Shaking table tests on seismic response of steel braced frames with column uplift

Previous studies have suggested that rocking vibration accompanied by uplift motion might reduce the seismic damage to buildings subjected to severe earthquake motions. This paper reports on the use of shaking table tests and numerical analyses to evaluate and compare the seismic response of base‐plate‐yielding rocking systems with columns allowed to uplift with that of fixed‐base systems. The study is performed using half‐scale three‐storey, 1 × 2 bay braced steel frames with a total height of 5.3 m. Base plates that yield due to column tension were installed at the base of each column. Two types of base plates with different thicknesses are investigated. The earthquake ground motion used for the tests and analyses is the record of the 1940 El Centro NS component with the time scale shortened by a factor of 1/√2. The maximum input acceleration is scaled to examine the structural response at various earthquake intensities. The column base shears in the rocking frames with column uplift are reduced by up to 52% as compared to the fixed‐base frames. Conversely, the maximum roof displacements of the fixed and rocking frames are about the same. It is also noted that the effect of the vertical impact on the column associated with touchdown of the base plate is small because the difference in tensile and compressive forces is primarily due to the self‐limiting tensile force in the column caused by yielding of the base plate. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Timescales and mechanisms of fluid infiltration in a marble: an ion microprobe study

Using a recently developed ion microprobe technique, a detailed oxygen isotope map of calcite grains in a coarse-grained marble has been constructed, supported by trace element (Mn, Sr, Fe) analysis and cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging, in order to constrain scales of oxygen isotope equilibrium, timescales and mechanisms of metamorphic fluid infiltration, and fluid sources and pathways. Results are compared with a previous study of this sample (Wada 1988) carried out using a cryo-microtome technique and conventional oxygen isotope analysis. The marble, from the high temperature/low pressure Hida metamorphic belt in north-central Japan, underwent granulite facies followed by amphibolite facies metamorphic events, the latter associated with regional granite intrusion. The CL imaging indicates two types of calcite, a yellow luminescing (YLC) and a purple luminescing (PLC) variety. The YLC, which occupies grain boundaries, fractures, replacement patches, and most of the abundant deformation twin lamellae, post-dates the dominant PLC calcite and maps out fluid pathways. Systematic relationships were established between oxygen isotope and trace element composition, calcite type and texture, based on 74 ¹⁸O/¹⁶O and 17 trace element analyses with 20–30 μ m spatial resolution. The YLC is enriched in Mn and Fe, and depleted in ¹⁸O and Sr compared to PLC, and is much more ¹⁸O depleted than is indicated from conventional analyses. Results are interpreted to indicate infiltration of ¹⁸O-depleted (metamorphic or magmatic) fluid (initial δ¹⁸O = 9‰–10.5‰) along grain boundaries, fractures and deformation twin lamellae, depleting calcite grains in Sr and enriching them in Mn and Fe. The sample is characterised by gross isotopic and elemental disequilibrium, with important implications for the application of chromatographic theory to constrain fluid fluxes in metacarbonate rocks. Areas of PLC unaffected by “short-circuiting” fluid pathways contain oxygen diffusion profiles of ∼10‰/∼200 μm in grain boundary regions or adjacent to fractures/patches. When correction is made for estimated grain boundary/fracture and profile orientation in 3D, profiles are indistinguishable within error. Modelling of these profiles gives consistent estimates of Dt (where D is the diffusion coefficient and t is time) of ∼0.8 × 10⁻⁸ m², from which, using experimental data for oxygen diffusion in calcite, timescales of fluid transport along grain boundaries at amphibolite facies temperatures of ∼10³ to ∼10⁴ years are obtained. These short timescales, which are much shorter than plausible durations of metamorphism, imply that rock permeabilities may be transiently much higher during fluid flow than those calculated from time integrated fluid fluxes or predicted from laboratory measurements. The preservation of ¹⁸O/¹⁶O profiles requires either rapid cooling rates (∼100–600 °C/million years), or, more plausibly, loss of grain boundary fluid such that a dry cooling history followed the transient passage of fluid. The δ¹⁸O/trace element correlations are also consistent with volume diffusion-controlled transport in the PLC. Fluid transport and element exchange occurred by two inter-related mechanisms on short timescales and on different lengthscales – long-distance flow along cracks, grain boundaries and twin lamellae coupled to ∼200 μm-scale volume diffusion of oxygen. Received: 8 December 1997 / Accepted: 18 May 1998     

Carbon and Oxygen Isotopic Compositions of Carbonates from Precambrian Apatite-Bearing Carbonate Rocks of the Aldan Shield

Geostructural setting, as well as mineral and isotopic compositions, of separate apatite deposits and occurrences in the Aldan Shield composed of Precambrian metasedimentary apatite–carbonate rocks are considered. In terms of carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions, they differ from other carbonate rocks of the Aldan Shield, including carbonatites and Ca–Mg metasomatites, and resemble Phanerozoic and Precambrian metasedimentary carbonates. They formed in oxidizing conditions. The contribution of evaporite processes at different stages of their formation is supported by the carbonate enrichment in ¹³C and the presence of sulfates. It was established that apatite–carbonate rocks represent the product of complex alternation of sedimentary processes at different values of salinity in the basins occasionally characterized by the decomposition of older sediments under subaerial conditions.     

