A new simple method to substantially increase the seismic stability of reinforced soil structures

A preloading and prestressing (PLPS) method has been proposed to substantially decrease the transient and residual vertical compression of geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) structures subjected to long-term traffic load. It is shown that by using a newly developed device (called the ratchet system) in addition to the PLPS procedure, the seismic stability of PLPS GRS structures becomes very high. The ratchet system can not only maintain high prestress when the backfill tends to contract but also prevent the expansion of the backfill, both effectively restraining the shear and bending deformation of the structure subjected to seismic load.     

基于拟动力法的抗滑桩加固边坡地震稳定性分析

地震力作用下土质边坡动态稳定性研究对实际边坡工程有着重要的意义。采用拟动力法结合简化毕肖普法研究坡顶抗滑桩加固土质边坡在地震力作用下的动态稳定性。尽管拟静力法是目前处理地震力最为广泛的方法之一,但其局限性在于无法考虑地震力随时间变化且忽略了地震波在土体中的传播。而拟动力法采用正弦波模拟地震波在土中传播,并考虑地震波从坡脚传递到坡顶的相位差以及阻尼力对边坡稳定性的影响,通过边坡安全系数的变化揭示土质边坡在地震力作用下的稳定性变化规律。将得到的结果与拟静力法进行对比,突出了拟动力法的优势。最后,考虑水平地震加速度系数、加速度幅值放大系数以及土体内摩擦角对边坡稳定性的影响,以期对实际工程提供理论借鉴。     

钢筋混凝土框架结构在小震作用下失效相关性的拟动力模型试验研究

通过两榀二层三跨规范钢筋混凝土对称、非对称框架结构模型的拟动力试验,对试件在小震作用截面约束的失效相关性进行了分析,并与文献中的Monte-Carlo随机模拟结果进行了比较,进一步验证了规范钢筋混凝土框架结构在小震作用下失效独立的相关性结论。     

Reliability-based load and resistance factor design approach for external seismic stability of reinforced soil walls

Load and resistance factor design (LRFD) approach for the design of reinforced soil walls is presented to produce designs with consistent and uniform levels of risk for the whole range of design applications. The evaluation of load and resistance factors for the reinforced soil walls based on reliability theory is presented. A first order reliability method (FORM) is used to determine appropriate ranges for the values of the load and resistance factors. Using pseudo-static limit equilibrium method, analysis is conducted to evaluate the external stability of reinforced soil walls subjected to earthquake loading. The potential failure mechanisms considered in the analysis are sliding failure, eccentricity failure of resultant force (or overturning failure) and bearing capacity failure. The proposed procedure includes the variability associated with reinforced backfill, retained backfill, foundation soil, horizontal seismic acceleration and surcharge load acting on the wall. Partial factors needed to maintain the stability against three modes of failure by targeting component reliability index of 3.0 are obtained for various values of coefficients of variation (COV) of friction angle of backfill and foundation soil, distributed dead load surcharge, cohesion of the foundation soil and horizontal seismic acceleration. A comparative study between LRFD and allowable stress design (ASD) is also presented with a design example.     

Aftershock collapse vulnerability assessment of reinforced concrete frame structures

In a seismically active region, structures may be subjected to multiple earthquakes, due to mainshock–aftershock phenomena or other sequences, leaving no time for repair or retrofit between the events. This study quantifies the aftershock vulnerability of four modern ductile reinforced concrete (RC) framed buildings in California by conducting incremental dynamic analysis of nonlinear MDOF analytical models. Based on the nonlinear dynamic analysis results, collapse and damage fragility curves are generated for intact and damaged buildings. If the building is not severely damaged in the mainshock, its collapse capacity is unaffected in the aftershock. However, if the building is extensively damaged in the mainshock, there is a significant reduction in its collapse capacity in the aftershock. For example, if an RC frame experiences 4% or more interstory drift in the mainshock, the median capacity to resist aftershock shaking is reduced by about 40%. The study also evaluates the effectiveness of different measures of physical damage observed in the mainshock‐damaged buildings for predicting the reduction in collapse capacity of the damaged building in subsequent aftershocks. These physical damage indicators for the building are chosen such that they quantify the qualitative red tagging (unsafe for occupation) criteria employed in post‐earthquake evaluation of RC frames. The results indicated that damage indicators related to the drift experienced by the damaged building best predicted the reduced aftershock collapse capacities for these ductile structures. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adaptive time stepping in pseudo-dynamic testing of earthquake driven structures

