• Wind and Structures
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.63-84
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• 2015

The shape of a tall building has significant impact on wind force generation and wind-induced dynamic response. To study the effect of recessed cavities, wind excitations on a wind-tunnel model of an H-section tall building were compared with those on a square-section building model. Characteristics of the fluctuating wind pressures on the side faces of the two tall buildings and their role in the generation of crosswind forces on the buildings were investigated with the space-time statistical tool of proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). This paper also compares the use of different pressure data sets for POD analysis in situations where pressures on two different surfaces are responsible for the generation of a wind force. The first POD mode is found to dominate the generation of crosswind excitation on the buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제61권2호
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• pp.267-274
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• 2017

In this study was investigated of possibility using the recorded micro tremor data on ground level as ambient vibration input excitation data for investigation and application Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) on the bench-scale earthquake simulator (The Quanser Shake Table) for model steel structures. As known OMA methods (such as EFDD, SSI and so on) are supposed to deal with the ambient responses. For this purpose, analytical and experimental modal analysis of a model steel structure for dynamic characteristics was evaluated. 3D Finite element model of the building was evaluated for the model steel structure based on the design drawing. Ambient excitation was provided by shake table from the recorded micro tremor ambient vibration data on ground level. Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition is used for the output only modal identification. From this study, best correlation is found between mode shapes. Natural frequencies and analytical frequencies in average (only) 2.8% are differences.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제9권5호
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• pp.441-459
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• 2012

Identification of vibration parameters from the analysis of the dynamic response of a structure plays a key role in current health monitoring systems. This study evaluates the capabilities of the recently developed Synchrosqueezed Wavelet Transform (SWT) to extract instant frequencies and damping values from the simulated noise-contaminated response of a structure. Two approaches to estimate the modal damping ratio from the results of the SWT are presented. The results obtained are compared to other signal processing methods based on Continuous Wavelet (CWT) and Hilbert-Huang (HHT) transforms. It was found that the time-frequency representation obtained via SWT is sharped than the obtained using just the CWT and it allows a more robust extraction of the individual modal responses than using the HHT. However, the identification of damping ratios is more stable when the CWT coefficients are employed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제40권6호
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• pp.745-762
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• 2011

Damage detection methodologies based on the direct examination of the nonlinear-nonstationary characteristics of the structure dynamic response may play an important role in online structural health monitoring applications. Different signal processing based damage detection methodologies have been proposed based on the uncovering of spikes in the high frequency component of the structural response obtained via Discrete Wavelet transforms, Hilbert-Huang transforms or high pass filtering. The performance of these approaches in systems subjected to different types of excitation is evaluated in this paper. It is found that in the case of random excitations, like earthquake accelerations, the effectiveness of such methodologies is limited. An alternative damage detection approach using the Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) is also evaluated to overcome this limitation. Using the CWT has the advantage that the central frequencies at which it operates can be defined by the user while the frequency bands of the detail functions obtained via DWT are predetermined by the sampling period of the signal.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.53-70
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• 2006

The paper summarizes the dynamic-based assessment of a reinforced concrete arch bridge, dating back to the 50's. The outlined approach is based on ambient vibration testing, output-only modal identification and updating of the uncertain structural parameters of a finite element model. The Peak Picking and the Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition techniques were used to extract the modal parameters from ambient vibration data and a very good agreement in both identified frequencies and mode shapes has been found between the two techniques. In the theoretical study, vibration modes were determined using a 3D Finite Element model of the bridge and the information obtained from the field tests combined with a classic system identification technique provided a linear elastic updated model, accurately fitting the modal parameters of the bridge in its present condition. Hence, the use of output-only modal identification techniques and updating procedures provided a model that could be used to evaluate the overall safety of the tested bridge under the service loads.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.321-327
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• 2019

This study investigated the possibility of using the recorded micro tremor data on ground level as ambient vibration input excitation data for investigation and application Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) on the bench-scale earthquake simulator (The Quanser Shake Table) for model chimney. As known OMA methods (such as EFDD, SSI and so on) are supposed to deal with the ambient responses. For this purpose, analytical and experimental modal analysis of a model chimney for dynamic characteristics was performed. 3D Finite element model of the chimney was evaluated based on the design drawing. Ambient excitation was provided by shake table from the recorded micro tremor ambient vibration data on ground level. Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition is used for the output only modal identification. From this study, best correlation is found between mode shapes. Natural frequencies and analytical frequencies in average (only) 1.996% are different.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.417-434
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• 2002

This paper explores the possibility of using a combination of the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and the Hilbert transform (HT), termed the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) method, to identify the modal damping ratios of the structure with closely spaced modal frequencies. The principle of the HHT method and the procedure of using the HHT method for modal damping ratio identification are briefly introduced first. The dynamic response of a two-degrees-of-freedom (2DOF) system under an impact load is then computed for a wide range of dynamic properties from well-separated modal frequencies to very closely spaced modal frequencies. The natural frequencies and modal damping ratios identified by the HHT method are compared with the theoretical values and those identified using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) method. The results show that the HHT method is superior to the FFT method in the identification of modal damping ratios of the structure with closely spaced modes of vibration. Finally, a 36-storey shear building with a 4-storey light appendage, having closely spaced modal frequencies and subjected to an ambient ground motion, is analyzed. The modal damping ratios identified by the HHT method in conjunction with the random decrement technique (RDT) are much better than those obtained by the FFT method. The HHT method performing in the frequency-time domain seems to be a promising tool for system identification of civil engineering structures.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.131-154
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• 2012

