Analytical investigations of seismic responses for reinforced concrete bridge columns subjected to strong near-fault ground motion

Strong near-fault ground motion, usually caused by the fault-rupture and characterized by a pulse-like velocity- wave form, often causes dramatic instantaneous seismic energy (Jadhav and Jangid 2006). Some reinforced concrete (RC) bridge columns, even those built according to ductile design principles, were damaged in the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. Thus, it is very important to evaluate the seismic response of a RC bridge column to improve its seismic design and prevent future damage. Nonlinear time history analysis using step-by-step integration is capable of tracing the dynamic response of a structure during the entire vibration period and is able to accommodate the pulsing wave form. However, the accuracy of the numerical results is very sensitive to the modeling of the nonlinear load-deformation relationship of the structural member. FEMA 273 and ATC-40 provide the modeling parameters for structural nonlinear analyses of RC beams and RC columns. They use three parameters to define the plastic rotation angles and a residual strength ratio to describe the nonlinear load- deformation relationship of an RC member. Structural nonlinear analyses are performed based on these parameters. This method provides a convenient way to obtain the nonlinear seismic responses of RC structures. However, the accuracy of the numerical solutions might be further improved. For this purpose, results from a previous study on modeling of the static pushover analyses for RC bridge columns (Sung et al. 2005) is adopted for the nonlinear time history analysis presented herein to evaluate the structural responses excited by a near-fault ground motion. To ensure the reliability of this approach, the numerical results were compared to experimental results. The results confirm that the proposed approach is valid.     

Study on inelastic displacement ratio spectra for near-fault pulse-type ground motions

In displacement-based seismic design, inelastic displacement ratio spectra (IDRS) are particularly useful for estimating the maximum lateral inelastic displacement demand of a nonlinear SDOF system from the maximum elastic displacement demand of its counterpart linear elastic SDOF system. In this study, the characteristics of IDRS for near-fault pulse-type ground motions are investigated based on a great number of earthquake ground motions. The in? uence of site conditions, ratio of peak ground velocity (PGV) to peak ground acceleration (PGA), the PGV, and the maximum incremental velocity (MIV) on IDRS are also evaluated. The results indicate that the effect of near-fault ground motions on IDRS are signifi cant only at periods between 0.2 s - 1.5 s, where the amplifi cation can approach 20%. The PGV/PGA ratio has the most signifi cant in? uence on IDRS among the parameters considered. It is also found that site conditions only slightly affect the IDRS.     

Effect of near-fault earthquake on bridges: lessons learned from Chi-Chi earthquake

The objective of this paper is to describe the lessons learned and actions that have been taken related to the seismic design of bridge structures after the Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake. Much variable near-fault ground motion data was collected from the rupture of Chelungpu fault during the Chi-Chi earthquake, allowing the seismic response of bridge structures subjected to these near-fault ground motions to be carefully examined. To study the near-fault ground motion effect on bridge seismic design codes, a two-level seismic design of bridge structures was developed and implemented. This design code reflects the near-fault factors in the seismic design forces. Finally, a risk assessment methodology, based on bridge vulnerability, is also developed to assist in decisions for reducing seismic risk due to failure of bridges. Director of Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering. Supported by: the Science Council, Chinese Taipei, under grant no. SC 90-2211-E-002-028.     

Characteristics of near-fault ground motion containing velocity pulses

There are many reports about the research on near-fault velocity pulses, which focus on the generation of velocity pulse and simplify the velocity pulse so as to be used in the seismic design of structure, However few researches have put emphasis on the characteristics of near-fault ground motions containing velocity pulses, especially the characteristics relevant with the design response spectrum prescribed by the code. Through collection of a large number of near-fault records containing velocity pulses, the response spectra and the characteristic periods of records containing no pulses are compared with those of records containing pulses. Response spectra of near-fault records are compared with standard spectra given by code; furthermore, the response spectra and the characteristic periods of each earthquake are compared with that given by code. The result shows that at long periods （longer than 1.5 s）, the response spectrum of pulse-containing records is bigger than the response spectrum of no-pulse-containing records; when the characteristic period of near-fault records is calculated, the method that does not fix frequency is more reasonable because the T1 and T2 have a lagging tendency; regardless of the site Ⅰ and site Ⅱ, the characteristic period of pulse-containing records is over twice bigger than the characteristic period given by the code,     

