Earthquake response analysis of the olive view hospital psychiatric day clinic

The collapse of the Olive View Hospital Psychiatric Day Clinic is studied using three biaxial force-deflection models to represent the columns of the building. These models are: shear collapse, elastic and inelastic. The biaxial models for shear and inelastic behaviour are new developments and are useful for non-linear structural dynamic studies. In the present study, the shear collapse model is intended to represent the actual prototype behaviour. The inelastic model, which is based on a hardening rule of plasticity, is used to study the performance of a hypothetical structure with the same storey shear capacity as the prototype but which exhibits ductile behaviour. The prototype structure had a base storey shear capacity of 25 per cent, and actually failed by shearing of all of the first floor columns. In the present study, the shear collapse model predicted this behaviour even with the El Centro accelerogram as input. This result may have far-reaching significance because many low-rise reinforced concrete buildings which were designed according to recent codes have similar storey shear capacity coefficients and column properties. According to this study, such buildings may collapse even in a moderate earthquake. In the inelastic representation, the structure was found to have a base storey shear capacity of 80 per cent when moment hinging was assumed to occur at the top and bottom of the columns. Even with this high strength capacity, the permanent offset computed from the inelastic model corresponded to a ductility factor of 5 when the Pacoima Dam accelerogram was used as input. On the basis of damage to other structures observed on the site, it seems likely that ground motion of about the Pacoima Dam intensity occurred at Olive View. From this it is concluded that a low-rise ductile frame concrete building, even with this high shear force capacity, may not prove satisfactory for hospital use when subjected to strong ground motion.     

Generation of spatially nonuniform ground motion for nonlinear analysis of a concrete arch dam

An accelerometer array at Pacoima Dam with three locations along the base and abutments recorded ground motion from a magnitude 4.3 earthquake on 13 January 2001. These records present an opportunity to study spatial nonuniformity for the motion in a canyon. Topographic amplification is characterized by ratios of response spectral displacement between locations, and seismic wave travel times are studied using cross‐correlation functions to obtain delays. Results of the analysis of the 2001 earthquake records are used to generate ground motion for the 1994 Northridge earthquake to replace records that were not able to be fully digitized. The ground motion generated for the Northridge earthquake is used as input to a finite element model of Pacoima Dam. The response of the model is consistent with observations of Pacoima Dam after the Northridge earthquake. Comparison of the response due to nonuniform input with the response due to uniform input demonstrates the importance of accounting for spatial nonuniformity because of the significance that the pseudostatic component has for the response to nonuniform input. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stochastic models for simulation of strong ground motion in Iceland

Two types of modelling approaches for simulating ground motion in Iceland are studied and compared. The first type of models, named discrete‐time series models (ARMA), are based solely on measured acceleration in earthquakes occurring in Iceland. The second type of models are based on a theoretical seismic source model called the extended Brune model. Based on measured acceleration in Iceland during the period 1986–1996, the parameters for the extended Brune models have been estimated. The seismic source models are presented here as ARMA models, which simplifies the simulation process. A single‐layer soil amplification model is used in conjunction with the extended Brune model to estimate local site amplification. Emphasis is put on the ground motion models representing the variability in the measured earthquakes, with respect to energy, duration and frequency content. Demonstration is made using these models for constructing linear and non‐linear probabilistic response spectra using a discretised version of the Bouc–Wen model for the hysteresis of the second‐order system. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Floor response spectra for base-isolated multi-storey structures

A study of floor response spectra for a base-isolated multi-storey structure under sinusoidal and seismic ground excitations is carried out. Several base isolation systems including the laminated rubber bearing, the pure-friction, the resilient-friction, the Électricité de France and the sliding resilient-friction systems are considered. A sinusoidal ground acceleration and several earthquake accelerograms (including those of El Centro 1940, Pacoima Dam 1971 and Mexico City 1985) are used to evaluate the floor response spectra. The characteristics of the spectra generated by different base isolation systems are studied, and the results are compared with those for the fixed-base structure. It is shown that the structural contents can be protected against earthquakes by the use of properly designed base isolation systems. In particular, the laminated rubber bearing system appears to be remarkably effective in protecting the secondary systems under a variety of conditions.     

