• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.207-219
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• 2022

Seismic response control has always been a grave concern with the damage and collapse of many buildings during the past earthquakes. While there are several existing techniques like base isolation, viscous damper, moment-resisting beam-column connections, tuned mass damper, etc., many of these are succumbing to either of large displacement, near-fault, and long-period earthquakes. Keeping this viewpoint, extensive research on the application of smart materials for seismic response control of buildings was attempted during the last decade. Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) with its unique properties of superelasticity and shape memory effect is one of the smart materials used for seismic control of buildings. In this paper, an exhaustive review has been compiled on the seismic control applications of SMA in buildings. Unique properties of SMA are discussed in detail and different phases of SMA along with crystal characteristics are illustrated. Consequently, various seismic control applications of SMA are discussed in terms of performance and compared with prevalent base isolators, bracings, beam-column connections, and tuned mass damper systems.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.709-724
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• 2016

This study investigates the optimum design parameters of a superelastic friction base isolator (S-FBI) system through a multi-objective genetic algorithm to improve the performance of isolated buildings against near-fault earthquakes. The S-FBI system consists of a flat steel-PTFE sliding bearing and superelastic NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) cables. Sliding bearing limits the transfer of shear across the isolation interface and provides damping from sliding friction. SMA cables provide restoring force capability to the isolation system together with additional damping characteristics. A three-story building is modeled with S-FBI isolation system. Multiple-objective numerical optimization that simultaneously minimizes isolation-level displacements and superstructure response is carried out with a genetic algorithm in order to optimize S-FBI system. Nonlinear time history analyses of the building with optimal S-FBI system are performed. A set of 20 near-fault ground motion records are used in numerical simulations. Results show that S-FBI system successfully control response of the buildings against near-fault earthquakes without sacrificing in isolation efficacy and producing large isolation-level deformations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.543-562
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• 2006

Base isolation technology has been accepted as a feasible and attractive way in improving seismic resistance of structures. The seismic design of new seismically isolated structures is mainly governed by the Uniform Building Code (UBC-97) published by the International Conference of Building Officials. In the UBC code, the distribution formula of the inertial (or lateral) forces leads to an inverted triangular shape in the vertical direction. It has been found to be too conservative for most isolated structures through experimental, computational and real earthquake examinations. In this paper, four simple and reasonable design formulae, based on the first mode of the base-isolated structures, for the lateral force distribution on isolated structures have been validated by a multiple-bay three-story base-isolated steel structure tested on the shaking table. Moreover, to obtain more accurate results for base-isolated structures in which higher mode contributions are more likely expected during earthquakes, another four inertial force distribution formulae are also proposed to include higher mode effects. Besides the experimental verification through shaking table tests, the vertical distributions of peak accelerations computed by the proposed design formulae are in good agreement with the recorded floor accelerations of the USC University Hospital during the Northridge earthquake.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.1259-1281
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• 2014

This research has been conducted in order to investigate the effects of peak ground velocity (PGV) of near-field earthquakes on base-isolated structures mounted on Single Friction Pendulum (SFP), Double Concave Friction Pendulum (DCFP) and Triple Concave Friction Pendulum (TCFP) bearings. Seismic responses of base-isolated structures subjected to simplified near field pulses including the forward directivity and the fling step pulses are considered in this study. Behaviour of a two dimensional single story structure mounting on SFP, DCFP and TCFP isolators investigated employing a variety range of isolators and the velocity (PGV) of the forward directivity and the fling step pulses as the main variables of the near field earthquakes. The maximum isolator displacement and base shear are selected as main seismic responses. Peak seismic responses of different isolator types are compared to emphasize the efficiency of each one under near field earthquakes. It is demonstrated that rising the PGVs increases the isolator displacement and base shear of structure. The effects of the forward directivity are greater than the fling step pulses. Furthermore, TCFP isolator is more effective to control the near field effects than the other friction pendulum isolators are. This efficiency is more significant in pulses with longer period and greater PGVs.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.195-208
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• 2016

Seismic isolation systems are essentially designed to preserve structural safety, prevent occupants injury and properties damage. An active saturated LMI-based control design is proposed to attenuate seismic disturbances in base-isolated structures under saturation actuators. Using a mathematical model of an eight-storied building structure, an active control algorithm is designed. Performance evaluation of the controller is carried out in a simplified model version of a benchmark building system, which is recognized as a state-of-the-art model for numerical experiments of structures under seismic perturbations. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is robust with respect to model and seismic perturbations. Finally, the performance indices show that the proposed controller behaves satisfactorily and with a reasonable control effort.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.269-282
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• 2023

This study investigates a rocking seismic isolation (RSI) system as a seismic protection measure against narrow-band ground-motions generated by earthquakes. Structures supported over RSIs are considered capable of reducing the lateral demands and damage of the main structural system through lifting and rocking. This lifting and rocking during earthquake activity is provided by free-standing columns. A single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system supported on a RSI system is subjected to narrow-band seismic motions and its response is compared to an analog system without RSI. The comparison is then extended to reinforced concrete linear frames with and without RSI; three-bay frames with 11 and 17 storeys are considered. It is found that the RSI systems significantly reduce acceleration and displacement demands in the main structural frames, more noticeably if the first structural mode dominates the response and for ratios of the predominant frequency of the ground motion to the predominant frequency of the main frame near one. It is also found that the RSI system is more effective in reducing lateral accelerations and displacements of the main structure when the aspect ratio, b/h, and size, R, of the free-standing columns decrease, although the rocking stability of the RSI system is also reduced.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.251-262
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• 2023

