Free vibration of asymmetric shear wall-frame buildings

The Galerkin method of weighted residuals is used to determine the frequencies and associated mode shapes of asymmetric shear wall-frame structures. The governing equations are formulated using the continuum approach by idealizing the structure as a shear-flexure beam. Varying properties along the height of the building are considered. The effect of translational, rocking and torsional flexibilities of the foundation on the natural frequencies is also investigated. The method presented herein utilizes polynomial and transcendental displacement functions, and is found to be simple, versatile and efficient.     

Non-linear models for simulating the dynamic damaging process of low-rise reinforced concrete buildings during severe earthquakes

This paper is a study of idealizing a planar reinforced concrete frame as a non-linear dynamic system for the purpose of simulating its inelastic behaviour during severe earthquakes. After having estimated the restoring force characteristics of all constituent members by experimental means (represented, for example, by a group of empirical equations), it is possible to estimate the non-linear characteristics of the complete structure and to trace the damaging process for each constituent member under a given ground motion disturbance. However, this technique, which is directly based on member-level properties, generally requires rather laborious computational procedures; for practical reasons it is necessary to develop a simplified model, reducing the required calculation without losing the substance of the mechanical phenomena. Thus the reliability of simplification by conventional shear modelling is examined in direct comparison with the response results from rigorous modelling. It is concluded that the shear modelling generally yields an inadequate and, in many cases, erroneous result. The primary cause leading to this discrepancy is identified and, based on this discussion, a more appropriate modelling as simple as conventional shear modelling is proposed.     

Simulation of spatially varying ground motions including incoherence,wave‐passage and differential site‐response effects

A method is presented for simulating arrays of spatially varying ground motions, incorporating the effects of incoherence, wave passage, and differential site response. Non‐stationarity is accounted for by considering the motions as consisting of stationary segments. Two approaches are developed. In the first, simulated motions are consistent with the power spectral densities of a segmented recorded motion and are characterized by uniform variability at all locations. Uniform variability in the array of ground motions is essential when synthetic motions are used for statistical analysis of the response of multiply‐supported structures. In the second approach, simulated motions are conditioned on the segmented record itself and exhibit increasing variance with distance from the site of the observation. For both approaches, example simulated motions are presented for an existing bridge model employing two alternatives for modeling the local soil response: i) idealizing each soil‐column as a single‐degree‐of‐freedom oscillator, and ii) employing the theory of vertical wave propagation in a single soil layer over bedrock. The selection of parameters in the simulation procedure and their effects on the characteristics of the generated motions are discussed. The method is validated by comparing statistical characteristics of the synthetic motions with target theoretical models. Response spectra of the simulated motions at each support are also examined. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Response spectrum analysis for floor acceleration

The peak floor acceleration (PFA) is a critical parameter influencing the performance of non‐structural elements in buildings. This paper develops a response spectrum analysis method based on the complete quadratic combination (CQC) rule to estimate the PFA. The method accounts for the rigid contribution of truncated higher modes and the cross‐correlations between all pairs of modes. The approximation is introduced in the time domain and then formulated in the frequency domain by CQC. Application of the method to a continuous cantilever beam idealizing a building with shear walls is presented and compared with alternative formulations. The proposed method is able to provide a consistent estimation of the PFA along the entire structure, not only where the PFA is principally influenced by the first few flexible modes but also where the PFA is mainly related to the rigid response of the structure, for example, near its base. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic design of yielding structures on flexible foundations

This paper introduces a simple method to consider the effects of inertial soil–structure interaction (SSI) on the seismic demands of a yielding single‐degree‐of‐freedom structure. This involves idealizing the yielding soil–structure system as an effective substitute oscillator having a modified period, damping ratio, and ductility. A parametric study is conducted to obtain the ratio between the displacement ductility demand of a flexible‐base system and that of the corresponding fixed‐base system. It is shown that while additional foundation damping can reduce the overall response, the effects of SSI may also increase the ductility demand of some structures, mostly being ductile and having large structural aspect ratio, up to 15%. Finally, a design procedure is provided for incorporation of the SSI effects on structural response. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Generalized cyclic p–y curve modeling for analysis of laterally loaded piles

