• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1481-1501
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• 2015

MR-TLCD (Magneto-Rheological Tuned Liquid Column Damper) is a new developed vibration control device, which combines the traditional passive control property with active controllability advantage. Based on traditional TLCD governing equation, this study further considers MR-fluid viscosity in the equation and by transforming the non-linear damping term into an equivalent linear damping, a solution can be obtained. In order to find a countable set of parameters for the design of the MR-TLCD system and also to realize its applicability to structures, a series of experimental test were designed and carried out. The testing programs include the basic material properties of the MR-fluid, the damping ratio of a MR-TLCD and the dynamic responses for a frame structure equipped with the MR-TLCD system subjected to strong ground excitations. In both the analytical and experimental results of this study, it is found that the accurately tuned MR-TLCD system could effectively reduce the dynamic response of a structural system.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.647-664
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• 2006

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of transient stochastic analysis on nonlinear response of earth and rock-fill dams to spatially varying ground motion. The dam models are analyzed by a stochastic finite element method based on the equivalent linear method which considers the nonlinear variation of soil shear moduli and damping ratio as a function of shear strain. The spatial variability of ground motion is taken into account with the incoherence, wave-passage and site response effects. Stationary as well as transient stochastic response analyses are performed for the considered dam types. A time dependent frequency response function is used throughout the study for transient stochastic responses. It is observed that stationarity is a reasonable assumption for earth and rock-fill dams to typical durations of strong shaking.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.37-48
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• 2010

The seismic control effect of reinforced concrete structures with low energy dissipating capacity due to stiffness degradation is investigated through nonlinear time history analysis. The primary structure is idealized as a SDOF system of modified Takeda hysteresis rule and an elasto-perfectly-plastic nonlinear spring is added to represent a hysteretic damping device. Based on statistics of the numerical analysis, equivalent linearization techniques are evaluated, and empirical equations for response prediction are proposed. As a result, estimation of the ductility demand with proposed empirical equations is more desirable than the equivalent linearization techniques. The optimal yield strengths based on empirical equations are significantly different from the optimal yield strength of elasto-perfectly-plastic systems. Also, the results indicate that the reduction effect of the ductility demand is more remarkable for smaller natural periods.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.35-45
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• 2001

Recently, the floor systems those require large open space may have low inherent damping due to the decline of the use of curtain walls. Furthermore, the use of the high strength materials has resulted in more flexible and longer spanning in floor systems. The long span structures such as shopping malls, offices and large assembly rooms may lead to significant dynamic response due to human activities. Excessive vibrations make the occupants uncomfortable and deteriorate the serviceability of buildings. It is now proved that footfall loading is the major source of floor vibrations. The common method of application of walking loads for the vibration analysis of structures subjected to walking loads is to inflict measured walking loads and periodic function at a node. But this method could not account for the moving effect of walking. In this study, natural frequency and damping ratio of example structure are evaluated by heel drop tests. And the application of equivalent walking loads is used for on efficient vibration analysis of the plate structures subjected to walking loads.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.135-144
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• 2017

Near-fault ground motions are characterized by high values of the ratio between the peak of vertical and horizontal ground accelerations, which can significantly affect the nonlinear response of a base-isolated structure. To check the effectiveness of different base-isolation systems for retrofitting a r.c. framed structure located in a near-fault area, a numerical investigation is carried out analyzing the nonlinear dynamic response of the fixed-base and isolated structures. For this purpose, a six-storey r.c. framed building is supposed to be retrofitted by insertion of an isolation system at the base for attaining performance levels imposed by current Italian code in a high-risk seismic zone. In particular, elastomeric (e.g., high-damping-laminated-rubber bearings, HDLRBs) and friction (e.g., steel-PTFE sliding bearings, SBs, or friction pendulum bearings, FPBs) isolators are considered, with reference to three cases of base isolation: HDLRBs acting alone (i.e., EBI structures); in-parallel combination of HDLRBs and SBs (i.e., EFBI structures); FPBs acting alone (i.e., FPBI structures). Different values of the stiffness ratio, defined as the ratio between the vertical and horizontal stiffnesses of the HDLRBs, sliding ratio, defined as the global sliding force divided by the maximum sliding force of the SBs, and in-plan distribution of friction coefficient for the FPs are investigated. The EBI, EFBI and FPBI base-isolation systems are designed assuming the same values of the fundamental vibration period and equivalent viscous damping ratio. The nonlinear dynamic analysis is carried out with reference to near-fault earthquakes, selected and scaled on the design hypotheses adopted for the test structures.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.559-566
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• 2012

