Characteristics of near-fault ground motion containing velocity pulses

There are many reports about the research on near-fault velocity pulses, which focus on the generation of velocity pulse and simplify the velocity pulse so as to be used in the seismic design of structure, However few researches have put emphasis on the characteristics of near-fault ground motions containing velocity pulses, especially the characteristics relevant with the design response spectrum prescribed by the code. Through collection of a large number of near-fault records containing velocity pulses, the response spectra and the characteristic periods of records containing no pulses are compared with those of records containing pulses. Response spectra of near-fault records are compared with standard spectra given by code; furthermore, the response spectra and the characteristic periods of each earthquake are compared with that given by code. The result shows that at long periods （longer than 1.5 s）, the response spectrum of pulse-containing records is bigger than the response spectrum of no-pulse-containing records; when the characteristic period of near-fault records is calculated, the method that does not fix frequency is more reasonable because the T1 and T2 have a lagging tendency; regardless of the site Ⅰ and site Ⅱ, the characteristic period of pulse-containing records is over twice bigger than the characteristic period given by the code,

Seismic response and correlation analysis of a pile-supported wharf to near-fault pulse-like ground motions

Earthquake investigations have shown that near-fault pulse-like(NF-P)ground motions have unique characteristics compared to near-fault non-pulse-like(NF-NP)and far-field(FF)ground motions.It is necessary to study the seismic response of pile-supported wharf(PSW)structures under NF-P ground motions.In this study,a three-dimensional finite element numerical model is created to simulate a PSW.By imparting three types of ground motion,the engineering demand parameters(EDPs)of PSW under NF-P ground motions were analyzed and compared,in which EDPs are the maximum displacement and bending moment of the piles.Twenty intensity measures(IMs)were selected to characterize the properties of ground motions.The correlation between IMs and EDPs was explored.The results show that the piles present larger displacement and bending moment under NF-P ground motions compared to NF-NP and FF ground motions.None of the IMs have a high correlation with EDPs under NF-P ground motions,and these IMs are more applicable to FF ground motions.The correlation coefficients between EDPs and IMs under three types of ground motion were obtained,which will provide a valuable reference for the seismic design of PSWs.

Engineering characteristics of near-fault vertical ground motions and their effect on the seismic response of bridges

A wide variety of near-fault strong ground motion records were collected from various tectonic environments worldwide and were used to study the peak value ratio and response spectrum ratio of the vertical to horizontal component of ground motion, focusing on the effect of earthquake magnitude, site conditions, pulse duration, and statistical component. The results show that both the peak value ratio and response spectrum ratio are larger than the 2/3 value prescribed in existing seismic codes, and the relationship between the vertical and horizontal ground motions is comparatively intricate. In addition, the effect of the near-fault ground motions on bridge performance is analyzed, considering both the material nonlinear characteristics and the P-A effect.

Near-fault ground motions with prominent acceleration pulses:pulse characteristics and ductility demand

Major earthquakes of last 15 years （e.g., Northridge 1994, Kobe 1995 and Chi-Chi 1999） have shown that many near-fault ground motions possess prominent acceleration pulses. Some of the prominent ground acceleration pulses are related to large ground velocity pulses, others are caused by mechanisms that are totally different from those causing the velocity pulses or fling steps. Various efforts to model acceleration pulses have been reported in the literature. In this paper, research results from a recent study of acceleration pulse prominent ground motions and an analysis of structural damage induced by acceleration pulses are summarized. The main results of the study include： （1） temporal characteristics of acceleration pulses; （2） ductility demand spectrum of simple acceleration pulses with respect to equivalent classes of dynamic systems and pulse characteristic parameters; and （3） estimation of fundamental period change under the excitation of strong acceleration pulses. By using the acceleration pulse induced linear acceleration spectrum and the ductility demand spectrum, a simple procedure has been developed to estimate the ductility demand and the fundamental period change of a reinforced concrete （RC） structure under the impact of a strong acceleration pulse.

