Seismic performance evaluation of water supply pipes installed in a full-scale RC frame structure based on a shaking table test

As an important part of nonstructural components,the seismic response of indoor water supply pipes deserves much attention.This paper presents shaking table test research on water supply pipes installed in a full-scale reinforced concrete(RC)frame structure.Different material pipes and different methods for penetrating the reinforced concrete floors are combined to evaluate the difference in seismic performance.Floor response spectra and pipe acceleration amplification factors based on test data are discussed and compared with code provisions.A seismic fragility study of displacement demand is conducted based on numerical simulation.The acceleration response and displacement response of different combinations are compared.The results show that the combination of different pipe materials and different passing-through methods can cause obvious differences in the seismic response of indoor riser pipes.

Shaking table test and cumulative deformation evaluation analysis of a tunnel across the hauling sliding surface

To explore the cumulative deformation effect of the dynamic response of a tunnel crossing the hauling sliding surface under earthquakes,the shaking table test was conducted in this study.Combined with the numerical calculations,this study proposed magnification of the Arias intensity(MIa)to characterize the overall local deformation damage of the tunnel lining in terms of the deformation characteristics,frequency domain,and energy.Using the time‐domain analysis method,the plastic effect coefficient(PEC)was proposed to characterize the degree of plastic deformation,and the applicability of the seismic cumulative failure effect(SCFE)was discussed.The results show that the low‐frequency component(f1 and f2≤10 Hz)and the high‐frequency component(f3 and f4>10 Hz)acceleration mainly cause global and local deformation of the tunnel lining.The local deformation caused by the high‐frequency wave has an important effect on the seismic damage of the lining.The physical meaning of PEC is more clearly defined than that of the residual strain,and the SCFE of the tunnel lining can also be defined.The SCFE of the tunnel lining includes the elastic deformation effect stage(<0.15g),the elastic–plastic deformation effect stage(0.15g–0.30g),and the plastic deformation effect stage(0.30g–0.40g).This study can provide valuable theoretical and technical support for the construction of traffic tunnels in high‐intensity earthquake areas.

A novel control strategy for reproducing the floor motions of high-rise buildings by earthquake-simulating shake tables

To enable the experimental assessment of the seismic performance of full-scale nonstructural elements with multiple engineering parameters(EDPs),a three-layer testbed named Nonstructural Element Simulator on Shake Table(NEST)has been developed.The testbed consists of three consecutive floors of steel structure.The bottom two floors provide a space to accommodate a full-scale room.To fully explore the flexibility of NEST,we propose a novel control strategy to generate the required shake table input time histories for the testbed to track the target floor motions of the buildings of interest with high accuracy.The control strategy contains two parts:an inverse dynamic compensation via simulation of feedback control systems(IDCS)algorithm and an offline iteration procedure based on a refined nonlinear numerical model of the testbed.The key aspects of the control strategy were introduced in this paper.Experimental tests were conducted to simulate the seismic responses of a full-scale office room on the 21^(st)floor of a 42-story high-rise building.The test results show that the proposed control strategy can reproduce the target floor motions of the building of interest with less than 20%errors within the specified frequency range.

Seismic response of underground utility tunnels: shaking table testing and FEM analysis

Underground utility tunnels are widely used in urban areas throughout the world for lifeline networks due to their easy maintenance and environmental protection capabilities. However, knowledge about their seismic performance is still quite limited and seismic design procedures are not included in current design codes. This paper describes a series of shaking table tests the authors performed on a scaled utility tunnel model to explore its performance under earthquake excitation. Details of the experimental setup are first presented focusing on aspects such as the design of the soil container, scaled structural model, sensor array arrangement and test procedure. The main observations from the test program, including structural response, soil response, soil-structure interaction and earth pressure, are summarized and discussed. Further, a finite element model （FEM） of the test utility tunnel is established where the nonlinear soil properties are modeled by the Drucker- Prager constitutive model; the master-slave surface mechanism is employed to simulate the soil-structure dynamic interaction; and the confining effect of the laminar shear box to soil is considered by proper boundary modeling. The results from the numerical model are compared with experiment measurements in terms of displacement, acceleration and amplification factor of the structural model and the soil. The comparison shows that the numerical results match the experimental measurements quite well. The validated numerical model can be adopted for further analysis.

