Spectra of seismic force reduction factors of MDOF systems normalized by two characteristic periods

Seismic force reduction factor(SFRF) spectra of shear-type multi-degree-of-freedom(MDOF) structures are investigated. The modified Clough model, capable of considering the strength-degradation/hardening and stiffnessdegradation, is adopted. The SFRF mean spectra using 102 earthquake records on a typical site soil type(type C) are constructed with the period abscissa being divided into three period ranges to maintain the peak features at the two sitespecific characteristic periods. Based on a large number of results, it is found that the peak value of SFRF spectra may also exist for MDOF, induced by large high-mode contributions to elastic base shear, besides the mentioned two peak values. The variations of the stiffness ratio λk and the strength ratio λF of the top to bottom story are both considered. It is found that the SFRFs for λF ≤λk are smaller than those for λF > λk. A SFRF modification factor for MDOF systems is proposed with respect to SDOF. It is found that this factor is significantly affected by the story number and ductility. With a specific λF(= λk0.75), SFRF mean spectra are constructed and simple solutions are presented for MDOF systems. For frames satisfying the strong column/weak beam requirement, an approximate treatment in the MDOF shear-beam model is to assign a post-limit stiffness 15%-35% of the initial stiffness to the hysteretic curve. SFRF spectra for MDOF systems with 0.2 and 0.3 times the post-limit stiffness are remarkably larger than those without post-limit stiffness. Thus, the findings that frames with beam hinges have smaller ductility demand are explained through the large post-limit stiffness.

An Experimental Study of Several Special Issues Regarding the Ice Force on Conical Structures

The effect of the cone spacing of a conieal structure on the ice force is studied by model experiments. The ice force reduction coefficient presented in this paper expresses the relationship between the ice force and the arrangement of cones. The experiments prove that the mode of the ice failure before the boundary of upward-downward bending cone (UDBC) is crushing. A conclusion can also be drawn from the experiments that the ice force on the boundary of UDBC is by far less than that on a vertical pile with the same diameter. Moreover, the ice force frequencies on upright and inve-rted cones are obtained under the field condition of the platform JZ20-2, respectively. The results show that the alterna-tion of the ice force on UDBC can hardly induce resonance of platform JZ20-2.

Static and dynamic inelastic P-Δ effect for seismic design

Seismic influence of P-Δ effect is the subject of this study.First,it is pointed out that the elastic static amplification factor shall be isolated in formulating the dynamic inelastic second order effect.An amplification factor for the static inelastic P-Δ effect is derived.Seismic force reduction factors(SFRF)for given ductility and stability coefficients are computed for one-story,one-span frames.The P-Δ amplification factors for seismic base shears are obtained by dividing SFRFs with and without P-Δ effect.Both P-Δ amplification factors and SFRFs are presented separately with two kinds of period abscissas.The P-Δ amplification factors are dependent on periods with the maximum occurring at about 0.75 s for site type C and approach to the static inelastic counterpart at long periods.Post-yield stiffness cannot fully counteract the adverse impact of the P-Δ effect.Formulas for seismic P-Δ amplification factors are proposed and compared to results of others.Collapse capacity spectra(CCS)are reviewed and their application in codes discussed.Available CCSs are compared with SFRFs with finite ductility computed for two ensembles of seismic records.A comparison reveals that the SFRFs are affected by seismic records,and available CCSs do not always provide upper limits for the SFRFs when stability coefficients are greater than 0.1 for frame models.

Numerical investigation of turbulent channel flow controlled by spatially oscillating spanwise Lorentz force

A formulation of the skin-friction drag related to the Reynolds shear stress in a turbulent channel flow is derived. A direct numerical simulation （DNS） of the turbulent control is performed by imposing the spatially oscillating spanwise Lorentz force. Under the action of the Lorentz force with several proper control parameters, only the periodi- cally well-organized streamwise vortices are finally observed in the near-wall region. The Reynolds shear stress decreases dramatically, especially in the near-wall area, resulting in a drag reduction.

FORCE REDUCTION OF FLOW AROUND A SINUSOIDAL WAVY CYLINDER

A large eddy simulation of cross-flow around a sinusoidal wavy cylinder at Re = 3000 was performed and the load cell measurement was introduced for the validation test. The mean flow field and the near wake flow structures were presented and compared with those for a circular cylinder at the same Reynolds number. The mean drag coefficient for the wavy cylinder is smaller than that for a corresponding circular cylinder due to the formation of a longer wake vortex generated by the wavy cylinder. The fluctuating lift coefficient of the wavy cylinder is also greatly reduced. This kind of wavy surface leads to the formation of 3-D free shear layers which are more stable than purely 2-D free shear layers. Such free shear layers only roll up into mature vortices at further downstream position and significantly modify the near wake structures and the pressure distributions around the wavy cylinder. Moreover, the simulations in laminar flow condition were also performed to investigate the effect of Reynolds number on force reduction control.

Experimental and finite element analysis studies of a reduction-force reducing traction method for pelvic fracture surgeries

Pelvic fracture is among the most complicated fractures in traumatic orthopedics,with high mortality and morbidity rates.The main difficulty associated with the reduction surgery is significant muscle resistance.It then becomes necessary to decrease the reduction force against this strong muscle resistance,for improving surgical safety.Here,we propose a novel traction method for decreasing the reduction force during pelvic reduction,and investigate the performance of the elastic traction method on decreasing the reduction force using experimental tests and simulation-based analyses.From the experimental results,the reduction force decreased by 59.2%when 10 kg of elastic traction was applied.We also establish a musculoskeletal model of the pelvic fracture reduction,for analyzing the muscle resistance and the optimal traction force applied in reduction surgeries.The elastic traction method can counteract the muscle resistance increase in the non-traction direction owing to its flexibility.We conclude that the optimal traction force applied should be in the 10–15 kg range,and recommend adopting a dynamic traction strategy rather than continuous traction in clinical settings.Elastic traction is very promising for various surgeries that require traction,including pelvic reduction.It significantly reduces force,which can significantly reduce the physical exertion of the operating surgeon,the possibility of additional injuries to the operated patient,and promotes robot-assisted reduction surgeries.