Study on the severest real ground motion for seismic design and analysis

How to select the adequate real strong earthquake ground motion for seismic analysis and design of structures is an essential problem in earthquake engineering research and practice. In the paper the concept of the severest design ground motion is proposed and a method is developed for comparing the severity of the recorded strong ground motions. By using this method the severest earthquake ground motions are selected out as seismic inputs to the structures to be designed from a database that consists of more than five thousand significant strong ground motion records collected over the world. The selected severest ground motions are very likely to be able to drive the structures to their critical response and thereby result in the highest damage potential. It is noted that for different structures with different predominant natural periods and at different sites where structures are located the severest design ground motions are usually different. Finally, two examples are illustrated to demonstrate the rationality of the concept and the reliability of the selected design motion.

Effects of site conditions on earthquake ground motion and their applications in seismic design in loess region

The Loess Plateau is an earthquake prone region of China, where the effects of loess deposit on ground motion were discovered during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake(Ms8.0) and the 2013 Minxian-Zhangxian earthquake(Ms6.6). The field investigations, observations, and analyses indicated that large number of casualties and tremendous economic losses were caused not only by collapse and damage of houses with poor seismic performance, landslides, but also amplification effects of site conditions, topography and thickness of loess deposit, on ground motion. In this paper, we chose Dazhai Village and Majiagou Village as the typical loess site affected by the two earthquakes for intensity evaluation, borehole exploration, temporary strong motion array, micro tremor survey, and numerical analysis. The aim is to explore the relations between amplification factors and site conditions in terms of topography and thickness of loess deposit. We also developed site amplification factors of ground motion for engineering design consideration at loess sites. The results showed that the amplification effects are more predominant with increase in thickness of loess deposit and slope height. The amplification mayincrease seismic intensity by 1 degree, PGA and predominant period by 2 times, respectively.

Study on the Relationship of Seismic Design Ground Motion at Different Fortification Levels in the Xinjiang Region

The seismic risk analysis results of 79 cities in Xinjiang are presented, and the bedrock peak ground accelerations under three seismic levels and their ratios are discussed. Then, the relationship between earthquake environments and the seismic risk analysis results of different exceeding probabilities are researched. The results show that minor and major earthquake motion parameters calculated from moderate earthquakes do not have a consistent probability and the ratio of bedrock peak accelerations under different exceedance probabilities are closely correlated with earthquake environments.

Dynamic-Response Analysis of the Branch System of a Utility Tunnel Subjected to Near-Fault and Far-Field Ground Motions in Different Input Mechanisms

There are few studies on the dynamic-response mechanism of near-fault and far-field ground motions for large underground structures,especially for the branch joint of a utility tunnel(UT)and its internal pipeline.Based on the theory of a 3D viscous-spring artificial boundary,this paper deduced the equivalent nodal force when a P wave and an SV wave were vertically incident at the same time and transformed the ground motion into an equivalent nodal force using a self-developed MATLAB program,which was applied to an ABAQUS finite element model.Based on near-fault and far-field groundmotions obtained fromtheNGA-WEST2 database,the dynamic responses of a utility tunnel and its internal pipeline in different inputmechanisms of near-fault and far-field groundmotions were compared according to bidirectional input and tridirectional input,respectively.Generally,the damage to the utility tunnel caused by the near-fault ground motion was stronger than that caused by the far-field ground motion,and the vertical ground motion of near-fault ground motion aggravated the damage to the utility tunnel.In addition,the joint dislocation of the upper and lower three-way joints of the pipeline in the branch systemunder the seismic action led to local stress concentrations.In general,the branch system of the utility tunnel had good seismic performance to resist the designed earthquake action and protect the internal pipeline fromdamage during the rare earthquake.

Vertical-to-horizontal response spectral ratio for offshore ground motions:Analysis and simplified design equation

In order to study the differences in vertical component between onshore and offshore motions,the vertical-to-horizontal peak ground acceleration ratio(V/H PGA ratio) and vertical-to-horizontal response spectral ratio(V/H) were investigated using the ground motion recordings from the K-NET network and the seafloor earthquake measuring system(SEMS).The results indicate that the vertical component of offshore motions is lower than that of onshore motions.The V/H PGA ratio of acceleration time histories at offshore stations is about 50%of the ratio at onshore stations.The V/H for offshore ground motions is lower than that for onshore motions,especially for periods less than 0.8 s.Furthermore,based on the results in statistical analysis for offshore recordings in the K-NET,the simplified V/H design equations for offshore motions in minor and moderate earthquakes are proposed for seismic analysis of offshore structures.

