A modified domain reduction method for numerical simulation of wave propagation in localized regions

A modified domain reduction method(MDRM) that introduces damping terms to the original DRM is presented in this paper. To verify the proposed MDRM and compare the computational accuracy of these two methods, a numerical test is designed. The numerical results of the MDRM and DRM are compared using an extended meshed model. The results show that the MDRM significantly improved the computational accuracy of the DRM. Then, the MDRM is compared with two existing conventional methods, namely Liao's transmitting boundary and viscous-spring boundary with Liu's method. The MDRM shows its great advancement in computational accuracy, stability and range of applications. This paper also discusses the influence of boundary location on computational accuracy. It can be concluded that smaller models tend to have larger errors. By introducing two dimensionless parameters, φ_1 and φ_2, the rational distance between the observation point and the MDRM boundary is suggested. When φ_1 >2 or φ_2>13, the relative PGA error can be limited to 5%. In practice, the appropriate model size can be chosen based on these two parameters to achieve desired computational accuracy.

Equation governing the probability density evolution of multi-dimensional linear fractional differential systems subject to Gaussian white noise

Stochastic fractional differential systems are important and useful in the mathematics,physics,and engineering fields.However,the determination of their probabilistic responses is difficult due to their non-Markovian property.The recently developed globally-evolving-based generalized density evolution equation(GE-GDEE),which is a unified partial differential equation(PDE)governing the transient probability density function(PDF)of a generic path-continuous process,including non-Markovian ones,provides a feasible tool to solve this problem.In the paper,the GE-GDEE for multi-dimensional linear fractional differential systems subject to Gaussian white noise is established.In particular,it is proved that in the GE-GDEE corresponding to the state-quantities of interest,the intrinsic drift coefficient is a time-varying linear function,and can be analytically determined.In this sense,an alternative low-dimensional equivalent linear integer-order differential system with exact closed-form coefficients for the original highdimensional linear fractional differential system can be constructed such that their transient PDFs are identical.Specifically,for a multi-dimensional linear fractional differential system,if only one or two quantities are of interest,GE-GDEE is only in one or two dimensions,and the surrogate system would be a one-or two-dimensional linear integer-order system.Several examples are studied to assess the merit of the proposed method.Though presently the closed-form intrinsic drift coefficient is only available for linear stochastic fractional differential systems,the findings in the present paper provide a remarkable demonstration on the existence and eligibility of GE-GDEE for the case that the original high-dimensional system itself is non-Markovian,and provide insights for the physical-mechanism-informed determination of intrinsic drift and diffusion coefficients of GE-GDEE of more generic complex nonlinear systems.

State-of-the-Art Technology in the Construction of Sea-Crossing Fixed Links with a Bridge, Island, and Tunnel Combination

In general, two kinds of structures are used to provide a way across a river, canal, sea, or other obstacle: bridge structures that pass over the obstacle, and tunnel structures that pass below the obstacle. Although the construction of both bridges and tunnels can be traced back over thousands of years, bridge–tunnel combinations that use an island as a sea-crossing fixed link (SCFL) have only been built over the past 82 years. The first such combination was probably the 6.4 km long San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in the United States, which was completed in 1936. The most recently constructed SCFL combining a bridge, tunnel, and island is the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao (HZM) Bridge, which opened for traffic on October 24, 2018 with the longest SCFL combination in the world, at a total length of 29.6 km.

Application of 1D/3D finite elements coupling for structural nonlinear analysis

An element coupling model (ECM) method was proposed to simulate the global behavior and local damage of a structure.In order to reflect the local damage and improve the computational efficiency,three-dimensional (3D) solid elements and one-dimensional (1D) beam element were coupled by the multi-point constraint equations.A reduced scale 1?8 model test was simulated by the ECM and a full three dimensional model (3DM) contrastively.The results show that the global behavior and local damages of ECM agree well with the test and 3DM.It is indicated that the proposed method can be used in the structural nonlinear analysis accurately and efficiently.

Evolution of distribution and content of water in cement paste by low field nuclear magnetic resonance

The low field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), as a nondestructive and noninvasive technique, was employed to investigate the water distribution and content in cement paste with different water-to-cement ratio (w/c ratio) during early and later hydration stages. From the water distribution spectrum deduced from relaxation time distribution in paste, it is suggested that the water fills in the capillary pores at initial period, and then diffuses to the mesopores and gel pores in hydration products with the hydration proceeding. The decrease of peak area in water distribution spectrum reflects the transformation from physically bound water to chemically bound water. In addition, based on the connection between relaxation time and pore size, the relative content changes of water in various states and constrained in different types of pores were also measured. The results demonstrate that it is influenced by the formation of pore system and the original water-to-cement ratio in the paste. Consequently, the relative content of capillary water is dropped to less than 2% in the paste with low w/c ratio of 0.3 when being hydrated for 1 d, while the contents are still 16% and 36% in the pastes with w/c ratios of 0.4 and 0.5, respectively.

