Response of multi-degree-of-freedom structures with sliding supports

The response of multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) structures with sliding supports is studied. The problem of sliding structures is a discontinuous one in that different numbers of equations of motion with varying forcing functions are required for the sliding and non-sliding phases. The numerical difficulties involved in this regard in an incremental finite element analysis can be circumvented through the introduction of a fictitious spring for the sliding support. Such a treatment enables one to study the higher mode effects on MDOF sliding structures under the excitation of harmonic or earthquake motions. The dynamic characteristics of MDOF sliding structures will be highlighted in the analysis of a four-storey shear building with sliding support.     

SEISMIC RESPONSE OF SLIDING STRUCTURES TO BIDIRECTIONAL EARTHQUAKE EXCITATION

Seismic response of a one-storey structure with sliding support to bidirectional (i.e. two horizontal components) earthquake ground motion is investigated. Frictional forces, which are mobilized at the sliding support, are assumed to have ideal Coulomb-friction characteristics. Coupling effects due to circular interaction between the frictional forces are incorporated in the governing equations of motion. Effects of bidirectional interaction of frictional forces on the response are investigated by comparing the response to two-component excitation with the corresponding response produced by the application of single-component excitations in each direction independently. It is observed that the response of the sliding structure is influenced significantly by the bidirectional interaction of frictional forces. Further, it is shown that the design sliding displacement may be underestimated if the bidirectional interaction of frictional forces is neglected and the sliding structures are designed merely on the basis of single-component excitation.     

Semi-analytical techniques for the determination of the dynamic response of equipment in structures supported on coulomb friction elements

Techniques for the analysis of equipment in structures supported on a Coulomb friction type support that is subjected to harmonic and earthquake ground motion are presented. The behaviour is governed by two phases—a sliding phase and a non-sliding phase. Since the behaviour in each of the phases is linear, an analytical expression for equipment response can be obtained in terms of the roots of an appropriate characteristic polynomial. The times of phase transition are determined by an iterative scheme. The methodology is accurate, less computationally intensive, and avoids the difficulties that can be encountered with standard numerical integration techniques for highly non-linear systems.     

Numerical modeling of MDOF structures with sliding supports using rigid‐plastic link

In this paper, the responses of multi‐degree‐of‐freedom (MDOF) structures on sliding supports subjected to harmonic or random base motions are investigated. Modeling of the friction force under the foundation raft is accomplished by using a fictitious rigid link which has a rigid–perfectly plastic material. This will result in identical equations of motion for the sliding structure, both in the sliding and non‐sliding (stick) phases which greatly simplifies the implementation of the method into a numerical algorithm. In this model the phase transition times are determined with high accuracy. This has two advantages: first, it prevents the so‐called high‐frequency oscillation of the relative velocity at the end of the sliding phase, and second, the time steps can be selected so that each falls exactly within one phase of motion. In this case, the stiffness matrix of the structure remains constant throughout each phase and thus any method for solving the non‐linear differential equations of motion (e.g. Newmark method) can be used without iteration. The proposed method, besides its simplicity, is numerically very efficient and considerably reduces the required analysis time compared with most of the other methods. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamics of structures with uplift and sliding

A structure incorporating the mechanism of sliding, as used in seismic isolation, along with the mechanism of uplift, but at a different elevation, is proposed to study the possible beneficial effects on the response of the structure, as compared to allowing partial base uplift only. A two-mass model of system uplift and sliding is established. The equations of motion for both the phase of full contact and the phase of base uplift are derived. The criteria governing the transformation of these two phases are given. Both the time history and the response spectrum results show that the structure with both uplift and sliding mechanisms is superior to that with only the uplift mechanism. Not only is the response of the structure lessened, but also the amount of uplift is greatly reduced because of the added sliding mechanism.     

Seismic response of simple structures using spring-assisted sliding slabs with coulomb damping

Coulomb damping can be utilized effectively to reduce the dynamic response of structures subjected to seismic ground motions. To activate this damping, some parts of a vibrating structure are allowed to slide at rough interfaces. The dynamic response of structures provided with sliding interfaces at the base, between a floor slab and frame and in the cross bracings of a frame has been examined recently. In this paper, a simple slab sliding system provided with a spring to introduce a recovery mechanism and to reduce the sliding displacement requirement for low frequency structures has been examined. The equations of motion for this system are developed. An approach is presented to solve these coupled equations for earthquake induced ground motions. Structures with varying frequency and friction characterisics are considered and the numerical results are presented in response spectrum form. It is observed that, in low frequency structures, provision of a rather weak spring can reduce the sliding displacement requirements without significantly increasing the forces in the supporting frame and the acceleration input to supported secondary systems.     

