Behavior of a seismically isolated bridge crossing a fault rupture zone

The effect of the fault rupture zone traversing a seismically isolated bridge is investigated utilizing a finite element model of a section of the Bolu Viaduct and a set of synthetic broadband strong ground motions simulated for the Bolu Viaduct site due to the 1999 Duzce earthquake. Both the original and a potential retrofit seismic isolation system designs are considered in the analyses. The results show double isolation system demands when fault crossing is considered, as compared to the case where fault crossing is ignored. The pier drift demands, however, remain comparable in both cases. Furthermore, the location of fault crossing along the bridge length, as well as the fault orientation with respect to the bridge longitudinal direction are shown to influence substantially the response of the seismically isolated bridge. Isolation system permanent displacements are greatly influenced by the restoring force capability of the isolation system when fault crossing effects in the excitations are ignored. In the case of fault crossing, the permanent displacements of the isolation system are dominated by the substantial permanent tectonic displacement along the fault trace which is imposed upon the structure. The results of this study contribute to developing a better understanding of how seismically isolated bridges respond when traversed by fault rupture zones. The lack of analyses and design guidelines for bridges crossing faults in international standards renders this study a useful reference for the profession.     

Shake-table tests and numerical simulation of an innovative isolation system for highway bridges

Damage investigation of small to medium-span highway bridges in Wenchuan earthquake revealed that typical damage of these bridges included: sliding between laminated-rubber bearings and bridge girders, concrete shear keys failure, excessive girder displacements and even span collapse. However, the bearing sliding could actually act as a seismic isolation for piers, and hence, damage to piers for these bridges was minor during the earthquake. Based on this concept, an innovative solation system for highway bridges with laminated-rubber bearings is developed. The system is comprised of typical laminated-rubber bearings and steel dampers. Bearing sliding is allowed during an earthquake to limit the seismic forces transmitting to piers, and steel dampers are applied to restrict the bearing displacements through hysteretic energy dissipation. As a major part of this research, a quarter-scale, two-span bridge model was constructed and tested on the shake tables to evaluate the performance of this isolation system. The bridge model was subjected to a Northridge and an artificial ground motion in transverse direction. Moreover, numerical analyses were conducted to investigate the seismic performance of the bridge model. Besides the test bridge model, a benchmark model with the superstructure fixed to the substructure in transverse direction was also included in the numerical analyses. Both the experimental and the numerical results showed high effectiveness of this proposed isolation system in the bridge model. The system was found to effectively control the pier-girder relative displacements, and simultaneously, protect the piers from severe damage. Numerical analyses also validated that the existing finite element methods are adequate to estimate the seismic response of bridges with this isolation system.     

Base isolation for near‐fault motions

Three analytical studies of base‐isolated structures are carried out. First, six pairs of near‐fault motions oriented in directions parallel and normal to the fault were considered, and the average of the response spectra of these earthquake records was obtained. This study shows that in addition to pulse‐type displacements, these motions contain significant energy at high frequencies and that the real and pseudo‐velocity spectra are quite different. The second analysis modelled the response of a model of an isolated structure with a flexible superstructure to study the effect of isolation damping on the performance of different isolation systems under near‐fault motion. The results show that there exists a value of isolation system damping for which the superstructure acceleration for a given structural system attains a minimum value under near‐fault motion. Therefore, although increasing the bearing damping beyond a certain value may decrease the bearing displacement, it may transmit higher accelerations into the superstructure. Finally, the behaviour of four isolation systems subjected to the normal component of each of the near‐fault motions were studied, showing that EDF type isolation systems may be the optimum choice for the design of isolated structures in near‐fault locations. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic response of 20‐story base‐isolated and fixed‐base reinforced concrete structural wall buildings at a near‐fault site

