Study of Nonlinear Seismic Response and TMD Primary Control of the Cable-Stayed Bridge Section of the Third Macao-Taipa Bridge

The practical design of the cable-stayed bridge of the 3rd Macao-Taipa bridge is investigated by the finite element analysis program ANSYS, and 3-D elements BEAM188 and BEAM4 are adopted to create a dynamic calculation model. In order to analyze the material nonlinear seismic response of the cable-stayed bridge, the nonlinear behaviors of the ductile plastic hinges of the bridge towers are taken into account by employing the nonlinear rotational spring element COMBIN40. To simulate a major earthquake, three earthquake records were chosen using a wave-choosing program and input into the bridge structure along longitudinal and transversal directions. Comparisons of the linear and nonlinear seismic responses of the cable-stayed bridge are performed. In addition, a study of TMD primary control is carried out using element MASS21 and element COMBIN14, and it is indicated that the effects of mitigation monitoring are evident.

Seismic loss assessment of RC high-rise buildings designed according to Eurocode 8

A probabilistic seismic loss assessment of RC high-rise(RCHR)buildings designed according to Eurocode 8 and located in the Southern Euro-Mediterranean zone is presented herein.The loss assessment methodology is based on a comprehensive simulation approach which takes into account ground motion(GM)uncertainty,and the random effects in seismic demand,as well as in predicting the damage states(DSs).The methodology is implemented on three RCHR buildings of 20-story,30-story and 40-story with a core wall structural system.The loss functions described by a cumulative lognormal probability distribution are obtained for two intensity levels for a large set of simulations(NLTHAs)based on 60 GM records with a wide range of magnitude(M),distance to source(R)and different site soil conditions(SS).The losses expressed in percent of building replacement cost for RCHR buildings are obtained.In the estimation of losses,both structural(S)and nonstructural(NS)damage for four DSs are considered.The effect of different GM characteristics(M,R and SS)on the obtained losses are investigated.Finally,the estimated performance of the RCHR buildings are checked to ensure that they fulfill limit state requirements according to Eurocode 8.

Seismic risk assessment for developing countries: Pakistan as a case study

Modern Earthquake Risk Assessment（ERA） methods usually require seismo-tectonic information for Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment（PSHA） that may not be readily available in developing countries. To bypass this drawback, this paper presents a practical event-based PSHA method that uses instrumental seismicity, available historical seismicity, as well as limited information on geology and tectonic setting. Historical seismicity is integrated with instrumental seismicity to determine the long-term hazard. The tectonic setting is included by assigning seismic source zones associated with known major faults. Monte Carlo simulations are used to generate earthquake catalogues with randomized key hazard parameters. A case study region in Pakistan is selected to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. The results indicate that the proposed method produces seismic hazard maps consistent with previous studies, thus being suitable for generating such maps in regions where limited data are available. The PSHA procedure is developed as an integral part of an ERA framework named EQRAM. The framework is also used to determine seismic risk in terms of annual losses for the study region.

Shaking table experimental study of recycled concrete frame-shear wall structures

In this study, four 1/5 scaled shaking table tests were conducted to investigate the seismic performance of recycled concrete frame-shear wall structures with different recycled aggregates replacement rates and concealed bracing detail. The four tested structures included one normal concrete model, one recycled coarse aggregate concrete model, and two recycled coarse and fi ne aggregate concrete models with or without concealed bracings inside the shear walls. The dynamic characteristics, dynamic response and failure mode of each model were compared and analyzed. Finite element models were also developed and nonlinear time-history response analysis was conducted. The test and analysis results show that the seismic performance of the recycled coarse aggregate concrete frame-shear wall structure is slightly worse than the normal concrete structure. The seismic resistance capacity of the recycled concrete frame-shear wall structure can be greatly improved by setting up concealed bracings inside the walls. With appropriate design, the recycled coarse aggregate concrete frame-shear wall structure and recycled concrete structure with concealed bracings inside the walls can be applied in buildings.

A hybrid artificial bee colony algorithm and support vector machine for predicting blast-induced ground vibration

Because nearby construction has harmful effects,precisely predicting blast-induced ground vibration is critical.In this paper,a hybrid artificial bee colony(ABC)and support vector machine(SVM)model was proposed for predicting the value of peak particle velocity(PPV),which is used to describe blast-induced ground vibration.To construct the model,5 potentially relevant factors,including controllable and uncontrollable parameters,were considered as input parameters,and PPV was set as the output parameter.Forty-five samples were recorded from the Hongling lead-zinc mine.An ABC-SVM model was developed and trained on 35 samples via 5-fold cross-validation(CV).A testing set(10 samples)was used to evaluate the prediction performance of the ABC-SVM model.SVM and four empirical models(United States Bureau of Mines(USBM),Amraseys-Hendron(A-H),Langefors-Kihstrom(L-K),and Central Mining Research Institute(CMRI))also were introduced for comparison.Next,the performances of the models were analyzed by using 3 statistical parameters:the correlation coefficient(R2),root-mean-square error(RMSE),and variance accounted for(VAF).ABC-SVM had the highest R2 and VAF values followed by the SVM,A-H,USBM,CMRI,and L-K methods.The results demonstrated that ABC-SVM outperformed SVM and the empirical predictors for predicting PPV.Moreover,the best results from the R2,RMSE,and VAF indices were 0.9628,0.2737,and 96.05%for the ABC-SVM model.The sensitivities of the parameters also were investigated,and the height difference between the blast point and the monitoring station was found to be the parameter that had the most influence on PPV.

