Range Of Ground Motions Research Articles

Ground Motion Intensity Measures to Evaluate I: The Liquefaction Hazard in the Vicinity of Shallow-Founded Structures

When evaluating the liquefaction hazard within a performance-based framework, whether using simplified procedures or advanced numerical tools, the hazard and its effects on structures need to be evaluated under a range of ground motions. Choice of an optimum intensity measure (IM) in the selection and scaling of ground motions will reduce variability in the predicted response, dependence on source characteristics, and uncertainty in the prediction of the IM. This paper presents the results of a numerical parametric study, validated against centrifuge results, to evaluate the influence of different IMs on the liquefaction hazard in the far-field and near shallow-founded structures. Pore pressure redistribution and soil-structure interaction were considered in estimating the liquefaction hazard in terms of peak excess pore pressure ratio ( r u,peak). The IMs at the base rock, far-field soil surface, and foundation with the best combination of efficiency, sufficiency, and predictability were evaluated and identified as: (1) pseudo-spectral acceleration at the site's initial fundamental period ( PSA Base[ T So]) for predicting r u,peak in the far-field; (2) peak ground acceleration, ( PGA Base); and Arias intensity ( AI Base) for predicting r u,peak under the foundation.

Aseismic smart building isolation systems under multi-level earthquake excitations: Part I, conceptual design and nonlinear analysis

As a novel structural control strategy, tuned mass damper (TMD) inspired passive and semi-active smart building isolation systems are suggested to reduce structural response and thus mitigate structural damage due to earthquake excitations. The isolated structure’s upper stories can be utilized as a large scaled TMD, and the isolation layer, as a core design point, between the separated upper and lower stories entails the insertion of rubber bearings and (i) viscous dampers (passive) or (ii) resettable devices (semi-active). The seismic performance of the suggested isolation systems are investigated for 12-story reinforced concrete moment resisting frames modeled as “10 + 2” stories and “8 + 4” stories. Passive viscous damper or semi-active resettable devices are parametrically evaluated through the optimal design principle of a large mass ratio TMD. Statistical performance metrics are presented for 30 earthquake records from the three suites of the SAC project. Based on nonlinear structural models, including P-delta effects and modified Takeda hysteresis, the inelastic time history analyses are conducted to compute the seismic performances across a wide range of seismic hazard intensities. Results show that semi-active smart building isolation systems can effectively manage seismic response for multi-degree-of freedom (MDOF) systems across a broader range of ground motions in comparison to uncontrolled case and passive solution.

Using upper storeys as semi-active tuned mass damper building systems

This paper presents an exploratory case study based analysis of the seismic performance of multi-storey passive and semi-active tuned mass damper (PTMD and SATMD) building systems are investigated for 12-storey moment resisting frames modelled as ‘10+2’ storey and ‘8+4’ storey. Segmented upper stories of the structure are isolated as a tuned mass, and a passive viscous damper or semi-active resetable device is adopted for energy dissipation. Optimum TMD control parameters and appropriate matching SATMD configurations are adopted from a companion study on a simplified two degree of freedom (2-DOF) system. Log-normal statistical performance results are presented for 30 probabilistically scaled earthquake records. The time history analysis and normalised reduction factor results show the response reductions for all seismic hazards. Thus, large SATMD systems can effectively manage seismic response for multi degree of freedom (MDOF) systems across a broad range of ground motions in comparison to passive solutions. This research demonstrates the validity of the TMD building systems for consideration in future design and construction. It also provides a template for the design and analysis of passive or semi-active TMD buildings utilising large masses, or more efficiently, added storys, for improving seismic response performance.