Study on the tunnel shape and soil-lining interaction influencing the lining behavior under seismic loading

The response of tunnels subjected to seismic loading is a complex mechanism and depends not only on the seismic nature but also on tunnel structure and surrounding soil properties.The individual behavior of circular,rectangular,and sub-rectangular tunnels subjected to seismic loadings has already been studied in the literature.In the present research,two case scenarios of circular,rectangular tunnels and four sub-rectangular shaped tunnels,with similar cross-section areas,were adopted to perform a comprehensive numerical investigation.The purpose of the study was to determine the mechanical behavior of tunnels of different shapes,depending upon seismic conditions.Analyses were performed by considering the influence of soil-lining interaction,soil parameters,and lining thickness,as well as lining rigidity.Computations were performed for no-slip and full-slip conditions.The results indicate that the tunnel shape design is of great importance when regarding the mechanical behavior of the surrounding soil.This concerns no-slip as well as full-slip soil-lining interaction,especially when the lining is subjected to seismic loading.Moreover,it is shown that changes in incremental bending moments for circular,rectangular and sub-rectangular tunnels that depend upon the soil-lining interaction conditions differ significantly.

Slope stability analysis under seismic load by vector sum analysis method

The vibration characteristics and dynamic responses of rock and soil under seismic load can be estimated with dynamic finite element method （DFEM）. Combining with the DFEM, the vector sum analysis method （VSAM） is employed in seismic stability analysis of a slope in this paper. Different from other conventional methods, the VSAM is proposed based on the vector characteristic of force and current stress state of the slope. The dynamic stress state of the slope at any moment under seismic load can he obtained by the DFEM, thus the factor of safety of the slope at any moment during earthquake can be easily obtained with the VSAM in consideration of the DFEM. Then, the global stability of the slope can be estimated on the basis of time-history curve of factor of safety and reliability theory. The VSAM is applied to a homogeneous slope under seismic load. The factor of safety of the slope is 1.30 under gravity only and the dynamic factor of safety under seismic load is 1.21. The calculating results show that the dynamic characteristics and stability state of the slope with input ground motion can be actually analyzed. It is believed that the VSAM is a feasible and practical approach to estimate the dynamic stability of slopes under seismic load.

Earth slope reliability analysis under seismic loadings using neural network

A new method was proposed to cope with the earth slope reliability problem under seismic loadings. The algorithm integrates the concepts of artificial neural network, the first order second moment reliability method and the deterministic stability analysis method of earth slope. The performance function and its derivatives in slope stability analysis under seismic loadings were approximated by a trained multi-layer feed-forward neural network with differentiable transfer functions. The statistical moments calculated from the performance function values and the corresponding gradients using neural network were then used in the first order second moment method for the calculation of the reliability index in slope safety analysis. Two earth slope examples were presented for illustrating the applicability of the proposed approach. The new method is effective in slope reliability analysis. And it has potential application to other reliability problems of complicated engineering structure with a considerably large number of random variables.

Dynamic behavior of single-layer latticed cylindrical shells subjected to seismic loading

The single-layer latticed cylindrical shell is one of the most widely adopted space-fl'amed structures.In this paper,free vibration properties and dynamic response to horizontal and vertical seismic waves of single-layer latticed cylindrical shells are analyzed by the finite element method using ANSYS software.In the numerical study,where hundreds of cases were analyzed,the parameters considered included rise-span ratio,length-span ratio,surface load and member section size.Moreover,to better define the actual behavior of single-layer latticed shells,the study is focused on the dynamic stress response to both axial forces and bending moments.Based on the numerical results,the effects of the parameters considered on the stresses are discussed and a modified seismic force coefficient method is suggested.In addition,some advice based on these research results is presented to help in the future design of such structures.

Topology optimization of shear wall structures under seismic loading

A topology optimization formulation is developed to find the stiffest structure with desirable material distribution subjected to seismic loads. Finite element models of the structures are generated and the optimality criteria method is modified using a simple penalty approach and introducing fictitious strain energy to simultaneously consider both material volume and displacement constraints. Different types of shear walls with/without opening are investigated. Additionally, the effects of shear wall-frame interaction for single and coupled shear walls are studied. Gravity and seismic loads are applied to the shear walls so that the definitions provide a practical approach for locating the critical parts of these structures. The results suggest new viewpoints for architectural and structural engineering for placement of openings.