Shaking table test and numerical analysis of offshore wind turbine tower systems controlled by TLCD

A wind turbine system equipped with a tuned liquid column damper （TLCD） is comprehensively studied via shaking table tests using a 1/13-scaled model. The effects of wind and wave actions are considered by inputting response- equivalent accelerations on the shaking table. The test results show that the control effect of the TLCD system is significant in reducing the responses under both wind-wave equivalent loads and ground motions, but obviously varies for different inputs, Further, a blade-hub-tower integrated numerical model for the wind turbine system is established. The model is capable of considering the rotational effect of blades by combining Kane＇s equation with the finite element method. The responses of the wind tower equipped with TLCD devices are numerically obtained and compared to the test results, showing that under both controlled and uncontrolled conditions with and without blades＇ rotation, the corresponding responses exhibit good agreement. This demonstrates that the proposed numerical model performs well in capturing the wind-wave coupled response of the offshore wind turbine systems under control. Both numerical and experimental results show that the TLCD system can significantly reduce the structural response and thus improve the safety and serviceability of the offshore wind turbine tower systems. Additional issues that require further study are discussed.

Shake table test of soil-pile groups-bridge structure interaction in liquefiable ground

This paper describes a shake table test study on the seismic response of low-cap pile groups and a bridge structure in liquefiable ground. The soil profile, contained in a large-scale laminar shear box, consisted of a horizontally saturated sand layer overlaid with a silty clay layer, with the simulated low-cap pile groups embedded. The container was excited in three E1 Centro earthquake events of different levels. Test results indicate that excessive pore pressure （EPP） during slight shaking only slightly accumulated, and the accumulation mainly occurred during strong shaking. The EPP was gradually enhanced as the amplitude and duration of the input acceleration increased. The acceleration response of the sand was remarkably influenced by soil liquefaction. As soil liquefaction occurred, the peak sand displacement gradually lagged behind the input acceleration; meanwhile, the sand displacement exhibited an increasing effect on the bending moment of the pile, and acceleration responses of the pile and the sand layer gradually changed from decreasing to increasing in the vertical direction from the bottom to the top. A jump variation of the bending moment on the pile was observed near the soil interface in all three input earthquake events. It is thought that the shake table tests could provide the groundwork for further seismic performance studies of low-cap pile groups used in bridges located on liquefiable groun.

Shake table tests of suspended ceilings to simulate the observed damage in the M_s 7.0 Lushan earthquake, China

Severe damage to suspended ceilings of metal grids and lay-in panels was observed in public buildings during the 2013 M7.0 Lushan earthquake in China. Over the past several years, suspended ceilings have been widely used practice in public buildings throughout China, including government offices, schools and hospitals. To investigate the damage mechanism of suspended ceilings, a series of three-dimensional shake table tests was conducted to reproduce the observed damage. A full-scale reinforced concrete frame was constructed as the testing frame for the ceiling, which was single-story and infilled with brick masonry walls to represent the local construction of low-rise buildings. In general, the ceiling in the tests exhibited similar damage phenomena as the field observations, such as higher vulnerability of perimeter elements and extensive damage to the cross runners. However, it exhibited lower fragility in terms of peak ground/roof accelerations at the initiation of damage. Further investigations are needed to clarify the reasons for this behavior.

Shaking table test and numerical analysis of a 1:12 scale model of a special concentrically braced steel frame with pinned connections

This paper describes shaking table tests of a 1：12 scale model of a special concentrically braced steel frame with pinned connections, which was fabricated according to a one-bay braced frame selected from a typical main factory building of a large thermal power plant. In order to investigate the seismic performance of this type of structure, several ground motion accelerations with different levels for seismic intensity Ⅷ, based on the Chinese Code for Seismic Design of Buildings, were selected to excite the model. The results show that the design methods of the members and the connections are adequate and that the structural system will perform well in regions of high seismicity. In addition to the tests, numerical simulations were also conducted and the results showed good agreement with the test results. Thus, the numerical model is shown to be accurate and the beam element can be used to model this structural system.