In this paper, it is aimed to determine the seismic behaviour of highway bridges by nondestructive testing using ambient vibration measurements. Eynel Highway Bridge which has arch type structural system with a total length of 216 m and located in the Ayvaclk county of Samsun, Turkey is selected as an application. The bridge connects the villages which are separated with Suat U$\breve{g}$urlu Dam Lake. A three dimensional finite element model is first established for a highway bridge using project drawings and an analytical modal analysis is then performed to generate natural frequencies and mode shapes in the three orthogonal directions. The ambient vibration measurements are carried out on the bridge deck under natural excitation such as traffic, human walking and wind loads using Operational Modal Analysis. Sensitive seismic accelerometers are used to collect signals obtained from the experimental tests. To obtain experimental dynamic characteristics, two output-only system identification techniques are employed namely, Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition technique in the frequency domain and Stochastic Subspace Identification technique in time domain. Analytical and experimental dynamic characteristic are compared with each other and finite element model of the bridge is updated by changing of boundary conditions to reduce the differences between the results. It is demonstrated that the ambient vibration measurements are enough to identify the most significant modes of highway bridges. After finite element model updating, maximum differences between the natural frequencies are reduced averagely from 23% to 3%. The updated finite element model reflects the dynamic characteristics of the bridge better, and it can be used to predict the dynamic response under complex external forces. It is also helpful for further damage identification and health condition monitoring. Analytical model of the bridge before and after model updating is analyzed using 1992 Erzincan earthquake record to determine the seismic behaviour. It can be seen from the analysis results that displacements increase by the height of bridge columns and along to middle point of the deck and main arches. Bending moments have an increasing trend along to first and last 50 m and have a decreasing trend long to the middle of the main arches.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.11-29
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• 2009

Variability of sea surface temperature (SST) in the Japan/East Sea (JES) was studied using complex empirical orthogonal function (CEOF) analysis. Two daily data sets were analyzed: (1) New Generation 0.05o-gridded SST from Tohoku University, Japan (July 2002-July 2006), and (2) 0.25o-gridded SST from the Japan Meteorological Agency (October 1993-November 2006). Linkages with wind stress curl were revealed using 6-h 1o-gridded surface zonal and meridional winds from ancillary data of the Sea- WiFS Project, a special National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) product (1998-2005). SST anomalies (SSTA) were obtained by removing the seasonal signal, estimated as the leading mode of the CEOF decomposition of the original SST. Leading CEOF modes of residual SSTA obtained from both data sets were consistent with each other and were characterized by annual, semiannual, and quasi-biennial time scales estimated with 95% statistical significance. The Semiannual Mode lagged 2 months behind the increased occurrence of the anticyclonic (AC) wind stress curl over the JES. Links to dynamic processes were investigated by numerical simulations using an oceanic model. The suggested dynamic forcings of SSTA are the inflow of subtropical water into the JES through the Korea Strait, divergence in the surface layer induced by Ekman suction, meridional shifts of the Subarctic Front in the western JES, AC eddy formation, and wind-driven strengthening/weakening of large-scale currents. Events of west-east SSTA movement were identified in July-September. The SSTA moved from the northeastern JES towards the continental coast along the path of the westward branch of the Tsushima Current at a speed consistent with the advective scale.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.335-350
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• 2018

This paper presents numerical modelling, modal testing, finite element model updating, linear and nonlinear earthquake behavior of a reinforced concrete building model. A 1/2 geometrically scale, two-storey, reinforced concrete frame model with raft base were constructed, tested and analyzed. Modal testing on the model using ambient vibrations is performed to illustrate the dynamic characteristics experimentally. Finite element model of the structure is developed by ANSYS software and dynamic characteristics such as natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios are calculated numerically. The enhanced frequency domain decomposition method and the stochastic subspace identification method are used for identifying dynamic characteristics experimentally and such values are used to update the finite element models. Different parameters of the model are calibrated using manual tuning process to minimize the differences between the numerically calculated and experimentally measured dynamic characteristics. The maximum difference between the measured and numerically calculated frequencies is reduced from 28.47% to 4.75% with the model updating. To determine the effects of the finite element model updating on the earthquake behavior, linear and nonlinear earthquake analyses are performed using 1992 Erzincan earthquake record, before and after model updating. After model updating, the maximum differences in the displacements and stresses were obtained as 29% and 25% for the linear earthquake analysis and 28% and 47% for the nonlinear earthquake analysis compared with that obtained from initial earthquake results before model updating. These differences state that finite element model updating provides a significant influence on linear and especially nonlinear earthquake behavior of buildings.