Study on elastic response of structures to near-fault ground motions through record decomposition

Accelerograms recorded near active faults have some important characteristics that make them different from those recorded in far-fault regions. High-frequency components in acceleration records and long-period velocity pulses are among notable specifications of such ground motions. In this paper, a moving average filtering with appropriate cut-off frequency has been used to decompose the near-fault ground motions into two components having different frequency contents: first, Pulse-Type Record (PTR) that possesses long-period pulses; second, the relatively high-frequency BackGround Record (BGR), which does not include large velocity pulses. Comparing the results with those extracted through wavelet analysis shows that moving average filter is an appropriate and efficient tool for near-fault records decomposition. The method is applied to decompose a suite of 91 selected near-fault records and the elastic response of structures is examined through their response to the decomposed parts. The results emphasizes that in contrast with ordinary far-fault earthquake records, response spectra of near-fault ground motions typically have two distinct local peaks, which are representatives of the high- and low-frequency components, i.e., BGR and PTR, respectively. Moreover, a threshold period is identified below which the response of structures is dominated by BGR while PTR controls the response of structures with periods longer than this period.     

Impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation on streamflow in Western Iran

The Middle East region, where arid and semi‐arid regions occupy most of the land, is extremely vulnerable to any natural or anthropogenic reductions in available water resources. Much of the observed interannual‐decadal variability in Middle Eastern streamflow is physically linked to a large‐scale atmospheric circulation patterns such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). In this work, the relationship between the NAO index and the seasonal and annual streamflows in the west of Iran was statistically examined during the last four decades. The correlations were constructed for two scenarios (with and without time lag). The associations between the annual and seasonal streamflows and the simultaneous NAO index were found to be poor and insignificant. The possibility of streamflow forecasting was also explored, and the results of lag correlations revealed that streamflow responses at the NAO signal with two and three seasons delays. The highest Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.379 was found between the spring NAO index and the autumn streamflow series at Taghsimab station, indicating that roughly 14% of the variance in the streamflow series is associated with NAO forcing. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic design factors for RC special moment resisting frames in Dubai, UAE

This study investigates the seismic design factors for three reinforced concrete (RC) framed buildings with 4, 16 and 32-stories in Dubai, UAE utilizing nonlinear analysis. The buildings are designed according to the response spectrum procedure defined in the 2009 International Building Code (IBC’09). Two ensembles of ground motion records with 10% and 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years (10/50 and 2/50, respectively) are used. The nonlinear dynamic responses to the earthquake records are computed using IDARC-2D. Key seismic design parameters are evaluated; namely, response modification factor (R), deflection amplification factor (Cd), system overstrength factor (Ωo), and response modification factor for ductility (Rd) in addition to inelastic interstory drift. The evaluated seismic design factors are found to significantly depend on the considered ground motion (10/50 versus 2/50). Consequently, resolution to the controversy of Dubai seismicity is urged. The seismic design factors for the 2/50 records show an increase over their counterparts for the 10/50 records in the range of 200%-400%, except for the Ωo factor, which shows a mere 30% increase. Based on the observed trends, period-dependent R and Cd factors are recommended if consistent collapse probability (or collapse prevention performance) in moment frames with varying heights is to be expected.     

Structural elements of the Makran region, Oman sea and their potential relevance to tsunamigenisis

The character of convergence along the Arabian–Iranian plate boundary changes radically eastward from the Zagros ranges to the Makran region. This appears to be due to collision of continental crust in the west, in contrast to subduction of oceanic crust in the east. The Makran subduction zone with a length of about 900 km display progressively older and highly deformed sedimentary units northward from the coast, together with an increase in elevation of the ranges. North of the Makran ranges are large subsiding basins, flanked to the north by active volcanoes. Based on 2D seismic reflection data obtained in this study, the main structural provinces and elements in the Gulf of Oman include: (i) the structural elements on the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate and, (ii) the Offshore Makran Accretionary Complex. Based on detailed analysis of these data on the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate five structural provinces and elements—the Musendam High, the Musendam Peneplain, the Musendam Slope, the Dibba Zone, and the Abyssal Plain have been identified. Further, the Offshore Makran Accretionary Complex shown is to consist Accretionary Prism and the For-Arc Basin, while the Accretionary Prism has been subdivided into the Accretionary Wedge and the Accreted/Colored Mélange. Lastly, it is important to note that the Makran subduction zone lacks the trench. The identification of these structural elements should help in better understanding the seismicity of the Makran region in general and the subduction zone in particular. The 1945 magnitude 8.1 tsunamigenic earthquake of the Makran and some other historical events are illustrative of the coastal region’s vulnerability to future tsunami in the area, and such data should be of value to the developing Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System.     

Shallow and deep aquifer hydrochemistry and chemical variability of water quality at Shariatpur district, Bangladesh

Water quality and hydrochemistry of Shariatpur district were evaluated in terms of hydrochemical composition and some important physico-chemical parameters. The groundwater of the study area is good for drinking, domestic as well as for irrigation purposes. Among the major ions, shallow tube well waters give higher concentration of Ca²⁺ which ranges from 24 to 260 mg/L. The deep tubewell waters show higher concentration of Na⁺ which varies from 74 to 582 mg/L during dry season. Among the trace elements most of the shallow aquifer samples show higher concentration of Fe²⁺, Mn²⁺ and As. Concentration of Fe²⁺ varies from 0.655 to 18.8 mg/L, and Mn²⁺ from trace to 0.868 mg/L during dry period. Hydrochemical analyses reveal significant seasonal variation in water quality of shallow aquifer. Both the shallow aquifer and the surface water of the study area are predominantly of Ca–Mg–HCO₃ type, while the deep aquifer water is mainly of Na–K–Cl–SO₄ type with slight inclination to Ca–Mg–HCO₃ type. The study area is suitable for groundwater development if comprehensive and holistic approaches towards water resource management are taken into consideration.     