NEAR-FAULT DISPLACEMENT AND DEFORMATION OBTAINED FROM ONE-KILOMETER-LONG FAULT-CROSSING BASELINE MEASUREMENTS-A PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENT AT 2 SITES ON THE EASTERN BOUNDARY OF THE SICHUAN-YUNNAN BLOCK

The current and conventional fault-crossing short baseline measurement has a relatively high precision, but its measurement arrays usually fail to or cannot completely span major active fault zones due to the short length of the baselines, which are only tens to 100 meters. GNSS measurement has relatively low resolution on near-fault deformation and hence is not suitable for monitoring those faults with low motion and deformation rates, due to sparse stations and relatively low accuracy of the GNSS observation. We recently built up two experimental sites on the eastern boundary of the active Sichuan-Yunnan block, one crossing the Daqing section of the Zemuhe Fault and the other crossing the Longshu section of the Zhaotong Fault, aiming to test the measurement of near-fault motion and deformation by using fault-crossing arrays of one-kilometer-long baselines. In this paper, from a three-year-long data set we firstly introduce the selection of the sites and the methods of the measurement. We then calculate and analyze the near-field displacement and strain of the two sites by using three hypothetical models, the rigid body, elastic and composed models, proposed by previous researchers. In the rigid body model, we assume that an observed fault is located between two rigid blocks and the observed variances in baseline lengths result from the relative motion of the blocks. In the elastic model, we assume that a fault deforms uniformly within the fault zone over which a baseline array spans, and in the array baselines in different directions may play roles as strainmeters whose observations allow us to calculate three components of near-fault horizontal strain. In the composed model, we assume that both displacement and strain are accumulated within the fault zone that a baseline array spans, and both contribute to the observed variances in baseline lengths. Our results show that, from the rigid body model, variations in horizontal fault-parallel displacement component of the Zemuhe Fault at the Daqing site fluctuate within 3mm without obvious tendencies. The displacement variation in the fault-normal component keeps dropping in 2015 and 2016 with a cumulative decrease of 6mm, reflecting transverse horizontal compression, and it turns to rise slightly(suggesting extension)in 2017. From the elastic model, the variation in horizontal fault-normal strain component of the fault at Daqing shows mainly compression, with an annual variation close to 10^-5, and variations in the other two strain components are at the order of 10^-6. For the Longshu Fault, the rigid-body displacement of the fault varies totally within a few millimeters, but shows a dextral strike-slip tendency that is consistent with the fault motion known from geological investigation, and the observed dextral-slip rate is about 0.7mm/a on average. The fault-parallel strain component of the Longshu Fault is compressional within 2×10^-6, and the fault-normal strain component is mainly extensional. Restricted by the assumption of rigid-body model, we have to ignore homolateral deformation on either side of an observed fault and attribute such deformation to the fault displacement, resulting in an upper limit estimate of the fault displacement. The elastic model emphasizes more the deformation on an observed fault zone and may give us information about localizations of near-fault strain. The results of the two sites from the composed model suggest that it needs caution when using this model due to that big uncertainty would be introduced in solving relevant equations. Level surveying has also been carried out at the meantime at the two sites. The leveling series of the Daqing site fluctuates within 4mm and shows no tendency, meaning little vertical component of fault motion has been observed at this site; while, from the rigid-body model, the fault-normal motion shows transverse-horizontal compression of up to 6mm, indicating that the motion of the Zemuhe Fault at Daqing is dominantly horizontal. The leveling series of the Longshu site shows a variation with amplitude comparable with that observed from the baseline series here, suggesting a minor component of thrust faulting; while the baseline series of the same site do not present tendencies of fault-normal displacement. Since the steep-dip faults at the two sites are dominantly strike-slip in geological time scale, we ignore probable vertical movement temporarily. In addition, lengths of homolateral baselines on either side of the faults change somewhat over time, and this makes us consider the existence of minor faults on either side of the main faults. These probable minor faults may not reach to the surface and have not been identified through geological mapping; they might result in the observed variances in lengths of homolateral baselines, fortunately such variations are small relative to those in fault-crossing baselines. In summary, the fault-crossing measurement using arrays with one-kilometer-long baselines provides us information about near-fault movement and strain, and has a slightly higher resolution relative to current GNSS observation at similar time and space scales, and therefore this geodetic technology will be used until GNSS networks with dense near-fault stations are available in the future.     

