Seismic design and testing of buckling‐restrained braces with a thin profile

A thin‐profile buckling‐restrained brace (thin‐BRB) consists of a rectangular steel casing and a flat steel core that is parallel to a gusset plate. A thin configuration reduces the width of the restraining member and thus saves usable space in buildings. However, deformable debonding layers, which cover the steel core plate in order to mitigate the difference between the peak tensile and compressive axial forces, provide a space for the steel core to form high mode buckling waves when the thin‐BRB is under compression. The wave crests squeeze the debonding layers and produce outward forces on the inner surface of the restraining member. If the restraining member is too weak in sustaining the outward forces, local bulging failure occurs and the thin‐BRB loses its compression capacity immediately. In order to investigate local bulging behavior, a total of 22 thin‐BRB specimens with a ratio of steel core plate to restraining steel tube depth ranging from 0.3 to 0.7 and axial yield force capacities ranging from 421 kN to 3036 kN were tested by applying either cyclically increasing, decreasing, or constant axial strains. The restraining steel tube widths of all the specimens were smaller than 200 mm and were infilled with mortar with a compressive strength of 97 MPa or 55 MPa. Thirteen of the 22 thin‐BRB specimens' restraining members bulged out when the compressive core strains exceeded 0.03. A seismic design method of the thin‐BRB in preventing local bulging failure is proposed in this study. Test and finite element model (FEM) analysis results suggest that the outward forces can be estimated according to the BRB compressive strength, steel core high mode buckling wavelength, and the debonding layer thickness. In addition, the capacity of the restraining member in resisting the outward forces can be estimated by using the upper bound theory in plastic analysis. Both the FEM analysis and test results indicate that the proposed method is effective in predicting the possibility of local bulging failure. Test results indicate that the proposed design method is conservative for thin‐BRB specimens with a large steel core plate to restraining steel tube depth ratio. This paper concludes with design recommendations for thin‐BRBs for severe seismic services. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimum design and application of non‐traditional tuned mass damper toward seismic response control with experimental test verification

A variant type of tuned mass damper (TMD) termed as ‘non‐traditional TMD (NTTMD)’ is recently proposed. Mainly focusing on the employment of TMD for seismic response control, especially for base‐isolated or high‐rise structures, this paper aims to derive design formulae of NTTMDs based on two methodologies with different targets. One is the fixed points theory with the performance index set as the maximum magnitude of the frequency response function of the relative displacement of the primary structure with respect to the ground acceleration, and the other is the stability maximization criterion (SMC) to make the free vibration of the primary structure decay in the minimum duration. Such optimally designed NTTMDs are compared with traditional TMDs by conducting both numerical simulations and experiments. The optimum‐designed NTTMDs are demonstrated to be more effective than the optimum‐designed traditional TMDs, with smaller stroke length required. In particular, the effectiveness of the TMDs combined with a base‐isolated structure is investigated by small‐scale model experimental tests subjected to a time scaled long period impulsive excitation, and it is demonstrated that the SMC‐based NTTMD can suppress structural free vibration responses in the minimum duration and requires much smaller accommodation space. Additionally, a small‐scale shaking table experiment on a high‐rise bending model attached with a SMC‐based NTTMD is conducted. This study indicates that NTTMD has a high potential to apply to seismic response control or retrofit of structures such as base‐isolated or central column‐integrated high‐rise structures even if only a limited space is available for accommodating TMDs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic FE simulation of four‐story steel frame modeled by solid elements and its validation using results of full‐scale shake‐table test

Dynamic finite element analyses of a four‐story steel building frame modeled as a fine mesh of solid elements are performed using E‐Simulator, which is a parallel finite element analysis software package for precisely simulating collapse behaviors of civil and building structures. E‐Simulator is under development at the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED), Japan. A full‐scale shake‐table test for a four‐story frame was conducted using E‐Defense at NIED, which is the largest shaking table in the world. A mesh of the entire structure of a four‐story frame with approximately 19 million degrees of freedom is constructed using solid elements. The density of the mesh is determined by referring to the results of elastic–plastic buckling analyses of a column of the frame using meshes of different densities. Therefore, the analysis model of the frame is well verified. Seismic response analyses under 60, 100, and 115% excitations of the JR Takatori record of the 1995 Hyogoken‐Nanbu earthquake are performed. Note that the simulation does not reproduce the collapse under the 100% excitation of the Takatori record in the E‐Defense test. Therefore, simulations for the 115% case are also performed. The results obtained by E‐Simulator are compared with those obtained by the E‐Defense full‐scale test in order to validate the results obtained by E‐Simulator. The shear forces and interstory drift angles of the first story obtained by the simulation and the test are in good agreement. Both the response of the entire frame and the local deformation as a result of elastic–plastic buckling are simulated simultaneously using E‐Simulator. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

残积土含水率对其动力特性影响试验研究

选取厦门某建筑工程地基浅层残积土重塑试样,利用SDT-10微机控制电液伺服动态三轴测试系统,在呈正弦变化的动态荷载作用下,测试含水率分别为10%、15%、20%和23%时残积土试样的动应力-应变、动变形-作用时间(作用次数)、动弹性模量等动力学特性曲线与参数。分析试验数据表明:试样在动荷载作用下表现为黏弹塑性变形特性,且随着含水率提高,试样累积塑性轴向变形逐步增大,最大弹性模量逐步减少,但含水率由20%增至23%时,最大动弹性模量降低幅度不大。     