A Numerical Study of Wave Propagation and Cracking Processes in Rock-Like Material under Seismic Loading Based on the Bonded-Particle Model Approach

An earthquake is usually followed by a considerable number of aftershocks that play a significant role in earthquake-induced landslides,During the aftershock,the cracking process in rocks becomes more complex because of the formation of faults.In order to investigate the effects of seismic loading on the cracking processes in a specimen containing a single flaw,a numerical approach based on the bonded-particle model(BPM)was adopted to study the seismic loading applied in two orthogonal directions.The results reveal that no transmission and reflection phenomena were observable in the small specimens(76 mm×152 mm)because they were considerably smaller than the wavelength of the P-wave.Furthermore,under seismic loading,the induced crack was solely tensile in nature.Repeated axial seismic loading did not induce crack propagation after the first axial seismic loading.Cracks began to propagate only when the seismic loading direction was changed from axial to lateral,and then back to axial,ultimately resulting in the failure of the specimen.

A computational platform for considering the effects of aerodynamic and seismic load combination for utility scale horizontal axis wind turbines

The wide deployment of wind turbines in locations with high seismic hazard has led engineers to take into account a more comprehensive seismic design of such structures. Turbine specific guidelines usually use simplified methods and consider many assumptions to combine seismic demand with the other operational loads effecting the design of these structures. As the turbines increase in size and capacity, the interaction between seismic loads and aerodynamic loads becomes even more important. In response to the need for a computational tool that can perform coupled simulations of wind and seismic loads, a seismic module is developed for the FAST code and described in this research. This platform allows engineers working in this industry to directly consider interaction between seismic and other environmental loads for turbines. This paper details the practical application and theory of this platform and provides examples for the use of different capabilities. The platform is then used to show the suitable earthquake and operational load combination with the implicit consideration of aerodynamic damping by estimating appropriate load factors.

Behaviour of Earth Dam under Seismic Load Considering Nonlinearity of the Soil

The stability and safety are very important issues for the dam structure which are built in seismic regions. The dam body consists of soil materials that behave nonlinearly modelled with finite elements. The numerical investigation employs a fully nonlinear finite element analysis considering linear and elastic-plastic constitutive model to describe the material properties of the soil. In this paper, seismic analysis of an earthen dam is carried out using Geo-Studio software based on finite element method. Initially, the in-situ stress state analysis has been done before the earthquake established, and then its results are used in the seismic analysis as a parent analysis. A complete parametric study is carried out to identify the effects of input motion characteristics, soil behaviour and strength of the shell and core materials on the dynamic response of earthen dams. The real earthquake record is used as input motions. The analysis gives the overall pattern of the dam behaviour in terms of contours of displacements and stresses.

Probabilistic analysis of tunnel face seismic stability in layered rock masses using Polynomial Chaos Kriging metamodel

Face stability is an essential issue in tunnel design and construction.Layered rock masses are typical and ubiquitous;uncertainties in rock properties always exist.In view of this,a comprehensive method,which combines the Upper bound Limit analysis of Tunnel face stability,the Polynomial Chaos Kriging,the Monte-Carlo Simulation and Analysis of Covariance method(ULT-PCK-MA),is proposed to investigate the seismic stability of tunnel faces.A two-dimensional analytical model of ULT is developed to evaluate the virtual support force based on the upper bound limit analysis.An efficient probabilistic analysis method PCK-MA based on the adaptive Polynomial Chaos Kriging metamodel is then implemented to investigate the parameter uncertainty effects.Ten input parameters,including geological strength indices,uniaxial compressive strengths and constants for three rock formations,and the horizontal seismic coefficients,are treated as random variables.The effects of these parameter uncertainties on the failure probability and sensitivity indices are discussed.In addition,the effects of weak layer position,the middle layer thickness and quality,the tunnel diameter,the parameters correlation,and the seismic loadings are investigated,respectively.The results show that the layer distributions significantly influence the tunnel face probabilistic stability,particularly when the weak rock is present in the bottom layer.The efficiency of the proposed ULT-PCK-MA is validated,which is expected to facilitate the engineering design and construction.

Optimal seismic design of reinforced concrete structures under timehistory earthquake loads using an intelligent hybrid algorithm

A reliable seismic-resistant design of structures is achieved in accordance with the seismic design codes by designing structures under seven or more pairs of earthquake records. Based on the recommendations of seismic design codes, the average time-history responses （ATHR） of structure is required. This paper focuses on the optimal seismic design of reinforced concrete （RC） structures against ten earthquake records using a hybrid of particle swarm optimization algorithm and an intelligent regression model （IRM）. In order to reduce the computational time of optimization procedure due to the computational efforts of time-history analyses, IRM is proposed to accurately predict ATHR of structures. The proposed IRM consists of the combination of the subtractive algorithm （SA）, K-means clustering approach and wavelet weighted least squares support vector machine （WWLS-SVM）. To predict ATHR of structures, first, the input-output samples of structures are classified by SA and K-means clustering approach. Then, WWLS-SVM is trained with few samples and high accuracy for each cluster. 9- and 18-storey RC frames are designed optimally to illustrate the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed IRM. The numerical results demonstrate the efficiency and computational advantages of IRM for optimal design of structures subjected to time-history earthquake loads.

