Resilience-incorporated seismic risk assessment of precast concrete frames with“dry”connections

A resilience-incorporated risk assessment framework is proposed and demonstrated in this study to manifest the advantageous seismic resilience of precast concrete frame(PCF)structures with“dry”connections in terms of their low damage and rapid recovery.The framework integrates various uncertainties in the seismic hazard,fragility,capacity,demand,loss functions,and post-earthquake recovery.In this study,the PCF structures are distinguished from ordinary reinforced concrete frame(RCF)structures by characterizing multiple limit states for the PCF based on its unique damage mechanisms.Accordingly,probabilistic story-wise pushover analyses are performed to yield story-wise capacities for the predefined limit states.In the seismic resilience analysis,a step-wise recovery model is proposed to idealize the functionality recovery process,with separate considerations of the repair and non-repair events.The recovery model leverages the economic loss and downtime to delineate the stochastic post-earthquake recovery curves for the resilience loss estimation.As such,contingencies in the probabilistic post-earthquake repairs are incorporated and the empirical judgments on the recovery parameters are largely circumvented.The proposed framework is demonstrated through a comparative study between two“dry”connected PCFs and one RCF designed as alternative structural systems for a prototype building.The results from the risk quantification indicate that the PCFs show reduced loss hazards and lower expected losses relative to the RCF.Particularly,the PCF equipped with energy dissipation devices at the“dry”connections largely reduces the expected economic loss,downtime,and resilience loss by 29%,56%,and 60%,respectively,compared to the RCF.

Three-dimensional hydrodynamic model of concrete tetrahedral frame revetments

Revetments of concrete frame tetrahedrons are being used more and more in river engineering in China. Due to their complex geometry, it is difficult to measure the velocity fields inside them using traditional measurement methods. This limits understanding of their mechanics, potentially leading to suboptimal solutions. A 3-D hydrodynamic model based on the commercial computational fluid dynamics （CFD） code, Fluent, was developed to predict velocity fields and drags. The realizable k-e model was adopted for turbulent closure of the Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes （RANS） equations. The study demonstrates that the numerical model can effectively supplement experimental studies in understanding the complex flow fields and mechanics of concrete frame tetrahedron revetments. Graphs showing the drag coefficient CD versus Reynolds number Re and lift coefficient CL versus Reynolds number Re were produced.

Self-centering seismic retrofit scheme for reinforced concrete frame structures:SDOF system study

This paper presents the results of a parametric study of self-centering seismic retrofit schemes for reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings. The self-centering retrofit system features flag-shaped hysteresis and minimal residual deformation. For comparison purpose,an alternate seismic retrofit scheme that uses a bilinear-hysteresis retrofit system such as buckling-restrained braces (BRB) is also considered in this paper. The parametric study was carried out in a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system framework since a multi-story building structure may be idealized as an equivalent SDOF system and investigation of the performance of this equivalent SDOF system can provide insight into the seismic response of the multi-story building. A peak-oriented hysteresis model which can consider the strength and stiffness degradation is used to describe the hysteretic behavior of RC structures. The parametric study involves two key parameters -the strength ratio and elastic stiffness ratio between the seismic retrofit system and the original RC frame. An ensemble of 172 earthquake ground motion records scaled to the design basis earthquake in California with a probability of exceedance of 10% in 50 years was constructed for the simulation-based parametric study. The effectiveness of the two seismic retrofit schemes considered in this study is evaluated in terms of peak displacement ratio,peak acceleration ratio,energy dissipation demand ratio and residual displacement ratio between the SDOF systems with and without retrofit. It is found from this parametric study that RC structures retrofitted with the self-centering retrofit scheme (SCRS) can achieve a seismic performance level comparable to the bilinear-hysteresis retrofit scheme (BHRS) in terms of peak displacement and energy dissipation demand ratio while having negligible residual displacement after earthquake.