Response of an arch dam to non-uniform excitation generated by a seismic wave scattering model

Non-uniform ground motions are generated based on a single record available at a site and seismic wave scattering analysis. The Chino Hills 2008 earthquake records at the Pacoima Dam site are used to indicate the accuracy of the method. Dynamic analysis of the Pacoima dam-reservoir-foundation under uniform and non-uniform ground motions is carried out using the EACD-3D2008 software, and the results are compared to recorded responses at different locations on the dam. There is good agreement between computed and recorded displacements of the dam for non-uniform excitation. For uniform excitation, the displacements are underestimated in comparison with those obtained from recorded excitation. Significant intensification of stresses, especially near the foundation, and different patterns of stress distribution are observed for non-uniform excitation in comparison with uniform excitation. For uniform excitation maximum stresses occur in the crown cantilever near the crest, but for non-uniform excitation the maximum stresses occur along the sides and near the foundation.     

The effective number of cycles of earthquake ground motion

The seismic response of any system that accumulates damage under cyclic loading is dependent not only on the maximum amplitude of the motion but also its duration. This is explicitly recognized in methods for estimating the liquefaction potential of soil deposits. Many researchers have proposed that the effective number of cycles of the ground motion is a more robust indicator of the destructive capacity of the shaking than the duration. However, as is the case with strong‐motion duration, there is no universally accepted approach to determining the effective number of cycles of motion, and the different methods that have been proposed can give widely varying results for a particular accelerogram. Definitions of the effective number of cycles of motion are reviewed, classified and compared. Measurements are found to differ particularly for accelerograms with broad‐banded frequency content, which contain a significant number of non‐zero crossing peaks. The key seismological parameters influencing the number of cycles of motion and associated equations for predicting this quantity for future earthquakes are identified. Correlations between cycle counts and different duration measures are explored and found to be rather poor in the absence of additional parameters. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An experimental study on seismic responses of multifunctional vibration‐absorption reinforced concrete megaframe structures

Two models are tested on a shake‐table. One of the models is a normal reinforced concrete megaframe structure and the other is a multifunctional vibration‐absorption reinforced concrete megaframe structure in which the laminated rubber bearings are placed between the major frame and the minor frames. Two earthquake motions (the El Centro wave and the Taft wave) are used during the test. This paper presents the dynamic characteristic, the seismic responses and the failure mechanism of these two models under varying peak acceleration levels for each of the earthquake motions. The test results demonstrate that the aseismic behavior of a multifunctional vibration‐absorption reinforced concrete megaframe structure is much better than that of a normal reinforced concrete megaframe structure. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

System identification of a concrete arch dam and calibration of its finite element model

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake occurred near Pacoima Dam on 13 January 2001. An accelerometer array that had been upgraded after the Northridge earthquake recorded the motion with 17 channels on the dam and the dam–foundation interface. Using this data, properties of the first two modes are found from a system identification study. Modal properties are also determined from a forced vibration experiment performed in 2002 and indicate a significantly stiffer system than is estimated from the 2001 earthquake records. The 2001 earthquake, although small, must have induced temporary nonlinearity. This has implications for structural health monitoring. The source of the nonlinear behaviour is believed to be loss of stiffness in the foundation rock. A finite element model of Pacoima Dam is constructed and calibrated to match modal properties determined from the system identification study. A dynamic simulation of the 2001 earthquake response produces computed motions that agree fairly well with the recorded ones. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