In response to China's "Regulations on the Management of Earthquake Resistance of Building Constructions" on the provision of eight types of important buildings to maintain functional after fortified earthquakes occur, "Guidelines for Seismic Design of post-quake functional buildings (Draft for Review)" distinguishes Class I and Class II buildings, and gives the performance objectives and seismic verification requirements for design earthquakes and severe earthquakes respectively. In this paper, a hospital and a school building are selected as examples to design according to the requirements of fortification of Intensity 8 and 7 respectively. Two design strategies, the seismic isolation scheme and energy dissipation scheme, are considered which are evaluated through elastic-plastic dynamic time-history analysis to meet the requirement of post-quake functional buildings. The results show that the seismic isolation design can meet the requirements in the above cases, and the energy dissipation scheme is difficult to meet the requirements of the "Guidelines" on floor acceleration in some cases, for which the scheme shall be made valid through the seismic resilience assessment. The research in this paper can provide a reference for designers to choose schemes for post-quake functional buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.761-783
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• 2006

The enlargement of interest in base isolators as an earthquake-proof design strategy has dramatically accelerated experimental studies of elastomeric bearings worldwide. In this paper, a new base isolator concept that is a hybrid system of rubber bearings is proposed. Uniaxial, biaxial, and triaxial shaking table tests are also performed to study the seismic behavior of a 0.4-scale three-story isolated steel structure in the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering in Taiwan. Experimental results demonstrate that structures with a hybrid system of rubber bearings composed of stirruped rubber bearings and laminated rubber bearings can actually decrease the seismic responses of the superstructure. It has been proved through the shaking table tests that the proposed hybrid system of rubber bearings is a very promising tool to enhance the seismic resistance of structures. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the proposed analytical model in this paper can predict the mechanical behavior of the hybrid system of rubber bearings and seismic responses of the base-isolated structures.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.155-167
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• 2020

This paper demonstrates a real-time hybrid substructuring (RTHS) shake table test to evaluate the seismic performance of a base isolated building. Since RTHS involves a feedback loop in the test implementation, the frequency dependent magnitude and inherent time delay of the actuator dynamics can introduce inaccuracy and instability. The paper presents a robust stability and performance analysis method for the RTHS test. The robust stability method involves casting the actuator dynamics as a multiplicative uncertainty and applying the small gain theorem to derive the sufficient conditions for robust stability and performance. The attractive feature of this robust stability and performance analysis method is that it accommodates linearized modeled or measured frequency response functions for both the physical substructure and actuator dynamics. Significant experimental research has been conducted on base isolators and dampers toward developing high fidelity numerical models. Shake table testing, where the building superstructure is tested while the isolation layer is numerically modeled, can allow for a range of isolation strategies to be examined for a single shake table experiment. Further, recent concerns in base isolation for long period, long duration earthquakes necessitate adding damping at the isolation layer, which can allow higher frequency energy to be transmitted into the superstructure and can result in damage to structural and nonstructural components that can be difficult to numerically model and accurately predict. As such, physical testing of the superstructure while numerically modeling the isolation layer may be desired. The RTHS approach has been previously proposed for base isolated buildings, however, to date it has not been conducted on a base isolated structure isolated at the ground level and where the isolation layer itself is numerically simulated. This configuration provides multiple challenges in the RTHS stability associated with higher physical substructure frequencies and a low numerical to physical mass ratio. This paper demonstrates a base isolated RTHS test and the robust stability and performance analysis necessary to ensure the stability and accuracy. The tests consist of a scaled idealized 4-story superstructure building model placed directly onto a shake table and the isolation layer simulated in MATLAB/Simulink using a dSpace real-time controller.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.259-274
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• 2023

In this paper, mechanical properties of periodic foundation made of concrete and rubber are investigated by a parametric study using the finite element method (FEM). Periodic foundation is a special type of seismic isolation foundation used in civil engineering, which is inspired by the meso-scale structure of phononic crystals in solid-state physics. This type of foundation is capable of reducing the seismic wave propagating though the foundation, therefore providing additional protection for the structures. In the FEM analysis, layered periodic foundation is frequently modelled due to its simplicity in numerical modeling. However, the isolation effect of periodic foundation on nuclear power plant has not been fully discussed to the best knowledge of authors. In this work, we construct four numerical models of nuclear power plant with different foundations to investigate the seismic isolation effects of periodic foundations. The results show that the layered periodic foundation can increase the natural period of the nuclear power plant like traditional base isolation systems, which is beneficial to the structures. In addition, the seismic response of the nuclear power plant can also be effectively reduced in both vertical and horizontal directions when the frequencies of the incident waves fall into some specific frequency bandgaps of the periodic foundation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the layered periodic foundation can reduce the amplitude of the floor response spectrum, which plays an important role in the protection of the equipment.