基于旁压试验土体弹塑性本构模型初探

在大量旁压试验数据分析的基础上,通过曲线拟合,建立了旁压试验弹塑性阶段曲线的椭圆方程,利用土体SMP屈服准则和Rowe流动法则,推导出土体塑性阶段应力增量与应变增量间关系矩阵。在弹性阶段,假设土体应力-应变服从广义虎克定律,建立了基于旁压试验的土体弹塑性本构模型。编制了相应的计算程序,将文中模型计算结果与实际旁压试验曲线进行对比,初步验证了模型的正确性。将本构模型编译为ABAQUS自定义材料子程序UMAT,通过有限元对比分析,文中模型计算变形较弹性模型小,较摩尔-库仑模型大,与模型建立的假设一致。基于旁压试验的土体弹塑性本构模型参数少,且易于获取,便于在实际工程中应用。     

土工格栅加筋膨胀土拉拔试验研究

土工格栅加筋技术对膨胀土地质灾害的防治具有特殊效果,但目前对土工格栅与膨胀土界面特性的研究不足。采用南水北调中线工程新乡段的膨胀性泥灰岩风化土作填料,塑料单向拉伸土工格栅作为加筋体,在叠环式剪切试验机上通过施加不同的竖向荷载对其界面特性进行了拉拔试验研究。研究结果表明,土工格栅在膨胀土中的拔出过程主要经过3个阶段,分别是界面静摩擦力阶段、渐进剪切阶段和整体运动阶段,各阶段受力特性有明显差异;随着法向应力的增大,静摩擦力在界面抗剪强度比值呈对数级增大,从50 kPa时0.20增大至400 kPa时0.57,极限值可达到0.75;对挡土墙、高边坡等加筋设计中应考虑最大静摩擦力所占比重,在格栅的不同竖向高度处所受垂直应力不同,分段设计更加合理。     

轴向荷载作用下管与软土相互作用模型试验

开展室内模型试验研究了PE涂层足尺管道在软弱黏土中发生纵向位移时静置时间、加载速率以及土层不排水抗剪强度3个因素对轴向摩擦特性的影响。研究表明,管与软黏土纵向相互作用的抗力-位移曲线存在硬化型和软化型两种形式,前者的峰值摩擦阻力一般出现在加载过程的最后阶段,而后者的峰值摩擦阻力则出现在相对位移为（0.005～0.02）D（D为 管直径）范围内;试验测得的峰值摩擦系数取值介于0.12～0.23之间,且该值比美国API规范推荐值偏小;管土纵向峰值摩擦系数与加载速率成正相关关系,且加载速率对抗力-位移曲线类型无显著影响;常见的不排水抗剪强度范围内,土层的不排水抗剪强度值越低,纵向摩擦系数越大。上述结论可为海底埋设管线与软黏土纵向相互作用摩擦系数的确定提供参考依据。     

地震作用下堆积体边坡的坡面变形与失稳机制

地震作用下堆积体边坡的动力响应特性十分复杂,单一抗震安全系数不足以评价其动力稳定性。通过大型振动台试验,研究了连续多级地震荷载作用下,地震波的类型、卓越频率及峰值加速度对堆积体边坡坡面永久位移的影响,并初步分析其失稳机制。试验结果表明,相同峰值加速度下振动型地震波比冲击型地震波更容易产生坡面永久位移,地震波卓越频率对坡面永久位移也有重要影响;堆积体边坡在峰值加速度apeak=0.2g时开始有大颗粒石砾滚落,对应的坡面永久位移在apeak=0.2g～0.3g之间开始产生并显著增大,另外利用考虑坡面几何形态变化的改进Newmark法对坡顶的永久位移进行了估算。通过坡面永久位移评价堆积体边坡的动力稳定性有一定合理性。     

采空区上方高速铁路桥梁群桩基础模型试验研究

目前有关采空区桥梁群桩基础的受力机制和沉降特性的研究成果还十分匮乏。以合肥－福州高速铁路官山底特大桥采空区群桩基础为原型进行缩尺模型试验研究。根据相似理论计算出模型相似常数,试验确定相似材料后进行模型制作,通过多级荷载试验获取了桩的内力,桩间土的应力,桩、承台、土和采空巷道顶板的沉降3大类数据,得出了模型中桩和桩间土的荷载特性和基础沉降规律。研究表明：采空区对桩承载力的影响与荷载大小成反比关系;所有桩均未出现桩侧负摩阻力,穿过采空区的桩的侧摩阻力分布重心下移程度较正常地层桩明显;采空区群桩不均匀沉降存在临界荷载值,超过此值后,采空区顶板岩土层与基础下正常岩土层的差异沉降不再增加。基于试验结果和理论分析,建立了以现有规范为基础的采空区单桩承载力计算公式和采空区群桩沉降计算公式。     

新型卧式土工平面应变仪研制

平面应变仪是一种开发较早但至今尚不完善的一种土工试验仪器,随着国家基础设施建设的发展,平面应变试验及试验方法在许多领域得以应用,显示出了平面应变试验在工程设计和研究中的重要性。通过回顾国内外平面应变仪的发展,提出了开发一种新型的土工平面应变三轴仪的思路,以实现更科学、更精确地进行复杂应力加载条件下土平面应变试验的研究。以此为目的,从压力室结构、加载系统及控制量测系统等方面提出了相应的改善措施,开发了一种新型的土工平面三轴仪。并通过重塑黄土的平面应变试验及改进的真三轴仪平面应变试验对比、以及平面应变试验强度参数与常规三轴试验强度参数对比分析,验证了所研制的新型卧式土工平面应变仪的合理性和研制思路的正确性。最后,通过对该平面应变仪应变试验的黄土破坏特性与改进真三轴平面应变试验的黄土破坏特征的对比分析,验证了本文所开发的平面应变仪在描述土体应变局部化问题的合理性。