Owing to their simplicity and reasonable accuracy, Beam on Nonlinear Winkler Foundation (BNWF) models are widely used for the analysis of laterally loaded piles. Their main drawback is idealizing the soil continuum with discrete uncoupled springs representing the soil reactions to pile movement. Static p–y curves, obtained from limited full-scaled field tests, are generally used as a backbone curve of the model. However, these empirically derived p–y curves could not incorporate the effects of various pile properties and soil continuity. The strain wedge method (SWM) has been improved to assess the nonlinear p–y curve response of laterally loaded piles based on a three-dimensional soil–pile interaction through a passive wedge developed in front of the pile. In this paper, the SWM based p–y curve is implemented as the backbone curves of developed BNWF model to study the nonlinear response of single pile under cyclic lateral loading. The developed nonlinear model is capable of accounting for various important soil–pile interaction response features such as soil and pile yielding, cyclic degradation of soil stiffness and strength under generalized loading, soil–pile gap formation with soil cave-in and recompression, and energy dissipation. Some experimental tests are studied to verify the BNWF model and examine the effect of each factor on the response of laterally loaded pile embedded in sand and clay. The experimental data and computed results agree well, confirming the model ability to predict the response of piles under one-way and two-way cyclic loading. The results show that the developed model can satisfactorily simulate the pile stiffness hardening due to soil cave in and sand densification as observed in the experiment. It is also concluded from the results that the gap formation and soil degradation have significant effects on the increase of lateral pile-head deflection and maximum bending moment of the pile in cohesive soils.     

MORPHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ANATURE-LIKE BANK PROTECTION

1 INTRODUCTIONFor the pmpose of river restoration of the river Isar in the city area of Munich several inveshgationswere cAned out at the InshtUte for Hydrosciences, German Armed Forces University Munich. The calculation ofwater level for the differnt planned variants were realized by a 2d mathematical model. Although thesesimulahons were a very helpfol basis for fuIther planing, a physical model was constrUcted in order toinvestigate detalled problems.The main interest was focussed …     

High-resolution numerical simulation of turbulence in natural waterways

We develop an efficient and versatile numerical model for carrying out high-resolution simulations of turbulent flows in natural meandering streams with arbitrarily complex bathymetry. The numerical model solves the 3D, unsteady, incompressible Navier-Stokes and continuity equations in generalized curvilinear coordinates. The method can handle the arbitrary geometrical complexity of natural streams using the sharp-interface curvilinear immersed boundary (CURVIB) method of Ge and Sotiropoulos (2007) [1]. The governing equations are discretized with three-point, central, second-order accurate finite-difference formulas and integrated in time using an efficient, second-order accurate fractional step method. To enable efficient simulations on grids with tens of millions of grid nodes in long and shallow domains typical of natural streams, the algebraic multigrid (AMG) method is used to solve the Poisson equation for the pressure coupled with a matrix-free Krylov solver for the momentum equations. Depending on the desired level of resolution and available computational resources, the numerical model can either simulate, via direct numerical simulation (DNS), large-eddy simulation (LES), or unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) modeling. The potential of the model as a powerful tool for simulating energetic coherent structures in turbulent flows in natural river reaches is demonstrated by applying it to carry out LES and URANS in a 50-m long natural meandering stream at resolution sufficiently fine to capture vortex shedding from centimeter-scale roughness elements on the bed. The accuracy of the simulations is demonstrated by comparisons with experimental data and the relative performance of the LES and URANS models is also discussed.     

Adsorptive Separation of 1, 2‐Dichloroethane from Model Wastewater by Natural Clinoptilolite

The adsorptive separation of 1, 2‐dichloroethane from model wastewater by different Slovak natural and octadecylammonium‐modified clinoptilolites has been studied. It was found that the 1, 2‐dichloroethane will be adsorbed by natural as well as by surfactant‐modified clinoptilolites; all clinoptilolites have a similar adsorption loading. There was also no remarkable difference between the natural and surfactant‐modified clinoptilolites in respect to the adsorption kinetics.     