Shaking table tests and dynamic analyses of masonry wall buildings with frame-shear walls at lower stories

This paper describes shaking table tests of three eight-story building models： all are masonry structures in the upper stories, with or without frame-shear walls of one- or two- stories at the bottom. The test results of damage characteristics and seismic responses are provided and compared. Then, nonlinear response analyses are conducted to examine the reliability of the dynamic analysis. Finally, many nonlinear response analyses are performed and it is concluded that for relatively hard sites under a certain lateral stiffness ratio （i.e., the ratio of the stiffness of the lowest upper masonry story to that of the frame- shear wall story）, the masonry structure with one-story frame-shear wall at the bottom performs better than a structure built entirely of masonry, and a masonry structure with frame-shear wall of two stories performs better than with one-story frame- shear wall. In relatively soft soil conditions, all three structures have similar performane. In addition, some suggestions that could be helpful for design of masonry structures with ground story of frame-shear wall structure in seismic intensity region VII, such as the appropriate lateral stiffness ratio, shear force increase factor of the frame-shear wall story, and permissible maximum height of the building, are proposed.

Investigation into dynamic response of regional sites to seismic waves using shaking table testing

This study addresses the changes in acceleration,pore water pressure and Fourier spectrums of different types of seismic waves with various amplitudes via large-scale shaking table tests from two sites:a sand-containing regional site and an all-clay site.Comparative analyses of the test results show that the pore water pressures in sand-soil layers of the regional site initially increase and then decrease as the amplitudes of the seismic accelerations increase.The actions of the vertical and vibrational seismic waves contribute to greater pore water pressures.The amplification coefficient of the sand-layer regional site becomes smaller as the seismic waves grow stronger,so that both sites are capable of filtering high frequencies and amplifying low frequencies of seismic waves.This is more apparent with the increase in the peak value of the acceleration,and the natural vibration frequencies of both sites decrease with the transmission of the seismic waves from the basement to the ground surface.The decreasing frequency value of the sand-containing regional site is smaller than that of the all-clay site.

Shaking table test of seismic responses of anchor cable and lattice beam reinforced slope

As a combined supporting structure,the anchor cable and lattice beam have a complex interaction with the slope body.In order to investigate the seismic behaviors of the slope reinforced by anchor cable and lattice beam,a largescale shaking table test was carried out on a slope model(geometric scale of 1:20)by applying recorded and artificial seismic waves with different amplitudes.The acceleration and displacement of the slope,the displacement of lattice beam and the axial force of anchor cable were obtained to study the interaction between the slope and the supporting structure.The test results show that:(1)the acceleration responses of the slope at different relative elevations display obvious nonlinear characteristics with increasing of the peak ground acceleration(PGA)of the inputted seismic waves,and the weak intercalated layer has a stronger effect on acceleration amplification at the upper part of the slope than that at the lower part of the slope;(2)the frequency component near the second dominant frequency is significantly magnified by the interaction between the slope and the supporting structure;(3)the anchor cables at the upper part of the slope have larger peak and residual axial forces than that at the lower part of the slope,and the prestress loss of the anchor cable first occurs at the top of the slope and then passes down;(4)the peak and residual displacements inside the slope and on the lattice beam increase with the increase of relative elevation.When the inputted PGA is not greater than 0.5 g,the combined effect of anchor cable and lattice beam is remarkable for stabilizing the middle and lower parts of the potential sliding body.The research results can provide a reference for the seismic design of such slope and the optimization of supporting structure.

Shaking table test and dynamic response prediction on an earthquake-damaged RC building

This paper presents the results from shaking table tests of a one-tenth-scale reinforced concrete (RC) building model.The test model is a protype of a building that was seriously damaged during the 1985 Mexico earthquake.The input ground excitation used during the test was from the records obtained near the site of the prototype building during the 1985 and 1995 Mexico earthquakes.The tests showed that the damage pattern of the test model agreed well with that of the prototype building.Analytical prediction of earthquake response has been conducted for the prototype building using a sophisticated 3-D frame model.The input motion used for the dynamic analysis was the shaking table test measurements with similarity transformation.The comparison of the analytical results and the shaking table test results indicates that the response of the RC building to minor and the moderate earthquakes can be predicated well.However,there is difference between the predication and the actual response to the major earthquake.

