Fuzzy logic control of bridge structures using intelligent semi-active seismic isolation systems

Passive supplemental damping in a seismically isolated structure provides the necessary energy dissipation to limit the isolation system displacement. However, damper forces can become quite large as the passive damping level is increased, resulting in the requirement to transfer large forces at the damper connections to the structure which may be particularly difficult to accommodate in retrofit applications. One method to limit the level of damping force while simultaneously controlling the isolation system displacement is to utilize an intelligent hybrid isolation system containing semi-active dampers in which the damping coeffic ient can be modulated. The effectiveness of such a hybrid seismic isolation system for earthquake hazard mitigation is investigated in this paper. The system is examined through an analytical and computational study of the seismic response of a bridge structure containing a hybrid isolation system consisting of elastomeric bearings and semi-active dampers. Control algorithms for operation of the semi-active dampers are developed based on fuzzy logic control theory. Practical limits on the response of the isolation system are considered and utilized in the evaluation of the control algorithms. The results of the study show that both passive and semi-active hybrid seismic isolation systems consisting of combined base isolation bearings and supplemental energy dissipation devices can be beneficial in reducing the seismic response of structures. These hybrid systems may prevent or significantly reduce structural damage during a seismic event. Furthermore, it is shown that intelligent semi-active seismic isolation systems are capable of controlling the peak deck displacement of bridges, and thus reducing the required length of expansion joints, while simultaneously limiting peak damper forces. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Variable Tl,Pb, and Cd concentrations and isotope compositions of enstatite and ordinary chondrites—Evidence for volatile element mobilization and decay of extinct 205Pb

New Tl, Pb, and Cd concentration and Tl, Pb isotope data are presented for enstatite as well as L- and LL-type ordinary chondrites, with additional Cd stable isotope results for the former. All three chondrite suites have Tl and Cd contents that vary by more than 1–2 orders of magnitude but Pb concentrations are more uniform, as a result of terrestrial Pb contamination. Model calculations based on Pb isotope compositions indicate that for more than half of the samples, more than 50% of the measured Pb contents are due to addition of modern terrestrial Pb. In part, this is responsible for the relatively young and imprecise Pb-Pb ages determined for EH, L, and LL chondrites, which are hence only of limited chronological utility. In contrast, four particularly pristine EL chondrites define a precise Pb-Pb cooling age of 4559 ± 6 Ma. The enstatite chondrites (ECs) have highly variable ε^114/110Cd of between about +3 and +70 due to stable isotope fractionation from thermal and shock metamorphism. Furthermore, nearly all enstatite meteorites display ε²⁰⁵Tl values from −3.3 to +0.8, while a single anomalous sample is highly fractionated in both Tl and Cd isotopes. The majority of the ECs thereby define a correlation of ε²⁰⁵Tl with ε^114/110Cd, which suggests that at least some of the Tl isotope variability reflects stable isotope fractionation rather than radiogenic ingrowth of ²⁰⁵Tl from ²⁰⁵Pb decay. Considering L chondrites, most ε²⁰⁵Tl values range between −4 and +1, while two outliers with ε²⁰⁵Tl ≤ −10 are indicative of stable isotope fractionation. Considering only those L chondrites which are least likely to feature Pb contamination or stable Tl isotope effects, the results are in accord with the former presence of live ²⁰⁵Pb on the parent body, with an initial ²⁰⁵Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = (1.5 ± 1.4) × 10⁻⁴, which suggests late equilibration of the Pb-Tl system 26–113 Ma after carbonaceous chondrites (CCs). The LL chondrites display highly variable ε²⁰⁵Tl values from −12.5 to +14.9, also indicative of stable isotope effects. However, the data for three pristine LL3/LL4 chondrites display an excellent correlation between ε²⁰⁵Tl and ²⁰⁴Pb/²⁰³Tl. This defines an initial ²⁰⁵Pb/²⁰⁴Pb of (1.4 ± 0.3) × 10⁻⁴, equivalent to a ²⁰⁵Pb-²⁰⁵Tl cooling age of 55 + 12/−24 Ma (31–67 Ma) after CCs.     

Diversity and burglary: Do community differences matter?