高温气冷堆核电厂建筑结构采用不同有限元模型的模态分析对比研究

建立有限元模型是核电厂建筑结构模态分析的重要前提。本文以某高温气冷堆核电厂建筑结构为原型，在分析方法相同的前提下，建立2种不同模型（Solid模型和Shell模型），并对这2种模型进行模态分析。重点分析、对比2种模型的自振频率和振型图，计算分析表明:Solid模型与Shell模型相比，计算得到的结构自振频率值较高，但两者的差异很小，前30阶自振频率相对误差小于3.4%；2种模型的计算结构振型基本一致。研究结果可为核电厂抗震性能分析和设计提供参考。     

Alignment of stone‐pavement clasts by unconcentrated overland flow – implications of numerical and physical modelling

The crucial role of stone pavements in arid environments for aeolian or alluvial processes and as numerical dating tools is increasingly acknowledged. This role is based on the assumption that stone pavements are stable landforms, formed gradually over time and predominantly by vertical processes. However, this is challenged by evidence of stone‐pavement clast reworking or burial. Bimodal, mostly slope aspect‐symmetrical clast orientation is a frequent phenomenon in various study areas. It implies that stone pavements may be influenced by unidirectional lateral processes besides vertical ones. Here, the finding of lateral processes contributing to stone‐pavement evolution is supported by numerical modelling and physical experiments. These unequivocally show that unconcentrated overland flow can transport clasts to form a closely packed stone mosaic with characteristics similar to those of natural stone pavements. The commonly observed length‐axes orientation angle of 40 ± 14° for natural stone‐pavement clasts is consistently reproduced by angle‐dependent force equilibrium. Monte Carlo runs confirm the natural scatter and allow characterization of the control parameters of clast orientation. The model explains up to 70% of the natural variance. It is further validated by flume experiments, which confirm model predictions of single object orientation angles. Experiments with multiple objects yield artificial stone pavements with properties similar to those found in the field. The unidirectional lateral process acting on natural stone pavements requires the presence of a vesicular horizon. This underlines the tight genetic coupling of this common epipedon feature and the clast cover. The presented findings highlight the role of stone pavements as process and environment proxies. However, stone pavements represent information since the last surface disturbance only. This has to be considered when using them as age indicators. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Natural hydraulic cracking: numerical model and sensitivity study

Natural hydrofracturing caused by overpressure plays an important role in geopressure evolution and hydrocarbon migration in petroliferous basins. Its mechanism is quite well understood in the case of artificial hydraulic fracturing triggered by high-pressure fluid injection in a well. This is not so for natural hydraulic fracturing which is assumed to initiate as micro-cracks with large influence on the permeability of the medium. The mechanism of natural hydraulic cracking, triggered by increasing pore pressure during geological periods, is studied using a fracturing model coupled to the physical processes occurring during basin evolution. In this model, the hydraulic cracking threshold is assumed to lie between the classical failure limit and the beginning of dilatancy. Fluid pressure evolution is calculated iteratively in order to allow dynamic adjustment of permeability so that the fracturing limit is always preserved. The increase of permeability is interpreted on the basis of equivalent fractures. It is found that fracturing is very efficient to keep a stress level at the rock’s hydraulic cracking limit: a fracture permeability one order of magnitude larger than the intrinsic permeability of the rock would be enough. Observations reported from actual basins and model results strongly suggest that natural hydraulic cracking occurs continuously to keep the pressure at the fracturing limit under relaxed stress conditions.     

A Phenomenological Model for Particle Retention in Single,Saturated Fractures

Fractured aquifers are some of the most poorly characterized subsurface environments despite posing one of the highest risks to the protection of potable groundwater. This research was designed to improve the understanding of the factors affecting particle transport through fractures by developing a phenomenological model based on laboratory‐scale transport data. The model presented in this research employed data from over 70 particle tracer tests conducted in single, saturated, variable‐aperture fractures that were obtained from the natural environment and fractured in the laboratory or cast from epoxy in the laboratory. The particles employed were Escherichia coli RS2‐GFP and microspheres. The tracer experiments were conducted in natural (dolomitic limestone and granite) as well as epoxy replicas of the natural fractures. The multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the most important factors influencing particle retention in fractures are the ratio of the ionic strength of solution to collector charge, the ratio of particle to collector charge, and the ratio of advective to diffusive forces as described by the Peclet number. The model was able to reasonably (R² = 0.64) predict the fraction of particles retained; however, it is evident that some factors not accounted for in the model also contributed to retention. This research presents a novel approach to understanding particle transport in fractures, and illustrates the relative importance of various factors affecting the transport mechanisms. The utility of this model lies in the increased understanding of particle transport in fractures, which is extremely useful for directing future research.     