This paper investigates numerically the seismic response of six seismically base‐isolated (BI) 20‐story reinforced concrete buildings and compares their response to that of a fixed‐base (FB) building with a similar structural system above ground. Located in Berkeley, California, 2 km from the Hayward fault, the buildings are designed with a core wall that provides most of the lateral force resistance above ground. For the BI buildings, the following are investigated: two isolation systems (both implemented below a three‐story basement), isolation periods equal to 4, 5, and 6 s, and two levels of flexural strength of the wall. The first isolation system combines tension‐resistant friction pendulum bearings and nonlinear fluid viscous dampers (NFVDs); the second combines low‐friction tension‐resistant crosslinear bearings, lead‐rubber bearings, and NFVDs. The designs of all buildings satisfy ASCE 7‐10 requirements, except that one component of horizontal excitation, is used in the 2D nonlinear response history analysis. Analysis is performed for a set of ground motions scaled to the design earthquake and to the maximum considered earthquake (MCE). At both the design earthquake and the MCE, the FB building develops large inelastic deformations and shear forces in the wall and large floor accelerations. At the MCE, four of the BI buildings experience nominally elastic response of the wall, with floor accelerations and shear forces being 0.25 to 0.55 times those experienced by the FB building. The response of the FB and four of the BI buildings to four unscaled historical pulse‐like near‐fault ground motions is also studied. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiple‐slider surfaces bearing for seismic retrofitting of frame structures with soft first stories

A new isolation interface is proposed in this study to retrofit existing buildings with inadequate soft stories as well as new structures to be constructed with soft first story intended for architectural or functional purposes. The seismic interface is an assembly of bearings set in parallel on the top of the first story columns: the multiple‐slider bearings and rubber bearings. The multiple‐slider bearing is a simple sliding device consisting of one horizontal and two inclined plane sliding surfaces based on polytetrafluoroethylene and highly polished stainless steel interface at both ends set in series. A numerical example of a five‐story reinforced concrete shear frame with soft first story is considered and analyzed to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed isolation system in reducing the ductility demand and damage in the structure while maintaining the superstructure above the bearings to behave nearly in the elastic range with controlled bearing displacement. Comparative study with the conventional system as well as various isolation systems such as rubber bearing interface and resilient sliding isolation is carried out. Moreover, an optimum design procedure for the multiple‐slider bearing is proposed through the trade‐off between the maximum bearing displacement and the first story ductility demand ratio. The results of extensive numerical analysis verify the effectiveness of the multiple‐slider bearing in minimizing the damage from earthquake and protecting the soft first story from excessively large ductility demand. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design of bridges against large tectonic deformation

The engineering community has devoted much effort to understanding the response of soil-structure systems to seismic ground motions, but little attention to the effects of an outcropping fault offset. The 1999 earthquakes of Turkey and Taiwan, offering a variety of case histories of structural damage due to faulting, have （re）fueled the interest on the subject. This paper presents a methodology for design of bridges against tectonic deformation. The problem is decoupled in two analysis steps： the first （at the local level） deals with the response of a single pier and its foundation to fault rupture propagating through the soil, and the superstructure is modeled in a simplified manner; and the second （at the global level） investigates detailed models of the superstructure subjected to the support （differential） displacements of Step 1. A parametric study investigates typical models of viaduct and overpass bridges, founded on piles or caissons. Fixed-head piled foundations are shown to be rather vulnerable to faulting-dnduced deformation. End-bearing piles in particular are unable to survive bedrock offsets exceeding 10 cm. Floating piles perform better, and if combined with hinged pile-to-cap connections, they could survive much larger offsets. Soil resilience is beneficial in reducing pile distress. Caisson foundations are almost invariably successful. Statically-indeterminate superstructures are quite vulnerable, while statically-determinate are insensitive （allowing differential displacements and rotations without suffering any distress）. For large-span cantilever-construction bridges, where a statically determinate system is hardly an option, inserting resilient seismic isolation bearings is advantageous as long as ample seating can prevent the deck from falling off the supports. An actual application of the developed method is presented for a major bridge, demonstrating the feasibility of design against tectonic deformation.     