Diversity within a population has been linked to levels of both social cohesion and crime. Neighborhood crimes are the result of a complex set of factors, one of which is weak community cohesion. This article seeks to explore the impacts of diversity on burglary crime in a range of neighborhoods, using Leeds, UK as a case study. We propose a new approach to quantifying the correlates of burglary in urban areas through the use of diversity metrics. This approach is useful in unveiling the relationship between burglary and diversity in urban communities. Specifically, we employ stepwise multiple regression models to quantify the relationships between a number of neighborhood diversity variables and burglary crime rates. The results of the analyses show that the variables that represent diversity were more significant when regressed against burglary crime rates than standard socio‐demographic data traditionally used in crime studies, which do not generally use diversity variables. The findings of this study highlight the importance of neighborhood cohesion in the crime system, and the key place for diversity statistics in quantifying the relationships between neighborhood diversities and burglary. The study highlights the importance of policy planning aimed at encouraging community building in promoting neighborhood safety.     

From Lightning Rod to Community Asset? The Creation of a Protected Area in Northern California and its Evolving Relationship to a Nearby Community

Researchers have described shifting relationships between communities and Protected Areas (PAs), from excluding communities to consultative relationships to participatory models. This research focuses on a PA created on formerly industrial timberland that was the focus of conflict between environmental activists and the timber industry. In a nearby formerly timber-dependent community, we assessed community use and support of the PA, and its perceived purposes and benefits, through a survey of residents and interviews with key stakeholders. Despite intense conflict surrounding its creation, we found support for the PA, and our case suggests a new possible relationship between PAs and communities, which is mitigating and helping to resolve natural resource conflict. We also found that community well-being benefits of the PA were unclear; we suggest that PA management should include cultural, economic, and historical context in objectives and interpretive materials; and should work to create economic opportunities connected to the PA.     

A 6000 year water level history of Europe Lake, Wisconsin, USA

Europe Lake occupies a small, closed, basin that would have been an embayment in Lake Michigan during the high water level events in the larger lake. Cores recovered from the lake reveal late Holocene water level fluctuations in the basin that are inferred from changes in taxa and abundance of molluscs, ostracodes, magnetic susceptibility, organic carbon, and oxygen isotopes.Non-glacial, Holocene lacustrine/paludal sedimentation in this portion of the Europe Lake basin started after 6600 RCYBP and was probably initiated by a rise in the water table of the deep bedrock aquifer, during the Nipissing transgression in Lake Michigan. Isotopically light ground water from this source was probably a major contributor during this phase to the negative ¹⁸O spikes in Valvata tricarinata and Amnicola limosa.The start of stable lacustrine conditions is marked by maximum diversity of ostracode and mollusc taxa and a shift toward much more positive ¹⁸O values. The Europe Lake basin at this time became an embayment of Lake Michigan. This event was probably coeval with the peak of the Nipissing transgression, when the water plane reached an altitude of about 183 m.The isolation of Europe Lake from Lake Michigan started at about 2390 RCYBP and is probably due to a drop in water level in Lake Michigan and/or to isostatic uplift of the Door Peninsula. Since isolation from Lake Michigan, water levels in Europe lake have been controlled primarily by fluctuations in local precipitation, evaporation and ground water discharge.     

Rethinking The "Local" in Labour Markets: The Consequences of Cultural Embeddedness in a Philippine Growth Zone

This paper contributes to recent geographical studies of local labour markets in three ways. First, it highlights the distinctive labour market processes occurring in an industrialising setting in the Philippines to complement existing studies that have tended to focus on "restructuring" contexts in the west. Second, it shows how labour markets are embedded not just in processes of institutional and social regulation, but also in the transformation of the culture of work that accompanies industrialisation in an agricultural setting. Thus, while a significant feature of the local labour market in the municipality of Tanza (Province of Cavite) is a shortage of labour in the agricultural sector, this cannot be explained solely by the massive shift of a young workforce into non-agricultural activities. It must also be understood in the context of changes found in youth culture and conceptions of work. The result is that the availability of labour for agriculture dries up even if the supply of labour, in a literal sense, is adequate for its needs. Third, a significant process operating in this "local" labour market is the extraction of labour for temporary overseas work. This suggests that local labour markets should be conceived not just on the basis of geographical contiguity, but also in the "networked space" of households functioning across very large distances.     

