Sharif Digital Repository

The simultaneous effects of soil-structure interaction, foundation uplift and inelastic behavior of the superstructure on total displacement response of soil-structure systems are investigated. The superstructure is modeled as an equivalent single-degree-of-freedom system with bilinear behavior mounted on a rigid foundation resting on distributed tensionless Winkler springs and dampers. It is well known that the behavior of soil-structure systems can be well described using a limited number of nondimensional parameters. Here, by introducing two new parameters, the concept is extended to inelastic soil-structure systems in which the foundation is allowed to uplift. An extensive parametric... 

The current performance-based seismic assessment procedure can be computationally intensive as it requires a large number of time history analyses (THA) each requiring time intensive post-processing of results. This study proposes the endurance time analysis (ETA) method as an alternative method to THA and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). ETA is a time history based dynamic pushover procedure that applies a set of gradually intensifying acceleration functions to the structure and monitors the performance of the building accordingly. In this paper, the application of ETA in the seismic assessment of multistory steel concentrically braced frames is compared with THA and IDA methods.... 

In this paper, considering horizontal components of seismic excitation, an algorithm for the nonlinear multi-component analysis of building structures by the Endurance Time (ET) method is proposed, and results of the ET method for various steel moment frames with one to seven stories are verified by comparing with the results from Nonlinear Time History Analysis with use of two different sets of ground motions. In addition, several parameters such as eccentricities and irregularities in structure, rotational and lateral stiffness, effect of hysteresis type and ductility have been considered for sensitivity analysis on results, obtained by ET method. Results show that on the basis of... 

The application of the simplified method for evaluating the liquefaction potential based on shear wave velocity measurements has increased substantially due to its advantages, especially for microzonation of liquefaction potential. In the simplified method, a curve is proposed to correlate the cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) with overburden stress-corrected shear wave velocity (Vs1). However, the uniqueness of this curve for all types of soils is questionable. The objective of this research is to study whether the correlation between CRR and Vs1 is unique or not. Besides, the necessity of developing the soil-specific correlations is also investigated. Based on laboratory test data, a new... 

This paper introduces a new passive control device for protecting structures against earthquakes. The device consists of two welded pipes which have two smaller pipes inside them and the spaces between the pipes are filled with metals such as lead or zinc. The device is loaded in shear and takes advantage of plastification of the outer pipes, the inner pipes and the infilled metals, and the friction between metals as energy absorption mechanisms. Quasi-static cyclic tests are performed on six specimens all showing stable hystereses and high damping. A finite element model is developed and calibrated against test results. The model is used to find the optimum sizes of pipes needed for a... 

Employing dampers to control wave-induced and seismic vibrations of offshore jacket platforms is an attractive method in order to mitigate fatigue and seismic damage. However, adjustable parameters of a damper are designed by considering only one type of environmental loads; either normal-condition load or extreme-condition load. So, it is important to investigate effectiveness of damping system, for both of two main categories of environmental loads. Also it is ideal for the system to have an acceptable performance in both normal and extreme conditions. The idea investigated in the current study is to use a friction damper device (FDD) and a tuned mass damper (TMD) simultaneously in... 

In this paper, the dynamic characteristics of skewed bridges are explored analytically. Closed form solutions for translational and torsional periods of free vibration and mode shapes are given for slab-girder skewed bridges. Moreover, the seismic displacement of the deck of skewed bridges is calculated using the response spectrum method and its skew term is compared with the requirement of AASHTO. The effects of seismic force resisting elements, such as elastomeric bearings and end diaphragms are included. It is shown that the skew term in AASHTO's equation can underestimate the seat width requirement for some bridges. A new skew term for the bridge seat width requirement is suggested  

In this paper, the seismic response of anchored cylindrical steel tanks with various dimensional parameters has been investigated by endurance time method considering fluid-structure interaction effects. Various response quantities, such as stresses and displacements, have been evaluated by subjecting tanks to specially designed intensifying accelerograms and their performance is judged based on their response at predefined level(s) of dynamic excitation. It is shown that ET analysis can reliably predict the result of ground motion time history analysis in all seven tank models studied. In four of the tanks in which height of the shell and the level of fluid is the same, the variation of... 

This paper presents the results of an analytical study on the dynamic characteristics of the Shaking Table facilities at Sharif University. This 3 degree of freedom shaking table is driven by 3 servo-control hydraulic actuators, and consists of a 12 ton, 4m×4m×0.6m steel deck. The main objective of this investigation is to identify the degree of flexibility of the deck, and its adverse effects in causing errors in the simulation of seismic effects on different structural specimens. Many frame specimens of different weights and configurations are subjected to seismic motions, and their responses are calculated using FE models. Some of these models were designed to account for eccentric... 

Endurance Time (ET) method is a new dynamic procedure that has been recently developed for seismic safety evaluation of structures. This method is based on the comparison of seismic response of new-designed or existing structures under intensifying ET records with the pre-assigned damage index. Also this method can efficiently reproduce the seismic responses of the structures excited by scaled earthquakes that are required in time history analysis by the codes. In this paper, first general idea of this new method is described and then is applied to evaluate the seismic safety of a cylindrical steel storage tank under multidirectional excitations. It is shown that the ET method can predict... 