Sea-floor fissures, biological communities and sediment fatty acids of the Northern Okushiri Ridge, Japan Sea: Implications for possible methane seepage

A biological community was discovered in the Northern Okushiri Ridge, northeastern Japan Sea. The community was closely associated with sea-floor fissures, and presumed to be supported by methanotrophic and/or thiotrophic bacterial production. Sediments inside of and in the vicinity of the fissures were collected, and the short-chain (C_9–20) sediment fatty acids were analyzed for amounts and compositions. The fatty acid compositions were compared with those from a known methane seep and a submarine volcano in the Sagami Bay, central Japan, and from a whale skeleton at the Torishima Seamount, northwestern Pacific Ocean. As a result, a close relationship between the sediments from the Northern Okushiri Ridge, the known methane-seep, and the whale skeleton was found. This finding represents the first discovery of methane seepage and associated biological communities in the Japan Sea. This also supports the hypothesis that the eastern margin of the northern Japan Sea is at the early stage of new subduction.     

Graphite–sulfide deposits in Ronda and Beni Bousera peridotites (Spain and Morocco) and the origin of carbon in mantle-derived rocks

This paper describes unusual graphite–sulfide deposits in ultramafic rocks from the Serranía de Ronda (Spain) and Beni Bousera (Morocco). These deposits occur as veins, stockworks and irregular masses, ranging in size from some centimeters to a few meters in thickness. The primary mineral assemblage mainly consists of Fe–Ni–Cu sulfides (pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite and cubanite), graphite and chromite. Weathering occurs in some sulfide-poor deposits that consist of graphite (up to 90%), chromite and goethite. Texturally, graphite may occur as flakes or clusters of flakes and as rounded, nodule-like aggregates. Graphite is highly crystalline and shows light carbon isotopic signatures (δ¹³C≈− 15‰ to − 21‰). Occasionally, some nodule-like graphite aggregates display large isotopic zoning with heavier cubic forms (probably graphite pseudomorphs after diamond with δ¹³C up to − 3.3‰) coated by progressively lighter flakes outwards (δ¹³C up to − 15.2‰).Asthenospheric-derived melts originated the partial melting (and melt–rock reactions) of peridotites and pyroxenites generating residual melts from which the graphite–sulfide deposits were formed. These residual melts concentrated volatile components (mainly CO₂ and H₂O), as well as S, As, and chalcophile elements. Carbon was incorporated into the melts from the melt–rock reactions of graphite-bearing (formerly diamonds) garnet pyroxenites with infiltrated asthenospheric melts. Graphite-rich garnet pyroxenites formed through the UHP transformation of subducted kerogen-rich crustal material into the mantle. Thus, graphite in most of the studied occurrences has light (biogenic) carbon signatures. Locally, reaction of the light carbon in the melts with relicts of ¹³C-enriched graphitized diamonds (probably generated from hydrothermal calcite veins in the subducting oceanic crust) reacted with the partial melts to form isotopically zoned nodule-like graphite aggregates.     

Energy efficiency potentials for global climate change mitigation

Energy efficiency is one of the main options for mitigating climate change. An accurate representation of various mechanisms of energy efficiency is vital for the assessment of its realistic potential. Results of a questionnaire show that the EMF27 models collectively represent known channels of energy efficiency reasonably well, addressing issues of energy efficiency barriers and rebound effects. The majority of models, including general equilibrium models, have an explicit end-use representation for the transportation sector. All participating partial equilibrium models have some capability of reflecting the actual market behavior of consumers and firms. The EMF27 results show that energy intensity declines faster under climate policy than under a baseline scenario. With a climate policy roughly consistent with a global warming of two degrees, the median annual improvement rate of energy intensity for 2010–2030 reaches 2.3 % per year [with a full model range of 1.3–2.9 %/yr], much faster than the historical rate of 1.3 % per year. The improvement rate increases further if technology is constrained. The results suggest that the target of the United Nations’ “Sustainable Energy for All” initiative is consistent with the 2-degree climate change target, as long as there are no technology constraints. The rate of energy intensity decline varies significantly across models, with larger variations at the regional and sectoral levels. Decomposition of the transportation sector down to a service level for a subset of models reveals that to achieve energy efficiency, a general equilibrium model tends to reduce service demands while partial equilibrium models favor technical substitution.     

Pin‐supported walls for enhancing the seismic performance of building structures

An application of a pin‐supported wall‐frame system in retrofitting an eleven‐story steel reinforced concrete frame is introduced. The retrofit aims at enhancing integrity and avoiding weak story failure in an existing moment‐resisting frame. Seismic performance of the building before and after the retrofit is assessed through nonlinear dynamic analysis. The results show that the pin‐supported walls are effective in controlling the deformation pattern of the ductile frame and hence in avoiding weak story failure. With the well‐controlled deformation pattern, carefully arranged energy dissipating devices are able to concentrate energy dissipations so that damage to the rest of the structure can be significantly reduced. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.