• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.847-862
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• 2015

Typical base isolated buildings are designed so that the superstructure remains elastic in design-level earthquakes, though the isolation layer is often quite nonlinear using, e.g., hysteretic elements such as lead-rubber bearings and friction pendulum bearings. Similarly, other well-performing structural control systems keep the structure within the linear range except during the most extreme of excitations. Design optimization of these isolators or other structural control systems requires computationally-expensive response simulations of the (mostly or fully) linear structural system with the nonlinear structural control devices. Standard nonlinear structural analysis algorithms ignore the localized nature of these nonlinearities when computing responses. This paper proposes an approach for the computationally-efficient optimal design of passive isolators by extending a methodology previously developed by the authors for accelerating the response calculation of mostly linear systems with local features (linear or nonlinear, deterministic or random). The methodology is explained and applied to a numerical example of a base isolated building with a hysteretic isolation layer. The computational efficiency of the proposed approach is shown to be significant for this simple problem, and is expected to be even more dramatic for more complex systems.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.641-656
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• 2017

The effects of vertical component of earthquakes on torsional amplification due to mass eccentricity in seismic responses of base-isolated structures subjected to near-field ground motions are studied in this paper. 3-, 6- and 9-story superstructures and aspect ratios of 1, 2 and 3 have been modeled as steel special moment frames mounted on Triple Concave Friction Pendulum (TCFP) bearings considering different period and damping ratios. Three-dimensional linear superstructures resting on nonlinear isolators are subjected to both 2 and 3 component near-field ground motions. Effects of mass eccentricity and vertical component of 25 near-field earthquakes on the seismic responses including maximum isolator displacement and base shear as well as peak superstructure acceleration are studied. The results indicate that the effect of vertical component on the responses of asymmetric structures, especially on the base shear is significant. Therefore, it can be claimed that in the absence of the vertical component, mass eccentricity has a little effect on the base shear increase. Additionally, the impact of this component on acceleration is remarkable so the roof acceleration of a nine-story structure has been increased 1.67 times, compared to the case that the structure is subjected to only horizontal components of earthquakes.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.23-33
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• 2017

Variable Curvature Friction Pendulum (VCFP) bearing is one of the alternatives to control excessive induced responses of isolated structures subjected to near-fault ground motions. The curvature of sliding surface in this isolator is varying with displacement and its function is non-spherical. Selecting the most appropriate function for the sliding surface depends on the design objectives and ground motion characteristics. To date, few polynomial functions have been experimentally tested for VCFP however it needs comprehensive parametric study to find out which one provides the most effective behavior. Herein, seismic performance of the isolated structure mounted on VCFP is investigated with two different polynomial functions of the sliding surface (Order 4 and 6). By variation of the constants in these functions through changing design parameters, 120 cases of isolators are evaluated and the most proper function is explored to minimize floor acceleration and/or isolator displacement under different hazard levels. Beside representing the desire sliding surface with adaptive behavior, it was shown that the polynomial function with order 6 has least possible floor acceleration under seven near-field ground motions in different levels.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.265-275
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• 2017

In order to improve the seismic performance of structures, friction pendulum system (FPS) is the most commonly used seismic isolation device in addition to lead rubber bearing (LRB) in high seismicity area. In a nuclear power plant (NPP) with a large self weight, it is necessary to install a large number of seismic isolation devices, and the position of the center of rigidity varies depending on the arrangement of the seismic isolation devices. Due to the increase in the eccentricity, which is the difference between the center of gravity of the nuclear structure and the center of stiffness of the seismic isolators, an excessive seismic response may occur which could not be considered at the design stage. Three different types of eccentricity models (CASE 1, CASE 2, and CASE 3) were used for seismic response evaluation of seismically isolated NPP due to the increase of eccentricity (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%). The analytical model of the seismic isolation system was compared using the equivalent linear model and the bilinear model. From the results of the seismic response of the seismically isolated NPP with increasing eccentricity, it can be observed that the effect of eccentricity on the seismic response for the equivalent linear model is larger than that for the bilinear model.

