基于改进Kalman滤波算法的粗差修正及应用

现代动态数据处理中,以Kalman滤波为代表的现代时间序列分析方法发挥着举足轻重的作用。对于平稳性比较好的数据,一般方法都能够得到良好的处理结果,并可以做出相对准确预测,但是在动态数据中总会出现一些粗差值或异常值,如果这些异常数据不能得到有效的处理控制的话,不仅会对本期处理结果造成严重影响,还会因计算过程中状态值吸收此项粗差而对后期数据的处理结果产生影响。针对可能出现的粗差项及其带来的影响,本文首先详细地讲解了Kalman滤波的具体理论,在此基础上提出了一种改进的基于Kalman滤波的修正方法,经过实际实验发现,在无需先探测粗差的情况下,本方法能够对所含粗差项进行有效的修正并且效果良好。     

Assessing adequacy of spectrum‐matched ground motions for response history analysis

Response spectrum matching is commonly used to generate ground motions with response spectra matching a scenario target spectrum. There is some debate in the literature about whether spectrum‐matched motions lead to biased structural analysis results. Furthermore, there are no objective, quantitative criteria available for deciding whether a ground motion has been manipulated excessively by spectrum matching, and whether large modification may also lead to bias. This study investigates both of these issues by presenting the results of structural analysis using two reinforced concrete moment frame models and two earthquake scenarios, with suites of unmatched and matched ground motions. Through comparison with a robust benchmark, it is shown that no significant bias is introduced by spectrum matching. The period range and target damping values for matching are also investigated, and matching up to three times the fundamental period is shown to be beneficial in reducing dispersion in the results. Finally, these analyses were also used to investigate whether large changes in the ground motion lead to biased analysis results. Several potential measures of change are investigated, including those based on peak absolute ground motion, cumulative squared ground motion (absolute or normalized), and input energy into single‐degree‐of‐freedom systems. Although no systematic, statistically significant correlation is found for the analysis results in terms of any of these measures of change, tentative criteria are proposed, which may be used by analysts to aid in the decision of whether to accept or reject a spectrum‐matched motion. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Damage‐dependent vulnerability curves for existing buildings

Seismic behavior of damaged buildings may be expressed as a function of their REsidual Capacity (REC), which is a measure of seismic capacity, reduced by damage. REC can be interpreted as the median value of collapse vulnerability curves. Its variation owing to damage is a useful indication of increased building vulnerability. REC reduction, indicating the lowering of seismic safety after an earthquake (performance loss, PL), represents an effective index for assessing the need of seismic repair/strengthening after earthquakes. The study investigates the applicability of a pushover‐based method in the analysis of damaged structures for the case of existing under‐designed RC buildings. The paper presents a systematization of the procedure in an assessment framework that applies the capacity spectrum method based on inelastic demand spectra; furthermore, the vulnerability variation of a real building is investigated with a detailed case study. The behavior of damaged buildings is simulated with pushover analysis through suitable modification of plastic hinges (in terms of stiffness, strength and residual drift) for damaged elements. The modification of plastic hinges has been calibrated in tests on nonconforming columns. The case study analysis evidenced that, for minor or moderate damages, the original structural displacement capacity was only slightly influenced, but the ductility capacity was significantly reduced (up to 40%) because of the increased structure deformability. This implied performance loss in the range 10%–20%. For severe damages the PL ranged between 41% and 56%. Local mechanism types exhibit PL nearly double with respect to global mechanism types. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial statistical analysis of tree deaths using airborne digital imagery

High resolution digital airborne imagery offers unprecedented opportunities for observation and monitoring of vegetation, providing the potential to identify, locate and track individual vegetation objects over time. Analytical tools are required to quantify relevant information. In this paper, locations of trees over a large area of native woodland vegetation were identified using morphological image analysis techniques. Methods of spatial point process statistics were then applied to estimate the spatially-varying tree death risk, and to show that it is significantly non-uniform. [Tree deaths over the area were detected in our previous work (Wallace et al., 2008).] The study area is a major source of ground water for the city of Perth, and the work was motivated by the need to understand and quantify vegetation changes in the context of water extraction and drying climate. The influence of hydrological variables on tree death risk was investigated using spatial statistics (graphical exploratory methods, spatial point pattern modelling and diagnostics).     

