Ground motion scaling methods for different site conditions and structure characteristics

Non‐linear dynamic time‐history analyses conducted as part of a performance‐based seismic design approach often require that the ground motion records are scaled to a specified level of seismic intensity. Recent research has demonstrated that certain ground motion scaling methods can introduce a large scatter in the estimated seismic demands. The resulting demand estimates may be biased, leading to designs with significant uncertainty and unknown margins of safety, unless a relatively large ensemble of ground motion records is used. This paper investigates the effectiveness of seven ground motion scaling methods in reducing the scatter in estimated peak lateral displacement demands. Non‐linear single‐degree‐of‐freedom systems and non‐linear multi‐degree‐of‐freedom systems are considered with different site conditions (site soil profile and epicentral distance) and structural characteristics (yield strength, period, and hysteretic behavior). It is shown that scaling methods that work well for ground motions representative of stiff soil and far‐field conditions lose their effectiveness for soft soil and near‐field conditions for a wide range of structural characteristics. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rock magnetic properties of Nihewan sediments at Xujiayao

Rock magnetic measurements of Nihewan sediments from Xujiayao section demonstrate that magnetite, hematite and maghemite are dominant remanent magnetization carriers. Monitoring the variations of magnetic susceptibility (MS) and saturating isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) at low temperature are the attractive ways of detecting the presence of magnetite, maghemitization and superparamagnetic grain sizes. Low-temperature MS investigations suggest that susceptibility enhancement for Xujiayao samples is mainly due to the remarkable presence of SD/MD magnetite to some degree though some magnetite grains have been partially oxidized at some depths. It is tentatively concluded that both SD/MD magnetite and hematite are of detrital origin and carry a characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM), whereas maghemite can be attributed to be chemical origin, overprinting a reversed polarity component of Matuyama age.     

Field‐scale phosphorus losses from a drained clay soil in Sweden

The objective of this study was to determine and discuss field‐scale phosphorus losses via subsurface tile drains. A total phosphorous (Tot‐P) export, which averaged 0·29 kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, was measured over a six‐year period from the 4·43 ha drainage system of a Eutric Cambisol in Central Sweden. The main part (63%) was in particulate form (PP) while the remainder was either in phosphate form (PO₄‐P) or in other dissolved or colloidal forms. A very small area, less than 1% of the soil surface, was demonstrated to be hydraulically active by using a staining technique in soil monoliths taken from the field. The stained macropores were few, but were continuous downward, and were relatively evenly distributed among the eight 7 dm² areas that were investigated. The transport from the field mainly occurred in episodes during which the relationship between phosphorus concentration and discharge was characterized by hysteresis loops. On average, half of the yearly P transport occurred in 140 hours. Compared with flow‐proportional and frequent sampling, manual and fortnightly sampling underestimated the transport of Tot‐P and suspended solids (SS) by 59 and 42%, respectively, during the six years studied. Amounts of different phosphorus forms exported through the tile drains were very similar to those reported from other clay soils in Northern Europe and North America. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于滞回曲线以及结构动力方程的混凝土结构抗震稳定性分析

为准确全面地量化分析研究土木工程建筑中混凝土结构抗震稳定性,提出基于滞回曲线以及结构动力方程的混凝土结构抗震稳定性分析方法。首先采用滞回曲线描述混凝土结构在地震作用下的损伤情况,对滞回曲线模型拐点进行有效操作,确保动力方程对混凝土结构抗震稳定性进行有效分析。其次采用基于混凝土结构动力方程的抗震稳定性分析方法,对地震地面运动模型以及结构分析模型来分析混凝土结构的随机地震反应情况,得到混凝土结构随机反应的汇总量,在此基础上通过双参数的结构破坏模型,基于结构稳定性原理,获取运算混凝土结构抗震稳定性的概率表达式,再基于该表达式分析混凝土结构的抗震稳定性情况。实验结果说明,所提方法能够对土木工程建筑中不同类型混凝土构件抗震稳定性进行有效分析,分析结果准确且全面。     

Modelling of R/C members accounting for shear failure localisation: Hysteretic shear model

Reinforced concrete (R/C) frame buildings designed according to older seismic codes represent a large part of the existing building stock worldwide. Their structural elements are often vulnerable to shear or flexure‐shear failure, which can eventually lead to loss of axial load resistance of vertical elements and initiate vertical progressive collapse of a building. In this study, a hysteretic model capturing the local shear response of shear‐deficient R/C elements is described in detail, with emphasis on post‐peak behaviour; it differs from existing models in that it considers the localisation of shear strains after the onset of shear failure in a critical length defined by the diagonal failure planes. Additionally, an effort is made to improve the state of the art in post‐peak shear response modelling, by compiling the largest database of experimental results for shear and flexure‐shear critical R/C columns cycled well beyond the onset of shear failure and/or up to the onset of axial failure, and developing empirical relationships for the key parameters defining the local backbone post‐peak shear response of such elements. The implementation of the derived local hysteretic shear model in a computationally efficient beam‐column finite element model with distributed shear flexibility, which accounts for all deformation types, will be presented in a companion paper.     

