Vertical dynamic impedance of pile considering the dynamic stress diffusion effect of pile end soil

A new analytical model is presented to analyze the dynamic stress diffusion effect of pile end soil on the vertical dynamic impedance of the pile. The surrounding soil of the pile is modeled by using the plane strain model and the pile is simulated by using one-dimensional elastic theory. Finite soil layers below the pile end are modeled as conical fictitious soil pile with stress diffusion angle which reflects the dynamic stress diffusion effect of pile end soil. By means of the Laplace transform and impedance function transfer method, the analytical solution of the vertical dynamic impedance at the pile head in frequency domain is yielded. Then, a comparison with other models is performed to verify the conical fictitious soil pile model. Finally, based on the proposed solution, the selected numerical results are compared to analyze the influence of dynamic stress diffusion effect for different design parameters of the soil-pile system on the vertical dynamic impedance at the pile head.     

Numerical simulations of a highway bridge structure employing passive negative stiffness device for seismic protection

A new passive seismic response control device has been developed, fabricated, and tested by the authors and shown to be capable of producing negative stiffness via a purely mechanical mechanism, thus representing a new generation of seismic protection devices. Although the concept of negative stiffness may appear to be a reversal on the desired relationship between the force and displacement in structures (the desired relationship being that the product of restoring force and displacement is nonnegative), when implemented in parallel with a structure having positive stiffness, the combined system appears to have substantially reduced stiffness while remaining stable. Thus, there is an ‘apparent weakening and softening’ of the structure that results in reduced forces and increased displacements (where the weakening and softening is of a non‐damaging nature in that it occurs in a seismic protection device rather than within the structural framing system). Any excessive displacement response can then be limited by incorporating a damping device in parallel with the negative stiffness device. The combination of negative stiffness and passive damping provides a large degree of control over the expected performance of the structure. In this paper, a numerical study is presented on the performance of a seismically isolated highway bridge model that is subjected to various strong earthquake ground motions. The Negative Stiffness Devices (NSDs) are described along with their hysteretic behavior as obtained from a series of cyclic tests wherein the tests were conducted using a modified design of the NSDs (modified for testing within the bridge model). Using the results from the cyclic tests, numerical simulations of the seismic response of the isolated bridge model were conducted for various configurations (with/without negative stiffness devices and/or viscous dampers). The results demonstrate that the addition of negative stiffness devices reduces the base shear substantially, while the deck displacement is limited to acceptable values. This assessment was conducted as part of a NEES (Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation) project which included shaking table tests of a quarter‐scale highway bridge model. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An investigation into the effects of damping and nonlinear geometry models in earthquake engineering analysis

The growing emphasis of considering the behavior of structures at extreme performance states, such as collapse, has necessitated the characterization of the effects of varying attributes of the structural model. One source of variability that has not previously been considered is variability in the mathematical model. This study investigated the effects of changing the geometric nonlinearity approach and damping model on a four‐story buckling restrained braced frame, a four‐story steel moment resisting frame, and an eight‐story steel moment resisting frame. The variations in behavior are quantified using the maximum interstory drift ratio as the performance metric and qualified by comparing the relative displaced shapes and component response histories at the collapse performance state. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

地基半空间等效集总体系的比拟法与实测分析

先略述莱斯默比拟法的形成;再由半空间理论等效为质弹体系,得出辐射阻尼比、刚度及参振土质量,并论述两体系的结合;最后经实测、分析和使用,考虑土体非匀质性折减阻尼比以作修正,使其更为实用。这有助于消除在我国长期认为阻尼比大而不安全、不便使用的疑虑,以便推动半空间理论在我国的实用化。     

不同平衡堆载条件下桩基承载特性的原位试验研究

沿海吹填围垦地区土质较差,淤泥软弱土层较厚,在后期填土作用下土体会产生很大的固结沉降。后期不同堆载填土方式对桥梁基础影响较大,可降低基桩承载力,同时平衡堆载主要增加基桩的沉降,而不平衡堆载则对基桩水平位移影响较大。结合台州湾大桥工程建设,选取3根基桩进行了平衡堆载（围载）试验,另外,选取了3根基桩进行了不平衡堆载试验,研究不同堆载条件下对桩基承载特性的影响。现场试验结果表明,平衡堆载条件下主要引起桩侧产生负摩阻力,堆载高度达到4 m,堆载面积为24 m×16 m时,负摩阻力总和达到2 687 kN左右,中性点深度约为29.5 m,约为0.36倍桩长,且负摩阻力的发展是随时间而变化的;不平衡堆载条件下主要产生土拱效应,使桩基产生较大的水平位移,试验中不平衡堆载对吹填区的影响主要在距离地面20 m范围之内,土中最大水平位移出现在距离地面4～5 m左右位置,而桩身最大水平位移出现在桩顶。     