地震动特性对隔震结构弹塑性位移反应谱的影响研究

根据特定震源机制、震级、断层距和场地条件选取69条地震动记录并进行分组,利用Nspectra软件计算隔震结构的弹塑性位移反应谱,分析断层距、场地条件、震级、阻尼比对弹塑性位移谱的影响,探讨隔震层的力学参数对地震能量耗散的影响。研究结果表明:相较于远场,处于近场的隔震结构最为不利,隔震层位移谱值受场地条件、地震加速度和速度大小影响较大;随着断层距的增大,位移谱值衰减较快,且在软土场地中隔震层的位移谱值衰减幅度大于硬土场地;地震震级大小对位移谱形状的影响不明显,但能够使隔震层的位移谱值产生整体缩放效应;阻尼比在小于0.4的范围内,隔震层在不同地震动特性作用下位移谱值差别较大,但在大于0.4以后,位移谱值及谱形基本趋于一致;屈服力较小(恢复力/重力小于等于1)的隔震层随自振周期增大其耗能性能更加突出。     

Effect of lead core heating on the seismic performance of bridges isolated with LRB in near‐fault zones

In this paper, the effect of lead core heating and associated strength deterioration on the seismic response of bridges isolated with lead rubber bearings (LRB) is investigated as a function of the characteristics of the isolator and near fault ground motions with forward rupture directivity effect. Furthermore, the ability of bounding analyses to provide a design envelope for maximum isolator force and maximum isolator displacement is verified. For this purpose, a series of nonlinear dynamic analyses are conducted for LRB isolated bridges where both deteriorating and non‐deteriorating force‐deformation relationship of LRB were employed. The analyses are performed for both simulated and recorded ground motions. It is found that while the temperature rise in the lead core generally increases with increasing magnitude and number of near fault ground motion velocity pulses, it decreases with larger distances from the fault. It is also found that bounding analysis method provides conservative (envelope) estimates of maximum isolator displacement and maximum isolator force for design purposes that fulfill its intended purpose. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a tunable friction pendulum system for semi‐active control of building structures under earthquake ground motions

The Friction Pendulum System (FPS) isolator is commonly used as a base isolation system in buildings. In this paper, a new tunable FPS (TFPS) isolator is proposed and developed to act as a semi‐active control system by combining the traditional FPS and semi‐active control concept. Theoretical analysis and physical tests were carried out to investigate the behavior of the proposed TFPS isolator. The experimental and theoretical results were in good agreement, both suggesting that the friction force of the TFPS isolator can be tuned to achieve seismic isolation of the structure. A series of numerical simulations of a base‐isolated structure equipped with the proposed TFPS isolator and subjected to earthquake ground motions were also conducted. In the analyses, the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) method was adopted to control the friction force of the proposed TFPS, and the applicability and effectiveness of the TFPS in controlling the structure's seismic responses were investigated. The simulation results showed that the TFPS can reduce the displacement of the isolation layer without significantly increasing the floor acceleration and inter‐story displacement of the superstructure, confirming that the TFPS can effectively control a base‐isolated structure under earthquake ground motions.     

近断层地震动下设置BRB的双向减隔震桥梁地震反应

在近断层地震动下桥梁结构将发生较大反应,减隔震设计是减轻地震损伤的重要手段。提出了在桥梁双柱墩横桥向设置防屈曲支撑(BRB),在纵桥向设置铅芯橡胶支座(LRB)的双向减隔震体系。利用Midas Civil软件建立3种不同减隔震方式的桥梁结构模型:LRB仅单向,LRB双向与LRB联合BRB,运用非线性时程分析方法计算了桥墩反应(墩顶侧移角、残余位移角和曲率延性)、LRB支座变形和BRB的耗能特性等。结果表明:在近断层地震动输入下联合设置LRB和BRB的双向减隔震桥梁减震效果明显,相比其它2种方式,能有效降低墩柱的塑性变形及起到保护桥墩的作用。在横桥向,桥墩最大侧移角、残余位移角和最大曲率延性系数都显著降低。     