Adaptive geo-information processing service evolution: Reuse and local modification method

Geo-information (GI) service automated composition according to user demands is a crucial task in spatial data infrastructures. State-of-the-art GI service composition approaches face serious limitations in terms of effectiveness and stability as the general GI processing service chain (GIPSC) must be generated from individual user specifications from scratch. This paper presents a novel approach called an adaptive geo-information service evolution (AgiSE) method which overcomes these limitations by adaptively reusing and modifying previously generated GIPSC. In this method, an influence domain minimisation (IDM) criterion is employed to modify the existing GIPSC to fit the new (changed) user demands through minimum revisions. The correction of local modification is ensured by process and integrity constraints. An innovative algorithm called influence domain pursuit is developed to find the optimised solution through a heuristic backward search based on the defined IDM. Experimental analysis shows the significant improvements of using AgiSE in GI services compared with existing traditional methods. The benefits of AgiSE are the improved efficiency of GI service composition and the improved executing stability of GIPSC which were achieved by reducing the service provider load. The AgiSE presented in this paper is crucial in reusing a general unified framework for GI service composition.     

Adjustment of leveling network by information spread estimation

In practical parameter estimation, we have always chosen either Least Squares Estimation(LSE) or Robust Estimation. Since the distribution of observations is unknown, to select a correct estimation method is very difficult. It is well known that if observations include gross errors, the result of LSE will be badly containinated. On the other hand, if observations do not include any gross errors, the result of robust estimation is not as good as that of LSE. To solve this problem, Wang (1999) developed an estimation method called Information Spread Estimation (ISE) based on the information spread principle. The ISE is a very good method for estimating one parameter which is very robust. However, most of instances in surveying data processing are multi-parameters' estimation, owing to the inherent restrictions of ISE, it can not be applied to the surveying data processing directly. To apply the good method to the field of surveying data processing widely, the author has done the research deeply. This paper applies ISE successfully to the adjustment of leveling network by using the specialties of leveling.     

Effects of mixed physical barrier on residual saltwater removal and groundwater discharge in coastal aquifers

Physical barriers are widely used to control seawater intrusion (SWI). Amongst different kinds of physical barriers, mixed physical barriers (MPBs) are shown to be an effective approach to prevent SWI. However, the system may hinder the discharge of fresh groundwater and the removal of residual saltwater trapped in the inland aquifers of MPBs. Herein, using the validated numerical model, for the first time, we investigated the dynamics of residual saltwater and groundwater discharge after the installation of MPBs. For examining the applicability of MPB and its response to structural variations and hydraulic gradient, the comparison with traditional physical barriers and sensitivity analysis was also carried out. The MPB increased the mixing area of freshwater and saltwater at the beginning of the removal process, resulting in the reduction of the saltwater wedge length (R_L) by 74.6% and the removal of total salt mass (R_M) by 62.6% within the 4% of the total removal time. Meanwhile, the groundwater discharge (Q') rose rapidly after a sharp decline from 100% to 40% in the first stage. As the residual saltwater wedge was retreated, the mixing intensity and removal efficiency decreased substantially in the second stage. Similarly, Q' raised with a declining rate at this stage. The removal efficiency was positively correlated with wall depth and hydraulic gradient and there were optimal distance of the middle spacing and height of lower dam to reach the highest efficiency. The groundwater discharge reduced monotonously with the increase of dam height and wall depth as well as the decrease of barrier spacing and hydraulic gradient. Under certain conditions, the efficiency of MPB in removing residual saltwater could be 40%–100% and 0%–56% higher than that of traditional subsurface dam and cutoff wall, respectively. The laboratory scale conclusions provide valuable physical insight for the real field applications regarding dynamic mechanism and regularity. These findings will always help decision makers choose proper engineering measures and protect groundwater resources in coastal areas.     

Performance‐based earthquake engineering assessment of a self‐centering,post‐tensioned concrete bridge system

Highway bridges in highly seismic regions can sustain considerable residual displacements in their columns following large earthquakes. These residual displacements are an important measure of post‐earthquake functionality, and often determine whether or not a bridge remains usable following an earthquake. In this study, a self‐centering system is considered that makes use of unbonded, post‐tensioned steel tendons to provide a restoring force to bridge columns to mitigate the problem of residual displacements. To evaluate the proposed system, a code‐conforming, case‐study bridge structure is analyzed both with conventional reinforced concrete columns and with self‐centering, post‐tensioned columns using a formalized performance‐based earthquake engineering (PBEE) framework. The PBEE analysis allows for a quantitative comparison of the relative performance of the two systems in terms of engineering parameters such as peak drift ratio as well as more readily understood metrics such as expected repair costs and downtime. The self‐centering column system is found to undergo similar peak displacements to the conventional system, but sustains lower residual displacements under large earthquakes, resulting in similar expected repair costs but significantly lower expected downtimes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.