Abstracts Archive

Hybrid testing provides an efficient and less costly way to explore the response of structural systems to realistic dynamic or seismic loading. However, the required equipment to execute hybrid tests are high-cost tools. To get insight in the hybrid testing methodology, a small-scale set-up has been...

Testing soils for earthquake and dynamic loads requires advanced equipment able to control the effects of hydromechanical coupling on the soil response. The majority of laboratory element tests are either “slow tests”, which intend to approach drained conditions throughout the soil sample in ord...

In order to reduce the numerical cost of dynamic time history analysis, this research proposes to extend the application of the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) to reinforced Concrete (RC) structures with material nonlinearities subjected to earthquakes. To achieve this time economy in nonlinea...

In this paper, the results of a bidirectional hybrid test performed on a reinforced concrete column are described. The specimen is loaded at its end by two hydraulic actuators applying the horizontal displacements at the top of the column. The numerical substructure is modelled using nonlinear multi...

The earthquake response of bridge cranes is a very important safety issue for industrial facilities, for example, nuclear plants. During an earthquake, the bridge crane is subjected to multi-impacts and frictional contacts between trolley wheels and girders, as well as between crane wheels and runwa...

Wide attention and research have been focused on the vibration control of thin wall structures immersed in fluid environment, for which fuel containers, vessel shells and underwater robotics are among the most frequent examples. Designing such structures with respect to the desired vibration propert...

In this study the effects of an energy dissipation device in a real reinforced concrete building are presented. The investigated damper belongs to the passive energy dissipation systems and absorbs the seismic energy through yielding in bending and frictional forces occur in the metallic elements of...

A recent large campaign of vibration measurements has been conducted on a hospital building in Italy to perform operational modal analysis of the structure in order to update a representative numerical model. Subsequently, this latter will be used to carry out a vulnerability analysis of the whole s...

Real-time Hybrid Simulation (RTHS) is an effective method for estimating the dynamic response of structural systems. The system splits into a numerical substructure (NS) and an experimental substructure (ES). The NS is solved numerically, while a servo-hydraulic actuator imposes boundary conditions ...

Inter-story seismic isolation has become a valuable solution for high-rise buildings to effectively separate the various parts having several functions, and thus different seismic performance requirements, with the main advantage being the interruption of the flux of energy between the upper and low...

The time history of the design ground motion used in seismic design is suggested to be used either by using observed records or artificially synthesized to match the spectrum. In this case, the design response spectrum is a simplified representation of a statistical combination of observed earthquak...

Unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings show high vulnerability to seismic loading. The performance of such buildings during past earthquakes has highlighted that wall collapse in the out-of-plane direction represents a major source of concern. Depending on the connection of a wall with diaphragms and ...

A novel sliding-stretching seismic isolator is illustrated in this work. The device is inspired by the tendons and bones of human limbs, using 3D-printed components and metallic parts [1]. The isolator is made of a unit cell formed by a central post that carries the vertical load and slides against ...

Through the centuries, earthquakes represent one of the main causes of damage and loss of cultural heritage, monumental buildings, and historic centers, affecting the development of many countries worldwide. These kinds of constructions are usually constituted by structural masonry and have shown ev...

The construction of a new industry building was stopped halfway due to the concerns about the structural quality by the developer. It is a four-storey steel frame structure with a composite floor system. Majority of structure has been accomplished besides finishing layer and internal equipment. Vari...