Development of a ten-element hybrid simulation platform and an adjustable yielding brace for performance evaluation of multi-story braced frames subjected to earthquakes

This paper presents a ten-element hybrid (experimental-numerical) simulation platform, referred to as UT10, which was developed for running hybrid simulations of braced frames with up to ten large-capacity physical brace specimens. This paper presents the details of the development of different components of UT10 and an adjustable yielding brace (AYB) specimen, which was designed to perform hybrid simulations with UT10. As the first application of UT10, a five-story buckling-restrained braced frame and a special concentrically braced frame (BRBF and SCBF) were designed and tested with AYB specimens and buckling specimens representing the braces. Cyclic tests of the AYB, one- and three-element hybrid simulations of the BRBF, and four-element hybrid simulations of the SCBF inside the UT10 confirmed the functionality of UT10 for running hybrid simulations on multiple specimens. The tests also indicated that AYB was capable of producing a stable hysteretic response with characteristics similar to BRBs. Comparison of the results of the hybrid simulations of the BRBF and SCBF with their fully numerical models showed that the modeling inaccuracies of the yielding braces could potentially affect the global response of the multi-story braced frames further emphasizing the need for experimental calibration or hybrid simulation for achieving more accurate response predictions. UT10 provides a simple and reconfigurable platform that can be used to achieve a realistic understanding of the seismic response of multi-story frames with yielding braces, distinguish their modeling limitations, and improve different modeling techniques available for their seismic response prediction.     

Temporal patterns of glass eel migration (Anguilla anguilla L. 1758) in relation to environmental factors in the Western Greek inland waters

Glass eel migration of the European eel Anguilla anguilla (L., 1758) in the eastern Mediterranean is poorly known despite the increasing state of anxiety for the future of the stock. In the present study, glass eel migration was investigated from October 1999 to April 2000, using experimental fishery with fyke nets, in two coastal systems along the western Greece (Ionian Sea): at the Sagiada marsh in the delta area of Kalamas River and at the mouth of Alfios River. The main period of the glass eel entrance was from December to March and the migration pattern was similar to those observed along the Atlantic coast of southwestern Europe. The variance of daily glass eel catches between the two studied sites was significantly different. The univariate and bivariate time series spectral analysis showed that glass eel short-term freshwater migration: (1) consisted of waves with periods from 5 to 40 days and (2) was correlated with environmental factors such as water temperature, atmospheric pressure, rainfall and moonlight. The observed differences between the two sites reveal the importance of the inland ecosystem characteristics.     

Caves and karst of Ecuador – state-of-the-art and research perspectives

Current knowledge of caves and karst regions of Ecuador is scarce and broadly limited to discrete areas such as that of the Galápagos volcanokarst. In continental Ecuador, carbonate karst mostly outcrops in the Amazonian basin and accounts for 5–10% of the surface of the country. However, owing to the difficulties of access within the Amazonian rainforest, most surface and subterranean karst is yet to be revealed. In this review, we present an updated map of the solutional karst of Ecuador based on the most recent geological surveys and our own research. We describe the principal karst regions of Ecuador from the Amazonian basin (Napo and Santiago) as well as the Galápagos pseudokarst. We show that Ecuador karst research may be of considerable importance for both basic and applied research owing to its geographical position and intrinsic vulnerabilities. We discuss the main challenges of karst-related research in Ecuador, such as paleoclimatic studies, subterranean biodiversity, and archeology. We discuss the main vulnerabilities and hazards related to karst uses in Ecuador, considering the paramount importance of tourism for the country.     

Testing polymineral post-IR IRSL and quartz SAR-OSL protocols on Middle to Late Pleistocene loess at Batajnica,Serbia

The loess–palaeosol sequence of Batajnica (Vojvodina region, Serbia) is considered as one of the most complete and thickest terrestrial palaeoclimate archives for the Middle and Late Pleistocene. In order to achieve a numerical chronology for this profile, four sets of ages were obtained on 18 individual samples. Equivalent doses were determined using the SAR protocol on fine (4–11 μm) and coarse (63–90 μm) quartz fractions, as well as on polymineral fine grains by using two elevated temperature infrared stimulation methods, pIRIR₂₉₀ and pIRIR₂₂₅. We show that the upper age limit of coarse quartz OSL and polymineral pIRIR₂₉₀ and pIRIR₂₂₅ techniques is restricted to the Last Glacial/Interglacial cycle due to the field saturation of the natural signals. Luminescence ages on coarse quartz, pIRIR₂₂₅ and pIRIR₂₉₀ polymineral fine grains are in general agreement. Fine quartz ages are systematically lower than the coarse quartz and pIRIR ages, the degree of underestimation increasing with age. Comparison between natural and laboratory dose response curves indicate the age range over which each protocol provides reliable ages. For fine and coarse quartz, the natural and laboratory dose response curves overlap up to ~150 and ~250 Gy, respectively, suggesting that the SAR protocol provides reliable ages up to c. 50 ka on fine quartz and c. 100 ka on coarse quartz. Using the pIRIR₂₂₅ and pIRIR₂₉₀ protocols, equivalent doses up to ~400 Gy can be determined, beyond which in the case of the former the natural dose response curve slightly overestimates the laboratory dose response curve. Our results suggest that the choice of the mineral and luminescence technique to be used for dating loess sediments should take into consideration the reported limited reliability.     