Experimental study on the seismic response of braced reinforced concrete frame with irregular columns

A 15-storey K-braced reinforced concrete model frame with irregular columns, i.e., T-shaped, L-shaped, as well as ＋-shaped columns, was constructed and tested on the six-degree-of-freedom shaking table at the State Key Laboratory for Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering in Tongji, China. Two types of earthquake records, El-Centro wave （south-north direction） and Shanghai artificial wave （SHAW） with various peak accelerations and principal-secondary sequences, were input and experimentally studied. Based on the shaking table tests and theoretical analysis, several observations can be made. The failure sequence of the model structure is brace→beam→column→joints, so that the design philosophy for several lines of defense has been achieved. Earthquake waves with different spectrums not only influence the magnitude and distribution of the earthquake force and the storey shear force, but also obviously affect the magnitude of the displacement response. The aftershock seismic response of previously damaged reinforced concrete braced frames with irregular columns possesses the equivalent elastic performance characteristic. Generally speaking, from the aspects of failure features and drift ratio, this type of reinforced concrete structure provides adequate earthquake resistance and can be promoted for use in China.

Evaluation of the fishbone model in simulating the seismic response of multistory reinforced concrete moment-resisting frames

The fishbone model is a simplified numerical model for moment-resisting frames that is capable of modelling the effects of column-beam strength and stiffness ratios. The applicability of the fishbone model in simulating the seismic responses of reinforced concrete moment-resisting frames of different sets of column-beam strength and stiffness ratios are evaluated through nonlinear static, dynamic and incremental dynamic analysis on six prototype buildings of 4-, 8-and 12-stories. The results show that the fishbone model is practically accurate enough for reinforced concrete frames, although the assumption of equal joint rotation does not hold in all cases. In addition to the ground motion characteristics and the number of stories in the structures, the accuracy of the model also varies with the column-beam stiffness and strength ratios. The model performs better for strong column-weak beam frames, in which the lateral drift patterns are better controlled by the continuous stiffness provided by the strong columns. When the inelastic deformation is large, the accuracy of the model may be subjected to large record-to-record variability. This is especially the case for frames of weak columns.

Study of the seismic response of a recycled aggregate concrete frame structure

Based on six-degree-of-freedom three-dimensional shaking table tests, the seismic response of a recycled aggregate concrete （RAC） frame was obtained. The analysis results indicate that the maximum story shear force and overturning moment reduce proportionally along the height of the model under the same earthquake wave. The story shear force, base shear coefficient and overturning moment of the structure increase progressively as the acceleration amplitude increases. The base shear coefficient is primarily controlled by the peak ground acceleration （PGA）. The relationships between the PGA and the shear coefficient as well as between the PGA and the dynamic amplification factor are obtained by mathematical fitting. The dynamic amplification factor decreases rapidly at the elastic-plastic stage, but decreases slowly with the development of the elastic-plasticity stage. The results show that the RAC frame structure has reasonable deformability when compared with natural aggregate concrete frame structures. The maximum inter-story drift ratios of the RAC frame model under frequent and rare intensity 8 test phases are 1/266 and 1/29, respectively, which are larger than the allowable value of 1/500 and 1/50 according to Chinese seismic design requirements. Nevertheless, the RAC frame structure does not collapse under base excitations with PGAs from 0.066 g up to 1.170 g.

Seismic retrofitting of reinforced concrete frame structures using GFRP-tube-confined-concrete composite braces

