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Implementation of efficient vibration control schemes for seismically excited structures is becoming more and more important in recent years. In this study, the influence of different control schemes on the dynamic performance of a frame structure excited by El Centro wave, with an emphasis on reaching law based control strategies, is examined. Reaching law refers to the reachable problem and criteria for the sliding state of a control system. Three reaching laws are designed to present different sliding mode control strategies by incorporating a state space model that describes structural dynamic characteristics of a frame structure. Both intact and damaged structures are studied by using the aforementioned control strategies. The influence of different structural damage extents, control locations and reaching law based control methods are further investigated. The results show that the structure can be well controlled using the sliding mode strategy when the induced structural damage extent does not exceed the standard percentage for considering the structure was damaged, which is 20% reduction in structure stiffness, as reported in the literature. The control effectiveness is more satisfactory if the control location is the same as the direction of external excitation. Furthermore, to study the chattering phenomenon of the sliding mode control method, approximation and detail components extracted from the phase plots of the sliding mode control system are compared via wavelet transform at different scales. The results show that for the same type of control law, the system behaves with similar chattering phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how assessment of seismic vulnerability can be effective in protection against earthquakes. Findings are reported from a case study in a densely populated urban area near an active fault, utilizing practical methods and exact engineering data. Vulnerability factors were determined due to technical considerations, and a field campaign was performed to collect the required data. Multi-criteria decision making was carried out by means of an analytical hierarchy process including a fuzzy standardization. Earthquake scenarios were applied through an implicit vulnerability model. GIS was utilized and the results were analyzed by classifying the state of vulnerability in levels as very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. Seismic resilience was evaluated as vulnerabilities below the moderate state, being about 40% in an intensity of 6 Mercalli and less than 10% in 10 Mercalli. It is concluded that seismic resilience in the area studied is not acceptable, the area is vulnerable in the expected scenarios, and due to the high seismicity of the region, proper crisis management planning is required in parallel with attempts toward retrofitting. In this regard, an emergency map was developed with reference to the assessed vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the primary goals for the researchers is to create a high-quality sensor with a simple structure because of the urgent requirement to identify biomolecules at low concentrations to diagnose diseases and detect hazardous chemicals for health early on. Recently graphene has attracted much interest in the field of improved biosensors. Meanwhile, graphene with new materials such as CaF2 has been widely used to improve the applications of graphene-based sensors. Using the fantastic features of the graphene/CaF2 multilayer, this article proposes an improvement sensor in the sensitivity (S), the figure of merit (FOM), and the quality factor (Q). The proposed sensor is based on the five-layers graphene/dielectric grating integrated with a Fabry–Perot cavity. By tuning graphene chemical potential (µc), due to the semi-metal features of graphene, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) waves excited at the graphene/dielectric boundaries. Due to the vertical polarization of the source to the gratings and the symmetry of the electric field, both corners of the grating act as electric dipoles, and this causes the propagation of plasmonic waves on the graphene surface to propagate towards each other. Finally, it causes Fabry–Perot (FP) interference on the surface of graphene in the proposed structure's active medium (the area where the sample is located). In this article, using the inherent nature of FP interference and its S to the environment's refractive index (RI), by changing a minimal amount in the RI of the sample, the resonance wavelength (interferometer order) shifts sharply. The proposed design can detect and sense some cancers, such as Adrenal Gland Cancer, Blood Cancer, Breast Cancer I, Breast Cancer II, Cervical Cancer, and skin cancer precisely. By optimizing the structure, we can achieve an S as high as 9000 nm/RIU and a FOM of about 52.14 for the first resonance order (M1). Likewise, the remarkable S of 38,000 nm/RIU and the FOM of 81 have been obtained for the second mode (M2). In addition, the proposed label-free SPR sensor can detect changes in the concentration of various materials, including gases and biomolecules, hemoglobin, breast cancer, diabetes, leukemia, and most alloys, with an accuracy of 0.001. The proposed sensor can sense urine concentration with a maximum S of 8500 nm/RIU and cancers with high S in the 6000 nm/RIU range to 7000 nm/RIU. Also, four viruses, such as M13 bacteriophage, HIV type one, Herpes simplex type 1, and influenza, have been investigated, showing Maximum S (for second resonance mode of λR(M2) of 8000 nm/RIU (λR(M2) = 11.2 µm), 12,000 nm/RIU (λR(M2) = 10.73 µm), 38,000 nm/RIU (λR(M2) = 11.78 µm), and 12,000 nm/RIU (λR(M2) = 10.6 µm), respectively, and the obtained S for first resonance mode (λR(M1)) for mentioned viruses are 4740 nm/RIU (λR(M1) = 8.7 µm), 8010 nm/RIU (λR(M1) = 8.44 µm), 8100 nm/RIU (λR(M1) = 10.15 µm), and 9000 (λR(M1) = 8.36 µm), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]