The seismic performance of braced timber pile bents

The seismic performance of timber bridge substructures is not well established, particularly when compared to concrete highway bridges. This paper presents a dual experimental‐computational modelling program to investigate the seismic behaviour of typical braced timber bridge pile bents. For this purpose, a prototype timber bridge was used to develop a near‐full‐size physical model that was used for shaking table experiments and quasi‐static reversed cyclic loading tests on the laboratory strong‐floor. A non‐linear force‐displacement computational modelling study was also undertaken as a companion effort to the experimental investigation. On the basis of the experimental study, seismic vulnerability analysis was conducted for this kind of timber bridge principally with shaking in the transverse direction. In this analysis, a simplified fundamental mechanics‐based approach was employed from which fragility curves were derived. The study showed that braced timber pile bents have considerable strength and deformability capability. Nevertheless, they are not immune from earthquake damage. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simplified method of constructing fragility curves for highway bridges

Fragility curves are found to be useful tools for predicting the extent of probable damage. They show the probability of highway structure damage as a function of strong motion parameters, and they allow the estimation of a level of damage probability for a known ground motion index. In this study, an analytical approach was adopted to develop the fragility curves for highway bridges based on numerical simulation. Four typical RC bridge piers and two RC bridge structures were considered, of which one was a non‐isolated system and the other was an isolated system, and they were designed according to the seismic design code in Japan. From a total of 250 strong motion records, selected from Japan, the United States, and Taiwan, non‐linear time history analyses were performed, and the damage indices for the bridge structures were obtained. Using the damage indices and ground motion parameters, fragility curves for the four bridge piers and the two bridge structures were constructed assuming a lognormal distribution. It was found that there was a significant effect on the fragility curves due to the variation of structural parameters. The relationship between the fragility curve parameters and the over‐strength ratio of the structures was also obtained by performing a linear regression analysis. It was observed that the fragility curve parameters showed a strong correlation with the over‐strength ratio of the structures. Based on the observed correlation between the fragility curve parameters and the over‐strength ratio of the structures, a simplified method was developed to construct the fragility curves for highway bridges using 30 non‐isolated bridge models. The simplified method may be a very useful tool to construct the fragility curves for non‐isolated highway bridges in Japan, which fall within the same group and have similar characteristics. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A discussion on Corioli force effect and aftershock activity tendency of the M=8.1 Kunlun Mountain Pass earthquake on Nov. 14, 2001

Introduction An M=8.1 earthquake occurred to the west of the Kunlun Mountain Pass on November 14, 2001 (Kunlun Mountain earthquake for short). It is the largest earthquake during the latest 50 years in Chinese mainland since the 1951 Dangxiong, Tibet M=8.0 earthquake, and it broke the status that there had not occurred any M7.0 earthquake during the subsequent 4 years since the 1997 Mani, Tibet M=7.5 earthquake. Hereafter, the preparation and evolution process of large earthquakes, the v…     

Statistical parameters of Bhuj earthquake sequence of January 26th, 2001

An intraplate earthquake of magnitude (M _c) 6.9 (Anon 2001a) struck Bhuj and the adjoining region of Kachchh in Gujarat on January 26th, 2001 at about 0316 hrs (GMT) and was followed by a number of aftershocks. The epicentre of this earthquake was located at 23.4‡N and 70.28‡E close to the Kachchh mainland fault. The intensity observed around the epicenter was X on the MSK scale. A study of 531 aftershocks, in the magnitude range of 3.0–5.7, recorded at Vadodara Seismological Observatory till March 31st, 2001 has been carried out and various statistical parameters calculated. The total energy released during the study period is calculated to be 8.2 × 10¹⁴ joule. Sudden occurrence of the main shock without any foreshock in the same tectonic system is a unique feature of this sequence. Theb- value (0.86), value of M₀-M₁ (1.2), high M₁/M₀ (0.89) and high value of the decay constanth (0.91), all support the tectonic origin of the present study.     