Inelastic response of RC frame buildings with seismic isolation

A comprehensive parametric study on the inelastic seismic response of seismically isolated RC frame buildings, designed for gravity loads only, is presented. Four building prototypes, with 23 m × 10 m floor plan dimensions and number of storeys ranging from 2 to 8, are considered. All the buildings present internal resistant frames in one direction only, identified as the strong direction of the building. In the orthogonal weak direction, the buildings present outer resistant frames only, with infilled masonry panels. This structural configuration is typical of many existing RC buildings, realized in Italy and other European countries in the 60s and 70s. The parametric study is based on the results of extensive nonlinear response‐time history analyses of 2‐DOF systems, using a set of seven artificial and natural seismic ground motions. In the parametric study, buildings with strength ratio (F_y/W) ranging from 0.03 to 0.15 and post‐yield stiffness ratio ranging from 0% to 6% are examined. Three different types of isolation systems are considered, that is, high damping rubber bearings, lead rubber bearings and friction pendulum bearings. The isolation systems have been designed accepting the occurrence of plastic hinges in the superstructure during the design earthquake. The nonlinear response‐time history analyses results show that structures with seismic isolation experience fewer inelastic cycles compared with fixed‐base structures. As a consequence, although limited plastic deformations can be accepted, the collapse limit state of seismically isolated structures should be based on the lateral capacity of the superstructure without significant reliance on its inherent hysteretic damping or ductility capacity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reduction of structural response to near fault earthquakes by seismic isolation columns and variable friction dampers

<正>This paper focuses on the investigation of a hybrid seismic isolation system with passive variable friction dampers for protection of structures against near fault earthquakes.The seismic isolation can be implemented by replacing the conventional columns fixed to the foundations by seismic isolating ones.These columns allow horizontal displacement between the superstructure and the foundations and decouple the building from the damaging earthquake motion.As a result, the forces in the structural elements decrease and damage that may be caused to the building by the earthquake significantly decreases.However,this positive effect is achieved on account of displacements occurring in the isolating columns.These displacements become very large when the structure is subjected to a strong earthquake.In this case,impact may occur between the parts of the isolating column yielding their damage or collapse.In order to limit the displacements in the isolating columns,it is proposed to add variable friction dampers.A method for selecting the dampers' properties is proposed.It is carried out using an artificial ground motion record and optimal active control algorithm.Numerical simulation of a seven-story structure shows that the proposed method allows efficient reduction in structural response and limits the displacements at the seismic isolating columns.     

Seismic base‐isolation by use of a telescoping stepping mechanism

A new base‐isolation mechanism corresponding to a variance of the stepping A‐shaped frame is proposed and its seismic performance is investigated numerically for strong ground accelerations with peak values in the range from 0.5 to 1g. In its simplest two‐dimensional form, the system consists of a frame with two telescoping legs pinned at the apex at a sharp angle. The legs are attached to the foundation through a spring and a damper acting in parallel. Both the springs and viscous dampers have bilinear characteristics that make them very stiff in compression but very soft in tension. As the structure rocks sideways, the length of the loaded leg remains essentially constant while the length of the unloaded leg increases. When the ground acceleration changes direction, the process is reversed. The resulting system has three main characteristics: (i) as the structure steps on a rigid leg, the maximum acceleration that can be transmitted to the superstructure is limited to a value which is approximately independent of the amplitude of the ground motion; (ii) there is a systematic lifting of the superstructure with kinetic energy being systematically transformed into potential energy during the strong phase of the ground motion; and (iii) the system is slowly self‐centering at the end of the earthquake. The seismic performance of the system is evaluated for a tall bridge pier and for a smaller frame that could be used in a multi‐story building. The results obtained for the 1940 El Centro ground motion scaled to 1g and for the near‐field Rinaldi ground motion recorded during the Northridge earthquake show that substantial reductions of the absolute acceleration can be obtained with reasonable relative displacements of the superstructure and small strokes in the isolation devices. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

