Damage identification method using harmonic excitation force considering both modelling and measurement errors

A method of structural damage identification using harmonic excitation force is presented. It considers the effects of both measurement and modelling errors in the baseline finite element model. Damage that accompanies changes in structural parameters can be estimated for a damaged structure from the change between measured vibration responses and ones calculated from the analytical model of the intact structure. In practice, modelling errors exist in the analytical model due to material and geometric uncertainties and a reduction in the degrees of freedom as well as measurement errors, making identification difficult. To surmount these problems, bootstrap hypothesis testing, which enables statistical judgment without information about these errors, was introduced. The method was validated by numerical simulation using a three‐dimensional frame structure and real vibration data for a three‐storey steel frame structure. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Active spreading and hydrothermalism in North Fiji Basin (SW Pacific). Results of Japanese French Cruise Kaiyo 87

The aim of the Japanese-French Kaiyo 87 cruise was the study of the spreading axis in the North Fiji Basin (SW Pacific). A Seabeam and geophysical survey allowed us to define the detailed structure of the active NS spreading axis between 16° and 22° S and its relationships with the left lateral motion of the North Fiji Fracture Zone. Between 21° S and 18°10′ S, the spreading axis trends NS. From 18°10 S to 16°40 S the orientation of the spreading axis changes from NS to 015°. North of 16°40′ S the spreading axis trends 160°. These two 015° and 160° branches converge with the left lateral North Fiji fracture zone around 16°40′ S to define an RRFZ triple junction. Water sampling, dredging and photo TV deep towing give new information concerning the hydrothermal activity along the spreading axis. The discovery of hydrothermal deposits associated with living communities confirms this activity.     

Microseismicity Induced by Heavy Rainfall Around Flooded Vertical Ore Veins

—?Microseismicity (M?M?M?M??6 were also monitored at a crustal movement monitoring station located several hundred meters from the veins. It was found that the opening of the vertical ore veins primary led to significant strain and tilt, but not to seismicity, because the delay and the longer duration of the seismicity were significant. Most seismic events involve thrusting mechanisms that are consistent with the present stress state of E-W-oriented tectonic compression, but are not consistent with the opening of the deepest ore vein. Interstingly, all the events within a few months of the heavy rainfall occurred near the faults that offset the deepest ore veins, wheareas all those events located away from the deepest ore veins occurred many months after the heavy rainfall. Consequently, the delayed diffusion of water appears to have played a dominant role in reducing rock strength, which led to seismicity in the Ikuno mine.     

Optimal yield level of bilinear seismic isolation devices

The yield level of an insulator is one of the important parameters which are related to responses and absorbing energy under seismic input energy in isolated structures. The purpose of this paper is to determine the optimal ratios of yield force of the isolator (Q_y) to the total weight of the structures (W). To obtain the optimal ratio, 1044 two-degree-of-freedom isolated bridge models, which have bilinear isolators, were selected. These 2-DOF isolated bridge models with superstructure isolation can consider pier flexibility and various parameters of the isolator. Two formulas for determining the optimal yield ratio are proposed and compared with the previous researches. RAE (the ratio of absorbed energy by the isolator to the total input energy) is related directly to structural responses, and Optimal Yield Ratio (OYR), defined as a yield ratio at maximum RAE, can be obtained from the relationship between RAE and Q_y/W. Here, we found that RAE is a reliable factor to evaluate OYR, and it is proportional to earthquake amplitudes under the same kinds of earthquake loadings. Using the proposed formulas, OYR is determined and the optimal yield force of the isolator can be obtained easily and reliably at a seismic isolation design stage. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the gravity wave-driven instability of E layer at mid-latitude

The plasma instability process during internal gravity wave propagation through the ionospheric E region is considered. The growth rate of the instability has been found and it has been shown that it depends on perturbation wavelength, gravity wave parameters and direction of propagation. The conditions for the instability are favorable when the vorticity of the associated neutral motion becomes antiparallel to the geomagnetic field. In the proposed instability mechanism plasma irregularities could seed the large-scale sporadic E layer structuring because they are generated in situ as a part of the same neutral wind structure that serves to initiate the formation of the layer.     

Variability of the Kuroshio deduced from sea level data from the Izu Islands

Flow patterns and positions of the Kuroshio in the vicinity of the Izu Ridge are clarified by analyzing hydrographic observations and daily mean sea levels at Hachijo-jima, Miyake-jima and Oshima in the period from 1964 to 1981.Correlations are calculated between differences of dynamic depth anomaly at the surface refered to 1,000 db and differences of daily mean sea level between the two islands. The datum line of the tidal station at Hachijo-jima is about 90 cm higher than that at Miyake-jima, and about 20 cm higher than that at Oshima. A clear correlation is found between the cross-section transport of the Kuroshio and the mean sea-level difference between Hachijo-jima and Miyake-jima. The sea-level difference of the flow pattern without meander off Enshu-nada (type N) tends to be larger than that of the flow patterns with meander (type A and type B). This seems to indicate that the volume transport of the Kuroshio in the meandering period is smaller than that during the straight path period. Large sudden increases or decreases in the mean sea-level difference occur when the flow pattern changes and the Kuroshio axis shifts. The frequency of occurrence of quiet periods in the sea-level difference reflect the flow pattern of the Kuroshio.     

Three-dimensional antidunes coexisting with alternate bars

Antidunes are fluvial bedforms that form in rivers with supercritical flows. The water surface over antidunes is strongly in phase with the bed surface, and the water surface is amplified to produce large surface waves. Many experimental studies have addressed antidunes; however, the shapes of three-dimensional antidunes in a wide channel with alternate bars have not yet been appropriately understood. In this study, we experimentally investigated the streamwise and transverse length scales of antidunes under conditions with a large width–depth ratio. Our experimental results provide evidence for the coevolution of antidunes and free alternate bars, and show for the first time that the development of free bars greatly alters the three-dimensional shape of water surface waves over antidunes. In the absence of free bars in a wide channel, multiple longitudinal wave trains form, and the number of wave trains counted in the transverse direction increases with increases in the width–depth ratio. However, the presence of free bars affects the local flow characteristics, resulting in a decrease of the number of wave trains in the transverse direction. Therefore, we propose a simple model for predicting the reduction in the number of wave trains by combining two previous theories for antidunes and free bars. Results obtained by the model were found to largely agree with experimental observations. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances observed by GPS receiver network in Japan: a short review

Medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTID) are wave-like perturbations of the ionospheric plasma with wavelengths of several hundred kilometres and velocities of several hundred metres per second. MSTID is one of the most common ionospheric phenomena that generally induce the perturbations of ionospheric total electron content (TEC) by ∼10¹⁶ electron/m², which corresponds to ∼54 ns (16.2 cm) delay at GPS L1 signal. In the past decade, several new characteristics on MSTIDs have been revealed by the TEC observations using the dense GPS receiver network in Japan. In this paper, we provide a short review of these new observations and summarize the morphological characteristics of MSTIDs in Japan.