Structural System to Resist Seismic Loads on High Rise Reinforced Concrete Structures

The forces of nature represent the biggest challenge for engineering work in general and perhaps the most prominent of these forces. This generated by earthquake where engineering structure is exposed abnormal loads and stresses which places areal burden on structural engineers to find solutions and structural systems to increase resistance and effectiveness of engineering structure especially high rise concrete structures.

Experimental study of seismic cyclic loading effects on small strain shear modulus of saturated sands

The seismic loading on saturated soil deposits induces a decrease in effective stress and a rearrangement of the soil-particle structure, which may both lead to a degradation in undrained stiffness and strength of soils. Only the effective stress influence on small strain shear modulus Gmax is considered in seismic response analysis nowadays, and the cyclic shearing induced fabric changes of the soil-particle structure are neglected. In this paper, undrained cyclic triaxial tests were conducted on saturated sands with the shear wave velocity measured by bender element, to study the influences of seismic loading on Gmax. And Gmax of samples without cyclic loading effects was also investigated for comparison. The test results indicated that Gmax under cyclic loading effects is lower than that without such effects at the same effective stress, and also well correlated with the effective stress variation. Hence it is necessary to reinvestigate the determination of Gmax in seismic response analysis carefully to predict the ground responses during earthquake more reasonably.

Non-stationary Buffeting Response Analysis of Long Span Suspension Bridge Under Strong Wind Loading

The non-stationary buffeting response of long span suspension bridge in time domain under strong wind loading is computed. Modeling method for generating non-stationary fluctuating winds with probabilistic model for non-stationary strong wind fields is first presented. Non-stationary wind forces induced by strong winds on bridge deck and tower are then given a brief introduction. Finally,Non-stationary buffeting response of Pulite Bridge in China,a long span suspension bridge,is computed by using ANSYS software under four working conditions with different combination of time-varying mean wind and time-varying variance. The case study further confirms that it is necessity of considering non-stationary buffeting response for long span suspension bridge under strong wind loading,rather than only stationary buffeting response.

Kriging metamodels for the dynamic response of high-rise buildings with outrigger systems and fragility estimates for seismic and wind loads

This paper proposes kriging metamodels for the dynamic response of high-rise buildings with outrigger systems subject to seismic and wind loads.Three types of outrigger systems are considered.Three-dimensional(3D)finite element models of high-rise buildings with outrigger systems are developed using ANSYS.Data generated from the finite element models are used to develop the proposed kriging metamodels.A sensitivity analysis is then carried out to determine the most sensitive input parameters in kriging metamodels to gain insights and suggest possible future developments.The proposed kriging metamodels are used to develop fragility estimates for high-rise buildings with three types of outrigger systems under seismic and wind loads.

Simplified stiffness-based approach for seismic performance evaluation of moment-resisting frame

Based on the concept of stiffness degradation, a damage index of the whole frame and the storey is proposed for the frame seismic performance evaluation. The index is compatible with the non-linear static analysis （e. g. the pushover analysis）, and the structural damage is considered via plastic hinges. Simultaneously, a practical approach is developed to obtain the relationships between the proposed index and earthquake intensities based on the capacity spectrum method. The proposed index is then illustrated through two low-rise reinforced concrete frames, and it is also compared with some other indices. The results indicate that the proposed index is on the safe side and not sensitive to the lateral load pattern. The storey index is helpful to reflect the storey damage and to uncover the position of the weak storey. Finally, the relationship between performance levels and damage index values is also proposed through statistical analysis for the performance-based seismic evaluation.