利用PGA快速确定汶川地震破裂特征

快速确定断层破裂特征是烈度速报的一项重要技术,断层破裂特征可为烈度速报提供震源模型,提升烈度速报准确性。通过汶川地震加速度记录,提出一种快速计算震源破裂参数的方法。 假定断层为线源模型,以一定间距将断层离散化为若干子源,以震中为不动点,通过旋转获得所有断层可能的走向,通过每次移动一个子源,获得断层所有可能的破裂方式,将二者结合即可给出断层所有可能的空间分布;计算每种断层空间分布与每个台站的断层距,利用加速度记录峰值和断层距统计回归衰减关系,分析每个衰减关系的拟合残差,残差最小拟合效果最好的衰减关系所对应断层参数,能够对该次地震的地震动场有最合理的解释,也最有可能是实际地震中的断层空间分布。     

脉冲型地震动作用下隔震结构动力响应的影响参数研究

通过对隔震结构进行非线性动力响应分析,分别研究地震动参数和支座参数对结构地震响应的影响。首先,建立铅芯橡胶支座基础隔震结构的非线性运动方程;然后,以人工合成脉冲型地震动作为输入,运用MATLAB进行编程并求解结构在脉冲型地震动作用下的地震响应;最后,分别研究速度脉冲周期、支座屈服力、屈服后与屈服前的刚度比对隔震支座最大位移和上部结构层间位移的影响。研究结果表明,脉冲周期对结构地震响应影响很大,在进行隔震设计时应使结构自振周期远离脉冲周期;支座刚度比对结构地震响应影响较大,在进行支座选型时应重点关注;支座屈服力对支座位移的影响显著,屈服力越大,支座位移越小。     

An enhanced base isolation system equipped with optimal tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI)

In seismic base isolation, most of the earthquake‐induced displacement demand is concentrated at the isolation level, thereby the base‐isolation system undergoes large displacements. In an attempt to reduce such displacement demand, this paper proposes an enhanced base‐isolation system incorporating the inerter, a 2‐terminal flywheel device whose generated force is proportional to the relative acceleration between its terminals. The inerter acts as an additional, apparent mass that can be even 200 times higher than its physical mass. When the inerter is installed in series with spring and damper elements, a lower‐mass and more effective alternative to the traditional tuned mass damper (TMD) is obtained, ie, the TMD inerter (TMDI), wherein the device inertance plays the role of the TMD mass. By attaching a TMDI to the isolation floor, it is demonstrated that the displacement demand of base‐isolated structures can be significantly reduced. Due to the stochastic nature of earthquake ground motions, optimal parameters of the TMDI are found based on a probabilistic framework. Different optimization procedures are scrutinized. The effectiveness of the optimal TMDI parameters is assessed via time history analyses of base‐isolated multistory buildings under several earthquake excitations; a sensitivity analysis is also performed. The enhanced base‐isolation system equipped with optimal TMDI attains an excellent level of vibration reduction as compared to the conventional base‐isolation scheme, in terms not only of displacement demand of the base‐isolation system but also of response of the isolated superstructure (eg, base shear and interstory drifts); moreover, the proposed vibration control strategy does not imply excessive stroke of the TMDI.     

Fuzzy logic control of bridge structures using intelligent semi-active seismic isolation systems

Passive supplemental damping in a seismically isolated structure provides the necessary energy dissipation to limit the isolation system displacement. However, damper forces can become quite large as the passive damping level is increased, resulting in the requirement to transfer large forces at the damper connections to the structure which may be particularly difficult to accommodate in retrofit applications. One method to limit the level of damping force while simultaneously controlling the isolation system displacement is to utilize an intelligent hybrid isolation system containing semi-active dampers in which the damping coeffic ient can be modulated. The effectiveness of such a hybrid seismic isolation system for earthquake hazard mitigation is investigated in this paper. The system is examined through an analytical and computational study of the seismic response of a bridge structure containing a hybrid isolation system consisting of elastomeric bearings and semi-active dampers. Control algorithms for operation of the semi-active dampers are developed based on fuzzy logic control theory. Practical limits on the response of the isolation system are considered and utilized in the evaluation of the control algorithms. The results of the study show that both passive and semi-active hybrid seismic isolation systems consisting of combined base isolation bearings and supplemental energy dissipation devices can be beneficial in reducing the seismic response of structures. These hybrid systems may prevent or significantly reduce structural damage during a seismic event. Furthermore, it is shown that intelligent semi-active seismic isolation systems are capable of controlling the peak deck displacement of bridges, and thus reducing the required length of expansion joints, while simultaneously limiting peak damper forces. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance of base‐isolated reinforced concrete buildings under bidirectional seismic excitation considering pounding with retaining walls including friction effects