A new design method for the LCL filters of three-phase voltage source PWM rectifiers is presented in this paper. Based on the single-phase harmonic equivalent model, the harmonic voltage of the rectifier side is calculated to design the LCL filter parameters by an iterative algorithm, in which the resonance frequency $f_{res}$ and the ratio r between the grid-side inductance and the rectifier-side inductance are selected as known constants. The design criteria and process are introduced and the influence on the design result by the value of the resonance frequency $f_{res}$, ratio r is analyzed. Finally an example (600V, 500kW) is tested by simulation and experiment to verify the validity of the new design method.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1998.04a
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• pp.25-32
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• 1998

Most recent seismic design codes include Response Modification Factor(RMF) for determining equivalent lateral forces. The RMF is used to reduce the linear elastic design spectrum to account for the energy dissipation capacity, overstrength and damping of the structure. In this study the RMF is defined as the ratio of the absolute maximum linear elastic base shear to the absolute maximum nonlinear base shear of a structure subject to the same earthquake accelerogram. This study investigates the effect of hysteretic model, as well as target ductility ratio and natural period on duct based RMF using nonlinear dynamic analyses of the SDOF systems. Special emphasis is given to the effects of the hysteretic characteristics such as strength deterioration and stiffness degradation. Results indicate that RMFs are dependent on ductility, period and hysteretic model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.509-519
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• 2017

Wind field in mountainous regions demonstrates unique distribution characteristic as compared with the wind field of the flat area, wind load and wind effect are the key considerations in structural design of television towers situated in mountainous regions. The television tower to be constructed is located at the top of Xiushan Mountain in Nanjing, China. In order to investigate the impact of terrain factors of hilltops on wind loads, firstly a wind tunnel test was performed for the mountainous area within 800m from the television tower. Then the tower basal forces such as bending moments and shear strength were obtained based on high frequency force balance (HFFB) test. Based on the experiments, the improved method for determining the load combinations was applied to extract the response distribution patterns of foundation internal force and peak acceleration of the tower top, then the equivalent static wind loads were computed under different wind angles, load conditions and equivalent goals. The impact of terrain factors, damping ratio and equivalent goals on the wind load distribution of a television tower was discussed. Finally the equivalent static wind loads of the television tower under the 5 most adverse wind angles and 5 most adverse load conditions were computed. The experimental method, computations and research findings provide important references for the anti-wind design of high-rise structure built on hilltops.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.251-269
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• 2014

To investigate the seismic performance and to obtain quantitative parameters for the requirement of performance-based bridge seismic design approach, 12 reinforced concrete (RC) hollow rectangular bridge column specimens were tested under constant axial load and cyclic bending. Parametric study is carried out on axial load ratio, aspect ratio, longitudinal reinforcement ratio and transverse reinforcement ratio. The damage states of these column specimens were related to engineering limit states to determine the quantitative criteria of performance-based bridge seismic design. The hysteretic behavior of bridge column specimens was simulated based on the fiber model in OpenSees program and the results of the force-displacement hysteretic curves were well agreed with the experimental results. The damage states of residual cracking, cover spalling, and core crushing could be well related to engineering limit states, such as longitudinal tensile strains of reinforcement or compressive strains of concrete, etc. using cumulative probability curves. The ductility coefficient varying from 3.71 to 8.29, and the equivalent viscous damping ratio varying from 0.19 to 0.31 could meet the requirements of seismic design.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.97-107
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• 2019

The frame structures investigated in this paper is composed of Concrete encased columns with L-shaped steel section and steel beams. The seismic behavior of this structural system is studied through experimental and numerical studies. A 2-bay, 3-story and 1/3 scaled frame specimen is tested under constant axial loading and cyclic lateral loading applied on the column top. The load-displacement hysteretic loops, ductility, energy dissipation, stiffness and strength degradation are investigated. A typical failure mode is observed in the test, and the experimental results show that this type of framed structure exhibit a high strength with good ductility and energy dissipation capacity. Furthermore, finite element analysis software Perform-3D was conducted to simulate the behavior of the frame. The calculating results agreed with the test ones well. Further analysis is conducted to investigate the effects of parameters including concrete strength, column axial compressive force and steel ratio on the seismic performance indexes, such as the elastic stiffness, the maximum strength, the ductility coefficient, the strength and stiffness degradation, and the equivalent viscous damping ratio. It can be concluded that with the axial compression ratio increasing, the load carrying capacity and ductility decreased. The load carrying capacity and ductility increased when increasing the steel ratio. Increasing the concrete grade can improve the ultimate bearing capacity of the structure, but the ductility of structure decreases slightly.