FINITE p-GROUPS WHICH CONTAIN A SELF-CENTRALIZING CYCLIC NORMAL SUBGROUP

For any prime p, all finite noncyclic p-groups which contain a self-centralizing cyclic normal subgroup are determined by using cohomological techniques. Some applications are given, including a character theoretic description for such groups.

Behaviour of self-centring shear walls——A state of the art review

The application of unbonded post-tensioning (PT) in structural walls has led to the development of advanced self-centring (rocking) shear wall systems that has significant advantages, including accelerated construction due to the incorporation of prefabricated elements and segmental construction for different materials (e.g., concrete, masonry, and timber), reduced residual drifts, and little damage upon extreme seismic and wind loads. Concrete, masonry, and timber are often used for the construction of unbonded PT structural wall systems. Despite extensive research since the 1980s, there are no well-established design guidelines available on the shear wall configuration with the required energy dissipation system, joint’s locations and acceptance criteria for shear sliding, confinement, seismic performance factors, PT loss, PT force range and residual drifts of shear walls subjected to lateral loads. In this research a comprehensive state-of-the-art literature review was performed on self-centring shear wall system. An extensive study was carried out to collect a database of 100 concrete, masonry, and self-centring shear wall tests from the literature. The established database was then used to review shear walls’ configurations, material, and components to benchmark requirements applicable for design purposes. The behaviour of concrete, masonry and timber shear walls were compared and critically analysed. The general behaviour, force-displacement performance of the walls, ductility, and seismic response factors, were critically reviewed and analysed for different self-centring wall systems to understand the effect of different parameters including configurations of the walls, material used for construction of the wall (concrete, masonry, timber) and axial stress ratio. The outcome of this research can be used to better understand the behaviour of self-centring wall system in order to develop design guidelines for such walls.

Seismic responses and resilience of novel SMA-based self-centring eccentrically braced frames under near-fault ground motions

In this paper,the seismic responses and resilience of a novel K-type superelastic shape memory alloy(SMA)self-centring(SC)eccentrically braced frame(EBF)are investigated.The simulation models of the SMA-based SC-EBF and a corresponding equal-stiffness traditional EBF counterpart are first established based on some existing tests.Then twenty-four near-fault ground motions are used to examine the seismic responses of both EBFs under design basis earthquake(DBE)and maximum considered earthquake(MCE)levels.Structural fragility and loss analyses are subsequently conducted through incremental dynamic analyses(IDA),and the resilience of the two EBFs are eventually estimated.The resilience assessment basically follows the framework proposed by Federal Emergency and Management Agency(FEMA)with the additional consideration of the maximum residual inter-storey drift ratio(MRIDR).The novel SMA-based SC-EBF shows a much better resilience in the study and represents a promising attractive alternative for future applications.