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 testing of a self-centering precast reinforced concrete frame with shear walls

The seismic performance of a self-centering precast reinforced concrete （RC） frame with shear walls was investigated in this paper. The lateral force resistance was provided by self-centering precast RC shear walls （SPCW）, which utilize a combination ofunbonded prestressed post-tensioned （PT） tendons and mild steel reinforcing bars for flexural resistance across base joints. The structures concentrated deformations at the bottom joints and the unbonded PT tendons provided the self-centering restoring force. A 1/3-scale model of a five-story self-centering RC frame with shear walls was designed and tested on a shake-table under a series of bi-directional earthquake excitations with increasing intensity. The acceleration response, roof displacement, inter-story drifts, residual drifts, shear force ratios, hysteresis curves, and local behaviour of the test specimen were analysed and evaluated. The results demonstrated that seismic performance of the test specimen was satisfactory in the plane of the shear wall; however, the structure sustained inter-story drift levels up to 2.45%. Negligible residual drifts were recorded after all applied earthquake excitations. Based on the shake-table test results, it is feasible to apply and popularize a self-centering precast RC frame with shear walls as a structural system in seismic regions.

Study of the seismic performance of expansion double spherical seismic isolation bearings for continuous girder bridges

The development of an expansion double spherical seismic isolation (DSSI) bearing by modifying the fixed DSSI bearing is described in this paper. The expansion DSSI bearing is characterized by its good energy dissipation and horizontal displacement capacity and has been successfully integrated into the seismic design of several important engineering projects in China. It is envisioned to be used as a substitute for ordinary expansion bearings in continuous girder bridges to distribute the longitudinal earthquake action among all the piers. Its development, configuration and working mechanism are introduced first. The test method and the seismic performance of an expansion DSSI bearing are then briefly described. A theoretical analysis followed by a numerical analysis for an actual four-span continuous girder bridge are provided as an example, and it is concluded that the expansion DSSI bearing can be integrated into the seismic design of continuous girder bridges.

Responses of wind-induced internal pressure in a two-compartment building with a dominant opening and background porosity Part 1:Theoretical formulation and experimental verification

The equations governing wind-induced internal pressure responses for a two-compartment building with a dominant opening and background porosity were derived.The unsteady form of the Bernoulli equation,the law of mass conservation,and adiabatic equation were used for the derivation.The precision of the governing equations was verified by a wind tunnel test on a rigid model of a low-rise building.The results show that the governing equations can effectively analyze the wind-induced internal pressure responses.The internal pressure responses in both compartments are suppressed due to the additional damping provided by background porosity.The responses of internal pressure in both compartments,especially in the compartment without an external opening,decrease with increased lumped leakage area.

Seismic performance of cable-sliding friction bearing system for isolated bridges

During past strong earthquakes, highway bridges have sustained severe damage or even collapse due to excessive displacements and/or very large lateral forces. For commonly used isolation bearings with a pure friction sliding surface, seismic forces may be reduced but displacements are often unconstrained. In this paper, an alternative seismic bearing system, called the cable-sliding friction bearing system, is developed by integrating seismic isolation devices with displacement restrainers consisting of cables attached to the upper and lower plates of the bearing. Restoring forces are provided to limit the displacements of the sliding component. Design parameters including the length and stiffness of the cables, friction coefficient, strength of the shear bolt in a fixed-type bearing, and movements under earthquake excitations are discussed. Laboratory testing of a prototype bearing subjected to vertical loads and quasi-static cyclic lateral loads, and corresponding numerical finite element simulation analysis, were carried out. It is shown that the numerical simulation shows good agreement with the experimental force-displacement hysteretic response, indicating the viability of the new bearing system. In addition, practical application of this bearing system to a multi-span bridge in China and its design advantages are discussed.

Accuracy of three-dimensional seismic ground response analysis in time domain using nonlinear numerical simulations

To provide appropriate uses of nonlinear ground response analysis for engineering practice, a three-dimensional soil column with a distributed mass system and a time domain numerical analysis were implemented on the Open Sees simulation platform. The standard mesh of a three-dimensional soil column was suggested to be satisfied with the specified maximum frequency. The layered soil column was divided into multiple sub-soils with a different viscous damping matrix according to the shear velocities as the soil properties were significantly different. It was necessary to use a combination of other one-dimensional or three-dimensional nonlinear seismic ground analysis programs to confirm the applicability of nonlinear seismic ground motion response analysis procedures in soft soil or for strong earthquakes. The accuracy of the three-dimensional soil column finite element method was verified by dynamic centrifuge model testing under different peak accelerations of the earthquake. As a result, nonlinear seismic ground motion response analysis procedures were improved in this study. The accuracy and efficiency of the three-dimensional seismic ground response analysis can be adapted to the requirements of engineering practice.