Comparison of stress-dependent geophysical,hydraulic and mechanical properties of synthetic and natural sandstones for reservoir characterization and monitoring studies

Synthetic rock samples can offer advantages over natural rock samples when used for laboratory rock physical properties studies, provided their success as natural analogues is well understood. The ability of synthetic rocks to mimic the natural stress dependency of elastic wave, electrical and fluid transport properties is of primary interest. Hence, we compare a consistent set of laboratory multi-physics measurements obtained on four quartz sandstone samples (porosity range 20–25%) comprising two synthetic and two natural (Berea and Corvio) samples, the latter used extensively as standards in rock physics research. We measured simultaneously ultrasonic (P- and S-wave) velocity and attenuation, electrical resistivity, permeability and axial and radial strains over a wide range of differential pressure (confining stress 15–50 MPa; pore pressure 5–10 MPa) on the four brine saturated samples. Despite some obvious physical discrepancies caused by the synthetic manufacturing process, such as silica cementation and anisotropy, the results show only small differences in stress dependency between the synthetic and natural sandstones for all measured parameters. Stress dependency analysis of the dry samples using an isotropic effective medium model of spheroidal pores and penny-shaped cracks, together with a granular cohesion model, provide evidence of crack closure mechanisms in the natural sandstones, seen to a much lesser extent in the synthetic sandstones. The smaller grain size, greater cement content, and cementation under oedometric conditions particularly affect the fluid transport properties of the synthetic sandstones, resulting in lower permeability and higher electrical resistivity for a similar porosity. The effective stress coefficients, determined for each parameter, are in agreement with data reported in the literature. Our results for the particular synthetic materials that were tested suggest that synthetic sandstones can serve as good proxies for natural sandstones for studies of elastic and mechanical properties, but should be used with care for transport properties studies.     

Evaluating soil erosion models using measured plot data: accounting for variability in the data

One of the important methods used to evaluate the effectiveness of soil erosion models is to compare the predictions given by the model to measured data from soil loss collected on plots taken under natural rainfall conditions. While it is recognized that plot data contain natural variability, this factor is not quantitatively considered during such evaluations because our knowledge of natural variability between plots which have the same treatments is very limited. The goal of this study was to analyse sufficient replicated plot data and present methodology to allow the model evaluator to take natural, within‐treatment variability of erosion plots into account when models are tested. A large amount of data from pairs of replicated erosion plots was evaluated and quantified. The basis for the evaluation method presented is that if the difference between the model prediction and a measured plot data value lies within the population of differences between pairs of measured values, then the prediction is considered ‘acceptable’. A model ‘effectiveness’ coefficient was defined for studies undertaken on large numbers of prediction versus measured data comparisons. This method provides a quantitative criterion for taking into account natural variability and uncertainty in measured erosion plot data when those data are used to evaluate erosion models. Published in 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of Individual Rock Magnetic Components by Analysis of Remanence Curves, 1. Unmixing Natural Sediments

Natural sediments are a complex mixture of magnetic minerals with different origins and different geochemical history, each of which is called a magnetic component. Magnetic components practically never occur in isolated form, and their characterization using bulk magnetic measurements relies on the individuation of the systematic variation of some parameters within a large group of samples. These variations can be interpreted either as a mixing trend or as the result of natural processes, which affect the physical and chemical properties of the magnetic particles. An alternative approach is offered by the analysis of magnetization curves using model functions, which are supposed to represent the magnetic properties of individual components. The success of this approach relies on (1) the choice of model functions that can reproduce the natural properties of a component with sufficient accuracy by varying a minimum number of parameters and (2) on very precise and accurate measurements, which are necessary to overcome the extreme sensitivity of the method to noise. In this paper, the analysis of remanent magnetization curves proposed by Egli (2003) is applied to a large set of representative sediments from the most variable environments and to a set of artificial magnetite samples. Despite the variety of materials and natural processes involved in the formation of these sediments, seven groups of magnetic components with well-defined and consistent properties could be identified. It has been found that both lacustrine and marine sediments contain two magnetically distinct groups of magnetosomes, which react differently to changes of the redox potential. The effects of some natural processes, such as weathering, reductive dissolution and transport could be observed on the individual components.     

