• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.463-475
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• 2019

In this paper, a procedure to develop fragility curves of structures equipped with semi-active tuned mass dampers (SATMDs) considering multiple failure criteria has been presented while accounting for the uncertainties of the input excitation, structure and control device parameters. In this procedure, Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) method has been employed to generate 30 random SATMD-structure systems and nonlinear incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) has been conducted under 20 earthquakes to determine the structural responses, where failure probabilities in each intensity level have been evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. For numerical analysis, an eight-story nonlinear shear building frame with bilinear hysteresis material behavior has been used. Fragility curves for the structure equipped with optimal SATMDs have been developed considering single and multiple failure criteria for different performance levels and compared with that of uncontrolled structure as well as structure controlled using passive tuned mass damper (TMD). Numerical analysis has shown the capability of SATMDs in significant enhancement of the seismic fragility of the nonlinear structure. Also, considering multiple failure criteria has led to increasing the fragility of the structure. Moreover, it is observed that the influence of the uncertainty of input excitation with respect to the other uncertainties is considerable.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.403-414
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• 2019

Offshore drilling has become a key process for obtaining oil. Offshore platforms have many applications, including oil exploration and production, navigation, ship loading and unloading, and bridge and causeway support. However, vibration problems caused by severe environmental loads, such as ice, wave, wind, and seismic loads, threaten the functionality of platform facilities and the comfort of workers. These concerns may result in piping failures, unsatisfactory equipment reliability, and safety concerns. Therefore, the vibration control of offshore platforms is essential for assuring structural safety, equipment functionality, and human comfort. In this study, an optimal multiple tuned mass damper (MTMD) system was proposed to mitigate the excessive vibration of a three-dimensional offshore platform under ice and earthquake loadings. The MTMD system was designed to control the first few dominant coupled modes. The optimal placement and system parameters of the MTMD are determined based on controlled modal properties. Numerical simulation results show that the proposed MTMD system can effectively reduce the displacement and acceleration responses of the offshore platform, thus improving safety and serviceability. Moreover, this study proposes an optimal design procedure for the MTMD system to determine the optimal location, moving direction, and system parameters of each unit of the tuned mass damper.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.351-358
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• 2020

This paper presents a tuned mass damper (TMD) utilizing a parametric design technique to reduce the dynamic responses to seismic loads of retractable large spatial structures. An artificial intelligence algorithm was developed to automatically search for the installation position of the damping device. This enables confirming the dynamic response of the structure in real time while finding the optimum position for the damping device. Further, the optimum mass of the damping device is determined from among several alternatives, and a design that can be effectively applied to both open and closed conditions of the roof is obtained.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.5
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• pp.633-645
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• 2022

The active tuned mass damper (ATMD) is an efficient and reliable structural control system for mitigating the dynamic response of structures. The inertial force that an ATMD exerts on a structure to attenuate its otherwise large kinetic energy and undesirable vibrations and displacements is proportional to its excursion. Achieving a balance between the inertial force and excursion requires a control law or feedback mechanism. This study presents a technique for the optimum design of a sliding mode controller (SMC) as the control law for ATMD-equipped structures subjected to earthquakes. The technique includes optimizing an SMC under an artificial earthquake followed by testing its performance under real earthquakes. The SMC of a real 11-story shear building is optimized to demonstrate the technique, and its performance in mitigating the displacements of the building under benchmark near- and far-fault earthquakes is compared against that of a few other techniques (proportional-integral-derivative [PID], linear-quadratic regulator [LQR], and fuzzy logic control [FLC]). Results indicate that the optimum SMC outperforms PID and LQR and exhibits performance comparable to that of FLC in reducing displacements.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.283-295
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• 2022

Seismic design codes permit the use of Equivalent Static Analysis of buildings considering torsional eccentricity e with dynamic amplification factors on structural eccentricity and some accidental eccentricity. Estimation of e in buildings is not addressed in codes. This paper presents a simple approximate method to estimate e in RC Moment Frame and RC Structural Wall buildings, which required no detailed structural analysis. The method is validated by 3D analysis (using commercial structural analysis software) of a spectrum of building. Results show that dynamic amplification factor should be applied on torsional eccentricity when performing Response Spectrum Analysis also. Also, irregular or mixed modes of oscillation arise in torsionally unsymmetrical buildings owing to poor geometric distribution of mass and stiffness in plan, which is captured by the mass participation ratio. These irregular modes can be avoided in buildings of any plan geometry by limiting the two critical parameters (normalised torsional eccentricity e/B and Natural Period Ratio 𝜏 =T_𝜃/T, where B is building lateral dimension, T_𝜃 uncoupled torsional natural period and T uncoupled translational natural period). Suggestions are made for new building code provisions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.31-46
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• 2009