The Influence of Earth Temperature on the Dynamic Characteristics of Frozen Soil and the Parameters of Ground Motion on Sites of Permafrost

Earth temperature is one of the most important factors influencing the mechanical properties of frozen soil. Based on the field investigation of the characteristics of ground deformation and ground failure caused by the M S8 1 earthquake in the west of the Kunlun Mountain Pass, China, the influence of temperature on the dynamic constitutive relationship, dynamic elastic modulus, damping ratio and dynamic strength of frozen soil was quantitatively studied by means of the dynamic triaxial test. Moreover, the characteristics of ground motion on a permafrost site under different temperatures were analyzed for the four profiles of permafrost along the Qinghai Xizang(Tibet) Railway using the time histories of ground motion acceleration with 3 exceedance probabilities of the Kunlun Mountains area. The influences of temperature on the seismic displacement, velocity, acceleration and response spectrum on permafrost ground were studied quantitatively. A scientific basis was presented for earthquake disaster mitigation for engineering foundations, highways and underground engineering in permafrost areas.

Near-fault directivity pulse-like ground motion effect on high-speed railway bridge

The vehicle-track-bridge(VTB)element was used to investigate how a high-speed railway bridge reacted when it was subjected to near-fault directivity pulse-like ground motions.Based on the PEER NAG Strong Ground Motion Database,the spatial analysis model of a vehicle-bridge system was developed,the VTB element was derived to simulate the interaction of train and bridge,and the elasto-plastic seismic responses of the bridge were calculated.The calculation results show that girder and pier top displacement,and bending moment of the pier base increase subjected to near-fault directivity pulse-like ground motion compared to far-field earthquakes,and the greater deformation responses in near-fault shaking are associated with fewer reversed cycles of loading.The hysteretic characteristics of the pier subjected to a near-fault directivity pulse-like earthquake should be explicitly expressed as the bending moment-rotation relationship of the pier base,which is characterized by the centrally strengthened hysteretic cycles at some point of the loading time-history curve.The results show that there is an amplification of the vertical deflection in the girder's mid-span owing to the high vertical ground motion.In light of these findings,the effect of the vertical ground motion should be used to adjust the unconservative amplification constant 2/3 of the vertical-to-horizontal peak ground motion ratio in the seismic design of bridge.

Representation of near-fault pulse-type ground motions

Near-fault ground motions with long-period pulses have been identified as critical in the design of structures. To aid in the representation of this special type of motion, eight simple pulses that characterize the effects of either the flingstep or forward-directivity are considered. Relationships between pulse amplitudes and velocity pulse period for different pulses are discussed. Representative ratios and peak acceleration amplification can exhibit distinctive features depending on variations in pulse duration, amplitude and the selected acceleration pulse shape. Additionally, response spectral characteristics for the equivalent pulses are identified and compared in terms of fixed PGA and PGV, respectively. Response spectra are strongly affected by the duration of pulses and the shape of the basic pulses. Finally, dynamic time history response features of a damped SDOF system subjected to pulse excitations are examined. These special aspects of pulse waveforms and their response spectra should be taken into account in the estimation of ground motions for a project site close to a fault.

An investigation of the influence of near-fault ground motion parameters on the pile's response in liquefiable soil

The performance of a soil-pile system can be significantly influenced by ground motion parameters. However, few research efforts have been performed to provide a complete description of the influence of key ground motion parameters on the pile’s behavior in liquefiable soil. In this study, a three-dimensional finite element（FE） model, incorporating a multisurface plasticity solid-fluid fully coupled formulation soil constitutive model, is developed and calibrated based on centrifuge test data. Seventy-two near-fault non-pulse-like（NF-NP） and seventy-two near-fault pulse-like（NF-P） ground motion records are studied with the calibrated FE model to distinguish the effects of several common ground motion parameters soon afterwards. Base on the parametric study results, a simple index, RPGV/PGA（i.e., the ratio of peak ground velocity（PGV） to peak ground acceleration（PGA））, shows its capability on characterizing the pile behavior under both NF-NP and NF-P ground motions. Furthermore, two equations are developed to characterize the relationships between the RPGV/PGA as well as the maximum pile’s moments and displacements. In general, this study can be helpful to gain new insights on the influence of typical index parameters for near-field ground motions on the response of the pile foundation in liquefiable soil.