Mode-based equivalent multi-degree-of-freedom system for one-dimensional viscoelastic response analysis of layered soil deposit

Discrete models such as the lumped parameter model and the finite element model are widely used in the solution of soil amplification of earthquakes. However, neither of the models will accurately estimate the natural frequencies of soil deposit, nor simulate a damping of frequency independence. This research develops a new discrete model for one-dimensional viscoelastic response analysis of layered soil deposit based on the mode equivalence method. The new discrete model is a one-dimensional equivalent multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) system characterized by a series of concentrated masses, springs and dashpots with a special configuration. The dynamic response of the equivalent MDOF system is analytically derived and the physical parameters are formulated in terms of modal properties. The equivalent MDOF system is verified through a comparison of amplification functions with the available theoretical solutions. The appropriate number of degrees of freedom (DOFs) in the equivalent MDOF system is estimated. A comparative study of the equivalent MDOF system with the existing discrete models is performed. It is shown that the proposed equivalent MDOF system can exactly present the natural frequencies and the hysteretic damping of soil deposits and provide more accurate results with fewer DOFs.     

多组分天然气水合物在海底沉积层中稳定区及存在区的预测

本文研究了多组分天然气在海底沉积层中稳定区和存在区的一些特点. 首先,考虑盐的浓度的影响,建立了天然气含有甲烷和丙烷两种组分的水合物形成的相变曲线,即温度和压力关系曲线,同时也建立了甲烷和丙烷两种组分天然气溶解度的加权关系. 运用水合物预测模型,计算了多组分天然气水合物在海底沉积层中的稳定区及存在区,并同单组分的甲烷水合物的结果进行了对比.计算表明：两种组分的天然气水合物的稳定区与单组分甲烷水合物的稳定区有较大差别,这归因于丙烷对相变曲线大的影响;当天然气浓度大于对应的溶解度时,水合物将形成,由此决定了存在区域;稳定区和存在区范围都受到丙烷含量的较大影响,盐度的增大则减少了稳定区范围. 最后对甲烷分别与其他气体（例如二氧化碳,乙烷和硫化氢等）组合的天然气水合物形成的稳定区范围进行了简要的分析.     

Projective ordination by SIMCA: A dynamic strategy for cost-efficient environmental monitoring around offshore installations

A method for environmental monitoring using benthic species profiles as input is developed in this work. The method, referred to as projective ordination, utilises local principal component modelling (SIMCA) to obtain a cross-validated model which spans the natural variation in a region around offshore oil-producing installations. The borderline between regions with disturbed and non-disturbed species communities is subsequently decided from the residual distribution. This distribution is used to design an approximate F-test for assessing whether a community at a particular sampling location is disturbed or not. If so, the nature of the disturbance is determined by projecting the data on the PC model.Projective ordination utilises information from previous surveys to define the permissible variation in species communities, i.e. the limit of the natural variation. In addition, the method is dynamic, in a sense that the sampling locations may vary from survey to survey.Furthermore, our analysis shows that the customary number of replicate samples per station can be reduced. Modelling with only four randomly chosen replicates out of the complete set of five for each sampling location, does not affect the model significantly. On the other hand, taking only 3 replicates into account leads to significant divergences.A model based on the 1990 and 1993 surveys at the Statfjord field is presented as an example of the technique.     

低频检波器频谱补偿算法建模及仿真

采用数值仿真的方法建立了动圈式检波器的仿真模型,推导检波器传递函数,通过对实际动圈式检波器频率特性的测试,验证了动圈式检波器数值仿真模型的正确性,分析动圈检波器频率响应特性,分别对动圈式检波器的自然频率、灵敏度、阻尼比进行仿真,对不同自然频率、灵敏度、阻尼比对检波器输出频率特性的影响进行了分析,使用二阶二次型反馈补偿方法,设计检波器低频补偿结构,结果表明:数值仿真模型与实际检波器的频率响应一致,补偿结构使检波器自然频率由2 Hz降低至0.2 Hz.