An evaluation of the hysteresis in chemical concentration–discharge (C–Q) relationships from drained,intensively managed grasslands in southwest England

This study examined the hysteresis exhibited in concentration–discharge (C–Q) relationships in the runoff from four hydrologically separated fields (catchments) at an intensively managed grassland. The objectives were to examine C–Q relationships constructed from high-resolution time series of flow, temperature, pH, conductivity, nitrate and turbidity, and their implications for hydrological processes. High-resolution datasets from the quality assured records of the Rothamsted Research North Wyke Farm Platform in the UK were examined using a graphical method and cross-correlation statistics. The study found that storm events based C–Q hysteresis reflects the cross-correlation that is generally hidden in time series analysis of large datasets, and that although Q and water quality variables can be effectively influenced by catchment size, the C–Q relationship is less significantly influenced. The dominant C–Q relationships of the water variables in the study area reflect that saturated overland flow was prevalent during the study period in the catchments, while the CCF results indicate coupled transfer of sediments and solute in the area at lag ≥ 0.

EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis

ASSOCIATE EDITOR M. D. Fidelibus     

微型土压力传感器标定方法研究

离心模型试验常用微型土压力传感器测量地基或土与结构接触边界上的土压力。传感器使用之前应进行标定。传统的液标或气标方法不能准确反映传感器埋置过程对土体的扰动或传感器周围人为土拱边界条件形成,导致测试结果不甚理想。故针对试验条件,设计制作一套标定微型土压力传感器的方法和装置,以水、粉质黏土和福建标准砂为标定介质,考虑有无刚性靠背两种工作状态对多个传感器进行室内标定,得到标定系数。结果表明:水标未出现卸载滞后,砂标和土标均出现卸载滞后,且表现为非线性;引入滞后比R评价微型土压力传感器的滞后性,认为标定介质和传感器类型是影响滞后比的两个主要因素;传感器自身材料特性和几何特性、地基土的制备和传感器放置、加载预压和加卸载循环等对土体密实度、土体强度等的改变、工作介质和状态等对标定结果有影响。建议尽量模拟试验工作介质和工作状态,逐个标定传感器,以得到更准确的土压力测量值。     

Modeling Hysteresis in Porous Media Flow via Relaxation

Two-phase flow in a porous medium can be modeled, using Darcy's law, in terms of the relative permeability functions of the two fluids (say, oil and water). The relative permeabilities generally depend not only on the fluid saturations but also on the direction in which the saturations are changing. During water injection, for example, the relative oil permeability k _ro falls gradually until a threshold is reached, at which stage the k _ro begins to decrease sharply. The latter stage is termed imbibition. If oil is subsequently injected, then k _ro does not recover along the imbibition path, but rather increases only gradually until another threshold is reached, whereupon it rises sharply. This second stage is called drainage, and the type of flow that occurs between the imbibition and drainage stages is called scanning flow. Changes in permeability during scanning flow are approximately reversible, whereas changes during drainage and imbibition are irreversible. Thus there is hysteresis, or memory, exhibited by the two-phase flow in the porous medium. In this work, we describe two models of permeability hysteresis. Common to both models is that the scanning flow regime is modeled with a family of curves along which the flow is reversible. In the Scanning Hysteresis Model (SHM), the scanning curves are bounded by two curves, the drainage and imbibition curves, where the flow can only occur in a specific direction. The SHM is a heuristic model consistent with experiments, but it does not have a nice mathematical specification. For instance, the algorithm for constructing solutions of Riemann problems involves several ad hoc assumptions. The Scanning Hysteresis Model with Relaxation (SHMR) augments the SHM by (a) allowing the scanning flow to extend beyond the drainage and imbibition curves and (b) treating these two curves merely as attractors of states outside the scanning region. The attraction, or relaxation, occurs on a time scale that corresponds to the redistribution of phases within the pores of the medium driven by capillary forces. By means of a formal Chapman–Enskog expansion, we show that the SHM with additional viscosity arises from the SHMR in the limit of vanishing relaxation time, provided that the diffusion associated with capillarity exceeds that induced by relaxation. Moreover, through a rigorous study of traveling waves in the SHMR, we show that the shock waves used to solve Riemann problems in the SHM are precisely those that have diffusive profiles. Thus the analysis of the SHMR justifies the SHM model. Simulations based on a simple numerical method for the simulation of flow with hysteresis confirm our analysis.