Seismic interaction in linearly connected electrical substation equipment

An electrical substation consists of a complex set of equipment items that are interconnected through conductor buses or cables. If the connections are not sufficiently flexible, significant dynamic interaction may occur between the connected equipment items during a seismic excitation. This interaction is believed to be responsible for some of the observed substation equipment damage in recent earthquakes. This paper investigates the interaction between two equipment items connected by a linear spring‐dashpot or spring‐dashpot‐mass element representing a conductor bus. It is found that the interaction between the two equipment items may significantly amplify the response of the higher‐frequency equipment item. The influences of various key parameters on the interaction effect are quantified. Means for reducing the adverse interaction effect are described. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

System identification of the Vincent Thomas suspension bridge using earthquake records

The Vincent Thomas Bridge in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, is a critical artery for commercial traffic flow in and out of the Los Angeles Harbor, and is at risk in the seismically active Southern California region, particularly because it straddles the Palos Verdes fault zone. A combination of linear and non‐linear system identification techniques is employed to obtain a complete reduced‐order, multi‐input–multi‐output (MIMO) dynamic model of the Vincent Thomas Bridge based on the dynamic response of the structure to the 1987 Whittier and 1994 Northridge earthquakes. Starting with the available acceleration measurements (which consists of 15 accelerometers on the bridge structure and 10 accelerometers at various locations on its base), an efficient least‐squares‐based time‐domain identification procedure is applied to the data set to develop a reduced‐order, equivalent linear, multi‐degree‐of‐freedom model. Although not the main focus of this study, the linear system identification method is also combined with a non‐parametric identification technique, to generate a reduced‐order non‐linear mathematical model suitable for use in subsequent studies to predict, with good fidelity, the total response of the bridge under arbitrary dynamic environments. Results of this study yield measurements of the equivalent linear modal properties (frequencies, mode shapes and non‐proportional damping) as well as quantitative measures of the extent and nature of non‐linear interaction forces arising from strong ground shaking. It is shown that, for the particular subset of observations used in the identification procedure, the apparent non‐linearities in the system restoring forces are quite significant, and they contribute substantially to the improved fidelity of the model. Also shown is the potential of the identification technique under discussion to detect slight changes in the structure's influence coefficients, which may be indicators of damage and degradation in the structure being monitored. Difficulties associated with accurately estimating damping for lightly damped long‐span structures from their earthquake response are discussed. The technical issues raised in this paper indicate the need for added spatial resolution in sensor instrumentation to obtain identified mathematical models of structural systems with the broadest range of validity. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Weathering,erosion and sediment composition in a high‐gradient river,Calabria, Italy

Source rock lithology and immediate modifying processes, such as chemical weathering and mechanical erosion, are primary controls on fluvial sediment supply. Sand composition and Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) of parent rocks, soil and fluvial sand of the Savuto River watershed, Calabria (Italy), were used to evaluate the modifications of source rocks through different sections of the basin, characterized by different geomorphic processes, in a sub‐humid Mediterranean climate. The headwaters, with gentle topography, produce a coarse‐grained sediment load derived from deeply weathered gneiss, having sand of quartzofeldspathic composition, compositionally very different from in situ degraded bedrock. Maximum estimated CIA values suggest that source rock has been affected significantly by weathering, and it testifies to a climatic threshold on the destruction of the bedrock. The mid‐course has steeper slopes and a deeply incised valley; bedrock consists of mica‐schist and phyllite with a very thin regolith, which provides large cobble to very coarse sand sediments to the main channel. Slope instability, with an areal incidence of over 40 per cent, largely supplies detritus to the main channel. Sand‐sized detritus of soil and fluvial sand is lithic. Estimated CIA value testifies to a significant weathering of the bedrock too, even if in this part of the drainage basin steeper slopes allow erosion to exceed chemical weathering. The lower course has a braided pattern and sediment load is coarse to medium–fine grained. The river cuts across Palaeozoic crystalline rocks and Miocene siliciclastic deposits. Sand‐sized detritus, contributed from these rocks and homogenized by transport processes, has been found in the quartzolithic distal samples. Field and laboratory evidence indicates that landscape development was the result of extensive weathering during the last postglacial temperature maximum in the headwaters, and of mass‐failure and fluvial erosional processes in the mid‐ and low course. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of viscous,viscoplastic and friction damping on the response of seismic isolated structures

