Seismic design and testing of the bottom vertical boundary elements in steel plate shear walls. Part 1: design methodology

This research investigates the seismic design method and the cyclic inelastic behavior of the bottom column, also called the vertical boundary element (VBE), in steel plate shear walls (SPSWs). This study consists of two parts. This Part 1 paper discusses the anticipated pushover responses for properly designed SPSWs and the possible inelastic responses of the bottom VBE at various levels of inter‐story drift. Considering both the tension field action of the infill panel and the sway action of the boundary frame, this study develops a simplified method to compute the flexural and shear demands in the bottom VBE. Based on the superposition method, this approach considers various plastic hinge forming locations at different levels of inter‐story drift. One of the key performance‐based design objectives is to ensure that the top ends of the bottom VBEs remain elastic when the SPSWs are subjected to the maximum considered earthquake. This paper presents the comprehensive design procedures for the bottom VBE. Furthermore, this study conducted cyclic performance evaluation tests of three full‐scale two‐story SPSWs at the Taiwan National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering in 2011 to validate the effectiveness of the proposed design methods. The experimental program, cyclic inelastic responses of the SPSWs and bottom VBEs, and numerical simulations are presented in Part 2. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of non-plastic silt content on the liquefaction behavior of sand–silt mixture

To identify the effect of non-plastic silt on the cyclic behavior of sand–silt mixtures, total sixty undrained cyclic triaxial stress-control tests were carried out on sand–silt mixtures. These tests were conducted on specimens of size 71 mm diameter and 142 mm height with a frequency of 1 Hz. Specimens were prepared at a constant relative density and constant density approach. The effect of relative density, confining pressure as well as magnitude of cyclic loading was also studied. For a constant relative density (D_r=60%) the effect of limiting silt content, pore pressure response and cyclic strength was observed. The rate of generation of excess pore water pressure with respect to cycles of loading was found to initially increase with increase in silt content till the limiting silt content and thereafter it reverses its trend when the specimens were tested at a constant relative density. The cyclic resistance behavior was observed to be just opposite to the pore pressure response. Permeability, CRR and secant shear modulus decreased till limiting silt content; after that they became constant with increasing silt content.     

How hydrological factors initiate instability in a model sandy slope

Knowledge of the mechanisms of rain‐induced shallow landslides can improve the prediction of their occurrence and mitigate subsequent sediment disasters. Here, we examine an artificial slope's subsurface hydrology and propose a new slope stability analysis that includes seepage force and the down‐slope transfer of excess shear forces. We measured pore water pressure and volumetric water content immediately prior to a shallow landslide on an artificial sandy slope of 32°: The direction of the subsurface flow shifted from downward to parallel to the slope in the deepest part of the landslide mass, and this shift coincided with the start of soil displacement. A slope stability analysis that was restricted to individual segments of the landslide mass could not explain the initiation of the landslide; however, inclusion of the transfer of excess shear forces from up‐slope to down‐slope segments improved drastically the predictability. The improved stability analysis revealed that an unstable zone expanded down‐slope with an increase in soil water content, showing that the down‐slope soil initially supported the unstable up‐slope soil; destabilization of this down‐slope soil was the eventual trigger of total slope collapse. Initially, the effect of apparent soil cohesion was the most important factor promoting slope stability, but seepage force became the most important factor promoting slope instability closer to the landslide occurrence. These findings indicate that seepage forces, controlled by changes in direction and magnitude of saturated and unsaturated subsurface flows, may be the main cause of shallow landslides in sandy slopes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Incorporating velocity shear into the magneto-Boussinesq approximation

Motivated by consideration of the solar tachocline, we derive, via an asymptotic procedure, a new set of equations incorporating velocity shear and magnetic buoyancy into the Boussinesq approximation. We demonstrate, by increasing the magnetic field scale height, how these equations are linked to the magneto-Boussinesq equations of Spiegel and Weiss (Magnetic buoyancy and the Boussinesq approximation. Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn. 1982, 22, 219–234).     

唐山7.8级地震前的震中迁移与远台前兆的关系

以震中迁移始发点的前兆讨论了唐山7.8级地震震中位置的预测,并以此为例分析了汶川8级地震和芦山7级地震的前兆问题。另外,从震中迁移延长线上的前兆来讨论了唐山大震的发生时间。     

山东及附近海域构造环境剪应力场分析

利用山东数字地震台网的地震波形记录,选取2007年以来台网记录清晰的ML≥2．0数字地震波形资料,计算每次地震的环境剪应力值τ0和矩震级MW,并分析其相关关系;结合山东地区地质构造和地震活动性特点,对胶东半岛及北部海域、南黄海北部地区、沂沭带地区、冀鲁豫交界地区应力场分布和时空变化进行细致分析,并探讨其区域特征及与地震活动性的关系。     