This paper presents a new type of structural bracing intended for seismic retrofitting use in framed structures. This special composite brace, termed glass-fiber-reinforced-polymer （GFRP）-tube-confined-concrete composite brace, is comprised of concrete confined by a GFRP tube and an inner steel core for energy dissipation. Together with a contribution from the GFRP-tube confined concrete, the composite brace shows a substantially increased stiffness to control story drift, which is often a preferred feature in seismic retrofitting. An analysis model is established and implemented in a general finite element analysis program - OpenSees, for simulating the load-displacement behavior of the composite brace. Using this model, a parametric study of the hysteretic behavior （energy dissipation, stiffness, ductility and strength） of the composite brace was conducted under static cyclic loading and it was found that the area ratio of steel core to concrete has the greatest influence among all the parameters considered. To demonstrate the application of the composite brace in seismic retrofitting, a three-story nonductile reinforced concrete （RC） frame structure was retrofitted with the composite braces. Pushover analysis and nonlinear time-history analyses of the retrofitted RC frame structure was performed by employing a suite of 20 strong ground motion earthquake records. The analysis results show that the composite braces can effectively reduce the peak seismic responses of the RC frame structure without significantly increasing the base shear demand.

Nonlinear pushover analysis of infilled concrete frames

Six reinforced concrete frames with or without masonry infills were constructed and tested under horizontal cyclic loads. All six frames had identical details in which the transverse reinforcement in columns was provided by rectangular hoops that did not meet current ACI specifications for ductile frames. For comparison purposes, the columns in three of these frames were jacketed by carbon-fiber-reinforced-polymer （CFRP） sheets to avoid possible shear failure. A nonlinear pushover analysis, in which the force-deformation relationships of individual elements were developed based on ACI 318, FEMA 356, and Chen＇s model, was carried out for these frames and compared to test results. Both the failure mechanisms and impact of infills on the behaviors of these frames were examined in the study. Conclusions from the present analysis provide structural engineers with valuable information for evaluation and design of infilled concrete frame building structures.

Experimental study on seismic behaviors of steel-concrete composite frames

Steel-concrete composite frames are seeing increased use in earthquake region because of their excellent structural characteristics, including high strength, stiffness, and good ductility. However, there exist gaps in the knowledge of seismic behavior and the design provisions for these structures. In order to better understand the seismic behaviors of composite frame systems, eight steel-concrete composite frames were designed. These composite frames were composed of steel-concrete composite beams and concrete filled steel tube columns. The axial compression ratio of column, slenderness ratio and linear stiffness ratio of beam to column were selected as main design parameters. The low reversed cyclic loading tests of composite frame system were carried out. Based on test results, the seismic behaviors of composite frames such as failure mode, hysteresis curve, strength degradation, rigidity degradation, ductility and energy dissipation were studied. Known from the test phenomenon, the main cause of damage is the out-of-plane deformation of steel beam and the yielding destruction of column heel. The hysteretic loops of composite frame appear a spindle shape and no obvious pinch phenomenon. The results demonstrate that this type of composite frame has favorable seismic behaviors. Furthermore, the effects of design parameters on seismic behaviors were also discussed. The results of the experiment show that the different design parameter has different influence rule on seismic behaviors of composite frame.

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.

Pseudo-dynamic test and numerical simulation of high-strength concrete frame structure reinforced with high-strength rebars

This paper describes an investigation of a high-strength concrete frame reinforced with high-strength rebars that was tested in the structure engineering laboratory at Shenyang Jianzhu University. The frame specimen was pseudo- dynamically loaded to indicate three earthquake ground motions of different hazard levels, after which the test specimen was subjected to a pseudo-static loading. This paper focuses on the design, construction and experiment of the test frame and validation of the simulation models. Research shows that a high-strength concrete frame reinforced with high-strength rebars is more efficient and economical than a traditional reinforced concrete frame structure. In addition to the economies achieved by effective use of materials, research shows that the frame can provide enough strength to exceed conventional reinforced concrete frames and provide acceptable ductility. The test study provides evidence to validate the performance of a high- strength concrete frame designed according to current seismic code provisions. Based on previous test research, a nonlinear FEM analysis is completcd by using OpenSees software, The dynamic responses of the frame structure are numerically analyzed, The results of the numerical simulation show that the model can calculate the seismic responses of the frame by OpenSees. At the same time, the test provides additional opportunities to validate the performance of the simulation models.