Identification of acceleration pulses in near-fault ground motion using the EMD method

In this paper, response spectral characteristics of one-, two-, and three-lobe sinusoidal acceleration pulses are investigated, and some of their basic properties are derived. Furthermore, the empirical mode decomposition （EMD） method is utilized as an adaptive filter to decompose the near-fault pulse-like ground motions, which were recorded during the September 20, 1999, Chi-Chi earthquake. These ground motions contain distinct velocity pulses, and were decomposed into high-frequency （HF） and low-frequency （LF） components, from which the corresponding HF acceleration pulse （if existing） and LF acceleration pulse could be easily identified and detected. Finally, the identified acceleration pulses are modeled by simplified sinusoidal approximations, whose dynamic behaviors are compared to those of the original acceleration pulses as well as to those of the original HF and LF acceleration components in the context of elastic response spectra. It was demonstrated that it is just the acceleration pulses contained in the near-fault pulse-like ground motion that fundamentally dominate the special impulsive dynamic behaviors of such motion in an engineering sense. The motion thus has a greater potential to cause severe damage than the far-field ground motions, i.e. they impose high base shear demands on engineering structures as well as placing very high deformation demands on long-period structures.

Dynamic-Response Analysis of the Branch System of a Utility Tunnel Subjected to Near-Fault and Far-Field Ground Motions in Different Input Mechanisms

There are few studies on the dynamic-response mechanism of near-fault and far-field ground motions for large underground structures,especially for the branch joint of a utility tunnel(UT)and its internal pipeline.Based on the theory of a 3D viscous-spring artificial boundary,this paper deduced the equivalent nodal force when a P wave and an SV wave were vertically incident at the same time and transformed the ground motion into an equivalent nodal force using a self-developed MATLAB program,which was applied to an ABAQUS finite element model.Based on near-fault and far-field groundmotions obtained fromtheNGA-WEST2 database,the dynamic responses of a utility tunnel and its internal pipeline in different inputmechanisms of near-fault and far-field groundmotions were compared according to bidirectional input and tridirectional input,respectively.Generally,the damage to the utility tunnel caused by the near-fault ground motion was stronger than that caused by the far-field ground motion,and the vertical ground motion of near-fault ground motion aggravated the damage to the utility tunnel.In addition,the joint dislocation of the upper and lower three-way joints of the pipeline in the branch systemunder the seismic action led to local stress concentrations.In general,the branch system of the utility tunnel had good seismic performance to resist the designed earthquake action and protect the internal pipeline fromdamage during the rare earthquake.

Study on inelastic displacement ratio spectra for near-fault pulse-type ground motions

In displacement-based seismic design, inelastic displacement ratio spectra （IDRS） are particularly useful for estimating the maximum lateral inelastic displacement demand of a nonlinear SDOF system from the maximum elastic displacement demand of its counterpart linear elastic SDOF system. In this study, the characteristics of IDRS for near-fault pulse-type ground motions are investigated based on a great number of earthquake ground motions. The influence of site conditions, ratio of peak ground velocity （PGV） to peak ground acceleration （PGA）, the PGV, and the maximum incremental velocity （MIV） on IDRS are also evaluated. The results indicate that the effect of near-fault ground motions on IDRS are significant only at periods between 0.2 s - 1.5 s, where the amplification can approach 20%. The PGV/PGA ratio has the most significant influence on IDRS among the parameters considered. It is also found that site conditions only slightly affect the IDRS.