LMS‐based structural health monitoring of a non‐linear rocking structure

A structure's health or level of damage can be monitored by identifying changes in structural or modal parameters. This research directly identifies changes in structural stiffness due to modelling error or damage for a post‐tensioned pre‐cast reinforced concrete frame building with rocking beam column connections and added damping and stiffness (ADAS) elements. A structural health monitoring (SHM) method based on adaptive least mean squares (LMS) filtering theory is presented that identifies changes from a simple baseline model of the structure. This method is able to track changes in the stiffness matrix, identifying when the building is (1) rocking, (2) moving in a hybrid rocking–elastic regime, or (3) responding linearly. Results are compared for two different LMS‐based SHM methods using an L ₂ error norm metric. In addition, two baseline models of the structure, one using tangential stiffness and the second a more accurate bi‐linear stiffness model, are employed. The impact of baseline model complexity is then delineated. The LMS‐based methods are able to track the non‐linearity of the system to within 15% using this metric, with the error due primarily to filter convergence rates as the structural response changes regimes while undergoing the El Centro ground motion record. The use of a bi‐linear baseline model for the SHM problem is shown to result in error metrics that are at least 50% lower than those for the tangential baseline model. Errors of 5–15% with this L ₂ error norm are fairly stringent compared to the greater than 2 × changes in stiffness undergone by the structure, however, in practice the usefulness of the results is dependent on the resolution required by the user. The impact of sampling rate is shown to be negligible over the range of 200–1000Hz, along with the choice of LMS‐based SHM method. The choice of baseline model and its level of knowledge about the actual structure is seen to be the dominant factor in achieving good results. The methods presented require 2.8–14.0 Mcycles of computation and therefore could easily be implemented in real time. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intensity measures for probabilistic assessment of non‐structural components acceleration demand

A fundamental issue in the framework of seismic probabilistic risk analysis is the choice of ground motion intensity measures (IMs). Based on the floor response spectrum method, the present contribution focuses on the ability of IMs to predict non‐structural components (NSCs) horizontal acceleration demand. A large panel of IMs is examined and a new IM, namely equipment relative average spectral acceleration (E‐ASA_R), is proposed for the purpose of NSCs acceleration demand prediction. The IMs efficiency and sufficiency comparisons are based on (i) the use of a large dataset of recorded earthquake ground motions; (ii) numerical analyses performed on three‐dimensional numerical models, representing actual structural wall and frame buildings; and (iii) systematic statistical analysis of the results. From the comparative study, the herein introduced E‐ASA_R shows high efficiency with respect to the estimation of maximum floor response spectra ordinates. Such efficiency is particularly remarkable in the case of structural wall buildings. Besides, the sufficiency and the simple formulation allowing the use of existing ground motion prediction models make the E‐ASA_R a promising IMs for seismic probabilistic risk assessment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coupled dynamic elastic–plastic analysis of earth structures

A fully coupled finite element code based on mixture theory is developed. Prévost's multi-surface constitutive model is tailored to three-dimensional loads and used to predict effective stresses. A new viscous boundary is implemented to avoid wave reflections towards the structure. In contrast to traditional methods, this boundary is able to absorb the two dilatational waves and the shear wave.Two soil deposits and two dams, with different slopes, composed by loose and dense sands have been subjected to the Pacoima accelerogram. Results show how the liquefaction propagates in the soil deposits and earth dams. The importance of the coupling between dilatancy–contractancy and filtration is highlighted by a parametric investigation. Phenomena such as liquefaction and cyclic mobility are reproduced, indicating the robustness of the constitutive model and finite element simulations. As an outcome of the parametric analysis, the seismic stability of dams cannot be improved by decreasing the upstream or downstream slopes.     

Effect of peak ground velocity on deformation demands for SDOF systems

The effect of peak ground velocity (PGV) on single‐degree‐of‐freedom (SDOF) deformation demands and for certain ground‐motion features is described by using a total of 60 soil site records with source‐to‐site distances less than 23 km and moment magnitudes between 5.5 and 7.6. The observations based on these records indicate that PGV correlates well with the earthquake magnitude and provides useful information about the ground‐motion frequency content and strong‐motion duration that can play a role on the seismic demand of structures. The statistical results computed from non‐linear response history analyses of different hysteretic models highlight that PGV correlates better with the deformation demands with respect to other ground motion intensity measures. The choice of PGV as ground motion intensity decreases the dispersion due to record‐to‐record variability of SDOF deformation demands, particularly in the short period range. The central tendencies of deformation demands are sensitive to PGV and they may vary considerably as a function of the hysteretic model and structural period. The results provided in this study suggest a consideration of PGV as a stable candidate for ground motion intensity measure in simplified seismic assessment methods that are used to estimate structural performance for earthquake hazard analysis. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wavelet‐based simulation of spectrum‐compatible aftershock accelerograms