The effect of different meteorological parameters on the temporal variations of reference evapotranspiration

Temporal changes of meteorological variables can affect reference evapotranspiration (ET₀). The goal of the present research is to analyze the changes of ET₀ and identify the impact of effective meteorological parameters to the changes of ET₀. For this purpose, daily meteorological data recorded in 30 synoptic stations of Iran during 1960–2014 were used. The annual and seasonal values of ET₀ were calculated by the recorded data. To calculate ET₀, FAO56 Penman–Monteith method (standard method) was used. The annual and seasonal trends of ET₀ and its eight effective parameters were analyzed. Then the contributions of effective parameters changes on ET₀ were determined. To analyze ET₀ trend at annual and seasonal scales, two common methods, Spearman’s Rho and Mann–Kendall tests, were used. The R ² = 0.99 showed that the results of the mentioned methods were similar and on the basis of T-statistic <0.057, their difference was not significant (95% confidence level). Therefore, only one method’s results (Spearman’s Rho) were reported. On the basis of Spearman’s Rho results, the annual and seasonal values of ET₀ had negative trend in most of arid and semi-arid stations while the trend of this parameter was positive in humid and very humid stations. At annual and seasonal scales, decreasing in wind speed (W), temperature (T), sunshine hours (n), minimum temperature (TN), dew point temperature (TD), maximum temperature (TX), saturation vapor pressure deficit (SVPD) and solar radiation (RS) was observed in 58, 54, 39, 43, 56, 65, 65 and 37% studied stations, respectively. In many scales, the results showed that TX and W were the most effective meteorological variables on ET₀ changes and then SVPD was located in second step in arid and semi-arid stations. In humid and very humid stations, W was the first effective parameter at all scales, except autumn.     

Seismic vulnerability assessment in the new urban area of Diriyah Governorate,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Nine seismic refraction profiles were conducted and processed to study the near-surface sediments in the new urban area of Diriyah. The 2D geoseismic models illustrate two layers: a surface layer of soft sediments and weathered to hard limestone bedrock. Moreover, microtremor measurements were performed at 38 sites for 40 min using three-component seismographs and processed to assess the peak spectral amplitude and the corresponding fundamental resonance frequency. The seismic vulnerability index at each measurement site was estimated. These results correlate well with the geotechnical borehole data. The north-western zone is highly vulnerable due to the great thickness of the soft sediments.     

Bidirectional behavior of unreinforced masonry walls

Most of the studies related to the modeling of masonry structures have by far investigated either the in‐plane (IP) or the out‐of‐plane (OP) behavior of walls. However, seismic loads mostly impose simultaneous IP and OP demands on load‐bearing or shear masonry walls. Thus, there is a need to reconsider design equations of unreinforced masonry walls by taking into account bidirectional effects. The intent of this study is to investigate the bidirectional behavior of an unreinforced masonry wall with a typical aspect ratio under different displacement‐controlled loading directions making use of finite element analysis. For this purpose, the numerical procedure is first validated against the results of the tests on walls with different failure modes conducted by the authors. Afterward, the response of the wall systems is evaluated with increasing top displacement having different orientations. A set of 19 monotonic and three cyclic loading analyses are performed, and the results are discussed in terms of the variation of failure modes and load–displacement diagrams. Moreover, the results of wall capacity in each loading condition are compared with those of the ASCE41‐06 formulations. The results indicate that the direction of the resultant force, vectorial summation of IP and OP forces, of the wall is initially proportional to the ratio of stiffness in the IP and the OP directions. However, with the increase of damage, the resultant force direction inclines towards the wall's longitudinal direction regardless of the direction of the imposed displacement. Finally, recommendations are made for applicability of ASCE41‐06 formulations under different bidirectional loading conditions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Missing basics: a study on sanitation and women’s health in urban slums in Lucknow,India

GeoJournal - Sanitation is a multidimensional concept alluding primarily to provision of services for safe disposal of human excreta, provision of clean potable water as well as maintenance of...     

A novel spatial index using spatial analyses and hierarchical fuzzy expert system for obtaining green TOD: a case study in Tehran city

Sustainable development is a vital and challenging factor for managing urban growth smartly. This factor contains three main components, namely economic growth, ecological protection and social justice. Green Transit-Oriented Development (GTOD) is a consummate planning approach in line with those components. Implementation of GTOD in an urban area is underpinned by its quantification. Therefore, a quantitative spatial index based on several indicators related to TOD and Green urbanism concepts should be developed. In this study, Geo-spatial Information Science and hierarchical fuzzy inference system (HFIS) were employed to calculate the indicators and aggregate them, respectively. In order to showcase the feasibility of the proposed method, it was implemented in a case study area in the City of Tehran, Iran. The result of this method is an integrated spatial GTOD index, which measures the neighbourhoods’ GTOD levels. These measurements specify weaknesses and strengths of neighbourhoods’ factors. Therefore, this index helps decision-makers to plan neighbourhoods based on land use and public transit views. Additionally, the HFIS method helps decision-makers to consider criteria and indicators with their inherent uncertainties and aggregate them with much fewer rules. For evaluating the results, the developed GTOD index was assessed with municipal action planning and attraction maps. According to the outcomes of the assessment, it is concluded that the proposed method is adequately robust and efficient for smart and sustainable urban planning.