Development and validation of nonlinear computational models of dispersed structures under strong earthquake excitation

Structural health monitoring of large multispan flexible bridges is particularly important because of their important role in civil infrastructure and transportation systems. In this study, the response of the Yokohama Bay Bridge (YBB), a three‐span cable‐stayed bridge, to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake is used to perform multi‐input multi‐output system identification studies. The extensive multicomponent measurements are also used to develop and validate data‐driven nonlinear mathematical models that can predict the response of YBB to various earthquake records and can accurately estimate its damping characteristics when the system is driven into the nonlinear response range. A combination of least‐square (parametric) and neural network (nonparametric) approaches is used to develop the mathematical models, along with time‐marching techniques for dynamic response calculations. It is shown that the nonlinear mathematical models perform better than the equivalent linear models, both for response prediction and damping estimation. The importance of having an accurate approach for quantifying the damping due to the variety of nonlinear features in the YBB response is shown. This study demonstrates the significance of constructing robust mathematical models that can capture the correct physics of the underlying system and that can be used for computational purposes to augment experimental studies. Given the lack of suitable data sets for full‐scale structures under extreme loads, the availability of the long‐duration measurements from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and its many strong aftershocks provides an excellent opportunity to perform the analyses presented in this study. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nonlinear response estimates of RC frames using linear analysis of SDOF systems

An approximate‐simple method for nonlinear response estimates of reinforced concrete frames subjected to near‐field and far‐field records is presented in this paper. The approximate method is based on equivalent single‐degree‐of‐freedom and linear multi‐degree‐of‐freedom models. In this procedure, the nonlinear maximum roof displacement is estimated using an effective period factor and elastic response spectrum with an equivalent damping. The effective period factor was proposed for far‐field and near‐field ground motion records. For regions of high seismicity, the maximum roof displacement can be estimated by applying an effective period factor of 2.3 and 2.1 for near‐field and far‐field records, respectively, and 9% damped displacement response spectrum. For regions of moderate seismicity, a lower effective period factor of 1.9 and 1.8, for near‐field and far‐field records, respectively, can be applied to estimate the maximum roof displacement. A relationship between linear and nonlinear response of multi‐degree‐of‐freedom systems was also proposed to obtain estimates of the maximum inter‐story drift of nonlinear responding reinforced concrete frames. In addition, the effects of number of ground motion records used in the analyses on the scatters of results were investigated. The required number of ground motions to produce a reliable response was proposed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simplified discrete systems for dynamic analysis of structures on footings and piles

A simplified discrete system in the form of a simple oscillator is developed to simulate the dynamic behavior of a structure founded through footings or piles on compliant ground, under harmonic excitation. Exact analytical expressions for the fundamental natural period and the corresponding damping coefficients of the above system are derived, as function of geometry and the frequency-dependent foundation impedances. In an effort to quantify the coupling between swaying and rocking oscillations in embedded foundations such as piles, the reference system is translated from the footing–soil interface to the depth where the resultant soil reaction is applied, to ensure a diagonal impedance matrix. The resulting eccentricity is a measure of the coupling effect between the two oscillation modes. The amounts of radiation damping generated from a single pile and a surface footing are evaluated. In order to compare the damping of a structure on a surface footing and a pile, the notion of static and geometric equivalence is introduced. It is shown that a pile may generate significantly higher radiation damping than an equivalent footing, thus acting as an elementary protective system against seismic action.     

高压水及负压加载状态下三轴应力渗流试验装置的研制

针对目前相关的三轴渗流试验装置缺乏高压水及负压加载功能而不能对高压水及负压加载状态下煤样瓦斯渗流规律进行研究这一问题,研制出了煤样试件出口负压可调并可对其进行高压水加载的新型三轴应力渗流试验装置。该装置主要由三轴应力加载系统、气体渗透系统、水力压裂控制系统、气体流量测试系统、传感与控制系统5部分组成,能够进行高压水及负压载荷下的各种单轴与三轴渗流试验。研究表明,该装置能够模拟抽采钻孔负压状态下煤体内的瓦斯运移规律及考察高压水对煤体的压裂效果,在实验室能完成对煤体试样负压状态下的渗流规律研究以及试件采取水力压裂措施后的增透效果考察。