In damage‐based seismic design it is desirable to account for the ability of aftershocks to cause further damage to an already damaged structure due to the main shock. Availability of recorded or simulated aftershock accelerograms is a critical component in the non‐linear time‐history analyses required for this purpose, and simulation of realistic accelerograms is therefore going to be the need of the profession for a long time to come. This paper attempts wavelet‐based simulation of aftershock accelerograms for two scenarios. In the first scenario, recorded main shock and aftershock accelerograms are available along with the pseudo‐spectral acceleration (PSA) spectrum of the anticipated main shock motion, and an accelerogram has been simulated for the anticipated aftershock motion such that it incorporates temporal features of the recorded aftershock accelerogram. In the second scenario, a recorded main shock accelerogram is available along with the PSA spectrum of the anticipated main shock motion and PSA spectrum and strong motion duration of the anticipated aftershock motion. Here, the accelerogram for the anticipated aftershock motion has been simulated assuming that temporal features of the main shock accelerogram are replicated in the aftershock accelerograms at the same site. The proposed algorithms have been illustrated with the help of the main shock and aftershock accelerograms recorded for the 1999 Chi–Chi earthquake. It has been shown that the proposed algorithm for the second scenario leads to useful results even when the main shock and aftershock accelerograms do not share the same temporal features, as long as strong motion duration of the anticipated aftershock motion is properly estimated. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Direct use of PGV for estimating peak nonlinear oscillator displacements

A predictive model is presented for estimating the peak inelastic oscillator displacements (S_d,ie) from peak ground velocity (PGV). The proposed model accounts for the variation of S_d,ie for bilinear hysteretic behavior under constant ductility (µ) and normalized lateral strength ratio (R) associated with postyield stiffness ratios of α=0 and 5%. The regression coefficients are based on a ground‐motion database that contains dense‐to‐stiff soil site recordings at distances of up to 30 km from the causative fault. The moment magnitude ( M ) range of the database is 5.2? M ?7.6 and the ground motions do not exhibit pulse‐dominant signals. Confined to the limitations imposed by the ground‐motion database, the model can estimate S_d,ie by employing the PGV predictions obtained from the attenuation relationships (ground‐motion prediction equations). In this way, the influence of important seismological parameters can be incorporated to the variation of S_d,ie in a fairly rationale manner. This feature of the predictive model advocates its implementation in the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis that employs scalar ground‐motion intensity indices. Various case studies are presented to show the consistent estimations of S_d,ie by the proposed model. The error propagation in the S_d,ie estimations is also discussed when the proposed model is associated with attenuation relationships. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scattering of plane sh waves by a semi-cylindrical canyon

The two-dimensional scattering and diffraction of plane SH waves by a semi-cylindrical canyon is analysed for a general angle of wave incidence. The closed-form solution of the problem shows that the surface topography can have prominent effects on incident waves only when the wavelengths of incident motion are short compared to the radius of a canyon. The surface amplification of displacement amplitudes around and in the canyon changes rapidly from one point to another, but the amplification is always less than 2. The over-all trends of amplification pattern are determined by two principal parameters: (1) γ, the angle of incidence of plane SH waves, and (2) η, the ratio of radius of the canyon to one-half wave length of incident waves. The higher η leads to greater complexity of the pattern of surface displacement amplitudes characterized by more abrupt changes of amplification from one point to another, while γ mainly determines the over-all trends of displacement amplitudes. For grazing and nearly grazing incidences, for example, a strong shadow zone is developed behind the canyon. The qualitative analysis of the topographic effects on the Pacoima Dam accelerogram,¹ based on the semi-cylindrical canyon, suggests that this strong-motion record was not seriously affected by surface topography of the recording site.     

