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.     

Seismic response of a cable‐stayed bridge deck under multi‐component non‐stationary random ground motion

A Markov method of analysis is presented for obtaining the seismic response of cable‐stayed bridges to non‐stationary random ground motion. A uniformly modulated non‐stationary model of the random ground motion is assumed which is specified by the evolutionary r.m.s. ground acceleration. Both vertical and horizontal components of the motion are considered to act simultaneously at the bridge supports. The analysis duly takes into account the angle of incidence of the earthquake, the spatial correlation of ground motion and the quasi‐static excitation. A cable‐stayed bridge is analysed under a set of parametric variations in order to study the non‐stationary response of the bridge. The results of the numerical study indicate that (i) frequency domain spectral analysis with peak r.m.s. acceleration as input could provide more r.m.s. response than the peak r.m.s. response obtained by the non‐stationary analysis; (ii) the longitudinal component of the ground motion significantly influences the vertical vibration of the bridge; and (iii) the angle of incidence of the earthquake has considerable influence on the deck response. 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.     

Approximate modal decomposition of inelastic dynamic responses of wall buildings

Two approximate methods for decomposing complicated inelastic dynamic responses of wall buildings into simple modal responses are presented. Both methods are based on the equivalent linear concept, where a non‐linear structure is represented by a set of equivalent linear models. One linear model is used for representing only one vibration mode of the non‐linear structure, and its equivalent linear parameters are identified from the inelastic response time histories by using a numerical optimizer. Several theoretical relations essential for the modal decomposition are derived under the framework of complex modal analysis. Various numerical examinations have been carried out to check the validity of the proposed modal decomposition methods, and the results are quite satisfactory in all cases. Fluctuating bending moment and shear at any location along the wall height contributed by each individual vibration mode can be obtained. Modal contributions to shear and flexural strength demands, as well as the corresponding modal properties, under various seismic loading conditions can also be identified and examined in detail. Furthermore, the effects of higher vibration modes on seismic demands of wall buildings are investigated by using the modal decomposition methods. Several new insights into the complicated inelastic dynamics of multi‐story wall buildings are presented. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

山东省气候变化及其对冬小麦生产潜力的影响

利用全省 2 7个台站 1 96 1～ 1 998年的温度、降水、日照等基本气象要素资料 ,对山东省气候变化特点进行了分析 ,并对冬小麦生产潜力进行了计算、分析。结果表明 ,山东省年、季平均气温呈波动性增暖趋势 ,降水量呈减少趋势。气候变暖有利于生产潜力的提高 ,冬小麦气候生产潜力总的变化趋势是波动性的上升 ,但较光温生产潜力倾向率小 ,反映了小麦生育期内光、温、水的综合影响。     

TRMM卫星微波成像仪分级产品及其反演降水算法

文章叙述了获取定量降水信息的意义，简要介绍了对热带测雨卫星TRMM(Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission)的仪器、美国国家宇航局提供的微波成像仪TMI(TRMM Microwave Imager)分级产品。对比了物理方法和经验方法反演降水的特点，并对一些经验方法以及倾斜对流系统对反演降水的影响、动态聚类分析、神经网络反演方法的研究成果进行了介绍。     

兰州CAWS600-R自动站与人工观测资料对比分析

利用2002年11月到2003年2月兰州CAWS600-R型自动站与人工观测的温度、本站气压、水汽压、相对湿度、5～320cm地温等资料，分析了对比观测资料的差值。结果表明：对气温、本站气压、水汽压、相对湿度及320cm地温等要素观测误差较小，5～160cm地温的观测误差较大。自动观测仪器的系统性偏差、测量元件的精度及对气象要素变化响应的灵敏度、观测时间的差异和人为因素的影响是造成对比观测误差的原因。     

天津盛夏降水趋势与初夏华北高压的统计分析

根据初夏(6月)的天气气候演变，预测盛夏(7～8月)的短期气候趋势，一直是急需解决的难题。文章揭示了自1958年以来天津盛夏降水趋势与初夏时节临近地区上空的环流特征之间的统计关系。结果表明，初夏华北高压强时盛夏天津降水偏少，反之盛夏天津降水偏多，不仅逐年的对应关系显著，而且变化趋势相反，转折时期也一致。初步解释了20世纪70年代以前天津(华北)盛夏多雨和80年代至今天津(华北)少雨的物理原因。以此为主要根据建立了初夏对于盛夏天津降水的短期气候预测方法，1998～2003年连续6年预报正确。     

沈阳地区沙尘天气分析

本文总结了沈阳地区沙尘天气的时空分布特点，从天气条件、地表自然条件(沙源)两方面分析了沈阳地区沙尘天气的成因，总结了沈阳地区预报沙尘天气时应参考的5个因素。