Asymmetric one‐storey elastic systems with non‐linear viscous and viscoelastic dampers: Simplified analysis and supplemental damping system design

Investigated is the accuracy in estimating the response of asymmetric one‐storey systems with non‐linear viscoelastic (VE) dampers by analysing the corresponding linear viscous system wherein all non‐linear VE dampers are replaced by their energy‐equivalent linear viscous dampers. The response of the corresponding linear viscous system is determined by response history analysis (RHA) and by response spectrum analysis (RSA) extended for non‐classically damped systems. The flexible and stiff edge deformations and plan rotation of the corresponding linear viscous system determined by the extended RSA procedure is shown to be sufficiently accurate for design applications with errors generally between 10 and 20%. Although similar accuracy is also shown for the ‘pseudo‐velocity’ of non‐linear VE dampers, the peak force of the non‐linear VE damper cannot be estimated directly from the peak damper force of the corresponding linear viscous system. A simple correction for damper force is proposed and shown to be accurate (with errors not exceeding 15%). For practical applications, an iterative linear analysis procedure is developed for determining the amplitude‐ and frequency‐dependent supplemental damping properties of the corresponding linear viscous system and for estimating the response of asymmetric one‐storey systems with non‐linear VE dampers from the earthquake design (or response) spectrum. Finally, a procedure is developed for designing non‐linear supplemental damping systems that satisfy given design criteria for a given design spectrum. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

dC Variations in Late Jurassic Carbonates, Jaisalmer Formation, Western India

The carbon isotope measurements, carried out on subsurface carbonate samples from Oxfordian Jaisalmer Formation, western India, yield positive d¹³C values up to +3.17%. The most positive Oxfordian C-isotope value corresponds to the carbon isotope excursion measured in samples from from other late Jurassic basins of world. The latest Oxfordian C-isotope values of Jaisalmer Basin fluctuate around 2% while the C-isotope values of 1.50% mark the base of Kimmeridgian. The Oxfordian C-isotope excursion appears to correspond to a time of overall increased organic carbon burial triggered by increased nutrient transfer from continents to oceans during a time of rising global sea level.     

Coal mining along the Warfield Fault, Mingo County, West Virginia: a tale of ups and downs

Mine development along a 15-mile (24 km) section of the Warfield Fault in Mingo County, West Virginia has broadened the geological understanding of the fault and its related structures. The fault has been exposed in two new road cuts, one in the northeast-trending segment at Neely Branch and one in the eastern east-trending segment at the head of Marrowbone Creek. Both exposures show a well-defined normal fault with a 45° to 55° N dip, juxtaposing sandstone/shale packages from the roof and the floor of the Coalburg seam. The fault is associated with a thin gouge zone, some drag folding, and parallel jointing. Its trace tends to run parallel to the crest of the adjacent Warfield Anticline. Based on underground mine development and detailed core drilling, the vertical offset along the fault plane ranges from a maximum of 240 ft (73 m) in the central part of the area near the structural bend to less than 100 ft (30 m) in western and eastern directions. The fault is located along the relatively steeply dipping (locally in excess of 25%) southern limb of the Warfield Anticline, and appears related to a late phase of extension involving folded Pennsylvanian strata. On a regional scale, the lithological variations across the fault do not suggest any appreciable strike-slip component.Underground room and pillar mines in the Coalburg seam north and south of the fault have been greatly impacted by the Warfield structures. Due to the combined (and opposite) effects of the folding and faulting, the northern mines are located up to 400 ft (125 m) higher in elevation than the southern ones. Overland conveyor belts connect mining blocks separated by the fault. The practical mining limit along the steep slopes toward the fault is around 15%. Subsidiary normal faults with offsets in the 5- to 15-ft (1.5–4.5 m) range are fairly common and form major roof control and production hurdles. Overall, the Warfield structures pose an extra challenge to mine development in this part of the Appalachian Coalfields.     

Estimation of recent glacial variations in baspa basin using remote sensing technique

The Himalayas has one of the largest concentrations of glaciers outside the Polar Regions. Various reports suggest that significant number of mountain glaciers is shrinking due to climatic variations. Monitoring of these glaciers is important to assess future availability of water resources in the Himalayan region. However, Himalayan glaciers are normally difficult to monitor due to the rugged, mountainous terrain. Therefore, images of Indian Remote Sensing Satellite were used to monitor glaciers in the Baspa basin. Investigations have shown the presence of 30 glaciers in the basin, with areal extent of 167 km2. Out of these, 19 glaciers, with areal extent of 140 km² were selected to estimate retreat. Investigation suggests that almost all glaciers are retreating in the study basin and overall 19% deglaciation has been observed from 1962 to 2001. In general, altitude distribution appears to have significant influence on glacial retreat. Glaciers located around 5000 m altitude range are showing 24% loss as compared to 14% by glaciers located in altitude range higher than 5400 m. In addition, mean altitude of glacier terminus is shifted upward by 88 m, i.e. from 4482 to 4570 m in last 39 years. The glacial volumes were estimated using regression relationship between area and depth. The investigations have suggested that 19.10 km³ of glacial water stored in the 19 glaciers in 1962, has been reduced to 14.71 km³ in 2001, respectively, an overall loss of 23 percent in a period between 1962 and 2001. These investigations suggest that all glaciers in the Baspa Basin are reducing and in long term, such reducing trend can create scarcity of water in the region.     

