Search

The correlation between intensity and damage measure for generic moment-resisting steel frames (MRSF) that are subjected to earthquake shaking was analysed using optimised nonlinear single degree of freedom (SDOF) models. The parameters for these SDOF models are based on nonlinear quasi-static pushover analyses of the multi-degree of freedom (MDOF) building systems. This intensity-damage relationship was then compared with those obtained from incremental dynamic analysis (IDA), that is a MDOF approach. Results show that the general trend line of intensity-damage measures for nonlinear SDOF model was qualitatively similar to the MDOF model that in this case represents a full nonlinear finite element analysis of the MRSF. While the SDOF model is not a precise match to the MDOF model, results suggests that it can be used in the vital role of ground motion record selection because of its computational efficiency. Furthermore, it is shown that the accuracy of intensity-damage estimates from the SDOF models can be improved if optimal damping, pseudo-yield, and ultimate loads are chosen. The efficacy of various intensity measures on damage are compared and contrasted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents observed damage in reinforced concrete buildings during the 27 February 2010 Maule earthquake in Chile. Performance of concrete frame and shear wall buildings are discussed with emphasis on seismic deficiencies in design and construction practices. It is shown that the majority of structural damage in multistorey and high-rise buildings can be attributed to poor performance of slender shear walls, without confined boundary elements, suffering from crushing of concrete and buckling of vertical wall reinforcement. Use of irregular buildings, lack of seismic detailing, and the interference of nonstructural elements were commonly observed seismic deficiencies. A comparison is made between Chilean and Canadian design practices with references made to the applicable code clauses. Lessons are drawn from the observed structural performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents performance of steel buildings and nonstructural elements during the 27 February 2010 Maule Earthquake in Chile. Structural steel buildings are not common in Chile, due to the relatively high cost of material. The majority of damage to steel structures was observed in industrial facilities. In general, the structural steel buildings performed well. Limited damage was observed in some of the older buildings. Extensive damage was sustained by nonstructural elements, including masonry infill walls, suspended ceilings, partition walls, and architectural features. Brick masonry partition walls, commonly used in Chilean buildings, suffered damage when used in frame buildings with little drift control. The paper presents a summary of observed damage and a comparison of Chilean and Canadian design practices for steel buildings, with lessons drawn from observed structural performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damage to structures and infrastructure due to the Chile tsunami of 27 February 2010, is presented. Robust, modern engineered structures performed well during this tsunami and, generally, damage only to non-structural components was evident. The majority of damage was sustained by non-engineered residential homes located within the inundation zone. These dwellings consisted of either light timber frame construction or concrete frame construction with brick masonry infill walls. Many of the dwellings incorporated sheet metal as exterior cladding or roofing. The hydrodynamic (drag) forces, impulsive loading, hydrostatic forces, buoyant forces, and debris impact loading were probable sources during the tsunami causing the observed damage. Failures included punching of brick masonry infill walls, partial and complete collapse of load bearing elements such as columns, and sliding and unseating failures of second storey levels and roofs. A discussion of the state of the art in tsunami design practice is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Seismic screening software is developed for existing buildings in Canada on the basis of the requirements of 2010 National Building Code of Canada. The software is based on the 'Manual for Screening of Buildings for Seismic Investigation,' published by the National Research Council of Canada in 1992. The new software incorporates updated seismicity and soil classifications used in the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) since 2005, as well as the new ductility and over-strength factors specified in the 2010 NBCC. The uniform hazard spectrum values of the current Canadian seismicity, defined for each municipality in Canada with a 2500 year earthquake return period, are used as reference hazard values. Seismic risk associated with the use of older seismic hazard values specified in older editions of the NBCC is identified relative to the current reference seismicity. The new site classifications are incorporated, while establishing relative soil amplification values between the new acceleration-based and velocity-based soil amplification factors and the foundation factors used in older codes. The new ductility and over-strength factors used in recent editions of the code are introduced in identifying different structural types with different toughness and energy dissipation capacities. The software can be used to conduct seismic screening of buildings located in different municipalities in Canada relative to the seismic requirements of NBCC-2010. It can also be used to generate tables for different locations in the country for manual screening of buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In a flat plate structure, slab-column connections must possess sufficient drift capacity to survive the lateral deformation resulting from wind or earthquake. Partial debonding of the flexural reinforcement may be a means of increasing drift capacity of a slab-column structure. This article summarizes cyclic loading tests conducted on two full-scale interior slab-column connections, one with and one without partially debonded reinforcement. Each test specimen consisted of a 4.2 m square slab with a 355 mm square column protruding 1.5 m above and below the slab. The slab thickness was 152 mm. The specimen with partially debonded reinforcement exhibited more lateral drift capacity (4.5%) than did the specimen with fully bonded reinforcement (3.5%). The