A stochastic function model of seismic ground motions is presented in this paper. It is derived from the consideration of physical mechanisms of seismic ground motions. The model includes the randomness inherent in the seismic source, propagation path and local site. For logical selection of the seismic acceleration records, a cluster analysis method is employed. Statistical distributions of the random parameters associated with the proposed model are identified using the selected data. Superposition method of narrow-band wave groups is then adopted to simulate non-stationary seismic ground motions. In order to verify the feasibility of the proposed model, comparative studies of time histories and response spectra of the simulated seismic accelerations against those of the recorded seismic accelerations are carried out. Their probability density functions, moreover, are readily investigated by virtue of the probability density evolution method.
Summary
To provide knowledge beyond the conventional engineering insights, attention in this work is focused on a comprehensive framework for the stochastic seismic collapse analysis and reliability assessment of large complex reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Three key notions are emphasized: the refined finite element modeling and analysis approach towards structural collapse, a physical random ground motion model, and an energy‐based structural collapse criterion. First, the softening of concrete material, which substantially contributes to the collapse of RC structures, is modeled by the stochastic damage constitutive model. Second, the physical random ground motion model is introduced to quantitatively describe the stochastic properties of the earthquake ground motions. And then the collapse‐resistance performance of a certain RC structure can be systematically evaluated on the basis of the probability density evolution method combining with the proposed structural collapse criterion. Numerical results regarding a prototype RC frame‐shear wall structure indicate that the randomness from ground motions dramatically affects the collapse behaviors of the structure and even leads to entirely different collapse modes. The proposed methodology is applicable in better understanding of the anti‐collapse design and collapse prediction of large complex RC buildings.
A stochastic earthquake ground motion database comprising twelve groups of simulated ground motions was introduced. Ground motions were generated using the stochastic semi-physical model of earthquake ground motions, based on a cluster analysis of 7778 recorded earthquake ground motion. All twelve groups of simulated earthquake ground motions were validated through the probability density evolution method (PDEM) by comparing their time histories and response spectra. As an application of the proposed database, an 18-story reinforced concrete (RC) frame-shear wall structure was analyzed using one group of simulated earthquake ground motions. The probability densities of the top displacement of the structure were estimated using PDEM, highlighting the significant stochasticity of the structural response. The seismic reliability of the structure was assessed by evaluating the extreme value distribution of the story drift angle. The investigations indicate that the proposed stochastic earthquake ground motion database effectively captures the inherent stochasticity of ground motions. Moreover, it contributes to enhancing the efficiency of reliability assessments for structures.
Concentrated solar towers are commonly designed as high-rise hybrid structures, which exhibit properties of non-uniform mass and rigidity along the height of the tower, and consequently are vulnerable to strong seismic ground motions. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the seismic performance of a hybrid solar tower, which is one of the tallest hybrid solar towers in the world. The hybrid solar tower includes a reinforced concrete tube at the bottom and a steel-truss tube at the top and is subjected to near-fault pulse-like ground motions. A simulation technique that utilizes the stochastic point-source model and a velocity pulse model was introduced to generate stochastic pulse-like ground motions. The stochastic response of the hybrid solar tower to near-fault pulse-like ground motions was computed to estimate the tower’s reliability. To enhance the efficiency of reliability estimation, an algorithm combining the Kriging surrogate and subset simulation (K-SS) was presented. The aggregate response of the tower was found to be significantly more damaging over the border of the reinforced concrete tube and the steel-truss tube than below the border. The study found that the hybrid solar tower has a reliability of 90.53% when subjected to stochastic near-fault pulse-like ground motions with a peak ground acceleration of 0.62 g. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the seismic performance of high-rise hybrid solar towers under near-fault pulse-like ground motions.
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