Seismic pounding of base‐isolated buildings has been mostly studied in the past assuming unidirectional excitation. Therefore, in this study, the effects of seismic pounding on the response of base‐isolated reinforced concrete buildings under bidirectional excitation are investigated. For this purpose, a three‐dimensional finite element model of a code‐compliant four‐story building is considered, where a newly developed contact element that accounts for friction and is capable of simulating pounding with retaining walls at the base, is used. Nonlinear behavior of the superstructure as well as the isolation system is considered. The performance of the building is evaluated separately for far‐fault non‐pulse‐like ground motions and near‐fault pulse‐like ground motions, which are weighted scaled to represent two levels of shaking viz. the design earthquake (DE) level and the risk‐targeted maximum considered earthquake (MCE_R) level. Nonlinear time‐history analyses are carried out considering lower bound as well as upper bound properties of isolators. The influence of separation distance between the building and the retaining walls at the base is also investigated. It is found that if pounding is avoided, the performance of the building is satisfactory in terms of limiting structural and nonstructural damage, under DE‐level motions and MCE_R‐level far‐fault motions, whereas unacceptably large demands are imposed by MCE_R‐level near‐fault motions. In the case of seismic pounding, MCE_R‐level near‐fault motions are found to be detrimental, where the effect of pounding is mostly concentrated at the first story. In addition, it is determined that considering unidirectional excitation instead of bidirectional excitation for MCE_R‐level near‐fault motions provides highly unconservative estimates of superstructure demands. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Damping coefficients for near-fault ground motion response spectra

Damping coefficients are frequently used in earthquake engineering as a simple way to adjust the pseudo-acceleration or displacement response spectra associated with a viscous damping ratio of 5% to the higher values of viscous damping needed for design of structures equipped with base isolation and/or supplemental energy dissipation devices. In this study, damping coefficients for the single-degree-of-freedom system subjected to near-fault ground motions are calculated for a large range of periods and damping levels. The results indicate that damping coefficients proposed in design codes and previous studies, based primarily on far-field ground motion records, tend to not be conservative for near-fault seismic excitations. A new approach is recommended for the derivation of damping coefficients appropriate for engineering analysis and design in the immediate vicinity of the earthquake fault. This includes the normalization of the period axis with respect to the duration of the ground velocity pulses recorded in the near-fault region. The pulse duration is controlled by the rise time on the fault plane and scales directly with earthquake magnitude.     

Ground motion characteristics of the Chi‐Chi earthquake of 21 September 1999

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ground motion characteristics of the Chi‐Chi earthquake (21 September 1999) as well as the interpretation of structural damage due to this earthquake. Over 300 strong motion records were collected from the strong motion network of Taiwan for this earthquake. A lot of near‐field ground motion data were collected. They provide valuable information on the study of ground motion characteristics of pulse‐like near‐field ground motions as well as fault displacement. This study includes: attenuation of ground motion both in PGA and spectral amplitude, principal direction, elastic and inelastic response analysis of a SDOF system subjected to near‐field ground motion collected from this event. The distribution of spectral acceleration and spectral velocity along the Chelungpu fault is discussed. Based on the mode decomposition method the intrinsic mode function of ground acceleration of this earthquake is examined. A long‐period wave with large amplitude was observed in most of the near‐source ground acceleration. The seismic demand from the recorded near‐field ground motion is also investigated with an evaluation of seismic design criteria of Taiwan Building Code. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.