Dynamic response characteristics of super high-rise buildings subjected to long-period ground motions

Spectrum characteristics of different types of seismic waves and dynamic response characteristics of super high-rise building structures under long-period ground motions were comparatively analyzed. First, the ground response wave (named LS-R wave) of a soft soil site with deep deposit, taking long-period bedrock seismic record as input, was calculated by wave propagation method. After that, a TOMAKOMAI station long-period seismic record from the Tokachi-Oki earthquake and conventional El-Centro wave were also chosen. Spectrum characteristics of these waves were analyzed and compared. Then, a series of shaking table tests were performed on a 1:50 scale super high-rise structural model under these seismic waves. Furthermore, numerical simulation of the prototype structure under these excitations was conducted, and structure damages under different intensive ground motions were discussed. The results show that: 1) Spectrum characteristics of ground response wave are significantly influenced by soft soil site with deep deposit, and the predominant period has an increasing trend. 2) The maximum acceleration amplification factor of the structure under the TOM wave is two times that under the El-Centro wave; while the maximum displacement response of the structure under the TOM wave is 4.4 times that under the El-Centro wave. Long-period ground motions show greater influences on displacement responses than acceleration responses for super high-rise building structures. 3) Most inelastic damage occurs at the upper 1/3 part of the super high-rise building when subjected to long-period ground motions.

Research on wind-induced responses of a large-scale membrane structure

The wind-induced responses of a large-scale membrane structure, Expo Boulevard, are evaluated in this study. To obtain the wind pressure distribution on the roof surface, a wind tunnel test is performed. A brief analysis of wind pressure on the membrane roof is conducted first and then an analysis of the wind-induced responses of the structure is carried out using a numerical integral method in the time domain. In the process of calculation, the geometrical nonlinearity is taken into account. Results indicate that mean, RSM and peak values of the structure responses increase nonlinearly while the approaching flow velocity increases. Strong nonlinear characteristics are observed in the displacement responses, whereas the responses of nodal stress and cable axial force show minimal nonlinear properties when the membrane structure is subjected to wind loads. Different values of the damping ratio only have a minimal impact on the RSM response of the structure because the background component is a dominant part of the total dynamic response and the resonant component is too small. As the damping ratio increases from 0.02 to 0.05, the RMS responses of vertical displacement, nodal stress and cable axial force decrease by 8.1%, 6.7% and 17.9%, respectively. Since the mean component plays a significant role in the wind-induced response, the values of the gust response factor are not high for Expo Boulevard.

Experimental study of wind loads on cylindrical reticulated shells

The cylindrical reticulated shell structures without side walls, which are normally arranged in pairs, are usually used as dry-coal sheds in a thermal power plant. The wind loads of these shells do not exist in standards or codes. Therefore, this study investigates the mean and fluctuating wind loads on a cylindrical reticulated shell with a rise-to-span ratio of 0.39 through a series of wind tunnel tests. The characteristics of the wind pressures on the upper and lower surfaces and the net pressures are presented. The results show that the wind direction and another shell structure significantly affect the wind loads on the principal shell. The most unfavorable wind direction is around 30~, whereas the effects of the wind field and the height of the coal stack are small. The surfaces of the shells are divided into nine blocks, and the block mean and fluctuating （rms） pressure coefficients suitable for engineering applications are given as references for wind load codes.

Orthogonal expansion of ground motion and PDEM-based seismic response analysis of nonlinear structures

This paper introduces an orthogonal expansion method for general stochastic processes. In the method, a normalized orthogonal function of time variable t is first introduced to carry out the decomposition of a stochastic process and then a correlated matrix decomposition technique, which transforms a correlated random vector into a vector of standard uncorrelated random variables, is used to complete a double orthogonal decomposition of the stochastic processes. Considering the relationship between the Hartley transform and Fourier transform of a real-valued function, it is suggested that the first orthogonal expansion in the above process is carried out using the Hartley basis function instead of the trigonometric basis function in practical applications. The seismic ground motion is investigated using the above method. In order to capture the main probabilistic characteristics of the seismic ground motion, it is proposed to directly carry out the orthogonal expansion of the seismic displacements. The case study shows that the proposed method is feasible to represent the seismic ground motion with only a few random variables. In the second part of the paper, the probability density evolution method （PDEM） is employed to study the stochastic response of nonlinear structures subjected to earthquake excitations. In the PDEM, a completely uncoupled one-dimensional partial differential equation, the generalized density evolution equation, plays a central role in governing the stochastic seismic responses of the nonlinear structure. The solution to this equation will yield the instantaneous probability density function of the responses. Computational algorithms to solve the probability density evolution equation are described. An example, which deals with a nonlinear frame structure subjected to stochastic ground motions, is illustrated to validate the above approach.

