Giovanni Rinaldin

Application of a Translational Tuned Mass Damper Designed by Means of Genetic Algorithms on a Multistory Cross-Laminated Timber Building

AbstractThis paper presents a numerical study conducted on a seven-story timber building made of cross-laminated (X-lam) panels, equipped with a linear translational tuned mass damper (TMD). The TMD is placed on the top of the building as a technique for reducing the notoriously high drifts and seismic accelerations of these types of structures. TMD parameters (mass, stiffness, and damping) were designed using a genetic algorithm (GA) technique by optimizing the structural response under seven recorded earthquake ground motions compatible, on average, with a predefined elastic spectrum. Time-history dynamic analyses were carried out on a simplified two-degree-of-freedom system equivalent to the multistory building, while a detailed model of the entire building using two-dimensional elastic shell elements and elastic springs for modeling connections was used as a verification of the evaluated solution. Several comparisons between the response of the structure with and without TMD subjected to medium- and h...

A Component Model for Cyclic Behaviour of Wooden Structures

Wooden structures have become widespread in several regions of the world, including earthquake-prone areas. An estimation of their dissipative capacity is of fundamental importance for an accurate design for seismic actions. To reproduce the structural behaviour under earthquake excitation, a numerical model was developed and validated on experimental results. The cyclic behaviour of connections for cross-laminated (X-lam) buildings, light-frame construction and moment-resisting frames were schematised by a piecewise linear hysteretic relationship taking into account strength/stiffness degradation, pinching and friction between elements. This relationship was assigned to a non-linear elasto-plastic spring implemented in Abaqus software package. The spring has to be calibrated on experimental tests performed on single connections, which are the only components dissipating energy in the structure. All the other timber components (Xlam panels, timber beams, sheathing panels, etc.) are regarded as linear elastic. In this work, several examples of cyclic analyses of wooden structures are presented, including X-lam buildings, light-frame construction, and moment-resisting frames. Numerical predictions are compared with experimental results demonstrating the effectiveness of the model.