Determination of horizontal and vertical design spectra based on ground motion records at Lali tunnel, Iran

Most acceleration diagrams show high levels of unpredictability, as a result, it is the best to avoid using diagrams of earthquake acceleration spect~＇a, even if the diagrams recorded at the site in question. In order to design earthquake resistant structures, we, instead, suggest constructing a design spectrum using a set of spectra that have common characteristics to the recorded acceleration diagrams at a particular site and smoothing the associated data. In this study, we conducted a time history analysis and determined a design spectrum for the region near the Lali tunnel in Southwestern Iran. We selected 13 specific ground motion records from the rock site to construct the design spectrum. To process the data, we first applied a base-line correction and then calculated the signal-to-noise ratio （]~SN） for each record. Next, we calculated the Fourier amplitude spectra of the acceleration pertaining to the signal window （1）, and the Fourier amplitude spectra of the associated noise （2）. After dividing each spectra by the square root of the selected window interval, they were divided by each other （1 divided by 2）, in order to obtain the ~SN ratio （filtering was also applied）. In addition, all data were normalized to the peak ground acceleration （PGA）. Next, the normalized vertical and horizontal responses and mean response spectrum （50%） and the mean plus-one standard deviation （84%） were calculated for all the selected ground motion records at 5% damping. Finally, the mean design spectrum and the mean plus-one standard deviation were plotted for the spectrums. The equation of the mean and the above-mean design spectrum at the Lali tunnel site are also provided, along with our observed conclusions.

Study on Site Specific Design Earthquake Ground Motion of Nuclear Power Plants in China

The main technical backgrounds and requirements are introduced with regard to earthquake ground motion design parameters in several domestic and American standards,codes and guides involved in the seismic analysis and design activities of nuclear power plants in China.Based on the research results from site seismic safety evaluation of domestic nuclear power plant projects in the last years,characteristics and differences of site specific design spectra are analyzed in comparison with standard response spectra,and the suitability of standard response spectra for domestic nuclear power plant projects is discussed.

Study on strength reduction factors consid-ering the effect of classification of design earthquake

The strength reduction factors are not only the key factors in determining seismic action for force-based seismic design, but also the key parameters to derive the inelastic response spectra for performance-based seismic design. In this paper, with a high quality ground motion database that includes a reasonable-sized set of records from China, a statistical study on the strength reduction factors is conducted and a new expression of strength reduction factors involving classification of design earthquake, which is an important concept to determine design spectra in Chinese seismic design code, is proposed. The expression of strength reduction factors can reflect the ground motion characteristics of China to a certain extent and is particularly suitable for Chinese seismic design. Then, the influence effects of site condition, classification of design earthquake, period of vibration, ductility level, earthquake magnitude and distance to fault on strength reduction factors are investigated. It is concluded that the effect of site condition on the strength reduction factors cannot be neglected, especially for the short-period structures of higher ductility. The classification of design earthquake also has an important effect on strength reduction factors and it may be unsuitable to use the existing expressions of strength reduction factors to the design spectra of current Chinese seismic code. The earthquake magnitude has no practical effect on strength reduction factors and if the near-fault records with forward directivity effect are not taken into consideration, the effect of distance to fault on strength reduction factors can also be neglected.

Correlation study between ground motion intensity measure parameters and deformation demands for bilinear SDOF systems

The correlation between ground motion intensity measures （IM） and single-degree-of-freedom （SDOF） deformation demands is described in this study. Peak ground acceleration （APG）, peak ground velocity （VPG）, peak ground displacement （DPG）, spectral acceleration at the first-mode period of vibration [As（T1）] and ratio of VPG to APG are used as IM parameters, and the correlation is characterized by correlation coefficients p. The numerical results obtained by nonlinear dynamic analyses have shown good correlation between As（T1） or VPG and deformation demands. Furthermore, the effect of As（T1） and VPG as IM on the dispersion of the mean value of deformation demands is also investigated for SDOF systems with three different periods T=0.3 s, 1.0 s, 3.0 s respectively.