A model of triple friction pendulum bearing for general geometric and frictional parameters

Current models describing the behavior for the triple friction pendulum (TFP) bearing are based on the assumption that the resultant force of the contact pressure acts at the center of each sliding surface. Accordingly, these models only rely on equilibrium in the horizontal direction to arrive at the equations describing its behavior. This is sufficient for most practical applications where certain constraints on the friction coefficient values apply as a direct consequence of equilibrium. This paper presents a revised model of behavior of the TFP bearing in which no assumptions are made on the location of the resultant forces at each sliding surface and no constraints on the values of the coefficient of friction are required, provided that all sliding surfaces are in full contact. To accomplish this, the number of degrees of freedom describing the behavior of the bearing is increased to include the location of the resultant force at each sliding surface and equations of moment equilibrium are introduced to relate these degrees of freedom to forces. Moreover, the inertia effects of each of the moving parts of the bearing are accounted for in the derivation of the equations describing its behavior. The model explicitly calculates the motion of each of the components of friction pendulum bearings so that any dependence of the coefficient of friction on the sliding velocity and temperature can be explicitly accounted for and calculations of heat flux and temperature increase at each sliding surface can be made. This paper presents (a) the development of the revised TFP bearing model, (b) the analytic solution for the force–displacement relations of two configurations of the TFP bearing, (c) a model that incorporates inertia effects of the TFP bearing components and other effects that are useful in advanced response history analysis, and (d) examples of implementation of the features of the presented model. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic analysis of stacked rigid blocks

The dynamic behavior of a structural model of two stacked rigid blocks subjected to ground excitation is examined. Assuming no sliding, the rocking response of the system standing free on a rigid foundation is investigated. The derivation of the equations of motion accounts for the consecutive transition from one pattern of motion to another, each being governed by a set of highly nonlinear differential equations. The system behavior is described in terms of four possible patterns of response and impact between either the two blocks or the base block and the ground. The equations governing the rocking response of the system to horizontal and vertical ground accelerations are derived for each pattern, and an impact model is developed by conservation of angular momentum considerations. Numerical results are obtained by developing an ad hoc computational scheme that is capable of determining the response of the system under an arbitrary base excitation. This feature is demonstrated by using accelerograms from the Northridge, CA, 1994, earthquake. It is hoped that the two-blocks model used herein can facilitate the development of more sophisticated multi-block structural models.     

Dynamic analysis of sliding structures with unsynchronized support motions

The dynamic analysis of sliding structures is complicated due to the presence of friction. Synchronization of the kinematics of all the isolation bearings is often granted to simplify the task. This, however, may lead to inaccurate prediction of the structural responses under certain circumstances. Stepped structures or continuous bridges with seismic isolation are notable examples where unsynchronized bearing motions are expected. In this paper, a logically simple and numerically efficient procedure is proposed to solve the dynamic problem of sliding systems with unsynchronized support motions. The motion equations for the sliding and non‐sliding modes of the isolated structure are unified into a single equation that is represented as a difference equation in a discrete‐time state‐space form and the base shear forces between the sliding interfaces can be determined through simple matrix algebraic analysis. The responses of the sliding structure can be obtained recursively from the discrete‐time version of the motion equation with constant integration time step even during the transitions between the non‐sliding and sliding phases. Therefore, both accuracy and efficiency in the dynamic analysis of the highly non‐linear system can be enhanced to a large extent. Rigorous assessment of seismic structures with unsynchronized support motions has been carried out for both a stepped structure and a continuous bridge. Effectiveness of friction pendulum bearings for earthquake protection of such structures has been verified. Moreover, evident unsynchronized sliding motions of the friction bearings have been observed, confirming the necessity to deal with each of the bearings independently in the analytical model. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analytical expressions for three different modes in harmonic motion of sliding structures

The problem of response of sliding structures subjected to harmonic support motions is considered. The periodic motions, consisting of the three different modes, stick-stick, stick-slip and slip-slip, are a significant part of the responses to harmonic excitations. Assuming the periodicity of the motion, the condition of the initiation of the slip-slip motion is derived. Then analytical expressions for the occurrence of the periodic motions are obtained without integrating the equations of motion. The accuracy of the analytical expressions is confirmed by comparison with numerical results herein obtained. It is observed that the numerical results are sensitive to the starting and ending times of slip motions.     

