive zones near the mudline, depending on the separation or bonding state at the interface between the cylindrical structure and neighboring soils in the active wedge, and a truncated spherical slip surface at the base of the cylinder when the structure tends to overturn around a point located on the symmetry axis of the structure. The cylindrical structure and soil interaction system under consideration is also numerically analyzed by the finite element method by virtue of the general-purpose FEM software ABAQUS, in which the soil is assumed to obey tie Hill＇s criterion of yield. Both the failure mechanism assumed and the plastic limit analysis predictions are validated by numerical computations based on FEM. For the K0-consolidated ground of clays typically with anisotropic undrained strength property, it is indicated through a parametric study that limit analysis without consideration of anisotropy of soil overestimates the lateral ultimate bearing capacity of a deeply-embedded cylindrical structure in soft ground in a certain condition.

V-Shaped Monopole Antenna with Chichena Itzia Inspired Defected Ground Structure for UWB Applications

Due to rapid growth in wireless communication technology,higher bandwidth requirement for advance telecommunication systems,capable of operating on two or higher bands with higher channel capacities and minimum distortion losses is desired.In this paper,a compact Ultra-Wideband(UWB)V-shaped monopole antenna is presented.UWB response is achieved by modifying the ground plane with Chichen Itzia inspired rectangular staircase shape.The proposed V-shaped is designed by incorporating a rectangle,and an inverted isosceles triangle using FR4 substrate.The size of the antenna is 25 mm×26 mm×1.6 mm.The proposed V-shaped monopole antenna produces bandwidth response of 3 GHz Industrial,Scientific,and Medical(ISM),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX),(IEEE 802.11/HIPERLAN band,5G sub 6 GHz)which with an additional square cut amplified the bandwidth response up to 8 GHz ranging from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz attaining UWB defined by Federal Communications Commission(FCC)with a maximum gain of 3.83 dB.The antenna is designed in Ansys HFSS.Results for key performance parameters of the antenna are presented.The measured results are in good agreement with the simulated results.Due to flat gain,uniform group delay,omni directional radiation pattern characteristics and well-matched impedance,the proposed antenna is suitable for WiMAX,ISM and heterogeneous wireless systems.

On time-step in structural seismic response analysis under ground displacement/acceleration

There are two models in use today to analyze structural responses when subjected to earthquake ground motions, the Displacement Input Model （DIM） and the Acceleration Input Model （AIM）. The time steps used in direct integration methods for these models are analyzed to examine the suitability of DIM. Numerical results are presented and show that the time-step for DIM is about the same as for AIM, and achieves the same accuracy. This is contrary to previous research that reported that there are several sources of numerical errors associated with the direct application of earthquake displacement loading, and a very small time step is required to define the displacement record and to integrate the dynamic equilibrium equation. It is shown in this paper that DIM is as accurate and suitable as, if not more than, AIM for analyzing the response of a structure to uniformly distributed and spatially varying ground motions.

Peak earthquake response of structures under multi-component excitations

Accurate estimation of the peak seismic responses of structures is important in earthquake resistant design. The internal force distributions and the seismic responses of structures are quite complex, since ground motions are multidirectional. One key issue is the uncertainty of the incident angle between the directions of ground motion and the reference axes of the structure. Different assumed seismic incidences can result in different peak values within the scope of design spectrum analysis for a given structure and earthquake ground motion record combination. Using time history analysis to determine the maximum structural responses excited by a given earthquake record requires repetitive calculations to determine the critical incident angle. This paper presents a transformation approach for relatively accurate and rapid determination of the maximum peak responses of a linear structure subjected to three-dimensional excitations within all possible seismic incident angles. The responses can be deformations, internal forces, strains and so on. An irregular building structure model is established using SAP2000 program. Several typical earthquake records and an artificial white noise are applied to the structure model to illustrate the variation of the maximum structural responses for different incident angles. Numerical results show that for many structural parameters, the variation can be greater than 100%. This method can be directly applied to time history analysis of structures using existing computer software to determine the peak responses without carrying out the analyses for all possible incident angles. It can also be used to verify and/or modify aseismic designs by using response spectrum analysis.

Does variable stand structure associated with multi-cohort forests support diversity of ground beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) communities in the central Nearctic boreal forest？

Multi-cohort management （MCM） that retains a range of stand structures （age and size class） has been proposed to emulate natural disturbance and improve management in the Nearctic boreal forest. Although MCM forests contain both single- and multi-aged stands of mixed tree sizes, little is known about how variable stand structure affects associated fauna and biodiversity. Here, we examine the relationship between ground beetle （Coleoptera, Carabidae） communities and stand characteristics across a range of forest structure （=cohort classes）. Given that MCM classes are defined by the distribution of their tree-stem diameters, we ask whether parameters associated with these distributions （Weibull） could explain observed variation in carabid communities, and if so, how this compares to traditional habitat variables such as stand age, foliage complexity or volume of downed woody debris. We sampled carabids using weekly pitfall collections and compared these with structural habitat variables across a range of cohort classes （stand structure and age since disturbance） in 18 sites of upland mixed boreal forests from central Canada. Results showed that richness and diversity of carabid communities were similar among cohort classes. Weibull parameters from the diameter distribution of all stems were the strongest predictors of variation in carabid communities among sites, but vertical foliage complexity, understory thickness, and percentage of deciduous composition were also significant. The abundance of several carabid forest specialists was strongly correlated with tree canopy height, the presence of large trees, and high vertical foliage complexity. Our results demonstrate that variable forest structure, as expected under MCM, may be useful in retaining the natural range of ground beetle species across the central Nearctic boreal forest.