INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
Year:2017 | Volume:9 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

The need to improve the seismic performance of buildings has brought about innovative systems such as rocking wall-moment frame (RWMF) combinations. The behavior of RWMFs can best be visualized by the moment frame (MF) restraining the wall in place, and the rigid rocking wall (RRW) providing additional damping and imposing uniform drift along the height of the frame. A novel method of analysis followed by the development of a new lateral resisting system is introduced. The proposed concepts lead to an efficient structural configuration with provisions for self-centering, reparability, performance control, damage tolerance and collapse prevention. Exact, unique, closed form formulae have been provided to assess the collapse prevention and self-centering capabilities of the system. The objective is to provide an informative account of RWMF behavior for preliminary design as well as educational purposes. All formulae have been verified by independent computer analysis. Parametric examples have been provided to verify the validity of the proposed solutions.

A theoretical study has been carried out on sandwich beams strengthened mechanically by two external steel plates attached to their tension and compression sides with so-called ‘‘shear connectors ‘‘. This study is based on the individual behaviour of each component of the composite sandwich section (i.e. reinforced concrete beam and upper steel plate and lower steel plate). The approach has been developed to simulate the behaviour of such beams, and is based on neglecting the separation between the three layers; i.e., the deflections are equal in each element through the same section. The differential equations reached were solved analytically. Deflection was calculated by using the approach for several beams, tested in two series, and close agreements were obtained with the experimental values. Furthermore, the interaction efficiency between the three elements in a composite sandwich beam has been considered thoroughly, from which the effect of some parameters, such as plate length upon the behaviour of such beams, were studied.

A reliability-based method was developed for predicting the initiation time and the probability of flexural failure for continuous slab bridges with load-induced cracks exposed to chloride environment resulting from deicing salts. A practical methodology was used for predicting the diffusion coefficient of chloride ingress into the pre-existing load-induced cracks in concrete. The reduction in the cross-sectional area of the reinforcement due to corrosion was included in the model. The proposed methodology accounts for uncertainties in the strength demand, structural capacity, and corrosion models, as well as uncertainties in environmental conditions, material properties, and structural geometry. All probabilistic data on uncertainties were estimated from the information contained in previous experimental and statistical studies.As an application of the proposed model, a three-span continuous slab bridge in Ohio is presented for demonstration of the developed methodology. A comparison of results clearly shows the importance of considering the effects of the load-induced cracks for correct prediction of the initiation of corrosion time and the critical time to maintain structural integrity.

In the last decades, the concept of earthquake resilient structural systems is becoming popular in which the rocking structure is considered as a viable option for buildings in regions of high seismicity. To this end, a novel wall-base connection based on the ‘‘repairable structure’’ approach is proposed and evaluated. The proposed system is made of several steel plates and high strength bolts act as a friction connection. To achieve the desired rocking motion in the proposed system, short-slotted holes are used in vertical directions for connecting the steel plates to the shear wall (SW). The experimental and numerical studies were performed using a series of displacement control quasi-static cyclic tests on a reference model and four different configurations of the proposed connection installed at the wall corners. The seismic response of the proposed system is compared to the conventional SW in terms of energy dissipation and damage accumulation. In terms of energy dissipation, the proposed system depicted better performance with 95% more energy dissipation capability compared to conventional SW. In terms of damage accumulation, the proposed SW system is nearly undamaged compared to the conventional wall system, which was severely damaged at the wall-base region. Overall, the introduced concept presents a feasible solution for R/C structures when a low-damage design is targeted, which can improve the seismic performance of the structural system significantly.

The present paper deals with the evaluation of the seismic vulnerability of slender historical buildings; these structures, in fact, may manifest a high risk with respect to seismic actions as usually they have been designed to resist to gravitational loads only, and are characterized by a high flexibility. To evaluate this behavior, the bell tower of the Trani’s Cathedral is investigated.The tower is 57 m tall and is characterized by an unusual building typology, i.e., the walls are composed of a concrete core coupled with external masonry stones. The dynamic parameters and the mechanical properties of the tower have been evaluated on the basis of an extensive experimental campaign that made use of ambient vibration tests and ground penetrating radar tests. Such data have been utilized to calibrate a numerical model of the examined tower. A linear static analysis, a dynamic analysis and a nonlinear static analysis have been carried out on such model to evaluate the displacement capacity of the tower and the seismic risk assessment in accordance with the Italian guidelines.

The performance and effectiveness of the liquid column vibration absorber (LCVA) in controlling the vibration of structures have been investigated in this paper. To evaluate the performance of LCVA system in mitigating the structural response under dynamic loading (i.e.harmonic excitation), a set of experiments are conducted on a scaled model of steel structure-LCVA system. LCVA have non-uniform cross-sectional dimensions of the horizontal and vertical columns whereas Tuned Liquid Column Damper (TLCD) carries same cross-sectional dimensions. For conducting a comparative study, same experiments were performed for TLCD also. Several excitation frequency ratios (0.5–2.0) and various mass ratios (5–7.5%) are considered in this study. The parameter, tuning ratio considered for all of the experiments is 1.0. The effectiveness of the LCVA and TLCD is measured based on the response reduction of the structure. From the experimental results, it is observed that LCVA has better performance in controlling the structural response.

Reinforced concrete (RC) type of buildings constitutes an important part of the current building stock in earthquake prone countries such as Albania. Seismic response of structures during a severe earthquake plays a vital role in the extent of structural damage and resulting injuries and losses. In this context, this study evaluates the expected performance of a five-story RC healthcare facility, representative of common practice in Albania, designed according to older codes. The design was based on the code requirements used in this region during the mid-1980s. Non-linear static and dynamic time history analyses were conducted on the structural model using the Zeus NL computer program. The dynamic time history analysis was conducted with a set of ground motions from real earthquakes. The building responses were estimated in global levels. FEMA 356 criteria were used to predict the seismic performance of the building. The structural response measures such as capacity curve and inter-story drift under the set of ground motions and pushover analyses results were compared and detailed seismic performance assessment was done. The main aim of this study is considering the application and methodology for the earthquake performance assessment of existing buildings. The seismic performance of the structural model varied significantly under different ground motions. Results indicate that case study building exhibit inadequate seismic performance under different seismic excitations. In addition, reasons for the poor performance of the building is discussed.

Grid shells supporting transparent or opaque panels are largely used to cover long-spanned spaces because of their lightness, the easy setup, and economy. This paper presents the results of experimental static and dynamic investigations carried out on a large-scale freeform grid shell mock-up, whose geometry descended from an innovative Voronoi polygonal pattern. Accompanying finite-element method (FEM) simulations followed. To these purposes, a four-step procedure was adopted: (1) a perfect FEM model was analyzed; (2) using the modal shapes scaled by measuring the mock-up, a deformed unloaded geometry was built, which took into account the defects caused by the assembly phase; (3) experimental static tests were executed by affixing weights to the mockup, and a simplified representative FEM model was calibrated, choosing the nodes stiffness and the material properties as parameters; and (4) modal identification was performed through operational modal analysis and impulsive tests, and then, a simplified FEM dynamical model was calibrated. Due to the high deformability of the mockup, only a symmetric load case configuration was adopted.