In this paper, the mechanical behaviors of bridges with unseating prevention devices in the superstructure were investigated. These devices can prevent bridge from unseating and divert most of the seismic forces from transferring to the bridge columns. The models of the rubber bearing, restrainer, and shear key were proposed and implemented into the SAP 2000 to obtain the seismic response of th...

Animals exposed to anthropogenic disturbance make trade-offs between perceived risk and the cost of leaving disturbed areas. Impact assessments tend to focus on overt behavioural responses leading to displacement, but trade-offs may also impact individual energy budgets through reduced foraging performance. Previous studies found no evidence for broad-scale displacement of harbour porpoises exp...

A multi-panel PMC infilled system, using polymer matrix composite (PMC) material, was introduced as new conceptual design for seismic retrofitting. A proposed multi panel PMC infilled system was composed of two basic structural components: inner PMC sandwich infills and outer FRP damping panels. The PMC material had high stiffness-to-weight and strength-to-weight ratios. Therefore, the addition...

This paper presents a new approach to reducing the seismic responses of spatial structures with magneto-rheological (MR) dampers using Genetic Algorithm with small populations (μGA). μGA is used to obtain the controller for the MR dampers for structural vibration reduction that is difficult to be solved by the classical optimal control. The advantages of μGA are of global property and having li...

Time-lapse (4D) seismic data sets have proven to be extremely useful for reservoir monitoring. Seismic-derived impedance estimates are commonly used as a 4D attribute to constrain updates to reservoir fluid flow models. However, 4D seismic estimates of P-wave impedance can contain significant errors associated with the effects of seismic noise and the inherent instability of inverse methods. Th...

Impetus for Hybrid Simulation The desire of stakeholders to consider potential consequences as well as safety when judging alternative seismic design or retrofit plans for their structures has driven the development of performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE). Use of PBEE, in turn, depends upon the ability to accurately assess the seismic performance of alternative designs. Physically te...

Probabilistic characteristics of seismic responses of the Partially Restrained connection rotation (PRCR) and panel zone deformation (PZD) installed in older steel moment frames were investigated in accordance with statistical inference in decision-making process. The 4, 6 and 8 story older steel moment frames with clip angle and T-stub connections were designed and analyzed using 2%/50yrs grou...

In this paper the use of the Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT), for the decomposition and characterization of seismic ground response, is discussed. The HHT, integrated by the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and the Hilbert Transformation (HT), enables engineers to analyze non-stationary oscillation systems and to obtain more detailed intensity descriptions on time-varying frequency diagrams. Th...

Underground pipelines are widely applied in the so-called lifeline engineerings. It shows according to seismic surveys that the damage from soil liquefaction to underground pipelines was the most serious, whose failures were mainly in the form of pipeline uplifting. In the present study, dynamic centrifuge model tests were conducted to study the uplifting behaviors of shallow-buried pipeline su...