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Nine PHC piles with partial normal-strength deformed bars were prepared in present study, and cyclic loading tests were implemented to evaluate these piles’ seismic performance. The influence of the axial compression ratio and the amount of normal-strength deformed bars on failure modes, crack patterns, strength, stiffness, and ductility were examined. The test findings indicate that the change of axial compression ratio has a noticeable influence on the failure mode of PHC piles. A larger axial compression ratio results in a higher cracking bending resistance, ultimate bending resistance, and initial stiffness, but the propagation heights of flexural cracks decrease as the axial compression ratio increases. Furthermore, increasing the amount of normal-strength deformed bars causes a slight decrease in ductility. Finally, a calculation formula was proposed to predict the flexural capacity of PHC piles with partial normal-strength deformed bars.

Liquid storage tanks are essential structures that are often located in residential and industrial areas; thus an assessment of their seismic performance is an important engineering issue. In this paper, the seismic response of unanchored steel liquid storage tanks is investigated using the endurance time (ET) dynamic analysis procedure and compared to responses obtained for anchored tanks under actual ground motions and intensifying ET records. In most cases, the results from ground motions are properly obtained with negligible differences using ET records. It is observed that uplifting of the tank base, which is closely related to the tank aspect ratio, has the greatest significance in the responses of the tank and can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by using currently available ET records.

Near-fault ground motions with long-period pulses have been identified as critical in the design of structures. To aid in the representation of this special type of motion, eight simple pulses that characterize the effects of either the fling-step or forward-directivity are considered. Relationships between pulse amplitudes and velocity pulse period for different pulses are discussed. Representative ratios and peak acceleration amplification can exhibit distinctive features depending on variations in pulse duration, amplitude and the selected acceleration pulse shape. Additionally, response spectral characteristics for the equivalent pulses are identified and compared in terms of fixed PGA and PGV, respectively. Response spectra are strongly affected by the duration of pulses and the shape of the basic pulses. Finally, dynamic time history response features of a damped SDOF system subjected to pulse excitations are examined. These special aspects of pulse waveforms and their response spectra should be taken into account in the estimation of ground motions for a project site close to a fault.

A theoretical model of a friction pendulum system (FPS) is introduced to examine its application for the seismic isolation of spatial lattice shell structures. An equation of motion of the lattice shell with FPS bearings is developed. Then, seismic isolation studies are performed for both double-layer and single-layer lattice shell structures under different seismic input and design parameters of the FPS. The influence of frictional coefficients and radius of the FPS on seismic performance are discussed. Based on the study, some suggestions for seismic isolation design of lattice shells with FPS bearings are given and conclusions are made which could be helpful in the application of FPS.

The electrical resistivity method was verified as an optional technique to monitor the change of mesostructure of saturated soils. To investigate the change laws of resistivity and analyze the reliquefaction meso-mechanism during the consecutive liquefaction process, five successive impact liquefaction tests were performed in a one-dimensional cubical chamber. The resistivity variation and excess pore water pressure (EPWP) were measured. The results indicate that the excess pore water pressure experienced four stages: quick increase stage, slow dissipation stage, rapid dissipation stage, and stability stage. Meanwhile, a swift decrease of resistivity emerged before the start of the rapid dissipation stage of EPWP, and then an increasing trend of resistivity is demonstrated with the densification of soil. It is proved that the vertical pore connectivity of liquefied sand is better than its random deposit state, based on a comparative study of porosity calculated from the settlement and resistivity of sand after each test.

A large model box was developed in our experiment to study the vibration reduction effect. Five hydraulic high-performance actuators are arranged in the upper part of the model box. There is a time difference between adjacent actuators, which can simulate the train induced vibration. To reduce vibration a composite barrier is designed; the barrier consists of a honeycomb concrete canvas and PE polymer water bags. The concrete canvas can be mixed with water to produce a hydration reaction to form a structure with a certain hardness. By simulating different train speeds and loads, vertical vibration velocity, and acceleration before and after the barrier are compared and analyzed. The experimental results show that the new barrier can achieve a good vibration reduction effect. When the simulated train speed increases, the damping effect of the barrier is improved. At a speed of 180 km/h, an amplitude of 1.5 m after the barrier is found to be 48.6% lower than that before the barrier. Velocity decreases by 24.2% at 36 km/h and by 38.1% at 108 km/h.

The success of the tuned mass damper (TMD) in reducing wind-induced structural vibrations has been well established. However, from most of the recent numerical studies, it appears that for a structure situated on very soft soil, soil-structure interaction (SSI) could render a damper on the structure totally ineffective. In order to experimentally verify the SSI effect on the seismic performance of TMD, a series of shaking table model tests have been conducted and the results are presented in this paper. It has been shown that the TMD is not as effective in controlling the seismic responses of structures built on soft soil sites due to the SSI effect. Some test results also show that a TMD device might have a negative impact if the SSI effect is neglected and the structure is built on a soft soil site. For structures constructed on a soil foundation, this research verifies that the SSI effect must be carefully understood before a TMD control system is designed to determine if the control is necessary and if the SSI effect must be considered when choosing the optimal parameters of the TMD device.

Magneto-rheological elastomers (MREs) are used to construct composite structures for micro-vibration control of equipment under stochastic support-motion excitations. The dynamic behavior of MREs as a smart viscoelastic material is characterized by a complex modulus dependent on vibration frequency and controllable by external magnetic fields. Frequency-domain solution methods for stochastic micro-vibration response analysis of the MRE-based structural systems are developed to derive the system frequency-response function matrices and the expressions of the velocity response spectrum. With these equations, the root-mean-square (RMS) velocity responses in terms of the one-third octave frequency band spectrum can be calculated. Further, the optimization problem of the complex moduli of the MRE cores is defined by minimizing the velocity response spectra and the RMS velocity responses through altering the applied magnetic fields. Simulation results illustrate the influences of MRE parameters on the RMS velocity responses and the high response reduction capacities of the MRE-based structures. In addition, the developed frequency-domain analysis methods are applicable to sandwich beam structures with arbitrary cores characterized by complex shear moduli under stochastic excitations described by power spectral density functions, and are valid for a wide frequency range.

Building codes have widely considered the shear wave velocity to make a reliable subsoil seismic classification, based on the knowledge of the mechanical properties of material deposits down to bedrock. This approach has limitations because geophysical data are often very expensive to obtain. Recently, other alternatives have been proposed based on measurements of background noise and estimation of the H/V amplification curve. However, the use of this technique needs a regulatory framework before it can become a realistic site classification procedure. This paper proposes a new formulation for characterizing design sites in accordance with the Algerian seismic building code (RPA99/ver.2003), through transfer functions, by following a stochastic approach combined to a statistical study. For each soil type, the deterministic calculation of the average transfer function is performed over a wide sample of 1-D soil profiles, where the average shear wave (S-W) velocity, V s, in soil layers is simulated using random field theory. Average transfer functions are also used to calculate average site factors and normalized acceleration response spectra to highlight the amplification potential of each site type, since frequency content of the transfer function is significantly similar to that of the H/V amplification curve. Comparison is done with the RPA99/ver.2003 and Eurocode8 (EC8) design response spectra, respectively. In the absence of geophysical data, the proposed classification approach together with micro-tremor measures can be used toward a better soil classification.