Dynamic loading tests and seismic response analysis of a stud-type damper composed of multiple friction units with disc springs

This paper presents an experimental study on the performance of a shear-sliding stud-type damper composed of multiple friction units with high-tension bolts and disc springs. A numerical evaluation of the response reduction effects achieved by the stud-type damper is also presented. In dynamic loading tests, the behavior of stud-type multiunit friction damper specimens was investigated. Three different full-scale damper specimens, which were composed of five, six, or seven friction units with two or four sliding surfaces, were incorporated into loading devices for testing. The stud-type friction dampers demonstrated stable rigid-plastic hysteresis loops without any remarkable decrease in the sliding force even when subjected to repetitive loading, in addition to showing no unstable behavior such as lateral buckling. The damper produced a total sliding force approximately proportional to the number of sliding surfaces and friction units. The total sliding force of the stud-type damper can thus be estimated by summing the contributions of each friction unit. In an earthquake response simulation, the control effects achieved by stud-type dampers incorporated into an analytical high-rise building model under various input waves, including long-period, long-duration and pulse-like ground motions, were evaluated. A satisfactory response reduction was obtained by installing the developed stud-type dampers into the main frame without negatively impacting usability and convenience in terms of building planning.     

Efficient strong motion duration of pulse-like records for nonlinear structural analyses

The special interest produced by near-field directivity records and their effect on structural response has given a new significance in the velocity time history, its pulse-like content, and relevant parameters and indices. Recent research has shown that directivity pulses inherent in these records govern the linear and the nonlinear response of a wide range of structures. Based on this observation, it is suggested in this paper that a truncated ground motion, limited to the duration of the predominant velocity pulse, can be efficiently used to predict the structural response, instead of the base motion with the total duration, reducing significantly the required runtimes. The proposed methodology is verified for a series of medium to high rise reinforced concrete buildings, for which nonlinear time-history analyses are performed for a vast suite of pulse-like near-field records applied as base excitations with their total duration and the proposed truncated one. Comparison of the results for the response displacements and forces shows very good agreement, permitting the acceptance of the pulse duration as the efficient strong motion time interval of the original record, which determines the response and, thus, it can be used for nonlinear structural analyses.     

复杂地震激励下隔震结构地震响应研究进展

隔震技术作为当前最有效的结构减震控制技术之一,在世界各国高烈度地区广泛建造。随着隔震技术的大范围推广,建造工况更为复杂的隔震工程随之不断涌现。系统深入研究复杂地震激励下隔震结构地震响应,是隔震工程长期安全服役的重要保障,也是隔震技术能够不断完善和推广的坚实基础。本文从复杂地震激励涵盖的多维地震、近场和近断层地震、行波效应以及土与结构相互作用四个主要方面入手,依据国内外相关文献开展综述,探讨了复杂地震激励下隔震结构研究存在的问题,并对此进行展望。     

Response of buildings to near-field pulse-like ground motions

Ground motions affected by directivity focusing at near-field stations contain distinct pulses in acceleration, velocity, and displacement histories. For the same Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) and duration of shaking, ground motions with directivity pulses can generate much higher base shears, inter-storey drifts, and roof displacements in high-rise buildings as compared to the 1940 El Centro ground motion which does not contain these pulses. Also, the ductility demand can be much higher and the effectiveness of supplemental damping lower for pulse-like ground motions. This paper presents a simple interpretation of the response characteristics of three recorded and one synthetic near-field ground motions. It is seen that for pulse-like ground motions—similar to any other ground motion—the Peak values of Ground Acceleration, Velocity, and Displacement (PGA, PGV and PGD) are the key response parameters. Near-field ground motions with directivity effects tend to have high PGV/PGA ratio, which dramatically influences their response characteristics. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.