近场脉冲型地震作用下附加支撑双柱式摇摆桥墩的抗震性能研究

为了解决摇摆桥墩承载力和耗能能力不足的问题,该文提出一种附加人字形支撑的双柱式摇摆桥墩结构,支撑为纯耗能支撑或自复位耗能支撑,支撑通过连接装置安装在双柱式摇摆桥墩的盖梁和承台之间。为了研究新型附加人字形支撑双柱式摇摆桥墩的抗震性能,对其进行拟静力分析,将双柱式现浇桥墩和双柱式纯摇摆桥墩作为对比模型,研究附加纯耗能支撑和自复位耗能支撑双柱式摇摆桥墩的滞回性能;分别对这四种桥墩结构进行动力时程分析,探究这四种桥墩在近场对称脉冲、近场非对称脉冲和远场无脉冲地震动作用下的动力响应。研究结果表明:附加支撑的双柱式摇摆桥墩中的墩柱仍具有摇摆机制,可有效避免墩身出现塑性铰发生严重的损伤破坏,同时附加的支撑可以显著提高桥墩的承载能力和耗能能力,有效降低桥墩结构的位移响应,特别是自复位耗能支撑还可额外为桥墩提供自恢复力,有效提高结构的抗震性能。

远海岛礁与场地地震反应研究现状

本文从岛礁地质构造、岛礁地震反应数值模拟方法和岛礁场地效应等方面总结了海域岛礁地震反应的研究现状,对比并且分析了海域岛礁数值模拟方法中的流固耦合模拟方法、固体边界模拟方法和地震动输入方法;总结了现有海域岛礁地震反应的场地效应相关的研究成果。相关研究表明:海水对岛礁场地的放大系数有明显影响,岛礁表面砂层对水平向地震动加速度峰值放大显著,随着输入地震动峰值的增大,岛礁场地的PGA放大效应趋于减小;海域岛礁场地对中低频段的地震动反应较为显著,加速度峰值放大系数一般介于1.5到4.0之间。为满足岛礁工程的抗震设计,需要进一步解决岛礁工程合理地震动输入、岛礁场地地震反应规律与岛礁工程的设计地震动参数等关键科学问题。

拟合楼层反应谱的三向地震动时程生成方法研究

为获得满足规范要求的拟合楼层反应谱的三向地震动时程,采用六阶常微分方程的本征函数为基函数,分解并重构天然地震动时程;通过构建影响矩阵,迭代计算逐步调整本征函数的幅值系数,最终实现预设拟合精度;引入正交化方法保证三向地震动时程两两之间的统计独立性,并通过两组算例提供验证。研究结果表明,迭代所得时程反应谱与目标楼层反应谱的拟合精度较高,迭代过程中时程反应谱均匀一致地向目标谱逼近,迭代过程收敛,所得三向地震动时程均无零飘现象,满足规范要求。

与桥梁抗震规范设计反应谱一致的地震动合成

工程上在对结构进行动力响应分析时,大多是在实测强震数据库中筛选出与规范设计反应谱相一致的实测强震记录作为地震动输入依据,然而,实测强震记录数量有限,需要系统地处理才可投入工程应用,且在对大型工程结构进行动力反应分析时无法体现地震动的空间变异性,因此,本文以《公路桥梁抗震设计规范》(JTG/T 2231-01-2020)中的设计反应谱为例,详细梳理了地震动向量过程的本征正交分解方法(POD)和复相干函数模型,并将反应谱转化功率谱法和调幅功率谱迭代法相结合,基于降维模拟方法,在概率层面上高效地生成了与设计反应谱相一致且具有空间变异性和非平稳性的人工地震动向量过程。数值算例表明,根据目标反应谱转化为调幅功率谱后,再根据功率谱迭代法迭代一次生成的地震动样本与目标反应谱对应良好,同时,降维方法生成的地震动样本具有显著的非平稳性和空间变异性,且统计特征与目标值对应良好。可以认为,本文为桥梁结构在地震作用下的地震激励输入提供了新的途径。

Response spectra for nuclear structures on rock sites considering the near-fault directivity effect

Near-fault ground motions, potentially with large amplitude and typical velocity pulses, may significantly impact the performance of a wide range of structures. The current study is aimed at evaluating the safety implications of the near-fault effect on nuclear power plant facilities designed according to the Chinese code. To this end, a set of near- fault ground motions at rock sites with typical forward-directivity effect is examined with special emphasis on several key parameters and response spectra. Spectral comparison of the selected records with the Chinese and other code design spectra was conducted. The bi-normalized response spectra in terms of different comer periods are utilized to derive nuclear design spectra. It is concluded that nuclear design spectra on rock sites derived from typical rupture directivity records are significantly influenced both by the earthquake magnitude and the rupture distance. The nuclear design spectra specified in the code needs to be adjusted to reflect the near-fault directivity effect of large earthquakes.

