Effect of supplemental damping on LRB and FPS seismic isolators under near-fault ground motions

Numerical simulations are performed to assess the effects of near-fault ground motions on base-isolated buildings that consist of either lead-rubber (LRB) or friction-pendulum system (FPS) bearings in addition to supplemented viscous dampers. While LRB and FPS isolation systems have been applied for a number of years, the addition of supplemental damping devices is being currently considered for strong ground motions to reduce the isolator displacements. However, the main problem in this case is that the addition of damping may increase both internal deformation and absolute accelerations of the superstructure and thus may defeat many of the gains for which base isolation is intended. In the present paper, a detailed and systematic investigation on the performance of LRB and FPS isolation systems, provided with supplemental viscous damping under the effect of near-fault ground motions, has been carried out by using commercial finite element software.     

Simplified inelastic seismic analysis of base‐isolated structures using the N2 method

In the paper a simplified nonlinear method has been applied to the analysis of base‐isolated structures. In the first part, a three‐linear idealization of the capacity curve is proposed. The initial stiffness is defined based on the first yielding point in the superstructure, whereas the secondary slope depends on the failure mechanism of the superstructure. A consequence is a much more pronounced secondary slope, which does not correspond to the presumptions used in the originally proposed N2 method. A parametric nonlinear dynamic study of single degree of freedom systems with different hardening slopes and damping has been performed for an ensemble of seven EC8 spectrum‐compatible artificial accelerograms. It was concluded that, in the long‐period range, the equal displacement rule could be assumed also for the proposed systems with non‐zero post‐yield stiffness. In the second part, the proposed idealization was used for the analysis of isolated RC frame buildings that were isolated with different (lead) rubber‐bearing isolation systems. The stiffness of the isolators was selected for three different protection levels and for three different ground motion intensities, which have resulted in elastic as well as moderately and fully damaged superstructure performance levels. Three different lateral load distributions were investigated. It was observed that a triangular distribution, with an additional force at the base, works best in the majority of practical cases. It was concluded that the N2 method can, in general, provide a reasonably accurate prediction of the actual top displacement, as well as of the expected damage to the superstructure. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An efficient three‐dimensional solid finite element dynamic analysis of reinforced concrete structures

Most of the finite element analyses of reinforced concrete structures are restricted to two‐dimensional elements. Three‐dimensional solid elements have rarely been used although nearly all reinforced concrete structures are under a triaxial stress state. In this work, a three‐dimensional solid element based on a smeared fixed crack model that has been used in the past mainly for monotonic static loading analysis is extended to cater for dynamic analysis. The only material parameter that needs to be input for this model is the uniaxial compressive strength of concrete. Steel bars are modelled as uniaxial elements and an embedded formulation allows them to have any orientation inside the concrete elements. The proposed strategy for loading or unloading renders a numerical procedure which is stable and efficient. The whole process is applied to two RC frames and compared against existing experiments in the literature. Results show that the proposed approach may adequately be used to predict the dynamic response of a structure. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Damage identification of a 3D full scale steel–concrete composite structure with partial‐strength joints at different pseudo‐dynamic load levels

Partial‐strength composite steel–concrete moment‐resisting (MR) frame structures represent an open research field in seismic design from both a theoretical and an experimental standpoint. Among experimental techniques, vibration testing is a well‐known and powerful technique for damage detection, localization and quantification, where actual modal parameters of a structure at different states can be determined from test data by using system identification methods. However, the identification of semi‐rigid connections in framed structures is limited, and hence this paper focuses on a series of vibration experiments that were carried out on a realistic MR frame structure, following the application of pseudo‐dynamic and quasi‐static cyclic loadings at the European laboratory for structural assessment of the Joint Research Centre at Ispra, Italy, with the scope of understanding the structural behaviour and identifying changes in the dynamic response. From the forced vibration response, natural frequencies, damping ratios, modal displacements and rotations were extracted using the circle fitting technique. These modal parameters were used for local and global damage identification by updating a 3D finite element model of the intact structure. The identified results were then correlated with observations performed on the structure to understand further the underlying damage mechanisms. Finally, the latin hypercube sampling technique, a variant of the Monte Carlo method, was employed in order to study the sensitivity of the updated parameters of the 3D model to noise on the modal inputs. Copyright © 2009 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.     

A simulation‐based framework for risk assessment and probabilistic sensitivity analysis of base‐isolated structures

A versatile, simulation‐based framework for risk assessment and probabilistic sensitivity analysis of base‐isolated structures is discussed in this work. A probabilistic foundation is used to address the various sources of uncertainties, either excitation or structural, and to characterize seismic risk. This risk is given, in this stochastic setting, by some statistics of the system response over the adopted probability models and stochastic simulation is implemented for its evaluation. An efficient, sampling‐based approach is also introduced for establishing a probabilistic sensitivity analysis to identify the importance of each of the uncertain model parameters in affecting the overall risk. This framework facilitates use of complex models for the structural system and the excitation. The adopted structural model explicitly addresses nonlinear characteristics of the isolators and of any supplemental dampers, and the effect of seismic pounding of the base to the surrounding retaining walls. An efficient stochastic ground motion model is also discussed for characterizing future near‐fault ground motions and relating them to the seismic hazard for the structural site. An illustrative example is presented that emphasizes the results from the novel probabilistic sensitivity analysis and their dependence on seismic pounding occurrences and on addition of supplemental dampers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

System identification of linear structures based on Hilbert–Huang spectral analysis. Part 2: Complex modes

A method, based on the Hilbert–Huang spectral analysis, has been proposed by the authors to identify linear structures in which normal modes exist (i.e., real eigenvalues and eigenvectors). Frequently, all the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of linear structures are complex. In this paper, the method is extended further to identify general linear structures with complex modes using the free vibration response data polluted by noise. Measured response signals are first decomposed into modal responses using the method of Empirical Mode Decomposition with intermittency criteria. Each modal response contains the contribution of a complex conjugate pair of modes with a unique frequency and a damping ratio. Then, each modal response is decomposed in the frequency–time domain to yield instantaneous phase angle and amplitude using the Hilbert transform. Based on a single measurement of the impulse response time history at one appropriate location, the complex eigenvalues of the linear structure can be identified using a simple analysis procedure. When the response time histories are measured at all locations, the proposed methodology is capable of identifying the complex mode shapes as well as the mass, damping and stiffness matrices of the structure. The effectiveness and accuracy of the method presented are illustrated through numerical simulations. It is demonstrated that dynamic characteristics of linear structures with complex modes can be identified effectively using the proposed method. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

System identification of linear structures based on Hilbert–Huang spectral analysis. Part 1: normal modes

Based on the Hilbert–Huang spectral analysis, a method is proposed to identify multi‐degree‐of‐freedom (MDOF) linear systems using measured free vibration time histories. For MDOF systems, the normal modes have been assumed to exist. In this method, the measured response data, which are polluted by noises, are first decomposed into modal responses using the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) approach with intermittency criteria. Then, the Hilbert transform is applied to each modal response to obtain the instantaneous amplitude and phase angle time histories. A linear least‐square fit procedure is proposed to identify the natural frequency and damping ratio from the instantaneous amplitude and phase angle for each modal response. Based on a single measurement of the free vibration time history at one appropriate location, natural frequencies and damping ratios can be identified. When the responses at all degrees of freedom are measured, the mode shapes and the physical mass, damping and stiffness matrices of the structure can be determined. The applications of the proposed method are illustrated using three linear systems with different dynamic characteristics. Numerical simulation results demonstrate that the proposed system identification method yields quite accurate results, and it offers a new and effective tool for the system identification of linear structures in which normal modes exist. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.