Fractal characterization and frequency properties of near-fault ground motions

This study explores the irregularity and complexity of strong earthquake ground motions from the perspective of fractal geometry, and constructs a relation with the frequency content of the ground motions. The box-counting fractal dimensions and five representative period parameters of near-fault ground motions from the Chi-Chi and Northridge earthquakes are calculated and compared. Numerical results indicate that the acceleration and velocity time histories of ground motions present the statistical fractal property, and the dominant pulses of near-fault ground motions have a significant influence on their box dimensions and periods. Further, the average box dimension of near-fault impulsive ground motions is smaller, and their irregular degree of wave forms is lower. Moreover, the box dimensions of ground motions reflect their frequency properties to a large extent, and can be regarded as an alternative indicator to represent their frequency content. Finally, the box dimension D of the acceleration histories shows a considerably negative correlation with the mean period T. Meanwhile, the box dimension of the velocity histories Dye is negatively correlated with the characteristic period T and improved characteristic period Tgi.

Strength reduction factors for seismic analyses of buildings exposed to near-fault ground motions

To estimate the near-fault inelastic response spectra, the accuracy of six existing strength reduction factors （R） proposed by different investigators were evaluated by using a suite of near-fault earthquake records with directivity-induced pulses. In the evaluation, the force-deformation relationship is modelled by elastic-perfectly plastic, bilinear and stiffness degrading models, and two site conditions, rock and soil, are considered. The R-value ratio （ratio of the R value obtained from the existing R-expressions （or the R-p-T relationships） to that from inelastic analyses） is used as a measurement parameter. Results show that the R-expressions proposed by Ordaz ＆ Perez-Rocha are the most suitable for near-fault ground motions, followed by the Newmark ＆ Hall and the Berrill et al. relationships. Based on an analysis using the near-fault ground motion dataset, new expressions of R that consider the effects of site conditions are presented and verified.

Spatial distribution of near-fault ground motion

Near-fault strong ground motion of strike-slip and dip-slip of vertical and inclined rectangular fault in half-space and layered half-space is analyzed by dislocation source model. The Fourier spectra ratio of ground motion is adopted to study the characteristics of near-fault ground motion. For both slip models, near-fault strong ground motion with high amplitude is located in a narrow belt area along the projection of the fault on the ground and mainly controlled by the sub-faults nearby. Directivity of strike-slip fault is more dominant in long period for components perpendicular to the fault, and more dominant in long period for components parallel to the fault for dip-slip fault. The deeper the location of the source is, the more slowly the amplitude of ground motion attenuates. There is obvious hanging wall effect in ground motion of inclined fault, and the spatial distribution of ground motion is asymmetric which coincides with observational data. Finally, a fitting function of spatial distribution for near-fault ground motion is proposed and compared with near source factors of the 1997 Uniform Building Code of USA.

Seismic Reliability Assessment of Inelastic SDOF Systems Subjected to Near-Fault Ground Motions Considering Pulse Occurrence

The ground motions in the orientation corresponding to the strongest pulse energy impose more serious demand on structures than that of ordinary ground motions.Moreover,not all near-fault ground motion records present distinct pulses in the velocity time histories.In this paper,the parameterized stochastic model of near-fault ground motion with the strongest energy and pulse occurrence probability is suggested,and the Monte Carlo simulation(MSC)and subset simulation are utilized to calculate the first excursion probability of inelastic single-degree-of-freedom(SDOF)systems subjected to these types of near-fault ground motion models,respectively.Firstly,the influences of variation of stochastic pulse model parameters on structural dynamic reliability with different fundamental periods are explored.It is demonstrated that the variation of pulse period,peak ground velocity and pulse waveform number have significant effects on structural reliability and should not be ignored in reliability analysis.Then,subset simulation is verified to be unbiased and more efficient for computing small reliable probabilities of structures compared to MCS.Finally,the reliable probabilities of the SDOF systems with different fundamental periods subjected to impulsive,non-pulse ground motions and the ground motions with pulse occurrence probability are performed,separately.It is indicated that the ground motion model with the pulse occurrence probability can give a rational estimate on structural reliability.The impulsive and ordinary ground motion models may overestimate and underestimate the reliability of structures with fundamental period much less than the mean pulse period of earthquake ground motions.