Simulation of submerged granular flows by development of a two-phase incompressible explicit mesh-free method

The interaction between fluid and sediment particles is widely involved in hydraulic engineering problems. In the current study, an explicit incompressible mesh-free method in the framework of the Moving Particle Semi-implicit(MPS) method is proposed to simulate the interaction between the two phases in submerged conditions. The proposed method solves two sets of the continuity and momentum equations, respectively, for the fluid phase and the sediment phase according to the mixture theory. In th...     

Numerical technique for dynamic analysis of structures with friction devices

In recent years a number of studies on employing friction elements for the seismic protection of buildings has demonstrated conclusively that such devices can markedly reduce earthquake-induced vibrations. Any numerical estimate of the effectiveness of such isolation systems implies a correct solution of the pertinent nonlinear equations of motion. In direct integration algorithms, the phase transitions between adherence and sliding, or the sliding phase may be accompanied by marked high-frequency oscillation of the relative velocity difference. The paper presents a numerical technique for overcoming these problems, thus leading to increased accuracy of the solutions of equations of motions with Coulomb damping. Since only the damping matrix and the loading vector are involved, the procedure is also computationally efficient. In order to validate the proposed numerical technique, an experimental study of a friction system has been carried out. The dynamic response of a four-storey braced frame with friction devices is presented as an example for the practical application of the proposed numerical technique.     

浮放设备地震滑移反应数值模拟研究

以前人研究建立的浮放设备滑移反应分析理论为基础,给出了浮放设备在水平和竖向地震输入下滑移反应运动微分方程,选取连续型的库仑摩擦力模型,采用Runge-Kutta法求解浮放设备地震滑移反应运动微分方程,可以得到浮放设备在地震作用下的绝对加速度、相对速度和相对位移反应时程。采用编制的计算程序,进行了浮放设备地震滑移反应参数影响研究,结果表明:浮放设备水平滑移反应随着水平地震地面输入或楼层反应输入的增大而增大,随着设备与支撑面之间摩擦系数的增大而减小;当水平向输入加速度峰值大于0.3g时,需要考虑竖向激励的影响。     

Response of sliding structures to earthquake support motion

To study the effectiveness of sliding supports in isolating structures from damaging earthquake ground motions, a mathematical model of a single degree of freedom structure supported on a sliding foundation and subjected to the N-S component of the El Centro 1940 earthquake is considered. Spectra for absolute accelerations, relative displacements, relative-to-ground displacements, sliding displacements and residual sliding displacements are evaluated for three mass ratios, four coefficients of friction and a damping of 5 per cent critical. It is observed that, for structures with periods less than 1-8 s, for the coefficients of friction considered, the suprema of relative-to-ground displacements, sliding displacements and residual sliding displacements are only of the order of 1–25 times the peak ground displacement. To study the response sensitivities, the spectra for absolute acceleration and sliding displacement of the 1949 Olympia earthquake (S86E component) are also presented. It is concluded that sliding supports can be quite effective in isolating structures from support excitations.     

Efficient mode superposition algorithm for seismic analysis of non-linear structures

A step-by-step integration method is proposed to compute within the framework of the conventional mode superposition technique the response of bilinear hysteretic structures subjected to earthquake ground motions. The method is computationally efficient because only a few modes are needed to obtain an accurate estimate of such a response, and because it does not require the use of excessively small time steps to avoid problems of accuracy or stability. It is developed on the basis that the non-linear terms in the equations of motion for non-linear systems may be considered as additional external forces, and the fact that by doing so such equations of motion can be interpreted as the equations of motion of an equivalent linear system, excited by a modified ground motion. These linear equations are then subjected to a conventional modal decomposition and transformed, as with linear systems, into a set of independent differential equations, each representing the system's response in one of its modes of vibration. To increase the efficiency of the method and account properly for the participation of higher modes, these independent equations are solved using the Nigam-Jennings technique in conjunction with the so-called mode acceleration method. The accuracy and efficiency of the method is verified by means of a comparative study with solutions obtained with a conventional direct integration method. In this comparative study, including only a few modes, the proposed method accurately predicts the seismic response of three two-dimensional frame structures, but requiring only, on an average, about 47 per cent less computer time than when the direct integration method is used.     

