Strengthening of moment‐resisting frame structures against near‐fault ground motion effects

Near‐fault ground motions with forward directivity are characterized by a large pulse. This pulse‐like motion may cause a highly non‐uniform distribution of story ductility demands for code‐compliant frame structures, with maximum demands that may considerably exceed the level of code expectations. Strengthening techniques for multi‐story frame structures are explored with the objective of reducing maximum drift demands. One option is to modify the code‐based SRSS distribution of story shear strength over the height by strengthening of the lower stories of the frame. The modified distribution reduces the maximum story ductility demand, particularly for weak and flexible structures. However, this strengthening technique is less effective for stiff structures, and is almost ineffective in cases in which the maximum demand occurs in the upper stories, i.e. strong and flexible structures. As an alternative, the benefits of strengthening frames with elastic and inelastic walls are evaluated. The effects of adding walls that are either fixed or hinged at the base are investigated. It is demonstrated that strengthening with hinged walls is very effective in reducing drift demands for structures with a wide range of periods and at various performance levels. Wall inelastic behavior only slightly reduces the benefits of strengthening with hinged walls.Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developmental,Reproductive, and Demographic Alterations in Aquatic Wildlife: Establishing Causality between Exposure to Endocrine‐active Compounds (EACs) and Effects

This brief overview discusses the difficulty of demonstrating causal associations between exposure to endocrine active compounds (EACs) and the occurrence of developmental, reproductive, or demographic disturbances in aquatic wildlife. While for biological responses at the suborganism level correlational or causal evidence of an EAC etiology has been established in a number of cases, well proven examples of ecological consequences of endocrine disruption are rather few in number. The attribution of causality is complicated due to (i) lack of data on EAC exposure and bioaccumulation, (ii) lack of specific biomarkers and endpoints, together with insufficient knowledge on the mechanisms and conditions by which EAC‐induced disruption of endocrine functions translates into impaired organism development and reproduction, and (iii) insufficient understanding of the importance of species diversity in endocrine physiology and life histories for the consequences of endocrine disruption. Future research should address these gaps in our understanding of EAC exposure and effects, but additionally needs to pay more attention (i) to ecological determinants influencing the population‐level consequences of the endocrine disruption of developÍmental and reproductive functions, and (ii) to the use of epidemiological principles and approaches.     

Meteorological Aspects, Ozone, and Solar Radiation Measurements During POPCORN 1994

Meteorological data, ozone mixing ratios, and photolysis frequencies for the period August 2 to August 24, 1994, are presented and discussed in support of the field campaign POPCORN (Photochemistry of Plant Emitted Compounds and OH Radicals in Northeastern Germany). Measurements of temperature, ozone, and wind speed at different heights are used to evaluate micro-meteorological parameters. The observations provide information about local influences on the air mass composition. The analysis of radio sonde data of nearby stations provides the height of the planetary boundary layer.     

Frontal substructures within the planetary boundary layer

A two-dimensional mesoscale model, extended by a TKE closure for the subgrid-scale terms and coupled with a soil model, is used to investigate the role of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) for the development and the substructures of two different types of cold fronts. The effects of turbulent friction, large-scale (geostrophic) forcing and the diurnal variation of the terms of the surface energy balance (SEB) equation on the frontal development are studied by 10 different model runs. The ageostrophic cross-frontal circulation in the lowest two kilometres of a cold front results from friction as well as from large-scale forcing. The first one dominates the PBL processes and causes a special boundary-layer structure, which becomes apparent through the existence of seven characteristic zones defined for the x-z cross sections of potential temperature. The arrangement of these characteristic zones depends on the sense of rotation of the frictionally induced part of the ageostrophic circulation and hence on the direction of the along-front jet within the boundary layer. The daytime increase of the terms of the SEB equation for a midlatitude midsummer case leads to a strong enhancement of the frictionally induced cross-frontal circulation. The arrangement of the seven characteristic zones, however, is approximately conserved.     

Shock effects in melilite

Shock recovery experiments on melilite samples in the pressure range from 11 to 50.5 GPa have been performed in order to examine the effects of shock waves on this material. The shocked samples were subsequently studied in the transmission electron microscope. All samples displayed the shock-induced amorphous areas, known as diaplectic glass. The amount of diaplectic melilite glass increased from a few percent at 11 GPa to about 85 percent at 50.5 GPa shock pressure. The shock waves also caused deformational effects as planar faults parallel to (001) and dislocations with a density in the order of 10¹⁰ cm^?2. Regarding the present discussion on the origin and nature of diaplectic glass, diaplectic melilite glass is assumed to be the reversion product of a high-density phase produced in the shock front. Deformed melilites in Ca-Al-rich inclusions from chondritic meteorites studied so far do not contain diaplectic glass. It is assumed that the meteoritic melilites were hot (>1,000° C) and thus plastically deformable by shock waves of rather low amplitudes.