A contribution to seismic shear design of R/C walls in dual structures

The paper focuses on the seismic response of walls in dual (frame + wall) structures, with particular emphasis on shear behaviour. Although dual structures are widely used in earthquake-resistant medium-rise and high-rise buildings, the provisions of modern seismic codes regarding design of walls for shear are not fully satisfactory, particularly in the (common) case that walls of substantially different length form part of the same structure. Relevant provisions of the leading seismic codes are first summarised and their limitations discussed. Then an extensive parametric study is presented, involving two multistorey dual systems, one with identical walls, and one with walls with unequal length, designed to the provisions of Eurocode 8 for two different ductility classes (H and M). The walls of the same structures are also designed to other methods such as those used in New Zealand and Greece. The resulting different designs are then assessed by subjecting the structures to a suite of strong ground motions, carrying out inelastic time history analysis, and comparing the results against design action effects. It is found that although modern code procedures generally lead to satisfactory performance (differences among them do exist), the design of walls seems to be less appropriate in the case of unequal length walls. For this case a modified procedure is proposed, consisting of an additional factor to account for the relative contribution of walls of the same length to the total base and an improved envelope of wall shears along the height; this improved method seems to work better than the other procedures evaluated herein, but further calibration is clearly required.     

A new fault rupture scenario for the 2003 Mw 6.6 Bam earthquake, SE Iran: Insights from the high-resolution QuickBird imagery and field observations

The December 26, 2003 M_w 6.6 Bam earthquake is one of the most disastrous earthquakes in Iran. QuickBird panchromatic and multispectral satellite imagery with 61 cm and 2.4 m ground resolution, respectively provide new insights into the surface rupturing process associated with this earthquake. The results indicate that this earthquake produced a 2–5 km-wide surface rupture zone with a complex geometric pattern. A 10-km-long surface rupture zone developed along the pre-existing Bam fault trace. Two additional surface rupture zones, each 2–5 km long, are oblique to the pre-existing Bam fault in angles of 20–35°. An analysis of geometric and geomorphic features also shows that movement on the Bam fault is mainly right-lateral motion with some compressional component. This interpretation is consistent with field investigations, analysis of aftershocks as well as teleseismic inversion. Therefore, we suggest that the 2003 Bam earthquake occurred on the Bam fault, and that the surface ruptures oblique to the Bam fault are caused by secondary faulting such as synthetic shears (Reidel shears). Our fault model for the Bam earthquake provides a new tectonic scenario for explaining complex surface deformations associated with the Bam earthquake.     

Effect of surface stress on magneto-elastic surface waves in finitely conducting media

This paper deals with the investigation of the effect of surface stress and conductivity on the propagation of surface wave in isotropic, homogeneous, elastic media under the action of a primary magnetic field. Formulation of the general surface wave propagation problem has been made, and the corresponding frequency equation has been derived. Frequency equations for Rayleigh wave, surface shear wave and Stoneley wave have been deduced from that of general surface wave as special cases. The effects of surface stress and magnetic field on the wave velocities and attenuation factors of Rayleigh wave and surface shear wave are shown by numerical calculations and graphs. Some important wave velocity equations, as obtained by other authors, have been deduced as special cases from the wave velocity equation for Stoneley wave. It is found that the combined effect of surface stress and magnetic field modulates the wave velocity ratios and attenuation factors of Rayleigh wave and surface shear wave to a considerable extent.     

Simulation of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Characteristics during Indian Summer Monsoon using Observations from Monsoon Trough Boundary Layer Experiment at Jodhpur, India

The diurnal structure of the boundary layer during Indian summer monsoon period is studied using a one-dimensional meteorological boundary layer model and the observations collected from the Monsoon Trough Boundary Layer Experiment conducted in 1990 at Jodhpur, India. The model was initialized with the observed temperature profiles at 0530 LST on 17 July, 1990 at Jodhpur and was run for 26 hours. The study is carried out with a geostrophic wind speed of 9.5 m s⁻¹ corresponding to the strong wind simulation. The mean thermodynamic and wind structure simulated by the model are in good agreement with those observed from 30 m tower. The computed surface layer characteristics such as the surface fluxes, TKE and standard deviations of velocity components are found to be reasonably in good agreement with those based on turbulence measurements. The shear and buoyancy budget computed from the model are also compared with the turbulence measurements. The integrated cooling budget in the nocturnal boundary layer is examined.     