Numerical simulation of gas venting for NAPL site remediation

A control volume, finite element method is used to discretize the three phase, three component equations for simulation of gas venting. The discrete equations are solved using full Newton iteration. Any combinations of phases can exist, and variable substitution is used to take into account phase appearance and disappearance. Some example computations are presented for two dimensional axisymmetric geometry. Several different scenarios for gas venting are examined. High rate air injection can be effective at removing NAPL both in the unsaturated and saturated zones. The numerical techniques can handle problems having node pore volume gas throughputs (in a timestep) of the order of 10⁶, which greatly exceeds the maximum stable explicit timestep size.     

Recent applications of sliding block theory to geotechnical design

The sliding block theory was proposed by Newmark for determining the permanent displacement of embankments and dams under earthquake loading. This paper highlights recent applications of sliding block theory to different geotechnical structures. The equations to determine seismic factor of safety, yield acceleration and permanent displacement are given for rock block, soil slope, landfill cover, geosynthetic-reinforced soil retaining wall, and composite breakwater. The presented equations for seismic stability degenerate to that of static stability in the absence of earthquake. The permanent displacement for various structures can be obtained from that of a horizontal sliding block through a correction factor. A simplified procedure is included for the permanent displacement under vertical acceleration. The sliding block approach is rational for design under high seismic load.     

用于势场反演的特殊解法

本文以无旋场的积分路径为射线，以边界上已知的势值为输入、输出量、利用反拉东变换求一个梯度场的势函数，用反演的方法求解可以化为拉普拉斯方程的一类二阶偏微分方程。其思路新颖，原理独特，运算正确，边界条件处理方便，数值实现容易，在重力场和地电场的研究中可能得到应用。     

A subspace modal superposition method for non-classically damped systems

For structures with non-proportional damping, complex eigenvectors or mode shapes must be used in order to decoe the equations of motion. The resulting equations can then be solved in a systematic way. The necessity of solvie complex eigenvalue problem of a large system remains an obstacle for the practical application of the method. This stres utilizes the fact that in practice only a small number of the complex modes are needed. Therefore, these complex modes be approximated by a linear combination of a small number of the undamped modes, which can be obtained by established methods with less cost. An additional eigenvalue problem is then solved in a subspace with a much sm dimension to provide the best combination coefficient for each complex mode. The method of solution for the decoue equations is then carried over, using the approximate complex modes expressed in undamped mode shapes, to resue simple formulas for the time- and frequency-domain solution. Thus, an efficient modal superposition method is develoe for non-proportionally damped systems. The accuracy of this approximate method is studied through an example. Comparing the frequency response result using the approximate method with that using the exact complex modes, found that the error is negligible.     

Impact of the equivalent center of mass separating from the sliding surface on the isolation performance of friction pendulum bearings

A new equivalent center of mass model of FPBs(friction pendulum bearings) is introduced, and based on this model, coefficient j of the equivalent center of mass separating from the sliding surface is defined. It is thought in theory that j has a significant impact on the isolation parameter of FPBs, since the equivalent post-yielding stiffness and friction coefficients are not simply determined by sliding radius and sliding friction pairs. The results of numerical simulation analysis using ABAQUS conducted on two groups of FPBs support this viewpoint. For FPBs with the same sliding radius and sliding friction pairs, the FPB modules of structural analysis software such as ETABS could only distinguish the equivalent transformation using j one by one. The seismic response data obtained in a base isolation calculation example of FPBs are very different, which reveals that j's impact on the isolation effectiveness of FPBs cannot be ignored. The introduction of j will help improve the classical structural theory of FPBs and the weak points of structural analysis software based on this theory, which is important in achieving more accurate analyses in structural design.