The problem of assessing errors in implementing time-marching algorithms in the context of pseudo-dynamic seismic testing of structures is considered. These errors occur in implementing the numerical and experimental steps of the test procedure. The study investigates how a linearized variational equation can be augmented with the governing equation of motion to track the effect of the errors, and, accordingly, adjust the step size of integration adaptively to keep a global error norm within specified limits. The governing augmented equations are integrated using an explicit operator splitting scheme. Additional efforts, in terms of evaluation of the tangent stiffness matrix, are shown to become necessary while modelling the errors. Illustrative examples include numerical studies on a set of nonlinear systems and an experimental study on a geometrically nonlinear two-storied building frame. The experimental results from pseudo-dynamic test are shown to compare reasonably well with pertinent results from an effective force test.     

Seismic analysis of nailed vertical excavation using pseudo-dynamic approach

An attempt has been made to study the behavior of nailed vertical excavations in medium dense to dense cohesionless soil under seismic conditions using a pseudo-dynamic approach. The effect of several parameters such as angle of internal friction of soil(Φ), horizontal(k_h) and vertical(k_v) earthquake acceleration coefficients, amplification factor(f_a), length of nails(L), angle of nail inclination(α) and vertical spacing of nails(S_v) on the stability of nailed vertical excavations has been explored. The limit equilibrium method along with a planar failure surface is used to derive the formulation involved with the pseudo-dynamic approach, considering axial pullout of the installed nails. A comparison of the pseudo-static and pseudo-dynamic approaches has been established in order to explore the effectiveness of the pseudo-dynamic approach over pseudo-static analysis, since most of the seismic stability studies on nailed vertical excavations are based on the latter. The results are expressed in terms of the global factor of safety(FOS). Seismic stability, i.e., the FOS of nailed vertical excavations is found to decrease with increase in the horizontal and vertical earthquake forces. The present values of FOS are compared with those available in the literature.     

Seismic fragility assessment of existing sub-standard low strength reinforced concrete structures

An analytical seismic fragility assessment framework is presented for the existing low strength reinforced concrete structures more common in the building stock of the developing countries.For realistic modelling of such substandard structures,low strength concrete stress-strain and bond-slip capacity models are included in calibrating material models.Key capacity parameters are generated stochastically to produce building population and cyclic pushover analysis is carried out to capture inelastic behaviour.Secant period values are evaluated corresponding to each displacement step on the capacity curves and used as seismic demand.A modified capacity demand diagram method is adopted for the degrading structures,which is further used to evaluate peak ground acceleration from back analysis considering each point on the capacity curve as performance point.For developing fragility curves,the mean values of peak ground acceleration are evaluated corresponding to each performance point on the series of capacity curves.A suitable probability distribution function is adopted for the secant period scatter at different mean peak ground acceleration values and probability of exceedance of limit states is evaluated.A suitable regression function is used for developing fragility curves and regression coefficients are proposed for different confidence levels.Fragility curves are presented for a low rise pre-seismic code reinforced concrete structure typical of developing countries.     

A practical approach for seismic risk assessment of underground structures: A case study of Iranian subway tunnels

Active geological and young faulted zones have made Iran’s territory one of the most seismological active areas in the world according to recent historical earthquakes. Some of the deadliest earthquakes such as Gilan 1990 and Kermanshah 2018 caused tens of thousands fatalities. If such violent earthquakes affect strategical structures of a country, indirect losses would be more concerning than direct losses. Nowadays there is no doubt about the vital role of tunnels and underground structures in urban areas. These facilities serve as nonstop functional structures for human transportation, water and sewage systems and underground pedestrian ways. Any external hazard subjected to underground spaces, such as earthquake could directly affect passenger’s lives and significantly decrease whole system reliability of public transportation. Commonly two earthquake levels of intensities, Maximum Design Earthquake (MDE) and Operating Design Earthquake (ODE) were used in seismic design of underground structures. However, uncertain nature of earthquakes in terms of frequency content, duration of strong ground motion, and level of intensity indicate that only the two levels of earthquake (ODE and MDE) cannot cover the all range of possible seismic responses of structures during a probable earthquake. It is important to evaluate the behavior of tunnel under a wide range of earthquake intensities. For this purpose, a practical risk-based approach which is obtained using the total probability rule was used. This study illustrates a framework for evaluation seismic stability of tunnels. Urban railway tunnels of Tehran, Shiraz, Ahwaz, Mashhad, Isfahan and Tabriz were considered as study cases. Nominal value of seismic risk for three main damage states, including minor, moderate and major were calculated.     