Shaking table comparative test and associated study of a stepped wall-frame structure

A new structural system called a stepped wall-frame structure is proposed in this study to solve the bottom yielding problem of RC frames, which widely occurred during previous earthquakes such as thc Wcnchuan and Yushu earthquakes in China. A 1/5 scale ordinary RC frame model and a stepped wall-frame model were subjected to shake table motions together to study the seismic behavior of the new structural system. This paper presents the dynamic characteristics, the seismic responses and the failure and collapse mechanism of the two models under low, moderate and high intensity shaking. The test results and further analysis demonstrate that the seismic performance of stepped wall-frame structures is superior to ordinary RC frames in terms of the well-controlled deformation pattern and more uniformly distributed damage. The stepped wall can effectively suppress the bottom yielding mechanism, and is simple, economical and practical tbr engineering practice.

Shaking table test for reinforcement of soil slope with multiple sliding surfaces by reinforced double-row anti-slide piles

Despite the continuous advancements of engineering construction in high-intensity areas,many engineering landslides are still manufactured with huge thrust force,and double-row piles are effective to control such large landslides.In this study,large shaking table test were performed to test and obtain multi-attribute seismic data such as feature image,acceleration,and dynamic soil pressure.Through the feature image processing analysis,the deformation characteristics for the slope reinforced by double-row piles were revealed.By analyzing the acceleration and the dynamic soil pressure time domain,the spatial dynamic response characteristics were revealed.Using Fast Fourier Transform and half-power bandwidth,the damping ratio of acceleration and dynamic soil pressure was obtained.Following that,the Seism Signal was used to calculate the spectral displacement of the accelerations to obtain the regional differences of spectral displacement.The results showed that the overall deformation mechanism of the slope originates from tension failure in the soil mass.The platform at the back of the slope was caused by seismic subsidence,and the peak acceleration ratio was positively correlated with the relative pile heights.The dynamic soil pressure of the front row piles showed an inverted"K"-shaped distribution,but that of the back row piles showed an"S"-shaped distribution.The predominant frequency of acceleration was 2.16 Hz,and the main frequency band was 0.7-6.87 Hz;for dynamic soil pressure,the two parameters became 1.15 Hz and 0.5-6.59 Hz,respectively.In conclusion,dynamic soil pressure was more sensitive to dampening effects than acceleration.Besides,compared to acceleration,dynamic soil pressure exhibited larger loss factors and lower resonance peaks.Finally,back row pile heads were highly sensitive to spectral displacement compared to front row pile heads.These findings may be of reference value for future seismic designs of double-row piles.

Shake table testing of a multi-tower connected hybrid structure

Many single-tower reinforced concrete core wall-steel frame （RCC-SF） buildings have been built in China, but there are no buildings of different-height multi-tower hybrid system. A multi-tower RCC-SF tall building was thus studied because of its structural complexity and irregularity. First, a 1/15 scaled model structure was designed and tested on the shake table under minor, moderate, and major earthquake levels. Then, the dynamic responses of the model structure were interpreted to those of the prototype structure according to the similitude theory. Experimental results demonstrate that, despite the complexity of the structure, the lateral deformation bends as the ＂bending type＂ and the RC core walls contribute more than the steel frames to resist seismic loads. The maximum inter-story drift of the complex building under minor earthquakes is slightly beyond the elastic limitation specified in the Chinese code, and meets code requirements under major earthquakes. From the test results some suggestions are provided that could contribute favorable effect on the seismic behavior and the displacement of the building.

Shaking Table Tests of Four-Bucket Jacket Foundation for Offshore Wind Turbines

As the offshore wind turbine foundation,the four-bucket jacket foundation has a large stiffness and the structure is difficult to be damaged under seismic load.Nevertheless,the saturated subsoil of the four-bucket jacket foundation tends to be liquefied under earthquake,which greatly affects the safety of offshore wind turbine.Therefore,the seismic performance of four-bucket jacket foundation is mainly reflected in the anti-liquefaction capacity of foundation soil.In this paper,the liquefaction resistance of sandy soil of four-bucket jacket foundation for offshore wind turbine is studied.The liquefaction and dynamic response of sandy soil foundation of four-bucket jacket foundation under seismic load are obtained by carrying out the shaking table test,and the influence mechanism of four-bucket jacket foundation on the liquefaction resistance of sandy soil foundation is analyzed.