In this paper the efficiency of various dissipative mechanisms to protect structures from pulse‐type and near‐source ground motions is examined. Physically realizable cycloidal pulses are introduced, and their resemblance to recorded near‐source ground motions is illustrated. The study uncovers the coherent component of some near‐source acceleration records, and the shaking potential of these records is examined. It is found that the response of structures with relatively low isolation periods is substantially affected by the high‐frequency fluctuations that override the long duration pulse. Therefore, the concept of seismic isolation is beneficial even for motions that contain a long duration pulse which generates most of the unusually large recorded displacements and velocities. Dissipation forces of the plastic (friction) type are very efficient in reducing displacement demands although occasionally they are responsible for substantial permanent displacements. It is found that the benefits by hysteretic dissipation are nearly indifferent to the level of the yield displacement of the hysteretic mechanism and that they depend primarily on the level of the plastic (friction) force. The study concludes that a combination of relatively low friction and viscous forces is attractive since base displacements are substantially reduced without appreciably increasing base shears and superstructure accelerations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design of dampers for structures based on optimal control theory

The aim of this paper was to propose a design guideline for using visco‐elastic dampers for the control of building structures subjected to earthquake loading as well as suspension roof structures subjected to wind loading. The active control algorithm was used to calculate the control forces. Based on the single‐mode approach the control forces were transformed to the forces which visco‐elastic dampers can provide. Application of the method to the design of the building structure with passive damping devices in the bracing system and to the suspension roof with dampers was studied. Through the application of optimal control theory a systematic design procedure to implement dampers in structures is proposed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling of an actively braced full‐scale building considering control–structure interaction

Recently, the application of active control to seismic‐excited buildings has attracted international attention. To demonstrate the practical applicability of active control, we have conducted experimental tests using a full‐scale three‐storey building equipped with active bracing systems on the shake table at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), Taiwan. Experimental results indicate that the control–structure interaction (CSI) effect is significant. A state‐space analytical model of this actively controlled building taking into account the CSI effect is established in this paper using a system identification technique based on curve‐fitting of transfer functions. To verify the accuracy of the analytical model for simulating the controlled response, four sets of linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) controllers using acceleration feedback are designed and further experimental tests are conducted for comparison. It is demonstrated that the correlations between the simulation and experimental results are remarkable. The construction of an accurate analytical model is important for active control, and such an analytical model can be used for future benchmark studies of different control algorithms based on numerical simulations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Establishing absorbed energy spectra—an attenuation approach

For energy‐based seismic design, energy demand in the form of absorbed energy spectra was established by an attenuation relationship. The absorbed energy is proposed for evaluating the energy demand in an inelastic system because the absorbed energy is directly related to the pseudo‐velocity in the elastic case. Based on a total of 273 ground motion records from 15 significant earthquakes in California, an attenuation relationship of the absorbed energy was established from a two‐stage non‐linear regression analysis. This relationship was established for a given earthquake magnitude, source‐to‐site distance, site class, and ductility factor. A similar expression for the normalized absorbed energy was also developed. This study showed that the absorbed energy for near‐field ground motions can be significantly larger than that predicted by the attenuation relationship for normal ground motions. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soil–structure interaction effects observed in the in situ forced vibration and pushover tests of school buildings in Taiwan and their modeling considering the foundation flexibility

In the conventional structural seismic analysis, the rigid base model is usually adopted without considering the flexibility of the ground, leading to inaccurate estimation of the vibration characteristics and the seismic response of the structure. In 2007, several in situ tests were conducted by the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) on the school buildings in the Guanmiao Elementary School in Tainan, Taiwan. For the study of soil–structure interaction (SSI) effects, the forced vibration test (FVT) was performed, and the deformation of the foundation system was measured during the pushover test. In this paper, the results of these in situ tests are presented and discussed, and the finite element models of the school buildings were generated for the simulation of the FVT and for the pushover analysis in order to investigate the difference between the rigid base model and the flexible base model. Results show that the mechanical properties of the structure and the foundation could be demonstrated in these in situ tests. Additionally, the introduction of the flexibility of the foundation has a considerable influence on the results of structural analysis. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of extreme drought and human interference on baseflow of the Yangtze River

Attention has been given to baseflow in large rivers, but up to now, no study on baseflow for the Yangtze River in combination with extreme drought and extensive human activities has been carried out. Discharge data in 2000–2005 and in the extreme drought years, 1978 and 2006, at stations along the main stream, lakes and distributaries of the Yangtze River were collected to analyse the features of baseflow in 2006 by using baseflow separation technique, HYSEP. It can be seen that the baseflow relative to the streamflow in 2006 was greater than those in other years. The variation of baseflow discharge in the Upper Yangtze River Stream (UYRS) was larger than that in the Mid‐Lower Yangtze River Stream (MLYRS). Human activities in MLYRS are more intensive than that in the UYRS and the baseflow discharge was greater. The baseflow is influenced by the extreme climate and human activities along the Yangtze River with the former being the dominant factor in 2006. The contribution of human interference to baseflow discharge was about 10% in 2006. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.