Dongsheng Du

Optimal Design of Viscoelastic Dampers in Frame Structures considering Soil-Structure Interaction Effect

The seismic response control of multistory frame structures using optimally placed viscoelastic dampers (VEDs) within consideration of soil-structure interaction (SSI) effect is investigated in this paper. The system is assumed to be elastic and responses of the system are obtained in frequency domain for stationary random seismic excitations. The optimal designs of VEDs in structures are achieved through genetic algorithm (GA) by minimizing the maximum response quantities of the system for a determined total amount of viscoelastic material. Two typical elastic multistory frame structures with different soil types and foundation embedment ratios are considered to demonstrate the optimization process. It is shown that the VEDs have the best control of the structural response for fixed base condition and the control efficiency decreases as the soil becomes softer. The optimal placement types of VEDs for different soil types differ from each other. With the decrease of soil stiffness, the optimal locations of VEDs have a tendency to shift to top floors.

In-Plane Strengthening Effect of Prefabricated Concrete Walls on Masonry Structures: Shaking Table Test

The improvement effect of a new strengthening strategy on dynamic action of masonry structure, by installing prefabricated concrete walls on the outer facades, is validated by shaking table test presented in this paper. We carried out dynamic tests of two geometrically identical five-story reduced scaled models, including an unstrengthened and a strengthened masonry model. The experimental analysis encompasses seismic performances such as cracking patterns, failure mechanisms, amplification factors of acceleration, and displacements. The results show that the strengthened masonry structure shows much more excellent seismic capacity when compared with the unstrengthened one.

Simplified analysis of frame structures with viscoelastic dampers considering the effect of soil-structure interaction

In this study, simplified numerical models are developed to analyze the soil-structure interaction (SSI) effect on frame structures equipped with viscoelastic dampers (VEDs) based on pile group foundation. First, a single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) oscillator is successfully utilized to replace the SDOF energy dissipated structure considering the SSI effect. The equivalent period and damping ratio of the system are obtained through analogical analysis using the frequency transfer function with adoption of the modal strain energy (MSE) technique. A parametric analysis is carried out to study the SSI effect on the performance of VEDs. Then the equilibrium equations of the multi degree-of-freedom (MDOF) structure with VEDs considering SSI effect are established in the frequency domain. Based on the assumption that the superstructure of the coupled system possesses the classical normal mode, the MDOF superstructure is decoupled to a set of individual SDOF systems resting on a rigid foundation with adoption of the MSE technique through formula derivation. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed methods have the advantage of reducing computational cost, however, retaining the satisfactory accuracy. The numerical method proposed herein can provide a fast evaluation of the efficiency of VEDs considering the SSI effect.