Shaking Table Model Test of Isolated Structure on Soft Site and Analysis on Its Isolation Efficiency

Adopting a soft site model built on soft interlayer soil foundation,a shaking table test for soft interlayer soil-isolated structure interaction is conducted to investigate the seismic response of isolated structure on soft site,and analyze its isolation effect.Test results show that the test can reflect the earthquake response characteristics of isolated structure on soft site.It is on soft site that the dynamic characteristics of isolated structure,acceleration magnification factor(AMF)of isolated structure and isolation efficiency of the isolation layer differ from those on rigid foundation with an soil-structure interaction(SSI)effect,represented by the reduction in fundamental vibration frequency of isolated structure and the increase of damping ratio with changes of the SSI effect.SSI can either increase or decrease AMF of isolated structure on soft site,depending on the characteristics of earthquake motion input.Furthermore,the isolation efficiency of isolation layer on soft site is decreased with the SSI effect,which is related to the peak ground acceleration(PGA)and the characteristics of earthquake motion input.

Shaking table test and numerical simulation on the effect of reinforcement on the seismic safety of dam slopes

The seismic safety of the reinforcement dam slope is studied through shaking table test and numerical simulation.The dynamic characteristics of dam slopes,failure mechanism,seismic stability,as well as the effect of reinforcement during earthquakes are discussed.An elasto-plastic analysis method (FLAC) is used to simulate the dynamic failure process of the reinforcement dam slope.The change law of permanent displacement of dam slope is studied.The effect of the length and the space of reinforcement on the depth of slip surface and the slope stability are investigated.Good agreement is obtained between the numerical results and those from shaking table tests.The results show that the dynamic failure is a gradual process not at a particular time.With the increase of the reinforcement length or the decreasing reinforcement spacing,the slip surface becomes deeper and thus the slope stability is improved.The reinforcement can obviously enhance the overall stability of slope dam.It can also effectively control the shallow sliding of slope.These researches provide basic data for reinforcement measures design of earth-rockfill dam.

Shaking table test of subgrade slope reinforced by gravity retaining wall with geogrids

Gravity retaining wall with geogrids has showed excellent seismic performance from Wenchuan great earthquake.However,seismic damage mechanism of this kind of wall is not sufficiently clear.In view of this,a large shaking table test of the gravity retaining wall with geogrids to reinforce the subgrade slope was carried out,and based on the HilbertHuang transform and the marginal spectrum theory,the energy identification method of the slope dynamic failure mode was studied.The results show that the geogrids can effectively reduce displacement and rotation of the retaining wall,and it can effectively absorb the energy of the ground movement when combined with the surrounding soil.In addition,it also reveals the failure development of the gravity retaining wall with geogrids to reinforce the subgrade slope.The damage started in the deep zone near the geogrids,and then gradually extended to the surface of the subgrade slope and other zones,finally formed a continuous failure surface along the geogrids.The analysis results of the failure mode identified by the Hilbert marginal spectrum are in good consistency with the experimental results,which prove that the Hilbert marginal spectrum can be applied to obtain the seismic damage mechanism of slope.

Study on soil-pile-structure-TMD interaction system by shaking table model test

The success of the tuned mass damper (TMD) in reducing wind-induced structural vibrations has been well established. However, from most of the recent numerical studies, it appears that for a structure situated on very soft soil, soil-structure interaction (SSI) could render a damper on the structure totally ineffective. In order to experimentally verify the SSI effect on the seismic performance of TMD, a series of shaking table model tests have been conducted and the results are presented in this paper. It has been shown that the TMD is not as effective in controlling the seismic responses of structures built on soft soil sites due to the SSI effect. Some test results also show that a TMD device might have a negative impact if the SSI effect is neglected and the structure is built on a soft soil site. For structures constructed on a soil foundation, this research verifies that the SSI effect must be carefully understood before a TMD control system is designed to determine if the control is necessary and if the SSI effect must be considered when choosing the optimal parameters of the TMD device.