The identifiability of parameters in a water quality model of the Biebrza River, Poland

The identifiability of model parameters of a steady state water quality model of the Biebrza River and the resulting variation in model results was examined by applying the Monte Carlo method which combines calibration, identifiability analysis, uncertainty analysis, and sensitivity analysis. The water quality model simulates the steady state concentration profiles of chloride, phosphate, ammonium, and nitrate as a function of distance along a river. The water quality model with the best combination of parameter values simulates the observed concentrations very well. However, the range of possible modelled concentrations obtained for other more or less equally eligible combinations of parameter values is rather wide. This range in model outcomes reflects possible errors in the model parameters. Discrepancies between the range in model outcomes and the validation data set are only caused by errors in model structure, or (measurement) errors in boundary conditions or input variables. In this sense the validation procedure is a test of model capability, where the effects of calibration errors are filtered out. It is concluded that, despite some slight deviations between model outcome and observations, the model is successful in simulating the spatial pattern of nutrient concentrations in the Biebrza River.     

Estimating the seismic displacement of friction pendulum isolators based on non‐linear response history analysis

A procedure for developing equations that estimate the isolator displacement due to strong ground motion is applied to buildings isolated with the friction pendulum system. The resulting design equations, based on rigorous non‐linear analysis, offer an alternative to the iterative equivalent‐linear methods used by current U.S. building codes. The governing equations of the system are reduced to a form such that the median normalized displacement of the system due to an ensemble of ground motions is found to depend on only the isolation period—a function of the curvature of the isolator—and the friction force at incipient slip normalized by peak ground velocity. The normalization is effective in minimizing the dispersion of the normalized displacement for an ensemble of ground motions, implying that the median normalized displacement is a reliable estimate of response. The design equations reflect the significant (20 to 38%) increase in displacement when the excitation includes two lateral components of ground motion instead of just one component. Equivalent‐linear methods are shown to underestimate by up to 30% the exact median displacement determined by non‐linear response history analysis for one component of ground motion, and building codes include at most a 4.4% increase for a second component. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A modal pushover analysis procedure to estimate seismic demands for unsymmetric‐plan buildings

An Erratum has been published for this article in Earthquake Engng. Struct. Dyn. 2004; 33:1429. Based on structural dynamics theory, the modal pushover analysis (MPA) procedure retains the conceptual simplicity of current procedures with invariant force distribution, now common in structural engineering practice. The MPA procedure for estimating seismic demands is extended to unsymmetric‐plan buildings. In the MPA procedure, the seismic demand due to individual terms in the modal expansion of the effective earthquake forces is determined by non‐linear static analysis using the inertia force distribution for each mode, which for unsymmetric buildings includes two lateral forces and torque at each floor level. These ‘modal’ demands due to the first few terms of the modal expansion are then combined by the CQC rule to obtain an estimate of the total seismic demand for inelastic systems. When applied to elastic systems, the MPA procedure is equivalent to standard response spectrum analysis (RSA). The MPA estimates of seismic demand for torsionally‐stiff and torsionally‐flexible unsymmetric systems are shown to be similarly accurate as they are for the symmetric building; however, the results deteriorate for a torsionally‐similarly‐stiff unsymmetric‐plan system and the ground motion considered because (a) elastic modes are strongly coupled, and (b) roof displacement is underestimated by the CQC modal combination rule (which would also limit accuracy of RSA for linearly elastic systems). Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rhenium and chalcophile elements in basaltic glasses from Ko’olau and Moloka’i volcanoes: Magmatic outgassing and composition of the Hawaiian plume

The behavior of chalcophile metals in volcanic environments is important for a variety of economic and environmental applications, and for understanding large-scale processes such as crustal recycling into the mantle. In order to better define the behavior of chalcophile metals in ocean island volcanoes, we measured the concentrations of Re, Cd, Bi, Cu, Pb, Zn, Pt, S, and a suite of major elements and lithophile trace elements in moderately evolved (6-7% MgO) tholeiitic glasses from Ko’olau and Moloka’i volcanoes. Correlated variations in the Re, Cd, and S contents of these glasses are consistent with loss of these elements as volatile species during magmatic outgassing. Bismuth also shows a good correlation with S in the Ko’olau glasses, but undegassed glasses from Moloka’i have unexpectedly low Bi contents. Rhenium appears to have been more volatile than either Cd or Bi in these magmas.Undegassed glasses with 880-1400 ppm S have 1.2-1.5 ppb Re and 130-145 ppb Cd. In contrast, outgassed melts with low S (<200 ppm) are depleted in these elements by factors of 2-5. Key ratios such as Re/Yb and Cu/Re are fractionated significantly from mantle values. Copper, Pb, and Pt contents of these glasses show no correlation with S, ruling out segregation of an immiscible magmatic sulfide phase as the cause of these variations. Undegassed Hawaiian tholeiites have Re/Yb ratios significantly higher than those of MORB, and extend to values greater than that of the primitive mantle. Loss of Re during outgassing of ocean island volcanoes, may help resolve the apparent paradox of low Re/Os ratios in ocean island basalts with radiogenic Os isotopic compositions. Plume source regions with Re/Yb ratios greater than that of the primitive mantle may provide at least a partial solution to the “missing Re” problem in which one or more reservoirs with high Re/Yb are required to balance the low Re/Yb of MORB.Lithophile trace element compositions of most Ko’olau and Moloka’i tholeiites are consistent with variable degrees of melting of fertile mantle peridotite. However, light rare earth element (LREE)-enriched glasses have trace element compositions more consistent with a garnet-rich source having a distinctive trace element composition. This provides additional evidence for a unique source component possibly related to recycled oceanic crust contributing to Ko’olau tholeiites.