Analytical investigations of seismic responses for reinforced concrete bridge columns subjected to strong near-fault ground motion

Strong near-fault ground motion, usually caused by the fault-rupture and characterized by a pulse-like velocity- wave form, often causes dramatic instantaneous seismic energy （Jadhav and Jangid 2006）. Some reinforced concrete （RC） bridge columns, even those built according to ductile design principles, were damaged in the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. Thus, it is very important to evaluate the seismic response of a RC bridge column to improve its seismic design and prevent future damage. Nonlinear time history analysis using step-by-step integration is capable of tracing the dynamic response of a structure during the entire vibration period and is able to accommodate the pulsing wave form. However, the accuracy of the numerical results is very sensitive to the modeling of the nonlinear load-deformation relationship of the structural member. FEMA 273 and ATC-40 provide the modeling parameters for structural nonlinear analyses of RC beams and RC columns. They use three parameters to define the plastic rotation angles and a residual strength ratio to describe the nonlinear load- deformation relationship of an RC member. Structural nonlinear analyses are performed based on these parameters. This method provides a convenient way to obtain the nonlinear seismic responses of RC structures. However, the accuracy of the numerical solutions might be further improved. For this purpose, results from a previous study on modeling of the static pushover analyses for RC bridge columns （Sung et al. 2005） is adopted for the nonlinear time history analysis presented herein to evaluate the structural responses excited by a near-fault ground motion. To ensure the reliability of this approach, the numerical results were compared to experimental results. The results confirm that the proposed approach is valid.

Seismic behavior of precast segmental column bridges under near-fault forward-directivity ground motions

Precast segmental column bridges exhibit various construction advantages in comparison to traditional monolithic column bridges.However,the lack of cognitions on seismic behaviors has seriously restricted their applications and developments.In this paper,comprehensive investigations are conducted to analyze the dynamic characteristics of precast segmental column bridges under near-fault,forward-directivity ground motions.First,the finite-element models of two comparable bridges with precast segmental columns and monolithic columns are constructed by using OpenSees software,and the nonlinearities of the bridges are considered.Next,three different earthquake loadings are meticulously set up to handle engineering problems,namely recorded near-and far-field ground motions,parameterized pulses,and pulse and residual components extracted from real records.Finally,based on the models and earthquake sets,extensive explorations are carried out.The results show that near-fault forward-directivity ground motions are more threatening than far-field ones;precast segmental column bridges may suffer more pounding impacts than monolithic bridges;the“narrow band”effect caused by near-fault,forward-directivity ground motions may occur in bridges with shorter periods than pulse periods;and pulse and residual components play different roles in seismic responses.

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.

Effects of near-fault ground motions on the nonlinear behaviour of reinforced concrete framed buildings

The design provisions of current seismic codes are generally not very accurate for assessing effects of near-fault ground motions on reinforced concrete （r.c.） spatial frames, because only far-fault ground motions are considered in the seismic codes. Strong near-fault earth- quakes are characterized by long-duration （horizontal） pulses and high values of the ratio ~PGA of the peak value of the vertical acceleration, PGAv, to the analogous value of the horizontal acceleration, PGAH, which can become critical for girders and columns. In this work, six- and twelve-storey r.c. spatial frames are designed according to the provisions of the Italian seismic code, considering the horizontal seismic loads acting （besides the gravity loads） alone or in combination with the vertical ones. The non- linear seismic analysis of the test structures is performed using a step-by-step procedure based on a two-parameter implicit integration scheme and an initial stress-like itera- tive procedure. A lumped plasticity model based on the Haar-K^n~m principle is adopted to model the inelastic behaviour of the frame members. For the numerical investigation, five near-fault ground motions with high values of the acceleration ratio C^p6A are considered. Moreover, following recent seismological studies, which allow the extraction of the largest （horizontal） pulse from a near-fault ground motion, five pulse-type （horizontal） ground motions are selected by comparing the original ground motion with the residual motion after the pulse has been extracted. The results of the nonlinear dynamic analysis carried out on the test structures highlighted thathorizontal and vertical components of near-fault ground motions may require additional consideration in the seis- mic codes.

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.