• 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.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.2974-2988
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• 2022

Implementation of component isolation in nuclear industry is challenging due to gaps in research and the lack of specific guidelines. In this study, parameters affecting component-level isolation of advanced reactor vessels are identified based on a representative numerical model with explicit consideration of nonlinear soil-structure interaction (SSI). The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of, and to identify potential limitations of using conventional friction pendulum bearings to seismically isolate vessels. It is found that slender vessels or components are particularly vulnerable to rotational accelerations at the isolation interface, which are caused by rotation of the sub-structure and by excitation of higher modes in the horizontal direction of the seismically isolated system. Component isolation is found to be more effective for relatively stiffer vessels and at sites with stiff soil. Considering that conventional isolators are deficient in resisting axial tension, it is observed that the optimum location for supporting a component to achieve seismic isolation, is at a cross-sectional plane passing through the center of mass of the vessel. These findings are corroborated by numerous simulations of the response of seismically isolated reactor vessels at different nuclear power plant sites subject to a variety of ground motions.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.87-100
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• 2022

Limiting the displacement of seismic isolators causes a pounding phenomenon under severe earthquakes. Therefore, the ASCE 7-16 has provided minimum criteria for the design of the isolated building. In this research the seismic response of isolated buildings by Triple Friction Pendulum Isolator (TFPI) under the impact, expected, and unexpected mass eccentricity was evaluated. Also, the effect of different design parameters on the seismic behavior of structural and nonstructural elements was found. For this, a special steel moment frame structure with a surrounding moat wall was designed according to the criteria, by considering different response modification coefficients (RI), and 20% mass eccentricity in one direction. Then, different values of these parameters and the damping of the base isolation were evaluated. The results show that the structural elements have acceptable behavior after impact, but the nonstructural components are placed in a moderate damage range after impact and the used improved methods could not ameliorate the level of damage. The reduction in the RI and the enhancement of the isolator's damping are beneficial up to a certain point for improving the seismic response after impact. The moat wall reduces torque and maximum absolute acceleration (MAA) due to unexpected enhancement of mass eccentricity. However, drifts of some stories increase. Also, the difference between the response of story drift by expected and unexpected mass eccentricity is less. This indicates that the minimum requirement displacement according to ASCE 7-16 criteria lead to acceptable results under the unexpected enhancement of mass eccentricity.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.381-399
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• 2005

Base isolation technologies have been proven to be very efficient in protecting structures from seismic hazards during experimental and theoretical studies. In recent years, there have been more and more engineering applications using base isolators to upgrade the seismic resistibility of structures. Optimum design of the base isolator can lessen the undesirable seismic hazard with the most efficiency. Hence, tracing the nonlinear behavior of the base isolator with good accuracy is important in the engineering profession. In order to predict the nonlinear behavior of base isolated structures precisely, hundreds even thousands of degrees-of-freedom and iterative algorithm are required for nonlinear time history analysis. In view of this, a simple and feasible exact formulation without any iteration has been proposed in this study to calculate the seismic responses of structures with base isolators. Comparison between the experimental results from shaking table tests conducted at National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering in Taiwan and the analytical results show that the proposed method can accurately simulate the seismic behavior of base isolated structures with elastomeric bearings. Furthermore, it is also shown that the proposed method can predict the nonlinear behavior of the VCFPS isolated structure with accuracy as compared to that from the nonlinear finite element program. Therefore, the proposed concept can be used as a simple and practical tool for engineering professions for designing the elastomeric bearing as well as sliding bearing.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.1 s.41
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• pp.61-70
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• 2005

Shaking table tests are carried out on a single-degree-of-freedom mass that is equipped with a hybrid base isolation system. The isolator consists of a set of four specially-designed friction pendulum systems (FPS) and a magnetorheological (MR) damper. The structure and its hybrid isolation system are subjected to various intensities of near- and far-fault earthquakes on a large shake table. The proposed fuzzy controller uses feedback from displacement or acceleration transducers attached to the structure to modulate resistance of the semi-active damper to motion. Results from several types of passive and semi-active control strategies are summarized and compared. The study shows that a combination of FPS isolators and an adjustable MR damper can effectively provide robust control of vibration for a large full-scale structure undergoing a wide variety of seismic loads.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.295-307
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• 2021

The gap provided between adjacent structures in the metropolitan cities is mostly narrow due to architectural and financial issues. Consequently, structural pounding occurs between adjacent structures during earthquakes. It causes damages, ranging from minor local to more severe ones, especially in the case of seismically isolated buildings, due to their higher displacements. However, due to the increased flexibility of isolated buildings, the problem could become more detrimental to such structures. The effect of the seismic pounding of moat walls on the response of buildings isolated by Triple Friction Pendulum Bearing (TFPB) is investigated in this paper. To this propose, two symmetric three-dimensional models, including single-story and five-story buildings, are modeled in Opensees. Nonlinear Time History Analyses (NTHA) are performed for seismic evaluation. Also, five different sizes with four different sets of friction coefficients are considered for base isolators to cover a whole range of base isolation systems with various geometry configurations and fundamental period. The results are investigated in terms of base shear, buildings' drift, and roof acceleration. Results indicated a profound effect of poundings against moat walls. In situations of potential pounding, in some cases, the influence of impact on seismic responses of multistory buildings was more remarkable.