Seismic isolators are used to decrease the energy and forces of earthquakes. The weight of conventional steel-reinforced elastomeric isolators (SREIs) is high, mostly due to the use of multiple steel shim plates. On the contrary, the damping ratio of SREIs is relatively low. Accordingly, this research utilizes a new approach in which the steel shim plates are replaced by carbon and polyamide fibers. This study attempts to obtain the dynamic and mechanical properties of such carbon fiber- and polyamide fiber-reinforced elastomeric isolators, in comparison with SREIs. In this work, a number of specimens were initially designed and manufactured. Afterwards, compression and cyclic shear tests... 

Not only should dams be evaluated for seismic shaking, but their capability to survive potential fault displacement in their foundations should also be assessed. Safety reviews of existing dams suggest that geological-seismic evaluation of some dam sites has failed to recognize the existence of possibly active faults. In this study, the nonlinear seismic behavior of concrete gravity dams, due to relative fault dislocation occurring in foundations, has been investigated. Two types of fault movement, including normal-slip and reverse-slip, have been considered. These two types, combined with the location of fault lines, with respect to the toe, middle, and heel of the dam base, angle of fault,... 

The objective of this paper is to study the improvement in the seismic behavior of concrete gravity dams by optimization of concrete mechanical properties. The criteria to measure the improvement have been: 1) reduction in the extent of cracks and 2) increase in the amount of time dams are able to tolerate earthquakes before failure. The mechanical properties considered have included the density and modulus of elasticity of concrete. The Pine Flat Dam has been selected for this numerical study. During a high intensity earthquake, dams enter a nonlinear phase, where the cracks open and close repeatedly. A smeared crack model has been used for simulation of nonlinearity. For the purpose of... 

Response-only identification of civil structureshas attracted much attention during recent years, as input excitations are rarely measurable for ambient vibrations. Although various techniques have been developed by which identification can be carried out using ambient responses, these techniques are generally not applicable to non-stationary excitations that structures experience during moderate-to-severe earthquakes. Recently, the authors proposed a new response-only modal identification method that is applicable to strong shaking data. This new method is highly attractive for cases in which the true input motions are unavailable. For example, when soil-structure interaction effects are... 

The total cost of earthquakes is in this paper modeled as a continuous random variable that includes the cost of damage and the cost of construction to prevent damage. Realizations of this variable are obtained by evaluating an array of probabilistic models that take many basic random variables as input. Consequently, analyses can be conducted to determine the mean cost, as well as cost exceedance probabilities and other measures of seismic risk. Such results are employed to address the underlying decision problem, namely to minimize the total cost of earthquakes when that cost is a continuous random variable. Applicable decision theories are outlined and several risk measures are... 

This paper presents a simplified Multi-Degree-Of-Freedom (MDOF) model through modification of fish-bone model (or generic frame). Modified Fish-Bone (MFB) model is developed through three enhancements: (i) the moment of inertia for half-beams is reduced slightly to modify the assumption of equal rotation at each story joints, (ii) a number of truss elements are inserted to the fish-bone model to simulate flexural deformation of moment frames due to axial elongation and contraction of columns, and (iii) moment-rotation relationship of representative rotational springs is supposed to be bilinear instead of trilinear in order to consider simultaneous yielding at both ends of the beam in moment... 

Over the past few decades considerable experimental and numerical studies have been conducted on the Reinforced Concrete columns to Steel beams (RCS) connections. Most of those researches have focused on studying the joint failure modes and ultimate joint strength of specimens utilizing strong beams and columns with weak joints. In this paper, two interior RCS connections were designed based on the Strong Column-Weak Beam (SCWB) criterion. Both specimens were tested under quasi-static reversed cyclic loading. The tested specimens were modeled by a finite element method, which verified with experimental results. Several models with different joint details were investigated using the verified... 

In this paper, the seismic behavior of dual structural systems in forms of steel moment-resisting frames accompanied with reinforced concrete shear walls and steel moment-resisting frames accompanied with concentrically braced frames, have been studied. The nonlinear behavior of the mentioned structural systems has been evaluated as, in earthquakes, structures usually enter into an inelastic behavior stage and, hence, the applied energy to the structures will be dissipated. As a result, some parameters such as ductility factor of structure (μ), over-strength factor (Rs) and response modification factor (R) for the mentioned structures have been under assessment. To achieve these objectives,... 

Abstract In this study, the response spectrum of a time-varying system such as a beam subjected to moving masses under a harmonic and earthquake support excitations is explored. The excitations are supposed to act on the horizontal directions of the beam axis. The inertial effect of the moving masses on the natural frequencies of the beam for different cases of loading is investigated and a critical value of a so called parameter "mass staying time" is presented to avoid dynamic instability of the system. Finally, some 3D response spectra for different supports excitations as well as the beam natural frequencies are depicted  

Dynamic characteristics of structures - viz. natural frequencies, damping ratios, and mode shapes - are central to earthquake-resistant design. These values identified from field measurements are useful for model validation and health-monitoring. Most system identification methods require input excitations motions to be measured and the structural response; however, the true input motions are seldom recordable. For example, when soil-structure interaction effects are non-negligible, neither the free-field motions nor the recorded responses of the foundations may be assumed as 'input'. Even in the absence of soil-structure interaction, in many instances, the foundation responses are not...