Consolidation and Creep Behaviors of Two Typical Marine Clays in China

This paper presents an experimental investigation into the deformation characteristics of two typical marine clays obtained from Dalian and Shanghai, respectively, in China. Three kinds of laboratory tests, i.e. conventional oedometer tests, one-dimensional and triaxial creep tests were carried out. The results obtained from consolidation tests demonstrate linear e?logσv relationships for Shanghai clay at normally consolidated state, while partly or even global non-linear relationships for Dalian clay. The compression index Cc for both clays follows the correlation of Cc = 0.009(wL ?10) where wL is the liquid limit of soil. The relationship between logkv (kv is the hydraulic conductivity of soil) and void ratio e is generally linear and the hydraulic conductivity change index Ckv can be described by their initial void ratio for both clays. The secondary compressibility of Dalian clay lies in medium to high range and is higher than that of Shanghai clay which lies in the range of low to medium. Furthermore, based on drained triaxial creep tests, the stress-strain-time relationships following Mesri’s creep equation have been developed for Dalian and Shanghai clays which can predict the long-term deformation of both clays reasonably well.

Recent progress of seismic research on tall buildings in China Mainland

As a result of rapid economic growth and urbanization in the past two decades,many tall buildings have been constructed in China Mainland,offering researchers and practitioners an excellent opportunity for research and practice in the field of structural engineering. This paper reviews progress by researchers throughout China Mainland on the seismic research of tall buildings,focusing on three major topics that impact the seismic performance of tall buildings. These are:(1) new types of steel-concrete composite structural members such as steel-concrete composite shear walls and columns,(2) earthquake resilient shear wall structures such as shear walls with replaceable structural components,self-centering shear walls and rocking walls,and(3) performance-based seismic design,including seismic performance index,performance level and design method. The paper concludes by presenting future research needs and directions in this field.

Serviceability evaluation of water supply networks under seismic loads utilizing their operational physical mechanism

The serviceability of water supply networks(WSNs)under seismic loads has significant importance for estimating the probable losses and the impact of diminished functionality on affected communities.The innovation presented in this paper is suggesting a new strategy to evaluate the seismic serviceability of WSNs,utilizing their operational physical mechanism.On one hand,this method can obtain the seismic serviceability of each node as well as entire WSNs.On the other hand,this method can dynamically reflect the propagation of randomness from ground motions to WSNs.First,a finite element model is established to capture the seismic response of buried pipe networks,and a leakage model is suggested to obtain the leakage area of WSNs.Second,the transient flow analysis of WSNs with or without leakage is derived to obtain dynamic water flow and pressure.Third,the seismic serviceability of WSNs is analyzed based on the probability density evolution method(PDEM).Finally,the seismic serviceability of a real WSN in Mianzhu city is assessed to illustrate the method.The case study shows that randomness from the ground motions can obviously affect the leakage state and the probability density of the nodal head during earthquakes.

Responses of wind-induced internal pressure in a two-compartment building with a dominant opening and background porosity Part 2:Parameter analyses and design equations

Analyses of the effects of some parameters were performed to determine the admittance functions in a common two-compartment building with background porosity by the imposed excitation method.Variations of the magnification factors of fluctuating internal pressures were analyzed using 96 model cases under random fluctuating external pressure,and then corresponding design equations were fitted.The results show that the Helmholtz resonance peaks of the admittance functions in both compartments increase with increasing the area of windward or partition wall opening.With increasing the volume of the compartment with an external opening,the resonance peak in this compartment at the higher Helmholtz frequency significantly decreases,at the same time,the resonance peak in the other compartment at the lower Helmholtz frequency also decreases.With increasing the volume of the compartment with background porosity,both resonance peaks in this compartment at the lower and higher Helmholtz frequencies decrease,meanwhile,the resonance peak at the lower Helmholtz frequency for the other compartment also decreases,whereas the resonance peak at the higher Helmholtz frequency increases.Both resonance peaks of the admittance functions in the two compartments decrease with increasing the amplitude of fluctuating external pressure coefficients or reference wind speed.