Pure aluminium shear panels as dissipative devices in moment‐resisting steel frames

The use of energy dissipation systems for the seismic control of steel structures represents a valid alternative to conventional seismic design methods. The seismic devices currently employed are mostly based on the metallic yielding technology due to the large feasibility and efficiency they can provide. Within this context, in the current paper an innovative solution based on the adoption of low‐yield‐strength pure aluminium shear panels (SPs) for seismic protection of steel moment‐resisting frames is proposed and investigated. In order to prove the effectiveness of the system, a wide numerical study based on both static and dynamic non‐linear analyses has been carried out, considering a number of different frame‐to‐shear panel combinations, aiming at assessing the effect of the main influential parameters on the seismic response of the structure. The obtained results show that the contribution provided by aluminium SPs is rather significant, allowing a remarkable improvement of the seismic performance of the structure in terms of stiffness, strength and ductility, with the possibility to strongly limit the damage occurring in the members of moment‐resisting frames. In particular, it is clearly emphasized that the stiffening effect provided by SPs allows a more rational design procedure to be adopted, since the serviceability limit state check does not lead to unavoidable and uneconomical increase of the size of main structural members. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Towards error‐free hybrid simulation using mixed variables

Two procedures are developed and implemented in a hybrid simulation system (HSS) with the aim of enhancing the accuracy and reliability of the online, i.e. pseudo‐dynamic, test results. The first procedure aims at correcting the experimental systematic error in executing the displacement command signal. The error is calculated as the difference between command and feedback signals and correlated to the actuator velocity using the least‐squares method. A feed‐forward error compensation scheme is devised leading to a more accurate execution of the test. The second procedure employs mixed variables with mode switching between displacement and force controls. The newly derived force control algorithm is evaluated using a parametric study to assess its stability and accuracy. The implementation of the mixed variables procedure is designed to adopt force control for high stiffness states of the structural response and displacement control otherwise, where the resolution of the involved instruments may favour this type of mixed control. A simple pseudo‐dynamic experiment of steel cantilever members is used to validate the HSS. Moreover, two experiments as application examples for the two developed procedures are presented. The two experiments focus on the seismic response of (a) timber shear walls and (b) reinforced concrete frames with and without unreinforced masonry infill wall. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

剪切带倾角尺度律与局部化启动跳跃稳定研究

研究了剪切带倾角是如何依赖于岩样高度以及剪切带的不稳定性。建立了准脆性材料试件剪切带倾角尺度效应模型,得到了剪切带倾角尺度效应的解析解,且与实验结果比较相符。研究结果表明:剪切带倾角随着试件高度的增加而增加,但其增加幅逐渐减缓,最终趋于稳定值。笔者还对剪应变局部化启动、跳跃和稳定进行了理论分析,解释了实验所观测到的剪切带跳跃现象和砂岩岩样应变局部化较煤样滞后的原因。剪应变局部化是否发生跳跃,关键取决于全程应力-应变曲线软化段是否存在拐点。对于没有拐点的情形,宏观剪切带图案不跳跃。局部化是导致准脆性材料试件剪切带倾角尺度效应的原因。     

Atmospheric, oceanic and hydrological contributions to seasonal variations in length of day

 The annual and semiannual residuals derived in the axial angular momentum budget of the solid Earth–atmosphere system reflect significant signals. They must be caused by further excitation sources. Since, in particular, the contribution for the wind term from the atmospheric layer between the 10 and 0.3 hPa levels to the seasonal variations in length of day (LOD) is still missing, it is necessary to extend the top level into the upper stratosphere up to 0.3 hPa. Under the conservation of the total angular momentum of the entire Earth, variations in the oceanic angular momentum (OAM) and the hydrological angular momentum (HAM) are further significant excitation sources at seasonal time scales. Focusing on other contributions to the Earth's axial angular momentum budget, the following data are used in this study: axial atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) data derived for the 10–0.3 hPa layer from 1991 to 1997 for computing the missing wind effects; axial OAM functions as generated by oceanic general circulation models (GCMs), namely for the ECHAM3 and the MICOM models, available from 1975 to 1994 and from 1992 to 1994, respectively, for computing the oceanic contributions to LOD changes, and, concerning the HAM variations, the seasonal estimates of the hydrological contribution as derived by Chao and O'Connor [(1988) Geophys J 94: 263–270]. Using vector representation, it is shown that the vectors achieve a close balance in the global axial angular momentum budget within the estimated uncertainties of the momentum quantities on seasonal time scales. Received: 6 April 2000 / Accepted: 13 December 2000     

一次新疆强切变线天气的分析

对1998年3月新疆强切变线天气的分析表明，蒙古阻塞高压对切变线形成起决定性作用，切变线是一个冷性结构的风辐合带，白天较弱、夜晚较强。在切变线上维持一个纬向的次级环流，该次级环流加强了切变线东部的降水。水汽在对流层中上层的切变线附近辐合，大降水落区与切变线相一致。     

根据构造环境剪应力值水平区分地震和核爆炸

根据地震破裂的断裂力学模式，导出了震源参数与地震发生处的构造环境剪应力值t0之间的函数关系．据此，可以大量计算震源处的构造环境剪应力值或背景应力值．若把核爆炸当作地震来计算，发现核爆炸的t0值平均在20MPa左右，明显地高于同震级地震的t0值．其结果可以作为区分地震与核爆炸的依据．