lateral load capacity of the debonded specimen was approximately 20% greater than that of the bonded control specimen. With partial debonding of the flexural reinforcement, cyclic load appeared to produce less damage to the connection in the vicinity of the slab-column joint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given sufficient anchorage to the diaphragms, out-of-plane walls in unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings have been shown to crack above midheight and then rock as two rigid bodies. This study investigates the sensitivity of the rocking response to the type of ground motion and the quality of the wall construction. Shake table tests were conducted on four full-scale multi-wythe walls, all with a height to thickness (h/t) ratio of 12 but of varying construction quality and subjected to three different ground motions. All walls experienced cracking at less than one half of the 2005 National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) level for Vancouver, but exhibited a stable rocking behaviour without collapse beyond a ground motion 1.5 times the 2005 NBCC level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental research and post-earthquake reconnaissance have demonstrated that reinforced concrete columns with light or widely spaced transverse reinforcement are vulnerable to shear failure, and in turn, axial failure during earthquakes. Based on experimental data, failure surfaces have been used to define the onset of shear and axial failure for such columns. After the response of the column intersects the failure surface, the shear or axial strength of the column begins to degrade. This paper introduces a uniaxial material model that incorporates the failure surfaces and the subsequent strength degradation. When used in series with a beam-column element, the uniaxial material model can adequately capture the response of reinforced concrete columns during shear and axial load failure. The performance of the analytical model is compared with results from shake table tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the seismic (shake table) tests conducted on bookcase – partition wall systems. These nonstructural building components can be considered acceleration sensitive (or motion sensitive) rather than drift sensitive. The shake table floor motions used for the seismic testing are described in a companion paper. One bookcase fully loaded with books and two different cantilevered partition wall systems were considered in the shake table tests. Nine different configurations of these free-standing nonstructural building components were tested. For each configuration, three different seismic hazard levels were considered for the motions at the second floor level of a six-storey building designed for two different densely populated Canadian cities (Montréal and Vancouver). A total of 485 shake table tests were conducted in this experimental investigation. The experimental results indicated that pounding between unanchored bookcases and partition walls is very beneficial to the dynamic response of the bookcases, as it prevents resonance from occurring. Also, the seismic performance of bookcases improved dramatically by the proper installation of seismic restraint systems. Experimental fragility curves for overturning of tall bookcases are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the seismic behaviour of chevron steel braced frames for 2-, 4-, 8-, and 12-storey steel building structures. Two different design approaches were considered: one that corresponds to current CSA-S16.1 seismic provisions for braced frames with nominal ductility with an R factor of 2.0, and one in which the beams are sized to develop a fraction of the yield tension capacity of the bracing members. In this second approach, an R factor of 3.0 was used for determining the seismic loads and chevron bracing with stronger beams capable of developing 100%, 80%, and 60% of the brace yield load were examined. The results show that current S16.1 provisions for chevron braced frames may lead to systems that are prone to dynamic instability for 4-storey and taller structures. Chevron bracing with stronger beams exhibits a more stable inelastic response and can be used for structures up to 8 storeys in height. For 2- and 4-storey buildings, chevron braced frames with beams designed to develop only 60% of the brace yield resistance can be used. The analyses also show that the force demand in brace connections, beams, and columns as determined from capacity design provisions agree well with that anticipated under strong ground motions.Key words: earthquakes, seismic design, steel, structures, braced frames, bracing members, beams, columns, connections.Cet article décrit le comportement sismique de contreventements en treillis avec diagonales en chevron utilisés dans la charpente d'acier de bâtiments de 2, 4, 8 et 12 étages. Deux approches de conception ont été considérées : l'une qui suit les dispositions actuelles de la norme CSA S16.1 pour les contreventements à ductilité nominale et l'autre où les poutres sont conçues pour résister aux efforts engendrés lorsque l'effort dans la diagonale tendue atteint une fraction de sa limite élastique. Pour la seconde méthode, on a considéré un coefficient R égal à 3,0 pour le calcul des charges sismiques et on a étudié des contreventements dont les poutres pouvaient reprendre des efforts correspondant à un effort dans les diagonales tendues égal à 100%, 80% et 60% de leur limite élastique. Les résultats montrent que les contreventements de 4 étages et plus peuvent subir de grandes déformations latérales et être sujets à une instabilité dynamique lorsque conçus selon la norme S16.1 actuelle. Les contreventements avec poutres pouvant soutenir la plastification des diagonales tendues ont un comportement plus stable et peuvent être utilisés dans des structures jusqu'à 8 étages. Pour des bâtiments de 2 et 4 étages, on peut utiliser des poutres conçues pour un effort dans les diagonales tendues égal à 60% de leur résistance plastique. Les analyses dynamiques démontrent également que les efforts dans les assemblages des diagonales, dans les poutres et dans les poteaux tels, qu'obtenus d'un calcul par capacité, correspondent bien aux efforts que l'on peut anticiper lors d'un séisme important.Mots clés : séismes, conception parasismique, acier, structures, contreventements en treillis, diagonales, poutres, poteaux, assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]