Latest Pleistocene and Holocene dune construction at the north-eastern edge of the Rub Al Khali, United Arab Emirates

Optical dating of two dune profiles developed in linear dunes in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, has been used to establish the timing and rate of dune accretion. One section at Awafi was over 17 m high, while that at Idhn was over 40 m high. The Awafi dune appears to have accumulated very rapidly ≈10 000 years ago, with a vertical accumulation rate of about 3·3 m ka⁻¹. The Idhn dune appears to have accumulated over the past 1000 years, with 20 m of sediment accumulating in a time period of about 270 years. The Awafi dune may have accumulated in response to the transgression of the Persian Gulf by rising sea levels in late Pleistocene and Holocene times. The Idhn dune may have accumulated rapidly because of intensified human activity, a short-lived climatic event, or because it may periodically be reactivated after erosion by fluvial action at its base.     

Polarization at 4430Å

The wavelength dependence of polarization in the region of the interstellar absorption band at 4430 Å is investigated theoretically by variation of the relevant parameters over a wide range. Comparison is made with observations, and the suggestion that the 4430 Å band is produced by impurities in a silicate matrix is found to be not inconsistent.     

Dawsonite as a daughter mineral in hydrothermal fluid inclusions

Traces of dawsonite (NaAlCO₃(OH)₂) are extremely common as a daughter product in fluid inclusions in gold-quartz veins and altered wallrock of the Oriental mine, Alleghany district, California. A very similar daughter salt occurs in hydrothermal inclusions in quartz from 19 other mining localities of worldwide distribution.Vein fluids of the Oriental mine were probably CO₂-rich sodium bicarbonate brines that contained at least 1 weight percent dissolved aluminum. These fluids precipitated quartz and oligoclase in the veins and adjacent altered rocks. The precipitation of dawsonite rather than albite or oligoclase in the cooled inclusion brines suggests either that sodic plagioclase gives way to dawsonite plus quartz as the stable pair at low temperatures or that the dawsonite is a metastable daughter mineral. The rarity of dawsonite as a separate vein mineral or alteration product at the Oriental mine and elsewhere is attributed to its high solubility under normal conditions of mineralization.Dawsonite contributes 190 ppm or more to the aluminum content of some Oriental mine quartz. Large errors would result if the dawsonite were overlooked and the aluminum geothermometer of Dennen et al. (1970) were applied to this quartz. The combination of high primary inclusion filling temperatures and very low aluminum contents of optically clear quartz indicate that major revisions are needed in the published thermometer curve.     

Seismic response of base-isolated structures with vertical-rocking coupling

A base-isolated building is liable to have a small horizontal eccentricity between the centre of mass of the superstructure and the centre of rigidity of the supporting bearings. In seismic analysis, the structure is modelled as a rigid block with tributary masses supported on massless elastomeric rubber bearings placed at a constant elevation below the centre of mass. This simplified system has three degrees of freedom: two translations and one rotation in the vertical plane. The investigation of the dynamic behaviour of a base-isolated building is carried out for both the detuned and the perfectly tuned cases. In the detuned case, the natural frequencies of the system are assumed to be well separated. In the perfectly tuned case, the uncoupled rocking frequency is assumed to be identical to the vertical translational frequency, which may result from an unusual mass distribution and/or an extreme aspect ratio of the superstructure. Perturbation methods are implemented in finding the dynamic characteristics for both cases. However, the dynamic response of the perfectly tuned case is the major concern in this investigation. The Green's functions for the displacement response of the three-degree-of-freedom system are derived for both the undamped and damped conditions. The response spectrum modal superposition method is used in estimating the maximum acceleration response. A simple method, accounting for the effect of closely spaced modes, is proposed for combining modal maxima and results in an approximate solution corresponding to a single-degree-of-freedom system. This approximate solution may be used for the preliminary design of a base-isolated structure. Numerical results for a base-isolated building subjected to the vertical component of the El Centro earthquake of 1940 were carried out for comparison with these analytical results. The proposed modal combination method showed superiority over the conventional Square Root of the Sum of the Squares method in estimating maximum responses. The results also indicated that the approximate single-degree-of-freedom system yields accurate estimations. It is shown that the effect of rocking coupling on the vertical response of base-isolated structures subjected to transient loadings, such as earthquake motions, can generally be neglected as a result of the combined effects of the time lag between the maximum translational and rotational responses and the influence of damping in the isolation system, which for elastomeric bearings can be as high as 8 to 10 per cent of critical.