Model Experiment on Integral Seismic Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Frame with Split Columns

Based on a series of previous studies, an experiment on the integral seismic behavior of a 1/3 scaled model of two-bay and three-story reinforced concrete frame with split columns at lower two stories is performed under cyclic loading. The original columns at lower two stories of the model frame are short columns and they are replaced by the split columns. The hysteresis curves between the horizontal cyclic load and the lateral displacement at the top of the model frame, indicate that under the cyclic loading, the model frame undergoes the process of cracking, yielding, and maximum loading before being destroyed at the ultimate load. They also indicate that the model frame has better ductility, and the ratio of the ultimate displacement to the yielding displacement, reaches 6.0. The yielding process of the model frame shows that for the frame with split columns, plastic hinges are generated at the ends of beams and then the columns begin yielding while the frame still possesses the bearing and deformation capacity. The design idea of directly changing the short column to long one in the reinforced concrete frame may be realized by replacing the short column with the split one.

Research on Seismic Reliability and Damage of Reinforced Concrete Frame

This paper first introduces the basic principle of seismic risk analysis, and then put forward the basic concept of structures global seismic fragility, aiming at the existing problems of traditional analysis method, combined the method of analytical approximation degree of structure reliability with Performance-Based Seismic Design （PBSD）, put forward the analysis method of structural reliability and the performance of the global seismic fragility, are calculated by using the finite element reliability method of structures global seismic fragility. Taking the maximum interlamination relative deformation as indicators of overall performance, we analyze seismic fragility of five storey RC frame structure, rendering the seismic fragility curves corresponding to different performance requirements and different earthquake action.

Effect of concrete creep on pre-camber of continuous rigid-frame bridge

The effect of concrete creep on the pre-camber of a long-span pre-stressed concrete continuous rigid-frame bridge constructed by cantilever casting method was investigated.The difference of creep coefficients calculated with two Chinese codes was discussed.Based on the calculations,the pre-camber of a pre-stressed concrete continuous rigid-frame box bridge was computed for construction control purpose.The results show that the short-term creep coefficient and long-term creep coefficient calculated with the CC-1985 are larger than those calculated with the CC-2004,while the medium-term creep coefficient calculated with the CC-1985 is smaller than that calculated with the CC-2004.The difference of creep deformation calculated with these two codes is small,and the influences of concrete creep on the pre-camber for most of the segments are negligible.The deflections and stresses of the box girder measured during the construction stages agree very well with the predictions.

Effects of edge beams on mechanic behavior under lateral load in reinforced concrete hollow slab-column structure

In order to get the formulae for calculating the equivalent frame width coefficient of reinforced concrete hollow slab-column structures with edge beam,the finite element structural program was used in the elastic analysis of reinforced concrete hollow slab-column structure with different dimensions to study internal relationship between effective beam width and the frame dimensions.In addition,the formulas for calculating the increasing coefficient of edge beam were also obtained.

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.

Optimization of Reinforced Concrete Cum Masonry Construction

In design and construction of low/high rise buildings, different forms of construction can be applied such as concrete shear wall structural system and framed structural system without or with masonry infill walls. At present, most buildings in East Africa are constructed as reinforced concrete framed structures with strong masonry infill, but during design, engineers assume that the masonry infill panels have zero contribution in offering load resistance. Due to the problem above, a study with an objective of finding out the influence of masonry panels on the properties of reinforced concrete infilled frame under vertical load has been done. Three types of models： reinforced concrete frame model, masonry model and reinforced concrete frame with masonry infill, were investigated using finite element technique. In additional to the finite element analysis, laboratory models were prepared and tested so as to check the validity of the analytical results. The obtained results have led to an establishment of a mathematical model which may be useful to the design engineers since masonry wall panels can now be considered as load bearing elements. Such consideration of frame together with masonry leads to an accurate and optimal design of the frame, resulting into lesser amount of reinforcement and geometrical properties of the frame.