汶川地震和东日本大地震反应谱比较与结构Pushover分析

为对比分析5·12汶川地震和3·11东日本大地震的加速度反应谱和结构地震反应特征,挑选132条汶川地震和404条东日本大地震中Ⅱ类场地上的水平向加速度记录,进行统计分析。根据这两次大地震的标准加速度反应谱,给出了拟合谱曲线。将所得拟合谱作为需求谱,分别对6层框架结构和20层框架结构进行了Pushover分析,比较在上述两次大地震下不同框架结构地震反应的差异。结果表明：东日本大地震记录比汶川地震记录具有较明显的长周期地震动特征;两次地震记录的区别在高层框架结构的地震反应上表现得更加明显,东日本大地震记录对具有较长自振周期的结构的地震反应影响更为显著。     

Seismic performance and comparison of three different I beam to box column joints

Despite the inherently advantages of the box column, finding the best option for the I beam to the box column connection is the main challenge in using the box column as a structural member for special moment frames. In this paper, the seismic performance of unreinforced connection, weakened connection and strengthened connection was evaluated through a comprehensive experimental program. The seismic comparisons were fabricated by assessing the strength, ductility and energy dissipation in each configuration. Three full scale tests with several connections were carried out. All the specimens were subjected to cyclic loading and prior to failure by forming a plastic hinge in the beam, all the connections managed to reach an inelastic rotation of more than 6.0% rad. The experimental and analytical results showed that the seismic performance of the strengthened connection with flange and shear plates turned out to be the most effective in the beam to the box column connection. Moreover, the normalized stress distribution of the continuity plates revealed that the possibility of the weld fracture in unreinforced connection is more than other specimens.     

Effects of fabric anisotropy on elastic shear modulus of granular soils

The fabric anisotropy of a granular soil deposit can strongly infl uence its engineering properties and behavior. This paper presents the results of a novel experimental study designed to examine the effects of fabric anisotropy on smallstrain stiffness and its evolution with loading on the elastic shear modulus of granular materials under a K0 condition. Two primary categories of fabric anisotropy, i.e., deposition-induced and particle shape-induced, are investigated. Toyoura sand deposits with relative densities of 40% and 80% were prepared using deposition angles oriented at 0o and 90o. Piezoelectric transducers were used to obtain the elastic shear modulus in the vertical and horizontal directions(Gvh and Ghh). The measurements indicate distinct differences in the values of G with respect to the different deposition angles. Particle shapeinduced fabric anisotropy was examined using four selected sands. It was concluded that sphericity is a controlling factor dominating the small-strain stiffness of granular materials. The degree of fabric anisotropy proves to be a good indicatorin the characterization of stress-induced fabric evolution during loading and unloading stress cycles. The experimental data were used to calibrate an existing micromechanical model, which was able to represent the behavior of the granular material and the degree of fabric anisotropy reasonably well.     

Evolution of the ductile shear zone of the Paishanlou gold deposits,western Liaoning,China

The combination of field surveys with analysis of microstructure of tectonite and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) on quartz fabric indicated that three periods of ductile shear events developed in the Paishanlou gold deposits and the E-W and NE-striking ductile shear zones were formed during each event. The E-W-striking ductile shear zone, accompanied by compressional and dextral shear slip, was shear-cut by the NE-striking shear zones, accompanied by compressional-sinistral shear slip and sinistral-normal shear slip, successively. An E-W-striking ductile shear zone developed at a deeper tectonic level and at middle- to high-temperatures, accompanied by abundant microstructures, including microlayering between a polycrystal quartz belt and mica, and quartz deformation was depended on cylinder (10-10) 〈a〉 or 〈c〉 glide. The development of an E-W-striking shear zone can be seen as a tectonic pattern in the region of the Paishanlou gold deposits of the collision between the Mongolian tectonic belt and the North Archean Craton from Suolun to the Linxi suture zone during the Indosinian. The NE-striking ductile shear zone developed approximately 160 Ma during the early Yianshanian at middle to shallow tectonic levels and at middle- to low-temperatures, accompanied by typical microstructures, including polycrystal quartz aggregation and quartz subgrain rotation recrystallization, etc., and quartz deformation was depended on prismatic (1011) 〈a〉 glide. The last ductile shear event around the NE-striking shear zone developed at low temperatures and shallow tectonic levels, yielding to a pre-existing NE-striking shear zone, accompanied by abundant microstructures, including low-temperature quartz grain boundary migration and bulging recrystallization. The last ductile shear movement may be related to lithosphere thinning and the destruction of the North China Craton from approximately 130-120 Ma, and this shear event resulted directly in the mineralization in the Paishanlou region.