A nonlinear data‐driven model for synthetic generation of annual streamflows

A hybrid model that blends two non‐linear data‐driven models, i.e. an artificial neural network (ANN) and a moving block bootstrap (MBB), is proposed for modelling annual streamflows of rivers that exhibit complex dependence. In the proposed model, the annual streamflows are modelled initially using a radial basis function ANN model. The residuals extracted from the neural network model are resampled using the non‐parametric resampling technique MBB to obtain innovations, which are then added back to the ANN‐modelled flows to generate synthetic replicates. The model has been applied to three annual streamflow records with variable record length, selected from different geographic regions, namely Africa, USA and former USSR. The performance of the proposed ANN‐based non‐linear hybrid model has been compared with that of the linear parametric hybrid model. The results from the case studies indicate that the proposed ANN‐based hybrid model (ANNHM) is able to reproduce the skewness present in the streamflows better compared to the linear parametric‐based hybrid model (LPHM), owing to the effective capturing of the non‐linearities. Moreover, the ANNHM, being a completely data‐driven model, reproduces the features of the marginal distribution more closely than the LPHM, but offers less smoothing and no extrapolation value. It is observed that even though the preservation of the linear dependence structure by the ANNHM is inferior to the LPHM, the effective blending of the two non‐linear models helps the ANNHM to predict the drought and the storage characteristics efficiently. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural performance assessment under near‐source pulse‐like ground motions using advanced ground motion intensity measures

This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of utilizing advanced ground motion intensity measures (IMs) to evaluate the seismic performance of a structure subject to near‐source ground motions. Ordinary records are, in addition, utilized to demonstrate the robustness of the advanced IM with respect to record selection and scaling. To perform nonlinear dynamic analyses (NDAs), ground motions need to be selected; as a result, choosing records that are not representative of the site hazard can alter the seismic performance of structures. The median collapse capacity (in terms of IM), for example, can be systematically dictated by including a few aggressive or benign pulse‐like records into the record set used for analyses. In this paper, the elastic‐based IM such as the pseudo‐spectral acceleration (S_a) or a vector of S_a and epsilon has been demonstrated to be deficient to assess the structural responses subject to pulse‐like motions. Using advanced IMs can be, however, more accurate in terms of probabilistic response prediction. Scaling earthquake records using advanced IMs (e.g. inelastic spectral displacement, S_di, and IM _1I&2E; the latter is for the significant higher‐mode contribution structures) subject to ordinary and/or pulse‐like records is efficient, sufficient, and robust relative to record selection and scaling. As a result, detailed record selection is not necessary, and records with virtually any magnitude, distance, epsilon and pulse period can be selected for NDAs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Out‐of‐plane behaviour of a full scale stone masonry façade. Part 1: specimen and ground motion selection

The out‐of‐plane response of walls in existing stone masonry buildings is one of the major causes of vulnerability commonly observed in post‐earthquake damage surveys. In this context, a shaking table (ST) test campaign was carried out on a full‐scale masonry façade mainly focusing on the characterization of its out‐of‐plane overturning behaviour. The structure tested on the ST is a partial reproduction of an existing building from Azores, damaged during the 9 July 1998 Faial earthquake. The definition of the tested specimen as well as the selection of the input ground motion is reported in this paper. A specific emphasis is given to the definition of the time‐history to be applied during the tests because it was felt as an essential and crucial part of the work to obtain the desired overturning behaviour. The accelerogram to be imposed was selected from a large set of accelerograms (74) by means of a step‐by‐step procedure on the basis of several numerical analyses resorting to the rocking response of rigid blocks. A companion paper (Part 2) focuses on the ST test results and detailed data interpretation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A critical examination of seismic response uncertainty analysis in earthquake engineering

The last decade of performance‐based earthquake engineering (PBEE) research has seen a rapidly increasing emphasis placed on the explicit quantification of uncertainties. This paper examines uncertainty consideration in input ground‐motion and numerical seismic response analyses as part of PBEE, with particular attention given to the physical consistency and completeness of uncertainty consideration. It is argued that the use of the commonly adopted incremental dynamic analysis leads to a biased representation of the seismic intensity and that when considering the number of ground motions to be used in seismic response analyses, attention should be given to both reducing parameter estimation uncertainty and also limiting ground‐motion selection bias. Research into uncertainties in system‐specific numerical seismic response analysis models to date has been largely restricted to the consideration of ‘low‐level’ constitutive model parameter uncertainties. However, ‘high‐level’ constitutive model and model methodology uncertainties are likely significant and therefore represent a key research area in the coming years. It is also argued that the common omission of high‐level seismic response analysis modelling uncertainties leads to a fallacy that ground‐motion uncertainty is more significant than numerical modelling uncertainty. The author's opinion of the role of uncertainty analysis in PBEE is also presented. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.