Reservoir water effects on earthquake performance evaluation of Torul Concrete-Faced Rockfill Dam

This study presents earthquake performance analysis of the Torul Concrete-Faced Rockfill （CFR） Dam with two-dimensional dam-soil and dam-soil-reservoir finite element models. The Lagrangian approach was used with fluid elements to model impounded water. The interface elements were used to simulate the slippage between the concrete face slab and the rockfill. The horizontal component of the 1992 Erzincan earthquake, with a peak ground acceleration of 0.515g, was considered in time-history analysis. The Drucker-Prager model was preferred in nonlinear analysis of the concrete slab, rockfill and foundation soil. The maximum principal stresses and the maximum displacements in two opposite directions were compared by the height of the concrete slab according to linear time-history analysis to reveal the effect of reservoir water. The changes of critical displacements and principal stresses with time are also shown in this paper. According to linear and nonlinear time-history analysis, the effect of the reservoir water on the earthquake performance of the Torul CFR Dam was investigated and the possible damage situation was examined. The results show that the hydrodynamic pressure of reservoir water leads to an increase in the maximum displacements and principal stresses of the dam and reduces the earthquake performance of the dam. Although the linear time-history analysis demonstrates that the earthquake causes a momentous damage to the concrete slab of the Torul CFR Dam, the nonlinear time-history analysis shows that no evident damage occurs in either reservoir case.

Seismic performance of HWBBF considering different design methods and structural heights

Previous research has shown that using buckling-restrained braces(BRBs)at hinged wall(HW)base(HWBB)can effectively mitigate lateral deformation of steel moment-resisting frames(MRFs)in earthquakes.Forcebased and displacement-based design methods have been proposed to design HWBB to strengthen steel MRF and this paper comprehensively compares these two design methods,in terms of design steps,advantages/disadvantages,and structure responses.In addition,this paper investigates the building height below which the HW seismic moment demand can be properly controlled.First,3-story,9-story,and 20-story steel MRFs in the SAC project are used as benchmark steel MRFs.Secondly,HWs and HWBBs are designed to strengthen the benchmark steel MRFs using force-based and displacement-based methods,called HWFs and HWBBFs,respectively.Thirdly,nonlinear time history analyses are conducted to compare the structural responses of the MRFs,HWBBFs and HWFs in earthquakes.The results show the following.1)HW seismic force demands increase as structural height increases,which may lead to uneconomical HW design.The HW seismic moment demand can be properly controlled when the building is lower than nine stories.2)The displacement-based design method is recommended due to the benefit of identifying unfeasible component dimensions during the design process,as well as better achieving the design target displacement.

Regional seismic-damage prediction of buildings under mainshock-aftershock sequence

Strong aftershocks generally occur following a significant earthquake.Aftershocks further damage buildings weakened by mainshocks.Thus,the accurate and efficient prediction of aftershock-induced damage to buildings on a regional scale is crucial for decision making for post-earthquake rescue and emergency response.A framework to predict regional seismic damage of buildings under a mainshock-aftershock(MS-AS)sequence is proposed in this study based on city-scale nonlinear time-history analysis(THA).Specifically,an MS-AS sequence-generation method is proposed to generate a potential MS-AS sequence that can account for the amplification,spectrum,duration,magnitude,and site condition of a target area.Moreover,city-scale nonlinear THA is adopted to predict building seismic damage subjected to MS-AS sequences.The accuracy and reliability of city-scale nonlinear THA for an MS-AS sequence are validated by as-recorded seismic responses of buildings and simulation results in published literature.The town of Longtoushan,which was damaged during the Ludian earthquake,is used as a case study to illustrate the detailed procedure and advantages of the proposed framework.The primary conclusions are as follows.(1)Regional seismic damage of buildings under an MS-AS sequence can be predicted reasonably and accurately by city-scale nonlinear THA.(2)An MS-AS sequence can be generated reasonably by the proposed MS-AS sequencegeneration method.(3)Regional seismic damage of buildings under different MS-AS scenarios can be provided efficiently by the proposed framework,which in turn can provide a useful reference for earthquake emergency response and scientific decision making for earthquake disaster relief.