Local retrofit of exterior RC beam–column joints using thin RC jackets—An experimental study

The use of a new type of reinforced concrete (RC) jacket for RC exterior beam–column connections damaged by seismic excitations is addressed and experimentally investigated. The proposed jacket has very small thickness and includes small diameter steel reinforcement. This jacketing applies at the joint region and at a small part of the columns and the beam. The main advantage of the proposed thin and locally applied jacket compared with the commonly used concrete jacket is the fact that its application is not restrained by space limitations, and since it slightly changes the initial size of the elements, the building's dynamics and seismic behaviour remain practically unaffected. For the needs of this study, 10 exterior beam–column joint subassemblages were constructed and subjected to increasing cyclic loading. Later, the damaged specimens were locally retrofitted using the proposed thin RC jackets and they were retested with the same load sequence. Three different specimen configurations with various amounts of shear reinforcement in the joint area were examined and two types of jackets (a) with light and (b) with dense reinforcement were applied. Test results indicated that the seismic performance of the retrofitted specimens was fully restored and in some cases substantially improved with respect to the performance of the same specimens in the initial loading, since they exhibited higher values of load capacity and hysteretic energy dissipation. Discussion for the conditions of the use of the examined jacketing technique either as a repair or as a strengthening method is also included. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sliding response of gravity dams including vertical seismic accelerations

Seismic safety assessment of gravity dams has become a major concern in many regions of the world while the effects of vertical seismic accelerations on the response of structures remain poorly understood. This paper first investigates the effect of including vertical accelerations in the sliding response analysis of gravity dams subjected to a range of historical ground motion records separated in two groups according to their source-to-site distance. Analyses showed that the incidence of vertical accelerations on the sliding response of gravity dams is significantly higher for near-source records than for farsource records. The pseudo-static 30% load combination rule, commonly used in practice to account for the non-simultaneous occurrence of the peak horizontal and vertical accelerations, yielded good approximations of the minimum safety factors against sliding computed from time-history analyses. A method for empirically estimating the vertical response spectra based on horizontal spectra, accounting for the difference in frequency content and amplitudes between the two components is investigated. Results from analyses using spectrum compatible horizontal and vertical synthetic records also approximated well the sliding response of a gravity dam subjected to series of simultaneous horizontal and vertical historical earthquake records.     

Radon and remediation measures near Băiţa-Ştei old uranium mine (Romania)

B?i?a-?tei mine is an open pit mine in NW Romania (West Carpathian Mountains). It was the largest surface uranium deposit in the world. Two means of uranium transport and dissemination were used over time. The first was the natural way, represented by transportation of geological sediments by Cri?ul-B?i?a River that crosses the B?i?a surface deposit. These sediments were used as building materials (stone, gravel, sand). The second way was related to the people living in this valley, who used also the uranium waste as building material. The preliminary indoor radon concentrations measured in the buildings ranged from 40 to 4000 Bq m^?3 with a mean value of 241 Bq m^?3. A focused radon survey facilitated the selection of 20 houses with the highest indoor radon that were therefore proposed for remediation. To find the radon sources of these houses, systematic investigations on radon were performed. The remedial measures for these 20 houses were tested on a chosen pilot house.     

Viscoelastic coupling dampers (VCDs) for enhanced wind and seismic performance of high‐rise buildings

As high‐rise buildings are built taller and more slender, their dynamic behavior becomes an increasingly critical design consideration. Wind‐induced vibrations cause an increase in the lateral wind design loads, but more importantly, they can be perceived by building occupants, creating levels of discomfort ranging from minor annoyance to severe motion sickness. The current techniques to address wind vibration perception include stiffening the lateral load‐resisting system, adding mass to the building, reducing the number of stories, or incorporating a vibration absorber at the top of the building; each solution has significant economic consequences for builders. Significant distributed damage is also expected in tall buildings under severe seismic loading, as a result of the ductile seismic design philosophy that is widely used for such structures. In this paper, the viscoelastic coupling damper (VCD) that was developed at the University of Toronto to increase the level of inherent damping of tall coupled shear wall buildings to control wind‐induced and earthquake‐induced dynamic vibrations is introduced. Damping is provided by incorporating VCDs in lieu of coupling beams in common structural configurations and therefore does not occupy any valuable architectural space, while mitigating building tenant vibration perception problems and reducing both the wind and earthquake responses of the structure. This paper provides an overview of this newly proposed system, its development, and its performance benefits as well as the overall seismic and wind design philosophy that it encompasses. Two tall building case studies incorporating VCDs are presented to demonstrate how the system results in more efficient designs. In the examples that are presented, the focus is on the wind and moderate earthquake responses that often govern the design of such tall slender structures while reference is made to other studies where the response of the system under severe seismic loading conditions is examined in more detail and where results from tests conducted on the viscoelastic material and the VCDs in full‐scale are presented. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Avalonian and Cadomian terranes in North Dobrogea,Romania

The North Dobrogea orogen is a collage of dismembered terrane fragments between the Moesian platform and East European craton (Baltica). It records Alpine and Variscan deformation, magmatism and metamorphism. Its basement comprises three metamorphic complexes (Boclugea, Megina and Orliga) that are separated by tectonic boundaries. Detrital zircon U/Pb ages suggest the Boclugea and Orliga complexes represent two peri-Gondwanan terranes of Avalonian and Cadomian affinities, respectively. The new data clarify the original relationships between the North Dobrogea terranes, and Baltica and Moesia platform.