An anisotropic damage mechanics approach is introduced which models the static and dynamic behavior of mass concrete in 3D space. The introduced numerical approach is able to model non-uniform cracking within the cracked element due to cracking in Gaussian points of elements. The validity of the proposed model is considered using available experimental and theoretical results under the static and dynamic loads. No instability and stress locking is observed in the conducted analyses. The Morrow Point dam is analyzed including dam-reservoir interaction effects to consider the nonlinear seismic behavior of the dam. It is found that the resulting crack profiles are in good agreement with those obtained from the smeared crack approach. It is concluded that the proposed model can be used in nonlinear static and dynamic analysis of concrete dams in 3D space and enables engineers to define the damage level of these infrastructures. The performance level of the considered system is used to assess the static and seismic safety using the defined performance based criteria.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.399-406
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• 2009

A three-dimensional panel system, which was offered as a new method for construction in Jordan using relatively high strength modular panels for walls and ceilings, is investigated in this paper. The panel consists of two steel meshes on both sides of an expanded polystyrene core and connected together with a truss wire to provide a 3D system. The top face of the ceiling panel was pored with regular concrete mix, while the bottom face and both faces of the wall panels were cast by shotcreting (dry process). To investigate the structural performance of this system, an extensive experimental testing program for ceiling and wall panels subjected to static and dynamic loadings was conducted. The load-deflection curves were obtained for beam and shear wall elements and wall elements under transverse and axial loads, respectively. Static and dynamic analyses were conducted, and the performance of the proposed structural system was evaluated and compared with a typical three dimensional reinforced concrete frame system for buildings of the same floor areas and number of floors. Compressive strength capacity of a ceiling panel is determined for gravity loads, while flexural capacity is determined under the effect of wind and seismic loading. It was found that, the strength and serviceability requirements could be easily satisfied for buildings constructed using the three-dimensional panel system. The 3D panel system is superior to that of conventional frame system in its dynamic performance, due to its high stiffness to mass ratio.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.81-95
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• 2018

Most buildings feature core walls (and shear walls) that are placed eccentrically within the building to fulfil architectural requirements. Contemporary earthquake design standards require three dimensional (3D) dynamic analysis to be undertaken to analyse the imposed seismic actions on this type of buildings. A static method of analysis is always appealing to design practitioners because results from the analysis can always be evaluated independently by manual calculation techniques for quality control purposes. However, the equivalent static analysis method (also known as the lateral load method) which involves application of an equivalent static load at a certain distance from the center of mass of the buildings can generate results that contradict with results from dynamic analysis. In this paper the Generalised Force Method of analysis has been introduced for multi-storey buildings. Algebraic expressions have been derived to provide estimates for the edge displacement ratio taking into account the effects of dynamic torsional actions. The Generalised Force Method which is based on static principles has been shown to be able to make accurate estimates of torsional actions in seismic conditions. The method is illustrated by examples of two multi-storey buildings. Importantly, the black box syndrome of a 3D dynamic analysis of the building can be circumvented.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.141-146
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• 1990

This study is on a seismic analysis of absorber rod in KMRR Reactivity Control Mechanism. The model being studied is two coaxial tubes(control absorber rod and flow tube) immersed in the water and partially coupled(overlap) by water gap. The hydrodynamic mass effects by the water in each surrounding conditions are considered in the model. The natural frequencies, stresses and displacements of the system due to Safe Shutdown Earthquake are computed in the cases of in-phase modes and out-of-phase modes of two coaxial tubes. The results show that maximum stresses are well below the allowable limit but the maximum displacements at the ends of both tubes are so much that the absorber rod contacts with the flow tube(or surrounding wall).

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2008

The dynamic characteristics of the passive, semi-active, and active tuned-liquidcolumn dampers (or TLCDs) are studied in this paper. The design of the latter two are based on the first one. A water-head difference (or simply named as water head in this paper) of a passive TLCD is pre-set to form the so-called semi-active one in this paper. The pre-set of water head is released at a proper time instant during an earthquake excitation in order to enhance the vibration reduction of a structure. Two propellers are installed along a shaft inside and at the center of a passive TLCD to form an active one. These two propellers are driven by a servo-motor controlled by a computer to provide the control force. The seismic responses of a five-story shear building with a passive, semiactive, and active TLCDs are computed for demonstration and discussion. The responses of this building with a tuned mass damper (or TMD) are also included for comparison. The small-scale shaking-table experiments of a pendulum-like system with a passive or active TLCD to harmonic and seismic excitations are conducted for verification.