Seismic wave input method for three-dimensional soil-structure dynamic interaction analysis based on the substructure of artificial boundaries

The method of inputting the seismic wave determines the accuracy of the simulation of soil-structure dynamic interaction. The wave method is a commonly used approach for seismic wave input, which converts the incident wave into equivalent loads on the cutoff boundaries. The wave method has high precision, but the implementation is complicated, especially for three-dimensional models. By deducing another form of equivalent input seismic loads in the fi nite element model, a new seismic wave input method is proposed. In the new method, by imposing the displacements of the free wave fi eld on the nodes of the substructure composed of elements that contain artifi cial boundaries, the equivalent input seismic loads are obtained through dynamic analysis of the substructure. Subsequently, the equivalent input seismic loads are imposed on the artifi cial boundary nodes to complete the seismic wave input and perform seismic analysis of the soil-structure dynamic interaction model. Compared with the wave method, the new method is simplifi ed by avoiding the complex processes of calculating the equivalent input seismic loads. The validity of the new method is verifi ed by the dynamic analysis numerical examples of the homogeneous and layered half space under vertical and oblique incident seismic waves.

Dynamic performance of angle-steel concrete columns under low cyclic loading-I:Experimental study

This paper describes low cyclic loading testing of nine angle-steel concrete column （ASCC） specimens. In the tests, the influence of the shear-span ratio, axial compression ratio and shear steel plate ratio on the hysteretic behavior, energy dissipation, strength degradation, stiffness degradation, skeleton curve and ductility of the ASCCs is studied. Based on the test results, some conclusions are presented. The P-A and sectional M -φ hysteretic models for the ASCCs are presented in a companion paper （Zheng and Ji, 2008）.

Experimental study of hollow rectangular bridge column performance under vertical and cyclically bilateral loads

To investigate the seismic performance of hollow reinforced concrete （RC） bridge columns of rectangular cross section under constant axial load and cyclically biaxial bending, five specimens were tested. A parametric study is carried out for different axial load ratios, longitudinal reinforcement ratios and lateral reinforcement ratios. The experimental results showed that all tested specimens failed in the flexural failure mode and their ultimate performance was dominated by flexural capacity, which is represented by the rupture/buckling of tensile longitudinal rebars at the bottom of the bridge columns. Biaxial force and displacement hysteresis loops showed significant stiffness and strength degradations, and the pinching effect and coupling interaction effect of both directions severely decrease the structural seismic resistance. However, the measured ductility coefficient varying from 3.5 to 5.7 and the equivalent viscous damping ratio varying from 0.19 and 0.26 can meet the requirements of the seismic design. The hollow RC rectangular bridge columns with configurations of lateral reinforcement in this study have excellent performance under bidirectional earthquake excitations, and may be considered as a substitute for current hollow RC rectangular section configurations described in the Guideline for Seismic Design of Highway Bridges （JTG/T B02-01-2008）. The length of the plastic hinge region was found to approach one sixth of the hollow RC rectangular bridge column height for all specimen columns, and it was much less than those specified in the current JTG/T. Thus, the length of the plastic hinge region is more concentrated for RC rectangular hollow bridge columns.

Contribution of tuned liquid column gas dampers to the performance of offshore wind turbines under wind, wave, and seismic excitations

The main intention of the present study is to reduce wind, wave, and seismic induced vibrations of jacket- type offshore wind turbines （JOWTs） through a newly developed vibration absorber, called tuned liquid column gas damper （TLCGD）. Using a Simulink-based model, an analytical model is developed to simulate global behavior of JOWTs under different dynamic excitations. The study is followed by a parametric study to explore efficiency of the TLCGD in terms of nacelle acceleration reduction under wind, wave, and earthquake loads. Study results indicate that optimum frequency of the TLCGD is rather insensitive to excitation type. In addition, while the gain in vibration control from TLCGDs with higher mass ratios is generally more pronounced, heavy TLCGDs are more sensitive to their tuned frequency such that ill-regulated TLCGD with high mass ratio can lead to destructive results. It is revealed that a well regulated TLCGD has noticeable contribution to the dynamic response of the JOWT under any excitation.

Lateral load pattern in pushover analysis

The seismic capacity curves of three types of buildings including frame,frame-shear wall and shear wall ob- tained by pushover analysis under different lateral load patterns are compared with those from nonlinear time history analy- sis.Based on the numerical results obtained a two-phase load pattern:an inverted triangle(first mode)load pattern until the base shear force reaches β times its maximum value,V_(max)followed by a(x/H)~α form,here β and α being some coeffi- cients depending on the type of the structures considered,is proposed in the paper,which can provide excellent approxima- tion of the seismic capacity curve for low-to-mid-rise shear type buildings.Furthermore,it is shown both the two-phase load pattern proposed and the invariant uniform pattern can be used for low-to-mid-rise shear-bending type and low-rise bending type of buildings.No suitable load patterns have been found for high-rise buildings.