台湾地区强震发生的构造环境与地震活动性分析

台湾中部造山带前缘呈现为一弧形逆冲构造体系 ,每个弧形带分别由多个不同尺度但各自独立的次级弧形构造组成 ,而每一个弧形构造都有其各自独立的几何学、运动学和动力学特征 ,是典型的褶皱 -逆冲带 ,但同时各个次级弧形构造间却又有自相似特性。在对台湾中部地区弧形逆冲构造体系的空间位置与地震活动间的关系分析基础上 ,归纳出中部弧型逆冲地震带的地震活动特征 ,以台湾东西地震区的构造划分和北部、中部与南部不同的弧陆构造现象 ,描述了台湾地区的近代地震活动 (190 0年以来的 10 0年间 )与现代地震地质构造的关系     

东南沿海地区震级与震中烈度的统计关系

从文献中按一定原则挑选出64例地震资料,通过回归分析,统计出了我国东南沿海地区震级与震中烈度之间的经验公式。通过与其它经验公式的比较,该经验公式对于东南沿海地区具有更好的适用性,并应用该公式得到了福建省泉州市余震的抗震设防烈度。为考虑主余震共同影响下的震害预测方法的研究提供了依据。     

Calculation of the h-value during Superposing of Strong Earthquake Sequences and Its Application in Earthquake Prediction

For a strong earthquake swarm, the key to estimate the frequency attenuation coefficient h-value of ensuing strong earthquake sequence accurately lies in quantitative calculation and subtraction of the foreshock sequence effect.Taking the Jiashi strong earthquake swarm sequence as an example, we analyzed and compared the h-values when foreshock effect has been subtracted or not subtracted. The result shows that the boundary between the two great difference is the M56.6 earthquake on April 11,1997. The h-values with foreshock effect subtracted are all Iess than 1 before the moderately strong earthquakes, but after the earthquake, the h-values are all greater than 1. On the contrary, the h-values with foreshock effect do not show this kind of turning variation.Practical test results shows that quantitatively subtracting foreshock effect is beneficial to the judgement of the trend of the activity of the Jiashi strong earthquake swarm. This provides the basis for accurately grasping sequence development and     

建筑内部物品滑移破坏易脆性分析中的楼面运动强度指标

合理选择建筑楼面运动强度指标是对建筑内部物品进行易脆性分析的基础。以建筑内部物品的滑移破坏为研究对象,通过单自由度简化模型模拟内部物品在地震引起的楼面运动作用下的滑移反应,并根据刚体在矩形脉冲作用下最大滑移距离的解析解,修正了目前常用的楼面运动强度指标。分析结果表明,物品在地震引起的楼面运动作用下的最大滑移距离远小于矩形脉冲作用下的解析解,且表现出相当大的离散性。未修正的楼面运动强度指标和最大滑移量之间在对数空间上呈比较明显的双线性关系,修正后的强度指标则与最大滑移量在对数空间上具有更好的线性关系。     

On the treatment of uncertainty in seismic vulnerability and portfolio risk assessment

In a related study developed by the authors, building fragility is represented by intensity‐specific distributions of damage exceedance probability of various damage states. The contribution of the latter has been demonstrated in the context of loss estimation of building portfolios, where it is shown that the proposed concept of conditional fragility functions provides the link between seismic intensity and the uncertainty in damage exceedance probabilities. In the present study, this methodology is extended to the definition of building vulnerability, whereby vulnerability functions are characterized by hazard‐consistent distributions of damage ratio per level of primary seismic intensity parameter—Sa(T₁). The latter is further included in a loss assessment framework, in which the impact of variability and spatial correlation of damage ratio in the probabilistic evaluation of seismic loss is accounted for, using test‐bed portfolios of 2, 5, and 8‐story precode reinforced concrete buildings located in the district of Lisbon, Portugal. This methodology is evaluated in comparison with current state‐of‐the‐art methods of vulnerability and loss calculation, highlighting the discrepancies that can arise in loss estimates when the variability and spatial distributions of damage ratio, influenced by ground motion properties other than the considered primary intensity measure, are not taken into account.     

Building service life economic loss assessment under sequential seismic events

Aftershocks have been shown to exacerbate earthquake‐induced financial losses by causing further damage to structural and nonstructural components in buildings that have already been affected by a mainshock event and increasing the duration of disrupted functionality. Whereas seismic loss assessment under isolated events has been addressed thoroughly in previous studies, comparatively less has been accomplished in the area of loss assessment under sequences of mainshock‐aftershock ground motions. The main objective of the current study is to formulate a comprehensive framework for quantifying financial losses under sequential seismic events. The proposed framework is capable of accounting for the uncertainties in the state of structure due to accumulation of earthquake‐induced damage, the time‐dependent nature of seismic hazard in the post‐mainshock environment, and the uncertainties in the occurrence of mainshock and aftershock events. Application of the proposed framework to a 4‐story reinforced concrete moment frame shows that consideration of aftershocks could increase lifecycle earthquake‐induced losses by up to 30% compared with mainshock‐only assessments.