Seismic Response of Reinforced Concrete Buildings Retrofitted with Dissipative Steel Braces

The present work discusses the outcomes of recent experimental tests and numerical simulations carried out on full scale reinforced concrete （RC） non-ductile frames retrofitted with dissipative steel braces, i.e. innovative buckling restrained braces （BRBs）. Experimental tests were performed on two sample full scale RC framed buildings designed for gravity loads only. Such frames were subjected to cyclic pushovers to investigate their structural performance under different levels of earthquake loadings. The outcomes of the performed experimental tests demonstrate the efficiency and reliability of utilizing BRBs to retrofit non ductile RC frames. These outcomes were confirmed by refined non linear static and response history analyses carried out on an existing RC school framed building designed without seismic details and retrofitted with BRBs similar to those adopted for the tested full-scale frame. In such sample building the BRBs are placed along the perimeter of the existing frames to minimize the interruption of the functionality of the school and for easy of maintenance in the aftermath of major earthquake ground motions. The seismic performance assessment of the retrofitted structural system is illustrated in a detailed manner. Local and global response quantities are presented. The values of the global overstrength Ω for the case study vary between 2.14 and 2.54 for the retrofitted framed building. The translation ductility μ△-values range between 2.07 and 2.36. The response modification factor （or behaviour factor, namely R- or q-factor） is on average equal to 5.0. Additionally, the estimated maximum axial ductility of the BRBs is about 10. Finally, the cost-effectiveness of the adopted retrofitting scheme is emphasized and further needs for the application of BRBs are highlighted.

Influence of the column-to-beam flexural strength ratio on the failure mode of beam-column connections in RC frames

The column-to-beam flexural strength ratio(CBFSR)has been used in many seismic codes to achieve the strong column-weak beam(SCWB)failure mode in reinforced concrete(RC)frames,in which plastic hinges appear earlier in beams than in columns.However,seismic investigations show that the required limit of CBFSR in seismic codes usually cannot achieve the SCWB failure mode under strong earthquakes.This study investigates the failure modes of RC frames with different CBFSRs.Nine typical three-story RC frame models with different CBFSRs are designed in accordance with Chinese seismic codes.The seismic responses and failure modes of the frames are investigated through time-history analyses using 100 ground motion records.The results show that the required limit of the CBFSR that guarantees the SCWB failure mode depends on the beam-column connection type and the seismic intensity,and different types of beam-column connections exhibit different failure modes even though they are designed with the same CBFSR.Recommended CBFSRs are proposed for achieving the designed SCWB failure mode for different types of connections in RC frames under different seismic intensities.These results may provide some reference for further revisions of the SCWB design criterion in Chinese seismic codes.

Seismic design factors for RC special moment resisting frames in Dubai,UAE

This study investigates the seismic design factors for three reinforced concrete （RC） framed buildings with 4, 16 and 32-stories in Dubai, UAE utilizing nonlinear analysis. The buildings are designed according to the response spectrum procedure defined in the 2009 International Building Code （IBC＇09）. Two ensembles of ground motion records with 10% and 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years （10/50 and 2/50, respectively） are used. The nonlinear dynamic resPonses to the earthquake records are computed using IDARC-2D. Key seismic design parameters are evaluated; namely, response modification factor （R）, deflection amplification factor （Cd）, system overstrength factor （Ωo）, and response modification factor for ductility （Rd） in addition to inelastic interstory drift. The evaluated seismic design factors are found to significantly depend on the considered ground motion （10/50 versus 2/50）. Consequently, resolution to the controversy of Dubai seismicity is urged. The seismic design factors for the 2/50 records show an increase over their counterparts for the 10/50 records in the range of 200%-400%, except for the D~ factor, which shows a mere 30% increase. Based on the observed trends, perioddependent R and Cd factors are recommended if consistent collapse probability （or collapse prevention performance） in moment frames with varying heights is to be expected.