Design spectra including effect of rupture directivity in near-fault region

In order to propose a seismic design spectrum that includes the effect of rupture directivity in the near-fault region, this study investigates the application of equivalent pulses to the parameter attenuation relationships developed for near-fault, forward-directivity motions. Near-fault ground motions are represented by equivalent pulses with different waveforms defined by a small number of parameters （peak acceleration, A, and velocity V; and pulse period, Tv）. Dimensionless ratios between these parameters （e.g., ATv/V, VTv/D） and response spectral shapes and amplitudes are examined for different pulses to gain insight on their dependence on basic pulse waveforms. Ratios of ATv/V, VTv/D, and the ratio of pulse period to the period for peak spectral velocity （Tv-p） are utilized to quantify the difference between rock and soil sites for near-fault forward-directivity ground motions. The ATv/Vratio of recorded near-fault motions is substantially larger for rock sites than that for soil sites, while Tvp/Tv ratios are smaller at rock sites than at soil sites. Furthermore, using simple pulses and available predictive relationships for the pulse parameters, a preliminary model for the design acceleration response spectra for the near-fault region that includes the dependence on magnitude, rupture distance, and local site conditions are developed.

Highway bridge seismic design:summary of FHWA/MCEER project on seismic vulnerability of new highway construction

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sponsored a large,multi-year project conducted by the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) titled'Seismic Vulnerability of New Highway Construction'(MCEER Project 112),which was completed in 1998.MCEER coordinated the work of many researchers,who performed studies on the seismic design and vulnerability analysis of highway bridges,tunnels,and retaining structures. Extensive research was conducted to provide revisions and improvements to current design and detailing approaches and national design specifications for highway bridges.The program included both analytical and experimental studies,and addressed seismic hazard exposure and ground motion input for the U.S.highway system;foundation design and soil behavior: structural importance,analysis,and response:structural design issues and details;and structural design criteria.

Acomparative study between China and U.S.on seismic design philosophy and practice of a long span arch bridge

This paper presents the first of a series of case studies on the seismic design of long span bridges （cable-stayed bridges, suspension bridges and arch bridges） under a cooperative research project on seismic behavior and design of highway bridges between the State Key Laboratory for Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, Tongji University and the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, University at Buffalo. The objective of this series of case studies is to examine the differences and similarities on the seismic design practice of long span bridges in China and the U.S., to identify research needs and to develop design guidelines beneficial to bridge engineers in both countries. Unlike short to medium span bridges, long span bridges are not included in most seismic design specifications, mainly because they are location dependent and structurally unique. In this paper, an available model of a steel tied half through arch bridge with a main span of 550m in China is discussed. Analysis is focused on comparisons of the seismic responses due to different ground motions. Seismic design criteria and seismic performance requirements for long span bridges in both countries were first introduced and compared, and then three near field earthquake records with large vertical components were selected as the excitations to examine the seismic behavior and seismic vulnerability of the bridge. Results show that （1） the selected near field ground motions cause larger responses to key components （critical sections） of the bridge （such as arch rib ends） with a maximum increase of more than twice those caused by the site specific ground motions; （2） piers, longitudinal girders and arch crowns are more vulnerable to vertical motions, especially their axial forces; and （3） large vertical components of near field ground motions may not significantly affect the bridge＇s internal forces provided that their peak acceleration spectra ordinates only appear at periods of less than 0.2s. However, they may have more influence on the longitudinal displacements of sliding bearings due to their large displacement spectra ordinates at the fundamental period of the bridge.

An alternative construction of normalized seismic design spectra for near-fault regions

This paper presents a methodology for constructing seismic design spectra in near-fault regions. By analyzing the characteristics of near-fault pulse-type ground motions, an equivalent pulse model is proposed, which can well represent the characteristics of the near-fault forward-directivity and fling-step pulse-type ground motions. The normalized horizontal seismic design spectra for near-fault regions are presented using recorded near-fault pulse-type ground motions and equivalent pulse-type ground motions, which are derived based on the equivalent pulse model coupled with ground motion parameter attenuation relations. The normalized vertical seismic design spectra for near-fault regions are obtained by scaling the corresponding horizontal spectra with the vertical-to-horizontal acceleration spectral ratios of near-fault pulse-type ground motions. The proposed seismic design spectra appear to have relatively small dispersion in a statistical sense. The seismic design spectra for both horizontal and vertical directions can provide alternative spectral shapes for seismic design codes.