Vulnerability assessment of reinforced concrete bridge structures in Algiers using scenario earthquakes

Algeria has an inheritance of more than 11,000 bridges, with approximately 5,000 road bridges of which more than 30 % have a high probability to be exposed to major earthquakes and serious damages in the future. Therefore, it is of great importance to retrofit the existing bridges and assess their seismic vulnerability and set a permanent monitoring survey to follow the change of their dynamic characteristics such as natural frequency and modal damping. The assessment of the seismic vulnerability of existing RC bridges was carried out based on the consistent and complete post earthquake survey after the Boumerdes earthquake. The information on the damaged existing RC bridges was investigated and evaluated by the authors. This paper presents a simple and efficient inspection method for the preliminary evaluation of the seismic vulnerability of existing bridge structures. To assess the seismic damage of 148 existing bridges, two seismic scenarios were carried out using “Khair al Din” and the “Zemmouri” faults that are capable to generate earthquakes with a maximum acceleration of 0.8g. The main findings of this study are summarized in this paper.     

Investigation of dynamic behavior of geosynthetic reinforced soil retaining structures under earthquake loads

The results of an experimental study conducted on two 1:2 reduced-scale geotextile-reinforced soil retaining walls are presented and discussed. El Centro earthquake and sinusoidal harmonic motion excitations were applied to the 1.9 m tall models. The design parameter investigated was the reinforcement length (L/H = 0.9 in the 1st model and L/H = 0.6 in the 2nd model). The results were analyzed to evaluate the acceleration amplification, strains in the reinforcement layers and facing wall deformation. The test results showed that in both experiments the walls were in fact designed to behave rigidly and almost no residual displacements were observed on the front of the wall. The most important conclusion drawn from the experimental work was that Geosynthetic Reinforced Retaining Structures designed according to the current specifications behave very successfully under earthquake loading conditions.     

Seismic resilience assessment of corroded reinforced concrete structures designed to the Chinese codes

The natural landscape in China exposes many existing RC buildings to aggressive environments.Such exposure can lead to deterioration in structural performance with regard to resisting events such as earthquakes.Corrosion of embedded reinforcement is one of the most common mechanisms by which such structural degradation occurs.There has been increasing attention in recent years toward seismic resilience in communities and their constituent construction;however,to date,studies have neglected the effect of natural aging.This study aims to examine the effect of reinforcement corrosion on the seismic resilience of RC frames that are designed according to Chinese seismic design codes.A total of twenty RC frames are used to represent design and construction that is typical of coastal China,with consideration given to various seismic fortification levels and elevation arrangements.Seismic fragility relationships are developed for case frames under varying levels of reinforcement corrosion,i.e.,corrosion rates are increased from 5%to 15%.Subsequently,the seismic resilience levels of uncorroded and corroded RC frames are compared using a normalized loss factor.It was found that the loss of resilience of the corroded frames is greater than that of their uncorroded counterparts.At the Rare Earthquake hazard level,the corrosioninduced increase in loss of resilience can be more than 200%,showing the significant effect of reinforcement corrosion on structural resilience under the influence of earthquakes.     

Reliability assessment of water structures subject to data scarcity using the SCS-CN model

ABSTRACT

When discharge measurements are not available, design of water structures relies on using frequency analysis of rainfall data and applying a rainfall–runoff model to estimate a hydrograph. The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) method estimates the design hydrograph first through a rainfall–runoff transformation and next by propagating runoff to the basin outlet via the SCS unit hydrograph (UH) method. The method uses two parameters, the Curve Number (CN) and the time of concentration (T_c). However, in data-scarce areas, the calibration of CN and T_c from nearby gauged watersheds is limited and subject to high uncertainties. Therefore, the inherent uncertainty/variability of the SCS parameters may have considerable ramifications on the safety of design. In this research, a reliability approach is used to evaluate the impact of incorporating the uncertainty of CN and T_c in flood design. The sensitivity of the probabilistic outcome against the uncertainty of input parameters is calculated using the First Order Reliability Method (FORM). The results of FORM are compared with the conventional SCS results, taking solely the uncertainty of the rainfall event. The relative importance of the uncertainty of the SCS parameters is also estimated. It is found that the conventional approach, used by many practitioners, might grossly underestimate the risk of failure of water structures, due to neglecting the probabilistic nature of the SCS parameters and especially the Curve Number. The most predominant factors against which the SCS-CN method is highly uncertain are when the average rainfall value is low (less than 20 mm) or its coefficient of variation is not significant (less than 0.5), i.e. when the resulting rainfall at the design return period is low. A case study is presented for Egypt using rainfall data and CN values driven from satellite information, to determine the regions of acceptance of the SCS-CN method.

EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis; ASSOCIATE EDITOR A. Efstratiadis     

On the stability of landslides: A thermo-poro-elastic approach

Motion of a large rock mass down a slope can either take the form of a catastrophic landslide, or can exhibit self-stabilization, where the mass arrests on the slope, after moving only a short distance. In order to study the parameters that control the stability of the sliding process, a thermo-poro-elastic model is investigated both numerically and analytically. This model assumes that the physics controlling sliding stability is dominated by coupling between frictional heating, thermal pressurization and sliding velocity: A temperature increase due to frictional heating causes thermal pressurization within a fluid-saturated shear zone. The pressure rise leads to reduction of frictional resistance, which in turns leads to higher sliding velocities. Results demonstrate that the permeability of the sliding mass is an important factor in controlling the sliding stability: Low permeabilities lead to catastrophic landslides, by allowing high pore pressure to develop and friction to be reduced. In contrast, high permeabilities lead to rapid arrest by promoting pore pressure diffusion. A pore pressure – velocity phase plane is described, divided by a separatrix distinguishing between catastrophic and arrested sliding. In this phase plane minute changes in permeability dictate a bifurcation in the dynamics of landslides. A sensitivity study reveals that various geometrical and mechanical parameters can control the sliding process dynamics in a similar manner. It is hypothesized that a third sliding regime observed in nature, creep sliding, may be generated by a sequence of arrested events, where the number of arrested events/unit time dictates the apparent creep velocity.     

既有钢筋混凝土框架结构的多指标云模型地震损伤评估

目前的既有钢混结构地震损伤研究没有同时考虑不同抗震设计规范差异和耐久性两个因素对结构抗震性能的影响,且损伤指标较简单,在动力损伤分析中也存在局限。基于云模型的特点,提出了包括弹塑性耗能差率、刚度损伤指数、层间位移角和顶点位移角的多元结构损伤状态综合评估方法,能够同时考虑结构各损伤指数的随机性和模糊性。考虑不同版本抗震设计规范造成的结构性能差异和耐久性下降对结构性能的影响,设计3个典型五层钢混框架结构,进行增量动力分析,验证损伤评估方法的准确性。结果表明：随着抗震规范版本的更新,结构的损伤程度有适当减轻;同一结构的损伤程度因混凝土碳化作用先减轻后加重;采用弹塑性耗能差率表征既有结构的地震损伤效果优于刚度损伤指数;基于多指标云模型损伤评估方法获得的云模型综合隶属度和综合损伤值能够更加细化和精确地描述结构损伤状态。     

Seismic stability analysis of reinforced slopes

In this paper, the seismic stability of slopes reinforced with geosynthetics is analysed within the framework of the pseudo-static approach. Calculations are conducted by applying the kinematic theorem of limit analysis. Different failure modes are considered, and for each analytical expressions are derived that enable one to readily calculate the reinforcement force required to prevent failure and the yield acceleration of slopes subjected to earthquake loading. Several results are presented in order to illustrate the influence of seismic forces on slope stability. Moreover, a suitable procedure based on the assessment of earthquake-induced permanent displacement is proposed for the design of reinforced slopes in seismically active areas.     

纤维砂浆带加固砌体墙片的抗震性能研究

针对低烈度区砌体结构房屋抗震的需要,本文提出利用纤维砂浆带加固砌体墙的一种廉价抗震方案。运用有限元分析软件Ansys10.0进行数值模拟分析,探讨这种加固方案的可行性,并在此基础上进行试验研究。通过纤维砂浆带加固砌体墙片在低周反复荷载作用下的试验,对墙片的破坏特征、裂缝的发展过程、滞回特性、结构延性等技术指标进行对比分析,结果表明,采用纤维砂浆带加固砌体墙有助于提高墙体的开裂荷载,增加结构的延性,改善墙体的抗震性能。